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Chapter Text

The storm dragon Veldora sat behind his barrier named [Unlimited Imprisonment] set upon him by the female hero centuries ago. Outside of the barrier sat a female monster, an unnamed Ogre, who appeared to be resting. However, when the dragon spoke, she would open one eye to glance at him before closing it and responding in a monotone way.

"Why do you stay here? There is nothing for you to gain. You are an ogre, yet you are willing to be imprisoned with me in this cave?" The dragon stared down at the girl. She certainly was an odd looking Ogre, but she definitely was one. Ogres traditionally had one or two white horns that protruded from the upper part of their forehead, but instead she had horns that protruded from the side of her heads and curved to the front. Her black hair was spread elegantly around her as she sat with her legs tucked to the side of her. However, not only did the horns confirm her existence as an ogre, but also the traditional streak of color, black in her case, going down from the bottom of her eye to her cheek, her height that was past 2 meters and the off-colored skin that appeared to be an ashy grey. It was clear that she definitely wasn't human. Beside her sat her weapon, a double bladed scythe.

She opened one of her eyes slightly, showing off a bright golden iris and a piercing gaze.

"There is no gain for me to return to a village that has mistreated me because of my horns." Her voice was light and airy, but held a tone of monotone boredom towards the conversation topic. "I stay here because you found me a decade ago, and you said you wished that I was your friend. I figured friends stayed together, so why should I leave?" She tilted her head slightly at the dragon, keeping a straight face before closing her eye again and leaning against the wall.

"I suppose you make a good point." The female shrugged before continuing her statement.

"Plus what good does it do for me to return to a nonexistent village?" Veldora glanced over in surprise at the new revelation. "In case you were wondering, Veldora, I only killed the leaders of the ogre village. I led the villagers to the neighboring ogre village because while they weren't the nicest to me, I wasn't going to go slaughter 150 ogres out of rage." Veldora had no doubts that she would be able to slaughter all the ogres in that village with no trouble. However, he cleared his throat and instead asked another question he was curious about.

"When you stumbled across me, you clearly were mistreated by your village. Pray, do tell me what happened that day that made you run to this cave knowing the dangers." Veldora looked down curiously at this girl. 10 years ago, she had shown up in his cave, tired and expressionless. Her eyes were lifeless and she simply stumbled over toward the dragon before sitting down at a nearby rock.

"Who are you? Why're you here?" His voice boomed. The girl looked up, her eyes seemingly dull and clouded. Veldora stared for a bit, unsure of what to make of the girl. She appeared to be a fairly young ogre, between 10 to 15 years of age.

"I'm an ogre who ran away from my village. Please let me stay here and rest. I promise I won't bother you." Her words held a pleading tone, but her expression didn't change.

"I suppose I could let you stay... that is if you'll be my friend in this lonely place..." Veldora turned away slightly, blushing heavily. A dragon like him asking for a friend? Unheard of.

The young girl looked up, her eyes clearly still clouded, yet it was beginning to clear up and her golden eyes started to shine slowly.

"Friends? We'll be friends?" She tilted her head to the side.

"If you don't want to then I don't want to be friends either," Veldora pouted. For such a large dragon he sure was childish. The hint of a smile appeared on the girl's face. Nodding towards him, she put her hand slightly on the [Unlimited Imprisonment].

"I want to be your friend."

"I was told that my abnormal horns were a sign that I was to die." Veldora snapped out of his memories and listened to the girl. She never was one to talk about her past, yet she was opening up now. "The village in fact probably preferred that I died. They were particularly harsh on me, sending me to the front lines of battles already, only to be shocked when I would return back unharmed. So they told me that there were creatures in this cave that could end my misery. With those thoughts I-"

She suddenly cut herself off and stood up, her double-bladed scythe in hand and pointed towards the path down the cave. She tensed and raised her weapon slightly, preparing to take on any monster that was coming towards them.

Out of all the monsters to make their way into this area, she was surprised to see a small blue slime making its way into the area. In her surprise, she swatted the small blob away from her and towards the [Unlimited Imprisonment]. The slime bounced off the spell harmlessly and the female ogre could only stare in shock at the small thing.

"I'm pretty sure I hit that wall, but I don't feel any pain." The thought from the small slime rang out in the minds of the female ogre and the dragon. Their eyes widened slightly. This slime has some sort of self-awareness? Then the blue blob seemed to notice the wound he had gained: a small dent on the top left.

"So I still take damage, even though I don't feel the pain." It appeared as though the slime simply wasn't interested or he was unaware of the two monsters that were in the cave with him, staring at the smaller monster. The ogre's expression still remained mostly neutral, but held a hint of wariness and remained ready to strike as necessary. The dragon was simply staring in curiosity. Suddenly, the blue slime healed himself, a regenerative ability that slimes were known to have.

"I repaired the part of me that took damage?" The small slime seemed so unaware of his own abilities. It was to a point where the female ogre was considering lowering her guard. Something this ignorant wouldn't be of any harm to her. "This body is really convenient! But I guess I should be more careful."

Veldora decided to interrupt the slime's monologue and bring attention to himself, but the female orge next to him remained unnoticed.

"Can you hear me, small one?" The slime spun around, as if looking for the owner of the voice. Could he not see? Veldora repeated his question. The slime jumped in fright.

"Hey! I know you can hear me!" Veldora yelled, annoyed that the slime wasn't replying.

"You're talking to me, aren't you?" The slime thought, still spinning around in an attempt to pinpoint where Veldora's voice was coming from.

"Answer me." Veldora demanded.

"Easy for you to say! How am I supposed to talk when I don't have a mouth?" he raged. The female ogre leaned back against the cave wall, closing her eyes and letting Veldora deal with the small slime.

"Hey!" Clearly, Veldora had never been disrespected as this slime had.

"Just shut up already, baldy!" The slime yelled. The female ogre couldn't help but be slightly amused at the slime's comment. In no situation has she ever heard of one of the 4 {True Dragons} being called 'baldy,' much less by a slime.

Veldora narrowed his eyes.

"Oh, you called me a baldy, eh? I see you have guts." Veldora stared down the slime, but also taking a few quick glares to the ogre who was enjoying their conversation, even if it wasn't shown on her face. She was still leaning against the wall, her weapon in her hands still, parallel to the ground.

The small slime flinched, seeming to realize that Veldora had heard everything he was thinking of. After a few moments, Veldora roared, scaring the slime into screaming in fear.

"I was trying to be nice since I haven't had a visitor in so long, but you seem to have a death wish." Veldora clearly wasn't happy about being called a 'baldy.'

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" the slime cried out. "I had no idea you could hear my thoughts! I don't have a mouth or even eyes, you see..."

The female ogre examined the small slime in interest. It was true, that the slime didn't have distinct eyes or a mouth. It was unclear as to how the two of them could even hear his thoughts. However, at the same time, a small amused 'tch' was let out because the slime had still thought about calling Veldora a baldy.

Veldora examined the slime before coming to the same conclusion the female ogre did. He narrowed his eyes slightly before laughing loudly.

"It amazed me that you would say such a thing after seeing me, but it turns out that you can't see me, eh?" He paused for a second, before offering the slime a deal. "All right. I will give you sight. However, there will be conditions. What do you say?"

"What sort of conditions?" the slime replied warily.

"It's simple. You must not fear me when you have the ability to see me, and you must come talk to me again. That's all. A good deal for you, is it not?"

He just wants a friend. The female ogre rolled her eyes. He just had to find such a roundabout way of asking for a friend.

"That's all I have to do?"

"Yes. You see, I was sealed here 300 years ago. Ever since then, I've had nothing to do, and its unbearably boring. What do you say?" Veldora waited impatiently for the slime's reply.

"He's saying he wants a friend, small slime." The female ogre finally spoke up. The slime flinched, not realizing there were two of them here in the cave. Her voice, though very monotone, was still soft and light, as if it were bells in the wind. It was very calming, yet held an air of seriousness.

"I didn't realize there were two people in here. I'm guessing you can hear my thoughts too?" the slime asked, addressing the new voice he heard.

"People... I suppose you did say you couldn't see earlier. It's the first time I've heard to anyone refer to me as a person. I'm sure no one has ever referred to you as a person, Veldora. But yes, small slime. I indeed can hear your thoughts as well."

"Never referred to as a person? That's rude of everyone."

She coughed slightly. If only he knew why she wasn't referred to as a person.

"Glad to meet you," he greeted anyways before turning towards the dragon (though he couldn't tell that it was facing a dragon). "I'm curious as to why you were sealed, but... okay. I'll gladly do it if all you're asking for is a friend."

"Very well. There is a skill called [Magic Sense]. Can you use it?"

"No, I can't." The slime said as he deflated slightly.

"It allows you to sense the magicules around you." Veldora explained.

"If I can detect magicules, I'll be able to see?" He pondered over the fact for a while before deciding to try it. For a while, he strained to activate [Magic Sense], audibly forcing the skill to work. After a couple seconds, he gasped slightly.

"Hey, there's something... Is this the stuff you call magicules?" Then he seemed to have some sort of revelation before he started to scream in excitement.

"I can see! I can see! I can actually see!" he yelled as he started jumping out of joy. The female ogre and Veldora watched on, waiting for the slime to remember that he had company. It was the opposite for a while as the slime bounced away towards the water, checking his appearance, confirming himself as a slime.

"Well?" Veldora asked, bringing the attention back to him.

"Oh right! I did it! Thanks so much!" he said without looking up. When he did, he froze and let out a small squeak before yelling out slightly while his entire form shook. "D-Dragon?!"

Veldora stared at the slime before motioning for the slime to come closer with his finger. The small blob slowly scooted towards the [Unlimited Imprisonment], but it was doubtful he knew at the moment it existed. In addition, it appeared that the shock of Veldora's species had caused to slime to completely forget about the presence of the female ogre, not that her presence was easy to recognize in the first place. As the slime reached the edge of the rock, Veldora leaned down.

"Allow me to formally introduce myself. I am the Storm Dragon, Veldora. I am one of only four {True Dragons} that exist in this world." He laughed slightly before it increased to a loud laugh that shook the entire cave. The female ogre simply opened one of her eyes to watch out for falling rocks, but otherwise remained impassive to Veldora's quirks.

"Hey, you remember our promise, don't you?" Veldora asked the small slime.

"Of course! I'm not scared at all!" He rushed out. "Well, I'll come to chat again sometime!" He tried to scurry away, but was stopped when Veldora quickly called out to him to hold it.

"This is indeed unusual. Slimes are normally low-ranked monsters that don't think, but you have self-awareness. Are you {Unique}?" Veldora questioned. At this, the female ogre opened her golden eyes and stared at the slime. She wanted to know about this abnormality as well. She didn't get up from her position, but her grip on her double-bladed scythe tightened, as if prepared to fight if the slime, no matter how low-ranked they normally are, tried anything.

"What does {Unique} mean?" he asked.

"It refers to a being with extraordinary abilities," The female ogre answered in place of Veldora.

For the first time since the slime was able to see, he noticed the girl leaning on the wall. He was shocked slightly that he wasn't able to sense her at all before, even with his extra skill [Magic Sense]. However, he couldn't deny that while she wasn't human, she could be classified as a beauty if she had more human features. Her golden eyes contrasted greatly with her ashy skin and pitch black hair. Her hair was silky smooth, with side swept bangs and hair that went all the way down to her lower back. Half of her hair was partially clipped toward the back to keep it out of her face, leaving her bangs to frame her face and expose one of her (surprisingly) human-looking ears. Her white horns protruded from the side of her head and curved horizontally towards the front. The small slime couldn't really help but compare it to a bull's horns. She had a petite figure, but seemed to still be quite tall compared to humans at a height of past 200cm. It was clear she was very thin yet had an immense amount of strength, judging by the double-bladed scythe that rested in her hands. And of course, being the once-human-male that the slime was, he couldn't help but notice her D-cup breasts that were held back by a tight fitting short kimono looking dress matched with a pair of tights and high heeled boots.

"I'm not really sure. The thing is, I used to be a human, but I got stabbed and died, and next think I knew, I looked like this... Are you a {Unique}?" The slime asked the female ogre.

"Yes. While my kind, the ogres, are a warlike race, I am more dangerous than most of them combined. My unique ability, [Unrivaled Strategy] ensures that my strategies in war will never failed, always bringing victory to the ogres or whichever team I'm fighting for. Not only that, but my lack of presence gives me the ability to easily sneak around enemy lines and avoid being targeted in battle, which adds more strategic advantages for me." The slime's eyes (if you could call them that) widened. She was an ogre. It was nothing like the traditional ogre race that he was used to in video games back as a human. She was more humanoid than monster, but still held that air of monstrous unrestrained power. It made him wonder how she had such a small presence when her power levels were extraordinarily high.

"I see. You were reincarnated," Veldora said, taking the attention off of the ogre. She glanced over at Veldora and the slime, deeming that the slime clearly didn't know nearly as much about this world to be deemed dangerous. She relaxed her grip on her weapon and leaned back on the wall, closing her eyes and listening to the conversation as Veldora explained the world to the small slime.

"Reincarnated... So I really was reborn as a slime..." the slime seemed to slowly accept that he was in a different world.

"You came into this world in a very unusual way," Veldora concluded.

"Eh. Unusual?"

"There are occasionally those who come here from other worlds, but you are the first I've known of to be reincarnated here. Most would be unable to withstand having only their soul traverse worlds."

"So you're saying there are people who came here from other worlds, but not through reincarnation?" Veldora nodded.

"Indeed. We call them {Otherworlders}. I've heard that they gain special abilities when they cross into this world."

"I see... I guess that's how I got my skills, too." The slime went quiet, going deep into thoughts that he didn't broadcast toward the dragon and the ogre girl.

There might even be other Japanese people here... Looking up, the slime addressed Veldora once again.

"I think I'd like to try and find some of these Otherworlders," it declared. The female ogre cracked an eye open at this, wanting slightly to laugh as Veldora began to sulk before closing her eyes again as if ignoring Veldora's antics

"What? You're leaving already?" Veldora pouted.

"As I said before, slime, Veldora is desperate for another friend in this cave." The ogre said, not bothering to look at the two.

"I'm not desperate!" Veldora roared at her. She simply waved him off and nodded.

"Sure, sure," she replied without even bothering to look at Veldora. He fumed slightly before his attention was drawn back to the slime.

"U-um. Maybe I'll stay a little longer. It's not like I have anything to do..." he trailed off, a small portion of its blob-like body seemingly reaching out to scratch the back of his... head? body? Veldora couldn't decide which it was. At this however, Veldora clearly perked up.

"Oh, good! Stay as long as you'd like!"

"That's not what you said to me when I first arrived," the ogre took a stab at Veldora with her words.

"I didn't mean it like that then!" he defended. She, of course, was just joking, so she acted like she didn't believe him, and continued to tease him about it. The slime was glad that she was feeling comfortable enough around him to talk more and make her presence known, but he couldn't help his curiosity

"So, um." Veldora and the ogre both stopped their bickering and looked at the slime. "You said earlier that you were sealed here, right?"

Oh boy, the girl thought. She shook her head slightly and decided she was going to let Veldora have his moment to explain. Veldora seemed to stand up taller as he began to tell the slime of his story.

"It was 300 years ago... I sort of turned a town into ashes by mistake."

He said sort of. And he seems proud of it too, the girl mused to herself, but kept quiet and let Veldora continue.

"So someone came looking to slay me. It's certainly true that I underestimated my opponent a bit. I started putting my full strength into the battle partway through... but I still lost!"

He sounds proud of losing

"But you seem really strong. Was your opponent that powerful?" the blue slime asked.

"Yes. Very powerful. It was someone known to the humans as a hero blessed with divine protection."

"A human hero? Sounds like something out of a video game."

"She overpowered me with her unique skill [Absolute Severance], and then she sealed me with [Unlimited Imprisonment]."

"Is that shiny stuff her [Unlimited Imprisonment]?"

"Yes," Veldora confirmed. "The hero called herself a {Summon}."

"{Summon}? Is that different from {Otherworlder}?"

"It takes more than 30 mages to perform a ritual that lasts several days to bring one here from another world."

"Oh! So there are mages here! This sounds more and more like a game!"

"They're also expected to serve as powerful weapons for the {Summoner}. Magic is used to carve a curse into the {Summon}'s soul to ensure that the {Summon} cannot defy the {Summoner}."

"What the heck?! That's just cruel!" The slime protested.

"Cruel, eh. I don't know what your world was like, but survival of the fittest is the prevailing truth in this world." The female ogre nodded in agreement with Veldora's statement. She knew it all too well. Because of her unique ability as well as her abnormality and power, a lot of other monsters, ogres especially who felt threatened by her, wanted her gone.

"I see..." The slime absorbed all the information as it was provided to him. "So you've been in here ever since that hero sealed you?"

Veldora confirmed his statement.

"That's right. I'm so very bored." Veldora hung his head.

"But you've had her here haven't you?" the slime referred to the ogre girl resting against the wall. He noticed at this moment that she never introduced herself with a name, but decided to question it later.

"She only arrived in this cave about a decade ago as a young ogre. Plus, she's not very talkative and her presence is easily hidden, so it's almost like she isn't here most of the time."

At Veldora's comment, she replied with a sarcastic rebuttal, but didn't open her eyes.

"Glad to know that is how you thought of me and my presence here as your friend for the last decade." Veldora, having known her for as long as he had, simply rolled his eyes at her sarcastic comment and brushed it off with a 'you know what I mean.' She made the effort to look at Veldora and give him a sarcastic look before returning to her usual position leaning against the wall.

"Okay! Why don't you and I be friends too?!" The slime asked excitedly.

"What?! A mere slime proposes friendship with me, the feared Storm Dragon?!"

"I-if you don't want to, I understand..." the slime seemed frightened and a bit confused at Veldora's contradicting words.

I'm pretty sure he insisted on wanting a friend earlier. What a troublesome personality this Veldora has. The female ogre shook her head. Waving slightly to get the slime's attention, she mouthed to him 'He actually does want you as a friend.' He looked at her with a sort of expression that said 'are you sure?' She motioned her head towards Veldora, which answered his question.

Veldora had his head turned to the side, and if dragons could blush, Veldora would be blushing.

"F-Fool! No one said I didn't want to!" The ogre gave the slime a look that said 'I told you so.'

"Uh, really? Then... what to you say?"

"Yes, well... if you insist... I guess I'm willing to think about it.

Are you some tsundere?! The slime thought to himself. The female ogre on the other hand gave Veldora a deadpan look. I'll just leave the conversation to the slime. It seems like he can handle this idiot dragon pretty well.

"Yes, I insist! So that settles it! If you refuse, we're through. I'll never come here again!" Veldora panicked at the slime's words.

"W-Well alright. I'll be your friend. You better be grateful!" Veldora rushed his words out, desperate to keep the small slime from leaving.

"Just can't be honest, can you? Well, glad to know ya!" The slime reached out with a blob-like appendage. In return Veldora reached out and touched the slime with one of his claws.

The slime turned towards the female ogre as well. She noticed his attention on her and stood up from against the wall to face the small blob.

"Will you be my friend as well?" he asked. She looked down at the slime, seemingly assessing his worth before nodding and reaching her hand not holding her weapon out to shake the slime's supposed hand.

"I suppose that you're harmless enough. I'll consider us allies."

Up next; Meeting the Goblins

Chapter Text

"So what do we do?" the small slime asked as he stared at Veldora. "About the [Unlimited Imprisonment] seal that hero put on you. I feel bad knowing my friend's been sealed here for 300 years."

Veldora's eyes widened, seemingly touched by the slime's words.

"You.." he started, giving the slime his attempt at puppy-dog eyes.

"Don't give me those puppy dog eyes!" The slime scolded. "It'd be one thing coming from a cute girl, but a dragon?"

The slime slowly turned his head to the ogre sitting at the side. Opening his mouth, the ogre girl immediately gave him a glare.

"Don't even think about asking me. I won't do it," she deadpanned. The slime flinched and turned back to the dragon who was staring intently at the blue blob.

"If you have a way to get me out, I'd appreciate it. Th-thing is," he stuttered, "I wouldn't have lasted another 100 years before my magic ran out. I keep losing more and more magicules."

"So that's why this cave is so rich in magicules and there are so many valuable herbs and ore." The slime noted as he observed is surroundings again. "What happens when your magic runs out?"

"It's not a huge deal," Veldora stated with ease.

"It's not?"

"It is a big deal. If is magic runs out Veldora, one of the {True Dragons} that's presence protects the forest above will disappear." the female ogre stated, her monotone voice not changing, but obvious worry lay in her eyes as she stared down Veldora.

"His presence will disappear?" the slime asked, still confused.

"I'll just die, that's all," Veldora clarified.

"I... I see..." The slime seemed to slump down in dispair for the imprisoned dragon. "After all these years of isolation, you just die, huh?" The slime turned towards the female ogre, as if just remembering her presence again. It seemed her lack of presence was very effective.

"Of course, he's had you the past decade or so," the slime beamed at the ogre. She looked at him and nodded in agreement, only for Veldora to pout and respond.

"She's so quiet and unsociable that we sat mostly in silence the entire time," Veldora started, only to have the female ogre look at him and raise an eyebrow at the dragon. "O-Of course it's still better than being here alone!"

"Hm..." The slime thought. "Might as well try this." Then the small slime approached the [Unlimited Imprisonment].

"{Great Sage}, use [Predator] to consume the [Unlimited Imprisonment]." He then reached out to touch the barrier. The barrier lit up where he touched it for a bit before the light faded.

"I guess it won't be that easy," the small slime stated, as if he expected this to happen.

"See? It's impossible. She observed the [Unlimited Imprisonment] with her [Unrivaled Strategy] before and even attempted to use brute force to break it. It didn't work and she ended up being repelled." At this point, the small slime was beginning to take more notice of the ogre's lack of name.

"Hm... Isn't there anything we can do?" Then the slime went silent.

"Hey! Don't just keep talking to your own skill!" Veldora cried out, desperate to know what the small slime was thinking of. The slime ignored him

"Uhuh... I see. I see..." Veldora stood watching the slime while rubbing his hands together. The female ogre on the other hand stood seemingly disinterested against the wall, but she too was hoping there was a way to free the dragon from the [Unlimited Imprisonment].

"It's only a possibility, but..." the slime started. Veldora looked at him expectantly. "She says if we can analyze the [Unlimited Imprisonment] from both inside and out we might be able to remove it." Both Veldora and the female ogre looked interested in this new information.

"Wait, but... I can't analyze it from the inside. My skills are sealed along with me, so I can't use them," Veldora revealed.

"IF you can just give me the data, I can analyze it out here." the slime offered. The female ogre was looking mildly impressed with this slime's skill and it's ability to problem solve.

"But that could take some time," Veldora stated. "Are you sure you want to stay in here that long?"

He blushed slightly and leaned back, shy as he said his next words.

"W-Well, not that I mind, but..."

"Good point..." The slime trailed off. "Since I'm here, I'd like to search for others from my homeland." He seemed to state it with no regard to how badly Veldora wanted the slime to stay.

"I see..." The dragon replied, hie voice holding obvious disappointment that the slime was more than eager to leave.

"So here's a suggestion..." the slime stared down the dragon. "Want to get in my stomach?"

Both the female ogre and Veldora stared at the small blue slime, as if not believing what they just heard. The slime stared back at Veldora and silence rang through the cave.

"I'll use my skills, [Great Sage] and [Predator] to analyze [Unlimited Imprisonment] while you try to destroy it from the inside. You'll be quarantined in my stomach, so you won't disappear. What do you say?" it proposed.

After a couple seconds more of silence, the sound of light laughter filled the cave. It sounded like windchimes on a breezy day, or soft bells ringing. It took a second for the slime to realize that it was the female ogre who was laughing. Both Veldora and the slime stared mesmorized.

"He makes a good point, Veldora. My [Unrivaled Strategy] sees nothing wrong with his proposal." Her tone, while usually deadpan, held amusement. "I'm impressed, small slime."

It took Veldora a few seconds to shake himself out of the daze from her laughter. He had heard it once or twice before, but the sound of her laughter seemed to always entrance him.

He then started laughing, his laugh getting increasingly louder as he continued.

"That sounds interesting! Please, do it!" Veldora roared out in excitement. "I'll entrust my entirety to you!"

"Are you sure you want to believe me that easily?" the slime asked surprised.

"Of course! It sounds more fun to break through [Unlimited Imprisonment] together than to wait here alone until you come back! Plus, if [Unrivaled Strategy] has not sensed a problem, it should work out!"

"Right..." the small slime trailed off. "Sounds great!"

"O-okay, I'll use [Predator] to -"

"W-Wait a moment!" Veldora interrupted. "Before we start, I'll give you a name." The female ogre's eyes widened in surprise. To be given a name was such a huge honor. "You can give me one, too."

"Huh?"

"It will engrave onto our souls the fact that we are equals," Veldora explained. "It'll be what humans call a 'family name,' but the name I give you will grant you divine protection. You are still nameless, so you'll become a monster with a name."

"A monster with a name, huh... sounds good!" the slime replied.

"Doesn't it? Give me a cool name!" Veldora asked the slime.

"Same to you!" the slime replied. "A cool name... Let's see... The Storm Dragon, Veldora... Storm, huh? And... what's another word for a storm, again?" the slime pondered to himself. "Ah! Tempest! What do you think of 'Tempest'?"

"What! Tempest you say?!" Veldora roared. The slime melted, thinking that Veldora didn't like the name.

"It sounds fantastic!" he roared loudly. "As of today, I am Veldora Tempest!"

"Y-You like it?" it asked hesitantly.

"And I will grant you the name 'Rimuru.'" Veldora responded.

"Rimuru," it repeated. "Not bad."

"You will be Rimuru Tempest!" Veldora concluded. Rimuru's blue body glowed a bright yellow for a bit as he transformed into a named monster and the name engraved itself upon its soul.

"I am... Rimuru Tempest," Rimuru repeated in finality.

The two repeated each other's new names and stared at each other in familiarity. Off to the side, the unnamed female ogre still stood watching the exchange. It wasn't uncommon for one to get named but another to not, so she wasn't trying to force Veldora or Rimuru to name her. Being a named monster was the pride of all monsters. To be named was an honor that most monsters didn't dream of, this female ogre being one of them.

"Okay, I'm going to eat you now. Break out of that [Unlimited Imprisonment] already!" Rimuru commanded Veldora. Veldora chuckled.

"Leave it to me. I will see you face-to-face in no time!" Veldora then turned towards the female ogre standing by the wall. She was no longer leaning on the wall in a nonchalant manner, but was now standing straight and proud, a small smile on her face as she knew that Veldora would be free of his prison.

"Thank you for staying by me this whole time," he told her. "When I return, I'll be sure to remember your friendship for these past years." Her smile got a little wider as her eyes seemed to get a little watery. While she was usually impassive and monotone, she showed her expressions from time to time.

"It was an honor to stay beside you, Veldora Tempest. I will be waiting for you when you're free." The ogre bowed at her waist, her weapon parallel to the ground as she held it beside her. While Veldora was never officially her 'master,' she still treated him with the highest respect due to her old village's treatment of her. When she stumbled across Veldora, she got her first tastes of kindness, of which she was grateful for. She kept her head bowed as Veldora nodded at her acknowledgement of his superiority as a {True Dragon} and turned back to Rimuru to begin his escape.

"Rimuru, one last request. Please take her in for me." Rimuru nodded at Veldora's request and glanced over at the female ogre who's head was still bowed towards Veldora.

"Unique Skill: [Predator]!" Rimuru activated. His small blue body expanded and wrapped around the entire prison. As he consumed it, explosions seemed to go off from inside as the prison shrank and Rimuru consumed it. Soon enough, nothing was left as Rimuru returned to his original size. He seemed a bit upset as Veldora disappeared along with the barrier, though he and the ogre both knew that Veldora was safely in Rimuru's stomach.

"That ended far too soon. I was just talking with him a moment ago..." Rimuru trailed off. Since the task was done, the female ogre finally raised her head back up and stood straight, staring at where Veldora once was. Her expression was once again blank, but a bit of sadness could be seen behind her eyes.

"He's free of his prison. I think he's happier inside your stomach than he has been since he was imprisoned here all alone." Rimuru nodded, agreeing with the female ogre. She gave the location that Veldora once stood one more glance before closing her eyes and turning away.

"I think it's best we leave this area now," she suggested, of which Rimuru agreed and they began to head out.

~~~

The pair remained in the cave for a few more days, wandering around and scavenging for whatever they could find. Rimuru at first was worried at how the female ogre was going to eat, since Rimuru didn't need to eat as a slime, but she found no problem in scavenging for underground fruits or edible bugs in the caves. She wasn't very talkative, but at times offered guidance or answers to Rimuru's questions. It seemed like she made her presence somehow known to Rimuru at all times, since he now didn't have trouble sensing when she was around.

WHile in the caves, Rimuru gained skill after skill as he traversed the caves and came upon other monsters. He was able to defeat the monsters perfectly fine, but he realized that the female ogre was another league herself. At times, when they came across a larger number of enemies, Rimuru would give her permission to basically exercise and take out the hoard. It took only a few quick movements of her double edged scythe and speed to take down the entire hoard. It was impressive to watch her jump into hoards of 10 or more monsters and come out unscathed and triumphant. Her speed and lack of presence made her seem to disappear as she moved from monster to monster and dodged all their attacks.

As Rimuru continued to gain skills, he tested out different skills, warning the female ogre when he would be testing it out, he made sure she was at a safe range before he did anything dangerous. At one point, he managed to kill a bat monster, allowing him the ability to vocalize his thoughts.

The pair traveled around the cave for weeks, with the female ogre silently accompanying and protecting Rimuru as necessary. She easily followed him and silently allowed him to continue his antics of playing around in the cave.

However, at long last, they found the door to the exit of the cave.

"This is probably the exit, right?" he voiced his thoughts. The female ogre nodded in reply, remembering this gate when she first ran through it a decade ago.

"Well now what? Can I cut it up with [Water Blade]?"

"Rimuru-sama, I wouldn't recommend attacking the door with your attack skills. Perhaps -" she was cut off as the gate began to open from the outside. The two stared in awe at the door opening. The light began to shine through the door, of which Rimuru looked heavily excited while the female ogre had to turn away so she could adjust to the sudden light. As the door opened, the two quickly realized that there were 3 humans that stood at the door. Quickly, Rimuru dived behind some of the rocks to hide while the female ogre seemed to just vanish, even from Rimuru's sense. He saw her standing on the opposite side in the shadows, barely recognizable in the darkness even to Rimuru who had spent weeks with her. Her presence was completely undetectable, even as she moved from rock to rock.

"It finally opened," One man sighed. "It's so rusty, the keyhole's falling apart."

"That's no surprise." The second man followed up. "Nobody's come in here for 300 years."

"We won't be attacked out of nowhere, right?" The last girl asked hesitantly. She held out her wand, causing it to light up and the trio peered down the path. "Of course, if it comes to it, we can always use [Escape]..."

Rimuru peeked his head out from behind the rocks, examining the human adventurers.

"All right, I'm going to activate my [Stealth Arts]," the first man said. He put his hands together then the three of them disappeared. However, their footprints were still completely visible and the female ogre scoffed slighted at their version of stealth. They hadn't even detected her yet.

As the trio made their way down the path, Rimuru nodded at the ogre who was hiding still on the opposite side, she nodded back and quickly the two of them escaped out the gate before the adventurers noticed them.

~~~

The two took to wandering around the forest and Rimuru basked in the sunlight. The female ogre seemed to have no feeling for the sunlight that she hadn't seen in an entire decade. She instead was cautiously trailing behind Rimuru, as if expecting an attack.

"Ah, I haven't seen the outside in so long!" Rimuru stated, excited. "The air tastes so sweet! Not that I can taste...."

The female ogre glanced at Rimuru as he continued to enjoy the nature. She couldn't help but also begin to take joy from being out in the sun after so long.

Suddenly, there was a sound of multiple footsteps running towards them. The female ogre raised her double bladed scythe, pointing it towards the sound while Rimuru simply stared cluelessly down the path. A hoard of thin, badly armed, and seemingly terrified goblins appeared, standing in front of Rimuru and the ogre. They seemed to be more scared of Rimuru than her, but they too eyed her with caution. Some of the goblins stood shaking as they stared the pair down. As the female ogre observed them, she began to notice that their stance was defensive, not offensive, so she slowly lowered her weapon, and nodded at Rimuru when he looked at her.

"Strong one, do you have business here?" The goblin leading the group asked. He was visibly scared, but the female ogre had to give him props for standing his ground. Rimuru looked behind him, unaware that the goblin was talking to him. He looked at the female ogre, staring at her as if to ask if the goblin was referring to her. She shook her head and nodded back down at Rimuru. The goblin confirmed that he was indeed talking to Rimuru.

It took a second, but Rimuru managed to use his skills gained in the cave to communicate with the goblins. For some reason, Veldora and the female ogre could hear his thoughts if he projected them to the two, so he had been communicating mentally with the ogre as they traveled through the cave.

"Right, so, hello!" Rimuru bellowed, unknowingly using too much power. The goblins shivered in fear at his voice. "I'm a slime, and my name is Rimuru!"

At this point, all the goblins had been knocked down and their weapons were on the ground. They were trembling in fear at Rimuru. The female ogre tapped Rimuru on the top of his slime body, causing his attention to turn to her.

"I think they're scared plenty, Rimuru-sama," she stated. He looked confused before he turned back to the goblins, all of who had assumed a bowing position with there hands and knees on the floor and their heads down.

"We're well aware of how strong you are, sir!" The lead goblin spoke out, fear very apparent in his voice. "Please, quiet your voice!" Rimuru looked deep in thought, then tried speaking again.

"So, did you need something?" he whispered. The lead goblin raised his head to speak.

"We sensed a powerful monster, accompanied by another dangerous monster," he said, referring to Rimuru and the female orge. "We came here as a precaution."

"I don't sense anything like that." Rimuru said, looking around. He looked at the female ogre who also shrugged. She had been around Veldora and Rimuru long enough to be desensitized by the immense power the two produced.

"Surely you jest!" the goblin said. "Even if you face us in that form, we won't be fooled!" There was a brief pause before the goblin spoke up again.

"Strong one, having seen your power, we wish to ask you and your companion for a favor." Rimuru looked at the female ogre who had been silently observing this entire time. She nodded, signifying that the goblins meant no harm to the two. Therefore, Rimuru accepted as the goblins led the two of them back to their village.

As they arrived, the first thing that Rimuru noticed was the state of the village. The houses were small and all the goblins looked weak. There appeared to be a lack of goblins that looked like they could protect the village. The female ogre herself looked like she could wipe out this entire village in a single swipe of her scythe.

Rimuru and the female ogre were led inside the main tent, where an ender and the lead goblin from earlier knelt in front of Rimuru. The female ogre stood to the left side behind Rimuru in a more relaxed stance and her weapon slack in her palm. She indicated no hostility in her posture and movements.

"Welcome, visitors," the elder shakily welcomed. "I am the elder of this village."

"Hi, nice to meet you," Rimuru responded. The female ogre nodded in agreement. "So, what favor did you want to ask of me and my companion?" The two goblins nodded towards each other, agreeing that the pair would be able to help them. Behind, a couple of eavesdropping goblins poked their heads through the cracks of the fabric door. The female ogre took note of this, hiding a small smile at their antics.

"Have you noticed that monsters have been unusually active of late?" The elder asked. "Our god disappeared one month ago. As a result, monsters in the area have been continually harassing us."

Rimuru looked at the female ogre, who glanced back.

Their god? Does he mean Veldora? The female ogre nodded in response to his question directed towards her.

"Veldora's presence kept monsters at bay, even in his imprisonment," she replied to him. Their telepathy was a one way path.

"We tried to fight them, but we lack the numbers..." the elder trailed off.

"S-So we hoped you would..." the younger goblin continued.

"But I'm just a slime," Rimuru responded. "I doubt I can do all the things you expect of me." The two goblins smiled sheepishly.

"Please, don't be modest." The elder said. "A mere slime would not emit such an intense aura. You are quite a famous monster, are you not? And you're accompanied by such a strong ogre too..." The two goblins now appeared a bit worried and fearful.

Aura? What's he talking about? I don't have one of those.

"Rimuru-sama." the female ogre called, grabbing his and the goblin's attention. She nodded slightly, indicating that he indeed did have an aura. The goblins just thought that it was a secret code between the two. While she could see his aura, she thought of it as normal due to her long exposure to it. Rimuru pondered a little bit before using his skills to change his perspective, only to find out he was emitting a strong aura. To cover up his shock, he formulated a plan to appear like he was testing them.

"Leave it to the elder to notice." Rimuru praised.

"But of course. You cannot hide the formidable air about you." The elder replied.

"I see. SO you figured it out. You guys show a lot of potential." Rimuru then sucked in the aura he was emitting, of which the goblins let out a breath as they were no longer pressured by the aura.

"Ah... Have you been testing us?" The elder concluded. "It's fortunate that so many of us were frightened by your aura."

"Y-Yeah, that's right!" Rimuru quickly agreed. "You've got potential if you can talk to me without fear!"

"Thank you so much." The elder said. "Ah, as for the favor we wish to ask..."

The elder went on the explan how the Direwolves from the east were continually attacking the goblin village, resulting in many deaths in the goblins. The ratio for a battle would be 10 goblins to 1 direwolf if the goblins had any chance to fight the wolves. However, due to their low numbers in the village, this village stood no chance. One goblin, a named one, served as their guardian, but was killed in battle, leaving the village in peril.

"There are about 100 Direwolves in total," the elder informed the pair.

"How many do we have?" Rimuru asked in response.

"Including females, we have about 60 who can fight." The female ogre winced as Rimuru slumped in his seat. 60 goblins to 100 direwolves. If the two had not arrived or if they refused to help, the entire village would perish in the next battle.

"So did that Goblin warrior fight them knowing he couldn't win?" Rimuru asked.

"No..." the elder started sadly. "That warrior gave his life just retrieving information on the Direwolves for us." The elder bowed his head low to the ground. "The warrior was my son, and his elder brother."

"I see... Forgive me for asking that." Rimuru looked at the door, where a bunch of young goblins were peeking through the door, anxious and worried that their village was doomed. He looked at the female ogre, who noticed that he had already made his choice to help out the village. She nodded, silently agreeing that she would back up his decision and protect this village with him.

"Elder, tell me one thing. What will we get in return for helping this village? What can you guys give us?" Rimuru asked. The two goblins that were knelt in front of the pair looked worriedly at Rimuru. He glanced at the female ogre, who nodded slightly and didn't say anything against his method. They both knew that Rimuru had no intentions of asking for compensation. He was simply keeping his facade up as a powerful monster.

"W-we will offer you our loyalty!" the elder declared before bowing low to the ground. "Please grant us your protection! If you do, we will swear our loyalty to you!"

His son followed in the bow and also declared his resolve to swear his loyalty.

Before Rimuru could answer, a howl from the east began to alarm everyone. The two goblins stood and looked out the tent, staring at the shadow of the direwolf in fear. People began to shout out their worries and fears for their lives and their village.

"There's no need to fear," a soft chime came out. Instantly all the goblins quieted and looked towards the pair that was emerging from the tent. The female ogre held open the door for Rimuru as he scooted out of the tent.

"Rimuru-sama has agreed to help this village," the female ogre declared, her soft chime like voice instantly calmed everyone in the village, along with the weight of her words.

"We're going to defeat them," Rimuru reassured the village.

"Y-You mean..." The village elder stared on in disbelief yet hope.

"In lieu of the Storm Dragon Veldora, I, Rimuru Tempest, will grant your wish!" At this, the village elder began to tear up and bowed low to the ground, his walking stick set in front of him. The rest of the village followed.

"Thank you very much! We are your loyal servants, Great Rimuru!" the elder declared.

"You can count on us," Rimuru reassured, staring out at the goblin village spread in front of him. He turned back to look at the female ogre who nodded and lowered her head and torso in a half bow towards Rimuru.

Up next: Battle at the Goblin Village

Chapter Text

Rimuru scanned the goblins that stood around himself and the female ogre (who had yet to be named). Scanning them, he projected his thoughts toward the female ogre, allowing her to have an idea of how he was planning. After all, she did have her [Unrivaled Strategy] that could help tremendously.

Looks like I shouldn't expect to find many who can fight Direwolves. Rimuru thought. They all look too scrawny and beat-up. Talk about pressure... Please continue to think of something to help out this group. The female ogre nodded at his request, making sure that he knew she received his message.

"Everyone," Rimuru addressed all the goblins, "do you understand our situation?"

"Yes!" replied the son of the elder. "We are prepared for a life-or-death battle!"

"No need to get all worked up. Just relax," Rimuru replied. "Think only about doing the best you can." The goblins all stared at Rimuru in amazement and in awe. Meanwhile, the ogre still stood behind Rimuru, coming up with ideas on battling the Direwolves, including ideas from total annihilation of the goblins all the way to annihilation of the Direwolves and everything in between.

"But first, take us to where the wounded are," Rimuru requested. Shortly after, they were brought to one of the larger tents, all filled with goblins who were wrapped in bandages. Some had worse injuries than others.

"We did all we could for them, but..." the elder started. He was stopped as Rimuru scooted over the the closest injured goblin.

That's deeper than I'd imagined. Did their claws and fangs do that much damage?

"Rimuru-sama," the female ogre brought attention to herself, making the elder jump a bit. Her presence was so minute that he had forgotten that she followed them to the tent. "You must remember these goblins do not have sufficient armor to protect against slashing injuries such as these." Rimuru nodded in understanding, still observing the injured goblin in thought. Suddenly, surprising the elder, he consumed the goblin whole.

"W-What are you doing?!" the elder called out in surprise.

"Relax, village elder," the ogre's calming voice rang out in the tent. "Rimuru will not harm those he was promised to protect, including those here."

Suddenly, Rimuru spit out the goblin that he had swallowed, but this time, without injuries. He woke up from the force of hitting the ground, surprised.

"Huh? I'm..." he trailed off as the elder stared on in shock. The goblin had been completely healed of all injuries and no scars remained. Some of the goblins outside poked their heads in as the previously injured goblin stood up, feeling his torso for the past injuries.

"Y-Your wounds..." the elder trailed out.

"They're healed!" the goblin cried in shock after he finished observing himself. Rimuru nodded at the female ogre who bowed her head slightly as an approval for his quick thinking. Immediately afterwards, he got back to work, consuming the goblins whole, throwing the potions he stored up inside him at them, and then spitting them back out. Soon, all of them were healed and lay in front of the elder and a few goblins that had ventured into the tent.

"Y-You are magnificent, Great Rimuru!" The elder exclaimed as he continued to stare in shock. Then, all of the goblins that hadn't been in the tent for injuries bowed down on their hands and knees facing Rimuru. The female ogre smiled slightly and also did a half bow, only lowering her torso towards Rimuru.

"Now..." Rimuru trailed off and looked at the female ogre to confirm if she had come up with any plans. She nodded, catching his thoughts and walked up to Rimuru. Crouching next to him, she whispered the best plan she had thought of to Rimuru. Of course, she could've gone and wiped out all the Direwolves by herself, but to be beneficial for the village, they needed some type of defense anyways. Rimuru nodded at her plan and faced the goblins while she stood up and placed herself once again behind Rimuru while also facing the goblins.

"We'll build a fence." Rimuru started. "Fortify the village's defenses!" The goblins all nodded in agreement and set out to do his bidding.

Shortly after the sun set, the howls of the Direwolves sounded through the forest. The goblins still trembled in fear at the sounds, but the ogre and Rimuru just stared towards the direction of the wolves in recognition.

"I believe that is their attacking command, Rimuru-sama. They're headed here now," Rimuru nodded, acknowledging the ogre's comments. They had been together for a while, but it still surprised him when she talked. Her voice, while monotone, was very gentle and soft on his (slime) ears. It was warm, yet strong, and reminded him of the soft chiming of wind chimes on the porch.

As the first wolf, presumably the leader of the pack, approached and appeared from the forest line, he stopped in confusion at the goblins who had surrounded the village with a fence.

"Hmph! What good will such a flimsy fence do?" The wolf challenged.

Outside the gate at the very center stood Rimuru in his slime form. Behind him to his left, stood the female ogre, her stance relaxed but still prepared for battle. Her double-bladed scythe was opened and glinted dangerously in the moonlight. Yet even as she stood out in the open, her presence flickered in for only a split second before she disappeared again, though she never actually moved.

"A slime?" the wolf mentioned in surprise.

"Turn back now, and we won't take any action." Rimuru put down his offer. "Leave this place at once!"

"Insolence!" the leader growled. "No mere slime can order around us Direwolves! Trample down that fence! Spill the blood of those lowly Goblins!" He howled once more, as if signifying the start of the battle. Wolves began to charge forward, straight into the trap that Rimuru had laid out.

As the wolves got close, the began dying due to the [Steel Thread] that Rimuru had laid out. Any Direwolves that were within range but avoided the threads were then shot by the goblins using bows and arrows. Every so often, if a wolf got too close for the female ogre's liking, she would step in, seeming to only take a step before a wolf 10 meters away from her was downed by her blades.

"Threads?" the leader observed.

"That's my skill, [Steel Thread]." Rimuru explained.

"This is your doing?" he growled in anger. It wasn't surprising that he was mad. This was his pack that was being bested by goblins of all monsters in the forest. "A puny monster like you dares do this?! I will squash you!"

With a burst of speed and disregard for his son's call, the leader took off towards the fence at speeds faster than any wolf that had approached them so far. Using his teeth and the fact that the steel threads were now covered in his pack's blood, he bit through the threads and efficiently tore through the defense. He ran straight for Rimuru, pouncing as he got close enough. The goblins were slightly unsettled, but neither the ogre nor Rimuru seemed worried in the slightest bit.

In just a split second, the wolf was suspended in the air by more threads, this time holding him immobile in the air. Simultaneously, a blade was held above Rimuru and towards the wolf's neck. Had the threads not captured him at the time they did, he would have been beheaded by the blade that glinted dangerously in his face. His eyes trailed to the ogre who's presence he was now aware of. Her eyes, while not worried, glinted with intent, daring him to move further if he could even do that.

"That's [Sticky Thread]," Rimuru named his other skill.

"This won't hold me!" the wolf threatened.

"Skill:[Water Blade]!" Rimuru activated. Within a few seconds, the leader of the Direwolves had been brought down. His head falling to Rimuru's feet shortly after he had been defeated. The rest of the wolves watched on in shock as their leader had been easily taken down by a mere slime.

Rimuru approached the body, willing the threads to retract and drop the rest of the wolf. The other wolves standing back growled menacingly at Rimuru.

"Hear me, Direwolves!" Rimuru called. "Your boss is dead! I'll give you the choice: submit or die!"

None of the wolves moved an inch.

Yikes... Rimuru thought. What if they go the "We'd rather die than submit" route and attack all at once? I wish they'd just turn tail and run...

The female ogre looked towards Rimuru as he projected his thoughts toward her. He wasn't facing her, so she didn't bother to respond, though she knew that either way, they would win. Her [Unrivaled Strategy] didn't always provide the outcome, but it provided enough for her to know which plan would win and which plan would lead to the least casualties for her own side. In this case, the plan she came up with ended with no casualties for the goblins, whether the Direwolves retreated or not.

"Oh! [Predator]!" Rimuru suddenly activated his skill, consuming the dead Direwolf in front of him. The wolves surrounding the area tensed at his actions. Shortly after he absorbed the wolf, he used his skill [Mimic] to transform into the wolf. The wolves around became antsy that the slime just became one of them.

"Hear me!" the slime projected towards the wolves. "I will let you go just this once. If you refuse to yield to me, I will allow you to leave this place!" Then, as an extra incentive, he used his newest skill, [Menace], and roared at the wolves. The force of the skill was enough to force the goblins to brace themselves lest be blown away. The wolves had to lower themselves and grip the ground to avoid the same. Even the female ogre that stood by Rimuru had to plant her scythe into the ground to root her there.

As Rimuru continued to roar, the wolves forced their way against [Menace] and slowly took steps toward the village. Rimuru began to worry that they still wanted to fight. The female ogre, with her scythe still rooted in, flicked open her blade that wasn't stuck in the ground and braced herself to launch an attack.

The Direwolves managed to force themselves right in front of Rimuru before the lowered themselves to the ground and whimpered in submission.

"Our pack yields to you," they said in unison, addressing Rimuru.

Eh... They could have just run away... Rimuru thought in confusion.

"U-um... D-did we win?" the goblin elder asked. Rimuru retracted his Direwolf mimic.

"It appears so..." the ogre's soft voice chimed out.

"It's good that there's no need for fighting anymore." Rimuru said as he faced the Direwolves. "Yep, Yep. Nothing beats peace."

The goblins took in this information and it only took seconds before the village erupted in cheers as the battle against the wolves ended.

As dawn came, Rimuru scanned over the village, realizing that with the Direwolves and the village following him, the creatures he protected now doubled in size.

What now? Rimuru projected toward the ogre. Who's gonna look after not only the Goblins, but all these pups, too? She shrugged in reply.

I guess their numbers are about the same. Then...

"Okay, listen up!" Rimuru called. At this, all the goblins and wolves looked up toward Rimuru who was sitting on a tree stump. "So, I'm going to have you all pair up and live together!"

"Pair... up?" Everyone repeated, confused.

"Do you understand?" Rimuru asked in reply.

"Great Rimuru, what does 'pair' mean, exactly?" the village elder asked for the group.

"It means to form groups of two," Rimuru replied.

"What Rimuru-sama is saying is to put together one goblin and one wolf, as a pair," the ogre explained further. At this, the entire group began to move, pairing themselves up with relative ease.

"Good!" Rimuru commented once everyone had settled down. "Yesterday's enemy is today's friend! You're all to work together and get along as friends from now on! Got it?"

"Yes, sir!" they replied in unison.

"Help each other out, and make it work," Rimuru finished off dealing with the increase in living beings. As he took a second to think, the ogre stepped forward. While they didn't recognize her as their leader as they did Rimuru, the respected her greatly for her battle prowess and the fact that Rimuru had her by his side like an advisor of sorts.

"What we will focus on now is food, shelter, and clothing," she reported, allowing Rimuru to take a break from talking. "We will form teams to hunt for food, build houses, and strengthen defenses."

He nodded in agreement, thanking her mentally for the small break before he picked it back up. She nodded back and stepped back a step, as if hiding herself again and allowing the attention to naturally flow towards Rimuru.

"We'll start with..."

What was his name again? Wait, do they even have names?

"Hey, what are all of your names, anyway?" Rimuru asked. The village elder turned to answer Rimuru.

"We monsters do not normally have names. Even without names, we can still communicate our thoughts to one another."

"Oh, really?" Rimuru turned to the ogre, who nodded. He thought about it and realized that even after weeks of spending time with her, she never told him her name or even mentioned that she had a name at all. He looked back to the rest of the village.

"But it's more convenient to have names, so I'd like to name you all. Is that okay?" At this, the ogre's normally stoic but beautiful face (minus the occasional smile here and there) formed into one of shock. To name all of the goblins and the wolves here would require so many {Magicules} from Rimuru. Normally, naming such a large crowd was unthinkable.

As according to the situation, all the goblins and the wolves gasped in shock at Rimuru's declaration.

"N-Name us?" the elder asked in surprise. "A-Are you certain?"

"S-Sure." Rimuru agreed, looking confused at why they wouldn't want to be named. The entire village erupted in cheers and howls. To be a named monster was not some easy thing to come by.

Rimuru looked back to the ogre, who nodded in silent understanding and made her way to the front of the large group.

"Would everyone please quickly and orderly line up to allow Rimuru-sama to name each one of you individually. Village elder, please line up at the front." At her soft, yet commanding voice, the village began to bustle, excitement clear in their quick steps as they formed a long line, trembling with joy.

"Okay, we'll start with you." Rimuru started, staring at the elder. "Hmm, let's see... What did you call the son you had who died in battle?"

"Rigur," the elder responded, trembling as he leaned heavily on his staff.

"Rigur, huh? Then you'll be Rigurd." As Rimuru said it, a light shined brightly from the elder, as if engraving itself upon his soul.

"Thank you so much!" the elder began to cry. "Rigurd! I am so moved!"

"R-Really?" At this point the elder began to full on cry so Rimuru moved onto his son, who was standing right next to him.

"You'll inherit your brother's name: Rigur." Rimuru stated next.

"I'm so grateful that my son has been allowed to inherit Rigur's name!" the elder managed to get out between his sobs. The both of the bowed low to the ground, thanking Rimuru profusely.

The ogre couldn't help but feel slightly moved by their reactions, though she didn't show it outwardly. Instead, she put a comforting arm around the village elder, allowing him to cry as she guided him to the side with his son so Rimuru could continue naming the village.

"You're Gobta." Rimuru named the next goblin.

"You're Gobchi."

"Gobtsu."

"Gobte."

"And you're Gobzo."

As Rimuru continued naming the goblins, he noticed the ogre start to look at him slightly worried, though he didn't understand why. As he got through a large portion of the village, the village elder, now named Rigurd, approached Rimuru with worries as well.

"U-Um... " he started. "We truly do appreciate you giving us all names, but... We are aware that your magical power is immense, but are you sure it's all right to give all of us names at once?"

"well, I don't see any problem." Rimuru replied.

"Well, if you are certain..." Rigurd complied. The ogre on the other hand, who still hadn't been named but hadn't fussed about it, continued to stare worriedly at Rimuru. Yes, he said there wasn't a problem, but she couldn't help but be aware of how many {Magicules} this was going to take out of him.

Turning back to the never ending line of monsters, the next goblin approached his tree stump.

"You'll be... Haruna!"

After just a few more minutes, he took care of naming the rest of the goblins. Next, he faced the line of wolves who had separated after he named the elder. They figured it would be easier to name goblins and then wolves.

He's the son of the Direwolf boss, isn't he? I wonder if he holds a grudge against me... Rimuru thought, unknowingly projecting his thoughts, as he stared at the wolf in front of him.

Actually, they don't seem to be holding any grudges at all... Rimuru concluded as he noticed they were all waiting eagerly in front of him with expectant looks on their faces and tails wagging.

The wolf with the star on his forehead, the son of the original leader, approached Rimuru first.

"All right! Your name is Ranga!" As Ranga accepted his name, Rimuru began to melt, starting everyone in the area. The ogre rushed up towards him and began to collect him in her hands, quickly transporting him inside the tent. Before he fully blacked out he looked at the ogre and decided a name for her on the spot that he thought fit perfectly.

"You are Kumiko," he said as he looked at the ogre. She seemed surprised that he named her, even more so at this time, but she gave him a soft smile.

"I will honor the name you gave me, Rimuru-sama. But please don't overexert yourself. You need to rest." Her soft voice was lulling Rimuru into the world of rest, so he chose not to fight it anymore, finally succumbing to the darkness.

Rimuru was quickly made a place to sleep by the fire with offerings given to him for when he would wake up.

"It must have been because he named so many of us at once..." Rigurd said to the air. Kumiko nodded in agreement, making her presence easy to recognize and feel for all the villagers under Rimuru's protection. The two of them watched as two of the female goblins wiped Rimuru as a form of cleaning him.

"He also named Ranga, meaning he named the whole pack, and then proceeded to name an ogre like me. It must've taken a lot of magicules out of him. I estimate that he'll be resting for at least three days before he will come to again.

As predicted by Kumiko, Rimuru recovered in just three days. As he came to, Kumiko was out helping to manage the village in his absence. Haruna was in the tent watching him. It wasn't long after Rimuru woke up that Haruna came out of the tent, calling for Kumiko and Rigurd into the tent.

"Great Rimuru! Have you awakened?!" Rigurd called as he entered the tent. Kumiko slightly rolled her eyes at his energy, but smiling slightly at his personality . Once he had fully transformed into a Hobgoblin, his personality really came through.

"Rigurd! That woman who... was... just..." Rimuru trailed off, looking at Rigurd. "Who are you?!"

"I am Rigurd!"

"What happened in the last three days?!" Rimuru asked, shocked beyond belief.

"It's because you gave us names!" Rigurd began to explain. "Becoming a monster with a name raises one's rank as a monster and causes one to evolve!"

"I see... So that's why you were all so happy just to be getting names." Rimuru concluded. "No wonder that sucked my magicules dry..."

Still not fully aware, Rimuru had yet to detect Kumiko, who took her place behind him and slightly to the left. Yet before she could make herself known, Ranga burst through the tent, creating a giant hole.

"Master, allow me to express my utmost joy at your recovery!"

"That horn... the star on your forehead... You're Ranga right?"

At his recognition, Ranga's tail waved faster, causing dust clouds to form rapidly though the tent, and essentially causing a mini tornado to tear it apart.

Once he was outside, the entire village began celebrating his recovery by tossing him in the air multiple times. As they did this, he took the time to observe the new village.

It's not so much like they evolved. They're like totally different monsters. Rimuru thought.

"That might be because our evolutions can be considered different monsters, Rimuru-sama," Kumiko's voice rang through the crowd. Rimuru searched for Kumiko, only to be surprised when he was met with a woman who resembled Kumiko, but looked more humanoid. Her skin no longer had an ashy color to it, but instead looked a light pale color, like normal human skin. She still had her horns, black eyeshadow under her eyes, her black hair, and golden eyes. However, she now looked like a beautiful young woman in her late teens.

"The male goblins are now Hobgoblins, and the females to Goblinas. I have evolved from an ogre to a Kijin." She explained to him. He nodded, seemingly still too shocked to absorb all the transformations that happened. The only one who really didn't change was Gobta.

At some point, Rimuru called out all the wolves to meet him in the field, Ranga at the front of the pack. Kumiko wasn't needed at this time, however, she still stood by Rimuru, as if acting as his shadow.

"Ranga, if I recall, you were the only Direwolf I named... so why did all of the Direwolves evolve?" Rimuru asked.

"Master, all of us Direwolves are as one. Our brethren are all connected." Ranga explained. "Therefore, my name has become our clan's name."

"Huh... So your entire clan evolved through a shared name?"

"We are no longer the Direwolves. We are the Tempest Wolves!"

"Tempest Wolf..." Rimuru tried out the name on his tongue. "Well, good for you!" he commended. In his joy, Ranga began wagging his tail rapidly, causing another whirlwind to form. Kumiko, already used to Ranga's wind, quickly stuck her scythe into the ground beneath her, her blade cutting easily through the rock she was standing on. With her blade wedged into the ground, she simply held on tightly to ground herself from Ranga's tail.

Rimuru, who wasn't lucky enough to withstand the force of Ranga's wagging tail, got blown off the hillside and began to tumble. As Ranga chased Rimuru down the hill trying to catch him, he shrank in size allowing himself to be a more manageable size. Beside them ran Kumiko, who easily was keeping up with their speeds. She closed her eyes for just a few seconds to enjoy the wind blowing in her face before she set her goal on catching Rimuru before he somehow managed to injure himself.

She didn't make it before Rimuru tumbled off the cliff side, to which she barely managed to stop in time.

Somehow, Rimuru made it back to the village, and was now seated back on the stump. To his left side stood Rigurd. Ranga laid behind him. And Kumiko took a spot behind Ranga and to the right of Rimuru.

"Right, it took five minutes for all of you to quiet down." Rimuru stated as the goblins and wolves turned their attention towards him.

"Rimuru-sama, what did you mean by that?" Rigurd asked for the whole village.

"F-Forget about it." was Rimuru's response.

"As you can see, we're a huge family now," Rimuru continued on with this meeting. "So to avoid problems, I think we should set some rules. There are three rules. I'd like you to uphold them, at the very least. First, no attacking humans. Second, no fighting amongst yourselves. Third, no belittling other races. That's it!"

The entire village stared at Rimuru, comprehending his rules. Rigur raised his hand.

"Why aren't we allowed to attack humans?" he asked. Rigurd clearly didn't like that he was speaking out against Rimuru.

"It's all right," Kumiko filled in for Rimuru, her soft voice calming Rigurd down instantly and bringing everyone's focus to her. While she had been able to converse more with the village and made her presence known to everyone, her voice still brought them into a trance. No matter how many times they heard that soft, chime-like voice, it had some sort of sedative effect that calmed them and called for their attention. "Him asking questions is so that he may comprehend Rimuru-sama's reasoning. If he didn't ask for a reason, they might not understand why the rule exists and henceforth not maintain the rule."

"Right," Rimuru agreed. "The reason is simple. It's because I like humans. That's it!"

"I see! Now I understand!" Rigur replied.

"You understand? Really?" Rimuru asked in shock at how simple his explanation had to be. Rigur smiled brightly at Rimuru in return.

"Um, so, listen... Humans live in groups. If you mess with them, they could retaliate in a big way. And if they came after us in earnest, I doubt we could handle them." Rimuru explained for the benefit of the village. "Beside, getting along benefits us in lots of ways, anyway. Any other questions?"

Gobta raised his hand quickly, his short stature now being towered over by the other Hobgoblins and Goblinas.

"What did you mean by 'no belittling other races'?"

"Well, you've all gotten stronger by evolving, right? It means you shouldn't let that get to your head and push weaker races around. Don't make the mistake of thinking you're better than them. You don't want them getting stronger themselves and retaliating someday, do you?"

"That's about it. Do your best to follow those rules." Rimuru concluded.

"Also, Elder Rigurd, I declare you the Goblin Lord. The lord of the Goblins! Lead your village well." As Rimuru finished, Rigurd began to cry again. Kumiko let out an amused sigh and walked over to pat the elder on his back. She had learned that the elder was very emotional when it came to this stuff while Rimuru was out. He welcomed her reassuring touches as he cried and accepted his position.

"Yes, sir! I, Rigurd, accept this responsibility on pain of death!" he declared as he knelt down on his knee.

"Good. I'm counting on you."

As the meeting concluded. Rimuru ended with assigning jobs to all the goblins and wolves in the village. There was a team to keep watch of the surrounding area as well as to guard the village, a team to gather food, which consisted of the goblins gathering plants and vegetables while the wolves gathered meat, a team that builds houses and a team that makes clothing.

However, problems arose with the last two teams. The goblins themselves had no idea on how to build houses, much less make food. Kumiko was no better since she had spent a majority of her life in the cave or sleeping on trees to avoid her fellow ogres.

"I wouldn't call that a house," Rimuru deadpanned as they observed one of the houses the goblins attempted to make. It didn't take long of them standing there before the entire house collapsed, making Kumiko wince. Had they gone with these designs and slept in them, some of them would surely be injured.

"This is most embarrassing." Rigurd commented himself as he watched the house collapse.

Rimuru decided to move on.

"And as for your clothes..." he looked over to Haruna who was standing nearby. "I-I think they're a little too revealing! That's not necessarily a bad thing, but..."

"There is no one here with the skill to make them," Rigur responded.

"I-If you can't make them, couldn't you get some from somewhere?" Rimuru asked. This sent Elder Rigurd into thought.

"There are some with whom we have attempted to trade a few times. Aside from clothing, they are also quite skilled, so they may know how to build houses, too."

"Hmm. Well, we're getting nowhere this way, so maybe we should go see them. Who, and where are they?"

"If I'm on the same wavelength as Elder Rigurd, I believe he is referring to the Dwarves in Dwargon." Kumiko supplied. Rigurd nodded.

"Dwarves! You mean the famous masters of metalworking?!" Rimuru asked, excitement clear in his body language.

"I'll try going to Dwargon." Rimuru declared. "Rigurd, can you look after the village while I'm away?"

"Yes, sir! Leave everything to me!"

At this, Rimuru prepared for a team to go out to Dwargon. The team consisted of Rimuru and Ranga, Gobta, Rigur, two other goblins, four wolves, and Kumiko. Kumiko had been offered a wolf to ride on the way, but she assured the group that she would have no trouble keeping up with the wolves at their speeds.

"All right, we'll see you later!" Rimuru called out to the rest of the village. The village in reply called for Rimuru's safe travel and return.

Rimuru looked at Kumiko, who nodded as her signal that she was ready when he is. With a simple look at Ranga, he took off, leading the other four wolves were carrying the goblins. Kumiko ran easily behind Ranga and in the middle of the formation the wolves had formed. And with well wishes from the goblin village as the group continued farther and farther away, they made their way to Dwargon.

Up next: In the Kingdom of the Dwarves

Chapter Text

The group of goblins, wolves, slime and kijin raced alongside the Ameld River, heading toward Dwargon, the city of Dwarves. Rimuru, Gobta, Rigur and two other goblins sat, clinging onto the Tempest Wolves, leaning forward and slightly down to ensure they don't fall off. That is, everyone but Gobta was doing that. Gobta was hanging on for dear life, his head thrown back as the wind battered him. Gobta was assigned as their guide since he had claimed to have gone to Dwargon before. Kumiko ran with ease alongside the group. Every so often, she'd take a quick glance at Gobta to make sure he was still hanging onto his wolf. It would be a shame if the poor thing were to fall off.

They were making their way into the city with the goal to find artisans for clothing and housing in the goblin village. As both Kumiko and Rimuru had seen, the goblins had no skills for either.

The wolves seemed to increase their speed slowly, shortening the time it would take for the to reach the city. Rimuru, being the kind leader that he was, worried.

"Hey," Rimuru stated, calling out to Ranga. "No need to push yourself too hard. Plus, if you go too fast, Kumiko might not be able to keep up."

"No need to worry about me, Rimuru-sama. I can keep up with the Tempest Wolves just fine. If they wish to go faster, then I will oblige," came Kumiko's monotone, yet melodic voice.

Ranga glanced over at her, nodding his big head before replying to Rimuru.

"Sir," was all he said, but right after, he and the rest of the Tempest Wolves sped up. Kumiko accordingly adjusted her speed to keep up.

"Yahhhhhhh!" Rimuru screamed out. "Why are you going even faster?"

Within a few hours, the wolves slowed down, stopping by the river to rest and recovered their stamina. Gobta leaped off the wolves and promptly collapsed onto the ground, breathing heavily to recover from his not-so-comfortable ride on the wolves. Rigur and Rimuru sat towards the forest edge, facing the river. The rest of the goblins were by the river drinking water and relaxing. Kumiko was up a tree, keeping a look out from her perch.

"Rigur-kun, who gave your brother his name?" Rimuru asked off-handedly. Rigur immediately assumed a position of respect and faced the small slime.

"Sir! I'm told he received his name from a passing Demon called Lord Gelmud."

Demon he says. Interesting. I wonder which demon made time to name a goblin from a small village such as this. Kumiko couldn't help but overhear from her perch, not that they were discussing anything sensitive.

"He said he saw promise in him," Rigur continued. Kumiko glanced down at them when she heard that.

As much as I am happy for Rigur, the older brother, to have receive his name, it couldn't have been that easy. Demons usually want something out of it. Kumiko couldn't help but be suspicious of this 'Lord Gelmud' demon that Rigur spoke of. Though, I suppose it isn't my place to get involved in at the moment. Kumiko focused most of her attention back on the surrounding forest.

"Gel...?" Rimuru seemed confused.

"Gelmud," Rigur clarified. "He's an officer in the Demon Lord's army."

With that, Rimuru went silent. Kumiko glanced down when he was silent for an extended period of time, just checking on his well-being. He looked deep in thought, staring at Ranga. Rimuru wasn't sharing his thoughts with the girl, but knowing Rimuru, she could guess that he was thinking about Ranga's loyalty to the slime. As Ranga looked over after finishing drinking some water from the stream, Rimuru motioned for him to follow him as they walked some ways down the stream. Kumiko, knowing it was a conversation Rimuru needed to have, maintained her position in the tree and continued her lookout. She already knew that Ranga was no danger to Rimuru. He was fiercely loyal to the small slime, despite their initial encounter.

After they rested for the night, the group was off again. Kumiko was once again running alongside the group. She, of course, had the option to travel to the destination using shadows, but what good would her being at the location be if Rimuru was left unprotected?

The travel itself was fairly mundane. The few monsters who dared tried to attack were immediately blocked and fended off by the hyper-vigilant kijin. As instructed by Rimuru, she didn't kill any of them, just warded them and sent them scrambling home from her aura of killing intent. Despite her stoic face, the monsters knew that if they were to try to attack the group, the girl wouldn't let them go free.

Night fell again and the group was now huddled around a campfire. The Tempest Wolves had all fallen asleep behind their respective riders. Kumiko was once again up a tree. She didn't mind the cold too much. After all, she had spent years in a cold cave with Veldora before continuing with Rimuru.

"Hey, Gobta," Rimuru called out.

"Sir!"

"What is the town we're heading for like?"

"W-Well, it's officially called the 'Armed Nation of Dwargon.' It's a beautiful city constructed from a modified natural cave system and it's home to not only dwarves, but elves, humans and lots more!" Gobta explained.

"Elves!" Rimuru shouted out, surprised.

"You sure know about the city, Gobta," came Kumiko's voice from the distance. "We were right to choose you as the guide." Gobta blushed slightly at the small praise before he continued.

"The dwarf king, Gazel Dwargo, is known as the Hero King. He's deeply admired by all the people."

"Elves..." Rimuru appeared to be daydreaming.

Rigur looked over at the slime and noticed, calling out his name which snapped the slime out of his stupor.

"I-Is it okay for monsters like me to enter Dwargon?" Rimuru asked immediately. It was a legitimate concern, even for Kumiko and the Tempest Wolves. Ogres and Kijin were viewed as a more violent race among the monsters in the forests due to their attack prowess. They also generally weren't viewed with the best mindset due to their nature and their humanoid look while having a monster's aura.

"No need to worry," Rigur responded. "Dwargon is a neutral free-trade city. All fighting is prohibited by the king.

"I see..." Rimuru said, thoughtfully. He turned towards the tree that Kumiko had perched herself on. "Hear that, Kumiko? Don't fight in the city, even if someone is being rude. No physical attacks, though you can scare them off."

"Yes, Rimuru-sama. I will follow your order," came her short, affirmative reply

"And that's made possible by the Armed Nation of Dwargon's immense military might," Rigur continued, clearly in awe of the military prowess that Dwargon showed. "It's said that the dwarven army has been undefeated for a thousand years."

"A thousand years!" Rimuru exclaimed in surprise. "That is impressive!"

No one would be dumb enough to get on that king's bad side. Rimuru thought, projecting his thoughts slightly. Kumiko heard and understood the underlying command. Regardless of what happens in that city, Kumiko was instructed to restrain herself, stay calm and keep herself out of trouble. Rimuru didn't want to be one of the ones on the king's watch list.

Gobta, hearing Rigur's comments, shrunk back.

"Last time I went there, they picked a fight with me outside the gate..." Gobta started mumbling, onto to have Rigur cut him off with a strong insistence that nothing would happen. Kumiko narrowed her eyes slightly as she picked up on what Gobta had said.

Trouble at the gate huh? These humans are smart. Technically they aren't inside the city yet so they're welcome to do as they please. If they attack Rimuru-sama, I won't hesitate to retaliate.

Rigur continued his attempts to distract Rimuru from Gobta's comments for the rest of the night until they fell asleep. The next morning, their makeshift camp was quickly disbanded and they were on their way again.

It's said that it can take a Goblin two months or more to walk to the Dwarven kingdom. Not only was the walk long, but it was also dangerous at times, such as the path through the Canaat Mountains. Kumiko easily made her way along the paths with the wolves, using her shadow traveling powers to jump from ledge to ledge safely when the chance came. It was a wonder that the clumsy Gobta managed to make this trip from the village to the kingdom and back. Thankfully, with the help of Ranga and the rest of the Tempest Wolves, the same distance was traveled in just three days.

Within the daylight of the fourth day, they managed to reach the outskirts of the forest by the gate into Dwargon. The group, albeit small compared to the size of the village, was still too much for Rimuru to keep track of while he was in there searching for elves - ahem, I mean, dwarves.

"Are you sure you want to go in with just Gobta and Kumiko, Great Rimuru?" Rigur asked as the rest of the group stood, watching Rimuru walk out of the forest line in slight worry.

"Yes. We don't want to draw too much attention by going in a big group," was Rimuru's swift reply. "I'll take Gobta along to show me the way. Kumiko will come along as a guard, though thinking about it now, she is a risk if a fight breaks out..."

Rimuru trailed off, staring at the stoic kijin girl who stared back.

"You'll come as my advisor. Keep your weapon closed and don't attack anyone."

Kumiko nodded at the command, though she quickly found a loophole. She wouldn't attack anyone and her weapon would remain closed, as promised. Even then, she dealt plenty of damage and fear with her weapon closed, and if it was a defensive move in the protection of Rimuru, she was sure he wouldn't mind.

"But..." Rigur trailed off.

"We'll be fine!" Gobta insisted.

"Master..." Ranga whined.

"Don't worry!" Rimuru reassured the rest of the group. "We'll be back soon, so wait for us here."

With that, Rimuru turned around with Kumiko and Gobta on his tail. The rest of the group sighed in defeat as Ranga let out a howl at Rimuru's departure.

A few short minutes later, the trio found themselves standing at the end of the ever growing line into Dwargon.

"This is quite a line," Rimuru voiced out, staring at the line made of human and beast-kind alike. "They must be strict about checking everyone."

"Once we're inside, we can move around as we please, though," Gobta said, addressing Rimuru's unsaid question. Kumiko stood behind the two of them, scanning all the beings around her and assessing their danger towards Rimuru.

"As we please, huh?" Rimuru's voice whispered slightly as he went off into his own fantasy.

Suddenly, a rough voice behind the trio alerted the three. Kumiko turned around, her stance immediately shifting slightly to allow her to move quickly without detection. Her eyes narrowed in on the humans that walked up behind them and immediately knew there was trouble brewing.

"Hey! Hey, hey, hey," the taller man with the cross shaped scar called.

"What's a couple of monsters doing here?" The shorter, stout man said.

"We're not inside yet, so we can still kill it, right?" the first man asked rhetorically, pointing his knife threateningly at Rimuru and Gobta. Kumiko's grip on her weapon tightened. Her hand was itching to open her scythe and reap their souls, but she had promised to obey Rimuru. Even though she had found loopholes, she knew Rimuru still wouldn't approve if she were to injure them, which was exactly what she wanted to do. The two men glanced up from the two smaller monsters, only to be met with the ferocious golden eyes of Kumiko. His perverted eyes then traveled to her large breasts.

"You may be a monster, but I'll be willing to let you live if you'll keep me company," said the first man nastily. He continued eyeing Kumiko, oblivious to her growing rage. Even without hearing her thoughs, Rimuru knew that had he given permission or any leeway for her to attack, these two men would be piles of bone before them.

"Hey, Gobta-kun, did you hear something?" Rimuru asked to the shaking hobgoblin. The people stand in the line had turned around to see the commotion, but appeared to have no intention to step in out of fear.

"Yes, I did..." Gobta trembled out. "I was beat up here last time I tried to get in, too. It's the fate of us weak monsters."

Kumiko's eyes narrowed as she took a step to put herself between the men and Gobta. Gobta might not look the strongest, but the clumsy hobgoblin had a special place in the village and she would protect him. Rimuru could take care of himself. Gobta could as well, but only if he controlled his fear.

She took her double bladed staff out of the ground where she had stabbed it in out of rage. The blade glinted dangerously as she swung it in front of Rimuru. The two men eyed the blade, but their minds got to the better of them and the first man smirked at Kumiko.

"I like a girl who has some fire in her. You're pretty hot for a monster. I'll show you my blade when we're alone, how 'bout it?"

Kumiko's expression never wavered, but her rage was increasing tenfold with each word he said. Despite Rimuru's command, she couldn't help but open up one of her scythe blades, causing the two guys to take a step back, though their own weapon was still drawn. Rimuru said nothing, knowing that if he had a choice, these two would have been devoured by him when they uttered the first perverted word to Kumiko.

"Hey, weakling monsters! Don't you ignore us!" the second man grumbled out. His voice grated on Kumiko's nerves.

"Wait, isn't a talking slime pretty rare?" the first man asked his companion, his disgusting eyes still glancing back to Kumiko every now and then. "I bet we could make a fortune off of it!"

"Gobta-kun," Rimuru called out, his voice stern. "Do you remember our first rule?"

"Of course, sir!" Gobta said as he saluted the slime. "Rule one: no attacking humans!"

"All right, now, close your eyes and cover your ears," Rimuru said aloud to Gobta. "Don't look this way, whatever you do."

You'll have a chance to scare them after, Kumiko. Rimuru thought as he projected his thoughts to Kumiko. But only scare. Don't harm.

"Got it!" Gobta shouted as he crouched down, closed his eyes and covered his ears. Kumiko nodded at Rimuru as her affirmation that she would only scare them.

"Now, then..." Rimuru trailed off as he hopped towards the offending men.

"Hey, there..." Rimuru stated threateningly. "I'm a generous sort, so I'll spare you if you leave now. Get out of here." Behind Rimuru stood Kumiko, her eyes overshadowed as her anger rolled off her in waves. Her blade glinted dangerously in the sun.

"You're just a puny, little weakling monster hiding behind a stupid little monster girl! Don't you mess with us!" The second man raged at the two monsters, both of which stood their ground. If anything his yelling just irritated the two more.

"You're dead now! I was gonna let you live, bu you've pissed us off! And then I'll have that hot monster behind you to myself!" The first guy continued his disgusting advances on Kumiko, who could barely stand it. The second blade flipped open behind her as her aura got darker at his words. He would only kill Rimuru over her dead body and she knew with her [Unrivaled Strategy] that the only way she would lose is if she or Rimuru willingly surrendered. Neither were going to happen this afternoon.

Ah, that's something a weakling would say. Rimuru thought as he projected his thought at Kumiko, hoping his small comment would calm her down before she really beheaded the idiots. It didn't help all that much, but she understood Rimuru's intentions and took a small step back, indicating that she wasn't launching her attack. The step was small though, and Rimuru was able to interpret it as a message to finish this quickly or she will do it.

"A puny, little weakling monster?" Rimuru parroted. "Are you referring to me?"

"Who else would we be referring to?" the second guy yelled, pointing his finger threateningly at Rimuru. It took a lot of mental power in Kumiko not to engage and snap his finger clean off for disrespecting Rimuru.

"Oh! Do I look like a slime to you?" Rimuru taunted as he laughed at the two men. "How long have you had the mistaken idea that I'm a slime? Allow me to show you my true form!"

With that, Rimuru used his [Mimic] to transfer into a larger-than-full-sized Tempest Star Wolf. He growled threateningly at the two men.

The second man drew his sword and Kumiko lifted her own up, ready to defend despite the fact the she knew Rimuru wouldn't get hurt by such imbeciles.

"You just changed your appearance," the second man dismissed.

"Did you think you could scare us off with that?!" the first man joined in.

"Good grief," Rimuru growled out, his annoyance clear as day. "All right, fine! Come at me!"

"Now you die!" the stout man said. Kumiko readied her own scythe and got into a stance to rush them.

"You guys get him, too!" The first man said, calling to three other companions behind him. Kumiko gave them all a quick glance but quickly determined that none out of the 5 men that were fighting were going to be of any challenge to either of them. The first man turned back to face Rimuru, his eyes catching Kumiko's form as he did.

"You're coming home with me after this, sweetcheeks." Kumiko shivered in absolute disgust.

"Take this!"

"[Slash Attack]!"

"[Heavy Hitting Cut]!"

"[Fireball]!"

"[Magic Wall]!"

None of the five attacks did anything to Rimuru's mimic form. Kumiko had used her scythe and ice affinity to cool down the fireball that was sent into a large rock mass and sent it flying back to the five idiots with ease. They quickly ducked to avoid getting hit flat in the face, though they felt the large boulder skim the hairs on their necks. The group who stood behind the [Magic Wall] that one of the magic users had put up was in shock at the effortless defense.

"Did you guys just do something?" Rimuru said, further beating down their ego. "Now it's my turn."

Rimuru took a threatening step forwards. Kumiko was slightly off to the left of him and her eyes trained on the five men hiding behind the green magical barrier.

With a loud growl, Rimuru used [Menace] and a strong wind blew outwards from Rimuru, hitting everyone in the surrounding area off their feet. Kumiko barely held on as she quickly stabbed the scythe into the ground and braced herself for the strong winds. The skill shattered the magical barrier the five men were hiding behind and tossed them away.

"Hey! You there!" some dwarven guards shouted as they ran out from the city gates. Kumiko looked at the guards and then at the fainted group of five that had dared to cross Rimuru. She rolled her neck, hearing some cracks before facing away from the men and standing with Rimuru. It was a shame she wouldn't be able to get revenge on those perverts, but what Rimuru did was just barely good enough for her. No doubt all five of them had soiled themselves judging by the stains on their pants and the faint, disgusting odor coming from that side. In fact, perhaps it was better that she didn't exact her revenge on them. She wouldn't want to walk into the city smelling like shit.

The guards ran up, only to be shocked as they came face to face with a small blue slime, a curled up hobgoblin and a relaxed, stoic kijin.

Regardless, due to the panic Rimuru had caused with his roar, the three were quickly taken into the city and thrown into a jail cell. In all honestly, Kumiko thought that dwarves would be smarter. Slimes technically had no definite shape so Rimuru could easily slip through the bars. And even before then, Rimuru himself was small enough to simply walk through the bars without even a slight struggle.

Gobta was tied up, sleeping on the ground while Rimuru and Kumiko were up and free. They had tied Kumiko's arms on the way into the city, but untied them shortly after reaching the cell, probably knowing that she could very easily tear through the rope. She had then taken her place leaning on the wall, her arms folded and her guard lowered. Her scythe was taken from her and it was sitting on a table just out of reach from the cell bars, but it didn't phase Kumiko one bit. She could fight just as well without her weapon of choice.

"Well?" one of the guards asked. His name was Kaido, the captain of security in the city.

"Actually, that's all." Rimuru said as he finished his report.

"Well, since you're a slime and a goblin, they probably saw you as easy targets. You also have an attractive lady with you there. I'm surprised they paid no mind to the fact that she was Kijin and could easily beat them with a swing of that scythe."

"I was only trying to scare them off, really. And Kumiko's harmless. At least, she is in this city. I'm very sorry for all the trouble!" Rimuru said, apologizing.

"Well, what you've said agrees with witness reports. Just this once, I'll let you three -"

He was cut off as another dwarf came running into the cell, panicked.

"Captain! We've got trouble! There's an Armorsaurus in the mine!"

"What?! Where's the suppression force?"

"They're already en route, but Garm andhis brothers were deep in the mine gathering magic ore, and they were badly hurt!

"Do we have potions?"

"Not enough. We've allotted most of them to war preparations." Kaido grimaced at the idea of not being able to provide his fellow men the potions they needed. Kumiko opened her eyes slightly to see Rimuru filling up the barrel with the stored up potions within him.

"Rimuru-sama," Kumiko said lightly, her voice soft and unheard to the two panicked dwarves. "Perhaps I can help as well. With my skill [Shadow Travel], it would take but a minute for me to appear at the mines and take down the Armorsaurus. It would allow us to gain their favor. Rimuru nodded at the idea and agreed as he finished filling up the barrel with potions.

"Start looking for potions!" Rimuru and Kumiko glanced up as they tuned back into the two dwarves' conversation.

"Sir," Rimuru called, getting his attention, but to no avail.

"Gather all you can, whatever it takes!"

Rimuru reached out with one of his slime limbs, tapping Kaido's shoulder. He glanced down to see Rimuru standing outside the cell.

"How dare you leave your cell?!" he asked as Rimuru waved his limb in greeting.

"Now, now. This isn't the time for that, is it? Look." Rimuru used his flailing slime limb to create and arrow and pointed at the full barrel of healing potions. "You need that, don't you?"

"What is that?" Kaido asked, confused.

"Healing potion! The best around! You can drink it or apply it directly!."

"Huh?"

"Why not give it a try?" Rimuru prodded. Kaido stared at the barrel a bit longer before he made his decision and went to unlock the cell door.

"Captain! You're really going to trust the words of a monster?" The other dwarf asked.

"We don't have time!" Kaido replied. Kumiko approved of his decision. He was doing what he could to save his comrades. Closing the barrel off with a lid and giving it a strong hit to seal it, they carried the entire barrel out of the cell.

"Let's go!" Kaido said.

"Wait! One more thing!" Rimuru called out before they left. The two of them looked down at the slime. "I can send Kumiko there to defeat the Armorsaurus in just a quick minute if you would like. The suppression force may be on its way but I'm sure the longer your comrades are trapped down in the mines, the more dangerous it is for them. Why not have Kumiko defeat it quickly so there is no more damage? She'll come back quickly and remain by my side afterwards. Slime's word."

Kaido looked at the slime, then at the Kijin who leaned on the wall though her attention was on the conversation. He weighed his options before nodding with Rimuru's suggestion. As soon as she got the go-ahead, Kumiko and her scythe disappeared in a flash of black mist. The two dwarves stood slightly in shock at her disappearance before they quickly made their way out. Of course, not after demanding that Rimuru return to his cell though.

When Kumiko arrived at the scene of carnage, she immediately noticed the trapped dwarves hiding the best they could from the enraged beast. With quick movements she made her way to the dwarves, startling them as she appeared suddenly.

"Do not worry," her soft voice chimed, instantly calming the injured dwarves. "Rimuru-sama sent me here ahead of your comrades to dispatch the Armorsaurus so that no more harm will befall you. Your comrades are on their way with healing potions. You're safe."

With the quick explanation, she leaped towards the Armorsaurus, her scythe blades flicking out simultaneously as she spun towards the monster. Without even detecting her presence, the Armorsaurus was getting hurt with no way to defend itself. She felt a tad guilty for fighting in a way that didn't even allow the beast to defend itself, but she did promise Rimuru that she would be quick. And so a quick finish it was. With one more leap and a push off of the cavern wall, she easily spun and sliced clean through the Armorsaurus, beheading it and quickly dicing it into little bits to prevent the dead corpse from blocking the cave path.

