Singularity (Rimuru x Arifureta)

Chapter 10 | Hearst

"Clap. Clap. Clap. Good show." I said as I approached Hajime while applauding the earlier spectacle. "You've certainly grown, and I couldn't be more proud." I continued as I shrugged my shoulders with a smirk.

Hajime greeted me and expressed his thanks at my compliment. Beside him was Yue, and in front of him were Aiko and the students, circled around some black-robed kid which was obviously Shimizu by this point.

The only people present were me, Hajime, Yue, Tio Aiko, the students, and the knights. I took off my sunglasses as I stood behind Hajime, enthusiastic for another fun show. I noticed something disturbing amidst the fight, a sneaking rat, so I had Raphael look out.

Aiko looked down sadly at Shimizu and shook him to wake him up.

"Aiko, he could still be dangerous." A knight tried to stop her, but Aiko simply shook her head. She asked he be untied as well. She said she wouldn't be able to have a proper conversation with him otherwise. Aiko still intended to have a teacher to student talk with him.

But her audacity in focusing solely on her own thoughts was impressive. She requested that he be untied so that she could speak to him as a teacher, completely disregarding the thoughts and opinions of those around her. I was growing more interested in her by the minute.

"Shimizu-kun, Shimizu-kun! Please wake up, Shimizu-kun!"

"Ngh..." Finally, Shimizu regained consciousness. He gazed around with unfocused eyes. A second later, he realized where he was, and came to himself with a start.

Shimizu's eyes darted from one person to another, his expression a mixture of wariness and fear. He tried to stand up, but the concussion still hadn't worn off, so he fell back to the ground. Terrified, he tried to crawl backward.

"Please calm down, Shimizu-kun. No one's going to hurt you. I just want to talk to you. Why did you do something like this...? That's all I want to know. I just want to understand your feelings." Aiko kneeled down until she was at eye level, then gazed patiently at Shimizu. His eyes stopped darting about. He guiltily averted his gaze and started explaining... or rather insulting everyone.

"Why? You can't even tell why? That's why you're all a bunch of incompetent losers. You all always look down on me... and go on about hero this, hero that. Even though I'm way better than that prick Kouki... none of you ever noticed. You always just pretended like I wasn't even there... You're all a bunch of retards! That's why I wanted to prove my worth to all of you..."

Spoken like a true loser.

"I see. So that's what you were dissatisfied about, then... But you know, Shimizu-kun. I don't understand, why would you try and get back at your classmates because of that? Why'd you try and attack the city? If you'd succeeded... and killed all the people of this town... even if you had an army of monsters at your command, that wouldn't have proven your worth." He looked up at Aiko, dark eyes peering through dirty bangs. He smiled thinly and gave a most shocking answer.

"It would have... to the demons."

As expected, the demons were involved, after all.

"Wha—!?" Everyone except the three of us let out a gasp of surprise. His smile turned into a triumphant grin, which only made his voice grow stronger.

"I went alone to the northern mountain range to brainwash monsters. But while I was over there, I met a demon. I was wary at first, but... the demon just wanted to talk to me. And they were the first one who understood my true worth. That was why... I made a contract with them."

"A contract... you say? What kind of contract?" Aiko was shaken at the fact that one of her own students had made a deal with the enemy. But more than that, she was furious. She was convinced it was the demon that had led her student astray.