Rimuru and Iruma's Adventures in the Netherworld

Iruma's Other Side

I still don't understand how a Demon Lord can be so incredibly cute!

The peaceful, adorable sight immediately calms me a little and I feel a bit hesitant to wake Rimuru up when she's like this.

Opera, on the other hand, looks more worked up, his 'cat-ears' completely laid back on his head and appearing to not want to even enter the room.

"I-I will go g-get breakfast for Master Iruma while you handle...this."

He says, backing away from the doorway before quickly walking away.

I'm confused for a moment until I remember that this was the form Rimuru took when she inadvertently scared Opera so badly. Seeing her appearance when like this must be bringing back memories of that incident.

I approach the still-sleeping mini-Rimuru and gently pat her on the head to try to wake her nicely, despite the panic I'm still feeling about Iruma. Rimuru doesn't stir at all when I do this, though, so I need to be a little more aggressive, I suppose.

"Rimuru, wake up! I need you!" I say, not too loudly, but loudly enough that it should wake her. Yet, I get no response to this either.

She must really be out like a light...

With no other choice, I unroll the blanket and Rimuru flops out onto the bed without waking. She's still fully asleep, now laying flat on top of the blanket and acting like I haven't done anything at all to try to wake her.

How in the Netherworld's three rank Yodhs does she sleep through all of this?!

So, I pick her up off of the bed by her sides, holding her tiny body out in front of me. Her head slumps to the side, limp along with the rest of her body.

"Rimuru, my granddaughter! Please wake up! I need your help!" I plead as I gently shake her to no avail. I start to get seriously worried about her, on top of Iruma and tears start to flow from my eyes.

"P-please! S-something is wrong with Iruma!" I sob.

This goes on for another minute or so before I finally get a response.

Rimuru POV

I snap awake to the sensation of being shaken.

Unlike when I was human, waking up for me is more like my metaphorical switch being flipped from the 'off' position to 'on'. No grogginess or slow return to consciousness is involved in the process, otherwise, I'd be quite confused and disoriented right now.

Looking around, I notice that I'm being held by someone. It's Sullivan; he's picked me up and is shaking me to try to get me up.

Wait...picked me up?!

Looking down, I see tiny legs suspended above the ground and upon further inspection, it seems like I'm in 5-year-old-form again.

Why am I tiny right now?

[[While you were unconscious, I took the liberty of making you as comfortable as possible so you could get a perfectly restful sleep. You were also bundled in a blanket until you were rudely removed from it by Sullivan.]]

Ooooh...but based on his expression, I think he had a good reason. It looks like he's very upset about something.

"Sullivan?! Is something wrong?" I hurriedly ask, staring at the old man that just frantically shook me awake.

His face is wet with tears and he's wearing a desperate expression.

Something is very wrong.

He immediately pulls me into a tight hug and sits on the bed, clinging to me like I'm some sort of stuffed animal.