Within a few short minutes, Kaido and the other guard appeared with the healing potions. They stopped in shock for a moment at the diced Armorsaurus and realized truly how deadly the woman in front of them was. She nodded to them and motioned that their comrades were at the back of the cavern. With that, she used the shadows to travel back to Rimuru's side in the cell.

Though the Armorsaurus was quickly dispatched, no one came in to check on the three through the night. Rimuru began to get bored of being in the cell and started playing around with his threads, making all sorts of shapes and even tying Gobta up. Surprisingly, he was still sound asleep despite being hung upside down.

"This guy sure is a deep sleeper," Rimuru said out loud, staring at the hanging Gobta.

After a few short minutes of watching Gobta sleeping upside down, Kaido and the three dwarves from the mines appeared at the cell doors.

"You saved them. I thank both of you." Kaido said to both Rimuru and Kumiko.

"I heard you gave us that potion! Thank you! Man did the little lady arrive at a good time. That thing nearly killed us."

"My arm was nearly ripped off. Even if I'd survived, I would've lost my job. Thank you! And the little lady here sure was a sight for sore eyes, taking down that thing by herself. Sure saved us from a lot more pain. Thank you to you too!"

"Huu Huu"

The three dwarves from the mines all said their thanks. Rimuru accepted their praise as Kumiko nodded and bowed very slightly to the dwarves to show her appreciation for their compliments.

As the three walked away, Kaido walked up to the gate and unlocked it. Though granted, the only one who couldn't just have escaped was Gobta, who was still sleeping upside down.

"Are we free?" Rimuru asked Kaido.

"Naturally," he replied with a smile.

Soon Rimuru and Kumiko found themselves in front of a table with warm bread, soup and a drink in front of them.

"I've never seen such remarkable potion before." Kaido praised Rimuru. "Not to mention, your companion there managed to stop the Armorsaurus from causing more damage. It won't be enough to thank you, but if you ever need anything, just ask me."

"In that case..." Rimuru said immediately. "We come from a newly developed hobgoblin village. We need skilled workers to help build homes, weapons and clothes."

"I see... In that case, I'll introduce you to a skilled blacksmith." Kaido immediately agreed

"I'd appreciate that!"

"No need for thanks! Just leave it to me!"

Kaido offered for them to stay in his home for the night, which Rimuru quickly agreed to. Kumiko stated that she was going to keep a lookout, despite being inside the city. She trusted the guards and she trusted Kaido, but she couldn't shake off the feeling that something was off. She was forgetting something and it made her uneasy.

The next day after the two were rested up, they went to explore Dwargon. Well, Rimuru did at least. Kumiko stayed a few steps behind him, accompanying him through the streets with her usual silent demeanor. Rimuru had grown used to it though, and enjoyed chatting along while she trailed behind him.

"I can tell i'm in dwarven country!" Rimuru stated in excitement. "it looks so much more civilized than the Goblin Village."

"This way." Kaido called out to Rimuru and Kumiko. "Don't get lost, now."

Clearly, Kaido had seen how fascinated with the city Rimuru was. He was currently leading them to the blacksmith that he was introducing. It would be a pain to lose the two in such an area.

When they reached the blacksmith, a shining white and golden armor set was at the front greeting them. Rimuru couldn't help but admire. Despite her initial disinterest in the city, even Kumiko couldn't help but mentally praise the workmanship of the armor as well as the weapons around the shop. This truly was the work of a skilled dwarf. If she remembered correctly, her weapon was also made by dwarves, though it had been made long ago and passed down in her family.

"Yeah, that right there." Kaido said as he observed both Rimuru and Kumiko staring at the glowing sword. "It's the guy who made that. The blacksmith we're about to meet."

Kumiko nodded her head in approval of this blacksmith. Regardless of the fact that she hadn't even seen the dwarf yet, the sword showed clear skill. Anyone with this amount of skill was considered worthy of respect in her eyes.

Kaido led them around to the back of the shop. Rimuru wasn't quite sure if he was allowed in the back, but if Kaido was leading them, he was sure that it would be fine. Right?

"This is the place," Kaido said as they stood in front of a door. Above it was a metal plaque of a sword and an axe crossed. "I guarantee his skills are top-notch!"

"Hey, Bro, you here?" Kaido shouted as he walked up to the door. Rimuru looked at Kumiko, silently asking her what she thought right now. She looked back and nodded, as if giving him her approval to accept this blacksmith whoever they may be. She got a feel that everything would be just fine with this blacksmith despite that ever persistent feeling within her that she was forgetting something. It had been sitting at the back of her mind since last night.

The trio walked in, only to see a dwarf working hard on a sword by the furnace. The dwarf, clearly a male, was hammering the slab of metal that was to become a sword on the anvil.

"Hey Kaido. Give me a second," was all he said as the dwarf returned to hammering the metal.

"Sure," Kaido said easily.

"Forgive us for interrupting," Rimuru stated, making his presence known. Kumiko bowed and softly said her quick greetings as well to the dwarf.

"That's my older brother, Kaijin." Kaido introduced. A sound to the side of the trio captured their attention. As they turned their heads, they were met with the three dwarves from the mine.

Kaijin looked down and then looked around at the rest of the group.

"A slime accompanied by a kijin?" he asked in confusion.

"Friends of yours, boys?" Kaijin asked the three dwarves.

"Kaijin, this is the pair we told you about," Garm, the oldest brother, stated.

"They're the ones that saved us when we were hurt yesterday," Dord, the middle brother, followed up.

"Huu, huu," Myrd, the youngest and the silent brother hummed in agreement.

"Oh, so it's these two!"

Kaijin got down in front of Rimuru, taking off his goggles as he walked around his anvil. He bowed to Rimuru and bowed again to Kumiko.

"You have my thanks."

"Oh, really, it was nothing... or maybe it was?" Rimuru seemed confused.

"It was our pleasure to help," Kumiko said, saving Rimuru the confusion. Her voice, as always, was like a breeze and the dwarves instantly relaxed a bit as her voice chimed through the air.

"So what can I do for you two?" Kaijin asked, staring at Rimuru.

Rimuru quickly explained what the two were here for and Kaijin immediately understood.

"Hmm. I see. I get what you're saying," he said with his eyes closed complementing the request the two were giving. "But I'm sorry... I'm pretty backed up at the moment. Thanks to the impossible order a certain numskull minister put in..."

"Impossible order?" Rimuru asked out of curiosity. Kumiko was more interested in who this 'numskull minister' was.

"We might be going to war soon, so he asked for twenty longswords... by the end of the week, no less," Kaijin replied easily, a hint of annoyance in his tone as he talked about the order. "I'm short on materials so I've only made one so far."

"Then, couldn't you have told him it wasn't possible and refused?" Kaido asked, confused and annoyed for his brother.

"Don't be dumb," Kaijin said in response. "I did tell him that, at first! But then that damned Minister Vesta said 'My, my! The great Kaijin that everyone calls the best blacksmith around can't handle such a simple task?' He had the nerve to say that! Could you have let that slide? That bastard"

"Minister Vesta... Would you like me to track him down and take care of it, Rimuru-sama?" Kumiko asked, her voice dead serious.

"No, Kumiko. We said no violence and no attacks."

"Haha. I wish you could just beat him up for me, little lady. I heard and saw what you did to the Armorsaurus. Impressive. The monster was cut up so cleanly you could use and sell almost every part of that monster there. The scales and armor on the thing were clean and blood-free too. What great materials!"

"I thank you for your praise,"Kumiko said with another slight bow.

"Ever the serious one are you..." Kaijin said as he studied the Kijin in front of him.

"You say you're short on materials?" Rimuru asked, breaking Kaijin from his attempts to pull an emotion out of the stoic girl.

"Yeah, I need a special ore called magic ore."

"We were trying to dig some up yesterday," Garm offered.

"But that Armorsaurus showed up." Dord finished.

Myrd hummed in agreement to his two brothers.

"But that mine was pretty well cleared out, anyways." Garm said again.

"There wasn't any ore left," Dord restated.

Myrd hummed again.

"And even if I did have the materials, it takes two weeks to make twenty swords!" Kaijin stated in frustration as he hammered the sword he was working on previously. "Yet I have to get them to the king in five days. They contract smiths all over the kingdom and allotted the work to all of us. If I can't do it, my certification as a smith could be revoked."

Wait. Magic Ore? Don't I have some of that?

Rimuru started laughing, almost evilly, confusing the five dwarves in the room. Kaido looked helplessly to the Kijin standing behind the mental slime, but she only shrugged her shoulders at his behavior.

"Old man..." Rimuru stated dramatically. With a light 'phew,' Rimuru spit out a magic ore. Only, it wasn't any normal magic ore.

"Can you use that?" he asked. Kaijin took a good look at it and quickly realized that it wasn't the normal quality of magic ore used.

"Wait! Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait! That's magic ore! And it's unbelievably pure!"

"Hey, old ma, are you blind?"

"Huh?" Kaijin lifted the googles off his face. He had put them back on when he returned to working on the sword.

As he looked at it, his eyes bugged out.

"It's not even magic ore! It's already been processed! It's a cluster of magisteel!"

"Precisely!"

"I can make even stronger swords with this!" Kaijin stated in awe. "It can't be... This entire cluster is..."

He turned to face Rimuru in disbelief.

"Y-You're sure I can have this? I'll pay you handsomely, of course!"

"Well, now... I wonder what I should do..." Rimuru whistled, dragging out the anxiety in the older dwarf.

"What is it you want?" Kaijin asked in desperation. "I'll do anything in my power for it!"

"That's what I wanted to hear." Rimuru stated ominously. As emotionless as Kumiko normally was, she couldnt help but let out a breath of amusement as she leaned back against the wall where there was no sharp instruments or flaming coal. Rimuru sure was enjoying playing this superior role right now. He could do well with trading for whatever he wanted with the amount of both raw and processed material in his body.

Rimuru jumped onto the magic crystal to be closer to Kaijin's face. Rimuru stared him down from his perch, causing the anxious Kaijin to swallow nervously.

"I'd like you to find some fellow artisans who'll come to my village to teach their crafts to the villagers," Rimuru stated simply. The climatic moment suddenly deflated since the request Rimuru made wasn't all that big of a deal. Kumiko couldn't help but have a slight smile in her amusement, not that anyone saw. Kumiko wasn't 'emotionless' as her old village might've labeled her as. She just wasn't as prone to showing them as others. In battle, she learned the hard way that emotions give away too much and so she trained herself to not react to most situations.

"That's all you want?" Kaijin asked in disbelief.

"Our priority right now is the 'shelter and clothing' part of food, shelter and clothing," Rimuru explained. "I'd also like to get some clothing for future use, as well as weapons and armor."

Kaijin stared at Rimuru for a bit as if processing, then smiled and pounded his chest.

"That's easy!" Kaijin said.

"But..." Garm cut in.

"Even if you start on those swords now..." Dord tailed off.

"Can you finish in time?" Rimuru asked, still sitting atop the magisteel.

"Well, I'll do what I can," Kaijin said, somewhat downhearted. twenty swords in one week was simply asking for the impossible, but Kaijin sure as hell was going to try. "All right! Let's get started!"

Perhaps I can use some of the magistell in me to help Kaijin make the swords. It is a win win for the both of us since he help with our request. What about it Kumiko?

Kumiko glanced down at the slime to find him looking at her. She thought about Rimuru's proposal and saw nothing wrong so she agreed with a nod of her head.

Rimuru jumped off the magisteel cluster and headed to Kaijin.

"Hey, old man..." Kaijin looked up from the sword he was hammering. "You said you've already made one, right? Can I see it?"

Within a few short minutes, a beautiful glowing sword was brought out. Garm held it in both his hands, one knee on the ground as if waiting to be knighted by the king.

"It's magnificent," Rimuru stated and Kumiko couldn't help but agree. "Even an untrained eye like mine can tell you have real skill."

Rimuru examined it for a bit more, looking at the components of the sword.

"The blade looks like its shining."

"It has a magisteel core," Kaijin explained to Rimuru. "Put simply, it's a sword that matures in the image of its user.

"I'm going to borrow this sword," Rimuru stated, not waiting for permission as he consumed the sword whole. The dwarves began to slightly panic as their one and only magisteel sword was devoured.

"Rimuru, you...!"

"Jut give me a second!" Rimuru replied, not stating much. Kumiko filled in slightly to ease their worries.

"No need to worry. Rimuru-sama will not devour your hard work as easily as that. Trust Rimuru-sama, it'll be worth your time."

As soon as she finished talking, Rimuru backed up and began convulsing his slime body. Within the next few seconds, he began spitting out magisteel sword after sword until all twenty were laid out in front of him.

"Twenty longswords made from magisteel clusters!" Rimuru stated triumphantly.

The next day, Kaijin made his delivery to the capital, with twenty magisteel longswords in tow. Kumiko accompanied him on the order of Rimuru to protect the longswords, though Kaijin insisted that it wasn't necessary. Rimuru determined that it was better to be safe and sent Kumiko off with Kaijin. At the very least, Kaijin had learned that despite her quiet disposition, she made good company and was a wonderful traveling companion to spew his worries to.

That night, he invited Rimuru back to his forge and prospected the idea of a party.

"I made my delivery on time, thanks to you!" He explained.

"But you don't have to do that for me," Rimuru rebutted.

"Aw, come on! There'll be lots of cute elf girls there!" Garm stated. And with that, Kumiko knew Rimuru had lost to the idea of elf girls. She sighed in resignation at his sudden enthusiasm as the dwarves explained more about the location of the party.

"C'mon, Rimuru. It won't be a party without you," Kaijin probed on.

"Well, if you insist, I suppose I'll have to." Rimuru caved.

"What about you, little lady?" Kaijin asked as he picked up one of Kumiko's hands and lifted it as he bowed slightly, as if asking her for a dance. She let him do so, showing her trust in him, but her face remained stoic as she declined.

"I will return to the camp my comrades have set up at the forest line outside of the city. I give them regular updates on Rimuru-sama so they do not fret. I will be back at the end of your party."

Kaijin stared at her as she stared back. He sighed and lightly let her hand go.

"If you insist on running away..." he trailed off as he made his way to Rimuru and the other dwarves. Throwing his arms around Garm and Myrd's shoulders, and grinned and pulled them up from their seats. "We'll have to enjoy this party enough for Kumiko as well!" Kaijin stated excitedly. Kumiko simply shook her head and made her way out behind them while they headed off to their party.

As she made her way out of the city gates, she couldn't help but muse at how Rigur and the other goblins were going to react about Rimuru taking a vacation in the city to see the elves. Most likely, they'll be jealous. Perhaps it was one of the reasons they were so disheartened when Rimuru said they wouldn't be accompanying him into the city.

Within a few minutes, she found their camp and made her way over. The group excited welcomed her to sit and fill them in. As expected the hobgoblins did have a goal to meet the elves, as did some of the tempest wolves apparently. They all laughed it off in good humor though. However, something still felt wrong to Kumiko. She couldn't shake this feeling off and it had been there since the night they helped the Kaido out.

And then, with a simple question from Rigur, it was solved.

"Where's Gobta?"

Kumiko forgot Gobta in the jail cell!

Up next: Hero King, Gazel Dwargo

Chapter Text

The next morning, Kumiko still felt bad about forgetting Gobta to the point that her normally expressionless face was now marred with worry for the younger goblin. Rimuru had allowed her to stay with the group overnight since he and the dwarves decided rather than going to the tavern late at night, they would go the next day. However, this only gave her more time to worry about the goblin in the cell. Surely Rimuru would allow her to shadow travel and retrieve the poor thing, would he not? At one point, the other hobgoblins and tempest wolves started trying to cheer her up in various ways. They brushed off the fact that Gobta was left in the dungeon by simply laughing it off and saying that he was probably still sleeping. Rigur lightly patted her shoulder and said that had Rimuru thought Gobta's presence be needed, he would've had Kumiko retrieve him right away.

At this, Kumiko finally relaxed. It was true. If Rimuru needed Gobta, he would've said so. Perhaps it was Rimuru's plan that he stay there. A voice at the back of Kumiko's head kept insisting that Rimuru had forgotten, but she pushed it down. No way the Great Rimuru had forgotten Gobta. He must have a reason for leaving him down there.

"Ah, that reminds me, Kumiko." Rigur tapped a stick on the ground, mindlessly drawing lines in the dirt. Kumiko hummed slightly to tell him she was listening.

"When you first arrived with Rimuru-sama, we could barely sense your presence. Now we can see you just fine."

She looked at the hobgoblin who stared back at her curiously. Kumiko's skill [Presence Obscure] was considerably rare, though not enough to be considered a unique ability. It was the evolved version of [Stealth Arts], the skill used by the adventurer in the cavern. Simply put, it erased one's presence away from all sense. The stronger the monster, the weaker the effect of [Presence Obscure] but considering that Kumiko herself was a Kijin and there haven't been many monsters stronger than her, she felt no need to test the strength of her skill.

"It's called [Presence Obscure]," she finally informed Rigur with her soft chime-like voice. "It allows me to completely remove my presence from all five senses, as well as [Magic Sense] and hide in plain sight from anyone I wish. I can hide from an enemy but appear to an ally simultaneously. The stronger the monster, the weaker the effects. During the fight with the direwolves, my presence seemed to flicker in and out for them, but the goblins saw me just fine, as did Rimuru-sama. That was when I was an unnamed Ogre. Now, as a Kijin, I don't expect that I will come across too many monsters who can see past my [Presence Obscure]."

"How did you learn this skill?" one of the other hobgoblins asked, curious. Nothing much was known about Kumiko, only that she and Rimuru arrived to save the village. They didn't question her position. In fact, they respected her immensely. Sometimes, however, they got curious. A second, hidden, motive they had was they simply wanted Kumiko to keep talking. She usually kept silent, but her voice was always refreshing and easy on the ears.

At this question, Kumiko flinched and looked down at the tips of her black hair. Her hands went up to the horns protruding from the sides of her head and covered the horns up. The hobgoblins worried they asked the wrong question and were about to tell her nevermind when she answered.

"It is because of these," she stated, holding her horns still. Her soft voice was but a whisper, pain laced through her usual monotone words. The hobgoblins and wolves looked at her in confusion and worry. Was she not an ogre before? For ogres and their future evolutions, it was common to have horns. She saw their stares and sighed, letting her hands drop lifelessly into her lap.

"I am an ogre, yes, but I am not normal. Ogres are defined by one to three horns protruding from their foreheads." Kumiko pointed to her own horns. "Clearly, mine do not."

Kumiko stood up from the ground, feeling that staying stationary was too much for her while she told the hobgoblins and tempest wolves her background. She had already told this twice, once to Veldora and once to Rimuru. However, no one ever said it would be easier the third time.

"In my village, my horns were a bad omen. Never before had there been an ogre born with horns from the side. I was told that I was born to die. Ogres, while warlike and certainly strong enough to beat down an 11 year old ogre, were never ones to kill one of their own villagers. It was another bad omen. So instead, the leaders sought ways for me to die, or to even kill myself. They sent me to the front lines of any battle, hoping I would die. Much to their dismay, I came back every time. Sometimes with others, and sometimes alone. They've tried to chain me down like a dog and make me feel like cattle but it never worked."

Kumiko swung her scythe in a wide arc away from the group, her voice full of hatred for the ogre leaders in her village. The rest of the group stared at her in varying emotions from pity to worry to sadness. They were glad she wasn't completely emotionless, but this time, her emotions weren't positive. They were anger, sadness, fear, hate and all the other negatives.

"I learned [Stealth Arts] first, but later evolved it to [Presence Obscure] through the years at my village in attempts to hide from the villagers. If anyone found me, I would be brought to the village leaders, who most likely would send me off to some battle. At that time, I still hadn't known too much about [Unrivaled Strategy] and I refused to tell anyone in that forsaken village. They would use me until I dropped dead like they wanted. Even if I were to die, I wanted that village to gain nothing from me."

Kumiko opened the blades on her scythe and began twirling the weapon mindlessly in her hand. She had wonderful control, so no one was worried about getting speared by the sharp tips. She spun in clockwise, then counterclockwise, then threw it to her other hand and back, as if playing with a toy.

"After 11 years, I finally had enough. They were sending me off to yet another battle. I didn't understand why one ogre village was fighting in so many different places, but I had no room to ask. This time, they were trying to send me to fight a whole pack of direwolves singlehandedly. I refused. They demanded that I obey, but I refused again."

Her voice held hints of pain as she continued twirling her double-edged scythe in circles. The rest of the group listened intently, as if being drawn into the scene. They could just imagine an ogre who had only lived for 11 years, a simple baby in terms of their lifespan, fighting for her life in a hostile village.

"Just hearing about their idea to send me to the direwolves, my [Unrivaled Strategy] knew right away that this was a fight I wouldn't survive. Despite being told that my whole purpose in life was to die as soon as possible to get rid of the bad omen I had brought, I didn't want to die fighting their war. And so, when they reached out to grab my arm..."

Kumiko, in one swift movement, closed the two blades on her scythe and stabbed it into the ground.

"I killed them all."

~~~

Kumiko ran swiftly towards the city. She wished she could just use her skill [Shadow Travel] and traverse into the city, but Rimuru told her mentally that it would cause more panic than necessary.

'Kumiko, we have an issue in the city. Come to the tavern.' Kumiko looked towards the city as Rimuru's voice sounded in her head.

'I'll be right there, Rimuru-sama,' she thought, assuming her voice couldn't reach him. After all, in all the time that she's been with Rimuru, their mental communication was one way. However, this time she was wrong.

'Eh? Kumiko, you can reply now!'

'Ah. It appears I can. I will travel using my shadow skill and appear using your shadow. Please make sure you're not under a bright light.' Kumiko said her quick goodbyes to the group and let them know she was heading back to Rimuru as she prepared to shadow travel.

'Ah! Wait, wait, wait. Kumiko. I wouldn't use shadows. I think we already have enough trouble. Just run over. You're as fast as the direwolves. It'll take but a quick minute to get back through the gate and over to me.' Kumiko didn't like it, but she obeyed. Rimuru quickly gave her directions to the tavern and mentioned that she should arrive quickly.

With her goal set, Kumiko raced forwards. Rimuru didn't specify much in his message and the mental communication wasn't stable, mostly because Kumiko had just found out she could communicate with Rimuru mentally. She had to practice this later on, or it could spell trouble during times of disaster.

Just as Kumiko burst through the tavern door, she saw a man with a white cloak accept a cup of beer from one of the elves.

"Hmph. This is what should be done to monsters," the unknown man said. Kumiko's eyes darkened as she saw that the man's eyes were focused on Rimuru. With the threatening tone in his words as well as his subtle actions, Kumiko knew that he was going to dump the drink of Rimuru, yet she couldn't reach him in time. Just as she moved forwards, attempting to block Rimuru, the man had already dumped the beer on the slime. Kumiko's golden eyes raged.

Suddenly changing her direction, she now appeared behind the man and was about to simply snap his neck in half. Disrespecting the Great Rimuru was a crime punishable by death in her eyes.

Kumiko! Stop! Rimuru yelled out mentally. He was desperate to make sure Kumiko didn't kill the minister. That is Minister Vesta. You can't hurt him.

Minister Vesta. All the more reason I should end his pathetic life right now. Was all she said before she backed down, albeit with heavy reluctance. She made her way around Vesta, taking the slightest bit of joy as he flinched when she suddenly appeared behind him.

"Don't worry. I'm okay," Rimuru said to the elf who's lap he currently sat on. "Did your dress get wet?"

The elf insisted that her dress was fine though had slight drops of alcohol as well. As Rimuru looked at the elf, making sure she was ok, he saw Kumiko slink over beside him. Kumiko stood to the right of Rimuru, her eyes trained on Vesta as if glaring at him would cause him to keel over and die. Rimuru looked at her curiously. Usually she could keep her emotions in check, but her rage was unmasked at the moment. It was odd, yet refreshing to know that she cared enough about him to get mad for his sake.

That made me mad, but the guy's a minister. I can't let my short temper screw things up for Kaijin and this bar. Rimuru thought, slightly projecting them to Kumiko so she understood why he told her to back down. He wasn't happy either, but it was for the better that the two of them, as guests, didn't retaliate.

I will gladly be banned from this city if it means avenging you, Rimuru-sama. Kumiko still glared heavily at the minister, clearly trying to erase his being with her mind. He shook his head at her, telling her a clear message that he didn't want her to take any action.

Suddenly, Kaijin stood up, rearing his fist back and delivering a blow straight to the minister's face. All the dwarves sitting around the table as well as a few elves stood up in shock.

"Vesta!" Kaijin raged. "I hope you're prepared to pay for treating my guest like that." Kaijin cracked his knuckles threateningly. While Rimuru stared in slight shock, Kumiko only nodded her head in approval, her need for Vesta's blood dying down slight as she watched Kaijin.

"Y-You... How dare you speak to me like that?!" Vesta whined.

"Shut up!" Kaijin yelled as he charged forwards.

"Hey, Kaijin! Go easy on him!" Garm shouted after the charging dwarf.

"Not the face! Go for the body!" Rimuru joined in.

"If he can stand, you didn't hit hard enough the first time," Kumiko chimed in.

Vesta backed up as he saw Kaijin's smirk at all the comments that came from behind.

"I'll be sure that this hit will do the trick then, little lady."

And with that simple sentence, Kaijin punched Vesta as hard as he could, sending the minister flying back into his aide, both of them falling unconscious on the floor. Kumiko clapped in approval.

"Was that a good idea?" Rimuru asked after Vesta had collapsed. "Isn't he a minister? Won't this mean trouble for you?"

Kaijin stood up and looked at his handiwork.

"Hey, Rimuru... You were look looking for skilled artisans, right?" Kaijin turned back to look at Rimuru. "Would you settle for me?"

"What?! You mean it?" Rimuru bounded off the elf's lap and ran towards Kaijin. "I don't need to settle if I have you! I'd be thrilled to have your help, Kaijin!"

Kaijin smiled at the slime, thankful that the slime had agreed. After all, they all knew that Kaijin wouldn't be welcome back into the city after punching and knocking out a minister. He looked at Kumiko who stood by idly and nodded once to her. She returned the gesture. Kaijin knew that had he asked her to and had Rimuru given permission, she would've had no qualms about being the one to knock out the numskull of a minister. Yet, he was glad he was the one to do it despite the repercussions. It was also his revenge for Vesta's original impossible order of 20 magisteel swords in 2 weeks.

But things rarely work out that easily. Soon, a large group of guards stood in front of the group, the lead guard being Kaido. They quickly arrested all four dwarves as well as Kumiko and Rimuru. They couldn't exactly cuff the slime, though they tried since various chains were wrapped around Rimuru, so instead they had Kumiko hold Rimuru with her cuffed hands. Rimuru couldn't help at this moment but think about Kumiko's breast size. Was it a C-cup? No. Had to be at least a D.

"C'mon, Bro, what were you thinking?" Kaido asked Kaijin, his voice and expression showing that he knew Vesta had asked for it, yet he still needed to do his job.

"Hmph. That moron there was rude to my buddy Rimuru," Kaijin turned his head away as they carried Vesta away on a stretcher. "I just gave him a little scolding."

"'A little?' You know you can't do that to a minister." Kaido replied.

"Be grateful your minister is still alive," came Kumiko's voice. The group of dwarves all looked over to her. "Had Kaijin not knocked him out, I surely would've done worse. I don't mind getting kicked out of Dwargon if it means defending Rimuru-sama's honor." The dwarves all shivered. A pretty face saying such threatening words while keeping a straight face...

"Well, don't hold this against me. It's just the law," Kaido explained. The group knew this was to happen and truthfully held nothing against Kaido, even if he didn't say so. Even Kaido's expression said that if he had the choice, he would've encouraged Minister Vesta's beating. "I'll have to keep you all restrained until your trial."

Kaido called for one of the guards to transport the group of arrested individuals. In a connected line, the chained and cuffed group followed the guard back to the cell. Surprisingly, Gobta was still hanging upside down sleeping. Kumiko slightly breathed a sigh of relief knowing that he didn't get himself hurt or into more trouble.

"You've been asleep all this time?" Rimuru blurted out, staring at the hanging Gobta.

"Perhaps I should try to wake him, Rimuru-sama. It might not be good for him to be passed out for so long." Kumiko stared at Gobta.

"Just leave him be. He's fine up there," Rimuru said in defeat as the two of them continued to stare at Gobta.

Kaijin sighed heavily, bringing the attention back to him.

"If only I hadn't lost my temper... I dragged you all into this," Kaijin trailed off, disheartened. He bowed lowly in apology towards the three other dwarves, Rimuru and Kumiko. "I'm sorry."

"Hey, it's okay! No problem!" Garm assured.

"Nothing you need to worry about!" Dord waved off.

Myrd hummed.

"Don't worry about me and Kumiko either, much less apologize, Kaijin," Rimuru said. "As you heard, Kumiko would've hit him if you hadn't so either way the two of us would be here again with our buddy Gobta." Kaijin nodded in understanding and relief that no one was holding it against him.

"Anyways, are we going to be put on trial?" Rimuru asked.

"Yeah, I guess so," Kaijin responded. "We won't be executed or anything, though. We'll probably just have to pay a fine." Kaijin laughed. He knew the sweet feeling of hitting the minister would be worth any fine. He only felt bad about dragging the other dwarves especially into this mess.

"I hope so... If they do try to behead us, I'm worried Kumiko will start a fight with the king and his army." Rimuru stared at Kumiko who looked back and shrugged as if to say that it was a possibility.

"But that minister really seemed to have it in for you," Rimuru commented. Kaijin stared at the slime, and the sighed again.

"I used to serve this nation's king, Gazel Dwargo," he started. "I was the captain of one of the seven orders of royal knights. At the time, he, Vesta, was my adjutant. He came from the Marquis' family and I was from a family of peasants. It must have infuriated him. Even back then, we clashed all the time. And then... One of the projects he'd been under pressure to complete, the Magisoldier Project went up in smoke. Vesta foisted all the responsibility of his failure onto me. He got our forces on his side and even came up with a false testimony. So, I assumed responsibility and quit the force. He still holds a grudge against me and makes unreasonable demands of me at every opportunity. That's what this was all about, too."

"He's pretty pathetic," Rimuru stated without skipping a beat. Kaijin agreed readily

"But it's not as if he's a bad guy really. He and I weren't a good match, but he was always a hard worker and passionate about his research. The pressure he felt to complete that project came from his need to please the king. If I leave this country, it might make him a better man."

"Kaijin, you defend a man who has sullied your honor and taken you down," Kumiko interjected. The group all stared at her, waiting for her to continue. Instead she stared down Kaijin, who stared back at her. Eventually, she backed down and leaned against the wall, closing her eyes as she always did. "You are more human than I ever will be..."

Only Rimuru truly knew what she was talking about, but didn't help to expand on her words to the dwarves. In due time, if they truly were to join the little village they had started, they too will know her history.

"You really think that he'll be a better man?" Rimuru asked, taking the attention and curiosity off of Kumiko, who clearly was not speaking a word of the subject anymore.

"Well, Rimuru," Kaijin said, taking the hint, "I'm all yours."

Kaijin held out his hand towards Rimuru, who in response reached out his own slime appendage to shake the dwarf's hand.

"About that," Garm interrupted, "We're gonna follow Kaijin, too."

"We'll go anywhere if it means we can work with Kaijin," Dord followed up Garm. Myrd hummed once again in agreement.

Kaijin smilied, pleased with their statements and loyalty.

"Rimuru, would we be in your way if we tagged along?" Garm asked, double checking.

"Heh. I'll be glad to take all of you in!" Rimuru cheered. "But be ready. I'm gonna work you to the bone!"

~~~

Later that evening, all four elves were passed out in various positions around the jail cell. One would think that 6 beings occupying such a tiny cell would be an issue, but clearly that wasn't the case. Gobta was still hanging from the thread, so he took up no floor space. Rimuru's size was no worry in a jail cell of this size since he barely took up any room. Kumiko simply insisted on standing by the gate of the jail cell, as if still guarding. Rimuru sighed as he looked at her. He needed some way to convince her to relax a bit. To be honest, he hadn't seen her truly relax since they met. He supposed that this was the result of the 11 years of neglect and hate from her village. Even 10 years later, she simply didn't understand the concept of 'safety' when it came to herself. Maybe one day, she'll find someone to truly rely on and feel safe with.

That night, Gobta finally woke up, albeit dazed and confused. Kumiko glanced up at the upside-down hobgoblin and did a once over to ensure that he was ok before going back to staring outside the wall. She kept thinking that maybe she shouldn't have told the rest of the group outside the wall about her past; it was much too heavy for anyone to bear, even as a story.

Kumiko, in one swift movement, closed the two blades on her scythe and stabbed it into the ground.

"I killed them all."

The entire group flinched back, staring at the kijin in slight fear and sadness.

"I lost control of my powers, yet at the same time, I did nothing to even try to control them. I wanted them dead for all the pain they put me through. All the feelings of watching warriors from my village die on the battlefield. Frost spread from my feet, freezing everyone in their place as spears of ice skewered them all."

For once, as Kumiko stood so that her back was to the light and her face was shadowed over, a tear came out. She always cried when she recounted her past because despite her joy in getting away, she felt guilty and inhumane for slaughtering the village leaders. She felt like the monster, the bad omen, the village had always claimed she was. The rest of the group didn't know what to say to the crying Kijin. They had never seen this much emotion from the girl that it seemed surreal almost. Her chime like voice still mesmerized them despite the tone of anger, guilt and sadness piercing their hearts.

"It was only when one of the children, just barely 5 years old, wandered into the scene that I realized that I was something unnatural. I tried to forcefully pull back my power before it reached the young ogre, but it was too late. He too got caught in my rage and suffered. He cried out in pain, begging me to help free him, but I was paralyzed. As I looked around, I realized truly what I had done. The bodies of ogres drenching the ice in red. Their eyes seemed to blame me for everything, and I accepted it for I truly was at fault. In fear, I left a quick note in the ice, directions to the nearest village. There wasn't anyone fit to lead the village and without a leader the village would be in chaos. And after that message was carved into the ice, I fled into the cavern, where I stayed for 10 years."

Right as she finished, Rimuru telepathically messaged her to find him in the tavern.

She reached out for her scythe which was still planted in the ground. As her hand stretched out, she watched all of the hobgoblins minus Rigur flinch. Yes they still respected her, but at the moment they feared her. She stared at them sadly, knowing that they needed time to process what she'd done. Hell, even after 10 years she still was trying to get a grip on her actions. She nodded them a quick goodbye. Before she left, Ranga walked up and nuzzled her affectionately, as if saying she would be ok. Kumiko thanked Ranga and patted his head lightly before she headed back into the city.

Kumiko snapped out of her daze just in time to see Rimuru wrap string around a struggling Gobta's mouth. She looked back to Rimuru.

"I assume that means that we will be traveling without Gobta, then?" she asked, her voice devoid of emotion. Rimuru and Kumiko simply stared at the cocooned hobgoblin, the latter feeling slight pity for the poor thing.

~~~

Surprisingly, the trial was set for the next day. Surrounded by seemingly endless amounts of dwarven guards, the four dwarves, Rimuru and Kumiko stood in the center, facing the seat of the king himself and his panel of councilmen. Vesta stood to their right, also facing the same direction. Kumiko couldn't help but consider her odds if they were to demand Rimuru's death. She could easily take on the army of dwarves herself, but she would sustain injuries most likely. She thought of her chances against the dwarven king. He would be the issue if she were to fight. Surely he could hold his own until a new army came to aid. Then she glanced at Vesta. If a fight were to break out from her, she'd make sure he was the first to go. Kumiko flinched internally at her own thoughts, but disregarded it. She had already killed the leaders of her own village and even an innocent child. Her humanity was long gone and she had accepted that she was a monster. And if to defend what gave her a reason to not rot away in the cave meant throwing away what little remained of her humanity, then so be it.

"His Majesty Gazel Dwargo will now enter!" one of the retainers shouted loudly. Everyone bowed, excluding Rimuru who was chained on the podium, and Kumiko who tried used her [Presence Obscure] to disappear from his senses. Clearly, it didn't work since the king looked straight at her. In reluctance, she also bowed down. As Rimuru observed, he realized he too should be bowing, so he bowed as much as the chains allowed him to.

The sound of the mallet pounded through the court room.

"The trial will now begin," one of the judges called out. "All rise!"

Following the judge's command, everyone rose to their full heights.

In the Armed Nation of Dwargon, no one can speak during a trial without the king's permission. For that reason, a proxy speaks for the defense.

"As we have seen, when Minister Vesta was enjoying a drink in said establishment, Kaijin and his gang stormed the place and assaulted him." The proxy clearly was not on the defense. Kumiko couldn't help but stare intensely at the thin, wimpy looking man. She could snap him like a stick.

"Such behavior must not be tolerated," the man continued, sweating slightly due to her intense stare. Even if she was simply staring at him with the most stoic face she could muster at this moment, he could still sense killing intent from the Kijin.

"He's been bought..." Kaijin whispered to the group.

I don't remember him being that injured. Rimuru telepathically thought to Kumiko.

Rimuru-sama, as much as I would've liked to beat him up some more, I know my limits. Doing so would only harm you from this point forwards, so I dare not do so. Kumiko replied to his inferred meaning. Truly, if Rimuru had not been involved already, she would've gladly made the rest of his fake injuries real.

"Is this true?" The judge asked.

"Yes, there is no mistake" was the proxy's reply.

"King Gazel, have you heard all this?" Vesta called out. "Please pass strict judgement upon these people! Your Majesty!"

After a short discussion among the judges and King Gazel, the verdict was decided and the lead judge once again took up the mallet and sounded it through the hall.

"I will now state the verdict! The principal offender, Kaijin, is sentenced to twenty years of forced labor in the mines. And his accomplices are sentenced to ten years of forced labor in the mines. The court is now adjourned."

"Wait," the king suddenly called out. "It has been some time, Kaijin. Have you been well?"

Kaijin quickly knelt down and answered. Everyone else followed his lead and got down on one knee.

"Kaijin, you may answer His Majesty!" the lead judged declared.

"Yes, Your Majesty," Kaijin said, loud and clear. "I am relieved to find you in good health, as well."

"Kaijin, have you any interest in returning to my ranks?" the king asked. Vesta audibly flinched at the offer the king put up. Kaijin was silent for a moment before he raised his head to look directly at the king.

"Forgive me, Your Majesty, but I have already found my master," Kaijin replied after a moment. "My sworn oath is my greatest treasure. I will never part with this treasure even if Your Majesty orders it."

"Insolence!" One of the guards by the king yelled. All the guards surrounding them took up a stance to attack. Rimuru felt Kumiko tense up from behind him. Surely if the guard were to order an attack of some sort, she would retaliate. He could only hope the king wasn't as hotheaded. The king remained silent, staring at Kaijin who only stared back.

"I see." The king rose in his seat and all at once, the rest of the guards all returned to their original positions. Rimuru could still feel that Kumiko didn't relax one bit and still remained primed to attack if need be.

"I will now pass judgement," the king said, overriding the judge's original verdict. "Kaijin and his companions shall be exiled. That concludes my verdict. Disappear from my sight at once!"

Despite exile being the best outcome for the group, Kaijin and the king both couldn't help but feel upset. To the king and to the once captain, to the two who had a partnership and a friendship, this was the break.

"The court is now adjourned!" The lead judge called. Soon everyone was led out of the court and Rimuru let out a breath. Not only did they scrape by with exile, but Kumiko didn't set off any attacks with her slight hostility. Perhaps the king understood that her stance was defensive at best.

The dwarves were guided back home for one last moment to pack up their items. Within a few quick hours, the group was standing outside of the gates to the city. Kaido stood with them, saying his last goodbyes to his brother.

"Sorry for all the trouble. You take care too," Kaijin replied sadly.

"Rimuru, take care of my brother," he asked, staring down at the blue slime.

"No need to worry. I'll only work him to death," Rimuru stated lightly, trying to increase the mood a bit. It was goodbye, but hopefully not forever. One day, Kaijin will be able to come back and see his brother again hopefully.

Kaido smiled before he cleared his through and backed up slightly towards the gate. He faced the group with his most serious face and announced their banishment.

"In accordance with the king's sentence, Kaijin and his companions are now exiled. Leave at once!"

With that, Kaido and his guards headed back into the city, closing the gates in the face of the group. After a moment of staring at the closed gates, Rimuru turned to look at the group,

"So, then, shall we get a move on? My friends are waiting in the forest."

With that the group of six made their way to the forest line, leaving behind the closed gates of Dwargo. Despite all that happened Rimuru and company had achieved their original goal of bringing back some artisans. And they happened to be some of the most skilled artisans around.

Up next: Shizu

Chapter Text

Rimuru and Ranga stood by the water's edge. Kumiko sat, once again, up in a tree not far from Rimuru. Rimuru was showing Ranga a skill, [Black Lightning] that Ranga could use as a Tempest Wolf. He shattered the rock in the middle of the Ameld River, completely obliterating it and causing waves of water to wash over Rimuru and Ranga.

Rimuru and co were traveling back to the goblin village, albeit a bit slower since there were more people. They rested more often than they had on the way to Dwargon, but it only gave more time for Kumiko to ponder. She hated to admit it, but she was scared of what the group thought of her. Since she had revealed her past to the hobgoblins and the tempest wolves, she had avoided them like the plague. It wasn't like her to show fear, much less run away from things like she was doing. She couldn't help it. When Veldora found out, she had no attachment to the cave, nor to Veldora to an extent. Sure, she respected the dragon, but if he wanted to disregard her, then she would simply leave. Similarly, with Rimuru, despite her undying loyalty to the slime, if he wished her gone, she would obey and leave his side. Thankfully, neither Veldora nor Rimuru pushed her away. Rather, they welcomed her and promised to protect her. They were able to do so due to their sheer strength and powers. Under no circumstance was she a danger to either of the two.

The hobgoblins were a different case. While they were evolved monsters, Kumiko could still demolish their entire village without any effort. They knew she was powerful; her aura told the hobgoblins that despite how gentle and uninterested she may seem, she was a force to be reckoned with. But until now, none of the hobgoblins truly knew how much of a danger she could be. They thought she had the utmost control over all her powers and they were protected by her. In reality, she was still learning new abilities and practicing them. Throughout the trip back, she had been telepathically talking to Rimuru and even developed it to be able to communicate with Ranga and Rigur. She was scared to practice her ice-related abilities, the past haunting her. Kumiko could still see the pain radiating through the young ogre's face as he felt the icy cold freezing his body before it ended with an ice spike through his chest.

Kumiko shook herself off and tried to keep the image out of her mind. It was bad enough she was reminded of it when she slept deeply, hence why she preferred to rest her eyes while remaining alert and awake. She did it for years before she fled the village, in an effort to keep herself out of the village leaders' grasps. After she fled, she only had more reason to continue her sleepless nights. It kept out the images of dozens of dead ogres, the image of a young boy asking her to save him, the image of her skewering that same young boy right through the heart. She didn't need those images haunting her in broad daylight.

Rimuru-sama, we should get going. It is midday and we still have at least a full day of travel left. The village is waiting. Kumiko telepathically said to Rimuru. He sighed. Ever since she had developed this skill, she had basically stopped speaking altogether. He couldn't tell whether it was because she was scared of the other hobgoblins' reactions to her, or because she simply didn't like talking.

Rimuru knew she was avoiding the group. He could tell because whenever they stopped, she quickly reported to him that she was going to keep a lookout before she disappeared into the forest or up a tree. She was more of his guard than an advisor or a companion, but if that was what she wished to do, then he wouldn't stop her. He couldn't help but wonder if that was all she knew how to do - keep a lookout for danger and preserve herself as best she could.

The other hobgoblins had expressed their worry, telling Rimuru that they knew about her background. With permission from Kumiko herself, Rimuru had filled in the dwarves with the basics. The hobgoblins were scared, but they knew she meant the village well and would never willingly hurt anyone. If anything, she was hurting herself. With her background and her strength, both of which she feared, she was going to destroy her own mind. Rimuru desperately needed to find someone who Kumiko would be willing to open up to and fully rely on. He tried himself, but alas she held too much respect for him and was unwilling to 'burden' Rimuru with her own baggage.

Rimuru gave her an affirmative reply, gathering the group up quickly and setting off back towards the village.

~~~

On the last day of travels, Kumiko was caught. Apparently, Rimuru and the other hobgoblins had conspired to capture Kumiko so that she couldn't run away and they could talk. After the many days of traveling, the hobgoblins had finally been able to digest her past and accept her for who she is. But they could only do that if she was willing to talk to them. The hobgoblins were smart, but only to an extent. Clearly, they didn't know the repercussions of trying to capture a highly alert kijin.

It first started with Rimuru telling Kumiko to scout a certain area. She obeyed, pushing the nagging thoughts that something was up if Rimuru had asked her to watch a specific area. She just assumed that the feeling of unease was because Rimuru had sensed something she didn't and she was anticipating for the unknown. As she got into the area, she first scouted below ground, keeping a strict eye around her as she made small, trackless movements across the forest floor. Then came the attack. The hobgoblins would pounce and grab her, keeping her there. They knew that if she saw them approach her, she would run. At the moment, she was like a deer, timid and scared yet fully prepared to run.

So the attack commenced and the hobgoblins jumped from their hidden perches, only to be met with thin air where she once was before they crashed into each other. She had just barely shadow traveled out of the way and up into the shadowy canopy as soon as she saw the movement towards her. Without fully processing the attack, she opened up both blades of the scythe and started a spin downwards right where the rest of the hobgoblins laid in a complete mess of a pile.

As Kumiko spun downwards, the blades glinting dangerously, she finally realized that the ones who attacked her were her companions. Out of fear of hurting them, she used her own momentum and kicked her scythe, sending her and her weapon flying off in different directions. Her scythe stabbed itself deep into the ground, the blade of one of the scythes almost completely buried in the dirt and fallen leaves. Kumiko herself hadn't gotten off unscathed and had a bleeding gash on her leg from kicking her own spinning scythe. She landed on the forest floor on all fours, too mentally exhausted from having to react to her attackers being her own group.

Using this opportunity, the hobgoblins quickly ran over to her and surrounded her, blurting out their apologies and their admiration and respect for her over the others. Rimuru stood off to the side observing, knowing that she needed this. The hobgoblins rambled on about how nothing will change about her position in the village, nor in the village's hearts. Despite the chaos going on, Kumiko managed to decipher what they were all trying to say before sighing in defeat, a small smile gracing her face. Rimuru was pleased that she had finally heard what the hobgoblins had to say.

The rest of the trip home was peaceful since Kumiko had stopped running away at every chance. She still was her usual self, stoic and alert, but she returned to the group. As soon as they arrived at the village, Rimuru was given permission to reveal her background to Rigurd, and immediately she prepared herself for the worse. He was the acting lord of the goblin village. If he didn't approve, she wouldn't want to put Rimuru in a bad spot, so she'd have to leave. Similar to the small group that she traveled with, he accepted her within a few days and, for some reason, respected her even more than he did before.

Kumiko was relieved that she had a place she could belong in, but at the same time her worries didn't lessen. After all, this was a village of goblins, now hobgoblins, who didn't have the same views as ogres. In the world of ogres, she was still the bad omen as far as she knew.

~~

Rimuru sat atop Ranga with Kumiko not far behind, overlooking the village's progress.

Uh-huh. Looks like they're doing great. Rimuru projected to both Kumiko and Ranga. It had been a few weeks since they had returned from Dwargon.

Kaijin, an expert blacksmith, had undertaken the role of training hobgoblin blacksmiths as well as forging the village's weapons. One of the first weapons he made was a new and improved double-bladed scythe for Kumiko, who accepted it humbly. The grip on the middle of the weapon had a spiral design, expanding outwards until it got to the base of both blades. The entire weapon was made of a black steel, which was considered almost unbreakable. To any normal goblin or even hobgoblin, this weapon simply would be too heavy for them to wield easily, but Kumiko did that. She swung the scythe around in one had as if waving a stick around.

Garm, the oldest of the three dwarf brothers was an armor smith. He was also in charge of teaching the goblins how to create clothing. As an example, he made Kumiko a brand new set of armor. The armor was mostly a black fabric that hugged her figure tightly. The shorts ended above mid thigh and there was a flowing fabric extending from the top that covered down to her mid thigh. The sleeves on the top extended down to her elbows. Since her scouting and her movements in battle required quicker and lighter armor as well as tighter fitting to prevent snagging, it was paired with a brown leather gloves that went up to her elbow, black thigh high socks with light grey accents and black, low-heeled boots. Armor plating was restricted to the breastplate, knees, elbows and shoulders, all for movement purposes. They were also dyed a shade of grey to allow for her presence to be hidden easily upon her will.

Dord, the middle brother, worked on the finer crafts, such as jewelry. Many of the female goblins were interested in this craft. As an example, Dord also fashioned a jewelry clip for Kumiko's hair. Her hair was long and silky with bangs swept to the right framing her face. She usually had a small braid behind her left ear.This worked fine if she was was just around the village, but scouting and fighting got a little more dangerous with her hair. Since her hair was thick, Dord fashioned a second matching clip to clip at the bottom of her hair to keep it all together. She thanked him and demonstrated the jewelry at his request, pulling her hair over her right shoulder and clipping the first, larger clip right under her collar bone and the second clip more towards the end.

Myrd, the youngest brother, worked on the architecture of the village.Somehow through his silence, he had promised Kumiko that he would personally design her own house for her. She wanted to refuse, but he insisted in his silent way, managing to explain that he and his brothers simply were repaying her for saving them so swiftly from the armorsaurus.

With their guidance, Rimuru and the goblins were well on their way to building a new village. Originally, when the group had returned from their trip to Dwargon, they were met face to face with hundreds of goblins who had traveled from nearby villages seeking protection

"Uh, Rigurd... What is this?" Rimuru asked as the returning group of hobgoblins, dwarves, wolves and Kumiko stared at a welcoming committee a couple hundred times what they were expecting.

"They all heard the rumors about you," Rigurd started explaining, flexing his muscles as he did so "and came here from the nearby Goblin villages to seek protection."

"Welcome home, Rimuru-sama!" The entire welcoming committee exclaimed as Rigurd continued flexing. Kumiko couldn't decide whether she wanted to scold Rigurd for taking in all the goblins when they barely had enough resources to support the original village or if she wanted to face-palm at his continuous flexing. She settled for the former, and the goblin lord shrunk to the size of a flower as she berated him for it.

'Kumiko, what will happen if I turn the goblins away?' Rimuru asked her telepathically, unknowingly saving Rigurd from her wrath. She glanced one last time at an apologetic Rigurd before she sighed and let him go and she returned to Rimuru's side.

'Since Veldora is currently in your stomach and the great power he held over the forest is now nonexistent, intelligent and stronger monster races are vying for dominance in this forest, the Great Forest of Jura. The main forces to beware of are the Lizardmen, Orcs and Ogres. Unfortunately, the goblins who stand no chance against these stronger races will be exterminated almost completely.' Kumiko answered truthfully. Rimuru sighed. There was no way he could turn them down now.

"All right. Come with us, all who want to!" Rimuru announced to the goblins. They all cheered as now they were protected. Rimuru telepathically told Kumiko he was going to name all the goblins, as he did with the original village. She voiced her objection, but was quickly overruled. She obeyed, despite not liking the idea of Rimuru naming 500 goblins all at once, and quickly had them form a line for Rimuru.

Lo and behold, Rimuru expended many magicules that afternoon and rested for 3 days. Meanwhile, Kumiko began conducting the village to get construction and work started so that for the time Rimuru was resting, the village wasn't stagnant.

"I wasn't sure how it'd work out, but it's starting to look like they'll all be able to live here." Rimuru said aloud to himself as Ranga and Kumiko traversed the ground back to the village. They had started digging a path for roads, though the paving wasn't as much of a priority as was the actual housing in the village.

As they walked down the 'road' they came across Gobta who was training some of the younger goblins.

"All right! I'll show you how it's done!" Kumiko, Ranga and Rimuru could hear Gobta down the road. He and the young goblins were currently under a tree. The trio stopped to observe.

Grunting and scrunching up his face, he was focusing on calling his wolf through his shadow. Rimuru seemed surprised when Gobta succeeded.

"Rimuru-sama. Do not underestimate Gobta," Kumiko said as she stared at the young goblin. To be honest, she did still feel bad for leaving him in that cell the entire time at Dwargon. "I left him in charge of teaching the new goblins on summoning a Tempest Wolf. After we left him in the cell back in Dwargon, he was able to call his wolf, as you had suggested to him, and free himself from the cell and city."

"I guess that boy can do things when he really tries," Rimuru commented. They watched on as he continued trying to teach, only to realize he wasn't the best at explaining.

"Ah, Kumiko," Rimuru said.

"Yes, Rimuru-sana," she replied, facing him and bowing her head slightly. After he had voiced his concerns with her using only telepathy to talk, she agreed to talk aloud if within range. Otherwise, she was free to use telepathy. This simply just allowed Rimuru to feel at ease knowing that she still had the ability to actually talk and hadn't truly gone mute. He also began to observe that since many of the village didn't know her background and the ones who did had accepted her, she was hiding behind her [Presence Obsure] less and communicating among the goblin village more. However, it could also be because she had taken up the role of acting advisor and numerous goblins came up to her on a daily basis to ask for approval on projects or situations that weren't dire enough to go to Rimuru.

"When you get the time, please scout the borders and let me know if they've expanded into any dangerous areas since the last report. We need to make sure we're not intruding too far out. I give you permission to subdue or scare, but not kill. Also check in with the different security units we have out as well as the hunting team and report back to me."

"Understood, Rimuru-sama." Right before she was about to dart off, Rigurd came running, calling for both Rimuru and Kumiko.

"Rimuru-sama! Kumiko-dono!"

Rigurd was promoted by Rimuru to Goblin King once he awoke from his 3 day recovery. Simply put, Rigurd, the Goblin King, presided over the Goblin Lords, the previous village elders from the villages that joined upon the return of Rimuru from Dwargon, who presided the rest of the goblins.

"Is something up?" Rimuru asked.

"Yes, sir! We received a message from Rigur and the security team," Rigurd reported. "It seems they've discovered suspicious beings in the forest."

"Monsters?" Rimuru asked.

"No, Humans," Rigurd clarified. "They may be scouts from some nation hoping to expand its dominion.

"Kumiko, use [Shadow Travel] and check on the humans first, but do not engage in combat with them under any circumstance. Use your telepathy skill to communicate with me if anything arises," Rimuru commanded. "I'll head there with Ranga shortly."

"Understood, Rimuru-sama," she replied. With a bow of her head, she melted into the shadow and teleported over to Rigur and the security team. To explain the boundaries of her skill [Shadow Travel], she could melt into the shadows and travel to any other shadow within sight or to the shadow of an ally. As long as the ally had a shadow not directly underneath them and it was dark enough for her to travel through, she could travel anywhere. However, say Rimuru asked her to travel to the tavern back in Dwargon, it would be impossible, since she had no allies in the tavern nor could she see the shadows in the tavern.

Rigur pointed out the direction of the humans and Kumiko set off. As she ran towards them, they came running at her. Kumiko stopped in confusion, staring at the humans who were screaming in fear. She quickly moved off to the side and used her [Presence Obscure] to hide herself. Soon enough, she saw the giant ant monsters chasing the humans.

Rimuru-sama. there are ant monsters chasing the humans. Do I engage? Kumiko mentally asked Rimuru. He was silent for a moment.

Do they look like they're in massive danger? He asked in reply.

The humans are relatively unharmed, though if they were to get caught, they would be in danger yes.

Then I allow you to engage the ants in battle.

Understood, Rimuru-Sama.

With that, she started making her way between the ants and the running humans.

"THis is all your fault Kaval! You just had to stab a Giant Ant nest with your sword!" One of the guys ranted.

"Shut up! Don't complain about your leader!" The other guy responded back.

"For a leader, you're way too careless!" The blonde girl scolded. "If I die, I swear I'll come back to haunt you!"

"That's not even possible!" The leader laughed. "Because I'll be dying with you!"

Suddenly, the girl in the back of the group with the mask turned around, sliding to face the giant ant.

"Shizu!" The other girl called out. Kumiko now stood by the masked girl, Shizu was her name. She released her [Presence Obscure] and appeared right next to Shizu as Shizu pulled out her sword.

"What?! Who's that?!" one of the guys exclaimed in shock at Kumiko's sudden appearance. Even Shizu seemed shocked.

"Don't mind me, please. Go ahead and use whatever skill you deem necessary." With that said, Kumiko jumped straight towards the ants.

"Wait!" Someone shouted from behind. Shizu took a second to stare at the girl who launched herself towards the danger. She had given permission in a sense to attack even with her in the crossfire. Shizu obeyed and fire raced down her sword, coating it in fiery flames. She stuck her sword out and a blast of fire came forwards, incinerating the giant ants who had charged towards Shizu.

Kumiko looked back to see flaming piles of dead ants and she nodded in approval. The girl was strong. With quick movements, both Shizu and Kumiko launched into the remaining ants, who stood no chance against the two. Shizu easily cut through the ants with her flame-covered sword, jumping from ant to ant. Kumiko took a similar head-on approach and used her double scythes to slice them into minute pieces of ant carcass. She spun to give her momentum in her slices. She quickly demolished most of the remaining ant soldiers in the back and it was over within a split second.

The other three adventurers stared at the two girls in shock. Or a girl and a female ogre, they concluded once they got a clear view of the second person. Piles of flaming dead ant carcasses as well as minced ant laid in front of the group. Some of the pieces of minced ant had frost on it, though none of the humans thought much of it. Kumiko on the other hand stared intently at the frost. Her [Ice Domination] and [Iced Vines] skills were growing stronger. She knew she needed to train tehm, but she was scared of its effects. The last time she used it more than for it's cooling ability, she had murdered an innocent and slaughtered the village leaders.

The skill [Iced Vines] was a frost related skill, where ice spreads outwards from her feet. Any enemies that touch it will be frozen, or at the very least slowed down - it depended on the strength of the enemy. Vines of ice, which would grow from the floor beneath her, could reach over any area of the frosted ground and restrain as many enemies as there were vines. The larger the area and the longer the skill was used, the more vines of ice she could control.

Shizu stood fairly close to the adventurers compared to Kumiko, who stood where the flank of the attacking ants were. Suddenly, one of the ants Shizu had sliced moved slightly. The blonde girl called out in worry, but it was too late as the ant was poised to attack. Shizu turned around, ready to defend herself when she suddenly stumbled and fell to her knees. Kumiko was about to engage and was right on top of the ant when she felt Rimuru's presence. With a quick movement she spun away from the ant and slid on the dirt on her feet and one of her hands, her scythe held to the side of her. She stopped to the left of Rimuru.

With a quick strike from Rimuru's skill [Black Lightning], the ant was incinerated into ashes. Nothing of it remained except a small pile of dust. Once the dust cleared, the girl ran towards Shizu while the two guys took up a defensive stance.

"What the heck was that?" one of them asked.

"It looked like... black lightning," the leader answered.

"I guess [Black Lightning] really is too strong," Rimuru commented aloud. "Better not use it, either."

The two guys turned towards Rimuru's voice, defending the two girls. As the dust cleared, they saw a small slime, holding Shizu's mask as well as the ogre girl from earlier standing behind the slime.

The two guys lowered their swords as everyone voiced their thoughts.

"A slime?"

"Yeah, got a problem with slimes?" Rimuru asked as he held out Shizu's mask and inched towards them.

"Uh, no..." the leader answered. "I just never knew slimes could talk."

"I can't believe it," the blonde girl said.

"Here miss," Rimuru said, holding out Shizu's mask to her and ignoring the others for now. "This is yours, isn't it? Sorry about that. You weren't hurt, were you?"

Shizu reached out a hand and gently received the mask.

"No, I'm all right," she reassured Rimuru. "You saved me. Thank you."

"Rimuru-sama," Kumiko voiced after a bit of silence from the entire group. The adventurers stared at her. Her voice was gentle, yet seemed to lack emotion for some reason. Regardless, it was pleasant to hear.

"It is not safe out here at the moment. Rigur and his security team informed me there is a Giant Ant Nest nearby, presumably the same nest these ants came from. Unless we want to end up fighting the queen ant, I suggested we return to the village., Rimuru-sama."

Rimuru glanced one more time a Shizu before he agreed with Kumiko and guided everyone back to the village. Along the way, they met up with Rigur and his security team, who accompanied them the rest of the way since they were on their way back as well. Rimuru had Rigur guide the humans to a hut that was built while he left to get a report on the situation.

"So, what are those four up to?" Rimuru asked as he, Rigurd and Kumiko approached the hut that Rigur was standing by at. Before Rigur could respond, a voice came from inside.

"Hey, damn it! I wanted that meat!" One of the guys said.

"What a jerk! I raised that meat myself, you know!" the blonde girl's voice rang out.

"Listen, man! I won't yield when it comes to food!" one of the guys said again.

Rimuru stared at the door in confusion.

"I'm sorry..." Rigurd said apologetically. "They said they were starving, so I gave them food." Rigurd had no need to apologize as Rimuru quickly praised him for his quick thinking and helpful actions.

"Yes, sir! Thank you very much!" Rigurd said, accepting the praise. "I hope to dedicate myself to doing just that!"

Rigur opened the door to the hut that the humans were currently in.

"Rimuru-sama, go on in," Rigur said, holding the door for him.

Rimuru entered the hut first, followed by Kumiko, Rigurd and then Rigur.

Ah, it's those humans from the cave. Kumiko thought to herself. The ones who used [Stealth Arts] back when Rimuru and her had found the gates. Perhaps they still had a thing or two to learn. After all, their stealth arts were worthless if they left tracks to trace behind them. The only one eating calming in the situation was Shizu who sat with her legs folded underneath her.

"Guests, I fear we have little to offer," Rigurd started, "but are you comfortable here? Allow me to make introductions. This is our master, the great Rimuru!"

The adventurers minus Shizu quickly swallowed the food in their mouths.

"Master?!" They exclaimed in shock.

"Got a problem with that?" Rimuru asked. Kumiko's hand rested on her scythe as she stood behind Rimuru. If they did have a problem, she wouldn't mind scaring them a bit.

Thankfully for them, they answered no.

"We knew you were no ordinary slime, but we had no idea..." the blonde girl explained their shock. Rimuru stared at the group before doing a more relaxed introduction of himself.

"Nice to meet you! I'm Rimuru the slime! I'm not a bad slime!" Rimuru said as cutely as he could. The only person in the room who understood was Shizu, who almost laughed aloud. Even Kumiko stared at Rimuru as if not processing what he just did. Everyone turned to look at Shizu as she was the only one that reacted the way she did.

"We apologize," the leader said, bowing his head to Rimuru. "We never expected to be saved by monsters, but we do appreciate it."

"Oh, and thanks for the meat!" the blonde girl added on. "It's delicious!"

"Th-thanks for your help," the last guy said. "I didn't expect to find Goblins building a village here."

Shizu stayed silent.

"So, what brings you all the way out here?" Rimuru asked.

"I'm Kaval. For what it's worth, I'm the leader of this party. This is -" The leader was interrupted by the blonde girl sitting by Shizu

"I'm Eren!"

"Hello, I'm Gido," the last guy introduced. "Nice to meet you."

"And this is a temporary member who just happened to be going the same way as us." Kaval pointed to Shizu, who introduced herself very briefly.

"We're here at the request of the Guildmaster in the Kingdom of Blumund," Kaval continued explaining. Kaval then began to explain all his plans. Rimuru and Kumiko couldn't help but think that he was too naive to be sharing all his plans. Luckily for him, Rimuru had no ulterior motive. To put it simply, a Guildmaster in Blumund, one of the nations bordering the Great Forest of Jura, asked them to investigate the area.

"I see." Rimuru said after they finished explaining. Veldora's absence had a greater effect than Rimuru realized at first. Even Kumiko didn't know about the aftereffects of Veldora's disappearance. Yet Kumiko knew that this could spell danger. More people were coming not to just check out the cave, but also the surrounding area. This meant that their growing village would soon be discovered. Hopefully, there would be no armies or adventurers coming to subjugate the villager.

"As you can see, we're in the middle of building our village," Rimuru stated, "but, well... does the Guild have some problem with that?" The group stared at Rimuru for a second before Kaval replied.

"I don't think so, right?"

"Yeah," Eren supported. "It's nothing the Guild has any say in. What about the country, though?"

"I have no idea myself," Gido said.

"I see. Well, I get it now," Rimuru said simply. "You should stay here tonight and get some good rest." Everyone thanked Rimuru.

"Rimuru-sama, I will go ahead and complete the scouting you requested of me earlier, as well as checking in with the security groups." Kumiko bowed and before anyone could say another word, she melted into her shadow.

"Treat them well," Rimuru said, addressing Rigur and Rigurd.

~~~

While Rimuru was having his own conversation with Shizu, Kumiko had finished checking in with the security teams. There was nothing to report except for the risk of coming into contact with the giant ant nest just outside of the village. She nodded and headed off in the direction of the ant nest. The giant ants were just a mob monster. They didn't have the intelligence that even the low level goblins had and so Rimuru had given her permission to take out these monsters.

She swiftly reached the monster nest and stared at it. A sword-sized slit had pierced the side of the hole, clearly the work of Kaval. She could just barely peer in to see an impossibly large hoard of giant ants. Their queen was nowhere to be seen yet.

Kumiko backed away from the nest and then posed herself to get a running start towards it. This nest may be impossible for any normal adventurer to take on, but she wasn't just anyone.

"I am Kumiko, a Kijin serving under the Great Rimuru-sama," she introduced quietly as hoards of ants began emerging from the nest, sensing that something was outside. They seemed to form a giant wall as ant after ant crawled out. "For the betterment of the Goblin Village under Rimuru-sama's protection, you will be exterminated."

With that she jumped straight into the enemy ranks.

Up Next: Conquerer of Flames

Chapter Text

The next day, Kumiko returned back to Rimuru, covered in blood. Rimuru tried to make an effort to use a health potion on her, but she refused right away. Rimuru kept insisting until she told him why she didn't need it.

"This blood isn't mine. Its the ants' blood."

Sure enough, after she cleaned up at the river, there was not a single scratch on the Kijin, nor on the armor that Garm had made her. She had single handedly taken out one of the largest giant ant nests in the Forest of Jura. Rimuru only stared at her in shock, really getting an understanding of how strong she was, even without training all of her power. At the moment, Rimuru had tasked her with training her ability [Shadow Travel] to evolve into [Shadow Movement], which was superior in that she would be able to travel into any shadow in any location that she had been to previously. On top of that, she was in charge of training some of the goblins, including Gobta, this skill. Rimuru himself was teaching her how to evolve her skill from [Telepathy] into [Thought Communication] so that she could address multiple people at once. She was a quick learner, thankfully, and managed to successfully evolve her skill.

The three adventurers plus Shizu had been led to tents last night and were currently resting. Of course, the boys and girls were separated into two different tents. As Kumiko was walking past the tent the girls were staying to head back to Rimuru, she felt an overwhelming need to defend the village. She wasn't sure where that feeling came from since there appeared to be no danger at the moment. She stopped in her path and gripped her scythe tightly. Flicking open one of the blades, she scanned the area, looking for the source of the ominous feeling, but nothing stood out to her. After a couple more seconds, it faded and completely disappeared. Kumiko still remained alert, her scythe open until Rigurd saw her and ran over. As he ran over with his usual muscly self, Kumiko closed her blade, but didn't relax her stance.

"Kumiko-dono! Good morning!" Rigurd said, flexing his muscles upon stopping in front of her, as he always did when he got the chance. Kumiko had gotten used to this by now and simply ignored this action.

"Rigurd, I sensed an ominous feeling just now..."

"Huh? I didn't sense anything, Kumiko-dono. You're probably just worked up from fighting those giant ants all night."

Kumiko sighed, and couldn't help but agree. After all, the feeling had left the area completely, leaving not even a trace of it behind.

At that time, from the tent emerged Shizu, who seemed a bit surprised to see the Kijin and the Goblin King outside their tent. Kumiko stared at her for a second, but then quickly bowed her head slightly and started walking away with Rigurd. Rigurd followed without thinking much of it and began chatting with her.

"So, Kumiko-dono, where are you headed?" Rigurd ask, still flexing as he walked. You'd think he would get tired of flexing, but he was still going after months. At this point, Kumiko was sure the entire village was used to it.

"I'm heading to Rimuru-sama to prove to him I wasn't hurt during my fight with the giant ants. I came back early this morning with ant blood covering my body, and Rimuru-sama was worried I had been hurt. Clearly, as you can see, I'm fine," Kumiko explained, her voice in her usual monotone. Despite hearing her talk around the village and to Rimuru a lot more than before, Rigurd still couldn't help but keep wanting to listen to the soft chime of her voice. He couldn't really describe the feeling of hearing her talk, nor could anyone in the village, but it was like hearing calming music with every word she said. Perhaps this was why everyone went silent and listened every time she went to talk. That or the fact that she never talked unless necessary and every word she said was of importance.

They made it back to Rimuru's personal tent, and called out, only to receive silence in return. Poking a head in and seeing an empty tent, Kumiko started heading out again. Leaving Rigurd to wonder where Rimuru had gone. Kumiko wasn't too worried that he had disappeared. After all, she knew he could handle himself better than she could protect him. In addition, he most likely had Ranga by his side, who could protect him as well. She need not worry about Rimuru. So instead, the Kijin headed out to do the usual tasks that Rimuru would assign to her, including but not limited to checking in with the security and hunting units, checking village growth and helping secure the borders of the village.

To be honest, there weren't that many security units around the village. There was Rigur's team, Gobchi's team and Gobte's team for security. There were more hunting units than security, especially since the village numbers had increased by 500. Checking in first with security, she was alerted that Rigur would be seeing off the adventurers at the Western border later that morning with his father, Rigurd. The overnight security team had nothing to inform other than a few updates on the ant corpses and the vacant giant ant nest that Kumiko had annihilated the night previous. The last security team had yet to do their round, so she didn't bother with checking in since the overnight security should be transferring the information over during the shift change.

Kumiko the headed off to the hunting units who were about to head out for the day. They placed a map on the back of one of their direwolves and showed Kumiko the relative location of the expected prey. They were hunting non-hostiles, so most hunters were just average at best when it came to combat. For security purposes, since the groups were heading a bit farther out today to prevent overhunting in the areas nearest to the village, she had each unit be accompanied by one of the goblins who had been trained for higher risk combat. Once that was settled, Kumiko gave them approval to head out for the day, which they did so after a salute to Kumiko.

Since Kumiko had finished checking in with the units, she headed off to check in with the artisans for the morning. By now, they should be up. After she checked in, she made a mental note to go see off the adventurers with Rigur and Rigurd. Sure enough, the artisans were out and about that morning, though remaining close by their individual workshops. Their supposed "work hours" hadn't technically started, but Kumiko wasn't going to ask them to do anything specific, so she didn't think about it too much. Starting with Kaijin, she checked in with him on his resources and anything they needed. Due to the increase in demand for weapons among the warrior goblins, he was running a bit short on steel. Kumiko assured him that she would pass the message onto Rimuru to see what could be done to increase his resources. At the given moment, there was not a unit specified for mining, so steel depletion was expected. Doing the same with Garm, Dord and Myrd, she made notes of what resources they needed.

Surprisingly, Kumiko could somehow understand Myrd, albeit it was unknown to even her how she had the slightest idea what he was saying. She had once used telepathy to communicate with Myrd in case he simply didn't want to audibly talk, but even in his head he hummed his responses. Through the weeks of trying to figure out a communication method, it was one day that she could suddenly just understand him. She didn't hear his voice in her head, nor did he say anything, but it was a silent exchange between the two quiet individuals. No gestures or signals or words were exchanged. Just a few seconds of a glance in his eyes and she would immediately understand what he wanted her to. She learned through the multiple headaches of trying to figure this enigma out that sometimes it was better not to question how things came to be but rather to just accept it.

Kumiko headed to her own tent after visiting the artisans and quickly wrote up a report listing everything she had checked up on, the needs of the units and artisans and so on. Then, after delivering it to Rimuru's tent, she used her skill [Shadow Movement] to travel through Rigur's shadow and to the Western border to meet up with Rigurd and Rigur. When she got there, Rigur, Rigurd, Rimuru, who sat on Rigurd's shoulder, and the two male adventurers were already there.

"Rimuru-sama," she said, bowing as she appeared behind Rigur. By now, he had gotten used to her using his shadow as a form of travel so he no longer flinched. "I apologize for my delay in arriving at the Western border. I left a report in your tent detailing this morning's updates on the village and units."

"Ah, here they come," Rigur said before Rimuru got a chance to reply. Kumiko lifted her head to see the two females headed their way.

"Sorry for the wait!" Eren called out.

"Oh, we waited, all right," Gido scolded while slouching down.

"Jeez, why do women take so long to get read?" Kaval complained.

The girls said nothing as they continued walking towards the group, though Kumiko didn't miss Eren's glare at Kaval. Those two were like cat and dog sometimes. They fought over the most trivial things. Suddenly, Shizu stopped a little ways before Eren and her reached the rest of the group. Eren turned back, confused on why she stopped. Shizu said nothing to explain and only stood still.

Kumiko tensed as the ominous feeling from earlier came back. Thinking about it, she realized that the feeling came from in front of the girls tent earlier today. Jumping in front of Rimuru, she swung her closed scythe in front of the adventurers and assumed a defensive stance. As far as she's seen, Shizu was to be trusted, so she didn't want to attack if she didn't have to, especially since Rimuru seemed to take a liking to the masked girl. However, if it came down to defending the village and Rimuru, she would fight even a Demon Lord until her last breath.

"Stay back!" Kumiko commanded the group as she watched Shizu closely. Shizu made no movement, then all of a sudden gasped as if in terrible pain and started stumbling.

"Is something wrong?" Rigurd asked worried, but unable to move foward due to Kumiko's stance in front of him.

"Not... again..." They all heard Shizu gasp out. The adventurers inched forward in worry but were stopped from going to Shizu by Kumiko's closed staff and her yelling at them to stay back. Kumiko never liked raising her voice, but this aura was far too dangerous for her liking. Shizu collapsed onto the ground clutching her abdomen and then throwing her head back and letting out a terrible scream. Eren tried to get past Kumiko, but with the blunt side of the closed scythe, Kumiko forced her back. A crack came from Shizu and they watched in horror as the mask split and a blinding light, almost flame like, came emerging from the mask. Eren kept calling for Shizu, but this time her companions helped hold the blonde girl back.

Kumiko watched on with a serious face, but inside all she felt was fear. This feeling she was getting was not a good one, and to top things off, Shizu burst into a pillar of flame that reached up into the sky and formed an ashy grey cloud. Knowing that none of the adventurers were about to run towards the fire, Kumiko quickly drew her scythe back towards her and opened up both blades and further solidifying her defensive stance. The dark grey cloud only grew and grew with the seconds that passed by.

As the pillar of fire evaporated into thin air, it left a floating Shizu behind, her white cape billowing behind her. Then, she was encased in a ball of fire, which proceeded to explode in the surrounding area. Immediately, Kumiko knew that despite her reservations in using her skill [Ice Domination], the group was at risk of being burned by the fire and blinded by the ash and dust. If this fire was out of Shizu's control, it would also reach the village, and so Kumiko quickly formed a large circular wall around both Shizu and the group as high up as she could make it, as well as a shield of ice between them. The ice barrier was almost as strong as diamond, but it wasn't enough as it cracked from the force of Shizu's flame and the last blast of wind came through and knocked everyone down. However, Kumiko quickly pushed her skill a bit farther and reinforced the dome surrounding the group to ensure that this flame didn't reach, taking notice that as she did so, her scythe began to frost over, the ice spreading in between the carved patterns to form a contrast between the white ice and the black steel. To a bystander, they would've seen an circular wall of crystal clear ice form, starting from the bottom and rapidly expanding upwards into the clouds, before it was immediately filled with black smoke and dust.

Rimuru glanced at Kumiko as the wind died down, making sure she wasn't too freaked out about using her ice skill. Thankfully, she seemed to be more focused on protecting Rimuru and the village. She hadn't been blown down as everyone else had, but she was crouched low, one of her blades stabbed into the ground and her free hand skimming the ground, stabilizing her

"Hey! Is everyone okay?" Rimuru asked as the dust cleared some more. He had been blown off of Rigurd's shoulder.

"What the hell is this?" Kaval asked to no one in particular. "We charge extra for hazard pay, you know!"

"You should be telling Fuze that!" Gibo stated.

"Shizu! Shizu!" Eren called. Everyone turned towards where Shizu was, her entire form surrounded by flames. Even her hair was coated in purple flames. Kumiko wanted to charge forward and take down the danger, but she knew Shizu, or whatever being had taken over Shizu, was extremely powerful. Her [Unrivaled Strategy] couldn't give her an accurate reading until she got more information about Shizu and her abilities. Clearly, however, Kumiko was already at a slight disadvantage. Her skills focused more on shadows and ice, both of which were contradicted by the fire abilities Shizu had. Kumiko clicked her tongue slightly. There were too many unknowns and as far as she was seeing right now, she didn't like her chances too much.

"Shizu?" Kaval called as he stared at her flaming figure. "Shizue Izawa?"

"Isn't Shizue Izawa..." Gido trailed off and stared at Shizu, "... the Conqueror of Flames?!"

"Y-You mean the hero of the guild from about 50 years ago?!" Eren exclaimed. Kumiko glanced at Eren when she heard that, but quickly brought her attention back to Shizu. A hero... an existence that completely contradicted her own. A hero versus a monster.

"The Conqueror of..." Gido trailed off, never finishing his sentence. Instead, Kaval growled angrily up at Shizu.

"Wasn't she retired already?" he asked. Right as he finished, another pillar of flame exploded from Shizu.

"Rigur, Rigurd," Rimuru called out. They both looked back, awaiting him to finish his sentence. "Evacuate the others. Kumiko's ice wall won't last forever against fire."

"But..."

"Rimuru-sama..."

"That's an order," Rimuru finalized.

"Yes, sir! As you wish!" Rigur and Rigurd bowed.

"I will keep this wall up as long as I can," Kumiko called out, her voice calm despite the raging fire in front of them. It will give you time to evacuate, but do it quickly. Ice is weak against fire." The two nodded to Kumiko and quickly made their way out from a hole Kumiko had formed in her ice wall. She quickly closed it up again after they had exited. Once outside, Rigur and Rigurd wouldn't help but look back at the strangely magnificent ice wall that was glowing red and orange from the flames inside. It would've been considered beautiful had their entire village not been at risk. Kumiko moved to take a stance in front of Rimuru and the three adventurers. She wasn't sure how well her ice would do against fire, but it should soften any blows.

"Are you there, Ranga?" Rimuru called.

"Right here, Master!" Ranga called from Rimuru's shadow.

"Once it starts, you're up," Rimuru told Ranga. Ranga growled in affirmation.

Shizu's mask came flying down from her floating figure, it wasn't dangerously hot, so Kumiko swatted it behind her, making sure it didn't hit Rimuru or the other adventurers as she did so. The group all looked up at Shizu to see her eyes glowing an ominous red and orange hue. Kumiko could indeed confirm that this was the feeling she got earlier. Rimuru looked closer with his enhanced eyesight, only to see what appeared to be her tears. Shizu was crying?

Before Rimuru could pursue it, Shizu exploded in another ball of flame, the heat hitting the walls Kumiko had put up. Water started running down the walls as she attempted to thicken them. It looked like a wall of water from the melting ice. Kumiko kept getting images of the little boy with a spear of ice stabbed through him and of the blood stained ice from her attack on her own village leaders, but she pushed past it. Rimuru-sama needed her to keep it together right now. Her ice wall may be weak against fire, but it was helping to give Rigur and Rigurd time to evacuate the village. She was sure everyone had seem the black clouds which were spreading even outside of the walls.

As the flame dissipated, it wasn't Shizu who appeared in the center of the flame. Rather, it was a spirit with fire flowing from him as he cried out a battle cry. His red glowing eyes, the same glow seen in Shizu's eyes earlier, focused on the small group in front of him. Kumiko's eyes narrowed on the spirit. Ifrit, that was what felt so wrong. She had felt that ominous feeling from the appearance of Ifrit this morning before Shizu was able to suppress it. Her unsettled feeling only grew as she now knew her ice and shadow abilities were not just against a hero with a fire affinity, but rather the fire spirit himself.

"The fire spirit, Ifrit..." Kaval named for the group as they all stared up at him.

"There's no mistake, then," Gido confirmed. "Shizu is..."

"... the legendary hero, the Conqueror of Flames." Eren finished for Gido. "Th-There's no way we can win if we have to fight that!"

"Not a chance. We're going to die here." Gido said solemnly. "My life was so short...."

"Stop that nonsense," came Kumiko's voice, it was deathly calm in such a dire situation, but that perhaps was what made the adventurers listen to her. "You will not die here while under the protection of Rimuru-sama and myself. We -"

Kumiko was interrupted as Ifrit let out a ground-trembling roar the fire around him increasing in size. The ice wall was melting quicker than Kumiko could put it up again. She could only hope that Rigur and Rigurd had gotten everyone out of the village safely. A gust of wind came outwards from Ifrit, blowing strongly against the ice wall before shattering it into tiny pieces. Kumiko quickly used her [Ice Domination] to return the ice to it's original state as water in the air before the shards of sharp ice hurt anyone. Kaval attempted to put up a shield around the group, but it was shattered instantly by the force of the wind. It did the trick though, and the group wasn't completely thrown back. Through the dust, the group could see three pillars of flame rise around Ifrit. The flames soon dissipated to reveal three winged fire salamanders who began flying around and setting everything on fire. Kumiko watched in horror.

"You guys need to get out of here!" Rimuru called to the adventurers.

"We can't do that," Kaval replied as he drew he sword. "I don't know why she's suddenly out for blood..."

"But she's one of us!" Gido exclaimed as Eren and him also took their stances up.

"We can't just leave her!" Eren added.

"All right. Just be careful," Rimuru said, admiring their loyalty. "Kumiko! I know you don't like using your ice skills, but we need you to combat the flames as much as possible!" Kumiko nodded in understanding.

"I will obey, Rimuru-sama!" With that, she activated her skill [Iced Vines] and frost spread rapidly outwards from her feet. Her allies weren't affected, but neither were the flying fiery salamanders since they hadn't actually touched the ice. As for the fire itself, it was stronger than Kumiko's ice, so it was difficult to put out, but she was able to slow it's spread through the village and contain it. Tendrils of ice came growing out of the ground, waving around and waiting for Kumiko to use them. The ice spread as far as the eyes could see, reaching through the village and covered anything above ground including trees, reducing the risk of things catching fire and spreading. The bright white ice covering the ground contrasted greatly against the black clouds in the sky. Rimuru couldn't help but be in awe. He hated having to ask Kumiko to use her powers not only against the exact being that contradicted her entirety, but also when she wasn't ready. Rimuru slightly feared the repercussions it might have on Kumiko's mental state. He felt bad, but he had to focus. To Rimuru's surprise, the ice wasn't slippery in the slightest, even though some of it was melting. It didn't obey the laws of physics, but then again when did having abilities obey these laws.

"Hey! What is it you want?" Rimuru asked up to Ifrit as the spirit floated in the air, neither moving nor attacking. The spirit raised it's hand, forming a ball of fire before launching it at the slime who quickly jumped back. As the ball of fire touched the ice, thick tendrils of ice wrapped over it. As soon as one melted, two more would cover the flame until the fire was put out. Kumiko glared up harshly at Ifrit. How dare he aim at Rimuru-sama?

As Rimuru jumped back, he sent a strong water blade towards Ifrit, but it simply evaporated as soon as it got close to the first spirit. The salamanders around Ifrit screeched, a sound akin to nails on a chalkboard and flew down towards Rimuru.

"[Icicle Lance]!" Eren used her skill and a bullet of ice came flying towards the salamander. It hit one, causing the thing to screech and change its target from Rimuru to Eren. Eren continued her attack as it flew towards her. The adventurers assured Rimuru that they could handle this salamander. Suddenly, one of the other two shot a ball of fire towards Rimuru. Similar to the fire shot from Ifrit, as soon as it touched the ground tendrils of ice covered it. It took less time and less tendrils for this fire to be put out and the tendrils seemed to just disappear into the ground.

Rimuru quickly called for Ranga as more fire balls came flying down at him, each being swallowed up by the ice Kumiko was controlling faster than the last. Ranga jumped out from his shadow, howling, and Rimuru quickly jumped onto Ranga's back. Racing around the explosions of fire, Ranga made all his efforts to avoid getting them hit. Each explosion of fire that hit the ground was quickly swallowed by the ice. Thick tendrils of ice started extending from the ground, reaching up and trying to wrap around the salamanders. It made their attacks less accurate and slowed them down slightly to give Rimuru and Ranga some relief, but the heat from their skin was quickly melting the ice. Kumiko growled slightly in annoyance as they fended off her attacks. She kept shaking off the images of the blood stained ice from her mind and of that child ogre who's innocent blood also turned the ice red. Kumiko had to keep reminding herself that she was using it to protect Rimuru right now and she had to focus.

Expending more of her skill, Kumiko forced more tendrils to grow upwards rapidly, managing to successfully wrap around one of the salamanders. The amount of tendrils was more than enough to replace each one that was melt. Rimuru watched in shock as the tendrils dragged one of the salamanders down to the ground, the spirit screeching as the tendrils forced it off its path. Once on the ground, a thick dome of crystal ice surrounded the salamander. The last thing Rimuru saw was the salamander exploding in a ball of steam as more and more tendrils of ice piled onto the dome, containing the explosion in the icy prison. Rimuru looked over to the adventurers who seemed to be having success using [Icicle Lance] against the first salamander.

Using his quick wit, Rimuru had Eren fire an icicle at him, only to swallow up the magic and absorb the ice. With his new skill [Icicle Shotgun], Rimuru quickly took out the third salamander. Rimuru and Ranga turned around, heading towards the one attacking the three adventurers. Suddenly, the salamander flew down right next to the barrier and started glowing.

"It's gonna blow itself up!" Kaval announced in concern. Sure enough, the salamander exploded. Quickly, Kumiko wrapped the area in a bought of ice tendrils, but she didn't get to it in time before Kaval, Gido and Eren got blown away by the blast, their magic shield shattering from the force of the explosion. Rimuru ran up to the three. Kumiko quickly joined Rimuru and Ranga.

"Ranga, take these three someplace safe," Rimuru commanded.

"But..."

"Go!" Rimuru insisted.

"As you command, Master," Ranga yielded. "Please be well!"

"Don't worry, I'll take down Ifrit!" Rimuru declared. With that, Ranga carried the three injured adventurers off the field. Rimuru looked at Kumiko, who clearly was mentally struggling with the use of her ice skills.

"Kumiko, I'm sorry to ask this of you, but I'm going to continue needing your support while I go up against Ifrit," Rimuru requested. He did indeed feel bad because he could see the mental toll it was taking on her. Kumiko was scared of her own power, that much was obvious. She herself didn't know the extent it could do, but she did know that she had the power to kill innocents. She worried if she lost control, her own allies would be caught in it. It took all of her mental strength to keep it in check, since her fear also kept her from practicing control.

"Do not worry about me, Rimuru-sama, I will fight with you for as long as I live." Rimuru couldn't help but be grateful to have Kumiko by his side. He nodded in appreciation and approached Ifrit. Kumiko stayed a fair distance away, but close enough to keep an eye on Rimuru and control the ice tendrils.

"Okay, now we can fight without holding back." Rimuru stared determined at Ifrit. Ifrit made no move, but flames formed outwards in a circle from him, dissipating to reveal body doubles and only stopping once Ifrit had formed a ring around Rimuru. They all descended around Rimuru, the ice on the ground instantly melting around Ifrit's feet. Kumiko kept trying to reform the ice, but at best it was just a nuisance to Ifrit. Kumiko released a bit more power into the ice, knowing that it was fairly safe despite her worries. It was just her and Rimuru, and as long as she kept her skill away from Rimuru, he should be safe. Thick tendrils of ice extended behind each of the Ifrit doubles. They wrapped around the bodies, surprising Kumiko as she thought the ice would melt as soon as it came close to Ifrit. Rimuru quickly took this chance, using [Icicle Shotgun] to send out a barrage of ice that quickly pierced through the doubles which turned into flickers of flame. The tendrils that were originally holding onto the doubles were quickly retracted into the ground by Kumiko before she lost control over it.

All that was left by Rimuru was the fire spirit himself. Instantly, the ice around Rimuru melted as a red sigil appeared beneath Rimuru. Ifrit roared as he used his skill [Flare Circle]. Flames rose up on the outer ring of the circle, capturing Rimuru in a wall of flames. The flames grew larger and larger, spinning upwards and outwards and melting all the ice Kumiko had laid out. Kumiko had to leap back to avoid being burnt by the flames.

"Rimuru-sama!" Kumiko called out, worried. She automatically thought the worse, and in her anger at Ifrit, released a huge wave of ice from her. From afar, the goblins from the village could see white expanding closer and closer to the flames rapidly. Kumiko was livid. The ice tendrils took on a red hue as they reached into the flames surrounding what Kumiko assumed was a melted and dead slime. She screamed out at Ifrit, her rage overtaking her as she froze the fire completely. What was left was a sculpture of swirling ice, gaps and holes though out the spiral pattern. Rimuru from the inside looked up in awe as the fire around him froze. He wasn't getting damaged by the fire, so it didn't matter too much, but it was a magnificent sight. Even the goblins and Ranga from afar watched in awe as the entire column of flame froze.

Ifrit turned towards Kumiko. She may be strong, but against a fire spirit, her ice would be just a pain. She glared at him with piercing golden eyes, the flames reflecting off of them to make it look like they were glowing. A second wave of ice was pushed outwards from her body, and thousands of tendrils of ice pushed out of the ground, all aiming towards Ifrit. Ifrit exploded in another bought of flame and started melting the tendrils. Surprisingly, each time he melted one, another came to replace it. She was a formidable opponent when mad. She pushed her left leg back and then launched herself towards Ifrit, spinning fast as her double-bladed scythe glinted dangerously. Ifrit looked in shock and blew out a breath of fire at her, which she quickly blocked with a shield of ice. Ifrit quickly released a heatwave from his own body, which melted the ice shield and sent Kumiko flying back. She slid on her feet in the dirt, her scythe held behind her in her left hand and her right hand on the ground stabilizing her. The tendrils of ice around Ifrit had melted slightly in his rage, but she quickly sent more headed towards the fire spirit. Then, since Ifrit was too focused on Kumiko's attacks, strings of thread came whipping out from the spiral of frozen fire, wrapping Ifrit tightly.

"Rimuru-sama!" Kumiko exclaimed in shock and relief. Ifrit turned towards the spiral to see the slime making its way out and growled.

"Did you just do something to me?" Rimuru taunted. "Great job, Kumiko. I can take it from here."

Kumiko, in her shock, simply nodded and retracted the ice tendrils, but left the ground coated in ice.

"I underestimated you, but not as much as you underestimated me," Rimuru said as he made his way up to Ifrit. Ifrit tried to burn the threads off, but to his surprise, they weren't affected at all. Ifrit blew out a breathe of flames at Rimuru, but the slime wasn't affected in the slightest.

"My turn."

Rimuru expanded outwards, the blue slime growing larger and large until he engulfed Ifrit whole. As Ifrit was swallowed, the black clouds faded away. The icy ground began retreating back towards Kumiko. The last fires were snuffed out as Kumiko's ice covered them and swallowed them into the retreating ice. Soon, all that was left was Rimuru, Kumiko and a collapsed Shizu in a flat area. Unfortunately, her ice hadn't stopped the houses they had built from collapsing and catching fire completely, so most of the village had been burnt down or blown down.

Kumiko had retracted all the ice as Rimuru ran towards Shizu. Kumiko stayed at her distance, but winced as she saw the little ogre boy from the village once again calling out for help from her. She heard his screams of pain and the drips of his blood onto the ice. Kumiko stumbled slightly, but quickly hid it as Rimuru turned to glance at her. Rimuru had just fought off a fire spirit. The great Rimuru need not worry about a simple kijin such as her. Breathing heavily and leaning slightly on her scythe, she left Rimuru by Shizu as she used [Shadow Movement] to travel to the rest of the goblin village.

As soon as she appeared behind Rigur, she heard her name being yelled before she promptly collapsed.

Up next: Inherited Will

Chapter Text

"Cursed One." An elderly looking ogre stared down at the emotionless girl, one of his sons holding her to the floor. Her hands were tied behind her, her feet bound together and her head pushed down onto the hard floor. One of the ogres surrounding her had a chain in his hand which led to a metal collar around her neck. Even then, she seemed to just tune everything out.

"We have a new task for you." The girl looked up, her eyes staring blankly at the elder ogre. He shivered as looking into her emotionless golden eyes was akin to looking into a back hole. They were so devoid of emotion, and it only made him fear her more. A monster that successfully cut off her emotions; he hoped she would finally get herself killed in battle this one last time. Despite the countless battles she had fought against orcs, lizardmen, goblins, ants and any monster this ogre village felt unsafe against, she had always returned. Sometimes alone, which made them wonder if she had fled the battlefield and left her fellow ogres to die. This thought made them despise the young ogre, despite her having been born only 11 years ago. Considering an ogre's lifespan, she would've been considered a baby.

"You are to go fight the direwolves that live to the east of us." He stared her down. "Alone."

The girl's eyes glanced down at the ground her face was currently being held against before looking back up with a gleam in her eyes.

"No," she replied simply, her voice devoid of emotion. "You're insane to think a mere child like me can defeat an entire direwolf pack alone."

"That's the whole point," the elder pointed at her horns, causing the young ogre to quickly look down. "Those horns are a curse upon our village. Unfortunately, we as ogres must uphold our traditions, even for a cold-blooded monster like you. We can't dispose of you ourselves, or the other ogres will blame us. But this village cannot contain your curse. We'll all die because of you. So you will go fight that pack and you will not come back."

"No. I will not fight." The ogre calmly refused the order. Despite being so young, she was used to the oppression. However, this was the first time she had stood up against the village leaders. "What will you do if I refuse? You're too scared to bring me into the direwolf territory yourself because you know its suicide for an untrained elder like you to drop off a trained killer like me."

The ogre holding her down hissed at her and reached for her arm, harshly pulling her up off the floor.

"You do not disobey us. We are in control of this village!" The young female ogre only stared into the eyes of the male holding her arm tightly. Her hands were still tied, but frost was slowly making its way over the ropes tying her down. Even the chains around her neck were getting colder and colder.

"I. Will. Not. Fight." She said, deathly calm. The ogre took a step back in fright, but anger quickly took over and he stepped forwards again, an arm reaching out for the collar. As soon as he touched it, he immediately let go, frost growing up his arm as he screeched in pain.

"You monster! What are you doing?" one of the other ogres in the room cried out, hurrying over the the one who was writhing in pain on the ground. His hand had turned purple by now and his fingers were brittle to the point they could break off and shatter into dust. The female ogre's eyes remained unfazed as she stared down the rest of the ogres. The elder reached for her arm, making sure to avoid the chain. Gripping her tightly, he pulled her close to his face and spoke in a low threatening tone.

"If you don't obey, we will slaughter all the young ogres in the village in the middle of the night. Then we'll release you and claim that you killed them. The village may not care much about your presence now, but we'll see about that after the children are dead. Are you going to cooperate?"

At his threat towards the children, the golden eyes of the chained ogre glowed with anger. She may not like her village, but the children were innocent. Innocents need not die. But was she not innocent as well?

In her rage, the room's temperature dropped drastically and frost began inching out from underneath her feet. The rope and chains wrapped around her shattered into tiny pieces of ice. She laughed, scaring the elder into dropping her onto the ground. Then as she laughed, tears rolled down her cheeks. The once emotionless ogre was so frustrated that she was breaking at the moment. She thought she had shut away her emotions since they only caused her pain. She had loved her village but they shunned her for her horns. She had fought to help her comrades on the battlefield, but they all ran from her after she saved them like she was the true enemy. She had protected this village, only to be sent again to battle to die. She hid hoping that they would even just ignore her presence, but they sought her out to fight. She didn't want to fight for the village, yet, if she didn't obey, the innocent of the village were at risk. What could she do? She didn't want the blood of innocent ogres on her hands because she was selfish.

In her frustration, the ice spread quicker and quicker, the ogres surrounding her stepping back, only to feel more and more sluggish with each step they took.

"You threatened the innocent ogres. I care not what you do to me for refusing, but threatening the innocent is something I cannot forgive." Her golden eyes glared at the village elder. "They are innocent. But am I not innocent either?!" With the last word, a wave of ice came flowing out of her, immediately freezing the ogres in the room. The frost on the ground kept expanding, tendrils of ice coming upwards into the room and turning the wooden hut into an icy cavern. So far, the ice hadn't quite reached the front door, but it was inching towards it.

"I've fought battle after battle for this village! I've watched comrades die in front of me! I've been the last one fighting in battles! I've survived with the guilt of all the fallen ogres on the battlefield! Yet why do you keep sending me back!" With each phrase, the temperature dropped and spikes of ice began forming out of the walls.

"I've almost died for this village! So what if my horns are different! I'm an OGRE!" At the last word, a large spike speared one of the nearby ogres, his body skewered through his chest and hanging limply off the spike. Blood dripped down and hit the ice, staining the once clear ground red. The other frozen ogres could only watch in horror as she continued raging, her pent up emotions escaping into the room.

"So what if my horns are unnatural! I fought for this village and I've succeeded! I've followed your every order, yet you continue this treatment of me! WHAT CURSE DO I HAVE?" As she screamed out her last sentence, the tendrils of ice rising out of the ground punctured through two more ogres. Their bodies collapsed onto the ground, the ice tendrils still stuck in them. Pools of blood began forming underneath the dead bodies.

"Tell me! I DIDN'T ASK TO BE BORN LIKE THIS EITHER! I WOULD LOVE TO HAVE A LOVING FAMILY, A VILLAGE THAT TREATED ME LIKE THE OGRE I AM!" With each breathe she took, an ogre fell, skewered by ice, and they continued falling until only the elder remained. He stared at her in absolute horror.

"Y-you monster!" He managed to stutter out. The female ogre turned towards him harshly, her eyes a raging gold.

"I'M NOT A MONSTER!" She screamed at him as two spikes of ice protruded from the ground and one from the ceiling, stabbing the elder through his chest, abdomen and left leg. Despite all the ogres being dead around her, her skill continued to rampage. Her pent up rage and emotions from 11 years of pain coming out all at once. The temperature continued dropping and more and more tendrils of ice formed from the ground.

"Father?" A small voice called out from the front door. The female ogre's head snapped towards the voice, her golden eyes a mix of emotions. As soon as she spotted the young ogre, barely 5 years old, she could only watch in horror as her powers lost control.

"No!" She screamed at herself. She tried to stop it, but it was too late. The young ogre screeched in pain as the frost crept up his body.

"Help me!" He screamed, reaching his hand out for the female ogre. She couldn't move as she watched the frost paralyze his body and a spike of ice strike through the young ogre. He let out one horrifying screech of pain before he went limp. She stared at the body, tears streaming down her face. All she could hear at the moment was the sound of his blood dripping onto the ground.

"No..." she whispered, reaching a shaky hand out to the small body. "No.. I-I didn't mean to. I-I'm not a monster. No, please!" She crawled towards the body, as if hoping the boy was miraculously still alive. Her hand touched the hanging arm of the boy, pulling back in shock when she felt only coldness. She did this. This was all her fault.

She stumbled backwards, spinning in a circle to see the damage she had caused. The eyes of all the dead ogres were staring at her, as if accusing her.

"No! I didn't mean for this! I'm not a monster!" She held her hands in her head, her eyes wide in fear. "No!"

She knew she needed to leave now before some discovered her at the center of this and killed her. After this stunt she pulled, she would surely be killed. She broke off one of the tips of the spikes that grew around the room, At the entrance of the door, she wrote a quick note.

'I'm sorry, I didn't mean it... Your leaders are dead. You must leave this land before you die too. To the west, there is an ogre village, it is the closest one to here. If you don't want to head west, there is another ogre village to the north, but it will take a full week to travel there. I suggest you head west. I didn't mean for this to happen.'

She finished carving her note into the icy ground and then quickly fled the hut. She ran to the back shed, grabbing her weapon and began running straight into the forest. She ran and ran, fear gripping at the young ogre as she got farther and farther away from her village.

'I really am a curse,' she thought as she continued running. She wasn't sure where she was going, but she knew she had just keep running

~~~

Kumiko sprung up from the ground of the tent, her posture tense and scared. Rigur was in the tent checking in on her when she bolted up, scaring him. He jumped, alerting the Kijin of his presence. In her half dazed, half frightened state, she launched herself at him, a fist raised as a deadly calm mask came over her. She had no need for emotions. Emotions meant lack of absolute control, and lack of control meant that she would kill again.

As she pounced on Rigur, he cowered, never having seen Kumiko in this state. Her eyes looked half glazed, as if not truly seeing where she was. Her fist was raised, aiming downwards.

"Kumiko-dono!" Rigur yelled out, frightened. Her fist halted in mid-air and her eyes began to slowly clear, recognition flashing through them as she stared at Rigur who was pinned down.

"Ah. Rigur, my apologies..." she quickly helped him up, her face betraying no emotion though Rigur swore he saw a flicker of fear.

"Was it your past, Kumiko-dono?" Kumiko looked at Rigur blankly. "Did you dream of your past?"

She stared at him for a bit longer, before shaking her head.

"No. I dreamt of Ifrit," she lied.

"Do you -"

"Rigur, where's Rimuru-sama," she asked, cutting off any of his attempts to get her to talk.

"Rimuru-sama is in his tent with Shizu-san. The two of you were both passed out for a day," Kumiko nodded at Rigur and picked up her scythe from from floor. Without another word, she disappeared into her own shadow. Rigur sighed. That Kijin was as closed-off as ever. After she had revealed her past to the group outside of Dwargon, she had avoided all conversation about it. Despite what she said, Righure knew that when she fought Ifrit with her ice powers, it triggered the memories she was trying so desperately to bury and caused her to pass out. Rigur couldn't help but pity Kumiko. She had such a tragic past that she blamed herself for.

Kumiko traveled to Ranga, knowing he was stationed outside of Rimuru's tent at the moment. She would've traveled to Rimuru directly, but Rigur had said he was in the tent with Shizu. She wanted to give them some privacy to talk. As Ranga felt her movement from his shadow, he turned, facing her just as she emerged. His tail wagged lightly as she patted him on the head, but something felt off to Ranga still. She was more tense than usual. Kumiko ignored Ranga's remarks about her wellbeing, and Ranga immediately understood that she wasn't mentally okay. The fight with Ifrit may have ended, but she was fighting her own internal battle still. A battle against her past. Unfortunately there was nothing Ranga could do. He couldn't even begin to imagine her pain as being an outcast. As a wolf and as the leader of the pack, he was never used and discarded like she was. All he could do was nuzzle his head into her hand.

Kumiko and Ranga waited outside the tent as Shizu explained to Rimuru her story. Goblins who saw Kumiko out and about greeted her happily, unaware of her mental battle. She greeted them politely with her usual monotone, and advised the few who needed it before returning by Ranga to wait for Rimuru to emerge. To the average goblin, she seemed perfectly normal. By now, she had perfected her emotionless and calm mask to the untrained eye.

It wasn't long before Rimuru's voice sounded in her mind, letting Kumiko know that he wanted her to enter the tent. She obeyed. As she walked in, she noticed that he was sitting on an empty cot.

"Rimuru-sama... is Shizu..." Kumiko didn't finish her sentence, but Rimuru nodded at her unsaid question

"She asked to rest inside of me. I granted her last wish. She was my destined one..." Kumiko stared at the bed before she got down on one knee, putting her hand over her heart and bowing her head and upper body towards Rimuru and the empty bed.

"Rimuru-sama, Shizu had lived long. She fought Ifrit as best as she could and she proved to be a trustworthy ally in her short time here as Shizu. Allow her to rest in peace by happily remembering her in her best moments." Rimuru nodded his slime head, staring sadly at the mask that he held onto. Kumiko was right.

Rimuru turned to Kumiko, noting that despite her well-maintained facade, she still looked exhausted from the battle. Kumiko noticed him looking and quickly bowed lower to hide her fatigue.

"Are you okay, Kumiko?" Rimuru asked, knowing she was going to claim everything was okay.

"Yes, Rimuru-sama. Do not worry about me. I just had a bad dream is all." Rimuru sighed, expecting her answer all while knowing that she was trying to deny her own emotions and mental battle. He really shouldn't have pushed her to use her power during the fight with Ifrit, but he couldn't deny that it was extremely useful.

"Well, I now have a human form. I'll test it now." Without much else said, Rimuru used his skill [Mimic] to transform into a human. Despite his humanoid appearance, he had bright blue hair. Before Rimuru really had time to examine himself, Kumiko heard steps outside the door, three pairs to be exact. Rigurd's voice quickly followed.

"Well, what a surprise, are you here to visit our patient?" Rigur asked.

"Are you as well?" Kaval's voice replied.

"Yes. I was just bringing a change of clothes for Lady Shizu."

Kumiko stepped into the corner of the tent, hiding slightly in the shadows. The three had loyalty to Shizu, and humans were emotional. Who knew how they would react to Rimuru engulfing their friend.

"Rimuru-sama, may I?" came Rigurd's voice as the curtain separating the hut from the outside was brushed aside by the Goblin King. He stepped in, barely taking note of Kumiko's dimmed presence inside the room. Instead, Rigurd was more focused on the Rimuru who had assumed a human form. The three adventurers gasped as they peeked in from behind Rigurd. Ranga soon joined them.

"Master!" Ranga exclaimed. The three adventurers looked at Ranga, shocked before turning back to Rimuru again.

"Th-That's Rimuru?" Kaval yelled out in shock. Rimuru turned around slowly, looking at the group, tears streaming from his eyes as it finally set in that he had swallowed Shizu. Eren tried to run up to Rimuru, but as she moved forwards, a gust of wind and a shadow stopped her in her path. Looking up, she was met with the dull eyes of the Kijin. The scythe in her hand was closed, but she still stood between the adventurers and Rimuru with the scythe extended to her side, completely blocking the path. The adventurers got the hint. Calm, steady passive movements only. They hadn't fully understood the situation, but they assumed that she was still wound up from the fight with Ifrit.

Rimuru quickly told Kumiko that they wouldn't harm him before invited the trio in a quiet, sad voice to come in. He began explaining what happened to Shizu. Kumiko took her place back in the shadow. She hoped that the three remained calm after finding out he had swallowed Shizu so that she didn't have the urge to act. She was too tense at the moment to deal with the adventurers if they wanted revenge.

"I see..." Kaval said solemnly. "So Shizu passed on..."

"Are you really Rimuru?" Gido asked, still not processing.

"There can be no doubt!" Rigurd yelled from the doorframe.

"Did you really think I wouldn't recognize my master just because his body changed?!" Ranga growled angrily at the insult.

"Uh, no I didn't mean it that way...." Kaval quickly defended. "It's just, well... You look a bit like a smaller Shizu."

"It's true," Rimuru reassured. "Look." Rimuru dispelled the [Mimic] allowing his slime form to take place again, the shirt he had been wearing falling to the ground worthlessly. The three adventurers stared at him in shock.

"Wow," Kaval said breathlessly.

"That's quite remarkable." Gido commented.

"Did you eat Shizu?" Eren asked warily. "The way you ate Ifrit?" Rimuru looked down.

"It was the only burial I could give her," he replied sadly. "I'm sorry I didn't consult you, her travel companions, first."

"Well... if it's what Shizu wanted, there was no other choice," Kaval justified.

Rimuru looked towards Eren and apologized to her directly since she had been close with Shizu.

"I just wish I could have said goodbye to her," Eren responded, not at all upset that Rimuru had granted Shizu's wish.

"Shizu-san said she had fun traveling with you three." Rimuru offered. "Though she also said you were a bit danger-prone."

Eren and Gido immediately stared at Kaval, who flinched as he noticed their stares.

"Hey! Why are you looking at me that way?!" Kaval cried out.

"Well, you know..." Eren trained off, not finishing her sentence. Gido agreed with her unsaid statement.

"Well, what about the time you got caught in that pitfall?!" Kaval pointed at Gido accusingly.

"That was because Eren pushed me!" Gido defended.

"Hey! Don't blame me for that!" Eren exclaimed indignantly."A spider landed on me out of nowhere!"

Rimuru watched them closely, agreeing that their normal banter suited them a lot better than them being sad and somber. Kumiko stood by, slightly pleased that the humans were reasonable. Since the beginning, Rimuru liked humans, as he announced to the original goblin village. It would have been a shame if she had to defend Rimuru against those that he wished to protect. Kumiko flinched at that thought. Defending oneself from the very beings that one was protecting... A sad phrase of betrayal that described her past well.

After some more pointless chatter in the tent, the adventurers decided to head back to Blumund, as was their original goal before Ifrit made his appearance.

"We appreciate all your help," Kaval thanked Rimuru as they faced him in the tent. "We'll be on our way now."

"Back to your home country?" Rimuru asked.

"Yeah, we need to report to the Guildmaster about our findings, and about Shizu," Kaval clarified. "We won't say anything bad about this place."

"We'll tell him about you, too, Rimuru," Eren promised

"If anything comes up, you can always send for us," Gido offered. Kumiko approved of this group, and decided to undo her [Presence Obscure] now that she knew for sure they had no ill will against Rimuru. The three suddenly felt her presence and jumped spinning around.

"When did you get there?" Kaval asked, a bit freaked out. Kumiko bowed her head.

"My apologies for frightening you, I was here the whole time, though I removed my presence." The three adventurers blinked at her, not knowing what to say. "I determined you trust worthy enough, and felt no need for the element of surprise."

The three and Rimuru sweatdropped. She was so straightforward... Eren giggled slightly and stuck her hand out to the Kijin.

"Well, we should be thanking you too. Despite you being a powerful ogre, you're quite the character sometimes," Eren smiled at Kumiko. Kumiko reached out to Eren's outstretched hand and shook it gently.

"Actually, I'm a Kijin." Eren gasped in shock and then started laughing slightly.

"Ehhhh?! A Kijin!" Kaval and Gido stared at Kumiko. Never did they think they would meet a Kijin! Kumiko looked the three shocked faces, and for just a second, she felt amused. In that second, she let a small giggle escape her lips and a smile grace her face and she reached her hand up and covered her mouth slightly. Never before had she met anyone so excited to meet a monster. The three adventurers and Rimuru stared mesmerized as she laughed lightly.

"It was an honor to fight alongside you in battle. You held your own against Ifrit's salamanders. You all are respectable adventurers," Kumiko praised, a hint of amusement still clear in her tone. The three adventurers shyly accepted the compliment. Shortly after, the entire group stood in a comfortable silence.

"Ah. There's one last favor we'd like to ask..." Kaval said, turning to face Rimuru. "Could you take your human form again?"

Rimuru seemed confused, but agreed to his request and in a puff of white mist, took on his human appearance.

"So what is it you want?" The three stared at him before bowing simultaneously.

"Thank you so much, Shizu!" they yelled, keeping their heads bowed.

"I'll strive to be the kind of leader you don't have to worry about!" Kaval vowed to Shizu.

"My time adventuring with you will be my life's treasure!" Gido praised. Eren ran up to Rimuru, wrapping him in a hug.

"Thank you! You were like a big sister to me!" Eren said before proceeded to cry on Rimuru's shoulder. Rimuru gently patted her head.

After Eren had calmed down, he looked at the three and commented on the state of their armor. They jumped back, as if offended but Rimuru simply laughed and had them follow him to the armory with Kumiko following close behind. Kumiko quickly left to gather the armor while Rimuru chatted with them. Within a few short moments, Kumiko had brought three sets of armor to fit the adventurers. Kaval, a 'fighter' adventurer, had gotten a full set of blue scale-mail armor. Eren, a 'mage' adventurer, got a set of white mage robes with a pink bow. Lastly, Gido, a 'thief' adventurer, got a light weight pair of armor lined with direwolf fur.

"They're parting gifts," Rimuru explained. "Our artisans' best work!"

"Artisans?"

"Yo!" Rimuru called out to the dwarves who were nearby. They made their way over

"Our best work? They're actually just prototypes," Kaijin denied.

"How do they feel?" Garm asked.

"It's all about craftsmanship." Dord offered.

Myrd hummed.

"I'll introduce you," Rimuru said as the adventurers stared at the four dwarves. "From the right, this is Kaijin, Garm, Myrd and Dord.

"K-Kaijin?! Are you serious?!" Kaval exclaimed as the three inched forward a bit.

"The blacksmith who's world-famous for his skills?!" Eren followed up.

"And Garm, Myrd and Dord... the three Dwarf Brothers?!" Gido said in complete shock.

Kaval quickly grasped Kaijin's hand in his own, shaking it and promising that the armor would become his family heirloom. Eren wrapped Myrd and Garm into a large hug. Gido lifted Dord up into the air and wrapped the dwarf in a tight hug.

"Hoo? You all are quite popular, aren't you?" Kumiko asked teasingly to the dwarves as they were praised and hugged by the three adventurers. None of them replied, though Kaijin sent her a glare. She put her hands up in mock surrender.

After raising a fuss big enough to blow their sadness away, the three of them left from the west border. They waved wildly from the forest line one last time before starting their trek back through the forest.

"The girl who lost everything to the flames so long ago, oddly enough, gained the power of fire in her travels. She used that power to help the people, but the flames gradually consumed her, until, eventually, she could no longer control them. Her name was 'Shizue Izawa.' She was a Champion whose body housed Ifrit, a high-ranked fire spirit, earning her the title 'Conqueror of Flames.'" Rimuru finished reading the small plaque he had made for Shizue's grave. Her grave was a pile of rocks on the hill that overlooked the village. Ranga and Kumiko were standing nearby while he prayed.

I promised Shizu-san... Rimuru thought to himself. Before I can slug the Demon Lord Leon Cromwell who made Shizu-san cry, I first need to gather information.

"I'm a man who keeps his promise," Rimuru promised aloud to the air. Ranga and Kumiko bowed to him from behind.

Unknown to the group, a great danger lay ahead of them...

Up next: Attack of the Ogres

Chapter Text

The goblin's development of the village continued to progress with Kumiko helping to oversee the projects. Kaijin and the three dwarf brothers made clothing and tools and built more homes. The Goblin Lords under Rigurd, the Goblin King, worked out a system to rule the village. Things were progressing well.

Rimuru had Kumiko oversee most of the construction, as well as security and hunting, as she did previously. In regards to the resources that Kumiko had reported to Rimuru, he formed a few new units of goblins and wolves to scavenge for resources or mine for ore. Kumiko was also in charge of overseeing them, though for the most part they were self-sufficient. Rimuru said nothing, but he kept track of Kumiko and noticed a growing trend of her finding something to busy herself with every second she could. Normally, this wouldn't be an issue, but it was different from the Kumiko that would find times to hide away on a tree through the day to avoid talking. Now it seemed like she wanted to do anything but that. Rimuru sighed sadly as he observed her. After Shizu's death, Kumiko refused to even mention to Rimuru about her problems. He assumed that she was worried he was still grieving, but he was worried about her mental health for bottling it up. She respected him too much to rely on him for her own problems, but at times it made him feel like a bad leader. She had been accompanying him since the cavern and had loyally remained by his side, yet he couldn't say a word to help her.

Rimuru was currently hitching a ride around the village on a wooden door carried by two goblins. Kumiko was nearby, but busy doing her usual duties. Once he had confirmed that there was nothing urgent he needed to address, Rimuru hopped off the door and started making his way back to his own hut. Kumiko noticed out of the corner of her eye and she watched over Rimuru from her distance until he made it safely inside.

"Kumiko-dono," the goblin lord she was talking to called out. She turned her head back to the conversation.

"My apologies. What were we discussing?"

"Ah, we were hoping to get approval for expansion into this area of the forest," he said, pointing to the north of the village.

"I will have the security units scout the area shorting, and then report it to Rimuru. Please wait before starting to clear the trees."

The two discussed a couple other minor issues, joined by a few other goblins and goblin lords. She addressed all of their issues and delegated them tasks to keep them busy. After Ifrit destroyed half their village, they were set back in being able to comfortably house their population. In the first few days, she had the goblins report to her first to give Rimuru time to grieve for Shizu. Afterwards, they reported urgent matters to Rimuru directly for fast results. They reported to Kumiko when they needed approval from multiple units and Rimuru or if they were unsure of something. Other than that, the goblins and artisans had free will to build and do as they pleased.

Kumiko was always efficient with her work, even though at this moment, she wished she took longer. Her first stop after addressing the goblin lords was to check in with the hunting team. They didn't all go out daily, but it was always a good idea to keep track of the prey in the area. She had permanently assigned a few warrior goblins with each hunting unit to protect them from aggressive monsters when necessary. The hunting units were trained mostly to avoid having to engage in fights with monsters, but it was always better safe than sorry. According to the reports she got, they had dwindled the prey to the north of the village and were hoping to head back to the western part where they had been hunting before. Kumiko denied their request, and told them to head east instead. The numbers of prey to the west were still recovering. She had also been getting reports or a large increase of prey in the east, so it should be safe to hunt there for the time being.

She headed next for the artisans. She left Kaijin, Garm and Dord to do their thing, since they knew to report to her if they were running low on resources. Since Myrd was in charge of the village construction, she mostly addressed him. It was a blessing that she could communicate with him somehow, though she still hadn't understood how. Myrd and her discussed various things ranging from the layout of the village to defenses. Myrd was in charge of the village design, but the layout sometimes needed to be checked for security purposes. Myrd addressed the need for expansion to the north, as the other goblin lords had mentioned. She assured him that she would have security scout the area and prep it for expansion. As for defenses, since they kept expanding, there was really no way to build physical defenses such as walls around the village quite yet. Instead, they focused on paths the villagers could take through the village to escape if there was a need to evacuate.

Last on her list, but the one she spent the most time with, she headed to the security units. With the expanding village, more security units were formed so that the wolves and goblins wouldn't tire themselves out. The units were rotated 4 times a day, 2 units deployed at once. There was the morning shift, which should still be out, the afternoon shift, which most likely were getting ready, the evening shift and the overnight shift. Allowing the goblins to rest allowed for them to work efficiently and thoroughly when protecting the village. Kumiko quickly gathered all their reports for the day, and assigned one of the afternoon shift security units to scout the northern area of the land. When preparing land for construction, the security unit was mostly focused on detailing any suspicious monster tracks that may have been in the area. If it was recent, they would seek out the monster and determine it's hostility. If it was incapable of holding intelligent conversation and was aggressive, they had permission to subdue it. She had them report their current routes, which were repeated with each shift. The morning units came in while she while she was discussing possible formations to ensure maximum safety of the security units. They greeted her and quickly filled her and the afternoon units in on their findings.

Rigur, who used to be part of the security unit, was no longer bound to the tasks. Since his father had become Goblin King, he had taken over the position as Goblin Lord. Every so often, Rigur would join a hunting unit or a security unit if he felt like it, but he mostly spent his time with the main group titled 'Goblin Riders.' The Goblin Riders did as they pleased and when they pleased, for the most part, with Rigur as the Captain and Gobta, believe it or not, as the vice captain. They checked in every so often with Kumiko, but had the most autonomy of all the units. If they felt the need to hunt, they could do so. If they wished to forage for medicine, they just needed to be safe. Currently, Kumiko was headed over to just do a brief check in on them.

As she headed towards Rigur, she noticed Rigurd was joyously preparing something, chatting with the goblins and almost prancing around.

"Rigurd, what is the big fuss about?" she asked him as she approached. He turned to her with a bright gleam in his eyes.

"We are preparing a grand feast for Rimuru-sama!" he exclaimed. "Rimuru-sama has stated that he will dine with us from this day forwards."

Ah, Kumiko thought. Rimuru-sama had been whining endlessly before about wanting to be able to taste the meat. He finally has a chance to. Kumiko gave a brief report to the Goblin King to keep him in the loop, and he in return also gave her a short report of his own tasks. She quickly let him leave to busy himself with preparing the feast.

Kumiko had the option to use her skill [Shadow Movement] to travel directly to Rigur like she usually did, but she hadn't been doing that lately. Using direct paths like that only meant that she would finish her tasks quicker and run out of things to keep her occupied. She needed to be busy. Ever since the fight with Ifrit, she hadn't been able to rest well for even a minute. In the first place, she didn't sleep deeply to avoid nightmares and seeing that boy's pleading eyes. Now, however, even if she just rested her eyes, the image came back. She, of course, needed to rest sometimes, but she avoided it unless she had to. When she did, she would always retreat into her personal hut, shutting the door and blocking it with a spare plank. She had learned shortly after the battle that whenever she awoke from her visions and nightmares, she woke up frightened and her instinct to fight was triggered if there was movement near her. It made her even more scared of herself.

There was once, before she learned to block the door, that Rimuru had come into her hut looking for her. She woke up from the sound of his movements through her room and quickly reached for her scythe. Dazed from the images in her head, she had attacked Rimuru. In fear, Rimuru retaliated, albeit only in defense, but it only triggered her to fight back. She had developed a new skill by the name of [Shadow Manipulation] which allowed her to use the shadows around her as she pleased. She could turn the ground below her enemy into quicksand or have the shadows completely engulf them in darkness. Using this skill, she wrapped the shadows around Rimuru. Needless to say, she had to apologize to both Rimuru and Myrd profusely since the entire hut had been destroyed. From then on, once her new hut was completed with a warning from Myrd, she began to blockade herself every time she rested.

Kumiko made it to Rigur right as they were trotting off. Ranga was accompanying them.

"Ah! Kumiko-dono!" Rigur called out, waving his hand slightly. He stopped the group. "We're headed out to hunt a bulldeer for Rimuru-sama's feast tonight. Do you want to join?"

"Rigur," Kumiko greeted. "Thank you, but I will be heading back shortly. I'm here to check on the Goblin Riders. Are there any matters I need to be made aware of?"

Rigur took a second to think. Meanwhile, Ranga walked up to Kumiko and nudged her hand. She patted the large wolf on the head.

"Not that I know of Kumiko-dono!" Rigur replied. She nodded. She trusted that if there was any danger to the village, Rigur would report.

"May I ask why Ranga is accompanying you?"

"Rimuru-sama assigned me to accompany them for security purposes earlier," Ranga replied, his tail wagging as Kumiko pet his head. "He was worried why there was an abundance in prey. I'm sure you've heard about it."

Kumiko nodded. It didn't seem like much, but if Rimuru thought that the Goblin Riders might need Ranga, perhaps the matter was more serious than she thought. However, she decided to not delay Rigur and his team any longer and allowed them to continue about her way. She hadn't checked in with Rimuru in a while, but he was nowhere to be found at the moment.

Rimuru-sama? She telepathically called.

Kumiko? Did something happen?

Rimuru-sama I have finished with the daily reports from the security and hunting units. Kumiko quickly mentally filled Rimuru in on everything going on in the village. He made adjustments where necessary and then sent her off. She headed back to report changes to the village and Rigurd before heading into her hut to write out a report. Rimuru mentioned that written reports were sometimes easier to keep track of, so she made it a habit to do so. In addition, it gave her something to keep busy with.

She was just finishing up the last bit when Ranga's urgent voice called out to her.

Kumiko-dono! Kumiko sat up, alert at his urgent tone.

Ranga? Did something happen?

Ogres! In the clearing on the east! Rimuru-sama is...

Kumiko quickly used [Shadow Movement] to instantly travel to Ranga's shadow. As she emerged, she saw just in time for Rimuru to jump back and entangle one of the ogres with thread. Behind him, another ogre dressed in blue was charging forward. Kumiko couldn't risk thinking about how she would be fighting ogres. This was a personal nightmare all over again. However, right now, she had to focus.

"Rimuru-sama!" she yelled out.

Kumiko quickly flicked open both blades of her scythe and launched, her scythe blade clashing with the blue ogre's sword, producing sparks. Rimuru seemed surprised she was there, and had activated his body armor, not expecting her to jump in. The blue ogre's eyes widened slightly as he saw her.

"An ogre?" he jumped back, avoiding her blade as she twirled her scythe forward. He stared at her horns as he gained some distance. "She -"

He was cut off as Kumiko rushed forward, her scythe blades flashing dangerously. She one-sidedly beat down on the blue ogre, while he could only remain in defense. He looked up in her eyes as she leaped forwards, her scythe clashing with his sword. He wasn't sure, but he thought he saw hesitation and fear behind her mask. She hid it well though, and the ogre soon forgot about it as he quickly ducked to avoid her scythe.

"I'm sorry..." he heard her whisper to him before she used his own shadow to travel behind him. "Don't fight anymore, please." He heard her whisper from behind. She kicked his knees in, forcing him to crumble to the ground. His own shadow wrapped around his hands and feet, keeping him still. He was surprised to find that while the shadows kept a secure grip on him, they were gentle.

The fight between Kumiko and the blue ogre barely lasted a minute. Quickly retreating back to Rimuru, Kumiko stared at the captured ogre with a bit of fear and sadness. Rimuru couldn't help but note that despite the fact that she was beating the blue ogre easily, Kumiko was being very reserved in her attacks. They were non-lethal to say the least. In fact, it appeared as though she wasn't even actually trying to hit him.

She quickly took a stance slightly in front of Rimuru, her golden eyes trained on the two remaining ogres. Ranga was continuously growling at the pink ogre who had a blue flame lit in her hand.

"They beat us that easily..." the pink ogre stated in fear.

"So, that just leaves..." Rimuru looked towards the two ogres that Kumiko was facing. The older looking ogre was dressed in white while the other was dressed in red.

"What'll it be?" Rimuru asked. The two ogres eyed him and Kumiko warily, though they seemed to be more confused at Kumiko's involvement. Rimuru couldn't help but take note of the heights of the red ogre. When he first met Kumiko in the cave, he estimated her height to be 250 centimeters. The red and blue ogres had to be taller than that. He estimated nearing 270 centimeters to 300. Compared to Kumiko's current height of 170 centimeters, they towered over them.

"The Evil Centipede's [Paralysis Breath]... The Black Spider's [Sticky Steel Thread]... The Armorsaurus's [Body Armor]..." The ogre in white listed. Kumiko's grip on her scythe tightened as she lowered her center of mass so she could more easily launch herself into an attack if she wanted.

"He may have learned the skills of many other monsters, as well. Do not lower your guard, Young Master."

"Can we stop this?" Rimuru asked extending his hands to his side. "I'd like you to hear what I have to say now."

"Quiet, evil majin!" The red ogre yelled. "And to think you had an ogre, no, a Kijin working for you. Traitorous." Kumiko flinched as she heard that, a wave of pain flashing through her eyes before she quickly masked it. For the blue ogre who had been watching her closely, he noticed it. Her actions confused him greatly. Why didn't she just knock him out? Her attacks earlier, although strong, intentionally avoided actually striking him. As an enemy, and as the reason for their village's demise, shouldn't she be aiming for the kill?

He also couldn't help but stare at her horns, protruding from the sides of her head. He couldn't remember what made them so familiar, but he had a feeling it was painfully obvious. He just couldn't grasp it at the moment.

"Okay, um... So, listen..." Rimuru started, rubbing the back of his head. Kumiko relaxed her stance ever so slightly and move to stand a bit behind Rimuru to his left, allowing him to make his negotiations.

"I admit you and the Kijin are strong," the red ogre declared. "That makes me all the more certain."

"Certain of what?"

"You are one of them! It is unthinkable for us Ogres to be defeated by mere Orcs!" Kumiko couldn't help but agree with his claim. Ogres were far more proficient compared to Orcs when it came to fighting. She had fought numerous Orcs at the front lines, even by herself.

"Orc? H-hang on, what makes you -"

"Quiet!" The red ogre interrupted. Kumiko's grip tightened on her open scythe. She really didn't want to fight the ogres. She may not have felt like an ogre, but by blood she was. Even if she didn't grow up feeling included, she felt all these negative feelings even when imagining having to attack or worse, kill, one of these ogres.

"I know it was all the work of you and your majin comrades! You even have a traitorous kijin on your side! Don't deny it!" Kumiko snapped.

"You know not what you speak of, Ogre." She said, her tone deadly calm. The blue and red ogres flinched at her tone.

"Wait! You've got the wrong -" Rimuru was cut off as Kumiko suddenly jumped towards him. She used her scythe to deflect the blade of the white ogre as he appeared behind Rimuru, ready to behead him. Thankfully, she protected Rimuru's head, but unfortunately not his arm. The ogre still managed to cleanly slice off Rimuru's arm as he jumped away. Kumiko quickly swung her scythe down on top of the elder, expecting him to parry her attack. Indeed he did so, and she used the force from her swing to push herself up and back towards Rimuru. Rigur and Gobta voiced their worries while Ranga took his attention off of the pink ogre and growled.

Kumiko was conflicted. Rimuru had just been hurt, his entire arm sliced off, and she was livid, but she couldn't attack the ogres. Despite vowing to protect Rimuru and exact revenge on anyone who dares harm the slime who took her in, she couldn't uphold that vow standing in front of these ogres. She had no qualms about defending Rimuru and the village from any other monster, but against ogres...

"The Cursed One..." Kumiko flinched harshly at the term, taking a step back as her eyes focused on the white-dressed ogre, standing where she and Rimuru once was. "I never thought the Cursed One would be still alive."

"What do you know of me?" she asked stiffly. He didn't reply, only stared at her.

"I must be going senile. I was certain I cut off your head." The elder completely ignored Kumiko.

Rimuru-sama. Kumiko's voice sounded in his head. He turned his head ever so slightly to look at her out of the corner of his eye. To his surprise, there were tears in the corner of her eyes. Her face was void of emotion, but the tears threatening to leak out said something different. Her mental state was a mess. I cannot fight them, Rimuru-sama. By blood I am ogre, and I will not fight them.

Rimuru nodded at her.

If they attack, at least defend yourself, but I won't ask you to engage.

"I'm fine!" Rimuru said to Ranga. "Don't let your guard down!"

Did he get under my Magic Sense? Rimuru thought to himself. And he easily broke through my [Multilayer Barrier] and [Body Armor].

"Next time, I won't miss," the elder threatened.

"Looks like you were just foolhardy after all," the red one taunted. "I commend your courage to remain calm after losing an arm."

The ogre lifted his blade.

"The pride that compelled you to take us all on alone will be your downfall! Regret your folly in the next life!"

Rimuru calmed picked up his severed arm, appearing to ignore the red ogre's declaration. Kumiko hadn't moved from her spot, but her blades were now closed and her stance defensive rather than offensive. Both the blue and pink ogres recognized that her defensive stance held no aggression whatsoever. With her double bladed scythe closed, she clearly was declaring that she wanted no fight, but the red ogre was too enraged to see. They watched as the severed arm exploded into a light blue blob before Rimuru absorbed it in. Immediately after, Rimuru's arm was regenerated. The ogres gasped in shock

"Did you think you'd beaten me just by cutting off one of my arms?" Rimuru asked, waving his regenerated arm at them.

"F-Foul beast!" He lifted his sword and activated his skill [Ogre Flame]. Kumiko immediately jumped back, her form directly behind the flames and out of sight of the ogres, but Rimuru didn't move at all. Kumiko knew from the fight with Ifrit that Rimuru would be fine. But she couldn't say the same for herself. She saw the flame and immediately got a flashbacks of the fight with Ifrit, her rage and the ice that coated the entire village. Then she got flashbacks of the skewered ogre boy. She clutched her head roughly and winced as she forced herself past the memories. Too much had happened recently to trigger her memories of the past.But Rimuru needed her to focus right now. She can't let the flashbacks she was having endanger Rimuru.

The flames raged in a whirl, extending upwards like a tornado.

"Young master..."

"Did I... get them?" He gasped as Rimuru's form casually walked out of the fire, not a single burn on him.

"Too bad." Rimuru said as he calmly exited the fiery spire. "Fire has no effect on me. You were right though. I did underestimate you." The fire died down, revealing the Kijin who had jumped away. She made no move to move closer, nor to return to Rimuru's side for the time being.

Rimuru removed his mask.

"I'll show you what I'm like when I'm serious." The red ogre took up a stance to engage. Rimuru didn't move, but instead let his aura shine through. "Take a good look."

He raised his hand, a black flame appearing, and lifted it above his head. A tornado of black fire spiraled upwards towards the sky, turning the sky an ashy grey. The ogres all glanced up in shock as Rimuru put more power into the fire, causing it to expand outwards into the sky, wind blowing harshly around the forest opening. The blue ogre quickly tried to fight the shadowy hands holding him down so he could rejoin the others in the fight, but a voice sounded in his head.

Please don't struggle... I won't hurt you and neither will the shadows. If you just stop fighting, Rimuru-sama doesn't want to fight either...

It was that Kijin's voice. He could recognize it despite only hearing it a couple times. But why did she sound so... sad? Not only that, but it sounded like she was desperately pleading him to stop this fight.

"That's... That flame is..." The pink ogre stared up in fright. "It's not produced by using the surrounding magicules! The only thing forming that flame is his pure strength! And the size of the flame mirrors the size of his powers..."

"I'll show you something even more interesting," Rimuru announced, easily controlling the flame with just his one hand. "This is my true power!" Rimuru faced a boulder not too far from him and used his skill [Black Lightning], demolishing the rock into electrifying shards.

"What now? Still want to fight?"

"Young master, please take the princess and flee," the elder said. "I will end this."

"Quiet, old man," the red ogre said, barely looking back. He turned back to Rimuru, his blade still held out in front of him. "That is intense. It saddens me to say it, but it seems we are no match for you. Still, I have my pride as the next leader of the powerful Ogre clan! And what leader would fail to avenge his slain brethren?! Even if I can't win, I will still fight back!"

"Young master, if you fight, I will fight by your side!"

"Wait!" the blue ogre voiced. His plea was drowned out by the princess, the pink ogre, who ran straight in between Rimuru and the red ogre and held her hands out.

"These individuals may not be our enemy!" the princess yelled at her older brother.

"Move!"

"No!"

"Why? He's a masked majin, just like the one who attacked our village! You said so yourself..."

"Yes... but please, try to think this through calmly. Why would such a powerful majin use such underhanded tactics as forcing the pigs to attack our village? It makes no sense. He surely has the power to kill us all on his own, if he so desired. In addition, the Kijin who remains loyal to him. Surely you saw she had the chance to kill but didn't take it. Not a single scratch was made by her blade, yet she was so easily winning. Surely she could've destroyed our village alone as well. There is no doubt that they are unlike us, but I don't think he or the Kijin have any connection to the ones that attacked our village."

The red ogre gasped slightly, the words of the princess processing in his mind. He looked up at Rimuru, his offensive stance weakening.

"Feeling a little more willing to listen now?" Rimuru asked. "I don't need this anymore, right?" With that being said, he absorbed the black flame back into his body, the sky once again lightening. Ranga took his place next to Rimuru as Kumiko made her way forward, not looking at any of the ogres.

I'm sorry... The blue ogre heard her voice inside his head again before the shadows released him. He stood up, making his way to stand by the other ogres, absolutely baffled by the Kijin's words and actions

"Who are you?" the red ogre asked, staring at Rimuru.

"Me? I'm just a slime." Rimuru held up his hands. "Rimuru the slime." He dispelled his mimic and took his original form. The ogres gasped in shock. He quickly hopped onto Ranga's back.

"I-It's true..." the red ogre stated, staring at Rimuru. Rimuru produced the mask from inside his body and offered it to the ogre.

"And this mask if a keepsake from someone I knew. Feel free to see for yourself whether it's the same one that your attacker had." The ogre reached out and took the mask into his hands.

"It does seem similar but..." He was cut off by the princess.

"This one contains anti-magic power."

"But the majin from back then wasn't concealing their aura..." the elder supplied. Realizing that they were wrong for attacking Rimuru on the presumption that he was the majin, the red ogre quickly knelt down in front of Rimuru.

"Forgive us. It seems our desperation cause a grave misunderstanding. Please accept my apology."

"Sure I accept." Rimuru said easily. Kumiko remained silent while standing behind Rimuru, her hair covering her eyes from view. The red ogre glanced at her, noticing that she purposely hid her expression behind a blank mask, but didn't say anything.

Rimuru swiftly released the ogre he had tied up and woke up the other he had put to sleep with paralysis, allowing them to rejoin their comrades.

"Well, this is no place to talk. Let's head back to the village. Come with us," Rimuru invited.

"Are you sure?" the red ogre asked in shock.

"Yep. I want to hear about what you've been through."

"But we wounded your companions."

"And we did the same to yours. But no one died, so we'll say it's all good. Besides, we're having a feast today! The more, the merrier, right?" The ogres all gathered around Rimuru. The red ogre smiled and agreed.

The princess quickly reversed the sleep spell that had been put on the rest of the Goblin Riders and the group was on their way after Rimuru healed everyone. Rimuru glanced at Kumiko worriedly. She had been strangely silent since the fight. Even though she usually was silent, she had absolutely nothing to say, nor did she even look at Rimuru or the ogres. She was putting some distance between herself and the group, but Rimuru couldn't really understand what had happened. The ogres and Rimuru stopped fighting, so he thought she would've been fine, but what was wrong now?

"By the way, what's your name?" Rimuru asked the red ogre who was walking beside him.

"Oh, we have no names," the ogre replied.

"Oh yeah, I forgot, most of you don't. That's right..."

"Rimuru-sama," Kumiko stopped walking, causing the entire group to stop and look at her. It was hard to tell what she was thinking since she hid it well, but Rimuru could detect the slightest bit of pain in her tone. "I will inform Rigurd of the extra guests."

Before anyone could utter a single word, Kumiko used her skill [Shadow Movement] and disappeared in a streak of black. The group stared at where she once was and Rimuru sighed as Ranga let out a small whine.

"That Kijin..." the red ogre trailed off, not knowing what to say.

"Kumiko has her own reasons," Rimuru said, not giving too much away. Clearly, she reacted to the phrase 'the cursed one' from earlier. If they knew something, he didn't want it to negatively affect Kumiko. "She'll ensure that things are prepared in the village when we arrive."

"Kumiko..." the blue ogre whispered under his breathe. That was the name of that weird Kijin who keep apologizing. The cursed one...

~~~

Kumiko had finished talking to Rigur and was currently sitting in her hut with her legs pulled up to her chest, staring blankly into space. She felt so many conflicting emotions from being around the other ogres and she had so many questions raging inside her head.

"Why did it have to be ogres..." She tucked her head down as her arms tightened around her legs.

She was scared, unbelievably scared, of those ogres. Not of their strength, but of just them. She couldn't even begin to form her thoughts around why she was so scared. For the second time, she was running away. She wanted to disappear and hide until people forgot her. She was scared that the first ogres she came across in over 10 years would shun her, solidify that she was a monster, a curse. She thought accepted it herself, but she didn't want to hear it from another ogre, much less six of them. She didn't want to hear their fearful comments of her previous deeds, of the innocent blood that was shed. She was scared that she really was a monster and they'd only prove it.

More than fear though, she was envious. She envied the ogres' loyalty to each other and their bonds. She envied them for having each other cover their backs. For the 11 years she was surrounded by ogres, she didn't have a single person watch out for her. She was The Cursed One. She envied them for being normal, for having normal horns. One of her hands lifted up to touch the horn protruding from the side of her head.

It was a good few months were she was able to forget that she was different, that her horns were unnatural. Since arriving at the goblin village, everyone treated her with so much respect and like a normal ogre that she forgot she had horns protruding from her head. She had no reflective surfaces in her room, nor did she even want to look, but for the few months with the goblins who had no idea what normal ogres were necessarily, she felt okay. Just okay, but that was always better than feeling like her existence was nothing but a pain. But the real ogres were here now, with their horns in front of them and not to the side, the goblins would see just how abnormal she was.

She wanted to run, but even if she did there was no where for her to go. She'd be alone again. Here, she had Rimuru-sama at least, though she still craved for the acceptance from the ogres. It was just natural for her to want a bond with those of her own race.

"I'm sorry..." She continuously whispered into the air. She was apologizing for refusing the order, for scaring the little boy, for hurting him, for running away, for causing her village pain, for forcing the village to move. She was apologizing for attacking that blue ogre earlier, for wanting to get revenge on the ogres for hurting Rimuru, for not being strong enough to protect Rimuru, for running away from the ogres.

She was apologizing for living.

Up next: The Orc Lord

Chapter Text

For the first time ever, Kumiko used her [Presence Obscure] from the entire village. Of the current 500+ residents of this village, only one could see her, and that was Rimuru. Though, if it were up to her, she'd want to hide from Rimuru as well at the moment. She really hated how much of a coward she was, but she couldn't bring herself to face the ogres, much less Rimuru. The ogres were one thing, but the more she brooded in her own room, the more she feared Rimuru's reaction. Rimuru was benevolent as their ruler, but there had to be repercussions for her actions. First and foremost, she should've knocked out that blue ogre since he posed a risk to Rimuru had he escaped from the shadowy restraints. Second, she should've fought the ogres to protect Rimuru and pushed past her reservations in fighting ogres. Kumiko was lucky that things turned out the way they did because had they gone sour, she wouldn't have been able to help Rimuru. So in short, she felt horrible about leaving Rimuru at risk.

As night fell, a couple goblins, including Rigurd, knocked on the door of her hut, only to leave in confusion when the door swung open to an empty room. In reality, she was sitting in the same position all afternoon since she had returned. Kumiko had sat there, thinking, brooding, apologizing and panicking. The Kumiko who could keep her emotions in check and remain straight-faced had gone out the door when she engaged in combat with those ogres. Her mind was a mess.

At one point, Ranga came to her door, calling out for her. She held her breath until he left. If Ranga came looking for her here, it wouldn't be too long until Rimuru came looking for her as well. She wasn't ready to face him yet. Only Rimuru could see past her [Presence Obscure] at the moment, so she had to stay one step ahead of him and hide.

At the current moment, Rimuru probably scared her more than the ogres, though the ogres still scared her plenty. If Rimuru could convince the six ogres to stay, what would he do with an outcast like her? Not only that, but she had failed to protect him because she was mentally weak. She would be abandoned, thrown aside like a rag. And so, without consulting her [Unrivaled Strategy], she thought she found the best place to hide: right in plain sight. She would go hide nearby the ogres. Rimuru would never expect her to be near them because of how she reacted earlier.

Kumiko quietly exited her hut, making sure no one was around to see the door to an 'empty' room swing open during a breeze-less night. Not wanting to risk getting caught, she used her [Shadow Movement] to take her directly to Rigur. She figured Rigur would be somewhat nearby the ogre guests. What she didn't account for was him sitting and talking with them. As she emerged from the shadow, she flinched and was immediately glad it was dark. Had it been day, they surely would've seen Rigur's shadow change ever so slightly to accommodate for her movement.

Rigur, who was used to being used as a shadow portal for Kumiko, felt the familiar feeling of her abilities on his shadow. He couldn't explain it but it sent shivers down his spine. Yet, he was glad for the feeling since Kumiko had completely disappeared since she left ahead of the group back to the village earlier that afternoon.

"Kumiko-dono! You're - " He turned around to meet empty space. "- here?" Rigur spun around a bit and reached a hand out into the space. Kumiko panicked, again. She was doing a lot of that recently. She may have hidden her presence completely, but she still had a solid figure. If he touched her, he would automatically know she was there. In fear, she scurried up a tree, trying her best to not rustle the leaves.

"Huh? I swear, I felt Kumiko-dono..." Rigur said, confused when his hands only felt open air.

The blue ogre had stayed in the shadow as the red ogre chatted with the goblins and dwarves. As Kumiko moved about the tree, she pushed a few leaves around, though she remained silent as a mouse. Unfortunately for her, the blue ogre who was hyper-aware of these things caught the movement. His eyes narrowed at the leaves, not quite sure what to make of moving leaves when there was no wind blowing. Yet, surely if someone was there he'd have seen them.

"If Kumiko-dono wants to hide, the only person who can find her is Rimuru-sama." Rigur shook his head. He wasn't quite sure why she was hiding, but he knew that she had to be nearby. She wouldn't just leave the village after working so hard to help build and protect it. The only explanation was that she was hiding from something.

"Wait, wait. So you're saying the Orcs attacked the Ogres? That can't be!" Kaijin exclaimed in shock, returning back to the conversation. Kumiko froze in the tree, crouched in the leaves. She remembered hearing him say something about Ogres being defeated by Orcs, which was already a feat in and of itself. But for Orcs to attack Ogres? It sounded like a wild story. Orcs were intelligent enough to understand they stood no fighting chance against Ogres. Well, at least Kumiko thought they were but she might've just been proven wrong.

"It's the truth," the red ogre said simply.

"Can such a thing really happen?" Kaijin asked aloud. Kumiko wanted to know the same thing. Her experience with fighting Orcs in the past told her that the pig-like monsters understood what battles they can and can't pick. Ogres against Orcs was not something that was favorable for Orcs.

"I don't know," Rigur stated solemnly.

"Is it that strange?" Gobta asked, coming up with a skewer of meat in his hand.

"Of course it is," Kaijin said without skipping a beat. "Ogres are immeasurably stronger than Orcs. That such a weak race would attack them is unthinkable."

"Nevertheless, they did come," the red ogre said, his voice laced with hate for the orcs. "They attacked our village out of nowhere. They carried weapons and wore armor and their overwhelming numbers filled the entire forest. Those detestable pigs...overran our village."

"Orcs wearing armor?" Kaijin asked surprised.

"Yes, the same type of full plate mail that Humans wear," the ogre confirmed.

"That must mean..." Kaijin trailed off, pondering but hoping it wasn't what he thought.

"It's likely the Orcs are not working alone," Rigur finished.

"Orcs could never round up all that valuable armor themselves," Kaijin agreed.

"Exactly," the ogre continued. "Among them was... a masked majin."

"A masked majin?" Kaijin repeated, pondering over the words. The ogre gritted his teeth.

"It was a high-level majin. I'm certain of it."

"And you fought Rimuru-sama because you had mistaken him for this masked majin?" Rigurd asked.

"Yes."

"So... what does all this mean?" Gobta asked, casually eating his skewer.

"That the Orcs have sided with one of the Demon Lords, possibly?" Rigur offered.

"I see... I guess?" Gobta replied, apparently not really understanding the situation. On the other hand, Kumiko, who had made herself a bit more situated on the branch, was listening closely and fully understood what this meant for the safety of the village.

"A Demon Lord, eh?" Kaijin said, deep in thought.

"But why a Demon Lord?" Rigur asked.

"I don't know. The only thing I'm sure of is that only six of my three hundred brethren remain alive." Kumiko almost gasped aloud at what the red ogre said. On average, most ogre villages only remained around 130-160 ogres. The only time when ogre villages exceeded that was when... the leaders of an ogre tribe were killed and the rest of the villagers fled.

Ogre villages had a hierarchy that wasn't necessarily the easiest to comprehend. However, the main point was that due to ogres being monsters and therefore having longer lifespans, it takes over 30 years for a village leader to take over, more if the leaders were killed and they had to go through trials and tests to select the strongest ogre bloodlines alive, which would become the next leaders. The only ogre village in the vicinity that had lost their leaders within the past 30 years was...

Kumiko's mind went blank. Of all the ogres to run into, it had to be ones from the village that Kumiko had directed her own village to over 10 years ago. Kumiko wanted to scream her anger out at the world. What kind of train of events was this? How come it felt like after she explained her past to the goblins, her world was crumbling and the weight of it was crushing her?

"I see. No wonder you're upset." Kumiko froze. Rimuru was here. As long as he was in human form and didn't look upwards, she should be hidden still. She wasn't ready to face him yet. She didn't expect him to come right under the tree she was hiding in. Perhaps she had a lapse of judgement when she panicked. She should've known Rimuru would come to find out what happened with the ogres. He explicitly stated that he would do so on the way back to the village.

"Have you had enough meat, Rimuru-dono?" The red ogre asked.

"I'm taking a break," Rimuru said, leaning up against the tree. "Your little sister's really something. She knows a lot about medicinal and cooking herbs. The goblins took to her immediately." The group looked over at the pink ogre who was happily surrounded by many of the female goblins.

"She was a sheltered child. She must be happy that they're relying on her." The red ogre stared at his younger sister as she smiled and chatted with the goblins. He was thankful that Rimuru and that Kijin didn't kill them on the spot for attacking the goblins earlier.

"So, what are you guys going to do now?" Rimuru asked the red ogre.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean your plans for the future. Whether you rebuild your village or relocate to another area, the fate of your comrades is depending on your leadership, right?" Kumiko looked down at the red ogre, waiting for his reply. She was scared of him, of all the ogres, but it wasn't going to be easy for them if they decided to leave this village. That is, if Rimuru was offering for them to stay. A group of six ogres... it would be hard to establish a new village with only six. It would take decades to build up a proper village, more to get the population to a normal number.

"That's easy. We will build our strength and take them on again."

"Do you know where to find them?" The red ogre gasped in shock, as if he was unaware that he needed their location to exact his revenge. The ogre said nothing and instead chose to sip on his beer. Clearly, he didn't have a plan.

"Well, I have a suggestion," Rimuru blurted out. "Do you guys have any interest in being my subordinates?" Kumiko trained her eyes on the red ogre. She felt conflicted about Rimuru offering them a place in the village. Yes, she knew that they were better off here in the village and she shouldn't be selfish, but she couldn't help the overwhelming fear that she would in turn be run out of the village because the ogres would shun her.

"Subordinates?" the red ogre stuttered out. Rimuru nodded, sitting down at the base of the tree Kumiko was still perched in.

"Of course, all I can pay you is guaranteed food, shelter and clothing," Rimuru offered. "You need a home base, right?"

"But that would involve your whole village in our revenge."

"Well... I'm not just offering this as a favor to you guys," Rimuru clarified. "You said thousands of armed Orcs attacked you, right? And there might be a Demon Lord pulling the strings."

"The Orcs may be seeking dominion over the Great Forest of Jura," Rigurd suggested. Rimuru nodded in agreement.

And the orcs will get the dominion only over my dead body. Kumiko thought. As long as she was still alive, even if she was exiled from the village, she would protect it.

"This town isn't completely safe, either. Which is why adding as many to our numbers as possible would benefit us. Plus, if anything happened to you guys, I'd fight with you." Rimuru stared at the red ogre.

"I'll never abandon a friend." Rimuru said aloud as he projected the same phrase to Kumiko. Rimuru had an inkling to what her worries were, and he assumed this was one of them. She was scared of being abandoned with the six new ogres. She had been neglected and felt abandoned all her life, and she never wanted to go back. But because she had lived that life, she always had an underlying fear that she would once again live like that, abandoned and scared. She pushed past those fears and opened up, even ever so slightly, to Rimuru and the goblins, but the appearance of the ogres was surely messing with her head. Kumiko stayed silent.

"I see. Let me give it some thought." The red ogre didn't meet Rimuru's eyes.

"Sure. Take all the time you need to think about it." Rimuru stood up and started to walk away. "Well, I think I'll go get some more meat."

"Ah, Rimuru-dono," the red ogre called out before Rimuru was able to leave. "About the Cursed One - ah, I mean, that Kijin. I have questions."

"Ah. Kumiko?" Rimuru simply walked back to the tree. Using his foot, he kicked it slightly.

"She's been here the whole time." Kumiko's eyes widened. Rimuru never looked up nor did he say anything until now, so she thought he hadn't sensed her. She jumped down from the leaves, allowing herself to appear to everyone as she did so and landed on one knee in front of Rimuru. The ogres all flinched in shock at her sudden appearance.

"Kumiko-dono!" Rigurd started. "We've been-"

"Rimuru-sama, I will draft updated security routes and measures for the village in preparation for the orcs." She then promptly disappeared. Rigurd spluttered as she left.

"Ah. She ran away..." Rimuru sighed. "Well, if you can catch her somehow, feel free to try to talk to her. I don't know what you've heard in your village, but she's scared out of her mind probably. She's had a rough past." Rimuru waved nonchalantly as he yawned and made his way over to the shrinking piles of grilled meat.

The red ogre sighed and got up, walking deeper into the forest to think. The blue ogre followed.

"It's not a bad offer," the blue ogre prompted. The red ogre said nothing and just stood there in silence. "But it's your choice to make. We'll do whatever you and the princess decide."

"We have some apologies to make, and a story to clarify to the Kijin..." the red ogre trailed off, and then proceeded to walk further into the forest. He needed to think.

~~~

I ran away again. Kumiko wanted to scold herself. After Rimuru had said that he would never abandon a friend, she felt relieved that he wasn't just going to toss her aside. At the same time, the negative part of her kept reminding her that the ogres could still end up despising her, even more so now that she keeps running away. She could never forgive herself if she cost Rimuru and the village valuable allies.

While people were occupied with the feast, she took the time to wander around some of the empty parts of the village and clear her head. Her scythe was dragging on the ground beside her.

I'm being a bother to Rimuru-sama like this. I need to just get over it. I already know I'm a monster. What they say can't hurt me if I've already accepted it... Kumiko stopped walking and crouched down on the dirt path, curling in within herself and hiding her face. But... I don't want to be a monster...

The blue ogre found the Kijin like this, crouched on the ground in a ball. He almost didn't see her since her hair and clothing were dark colored and blended in with the night. The ogre quickly and quietly made his way over. His leader, the red ogre was right. The Kijin had massive misunderstandings that needed to be cleared up.

"Kumiko-dono..." the blue ogre called out. Her golden eyes snapped open and she immediately opened her scythe and spun around. In a blink of an eye, the blue ogre found himself standing stiffly as a blade was tucked under his chin and pressing against his neck. He stayed silent.

Waves of shock, sadness and mostly fear raged through her golden eyes before a mask of calm came over her. His own blue orbs remained trained on her, unfazed, as she slowly relaxed her weapon and backed off.

"M-my apologies," she said as she turned away. Before he could utter another word, she ran away again.

"She's terrified..." the blue ogre muttered under his breath. He clicked his tongue before making his way back to the center of the festivities.

~~~

The next day, Rimuru was awoken by a knock on his door, which was quickly revealed to be Kumiko. She had finished the the drafts for the reports regarding security routes and evacuation of the village. Rimuru knew that she had come in earlier than usual to decrease the risk of running into the other ogres who had stayed the night. Rimuru, Kumiko, Rigur and Rigurd and even the blue ogre knew that Kumiko was running away because she was absolutely terrified for herself. She didn't run because she hated the ogres, but rather she was scared they were going to hate her. If it were up to her, she'd want to be included in their tightly-knit group. But alas, she couldn't read their minds to find out how they felt about her, so she ran. Unfortunately, Rimuru had plans for her today that didn't include running away.

"Rimuru-dono?" He heard a slight knock outside his tent as Kumiko was reading him the reports. She paused and glanced at the door.

"Come in!" Rimuru called, knowing exactly who it was. He wanted to smirk at Kumiko, but quickly hid his expression from her.

The red ogre ducked his head, entering the tent. He had come to tell Rimuru his decision. He and Kumiko both froze as they looked at each other. The red ogre wanted to talk to the Kijin, but Kumiko simply wanted to run away. The ogre sat down stiffly in front of the small slime.

"Rimuru-sama, perhaps I -" Rimuru knew Kumiko was about to make an excuse to run away, so he quickly intervened.

"You are to stay here."

"Rimuru-sama, but I'm sure-"

"That is an order." Kumiko flinched at this. The term 'order' didn't mean that she was forced, but Rimuru was her master, and if he ordered something, she'd obey willingly, even if she didn't like it. Right now, she hated this order.

She stiffly nodded and Rimuru had the red ogre sit and wait for a bit while Kumiko finished her reports. While she did so, she kept subtly glancing at the ogre with masked fear in her eyes. His expression was unreadable and so she could only assume that he had heard the monstrous stories about her. A flash of the judgmental eyes of the dead ogres surrounding her flashed for a second before her eyes, but she quickly shook it off and continued reporting to Rimuru. If the leader of this ogre group disapproved, so would everyone else. Their first impression had been bad enough.

As Kumiko finished her reports, she placed the files and papers neatly on Rimuru's table and stiffly made her way behind Rimuru while he talked to the ogre. She didn't like this one bit. She wanted to just hide away. Kumiko stared blankly on the ground, focusing on nothing as she tried to clear her mind from her mind's rampaging negativity. She had thought she had some form of control over her emotions and thoughts after all these years burying them, but clearly she still had a long way to go. If seeing even just one ogre gave her this much anxiety, how was she going to deal with six of them around the village? She had to quickly find a way to bury her emotions so she wouldn't hinder Rimuru or the other ogres.

"Have you decided?" Rimuru asked.

"The Ogres are a warring clan," the red ogre started. "We aren't against taking the battlefield in service to another. If our master is strong, we are all the more pleased to serve them."

Rimuru nodded.

"Can our contract last only until we take out the Orcs' leader?" the red ogre asked.

"You can do whatever you want after that," Rimuru agreed. "You can stay and help us build a nation, or you can go on your way."

The red ogre let out an audible sigh of relief before getting down on one knee in front of Rimuru.

"I would like to accept the offer you presented last night. We will hereby serve under you." The ogre bowed his head low at Rimuru.

"Good." Rimuru stared at the red ogre, feeling bad that he didn't give the ogre's feelings more consideration. Rimuru was sure that all the red ogre wanted at the moment was to avenge his fallen brethren even if it meant at the cost of his life.

He's making this decision as a leader who's had to accept his own weakness, Rimuru thought to himself. Despite how prideful he was when they first met, he was only trying to make the best decisions for the ogres under his rule. Rimuru approved of him.

Kumiko couldn't help but feel the envy from the night before arise again. The five ogres that survived with him were lucky to have him as their leader. He cared for them and did his best for them. Then again, the village leaders from her own village cared for the ogres they ruled over; they just didn't care for Kumiko.

"Lift your head." The ogre looked up at Rimuru who had used his skill [Mimic] to transform into his human form.

"You're all accepted. Call in the others."

Kumiko panicked. this was the exact situation she wanted to avoid. She would've tried to sneak out past Rimuru, or even use the shadows to make sure escape, but Rimuru had given her a order. She couldn't leave this room without his permission. As the ogre stepped outside of the hut to gather the others, she quickly used [Presence Obscure] and completely removed herself from detection, except by Rimuru. He noticed a shift in movement before he realized he could only see Kumiko with his [Magic Sense] meaning that she was trying to hide from the ogres again. Rimuru said nothing, only sighing in resignation. He was sighing a lot lately he realized.

Shortly, the red ogre returned with the other five and Rigurd in tow. He looked over at where Kumiko had been before, completely unaware that she was still there. Immediately, he became confused. He hadn't stepped far from Rimuru's hut when he stepped out, yet he didn't see her leave.

The ogres lined themselves up in front of Rimuru, waiting to hear what he had said. Rimuru gave them all a once over before he nodded and hummed his approval.

"I'll give you names to prove you're my subordinates. All the ogres went wide-eyed.

"All of us?" the red ogre repeated in disbelief.

"Well, having no name makes things tough, doesn't it?"

"But..." the red ogre trailed off, unsure.

"P-please, wait. Giving a name comes with great risks. And to name such superior monsters-"

"It's fine, really. Don't worry about it."

Rimuru-sama! came Kumiko's voice in his head holding a slightly scolding, yet worried tone. Rimuru was a bit confused. Kumiko had seen him name over 500 goblins in one sitting, but she was worried about a mere six ogres?

The 'risk' is me using too many magicules and falling asleep, right? He asked Kumiko telepathically.

Yes, that is the risk. Expending too many magicules is not good for you, Rimuru-sama. Kumiko's reply was straightforward and logical.

There's only six of them this time, so it'll be fine.

Rimuru-sama but - Kumiko was interrupted as he spoke aloud to the ogres.

"Or do you just not want me to name you?" Rimuru knew monsters found it a great honor to be named. Even Kumiko had told him.

"That isn't..." the princess ogre tried to find an argument against Rimuru.

"We have no complaints," the red ogre cut her off.

"Brother!" The princess' surprised cry was ignored.

"We gratefully accept your names."

"If this is the young master's will, we accept," the white ogre agreed. Rimuru smiled.

"Okay, let's get started." Rimuru hopped off his bed and walked first up to the red ogre.

"You are Benimaru." The red ogre, now named Benimaru bowed his torso to Rimuru.

"Shuna." The pink ogre, now named Shuna, gasped as her body accepted the name.

"Hakurou." The white ogre, now named Hakurou, silently bowed his head.

"Shion." The busty purple ogre, now named Shion, happily accepted the name.

"Kurobe." The largest grey ogre, now named Kurobe, nodded his head down at Rimuru, accepting his new name.

"Souei." The blue ogre, now named Souei, bowed his torso in acceptance.

"Now that you are all named..." Rimuru trailed off as he began to sway back and forth. After a couple seconds, his [Mimic] dissipated and his slime form started falling to the floor.

"Rimuru-sama!" Shuna was about to run forward to catch the slime, but Kumiko had beat her to it. In her rush to catch Rimuru, her [Presence Obscure] was dissolved, and the ogres flinched as she suddenly reappeared before them.

"How...?" Souei was confused. It wasn't easy completely erasing one's presence as she did. Usually there were traces of magicules left, or aspects that couldn't escape the physical senses.

Kumiko quickly picked up Rimuru and placed him back onto his bed, the slime completely unresponsive. Another thing to add onto her list of failures at the moment; she didn't properly tell Rimuru the risks of naming six superior monsters all at once. After she placed Rimuru down, she took a deep breath and put on the strongest mask she could at the moment to mask her fear. Without any expression, she faced the 6 ogres, now Kijin, who were still staring at her in shock.

"Rimuru-sama has exhaused all his magicules for the time being. He will recover by tomorrow morning." Kumiko quickly guided the rest of the kijin out, who followed obediently in shock. Even Hakurou, who was able to mask himself under Rimuru's [Magic Sense] was surprised. He got the feeling that had she wanted to seriously fight back in the forest, she could've easily hidden her presence though the whole fight and taken them down single-handedly. The stories about her that the villagers passed around were true. She was a force to be reckoned with.

Rigurd was just approaching Rimuru's tent as he watched all the Kijin walked out. The six newly named Kijin still had their ogre appearances though.

"Ah! Kumiko-dono! We've been looking for you. The security units have updates, and Myrd was trying to say something." Rigurd rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm still surprised you can communicate with him, Rimuru-dono."

"Rigurd, what great timing," she quickly introduced Rigur to the newly named Kijin, all while refusing to look at them directly. "Rimuru is recovering from depleting his magicules. For now, please guide them to somewhere they can rest. They will be evolving to Kijin soon." She gave the group a quick bow before scurrying off to the security unit.

Ah, she ran away again. All the Kijin stared after her, not knowing how they were going to get her to stay long enough to hear them out.

~~~

The next morning, Rimuru began to awaken. The ogres had all successfully finished evolving into Kijin and, with permission from Rigurd, had been allowed to wait in Rimuru's tent for him to wake up for the past hour. Rigurd also stood by in the tent. Kumiko had been busy with the village for the entirety of yesterday, not that she complained, so the kijin group didn't have a chance to catch her. As for today, she had yet to appear.

Benimaru, Souei and Hakurou had discussed among just the three of them how to talk to her. After all, only them three truly knew the story. Kurobe, Shion and Shuna had heard things here or there, but they weren't completely informed about her. It came down to catching her off guard and restraining her. Whoever saw her and had a chance would try to catch her. They had to explain things quickly.

"Shion, it's time to switch places," Rimuru heard in his haze.

"Oh, no, Princess. I will look after Rimuru-sama," another voice replied. "Please get some rest."

"Really, Shion..." Rimuru began to open his eyes, only to stare up directly into Shion's chest.

"Rimuru-sama, good morning!" Shion and Shuna said joyfully as soon as they noticed Rimuru was awake.

"Um... Who are you again?" he asked in confusion.

Wait... My memory's a little fuzzy, but I think I was about to name the Ogres when... Huh?

"Have you awakened, Rimuru-sama?" a male's voice brought Rimuru out of his thoughts. He looked up to Benimaru, who now appeared like a young man with red hair and horns. He had shrunk to about 180cm, but the horns and red hair, as well as the streaks of red going down his cheeks was a give away. Benimaru was on one knee, his head bowed in front of Rimuru.

"You're the 'young master' of the Ogres, right?" Rimuru asked in confusion.

"Correct," he answered swiftly. "I have evolved into a Kijin, and I have assumed the name you gave me: Benimaru."

"Oh!" Rimuru gasped. He remembered naming Benimaru, but hadn't recovered memory of anything else.

Wait, Kijin? Rimuru thought. Kumiko said she evolved into a Kijin, and they kept calling her that, but what is a Kijin?

The Great Sage answered Rimuru. Apparently, Kijin were defined simply as a race of beings uncommonly born of Ogres. Rimuru thought the names would've had some form of the word 'ogre' in it, but he had thought wrong.

"Huh..." Rimuru stared at Benimaru, pinpointing the differences between Kijin and Ogre. His body looks... a little smaller? The amount of magicules in him has exploded, though... So this means he evolved from an Ogre to a Kijin, right? When Kumiko evolved I wasn't quite sure what anything was, but I had gotten used to it overtime so I forgot to analyze her....

Rimuru looked to the next kijin, who happened to be one of the girls sitting in front of him.

"Rimuru-sama, I am Shuna," the pink haired princess introduced. She reached out her hand to Rimuru and rubbed his cheek. "I'm so glad to see that you've awakened!"

Rimuru looked up to the busty lady who had been holding him in his lap.

"I am Shion," she introduced happily. The purple haired ogre smiled down at Rimuru over her own chest. "I'm very fond of the name you gave me, Rimuru-sama!"

So this busty beauty is Shion, Rimuru thought to himself. She looks less wild and more intelligent now, though it appears her breast size didn't change much. Both Kumiko and her both have such great figures... though I can't ever imaging Kumiko holding me in her lap...

Rimuru sweatdropped at his own thoughts before shaking it off and looking to the next ogre who happened to be standing behind Benimaru.

"And the one behind Benimaru... is the old man who cut off my arm," Rimuru said bluntly. Hakurou laughed, unoffended.

"Such a mean-spirited remark," he brushed off. "It was I who felt shocked when you instantly regenerated your arm. I was given the name Hakurou." Rimuru nodded and stared for a moment before his attention was drawn to the blue-haired Kijin that Kumiko had fought.

"And I think you're..." he trailed off, unable to recall a name.

"You have given me the name 'Souei.' I'm glad to see that you have recovered, Rimuru-sama" Souei kept his introduction to the point and bowed at Rimuru.

"T-Thanks." Rimuru said, still in slight shock at the changes. He hadn't known that naming just six of them would deplete all of his magicules.

I bet that was what Kumiko was trying to warn me about last night... Rimuru trailed off, noticing that Kumiko hadn't made her appearance yet. It seemed that this kijin group hadn't been able to talk to her yet.

"Ah, that's right. Where's the sixth one?"

"Oh," Benimaru replied, "he's been spending a lot of time at Kaijin's workshop." As if called, Kurobe came bursting in.

"I heard Rimuru-sama has awakened!" he called out excitedly before he even got in the door.

"Ah, there he is," Rigurd announced.

"Rimuru-sama! I'm so glad you're well!" Kurobe said as he entered the hut. "You recognize me, right? I am Kurobe!"

He looked like an ordinary middle-aged guy! Rimuru thought excitedly. So after Kumiko, a beautiful lady, Benimaru, a hot guy, Shuna, a cute girl, Shion, a babe, Hakurou, a dignified grey, and Souei, another hot guy... He's just a middle-aged guy! What a relief!

"I hope we'll be good friends, Kurobe!" Rimuru offered excitedly. After all, the he who he had been before he was reincarnated hadn't exactly been the most popular, especially if put next to Benimaru and Souei. If they didn't have horns protruding from their foreheads, he was sure they'd be getting a lot of attention. Horns...

This brought his attention to Kumiko. He hadn't really come across any ogres, so he hadn't really thought about it too much, but compared to the rest of the Kijin, her horns really did stand out. They curved out from the sides of her head and curled to the front, almost like a bull's horns. They were pearly white, which seemed fairly normal though, since all but Benimaru and Shion had white horns.

"I see that you haven't had a chance to speak to Kumiko yet..." Rimuru brought up. Had they been able to talk to her, she would've been waiting with the rest of them. The Kijin flinched and lowered their heads.

"I can help you find a way to talk to her. But first I want you to explain to me about the things you've heard, and what you're going to say to her."

~~~

Kumiko was up in a tree again, her eyes focused on the village in front of her. She had finished going around the village for the morning and also had Myrd route some evacuation paths through the village. Security had been made aware of the possible threat and were told to report back of anything suspicious immediately. They weren't sure how far the orc army was, but she would rather be safe than sorry. Kumiko announced a ban on having goblins travel too far from the village in fear of them running into the orc army. Hunting units also had been restricted to certain areas in the east, though it wasn't a concern due to the abundance of prey. She was assuming it was due to the orc army's rampage through the forest. She was about to report all this to Rimuru before Rigur had mentioned briefly that the other kijin were in Rimuru's hut. She had immediately headed into the forest and had been here since.

To be honest, she didn't want to be hiding up in this tree. Yesterday, after she finished up her tasks, she had resolved that for the best interest of Rimuru and the village, she would bury her feelings and remain calm. Clearly, that wasn't happening right now. Feeling defeated, she sighed and leaped off the branch she was perched on and landed softly on the ground, barely making any sound. Her scythe was leaning against the trunk of the tree and barely even moved, proving that even the vibrations she sent through the ground with her landing was minimal.

Suddenly, a flash of blue crossed Kumiko's vision before a blade was swinging toward her. She quickly leaped to the side, grabbing her scythe and opening her blades. Another swing came at her, but this time she was able to block it with her scythe. Her golden eyes met the bright blue eyes of the new Kijin, Souei. Her eyes widened in shock, before an array of emotions flashed through, ending with nothing. But Souei had seen through her. She was afraid, sad and angry all in that one moment.

Kumiko didn't want to believe that the Kijin was attacking her. She had prepared for them to hate her, to shun her, but as long as they didn't kick her out, she could deal with being by herself. She had done that for 11 years before she ran. What she didn't account for was if they attacked her. It never crossed her mind that the stories the group heard would be to the point that they wanted her dead. Yet here she was, blades opened and pointed against the other Kijin.

Souei raised his blade again as she leaped backwards, avoiding any attacks towards him. Even if he wanted to fight her, she didn't want to fight. She promised the little ogre boy a couple nights ago that she wouldn't kill another ogre again, much less a Kijin who would be beneficial to Rimuru. With surprising speed, Souei's blade flashed in front of her and she quickly used her own blade to knock the sword away from her.

"I was told, this was the only way you'd listen, Cursed One." Souei's words barely reached Kumiko, but she heard them and her golden eyes flashed dangerously. Souei almost wanted to take a step back, but she needed to hear what he had to say. Rimuru had told him that the only way to get her to talk was to rile her up as much as he could. She was terribly scared and would be enraged at the phrase 'Cursed One,' but he told Souei that she wouldn't dare actually strike him with her blade. It seemed as if Rimuru had told the truth.

"What is there to talk about? You have raised your blade against me because I am a monster, even among us ogres and Kijin, am I not?" Kumiko's voice was eerily calm. She rushed forward, her scythe swinging dangerously close to Souei's neck, but he felt no killing intent. She was trying to scare him off enough to surrender and leave.

"What? No, I -" In her fear, Kumiko cut him off and swung her scythe to the left of him, causing him to jump out of the way slightly, his blade held in front of him in defense.

"So, what have you heard about me, Souei?" Kumiko asked her blade swinging forward as his own met hers in a clash of sparks. They both leaped back. Souei, who also had the ability to travel through the shadows, quickly appeared behind Kumiko. She spun around and blocked his attack and jumped back. Both of them weren't fighting seriously, that much was clear. The both of them who were skilled with their blades could easily be tearing each other apart by now, but they were both purposely avoiding hitting each other. Their attacks were easy to see through, easy to block. Kumiko's attacks were meant to scare, and Souei's were meant to subdue.

"What did the villagers say 10 years ago when they fled to you?" Kumiko insisted as she parried one of his attacks.

"They claimed that The Cursed One had cursed them to die. That the village leaders were killed and the young were threatened. They said that you had killed a young ogre," Souei answered truthfully. Kumiko flinched as the image of the little ogre boy came to mind and her blade dropped by just a few centimeters. Souei took this chance and swung his blade, trying to use the flat edge of it to knock her down. She was able to fend off his attack, although just barely. She leaped back before almost immediately rushing towards Souei again.

"What you heard from those villagers is true," Kumiko confessed, her melodic voice filled with pain as she swung her scythe downwards towards Souei again. Instead of jumping out of the way, Souei raised his sword horizontally to block her blade. She used her own force to push her back and away from Souei. "I killed the elders, spelling doom for the village, and I killed an innocent, young ogre. I am a heartless monster who was able to skewer my own."

Souei could sense that her mask was breaking. Her attacks were getting harder and she was beginning to get choked up. Tears were starting to appear in the corners of her eyes, but not one of them fell. However, despite her increasing rage at herself, she still wasn't aiming to hurt him. At the moment, he could only remain on defense as she continuously swung at him. Souei couldn't help but note how strong she truly was, even if she wasn't trying to kill. Had they seriously fought back in the field, she alone would've been able to wipe out the six of them. They had gotten lucky that she didn't want to fight even after Hakurou had severed Rimuru's arm. It most likely would've meant that the last six survivors of their village would perish then and there.

"I watched as the weaponless village leaders get skewered by the spikes of ice that I had control over. I continued, despite knowing that I was killing my own kind, and I ignored their cries to stop. I wanted them to die, despite being an ogre myself. I'm a monster, a curse." She continued attacking, until she managed to knock Souei down onto the ground, his sword laying out of his reach. She used [Shadow Manipulation] to prevent him from escaping through his own shadow and stabbed her scythe to the right of his head. She stood over Souei, her feet to either side of him as her golden eyes stared right at his own blue ones. Her long black hair draped around her head, covering her face from everyone aside from Souei, not that there was anyone nearby anyways. It wasn't long before Souei felt a few drops of her tears hit his cheeks. She was crying.

"I killed a little boy, who came in to see find his father. He cried out to me and reached a hand out, but I could only watch as he got impaled by my own powers. I know I am a monster, a demon, a curse, but I finally found a place that I could proudly defend." Souei stayed silent as Kumiko continued confessing.

"I found a place they didn't judge me for my horns, nor did they try to send me to impossible battles expecting me to die..." Kumiko continued to cry while Souei willingly remained still, trapped by her blade and legs. "I found a place I didn't have to fight to live... and I want to stay."

Souei stared up her in silence for a few moments as she continued to cry.

"They also said that you were their savior."

Souei watched as her golden eyes widened at his words. She backed away from him, not believing him, though her blade was still stabbed firmly into the ground. He slowly rose, getting back on his feet as she stumbled away, her hair covering her face.

"They told stories of how you protected them from everything. Red ants, Orcs, even humans if need be. They said that despite their harsh treatment of you, you protected them and gave them directions to our village so they wouldn't die out in the forest." Souei took a few steps towards her as she collapsed onto her hands and knees. She had stopped crying for the time being, but Souei could still see the tears in her eyes.

"They confessed that they used you, and most of the villagers wanted to stand up to the leaders, but they were scared. Your leaders were tyrants and they ruled the village with a harsh hand. They waited for you to stand up to them and run away since only you were strong enough to save yourself, but for 11 years you kept suffering. They confessed that, as ogres who had lived for years longer than you, they felt worthless as they watched you fight battle after battle, only to be sent back to die again. They wanted to apologize, but they were scared. They were scared of your reaction, like how you were scared of ours." Souei had reached Kumiko and took a knee in front of her. She didn't look up.

"They continued to call you the Cursed One, not because they thought you cursed them, but because you were cursed yourself. You had been cursed by your dead leaders to think that you were meant to die, but the reality was that they were scared of you and how strong you were, even at that age." Kumiko looked up at Souei, tears starting to flow again.

"But what about that little boy I killed? He was innocent, and I slaughtered him in cold blood. I doomed the village by killing their leaders, so the least I could do was tell them where the nearest one was, but I still killed an innocent! They said my horns meant that I was a bad omen to the village, that these hideous horns didn't make me a true ogre." Her voice pleaded to Souei, as if asking him to tell her that she wasn't a monster.

"An innocent he might've been to you, but the villagers said he was a terror taking after his father. He used force through the village as well as his power as the next head to scare the villagers into submission, even at that young age. At 5, he was already throwing his power around, using it to get what he wanted. He cast aside and stepped on the others for his own benefit. He might've been young, but he wasn't innocent."

Kumiko started crying harder, relief flowing through her as Souei convinced her that after all this time, the villagers didn't hate her, that she wasn't a complete monster and that she wasn't hated by all of the ogre race. She reached her arms up and launched herself at Souei, who braced himself as she latched onto him and cried harder into his shoulder. He let her cry, knowing that she needed it after suffering for over 20 years with this burden.

For 15 long minutes, Kumiko cried into his shoulder, gripping onto him with all the strength she could muster, though it wasn't much. She wasn't a monster... There was no reason for her to be afraid. She kept repeating it to herself over and over, the relief of Souei's words easing her until she stopped crying. Souei, who noticed the lack of sobs, gently pried her off of him and stood up, offering her a hand. She accepted it and pulled herself off the ground.

"We've been wanting to tell you that since we arrived at this village. Everyone thought after you ran away that you had died since no ogre or other had heard of you for 10 years." Souei said as they both dusted themselves off. "Needless to say, your horns aren't a bad omen; they resemble your strength. In fact, I'd say your horns are quite beautiful, aren't they?"

~~~

"Orc Lord? What's that?" Rimuru asked Benimaru as they stood atop another hill overlooking the village.

"Well, put simply... it's a beast," Benimaru replied.

"That's simple, all right."

"It's said that one is born to the Orcs every few centuries. It's a unique monster."

"Unique, huh?"

"They say he devours even his own allies' fear and terror, which makes him an unnaturally effective leader. The Orcs that attacked our village were unfazed by the deaths of their own, so I thought that may be the case."

"I see..."

"Of course, the possibility of it is quite low."

"Any other ideas why they might have attacked your village?"

"Well... I'm not sure if there's any connection, but shortly before the attack a majin visited our village... 'I shall name you' is what he said, but he sounded too untrustworthy so I turned him away, and he cursed me as he left."

"A majin, huh? So you think he might have a grudge against you?"

"I had no choice. I want no such gift from an unsuitable master. I wouldn't accept a name from just anyone, after all."

Rimuru blushed.

"What was his name again? I think he said... Gela... Geli... Gele... Gelo?"

Suddenly, both Benimaru and Rimuru turned to face the shadow of the tree. From the darkness emerged both Kumiko and Souei. Benimaru seemed surprised to see Kumiko accompanying Souei, but Rimuru was pleased. It meant that they had talked things out. He also couldn't help but notice that Kumiko's eyes were slightly red and swollen, indicating that she had cried pretty hard. He internally smirked when he realized that Souei's shoulder looked slightly damp.

"Ah Souei, you evolved your [Shadow Travel] skill to [Shadow Movement] already?" Rimuru asked.

"Yes, Rimuru-sama," Souei said, bowing down to Rimuru. Kumiko also followed in a bow. "Kumiko taught me while we were in the forest. The name of that majin was Gelmud."

"Right, that's it." Benimaru confirmed. He looked hesitantly at Kumiko. "Kumiko-dono..."

She faced Benimaru and smiled a light smile.

"Souei told me everything. Thank you for taking care of my village. I'm sorry for running away all this time." She bowed to Benimaru, who quickly waved off the bow.

"It was my fault for accusing you of being a traitor upon our first meeting. Ogres are loyal, and from the stories, you were loyal to your village and to the ogres. It must've hurt for me to say that. I too apologize." Kumiko smiled and accepted his apology gratefully. They truly didn't hate her.

"Gelmud? I think I've heard that name before..." Rimuru mumbled slightly.

"Rigur mentioned that name, if I remember correctly," Kumiko supplied, while still remaining by the tree with Souei.

"Right, the officer from the Demon Lord's army... I bet it's the same guy..." Rimuru trailed off in thought.

"We bring a report, Rimuru-sama," Souei said, bringing Rimuru's attention back to Souei and Kumiko. "Kumiko and I were scouting the forest when we witnessed a group of Lizardmen."

"Lizardmen? Not Orcs?" Rimuru asked, surprised.

"Correct." Souei answered

"Lizardmen have made their homes in the marshlands, so it is unnatural to see them in the forest," Kumiko informed Rimuru, knowing he didn't know too much about Lizardmen.

"We had to inform you at once. They seemed to be attempting negotiations with a nearby Goblin village. They may one day come here, as well." Souei concluded. Rimuru nodded, deep in thought.

"I'll look into it. Thank you for the report." Souei and Kumiko both bowed to Rimuru.

Kumiko peeked around Souei's bowed figure, since she was standing slightly behind him, and noticed Hakurou standing over a group of defeated goblins, Gobta in the mix.

"Rimuru-sama, if it isn't too rude for me to ask, what is going on down there?" Kumiko asked as she watched Hakurou proudly stand in front of the fallen goblins. Souei, curious at what she was talking about, also made his way to look.

"Ah, Gobta wanted to be trained with a sword. Hakurou volunteered to take care of training. He really is a Spartan." Rimuru replied, watching as Gobta and the other goblins twitched in defeat.

"Is that so..." Kumiko stared down at the fallen goblins before she let out a light laugh. Rimuru was glad; her aura had been more relaxed than ever. Souei and Benimaru froze as her laughter flowed through the air.

"Well, should I go down and have a go against Hakurou myself?" She turned back to the group and smiled slightly, amusement flickering through her once emotionless eyes.

Up next: Gabiru is Here!

Chapter Text

Rimuru was proud to say that Kumiko warmed up to all the other kijin rather quickly and easily fit in. She was becoming more expressive and opening up exponentially quickly to the other Kijin. The kijin all soon became a tight group of their own, spending their extra time with the others and even sometimes working together.

A week or more ago, Kumiko had indeed leaped down from the hill the group was standing on to engage Hakurou in a fight. She scared the older ogre when she suddenly appeared next to him and offered him a friendly fight. Hakurou looked up and saw Benimaru and Souei, who both nodded, indicating that they told her. He smirked in response and accepted Kumiko's duel. Needless to say, he respected Kumiko a great deal after she had left him laying in the dust without using her abilities.

Kumiko's position within the group of Kijin seemed to solidify as the days went by. She maintained her position as Rimuru's advisor, though Rimuru was currently debating whether or not to reassign her, as well as the overseer of the village and head of security. However, the difference was now instead of disappearing off into the forest alone, she could be found either scouting with Souei, having mock fights with Hakurou, discussing ways to avenge the villagers with Benimaru, or hanging around Shuna and Shion. Surprisingly, Kumiko was possibly the only one to be able to control the two of them once they started fighting over Rimuru. As for Kurobe, he hung out at lot around Kaijin, so while Kumiko and him got along splendidly, it was more rare to see her spending time with him.

About Kumiko's position, Rimuru was considering to reassign her to work with Souei in scouting and securing the village. Shion had been assigned as his secretary and worked closely with Kumiko for the time being since Kumiko was still his advisor. However, a lot of their work overlapped and it ended up in a lack of things for both Shion and Kumiko to do. After discussing it slightly with Kumiko, she agreed that she would allow Shion to take over majority of her tasks and Kumiko would instead focus more on security. Rimuru quickly agreed, though felt like she should still get an official reassignment. Along with her current tasks as head of security, she seemed to do best out in the field and defending the village. In addition, her and Souei seemed to have similar powers, especially their abilities with shadows and stealth.

He also secretly wanted to stick her to Souei since she seemed to have bonded with him. Perhaps it was because he was the one to comfort her or that they worked a lot together as head of security and a scout, but they were comfortable together. He wanted to see Kumiko rely more on the Kijin, or even just Souei.

The goblins themselves took a while to get used to seeing Kumiko around the village more, and seemed to either panic or stare in awe as she smiled and laughed a lot more. For the months that they spent together, they had rarely ever seen her smile, and even less laugh. Now, it seemed like a regular occurrence. She was still serious when it came to carrying out her tasks, but when she relaxed, her emotions were not longer suppressed and she gladly chatted and laughed with the rest of the Kijin. Rimuru was glad she was opening up to the other Kijin, but still felt a pang of sadness. He wasn't able to be the one Kumiko relied on, and so he felt slightly down since he wanted to be a worthy master to them all. Regardless, he pushed down the feeling and simply basked in the shining aura that Kumiko had begun to emit in her joy.

Throughout the village, Myrd had been busy upgrading the houses from their fabric huts to wooden cabins. He and Kumiko had finalized the plans for the roads and where to build houses and whatnot, so they set to work right away. With all the goblins and Kijin busy, the village was expanding rapidly. Shuna had taken it upon herself to help the artisans by introducing silk cloth made from Hellmoth cocoons. Due to the amount of magicules in the silk due to the Hellmoths, the material was very sturdy. Shuna seemed to enjoy weaving, so Rimuru had given her her own building as her workshop as well as a loom made by Kaijin.

As Shuna was chatting with the three dwarf brothers about the silk, Kumiko and Shion entered with Rimuru being held in Shion's arms.

"That's amazing!" Rimuru said as they entered. "You can already weave silk?"

"Rimuru-sama!" Shuna said excitedly. The three dwarf brothers also said their greetings to the three newcomers.

"You came to see us, Rimuru-sama!" Shuna said, running over excitedly and hugged the small slime tightly. Shion stared almost menacingly down, but only Kumiko noticed. Kumiko sighed. She could see another fight coming between Shion and Shuna. The two got along well, but only on matters that didn't include caring for Rimuru. She had learned that sometimes, it was better to just let them fight it out, though she would step in if it got too tense. For some reason, she was the only one that could stop them aside from Rimuru.

"How are things going here?" Rimuru asked Shuna.

"Great.The weaving loom Sir Kaijin made for me is very easy to use."

"Yeah? Glad to hear it. I'm counting on you to make clothes for everyone." Shuna smiled, glad that Rimuru was relying on her for something and that she was helpful to the village.

"Of course! Leave it to me!" she replied happily. Shion, sensing that the conversation was over, was quick to want to leave.

"Now then, let us go, Rimuru-sama," she said withdrawing slightly from Shuna and turning to walk away. "Our lunch will get cold."

"Shion..." Shuna stopped them from leaving. "Is your secretarial work going well?" Kumiko could begin to see tension forming between the other two female Kijin, despite the smiles both of them had on their faces.

"Of course, Princess Shuna." Shuna reached out to grab Rimuru, though Shion didn't release her grasp. Shuna's intense aura came leaking out as she stared at Shion with a tight smile.

"I wouldn't mind taking care of Rimuru-sama myself."

Shion smiled back, though her own aura said something else.

"Oh, no, Princess. There's no need for that. I will take good care of him." Shuna and Shion were currently tugging on Rimuru, who laid quietly in both their hands. Within a quick minute, Rimuru had been stretched thin as the two of them pulled on each side.

"I think I'll take care of Rimuru-sama, after all," Shuna stated firmly while maintaining a smile.

"No, as his secretary, I'll do that," Shion insisted in reply. Sparks flew between the two as they stared at each other with tight smiles, still pulling Rimuru between them.

Kumiko made her way between the two and firmly, yet lightly, used her hands and karate-chopped both their heads simultaneously. Instantly, the aura between the two calmed down and disappeared.

"Kumiko~" both of them whined up at her and they used one hand to hold their heads. The other was still gripped tightly around Rimuru. Kumiko only sighed and leaned slightly on her closed scythe. Kaijin had made her a new scythe after getting better material so that when the blades closed, it looked like just a black staff with swirls spiraling outwards from the center.

"You two fight every time you're together with Rimuru-sama in the room. It's disgraceful, both of you." The two of them deflated at Kumiko's words. Sometimes, Kumiko seemed like a mother watching over the two of them. Shuna recovered first and looked down at Rimuru, who was still stretched between the two, though he was thankful Kumiko had managed to get them to stop pulling on him. He wasn't sure how much he could take before there were two of him.

"Rimuru-sama, would you prefer to have me or Shion serving you?" Shuna asked him expectantly.

"W-well... you need to be weaving silk, right?" Rimuru asked as he shrunk slightly. He didn't want to say anything to anger the pink Kijin. "Maybe I'll have you help you in your spare time."

"Very well. You're asking for my help, then?" Shuna smiled brightly.

"E-Exactly! I'm counting on you!" Rimuru strained out.

Kumiko! I'm being stretched! A slime isn't supposed to be this thin! Stop them! Rimuru projected towards Kumiko. Kumiko only shook her head and shrugged in response.

It is unwise to get between the two more than I have now. They both are fiercely competitive when it comes to caring for you, Rimuru-sama. I don't know of any other pair who fight as much as they do.

"Well, then, please leave Rimuru-sama to me," Shion said as she pulled Rimuru away from Shuna. Rimuru sighed as he felt himself returning to his original shape. Any more and he would've torn in two.

Kumiko and Rimuru said quick goodbyes to Shuna and the other three dwarves as Shion made her way out and into the main hall. With instructions from Rimuru, Myrd and the other goblins had built a central hall with a large table at the center. It served as a dining hall as well as a meeting room. As they entered, Hakurou, Benimaru and Souei were already sitting down.

"Oh, hello, Rimuru-sama," Benimaru greeted. Souei bowed his head at Rimuru before he noticed Kumiko behind him. Kumiko also noticed him at the same time. Immediately, the room got colder.

"Souei, I see you've returned from scouting. Are you sure you've completely covered every inch of the forest? We wouldn't want any risk to be because of your incompetence, now would we?" Kumiko smiled sweetly, a black aura emitting from behind. The smile was directed towards Souei, who smirked in response, his own aura emitting from behind him.

"Kumiko, I'm sure the village is very well protected and nothing was a danger since I did the first round of scouting, unlike if you took this shift. I'm sure you'll find that I have everything taken care of." Souei and Kumiko both smiled at each other, but the aura behind them said something different. Rimuru sighed as all the other Kijin sweatdropped.

I know of a pair who fights more than Shion and Shuna... Rimuru thought to himself as the two of them continued to smile while not hiding their auras. It's these two.

Truly, the two of them fought whenever they had a chance to. The two normally stoic and serious Kijins showed the most expression anyone saw on the two of them regularly when they met, though it usually started off in this way. To any outsider, it would appear truly as if they despised one another, but Rimuru and the other Kijin knew better. The two of them knew each other better than anyone else, worked well together and got along the best. Compared to all the other Kijin, the two of them were actually the closest pair, even between Benimaru and Souei. Their arguments mostly were petty and their words weren't serious; they were just taunts from one powerful Kijin to another. Within the week that the Kijin had been at the village, they truly had gotten the closest the quickest.

"They sure are getting along well, as always, aren't they?" Rimuru said as everyone else ignored the two fighting Kijin.

"Have you come to eat?" Hakurou asked.

"Yeah. Shion said she cooked me a meal," Rimuru replied lightly, a bit excited.

At this, all four of the other Kijin flinched and froze. Even Kumiko and Souei stopped fighting as their faces darkened. All the Kijin knew that Shion's food was not edible in the slightest. When Kumiko had heard Rimuru was going to eat, she hadn't known that Shion had cooked. The four of them didn't know what to say as they didn't want to anger Shion. That Kijin had a temper.

Shion placed Rimuru at the head of the table and stood back as Rimuru invited the other Kijin to eat with him, unaware of the tension that appeared when he had mentioned Shion's cooking

"Want to join me, guys?" Rimuru asked the group of stiff Kijin. He was slightly surprised that Kumiko and Souei had stopped their banter. It normally lasted longer.

"Oh, I'm not really hungry..." Benimaru excused himself.

"Yes, we'll just have tea." Hakurou quickly backed.

Souei stood up, activating his skill [Body Double].

"I will go out and scout the surrounding area." he and his doubles declared before they all disappeared. Rimuru looked towards Kumiko.

"Rimuru-sama, I will go accompany Souei and check on village security." With that, she excused herself and disappeared after Souei.

As Kumiko and Souei both disappeared into the shadows, Rimuru stared at Benimaru in confusion. Benimaru refused to meet his eyes.

"I'll bring it out, then." Shion bowed and made her way to the back kitchen. Rimuru used his [Mimic] to assume his human form, but he sighed as he watched Benimaru. His reaction sure was suspicious, and he was even sweating heavily. Benimaru was fine just a second ago.

I wonder why the guys reacted that way... Rimuru trailed off in thought. Is it because, even though Shion looks really capable, it's going to end up being that old trope? No, Kumiko would've told me, right?

"I've returned!" Shion's voice disrupted Rimuru's thoughts.

"Please, help yourself!" She said happily as she placed down a goopy purple mess in front of Rimuru. He blanched.

She's not capable at all!

The sound of a growling stomach brought Rimuru's attention off of the mess that Shion insisted was food. It turned out that it was Benimaru's stomach that was growling in hunger. Rimuru gave him a deadpan look.

'Not hungry,' he said! Rimuru thought as he glared at Benimaru who still refused to look at Rimuru. They all ran away because they knew she couldn't cook! Even Kumiko!

"Rimuru-sama, help yourself!" Shion insisted, holding out a wrapped spoon for Rimuru.

Hey, you! Look at me! How dare you just casually sip that tea?! Rimuru projected to Benimaru telepathically. Benimaru said nothing and continued drinking.

And the old geezer's completely erased his presence! Hey!

"Go on, Rimuru-sama," Shion insisted again while bringing the spoon closer to Rimuru.

Forgive me, Rimuru-sama. Benimaru thought towards Rimuru.

Consider this training, Hakurou added on in thought.

As Rimuru was staring down his newest enemy, Gobta and another goblin made their way in.

"Please, before it gets cold." Shion insisted one more time. This time, Rimuru picked up the spoon and unwrapped it while staring down in horror.

"H-here I go, then..." he said hesitantly.

Well, hey, it's not like it's poison... Rimuru tried to keep his thoughts positive. I won't die or -

His thoughts were cut off as he picked up a spoonful of the 'food' and swore there was a face in the goop that smiled back up at him.

Okay, relax. It looks like it's possessed, but it's just my imagination! Right, it's just... that! A simulacrum! The tendency to see a face in anything with three distinctly visible points.

The goop growled up at him while Shion watched him expectantly.

Help me, Great Sage! Rimuru pleaded. The great sage assured him that if he closed his eyes and inserted the spoon at an angle from the right, he would not die. Rimuru wasn't quite sure what the Great Sage said, but he did as hold and was met with a sound he wasn't expecting.

Mrgh? Rimuru opened his eyes to see that he had shoved the spoon straight into Gobta's mouth. The unfortunate goblin had just been walking by. As Gobta swallowed the gulp of 'food' he jumped back, as if hit by lightning, and then proceeded to start rolling on the ground. Rimuru watched Gobta in horror. The poor goblin started spinning in circles on the floor, turning purple and foaming at the mouth before at last he stopped moving. Hakurou and Benimaru who sat silently could only close their eyes and pray for Gobta to rest in peace.

The entire room was silent.

"Oh, dear." Shion looked away, feigning innocence.

"Shion," Rimuru said without looking at her. She jumped and stood straight while facing Rimuru. "Next time you make food to serve to someone else, get Benimaru's approval first."

Benimaru flinched at Rimuru's command and looked over in shock

That's just cruel, Rimuru-sama! He complained mentally while staring at Rimuru with wide eyes

Don't blame me. You're her supervisor now. Rimuru thought back while sticking his tongue out at Benimaru. I need Benimaru to do a good job so we don't suffer any more losses like Gobta.

~~~

Kumiko appeared on the branch beside Souei, who didn't even glance at her. He was one of the many doubles that were out scouting at the moment, and the only one who could find which one was the real Souei without a doubt was Kumiko herself.

"Kumiko," Souei greeted calmly. Their fights were never serious, and therefore never carried out over an extended period of time. In fact, most times they forgot about their fights and found something different to playfully argue about. It was just the nature of their relationship. They were currently overlooking the forest that surrounded the village, checking for any suspicious movements or bothersome tracks. "How do you always find me amongst all my doubles?"

"I just know," she shrugged simply before she smirked at him and leaped off the tree they were perched on. "Perhaps I am just better than you, Souei." Souei scoffed and rolled his eyes at her comment before following and landing softly beside her.

"You wish, Kumiko. If you had the [Body Double] skill, I bet I could find you faster." The two of them were playfully exchanging jabs back and forth while they scoured the forest floor looking for possible tracks of enemies. They truly were the most comfortable and acted the most freely when they were alone with each other.

"Faster? I doubt it. After all, I never had a doubt which one was the real you ever since you activated your skill." She stuck out her tongue at him childishly, but then tensed and stopped. Souei looked over at her.

"Souei, those tracks are fresh," she whispered seriously, pointing in front of her. Souei also looked over and made his way stealthily towards the tracks. Both he and Kumiko had found and shared ways of moving undetected without having to travel through the shadows. Their steps sent almost no vibrations through the ground and the only sound heard was the occasional rustle of leaves as wind blew through the air.

They both leaned down to examine the track, noticing that the tracks appeared to have webbed feet.

"Lizardmen." Souei concluded as they looked in the direction of the tracks. It was leading to the village. Souei and Kumiko looked at each other and nodded. They would follow the tracks and track down the lizardmen who were traversing the forest. Souei and Kumiko wanted to apprehend them first, or at least get a reading on what the lizardmen were like, before they could get a chance at meeting Rimuru.

The two of them swiftly and quietly followed the Lizardmen tracks, every so often competing in worthless things such as racing to the next tree or finding the next track faster. Following each competition, they would launch into a short debate on who was superior. It wasn't long before the two of them stumbled on the Lizardmen. They stealthily perched themselves up on two separate trees and watched.

"It seems there is one more settlement," of the the soldiers said. Kumiko and Souei narrowed their eyes. The last settlement was their own village, probably, considering that they weren't too far.

"But the residents of the previous village had odd things to say about it," another soldier added. "They said it was a settlement of Goblins that had tames Direwolves."

"What? Goblins and Direwolves?" The leader asked in disbelief. "That's impossible."

"I agree," the same solider replied. Kumiko looked to Souei.

They are going to be surprised. It is a village of Hobgoblins, Kijin, Dwarves and Tempest Wolves. Kumiko projected her thoughts with Souei, who she had taught how to use [Thought Communcation]. She couldn't help but want to see their reactions when they realized it wasn't a weak goblin village. Souei couldn't help but agree that he wanted to see that. It surely would be amusing.

"What's more, they said the leader of these Goblins is a slime."

"Huh?!" The leader yelled in shock. "I don't quite understand that scenario... but if that's the case, then if that slime works for us, we'll be able to control the Direwolves too!"

Souei and Kumiko both had to hold back as their expressions darkened. Rimuru obeying this idiot of a lizardman? An unlikely story. If Souei and Kumiko could take down this imbecile of a lizardman in less than a second, he wasn't fit to have Rimuru serve him, much less form an alliance. This lizardman would do the village no good. If all lizardmen were like this, it'd be easier for Rimuru to defeat the orcs without an alliance with the lizardmen

"Oh!" One of the soldiers yelled out excitedly.

"Two birds with one stone!" The second stated.

"What profound thinking!" The third praised. "I'm glad I came along with you!"

The praises only served to increase the leader's ego.

"Just leave everything to me!" he yelled, striking a pose. The other lizardmen started yelling out praises to the leader, calling him Gabiru.

Gabiru, huh? Kumiko asked Souei. They both hadn't moved from their spots.

We should report to Rimuru-sama, Souei replied telepathically. The two nodded and quickly used the shadows to travel away and back to the village. Instead of traveling to Rimuru's shadow or to somewhere near Rimuru, they traveled directly to the center of the village. They doubted Rimuru was still eating, but in the case that he was still suffering from Shion's cooking, the two didn't want any part in that.

Bystanding goblins watched as the shadow of the central hall warped before two kijin stood there. When some of the goblin lords realized it was Kumiko, they swarmed her with questions regarding the expansion of the village as well as various safety issues.

"E-Eh??" She looked to Souei for help since it was so sudden and within a few seconds, there was a hoard of goblins in front, worrying about the safety of the village. News of the orc lord was traveling faster and more people were panicking. Souei raised his hands, as if surrendering before traveling to a shadow closer to the wall and leaning against it and closing his eyes. He could wait. The imbecile lizardman wasn't that close to the village anyways.

Kumiko glared at Souei for not helping answer the multitude of questions regarding village safety. After all, he probably knew about just as much as she did regarding the Orc Lord, if not more, and she had filled him in on the safety procedures through the village. She turned back to the villagers and tried to ease their worries. After a while, she had enough.

Souei! Get over here and help! Or are you admitting that I'm superior to you since you can't even answer a few simple security questions?! Kumiko taunted Souei through their mental communication. From the corner of her eye, she saw Souei flinch at her taunt. He opened his eyes and glared at her, only to receive a similar glare back. Both of their auras flared up again over all the concerned goblins.

Souei sighed in defeat and got up from his position. Silently, he made his way through the crowd until he was standing by Kumiko again.

"We will announce the safety procedures to the village at a later date. Don't panic. This village is well-protected and safety features are being implemented." Souei's announcement silenced the villagers, who begrudgingly accepted that details would be released later. Souei gave Kumiko a look that said 'what did I tell you' and Kumiko just turned away and puffed her cheeks. She just panicked in the moment. She could do that too.

They were about to make their way to Rigurd to find where Rimuru was when the Goblin King himself crossed their path.

"Ah, Kumiko-dono, Souei-dono." Rigurd greeted as he flexed. Kumiko had gotten used to it long ago, but Souei flinched in surprise at his actions.

Hoo~ is little Souei afraid of the Goblin King? Kumiko teased him through their mental communcation.

"Rigurd, do you by chance have any idea where Rimuru-sama is?" Kumiko asked aloud as he stopped in front of them, still flexing. She glanced to the side and gave Souei a smirk. Souei stiffened and glared at her.

I'm not scared. This Goblin King is just unnaturally fond of his own muscles. Souei and Kumiko's aura began to form behind them. Rigurd's attention kept flickering between the two as he began to sweat from the overwhelming pressure the two were emitting.

"Y-Yes, he's with Kaijin and Kurobe at the forge. I was just about to go find him. An envoy of lizardmen have arrived." Rigurd sighed as the menacing aura the two had disappeared. Souei and Kumiko looked at Rigurd with wide eyes. Wow, despite being an idiot, Gabiru sure traveled fast.

"Please go ahead, we will meet you and Rimuru-sama there," Kumiko told Rigurd. Rigurd nodded and set off on his way to the forge while Kumiko and Souei used the shadows to travel to the southeastern border where Rigurd said the Lizardmen were waiting. Sure enough, when the two arrived, there stood the army of lizardmen. They perched themselves onto trees again for a height advantage of needed and waited for Rimuru to arrive.

It wasn't long before Rimuru arrived, sitting in the arms of Shion, followed by Benimaru, Hakurou and Rigurd. Souei and Kumiko were on trees opposite each other behind the Lizardmen army. Since Souei and Kumiko arrived, they had been standing in a block formation with the three lizardmen that were talking to Gabiru before standing in front. Gabiru was nowhere to be seen. The two stealth artists weren't exactly sure what they were up to, so they could only sit and observe. Occasionally they would start fighting a bit via their mental communication, but it was just about who would be detected first by Rimuru. As Rimuru had observed, the two fought more than anyone in the village.

"Which one's the envoy?" Rimuru asked staring at the group of lizardmen. Suddenly, they all started pounding their spears, causing Kumiko to almost fall off her branch from the sudden vibrations. She glared at Souei who was silently laughing at her. She would never tell him, but she enjoyed seeing him laugh. Normally, when he was out on missions, he was so serious.

The block of Lizardmen parted down the middle, allowing for Gabiru to ride his dinosaur-looking steed down the middle. His actions had an added dramatic flare in them. Souei and Kumiko watched on with expressionless faces as Gabiru approached Rimuru.

It seems that this Gabiru is more idiotic than he was when we left him. Souei projected towards Kumiko. She could only agree. The rest of the group on the ground watched with straight faces at the dramatic entry.

Gabiru raised a hand, silencing the lizardmen before he jumped off his mount and landed in front of Rimuru.

"I am Gabiru of the Lizardmen," he announced proudly. "You will all serve under me. Consider this a great honor!" He struck a pose as two lizardmen used their shields as spotlights and the rest of the lizardmen were clapping shouting their praises. The kijin, Rimuru and Rigurd only stared at them in confusion.

"Remember him well. This is the man who will be the next chieftain of the Lizardmen!" one of the soldiers announced "Bow down!"

Everyone, not including the lizardmen, only stared at them with deadpan looks as if asking what was going on. As Gabiru continued standing there proudly, Rimuru couldn't help but noticed three things. First, this bigshot had the nerve to ask Rimuru to submit to him. Second, Shion was currently in the process of squeezing the life out of Rimuru. Third, almost invisible lines of Souei's [Sticky Steel Thread] laying out behind the Lizardmen from one side of the forest and Kumiko's [Iced Vines] spreading out closer and closer from the opposite.

Ever since Kumiko and Souei had fought it out in the forest and he had told her the real story behind her villagers, she had been practicing her control over her icy powers. She was proud to be able to say that she had full control over her powers. Souei and Benimaru also joined in her practice a few times and let her use them as training dummies, not that she hurt them in any way. It was safe to say that she was more dangerous than ever with full control over her powers.

"Shion-san, please stop!" Rimuru pleaded as Shion squeezed him tightly. "You're gonna make this slime way too slim!" Thankfully for Rimuru, Benimaru saved him and was now holding him while Shion apologized over and over. To any outsider, it simply looked like Rimuru and his group were straight up ignoring Gabiru and his army.

Kumiko and Souei. Rimuru projected to the two.

Sir, both of them responded.

Both of you stop that and come here. In a flash, both Souei and Kumiko appeared beside Rimuru.

He called your name first, so he detected you first. Souei mentally said to Kumiko while maintaining a stoic face as he faced the Lizardmen.

I'm pretty sure he saw your threads before my ice, and therefore, he detected you first. Kumiko replied to Souei while also maintaining a stoic face. The two of them glared at each other out of the corner of their eyes before Rigurd's cough brought them back to attention. The two of them returned to their serious nature, all traces of playful banter disappeared for the time being.

"Ahem," Rigurd brought the attention back to the situation. "Forgive me... You called yourself Gabiru, yes? This request to serve you is rather sudden..."

"Good grief," Gabiru said as he shook his head. "Must I spell it out for you? You've heard the news, have you not?"

"What news?" Rigurd asked confused. In the background, neither Rimuru nor any of the Kijin were paying much attention to Gabiru. Shion had managed to convince Rimuru to be held by her again as she smiled sheepishly up at Benimaru. Hakurou was silent in the back, but clearly focused more on Benimaru and Shion than Gabiru. Souei and Kumiko had flat expressions, but their stances said that they weren't taking things too seriously. Kumiko was slightly leaning on her closed scythe with her hands capping the top of the staff while Souei stood beside her, his hand holding onto the rod to help to stabilize the staff against Kumiko's weight. Every so often, he would shake it slightly, causing her to glare at him, not that she moved from her position. She just swayed with the staff.

"The news that those Orc pigs are invading the Great Forest of Jura," Gabiru announced, bringing the attention back to him. All the Kijin looked at Gabiru as their breath hitched. Orcs?

"Which is why it would best suit you to become my men. I, Gabiru, will protect you weaklings from the threat of the Orcs!" he announced, striking another pose.

"Weaklings!" he said again as he looked at Rigur. The Goblin King was no mere goblin anymore and the muscles he so dearly liked to emphasize bulged out of his clothing.

"Weaklings..." Gabiru's eyes went next to the Kijin who were standing around, their aura making it clear that they could wipe out the entire lizardmen army in less than five seconds. Benimaru's glare deepened as he looked at them

"Weaklings?" Lastly, Gabiru's eyes went to the two female Kijin, both with fairly large breasts. Shion's breasts were more exposed, but due to Kumiko's tight outfit, her chest was accented.

"Wow..." Gabiru said focusing on their chest. Souei stiffened as Gabiru's eyes wandered slightly to Kumiko's chest and took a step in front of Kumiko, blocking her from view. Gabiru looked up to see what was blocking her from him, only to be met with blue eyes that promised death if he didn't stop. Since Souei moved, he let go of Kumiko's staff, causing Kumiko to topple over. She stood up and glared at the blue Kijin's back, not knowing why he suddenly moved. Gabiru coughed slightly and regrouped with the lizardmen behind him.

"I don't see any Goblins." Gabiru said to his group confused.

"This was supposed to be a Goblin village," one of his subordinates responded.

"In fact, I don't see anyone weak around here..." another subordinate replied. They discussed among themselves before Gabiru once again stood in front of the group.

"Ahem!" he coughed. "I've heard that there are those among you who have tamed Direwolves. I will make those of you who have officers in my army. Bring them to me."

All the Kijin glared at him and his command. Shion's grip also tightened on Rimuru. Souei's threads stealthily surrounded the entire group of lizardmen in the back while Kumiko's staff began to have faint traces of white ice swirl into the design and the air grew considerably colder. Benimaru looked at Rimuru and gave him the brightest, happiest smile anyone had seen.

"Can I kill him?" Benimaru asked.

"Sure!" Rimuru replied happily, responding to Benimaru's aura. Without having to be told twice, Benimaru started walking up to Gabiru, cracking his knuckles.

"Wait, no! No! No! Everyone calm down!" Rimuru shouted after Benimaru desperately. Reluctantly, Benimaru returned to Rimuru's side as Kumiko and Souei stopped their attacks.

"Um... We didn't exactly tame the Direwolves." Rimuru responded to Gabiru after everyone had calmed down. "We made them our allies, and I'm the one who did that."

"A slime did that? Please don't make such jokes." He brushed them off. All the Kijin remained still, but none were happy with Gabiru.

"Ranga," Rimuru called.

"Yes, master!" Ranga replied from the shadow. Rimuru and Shion's shadow grew larger and darker, waiting for Ranga to travel through. With a leap, he appeared at the front in his full size and growled at Gabiru.

"He says he wants to talk to you. Hear him out," Rimuru said.

"As you wish." Ranga used his skill [Menace] and all the lizardmen minus Gabiru cowered in fear.

"Wait, was he always that big?" Benimaru asked, unconcerned with the lizardmen once again.

"That's his true size," Rimuru told him and the rest of the group. "This size works better for intimidating people, you know?"

"My master has ordered me to hear what you have to say," Ranga growled out at Gabiru. Ranga leaned in closer. "So speak. I'm listening."

"Are you the leader of the Direwolves?" Gabiru asked. All the kijin in the back could only take guesses as to if he was brave or reckless. "Your beautiful fur, your keen eyes... you truly have a majestic presence. However... It is a bit disappointing to know that your master is a slime!"

"Huh?!" Rimuru cried in outrage while Ranga growled louder at Gabiru.

"It seems you've been deceived," Gabiru continued. "Very well. What this slime has done to you in unforgivable... so I shall defeat him for you!" Gabiru pointed at the slime behind Ranga as the other Kijin all looked at him as if asking if he really was as stupid as he was appearing to be. The rest of the lizardmen began shouting their praises again.

"Rimuru-sama, may I shut them up?" Kumiko asked calmly as the temperature around her dropped and her staff frosted over again. Rimuru was tempted to allow her, but denied her request.

"A mere lizard dares to insult my master?!" Ranga growled out angrily. He let out a menacing aura, the aura surrounding him and glowing red, putting immense pressure on the lizardmen though none of them seemed to realize Ranga's anger as they continued praising Gabiru.

Just then, Gobta made his appearance, bounding over happily.

"Hey, what're you guys doing?" He asked cluelessly.

"Gobta!" Benimaru shouted in surprise.

"You're still alive?" Rimuru asked. Souei and Kumiko looked at each other, slightly confused. Gobta had died? Must've happened while they were out scouting.

"Hey, that's kinda mean." Gobta waved his hand up and down. "Of course I'm alive!" Apparently, Gobta had gained Poison Resistance from Shion's food.

"Oh. I see. Even I don't have poison resistance. I'm impressed," Rimuru said to Gobta who smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Good timing," Ranga said as he jumped over the group and landed behind Gobta. With a gentle bite, he lifted Gobta by the back of his clothing and proceeded to set the goblin down in front of the group with a spear in his hand.

"What the heck is going on?" Gobta yelled as he stared at the Lizardman in front of him.

"Lizard, if you can defeat this one, I will consider your offer," Ranga said as he pushed Gobta forward.

"Why me?" Gobta asked, extremely confused.

"Fine by me!" Gabiru said proudly. "Having one of your subordinates fight saves you the shame of losing. Wouldn't you agree, slime?" Rimuru said nothing to Gabiru.

"Gobta, don't hold back! Get him!" Rimuru cheered on.

"Geez, why the heck am I doing this?" Gobta turned, pleading Rimuru to give him an explanation.

"If you win, I'll have Kurobe make a special weapon just for you!"

"Really? That motivates me a little!"

"And if you lose, you have to eat Shion's cooking!" Everyone's face darkened at the threat as Gobta got fired up.

"Anything but that!"

"For some reason, this conversation makes me very unhappy." Shion's grip on Rimuru tightened as she talked until Rimuru looked like he was about to be wrung like a towel.

"Are you ready?" Gabiru asked Gobta as the rest of the lizardmen cheered him on. Gobta didn't reply, but the aura he emit at the prospect of losing and having to eat Shion's cooking was enough to let them know he was ready.

"Then begin!" Ranga announced, howling to start the duel.

"We Lizardmen, descendants of the great Dragons, could never lose to a mere Hobgoblin..." Gabiru laughed, only to be shocked as Gobta threw the spear with surprising strength towards Gabiru. Gabiru charged towards Gobta, only to swipe at empty air. Gobta re-emerged from behind Gabiru and with a swift kick to the back of his head, Gabiru had fallen and Gobta was declared the winner. The lizardmen who were in the back had been shocked silent.

"That's that." Ranga said proudly. "The fight is over! The winner is Gobta!" The group of Kijins, Ranga and Rigurd all said their praises to Gobta. In joy, Ranga and Rigurd began tossing the smaller goblin up in the air, completely forgetting about the other lizardmen.

"Nice work, Gobta. I knew I saw promise in you." Ranga complimented.

"Well done showing them what a Hobgoblin can do!" Rigur said joyfully.

"I misjudged you. I'll pretend I didn't hear that rude comment you made about me earlier." Shion offered with a smile.

"Looks like he's gotten stronger since he fought us." Benimaru noted with a smile.

"It appears he has talent that would be worth nurturing." Hakurou commented.

"It seems I've underestimated Gobta's abilities," Souei added, seeing as Gobta was able to beat down Gabiru in less than a minute.

"Gobta is always underestimated, but that is what adds to his glory after every victory," Kumiko agreed.

"Good job, Gobta!" Rimuru joined in. "As promised, I'll have Kurobe make you a weapon." Gobta cheered in anticipation.

"As for all of you," Rimuru faced the lizardmen, "Gobta has won this battle! If you want us to help you fight the Orcs, we'll consider it, but we won't serve you. Take him and leave for today."

"W-We'll be back!" one of the lizardmen threatened as they lifted an unconscious Gabiru.

"Indeed, this is not over!" Another added.

At the threat, Souei and Kumiko both took a step forwards, their auras waving dangerously behind them. Kumiko's scythes were open and Souei's blade was drawn, further enforcing Rimuru's command to leave. The lizardmen all flinched as the saw the two.

"We-We'll remember this!" They cried, running away. Souei and Kumiko stored their blades again and looked at each other. Kumiko gave Souei a bright, close-eyed smile as he shook his head at her, albeit amused by her childishness.

"Okay, then. I guess we'll have to plan where to go from here."

~~~

Later that night, Rimuru, the Kijin, Kaijin, Rigurd and the goblin lords were gathered in the central hall around the large table. Rimuru sat at the head with Shion to his right and Shuna to his left. Benimaru sat next to Shion, across from Rigurd. Souei was next to Benimaru with Kaijin across from him. Next to Souei was Kumiko, who sat across from Kurobe. Hakurou sat next to Kumiko across from Rigur. At the ends of the table sat the other goblin lords.

"I saw 200,000 Orcs," Souei announced. "The main army is moving north along the river. Based on the movements of this army and a detached force, I expect they will regroup in the marshlands east of here." He traced the path along a small map laid on the table.

"In the lizardmen's territory, you mean?" Rigurd asked. Souei nodded and sat back down.

"Two hundred thousand huh?" Rimuru frowned. "That's such a huge number it's hard to even imagine it. Just what is it the Orcs are after?" The table remained silent.

When did you scout out the Orcs? Kumiko asked Souei telepathically in surprise. You and I were training together all afternoon. Souei subtly smirked at her.

I had body doubles continue scouting. You didn't forget right? So who is superior now?

Body doubles... that's cheating. How does that work anyway? I hope they all give you a headache one day. She pouted while giving him a slight glare from the side. He said nothing, but gave her a teasing smile before the two of them focused back in on the conversation.

"Orcs are not very intelligent monsters," Kaijin said after some thought. "If there's something behind this invasion other than just instinct, we should suspect there's someone backing them."

"Someone backing them?" Kurobe asked.

"Like a Demon Lord, perhaps?" Rimuru asked, the weight of his words falling over the table. The table remained silent.

"If that Gelmud guy who came to your village is involved in this..." Rimuru stared at Benimaru who said nothing. "Well, there's no proof to base that on right now."

"I don't know if a Demon Lord is involved," Benimaru sighed. "But.. I think this makes it much more likely that an Orc Lord has appeared."

"The unique monster that only appears once every few centuries?" Rimuru asked.

"Yes," Benimaru responded. "I can't imagine an ordinary Orc leading an army of 200,000." Rimuru nodded, thinking deeply.

"I believe caution would be wiser than optimism in this case." One of the goblin lords who was sitting next to Rigur raised his hand, bringing the attention to him.

"I agree."

Suddenly, Souei flinched and gasped, causing everyone to look at him.

"What's wrong?" Rimuru asked. Kumiko looked at him in concern.

"One of the body doubles I had scouting the area has made an encounter," Souei announced. Kumiko would've felt the need to start another fight with Souei had they not been in such a serious setting.

"An encounter?" Rimuru asked.

"They request an audience with you. How shall I respond?" Souei was holding his head to maintain his control over his double.

"Who is it?" Rimuru asked. "I already had my fill of Gabiru, so I'd rather not meet anyone weird."

"I don't believe this one is... weird..." Souei replied. "But it is a highly unusual encounter. It's... a Dryad." Everyone gasped.

"A Dryad!" Rimuru repeated.

"Hasn't it been several decades since the last time a Dryad showed itself?" Rigurd asked Kaijin, who didn't respond due to the shock.

"F-Fine! Bring her here!" Rimuru decided. Souei obeyed.

At the middle of the table, a glowing green light emerged and a plant began sprouting. Shion and Shuna immediately stood up in front of Rimuru, blocking him in case of an attack, while the rest of the Kijin quickly made their way to help protect Rimuru. Benimaru stood slightly in front of Shion while Kumiko stood in front of Shuna. In front of her was Souei. Their weapons weren't drawn, but they were close by if needed. The plant bloomed, revealing a Dryad at the center.

"Ruler of monsters, and all those who are loyal to him, forgive me for this unannounced visit," the dryad apologized. "I am Treyni, a Dryad. It is a pleasure to meet you."

"I'm Rimuru Tempest," Rimuru introduced. "So what brings you here?" None of the Kijin had yet to relax their stance in front of Rimuru.

"I have come to request a favor," Treyni said.

"A favor?"

"Rimuru Tempest, ruler of monsters, I would like you to defeat the Orc Lord."

Up Next: The Gears Spin Out of Control

Chapter Text

Treyni flew off the table as everyone gathered to the side. Rimuru, Benimaru, Shion, Shuna, Kumiko and Souei stood in front of Treyni while everyone else stood behind her. The Kijin had finally relaxed their stances, but the weight of her words still rung through the air.

"Defeat the Orc Lord?" Rimuru asked as he stared at Treyni. "Um... You're asking me?"

"Yes, that's right," Treyni said with a smile fit for a Dryad.

"That's quite a selfish request from someone who just appeared out of nowhere, Treyni the Dryad," Benimaru said stepping in front of Rimuru as he regarded Treyni suspiciously. "Why have you come here? There are races far stronger than goblins."

Treyni maintained her smile, despite Benimaru's hostility.

"Yes, that is true. If the Ogres' homeland had been at full strength, perhaps I would have gone there." The Kijin gasped at this.

"Though, even if I had done that," Treyni continued, "I still could not have ignored this individual's existence." She looked down at Rimuru. Kumiko was unsure of her true intentions, so she went to make a move closer to Rimuru. However, it seemed Souei might've had the same idea since he moved towards Rimuru, but stopping almost directly in front of Kumiko. Kumiko wanted to pout, but she refrained. The dryad being here was too serious for her to be throwing a childish fit with Souei. As much as she enjoyed their banter, it would be unsuitable for the current situation.

"Were our settlement to be attacked by the Orc Lord, the Dryads could not hope to fight them alone. This is why I have come to request assistance from someone strong," Treyni explained.

"The idea that the Orc Lord even existed was still just a theory to us..." Rimuru said, trailing off.

"The Dryads have knowledge of essentially everything that happens in this forest." Treyni casually picked up a potato chip that was sitting out on the table. "The Orc Lord does exist."

Everyone stared at her while she happily munched on the chip after confirming the group's theory. It was good to have confirmation, but they were hoping that it wasn't true. Now there was no doubt; the Orc Lord was commanding an army of 200,000 Orcs through the Great Forest of Jura.

"If a Dryad acknowledges it..." Rigurd trailed off.

"Then it must be true." Kaijin confirmed for Rigurd.

Kumiko stared at Treyni, trying to determine for herself if this Dryad was telling the truth. It took a few seconds, but she decided to believe the Dryad. At this she went deep in thought. Her [Unrivaled Strategy] began coming up with scenario after scenario from her fighting the Orc Lord alone to the entire village, children and all, having to fight the Orc Lord. Their best bet was to have the Goblin Riders and the Kijin fight. She knew that the Kijin would not appreciate it if they were excluded from the fight. After all, they had accepted Rimuru as a master so they could carry out their revenge. Then, her mind went on a tangent.

If they defeated the Orc Lord, the Kijin had avenged their village and were free to leave. Currently they were bound here by their will to avenge their fallen brethren, but afterwards it was up to their own will whether they wanted to stay or not. Despite always having known that, Kumiko couldn't help but feel sad. She knew that no matter what the rest of the Kijin chose, she would stay with Rimuru who had given her a home to proudly protect. Yet, Kumiko felt abandoned at the idea of the other Kijin leaving. She didn't want to even humor the thought that they wouldn't stay after the fight. Kumiko's hand subconsciously grabbed lightly onto Souei's sleeve. She was still deep in her thoughts and hadn't realized, but Souei had felt the slight tug of the weight of her hand.

Souei glanced back, albeit barely turning his head, and noticed that she looked considerably upset, though he wasn't sure what made her upset. He knew it wasn't because of the body doubles scouting the area. They had fought about that many times, and they always came to the same conclusion. He offered to teach her how to use the skill, but she declined every time saying that she would find her own way of beating Souei. Plus, their fights were nothing more than cheeky comments thrown at each other to entertain them both. Nothing was taken seriously for the most part, and definitely not anything serious to have her make such an expression. Souei wracked his brain trying to find out why she seemed so upset, but nothing came to mind.

Kumiko, Souei called out to her mentally. I hope you don't mind if I say that while you're off in your thoughts, I'm protecting Rimuru-sama better than you.

At this, Kumiko snapped out of her thoughts, her hand dropping without her realizing as she looked at Souei's back in shock.

Very mature, Souei. She replied in a deadpan tone. Souei glanced back slightly and smirked, glad to see that the sadness in her eyes had subsided a bit. He knew it was inappropriate to make jokes in just a serious setting, but he didn't know how else to cheer her up if only just for a minute. I hope you don't mind if I say that your stupid body is in my way, so I'm doing you a favor by letting you protect Rimuru-sama. If I tried, I might hit your poor little head.

Souei let out a quiet breath of laughter as she glared at the back of his head.

I was thinking about possibly strategies to fight the Orc Lord now that it is confirmed... Kumiko trailed off and she hesitated. The Kijin will fight, that much is for sure, and Rimuru-sama as well. The odds are against the orcs, but I'm using [Unrivaled Strategy] to give me a clearer understanding of possible events.

I think you're overthinking it, Kumiko. We, Kijin, are powerful. I'm sure when that army of pigs faces us, they won't stand a chance, even without the goblins. That said, if you're too scared that I'm more powerful, you could always just hide behind me while I take care of the Orcs. Souei's voice went from assuring to teasing at the end. He felt a small fist hit the square of his back lightly.

You wish. She paused. Souei... about the fight with the orcs...

"Give me some time to answer," Rimuru said to Treyni, snapping both Kumiko and Souei out of their little fight. Kumiko stopped, despite not finishing her sentence. Souei was curious, but didn't pursue. "I will back up the Kijin, but I don't want to go poking at a hornet's nest for no reason. Let me take stock of the information we have before I answer. Despite how I look, I'm the leader here, after all."

Treyni looked surprised at his well thought out answer. He had considered all of his subjects, Kijin and goblin alike. The Kijin surely wanted to fight, and while Kumiko wasn't as affected, the Kijin invited her to fight along side them to avenge the fallen ogres since half of them once belonged to the same village she had belonged to. She gladly accepted to fight as their ally. On the other hand, the goblins had accepted the Kijin for the moment mostly out of protection rather than vengeance. If Rimuru could, he didn't want the goblins to fight, though it might be inevitable if the Orc Lord came to the village.

"Ah, Treyni-san, we were actually in the middle of our meeting," Rimuru said, realizing that the goblin lords were standing around the room waiting for the meeting to continue. "Would you like to join us?"

Soon enough, a chair was pulled up for the Dryad, and she was situated between Rigurd and Kaijin, both of whom stared at her as she calmly sipped on a cup of tea.

"Let's continue the conference," Rimuru announced once everyone got seated again. They had assumed the same seats as before, with the exception of Treyni now being in the mix.

"Anyone have any ideas what the Orcs might be after?" Rimuru asked.

"One thing does come to mind..." Shuna said hesitantly from her spot beside Rimuru. "Souei, did you investigate our village?"

"Yes," he said, almost dejectedly.

"Judging by your reaction, I assume you found none?"

"Yes," Souei replied again. "Not a single one belonging to either our brethren or the Orcs."

"Not one what?" Rimuru asked.

"Corpse," Souei said gravely. Kumiko gasped lightly. That meant...

"We didn't understand how they were getting the supplies to keep an army of 200,000 fed," Benimaru added darkly. Rimuru stared slightly, as if not wanting to believe what the Kijin were implying.

"Are you saying..."

"The Unique Skill... [Starved]," Treyni filed in, her eyes overshadowed.

"Starved?"

"It's a skill that the Orc Lord, a calamity that brings chaos to the world, is born with. It's influence reaches all those who serve under him, making them devour everything in sight, like locusts. At the same time, they consume the victim's strength and abilities, making them their own sustenance." Treyni's explanation set a dark mood over the table as they truly began to comprehend what they were fighting against.

"It's quite similar to your [Predator] skill. In return for obtaining [Starved], they feel constant, insatiable hunger. The Orcs move forward for no other purpose than to sate their endless hunger and gain more power. That is their king's only wish." Treyni picked up her cup and took a sip, leaving the table to ponder her words.

They consume the victim's strength and abilities, huh? Kumiko thought. They have devoured their own, but that doesn't affected them since they already have the abilities of an Orc. They devoured an entire village of Ogres, giving them fighting prowess. Their attack on the Lizardmen could result in some falling and being eaten, though that depends on how the chieftain handles the situation there. I should prepare for in the case that the Orcs gain the ability to travel through the marshland.

"So the Orcs' goal isn't to wipe out the superior forest races, the Ogres and Lizardmen, but to steal their powers?" Rimuru clarified. The table only stared back in silence as the weight of the situation was getting heavier. Rimuru stretched his arms upwards before smiling back down at the table.

"Well, if that's the case, I can't say we're in the clear. We have Tempest Wolves, Kijin and Hobgoblins. Flavors aside, they're all meals with powers that the Orcs would kill for."

Who do you think would taste better, me or you? Kumiko asked Souei, picking up on Rimuru's mood.

Let's hope neither of us taste good enough to the pigs, but if I had to choose, I would probably taste better. Souei's statement implied that he was more powerful than Kumiko, which was the basis of most of their banter.

I doubt they'd want to eat you, you're too skinny.

Are you calling yourself fat? Souei glanced over slightly to see she was looking at him incredulously.

What?! No!

Then I would taste better. Souei concluded with a slight smirk. Kumiko spluttered.

Your arguments are invalid. She stated simply as she puffed her cheeks. He seemed to be winning a lot of their arguments lately, though most of his logic wasn't the clearest. She just couldn't find the right words to refute it.

"Aren't you forgetting the one meal that would attract them the most?" Benimaru said with an exasperated expression, referring to Rimuru himself.

"Huh?" Rimuru said as he raised a potato chip to his mouth.

"We have the strongest slime here, remember?"

"Where?" Rimuru took a bite of his potato chip as Benimaru chuckled while Rigurd looked at Rimuru in slight disapproval at his blatant and feigned ignorance.

"In addition," Treyni added, bringing more bad news to the table, "we have confirmed that a certain majin is behind the Orc Lord's appearance. I believe it is someone you won't want to overlook."

"A majin?" Rimuru asked.

"Are you referring to the majin by the name of Gelmud?" Kumiko asked. Despite the heavy situation, her calming voice that hadn't been heard the entire meeting washed over the group and some of the members visibly relaxed. Treyni looked at her in shock before smiling. She neither confirmed nor denied it.

"A majin is a subordinate of a Demon Lord, after all." was all Treyni said. The table remained in silence as Rimuru thought deeply. It was only disturbed by the scrape of the chair as Treyni stood up.

"Honored Rimuru Tempest." Treyni reached out a hand. Not quite knowing what was going on, Rimuru stood up as well.

"I once again request that you defeat the Orc Lord. As the one who received the Storm Dragon Veldora's protection, subjugated the Direwolves, and became the patron of the Kijin, you are surely more than a match for the Orc Lord." Rimuru said nothing and hummed in thought.

Are Dryads trustworthy? Kumiko asked Souei mentally. As someone who was very much so isolated, she didn't know too much about interactions with other races in the forest.

Whether we can trust her or not is up to Rimuru-sama. Souei's reply was vague, but Kumiko read enough to know that he also didn't know too much about Dryads. After all, they rarely appeared unless necessary.

"Of course he will!" Shion suddenly declared, latching onto Rimuru. "That Orc Lord is no match for Rimuru-sama!"

"Oh, you agree with me, then?" Treyni said happily. She clearly played on Shion's pride in Rimuru. Rimuru only stared at Shion in shock before he dispelled his [Mimic] and reverted back to his slime form.

"Fine, I'll accept this request to beat the Orc Lord," Rimuru relented. "You're all in this with me."

"Of course, Rimuru-sama!" Shuna was the first to stand up.

"That was our plan all along," Benimaru also stood, followed by the other Kijin.

"Rimuru-sama, I have been beside you since the beginning. Did you think I would let you fight alone?" Kumiko asked as she stood up with the rest of the Kijin. Her words held an air of reprimand at the idea of Rimuru even considering that she wouldn't fight alongside him.

"We believe in you, and we're with you. That's all we need." Kaijin stood his stand.

"Exactly! Let's show them how strong we are!" Rigurd towered over the rest of the table.

"If we're taking on an army of 200,000 Orcs, I feel like we should consider an alliance with the Lizardmen, but given the guy they had representing them... I'd really like to talk to someone who'll actually listen... Kumiko, what does your [Unrivaled Strategy] say about this?"

"Gabiru is untrustworthy," Kumiko started off bluntly. "He's blinded by his own power and ego. If we were to form an alliance with him and his following, we would be at a disadvantage. An army of 200,000 Orcs without the cooperation of the Lizardmen is possible, though our odds of winning are significantly lowered. If anyone falls in battle, especially if one of the Kijin, our chances will exponentially decrease as time goes on. The Kijin are strong, but if our allies are incompetent, we would have to focus on defending them and not defeating the Orcs. That would be our downfall. A competent chieftain will ensure a smooth victory; Gabiru will not." It might've just been Rimuru, but it sounded almost like Kumiko had a grudge against Gabiru.

Rimuru nodded, taking her comments into consideration.

"Rimuru-sama," Souei said seriously, standing up from his seat. "Would you mind if I spoke personally with the chieftain of the Lizardmen?"

"Souei? You can do that?" Rimuru asked in surprise.

"Yes," he confirmed with full confidence.

"Okay then. We'll join forces with the Lizardmen and attack the Orcs." Rimuru pointed down at the map they had created for the surrounding areas. It was crude, but it served its purpose. "The battle will probably take place in the marshlands inhabited by the Lizardmen. The Lizardmen's cooperation will be essential for this to work. Souei, take Kumiko with you to the Lizardmen's chieftain."

Kumiko looked at Rimuru in shock and stood up abruptly, her chair scraping against the floorboards.

"Rimuru-sama! We are both fully aware that Souei has the ability to take on the entire Chieftain army alone," Kumiko stated in shock.

I'm glad you've acknowledged my superiority, Kumiko.

I acknowledge nothing.

"Would I not be of more use to you as your advisor and drafting security and battle plans?" Kumiko put a hand on her chest, gesturing to herself. Rimuru looked deep in thought.

"It shouldn't take long for both you and Souei to get in and out of the chieftain's place, so you can help draft plans afterwards. Also, I'm reassigning you from my advisor to Souei's partner. The two of you will work closely from now on."

"Rimuru-sama!" Kumiko protested.

I'm offended. Do you not want to work with me? Souei's voice rang through her head, but a slightly playful tone was present, indicating that he wasn't actually offended. In fact, he too was surprised that Rimuru was reassigning her with him. They did get along well, but it was unexpected.

And hear your annoying voice saying how you're superior everyday? I have to decline, thank you. She feigned a glare, but he knew that she wasn't serious. The two would gladly work together. It was just  being reassigned and being taken off a large portion of the planning that shocked Kumiko. She had thought her use was more towards planning with her [Unrivaled Stratgey], but clearly Rimuru thought otherwise.

"You're still head of security, Kumiko. Battle plans will still run through you to confirm with your [Unrivaled Strategy]. Your reassignment has nothing to do with your performance as an advisor. Simply put though, putting you into the field as an active scout is more your style."

Kumiko sighed, unable to refute Rimuru's claims. It was true, despite being an advisor, ever since Shion had taken the place as secretary, she had been using her time to scout both with and without Souei. It was something that felt natural to her, perhaps due to her constant defensive guard over the years for self-preservation. She felt the same need to defend the village and constantly remain on guard, though she had to admit that the feeling had lessened slightly since she had opened up. Though old habits die hard she supposed. However, she didn't get why Rimuru was sticking her to Souei. After all, both of them were powerful Kijin, wouldn't it make more sense to have them scout individually and cover more ground? Rimuru said nothing more on the subject.

"I'm counting on you two."

"It shall be done." Souei bowed his head to Rimuru. Kumiko only silently bowed her head in acceptance of her reassignment and the two of them soon disappeared.

~~~

Souei and Kumiko reappeared side by side just outside the chieftains residence. It was surrounded by lizardmen guards. Before they made a move to enter, they decided that Kumiko would hide her presence in case for some reason they were aggressive towards Souei. With his threads, it would be easy to take them down, but it would be faster with Kumiko with the aspect of surprise. Souei and Kumiko's playful aura had basically left completely as they stared at the cave the lizardmen called home.

"I never mentioned it, but your personality has become almost unrecognizable." Souei's voice was serious; he didn't look at Kumiko.

"Would you prefer if I were emotionless again?" She asked, counting the number of guards before deciding that if they were to engage, the two of them could take out the entire army half asleep. Her voice was also serious, despite the tangent of a conversation the two were currently having. Souei quickly denied her question.

"Then why bring it up?"

"Your personality started shining through when you opened up and let your emotions show, but why did you hide it in the first place?" Kumiko sighed as she faced Souei, her staff lazily stuck in the ground.

"Did I not tell you before? My emotions were the cause of my [Ice Domination] and [Iced Vines] losing control 10 years ago. I thought I was a monster, and I connected my emotions with that memory. You convinced me during that fight in the woods that I wasn't the curse I thought I was." She stared at Souei, who stared back at her. "Do you wish to take back your comments?"

"No, I prefer you as you are, expressing yourself to the fullest." Souei's hand reached up and gently touched one of her horns. The horn's placement was abnormal, yet it felt just like his own. Since that time in the forest, he saw no difference between her horn and his. They were both Kijin.

Kumiko's golden eyes stared into his blue ones for a moment longer before closed her eyes and inclined her head towards Souei's hand, rubbing her horn against it slightly. Under no other circumstance would she have felt comfortable with someone touching her horns, which was sometimes still a sore spot when mentioned, but this was Souei. Souei, upon their first conversation, had told her that her horns, which she had despised as much as she despised herself for being a monster, were beautiful. She opened her eyes and gave him a light smile, her head still leaning against his outstretched hand.

"Good, I wouldn't have allowed it anyways." The two stared at the other for a second before he dropped his hand they both turned back to the lizardmen and decided to make their entrance. It was better the two of them get this task done and report back to Rimuru.

Inside the Chieftains home, the chieftain sat on his throne with his daughter, who was also the captain of the guards, by his side.

"Chieftain, what shall we do?" she asked him. "The Orc army is approaching.

"What can we do but remain here?" He asked rhetorically. "We have no means to fight an army of 200,000 Orcs." The female bowed her head, accepting his order to remain.

"Chieftain!" A scream came from down the hall. The two of them looked up.

"Chieftain! We have an intruder!" One of the lizardmen guards came running through the hall, and turned to face the dark hallway. The two guards by the door also posed their weapons to prepare for an attack.

"He demands an audience with you!" the lizardman reported. The chieftain stared for a second.

"Very well. Bring him to me," he commanded. His daughter hitched a breath.

"Chieftain, is this not dangerous?"

"You can feel this aura as well?" he asked her in response.

"Yes, this is no simple intruder. With this one... even a hundred of the strongest lizardmen would stand no chance."

Souei slowly made his way out of the shadow of the hall, Kumiko following behind undetected.

"Forgive me, but my hands are rather tied at the moment. I cannot spare any hospitality," the chieftain explained to Souei.

"No need to trouble yourself. I am only a messenger, here to convey to you the words of my master," Souei responded. The chieftain and his daughter exchanged glances before they all relaxed their stance.

"And what is your message?" the Chieftain asked Souei.

"My master desires an alliance with the Lizardmen," Souei reported.

"An alliance?" the chieftain echoed. "But I have no knowledge of your master."

"My master is the great Rimuru Tempest," Souei introduced briefly. "Upon receiving a personal request from the Dryads, he has sworn to defeat the approaching Orc army."

The Lizardmen gasped.

"A personal request from the caretakers of the forest?" the chieftain repeated in shock.

"She informed us that the Orc army is led by an Orc Lord. Keep in mind what that means as you consider our proposal." Kumiko, despite using [Presence Obscure] to erase herself from the situation, still hid her body behind Souei, with her back to his. She peeked around slightly to gauge the responses of the Lizardmen.

"Rimuru, you say? Never heard of him!" One of the guards said. "He probably just came crying to us because he fears the Orc Lord! If he would just ask for our help..."

"Hold your tongue," he commanded.

"Ch-Chieftain! Such complacency will lead others to belittle -" The lizardman was interrupted as Souei's threads wrapped around his neck. "W-What is this?"

The other guards in the room tensed as a bit of blood appeared around his neck where the string was. Some of them made a move to charge forward before the chieftain could stop them. Instantly, the ground was covered in ice and tendrils of ice rose from the ground to wrap around the approaching lizardmen. The chieftain and his daughter shivered as a second terrifying aura appeared right behind Souei out of nowhere. This second presence was completely hidden up until this moment. With two of them together, the entire Lizardman race stood no chance.

Kumiko emerged from behind Souei as she dispelled [Presence Obscure], taking a step to Souei's left and turning to face the chieftain with a cold look. Her black scythe was closed with ice traveling through the spirals on her staff, indicating that she was currently using her ice-related skills. Her expression was as deadly and stoic as Souei's was. The two meant business.

"I would not suggest approaching us with malicious intent again," Kumiko warned, mostly to the other guards. Her melodic voice seemed to charm the lizardmen, despite the danger they were currently in. They were held immobile by the icy tendrils. Souei's stare at the chieftain didn't waver with Kumiko's appearance and he began putting pressure on the thread in front of him. The icy tendrils too were like pythons that mimicked the string around the lizardman's neck, wrapping tighter as Souei pulled more on the string.

"Wait," the chieftain said before Souei and Kumiko could execute the guards. "I apologize for my comrades' rudeness. Would the two of you please forgive them? This offer does benefit both of us equally, does it not?" The chieftain stood up from his throne.

Souei didn't say anything but released the string around the Lizardman's neck. Kumiko's golden eyes bore into the chieftains, telling him that they didn't carry empty threats, before the ice also receded and released the remaining lizardmen.

"Forgive us, it was not our intent to threaten them," Souei said to the chieftain for both Kumiko and himself. "but we will not stand for such mockery of our master nor aggression towards us."

The chieftain stared the two down, knowing that they would've easily killed his best guards had he not stopped them. They weren't looking for a fight, but they clearly were fiercely loyal to their master as well as to each other. After all, the second intruder had revealed herself only after she deemed that her partner was being threatened by the lizardmen. Within a split second, she had detained over 10 guards easily.

"Judging by your aura, the two of you appear to be Ogres from the southwest," the chieftain deduced, although he eyed Kumiko's horns hesitantly. Souei was no doubt a member of the Ogre race. Kumiko appeared to be, but he had never seen horns like hers. Kumiko's eyes narrowed slightly at the chieftain as she realized he was focusing on her horns. The chieftin noticed her glare and quickly looked away.

"Not anymore," Souei responded easily. "My master granted me the name 'Souei,' and I became a Kijin."

"Rimuru-sama bestowed upon me the name 'Kumiko,' and I too am a Kijin," Kumiko stated in her usual monotone.

"Kijin?!" the Chieftain echoed in surprise.

"The superior race born only rarely from among the Ogres?" the daughter asked.

"If that is true, it would mean that your master is of an even more superior race than the Kijin... and to have not one but two Kijin following..." Souei and Kumiko said nothing as they continued to stare at the chieftain, their expressions unreadable.

"Souei and Kumiko, was it? I have one condition."

"What is it?" Souei asked.

"I wish to meet your master, Rimuru Tempest." Souei remained silent for a beat before he responded.

"Very well. Then we will make preparations and meet you here in seven days. You will have an audience with him then."

"Ensure that you do not wage battle before then." Kumiko's words held a lot of weight, considering that the chieftain knew of the Orc Lord's unique skill as well as wanted the alliance.

"Then, we will go." Souei and Kumiko both inclined their heads slightly at the chieftain before they turned around. Kumiko stopped slightly before leaving and turned her head to face the Chieftain.

"Your son, Gabiru was it?" The chieftain and his daughter looked at Kumiko. Souei stood with his back towards the throne, waiting for Kumiko. "His ego will spell doom. Be sure to watch him well."

With that, the two of them disappeared.

~~~

When Souei and Kumiko had left, it had already been fairly late at night, so when the two returned the village was almost deserted. All the inhabitants except for the rare night owl had gone to sleep, including Rimuru. Kumiko was quick to draw up a written report to give to Rimuru the next morning. She and Souei made their way to the house that Myrd had so kindly built for her and she went to her desk to draw up their joint report. While she did that, Souei stood nearby, leaning against the wall of her room and activated his [Body Double] skill so that the doubles could scout while he rested. He glanced over to Kumiko when he felt her gaze, only to be met with her glaring eyes as he could protect the village while she could only sleep. He smirked.

"I could always teach you," Souei offered. Kumiko puffed her cheeks and turned her head away childishly.

"I'm not as petty as you think, Souei. I wouldn't stoop so low as to learn the same skills. That wouldn't be fun for either of us, now would it? I'll prove myself without having to learn your [Body Double] skill."

"Sure, but we'll probably both be a pile of bones at that time."

As he said that, Kumiko's expressed saddened again, the same sadness that he saw at the meeting. She remained sitting on the ground with her legs tucked underneath her at the low table.

"Kumiko?" Souei stood up from his position and made his way over to her. He knelt down on one knee in front of her as she looked up at him. "Why are you sad, Kumiko?"

"Are you all going to leave after the battle?" She asked bluntly. Souei flinched, but couldn't offer her an answer. It was up to Benimaru as their leader. She understood his silence and lowered her head.

"Despite running away at first and fearing everyone, you are precious to me. You accepted an ogre outcast like me when even my own village didn't want me, despite knowing that I'm different and possibly the only ogre with horns like these. All of you did." she didn't look to Souei as she voiced her worries. One of her hands gripped onto her horn, pulling on it slightly before letting her hand go limp and dropping back into her lap. "I won't leave with you if you choose to leave, but..."

Souei, still on one knee, swore he heard her voice crack, as if she was crying, but she was refusing to look at him, her hair serving as an effective shield against him.

"I don't want you to leave, Souei," Kumiko almost begged with her head hung low. She felt some tears hit the backs of her hands which were held tightly in a fist in her lap. She hated the idea of being left by the Kijin, but she couldn't make their choice for them. If Benimaru thought it best to start anew, then so be it. Souei didn't know what to say to comfort the female Kijin. He didn't want to make her promises he couldn't keep.

He reached out, lightly grabbing her hand and pulled her up slightly. Souei knew she was crying since she was starting to hiccup in her attempts to quell her sobs. He pulled her into a hug, where she was on both knees and he on one, though her body was limp.

"I will talk to Benimaru and ask..." Souei trailed off not wanting to say more. He didn't want to give her false hope, only to crush it if Benimaru chose to have them leave. She wouldn't leave Rimuru, just like he wouldn't leave Benimaru. Her sniffles and hiccups only continued as she remained limp in his arms.

Souei knew that her emotions were honest, and sometimes she lacked the ability to control them when she was alone with him. After hiding them for over 20 years, and then finally having relief, she had almost no emotional control in private. When carrying out tasks in benefit for Rimuru or for the village, she was able to successfully bury the emotions, but she was like a cracked vase.

Before Souei had fought her and forced her to hear what he had to say, it was like she was a vase that was on the verge of overflowing with water, the flowers in it drowning as Kumiko desperately tried to mend the cracks from the pressure. When Souei had told her, she finally faced Souei and stopped trying to mend it, letting the excess water pour out. The flower was no longer drowning, but it wasn't exactly living quite yet. For every second she buried her emotions, the water in the vase increased and she would hold it together until someone told her it was okay to let go. That someone for her was Souei.

Souei leaned his head down slightly and pulled her in closer as she finally wrapped her arms around Souei and cried into his shoulder at the idea of her being left again. He had no say in Benimaru's decision, but he knew if Benimaru decided to leave after the battle, both of them would have a hard time.

Up next: The Great Clash

Chapter Text

The next morning, Souei went to seek out Benimaru. Kumiko had cried herself to sleep at just the prospect of Souei leaving that it had hurt Souei to see her like that. In a way, however, it made Souei happy to know that she relied and depended on him. For the once stoic Kijin, it was a gratifying feeling to know that she was comfortable to show not just her strong side around him, but also her vulnerable side. But he couldn't take it for granted.

Truthfully, Souei had forgotten that the main reason he and the rest of the Kijin were there was to avenge their fallen village. He was reminded when he had come across Orcs on his scouts, but when he finished reporting it and Kumiko came bounding over, it seemed to escape his mind.

It didn't take long for Souei to find Benimaru. Despite it being fairly early in the morning, the red Kijin was standing atop a hill facing towards where their old village was.

"Benimaru-sama," Souei bowed. He and Benimaru were close friends, but Benimaru was still the technical leader of the group of Kijin, not including Kumiko.

"Souei," Benimaru greeted back. He continued staring off into the distance.

"The battle against the orcs is approaching," Souei started, looking at Benimaru and gauging his reaction. Benimaru only nodded in agreement.

"After we have avenged our village, what will we do?" Souei got straight to the point. "Rimuru-sama gave us the choice to stay or leave once our vengeance was completed. Have you thought about our path afterwards?"

Benimaru stayed silent, not moving to look at Souei.

"Are you asking for Kumiko?" Benimaru asked. Souei didn't speak, a silent confirmation. Benimaru sighed.

"I'm not sure yet. If I choose to part ways with this village, would you stay with Kumiko or stay with me?" Benimaru finally turned to look Souei dead in his eyes. With no hesitation, Souei responded.

"I will follow you, Benimaru-sama, as I have always done. The choice is yours to make whether we, the Kijin, stay or not."

"Even if it means leaving Kumiko behind in the village?" Benimaru knew the two had bonded deeply. Even being his childhood friend, Benimaru hadn't seen Souei open up that quickly or even express himself as much as he did with Kumiko. Plus, Benimaru couldn't help but curse Souei and his oblivious flirting. This damned Kijin was a damn big flirt with Kumiko, though neither of the two involved parties seemed to realize it. To the outsiders, much of their playful bickering could easily fall under 'flirting' and the rest of the Kijin had quickly picked up on it. Benimaru raged in his thoughts about all the times that Souei had literally disappeared, only for Benimaru to find him later teasing and poking fun with Kumiko. This damn Kijin...

"Kumiko remains loyal to Rimuru-sama, as I remain to you," was all Souei said, his tone flat. Benimaru hummed, his attention back on the blue Kijin.

"Did you know," Benimaru reached a hand up and pointed to his own horns,"that Kumiko only lets you touch her horns." Souei only stared at Benimaru. Benimaru let out a slight chuckle.

"Don't try to deny it. I've seen you touch her horn before. She seemed to welcome your touch. Her reaction is quite the opposite when it comes to anyone but you." Benimaru stared at Souei, who continued blankly stared back, as if this was new information.

"Just the other day, I accidentally grazed her horn with my hand." Benimaru was slightly amused as Souei's expression darkened every so slightly with the mention of him touching Kumiko. This damn flirt and his obliviousness to his own feelings.

"It wasn't intentional," he quickly dismissed as he felt the blue Kijin's glare on him. "But the point is that she jumped back immediately and covered her horns with her hands. Yet with you, I've seen her lean into your touch." Souei didn't know what to say, but instead stared down at his hands. Was she really still that scared of her horns? She seemed perfectly fine last night when he had gently touched it outside of the Lizardmen's cave.

A little part of Souei was glad that there was a part of Kumiko that only he got to see. He had to admit, though only to himself, that Kumiko had seemed exceptionally enchanting as she smiled at hi with her head pressing her horn against his hand. For a second, he took the time to imagine if she did the same with Benimaru. A second was all it took before a menacing aura came leaking out from Souei.

"Woah, woah," Benimaru began to sweat at the killing intent the Kijin was releasing. Whatever that damned flirt was thinking, Benimaru knew it somehow involved him and Kumiko, if the glare Souei was sending him said anything. Benimaru sighed and turned to move on from this conversation.

"I can't give you a yes or no as to whether or not we will stay. As far as I'm concerned at the moment, we will be avenging our brethren on the battlefield," Benimaru stated serious, staring out into the distance again. He was facing the direction of the village. Souei's glare on Benimaru's back subsided as he reluctantly accepted the answer. With a short bow, he disappeared into the shadows.

~~~

It had been 7 days since Kumiko and Souei had talked to the Lizardmen. Rimuru, Ranga, Benimaru, Shion, Hakurou and the goblin riders were currently heading towards the mashlands on the wolves while Souei and Kumiko had gone on ahead and were scouting the area. They were heading there to sign a treaty with the Lizardman chieftain and fight the Orc army. Rigurd and the others were left to watch the village and evacuate immediately if they were to lose to the Orc Lord.

With the help of Shuna and Kaijin, all the Kijin, Goblin Riders and Rimuru were equipped with silk clothing that served as body armor. The clothes made resembled the clothes that they usually wore, with Kumiko and Souei's clothes being a little less flowing due to their positions as scouts and their need for agility.

This past week, Kumiko and Souei were as close as ever, but there had been a small rift. Benimaru wasn't able to give Souei a clear answer as to whether they would stay or not, and so Souei wasn't able to definitively tell Kumiko whether the Kijin would remain in the village. It immediately dampened Kumiko's mood. Kumiko was trying not to be negative, but she couldn't help but prepare for the worst. Despite the fact that the Kijin hadn't even been there for a month, she felt more pain than ever imagining them leaving. So much to the point that she ended up crying alone in her room at night sometimes.

During the day, the two went about their business as usual, bickering as always and scouting together. They didn't think much about it in the daytime, but nighttime was when they mostly had their alone time, letting their thoughts settle and sink in. It was tough on the both of them, not knowing whether or not they would go their separate ways after the battle. It seemed like the week flew by as the two of them wallowed in their sadness. If the Kijin were leaving, Souei and Kumiko both thought the time they spent together was too short, but their time alone was too long.

Rimuru couldn't help but feel a little guilty. He pushed Kumiko to depend on Souei, and she did bond with him rather quickly, but he hadn't considered the effects on Kumiko if the Kijin chose to leave. Rimuru, of course, wanted the Kijin to stay, but it was ultimately up to them. He sighed as he thought about it atop Ranga. The two were closer than he had thought they would be; it would be sad to see if the two went separate ways.

Rimuru had asked Kumiko once if she would follow the Kijin if they left. Rimuru got a reply with no hesitation. Kumiko would stay with Rimuru. When he heard, Rimuru felt a bunch of mixed emotions, ranging from happy that Kumiko was willing to stay with him but sad that she was willing to give up going with the other Kijin, Souei especially, to accompany him. It wasn't hard to know that the two Kijin had a bond like no other, so for them to be so willing to separate to follow their separate leaders, it but a strain on Rimuru's heart as well. As Benimaru had complained to Rimuru, Souei was a damned natural flirt when it came to Kumiko, drawing her in easily with his smiles and teasing and touching. Kumiko wasn't any better herself, with her own innocent smiles and light touches. Both Benimaru and Rimuru had sat together that night, cursing the two damned oblivious Kijin.

In the meantime, while Rimuru was traveling with the rest of the group, Souei and Kumiko were perched up on trees, leaping from branch to branch to scout out the Orc army. They were focused on their tasks and with the upcoming battle so they had no time for their bickering and playing. However, the two of them both knew that the other would be keeping track of their orc kills, even if it wasn't stated out loud. After all, it was always a competition between the two of them.

The two of them soon came across two large groups of Orcs, separating a few lizardmen who were fighting for their own lives. Kumiko and Souei looked down before Souei opened a three-way mental communication link with for the two of them and Rimuru.

Rimuru-sama, a moment? He asked through the link.

What's up, Souei? Rimuru responded.

Kumiko and I have come across two groups currently engaged in battle. One of them is a personal guard to the Lizardman chieftain. They appear to be fighting high-ranking Orcs. What action shall we take? As Souei reported their findings to Rimuru, the guard had fallen, knocked down by the orc. The army behind was cheering.

Well, I mean... We have to help them, don't we? Rimuru asked the two. Can you two win?

A simple task, Souei replied for the both of them without skipping a beat. Kumiko pulled all her hair over her shoulder and clipped it together, expecting Rimuru to give them the green light. Souei couldn't help but watch her movement from the corner of his eyes.

Do it. We'll be there soon.

Understood, both of them replied.

With permission from Rimuru, the two nodded at each other before leaping down into the mess. As Souei landed, a path of threads was immediately laid out and the Orcs were unable to get close to him or the lizardman guard. He unsheathed the two swords on his back and leaped in, the Orcs not even having time to prepare to fight. Jumping swiftly through the crowd of Orcs, he was barely detectable as he sliced through them all easily. Sometimes he would use his threads to dice the orcs up, but it was quicker for him to just slice through them instead. He quickly demolished his side of the hoard.

Kumiko had jumped a bit farther into the army of Orcs and took out her fair share of the army. She landed straight on one of the higher ranking orcs and immediately stabbed him in the neck with her scythe before swiftly jumping off and running her blade through another few. With her [Iced Vines] quickly immobilizing a large portion of the army, she used her [Iced Domination] take out half of the Orcs in front of her while the other half had been wrapped by the icy vines and had been squeezed to death. It was a gruesome sight of red ice and bloody silver armor everywhere, but Kumiko barely flinched.

As she turned to head back to Souei, one of the orcs who hadn't died immediately from being skewered from the ice lifted his weapon as Kumiko passed by. With a quick movement, her scythe blades sparked against the blade of the Orc. She was barely fazed as her eyes narrowed at the orc and used the shadows around him to make him drop his weapon. The shadow wrapped around his neck and began suffocating the Orc while Kumiko calmly wiped her blade of weapon clean of blood before closing.

It didn't take long for Rimuru to arrive at the scene of carnage. There wasn't a single living Orc left in the vicinity, courtesy of Kumiko and Souei. It was clear that Souei had taken care of the ogres closer to the front of the small army that broke off from the main forces. Further back, Rimuru could see traces of white among the red, indicating that Kumiko had rampaged through there.

"Er, what?" Gobta said in confusion as he stared at the piles of dead orc corpses stretching endlessly in front of him. "It's already over?"

"Those two should've left some for us..." Benimaru complained.

Rimuru said nothing, though mentally he was praising both their skills. He approached Souei, who was holding the chieftain's daughter in his lap.

"Where's Kumiko?" he asked, seeing as she had yet to appear. Before Souei could answer, Kumiko appeared beside Rimuru in a small flash of black.

"Rimuru-sama," Kumiko said as she bowed. Her eyes traveled to Souei, just double checking for injuries, before her eyes landed on the chieftains daughter. A foreign feeling came over her as she saw Souei holding onto the female in his arms. She quickly looked away from the two, slightly confused. That lizardman was an ally, but why did Kumiko feel this nauseating feeling when she saw how close Souei was holding her? The lizardman was injured, Kumiko had seen it herself, so it made sense that Souei was supporting her until Rimuru could arrive. But then where was this feeling coming from?

"She is gravely injured" was all Souei said as he stared up at Rimuru, unaware of Kumiko's wandering thoughts. He was focused on his tasks right now, which included ensuring that this lizardman survived. The female moved slightly, her head rolling a bit and landing on Souei's chest. Souei didn't flinch.

Kumiko, on the other hand, noticed the movement and couldn't help another wave of this unknown feeling wash over her. It was unnatural, and she didn't like it. Why did she feel this dislike towards the lizardman guard who hadn't done anything to her in the slightest? The lizardman needed attention to her wounds, yet Kumiko could only stand here and fume about something that no one had control over.

Rimuru quickly had the lizardman drink a healing potion, assuring her that it was okay. Kumiko stood nearby, but, for some reason, her focus was on the fact that Souei hadn't glanced her way yet and his eyes were trained on the lizardman he was holding. Her head was leaned slightly on Souei's chest, her torso in his lap and his arms holding her towards him. She was confused. It was only natural for Souei to be worried about the lizardman. After all, she was about to be their ally as long as the chieftain signed the alliance. Kumiko forced herself to pull her attention from Souei and glanced around at the bloody mess that surrounded them. Souei certainly didn't hold back. It barely took them two a couple of minutes to defeat a few thousand Orcs.

  Though both Kumiko and Souei remained oblivious to the situation, Shion, Benimaru and Rimuru both knew what Kumiko was thinking. The slightly suppressed aura told them that all she was focusing on at the moment was the lizardman female guard in Souei's arms. If Souei had been looking at Benimaru, he would've seen the red Kijin tell him to hold the female a little farther away, if not drop her completely. Even worse though, Souei hadn't even glanced at Kumiko since she arrived. Shion and Benimaru wanted to hit their heads. An aura of sadness and jealousy wafted around Kumiko, but clearly she herself was confused. These damned oblivious Kijin...

It only took a couple seconds after Rimuru had finished pouring the potion into her mouth for the Lizardman guard to bolt up from Souei's arms. He didn't move from his position on his knees.

"M-My wound... I thought it was fatal," she said as she observed herself. She glanced to the side, noticing Souei, and then up at Rimuru. "Wh-Who are you?"

"I'm Rimuru Tempest." Rimuru introduced. The lizardman gasped before bowing down low to the ground. Souei remained unmoving, watching the lizardman like a hawk. He had helped saved her, but if she posed a risk in any way to Rimuru or the other Kijin, he wouldn't hesitate. Not that he expected it of her, though.

"I must ask a favor of you!" she said as her head was almost touching the ground. "Please save my father, the Lizardman chieftain, and my brother Gabiru!"

"You're Gabiru's sister?" Rimuru asked.

"I am," she confirmed.

"What happened?" Rimuru asked. Souei stood up quietly and made his way to stand next to Kumiko. She glanced at him briefly and then looked away, saying nothing. Kumiko had yet to find out what this lingering feeling was, and why she suddenly wanted to yell at Souei. He hadn't done anything, so why? Souei also remained silent, figuring that it was too serious of a time to joke with Kumiko, but completely unaware of Kumiko's own dilemma.

Benimaru could only stare at the the two, who clearly had a miscommunication going on. He wanted to shake Souei and ask what was wrong with him. Normally by now, the two would be standing angled towards each other at the very least, not away like the were now! They would be flirting right now with light punches to the arms and teasing smiles to ease the tension of the battles. They would be arguing about who was able to fight off the orcs more efficiently! These two oblivious Kijin!!

"My brother led a rebellion and imprisoned the chieftain," the lizardman guard explained quickly, bringing the attention back to her. "I believe he intends to repel the Orc army on his own, but he has underestimated the Orc Lord. If we take no action, the Lizardmen will surely be exterminated. My father helped me escape during a lapse in the guard's attention. I am aware that this is a selfish request after we broke our promise to wait for you, but I implore mercy from you who serve such a powerful majin! Please... Please!"

Shion approached the lizardman with a gentle hand and helped her up.

"Well said, indeed!" Shion said with a smile. "That you recognize our leader Rimuru-sama's greatness means you have potential!"

"Oi, Shion," Rimuru said, trying to stop the purple Kijin, Any time she heard someone praise Rimuru while asking for help, she seemed to just accept it.

"I'm certain the Lizardmen can be saved, just as you hoped!" Shion declared to the guard. The guard quickly thanked Shion, though Rimuru had yet to say anything. Rimuru sighed.

"What choice do we have? We'll be fighting the Orc Lord, either way," Rimuru said in resign. "So, um... You're the chieftain's daughter, you say?"

"Y-Yes!" She got down on one knee in front of Rimuru. "I am at your command."

"Then I'll acknowledge you as a representative of the chieftain. Do you object to forging an alliance right here and now?"

"No, not at all!" she replied quickly.

"Then it's settled. The alliance is complete."

"Souei, Kumiko, can you use [Shadow Movement] to get the chieftain and the other prisoners from here?" Rimuru asked addressing the two who stood by the tree.

"Of course," Souei replied. Kumiko just bowed her head in silence, her mind ever so slightly muddled by the confusion from earlier.

"I'm ordering the rescue of the Lizardman chieftain."

"Understood," the two of them bowed and quickly disappeared.

"Thank you very much," the lizardman guard bowed her head, tears in her eyes. Rimuru smiled down at her slightly before he addressed the rest of the group.

"The rest of us will continue our march!"

~~~

The sounds of battle cries and clashing swords rung through the air as the Lizardmen fought for their lives on the battle against the Orcs. A low chant from the orcs throughout the marshland sent shivers down their spine.

"Trample all! Trample all! Trample all!"

Gabiru stood at the top of a hill with his three personal guards around him, the trident in his hand. After he had overthrown his father, he had quickly called the lizardmen out to war.

"Mere Orcs are no match for us Lizardmen!" Gabiru announced proudly "Right! Withdraw for now!"

Our plan was to toy with them and have the goblins finish them up, but it looks like we won't even need the goblins' help, Gabiru thought as he watched his forces take out the orcs. He turned to walk away, but was stopped by a cry of fear from one of his guards. Turning around, he saw the gruesome sight of the Orcs eating their own fallen comrades.

"What's happening?" Gabiru voiced out in shock. "The Orcs... are eating other Orcs?"

The lizardmen who witnessed this horrifying feast began to back up in fear, circling themselves together. It was to no avail as one of the orcs grabbed a lizardman by his leg, dragging him into the hoard as the lizardman screamed out for help. The other Lizardmen could only watch in horror and stumble back as one of their own was eaten alive.

"Retreat! Now!" Gabiru quickly ordered his army. It was too late though, as the Orcs had surrounded them entirely. The group of Lizardmen inched closer together as the orcs closed in on them. After eating the lizardman, the orcs now were faster. The advantage in the marshland that Kumiko had identified to Rimuru was the fact that the Orcs would be slower in the mud and water. But the tides would change if even one lizardman fell to the Orcs. The lizardmen's advantage in the marsh was their webbed feet and scales, allowing them to easily traverse the terrain. Once the orcs devoured a lizardman, they too would gain those features to allow them easy travels.

The orcs were closing in closer and closer to the group of Lizardmen. Only at this time did Gabiru realize the true force of what he was fighting against. The orcs that devoured anything in their path the satiate their unending hunger, gaining the power of everything they ate.

One of the orcs rushed forwards, the speed significantly faster than before the orcs had devoured the lizardman. He raised his axe towards Gabiru, who quickly blocked it with his trident.

"Maintain close formation!" He commanded his troops as he pushed the orc back. "Keep the goblins in the center! Leave no space between you! Shield the goblins while breaking through the orcs' formation!"

Gabiru, who had recruited the goblins to fight in this war, was starting to regret his decision. Had it just been the Lizardmen, they could've escaped perhaps. As a leader, he couldn't just abandon his army, whether they were goblin or lizardmen. He'd have to stand his ground to defend the goblins. The orcs advanced from all around, closing in on the lizardmen.

"Do not fear!" Gabiru commanded as the orcs continued their low chant. "SHow them the strength upon which we Lizardmen pride ourselves on!"

The troops yelled out in agreement, but were silenced by a thudding footstep of an orc larger than all the others. The aura was stronger than all the other orcs, intimidating the entire lizardmen army. The orcs all stopped as the larger one stepped forwards. A loose ring of empty space formed between the cornered lizardmen army and the orcs.

"Wh-What an intimidating aura..." Gabiru muttered as he stared at the orc in front of him. His grip on his trident tightened as he twirled it around, reading it for battle.

"You, Orc!" he called out. "You are the Orc Lord, correct?"

The orc stared back in silence.

"I am Gabiru, chieftain of the Lizardmen!" Gabiru announced. "Face me one-on-one to settle this-" Gabiru was interrupted as the Orc spoke in a low, drawling tone.

"I am not the Lord. I am an Orc General. I am far inferior to the great Orc Lord."

"You're not the Orc Lord?" Gabiru took a step back in slight fear. The orc general had so much power already that it was already a long stretch for Gabiru to defeat him alone. But if this was considered inferior, one had to wonder how strong the Orc Lord was.

"You wish to fight one-on-one?" The Orc general prompted as he took a few steps closer to Gabiru. "Interesting. I accept."

Gabiru readied himself to fight. The other orcs backed up, creating a large open space for the general and Gabiru to fight in. However, they still completely surrounded the group of lizardmen and goblins. Their army of 200,000, although a few thousand short thanks to Kumiko and Souei, still overwhelmed the lizardmen army completely.

Gabiru tried to fight his hardest, an admirable thing for him since he was fighting to protect his army of lizardmen and goblins alike. But it was a very one sided battle as the Orc general very easily overpowered Gabiru. His loyal guards attempted to join the fight, only to be stopped by Gabiru. He would be handling this one-on-one battle. He made a strong attempt, but wasn't able to defeat the general. Gabiru was knocked back, his weapon laying to the side.

"Lizards are best suited to crawling on the ground." The orc general taunted as he stood over Gabiru.

"Now die!" The orc general swung his axe down and Gabiru hung his head. However, the Orc general's blade was deflected by a small figure. Out of nowhere, Gobta leaped in front of Gabiru.

"Y-You're the true leader of that village!" Gabiru said in surprise. Gobta couldn't say anything but stare at Gabiru as if asking if he really was that idiotic.

"Have you come to save us?!" Gabiru asked Gobta, still fully believing he was the goblin leader.

"That's Gobta, captain of the Goblin riders." Ranga introduced as he stepped up beside Gabiru who still sat in the puddle.

"The Direwolf!"

"My name is Ranga." he introduced, looking down at Gabiru. "I've come to help you on my master Rimuru-sama's orders."

"How did you get here?" Gabiru asked in shock. They were completely surrounded by Orcs.

"[Shadow Movement]. Are you incapable of learning?" Ranga asked exasperated.

"Rimuru, you say?" The orc general brought the attention back onto him. "I don't know who any of you are, but if you stand in my way, I will show no-"

The orc lord was interrupted as a dome of purple flames exploded behind him. Soon, explosions scattered through the Orc ranks, completely clearing out tens of thousands of Orcs within a minute. The orc general stared back in shock as his army was quickly dwindled down.

"Oh, looks like it's started." Gobta said casually. The orc general growled.

"The great magic of the Lizardmen?" the Orc general muttered as he turned to face Gobta and Ranga again. "I must end this quickly and end whoever is using great magic!"

"So, um... Gabiru, was it?" Gobta called. "We should assume a defensive formation."

"I understand, but..." Gabiru held his trident out towards the Orc general, only to be interrupted as another explosion sounded from behind the orc army.

"What are those flames?" Gabiru asked in shock.

"No need to worry. They're on our side..." Gobta reassured. Gabiru could only watch on in shock as orc after orc were consumed by the dome of flames. "... I think."

On the other side of the battlefield stood Benimaru, Shion and Hakurou. The dust from the explosion cleared to reveal the three to the orcs.

"This is why I told you to move." Benimaru said simply to the remaining Orcs.

"Wh-Who are you?!"

"You don't remember us? That's harsh. You devoured our village, remember?" The three Kijin stood calmly among the masses of the orcs. Behind them lay a clear path, clearly showing that they simply had cut down whoever was in their way. Benimaru smirked at the orcs.

"Those horns... Are you ogres?!"

"Are we, now?" Benimaru asked vaguely in reply. "That might not be quite true anymore." He held a black flame in the palm of his hand, his sword laying limply in his other.

"It is time," Hakurou threatened, ever so slightly unsheathing his blade.

"We must thank Rimuru-sama for giving us this oppportunity," Shion said, slinging her sword over her shoulder. It hit the ground with a clang.

"I'll say it once more," Benimaru threatened while holding the black flame higher in front of him and looking at the orcs with a dark expression. "Move out of the way, pigs... unless you want to be wiped out without a trace."

The orcs stumbled back slightly, but didn't retreat. Benimaru smirked, hoping that they would remain so he could exact his revenge. He swiftly launched the black orb of fire into the center of the orcs. Within a few seconds, an explosion sounded and a dome of fire emerged, incinerating the orcs.

While Benimaru and the other Kijin were easily tearing through the orc numbers, the lizardmen still were cornered, though the situation had changed now that Ranga and the Goblin Riders had arrived.

"It appears you've come to assist the lizards," the orc general concluded. "But you waste your time. Goblins and dogs, the arrival of worhtless monsters such as yourselves will not sway our superiority in the least!"

"Worthless?!" Gobta echoed in anger. He was overshadowed by Ranga who stepped up.

"We will show you, then," Ranga growled out angrily as a red aura began to form around the wolf. Black clouds began to cover the dark sky, covering the moon and turning everything even darker. From the clouds, large tornadoes of wind began spiraling downwards, only stopping when there were at least 10 vortexes of wind touching the ground, swirling angrily. Lightning flashed dangerously between the tornadoes. The ogres in the vicinity all got swept up into the wind, their armor worthless against the harsh gales. It wasn't long before the winds tore apart the orcs. This was Ranga's wide-ranged attack, [Death Storm].

The orc general resisted as long as he could on the ground as the rest of his army was swept away and torn into pieces by the strong winds. However, Ranga wasn't about to let him walk. A strike of lightning landed right on top of the orc, completely vaporizing the orc general.

Ranga howled loudly, his entire form sparking with lightning as a second horn grew on the star on his forehead. Ranga had officially evolved into a Tempest Star Wolf.

"Do you see now, Orcs?!" Ranga growled out into the empty field. "This is a mere fraction of the power of the one you mocked as being worthless!"

From the back, Domes of black fire continued exploding as Benimaru happily wiped away the pigs.

"This is our brand new beginning..." Benimaru said, staring straight into his own flames as the pigs burned to ashes in front of him.

Hakurou ran through a hoard of orcs seamlessly, his sword movements so fast they were unnoticeable to the naked eye. As he exited the hoard, they all fell, their heads severed and blood gushing out of the gaping wound.

"Of Rimuru-sama's many glorious victories in war..." Hakurou said while staring at his handiwork. The spray of blood somehow managed to completely avoid his white clothing.

"This will be the first, you see!" Shion announced to the crowd of orcs in front of her with a bright smile. The orcs tensed, and then charged forwards. Shion raised her blade above her head, both hands gripping the handle. With a strong swing, she broke a rift through the ground, the orc army being taken out by the shockwave of her attack. The result was a giant chasm through the ground, as if the earth itself had torn in two.

~~~

Souei and Kumiko had found their way to the entrance of the Lizardmen's home. There they found hoards of orc soldiers battling the lizardmen. With just a quick glance at each other, the two split off, launching their attacks in separate directions. Kumiko was using her scythe, launching from orc to orc and tearing through their armor and flesh. She was taking out her frustrations on the orcs themselves. She didn't know what she was feeling, but it was unpleasant and she wanted it to stop. It made her feel vulnerable, like a little kid. Kumiko tore through orc after orc until the last one around her had been torn limb from limb. Satisfied, she swiftly made her way back to the center. Souei had finished taking care of his side at the same time and the two regrouped. The lizardman guard from earlier ran in, preparing to see the worst, only to be met with piles of dead orcs with severed arms and heads, the slices clean through even the bone. Kumiko and Souei calmly stood at the center of the massacre. Souei stared straight ahead as Kumiko was wiping off her scythe blades. 

The lizardman guard could only stand in complete shock with her jaw open. Kumiko couldn't help but want to get away from the female as soon as possible. It seemed these unknown feelings only surfaced whenever she was around. Despite now being in an alliance, she didn't feel comfortable with the guard. She stiffly closed her blades and started walking ahead. Souei stared after Kumiko confused. Was she not going to comment on how she killed more orcs than Souei did? He couldn't seem to read her all that well at the moment, but she clearly wasn't acting normal. It was beginning to concern Souei.

Souei reached into his back pocket and pulled out a small pouch of healing potion and thrusted it towards the female guard without glancing over.

"Use this," he said without even explaining what it was. She held her hands out and he quickly dropped it into her open palms before quickly moving to follow Kumiko. As he caught up, Kumiko was snagging a key from one of the lizardmen guards.

"Kumiko, is something the matter?" Souei asked, making note of how she avoided his gaze.

"Mm, everything is fine," she said simply. She tossed the key to Souei who caught it without even blinking. "That's the key to the dungeon cell."

"Are you not going to boast your orc kills to compare to mine?" he asked, almost as if asking her to argue with him. She looked at him slightly as if confused before shaking her head.

"I'll agree with you that you're superior if you just tell me what's wrong?" Souei bargained.

"Maybe later," she started walking again, leaving a confused Souei trailing behind, trying to figure out what happened for her to act like this. Kumiko herself was mentally berating herself. She was acting like she was mad at Souei, but in reality he did nothing wrong whatsoever. She didn't understand why she felt this way, but it wasn't Souei's fault. At least, she didn't think it was. Why was she acting like such a child? Indeed normally she'd be making cheeky comments about how she executed the orcs more swiftly and the two of them would proceed into an argument about who was superior, but she couldn't muster up the energy to do so right now.

The two of them continued down the path towards the dungeon, with Souei making his way in front to open the cell door. Kumiko hadn't said much, her mind was distracted. Unfortunately, Souei was now also preoccupied with trying to figure out why Kumiko suddenly was in a bad mood. Souei knew that Benimaru had been trying to tell him something with gestures and looks earlier, but he hadn't paid it any mind because they were still in the battlefield. Did he do something to anger the female Kijin next to him?

As the door to the cell opened, the chieftain looked up, only to be attacked in a hug by his daughter. Souei and Kumiko stood by the door, unmoving. Their thoughts were both a bit preoccupied. the chieftain happily accepted his daughter's hug.

"You truly came for us, Souei-dono, Kumiko-dono!" The chieftain said thankfully. The two stared back silently.

"We should leave and regroup with Rimuru-sama quickly," Kumiko said, breaking the silence. Souei nodded in agreement and undid the chains on all the prisoners. With Souei and Kumiko leading at the front, the rest of the lizardmen trailed behind. The chieftain was being supported by his daughter.

"But why?" The chieftain asked randomly as they walked. Souei didn't even glance back as he answered.

"The alliance was formed," he explained simply. He normally didn't talk much, aside from with Kumiko, but his mind was extra busy trying to figure out a way to calm Kumiko down from her rage. Or, at least he assumed it to be rage.

"And how did..." the chieftain trailed off confused.

"I was acknowledged as your representative," his daughter supplied. "Reinforcements are coming. It is not yet time to give up, Father!"

A loud laugh in front of them brought everyone's attention to an orc general who blocked their path. Behind the orc general was a hoard of a few hundred orcs, if not close to a thousand, completely filling the tunnel. The orc general raised his axe and laughed as he made a move to swing it downwards.

"Souei-dono! Kumiko-dono!" the chieftain yelled in alarm.

"No need to worry," Souei said cooly. He had barely moved, but it was enough to completely wrap the general in thread. He had also taken a small step in front of Kumiko, his hand slightly outstretched in front of Kumiko, though they both knew nothing was going to happen to either of them. It was a subconscious move on Souei's part.

"I've already rendered him immobile."

As for the rest of the Orc army, they were all frozen still as the floor coated itself with ice. In just a few seconds, all the orcs had been frozen solid as thousands of tendrils of ice wrapped around the orc army. With a quick squeeze of the icy vines, the orcs shattered into tiny icy crystals dotted with various spots of red. Kumiko glared coldly down the hallway as Souei stared down the orc general. As Kumiko confirmed that all the orcs had died, the ice receded and she turned her attention to the strung up orc general, though she remained behind Souei.

"You can see this, can't you, puppet master of the Orcs?" Souei stared calmly at the orc general, who strained to move, but was completely unable to.

"You will be next," Souei threatened. "Destroying the Ogres' village and making enemies of the Kijin will be your greatest regrets."

With the tug of a thread in front of him, Souei was able to dice the orc general into small pieces, completely shocking the lizardmen behind. Souei and Kumiko stared blankly at the chunks of pig that fell to the ground. There was no doubt to any of the Lizardmen now; they were lucky to not have truly angered these two kijin when they first arrived as envoys of Rimuru. These two who had just taken out an orc general and his army of a thousand without so much as a single step towards the enemy...

Souei relaxed his defensive stance in front of Kumiko as the orc was demolished into bits and pieces. Kumiko herself felt a feeling of calmness and happiness at his small action. The feeling from before had greatly subsided, though it arose at any thought of the chieftains daughter approaching Souei. Kumiko was still greatly confused, but she pushed past the feeling. For some reason, she was fine now, and that was all that mattered. She didn't like the fact that she wasn't talking to Souei, though it was her own fault she didn't make conversation.

"Is now a good time to boast that I just wiped out an army of a thousand orcs?" She whispered as she leaned towards Souei with a cheeky smile. Souei and her were walking at the front of the group, side by side, so none of the lizardmen noticed her actions. Souei looked at her in shock and slightly confused. Wasn't she just upset a moment ago? He decided not to dwell on it since she was happier now. That was all that mattered to Souei.

"A thousand orcs are barely equivalent to an orc general, like the one I tore apart," he refuted with a smirk. She pouted and stood up straight again. They walked a couple more steps before she suddenly pointed a finger at Souei, who only stared down at her finger with a questioning glance.

"You said earlier that you'd agree I was superior!" She smiled widely, as if waiting to hear him say it. Her steps had a certain bounce to it that Souei was glad to see despite being at war with the orcs at the moment.

"Only if you told me what you were upset about." He raised an eyebrow at her. She pursed her lips, tilting her head as she thought about it.

"To be honest, I don't really know," she confessed, a bit confused herself. She turned back to Souei with an expecting smile. "I told you. Now, where is my praise?"

Souei stared down at her blankly as she stared back up at him with a bright smile.

"C'mon! I want my praise! Praise, praise, praise, praise." With each word, she poked him childishly with a finger.

"Alright, alright," Souei waved off her finger with feigned annoyance.

"You've beaten me in your perfect execution of the orc army." Souei gave her a deadpan look as he said the words in a monotone. "Happy?"

Kumiko only smiled up at him and hummed happily, her hands held behind her as she walked forwards a little faster to get ahead of the group. Souei continued walking at his normal pace, and when she didn't turn back, his face relaxed into a rare, peaceful smile as he watched her float around on cloud 9 from winning their simple argument.

Meanwhile, the lizardmen in the back watched the two Kijin's exchange with slight blushes. These damned flirty, oblivious Kijin.

~~~

Rimuru flew above in the sky, bat wings keeping him up as he scanned the ever decreasing army of orcs. It seemed that Kumiko and Souei had made it out, as he saw a few hoards of orcs fall to a spreading white sheet. The only possibly one to be able to spread ice was, of course, Kumiko. And where she was, Souei was sure to be as well.

It wasn't long before Rimuru spotted the Orc Lord, making his way towards the marshland with a long line of orcs following. The Orc Lord was identifiable via a large red gem in the center of his forehead.

Rimuru stared for a bit before putting on Shizu's mask.

"Orc Lord... I'm going to put an end to you"

Up next: The One Who Devours All

Chapter Text

The Orc army that had been in the marshlands had been taken out. The only remaining orcs were the Orc Lord himself and the part that protected the Orc Lord from behind. Souei and Kumiko had managed to regroup with the rest of the Kijin.

Benimaru, Shion, and Hakurou watched as Souei dragged a reluctant Kumiko by her wrist over to the group. Her feet were digging into the ground as she resisted, but to no avail. Souei and Kumiko might've been on par with one another when it came to fighting, but in terms of physical strength, Kumiko was no match for Souei. He easily pulled along the childish Kijin and stopped in front of the group. Benimaru looked at them curiously. They had made up, right?

"She wanted to go find and fight Gabiru," Souei explained as she shook his arm off and puffed her cheeks. The rest of the Kijin looked at her incredulously. The lizardmen were their allies now.

"I wasn't going to kill him..." she defended. "He almost got the entire lizardmen race killed." Kumiko and Souei both made their way to stand behind Benimaru, with Kumiko to Souei's right, but in front of Ranga and the goblins.

"Plus, the two lizardmen siblings just grind on my nerves..." she muttered under her breath as she crossed her arms defiantly, her scythe held tightly in her left hand still. Souei barely heard her, though he couldn't begin to understand why both of them bothered her. Gabiru, sure. Not only did he lead the lizardmen into a battle they wouldn't win, Souei had to admit that ever since Gabiru had gazed at Kumiko with those impure eyes of his, he wanted to stab him But why the female guard? The rest of the Kijin all sighed knowingly. She was still jealous. Despite seeming to have made up, Souei was still clueless to her anger from before, and she clearly hadn't figured out her feelings. Kumiko was projecting her rage onto Gabiru instead of the guard since even she knew it was unreasonable to hold resentment to the female guard. Benimaru couldn't help but want to knock both of them in the head, despite still being on the battlefield.

Rimuru had let them all know that he found the Orc Lord, so the group was simply awaiting his command. Souei and Kumiko were back to their normal bickering, their aura seething out from them as they argued about who had more overall Orc kills, or who had sliced through the most orcs with their blade. The most ridiculous one that the group heard was who could dice the orcs into smaller pieces. Kumiko glared at Souei as he only smirked back, knowing that his threads could easily secure a victory with dicing the orcs. The Lizardmen and the goblins they had recruited shivered in fear as their auras waged war against one another. All the members of Rimuru's army just ignored the two, knowing that this was a common scene.

The Orc Lord was within sight of them all shortly, and no one was really surprised when the Orc Lord towered over them all. At the sight, Kumiko stopped her childishness and dropped her arms to her side. With her emotions suppressed, a mask of calm came over her and she readied herself, as did the rest of the Kijin. They stared down the Orc Lord, whose lumbering steps shook the ground. All of Kumiko's plans from her [Unrivaled Strategy] began dwindling down bit by bit as the sheer power of the Orc Lord washed over the entire group. Surely, Rimuru could of course beat him, but she had been foolish to assume for even one second that she had a chance to take him on single-handedly. She began to wonder if even the Kijin alone could beat this monster.

Her thoughts were interrupted as a streak of red burst from the sky, hitting the ground and kicking up dust. The Kijin stared forward, narrowing their eyes as a figure stood up from the dust in the center of the crater that was formed. Ranga growled from behind them. Benimaru tensed as Shion took a lower stance so she could jump in at any given moment. Hakurou unsheathed his blade ever so slightly. Souei reached for the handle of one of his swords on his back as Kumiko's blades on her scythe flipped open. Glowing blue holes where his eyes were supposed to be met the army standing in front of him.

"Are you a majin?" Rimuru asked as he was flying above. To escape being crashed into, Rimuru had quickly spun to the side, but made quick recovery.

"What's the big idea?! How dare you ruin the great Lord Gelmud's plans?!" the majin yelled, ignoring Rimuru. The Kijin only stared at the majin, a bit shocked that he had come through just to scold them. No one moved.

"Gelmud?" Rimuru echoed from above. "The one who named Rigurd's eldest son, right?"

"A new Demon Lord who would have done my bidding was about to be born!" he whined with wide gestures while shaking with rage.

"Demon Lord?" Benimaru echoed in shock. Kumiko narrowed her eyes at Gelmud, who was throwing a tantrum.

"Yes!" Gelmud proclaimed while gripping his hand in a fist. "That's why I gave out so many names, sowed so many seeds! All to create the ultimate pawn!"

"So that is why..." Hakurou trailed off as Souei gritted his teeth in anger

"... you showed up..." Souei glared harshly at Gelmud, his eyes portraying his immense hate for the majin.

"... in our village?" Shion finished, her facial expression marred with anger. Her purple eyes were wide as she glared at the majin and her grip on her sword tightened. She tensed up, as if wanting to launch an attack and Benimaru followed her action.

"Oh! It's Lord Gelmud!" Gabiru said happily. "What brings you here? Could it be you've come to help us?"

I want to freeze his mouth shut. Did he not hear what that majin just said? Kumiko's glare moved from the majin to Gabiru. He really was dancing on her last nerve. That worthless lizardman... Her grip on her scythe tightened as ice began spreading across the handle. A warm hand stopped her in her tracks as she looked up at Souei, who's right hand was resting on her left one that was gripping the staff. The ice receded.

As much as I dislike Gabiru for various reasons, he's our ally. Calm yourself. Souei hadn't looked at her, his eyes still focused on the majin in front. Feeling the warmth from Souei's hand, Kumiko focused on it and pulled the ice back, her cold hand rising in temperature until it matched Souei's.

I'm calm. Souei gave her a quick glance before letting her hand go once he was confirmed for himself she wasn't about to launch herself at Gabiru and beat him to a pulp.

"You useless fool!" Gelmud yelled at Gabiru. Gabiru flinched back, not expecting the harsh words. "Just become a meal for the Orc Lord already! A useless fool like you will never be more than a nuisance! So be eaten by the Orc Lord and become his strength! You'll be useful to me in death. Consider it an honor."

"Gelo.. G-Geld..." Gabiru stuttered out in complete shock.

He was using you! Kumiko's voice rung in his head, and he snapped his attention towards her. She wasn't even looking at him, her eyes trained on the majin with the rest of the Kijin. She supposed that after hearing Gelmud's harsh words, she felt a little bad for the Lizardman, no matter how stupid and distasteful he was.

Get over yourself and focus. Gelmud was using you as feed for the Orc Lord! Under no circumstance can you be eaten by the Orc Lord! Defend yourself! Her voice was calming, yet strong and demanding. Gabiru only stared at her figure in the distance.

Souei figured that she had yelled at Gabiru judging by the fact that she was gritting her teeth in annoyance and that Gabiru had looked over at her. Since Gabiru couldn't reply, it was a one-sided scolding. Despite that, Gabiru kept staring at her, which made Souei uneasy. He still held a slight grudge again Gabiru for their first meeting, so without looking at Gabiru, he moved to Kumiko's right side, blocking her from the lizard.

What are you doing? Kumiko asked him without looking.

Nothing. Souei himself couldn't begin to comprehend nor explain the feeling of unease whenever he thought about someone else touching Kumiko, or even eyeing her with anything more than an innocent, friendly gaze.

Gelmud turned to face the Orc Lord who was right behind him. The Orc Lord towered over Gelmud by at least seven times, if not eight.

"Get him, Orc Lord!" Gelmud commanded. The Orc Lord made no movement and only stared down at him in silence.

"What's the matter?" Gelmud demanded after the Orc Lord refused to move.

"What do you mean by evolving into a Demon Lord?" The Orc Lord asked.

"Tsk..." Gelmud clicked his tongue. "You really are an imbecile. You will become the Demon Lord 'Orc Disaster' and rule over the entire Forest of Jura! That is what both he and I desire!"

He? Kumiko echoed in her own head. There's more than one person behind this...

"Why are you just standing there, you dumb pig?!" Gelmud raged as the Orc Lord didn't make a single move. He was still processing what Gelmud was saying. "There's no time. I'm not supposed to interfere, but I have no choice."

A pink ball of energy began forming in his hands. The three soldiers surrounding Gabiru began yelling at him to flee. Gabiru was Gelmud's target after all. Gabiru remained frozen in shock as Gelmud launched the ball towards them. The three soldiers used their own bodies as shields for Gabiru. The ball of energy engulfed the four of them. Kumiko had to avert her eyes from the blinding light that emerged as a scream came from that direction.

Once the light died down, it left Gabiru with two smoking and injured lizardmen in his arms, the third laying on his back in front of the others. Their clothes were charred and the three soldiers were barely conscious. Gabiru cried out loudly as his loyal comrades fell.

"Gelmud-sama!" Gabiru yelled out, inconsolable tears trailing down his face.

"Become nourishment for the Orc Lord, and be useful to me!" Gelmud demanded as he charged up another ball of energy, this one larger than the last.

"I will show you the strength of a superior majin! Die!" Gelmud laughed as he lifted the pink ball above his head. The massive sphere split into hundreds of smaller orbs of the same energy. This was Gelmud's skill, [Deathmarch Dance]. He pointed his hand towards Gabiru, and the orbs raced forwards. Gabiru closed his eyes, expecting death.

"Rimuru-sama!" Shion yelled out in shock as she and the rest of the Kijin watched Rimuru land in between Gabiru and Gelmud. Using [Predator], Rimuru consumed the hundreds of orbs heading towards Gabiru. Sparks flew as the energy was consumed into the slime, but Rimuru didn't flinch. As the last of the orbs were swallowed, Rimuru withdrew his hand, and faced a shocked Gelmud.

"Hey, is that the best you can do? How's a move like that going to kill anyone?" Rimuru asked, almost disappointed. Who knew that the majin that seemed to be behind the entire situation was so weak?

"Y-You..." Gelmud stuttered out.

"You... You are..." Gelmud stared up at Rimuru, shock and respect in his eyes.

"Here," was all Rimuru said as he threw there orbs of healing potions at Gabiru. Gelmud was being blatantly ignored. "They're healing potions. Use them on your men."

Gabiru quickly agreed and pressed each of the orbs on the fallen lizardmen, pleading for them to hang on and recover. Rimuru smiled and then turned to face Gelmud, who had yet to move.

"Now..." Rimuru held his hand forward and threads shot out wrapping around Gelmud by the waist. From the ground, more steel threads came out, chaining Gelmud to that position.

"What is this?!" Gelmud exclaimed as he was completely held down by threads. He struggled, but was unable to break free. Rimuru took slow, deliberate steps towards Gelmud until he was within arms reach.

"H-How dare you do this to a superior maj-" Gelmud was interrupted as Rimuru's fist met his abdomen. He grunted out in pain, his body hunching over as much as it could while being restrained.

"Why, you! I'll-" Gelmud began screaming again after he took a second to recover, only to be interrupted again as Rimuru threw a punch to Gelmud's face, tearing him from his binds and sending him backwards. Rimuru took a couple more steps towards the majin.

"You keep saying you're some bigshot 'superior majin,' but you're nothing special," Rimuru said, staring down at him boredly. He thought Gelmud would've been some competition since he kept boasting about his skills, but he had assumed wrong.

"Okay, I get it!" Gelmud said holding his hands up in front of his face. "You can be on my side! I'll-" Rimuru didn't wait for him to finish his sentence as he kicked Gelmud in the chest, hard. The majin flew back and landed at the feet of the Orcs. He laid there for a second before flailing his arms around while still laying on the ground.

The Kijin who had been watching the whole time couldn't help but stare at the majin in disappointment. What kind of a person acts like this, flailing like a baby in anger.

"Damn you!" Gelmud cursed at Rimuru as he sat up. "You're finished! He's going to make you regret this!"

"Why don't you tell me just who 'he' is?" Rimuru asked Gelmud, unfazed by the threat. "Tell me who's pulling the strings."

"Stop! Stay away!" Gelmud panicked as Rimuru stepped closer. He quickly got onto his feet and scurried in front of the Orc Lord.

"Hey, Orc Lord! Help me!" he pleaded to the Orc. The orc stared down blankly at the Majin.

"I'm hungry," was all he muttered.

"Damn it! I said help me, Orc Lord!" Gelmud demanded. "No, I mean.. Geld!" At this the Orc Lord's eyes widened. Kumiko and the rest of the Kijin tensed, their grips on their weapons tightening in case the Orc Lord moved to attack.

"If you'd hurry up and evolve into a Demon Lord..." Gelmud muttered under his breath. Geld's eye's narrowed, and he look a large, lumbering step forward. The ground shook. The Kijin all lifted their weapons slightly and widened their stance, ready to attack. Souei stepped ever so slightly forward with his left foot, putting himself just slightly in front of Kumiko, as he seemed to always do subconsciously.

"Finally moving now, you scumbag?" Gelmud insulted as he burst out laughing. He turned around to face Rimuru. "Prepare to experience this beast's strength! Do it, Geld! Make them rue the day they defied m-"

Gelmud was cut off as Geld used his enormous sword to swiftly decapitate the majin. The Kijin all gasped and Ranga watched with wide eyes. They stood up straight in their shock, their weapons dropping slightly to their side. The slice was clean as Gelmud's head and body fell to the floor as two detached pieces.

Geld leaned down towards Gelmud's body before beginning to feast on the majin's flesh. He tore through muscle and crushed the bones, eating and eating until there was nothing left except a few bloody rags. The Kijin didn't bother flinching as they watched the gruesome sight. It may have been bloody and inhumane, but what did they know about humanity anyways. They were monsters who lived by the rule survival of the fittest. They've fought numerous monsters, intelligent or otherwise, and seen more bloodshed in the past day than most human adventurers would see in their lives. Ranga growled behind them.

As Geld finished his feast, a dark aura covering him as his magicules increased exponentially. It wasn't long before Geld was surrounded by a black vortex of mist, swirling around him and completely obscuring him from sight. Within a few seconds, the wind died down, and Geld emerged as the new Demon Lord, the Orc Disaster.

"Orc Disaster, Demon Lord Geld..." Rimuru named out. "I can't just sit and do nothing about this."

Geld let out a tremendous roar towards his enemies.

"I am the Orc Disaster!" He declared. "I am the one who will devour all in this world! My name is Geld... Geld the Demon Lord!" He stared Rimuru down.

"Shion," Benimaru quickly ordered. The Kijin were going to get their revenge on the Orcs by taking down the Orc Disaster.

"Right! On it!" Shion rushed forward, her blade glinting dangerously.

"Oi," Rimuru said as he turned to Benimaru.

"Let us handle this," Benimaru promised Rimuru. Rimuru said nothing but focused back onto the fight.

"You call yourself a Demon Lord?!" Shion yelled as she charged forward, kicking up water as she sped towards the orc. "Curb your ego, you foul pig!" Shion leaped up, using her anger for her destroyed village to fuel her strength as she swung her broadsword forward. Geld raised his own blade and parried her attack. Sparks flew between the two as the ground shook from the sheer force of the swing. Shion pressed downwards with more force, but to no avail as she was thrown back. She flipped herself upright, sliding back on her two feet in the water.

Without skipping a beat, she charged forward again, faster than the first time. Geld raised his blade, stopping as Hakurou appeared right above him. Hakurou's sword easily tore through Geld's neck. Shion stood below, watching as Geld's head was severed from the body. Blood splurted from the open wound, but the body didn't fall. Instead, the Kijin watched in horror as Geld held his own head in his arms. Green tendrils reached outwards and picked up the decapitated head from Geld's arms, reattaching it seamlessly onto the neck.

"Kumiko, stay here," Souei ordered before he disappeared in a flash of black.

"Wait!" Kumiko yelled, though it was too late. Souei stood behind Geld, his expression dark. Behind him, the orc army started surging forward to defend their king.

"STOP MOVING, YOU INSOLENT PIGS!" Kumiko screamed at them, all sense of calm gone as they began rushing towards Souei. She held out her right hand towards the orcs and Rimuru watched in surprise as thousands of Orcs froze still. Kumiko's scythe was free of ice, but the Orcs were unable to move at all. This was her new ability, [Aqueous Manipulation], evolved from [Ice Domination].

Kumiko's eyes narrowed as she used the water and blood in the Orcs to stop their movements completely. If she could, she wanted to kill them all from the inside out. She wanted to boil their muscles and freeze their blood, but from this distance, all she could do was cause the water in their muscles to freeze, effectively immobilizing the entire army. She would need to get closer to take them out, but she would obey Souei, no matter how much she wanted to fight. After all, this was part of his revenge for his village.

Souei paid no mind to the frozen army behind him as he used his skill [Arcane Thread Fetters] to encase Geld completely in thread. Souei held onto the threads tightly and pulled, closing any gaps in the cocoon Geld found himself trapped in.

"Do it, Benimaru!" Souei yelled out.

"Have some of this!" Benimaru yelled as he launched a ball of [Hell Flare] towards the encased Demon Lord. A purple dome-shaped shield appeared right before flames exploded inside the dome.

From behind, Ranga howled loudly and lightning began striking through the sky. As Benimaru's flames faded away, Geld remained standing. Immediately, Ranga sent [Black Lightning] Geld's way, effectively roasting the pig in a bolt of electricity.

Ranga's form shrank as they all watched the crater where the lightning had struck with anticipation.

"Out of magicules?" Rimuru asked Ranga as he noticed the size difference.

"I'm so sorry!" Ranga bowed his head towards Rimuru.

"Just hang out in my shadow," Rimuru ordered with a reassuring smile. Ranga needed to recover. He quickly obeyed and disappeared behind Rimuru.

The Kijin, minus Kumiko, all gasped and flinched back as Geld continued to struggle to get up. Kumiko clicked her tongue on the roof of her mouth and gritted her teeth. She was still holding the thousands of Orc soldiers back with her [Aqueous Manipulation]. The worst situation had arrived. It was now completely up to Rimuru to defeat the Orc Lord. Her [Unrivaled Strategy] had predicted it, but she didn't want it to be true. She wanted to Kijin to successfully defeat the Orc Disaster so not only does Rimuru stay safe, but they can successfully finish their revenge for their village.

Geld stood, his flesh smoking slightly as bits of his exposed skin were charred.

"So this is pain?" he muttered as he looked down at his hands.

"You're kidding me..." Rimuru trailed off in shock as Geld successfully stood after an all out attack from the Kijin and Ranga.

"M-My king, I offer my body to you," one of the orcs under Kumiko's [Aqueous Manipulation] stuttered out from behind. He couldn't move forward, but he could offer up his body for Geld to eat. Kumiko's eyes narrowed as Geld looked back. With a swipe of his hand, Geld picked up the frozen orc and with a single bite swallowed the orc's head. In her shock, Kumiko released the remaining orcs. As soon as her skill stopped, she quickly made her way to Souei's side, rejoining the rest of the Kijin.

The sound of crunching bones and tearing flesh sounded through the clearing as Geld tore into his fellow orc. Blood splattered to the ground as veins were torn and limbs were ripped off. With each bite, Geld healed himself.

"Not enough! I need more!" Geld demanded after he had finished the orc. Nothing was left except a few scattered bones and the metal armor. "Give me more food!"

Geld reached out his hand, and shot out the same pink orb that Gelmud had before. It floated above all the Kijin, before spliting into hundreds of smaller orbs and then proceeding to launch themselves down. The Kijin had no time to move.

Rimuru jumped in front of the group, reaching his hand up and devouring all the orbs of energy from the air before they could even come close to hitting the Kijin.

"Rimuru-sama..." Benimaru trailed off.

"Don't worry. I've got this," he reassured the Kijin as he walked forward towards Geld. From behind Geld, the tendrils of snake like energy came out. [Chaos Eater].

"I'm counting on you! Defeat my enemy at once!" Rimuru ordered the [Great Sage]. Rimuru's pupils turned from their normal green color to a calculating red with an octagonal ring of white in the middle.

"Devour all! [Chaos Eater]!" Geld roared. The snake-like beings rushed forward, aiming for Rimuru as he and the [Great Sage] easily dodged them. From behind, the Kijin were quick to use their blades to fend off any rogue tendrils that aimed for them or the nearby goblins.

Within seconds, Rimuru found himself right in front of Geld, black flames racing down the blade of his sword. With a quick strike, Geld's left arm had been cut off from the elbow. The flames immediately cauterized the cut, making instant regeneration impossible for the Orc Disaster. Rimuru landed a distance away as Geld's hand dropped to the floor, but rushed forward again without missing a beat.

As Rimuru brought down his flame-covered sword, Geld brought up his own blade and blocked Rimuru's strike. Rimuru didn't even flinch as the flames on his blade heated up the metal of Geld's. Geld quickly leaped backwards, shocked as Rimuru's sword had cut through his own, the metal melting easily from the heat.

Geld stumbled back, dropping the hilt of his broken blade onto the ground. He had to admit that Rimuru was a formidable opponent. Geld glanced at his arm, the black flame still burning at the end and preventing him from regenerating his arm. Without so much as a blink, Geld ripped the remaining part of his arm off at the shoulder. He devoured his own arm, allowing himself to heal. Everyone watched in horror as tendons and muscles stretched outwards, forming a new arm before the orc's skin covered up the red.

"This time, I will eat you!" Geld formed more balls of energy and launched them at Rimuru. As they flew through the air, they separated into hundreds of orbs, all of which Rimuru devoured easily. Despite having done so to all of the previous attacks using the energy, it seemed like Geld didn't really learn the first time. The Kijin watched as Rimuru, without so much as a glance away from Geld, absorbed the pink energy from both the front and back. They knew they had nothing to worry about. After all, Benimaru wouldn't have accepted to have just anyone be their master.

Geld, using the distraction from the orbs, launched himself forward and landed behind Rimuru. Grabbing the slime he laughed. All the Kijin tensed as they watched, but no one moved forward. Rimuru had a better chance defeating the orc lord without any of them being in the way. Plus, they all believed that Rimuru could handle this. After all, this was their master.

"I'm going to devour you right now!" Geld laughed as he held Rimuru up in front of his face. Rimuru said nothing in reply as the whites of his eyes turned red and glowed eerily. From beneath Geld, an sigil formed, one that Kumiko was quite familiar with. [Flare Circle]. When she had frozen Ifrit's column of fire in rage, the sigil had frozen with it surprisingly. They had found that out as they were melting the ice carefully. While it was a sight to behold, having a frozen fire in the middle of the city wasn't the safest.

The familiar pillar of flames emerged from below Geld and he screamed as his flesh burned. Rimuru remained calm in Geld's grasp. Everyone watched on in anticipation, waiting for Geld to be finished. To everyone's shock, the flames died down and Geld's screams of pain turned into laughter. His regenerative ability had neutralized the fire's damage, and he emerged with a resistance to fire.

"It appears fire has no effect on me," Geld laughed as he stared at Rimuru.

"Is that right?" Rimuru casually brushed off. "You might have been happier burning to death. I've acknowledged you as an enemy. Now I'll take you on for real."

Geld laughed, loudly, throwing his head back as he thought that Rimuru was joking.

"Does that mean you weren't serious before now?" Geld asked after he calmed his laughter. "There is nothing more you can do! Just accept that I'm going to eat you!"

Rimuru said nothing as green threads of mist trailed up from Geld's hand that was wrapped around Rimuru. Geld felt no pain, so his grip didn't falter, but Rimuru was in the process of melting his hand from the inside. From the bottom, Rimuru began dispelling his [Mimic] and the blue slime reached outwards from the bottom of Geld's fist, trailing up his arm.

"Before you can eat me, I'm going to eat you," Rimuru explained simply.

"I'm a slime." Rimuru completely reverted to his slime form, using his magicules to increase his mass as he wrapped around Geld. Geld's entire torso was highlighted blue as Rimuru expanded outwards.

"Wh-Why, you..." Geld cursed in anger as Rimuru continually covered more and more of his exposed flesh.

"You're not the only one who can eat things!" Rimuru taunted next to Geld's face. Dropping to wrap around his shoulder, Rimuru next appeared in front of Geld's eyes.

"Will you eat me first..." Rimuru avoided a swipe of Geld's hands and appeared back over his shoulder. "Or will I eat you first? The one who completely consumes the other wins!"

Rimuru continued expending magicules to engulf Geld. The Orc roared out in anger, desperately pulling at the sections of slime on his body, only to have them slip between his fingers and reform on his body. Rimuru continued wrapping around his body, extending from his legs to his head. As Geld continued to pull at the slime, more of his body was covered with each section he managed to fight off. Despite fighting a losing battle, Geld continued screaming out, grasping at what he could and tearing off as much as he could reach. It was to no avail.

The Kijin watched on, fully expecting Rimuru to win. Their expressions held no semblance of surprise as Rimuru overpowered Geld's [Starved] with his [Predator]. They watched calmly as Geld screamed.

The orc army on the other hand hadn't moved since Kumiko released them. There was no saying what they were thinking. Perhaps they knew that if they tried, Kumiko could stop them immediately with her [Aqueous Manipulation] and boil them alive. Perhaps they knew this was a battle strictly between Rimuru and their king. Whatever the reason was, the only reason their lives were spared at the moment was because they hadn't taken a step forward.

If you are 'Starved,' then I am a 'Devourer!' Rimuru's voice rung through the silent air. No one refuted his declaration as the slime completely overpowered the Orc Disaster and engulfed his entire body.

The Kijin watched with varying levels of interest as the Demon Lord Geld fell to his knees, the transparent blue slime covering every inch of the orc. The goblins turned away as Geld's skin began to dissolve, revealing the red muscle underneath. The Kijin didn't bother since this wasn't the worst they've seen. Continuing from the skin, the muscle began to be eaten away by Rimuru, leaving the bones. Despite that, Geld was still completely conscious, his eyes moving slightly as he struggled against Rimuru. No one moved a muscle, knowing that Rimuru wouldn't lose this fight. They watched as Geld eventually gave up and Rimuru finished devouring the Demon Lord Geld, bones and all.

At the end, as the sun rose behind, all that was left was a pillar of slime in a stagnant battlefield. Orcs, gobins, lizardmen and kijin watched in silence as the slime twirled upwards, exploding into black mist as Rimuru was revealed in his human form.

"Rest in peace, Geld," Rimuru said up to the rising sun. The Demon Lord Geld acted out of the best interest of his own people and was misguided by Gelmud. The Rimuru who swallowed his sins would take in all his wrongs and guilt, leaving him only peace.

With the Orc Lord defeated, the effects of [Starved] also vanished. At that moment, the advance of the orcs was halted. The orc army collapsed on their knees, crying out for their fallen brethren and for their king. They gripped their heads as they came back to their senses and cried out for the brethren they consumed.

Rimuru landed back on the ground, turning to face the lizardmen, goblins and Kijin who cheered loudly for his victory. The Kijin who had all fully expected this outcome only smiled as everyone around them exploded in excitement.

Despite the joy of winning the battle, and overwhelming dread washed over Kumiko as the time for Benimaru's answer came closer and closer. She suppressed it as much as she could, and forced herself to enjoy the victory.

Souei glanced over at her, knowing that her mind was preoccupied with the end. He turned his gaze to Benimaru, who looked back. Souei slightly inclined his head towards Kumiko in a silent question. Benimaru only smiled and nodded his head before turning back to Rimuru. Souei couldn't help but hide a smile behind the raised collar on his clothes as he turned is focus back to Rimuru as well. Kumiko was going to be in for a surprise.

~~~

"I guess it's over," Rimuru said as he and the Kijin stood atop a hill by the forest line overlooking the marsh. Kumiko stood behind Rimuru, her head hanging downwards as she stared at the ground in anxiety. She refused to meet any of the Kijin's eyes. Benimaru stood facing Rimuru, with Souei, Shion and Hakurou backing him up.

"I promised that you'd be free once the Orc Lord was defeated," Rimuru reminded them. "Thanks for all your help."

The kijin stared back at him in silence for a few seconds, the sun rising higher and higher in the sky, illuminating the now peaceful marsh.

"Rimuru-sama, I have a favor to ask," Benimaru said with all seriousness.

"What is it?"

"Please accept our allegiance. We will continue to serve you." As Benimaru inclined his head slight towards Rimuru, Kumiko's head snapped up in shock as she stared forward at Benimaru. Her gaze turned to Souei, who looked back at her with a small smile.

"You're sure?" Kumiko barely heard Rimuru's voice over her own shock and relief. They were staying.

"I have no objections," Hakurou agreed

"We are truly fortunate to have met you," Souei added as he turned his gaze from Kumiko to Rimuru. Shion bound forward and leaped onto Rimuru with a laugh, her breasts resting atop his head.

"I'm your secretary and bodyguard, Rimuru-sama!" she declared happily. "I'll never leave your side!"

"Not until the ends of our lives," Benimaru vowed.

"O-Okay," Rimuru agreed, slightly shocked at their decision, though he was happy. Especially since there was a Kijin behind him that was hoping for this reply.

Shion's playful scream was heard as her weight was suddenly tackled off of Rimuru by none other than Kumiko. She had tackled Shion down, her scythe long forgotten in the grass where she once stood, in a hug as the purple Kijin laughed and pat the back of her head gently as Kumiko happily squeezed Shion. Her attention focused on the next closest Kijin, who happened to be Benimaru. Benimaru who was also the ultimate decider of the Kijin's fate.

Kumiko leaped off of Shion and tackled Benimaru in a hug as well. He stumbled back, but sheepishly smiled down at the Kijin who was continually sobbing happily as she thanked him for deciding to stay. He would've wrapped the Kijin in a hug, but he could feel the menacing aura of Souei behind him as Kumiko was latched on, so all he could do was hold his hands up in surrender. Fearing for his life, Benimaru grabbed Kumiko by the back of her collar and pull her off him like a cat. Since he was taller and stronger, she was dangling in the air as he held her up, flailing her legs slightly. Benimaru could feel Souei's increasing killing intent from behind him, so he used all his strength and threw Kumiko at the blue Kijin.

Not stumbling in the slightest as Benimaru launched her at Souei, she happily reached her arms out and wrapped him in a huge hug as the two of them were sent tumbling to the ground. Souei had landed on the ground first, one of his hands on the ground behind him to support his torso and Kumiko. Kumiko's arms were latched tightly around his neck and her face buried in the area between his neck and shoulder. Her body was resting between his legs, pulled up as tightly as she could against him. She was crying once again in his shoulder, but they were happy tears this time. Hakurou quickly backed up out of reach, not being one for hugs, much less a tackle.

One of Souei's arms wrapped around Kumiko's waist as he pulled her in closer. He took a few more seconds to glare at Benimaru, though this time for tossing Kumiko at him like a cat. Benimaru only whistled as he looked away guiltily. It was either that or become minced meat once Souei got his hands on him. It was a wonder these two dense Kijin hadn't noticed their feelings yet. These two oblivious idiots probably will be back to how they usually were by tomorrow, bickering and flirting with no idea of how they felt themselves, much less how the other felt.

Souei focused his attention back on Kumiko as both his arms came to wrap her in a hug. She was now on her knees between his legs, her arms still wrapped around his neck and her hair covering her face from the rest of the Kijin. Her crying had ceased for the moment. Souei leaned his own head down onto her shoulder, enjoying the embrace.

The other Kijin smiled down at the two before Shion and Benimaru joined in the hug, wrapping Souei in with them as his menacing aura flared. The other two Kijin laughed it off as they snuggled in, enjoying the discomfort they were putting Souei in. His arms were occupied holding Kumiko, so it wasn't like he could do anything.

Clearly, they were wrong as threads quickly pulled Shion and Benimaru off of the group hug, Souei's glare trained clearly on the two. He let go of Kumiko and stood up off the ground, brushing himself up as best as he could with Kumiko still hanging off of him. Suddenly, she detached herself and sent a swift punch to his chest. Souei barely flinched at the punch since she hadn't used most of her strength, but it still surprised him.

"Why didn't you tell me ahead of time?!" She raged at Souei before starting to cry again. Souei stared at her in confusion and horror as she switched back and forth between yelling at the blue Kijin and crying about how happy she was they were staying. Clearly she had lost all ability to control her emotions at the moment.

Shion and Benimaru stood off to the side, laughing as Souei quickly wrapped the Kijin, who was once again crying, into his arms and tried to console her as best he could. He looked to Shion for help, completely confused as to what he should do, but it turned into a glare as Shion only laughed harder. For now, he decided to ignore Shion and pulled Kumiko even closer to him, if that was possible.

You know, I defeated more orcs than you tonight. I was counting, I beat you by at least 5 bodies. Souei quickly but gently grabbed her shoulders and pushed her out to arms length as he stared at her, shocked by her comment. She seemed surprised at the sudden movement but quickly recovered and stuck her tongue out at Souei.

I win! Kumiko declared before brushing his hands off her shoulders and latching back onto his neck.

What do you mean you win?! Souei started trying to detach her from him, but she held on tight. Shaking her head and burying her face into his shoulder.

Your horn! Your horn is stabbing me! Souei yelled at her mentally as she rubbed her face on him. She froze before an evil glint came into her eyes and she purposely used her horn and poked him in the neck. The other Kijin and Rimuru were rewarded with an amusing sight of the two fighting Kijin, though this time, they both had massive smiles on their faces.

Up Next: The Jura Forest Alliance

Chapter Text

The day after the defeat of the Demon Lord Geld, representatives of each race gathered together to discuss what would happen after the battle. The meeting was held in the Lizardmen's throne room. Rimuru sat on Shion's lap in his slime form on a bench with Souei and Kumiko to his right and Benimaru and Hakurou to his left. Shuna and Kurobe had stayed behind at the village. In front of Rimuru to the right sat a fair number of Orcs. Across from them sat Treyni, the Lizardmen and goblins.

Kumiko stood almost stiffly, as the unknown feeling came back when she spotted the chieftain's daughter enter the room, her eyes scanning the room and brightening ever so slightly when they landed on Souei. Souei's gaze didn't come close to meeting the female lizardman, nor did he make any movement to indicate even recognizing her presence, but Kumiko's unease rose despite all that. Since Kumiko and Souei had jumped in to defeat the small army that broke off in her stead, Kumiko had a growing dislike for the lizardman captain who seemingly sought out Souei. It was minute, but Kumiko always noticed it and it bothered her unbelievably so.

From beside her, Souei could feel her tension, though he didn't understand what caused it. He followed her gaze to the female lizardman, who slightly blushed when Souei's gaze landed on her, not that Souei realized. He was confused. Kumiko showed great dislike for the two siblings despite the female lizardman not having even held a full conversation with her. His gaze traveled back to Kumiko, who's anger seemed to be rising with every second that passed by.

Kumiko, calm yourself, Souei's voice rang in her head. He was facing straight ahead, but Kumiko could see him looking at her out of the corner of his eye worriedly. She said nothing in reply, but buried her rage, if only temporarily. She didn't understand it herself, but it wasn't the time to let her emotions be. This conference was to decide the fate of the Orcs and had to be taken seriously.

"Chairman Rimuru Tempest, please begin the conference," Treyni requested. Rimuru looked over at Treyni, as if wondering why she wasn't leading the meeting. Treyni said nothing and only offered him a smile.

"Uh... I've never led a meeting like this before, so it's not my strong suit," Rimuru started. "So I'll just say what's on my mind. I'd like you to save your deliberations until after that." The entire room remained silent, so Rimuru took that as a silent confirmation and continued.

"I'll start by saying this: I don't intend to charge the Orcs with any crimes." The orcs looked at each other in shock and confusion at Rimuru's declaration.

"I know this may upset the Lizardmen, who suffered the most casualties, but hear me out. The cause of all this was starvation due to a famine. Anyone, of any race, might have made the same choices under those conditions. Of course, this is just my public stance on the matter."

"Then may we hear your personal thoughts on it, as well?" the lizardmen chieftain asked. Rimuru hesitated for a second before he answered.

"I've taken all of the Orcs' sins upon myself. If anyone has a complaint, bring it up to me."

"P-Please, wait!" one of the orcs said standing up. He was the orc king's son. "Surely there is no logic to -"

"That was my promise with the Demon Lord Geld," Rimuru interrupted, silencing his protest. The orc gasped, before sitting down with his head hung. All the orcs looked morbid. They knew their actions were not easily forgiven, even if Rimuru claimed to be taking their sins.

"I see," the chieftain commented as he crossed his arms in thought. "However, I feel that answer is somewhat unfair."

Rimuru didn't have an answer to that, but Benimaru stepped up, standing slightly in front of Rimuru to address the lizardmen.

"There is one immutable rule shared among all monsters: Survival of the fittest." Benimaru stared down the lizardmen chieftain as if daring him to deny this unsaid fact. The chieftain stayed silent.

"The moment they faced each other, they were both prepared for that," Benimaru finished. With that said, he stepped back behind Rimuru.

"You guys lost your home, too. Don't you have any complaints?" Rimuru asked the Kijin. They all looked at him, though Kumiko knew he wasn't exactly addressing her. She hadn't technically been part of Benimaru's village.

"I would be lying if I said we didn't," Benimaru replied honestly, "but if it happens again, we will not disgrace ourselves a second time." Hakurou, Souei and Shion nodded their heads in agreement with Benimaru's words.

"Kumiko, do you have anything to say?" Rimuru asked, noticing that she didn't agree nor disagree.

"As Benimaru stated, this world is survival of the fittest. The strong will win and the weak will perish. Nothing has changed." Kumiko's soft chime-like voice rang through the hall calmly. No matter how many times the Kijin or Rimuru heard it, it simply eased their nerves even though she was saying such solemn words. Souei himself felt like he should've been used to it, seeing how he talked to her daily, whether through their [Thought Communication] or out loud. Yet her voice still charmed him.

"I see... That is a fair point," the chieftain accepted. "But there is one thing I must know. What will be done with the Orcs? You ave said you will not charge them with any crimes. Does that mean you intend to accept all of their survivors?" The orcs stared at Rimuru, nervously awaiting an answer while Rimuru pondered.

"Even with their numbers down, there are still 150,000 of them. That being the case... It may sound like some kind of dream, but I'm thinking we can all work together."

"Work together?" the Lizardmen chieftain echoed.

"Meaning what, exactly?" his daughter asked.

"The lizardmen will share a clean water source and fish, the goblins will offer places to live, and our town will give them processed goods." Rimuru explained. "And in return, the Orcs will contribute labor."

"All the races of the Great Forest of Jura will form an alliance and build a mutually cooperative relationship. It'd be really cool if we could create a nation where all the races could coexist!"

"A-And you're saying that we could also take part in this alliance?" the Orc asked in shock, as if not expecting this meeting to go so easily for them.

"Well, you have nowhere else to go, do you?" Rimuru asked rhetorically. "I have a place for you, so do some work. I won't tolerate slackers."

The orcs teared up, overwhelmed with the idea that Rimuru was fully pardoning them for their previous crimes. They all knelt down on both knees and bowed lowly to Rimuru.

"We will devote our lives to our work!" the orcs vowed to him with their heads bowed. Rimuru nodded, accepting that as their confirmation to enter the alliance. He turned to face the chieftain next.

"We would be honored to join forces with you," the chieftain agreed with a nod. Rimuru turned to face Treyni, who had been sitting quietly.

"Treyni-san, is that okay with you?" Rimuru asked for good measure.

"Certainly," she said while maintaining her graceful posture atop the stalagmite. "The Treants under my protection will share the bounty of the forest, as well. I believe we can alleviate the Orcs' hunger for some time."

The orcs had tears running down their faces as it finally set in that they weren't facing impending doom for their invasion just the night before. In fact, they were now entering an alliance that would solve their issues. Treyni stood up from her seat, the vines surrounding her moving as she did.

"Then, as a caretaker of the forest, I, Treyni, hereby pledge to acknowledge Rimuru-sama as the new chancellor of the Great Forest of Jura and declare the Jura Forest Alliance to be established under Chancellor Rimuru." She took a knee and bowed to Rimuru. The lizardmen, goblins and orcs followed through quickly. Rimuru felt Shion shift from under him, and he suddenly found himself sitting alone on the bench with all the Kijin also knelt down in front with their heads bowed.

"Okay, um..." Rimuru said after he recovered from his mental panicking. "I guess that's how it's gonna be, so I'm counting on all of you!"

And thus, the Jura Forest Alliance was formed.

After the meeting had come to an end, Rimuru had asked Kumiko to talk with him privately. The rest of the Kijin voiced that they would be waiting outside for the two before heading out of the cave that the Lizardmen called home.

"Kumiko," Rimuru called once it was only the two of them left.

"Yes, Rimuru-sama?" She bowed her head at the small slime who still sat atop the bench.

"How do you truly feel about the orcs and the ogres?" Kumiko flinched at the question, and hesitated before answering.

"I lost my home 10 years ago. Though their treatment of me was greatly miscommunicated, it does not change the fact that my village and I parted ways long before the Orc Lord Geld came to be. The villagers that fled to Benimaru's for refuge have been avenged already. I feel no need to pursue a trail that clearly is not connected." Kumiko paused slightly and let out a dejected sigh. "I suppose there does linger a bit of resentment, not only for the orcs, but for the ogres of my own village. However, as Benimaru stated during the meeting, this world of monsters is survival of the fittest. I proved it for myself 10 years ago. Though since I have been in both sides of the war before, I cannot definitively say whether or not I can agree wholeheartedly with your verdict."

Rimuru stared at the Kijin who remained bowed in front of him. He had been worried that Kumiko, who had been stripped of her childhood, would resent the orcs for not allowing her to meet her old villagers face to face. Thankfully, that didn't seem to be the case.

"I don't need you to wholeheartedly agree. I doubt any of the Kijin will." Rimuru jumped off the bench and made his way in front of Kumiko. She leaned down and picked him up, an action that was unlike her. Rimuru turned in her arms and looked up at her over her breasts. It was a different feeling than Shion, who normally had her cleavage exposed. Granted, Rimuru would bet that if she wore the clothes Shion wore, Souei would either melt or kill every male in the area, monster or not. Despite how the two acted, they truly were the most oblivious pair that Rimuru had ever seen as both a human and a slime.

Kumiko picked up her staff that was against the wall, hugging Rimuru slightly to her chest as she held him with one arm. Since Demon Lord Geld had been defeated, she had taken the plating of her outfit off, leaving a black, long sleeved turtleneck with a corset and a tailpiece, brown elbow-length leather gloves, grey shorts that ended at mid-thigh, and black knee high socks with light grey accents paired with a pair of black, low-heeled boots. That being said, she was very hard to spot in the shadows, even without her [Presence Obscure].

With long strides, Kumiko walked out of the throne room and down the tunnel that led to the outside. As they walked, they heard the voice of the orc call out to the kijin. Kumiko didn't want to disturb them, knowing it was a conversation that had to be had, so she used [Presence Obscure] around both her and Rimuru.

"Even in the name of survival of the fittest, hate is not a thing that can be resolved so easily," the orc solemnly declared to the Kijin. He dropped to his hands and knees in front of Benimaru. "For what we did to your village... I cannot apologize enough. I realize this is a selfish request... but please, take my head as penance and have mercy on the other!"

The orcs labored breath was all that was heard in the tunnel as the Kijin all stared down at him in silence. It was clear that Benimaru had considered the offer, even if only for a split second.

"After the battle, we told Rimuru-Sama that we wished to continue serving him, and he gave us official titles." Benimaru told the orc with a flat tone.

"I am a Samurai, bodyguard to Rimuru-sama. I'm also his secretary," Shion introduced herself proudly.

"Hakurou is an Instructor, and Souei and Kumiko are Spies," Benimaru continued as if Shion hadn't interrupted him at all. "Shuna and Kurobe, who remained in the village, have titles as well. And I received the title of Samurai General."

Benimaru stared down at the orc, who still had his head bowed to the Kijin, though none of the Kijin had any intent to behead the pig.

"This puts me in charge of military affairs. And now that I'm in this position, I can't very well rob us of a capable fighter, now, can I?"

The orc gasped and raised his head at Benimaru's words. Not only had Benimaru refused to kill him, he had praised his battle prowess. The Kijin said nothing more as they turned to walk out of the cavern. Right as they were about to exit, Benimaru stopped and addressed the orc one last time without turning back.

"I will show no mercy to any who do wrong to Rimuru-sama, but if you join the alliance and revere him as your chancellor, we are not enemies."

"I wouldn't dream of doing him wrong!" the orc vowed. "He saved all of us. I wish only to serve him. I could never bear him ill will!"

"Then we are fellow servants under the same master," Benimaru concluded easily. He turned around to look at the orc with a cool smile. "Do your best to be useful to Rimuru-sama. I'll accept that as your apology."

With that, the Kijin made their exit. Kumiko and Rimuru both remained hidden under her [Presence Obscure] as she silently took steps to follow the rest of the Kijin out. The orc stood up, bowing his head.

"I swear on the name of my father King Geld," he said as Kumiko and Rimuru slipped past him and out the cave.

Kumiko made her way out of the cave undetected with Rimuru. As they walked out, Kumiko was about to dispel her skill and head over to the rest of the Kijin to hand Rimuru over to Shion when she was stopped in her tracks. Rimuru looked up, confused, but quickly figured out the situation. The lizardman chieftains daughter had found her way to Souei, who was sitting atop a small rock waiting for Kumiko and Rimuru. The rest of the kijin stood closeby, though seemingly anxious about something.

Kumiko still couldn't name the feeling that coursed through her veins at the moment, but she knew she didn't like it. Souei, being the oblivious kijin that he was, was his usual stoic self and allowed the female lizardman to talk. He barely paid her any mind, but maintained a light conversation worthy of an envoy. He talked to simply ensure that she wouldn't regret agreeing to the alliance with her father. Kumiko watched, her anger rising, as the female lizardman laid a light hand on Souei's shoulder, her tail swaying ever so slightly behind her. A blush adorned the lizardman's face as she continued talking with Souei. Souei looked down at the hand on his shoulder, but forced himself to ignore the small feeling of discomfort by telling himself he was entertaining her for the betterment of their nations. The lizardman guard thought different, and her expression brightened at the fact that he didn't brush her off.

OI! BENIMARU! Rimuru called desperately to Benimaru telepathically. Benimaru jumped up as his position and stiffened. The other Kijin eyed him weirdly. Get Souei away from her! We both know he's just being diplomatic, but if you don't separate them Kumiko's going to squeeze the slime out of me!

It was true, as Kumiko's rage meant that not only did her scythe start coating over with ice, the hand that held Rimuru was squeezing him tighter and tighter. Benimaru paled at Rimuru's order and quickly turned around to Souei.

"Rimuru-sama is waiting for us," Benimaru announced to the Kijin while sweating ever so slightly and pulling Souei off the rock and away from the lizardman's hands. "I do apologize for interrupting your conversation. Perhaps another day." With that, Benimaru ushered a confused Souei away from the female lizardman, who stared at Souei longingly. Kumiko didn't miss the look and Rimuru felt her nails dig into his side.

"Oi, Souei!" Benimaru scolded in a whisper once they were a fair distance away from the lizardman. Souei only stared at Benimaru blankly. "If you want to live, I suggest you stay away from that female lizardman guard."

"And why is that?" Souei asked in reply, confused. Benimaru stared at him incredulously, as if asking if Souei was asking the question seriously. Souei only stared back blankly.

"Kumiko doesn't like her, and until you figure out why and solve it, you better stay away if you value your life." Benimaru looked up and paled significantly, seeing Kumiko making her way over with a leaking Rimuru. Her nails had punctured his side and he was now dripping slime with each step she took closer. She didn't seem to realize as a dark aura hung around her head. Benimaru couldn't help but notice that there was a large pool right outside the entrance to the Lizardmen's home, meaning that Kumiko must've been standing there a while in her rage while hiding her presence. She quickly handed Rimuru over to Benimaru, using her [Aqueous Manipulation] to bring all the drops of slime that had trailed behind back to Rimuru once she had noticed the puncture wound.

Souei was greatly confused as to why Benimaru was panicking so much about him talking to the lizardman chieftains daughter. Was he not just maintaining a diplomatic relationship with the lizardmen? Not only that, but he was unsure as to how him living and Kumiko's dislike for the guard were related.

Kumiko took a glance behind Souei, only to have her anger rise as she noticed that that lizardman was still staring at Souei's back with longing. Her eyes narrowed on the lizard who paid her no attention and continued to seemingly beg for Souei to turn around. Souei made a movement to turn back to see what had caught Kumiko's attention, to which the lizard visibly brightened at, when Kumiko suddenly grabbed his wrist, forcing him to activate his [Shadow Movement] at the same time she did and the two disappeared. The lizard in the distance visibly deflated as Rimuru and Benimaru both let out a sigh of relief. They were safe from Kumiko's jealousy, though they couldn't say the same for Souei.

~~~

Souei stumbled slightly as Kumiko and him appeared in the forest just outside the village. Before he could say anything, Kumiko's arms circled around his sides and locked him in a hug. Her scythe was closed, gripped tightly in her hands as the icy swirls began subsiding. Souei's arms reflexively wrapped around her and he pulled her closer. Had anyone else seen the two, they would've automatically assumed there was something more than just friendly between them, but being as dense as they were, they simply thought nothing of their actions.

"Why are you so upset?" Souei asked as she laid her head on his shoulder, careful not to stab him with her horns this time.

"I don't know," she said honestly, not moving from her position. Souei remained silent, allowing her to think as he tightened his arms around her in a silent form of comfort. He turned his head slightly and leaned down just a bit to rest his own head in the curve of her neck.

"I don't like that lizard..." Kumiko finally said after another few moments of silence. Her voice was muffled since her voice was pressed against his shoulder. "... I don't like seeing you with her... Will you always stay with me?"

"If that is what you want," Souei agreed as he felt her arms tighten around him. He didn't quite get it still, but he would follow as she asked and avoid the other lizardman guard to keep Kumiko happy. Kumiko nuzzled her head in his shoulder, her horns ever so slightly brushing his neck. He let her do as she wished as he kept his arms tight around her.

With each second that passed in their embrace, Kumiko relaxed until she finally suppressed this feeling inside. She didn't know how to exactly describe it, but she knew it only surfaced when that female lizardman guard was around Souei; She didn't feel this same rage and discomfort when Shion or Shuna were around him. Her arms slowly relaxed around Souei, and once she had calmed down, he gripped her shoulders gently and pushed them apart just a bit so he could see her face, though she kept her arms wrapped around him loosely.

Golden and blue met as they stared at each other. Kumiko's face that was once marred with anger was now relaxed as she looked up at Souei innocently. He couldn't help but think to himself that Kumiko truly was beautiful, with her black hair untied and reaching her mid back and the small braid behind her left ear. His hand reached up and gently brushed a few stray strands of hair out of her face, both their cheeks flushing almost unnoticeably as his hand grazed her cheek with the motion.

Souei's hand trailed up to her horn and lightly ran his hand over it as she leaned in slightly and closed her eyes, enjoying the gesture. He thought back to the conversation he had with Benimaru about how Kumiko didn't let anyone else touch her horns. In that moment, he wanted to wholeheartedly believe in Benimaru's words because all that was going through his mind was that he didn't want to share this side of Kumiko with anyone, not even Benimaru.

~~~

"Shuna," Kumiko greeted as she walked into Shuna's workshop. The pink princess was sitting at her loom, like she usually was. Shuna looked up and gave Kumiko a smile.

"Kumiko! Welcome back! Where's Rimuru-sama?"

"Rimuru-sama is still back at the Lizardmen's home, taking care of some last minute details." Kumiko hesitated. "I have something to ask you, Shuna."

Shuna looked over at Kumiko, noticing that the normally confident Kijin was looking off to the side, unsure and vulnerable. Quickly pulling Kumiko to one of the small tables that were set around her workshop, she had Kumiko sit across from her. Shuna put her elbows on the table and her head in her hands as she stared at the other female with an expecting smile. Kumiko fidgeted in her seat before sighing and began trying to form her words.

"On the battlefield, there was this feeling. I-It resurfaced after, but it was only around one person. I didn't like this feeling. It made me feel like I had no control over my emotions, and it was only when certain people were present..."

"Who are these people?" Shuna asked curiously. Kumiko stayed silent for a bit, her cheeks flushing a very slight red. Kumiko clearly didn't notice her physical reaction, but Shuna did and her interest was piqued.

"Souei and the lizardmen chieftain's daughter..." Kumiko stared down in her lap and twiddled her thumbs as Shuna just smiled wider at her. This was a side Shuna had never seen before, and she couldn't help but enjoy seeing this uneasy, jealous part of Kumiko.

"I- I mean, she's our ally, and she's done nothing to make me resent her. In fact both those lizardmen siblings get on my nerves. That Gabiru might be asking for it, but even I know that my annoyance towards the chieftain's daughter is uncalled for. However, it was uncontrollable whenever I saw the two of them together, and even worse when she touched him." Shuna's eyes widened for a second, before she smirked knowingly and leaned in further, excited to hear more from the panicked and rambling Kijin.

"I mean, I met her before when Souei and I traveled as Rimuru-sama's messengers to the chieftain's home and I felt nothing. However, when we went to fight and we saved her from the orc army, Souei was holding her in his arms since she was fatally injured and since then I've had this feeling of hate for her. It's unreasonable, I know, but I don't know why I feel like this. It feels like it's going to tear me from the inside out if Souei stays near her too long with her touching and swaying tail and wandering eyes. What does she want with Souei? Why do I not want her near Souei? As our allies, it is best to keep good relations, but why -"

Kumiko's rambling was cut short as Shuna rose from her seat slightly to lean over and place a gentle hand on her shoulder, smiling gently with a hint of amusement in her expression.

"You're jealous, Kumiko."

"Jealous?" Kumiko echoed, confused. "Why am I jealous?"

Shuna giggled, sitting back down as she tried to think of a way to tell Kumiko why without telling her outright her own feelings.

"You don't want to share Souei, do you? At least, not with the lizardmen chieftain's daughter." Shuna suppressed a giggle as Kumiko tilted her head in confusion.

"But why do I not want to share Souei? Souei's not an object to possess, so why does it matter if I want to share or not?"

"That's something you're going to have to figure out yourself, Kumiko," Shuna sighed as she stood up and walked up to Kumiko. She's heard Benimaru's rants about how jealous Souei got at the mention of him touching Kumiko, and now she was hearing Kumiko's side of how jealous she got. At this point, even she couldn't understand how these two Kijin didn't see the other's feelings.

"You're not the only one that feels that way though, so don't worry," Shuna reassured her with a light pat on the head. At times like this, Kumiko seemed so innocent despite all that she had been through. Kumiko nodded slowly, still deep in thought at Shuna's words. Jealousy...

~~~

It took Rimuru ten days to return to the village as he spent that time in the marshlands naming all the orcs. The new leader was named Geld, after his father, and was promoted to Orc King. The lizardman chieftain was also named 'Abiru,' based off of his son's name 'Gabiru.' Needless to say, after ten days, Rimuru was rushed back by Shion to the village to recover in the comfort of his home.

While he was gone for the ten days, he sent Benimaru and Hakurou back to the village with Souei and Kumiko to keep things running in his absence. It was fairly easy, with Kumiko already used to help keep the growing village busy with tasks. The only difference was that Souei was almost stuck to her side, as she was to his. Where Kumiko was, Souei was sure to be nearby. Benimaru could only guess what happened when Kumiko had dragged Souei away, but he could see that the issue had only been temporarily resolved due to their distance from the chieftain's daughter. These two oblivious, flirty Kijin...

Benimaru almost wanted to run back to the marshland and ask Rimuru to assign him a task away from the two flirts. It had almost gotten worse since their disappearance from the marshland. The two fought left and right, as they always did, but the difference was in their actions. Whether it was Kumiko hanging onto Souei's neck from behind as Souei attempted to stop her from choking him, or Souei tossing a reluctant Kumiko over his shoulder to keep her running the village and not scouting, the two sure were more hands on than they were before.

At one point, Benimaru decided to forcibly separate the two at the risk of his own life, courtesy of Souei and his death glare. He had told them to scout out opposite sides of the village, and as the unofficial Kijin leader, the two obeyed, albeit reluctantly. As the two disappeared, he realized shortly that he needed Kumiko's [Unrivaled Strategy] and so he set off to find her. He searched the forest until he heard her voice, but considering that they were mostly silent when scouting, Benimaru was curious as to who she was talking to. He hid as best he could and looked out to see Kumiko chatting with a familiar blue Kijin.

It turns out that Souei had sent his doubles out, but the actual Kijin was, once again, flirting with the female. He was using his [Shadow Movement] to purposely get in Kumiko's way as she walked, smiling innocently at her as she tried to get around him. When she would in turn, use her [Shadow Movement], he would follow, predicting her locations pretty accurately, and causing her stop in her tracks and giggle. From that moment on, Benimaru gave up on separating the two.

~~~

Three months after the defeat of the Orc Lord, the High Orcs that had evolved from the Orcs were learning new skills in no time, under Kaijin's instruction, and had become a dependable work force. Houses had finished being built out of both brick and wood, and the roads were being laid out. Tools and clothes were secured in the village thanks to Kurobe and Shuna. Rimuru had also explained to the village the necessity of an aqueduct, to which the dwarves agreed to build quickly. This led to Rimuru requesting for flushing toilets and a bath with both a water and a sewage system. Truly the village was beginning to look more like a town than ever.

Kumiko and Souei were out scouting, though this time they were seriously performing their task. Despite how they acted around each other, they knew when was the time to efficiently and thoroughly do their tasks. Souei was currently perched on the point of one of the trees while Kumiko was scouting from below. Souei narrowed his eyes as a line of black specks appeared in the sky, heading towards the village.

Kumiko, come up here for a second. Without a reply, Kumiko appeared on the top of one of the trees next to Souei. The two of them had evolved their [Shadow Movement] to [Spacial Travel], allowing them to travel to any location they had been before.

What is it? She asked telepathically.

What do you make of that? Souei pointed into the distance, where the image of winged horses became clearer and clearer. Kumiko narrowed her eyes as she recognized them from stories Kaijin told her.

Those are the royal guards from Dwargon, Kumiko named. We need to report immediately. With that, the two of them disappeared from the tops of the trees.

Rimuru was standing on a hill, surveying the city when he felt the familiar presence of Kumiko and Souei. He turned back to see them appear under the tree, both of them knelt down on one knee with their heads bowed.

"Rimuru-sama, we have an emergency," Souei immediately said in his usually stoic tone. "Several hundred pegasus-mounted knights are heading this way."

"What?" Rimuru said surprised.

"Kaijin has told me that the winged horses are mounts of the Royal Army, controlled by Gazel Dwargo, the dwarf king, himself," Kumiko added. Rimuru took a second to think.

"We'll go meet them at the border of the village with Shion, Benimaru, Rigur and Rigurd," Rimuru declared. Ranga howled, and quickly made his way to the village. Kumiko and Souei used [Spacial Travel] to meet Rimuru in the center.

Quickly gathering Benimaru, Hakurou, Shion, Rigur and Rigurd, the group ran towards the border, their eyes trained on the pegasus army that grew closer and closer with each second that passed by. Kaijin, who overheard that the Royal Army was on its way, ran behind them, panting as he tried to keep up.

Once they reached the edge of the village by the forest line, the entire group stopped, with Shion holding onto Rimuru. As always, Souei was a step in front of Kumiko. They all stared up at the army, who noticed their group and circled them from the air like vultures. Kumiko held her breath slightly, hoping that this wouldn't become a second war.

"Rimuru-sama, what shall we do?" Benimaru asked, staring up at the approaching hero king.

"I'd rather avoid fighting if possible..." Rimuru trailed off.

"It's no problem. We can just knock them all away." Shion assured with a large smile. Rimuru sighed at Shion.

"If it comes down to a fight, evacuate the townsfolk," Rimuru commanded, mostly addressing Rigur and Rigurd. "The Kijin and I will buy time until then."

The Kijin all nodded at Rimuru, accepting their orders as the knights continued to circle them from above. For now, they wouldn't draw their blades in hopes that they don't come off as too aggressive towards the king.

Finally, the winged horses stopped circling, landing behind the hero king himself. Kaijin ran up to the front of the group, quickly kneeling down on one knee as Gazel Dwargo jumped off his pegasus.

"It is a pleasure to see you again," Kaijin said while still kneeling.

"It's been a long time, Kaijin," the hero king replied, turning to face the group. Rimuru hopped out of Shion's grasp and moved to the front of the group. The Kijin remained where they were, but they visibly tensed as Rimuru made his way up.

"You are the slime?" the king asked, staring Rimuru down.

"I'll introduce myself first," Rimuru said as he faced Gazel without any fear. "My name is Rimuru. I'm a slime, but I'd rather you didn't call me that. I am the chancellor of the Jura Forest Alliance, after all." Rimuru used his [Mimic] to change into his human form, Shizu's mask on the left side of his head.

"This isn't really my true form, but it's easier to talk to me this way, right?" Rimuru spread his arms open, showing that he was peaceful. "So... why are you here?"

"I'll get right to the point," Gazel replied without hesitating. "Rimuru, I've come to see what you truly are. I will expose your true nature with my sword!"

Gazel put a heavy hand on the hilt of his sword, causing the Kijin behind Rimuru to tense and spread their feet, preparing to jump in as needed. Their blades weren't drawn, but anyone who had seen them in battle knew that it wouldn't even take a second for their enemies to be faced with the sharp edge of the blades, whether or not they had them out.

"Since you boasted of being the chancellor of this forest, it seems I must teach you, exactly, where you stand! If that sword is more than mere decoration, you would do well to accept my proposal." Gazel and Rimuru both put their hands on the hilts of their sword

"Your Majesty, are you..." one of the guards behind him trailed off.

"An earnest battle is the quickest way to settle this, is it not?"

"All right, then. I accept," Rimuru said, determination clear in his tone. "I'll make you regret accusing me of boasting."

I will be fighting this fight alone, the kijin heard Rimuru's voice in their head, commanding them to remain peaceful. They accepted, though their stance was still defensive at best.

Rimuru and Gazel drew their swords, holding the blades out towards the other, staring the other down. Gazel was at least half a person taller than Rimuru, but the slime wasn't intimidated. Their blades were equally sharp, the sun reflecting off the edge making it seem all the more dangerous.

"If you can defend against my entire chain of attacks, you win." Gazel stared at Rimuru, his blade moving ever so slightly as he talked, causing the sun to reflect off the tip of the blade in a small spark of light. "However, I suggest you do not underestimate the sword skill of Master Swordsman Gazel Dwargo."

"Fine," Rimuru agreed. Wind blew through the clearing from the left of Rimuru, and a new presence appeared. Treyni, the dryad, had been watching from the sidelines and decided to serve as witness to this contest between Rimuru and Gazel. Gazel stared at her in surprise, before understanding what her presence meant. He turned back to Rimuru and raised an amused eyebrow.

"I willingly apologize for accusing you of boasting," he said, his blade still held in front of him. "I have a vague understanding of the circumstances now. But that is a separate matter from judging your true nature."

Gazel adjusted his blade in his grip, lining the blade's edge with Rimuru's form.

"Now that we have a witness, all that remains is to cross swords!" Gazel declared. Rimuru readied his own blade.

"Yeah, I guess so. I'll win this in no time and make you explain what's going on here." Gazel laughed at Rimuru's declaration.

"If you manage to defeat me, you will have your answer."

The two of them fell into silence as the stared each other down. Their swords were held in both hands in front of them. Their posture was mirrored, though Rimuru was significantly dwarfed by the king. Despite being a 'dwarf' himself, the King didn't look like the shorter, stout dwarves that resided in Rimuru's village.

Treyni stood between the two, glancing at both sides before allowing the battle to commence. Immediately, Rimuru rushed forward, his blade swinging horizontally as Gazel blocked his strike easily with his own blade. Rimuru jumped back, using his size and speed to his advantage as he dodged to the side and ran forward, charging at the dwarf king. The king used his blade to deflect Rimuru's before launching Rimuru back with a push. Rimuru flipped back, landing easily on his feet in a squat with his blade still held out in front of him. The rest of the Kijin gasped in shock at how easily Gazel repelled Rimuru.

"Is that all the strength you have, Rimuru?" Gazel taunted him with a smirk.

"Quiet! I just haven't started taking this seriously yet," Rimuru refuted as he stood up. "Don't rush me."

This time, it was Gazel to charge forward. With a heavy step, he lifted his sword blade high above his head, using his larger mass to put more strength into the swing. The sword clashed with Rimuru's sending the smaller slime skidding back from the force of the attack, though the slime's stance didn't falter. Gazel smirked, holding his blade to his right, pointing vertically up into the sky.

The Benimaru, Shion, Souei, Kumiko and Rimuru all stared at the stance. That stance was...! The kijin all turned to look at Hakurou, who looked back at them and offered them a seemingly innocent smile that said he had nothing to do with this.

"Here I come, Rimuru!" Gazel declared "[Haze: Thunder of Heaven and Earth]!"

Gazel disappeared in a flash as Rimuru glanced around. A blade came from below as Rimuru barely dodged back, feeling the blade skim his bangs.

The next strike is coming... from above! Rimuru quickly held his blade over his head horizontally, his left hand gripping the hilt and his right hand supporting the flat edge of the blade. Had he not successfully stopped it, Gazel's blade would've sliced him in half. The metals sparked against each other as a clear ring from the strike washed over the clearing. Silence followed as both sides of spectators stared in shock. Gazel stared at Rimuru before laughing and withdrawing the pressure his blade.

"You managed to stop my strike!" Gazel said joyfully.

"Eh?" Rimuru was confused at his reaction.

"Enough," Treyni intervened as she raised her left hand, the hand on the side of Rimuru. "The winner is Rimuru Tempest."

Gazel lifted his blade, bringing it back into it sheath.

"I understand now after crossing swords with you. You are not an evil being," Gazel concluded.

The Kijin and Ranga in the background nodded in agreement while Rimuru just sighed.

"What the hell?" Rimuru breathed out, his posture relaxing.

"I am impressed you saw through my [Haze: Thunder of Heaven and Earth]," Gazel complimented. He placed a large hand on Rimuru's shoulder. "Well done, Rimuru."

"Oh, that was just a coincidence," Rimuru explained, a bit shy at the praise of the hero king. "My master used that move, so I dealt with it a lot in training. That's all, really."

"What? Could it be your master was..." Gazel trailed off as Hakurou took a few steps forward. Gazel was shocked silent as Hakurou laughed.

"Excellent work, Rimuru-sama," Hakurou said.

"The Savant!" Gazel's voice held a tone of admiration for Hakurou. Hakurou looked over to the dwarf king, recognition clear in his eyes.

"You no longer look like the little boy I found lost in the forest." Hakurou smiled at Gazel proudly before stepping back and bowing his head. "Ah... Forgive me, Dwarf King. I am overjoyed to see that you have surpassed me with the sword."

"What an honor to hear you say that," Gazel replied sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. The rest of the Kijin stared with smiles that said they should've known this was coming.

~~~

Later that night, a feast had been prepared in honor of the dwarf king. Alcohol was served to the Kijin, Kaijin, Rigurd and Rigur while Rimuru, the Dwarf King and the head of the Royal Guards talked. The Kijin, except Shuna and Hakurou, had slight red tinges to their cheeks as they happily consumed the alcohol. Kaijin, Rigur and Rigurd too were getting more and more drunk as the night passed. Kurobe had managed to excuse himself from the mess. He was smart, knowing that a group of drunk Kijin sure were to be a handful.

The Kijin were quick to figure out that Kumiko was very good at drinking and could maintain a dignified, graceful appearance through her drunkenness. And so, courtesy of being her friends, Shion and Shuna made it their goal to get her drunk to the point that she would drop this facade. Kumiko, who originally was sat by Souei was dragged into the seat between Shion and Shuna against her will and fed cup after cup of alcohol.

Shuna had went ahead and told Shion everything Kumiko had ranted to her about, knowing that had Shion not been with Rimuru, Kumiko would've included Shion in the talk they had. They were hoping that if Kumiko was drunk enough, she might ramble more and talk more about her feelings.

Souei sat calmly where he was, despite Kumiko having been dragged away. Benimaru scooted closer to Souei, clearly drunk, and began to prod at Souei to talk about his feelings for Kumiko. Souei, despite being tipsy, didn't budge.

"If you don't talk to me, I'm going to go hug Kumiko!" Benimaru threatened in his drunken state. Souei flinched, but didn't move from his spot. Benimaru stood, about to go do as he threatened, forgetting in his alcoholic state that he could possibly be murdered by Souei for touching Kumiko. As he stood up on slightly wobbly feet due to the alcohol coursing through his veins, he felt a hand grip his ankle tightly. He followed the hand up to find Souei glaring at him with as much killing intent as he could manage in his own state.

"Leave her alone," he stated simply, yet his tone was quite deadly. Benimaru smirked and sat back down, looking at Souei expectantly.

"So tell me."

"Tell you what?"

"What do you feel about Kumiko?"

Souei stayed silent and sipped on his alcohol. He wasn't sure how to describe it.

"I'll go hug her," Benimaru threatened again when Souei didn't answer. Souei glared at Benimaru before sighing and answering in a low voice, his eyes flickering to Kumiko every so often to make sure she wasn't listening in. Thankfully, she seemed too preoccupied with Shion and Shuna.

"I can't describe it nor can I define it, but I want her beside me everyday. I want her to show me the sides of her that she hides from others and to rely on me. I want to be selfish and keep her for myself." Souei rambled slightly in his drunken state. He trailed off at the end, before turning to glare at Benimaru. Benimaru stared at him innocently.

"What else~?" Benimaru prodded as he inched closer and closer to Souei.

"I want to keep her away from you," he said as he pushed Benimaru's head away with his palm.

Meanwhile, Shion and Shuna were still trying to break Kumiko's facade. Her face was incredibly flushed red, but she remained sitting upright, her eyes closed as she calmly drank each cup that Shion and Shuna poured for her. In reality however, she was heavily drunk to the point where she couldn't stand.

"Have you any interest in entering a treaty with me?" Despite all the ruckus, everyone heard Gazel's offer to Rimuru and the room immediately quieted down.

"If you were to gain control of everything in this vast forest," Gazel continued, "you could obtain wealth and power surpassing my own nation. It would serve you well to have another nation supporting you at such a time."

"That would be fantastic, but..." Rimuru trailed off, looking at all the red-faced Kijin, goblins and dwarf. They all stared back at him, listening intently for his decision.

"Are you sure?" Rimuru asked Gazel for good measure. "That would be the same as acknowledging our gather of monsters as its own nation."

"Of course," Gazel replied easily. "And this deal would benefit us, as well. Both sides stand to profit."

"I guess I have no reason to refuse, then," Rimuru sighed. He sat up and looked Gazel Dwargo right in the eyes. "I gladly accept."

"Good," Gazel nodded. "And what is the name of your nation?" Rimuru stared back at Gazel, who waited for his reply. Rimuru quickly averted his eyes and tried to think of something quick

Um.. If I take one from 'Forest of Jura' and 'Rimuru Tempest'...

"The Jura Tempest Federation!" Rimuru announced.

The Kijin stood up, as best as they could in their mostly drunken state. They were followed by Rigurd, Rigur and Kaijin, who were also fairly drunk.

"That's our Rimuru-sama!" Shion cheered.

"Then our nation shall be called the Jura Tempest Federation, and this town shall be called Rimuru!" Rigurd declared with finality. Rimuru flinched back in shock.

"Huh?!"

"Capital City Rimuru!" Rigurd declared again.

"Hang on,that's kinda embarrassi-" Rimuru was interrupted by the Kijin, who were quick to agree with Rigurd.

"Capital City Rimuru!" Shion echoed with stars in her eyes. "No other name would do!"

"I agree," Benimaru added, still holding two cuts of liquor in his hands. "It's a perfect name for our town."

"It would seem that this is settled," Gazel said as he stood up from the ground. He held out his hand for Rimuru to shake, to which Rimuru gladly obliged. The rest of the group stood behind, clapping at the new alliance between the Jura Tempest Federation and the Armed Nation of Dwargon.

As the gathering ended, the kijin, once again not including Shuna and Hakurou, were considerably drunk, Shion and Shuna had managed to get Kumiko up on her feet, though she was extremely unstable and giggly. Since Shion was equally as drunk as Kumiko, the two of them leaned on each other while Shuna tried to get them to walk. While Rigurd and Rigur were cleaning up the meeting room, the Kijin were trying to get their drunken selves out of the way.

"Souei~!" Kumiko called happily as she turned around in Shion's grasp and saw Souei standing with Benimaru. She wriggled her way around Shion and tried making her way over to Souei. Due to her surprising ability to mask her emotions even drunk, Shion and Kumiko had drank appoximately half the alcohol that was brought into the room. It was safe to say that the two were extremely, extremely drunk. Souei on the other hand was still fairly capable of holding himself together, despite having a few cups himself. Benimaru was a bit more drunk than Souei.

Despite Souei being only a few steps away, she stumbled back and forth unable to make her way over in just a few steps. She tripped over herself and Souei quickly jumped forward to catch her before she fell and hit her head.

"Souei~!" She cheered again, his name being slurred by her drunken state. He managed to get her back on her feet as she wrapped her arms around his neck and rubbed the side of her head and horn against his shoulder. The rest of the Kijin smirked at Souei, who glared back at them. It was Shion and Shuna's fault for making her drink this much.

"We'll leave it to you to get her to bed safely," Shuna said, a pleasant smile on her face as she supported Shion out the door. Shion was just another giggling mess. Benimaru smirked at Souei before following the two girls. Hakurou had been long gone.

Souei sighed as he looked down at Kumiko, who smiled up at him with a bright smile and a giggle. Despite being drunk to the point she couldn't even walk, Souei found himself slightly smiling back at her. He supposed he didn't mind that they had left Kumiko with him. With her still hanging onto his neck, the blue Kijin scooped Kumiko up in his arms in a bridal carry, the girl squealing at the sudden movement before bursting out in laughter. He bowed to Rimuru, who was watching the entire exchange in amusement before using his [Spacial Travel] to take them to Kumiko's room.

Since he was fairly drunk himself, his steps were slow and a bit uneasy as he managed to get the childish Kumiko into her room and laying on her bed. He brought a cup of water to place beside her.

"Souei~ Stay with me~" Kumiko slurred out as she latched her arms around him and pulled him down slightly so he was face to face with her.

"Kumiko!" Souei protested as he tried to detach her. "You need to rest!"

Kumiko pouted as she stared at him, her golden eyes a big foggy due to the alcohol. She then smiled a wide smile before leaning forward and kissing Souei right on the lips.

"I love you, Souei~!" She cheered while Souei stared at her, his cheeks flushing more red than ever and stiff with shock.

What?

Up next: Demon Lord Milim Attacks

Chapter Text

Souei stared straight at Kumiko, his blue eyes wide and cheeks flushed. Kumiko still had her hands wrapped around his neck as she happily stared back. Kumiko had sat up straight on her bed, her legs tucked under her. The struggle Souei put up to get out of her grasp had ceased, and he simply stood there in shock, slightly bent down since Kumiko was pulling him towards her.

"W-What?" His mind had fried with her simple sentence, and he couldn't comprehend anything at the moment. In his shock, he snapped out of his drunken haze and stared to sober up.

"I love you!" Kumiko repeated again with a bright smile on her face. She pulled Souei into a hug, nuzzling her head against his shoulder, her horns ever so slightly poking him. Reflexively, his own arms wrapped around to the small of her back, but his head was still swimming.

Kumiko rubbed her face back and forth on his shirt before she froze, and then pushed Souei off of her, albeit very lightly. Souei leaned back slightly, his hand still locked behind her back as her hand came between the two, pointing up at Souei from under his chin and glaring at him.

"You! I don't like that chieftain's daughter. She's not allowed to touch you!" Kumiko paused in the middle of her sentence, and then her expression morphed into hurt as tears formed at the corner of her eyes before she started crying.

"... but you let her touch you!" Kumiko complained, using her head to hit against Souei's shoulder.

"Kumiko, your horns!" Souei quickly let go of the hug, gently stopping her from hitting her head on him by holding her face by her cheeks. They were heated, though Souei wasn't sure if it was the alcohol or if she was blushing from their conversation like he was. She puffed her cheeks at being stopped.

"You're still upset about the lizardman guard?" Souei voiced in confusion. The two of them hadn't had any close interaction with the lizardmen in three months. Even if the two of them followed Rimuru during his diplomatic trips to the marshlands, they stayed a fair distance away or scouted the area. Since that day when Kumiko had forced him to use [Shadow Movement], he would disappear or make an excuse to try to stay out of the marshland. He hadn't ever fully understood, but wanting to keep Kumiko happy was enough for him to obey.

"Of course I am! Every time we go to the marshlands, even if we stay away, she's always looking for you and trying to get you to look at her. When you're not there, she asks for you with that stupid blush on her face. She can't have you!" Kumiko continued crying uncontrollably, the alcohol she drank impairing any ability for her to manage her emotions and stop running her mouth. Souei sighed, finally understanding her anger towards the female lizardman and using his thumbs to slightly wipe away her tears before sitting down on the side of her bed. As he settled, he gently pulled Kumiko in his lap, her legs slung across him as he pressed her head against him and leaned his own head on hers. Her own hands laid limp in her lap as her cries died down to hiccups.

As they sat there in silence, save for Kumiko's hiccupping, Kumiko began to sober up. Her cheeks flamed more, if that was possible, as she realized what she was saying, and the position she found herself in, but she closed her eyes and calmed herself. It was a shame she only realized her feelings while drunk, but since they were here now, she would spill it all to him without holding back; she would tell him the feelings she denied because she didn't understand and the feelings she suppressed inside of her because it bared her heart. Souei looked down slightly, seeing that her golden eyes were clear, indicating that, while still somewhat drunk, she had full control over herself and her emotions. He said nothing and simply tightened his arms around her, pressing her further into him.

"Shuna told me this was jealousy; not liking her because she wanted to be close to you that is," Kumiko said after a few moments as the hiccuping died down. Souei hummed, telling her that he was listening as he continued holding her. "I felt it when we fought that branch of the Orc Army for her. You held her in your arms and you didn't even look at me. I got mad, but I didn't understand. I wanted to yell at you, but I didn't know why, and so I tried my best to ignore you instead."

Souei hummed as she talked. So that was why she was mad at that time. Despite how unreasonable this 'jealousy' was, Souei couldn't help that he enjoyed hearing that that side of her existed. He wanted her to be selfish with him, to keep him by her side. He wanted her to be his, as much as she wanted him to be hers.

"I don't want to share you with her. I want to see you smile and laugh like you always do around me, but I don't want you to smile and laugh with her. I want to be selfish and keep you all to myself." Kumiko's confession reminded him of his own to Benimaru just a few hours ago. He wants her to show him sides of her that she hides. He wants her to rely on him. He wants to be selfish and keep her all to himself.

"Souei, Shuna told me to figure out myself why I'm jealous, and I have. I'm jealous because I love you and I don't want to let you go. I want you to stay with me." Kumiko yawned as she spoke, the energy from the alcohol wearing off. He nodded, his head lightly leaning against her own, carefully avoiding her horns.

"If I fall asleep, will you stay or leave?"

"I will stay if you want me to."

"Can you stay with me? I'm scared I'll have dreams of you walking away with that damned lizard..." Souei let out a small laugh, nodding his head.

"I'll stay with you," he promised.

"Souei, I love you," Kumiko said, her voice almost in a whisper as she tried to keep herself awake.

"I love you, Kumiko. Now rest."

Kumiko smiled slightly, her head still resting against him. Eventually, her breathing evened out and her entire body relaxed completely. Her head shifted slightly backwards and Souei quickly adjusted the hand that had been at her back to her head, making sure she didn't fall back. He lightly smiled at her peaceful, sleeping face that was still slightly red from both the alcohol and their conversation.

Looping his other arm under her knees, he picked her up in a bridal carry before he stood up off the bed. With gentle movements to make sure he didn't wake her up, he threw her blankets slightly off to the side before placing Kumiko down in the center. Brushing a few strands of stray hair away, he used his palm to wipe away the remaining tears and their tracks from her cheek.

As Souei stared down at her, he activated his [Body Double] skill, and six clones of him appeared behind him. Without so much as a word, they all disappeared to scout around the village while the real Souei rested. He gently pulled his hand back and pulled the covers over her. With gently movements, he turned to make his way over to one of the chairs around her room.

A hand quickly shot out from under the blanket, grabbing onto the hem of Souei's clothing. He looked back down at Kumiko, who had awoken, although just barely.

"I thought you were going to stay?" she asked. Her voice held a hint of hurt. Souei quickly but gently detached her hand from his clothes and held it in his own.

"I am. I was making my way to a chair," he explained. She stared up at him with sleepy eyes before trying to shuffle away from Souei on the bed until there was more space. Her bed was fairly large, enough to easily fit two people. Souei heard the light thumps as she patted the bed under the blanket.

"Lay with me." Souei's cheeks flared red again, but she wasn't taking no for an answer. He complied, lifting the sheets slightly before laying down at the very edge of the bed, leaving some distance between him and Kumiko.

Kumiko rolled her eyes as best she could in her sleepy state before trying to roll him closer to her. Souei tried to resist, so she tried a different tactic; she started rolling towards the edge of the bed on the other side. Panicked that she would fall, Souei quickly shuffled over and stopped her from rolling off the bed just in time. She turned back to him with a tired, yet victorious smirk. Before he could move away again, Kumiko rolled back towards him, wrapping her arms around his torso and laying her head on his upper arm. He stiffened at their position.

Kumiko, despite knowing that he had frozen, simply nuzzled her head slightly against him, careful to keep her horns from stabbing him as well as tearing the sheets and pillow. She was exhausted from even rolling, so it only took a few more seconds of silence before she fell asleep again.

As her breathing evened out for the second time, Souei finally relaxed a bit and hesitantly wrapped his own arms around her sleeping form. He pulled her in towards him a little bit more and tangled their legs together slightly under the sheets. She shifted slightly, but made no indications that she woke up. Once Souei was satisfied and comfortable, he smiled and kissed the top of Kumiko's head.

"Good night, my love."

~~~

The next morning, Kumiko woke up in bed alone, thankfully without a headache, but the area next to her felt warm, indicating that Souei had been there until recently. She slowly sat up, letting the covers slide off her upper torso as she rubbed her eyes lightly. It took a few seconds of sitting there for her to fully wake up, but when she did, her cheeks flamed red. Her memories of last night, despite being heavily drunk for parts of it, were clear as day. She put her hands on her warm cheeks, as she contained herself from rolling all over the bed.

A knock at her door stopped her from her tangent thoughts and she quickly stood from the bed, fixing the sheets. As she made her way to the door, she ran her fingers through her slightly tangled hair since she rolled around last night.

Opening the door, she poked her head outside to see Souei leaning on the wall beside her door. He turned his head to look at her as the door opened. Giving her a small smile, he stood up and made his way to stand in front of her, holding a hand out.

"Rimuru-sama is waiting for us. Hero King Gazel Dwargo is leaving soon."

Kumiko stared at him for a few moments before a beautiful smile came over her face. She placed her hand in his, running out the door as she pulled him along, her scythe in her other hand. He spun as she pulled him and stood his ground. She turned back, their hands still connected.

"C'mon then!" She said with a bright smile. "You just said Rimuru-sama is waiting!"

Souei couldn't help but take a couple more seconds to admire her in the morning before he nodded and the two of them used [Spatial Travel], disappearing with nothing more than a mirage of them left behind.

~~~

Two days later, Gazel Dwargo returned this time, carrying a brown wriggling sack. Rimuru greeted him at the edge of the city road with the rest of the Kijin, Kaijin, Rigurd and Rigur. The kijin were lined up behind Rimuru, as always except that Kumiko and Souei were standing closer than normal. Curious goblins also made their way into the clearing.

Of course, the other Kijin had grilled the two on what happened. The two Kijin in question had dodged their curious questions for the most part, but the others had a fair idea what happened judging by just how they stood closer or how they seemed to look each other in the eyes with a different spark.

"I'm here, Rimuru!" Gazel greeted in his usual gruff voice.

"What brings you here this time?" Rimuru asked a bit exasperated. The king had just left a few days ago after all.

"I'm here to give you all a gift," Gazel said. He turned and nodded to two of the guards, who held the brown sack. They unceremoniously tossed it towards Rimuru, the sack, which actually turned out to be a brown cloth, unraveled, to reveal a knocked out Vesta.

"That's Vesta!" Kaijin stated obviously. Gazel stared down at the passed out Vesta, nodded at Kaijin's statement.

"It seemed a waste to leave such a talented man doing nothing, but I cannot allow him to work in my service. Use him as you wish." Rimuru stared up at Gazel, shocked that he was handing a former minister over so easily.

"My King..." Kaijin protested, "That would allow Vesta's knowledge to leave the Dwarves!"

"Says the man who left the dwarves himself?" Gazel asked flatly. Kaijin deflated at his rebuttal. Gazel sighed and looked at Rimuru.

"That is what this alliance is for. Make this land ou have chose to inhabit a leader in new and unique skills!" Gazel demanded of Rimuru. Vesta stirred on the ground, sitting up with a defeated posture as he realized where he was.

"Vesta..." the king called. "Devote yourself to studying here."

Vesta bowed his head towards Gazel, vowing to do as commanded and to not disappoint the king. He then turned towards Rimuru and Kaijin, apologizing for his actions back in Dwargon and asking for permission to work in the Jura Tempest Federation with a bowed head.

"Having one more talented researcher around will be a big help," Kaijin said aloud to himself. He turned towards Rimuru and raised a hand to gesture to himself. "Rimuru, if anything bad happens, I'll take responsibility. Please have faith in me and show him mercy." Kaijin bowed.

"If it's okay with you, Kaijin, I have no objections," Rimuru concluded with a smile. "Welcome aboard, Vesta."

"Thank you!" Vesta almost cried as he bowed his head low to the ground. "I am unworthy, but I will give my utmost effort for you!"

As Vesta vowed his allegiance to Rimuru, the king decided that the matter was settled and turned to leave. With only a short 'farewell,' the king and his royal army took off, heading back to Dwargon. From behind Rimuru, the goblins were clapping. Mixed in with the were Gabiru and his three loyal guards.

"Now, then..." Rimuru said as he turned around to face Gabiru. "What are you doing here?"

Gabiru flinched as Rimuru turned his attention on him and posed a proud stance. Souei made a minuscule movement to step in front of Kumiko.

"Well... I, Gabiru, have arrived in hopes that I may be of some help to you!" Gabiru declared. As always his three guards began praising him.

"How does a cold lizard stew sound?" Kumiko said as her scythe frosted over. Shion, who stood beside her, placed a hand on her sword handle.

"I'll cut him up for you," she offered.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait!" Gabiru quickly yelled out at the two female kijin. He held his hands out in front of him in surrender.

"We hoped you would permit us to join your ranks!" he reworded as the two kijin reluctantly backed off. Gabiru and his guards knelt down on one knee in front of Rimuru. "On my word, we will prove useful to you, so please!"

"Please!" his three guards echoed.

"My brother has seen the error of his ways. Please grant him the opportunity to atone." Kumiko tensed at the - unfortunately - familiar voice. She looked over to see the female lizardman guard. Kumiko felt her scythe frost over again as she saw the lizard glance at Souei ever so slightly. This time, Souei also noticed, and made quick work of trying to calm Kumiko down via their [Thought Communication] before she attacked an ally.

"The captain of the guard is here, too?" Rimuru voiced. He tried to ignore the aura that Kumiko was releasing from the side. It seemed that the lizardman guard remained unaware. The female lizard knelt down on one knee beside her brother.

"Unlike my brother, I have no been disowned," she bluntly explained. "My father, Abiru, sent me here to gain more experience."

She better not have asked her father to send her specifically here... Kumiko raged in her thoughts. If she's here to try to get Souei's attention, she's too late.

"You didn't follow me because you missed me?!" Gabiru yelled at his sister in shock.

"No," she stated without skipping a beat. "I do respect you, dear brother, but right now, Souei-dono is ..."

Kumiko had stopped listening as soon as she heard the lizard say Souei's name with a tone of affection. Immediately, the ground below her coated in ice as she glared heavily at the lizard who simply ignored her presence by Souei. The damned reptile had to have known that Kumiko was there, since she kept glancing at Souei, but she was either reckless or stupid to ignore the raging Kijin. Despite having seen their flirting first hand, the lizard still wanted to have a go.

Kumiko, calm down! Souei asked her almost desperately as the temperature around her dropped.

Calm down?! She's over there, ignoring me while giving you those eyes and batting her eyelashes and you want me to calm down?!

I'm aware of these things now and I promise I won't let her get too close to me. Please calm down. Souei placed a warm hand on her shoulder as she glanced at him out of the corner of her eyes. His own blue orbs were telling her that he vowed to stick by her side, and so she finally reigned in her power, though her scythe was still frosted slightly. She would trust Souei.

While Souei was calming Kumiko down, Rimuru had decided to name the female guard along with her servants. With her as the first to be named, they were given the names Soka, Toka, Saika, Nanso and Hokuso. Gabiru was also renamed by Rimuru, though his name remained Gabiru. In the end, all of Gabiru's brethren also were named by Rimuru, starting with his three most loyal guards.

All the lizardmen brethren evolved to Dragonnewts, though some of them ended up looking more human than others. Much to Kumiko's dismay, Soka and her servants were one of those more humanoid ones. They stood in front of Souei and Kumiko, with Kumiko purposely standing close to Souei as a warning to Soka. Soka glanced at her briefly before going back to staring at Souei, ignoring the fact that he had allowed Kumiko to essentially position herself nearly under his left arm.

"They want to join our ranks?" Souei asked Rimuru rhetorically. He turned to look at Kumiko slightly.

Are you okay if I take them in? They're good fighters. Kumiko looked at Souei, giving him the best glare she could before sighing.

I hate how you make sense. I guess don't mind as long as they know their places. Especially that Soka. Of course, though, I will be beside you.

I wouldn't have it any other way. Souei turned to Rimuru.

"May Kumiko and I use them as I wish?" Souei asked

"Sure," Rimuru replied easily. "Train them up as you see fit."

"As you command, Rimuru-sama." Both he and Kumiko bowed their heads slightly.

"I'll work my hardest for you!" Soka said excitedly, looking up at Souei with gleaming eyes.

Before Souei or Rimuru could say anything, Kumiko pushed Souei behind her, glaring at Soka. Soka, finally acknowledging Kumiko's presence glared back. Their auras flared up against one another, though Kumiko's was clearly more pressuring. The ground started frosting over as Kumiko stared her down. She only broke the glare when she was pulled back by Souei, who kept an arm around her shoulder and pulled her in towards him in hopes of calming her down. Kumiko looked up at him and pouted as he smiled down at her just a bit, trying to maintain his stoic expression for everyone else. Whispering slightly, he quietly assured her that she didn't have to worry about Soka trying anything because he would gladly avoid her advances.

Soka visibly deflated some at their affectionate display, but then perked back up and gave another defiant glare to Kumiko. She was the chieftain's daughter as well as the captain of the lizardmen guards. She couldn't lose to Kumiko who only had a nice body. At least, that's what Soka thought. Kumiko, in turn, looked away from Souei and stuck her tongue out childishly at Soka, who flinched in surprise before her anger rose even more.

Clearly, the two were going to have a hard time getting along. Rimuru just sighed, trusting Souei to take care of the situation before heading off to check different areas.

~~~

Kumiko and Souei were currently out scouting far away from Soka and the others. To appease Kumiko, Souei was using a body double to train the dragonnewts, though he still promised to make sure that even his body double maintained as much distance as possible from Soka. Even though Kumiko didn't like it, she knew that Souei was right when he said they were good allies to have. It would be a shame to not use them. Despite that, Kumiko was still sulking that she had to accept that that lizard would be working with Souei.

As the two of them finished securing the borders near their current location, they felt a terrifying aura of a Demon Lord at one of the nearby open fields. The two looked at each other before using [Spacial Travel] to make their way quickly to the disturbance.

They arrived just in time to see Shion bring her sword down on the pink Demon Lord as Ranga grabbed Rimuru and started running to find a secure location. To their shock, Shion's blade was easily stopped by the barely dressed girl.

"Oh, you want to play with me?" the Demon Lord chuckled darkly. She smirked at Shion, tossed her blade to the side and threw Shion away with a swipe of her hand. Souei quickly used this chance to wrap her in thread.

"You may be a Demon Lord, but no one can escape the binding of these threads." Kumiko stood by, knowing that Souei had this handled.

"Burn to ash!" Benimaru came in with a ball of [Hell Flare], igniting the Demon Lord who was held in place by Souei in a sphere of fire.

"I hope that at least singed her," Benimaru said while staring at the flames. They knew that even as Kijin, they could never wish to defeat a Demon Lord. The difference in power was just too great.

"Wow, this is amazing!" They heard her voice laugh from the flames. Wind blew the flames outwards until the flames died out, revealing a perfectly unharmed Demon Lord. "Any other Demon Lord might not have escaped an attack like that in one piece! But it's not gonna work on me!"

She let out a funnel of wind, expanding outwards in all directions. It was strong enough to tear even the largest tree out of the ground. Kumiko's scythe that she stabbed into the ground to keep her there frosted as she quickly threw up a thick barrier of ice, hoping to shield her, Souei and Benimaru from the winds. It worked until the Demon Lord realized and expended more magicules, strengthening the wind and shattering Kumiko's barrier. The three of them were blown back. Shion laid a ways behind them, still trembling in pain from the force of the demon lord's original attack against her.

"You okay, Shion?" Rimuru asked as he walked up to her with a healing potion.

"Rimuru-sama, please flee from here," Benimaru requested, his eyes trained on the demon lord.

"We will... handle this..." Souei added on weakly. Kumiko stayed silent. Despite the pain coursing through them from the force the demon lord's attack, they managed to get back up onto their knees. The three of them could still keep fighting if it meant allowing time for Rimuru to escape.

"Here's some for you guys, too," Rimuru said as he tossed some health potions over to the three of them. "Drink those and rest. I'll take care of this."

"What's this?" The demon lord said darkly as Rimuru stepped up to face her. She stood at the center of the crater she had created just from the force of the tornado that threw the Kijin away. "Haven't played enough yet? Very well. I'll play with you some more."

"Rimuru-sama..." Benimaru stated in worry.

"Once you give up, it's all over, so you gotta do what you can," Rimuru explained as he made his way to the crater. "Don't get your hopes up."

Albeit reluctantly, the four Kijin nodded and retreated by Ranga, recovering their injuries and standing by for Rimuru to call them.

"Oh, You're going to face me?" The demon lord, Milim, smirked up at Rimuru.

"If you're so confident, why not taste one of my attacks?" Rimuru asked, looking down at her from the border of the crater. He carefully slide down the side. Milim threw her head back and laughed.

"Very well! Sounds interesting!" She stopped laughing and looked at Rimuru with amused, yet serious eyes. "But if it doesn't work, you must swear to become my subordinate."

"Fine," Rimuru agreed with a confident smile. Rimuru quickly braced himself, throwing his right arm back without drawing his blade. In his hand formed a golden orb of honey. Rimuru launched himself forward towards Milim and managed to successfully shove the honey into her mouth. The Kijin stared on at him in shock. Silence rang through the clearing as Rimuru and Milim of them disengaged.

Suddenly, Milim turned towards Rimuru with stars in her eyes.

"What in the world is this?!" she screamed out excitedly. "I've never had anything so delicious!"

"What's wrong, Demon Lord Milim?" Rimuru asked as she licked her lips to get any last drop of the honey. "If you admit defeat to me now, I'd be willing to give you this, too."

Rimuru held in his hand another small orb of honey, the golden color instantly drawing Milim in. She drooled as she leaned forward, desperately wanting more.

"I want it!" She whined, conflicted. "But to admit defeat..."

"Mm, that's tasty!" Rimuru purposely said loudly as he drank the orb of honey that he had used to grab Milim's attention. Milim screamed.

The Kijin and Ranga had made their way into the crater with Rimuru and Milim and stared at her in confusion and shock. Who knew that the Demon Lord Milim was so childish? They hadn't expected her personality to be like this in the slightest.

"Whoops, looks like I'm running low now," Rimuru purposely said, trying to get her to surrender.

"W-Wait, wait!" Milim called desperately, waving her arms at Rimuru. "I have a proposal! A draw! Why don't we call it a draw this time?! We'll forget all of this happened!"

"Oh-ho?" Rimuru said, acting interested in her proposal.

"O-Of course, that's not all! I swear never to mess with any of you ever again!" Milim declared.

I win, Rimuru thought. Outwardly, he only smiled at Milim.

"Very well, I'll accept your terms. We'll call it a draw this time." With that said, Rimuru tossed her a canister of honey. She happily caught it, cheering at her prize.

~~~

The four Kijin, Ranga and Rimuru , who was in his slime form, watched in silent disbelief as Milim sat on a low wall at the edge of the village, happily eating the honey Rimuru had given to her. They didn't know what to say to the childish demon lord who had so graciously decided to spare their village for a jar of honey.

"Hey," she called to Rimuru as she slurped up another drip of honey. "Don't you ever think of becoming a Demon Lord?"

"Why should I put myself through that kind of hassle?" Rimuru asked easily back.

"Huh? But you'd be a Demon Lord!" Milim shouted in surprise, as if never expecting to find anyone who didn't aim to become a demon lord. "Aren't they awesome? Doesn't everyone want to be one?"

"Hell no," Rimuru refused again. "Does something good happen when you become a demon lord?" Most of the Kijin had lost interest, though they had to politely stand there since this was a demon lord after all.

"Strong opponents come from all over to fight you!" Milim said proudly. "It's fun!"

"I get plenty of that already. Not interested," Rimiuru declined for a third time.

"What?! Then what do you even enjoy in life?"

"All kinds of things. I've got a lot to do. It's crazy," Rimuru rebutted. "Is there anything fun about being a Demon Lord besides fighting?"

"Well, no..." Milim trailed off, a bit sad, before she smirked and leaned towards Rimuru. "But you get to boss Majin and Humans around!" Rimuru stared at her.

"Doesn't that just mean you're bored?" Milim gasped loudly and dramatically at Rimuru's spot on jest.

"Well, I should head back. Take care going home." Rimuru turned around, heading towards the rest of the Kijin, but was stopped by Milim picking him up.

"Wait! You're doing something more fun than being a Demon Lord, aren't you?" She began shaking Rimuru up and down. Kumiko was about to leap forward to try to save Rimuru from Milim's grasp, but Souei was quick to stop her. Rimuru would be fine, but the aggressive, childish Demon Lord would surely want to pick a fight if she were to intervene.

"No fair! No fair! No fair!" She stretched Rimuru out horizontally. "Now I'm mad!"

"I don't know what you want me to-" Rimuru was interrupted as Milim locked him in her arms and squeezed as tightly as she could.

"Tell me what it is! And then let me join you! Take me to your village!" The Kijin watched her with various forms of worried glances at Rimuru.

"Fine, fine. But I have one condition," Rimuru relented as he finally was able to slip out of her grasp. "From now on, you'll call me 'Rimuru-san.'"

"Screw that! You should address me with respect!" Milim put her hands on her hip, glaring defiantly at Rimuru. "You will call me 'Milim-sama!'"

"Okay, let's do this. I'll call you 'Milim,' and you can call me 'Rimuru.' How's that?" he compromised. Milim agreed, albeit reluctantly, muttering about how the only others to call her by her name were the other Demon Lords. The Kijin could only stand by and do their best to hide their exasperation at Milim.

"So I guess we're friends from now on," Rimuru said. "I'll show you my village now, but no causing any commotion without my permission. Promise me, Milim." Milim glanced over at the Kijin and Ranga who had yet to move from their positions.

"Of course! I promise Rimuru!"

I shall go inform Rigurd at once. Souei voiced to both Rimuru and Kumiko. He disappeared shortly after that, leaving Kumiko with Shion and Benimaru who looked at her expectantly for details now that Souei was gone. They knew she would crack under their pestering far before Souei would. She avoided their glances, looking for any distraction. Luckily for her, it seemed that Gabiru came at the perfect time.

"Oh? And who is this little runt?" The Kijin all flinched and tensed. Gabiru had no idea what he had just done. Milim rushed forward, putting a whole lot of strength into her left arm as she reared it back and sent Gabiru flying down the road. The nearby goblins watched in horror as Gabiru skidded down the middle of the road.

I will take care of the damages right away, Rimuru-sama. Kumiko quickly said through [Thought Communication] before she disappeared, leaving Rimuru to scold the childish demon lord.

Using her [Spacial Travel], Kumiko made her way to Myrd. Through their still unknown form of communication, she had him take care of assigning orcs to repair the road. While he did that, she sat down, dropping her head on the table as she sighed. The whole ordeal with Soka and then Milim all in one day was really giving her a headache. Mostly Soka though.

That damned lizard, despite seeing for herself that Souei wasn't interested, she had the nerve to still steal his attention from Kumiko. Had they not had a treaty between the village and the lizardmen, she would've gladly boiled the lizard from inside out. Surely boiled lizard meat would satisfy the village would it not?

Kumiko, I can sense your rage. Soka hasn't done anything to my double she we left. I've checked in regularly and she's maintained the distance I asked her to. Souei's calm voice rang through her mind, and she sighed, knowing that he was correct, yet she still wanted to boil the lizard alive.

If she does anything, you will tell me right away? Souei hesitated to answer her.

Only if you won't go killing her.

It depends on what she does.

Souei never replied, but instead appeared right beside Kumiko. Myrd had long gone, apparently to set Milim up in a new home since the Demon Lord had just declared that she would be living here. Kumiko hadn't noticed until now since she had been plotting Soka's eventual death. Souei knelt down on one knee by her chair, grasping one of her hands lightly. She lifted her head from the table she was slumped over and stared at Souei in confusion.

"I promise that my feelings for you will remained unchanged, no matter what Soka tries to do." Souei looked up at Kumiko with a small smile as he remained on his knee. "I won't hold anything back from you, but can you promise me that you won't kill her for every little thing?"

Kumiko pouted, but reluctantly agreed. Souei gave her a loving smile, one that she realized he gave her a lot when it was just the two of them, though she never noticed until now. Souei stood up, pulling her up with him. With her hand still in his, he pulled her to him, giving her a light kiss on the top of her head as she snuggled in.

"I found a nearby giant ant nest that the town expansion might run into. Rimuru-sama gave me permission to take it out. You can blow off some steam there," Souei offered as he smoothed the back of her hair. She looked at him as a smirk slowly came over her face.

"I've taken out one of these on my own before you arrived. Think you can keep up?" Kumiko challenged playfully as she stepped back and crossed her arms, her aura exuding from her as it always did when she and Souei fought. Souei's own aura appeared and pushed back against hers as he gave her a mocking smile.

"I'll take out the nest while you hang around outside." Souei gave her no time to react before he disappeared in a streak of black. She gasped and quickly grabbed her scythe, which had been left on the table, before following him.

~~~

Later that night, all the Kijin, Kaijin, Rigurd, Milim and Rimuru were in the baths. The boys and girls were separated, exept for Rimuru who was dragged into the girls side by Milim and Shion. Shuna and Kumiko joined the three of them shortly in the water.

"What is this?" Milim asked as she relaxed in the warm water. "It feels fantastic!"

"Myrd of the three dwarf brothers designed it for me," Rimuru explained. "It's my beloved hot spring, flowing freely from the source."

"Amazing! You can swim in here!" Milim said as she swam by. Kumiko, Shion and Shuna were sitting at the edge in that order, watching as Milim happily floated around. After a few seconds, Shion began to fidget. Kumiko looked over and extended a hand out in front of Shion to stop her from heading to the middle to swim as well. Shion looked at her with pleading eyes.

"You shouldn't swim in the bath." Shuna scolded Milim. Shion switched her attention to Shuna and gasped, looking at Shuna sadly since she also wanted to swim.

"Don't do it," Shuna told Shion firmly, causing the purple Kijin to deflate.

As the four girls soaked in the bath, Rimuru made his way out to converse about the Demon Lords with the rest of the guys. Once Rimuru made his exit, Shion and Shuna turned to Kumiko with a gleam in their eyes. She flinched back and started slowly backing away in the water.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Kumiko asked warily as the two female Kijin followed her through the water.

"You have yet to tell us the details of what happened!" Shion lunged for Kumiko, only for Kumiko to dive under the water and swim off to the side.

"Nothing happened!" Kumiko tried to deny, but the blush on her face said otherwise.

"Oh! What game are we playing?!" Milim asked as she jumped excitedly up and down in the water.

"We need to catch Kumiko!" Shuna declared. Kumiko paled, knowing that Milim really would be able to do it. She quickly raised her hands up, palms out as Milim's attention flashed towards Kumiko.

"Now, now. This isn't exactly fair now is it? It's three agains -" Kumiko cut herself off with a screech as Milim lunged towards her. She dodged as best as she could and quickly backed away while Milim emerged from the water with an evil smirk on her face.

Wasn't this bath supposed to be relaxing? Kumiko couldn't help but ask herself as she barely dodged another attempt from Shion.

~~~

Meanwhile, Rimuru had met up with the rest of the guys, who had finished soaking in the baths themselves and were all dressed in blue-grey robes. Their impromptu meeting in the common room of the bath house consisted of Rigurd, Kaijin, Souei, Benimaru and Hakurou.

"Rimuru-sama," Rigurd called.

"Oh... What's up?" Rimuru replied. He was sitting between Rigurd and Kaijin, with the three kijin across from them.

"It's about Milim-sama," Rigurd said seriously. "I never imagined a Demon Lord would take the initiative in coming here."

"Yeah, but she did promise not to cause any commotion without my permission," Rimuru defended.

"Yes, but... what's more concerning is what the other Demon Lords will do," Kaijin brought up, a bit worried. The Kijin all nodded in agreement. "There are several Demon Lords and they're always keeping each other in check. Your declaration that Milim-sama is our friend means this village is now under her protection. Under normal circumstances, that might be a good thing, but..." Kaijin trailed off.

"Rimuru-sama, you hold the position of Supreme Ruler," Hakurou continued for Kaijin. "In other words, it will appear to the other Demon Lords that the Great Forest of Jura has forged an alliance with the Demon Lord Milim."

"The Demon Lord Milim will instantly gain more influence, upsetting the balance among the Demon Lords," Benimaru explained further.

"But in reality, there is no way we could stop the Demon Lord Milim," Rigurd said. Benimaru looked down slightly, disappointed in himself.

"Her strength was on a completely different level," Benimaru agreed, "If not for Rimuru-sama, we wouldn't be alive right now."

"Precisely," Souei added, staring forwards stoically. "If the other Demon Lords become hostile, would we not have a better chance against them?"

The entire room went silent as Souei's words sunk in. If Rimuru hadn't befriended Milim and it had been another demon lord to come, their village would possibly be done for. In addition, with Milim now on their side, they could rest a bit easier knowing that one of the strongest demon lords was protecting their village.

"On that note..." Rigurd shouted after a few moments of silence. "We shall entrust everything to Rimuru-sama, the one she has deemed her 'bestie!'"

"No objections," all three Kijin said in unison as they bowed their heads.

"You dumped it all on me?!" Rimuru shouted in shock.

"Milim-sama is one of the most powerful of all Demon Lords," Hakurou explained a bit more to Rimuru. "She is known as a Demon Lord that everyone should avoid making an enemy of. We have no choice but to entrust everything to Rimuru-sama."

Hakurou ended his explanation with a slight laugh, though Rimuru sure was wondering if it was more of an excuse.

"Now then..." Benimaru coughed and then turned towards Souei. "Tell us what happened last night!"

Souei paled slightly as all five pairs of eyes turned towards him expectantly, even Rimuru.

"Nothing happened." He tried to play it off by remaining stoic, but he couldn't hide the blush that came over his face.

"Oh-ho?" Rimuru laughed with a smirk. "Are you saying that you won't share with me, the Great Rimuru, details of your little affair with my former advisor?"

Souei turned away slightly, trying to find something to say to get them off his case.

"My apologies Rimuru-sama. I will go scout the forest." Before anyone could say anything, Souei disappeared using his [Spacial Travel].

"Ah, he ran away," Benimaru stated a bit disappointed as they all stared at the spot where he once was. "Well, hopefully Shion and Shuna are more successful with Kumiko..."

Up next: The Gathering

Chapter Text

Shion and Shuna each both held one of Kumiko's arms, effectively capturing the poor Kijin. Milim had helped by backing her up towards Shion and Shuna. The three female Kijin were sitting still, soaking in the hot water by the rocks while Milim had gone back to swimming.

"I'm shriveling up like a grape," Kumiko complained as the two other Kijin smiled at her. They all knew that it was just an excuse to get away. However, Shion and Shuna weren't about to let their fellow Kijin's love life go unexplained.

"Tell us, how did it go?" Shuna said, edging closer to Kumiko.

"How did what go?" Kumiko turned her head upwards to the right, away from Shuna. Her blush made it apparent that she knew exactly what they were asking for.

"So did you confess?" Shion asked with a smirk, knowing that the answer was a definite yes judging by how close they had been the last few days. Kumiko flinched, her cheeks flushing even more as she puffed her cheeks. She refused to indulge the Kijin.

"Oh-ho?" Shuna laughed as she carefully let one hand go from around Kumiko's arm to poke her red cheek. "Is that a blush I see?"

"Who confessed first?"

"Did you confess your jealousy?"

"What did Souei say?"

"Did you cuddle?"

The two Kijin asked question after question, their eyes shining with stars as they unleashed their curiosity at Kumiko. Kumiko sat between them, her puffed cheeks growing warmer and warmer with each question they asked.

"Did you kiss?" At this question, Kumiko's mind immediately went to the memory. Her head steamed. She may have been drunk, but she could still remember how it felt clear as day. How she had enjoyed it, but had been too scared to lean in for another one. Since that one kiss that night, the two of them hadn't done it again, though Kumiko knew she wouldn't mind it if he wanted to.

Two victorious gazes stared at her as she quickly snapped out of her thoughts. Yanking her hands out of the grasp, she quickly swam towards the center of the bath and away from the two females who quickly tried to grab her again.

"I won't tell you! You're just going to tell Benimaru, who's going to mention something or other to Souei!" Kumiko tried her best to fend off the two girls with water, but to no avail as they pushed past it and pounced on her. Kumiko, Shion and Shuna all were submerged into the water by the tackle. A few seconds later, the three of them resurfaced, taking in a deep breath of air as they pushed their soaking wet hair out of their faces. Unfortunately for Kumiko though, Shion and Shuna had managed to successfully capture her again.

About an hour and a half later, the four girls exited the bath, coming into the common room with their blue-grey robes on. Shuna and Shion walked out first, victorious as they dragged a mentally-exhaused Kumiko behind them. Milim simply had fun with helping to capture Kumiko every time she tried to get away. When they got to the common room, Kumiko couldn't help but notice the fact that Souei had disappeared somewhere. The rest of the boys all sat on the cushions on the ground, but the cushion by Benimaru's was empty. Kumiko assumed that it was Souei's seat, since she knew he had gone into the bath with the others earlier.

As the girls walked up to the extra cushions that had been laid out, Benimaru looked at Shion and Shuna discreetly. They both quickly nodded at Benimaru, who smirked under his breath.

"Ah, Kumiko," Benimaru said as he feigned an innocent face. Kumiko hummed in acknowledgement while she used a cloth to try to dry her hair as best as she could. "Souei went to scout the forest. He asked you to meet him there."

"He didn't tell me that..." Kumiko trailed off. She had stopped wringing out her hair and stared at Benimaru suspiciously. If that was true, wouldn't Souei have used their [Thought Communcation] to tell her?

"H-He didn't want to disrupt you since you were relaxing in the bath," Rimuru quickly added. Kumiko glared at Shion and Shuna as Rimuru said the word 'relaxing.' Their ability to squeeze information out of her was horrifying.

Kumiko sighed, and then stood up with a bow to Rimuru. If Rimuru said so, then she supposed it had to have been somewhat true.

"As you wish, Rimuru-sama," she said before she disappeared with the damp cloth still in her hand. The rest of the group all sighed as she left, then proceeded to huddle together in the middle as Shion and Shuna filled them in on the details that Kumiko had so willingly given up.

~~~

Kumiko had made a small detour to her own room to get changed first, putting on the normal black long-sleeved turtleneck with a pair of stretchy black shorts and thigh-high socks. Her hair was still damp, but she decided to deal with it later as she made her way to Souei, the small towel still in her hand.

Souei made no movement or sound as Kumiko sudden appeared next to him, her damp hair dripping a bit of water onto the branch the two were perched on. He was standing on one of the branches higher up in the air with his right shoulder leaning against the trunk and Kumiko to his let. Below them were the training dragonnewts with one of Souei's doubles. True to his word, he made sure that Soka maintained a respectable distance from even his double during training.

"I was told you were waiting for me," Kumiko said as she stared down at the training. Despite not liking Soka, she had to admit that her and her group of servants were praiseworthy for having trained for the majority of the day and into the night. Though, she couldn't say that they were exactly acceptable yet. Since both she and Souei were spies, that meant that their subordinates, in this case the dragonnewts, would have to maintain that same stealth. Of course, they could never reach the level that Souei or Kumiko were on, but it wasn't like they were anywhere close to being able to go on an espionage mission anytime soon. Plus, if the dragonnewts hadn't sensed Kumiko and Souei's presence up in the tree yet, they still had a long, long way to go.

"I didn't say that though?" Souei looked over at Kumiko, a bit confused. "I would have just told you directly."

Kumiko sighed as she realized that she had been tricked, although she supposed that neither Souei nor she minded that they knew some small details. It was more that the two of them were embarrassed to recall the memories aloud.

"I was tricked by Benimaru and Rimuru-sama," she explained to Souei. "Shion and Shuna managed to squeeze me dry of details about what happened while we were in the bath."

"Why didn't you just use [Spacial Travel] to get away?" Souei couldn't help but notice how Kumiko was blushing slightly. He used his hand to lightly touch her warm cheek with the back of his hand and she reflexively leaned towards his hand.

"I was enjoying the bath," Kumiko defended as she stuck out her tongue at Souei. "While you boys were chatting about serious things, we were relaxing in the warm water and I didn't want to leave." Despite being captured and held down for information, the warm water really had relaxed her. Even to the point where she could stand on this branch in close proximity to Soka without wanting to boil the lizard alive.

Souei smirked as he dropped his hand down from her cheek and flicked her lightly on the forehead.

"You're just bad at dodging their questions. I got away without having to say a single thing," Souei looked at her victoriously while she glared at him and lightly kicked his leg.

"You know how Shion and Shuna are. I'd be shriveled inside that bath had I not given them the information they wanted." Souei hummed as he couldn't help but agree with Kumiko's statement. Truly, those two other female kijin got what they wanted through any means necessary.

"Your hair is still damp," Souei mentioned after a couple seconds of silence. The two of them had forgotten that they were monitoring the dragonnewts and had instead focused on one another.

"Thank you, I didn't realize," Kumiko said with a deadpan look. She pulled her hair over her right shoulder and began roughly rubbing the towel she held against her hair. "Shuna and Shion tackled me into the water. I wasn't planning on having dripping wet hair when I left the bath."

Souei grabbed the towel out of her hand and stepped closer to her, taking over the task of towel drying her hair. He didn't like how rough she was being with her own hair. She stared at him for a moment before smiling and closing her eyes as she felt his hands run over her head with the towel. He was so gentle with his motions that Kumiko couldn't help but relax further.

The feeling of him touching her horns made her hum as she subconsciously leaned towards him more. Her horns were a vulnerable spot for her due to her past, so she avoided as best she could from having anything even graze it. However, with Souei, she knew she could trust him with even the most sensitive side of her. Kumiko knew that she didn't fear showing him her vulnerable side, and that, in fact, the feeling of his hand over her horn made her forget all the horrors her horns had brought her. In those moments, her horns reminded her of Souei's gentle hands.

Souei's movements slowed as he stared at the beautiful Kijin in front of him. Her hair was still wet, but the peaceful smile on her face as she leaned towards his hands made him lose all thoughts that weren't about her.

Since that night, Souei couldn't help but think about the fact that they hadn't kissed even once. Over the past few days, he didn't want to say anything because their first kiss had been while both of them were intoxicated, but he had to admit that in that moment under the moonlight, that was all that he was thinking about.

Souei pulled the towel away in one hand while the other reached up and brushed Kumiko's bottom lip, his palm resting on her cheek. Her eyes fluttered open and Souei couldn't help but take note on how long her eyelashes were. She stared at him with an innocent expression as one of her hands covered his that was on her cheek and held it there as she gently rubbed her face against his palm. Souei's face reddened slightly as all the thoughts that crossed his mind somehow ended with him kissing Kumiko.

Souei leaned in slightly, careful to keep his horn from getting caught in hers. It had happened before, unfortunately, when they literally butted heads. Her gaze seemed to just draw him in as the hand on her cheek moved to the back of her neck and his other hand, still holding the towel, wrapped to the small of her back and pulled her in closer. Kumiko's arms wrapped themselves around Souei's torso, bringing them as close to each other as they could without actually kissing. Her breasts were pressed up against Souei's torso, making him blush even more at the feeling.

As Kumiko had bashfully admitted to Shion and Shuna in the bathhouse, she wanted to kiss him again. She wanted to feel the warmth of his lips against hers and the love behind the motion. Their first kiss was brief since she had been intoxicated and Souei was simply shocked still. So she wanted to try again, but this time with both of them fully aware of themselves. Kumiko's golden eyes stared at Souei's own with innocent arousal as he held her close. Taking this as silent permission, Souei closed the gap between them as he placed his lips on hers, their horns tapping against each other lightly.

Not wanting to take things too far, considering that this was only their second kiss, Souei pulled back after a few seconds, only to steal another kiss quickly as he saw Kumiko's with her flushed face and eyes closed before pulling back again, his hand moving from the back of her neck to her lower back. Souei leaned back, resting his back on the trunk of the tree they had been standing on as he pulled Kumiko towards him in a hug, tucking his head at the base of her neck as Kumiko leaned comfortably on his chest.

"I love you, Kumiko," Souei said in a light whisper as he placed a light kiss behind her ear. She shivered slightly at the feeling, giggling his breath tickled her.

"I love you, too, Souei," she replied as she pressed herself closer against him.

Below them, Soka had finally noticed their presence. She had first noticed Souei's, and brightened. Granted, she didn't know if it was another clone or not, but she would've hoped that it was. The doubles that trained her and her servants weren't the same because they kept avoiding her touches. The Souei she had met originally back during the war didn't seem to mind.

When she felt Kumiko's presence next, there was a feeling of joy at the fact that it meant that the actual Souei had arrived, but then anger rose. That female was just a seductress, a succubus that entranced Souei with her large chest. Soka thought that if she ignored Kumiko and focused on Souei, eventually Souei would turn his attention away from the succubus and towards her. Soka looked up excitedly, ready to show off to Souei how much she had improved. However, when she looked up, he was preoccupied with kissing Kumiko.

Soka's anger rose as her jealousy raged. She was surely a succubus as no ogre, Kijin or otherwise, had horns like she had. It made no sense. Once Souei realized that, Soka was sure that he'd give up on that damned Kumiko and return her own affections.

~~~

Much to Soka's dismay and Kumiko's delight, Souei paid less attention to the lizard than ever in the following weeks. Soka had tried multiple times to get to talk to Souei alone, but she either never found him, or he was already busy flirting with Kumiko. She knew that if she exposed Kumiko for posing as a Kijin in front of the damned succubus, Kumiko could easily just silence her and continue seducing Souei, so she had to find time to talk to Souei alone.

Kumiko had to admit that she was being petty. Whenever she felt Soka's presence nearby her and Souei, she purposely pulled Souei into another affectionate display, as if to ward off Soka. That lizard still had a long way to go in hiding her presence from both Souei and Kumiko. Souei himself didn't mind Kumiko's pettiness all that much. As a matter of fact, Souei didn't want to admit to Kumiko that he enjoyed seeing her defensive and petty side and would gladly indulge her if it meant more kisses.

In general, since the Shion and Shuna had spread all the details to those who mattered, Souei and Kumiko were pretty open about their displays of affection. Of course, they still refrained from things like kissing in public and also continued their playful bickering, but Kumiko was often found standing by Souei with his arm wrapped around her shoulder or resting loosely at her hip. The two were teased incessantly by not only the Kijin, but also Rimuru and Rigurd.

Over the past weeks, the production of the health potions with the contribution of Gabiru's cultivated hipokute herbs and Vesta's research had finally come to fruition. Vesta had devised a method to extract 99% of the hipokute herbs and therefore successfully managed to create a full potion without having to rely on Rimuru. Despite Kumiko's original wariness of Vesta due to his original attitude towards them, she had to admit that his research was valuable to the Jura Tempest Federation.

While Rimuru was checking up on Vesta and Gabiru in the caves, Kumiko and Souei were sitting with the rest of the Kijin in Shuna's workshop. Kumiko and Shion sat on top of the table, with Kumiko leaning her cheek on her hands that cupped the top of her closed scythe. Her legs that dangled at the edge of the table were wrapped around the lower portion of her scythe as Souei kept a hand on the scythe to help keep Kumiko from falling over, as he always did. Benimaru, Souei and Hakurou sat at the seats around the table while Shuna was working at her loom, as she always did, and Kurobe had once again denied their little gathering in favor of some more metal working. Despite the chaos that seemed to always be present around Rimuru, the Kijin always managed to find a way to spend some time together as a group regularly. They were simply just chatting and having some tea while enjoying each other's presence.

A loud commotion came from outside, and the Kijin looked at each other confused before they quickly stood and made their way to the center where goblins were starting to gather. They swiftly squeezed past the circle of goblins to stand at the front where four beastmen individuals stood, facing Rigurd.

"I am one of Demon Lord Carrion's Three Beastketeers, Phobio the Black Leopard Fang," one of the beastmen introduced proudly. "I am the strongest warrior of the Beast King's Beastketeers."

Phobio glanced around, staring at all the goblins, orcs, kijin and lizardmen who had formed a circle around them.

"Nice town you've got here," he complimented, although the tone of his still wasn't very friendly. "Fit to be ruled by the Beast King, don't you think?"

"Surely you jest -" Rigurd was cut off as the beastman threw a flame covered hand forward, launching Rigurd back.

Kumiko gasped and quickly rushed over to Rigurd, pulling him away from the three guests just in time as Milim rushed forward and socked the beastman, causing an explosion. Knowing how powerful Milim was firsthand, Kumiko had quickly thrown up a barrier of ice around the three newcomers and Milim to soften the blow of the flames on the goblins and the nearby houses. Within a few seconds, Milim had successfully knocked out the beastman and melted the ice barrier. Kumiko was trying to help Rigurd back onto his feet, his head still bowed as he shook with pain.

"What's going on here?" Rimuru asked as he arrived behind the goblins. Souei quickly used [Spacial Travel] to teleport to Rimuru's side.

"A new guest arrived in town and Milim-sama took exception to him," Souei explained quickly as Rimuru had the goblins part a path. He came into the clearing to see all the Kijin, minus Kurobe, facing Kumiko who was trying her best to support Rigurd.

"Rigurd, are you okay?" Rimuru asked a bit worried as his head remained hung low.

"Rimuru-sama," Rigurd recognized as he forced himself to raise his head. Rimuru flinched back in horror as he stared at Rigurd. Half the skin on his face had been burned off, revealing the pink muscle underneath. None of the Kijin flinched in the slightest, but only stared worriedly at the Goblin King.

"This is no cause for concern at all!" Rigurd played off.

"No way! That's serious!" Rimuru rebutted right away. He quickly threw a full potion onto Rigurd, healing the injured goblin king, before stepping forward to see what Milim had done. Kumiko helped Rigurd up and guided him to behind the rest of the Kijin, and told him to sit. She then rejoined Souei at the front of the goblins.

Rimuru walked up slowly, slightly confused as he saw Milim facing three beastmen while a fourth was passed out between them, foaming at the mouth. Clearly Milim had won whatever fight had happened.

"This is who did that to you?" Rimuru voiced loudly to Rigurd. Rigurd confirmed.

"Oh, Rimuru!" Milim came bounding over after hearing Rimuru's voice. "This guy thought he could mock us, so I taught him a lesson!" She smiled proudly at Rimuru, expecting praise. Rimuru only held his head and sighed.

"Didn't you promise not to cause any commotion without my permission?" Rimuru asked a bit exasperated. Milim flinched, trying to come up with an excuse for breaking her promise with Rimuru.

"He's not from this town, so it doesn't count!" she settled, gesturing her hands outwards trying to convince Rimuru.

"It does count," Rimuru firmed stated. "But since you did stand up for Rigurd, I'll just make you go without lunch today."

"That's cruel... That's too cruel!" Milim complained as tears formed in her eyes. She turned around and ran to the collapsed Phobio, swiftly delivering a kick to his unconscious body before picking him up by the collar. "This is all his fault! This scumbag! One hit wasn't enought! At least give me one more-"

"Wait! Wait! Wait!" Rimuru cried, rushing forward as Milim raised a flaming fist at Phobio. "You can eat, just don't punch him!"

Milim turned around, dropping Phobio unceremoniously to the ground as she smiled happily at Rimuru. Rimuru sighed and called for a goblin to bring her a sandwich while he stared down at Phobio.

"I suppose I have to heal him, don't I?" Rimuru asked rhetorically before he threw a full potion at the foaming beastman. Within a few short seconds, Phobio woke up, sputtering and flailing. His comrades quickly helped him to his feet.

"Let's talk in the conference room," Rimuru stated, motioning for them to follow. He proceeded to morph back into his slime form, hopping into Shion's arms as she walked towards the central hall. Benimaru and Rigurd followed naturally.

Souei, Kumiko. I want you two to stand by in the room, but hide your presence, Rimuru ordered. The two bowed their heads before using [Presence Obscure] to disappear from all but Rimuru and Milim's senses.

The group made it to the conference room without any more ruckus. Shion placed Rimuru at the head as she and Benimaru flanked him on both sides. Rigurd stood behind Benimaru while Souei and Kumiko stayed hidden in the corner. Milim sat on a nearby couch happily enjoying her sandwich. On the other side, Phobio sat directly across from Rimuru while his three companions stood behind him.

"So, why did you come here?" Rimuru asked Phobio politely.

"Hmph, you expect me to answer a lowly slime?" Phobio crossed his arms as he sat, looking too proud of himself. At his words, all the Kijin's expressions immediately darkened as they barely reigned themselves in. An overwhelmingly terrifying aura spread around the room as all the Kijin held themselves back from smacking this beastman like Milim did.

"You may call me 'lowly,' but I am stronger than you," Rimuru replied, not all that happy with his insult either. Phobio looked up and glared harshly at Rimuru after hearing his words. "I don't know this Demon Lord Carrion. Depending on how you behave, my people could become Carrion's enemies. Do you want to be solely responsible for antagonizing the entire Great Forest of Jura?"

"Hah! That's big talk," Phobio rebutted, his arms still crossed defiantly as he smirked. "This whole town is loyal to a lowly monster like you? Must be rough having nothing but weaklings around. Don't get a big head just because Milim-sama took a liking to you." Benimaru and Shion tensed at his words, their glares piercing through him as they wish he'd just burn in hell. Souei and Kumiko seethed silently from their hiding spot, but they knew they couldn't expose themselves since Rimuru had wanted them to remain secretly on standby in case anything were to happen, whether that mean another fight between Milim and Phobio or between Rimuru and Phobio.

"Hey! Are you talking trash about my friend?" Milim asked angrily as she held up the second half of her sandwich. Phobio flinched in fear as she directed her attention at the beastman.

"Milim, stop. If you do anything else, you can kiss dinner goodbye," Rimuru threatened, knowing that it would do him no good to have Milim aggravating the situation. Milim quickly agreed.

"Now," Rimuru turned back to face Phobio, "it's true that I'm a slime. But it's also a fact that I rule 30% of this forest, and if you're really serious, we may have no choice but to declare war. So think carefully before you answer me."

Phobio clicked his tongue in annoyance, sighing as he chose to reply properly this time.

"Carrion-sama ordered me to come here and scout some mysterious majin to serve him."

"Oh? He must mean us," Rimuru said easily. On the other hand, Milim seemed to rage at the fact that Demon Lord Carrion had sent them. She was releasing an increasing about of killing intent towards the beastmen at the other side of the room. As Rimuru looked back to Milim, she quickly suppressed it and gave him an innocent smile.

"Well, I get the picture," Rimuru stated after Milim had calmed herself. "You can leave now."

"Rimuru-sama..." Benimaru said in surprise.

"Are you sure about this?" Shion asked seriously.

"Well, I can't kill him, can I?" Rimuru asked.

Rimuru-sama, if you wish to kill them without leaving a trace behind, Souei and I can do that very easily. My ice melts, so it leaves no traces and Souei can very easily dice up their bodies so it'll never be found. Rimuru looked over to Kumiko and Souei in horror as the both of them nodded their heads at him. They were completely serious in their offer to not only kill, but to hide the evidence.

No, no, no! Don't do that! Rimuru scolded the two. He sighed and turned back to the beastmen.

"Tell the Demon Lord Carrion that if he wants to talk, he can choose a date and contact us again." With that, Rimuru motioned to the door, not making any effort to show them out. Right before Phobio exited, he turned around and growled at Milim, threatening to make her regret before he and his following left. Kumiko and Souei dispelled their [Presence Obscure] as soon as the door closed and made their way to join the rest of the group.

Rimuru stared at the closed door for a couple of seconds before he hopped over to Milim, morphing into his human form as he stopped in front of her.

"Okay, I want to know all about this Demon Lord Carrion," Rimuru said to Milim. Milim stood up, holding a hand out in front of her.

"I can't tell you that," she said, abnormally serious. "We've sworn not to interfere with each other."

"Did you only make that promise with Carrion?" Rimuru said as he slid up next to Milim. "Or does it involve the other Demon Lords, too?"

"Uh, that's..." Milim shied away, not knowing what to say.

"Hey, it's okay!" Rimuru continued prodding with a sly smile, whispering like the devil on her shoulder. "Carrion used his underling to interfere with you, didn't he? And we're besties, so we help each other out, right? So I think it'd be a good idea for me to know about the other Demon Lords." Milim hesitated, but kept her mouth shut.

"If I don't know what kind of promise you made, I might end up interfering without realizing it," Rimuru stated as he turned away from her and crossed his arms. "I know! I'll make a weapon for you! I'm concerned for you as your bestie, after all!"

The Kijin all stared at Rimuru with a deadpan look at his underhanded tactics. He sure knew how to use Milim's childishness and their friendship in his favor.

"A new weapon?!" Milim said, suddenly interested. "Yeah, that's right! Nothing's more important than your bestie!" With that, she spilled the beans to everyone in the room.

Rimuru sat on Milim's lap in his slime form while the Kijin and Rigurd stood in front of the couch where Milim was sitting. Rimuru sighed as he tried to recap all the information into once sentence.

"Demon Lords Clayman, Carrion, Frey and you, Milim, used Gelmud in a scheme to create a puppet Demon Lord."

"It was just a way to kill time," Milim said with a bright smile.

How boring must the life of a Demon Lord be? Kumiko couldn't help but wonder to herself.

"Maybe that's all it was to you, but since we butted in, I guess it's inevitable that they'd target us." Rimuru deflated in Milim's lap.

"It seems likely that other Demon Lords will become involved, as well," Benimaru stated, the idea of it weighing heavily on the group.

"What a predicament..." Rigurd agreed. "We must consult with Treyni-sama."

"It'll be fine!" Shion insisted with a bright smile, cutting through the tension. "Rimuru-sama has nothing to fear from any of those Demon Lords!"

"Well, now I've told you the secret!" Milim said as she rubbed Rimuru's head. "Now give me my new weapon like you promised, bestie!"

~~~

Somehow, Gobta had brought back a hoard of human adventurers with him from their hunt for the Knight Spider. Along with a few new humans, Eren, Gido and Kaval had made their way back to the town. Shion, as the secretary, had them guided to another conference room with more seats as the rest of the Kijin, Rigurd and Rimuru waited in the room.

"I'm the representative of this town... or nation called the Jura Tempest Federation," Rimuru started out. "My name is Rimuru Tempest."

"You really are a slime!" The man that had come with Kaval voiced out in surprise.

"By the way, Rimuru, there are some folks here we didn't see last time," Kaval voiced out, referring to the new Kijin. Benimaru sat in the chair to the left of Rimuru while Shion and Shuna stood on either side, with Shion closer to the adventurers. Souei and Kumiko stood in the corner of the room behind Benimaru, though the two had their bodies angled slightly towards each other.

"Oh, yeah. This is Benimaru, Shion, Souei and Shuna. And of course, you already know Kumiko." As Rimuru said their names, the kijin each bowed their head slightly in introduction. Right as Rimuru finished saying Kumiko's name, the door opened slightly, revealing Milim who scurried her way over to sit in the seat by Rigurd, her mouth still stuffed with food.

"Oh, and that's Milim," Rimuru added on. "So, the Kingdoms of Blumund and Falmuth have both come to investigate this place?"

"We are-" The dual-color-haired soldier that came from Blumund was interrupted by the silver haired, Youm.

"Wait a minute," Youm said with discontent as he crossed his feet onto the table and leaned back in his chair slightly. "Why is a slime acting like such a bigshot? It makes no sense! What's the deal here? Why are all of you okay with this?"

"You are insulting Rimuru-sama," Shion said with a glare down at the man.

"Shut your mouth, Tits!" Before anyone could stop her, Shion had taken her sheathed sword and dropped it heavily onto Youm's head. Shion gasped after the fact, as if just realizing what she did before she quickly bowed to Rimuru and apologized. Rimuru sighed and healed the guy with one of the potions.

"Sorry about what Shion did," Rimuru apologized for her, knowing that Shion would never willingly apologize to anyone who had insulted him. "She has trouble restraining herself sometimes. Cut her some slack." Kumiko stifled a giggle and maintained her stoic face as best as possible.

"That's mean!" Shion argued. "I'm actually known for my patience!"

"You've got a long way to go if you're that impatient, Shion," Milim laughed from her seat. "You're so short-tempered because you don't have an open mind like I do." Rimuru sighed and chose to ignore the two, who everyone could agree were both short-tempered.

"I want to be on good terms with Humans," he said as he turned to face the adventurers. "I hope we can trade and network with you all someday, too."

"Trade?" the man from Blumund echoed

"Yeah. We've actually entered diplomatic relations with the Dwarven Kingdom already," Rimuru explained without skipping a beat.

"With Dwargon?" the same guy repeated again as they flinched in shock.

"I think passing through this land would be more convenient for your merchants," Rimuru offered. "What do you think?"

"Now, wait a minute! You're saying that Dwargon acknowledges this nation of monsters as legitimate?" Before Rimuru could answer, the door opened again to reveal Vesta.

"I can vouch for that," he said as he entered.

"Minister Vesta! What is a man of your standing doing here?"

"Former minister," Vesta corrected. "It's good to see you again, Fuze." The leader from Blumund, now dubbed Fuze, stared at Vesta in shock.

"What Rimuru-sama says is true," Vesta continued as he bowed to Rimuru. "King Gazel and Rimuru-sama have entered into a treaty."

"Are you convinced now?" Rimuru asked the humans.

"W-Well... If that is the case, we aren't opposed to cooperating with you," Fuze quickly fairly quickly. "But I'll need to see undeniable proof that you are, in fact, an ally of Humans. I assume that's all right?" The silver-haired leader from Falmuth had his head supported lazily in his hand as he stared at the slime.

"Oh, sure. That's to be expected. I'm just fine with that." Rimuru replied to Fuze. "I'll permit you to stay here. I want you to understand that we aren't a threat. By the way, Fuze-san, has the news that the Orc Lord was defeated already gotten around?"

"No, only our king and a select handful of people know that," Fuze said as he raised a curious eyebrow.

"I see. In that case..." Rimuru faced the silver haired man. "Youm-kun, want to make a contract with me?" Youm turned away, almost as if uninterested.

"Huh? What are you even talki-" He cut himself off as he looked up and flinched at Shion's glare.

"What... might you be suggesting," he quickly changed his sentence. Rimuru easily ignored the fact that he only considered it because of Shion's unsaid threat.

"You said the Kingdom of Falmuth hired you with money right? So you'd just be switching employers," Rimuru explained to Youm. "To put it in simple terms... I want you guys to be the champions who defeated the Orc Lord."

The table stared at Rimuru in silence for a few moments before Youm and two of his subordinates flinched and made a sound of confusion.

"Just say that we simply helped you out, and start a rumor that you were the one who defeated the Orc Lord." Rimuru suggested. "I figure, that way, I can be known as the trustworthy monster who assisted the champion. I think it'll be easier to befriend people that way than if they think I'm some mysterious, threatening monster. What do you say?"

"Let me gather my thoughts," Youm said, not offering a direct answer. Rimuru nodded.

"Well then, this should do for the meeting for now. Why don't we go join the rest of them outside for dinner?" Everyone agreed as they began standing up from their chairs.

"Rimuru-sama," Souei called quickly before everyone started heading out. Rimuru looked at him and gestured from him to talk. "Kumiko and I will be off to check the borders."

Rimuru gave them a sigh before waving the two of them off without a word. Souei and Kumiko bowed their heads before interlacing their fingers and disappearing in a streak of black. Shuna giggled as Benimaru and Shion smirked.

"Oh dear, Rimuru-sama," Shion said with a slight tease in her voice. "It seems you've kept them in the meeting too long and they couldn't show their affection while being stuck here so they ran away."

Rimuru couldn't help but laugh a bit at how true it must've been. For the two Kijin who were attached at the hip and constantly flirting with one another, going for almost a full day in meeting meant that they weren't able to flirt openly.

"Well, let's leave those two alone and go eat." Rimuru morphed into his human form and smiled at the humans. "They cooked up a delicious knight spider outside."

Up next: Evil Creeps Closer

Chapter Text

Kumiko and Souei appeared in the forest to the west of the town, their hands held together. They had managed to get away from the meetings and the humans where they had to maintain professionalism in attempts to not disgrace Rimuru. The two Kijin were in what could be considered their honeymoon phase of their relationship. The acknowledgment of their feelings recently now allowed them to express their affections, and they were doing just that.

Despite telling Rimuru that they were going to check the borders, Souei and Kumiko were in actuality just taking a stroll through the forest. For the most part, Souei's body doubles had already done it during the meeting, to which Kumiko and Souei had bickered about again, and the security teams were doing a great job at protecting the city without having the Kijin involved.

As the two walked, Kumiko had somehow found herself with Souei's hand resting on her opposite hip, tucked nicely to his side. They made idle chatter and bickered about senseless things. Every so often, Souei would lean over and kiss Kumiko on the side of her head or her horn and she would blush slightly at the action. Despite them having kissed multiple times now and their affectionate displays were abundant, she couldn't calm her racing heart whenever the seemingly stoic blue kijin would show her his love. Kumiko couldn't help but wrap her own arms tightly around his torso, leading him to complain that he couldn't walk. That only made her all the more determined to hang onto him as he tried to pry her off.

Souei's attempts to get the giggling female off of him were stopped when a recognizable voice called through the forest for him. Kumiko tensed, glaring in front of them in the direction as she latched on tighter to Souei. Soka made her way through the brushes, slightly out of breath. Souei sighed, knowing that she definitely wouldn't let go now, and simply brought his hand to rest on her hip lightly.

"Souei-sama!" the lizard called adoringly as she approached them. She gave Kumiko a slight glare, to which Kumiko returned with her own glare.

"Souei-sama, I've been looking everywhere for you. I need to talk to you alone," Soka said as she stopped a few feet away from them and took a knee. Kumiko's eyes narrowed as she took in the lizard's stance. Kumiko had vowed to herself to not say her cursed name until she had given her reason to respect her and had resorted to the term 'lizard,' a fairly derogatory term for the dragonnewts.

"What needs to be said can be said with Kumiko here," Souei stated stoically as he looked at the dragonnewt under his training.

"I-it's a private matter," Soka stuttered out, trying to find a way to get Souei alone. At this, Kumiko let go of Souei and stood directly between him and the lizard, her golden eyes clearly unhappy.

"What kind of private matter would require me to leave you alone with my Souei?" Kumiko asked as she glared at Soka, her aura flaring dangerously around her. Soka looked up returned it with another glare of her own, although she was plenty scared. "If anything, as another female, private matters should be discussed with me. If it is something regarding your position or training as a spy, both Souei and I have already announced that we are co-leading the group, and therefore I see no reason for me to leave."

"I-It really is a private matter. Please, Souei-sama." Soka chose to ignore Kumiko, which only caused more rage to accumulate inside of Kumiko's heart. Her aura flared more, putting more pressure on the lizard.

Souei gently pulled the angry Kijin back into his arms, wrapping them around her waist with her back pressed to his front and his chin resting slightly on her shoulder. He placed a gentle kiss behind her ear and a subsequent one on her horn.

"Go scout the other side of the forest for now. I will talk to her." Kumiko turned her head slightly to look at Souei with shock and disbelief in her eyes.

"Souei!"

"I promise to maintain my distance, and if it is anything important I will inform you right away," he whispered as she turned to glower at the lizard. "Please go calm down, love. I promise I remain loyal to you."

"That's not my worry," Kumiko said with a sigh as she reigned in her anger. "I just don't trust the lizard to not make advances on a taken man. I will go, for now."

Kumiko turned in Souei's arms and gave him a light kiss, which he gladly returned. With one last glare to the lizard who had yet to rise, she disappeared in a streak of black, leaving Souei feeling a bit cold. He crossed his arms as he sighed and addressed Soka.

"You can get up, Soka," he said with little to no emotion in his words. She quickly followed and ran towards Souei with her arms spread, as if wanting to embrace him. He narrowed his eyes and used his [Spacial Travel] to move himself further away from her. After all, not only did he promise Kumiko to maintain distance, he wasn't comfortable himself with her actions.

"Speak from where you stand, Soka. I've asked Kumiko to leave already, so say what this 'personal matter' is before I leave as well."

"Souei-sama! I just wanted to check to make sure you were safe," Soka said as she dropped her arms and looked at him with adoring eyes. "I managed to get that succubus off of you, and I wanted to see what kind of damage she's done to you?"

"Succubus?" Souei echoed as his eyes narrowed on the dragonnewt and his anger flared a bit.

"Yes! She's a succubus that's been seducing you with that vulgar body of hers!" Soka quickly yelled out to him, gesturing outwards with her hands. "She's been brainwashing you, can't you tell? There's no way that that thing is worthy of being with you. You and the rest of the village have been deceived that she is a Kijin. Her horns are proof itself that she's nothing more than a seducing demon in skin. She's using you, Souei-sama! I'm telling you to save you from her evil grasp."

At Soka said more and more, Souei felt waves and waves of anger wash over him. She was calling Kumiko a succubus? Not only had she insulted the one he loved, but he had brought up a sore subject of the female Kijin and spouted nonsense. At this moment, Souei was glad that he had sent Kumiko away, knowing that had she been there, she would've attacked and he couldn't guarantee that he would've held her back.

"I don't believe you understand what you've just accused Kumiko of, Soka," Souei said with a dark tone in his voice. Soka flinched but recovered and took a step forwards towards Souei.

"But I do, Souei-sama! I've seen how she presses her body against you and that look in her eyes that brainwashes you. You're under her spell, so you don't see it, but I do. You have to trust me, Souei-sama." Soka took a few more steps closer to Souei, who quickly used his threads to wrap around her ankles and keep her where she was. He was raging with each word that came out of the lizard's mouth, but in compliance with the alliance and Rimuru's orders, Souei dared not attack.

"One more step towards me, one more word against Kumiko, and I'm afraid I will have to ask Rimuru-sama to remove you from this village permanently, ally or not."

"Please believe me, Souei-sama!"

"Kumiko has lived a past that has scarred her and traumatized her. She lived like no ogre should, but there is no doubt she was once an ogre, and is now a Kijin. Her horns may look different, but the outwards appearance matters now. She is a Kijin and I will not allow you to say otherwise."

"How can I convince you to believe me?" Soka fought against her restraints as she pleaded with Souei to listen. She wouldn't stand by and watch that succubus entrance him with her powers and use him. Her actions would have been noble had she not twisted the situation in her own mind due to her jealousy and hatred. Souei glared harshly at her from his distance.

Kumiko, my love, Souei called to her with his [Thought Communication].

Yes? Did something happen? I swear I'll boil that lizard alive and have Gobta serve her to -

Calm down, love. How do you feel about fighting one-on-one with her tomorrow morning? Kumiko remained silent for a second.

I would gladly do so, but what's the occasion? Normally you tell me she's an ally and I must not engage no matter how much I wanted to, but now you're setting up a duel between that lizard and me? Kumiko's voice held confusion and a weird tone of anxiety. She didn't know what had happened for Souei to suddenly ask if she wanted to fight the lizard. Of course she did! She's wanted to fight her one-on-one since she had given Souei those eyes of adoration while purposely ignoring Kumiko.

You will fight her tomorrow, but no killing and no abilities. Just your blade. I promise I'll explain everything later.

Souei turned to Soka, who was still stuck in place by the threads. He walked up to her, him being at least a head taller, and gave her a glare as he stood stiffly in front, though out of her reach, and gave her his proposal.

"Tomorrow, if you can fight Kumiko one-on-one with just your blade and win. I will believe you." Soka's eyes brightened. Surely without abilities, she was stronger than that damned succubus. She could win.

"However," Souei continued, his tone harsh as he stared at the lizard, "if you lose, you will apologize to Kumiko, maintain distance from the both of us and cease your affection towards me immediately."

Soka's eyes widened. He knew she held affection towards him. At this thought, she smirked. Once she won the fight and Souei believed her, he would surely return her affections since she saved him from the succubus. It was perfect.

As soon as she agreed to the terms, Souei released her from the restraints and disappeared in a streak of black before she could react. Had he stayed any longer, he would've torn into the damned lizard himself.

~~~

The next day, Kumiko awoke wrapped in Souei's arms comfortably. Much to her annoyance, the blue Kijin hadn't told her what had transpired. He appeared next to her and immediately pulled her in a tight hug without saying a single word. Kumiko reflexively wrapped her own arms around him and gently rubbed his back, sensing his anger, but she hadn't known the actual details. Figuring that that lizard had said something to Souei to get him upset, she vowed to drag out her defeat just so she could get a few more hits in on the damned lizard.

With gentle kisses to Souei's cheek and soft whispers that everything was fine, Souei managed to calm down some, though he refused to let go of Kumiko. He pulled back and kissed the top of her head and then her horns before lifting her chin slightly and kissing her lips. Souei was confident that Kumiko would win the next day, so he wasn't worried. Pulling apart and grabbing her hand, he used [Spacial Travel], triggering her own skill, and brought the two of them back to his own room where he tossed his blades to the side and pulled her down onto the bed, snuggling in. She had been greatly confused, but deemed it not appropriate to push given his mood, and instead gotten comfortable and fell asleep in his arms.

Which led them to this morning, with Souei's soft breathing indicating that he was still asleep. Kumiko gently lifted his arms off of her, kissing his cheek, and hopping out of bed. She yawned a bit and stretched her arms into the air, the black turtleneck shirt riding up slightly to expose a bit of her stomach. Kumiko was going to enjoy beating this lizard to the fullest extent.

Souei awoke shortly after, stirring in bed and sitting up with the sheets sliding off of him. Feeling that Kumiko was no longer in bed, he looked up to see her sitting in a chair polishing her blade. He slid off the bed and made his way over to her, giving her a quick kiss when she looked up.

"What are you doing?" Souei asked as he sat on the arm rest of her chair.

"I want my blade to be in the best condition for the fight later," Kumiko said easily as she snapped it shut and put the rag down. Souei leaned down slightly and kissed the top of her head. "What did that lizard say last night to get you so riled up?"

Souei's expression darkened as he remembered Soka's words, but quickly shook his head at Kumiko.

"It's nothing you need to worry about. A few insults to you that made me mad, but nothing of interest." Kumiko glanced up at him before standing off the chair, giggling a bit as it tipped slightly due to Souei's weight on the arm rest. He quickly stood up and gave her a light glare for laughing. Kumiko simply ignored it and wrapped her arms around Souei's torso as his own locked at the small of her back.

"Don't worry. I'll get revenge for whatever insults she threw at me. She won't even be able to lay a finger on a strand of my hair," Kumiko promised as she nuzzled her head at the base of his neck. He nodded in agreement, although a bit absent minded. Hopefully, Soka was smart enough to not say anything about Kumiko's horns again during the fight or he feared that no one would be able to hold Kumiko back.

Later that day, the duel between the two females had been announced. Rimuru was a bit shocked, but somewhere in his mind he had expected it to happen sooner or later. His surprise came mostly from the fact that Souei had told him he was the one that organized the fight between the two. For the most part, Souei tried to keep Kumiko from fighting the dragonnewt to honor their alliance, so Rimuru knew Soka must've said something to really anger Souei. Regardless, Rimuru agreed and the fight was set in a grassy clearing by the village.

Almost the entire town of goblins, orcs, dwarves, lizardmen and Kijin went to spectate. Even Treyni and the humans from Falmuth and Blumund were there. The Falmuth humans were supposed to head out that day to start spreading news of their 'victory' around, but had delayed it by a few hours to witness the fight. There was a loose circle in the middle where the two girls stood, their hatred for each other clear as day through their auras. The Kijin and Soka's dragonnewt group stood at the front of the spectators, with Souei standing on Kumiko's side, much to Soka's dismay.

"So then," Rimuru said as he stood in his slime form in the middle of the makeshift circle. "We're here to witness the fight between Kumiko and Soka. This fight will only include their choice of blade, and no abilities. It will end once either one of them surrenders or they're unable to continue fighting."

The two girls held up their blades, Kumiko with her double bladed scythe and Soka with her swords. Rimuru looked at the two before hopping off to the sidelines.

"You may begin."

Immediately, the two of them shot towards each other, though Kumiko was visibly faster. Their blades sparked as they clashed and immediately Soka was pushed back as Kumiko knocked her blades to the side and jumped back. Soka gritted her teeth and charged forward, bringing her blade down towards Kumiko, but only hit air. Kumiko had dodged to the side last might and swung her scythe at Soka from the side. The scythe scraped Soka's cheek, a line of blood being drawn as the two of them disengaged and landed on opposite sides of the circle. The separation didn't last long as the two launched right back towards each other.

"Oh? Kumiko's holding back a lot," Shion voiced out as she watched the fight.

"What's this about anyways?" Benimaru asked Souei, who was staring at the fight intently. Kumiko had held up to her promise and was easily dominating the fight. Soka had multiple scrapes and was visibly getting annoyed while Kumiko was easily dodging all of the lizard's attacks.

"If Soka wins, I have to acknowledge the fact that Kumiko is a succubus," he said without even turning around. His tone held a hint of hatred at the idea of it

"HUH?!" Benimaru, Shion and Shuna all screamed out at Souei. "A succubus?!" A dark aura began to rise around Shion and Shuna as the two began mumbling curses at Soka. Benimaru only sighed and put his hand on his head as he processed it.

Kumiko paid no mind to the two raging female kijin behind her, enjoying being able to beat down Soka so easily. Despite her training, the lizard couldn't dream of beating Kumiko, even if the latter was half asleep. It was simply too easy for Kumiko to win, but she didn't exactly want to right now. She wanted to take her time in taking out her anger on the lizard.

As the battle dragged on, Soka's annoyance and anger at her inability to strike Kumiko once rose and rose, until she resorted to verbal attacks as well. As she deflected a swipe from Kumiko's blade, she quickly jumped back, her breathing a bit labored while Kumiko calmly stood at the other side facing her.

"You know what this fight is about?" Soka asked as she tried to catch her breath. The field silenced, wanting to hear what the two had to say. Kumiko decided to humor her and leaned slightly against her scythe.

"No. All I know and care about is that I'm coming out victorious."

"I'm fighting to expose you for who you truly are," Soka declared as she raised her blade and charged. Kumiko rolled her eyes and dodged easily to the side, using the handle of her scythe to push Soka away. Soka skidded against the ground as she glared up at Kumiko.

"You can't hide that you're a succubus any longer! I've figured you out!" Soka raised her blade again, though this time didn't charge. She wanted Kumiko to make the first move. Instead, Kumiko laughed loudly, the sound of it washing over the field.

"A succubus?" She couldn't help but laugh at the idea. Wiping away some imaginary tears, she calmed herself and spoke with a tone of amusement.

"I think you've got something wrong here, lizard." Kumiko's tone dropped as her amused expression turned into a glare. "I'm a Kijin, through and through. What proof do you have that I'm a succubus?"

Soka smirked and pointed to Kumiko's head.

"Your horns," she stated triumphantly. The entire field froze and all that could be heard was the wind. Shion and Shuna had been shocked out of their anger as Souei's face darkened. She didn't know what she was talking about, and whatever happened now was out of anyone's control, even possibly Rimuru.

Kumiko didn't move from her spot, and Soka took it as admittance that she had been faking. The lizard pointed the point of her blade at Kumiko as she continued talking nonsense.

"You, who has been deceiving everyone in this village, will now be exposed. What kind of ogre has those horns anyways? Their unnatural and proof that you're not even of the ogre race. You've seduced Souei-sama with your vulgar body and convinced him that he belongs to you when you're not worthy of a single hair on Souei-sama's head." Kumiko remained unmoving, her face overshadowed. "This fight is to prove to him that I'm telling the truth and I'm trying to save him from your grasp."

Before anyone could say anything, Kumiko rushed forward, her speed ten times faster than before though she didn't use any skills. Within a split second and before Soka could process her movement, she was standing in front of the lizard with a terrifying glare.

"Shut up, lizard." The spectators all watched as Kumiko sent a harsh kick to Soka's stomach, sending her flying back harshly, rolling on the ground. Kumiko rushed forward again before Soka could get up, picking up the coughing lizard and delivering a spinning kick.

"O-oi, Kumiko," Rimuru called out, but he was a bit scared to step in. Kumiko was enraged at the moment and Rimuru didn't want to get in the way. He looked to Souei, about to ask him to calm her down, but he noticed the look of rage in Souei's eyes. The blue Kijin wasn't about to stop Kumiko any time soon, and neither were any of the other kijin apparently. Rimuru sighed. He understood Kumiko's anger. After all, when he heard Soka's words, he felt it rise in himself. The Kijin who had gone through so much and had been shunned for her horns was finally accepting them, a big part thanks to Souei, but then Soka just had to mention it.

Kumiko charged forward with her blade poised, ready to cut the lizard. Soka barely managed to raise her blade to block it, but Kumiko wasn't fazed and quickly used her own foot to kick both their blades up and deliver another swift kick to the lizard's side.

"You think you have me figured out, don't you?" Kumiko asked darkly as the lizard skidded away from her kick. The kijin remained standing as the lizard struggled to get back onto her feet. Her golden eyes flashed almost dangerously as she walked up to Soka confidently. "Did you know, I spent the first 11 years of my life being shunned for my horns and sent off to fight for my village as soon as I could hold a blade."

Kumiko gripped Soka's hair and pulled her up, causing the lizard to flinch. Soka glared at Kumiko defiantly and swung her blade, which quickly easily knocked away with her own and dropped the injured lizard.

"I fought orcs, ants, wolves, even other lizardmen. I sometimes fought alone, and sometimes with an ogre army that wanted nothing but to see me perish in the battlefield." Kumiko stared down at Soka who had stabbed her blade in the ground and was trying to use it to get back up onto her feet.

"But guess what? I came back victorious after every fight." Kumiko knocked the blade out of Soka's hand, causing the lizard to fall to the ground again, her legs trembling in pain. Soka shot a terrified look up at Kumiko.

"I'm afraid I must've hit you too hard," Kumiko pouted, feigning apology as she smiled down at Soka. "I wanted to take my time in this fight so I could take out all my frustrations out."

Soka pushed herself up again, though her legs were trembling badly and she was staggering on her feet. She had to win to prove to Souei that she was right.

"It really hurts to be ignored, you know?" Kumiko said, waving her scythe around leisurely as she circled Soka slowly. "All those times you look at my Souei, thinking he'd turn to a lowly being like you while I'm standing by his side. Clearly you don't know your place."

"I know you don't belong by Souei." Soka argued back. She was met with a freezing glare from Kumiko's golden eyes. Kumiko held the glare for a few seconds before she sighed and turned away.

"You really don't understand your situation here, do you?" Kumiko asked as she turned her back to the lizard. Soka's anger rose at her actions which showed that she didn't perceive the lizard as a threat. "I may look different, but I'm a Kijin through and through. The only difference is I have fought in more battles than possibly any other being here and I've won every. Single. One."

"You're a monster," Soka stated as she glared at Kumiko's. It was taking all she had to just stand, and she knew that she couldn't fight anymore, at least physically. If she managed to get to Kumiko verbally, perhaps she could make her surrender. "I'll spare you the humility of being exiled for deceiving everyone, including Souei-sama, if you just give up right now."

Kumiko smirked, swinging her scythe easily as she turned her head over her shoulder.

"Surrender?" Kumiko echoed. Once again, Kumiko rushed towards Soka and was standing before the lizard again. "I think not."

With a swing of her scythe, Kumiko used the handle of her scythe to bat the injured lizard away from her. Soka collapsed onto the ground, pain radiating through her. Kumiko walked up and stabbed the scythe blade right next to her head as she knelt down next to the lizard with a menacing smile.

"Did you think you stood any chance against me?"

"Kumiko, that's enough." Rimuru said as he forced himself into the situation. Anymore and they'd have to tell the chieftain that his daughter was killed in a duel against Kumiko. Kumiko clicked her tongue, but obeyed and stood up, walking away from the lizard who laid on the ground unable to move. Rimuru hopped over and tossed a full potion over to her before addressing the spectators who had been silent this entire time.

"The winner is Kumiko." Silence rang through the courtyard, before cheers erupted. Most of the spectators would've been happy with either side winning, but those who knew Kumiko's story were especially glad she had won. She faced the rest of the village with a stoic expression, a little bit of boredom present, before she bowed and made her way to the rest of the Kijin. They were quick to pull her in a hug and congratulate her for the win.

"Good job," Souei said as he brought her in and kissed her on the top of her head. Souei turned to Soka, who had been healed but remained on one knee facing Kumiko and Souei.

"Hold up your end of the deal," Souei demanded of her, his voice holding no room for negotiation. Soka bowed her head.

"I apologize for my words and actions, Kumiko-dono," she said reluctantly. "As per agreed, I will maintain distance from both Souei-sama and Kumiko-dono as well as terminating all feelings I have towards Souei-sama."

Souei nodded, accepting her defeat, before he and Kumiko disappeared in a streak of black. The other Kijin, who had learned [Spacial Travel] as well, followed shortly. Rimuru sighed.

"So, um... Now that this fight is over, please go back to your daily lives." Rimuru quickly disbanded the gathering and stared at Soka who had her head bowed still. Her dragonnewt servants stood still, facing her, knowing that she had to accept this complete defeat. The dragonnewts around her all knew that she had picked a fight she wouldn't win, and even that she had crossed the line, but they dared not say it aloud to her.

~~~

It had been a few days since the fight, and Kumiko and Soka were more civil towards each other. Kumiko had accepted the apology and Soka managed to tame her own emotions after her loss. Despite suffering a humiliating defeat, she had to admit to herself that Kumiko was a force to be reckoned with. Soka had to respect Kumiko for her abilities and her battle prowess. Since the fight, she had respectfully called her 'Kumiko-sama' and agreed to follow both her and Souei's command. So in short, Rimuru could breathe easily knowing that the two were now settled.

At the current moment, Souei and Kumiko were helping the dragonnewts train their abilities, including [Shadow Movement] and stealth tactics. If they couldn't learn this, Kumiko and Souei had no use for them as spies. While they were training, they felt a presence make it's way into the city. With a quick glance at each other, Souei made a double to continue training the dragonnewts before he and Kumiko activated their [Spacial Travel] and made their way by Rimuru. At the same time they arrived, Benimaru and Hakurou also appeared.

In front of them a Dryad appeared, though the aura around her was different. She looked almost identical to Treyni, except for the hairstyle. The normally green hue around Dryads was tainted red.

"I-It's a Dryad!" Gido stated in shock as he stood up off the ground.

"I've never seen one before..." Kaval said from behind the cart of Knight Spider pieces.

"I am the Dryad Trya," she finally introduced, though her tone was desperate with a hint of sadness, "the younger sister of Treyni."

"What's with that form and the murderous aura?" Rimuru asked for everyone from Eren's arms.

"There is an emergency," Trya replied. "Calamity is approaching. A calamity-class monster, Charybdis, has been revived."

"Charybdis?" Rimuru echoed in confusion while the kijin only shared a knowing look between one another. Charybdis was a monster that could rival even the Demon Lords. It's awakening truly was a calamity.

"Its violence equals that of a Demon Lord," Trya explained for Rimuru. "My sisters, including Treyni, have set out to slow its progress, but they are no match for it. And it appears Charybdis is heading for this land." Silence fell as the group let it sink in.

"Against Charybdis, the Ruler of the Skies, waging war on land is futile," Tyra continued. "I have come to advise you to bolster your defenses and prepare an airborne combat force as soon as possible."

"Trya-san, come with us to explain in the meeting room," Rimuru said, fully understanding the danger this village was in. She nodded and Rimuru quickly called everyone who would be involved to the meeting room.

It didn't take long for everyone to make their way into the seats. Rimuru was at the head with all the kijin, minus Kurobe and Shuna, standing behind him. Directly across from Rimuru sat Trya and Vesta. On the left side of the table sat Gabiru, Soka, Rigurd, Rigur and Shuna. On the right sat Gobta, Kurobe, Kaijin, Fuze and Milim with Eren, Gido and Kaval standing behind Fuze. Once everyone had their spots, Trya explained to everyone about Charybdis.

"Charybdis was born long, long ago, and has died and revived many times," she started. "It is a violent Ruler of the Skies. No less is expected of the child of Veldora, the ruler and guardian of the forest."

"Veldora's child?" Rimuru asked aloud as Kumiko thought the exact same question. In the ten years she had been with Veldora in that cave, Veldora hadn't said a single word about Charybdis being his child.

"Charybdis was generated from a cloud of Veldora's magicules," Trya explained.

"If Charybdis has revived, it is a threat greater than a Demon Lord." Fuze stood up in his chair. "Unlike a Demon Lord, this is not an opponent we can speak with."

"You might as well call it a monster with no intelligence," Vesta said in agreement. "It's said that it calls shark-like summon monsters called Megalodons from the spirit world to join it in its rampage."

"What the heck? That sounds worse than the Orc Lord..." Rimuru trailed off.

"The situation could not be worse," Trya added. "Its summoned Megalodons have occupied some lesser dragon corpses that were nearby for some unknown reason. They number thirteen."

"Rimuru-sama, what shall we do?" Shuna asked as she stood up from her own seat beside Rigur.

"What do we do?" Rimuru echoed back. "I mean..."

"Haven't you forgotten something important?" Milim interrupted with a confident laugh. "That stupid Charybdis... is no match for me! I'll whoop its butt in no time!"

"We cannot do that," Shion immediately denied from beside Rimuru. "This is our town's problem."

"She's right," Shuna agreed with a nod of her head. "It's wrong to rely on you for everything just because you're a friend. When Rimuru-sama is in desperate need of help, we would certainly appreciate your assistance then."

Milim hung her head in defeat as a depressed aura hung around her head.

"They're right, Milim," Rimuru said trying to ease the childish Demon Lord. "Just have faith in me."

"And I thought... I'd finally get my chance to shine..." Milim trailed off with tears in her eyes as her head remained angled downwards in her sadness at not being part of the fight.

"Begin preparations to defeat Charybdis!" Rimuru announced, choosing to ignore Milim's cries. "Kumiko, use your [Unrivaled Strategy] to come up with some plans to slow down Charybdis, if not stop it. We will be fighting Charybdis in the forest between Dwargon and this town."

"Yes sir!" The participants of the meeting saluted.

"Defeat it?" Fuze echoed as most of the group began filing out. "Are you sure you understand? You're up against a beast that even the Dryads couldn't stop." Everyone except Rimuru, Fuze, Eren, Gido and Kaval had left.

"We can count on backup from King Gazel since we signed that treaty," Rimuru explained to Fuze. "We'll just do all we can."

"You aren't going to run away?" Fuze asked.

"What good would that do?" Rimuru refuted. "I'm the strongest one in this nation. If it looks like I stand no chance, I'll run away and think up a new plan, but otherwise, I should see how strong it is with my own eyes, right?"

"I see," Fuze said, turning away with a smirk. "You are the leader of the monsters, after all."

"We're not like Humans who are done for if they lose their king," Rimuru agreed.

"But you know... you think much like we Humans do. It's hard to see you as a monster."

"It might be hard to believe, but I actually used to be human," Rimuru revealed to Fuze and the other humans. "You know about Shizu-san right? I think I'm an Otherworlder, just like she was. I died in my world..."

Rimuru trailed off slightly as he activated his [Mimic] and transformed into a human.

"... and was reborn here as a slime." The humans stared at him in shock.

"Shizu..." Eren trailed off. Rimuru gave her a sad smile as he stared at the mask he held in his hand.

"Shizu-san entrusted everything to me as someone from the same homeland. I gained this form in exchange for inheriting her will. I can't go making dumb mistakes in Shizu-san's form, right?" Rimuru looked up with a sad smile.

"I see," Eren said, relieved. "So Rimuru really is someone we can trust!" Fuze nodded in agreement.

"Beside, I made a promise to her," Rimuru continued. "I promised that I'd clear away the feelings that bind her heart."

Rimuru's smile turned into a slight look of determination.

"My prey is the Demon Lord Leon."

"The Demon Lord Leon?!" Fuze yelled out in shock.

"H-he is?" Eren stuttered out shocked.

"You can't call a major figure like him your 'prey'!" Gido scolded.

"I mean, compared to the Demon Lord Leon, I guess Charybdis would be easier to handle... maybe?" Kaval added on.

"Yeah," Rimuru agreed with all their comments. "The Demon Lord Leon comes later. Charybdis comes first."

Up next: Charybdis

Chapter Text

Charybdis, the calamity, had awakened, and was headed straight towards the capital city of Rimuru. As of now, the village assumed that since Rimuru had swallowed Veldora with [Predator], Charybdis, who was born from a cloud of Veldora's magicules, had come to seek vengeance against the slime. As Rimuru had instructed, they were to engage in battle with Charybdis outside of the town in a stretch of forest located between the town and Dwargon.

The current forces that were ready to go up against Charybdis included the Kijin, Gobta and the Goblin Riders, Geld's army of high orcs, Gabiru and his servants and 100 pegasus-mounted royal guards from Dwargon sent by King Gazel. Minus the Pegasus Knights, they all stood atop a hill, awaiting Rimuru's orders. Rimuru simply watched Charybdis approach in the distance before he turned around to address the group.

"Well, ready to do this?" Rimuru asked as he faced the group.

"Yes, sir!" Everyone replied. Quickly setting their plan into motion, the different groups scattered into their respective areas of their forest. The first goal to take down were the thirteen megalodons that surrounded Charybdis.

Benimaru was the first to strike, using his [Hell Flare] and throwing it up perfectly at one of the low flying megalodons, instantly engulfing it in a sphere of black and purple flames. The Megalodon crashed down into the forest, albeit it was still whole. Benimaru clicked his tongue. Despite the power in his attack, he couldn't destroy the damned beast.

Charybdis has an extra skill, [Magic Jamming], Rimuru projected towards all the current warriors. Not everyone could reply, but he made sure that everyone understood that within a 300-meter radius, the movement of the magicules was disturbed and therefore reduced the efficacy of magic. Stick to the plan still! Scatter them and strike each one individually!

The next megalodon to crash went to the Orcs. They purposely lured one down to the forest down, the shark-like beast crashing into the ground, yet completely unfazed by it. Despite kicking up dirt and tearing up the path, the megalodon continued pushing, trying to grab a few of the High Orcs in its jaws. Geld turned around once the shark had skid some, putting his hands out to grab the shark on the nose and using his own body to try to slow it down. Despite being forced back a fair ways down the path, Geld managed to counteract the shark's momentum, both of them coming to a complete stop. The other orcs took the chance and pounced on the grounded shark, digging their axes and swords into the chinks in the shark's metal exterior. Feeling the pain, the megalodon whipped its tail, tossing the orcs off easily. Geld, who was still holding onto the megalodon to stop it's movements, slightly panicked. His brethren had been tossed off to the side, and he knew he couldn't fight it alone.

Thankfully, he didn't have to hold out long as Gabiru came flying from above, his spear pointed towards the shark. Using his skill [Vortex Crash], Gabiru's trident stabbed through the plating on the shark and right into the megalodon's forehead. The beast jerked out of Geld's hands, flailing in pain as it let out a horrifying screech. It wasn't long before the shark coughed up blood and then promptly collapsed, the trident still stuck deep in its head. Pulling it out, Gabiru made a plan with Geld to attract the third megalodon down, using the exact same tactic they had just done.

The fourth went down to the Pegasus Knights as they charged in from the sky. With their sheer numbers and aerial horses, they overwhelmed one of the megalodons, managing to slice into the weak points and cause it to crash to the ground.

The fifth shark was lured down by Gobta and the Goblin Riders who used the same tactics as the high orcs since neither of the two teams had the agility or ability to maneuver easily in the air. The shark roared loudly as it chased three of the goblins down the path, it's body coming closer and closer to the ground. This one came in at an angle that immediately stopped it's momentum, allowing the rest of the Goblin Riders who had been in hiding to jump out. Gobta, who had been one of the ones to lead the shark down, turned back on his wolf and charged in to help attack. The shark flailed as the Goblins stabbed it between the plates of armor, and Hakurou stood by, directing the goblins on their tasks. After all, Hakurou was the instructor.

However, the goblins were unsuccessful and had been thrown off. Hakurou decided to intervene, quickly dicing the megalodon into minuscule pieces that fell to the ground in a mess of megalodon armor plating. He graciously took the time after defeating the shark single-handedly to voice his disappointment in the Goblins who had yet to improve to his standards.

The sixth and seventh Megalodon's were brought down by Souei. Teleporting onto the back of one of the sharks, he used his skill [Puppet Strings] to forcibly control it, easily turning it around towards one of it's own. The two of them crashed, the first using its jaws to lock onto the second, shaking its head and tearing the other shark apart. The two megalodons roared as they both were sent off the path. The second megalodon tried to get back to it's position, but Souei's control easily allowed him to spin the shark in circles, bringing it down. He turned the puppet shark around, heading towards Charybdis. As soon as he jumped off the shark, it was sliced by his threads into multiple, even sized fish fillets.

The eighth shark went down to Soka and her team of dragonnewts. Using their skills and stealth taught by both Kumiko and Souei, they successfully got up to the Megalodon without being detected despite flying directly in it's face and tore into the flying beast.

The ninth, tenth, and eleventh sharks successfully were brought down by Kumiko. Using her [Spacial Travel], she got on top of the ninth Megalodon and used her [Aqueous Manipulation] to freeze all fluid inside the shark. With locked muscles and lack of blood flow, the shark took a nose dive into the forest. She pushed off that one and jumped right onto the second who had headed her way as soon as she froze the shark. This time, she decided to boil the shark from the inside out. From below, they could only see the shark falter for just a second before it exploded into millions of pieces with steam rising from where the shark had once been. As soon as it exploded, Kumiko had already leaped towards the third shark who was flying nearby, spinning to gain momentum as she flew towards the shark and successfully cutting the back end off. As soon as the tail detached, she used it as a spring board and leaped onto the front half of the shark. Swiftly, she stabbed it in the head, successfully killing it, before she jumped off, disappearing midair only to reappear by Souei, both of them now on the back of Charybdis.

The last two megalodons went down to Shion and Ranga, who had teamed up, determined to prove themselves in this battle. Ranga, who had somehow learned how to fly, made his way above the sharks, dropping Shion down as she used her skill [Decapitating Demon Blade] to literally chop the shark's head off. Ranga turned around midair, howling as his two horns sparked with black lightning. He aimed his head towards the last megalodon, successfully electrocuting it, the burnt fish falling from the sky. Ranga quickly picked up Shion again before she fell too far and made his way to rendezvous with Souei and Kumiko atop Charybdis.

While the Pegasus Knights attacked Charybdis from above, the three Kijin and Ranga attempted to find a weak point on Charybdis. Shion stood atop Ranga as he ran down the length of the monster, dwarfed in size. Souei and Kumiko who had the most agility out of all the Kijin didn't need a wolf and relied on their own speed.

It might try to pull something! Don't let your guard down! Rimuru's voice echoed in all three of their minds. The four of them responded with affirmations that they would beware as they continued their attack.

Charybdis roared, feeling the four figures on his back. Souei drew one of his blades, holding the handle with the blade pointed downwards. His second blade still remained strapped to his back. Kumiko stood nearby, her scythe held out in defense while she faced the opposite direction of Souei. Ranga and Shion had also made their way to the two and faced a direction to their side, so that whichever way the attack came, someone could respond immediately.

Suddenly, Charybdis dislodged his own scales, shooting them outwards. The Pegasus Knights quickly evaded back, but the three Kijin and Ranga were less lucky. From the sheer force of Charybdis blowing his own scales off, the four of them were tossed off the beast. Ranga was first to recover, launching straight towards Shion, knowing that Souei and Kumiko could land easily on their feet like the cats they were. Sure enough, all four of them managed to negate damage from their fall, Ranga landing in a gallop with Shion on his back and Souei and Kumiko landing in a crouched position.

"Tch, and unexpected ability of Charybdis. This sure throws some of our plans into disarray," Kumiko voiced in annoyance. As one of the people who had helped determine which plans to use, the unexpected ability was a hit to her own pride.

The scales seemed to have some ability to be controlled as they swarmed around the group rather than attacking the nearest target. The scales grouped up in the air, then began shooting themselves forward like bullets. Souei tried to dodge using his [Spacial Travel], but the scales were too numerous and he ended up getting scratched by a few. Shion and Kumiko took the different tactic of trying to block the scales in stead of evade.

"I can't dodge!" Souei growled out slightly as the barrage of scales continued raining down on them.

"Dodge? Don't be a weakling!" Shion scolded as she batted away scale after scale until one launched straight into her stomach. She grunted in pain as another one hit her across the face and threw her backwards.

"What, afraid I'll last longer than you?" Kumiko taunted slightly, knowing that a competition would allow them to put more than all their effort into the battle just so they could boast to the other later. She was on one knee to brace herself and had been using her [Aqueous Manipulation] to throw up shield after shield of ice in front of her. She wanted to try to block the other two as well, but she could barely block herself before the scales punctured her ice and shattered it. While she was quick in throwing up a second one, it wasn't enough to keep her unscathed.

Ranga jumped forwards into the onslaught of scales, using his [Black Lightning] to incinerate them one after another as the lightning traveled from scale to scale. However, there simply were too many for him to finish them all, though Ranga managed to buy them a bit of time.

"Souei, Kumiko, use [Spacial Travel] to escape," Ranga commanded as he looked at the two, who only glared back. Souei was crouched on the ground, breathing heavily. Kumiko was a bit further behind, still on her knee as she let her ice shield melt away. "I will act as Shion's shield."

"You fool! Do you want to die, Ranga?! I'll do this alone!" Shion called out, leaning heavily on her blade that was stabbed into the ground. Ranga only laughed.

"Rimuru-sama and Kumiko's chosen course of action is the one granting the highest chance of survival."

"Highest chance of survival, eh?" Souei echoed with a smirk. "In that case, I'll stay, too. Oh, don't get the wrong idea. The real me will withdraw before I get killed, so don't worry." He glanced back at Kumiko, not daring to ask her to retreat when he wasn't himself. Kumiko rolled her eyes.

"If anyone has the highest rate of survival, it's me," she voiced. "I have [Unrivaled Strategy], so I can back out the minute I know I will lose the battle. As of right now, this isn't our loss yet!"

"In that case, let us all survive!" Shion declared. The four of them quickly braced themselves to launch towards Charybdis as the scales aligned themselves to strike again. The four of them gave each other a quick nod before proceeding to charge forwards, their blades ready.

"You guys really are idiots," Rimuru's voice came from in front of them. The four skidded to a stop, looking up to see Rimuru putting himself directly in front of the scales. "You could at least rely on me at a time like this."

"Rimuru-sama!" Shion said in surprise. Rimuru only smiled back at the four before facing the seemingly endless number of scales.

"Devour all! [Gluttony]!" Rimuru stretched his hand towards the main grouping of the scales as a large tornado of black mist spiraled outwards from his palm, devouring all the scales in its path. In just a few seconds, the scaled had all disappeared. The kijin stared at Rimuru in shock. They knew their master was strong, but even they didn't really know the true extent of his power as Rimuru never had to use it, even against the Orc Lord.

"Leave the rest to me," Rimuru reassured the group of four. "You guys fall back and rest for a bit."

"We can still help you!" Souei argued back.

"Take it easy," Rimuru said in reply, his bat wings flapping lightly behind him. "Look."

Rimuru looked forward towards Charybdis and the four of them followed his gaze. They flinched as they saw glimmering scales growing again across Charybdis' underside, and they figured it was safe to assume the scales on top were also regenerating.

"The next time it uses those, I don't know if I'll be able to protect you again," Rimuru stated seriously. "I'll fight it for a while. Attack at Benimaru's order."

The Kijin and Ranga were reluctant, but they obeyed and quickly retreated back to Benimaru's side. He and Shuna were standing atop a hill that allowed them a good overhead view of the forest and the battles going on.

Once the four of them had retreated, Rimuru flew towards Charybdis, dodging left and right as the monster shot more scales off towards the slime.

"Now then..." Rimuru said as he flew closer to Charybdis. "I guess I'll just do whatever I can."

Laying back slightly on his wings in midair, Rimuru activated [Black Lightning], targeting the underside of Charybdis. Charybdis clearly felt the pain as his single large eye rolled around. Once he spotted Rimuru, he let out a beam, trying to vaporize Rimuru. Instead, the beams reached the forest floor, setting the trees on fire.

Kumiko! Rimuru shouted to her mentally. She didn't have to reply as she immediately used her [Iced Vines] to cover the forest and quell the flames. The tendrils of ice that reached up grew to the top of the trees and snuffed out what fire was left. They then proceeded to cover as much of the forest as possible, turning the battle field into a white plain.

"Everyone, utilize all methods at your disposal to attack Charybdis!" Benimaru commanded from below. "Even if the effects are weak! Don't give it a chance to recover!" The goblins and orcs cried out in acknowledgement of the call to battle, launching arrows and abilities at the monster. Kumiko wanted to use her [Iced Vines] to contribute, but the tendrils were much too thin compared to Charybdis' size to grab anything. Instead, she resorted to keeping the forest safe from the numerous attacks from both Charybdis and their own arm.

Despite giving the entire battle their all, by sunset, Charybdis had at least 60% of his health left and was still regenerating with his extra skill [Ultraspeed Regeneration]. Despite how many attacks were thrown at him, how many tendrils of ice, how many steel threads, how many balls of hell fire, the monster was recovering faster than they could take him down.

The only good thing about this battle was the Charybdis was slow. Despite having fought all afternoon and evening, he hadn't made it past the stretch of forest they had decided to fight the monster in. However, it was taking a toll on the army. The pegasus knights had retreated lower and hid slightly in the forest to recover and the goblins and orcs who had overextended their magicule use were currently recovering in a makeshift camp. The Kijin were still standing by, though even Kumiko was at a loss as to how to attack Charybdis now. Rimuru was still up near Charybdis, sighing as he examined the large calamity-class monster.

"D-Damn you... M-Milim..." Charybdis growled out in a broken stutter. Rimuru turned looking at Charybdis. Originally, Trya and Vesta had said that Charybdis wasn't a monster with intelligence to talk to. Yet Charybdis clearly had just said something.

"Milim?" Rimuru echoed. "You just said 'Milim,' didn't you?" Rimuru asked Charybdis. Charybdis didn't respond. So instead, Rimuru used [Appraisal]. It appeared that there was a sign of life the [Great Sage] could detect from within Charybdis. The body which Charybdis had possessed had intense anger

"Intense anger?" Rimuru muttered as he examined Charybdis, who surprisingly hadn't attacked him despite Rimuru calmly flying right in front of Charybdis.

"Towards Milim?" Rimuru finally understood the situation. Charybdis was headed towards the capital city Rimuru because Milim was in the town. Everyone had assumed that it was because Charybdis was angered at Rimuru having swallowed Veldora.

Benimaru, you can stand down for now. Milim will have a go. It seems like Charybdis was after that pink Demon Lord after all. Rimuru reported to Benimaru. Benimaru quickly replied and relayed the information to the rest of the troops who collapsed onto the ground tired, yet relieved. Kumiko and Souei nodded to tell Benimaru that they heard his order, but didn't move from their position atop a rock. The two stared over the frosted forest that Kumiko had created while Shion flopped to the ground, dropping her sword by her and laying back onto Ranga.

Milim! Rimuru called out as he realized that Milim could easily solve this issue without Rimuru feeling too bad about relying on the childish demon lord. Milim woke up flailing.

"I wasn't asleep! I was awake the whole time!" she insisted aloud.

No, you were obviously asleep. Rimuru replied via [Thought Communication].

"I was just meditating!" Milim insisted once again. "I was really cheering you guys on!"

Listen, this guy seems to have business with you, Rimuru stated with a sigh as he tiredly gestured backwards to Charybdis.

"What?!" Milim said, her excitement clear as day. She used her own [Appraisal] on Charybdis and determined that the host body was indeed Phobio, the beastman from before. Rimuru sighed as he felt a headache forming.

Of course it had to be him. Anyway, I had you sit this one out because I thought he was after me, but... Rimuru trailed off.

"Are you gonna say I can fight him?!" Milim asked with stars in her eyes. Before Rimuru could respond, she launched herself up and towards Rimuru.

"He was here for you, and we were just in the way. Sorry about that," Rimuru said as Milim happily appeared beside him.

"It's fine! Don't worry about it!" Milim brushed off, clearly happy just to be fighting. "I'll get him!"

"Oh, also," Rimuru said quickly before she could blast away. "Phobio works for the Demon Lord Carrion, right? So I'd like to let him live and help him out."

"That won't be a problem!" Milim laughed haughtily. "I'll show you how much restraint I've learned recently!" Rimuru quickly backed off, relaying to the captain of the Pegasus Knights that this was now Milim's fight. They too retreated immediately, knowing that 'restraint' to Milim wasn't the same 'restraint' everyone else thought. After all, Milim was one of the most powerful demon lords.

"Mili... Milim!" Charybdis growled out in a jumbled mess as Milim proudly stood in front of him. Charybdis launched his scales again towards Milim, but she remained unfazed at the millions of scales shooting her way.

"I've already seen that trick," she told him with a smirk on her face. "Now I'll show you one of mine."

With just a lift of her hand, all the scales flying in the air froze as they lost all of their momentum, dropping straight to the ground into the forest as she flicked her hand lazily downward.

"This is what you call 'restraint!'" Milim lifted her hands high above her head as a warbling tone rang out from the beam of light forming. This was her skill, [Drago Buster]. Instantly, as the rays of light hit Charybdis, the entire area exploded in flames as the calamity-class monster was blow away in a single strike. From below, the army stared at the red smoke in the air with blank smiles on their faces. What was all that fighting for if Milim just blew it away in one go?

True to her word, Milim blew away everything except Phobio himself. Flying up, Rimuru caught him safely, albeit the beastman was a bit burnt. Flying down to a circular clearing, Rimuru made quick work of extracting Charybdis before it awakened again, and swallowed it using [Predator]. The Kijin, Milim, Treyni and Trya stood nearby, waiting anxiously as Rimuru worked on Phobio, only relaxing once Charybdis had been successfully consumed by the slime. Rimuru fell back with a sigh, exhausted from the fight as well.

Before Rimuru left, he quickly threw a full potion onto Phobio, healing him from all injuries and burns. Benimaru knelt down next to the beastman.

"Rimuru-dono," a voice called out. It was the captain of the Pegasus Knights, Dorf.

"Oh, Dorf-san," Rimuru greeted as he turned to face the knight. "I appreciate your help. We were able to defeat Charybdis thanks to you."

"No, it wasn't us who defeated Charybdis," Dorf denied. The two of them looked to Milim. "Could you explain what this is all about?"

"Well, um, actually..." Rimuru trailed off, rubbing the back of his sheepishly, unsure how to explain that Charybdis had originally been after Milim and there was really no need for the rest of them to have fought. "This girl is called Demon Lord Milim, and... you see?"

"Demon Lord?" Dorf echoed as he gave Milim a once over. Then, he burst out laughing. "I see you have a fondness for jokes, Rimuru! If you had such a powerful magical weapon, I wish you had said so from the start!"

"It's no joke!" Milim shouted at Dorf angrily. "I'm a Demon Lord! I defeated Charybdis!"

"I see. You wish to keep the specifics of your weapon secret. I understand that. It's always best to keep your trump card hidden."

"I'm telling you, I'm a Demon Lord!" Milim shouted up at the captain. Dorf just ignored the girl.

"Charybdis could have had catastrophic effects on all mankind," Dorf said addressing Rimuru instead, "so it's defeat is most fortuitous. I must report to my king, so I will take my leave now."

"Oi, damn it!" Milim continued to yell, mad and frustrated that she wasn't being recognized as the all powerful Demon Lord that she was.

"You were a great help," Rimuru thanked Dorf who bowed his head slightly towards the slime. "Give King Gazel my regards."

Dorf agreed, still ignoring the raging Demon Lord beside him, and head back to his army to mount his pegasus. With a quick wave to Rimuru, he and the rest of the Pegasus Knights took off, heading back to Dwargon.

"Oh, Kumiko," Rimuru called. Kumiko appeared by his side in a flash. "You can take away all this ice now. The forest will recover on it's own."

"I will do so immediately," Kumiko bowed. As she began to draw the ice back in, Souei made his way over to her slowly, arriving just on time for her to melt the last bit of ice. He reached forward and grasped one of her cold and him his and held it to warm it up. When she pulled back her [Iced Vines], her hands always got colder since she had to absorb the coldness. Kumiko of course had [Extreme Cold Nullification], but it didn't mean that her hands weren't freezing to the touch. She smiled slightly, allowing the warmth to pass from his hand to hers.

"Hey, you awake?" Rimuru's voice dragged everyone's attention to the center of the clearing where Phobio laid, holding his head slightly in pain.

"Where... am I?" Phobio managed to grunt out through the pounding headache and aching limbs. Rimuru may have healed him, but it didn't take away the aches. Everyone slightly changed their stances from relaxed to defensive. Souei had a hand on one of his swords while Kumiko stood just a step behind him with her scythe opened. Phobio noticed and winced as a sharp pain came to his head.

"What... What did I..."

"Do you remember what you did?" Rimuru asked Phobio. Phobio remained silent for a moment before a look of recognition passed through his eyes. He gasped and bowed low to the ground on his hands and knees, hie forehead almost touching the ground as he yelled out his apology.

"I'm so sorry! I've done something unthinkable to Milim-sama and I've caused so much trouble for you!"

"Why did you do-" Rimuru's question was interrupted as Treyni and Trya stepped up.

"How did you know where Charybdis was sealed?" Treyni asked, cutting straight to the point.

"We won't accept that you just happened to find it," Trya emphasized.

"Right... You see..." Phobio got up slightly, though he still remained on his knees with his head angled downwards. "Two Masked harlequins that called themselves Tear and Footman led me to the cave. They promised me power rivaling that of a Demon Lord's..."

"Masked harlequins named Tear and Footman?" Treyni echoed as she walked forward a bit. Treyni leaned down and drew a face in the dirt. "Did the mask look like this?"

"No, the ones I met were a girl with a mask with a tear under one eye and a heavy man with an angry mask." Benimaru flinched at Phobio's words.

"Uhm, that Laplace guy also..."

"Laplace?" Rimuru interrupted Gabiru.

"Laplace once showed up before me as a servant of Gelmud. He was wearing a mask like the one Treyni described," Gabiru explained. "Also, he called himself the vice president of a jack-of-all-trades group called the Moderate Harlequin Alliance."

"I see," Treyni said as she stood up from off the ground. "And this person's name was Laplace?" Treyni and Trya nodded at each other.

"Footman, huh? We'll have to remember that name." Benimaru echoed the name distastefully as Shuna stood by without her usual lighthearted smile. Souei too was a bit down since Footman had been the one to destroy their ogre village. He felt Kumiko's light touch as her right hand reached over to hold his own right hand and her left hand wrapped around him in comfort.

"A mysterious jack-of-all-trades group, the Moderate Harlequin Alliance?" Rimuru muttered to himself. "They pretend they're helping you, then use you to fulfill their goals without getting their own hands dirty... They sound like they'll be trouble."

Rimuru looked at Milim, who quickly raised her hands into the air in surrender and waved them around.

"I don't know anything about them!" Milim swore to Rimuru. "In fact, if fun people like that are really out there, I wanna meet them!"

"It may be that it wasn't Gelmud, but Clayman who's plotting something in secret," Milim revealed after a few seconds.

"Clayman?" Rimuru asked.

"He loves coming up with schemes like that," Milim said with certainty.

"The Demon Lord Clayman... Kumiko, Souei, when you are out scouting, be on the lookout for these individuals. If they're spotted, leave immediately and report back to me."

Kumiko and Souei nodded their heads. If these masked harlequins had a demon lord backing them, and even one had managed to evade Treyni, it could be dangerous if the two of them engaged carelessly regardless of how powerful they were. To protect this town as well as each other, they promised to tread carefully.

"Regardless of whose scheme I was roped into, what happened was my own responsibility," Phobio said as he stayed kneeled in front of Rimuru. "It has nothing to do with Demon Lord Carrion, so please... take my life and leave him out of this!"

"Next time, be ore on your toes so you won't be fooled again," Rimuru told the bowing beastman.

"Huh?" Phobio looked up, a bit confused,

"You can move now, right? So you can go."

"But... what I did was unforgivable!"

"If you really want to die that badly," Rimuru looked at Souei and Kumiko. "Those two can can kill you and make it look like you were never here."

Phobio looked at the two with slight fear before nodding, about to accept his demise.

"Just kidding. I don't even want your life. Right, Milim?" Rimuru said quickly before Phobio actually asked them to kill him. While the two of them were calm, they would take the joke too far and perhaps scare the beastman to death.

"Yeah, totally! I thought I'd give him just one little whack, but I've matured so much, after all." Milim posed with one hand on her hip and the other on her head, as if she had become a god for her restraint.

"You were going to hit him?" Rimuru asked, deadpan.

"I'm not mad at all, so I forgive you!" Milim said nicely to Phobio.

"There you go. So don't worry about it," Rimuru insisted to Phobio who stared at the two in disbelief. After bring Charybdis to the town, they weren't even going to use his life for exchange?

"Right! That's okay with you too, right, Carrion?" Milim suddenly turned around as everyone tensed at the new presence. No one made a move to assume an aggressive stance because, after all, this was a Demon Lord that just appeared. He wouldn't take lightly to being attacked right away, nor would any of the battle-weary individuals present win in a fight against Carrion.

"L-Lord Carrion!" Phobio stuttered out in shock.

"So you figured it out, Milim?" Carrion asked with a smirk, ignoring Phobio.

"Of course I did!" Milim replied proudly.

"Yo," Carrion called out to Rimuru in a friendly tone. "Thanks for sparing this guy's life." He stared down at Rimuru and his eyes narrowed.

"You're the masked majin who defeated Gelmud, are you not?"

"Yeah, that's right." Rimuru replied with confidence. He jumped out of Shion's arms and morphed into his human form. "Are you here to avenge him?"

At this, all the Kijin braced themselves for another fight. They didn't want to go up against a demon lord, but if that is what ended up happening, they would all defend Rimuru with their lives. Thankfully, Carrion only chucked slightly, denying Rimuru's question.

"Get up," he called to Phobio. Phobio quickly obeyed the taller Demon Lord. Carrion leisurely walked over to Phobio, and then struck his hand out, pushing Phobio's head into the ground. Kumiko and Souei watched with a bit of pity, though they didn't flinch like Rimuru did. That's must really hurt... The other Kijin had similar reactions to Carrion's discipline as one of the beastmen that had been with Phobio rushed over to check on him.

"Sorry about that," Carrion apologized to Rimuru. "It seems my underling here was out of control. That means I was negligent in his oversight. I hope you'll forgive him."

"S-Sure..." Rimuru said, a bit in shock that Carrion had literally planted Phobio's face into the ground.

"I owe you one after all this," Carrion said with a slight smile, though it wasn't seemingly the friendliest of smiles. "If anything comes up, you can always count on me."

"In that case, I'd appreciate it if you'd enter a non-aggression pact with our nation," Rimuru offered immediately. The less Demon Lords out to get in the way of their town, the better.

"That's all you want?" Carrion seemed surprised, then smiled a more genuine smile. "Very well. The Demon Lord... no... The Beastmaster of the Animal Kingdom of Eurazania, Carrion, swears on is name to never raise a blade to your nation."

"Thanks," Rimuru said with a slight bow.

"Now," Carrion leaned over and easily picked up a passed out Phobio by the back of his shirt. slinging him over his shoulder. Phobio's head was dripping blood.

"We'll, I'll see you again, Rimuru," Carrion said as he turned back slightly, completely ignoring the bleeding beastman in his arms. In a flash of bright light, Carrion and his beastmen disappeared.

"Now then," Rimuru turned to face the remaining group, "let's head home!"

Up Next: The Last Chapter

Chapter Text

"I want to sleep," Rimuru bluntly told Vesta. "Living in a slime's body makes things easy, and when I take my human form, I can taste delicious food. But you know, Vesta-kun..." Rimuru jumped off the stool he sat on and morphed into his human form.

"I want to indulge in an idle snooze!" Rimuru declared proudly.

"Should you look so proud when you say that?" Vesta couldn't help but ask. "Uh... Give me a moment."

"You rock, Vesta! You've got something for me?" Rimuru asked excitedly as Vesta turned around to shuffle through some shelves. He turned back with a small flask with blue pills inside.

"However, Rimuru-sama -" Vesta was cut off as Rimuru excitedly lunged for the flask. Rimuru could sleep, but it never seemed to replenish his energy like it did as a human. In fact, it seemed like when he slept, it was just like blinking. Rimuru wanted to dream. Vesta quickly held the flask in the air, using his height to his advantage against Rimuru.

"Rimuru-sama! This hasn't passed all the clinical tests for a drug and I cannot guarantee -"

"It's okay! Vesta, I will test it for you! Now give it!" Rimuru was practically grabbing at his arm and trying to pull the flask down. Vesta sighed and handed the sleeping pills to Rimuru, albeit reluctantly. Before Vesta could say anything more, Rimuru had twirled away with the flask and was out the door. Vesta sighed again before returning to his research. Rimuru could take care of himself if there were any side effects that arose for the slime.

Since it was nighttime, Rimuru had headed straight for his room, the flask in hand. He plopped down on his futon, staring at the blue pills in the flask.

"It's what you'd call a sleep-inducing drug," Rimuru mumbled to himself as he took of the cork at the opening of the flask and shook two little blue pills out.

"Even these things are shaped like me," he laughed as he saw the small oval shaped pills. Sure enough, the pills were small blue ovals with two lines in the middle, making it look like eyes. "Vesta said he hadn't completed his clinical testing yet... but if anything happens, [Great Sage] will help me out." Rimuru laughed as he brushed off the possible dangers of trying an untested drug.

Answer: Shall I nullify the effects of the poison? the Great Sage asked Rimuru in his head.

"Oh, no," Rimuru waved his hand lightly in the air, "that's not what I meant... Well, whatever. I'll just try it out."

Rimuru popped the two small pills into his mouth and swallowed it down. It wasn't even a few minutes before his vision blurred and he started swaying on his futon.

"Is this... the sleepiness... I haven't felt... in so... long...?" With each word he said, his words got slower and slower until he fell back, dead asleep.

~~~

Rimuru opened, groggy and disoriented. What was I just doing?

"Oh, how adorable!" He heard Shuna squeal from beside him. Turning his head slightly, his eyes met Shuna's as she clapped her hands together and held them next to her face and a slight blush on her face.

"Rimuru-sama, that looks fantastic on you!" Shion suddenly appeared in front of him, also with a light blush.

That's right. I was being a dress-up doll, as always, Rimuru remembered as he took in the situation. Shion and Shuna had tied his hair into two buns on each side of his head, covered with a cloth and tied. Shuna had also made him a traditional Chinese-style dress.

"Rimuru-sama, wear this one next!" Shion requested, handing over a pile of black clothes, a black fedora and a cane.

"And then this one!" Shuna added in, holding a pile of frills and bows.

I don't know what they find so entertaining about this, Rimuru thought to himself as the two girls in front of him fidgeted with different things for Rimuru to wear. He complied, changing into the multitude of outfits that the two girls brought to him.

There are lots of other fun things they could... Rimuru trailed off in his thoughts. Wait... What is there to do for fun in this world? I'm not bored or anything, but when everyone's working all the time, do they ever have any fun at all? They might eventually work themselves into a sense of emptiness. I'd like to give them some kind of entertainment before that happens, but the things they could enjoy indoors would take a while to create. What could we start doing right away? Maybe a sport? A sport...

"I'll come up with a sport that could become our national pastime!" Rimuru declared aloud as he posed in a sailor uniform for Shion and Shuna, who happily flitted around Rimuru.

"Rimuru-sama?" the door opened, to reveal Kumiko. She noticed him in his sailor uniform, doing all sorts of feminine poses for Shuna and Shion, and started retreating. "I apologize for interrupting this... gathering. I will come back later."

"Ah, wait! Kumiko!" Rimuru called out before Kumiko could close the door. The door stopped with just a little crack, but Kumiko didn't look back. It seemed that she found him dressing up in these outfits embarrassing.

"Yes, Rimuru-sama?"

"Can you call everyone to the middle of the town? I have an announcement to make."

"It will be done." With that, the door closed and Kumiko disappeared.

After finally convincing Shuna and Shion that he had something fun for them and that they could stop dressing him up, they allowed him to leave, though not before placing a gold crown atop him. The two of them followed him as he made his way to the fountain where Kumiko had everyone gather.

"Let's try sumo!" Rimuru announced to the gathered village. At the front stood the Kijin, Milim, the dragonnewts, Geld, Rigur and Rigurd. Behind them stood the rest of the goblins.

"Sumo?" everyone echoed in confusion.

"The rules are simple," Rimuru said, figuring that explaining the rules was easier than trying to explaining what sumo was. He pulled up a board with various drawings and pictures. "If you step outside this circle or your knees touch the ground, you lose. You hit and push your opponent to knock them down or out of the ring to win."

"Is that all?" Benimaru asked with his hand raised.

"That's seriously all it is." Rimuru replied. "Oh, and you can't hit with your fists. Only with your palms."

"We can't use scissors?" Kurobe added, holding up two fingers.

You say the scariest things so naturally... Rimuru thought as he stared at Kurobe. Kurobe had asked the question in a tone that showed he genuinely would use this method if it was allowed.

"You can't poke vital points like the eyes or stomach. So, no, you can't use scissors," Rimuru decided. "Also, you can't grab your opponent's hair."

"How about grabbing them with your hair?" Milim asked while stroking one of her long pigtails.

"You can do that?!" Rimuru asked in shock. Milim smirked and crossed her arms.

"Nothing is impossible for me!" Milim declared. As if to prove her point, her right pigtail grasped Gabiru around the neck, lifting the dragonnewt into the air with no effort at all. Gabiru started choking, grasping at her hair that was wrapped tightly around his neck.

"That's pretty amazing!" Rimuru commented in shock. "But grabbing by the neck is also out.

"How boring," Milim complained before throwing a passed out Gabiru to the side. Gabiru's three loyal guards followed him quickly.

"You said no scissors, but what if we poke with something besides our hands?" Shion asked, stroking her black horn lightly.

"What exactly are you touching right now?" Rimuru asked deadpan. He thought about it, the Kijin sure had an advantage with their horns. They could possibly do some serious damage if anyone were to be poked with them. "Try not to stab anyone, please. Also, you can't kick people in the chest or gut, but other than that, kicking is actually allowed. Like in the legs."

"Then can we kick an opponent's head off?" Benimaru asked in all seriousness.

"That's not against the rules, but... kick if off?!" Rimuru asked shocked. Benimaru nodded, demonstrating by grabbing a nearby straw dummy and proceeded to kick the head off. "You can do that?! That's scary! Scary! Scary! Scary! Scary! No, no! No kicking people's heads off! This isn't a killing match! And you can't use skills or fly, either! This is just for fun, so I want you to fight safely!"

Benimaru stared at Rimuru blankly, before agreeing to his terms hanging his head low, clearly disappointed at Rimuru's verdict. As Rimuru finished explaining, the gathered crowed erupted in excited chatter. While explaining, Rimuru had worried that he was expecting too much from the group to sumo wrestle, but clearly he hadn't needed to worry in the slightest. Well, perhaps he needed to worry a bit about Kumiko and Souei. Since this was a competition now, the two of them had started bickering, their aura rising dangerously above the crowd.

"Are you saying you're scared that a girl is going to throw you out of that ring, Souei?"

"I know you will not win, but I just fear your pride will be hurt when I effortlessly defend against your attack, Kumiko."

"Since when have you ever won in one of our competitions? If I remember correctly, when we fought the orcs, you admitted defeat. When we fought Charybdis, you didn't even bother arguing to get me to leave because you knew you would lose, didn't you?"

"I won when you confessed to me drunk." At Souei's words and smirk, Kumiko's face flushed red as could be.

"That doesn't count!" She yelled out as she launched towards Souei. In her embarrassment, she leaped out to attack Souei, trying to kick him back. He quickly jumped away, causing her to miss as she skidded to a stop. Souei retreated back to the fountain.

"If you can't land a hit on me now, victory surely is mine," Souei said with a smirk. "I'll treat you to some alcohol afterwards and perhaps I can get a second victory as you drunkenly declare -" he was cut off as Kumiko lunged at him and he flitted around the fountain.

By now, the entire village watched the two bicker and fight. They were fairly used to this, so they began to take bets on who would win this argument this time and what could possibly break. Despite most of their bickering being fairly harmless, sometimes things got a bit out of hand when they compared their battle prowess, as they did just now. Most times, they fought it out in the forest, so the only things in danger were trees. It was a good way of getting wood from the forest. However, Rimuru couldn't help wonder what was wrong with the residents of his town when they ooh-ed and ahh-ed as Souei defended against another of Kumiko's attacks.

"Ah Kumiko, Souei..." Rimuru trailed off, trying to intervene. They did know that boys and girls would be separated right?

"I just won't drink with you, idiot!" Kumiko declared with a red face as she bolted towards Souei, jumping upwards to gain extra momentum going downwards. Souei tried backed up, only to find himself against the fountain.

"Ah," Souei said, not worried in the slightest as he smirked and braced himself to receive her kick. She came from above, landing a hard drop kick to the flat end of his sword blade. From the force of the contact, the fountain they had been fighting around shattered, spreading dust and water everywhere as the two of them disengaged.

"Souei! Kumiko!" Rimuru scolded loudly. The two of them flinched and looked over to Rimuru, a bit of fear in their eyes as Rimuru glared at the two, his own aura flaring as theirs died down in his presence. The two of them quickly put on a mask of calm as they used [Spacial Travel] to appear in front of Rimuru in a kneel.

"Yes, Rimuru-sama," the two of them said, acting as if they hadn't just had a full on fight and destroyed the central fountain. Soon, the two of them found themselves knelt with their hand above their heads, each holding onto a flat rock. Rimuru had situated them to the right of the stage he currently was standing on. Their heads hung low.

"Now," Rimuru said, announcing to the crowd who had silenced completely, "female contestants and male contestants will be separated into different rings and will not fight co-ed."

"Rimuru-sama!" Kumiko called out in protest as she snapped her head up. Souei too looked like he wanted to say something, but Rimuru shot the two of them a glare. They flinched and looked down again.

"Oh, and this isn't exactly dangerous, but... sticking your fingers where they don't belong and pulling is not allowed." He gestured to the board, which had a drawing. Kumiko and Souei glanced up as everyone else looked at the board. Screams erupted from the females as the males stared in horror. Kumiko had dropped the rock on her head and was bent over holding her head from the pain while Souei could only stare in shock, not even processing that Kumiko had fallen.

"How cruel..." Geld grumbled out in shock.

"We wouldn't have even thought to do such a despicable thing!" Benimaru declared indignantly. It was an insult for Rimuru to think that they would do such actions!

"How terrifying!" Shion added in agreement.

I really can't comprehend you people's standards, Rimuru thought to himself as he looked upon the horrified crowd.

Within the next hour, the fountain Kumiko and Souei had destroyed was now fixed and a clearing with two platforms and identical circular rings on both was build. The females had made their way to Shuna's workshop to grab their attire while the guys had made their way into a building designated as the changing room.

"This is incredible!" Rimuru complimented Myrd as he stared at the rings. "I've heard it's not easy to make a proper sumo ring. You Dwarves really are great to have around! Good job, Myrd!"

Myrd grunted at Rimuru, giving him a thumbs up. Despite the countless attempts Rimuru made to get Myrd to say something, he still had not uttered more than hums and grunts. It was even weirder with Kumiko as they would just stare at each other in silence for a few seconds before they nodded and somehow understood each other.

"Rimuru-dono!" Rimuru heard Garm call. Rimuru looked over, seeing him stand by an almost naked Geld with a rope like pair of undergarments covering his private areas. "Is this how the 'mawashi' should look?"

"Are you a yokozuna?!" Rimuru yelled in shock as he stared at Geld, who looked surprisingly fit for the getup. It wasn't long after Geld's entrance that the boys all made their ways out, waring various robes over their wrestling attire for decency's sake. The girls returned shortly after, wearing robes. They had yet to change and would be heading into the changing rooms shortly after Rimuru's opening statement. There was only one built, so they had to make sure the girls and guys changed at different times.

"Rimuru-sama will now give the opening statement," Rigurd announced as everyone filed in front of Rimuru.

"Okay, everyone, try not to get hurt as you do your best in this sumo tournament."

"Yes, sir!" everyone replied swiftly.

"The prizes have been determined by a survey of both the men and the women," Rigurd followed up. Rimuru looked at him in surprise. Prizes?

"The winner in the women's division will receive the most requested prize: one day spent with Rimuru-sama!" All the girls, minus Kumiko, yelled out in joy. Kumiko just sighed boredly as she lost a bit of interest in winning. She had spent enough time with Rimuru in her own opinion.

"And the most requested prize among the men was a tie between using Princess Shuna's lap as a pillow and receiving a hug from Kumiko-dono!" The guys erupted in cheers and roars of excitement, except for Souei and Benimaru who said nothing except glower slightly at all the other boys. Shuna and Kumiko as the prize? No way they would let anyone win.

"I didn't agree to this," Kumiko said stoically as she raised her hand. Rigurd only shrugged and apologized, but denied taking her out of the prize list. Shuna on the other hand just blushed and panicked at the sudden uproar at the prizes.

"Benimaru," Souei called with his face overshadowed. "If you promise to defeat all the contestants quickly and win but not claim the prize, I will withdraw from the match at this moment."

"Of course, no one but Rimuru-sama deserves to be on Shuna's lap. I would also sooner die than face your wrath for touching Kumiko, much less see a fellow townsman die to you," Benimaru agreed. The two nodded to each other, pleased at their plan to keep Shuna and Kumiko out of the grasps of the rest of the village

"The first round in the men's division: Kurobe versus Geld!" Rigurd announced as the crowd calmed down.

"We're starting off with the heavyweights, huh?" Rimuru asked into the air from atop Ranga. Ranga had dressed up wanting to participate, but Rimuru had immediately denied it, much to Ranga's dismay. "This should be good."

"Then let us begin," Hakurou said. He was acting as judge for the men's division. "Face each other! Hakkeyoi! Nokotta!"

As soon as Hakurou said 'nokotta', the two of them clashed head-on, gripping onto each other's mawashis as Hakurou stood beside, continuing to shout 'nokotta!'

"This is the big moment!" Kurobe said under his breath to Geld as the two of them strained against each other.

"Let us give Rimuru-sama a splendid show!" Geld agreed. However, much to their dismay, the girls had arrived and Rimuru immediately took his attention off of the boys match.

"Rimuru-sama!" Shuna called from behind.

"Oh, are the girls all ready, too?" Rimuru turned around to face the girls, leaving Geld and Kurobe to voice their complaints to deaf ears. Rimuru couldn't help but blush along with a few other boys who saw their attire. All the girls except Kumiko and Milim had arrived with various attire, all provided by Shuna.

Soka was dressed in a black sports bra that had a cut revealing her cleavage with black spandex under her red mawashi. She tried to hide her blush from her face as she purposely avoided looking at Souei. She had lost the fight with Kumiko fair and square and would honor their agreements to cease all feelings for Souei, though the process was slow going. For now, Soka had learned her lesson and knew Kumiko would be ticked if she were to stare at Souei with a blush when dressed in such revealing attire.

Shion was wearing a purple short kimono that was tied up with a rope to reveal her black mawashi. The kimono slipped off the purple-haired kijin's shoulders and just barely managed to cover her breasts.

Shuna was wearing what looked like the top half of a sleeveless kimono, tied with a sash right under her breasts. Her stomach was exposed as were her legs. She wore a pink mawashi.

"How do we look, Rimuru-sama?" Shion asked striking a pose. At seeing them, Rimuru began questioning the decency of having women dressed in mawashis, but quickly relieved his guilt after convincing himself that this was a Shinto tradition and there was nothing to feel bad for. Meanwhile, Garm was squatted in a corner, trying his best to not look at the girls while muttering 'I only have eyes for Shuna' over and over to himself.

"Crap!" Rimuru yelled as he realized his error. "I never decided who'd be the referee for the women. Hakurou fits the part so well that I forgot..."

"Then I shall do it," Souei offered, causing Soka to gasp. She hadn't settled her heart yet. Soka hoped that Kumiko would understand when she came out that Souei had offered himself up.

"You don't mind?" Rimuru asked as he faced Souei.

"Not at all," Souei replied as he stretched his arms. He was shirtless, with a long blue fabric tied to his front that rose from his abdomen down to his ankles and his blue mawashi underneath. He didn't seem shy revealing as much skin as he was, flexing slightly as he stretched. Despite Kumiko not having arrived yet, the female Kijin surely would somehow know if Soka ogled at her man, so the female dragonnewt quickly averted her gaze.

"But, I mean... referees don't usually do stretches. Are you sure you didn't want to compete?" Rimuru asked him.

"Of course, I wanted to show you the results of all my practice, but... I made a deal." Souei looked over at the men's ring, and Rimuru followed his gaze to see Benimaru successfully demolishing all the competitors in the men's division. He easily tossed and crushed all sorts of opponents, even Geld. All his victories were visible by the growing pile of defeated bodies off to the side of the ring.

"Rimuru-sama is watching. I can't embarrass myself. Yes... Rimuru-sama is the only one suited to rest in Princess Shuna's lap. No, it's not because I don't want to let just any jerk use my sister's lap as a pillow!" Benimaru continued to mumbled under his breath as he stood alone in the ring, undefeated.

"Benimaru promised to not claim either prize if he won, so I withdrew. I would've done the same, but it was you who ordered us not to get hurt and I cannot guarantee the safety of anyone who wishes to even hug Kumiko with the slightest indecent thought," Souei said as the two of them stared.

"Oh... Right." Rimuru could only stare in shock. He had forgotten how the Kijin would react to the prizes... "O-Okay, the job's yours, Souei."

"Understood," Souei replied to Rimuru with a bow.

"Then, the first round in the women's division: Soka versus Shion!" Rigurd announced for everyone. The two faced each other as Souei stood between them. Originally, they wanted to put Soka up against Kumiko first, but decided that pitting the two against each other at the beginning would most likely spell the doom of the entire ring. Despite the two being civil and understanding boundaries, fighting was a whole other situation and the two always fought with everything they had as a way of relieving any frustrations they had at each other.

"Face each other!" Souei commanded as referee. The two of them squatted to the ground. "Hakkeyoi! Nokotta!"

The two girls lunged forward, gripping onto each other's mawashis.

I will not give up even a day of service to Rimuru-sama! Shion declared to herself mentally so that she wouldn't lose.

Souei-sama is watching from so close... No! I can't think about that. I promised to cease my feelings. But! He's so close and his clothes...

The two girls continued straining against each other, pushing back and forth trying to get the other out of the ring. Shion gritted her teeth and surged forward a bit, keeping in mind that she would win so she could spend the day with Rimuru. At that time, her sharp horn caught on the bottom of Soka's top, tearing it upwards down the middle. The entire field froze as the unseen event happened. Soka blushed heavily as she stuttered before covering her chest and running off the ring.

"Uh, Rimuru-sama..." Rigurd trailed off. "What judgement is appropriate in this situation?"

"Well, no one could've helped that." Rimuru looked up onto the ring where Shion was breaking down from defying Rimuru's order about not using her horn. "It doesn't seem like it was intentional, and it's not like she can put her horn away like Soka can."

"For pushing her opponent out, Shion wins!" Souei declared. He was starting to wonder where Kumiko was as she had yet to arrive. Surely she wouldn't have backed out and just remained back in the village, right?

"My, this looks quite fun." Treyni's voice was unexpected and accompanied by a swirl of green leaves. Her attire was more 'natural' as it was made up of only vines and leaves, though it only covered the most essential parts and revealed everything else.

"I thought I'd try matching all of you," Treyni said with a smile as Rimuru stared at her attire.

"Uh, they're not lost in a jungle or anything..." Rimuru trailed off, not really knowing what to say.

"I will join in as a spectator, if you don't mind." Treyni smiled as a stump grey from the ground beside Rimuru and she gracefully took her seat on the wood.

"Not as a competitor?" Rimuru asked a bit surprised. Before Treyni could reply, Milim burst out through the doors. She had a large rope around her chest that was tied in a bow on the back. She wore a black mawashi that had a fabric trailing down the front.

"It's finally my turn!" She seemed happy as she stood up on the platform. Shuna

"The point isn't just to strip down! Jeez, you guys!" Rimuru complained. "Where is Kumiko anyways, Milim?"

"I think she's still getting changed," Milim said in thought. "She looked like she was having trouble figuring out how to wear her outfit."

"I see." Rimuru nodded. He was going to move on from the subject, but he noticed Souei's subtle glance towards the changing room. He smirked.

"Souei, you can go check on Kumiko if you want," Rimuru told him with a sly smile. Souei's expression remained as indifferent as it could, but the blush that lit up his face said something different about his feelings towards what Rimuru had suggested.

"I am the referee," Souei quickly coughed out as he purposefully looked the opposite direction of the changing rooms. "I cannot leave this ring. Kumiko will make her way out herself."

"Suit yourself," Rimuru said teasingly while the blue kijin refused to meet his gaze. "Oh, by the way, Milim. Since you're a Demon Lord, additional restrictions apply."

"What?!" Milim raged as she flailed her arms around in anger. "No fair! This is discrimination against Demon Lord! Discrimination is bad! Discrimination is bad! Discrimination is bad!"

"What Demon Lord wants things to be 'fair'?" Rimuru asked rhetorically with a sigh. "In sumo, having additional restrictions put on you means you're too strong. It's actually an honor."

"R-Really?" Milim asked happily as she stopped her tantrum. The idea that her strength was being recognized surpassed her desire for 'fairness.'

"There was once a legendary wrestler who had four additional restrictions," Rimuru explained to Milim.

"In that case, you can give me forty!"

"Then you couldn't do anything but stand there... I won't give you too many. I'm just forbidding you from attacking with your hands or feet."

"Really? That's all?" Milim asked in surprise. She was expecting a harder handicap. Not using her hands and feet was simple. She still had her head. Milim laughed. "Well, I am a Demon Lord. A little handicap like that is expected."

"Now, the second round in the women's division: Shuna versus Milim!" Rigurd declared as the winner of the men's division, Benimaru, made his way over in his orange mawashi.

"Face each other!" Souei commanded from between the two. "Hakkeyoi! Nokotta!"

As soon as Souei yelled Nokotta, Milim took a step that made a few cracks in the ring and launched herself straight for Shuna.

"Dodge, Shuna!" Benimaru yelled quickly. Shuna heeded her brother's words and quickly stepped to the side, successfully avoiding being knocked off. Milim soared past her, straight as an arrow, but had unraveled the sash tying her top together. In panic, Shuna covered herself and was unable to dodge Milim's hair from wrapping around her pink mawashi.

"What is even happening here?!" Rimuru screamed as Milim somehow managed to keep herself in the air with just her hair. Milim strained to keep herself up as Shuna reached her hand out to detach Milim's hair. However, before Shuna touched the hair wrapped around her mawashi, she hesitated and remembered Rimuru's rule that no hair grabbing was allowed. She had no choice but to just withstand it.

"Rimuru-sama, is that allowed?" Rigurd asked in shock as Milim managed to keep herself up.

"W-Well, head-butting isn't against the rules..."

"But she's floating!" Rigurd complained.

"I sense no magic," Treyni assured them all. "She is using all of her body's muscles to maintain that position."

"She has muscles in her hair?!" Rimuru asked incredulously.

Finally, the fight came to an end as Shuna couldn't fight against the grip Milim had on her, tumbling off the ring and falling to the ground the same time Milim did.

"Who wins in this case?" Rigurd asked hesitantly.

"Shuna was the first to fall," Treyni put in.

"You saw it?!" Rimuru was shocked since they had kicked up a lot of dust in their fall.

"Then, with a hair throw, the winner is Milim-" Souei's declaration was cut off by Rimuru.

"No, hang on, Souei. Milim loses this match due to indecency."

"Indecency?" Souei echoed.

"If your mawashi comes off, you lose." Rimuru explained. Indeed Milim's mawashi had untied itself in the fall, but thankfully still covered her lower body.

"Then the third round -" Rigurd was interrupted as the door to the changing room opened and Kumiko walked out as she pulled her hair over her shoulder to clip it. She wore a dark blue, sleeveless dress that had two large slits from the bottom of the dress to the upper part of her hips. Her cleavage was exposed as the straps to the dress wrapped from around her neck and met right under her breasts. The sides and back of her torso was completely exposed. To finish her outfit, she had a sash tied in a bow on the back paired with a black fabric mawashi.

"Geez. I don't understand why Shuna gave me this. There were so many holes for such little fabric," Kumiko complained as she approached the group. She noticed their stares and shifted uncertainly while adjusting her outfit slightly. "Was I late for my match?"

The group was shocked silent. Kumiko normally covered up her upper half well and exposed no cleavage at all since she had long sleeved turtlenecks. This outfit screamed the opposite of Kumiko. Souei's face flared red as he took quick glances at his lover. In his own haze, he hadn't realized that Benimaru was trying to get the rest of the town to look away from Kumiko, knowing that if Souei realized, there would be a massacre.

"Kumiko loses the third match against Shion due to indecency," Souei automatically declared, unable to meet Kumiko's eyes.

"Hah?!" Kumiko rounded on Souei, hesitating when her eyes landed on his shirtless figure. Despite being lovers, the two hadn't done anything past kissing. There had been a few instances of Kumiko walking in on Souei while he was changing his shirt, or vice versa, but it was never more than a glance at their lover's bare back. Kumiko's face flared almost as red as Souei's face. Pushing it down, she stomped up to Souei on the ring and paced her hands on her hips as she glared at Souei, who still refused to meet her gaze.

"What do you mean, indecency?! I'm dressed properly and I heard Rimuru-sama say that indecency is when the mawashi comes off. I have my mawashi tied on perfectly fine!" Souei turned to Kumiko as she raged, forcing a smirk onto his face though Rimuru found it funny how obvious it was that Souei was struggling to keep his blue eyes on Kumiko's golden ones. Every so often, his eyes would wander over her figure and his blush would deepen as he realized and snapped them back to his eyes. Kumiko too was blushing and couldn't help quick glances down to Souei's exposed chest.

"I, the referee, have judged your attire is indecent and therefore you have lost the third match. The final round for the women will be Princess Shuna versus Shion," Souei declared with finality.

"I disagree! This is abusing your power!"

"The final match will be between Princess Shuna and Shion," Souei repeated again, the blush still present. Kumiko growled and lunged forward, hesitating ever so slightly and blushing even more before she placed a hand on Souei's chest and grabbed his arm. Swiftly, she turned so her back was to him and flipped him over her shoulder.

Thankfully for Souei, the moment of hesitation she showed was just enough for him to know what she was doing. As she flipped him, he gripped her arm, somehow managing to land on his feet as he pulled her towards him, wrapping his arms quickly around her torso and picking her up off the ground, her back to his front, as she flailed her legs in the air trying to escape. Both of them were as red as tomatoes at the skinship.

Ah. The two lovers are at it again, Rimuru couldn't help but think with a resigned sigh. The rest of the spectators also watched on with expecting smiles. They also found a way to fight co-ed.

Kumiko had managed to get free and had continued her attack, though this time, it wasn't sumo wrestling anymore. The two of them were fighting almost playfully in the ring, but they were throwing all sorts of kicks all over the place. Souei was trying to subdue her by capturing her with his own arms, but she escaped every time and latched onto Souei's back, trying to get him in a headlock. Clearly, the two were flirting more than they were fighting seriously. This was made especially clear by their ever growing blushes from the skin to skin contact as well as the teasing banter between the two.

With the force of their attacks, and the fact that Milim already damaged the ring during her own fight, the platform gave way, forcing Kumiko and Souei to stop their fight. Due to the sudden collapse, Kumiko stumbled and was about to fall, but Souei quickly lunched forwards and caught her in his arms in a bridal carry as he quickly used [Spacial Travel] to get both of them off the collapsed ring. Her own arms were wrapped around his neck and the two seemed to forget how much skin-to-skin contact they had in that position as everyone stared at the platform in shock.

"Kumiko is disqualified for fighting the referee," Rimuru declared after a few moments of silent shock. Kumiko could only nod from her position in Souei's arms. She didn't want to win the fight anyways; she only wanted to fight to show off a bit to Souei. Kumiko was just in shock that they managed to somehow destroy the entire ring.

Suddenly, Kumiko was the first to realize their position and she started struggling to get out of his arms and back onto her feet. She was stopped as Souei's arms around her tightened and held her a bit closer. Looking up, Souei refused to meet her eyes as both their cheeks flared red again. She shyly wrapped her own arms back around his neck and allowed him to keep her in his arms.

Those damn flirty Kijin... Rimuru couldn't help but think as he turned away from them and declared aloud that the final two were Shion and Shuna.

"But, Rimuru-sama... What should we do about the ring?" Souei voiced out. Kumiko could feel the vibrations of his words across his broad, exposed chest and she couldn't help realize how much she enjoyed feeling it and how alluring his voice sounded when he was serious. Her arms tightened around his neck ever so tightly, bringing her just a bit closer to Souei as she leaned her head against his shoulder, carefully avoiding stabbing him with her horns.

"W-Well, they could use the men's ring..." Rimuru suggested.

"That one is already in use." Kumiko was barely jostled as Souei turned to face the men's ring where they were hosting 'kiddie sumo' for the young. All the young orcs and goblins charged in a hoard towards Geld, pushing together to try to get the giant orc out of the ring. The surrounding spectators cheered for the kids and shouted their encouragements.

"That's adorable!" Rimuru agreed. "I can't stop them! Then I guess our only option is butt sumo."

"Butt sumo?" Shion and Shuna echoed.

"Does that mean we sumo wrestle with our behinds?" Shion asked.

"That's right," Rimuru confirmed. "You don't use your hands or feet. You just try to knock your opponent down with your butt, seeing as our ring is so much smaller now..." They all turned to face a small circle that remained of the platform. It was barely enough to fit two people back to back.

"That's brilliant, Rimuru-sama!" Rigurd praised. "You know so many Shinto rituals!"

"Yeah, I guess." Rimuru seemed bashful. "But don't take it lightly because it utilizes butts."

"You mean we shouldn't make it the butt of any jokes?" Gobta chimed in from out of nowhere.

"What did you just say?" Rimuru asked with a menacing aura as Gobta flinched and shrunk in front of Rimuru. He quickly apologized before running away.

"Well, then, the final round!" Souei announced out loud. Shion and Shuna made their way to stand back to back on the platform while everyone gathered around. Kumiko was still resting comfortably in Souei's arms, though their blushes had significantly died down as they focused on the match.

"To the east... Shionyama. Shionyama. To the west... Shunanoumi. Shunanoumi." Souei sang, as Rimuru had said was tradition for 'butt sumo.' Kumiko couldn't help but giggle slightly in his arms, only stopping and giving him a bright smile when he glared down at her. Once he looked away, she tried her best to suppress her giggles, but her body shook with silent laughter and Souei knew she was laughing again. Despite the fact that her enjoyment was at his own embarrassment, he couldn't help but feel warmth spread through him at the look of her amused face while he kept her close in his arms. He found out when he had first picked her up that he greatly enjoyed the feeling of her in his arms, and so, feeling selfish, decided to keep her there, not that she seemed to mind.

"Hakkeyoi!" Souei and Kumiko called together once she had stopped giggling. She had managed to convince him to let her down so he could properly judge the fight between Shuna and Shion. He had reluctantly agreed and set her gently down on her feet, but quickly pulled her to his side. She paid it no mind and wrapped her arms around his bare torso as he rested a hand on her exposed hip. By now, the two had gotten somewhat used to their lover's exposed skin, though their faces were still tinged red.

"Nokotta!" Kumiko called happily at the same time Souei brought a hand down to signal the start of the fight. The two of them began pushing against each other, using their butts to bump the other. As they fought back and forth, Rimuru noticed the remaining piece of the platform they were standing on begin to crumble. With a few more hits, the ring broke in half down the middle and both of them fell. Rimuru managed to dive in and use himself as a cushion so the two female kijin didn't injure themselves.

"R-Rimuru-sama!" Shion cried out in shock.

"A-Are you all right?!" Shuna voiced out, worried.

"Not a problem," Rimuru reassured the two. "But since a slime intervened in the match, we'll call for a break in the match."

"Th-The match is a draw!" Souei announced in accordance with Rimuru's decision. Kumiko was still attached to him and was gently rubbing her cheek against his shoulder. It seemed like seeing and being in contact with Souei's bare torso had fried Kumiko's brain and she was a lot more calm in touching Souei's skin than she had been before.

From that day on, rather than 'sumo' being the national pastime, 'butt sumo' was the most popular sport for the Jura Forest Federation. Wolves, goblins, heck even fish played butt sumo with circles drawn into the ground or on top of tree trunks or rocks. Despite 'butt sumo' not being the original goal, Rimuru was still glad that the nation now had something to do other than work.

Everyone seems to enjoy it, and the non-human races can do it too. Rimuru sat atop Ranga in his human form on a hill that overlooked the city deep in thought. It's all good. It didn't even matter which sport we went with. What matters is that everyone has fun.

When a nation is poor or constantly at war, people can't even spare the time to have fun. But people have sought enjoyment in every age throughout history. That energy gave them the motivation to work and revived the whole nation. So the more prosperous a country is, the more pleasurable activities people can enjoy. I've remembered recently how grateful we should be for that. Above all, I wish I could have shown Shizu-san how nice this town looks and how much fun everyone is having.

As Rimuru headed back into the town, black clouds suddenly formed overhead, swirling dangerously. The ground in front of Rimuru split open as a flash of lighting hit the ground. Rimuru looked up to see Shion and Shuna waving, their bodies back to back.

"Rimuru-sama! We were just playing some butt sumo!" Shuna explained as the two of them stood in the center of a destroyed city.

"But we just can't determine a winner..." Shion sighed as the two of them suddenly turned towards Rimuru, a terrifying look in their eyes as they approached the slime. Rimuru quickly reverted back to his slime form right as the two kijin got their hands on him and began pulling.

"I will be the one to loo after Rimuru-sama, as I always have!" Shion said as she tugged Rimuru towards her.

"No, I believe I have the right to do so, as well!" Shuna argued back as she stretched Rimuru further by tugging him to her side.

"No, me."

"No, me!"

Kumiko, I'm being stretched again! Rimuru cried out in his head for Kumiko. She appeared a for a split second in front of him before disappearing in a black streak immediately.

My apologies, Rimuru-sama. There is no stopping them now. I will make my escape while still possible. I wish you luck. Her voice echoed slightly in his head.

"Uh, wait! Not good! You're ripping me apart!" Rimuru strained out as the two Kijin continued pulling on their respective sides.

Right as Rimuru was about to be torn in half, he blacked out.

~~~

Screaming, Rimuru's eyes snapped open. He had a look of terror on his face as he stared up, not processing anything other than the fear of him being torn in half. Once he realized he was laying on his futon, he quieted and sat up quickly, feeling himself all over to make sure he was still in one piece.

"I'm okay," he reassured himself. "I didn't rip apart."

Notice: The effects of the sleep-inducing drug have worn off, and you have awakened, the [Great Sage] informed Rimuru in his head.

"A dream..." Rimuru trailed off and stared at the flask of blue pills that remained open on his bed. It was a wonder that he hadn't knocked it over while he was out. Leaping up, he quickly capped it and swiftly made his way into the cave where Vesta was working.

"Vesta, lock this up!" Rimuru demanded as he burst in and handed the flask over to the researcher.

"What? Lock it up?" Vesta echoed, confused. "Did it have some sort of side effect?"

"Nope, no side effects. It worked like a charm."

"Then, why? May I ask for the reason?"

"Simply put... because it's too powerful."

"Pardon?" Vesta said, more confused than before. Rimuru said nothing else and proceeded to leave Vesta's research lab. Vesta stood there, still confused before he sighed. Looking down sadly at the sleeping pills, he placed it in the cupboard out of reach and locked it with a key so the drug was to never be seen ever again.

Chapter Text

"Rimuru-sama, it's time for your inspection of the construction site." Shion said with a strained smile while looking at Shuna.

"I will take you there," Shuna insisted back with a similar smile.

To explain the current situation, Rimuru was being tugged between the two kijin, as always. He would've wanted to ask Kumiko to help save him, but it seemed like even her scolding was getting less and less effective. Anything short of taking Rimuru herself wasn't enough to stop them and even then, they tried to take him back out of her hands most times.

It was unfortunate for Rimuru, but apparently there was actually a reason Kumiko didn't like holding Rimuru as compared to the other girls. It turns out that she wasn't particularly fond of the texture of the slime. While he managed to maintain a form instead of slipping through their fingers, Kumiko simply didn't like the feeling of how malleable Rimuru was. Kumiko had figured it out herself when she carried Rimuru out back at the Lizardmen's home. However, her pride wouldn't let her show her put Rimuru down after she had committed to holding him. Of course, she was also distracted by Soka at the time. Kumiko supposed it felt nice to dig her nails into the slime during her anger, but it wasn't worth it afterwards to have bits of slime stuck under her nail. Needless to say, Kumiko blatantly avoided picking up Rimuru when possible and left that task up to Shion and Shuna.

Well, other than for Kumiko, this slime body does feel really nice to hug... Rimuru thought as the two female kijin continued to pull on their side. Even I hug a body double of myself sometimes. A body double! Why don't I give them each a body double of me?! Wait, maybe not... If I do that... It'd be a bigger death match than when I was naming them! I need some kind of stand-in for my slime body... A wood-carved slime! A slime sculpture! A metal slime made of metal! No, those aren't right. There's no point if it doesn't have the same feel as my body. Right... something like... One of those cushions that makes living beings sink into depravity! That might feel pretty close to the same thing. Beanbag cushions in my image! I'll call them Rimuru cushions! That sounds adorable! Like the first prize in a lottery! And the biggest one would go to whoever drew the very last lot!

Rimuru snapped out of his own thoughts to realize that the two girls on either side of him were still smiling stiffly at one another and stretching him out incredibly thin. By now, Rimuru was used this and knew he wasn't at risk of actually tearing like in the dream he had. If he was going to tear, it would've happened days ago when Shion and Shuna had stretched him across the entire room and down the street. He was so thin that Kumiko thought Souei had laid his [Steel Threads] out when she passed by.

"Uh, could you guys let go for a second?" Rimuru asked the two kijin.

"O-Of course." Both of them simultaneously released Rimuru, causing the slime to snap back into shape in between the two girls.

"I have a favor to ask of you, Shuna," Rimuru said once he landed on the ground safely.

"Of course. Ask me for anything you'd like," Shuna replied happily. As the princess and a seamstress in the town, Shuna sometimes felt like she didn't do enough for Rimuru, especially compared to the other kijin who were by his side. Therefore, she was always glad to help Rimuru out whenever he asked if it was within her power.

"There's something I want to make..." Rimuru trailed off. She probably wouldn't understand if I said 'stretchy material'... "Um, is there... some kind of cloth that's, like, really smooth and stretchy?"

"Smooth and stretchy?" Shuna echoed, rasing a finger to her face in thought. "Do you mean something like Spandex?"

"You know what that is?!" Rimuru shouted in shock.

"It was just sort of... a hunch, I guess." Shuna smiled at Rimuru.

"Women's intuition?! Shuna, you scare me!"

"That's easy," Shuna said, ignoring Rimuru's shock while Shion sat across from the pink Kijin clearly confused. "Just leave it to me, Rimuru-sama."

"Okay, so the next thing is the stuffing." Rimuru turned to Shion, who sat straighter when the slime faced her. "Shion, I need to talk to Garm."

"Of course, Rimuru-sama." Shion immediately stood up and picked the small slime up. Shuna pouted and puffed her cheeks but since Rimuru had things to do, she didn't argue with the other kijin, no matter how badly she wanted Rimuru to stay with her.

Shion walked to Garm's workshop with Rimuru held safely in her arms under her breasts. Rimuru had long ago abandoned the guilt of being pressed up against her breasts so often. Despite the fact that he was once a human man, Rimuru was technically a gender-less slime in this world. There was no moral issue with him enjoying the female body.

"Garm, I'm looking for poly beads!" Rimuru shouted as he walked into Garm's workshop. There was no real explanation to his declaration. Garm looked up from his work and greeted Rimuru as he put down his tools.

"Poly... beads?" Garm asked confused as he and Rimuru moved to sit down at one of the tables nearby. Garm had poured them some tea while Shion set Rimuru down and headed outside to allow them to discuss. "What are those?"

"Uh... They're beads that are so tiny, they're like powder." Rimuru wished that Garm had the same intuition as Shuna when it came to these material.

"And what are 'beads'?"

"Um... They're made out of styrofoam..."

"Styro...foam?" Garm echoed.

"Styrofoam is, like... basically..." Rimuru panicked and began sweating. He didn't know how to explain what styrofoam and beads were to the dwarf. Rimuru melted a bit before deciding to reword his question to Garm. "Is there anything with small grains, like sand, and a smooth surface?"

"Well, there's something called 'sarasa' that might come close," Garm mentioned, still a bit confused. "There's a big lake deep in the forest. I've heard it's the type of sand found on a sandbar there. It's ground naturally, so I'd say it's just about as smooth as you are."

"Well that's perfect!" Rimuru perked up. "I'll go get some right now!"

"Some sarasa? I dunno what you plan to do with it, but I wouldn't go there," Garm warned Rimuru. "There's a monster living in that lake. Once it grabs your foot, it's all over. It'll drag you right under... Or so the rumors say." Rimuru shivered slightly as Garm ended his dramatic story with a flare.

"Of course, to you," Garm said, completely changing the mood, "any monster is a pushover, so I'm probably worried over nothing!" Rimuru could only agree half-heartedly. Despite how much confidence Garm had in him, a monster was still a monster and that story made it all the more frightening.

"Well, at any rate..." Rimuru said trying to forget about the monster. "I doubt anything around here would try to attack us. Still, I'd be lonely if I went by myself, so..."

Rimuru trailed off in thought, then had a moment of realization. Quickly saying his farewells to Garm, Rimuru jumped off the seat and shuffled his way outside.

Souei, Kumiko, Rimuru called using [Thought Communication]. Please gather a group to go out on a gathering mission.

Understood, Rimuru-sama. Souei was the only one that replied, which indicated that Kumiko must've been with him. They must've already finished scouting their respective areas thoroughly if they were together. Despite always appearing to be attached at the hip, the two of them knew when it was appropriate to stay together and when it wasn't. As intelligence spies, the two of them took their jobs very seriously and protected the town to the best of their abilities.

While Rimuru was in his thoughts, he managed to make it to the center of the village where a small group was gathered. The group consisted of Rigurd, Benimaru, Souei, Kumiko, Shion, Shuna, Haruna, Gobta, Soka, Gabiru and his three loyal guards and Ranga.

"We're going to collect some sarasa! And let's all have a picnic while we're there!" Rimuru declared to the group in front of him. There was no explanation for why they were gathering sarasa, but the group excitedly cheered at the idea of a picnic.

"A picnic sounds great!" Gobta said as he clasped his hands behind his head.

"You can count on us to search near the water!" Gabiru declared proudly to Rimuru. The three guards followed up with their support and praise for Gabiru. Shortly after they started chanting Gabiru's name while Gabiru nodded at the praise.

Soka and Kumiko stood nearby slightly annoyed, though Kumiko made sure to stand between the female dragonnewt and Souei, who had an arm resting lightly around her waist. Soka had agreed to stop liking Souei, but even Kumiko knew it wasn't instant. Kumiko trusted Souei, even more so after she heard about what had happened during the sumo wrestling when he made no indication of even recognizing Soka as a member of the opposite sex. However, it just came down to her hating the idea of anyone else even liking a taken man. Thankfully for Kumiko, Soka had taken a big hit during that incident and, as much as Kumiko knew how devastating it was for Soka, she herself was proud of Souei's reaction.

"I wish they'd shut up..." Soka said darkly as she stared at her brother and his three minions. Before anyone could say anything else, the ground frosted over ever so slightly and three tendrils of ice reached out from behind each of the three minions, wrapping around their mouths like a muzzle and successfully quieting them. Soka turned around to look at Kumiko in surprise, though she wasn't about to complain.

"They were dancing on my last nerve as well," Kumiko explained with an innocent smile. Soka nodded slowly, a bit shocked that she had so much control over her powers to shut the three up without them being frozen. The dragonnewt had barely seen or experienced Kumiko's powers, so it was still a huge shock. Soka turned back to look at her brother, who was frantically spinning in circles trying to pull the ice off of them. Souei, who had been standing beside Kumiko quietly this whole time, barely even glanced over at the dragonnewts. This was a common occurrence, though he supposed it wasn't every day Kumiko snapped enough to actually make them shut up. His right arm rested comfortably around her waist and on her opposite hip while his left remained lax by his side.

"We get to go on an outing with Rimuru-sama!" Shuna cheered as everyone just ignored Gabiru's group. "I'm so happy!"

"I'll gladly go to the ends of the earth with you, Master!" Ranga vowed over the pleads of Gabiru to Kumiko to release his friends. She refused until Souei laid a light kiss to her left horn and quietly told her that if she didn't, Gabiru would continue bothering her. Kumiko seemed to lean into Souei a bit as she thought about his words before sighing almost sadly and releasing the dragonnewts. They shivered and quickly backed away from Kumiko, although they were smart enough to remain silent as they did so.

"I told you, we're just going to a lake..." Rimuru said to Ranga, completely ignoring Kumiko and the dragonnewts. Rimuru may be in charge of the dragonnewts and their safety, but Souei had Kumiko controlled whenever she snapped at them, so Rimuru wasn't too worried about their situation. If Souei wasn't there, it'd be a different case, though Rimuru always knew that calling Souei over to calm Kumiko down was the fastest option if it ever happened.

"What are you going to make with the sarasa?" Shion asked curiously with a bright smile at the slime, not glancing once at the other portion of the group. Rimuru quickly brushed off the question, not wanting to tell her he was making a plushie version of himself.

It seemed that today, Souei, Kumiko and the dragonnewts weren't paying too much attention to Rimuru since the dragonnewts were more focused on watching Kumiko warily and Souei and Kumiko had started a small bout of pointless bickering as to whether or not Kumiko's choice to release the dragonnewts was Souei's genius reasoning or her own ability to exhibit kindness to the dragonnewts. Soka stood between the two groups, her eyes bouncing between them. It was a wonder she managed to get mixed up with these two groups of idiots. Even Benimaru and Rigurd on the side couldn't help but find Souei and Kumiko's bickering amusing while they tried to mediate after being pulled into the small argument since Souei and Kumiko had rounded on the two and asked them for their opinion on who was right. The two of them quickly raised their hand in surrender and offered vague answers.

Rimuru turned towards Rigurd, Benimaru, Souei and Kumiko, who quieted down shortly after feeling his stare. Rimuru said nothing as he continued to look at them, so the four of them tilted their heads in unison out of confusion. The boys surely wouldn't care about the plushie, and neither would Kumiko seeing that she wasn't really interested in holding Rimuru in the first place. Rigurd on the other hand, probably would want one, so Rimuru figured it would be safe to tell the three Kijin and leave Rigurd in the dark.

Rimuru jumped off the makeshift stage he had been perched on, calling for Benimaru, Souei and Kumiko to follow. As he was about to walk away, he paused for a second to think before calling for Gobta to attend their secret meeting as well. He doubted that Gobta would be obsessed with the plushie too, so he should be safe to fill in. Rimuru led them into one of the side streets of the town, away from the main group who had begun to scatter to prepare for their trip.

"The reason behind this trip for sarasa is to use the sarasa to stuff Rimuru cushions," Rimuru explained to the three kijin that stood attentively in front of him as Gobta picked the slime up off the floor.

"Rimuru cushions?" Kumiko echoed in confusion. Benimaru and Souei also didn't quiet understand what Rimuru meant.

"Rimuru cushions," Rimuru confirmed. "I plan to make a stuffed toy of myself to give to Shuna and Shion so they can stop fighting over me and pulling me in opposite directions."

"Please allow us to assist you!" Benimaru shouted out almost desperately as the two other kijin nodded in understanding.

"H-huh? You're awfully gung-ho about this, Benimaru..." Rimuru trailed off in shock.

"Naturally!" Benimaru replied instantly. Kumiko and Souei only stared at Benimaru as he continued talking. "If Shion has a cushion resembling you, she'll take very good care of it. She'll keep it with her at all times and avoid getting it dirty... Which means, she won't go near the kitchen anymore!"

Rimuru, Souei and Kumiko gasped in realization. All of the present attendees to this meeting had met Shion's cooking horrors at one instance or another. Benimaru had taken the brunt of the attacks after Rimuru had assigned him to watch over her cooking. Benimaru glanced back to the two Kijin, who smiled slightly and nodded back at him. They also would happily help the cause if it meant they were spared the concoction that Shion claimed was food.

"This is an important mission," Benimaru said to the two of them determinedly.

"Agreed," Souei said while Kumiko nodded.

"I shall accompany you, as well, Rimuru-sama." A voice came from behind Rimuru and the Kijin looked forward to see Hakurou standing there, a terrifying aura exuding from the white-dressed kijin. Kumiko took a careful step back and slightly behind Souei while Benimaru and Souei quickly averted their gazes and appeared busy. Hakurou was seemingly angry that he wasn't invited to such an important task as finding a method to keep Shion out of the kitchen.

Good luck, Rimuru-sama, all three of them thought mentally before they quickly retreated with the excuse that they were going to prepare for the outing.

~~~

No too long after, the entire group was ready to go. Souei, Kumiko, Soka and Rigurd were leading the group, followed by Shion and Ranga. On Ranga's back was Rimuru, Shuna and Haruna. Everyone else trailed behind.

The walk to the lake wasn't too far. It was a light trek through the forest though time seemed to go faster as the group chattered (or bickered in Souei and Kumiko's case) endlessly. Soka, who had started getting over her feelings for Souei finally, rolled her eyes at her two superiors. It was a wonder they did so well out in the field together when they were arguing like children over the most pointless topics such as who could hold their breath the longest and who would be tastier to the so called monster Rimuru had told them about. The female dragonnewt couldn't help but wonder how much damage the two of them would causing via their fighting if they truly were enemies. She shivered at that thought. Perhaps the entire continent would be in shambles and obliterated before their endless fight was over.

Before the two bickering Kijin could come to a conclusion on their latest banter about who could spin their weapon faster, everyone was stunned silent by the view of the lake ahead of them.

"It's beautiful!" Shuna said, voicing everyone's thoughts. The girls all nodded in agreement and voiced their various inputs on the scenery. Even Kumiko and Soka chatted lightly about the lake and how refreshing the water looked. Despite their rocky start, Kumiko and Soka had managed to slowly work out their friendship after the fight. During the walk here, Soka had let it slip that her feelings for Souei had diminished greatly, and Kumiko had gladly begun to open up to the dragonnewt. Her jealousy and annoyance at Soka faded with each day after the fight until the two of them worked well as superior and subordinate. Currently, they were still trying to create the close bond of friendship, though the walk here had allowed them to get significantly closer.

"Okay, before we look for sarasa, we eat!" Rimuru declared. "Let's have lunch!"

Three large tarps were laid out on the grass, two of them farther up the hill and one of the right by the water. The dragonnewts immediately headed to the tarp nearest to the water. Quickly handing out all the food everyone had prepared for themselves, the boys sat down on one tarp near Rimuru and Ranga while the girls sat on the other and happily chatted away.

"Rimuru-sama, here's your lunch!" Shion said as she jogged over carrying a large pot. At her words, every Kijin in the area visibly flinched in horror. Shuna gasped and looked up while the boys broke out in a cold sweat and refused to look at Rimuru. Kumiko simply used her hair to hide her view from Rimuru and began to dig into her food.

"My lunch?!" Rimuru echoed at Shion in horror.

You didn't stop her? Rimuru asked the kijin telepathically, a hint of betrayal in his tone.

Well, we said we'd all be responsible for our own food! Benimaru argued back, clearly horrified.

This has nothing to do with me, Hakurou said as he turned around with his back to Rimuru and sipped his tea.

She broke the door in when I locked her out, Kumiko said defeatedly while Souei simply disappeared without a word. She had received a shock when the door to the kitchen had been blown across the room to reveal Shion standing innocently at the gaping hole. Rimuru looked at them all in disbelief. How did no one manage to stop Shion despite knowing how horrible her cooking was?

"I made this, but..." Shion trailed off, catching Rimuru's attention back to her. "It seems this container isn't strong enough. The bottom is falling out."

Sure enough, whatever Shion had cooked in the pot was melting through the bottom of the large metal pot she was holding. A drop of it fell through a crack and landed on the grass, instantly killing and burning through the grass and dirt. Rimuru let out a small shriek of horror. Rimuru looked to Kumiko for help, but she purposely ignored his desperate pleas for help as she quickly finished up her food. Standing, she invited Shuna and Haruna to dip their feet in the edge of the lake with her. The two girls finished their food and quickly escapes the situation.

"I guess it's not big enough to hold all of my feelings toward you!" Shion told Rimuru brightly as the concoction she made continued slowly burning through the metal.

"W-Well, if it won't fit, there's nothing we can do about it..." Rimuru stuttered out, his eyes flickering between Shion and the pot that was pouring out a purple acid.

"So..." Shion set down the pot, only to have a large blast of steam come out from where the pot made contact with the ground, frightening Ranga, who had been nearby happily gnawing on a large bone, and Rimuru. The pot itself managed to burn a hole through the ground, the entire metal container sinking lower and lower into the ground until there was nothing left but a hole that was digging lower and lower from the purple acid that Shion had cooked up.

"I made this instead!" Shion said, ignoring the hole at her feet and holding a small brown package out to Rimuru. "It's a rice ball! Please, help yourself! Gobichi taught me the secret to cooking"

"S-Secrets?" Rimuru stared at the package in horror as he could imagine the waves of poison and acid exuding from the wrapped ball. Taking a small step back, he couldn't help but want to run away.

"Yes! He taught me that the most important ingredient is love! So this rice ball is packed with me love!" Shion reached for the string of the wrapped rice ball and unraveled t, revealing another monstrous ball of rice that clearly wasn't meant for consumption. Rimuru gulped in fear.

Taking a couple steps, Shion attempted to hand the ball over, only to step in the hole made by her pot earlier and trip. The monstrosity that she called food flew from her hand and began rolling down the hill. The dragonnewts, minus Soka, all scattered as it rolled towards them. The ball headed straight for the female so she opened one of her wings and bat it away. Unfortunately, she hit it right towards Kumiko and Shuna. The two girls screeched in fear as the poison was launched towards them but thankfully didn't have to run since Souei appeared right in front of Kumiko and used the flat side of his blade to bat the ball away from the girls. Everyone watched silently as the ball flew into the water and sunk down before letting out a sigh of relief.

Shion, who had gotten out of the hole, marched her way down to the two groups, seething. She had worked hard to make that ball, yet no bothered to try to catch it. Souei quickly grabbed Kumiko's hand and the two disappeared, leaving Shuna to scurry up the hill past Shion while Shion's attention was still set on Gabiru. She stalked towards the dragonnewt, who tried to get away. He was unsuccessful as his sister stuck out a foot and tripped him before quickly backing out of Shion's reach. It didn't take long after that for Shion to beat up Gabiru and look for her next target, Souei. Unfortunately, Souei was long gone already, and everyone else had scattered. Shion took a couple more angry hits at Gabiru before sighing sadly and making her way back to Rimuru.

"I'm so sorry about your lunch, Rimuru-sama!" Shion said, bowing repeatedly in apology.

"No, it's fine!" Rimuru said, relieved. She would've been more sorry if he actually did eat that ball of poison. Nonetheless, he tried to find an excuse to calm Shion down. "I don't need to eat, anyway! It's okay, it's okay! More importantly, you guys should get ready to go into the lake now. Let's get some sarasa!"

Everyone made their way into the forest in different locations to change into their swimsuits. The swimsuits themselves were made out of spandex and Garm had kindly fashioned a set for everyone going to the lake.

For the girls, Shion had a purple striped bikini with ribbons tying it together at the center of her breasts and the sides of her hips. Shuna had a pink, frilly bikini. Soka had a pair of white bikini bottoms paired with a blue sports bra looking bikini top. Haruna had a light yellow bandeau bikini with a bow right between her breasts. Lastly, Kumiko wore a plain black bikini with the straps around her neck. She had also thrown on a transparent, light blue cardigan that was tied lightly at her stomach in hopes of covering herself up a bit more. Unfortunately, the transparency of the material didn't cover up much and only served to accent the black swimsuit underneath. Rimuru smiled as he allowed himself to feast his eyes on the girls swimwear. The dwarves had really outdone themselves with making sure the swimsuits fit each girl.

A sound behind him caused Rimuru to turn around, coming face to face with the boys of the group. Rimuru couldn't help but fall over at the sight. The boys had fairly plain swimsuits for the most part, though three out of five of them could use more normal swimsuits in Rimuru's opinion. Gobta and Hakurou appeared to the wearing white mawashis, though the material was spandex and it sufficiently wrapped between their legs and around to the back. Rigurd simply had a pair of black swim briefs and was flexing as always. Even Gabiru and his three minions had swim briefs on. Benimaru and Souei had the most normal swimsuits as Benimaru had a pair of red swim trunks and Souei had the same in blue. Both were shirtless and the two of them were stretching lightly while chatting quietly. Soka, despite getting over Souei for the most part, couldn't help but blush as she looked at Souei. Her view was blocked as Kumiko tackled her down to the ground and straddled the dragonnewt at the waist while staring her down with a blush of her own. Kumiko wanted to take the time to admire Souei in a swimsuit, but the more pressing matter was that someone was staring at her lover with impure eyes, so she had to take care of that first. Soka got the message and assured Kumiko, who sat pouting like a child on top of her, that she wouldn't look at Souei.

"Why do you guys have them, too?!" Rimuru complained from the ground. He scanned the area to see Ranga with his own swimsuit, colored red at his torso and black at his legs. Rimuru focused on Ranga's adorable swimsuit rather than the headache of the guys.

"Garm said he made a swimsuit for you, too>" Shuna said as she walked up behind Rimuru. Behind her, Shion was laughing and Haruna was flitting around a bit panicked as Soka flailed from underneath Kumiko, trying to get out. Soka threw a couple joking questions about how much Kumiko had been eating, only to have Kumiko smirk and poke Soka's stomach asking the same question back. Both of them, despite their insults, knew it was nothing more than playful banter of two mostly-friends and so took no insult to the others words. Rather, it turned into a situation of Kumiko playfully bullying Soka as Soka tried to escape without being tickled by the smirking kijin above her.

"For me?" Rimuru asked Shuna, his eyes flitting over to the three girls quickly before concluding that there wasn't actually anything serious. Shuna nodded and held up a once piece swimsuit with Rimuru's name written across the top.

"A school swimsuit?!" Rimuru shouted in disbelief and disappointment. "No way! No way! That is absolutely not happening! Garm! You and your bastard brothers!"

Despite the efforts of Shion and Shuna combined while Kumiko continued to mess with Soka, Rimuru managed to escape having to wear the one piece. Instead, he wore a pair of blue swim trunks with a black tank top.

"Well, this isn't so bad..." Rimuru reached his arms out and stretched lightly. Compared to the school swimsuit, this was way better. Shuna and Shion stood nearby, a bit sad as they placed the one piece back into the bag where all the rest of their clothes were.

"Then, shall we go now, Rimuru-sama?" Benimaru asked as he approached.

"Yeah. Okay, guys-"

"Wait just a minute!" Rimuru was interrupted as a scream came from the sky and a flash of pink light streaked down from the sky. It landed right in front of the group, blowing away Gabiru and his minions. The kijin who were standing plus Rimuru quickly covered their eyes from the sand while Kumiko stopped tickling the dragonnewt - who was on the verge of tears by now from laughing - and turned her back to it from her position above Soka. Soka used Kumiko's body as a slight shield and quickly used her arm to block her face. As the dust cleared, they all looked to the center to see Milim who had created a crater in the sand.

"Milim?!" Rimuru called out shocked. Milim raced up to Rimuru.

"You're so mean! Why didn't you invite me on your picnic?! Aren't we friends?!" Milim screamed in Rimuru's face, hurt that she had to invite herself to the party.

"Oh... sorry," Rimuru said, holding his palms facing outwards in a form of apology and surrender. He smiled apologetically, but hid the fact that he didn't invite Milim because he knew she'd make trouble if invited. "I figured you were busy."

"Even if I'm busy, I'd drop everything to be with my bestie when they ask!" Milim replied indignantly. "So, what were you about to do?"

"We were gonna swim out to that sandbar..." Rimuru reluctantly replied. Despite not wanting Milim to be here, he couldn't turn her away now that she was. This Demon Lord was too childish to understand.

"You're swimming, huh? hen, I'll swim too!" Milim declared.

"But you don't have a swimsuit, do you?" Rimuru refuted.

"I don't need one!" Milim screamed as she attempted to take her top off. Rimuru quickly grabbed her hands, stopping her from actually stripping her clothes off, while screaming at her to stop.

"Don't you dare!" Rimuru shouted at Milim angrily.

"There's no need to shout," Milim replied with a pout as she rested her arms behind her head. "Watch."

Milim raised her hand and a sigil formed in the air above her. Moving downwards, it magically changed her everyday outfit into a form with less fabric. Her sleeves, socks and boots disappeared though the strap around her left leg remained.

"What's that?" Rimuru asked confused.

"My swimsuit!" Milim said proudly.

"It may look like it, but that's not a swimsuit." Rimuru was slightly glad she didn't have the right material. It made it all the easier to turn her away. "Next time we go swimming together, I'll have Garm make you a swimsuit. For now -"

"I want to go swimming!" Milim interrupted angrily with a pout and puffed cheeks. Rimuru sighed. This Demon Lord really was unreasonably childish. With no choice, Rimuru told her she could swim, but couldn't make any trouble for anyone. Meanwhile, in the background, Soka had finally been saved from the friendly torture of Kumiko.

Souei had made his way over after he finished his stretches and thrown the black-haired Kijin over his bare shoulder and walked back towards Rimuru. Kumiko's face flushed pure red at the skin contact, but she quickly masked it and instead chose to bite down hard on Souei's toned back. Souei flinched and made quick work of detaching Kumiko from him and placed her quickly, but gently, on the ground. Kumiko smiled at him innocently, only to receive a flick on the forehead from her lover. She quickly used both hands to cover her forehead as she puffed her cheeks.

Souei on the other hand was trying to reach the spot on his back where she had bitten. It didn't necessarily hurt after the initial bite, but rather it had begun to itch if anything. Barely reaching it, he managed to feel the indentations of her teeth in his skin, the locations of her canine teeth especially deep and almost breaking the skin. Playfully glaring at Kumiko, he grabbed her hand and bit her index finger in revenge, albeit lightly. She yelped and quickly retracted her hand from his. Looking up at him, she received an innocent smile, which caused her to huff and turn away to make her way towards Rimuru. Souei lightly chuckled as he took a couple larger steps to catch up and laid an arm on Kumiko's shoulder. Kumiko turned her head to try to take a bite of his hand, but he was quick enough to move his hand out of her way without removing his arm. She glared at him for moving, but he purposely ignored it and returned to her a loving smile.

"Okay, everyone, if Garm was right, the sarasa's on that sandbar," Rimuru said once everyone had gathered around where he stood. "There are also rumors of a monster here, so everyone be careful!"

"Yes," everyone except Milim replied to Rimuru.

"Monsters can come at us all they want!" Miiim declared as she proudly put her hands on her hips.

"Hey! No matter what shows up, you're not allowed to do anything!" Rimuru scolded the Demon Lord. "You'll blow this entire area off the map! Promise, alright?" Rimuru threw a blue floating around the Demon Lord, who gladly accepted it as she promised Rimuru.

With that, they set off, though the girls opted to sit on top of Ranga rather than swim. Rimuru led the group with Souei following to his left and Benimaru to his right. Ranga was directly behind Rimuru carrying all five of the girls easily while they chatted happily. To Ranga's left was Milim, Gobta, Rigurd and Hakurou. To his left were the rest of the dragonnewts.

"I don't sense any significant presences," Benimaru reported to Rimuru as they swam. "This rumor about a monster may have just been an exaggerated rumor about someone whose foot got caught."

"I hope so, but it never hurts to be careful..." Rimuru responded, only to be interrupted as something pulled him under.

"Rimuru-sama!" Shion called out worried. Everyone had stopped once Rimuru had gone under and tried to scan the water.

"My foot's caught in algae or something!" Rimuru called as he resurfaced a bit to the left of the group before he was pulled under again. Kumiko quickly slid herself off of Ranga's back, diving under the surface of the water. A yellow tentacle of some sort seemed to be dragging Rimuru downwards deeper into the water. Swiftly, she shot herself up next to the tentacle and sliced through it with a knife she had brought with her. From around them, more tentacles shot up, one of them wrapping itself around Kumiko's waist and across her chest. It flung Kumiko up into the girls on Ranga's back, knocking them all into the water. Meanwhile, Rimuru tried to swim as fast as he could back to the surface.

As he emerged from the water, the first thing he saw was that the tentacles had managed to capture everyone that was in the water, wrapping itself lewdly across the girls' bodies, leaving them all in suggestive and compromising positions. The boys too were captured, although their positions weren't as inappropriate-looking as the girls'.

"Th-This is absolutely shameful!" Rimuru said with a blush as he looked at the girls.

"Oh, dear!" Rimuru heard Milim laugh easily from behind him. As he turned around, he saw that Milim had been wrapped from neck to toe and hung upside down. Rimuru used [Water Blade] to try to cut through one of the coils around Milim, only to see it regrow almost instantly.

"Rimuru-sama's slash attack didn't work?!" Benimaru called out surprised. Rimuru said nothing, but instead dived down under the surface of the water again. As Rimuru dived downward, tentacles wrapped around him, but he evaded by dispelling his [Mimic] and transforming back to a slime. On the surface of the water, everyone watched in concern as the clothes Rimuru was wearing floated up to the surface and dissolved.

Rimuru, in his slime form, made his way even quicker to the source of the yellow tentacles. They were coming from a shell resting at the bottom of the lake. This might've been the monster Garm was warning Rimuru about.

"Hey! Can you hear me?" Rimuru called out to the creature. More tentacles shot forward towards Rimuru, but he managed to dodge them all as he swam swiftly through the water. "You're making things difficult for everyone up there! Could you stop?"

It's pretty haphazard, Rimuru thought as he examined the creature and it's attacks. It doesn't seem like an attack... More like it's suffering. But what happened to it?

As Rimuru got closer, he noticed something floating in the water in front. Quickly approaching it, he noticed it to be Shion's rice ball, though someone had taken a bite out of it.

It tried to eat this?! Rimuru had found out the reason to this creature's behavior. And that made it go berserk and last out! We don't see many monsters like this.

"Hang on! I'll get you feeling better in no time!" Rimuru called out to the suffering shell as he propelled himself downards. Rimuru quickly threw as many full potions as he could from within him at the creature, healing wherever they landed.

"There. You're all better now." Rimuru looked down proudly at his work. The which had once been black and red was now a healthy green color. Tentacles from around reached towards Rimuru, waving around though it didn't actually touch the slime.

"Hey, could it be that you can't see anything?" Rimuru asked. The tentacles stopped moving, as if agreeing. "Okay, just do what I say! I have this skill called [Magic Sense]."

It wasn't long before the tentacles managed to find Rimuru, indicating that the creature could now see. They gently pet Rimuru, as if thanking him.

From above, the tentacles which had been wrapping tighter and tighter around the group stopped moving.

"Did Rimuru-sama..." Benimaru trailed off, only for the tentacles to suddenly unravel themselves from around everyone, dropping the entire group into the water. After everyone was plunged into the water, they all quickly surfaced. Thankfully, everyone knew how to swim decently and could tread water so they weren't drowning.

Kumiko, are you okay? Souei asked Kumiko via their [Thought Communication]. She didn't answer, but resurfaced nearby Souei who quickly swam over to her. Lightly gripping her shoulder, he scanned over her face to check for any injuries where he could see them as she coughed out the water.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," Kumiko assured him after she managed to get her breath back. "We should head to the sandbar. It's not a good idea to stay in the water."

With Benimaru, Kumiko and Souei leading the way, the entire group safely dragged themselves on the sandbar. Since everyone was safe on dry land, everyone turned their attention to the water, scanning whatever the could to try to spot Rimuru. He was the only one who hadn't surfaced.

"Okay, good! I'm gonna head back, then," Rimuru told the creature. The tentacles around Rimuru visibly wilted. "You're so openly lonely! Just like a certain dragon I know!"

Rimuru sighed.

"Um... I'm after the sarasa on the sandbar here," Rimuru explained. "So I'm gonna go gather some. I'll come back to see you soon, so don't be lonely, okay?"

Before Rimuru could start swimming back up, the giant shell began to move upwards. Catching Rimuru gently on one of its ridges, the creature broke through the surface of the water by the sandbar where the rest of the group was waiting.

"Sorry I worried you guys," Rimuru apologized as he emerged with the shell. "I talked things over with the monster.

"Rimuru-sama!" everyone cheered, glad that he was safe. Before Rimuru screamed and blushed as he turned away.

Everyone looked at themselves, only to notice that the tentacles had been corrosive to the fabric of their swimsuits. The boys and Ranga had been stripped entirely of their trunks and briefs, leaving them bare. The girls had no time to even process that the guys were naked since they were more concerned about their own lack of clothes and covering themselves up. Haruna's swimsuit was completely dissolved while the Shuna, Shion and Soka were left with barely enough to cover themselves. Kumiko's coverup had been dissolved completely and a majority of her swimsuit was damaged, albeit she technically still had more fabric than the girls. It wasn' long before the strings on the girls swimsuits all snapped leaving them completely bare. As the girls all yelped and made quick work of covering themselves as best as possible.

Souei! Don't look! We haven't gotten this far yet, so turn around! Kumiko scolded Souei as she blushed heavily and squatted down into a ball to cover herself as much as possible. Souei, who was staring shocked at Kumiko with a bright blush, quickly spun around, using his threads to spin the other guys around and away from the girls. Despite them being lovers, at most they had french kissed and slept on the same bed, but nothing more than that. The only other time that they saw even close to as much exposed skin on their other half was during Rimuru's sumo tournament.

"Rimuru-sama, please stand aside!" Shion called as she pointed her broadsword towards the shell, completely ignoring her nudity.

"Wait, wait, wait! There's a good reason for this!" Rimuru cried out, trying to protect his new friend. "And put on some clothes!"

With the help of Milim, she managed to get the bag of dried clothes from the other end of the shore and gave it to the girls to get dressed first. Once they were decent, the girls gave the guys their privacy to change. Once everyone was dressed, they gathered back near the shell. While everyone was scattered lightly around, Souei stood behind Kumiko, both his arms hooked lightly around her waist as she was leaning slightly back towards him. He rested his chin lightly on her head as her hands moved to cover his which were placed at her lower stomach. Normally, for the two kijin who were attached at the hip whenever possible, they didn't stand front to back like this and instead preferred to stand side by side. However, they chose to do this because both were hiding their blushes from the other. There was only so much skin that could be exposed before their brains would melt.

"To explain," Rimuru started as he jumped off the shell and morphed into his human form, "this monster here only grabbed us because it went berserk. Normally, it won't hurt us at all."

"It went berserk?" Shion echoed, confused.

"Yeah. Something caused it to gain incredible power and it temporarily lost control. That's all. Cut it some slack for my sake, okay?"

"I suppose we shall have to," Shion replied without argument. "But what made it lose control?"

"W-Well who knows?" Rimuru stuttered out. He didn't want to let Shion know it had been her cooking. Suddenly from behind him, a gurgling sound emerged. Rimuru turned around to see Shion's rice ball floating by the sandbar. Everyone stared at it, seeing the bite mark and making the connection, though none dared to look at Shion. Rimuru quickly used [Water Blade] and sent the poisonous ball away.

"Um, uh... Well..." Rimuru forced a smile as he changed the subject. "Hey! Doesn't the sane we're standing on feel super smooth?"

"Now that you mention it..." Shion said as she looked down, taking Rimuru's bait.

"It does," Benimaru agreed. "Could this be...?"

"It's super smooth! This is the sarasa!" Rimuru declared happily, gesturing to the sand beneath their feet. "Super smooth, super smooth sarasa!" Rimuru bent down and picked up a handful of sand, letting it slowly fall between his two palms in a steady stream. The rest of the group got to work by grabbing the various sacks and beginning to fill it with sand. In the back, Kumiko was discreetly trying to bury Souei's leg in the sand while they were filling up their own bags.

"Okay, let's take all of this sand!" Rimuru commanded.

"What? But the bags we brought won't carry it all," Shion replied.

"It doesn't have to be all at once. We can make more trips ere to collect it."

"Ah Rimuru-sama," Kumiko called as she stood up and brushed her thighs free of sand. From behind, Souei reached over and brushed some sand off the backs of her legs. "Perhaps next time, I can freeze part of the lake and we can play around on the ice."

"Great idea, Kumiko! I'll have Garm and Kurobe make some skates for everyone."

~~~

Once again, upon the group's return, Rimuru was being tugged back and forth between Shion and Shuna.

"I've made a stamina-boosting dish to relieve the day's exhaustion," Shion offered to Rimuru as she gave a tight smile to Shuna.

"No, please, try some of my cooking now and then," Shuna rebutted with a similar smile back at Shion.

"Um... Are you done with the cushions already?" Rimuru asked Shuna.

"Of course!" Shuna reported. "We'll take them home and use them with love!"

"No, um..." Rimuru trailed off not knowing what to say.

"I guess they were no match for the real thing," Benimaru commented with an amused smile as he, Souei and Kumiko stood nearby watching the two female kijin fight over Rimuru once again. Without much else, Benimaru turned around to leave while Kumiko and Souei used [Spacial Travel] to leave before Rimuru spotted them watching without helping him.

"This is an important part of my duty taking care of you, Rimuru-sama," Shion insisted as she continued to pull on Rimuru.

"Don't be unfair! Let me attend to you, too!" Shuna rebutted as she continued to tug on her side.

"Oh forget it," Rimuru sighed in resign. "Just do what you want." With that, the cushions that everyone had helped to gather materials for were left forgotten for the time being in the corner of the room.

Chapter Text

After the battle with Charybdis and the megalodons, the village was plentiful with resources from the scales Milim had cleanly piled on the forest floor to the massive amounts of fish from the sharks to the tonnes of wood from the uprooted trees. They worked to pile all the resources together to have Rimuru devour it with his [Predator] to bring back to the village with ease.

Once they got back to the village, the sun had set. Kumiko had gone ahead to announce their return and to help gather materials to being preparing their feast for tonight. After all, minus that shark Kumiko had froze, the others needed to be cooked quickly. Hakurou stopped in the middle of the town on an open road once they arrived in the village as residents gathered across from him. Rimuru quickly spit out the frozen shark that he had carried back inside of him onto a tarp that Rigurd and Geld had laid out. Rimuru then swiftly moved onto delivering Charybdis' scales to Kurobe and Kaijin. Meanwhile, Hakurou was in a stance to fight, one hand on his blade at his left hip.

"Now, do it!" Hakurou commanded. Across from him, Rigurd and Geld lifted up the dead megalodons that Kumiko had frozen. The shark had been chilled to perfection for sashimi. Therefore, they were going to make good use of the fish and serve it for dinner. Rigurd and Geld simultaneously launched the shark towards Hakurou, who swiftly filleted the fish in a matter of seconds.

"Amazing! You're the best, Master!" Gobta complimented cheerfully. "One neatly filleted Megalodon!"

"A task simple enough to achieve before breakfast... or dinner, in this case," Hakurou bragged slightly with a laugh.

On another strip of the village road, Kurobe, Kaijin, and the three dwarf brothers stared at the mound of scales in front of them. It was twice the height of the dwarves at least and even towered over Kurobe.

"It's so light..." Kaijin noted as he tapped two scales against one another. A light metallic ring sounded from the contact, clean and crisp through the cold, night air. "And so hard. I bet we could use this."

"It'll make some nice weapons," Kurobe agreed as he picked up another scale to examine for himself.

"It could be a shield, too. Or we could even work it into some armor," Garm added beside his brothers.

"We could even make some simple accessories with it," Dord commented. "They'd fetch a high price for sure."

Myrd nodded and hummed his agreements.

At the center of the village around the fountain, various tables and two large pots of cooking megalodon was featured as well as a boat of sashimi-ed megalodon was served, the mouth of the shark wide open at the helm. Rimuru could've sworn that he saw Kumiko try to shove Gabiru into the shark's mouth, but when he doubled back, she was standing beside Souei who had an arm draped around her shoulder, almost as if keeping her there, while Gabiru was across the courtyard with his loyal servants, seemingly trying to escape Kumiko's view. Thankfully for Gabiru, Geld had made his way into Kumiko's line of sight of Gabiru while holding two cups of alcohol.

"Geld, that was some splendid fighting!" Gabiru commented as he accepted one of the cups that Geld offered to him. They brought the two cups together with a light clink sound. "Your courage set an example I'd like to follow!"

"You were unstoppable yourself, Gabiru! I can't express my admiration enough!" Geld replied happily.

"Oh, no, Geld!" Gabiru insisted.

"Oh, no, Gabiru!" Geld insisted back. The two of the laughed at their compliments to each other and joyously enjoyed the alcohol with the three dragonnewts with Gabiru quickly complimenting them both.

On the other side, Benimaru had made his way over to Souei and Kumiko with three cups of alcohol. Handing a cup each to Souei and Kumiko, he took a sip of his own as he and Souei chatted lightly. Souei also took calm sips of his own drink, his arm now wrapped lightly around Kumiko's waist as she held her own cup in both hands.

Kumiko lifted the cup to her face and gently sniffed the drink, the whiff of alcohol making her face flush red. The scent of alcohol always reminded her of that night she had confessed to Souei. Every time she thought back, Kumiko always felt like burying her head in her sheets to hide from the world. What was she going to tell her and Souei's future children if they asked how their parents got together? No way she could tell them that she was drunk off the charts and blurted it out in her moment of intoxication. She quickly lifted the cup and took big gulps of the alcohol, only stopping when Souei quickly removed the cup from her hands.

Love, you may have a high alcohol tolerance but we don't another of your drunken episodes, Souei scolded her through their [Thought Communication]. Her face flushed even more at the reminder of it and she whacked him lightly across his chest before quickly grabbing the drink back. She huffed as she turned her head away, only to come face to face with Benimaru and wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at her. She jokingly reached her foot out to step strongly onto Benimaru's foot before she stomped away to find the girls. Surely they wouldn't tease her too much. She turned around before she disappeared to stick her tongue out at the two male Kijin. Benimaru stuck his tongue out at her in reply while Souei only gave her a light smile before turning back to his conversation with Benimaru.

As Kumiko caught up with Soka, Erin, Shion and Shuna, they happened to be heading into the bathhouse with Rimuru. She bowed her greeting to the slime before placing her cup of alcohol on a nearby table so she could join them in the water. The Kijin sat at one side of the circular hot spring bath while Erin and Soka sat at the other side. To be honest, there was no meaning in the separation, only that Shion and Shuna happened to be making fun of Kumiko. They especially latched onto the fact that Kumiko had thought so far as one or more baby Kijin with Souei.

"Shion~ Shuna~" Kumiko whined as she puffed her cheeks. The two other kijin giggled at her flushed face. "You know we Kijin find one lover for life... It only makes sense that since Souei is my lover, children is an eventual outcome..."

"My, Kumiko, we never knew you'd be so bold as to imagine having children..." Shion smirked behind her hand as she inched suggestively towards Kumiko. "After all... we all know what has to happen before the birth of a new Kijin..."

Kumiko looked at Shion, confused and innocent.

"Kumiko-dono, you do know how children are made, yes?" Soka asked from across the small waterfall. Kumiko turned her gaze to Soka as she nodded her head.

"Children are birthed from magicule clouds," Kumiko said seriously while the rest of the group stared at her in disbelief. "Charybdis, Veldora's child, was born this way, was it not?"

"Kumiko, listen closely," Shion said as she grasped the black-haired Kijin's shoulders and forced Kumiko to look into her eyes. "We are about to give you a life lesson on the birth of regular children. Never forget this unless you want Souei to suffer."

At the end of the conversation, Shion, Shuna, Soka and Erin were laughing uncontrollably as an overheated Kumiko laid at the edge of the bath out of the water. A cold towel had been placed on her forehead as two more towels were draped over her body to cover her assets. Shion had been... descriptive to say the least in her explanation on how children were born, almost to the point that descriptive was lacking as a term. Kumiko hadn't thought that far and only imagined a bit of magicules was necessary for the birth of a child. According to Shion, there was a lot more than just that...

"Sheesh... I'm really worn out after all this," Rimuru said to the open air once the girls had calmed down from teasing the innocent Kijin. Kumiko had slipped back into the water beside Shuna with a pout and red face.

"You were a big help, Milim. Thanks again," Rimuru said towards the center of the pool of water. Milim popped her head out from under the water, causing Kumiko to flinch at the sound. She hadn't even know when Milim entered the bath. Perhaps she had been too absorbed in trying to fend off the other girls.

"It was nothing! It's only natural I'd do that much! Feel free to thank me more!" Milim said proudly as she smiled at the slime. She swam across the body of water, the rest of the group watching as she moved. "You were really something yourself, Rimuru! If you said you planned to become a Demon Lord, I'd have no objections!"

"A Demon Lord? You know I wouldn't become one of those. Is there any merit to being one?" Rimuru reiterated to the young girl.

"Merit?" Milim repeated as she stopped swimming.

"Why did you become a Demon Lord?" Rimuru asked.

"Why did I?" Milim asked herself. She spun around to face Rimuru. "Did something bad happen and make me become one out of frustration?"

"Why are you asking me?" Rimuru replied, confused.

"Good point! I can't really remember!" Milim brushed off happily. "It was so long ago that I forgot!

"I see." Rimuru had just barely finished saying two words when Milim jumped out of the water.

"Oh, yeah! I just thought of one merit!" She leaped from the water towards Rimuru, water splashing up at the others as she did so. Milim grabbed Rimuru up out of the water and lifted him high in the air, exposing her body to the cool night breeze as well. "It's because I became a Demon Lord that I found myself a bestie!"

"R-Right..." Rimuru trailed off as she smiled happily up at him.

"Anyway, bestie, I need to get back to work now." Milim brought Rimuru down to eye level.

"Work?" Shion echoed.

"Right now?" Shuna asked, a bit surprised.

"That came out of nowhere," Rimuru agreed, a bit shocked at Milim's announcement himself.

"Well, it doesn't mean I'll never see you again!" Milim threw Rimuru back into the water and made her way towards the edge before crawling out. "We'll only be apart for a little while! Transform!"

Milim's form was obscured by a glittering pink hue before she reappeared, this time fully dressed. She turned around and posed for the group as the girls all clapped and smiled at her, amazed that she could so easily change like that. Rimuru emerged from the water after being thrown and coughed a bit to expel any water, despite the fact that he could easily just swallow it without suffering any consequences.

"I'll be sure to tell the other Demon Lords not to mess with this place, so don't worry about that!" Milim promised Rimuru.

"You're going to see the other Demon Lords?" Rimuru clarified.

"Indeed. That's my job!"

"Careful you don't let them trick you," Rimuru warned. The five others in the group echoed the same warning to the childish Demon Lord in various phrases.

"You all worry too much! They can't trick me! I'm too smart!" Milim brushed off with a smile and laugh.

"Well, I'm off! Fwoosh!" With a strong push, Milim leapt into the sky with ease and disappeared.

"Hey, wait!" Rimuru called, only to have no reply. "Oh. She's gone."

"I envy how free-spirited she is," Erin commented as she faced the three Kijin.

"That's so very like Milim-sama, though," Shuna replied with a smile.

"I look forward to seeing her again," Shion agreed.

"Well, I best get going to find Souei." Kumiko made to stand up from the water, but was thwarted by Shion and Shuna who latched onto her hands.

"Wait, wait! We still have a question for you!" Shuna said as she pulled Kumiko back down into the water. "You know we as Kijin find one lover and once we have found them, we love for life. Yet, why were you so jealous of Soka even knowing that?"

Soka turned away as the subject was brought up. She had caused a lot of problems for Kumiko, and she could only be grateful at this point that despite Kumiko's childish side, she was forgiving and hadn't kicked Soka back to the lizardmen kingdom or worse, kill the dragonnewt herself. Kumiko tilted her head, as if pondering the question.

"Perhaps it was something along the lines of there is a first time for everything, especially when the Soka was dead set on Souei?" She smiled at the two before yanking her hands out of their grasps and made her way to the edge. She pulled herself out of the water and wrapped a towel around her body before spinning around with a confident smile. The Kumiko that had been scared to show any emotion had been long gone and the group, minus Soka, felt like the Kumiko from before had been just a scary dream of theirs. "Soka and I fought it out though, so as long as she upholds her end of the bargain, there is no issue."

With that, Kumiko made her way to the changing room of the bath and dressed herself easily. Her face was slightly flushed from both Shion's educational guidance as well as the warm bath. Taking a deep breath while fanning her face slightly she calmed down and used her [Spacial Travel] to make her way to Souei. Benimaru had drunk himself into a stupor in the midst of the joys of defeating Charybdis while Souei sat nearby, drunk but still capable of thinking for himself.

"I really hope the two of you aren't going to wake up with a headache..." Kumiko scolded lightly as she walked up to the two who had sat down at the edge of the fountain. The rest of the town and eaten and drunken themselves to sleep, various bodies laid throughout the courtyard. As Kumiko stood in front of the two drunk Kijin, Benimaru only smirked up her while Souei stood up and pulled her into his arms.

"Kumiko." Her name was slightly slurred since Souei, despite functioning properly, was slightly intoxicated. Kumiko sighed as she forced Souei to stand up straight.

"I assume your doubles are out scouting, so you need to get to bed and sober up, love." Kumiko turned towards Benimaru. "You too, Benimaru. You're the general, how can you drink yourself into this state?"

Benimaru puffed his cheeks like a child and turned away from Kumiko, who only sighed. Grabbing Souei by the hand and Benimaru by the wrist, she forced them to use [Spacial Travel] to make it to Benimaru's room. Once there, she gave him a strong, yet gentle shove on Benimaru's shoulder, causing him to flop onto his bed where he remained immobile. Kumiko shook her head before activating [Spacial Travel] for the third time that night and dragging Souei with her into Souei's room.

Once they arrived, Kumiko pulled off Souei's scarf to let it hang on a rack nearby before turning back and, after a moment of hesitation, stripping off Souei's shirt. She blushed but quickly turned away to put the shirt into his closet. Souei, feeling a bit playful, wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her back flush to his chest before she could make it 2 steps away. Kumiko's face flushed even more as she felt the heat from his body on her back, his shirt still gripped in her hand. The feeling of his muscular body pressed against hers made her think back to the conversation with Shion and suddenly she felt like she was going to overheat.

"Love," Souei called lightly, almost sensually teasingly, into her ear. She hummed lightly in reply, tilting her head to the side slightly away from him as he placed a gentle kiss to the side of her neck. "You're awfully feverish right now. What are you thinking about?"

Kumiko froze before quickly freeing herself from his arms and fanned her face while refusing to look at Souei. He smirked knowingly. Rimuru had already mentioned to Souei via [Thought Communication] of Kumiko's previously innocent idea of how children were made, and subsequently, Shion's lesson on the real fine details of child-making. She clearly wasn't ready, but it had to be on her mind considering Shion had told her not even a few hours ago and Souei couldn't help but to tease her a bit, the alcohol making him a bit bolder than usual in his antics.

Folding his shirt neatly and placing it onto the dresser nearby, Kumiko spun around towards Souei, albeit her gaze was stuck to the ground. Souei took a moment to stare and admire his lover. It seemed like decades ago when he first met her and her stoic self. Compared to now, it seemed like a horrible nightmare had passed for her. She had changed greatly after that night in the forest when they first fought it out. Granted, he too had changed and expressed himself more with her around. It was shocking for the rest of the Kijin at first to the point they had straight up asked him if he was sick. They later made jokes that he was indeed sick; they said he was 'lovesick.'

Silence rang through the room and the moonlight seemed to accent their still bodies as they stood facing each other, Kumiko's head still tilted toward the ground. She was still shy when it came to gazing at his body, even if she was the one who stripped him of his shirt earlier. However, she wasn't bold enough to strip him further for his own comfort so he would just have to rest in his normal pants.

"You should rest, Souei," Kumiko said as she made a move to turn around. Instead of being able to make her way to the door like she had planned, she felt herself being pulled. Suddenly, she was laying on the bed with Souei's arms wrapped around her and the sheets fluttering gently over her. Nuzzling his head gently against hers while avoiding the horns, Souei shifted into a comfortable position and snuggled into her. Despite them having been lovers for a while now, they didn't share the same room and didn't often sleep together.

"Souei," Kumiko whined a bit in complaint, though she made no indication that she wanted to move away from him. In fact, she turned in his arms and snuggled in further while trying to keep her horns from tearing through his skin. Her eyes met his as he laid there staring at her and she stared back into his. Bright gold met piercing blue. Kumiko always had admired Souei's eyes. They were such a pretty color, almost like the sky.

Souei said nothing as he unwound one of his hands and grabbed hers, lifting it between them and kissing the back of her hand without breaking their gaze. Leaning forward, he placed a second kiss on the top of her head, a third on her horn, a fourth on her cheek. Finally, he placed a fifth kiss on her lips as she tilted her head back slightly to avoid catching his horn in between hers. It was a closed-mouthed kiss, but it was long and passionate still. They broke apart and Souei tucked her head under his, the side of her horn pressed gently at his neck.

"I love you, Souei," Kumiko whispered into the silent air as she closed her eyes and entangled their legs together under the sheets.

"I love you too, Kumiko. Sleep well, my love." Souei pulled her in a bit closer, if that was even possible, and closed his eyes, allowing his breathing to even out. He was always the most comfortable and fell asleep the quickest when she was with him. Perhaps, if she would be willing, she could stay with him every night.

~~~

The next morning, Souei was stirred from his sleep as he felt movement beside him on the bed. Both Souei and Kumiko, being spies, slept lightly and woke up to any small bump in the dark. As soon as Kumiko sat up, she knew the blue Kijin beside her would be awake too, so she leaned over and gave him a quick kiss before sitting up and stretching her arms upwards. As she did so, Souei sat up and pulled her to him, pressing her back to his chest as he laid his head on her shoulder as the last bit of sleep left him.

"Morning, love," he greeted as one of her hands found its way to his hair and began to gently run through it. Her other hand lightly covered Souei's, which was wrapped around her stomach.

"Morning, did your doubles find anything of interest last night?" Souei hummed a negative reply as he held Kumiko in his arms. He closed his eyes again, as if wanting to go back to sleep, but was stopped by a light hit on his leg from Kumiko.

"No time for sleeping. Call your doubles back and let's go scout on our own."

"Hm, the doubles can do the scouting. We can sleep more." Kumiko rolled her eyes at Souei's reply and wiggled herself free from his grasp. Before he could fall backwards onto the bed, she pulled him by the arm to get him off the bed. He let her pull, his body flopping forward from his sitting position until he was face down in the sheet with Kumiko trying to tug at his arm. She huffed when she realized she wasn't getting him anywhere. Souei may been skinny, but the blue Kijin sure was muscular. Kumiko was strong, but not enough to pull Souei off the bed entirely, so at most, his arms hung off the side of the bed while the rest of his body was face down on top of the sheets.

"We both know you're not going back to sleep, Souei," Kumiko said with a huff as she released his hand before she smirked at him teasingly. "Get up before I beat you to the field and secure more land than you. Then again, I am the superior spy, so perhaps it is only right of me to go ahead."

As she spun around to leave, a hand latched onto her wrist as a dark aura appeared around Souei. He lifted his head with a strained smile directed at Kumiko.

"Now, now, love. Let's not jump to conclusions. We've never agreed that you're superior. If anything, I should be covering more land since you seem to not even be strong enough to pull me off this bed." Kumiko's own threatening aura flared up against his as she sent back her own stiff smile.

"Lose some muscle and we'll see then. But regardless, whoever gets to the field first claims their part of the forest!" With that, she yanked her hand out of his grasp and disappeared in a streak of black. Souei blinked for a second before scrambling out of bed and throwing his shirt and scarf on. Once he was ready, he too disappeared in a streak of black.

~~~

Souei and Kumiko had barely finished scouting out their respective areas when, Rimuru gathered all the Kijin, Rigurd, Rigur, Gobta, Kaijin, Gabiru, Soka, Vesta and Geld into the meeting room. Much to Kumiko's dismay when they all met up, Benimaru was as happy as could be, not a trace of alcohol or headache in his system. She had hoped she would be able to get revenge for the countless times he had teased her about her drunken confession or the various forms of unasked for brotherly teasing he had provided to her.

Despite being quite playful and expressive in the morning, Souei and Kumiko, as well as the rest of the group, were standing straight and paying close attention to Rimuru's words. For it being a meeting among the close group of town leaders, it was abnormally serious since Rimuru wasn't talking about a light topic. After all, he was telling them that he was leaving the town. At his serious announcement, even Kumiko and Souei, who normally had their bodies angled towards each other in a slightly more relaxed stance were stiff and facing Rimuru as they processed the information.

He explained to the group about Shizu's regret, the children in the human capital, and the promise he made to Shizu. The mask was laid in front of the blue slime as he addressed the group, who stared silently at him as he continued talking.

"I understand what you're saying... but..." Rigurd trailed off.

"If anything should happen to you, the Jura Forest Alliance could be ripped up from its very roots, after it was only just beginning to come together," Hakurou finished for Rigurd.

"I will go with him," Ranga spoke from behind Rimuru, his tail wagging slightly. "You can all rest at ease."

At Ranga's words, the Kijin exchanged glances. They did believe in Ranga's strength, but this was their leader going into unfamiliar ground. There were simply too many factors to consider when it came to Rimuru's safety.

"What Ranga said," Rimuru agreed, bringing the attention back onto himself. "Work together to keep this town safe. I need you all to fulfill your roles the best you can."

"Yes, sir!" Everyone replied simultaneously with a bow.

"Now, before I head off, there is something I wanted to see..." Rimuru trailed off and looked towards Shion, Shuna and Benimaru, who nodded in response. Suddenly, Shion and Shuna began to drag Kumiko away and Benimaru hooked his arm around Souei's neck and began leading him out the door. The rest of the group looked to Rimuru in confusion, but Rimuru offered no reply.

~~~

Souei stood in front of a mirror, staring blankly at the reflection of himself. Benimaru had dragged him away and thrown a white fabric at him, telling him to change. It was a white, collared button-down with white dress pants. Without much of a choice, Souei had slipped on the clothes. Only to be dragged out again. Benimaru was flitting around him, forcing a white suit jacket onto him as well as tying a blue tie around his neck. Souei barely had time to even ask what this was about.

"Rimuru said that you and Kumiko should get married, since you're officially partners for life already," Benimaru explained as he fixed his own suit and tie. Souei glanced away from the mirror to look at Benimaru who was checking himself out in the mirror.

"Married?" Souei echoed in confusion. "What is 'married?'"

"Something about vowing to stay together forever in front of a crowd I think." Benimaru wasn't quite sure what being 'married' was either. After all, for the Kijin, there was no such thing as 'dating' or 'marriage.' It was simply once two ogres or kijin accepted each other as lovers, there was no separation and the two would be together for the rest of their long lives. There was no magical forces pulling them together persay, but ogres and Kijin didn't fall in love easily. When they did, it would never be just on a whim. It wasn't termed 'soulmates' as Rimuru had heard a lot before as a human, but the gist of it was essentially the same. Two lovers who fit each other perfectly and would remain with one another for the rest of their lives.

Souei sighed as he tugged slightly at the tie. Benimaru quickly smacked his hand away so he didn't loosen it.

"Ah, Rimuru-sama mentioned something about a soldier's vow. He was saying something about a France or Latin or something. Anyways, he told me to have you memorize this as your vow to Kumiko." Benimaru handed over a sheet of paper, which Souei glanced over quickly without a change of expression. He nodded after a couple minutes and put the paper in his pocket.

"I have it memorized."

"Really? That quick?" Benimaru asked in surprise. To double check, Benimaru forced Souei to repeat the vow to him, only to have Souei give him a cold glare after the 3rd time.

"I've already proven I have memorized it. If I repeat it to you one more time, the towns people are going to think I'm getting married to you."

~~~

In Shuna's shop, Shuna and Shion dragged Kumiko in and threw her into a changing room with a white, sleeveless dress with a bridal train. She looked at the fabric pile in her hands in confusion, barely noting a blue fabric rose peeking out from under all the white. The dress had ruffles all along the bottom portion of it and she didn't really even know where to start with the clothing or why she was even changing in the first place.

With the help of Shuna, she slipped on the sleeveless half-up-half-down, off-white dress. A blue fabric rose was sewn at her hip above where the dress' ruffles began. She slipped on a pair of off-white heels to match the dress. Immediately after she finished putting on her shoes, Shuna dragged her in front of a mirror, forcing her to sit in the chair as she and Shion began to pull various objects out.

"May I ask what is going on?" Kumiko asked as Shuna began applying a powder to her face while Shion messed with her hair.

"You're getting married!" Shuna said excitedly.

"Married?" Kumiko echoed in confusion.

"Rimuru-sama said it was going to be romantic. Something about vows." Shion vaguely answered her question, albeit the truth was none of the Kijin had the slightest idea how to explain marriage since it just simply wasn't a thing. However, Rimuru had brought it up to Benimaru, Shion and Shuna and mentioned that they would be holding a wedding for the marriage of Souei and Kumiko and that the whole town was invited. As soon as the two girls heard that it was going to be romantic, they were on board. Benimaru took a bit more explaining, but it didn't take all that long before he was excited to carry out his part of the plan.

Kumiko almost fell asleep, if not for Shion's tugging at her hair or the light touches of the brush on her face. At the end, she had a bit of light makeup and her hair was curled, with half of it pulled back and tied with a blue ribbon that matched Souei's hair. Shuna and Shion looked at Kumiko proudly before rushing to get dressed themselves, allowing Kumiko to admire their work. Despite being dragged into this, she had to admit the two female kijin had skills.

"Now Kumiko," Shion called out from the changing room she was in, "Rimuru-sama said he would be saying some wedding vows for you and all you have to do is say 'I do' when prompted." Kumiko hummed in reply to assure Shion that she heard her.

"Rimuru-sama also said that Souei would be saying something else afterwards, a soldier's oath or something. You just have to accept the oath by kissing him," Shuna added as she exited the changing room in her own dress. It was more plain compared to Kumiko's, but it was still beautiful. Once Shion and Shuna finished their own touch ups to their face and hair, they attached a wedding veil onto Kumiko's head, draping it over her face.

Just in time, Rimuru used [Thought Communication] to tell the two Kijin that everyone was ready for the bride to appear. Benimaru had already brought Souei out to the field where Souei and Kumiko usually met up before and after their scouting trips. It had been transformed into a grand wedding venue with an arch covered in white and blue roses. The blue roses were thanks to Vesta and his science. Souei stood under the arch, his nerves rising though he wasn't sure why. Kumiko had yet to appear, but the longer he waited the more anxious he got on the inside. On the outside, he remained unfazed as he stared straight ahead.

It didn't take long before Shion and Shuna appeared with Kumiko, the long bridal train of hers trailing behind gently on the ground. As Souei saw her, he couldn't help but catch his breath for a moment. She was always breathtakingly beautiful to him, but seeing her in the white dress stirred feelings in him he didn't know existed. He couldn't even begin to describe how it felt to see her walking towards him, guided on either side by Shion and Shuna. Kumiko herself was trying not to gawk at Souei in the white suit. The white in contrast with his usual black and blue accented his toned body, and it made Kumiko flush impossibly red.

As Shion and Shuna guided Kumiko to the wedding arch, Shuna handed Kumiko's right hand to Souei. He took it in his left and grasped it tightly. The two then made their way to the side, standing to the left of the arch slightly angled to face the two Kijin in the middle. Benimaru and Hakurou stood across from Shion and Shuna.

You look beautiful, Souei complimented via [Thought Communication] to her. Hearing the compliment made her shy, so she glanced down at the floor, her face flushing a bit more if possible as Souei smiled at her. Rimuru coughed, bringing their attention to him as Rigurd held him between the two kijin.

"We are gathered here in this beautiful place to join together this man, Souei, and this woman, Kumiko, in marriage — a state instituted in love, occasioned by joy. Honored and renewed by each person who pledges themselves to each other. It is therefore, not to be entered into lightly, or, unadvisedly. It is to be entered into with praise and delight for it's inexpressible gifts. Let us be honest enough with ourselves to know that there is no true marriage, except the inward bond of trust and love that dwells in the hearts of Kumiko and Souei. Only the two of you will know what marriage exists between you — the outer forms are only signs and covers over the love of your hearts. We wish that you will find together, a richness beyond the wealth of money — a depth of soul that will make beautiful everything you do in life, both separately and together."

"Souei, wilt thou have this woman to be thy wedded wife to live together? Wilt thou love her? Comfort her, honor and keep her, in sickness and in health, and forsaking all others keep thee only unto her as long as you both shall live?" Rimuru asked in the most serious voice he could muster at the moment.

"I will," Souei responded while maintaining Kumiko's gaze.

"Kumiko, wilt thou have this man to be thy wedded husband to live together? Wilt thou love him? Comfort him, honor and keep him, in sickness and in health, and forsaking all others keep thee only unto him as long as you both shall live?" Rimuru asked to Kumiko.

"I will," Kumiko responded, also not breaking Souei's gaze.

Ranga, in a smaller size, walked up to the two, a pair of jeweled rings made of Charybdis' scales resting on a pillow on his head. Souei picked up the smaller of the two rings, lifting Kumiko's left hand and placing the ring on her ring finger and Benimaru had instructed him.

"With this ring, I thee wed," he said with a loving smile as he slid it onto her finger.

Kumiko picked up the other matching ring and lightly lifted Souei's left hand to slide the ring onto his left ring finger.

"With this ring, I thee wed," she repeated, face flushed and slight tears from the flood of emotions in her eyes.

"Now, a soldier's oath from the groom." Rimuru nodded his head as Kaijin brought Souei one of his swords and handed it over in the sheath. Souei nodded in thanks and pulled it out of the sheath, the shine of the metal flashing at the movement. He laid his blade on the ground before him as he knelt down before Kumiko, holding on her left hand in his right and placing his own left hand on top of hers. The rings shined slightly in the sun.

"My oath to you: No matter what happens from this point on, I will stay by your side and protect you. These hands are yours, and with them, I wish to keep you safe for all time." Souei dropped his left hand and pulled her's to his lips, kissing the tips of her fingers before pulling her hand to his chest where his heart would be and pressed it to the white cloth. His right hand covered hers as he pressed it meaningfully to his chest. "Dulce et decorum est pro te vivo. My heart is one with yours. I dedicate my heart and my life to you. I'll link myself to you."

At his oath, Kumiko wanted to freely cry at the overwhelming happiness that flooded through her. Despite not having these traditions normally, she couldn't help but feel the meaning behind his words and his promise. He wasn't just saying it because Rimuru had told him, but because he really did mean it. Souei stood, gently guiding her hand so that they were palm to palm.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife!" Rimuru announced happily from in between them. "You may now kiss the bride."

Without having to be told twice, Souei pulled Kumiko closer and used his left hand to lift the wedding veil off her face. Wiping the happy tears off her cheeks, he leaned forward and gave her a passionate kiss. Around them, the townspeople all cheered happily for the two lovers. Shion and Shuna themselves were on the verge of crying at the romance and love that the two portrayed. Especially after knowing what happened to Kumiko, they were especially glad that Kumiko, who essentially became their sister in spirit, was happy. Gabiru who was among the crowed was sobbing into Soka's shoulder as she smiled, happy for Souei and Kumiko.

Once the wedding finished, the two newlyweds headed off the change out of the fancy clothing while everyone else gathered at the edge of town to see Rimuru and Ranga off. It didn't take long before Souei and Kumiko appeared hand in hand beside the rest of the Kijin in a streak of black.

"Well, I'm off," Rimuru said from atop Ranga. He hated to leave before truly celebrating the wedding, but he felt that the children couldn't wait any longer.

"P-Please be well! We will await your return always!" Gabiru cried out dramatically.

"Gabiru-sama, you're so sensitive!" one of his loyal followers commented.

"Gabiru-sama, you're so kind!" another of the dragonnewts said.

"Don't be so dramatic. I'll be back in no time," Rimuru reassured everyone as Ranga turned to face away from the crowd.

"Please do come back as soon as you can!" Shion said a bit worried still.

"I pray you'll have a safe journey!" Shuna added.

"We will be waiting for your safe return, Rimuru-sama," Kumiko stated with a smile, her right hand held in Souei's left.

With that, the group bid farewell to Rimuru as he and Ranga headed off to the human city. They stayed there and watched until the two were but a speck in the distance. Slowly, everyone began to trickle away, save for the Kijin and Rigurd. They continued to stare into the distance in the direction Rimuru had left. They knew it wasn't farewell, but they didn't know how long it would be until they saw Rimuru again.

"Well, Rimuru left one more task to us before he left," Benimaru announced as he turned away from the road and faced the rest of the group.

"We have to have a feast and a party of the newlyweds!"

Benimaru hooked his right arm around Souei's neck and his left around Kumiko's and began pulling them towards the center of the town before they could escape.

"Ah, but I have to remind you two. Don't get too drunk. You don't want to have to explain to your children that not only did you confess when you were drunk, but that they were conceived while you were drunk!"

At this, both Kumiko and Souei flushed a bit before they swiftly delivered a strong hit to either side of Benimaru. Benimaru was forced to let go of the two of them and hold his stomach in pain as he crumpled to the ground. The two kijin he had been teasing stood over him as they glared down at his sheepish smile. Their faces were still red from the thought of what Benimaru had suggested, so despite being in pain from their hit, Benimaru felt accomplished for teasing the two Kijin.

"Enough, enough," Shuna said with a laugh. "The rest of the town should be preparing for the feast. Do let us know when there is a new kijin on the way though. It would be wonderful to celebrate a new life."

"Shuna! Not you too!" Kumiko complained as her cheeks flushed even further. Truly, like brother like sister. The two were constantly teasing Kumiko like true siblings.

Without another glance back down the road, Shion and Shuna pulled Kumiko ahead of the group, dragging her back towards the festivities while Souei begrudgingly helped Benimaru off the ground and walked beside him, chatting lightly while glancing at Kumiko's back every so often.

Being in this world as a monster meant there would always be risks. Demon Lords who sought to fight to end their boredom, calamity class monsters born of the True Dragons, human cities who may not take kindly to the town of monsters. Still, for now, they would enjoy life as it was and live their best until the day that calamity strikes again.

Chapter Text

It had been a few months after Rimuru headed out to instruct Shizu's students. He kept in contact with the kijin who could use [Thought Communication] and regularly received reports. To his great relief, neither Shion nor Kumiko and Souei had poisoned or demolished the town, respectively. However, the three were for sure driving Benimaru up a wall. Benimaru, the General who was placed in charge of the Kijin by Rimuru, felt like he wanted to quit as the official leader of the Kijin. Mainly, as the leader of Souei and Kumiko and as the supervisor of Shion's cooking. The latter could speak for itself, but the former...

The Kijin couple, after their marriage, had been closer than ever. The two were stuck at the hip and even scouted together now. They fought like normal, but immediately after the fighting started, it would end just as suddenly as it started since Souei would begin fretting or Kumiko would burst into tears.

Why? Because Kumiko was pregnant.

Benimaru couldn't believe it when he first heard. Apparently, they had gone and conceived the child within the first few days after their wedding. The rest of the Kijin teased them for days on end after they found out a couple weeks later and claimed that their wishes for baby Kijin were just jokes.

Kumiko stomach was no longer flat as her baby bump was showing now, and the females of the village were overjoyed to see a pregnant Kumiko wandering around with Souei in tow. Souei, being the sort of awkward Kijin father he was, simply couldn't leave her alone at any second out of fear something would happen to put both her and their unborn child in danger. Shion and Shuna, who stuck by Kumiko a lot, indulged themselves in scenes of a wilting Souei and Kumiko scolded him for thinking she was helpless. The blue Kijin couldn't even begin to think about arguing back against his wife since he knew she was perfectly capable of protecting herself, but he could't help it and still worried.

Months continued to pass and Kumiko's small baby bump grew until she was forced to waddle around. Souei banned her from scouting and resorted to sending his doubles out while he stayed with her to ensure that she didn't wander off on her own. The rest of the females were eagerly on standby to help Kumiko with whatever she needed. Since monsters generally had a long lifespan, very few females were pregnant and most weren't even looking actively for a partner or childbirth; they just let feelings come when feelings came. So, essentially, the entire village catered to the pregnant Kumiko.

"I'm fine, Souei," Kumiko sighed as he flitted around her and stuffed pillows around her as she sat on the bed. Her scythe aws resting against the back wall, and much to Kumiko's dismay, had been collecting dust and cobwebs since her pregnancy had made it difficult for her to scout with Souei. "My back is killing me, but placing a pillow under my arm isn't going to do anything."

Sure enough, Souei had formed a throne of pillows for his wife. The white, fluffy mass of cloth almost buried Kumiko as it toppled over. She pushed the pillows off of her and reached both her arms out to Souei.

"Help me up, dear. I want to exercise."

"Kumiko, love. You're pregnant and you can barely even walk. Why in the world do you think you can exercise right now?" Souei immediately regretted his words as Kumiko turned to glare at him.

"So I'm helpless because I'm pregnant? I can waddle just fine. Just watch me." She struggled a bit, shifting side to side as she tried to shuffle her way to the end of the bed. It was to no avail since her stomach was horribly large and made it so difficult for her. As she realized that she was having trouble, the female burst into tears.

"I can't do anything!" She wailed as Souei quickly reached over to help her to the edge of the bed before wrapping her in a hug to calm her down. "I'm so fat now that I can't even get off this bed. What is the point of even walking when I can't even get rid of this fat no matter how much I walk?"

"Love, you aren't fat. You're carrying our child," Souei said reassuringly as he smoothed out her hair. Her head was resting against his stomach, but it was turned slightly to the left so that her horns didn't stab the blue kijin.

"Did you just call our child fat?" Kumiko asked incredulously as her tears immediately stopped. She lifted her head and glared at her husband, wrapping her arms protectively around her stomach. "How dare you call our unborn baby fat?!"

Souei sighed, since this was a common scene. Combined with her lack of emotional control from suppressing it for years, her hormones were making it worse and her moods swung back and forth like waves in the ocean. Gently, Souei unwrapped his arms from around her and supported her as he pulled her up.

"Let's go for that walk you wanted, love," he said with a loving smile. Kumiko immediately brightened and nodded. Without another tear, she began to waddle her way to the door with Souei trailing closely behind.

As the married couple exited their home, the two were greeted with eager goblins and orcs as they wandered around doing their job. Kumiko smiled nicely and waved back at them as she slowly made her way through the village. Souei was less open to the village and still mostly kept a stoic face when out and about, but greeted the townsfolk nonetheless after Kumiko had scolded him for ignoring their heartfelt comments.

After walking aimlessly for a few minutes while mindlessly bickering with her husband, Kumiko turned and headed towards Shuna's workshop. Kumiko had become a regular visitor to the building and Shuna liked to rub it into Shion's face that Kumiko seemed to like the workshop rather than the main hall where Shion tended to hang around a lot. Souei followed until Shuna met the two outside the door. Giving her a short kiss, Souei told her to call for him once she was ready to go back home and then proceeded to disappear via [Spacial Travel] to find Benimaru. Shuna quickly reached out a hand to help Kumiko into the building after Souei disappeared.

"How's the pregnancy?" Shuna asked as she guided Kumiko over to one of the tables in her workshop. She helped the pregnant Kijin down into the seat before bringing two glasses of cold water to the table.

"It's pregnant," Kumiko said bluntly as she took a gulp of the water. "I didn't know pregnancy would be this hard. I can't even walk normally unless I want to feel all sorts of balance issues."

"I'm sure your children will appreciate all the struggles you've been going through for them," Shuna giggled as Kumiko pouted.

"They better." Kumiko smiled as she rested a gentle hand on her stomach.

"So, does Souei know yet?" Shuna asked after a moment of silence. Kumiko shook her head and smirked.

"As long as Benimaru doesn't spill the beans, he won't know until I give birth."

"When are you due, again?" Shion asked immediately as she popped into the workshop and made her way to the two female kijin.

"Any day now. But hopefully soon. Souei keeps preventing me from going out to scout. I'm bored at home," Kumiko complained slightly. Shuna and Shion giggled quietly at the pregnant female.

"Well, you're pregnant, Kumiko. It's only natural for him to be so worried. After all, he's just protecting his wife and baby." Shion paused, then corrected herself with a gleeful smile. "Ah, that's right. Babies. You have twins after all."

~~~

Souei had managed to find Benimaru who was in the process of having Kaijin build a waste disposal bin strictly for Shion's horrifying concoctions. Aside from the kitchen they had to remodel after she had somehow melted both the counter and the stove, they had to make her special tools that wouldn't dissolve. Now, they were making her a disposal can so that her concoctions won't burn through the floor of the building.

"Souei," Benimaru greeted as the blue kijin appeared right beside him. "How's the wife and baby today?"

"Emotional," Souei said with a sigh as he relaxed slightly. Toward the townspeople, Souei was still a bit reserved, so he couldn't help but keep forward a stoic facade. With Benimaru, he was free to relax a bit more at least. "I didn't know that Kumiko would get so big during pregnancy. She cried this morning because she couldn't get off the bed by herself."

"Careful not to let her hear you say that," Benimaru warned the blue kijin with a small laugh. "She's going to think that you're calling her fat again." Souei winced at the memory. At the start of Kumiko's pregnancy when she started to grow her baby bump, Souei had made a similar comment with the intent of saying that the baby was growing well. However, she took it the wrong way and burst into tears, immediately disappearing using her [Spacial Travel] and crying to Shion and Shuna. Benimaru had to mediate between the two since Kumiko was too emotional to listen to the blue kijin's awkward explanation and apology.

"We will have to call Rimuru-Sama back to name the baby, won't we?" Souei asked rhetorically as he leaned against a nearby table.

"Babies," Benimaru corrected under his breath.

"Hm?" Souei hummed in question. Thankfully for Benimaru, he didn't seem to have heard what Benimaru said.

"Nothing, nothing," Benimaru quickly brushed off before changing the subject before Souei began to suspect anything. "So what was the most pointless argument Kumiko and you came up with today?"

"She said that she looked better pregnant than I would," Souei replied flatly. Benimaru burst out laughing.

"How could you even get pregnant?!" he asked through his tears of amusement.

"That's what I asked?!" Souei said incredulously as he crossed his arms. "She started off on a rant about why the females had to go through the pain of childbirth and so I appeased her and then began the argument of if I were hypothetically pregnant, who would look better."

"And who won?" Benimaru asked as he calmed down enough to form a complete sentence without pausing for another fit of laughter. Souei looked over at Benimaru triumphantly.

"I did."

~~~

A few days passed and Kumiko had began her endless chatter to her own stomach, begging the children to hurry up and come out. Souei found it especially amusing in the mornings as she would have to check the toilet after she used it to make sure she wasn't about to flush a baby down. Thankfully, Kumiko had somehow seemed to manage to coax her babies out since she had begun to feel the contractions just a few days after she began begging them to hurry.

"This isn't fair that you don't have to push a baby out of you!" Kumiko complained in the midst of her pain as Souei could do nothing but hold her hand. A female goblin was the acting midwife and was calmly instructing Kumiko on how to prepare to push the baby out.

"I swear these twin spawns of mine better be grateful that I'm tearing myself open to birth them." Kumiko screamed a bit as the painful contractions came back.

"Twin Spawn? As in... plural?" Souei repeated. He wasn't sure when he had heard Benimaru whisper that Kumiko was pregnant with more than just one baby. He didn't believe it so he brushed it off. However, Kumiko definitely said that there were two babies.

"Is that all you heard? Not that your wife is being torn apart from this birth?" Kumiko glared at him as she tightened her grip on his hand.

"Sorry, love," Souei quickly apologized as he squeezed her hand lightly to reassure her. "But I was just surprised. Are we having twins? Are you sure?"

"I know how many babies I'm pushing out of me, Souei," Kumiko's face contorted in pain as another contraction hit her. She took deep breaths, trying to calm herself down, while Souei gently circled his thumb on the back of her hand. "Yes, we're having twins. Tell Rimuru-sama to prepare two names."

"I see the head!" the midwife announced as she quickly grabbed a few other goblins nearby. "Get ready to push, Kumiko-dono!"

~~~

It was a long birth, over five hours to get both the twins out since Souei had brought Kumiko to the goblins. By the fourth hour, Rimuru had arrived and was waiting outside with the rest of the village. Right when he arrived, Souei had apparently just found out that Kumiko was carrying twins and had frantically used [Thought Communication] to tell Rimuru. Out of pity, Rimuru feigned shock though in reality he already knew to prepare two names.

At the end of the fifth hour, two crying babies were heard and everyone cheered outside for the newborns. Even the small children huddled at the front of the crowd excitedly watched the doors of the makeshift medical building. After a few minutes where the only sound that pierced the air was the crying of the twins, Souei came out pushing the weakened Kumiko in a wheelchair that Rimuru had made. Resting in each of Kumiko's arms, two small babies wrapped in white blankets rested quietly.

The twins were hornless, to which Rimuru had wondered if that was for the protection of the mother. One first-born twin, the male, had dark blue hair, darker than Souei's hair, and bright golden eyes. His younger sister had midnight black hair, like her mother, but she had heterochromia; her left eye was a bright blue and her right eye was a beautiful gold. She barely opened her eyes to glance around before closing them again and snuggling into her mother. The boy on the other hand, seemed to be fairly energetic and reached his small hands up and around in the air.

"Congratulations on your twins," Rimuru said as he approached the family. "The students have been wanting to see your babies as well."

"Thank you, Rimuru-sama," Kumiko replied as she smiled happily at her babies.

"Wait, Rimuru-sama, you knew she was carrying twins?" Souei said in shock. He glanced down at his wife with a slightly accusing glare and she only returned it with an innocent smile.

Was I the only one who was not told? Souei asked her via [Thought Communication].

It was a nice surprise, no? Kumiko replied as she shifted slightly to allow Rimuru to take the older twin out of her arms. Souei couldn't say anything because indeed it was a happy surprise, so he didn't exactly mind it.

"You will be Ohta," Rimuru said to the small baby. Because Ohta was just a baby and the fact that both his parents were Kijin, Rimuru barely felt any magicules leave him as Ohta only needed just a bit more to evolve to a Kijin. Once the quick evolution was completed, Rimuru handed Ohta back to Souei, who cradled the baby gently. Kumiko handed him the second baby.

"You will be Sena," Rimuru said as he gently poked her soft cheek. Similar with Ohta, Sena only needed just a few magicules to evolve. She opened her different-colored eyes, gazing up at Rimuru before she whined a bit. Rimuru, panicked that he made her cry, quickly handed her back to Kumiko and took the baby and soothed her.

As Rimuru finished naming the two babies, the rest of the village surged forward, albeit quietly to not scare the infants, and crowded around the newborns while cooing at how adorable they were. They gave the Kijin couple their congratulations and after a few minutes, scattered to allow the new family to return home to rest.

~~~

As the days turned into weeks, the weeks into months, and the months into years, the two kijin twins grew up quickly and easily became the talk of the town. With two talented and powerful parents, it was no surprise that the twins were forces to be reckoned with as soon as they began toddling around. Their horns had begun growing in and, to Kumiko's surprise, both twins had her horns. They curved from the side of their head and pointed towards, parallel to the ground. She sighed as she began planning how to teach them to not tear through sheets and pillows with their horns. She knew from experience that it was a huge pain to wake up with stripes of cloth instead of an actual sheet.

The two toddler kijin were loved by the entire village and Kumiko and Souei both brought them out often. The other children in the village especially loved to play with the two joyful toddlers, though games like hide-and-seek couldn't be played because the toddlers had already learned how to completely disappear from everyone but their parents and Rimuru.

Kumiko, after the birth of the twins, had easily managed to work off the baby weight and easily slipped back into scouting with Souei. When both of them were out, the twins were left to Shion and Shuna, and sometimes Benimaru if he wasn't too busy. The three Kijin were the twins' godparents, not that any of them expected anything to happen to Kumiko and Souei. After all, the two who had fought the orc army and taken down an entire legion of orcs in the tunnels wouldn't be easily defeated. Hence, sometimes when the twins were fussy and refused to separate with their parents, Kumiko and Souei had decided that the town was safe enough to take the twins when scouting. It was safe to say that the twins were going to take after their parents' stealth.

The two married Kijin appeared to never have left their honeymoon phase as they were as loving as ever. They hadn't had anymore children yet, much to Kumiko's relief, and weren't apparently planning to have more children for the time being. After all, monsters did live for a significant amount of time. Kumiko and Souei would have plenty of time for more children in the future. Aside from that, they continued their pointless bickering, this time including random topics such as what color clothing the twins would look better in. Of course, they never actually fought seriously and it was nothing more than playful banter.

Time flew by and the twins continued to grow steadily. Despite their young age, they had skills that normal ogre children would only dream of. But when their parents were two of the most powerful monsters in the entire town, it only made sense that the twins also were talented. As a gift for the twins growing up well, Myrd had built the small family a new house where the children could grow.

"Ohta," Kumiko called as she pulled the small kijin boy into her arms. Ohta flailed slightly as he pouted when his mother took a cloth to his horns.

"Mother~" he whined as he bat her hands away. She clicked her tongue slightly as he tried to wave her off.

"Ohta, you can't go around with a dirty horn," Kumiko scolded as she handed him his pancake breakfast. Without another complaint, Ohta began eating the food while his mother cleaned his horn. "How did you get your horn this dirty anyways when you just woke up?"

"I tried to cover it with a cup of clay so I didn't tear my sheets again," Ohta admitted as he swallowed the last bite of his food. The twins had been thankful that for their sake, their mother had learned to cook all sorts of food. Otherwise, they risked the horrifying experience of being sat in front of one of Shion's creations. Kumiko sighed and finished cleaning his horn off.

"Eventually, you will get used to sleeping without rolling and dragging your horn across your sheets. The sheets can be replaced, so don't worry too much about it," she reassured the small kijin. He had been tearing his sheets more often as he rolled around in bed at night, so he clearly felt bad. He nodded and wrapped his small arms around his mother, who snuggled him in.

"What are you two up to?" Souei asked as he emerged with Sena in his arms, rubbing her eyes slightly as she just woke up. Souei set Sena down at the chair and served her a plate of pancakes before making his way to Kumiko and giving her a kiss. Ohta and Sena both scrunched their faces.

"Ew. Mother and Father are kissing," the two complained in unison. Souei and Kumiko looked to their children and laughed lightly. To spite their own children, Souei leaned down and kissed Kumiko one more time, albeit just a quick kiss, before childishly smirking at his children.

"Your mother's kisses are mine," he boasted as he sat down next to Kumiko.

"What, mother! I want a kiss too!" Ohta complained from her arms. She laughed and leaned down, kissing Ohta's cheek.

"Me too!" Sena came running over, crowding in Kumiko's arms with Ohta as the older female Kijin laughed and gave Sena a kiss on the cheek as well.

"I feel so loved," Souei said sarcastically as he sat empty handed beside them.

"Father already got his kiss," Ohta said as he stuck his tongue out at Souei. Sena looked at her brother before copying his actions and taunting her father. Souei jokingly lunged towards his twin children, to which the squealed happily and disappeared in a streak of black. They had easily picked up [Spacial Travel], even at their young age. Souei disappeared, following after his children, before reappearing, giving Kumiko another kiss, and then disappearing a second time. Meanwhile, Kumiko remained seated, shaking her head in amusement as the rest of her family disappeared and shrieks of laughter could be heard from Sena as Souei caught up to them.

This was her family now. Years ago, if someone had told her that she would be sitting here smiling with a family of her own, she would've called them cruel for taunting her with an unreachable dream. Now, she couldn't see herself anywhere but here in this moment with her love and children.