Is it wrong for slimes to be in dungeons? (revised)

Chapter 18: Trustless Relationship

So many questions swirled in her head

Would Rimuru even begin to trust us again after all this?

Should she?

These thoughts and feelings continued to swirl in her head, giving her a headache before she finally made her final decision.

She needed to talk to Rimuru personally. She never considered herself the best judge of character and would much rather inform the captain of what she found out but she couldn't help but want to hold her tongue.

When she asked herself why? One thing came to mind: Rimuru solemnly looking down on them from on high.

face not full of hate or disdain, but sadness. Whether that was real or fake...she wanted to find that out by herself. She wanted to decide for herself.

She could rely on Finn to make that judgment for her, as she had so many times, and as a part of the Loki familia, and for the sake of keeping Oarario safe that's what she Should do.

But for whatever reason when it came to this, a voice in her head told her this was not something that she should just follow under a duty as a part of Loki Familia. It was something she should pursue selfishly, as Aiz Wallenstein.

And so she ran. She went off to find Rimuru.

...

"On the 18th floor after you left...I reported what happened to the captain and the rest... I was told to go back and make sure that you didn't do anything to Hermes and Hestia..." Aiz's quiet voice echoed through the corridors of the White palace on the 37th floor of the dungeon.

Aiz sat before Rimuru and looked at him with a rare expression of uncertainty. The normally expressionless aloof child's face was filled with nervousness. Compared to what a normal person might show it still wasn't much, but it was still visible.

"While I was looking for them I overheard a conversation..."

"..." Rimuru silently stared at her as she slowly told him this information

"You were telling the truth, weren't you? You never had a plan to begin with...right?" and she spoke. Those few words made Rimuru's expression darken.

This in turn made Aiz even tenser. Rimuru's gaze left hers and fell to the ground.

"You knew?" she asked.

Aiz nods.

"And you trust me?"

"..." she stayed silent this time.

"...I see," Rimuru said. A smile grew on her face. "That really is a relief." She turned towards Aiz. "I guess I can trust you." Aiz was taken aback by this declaration.

"...?" she tilted her head in confusion. But Rimuru ignored that.

"You have no idea how much of a relief this is. If you can explain things to Finn and the others I can finally get you guys off my back and I can just relax," she laughed.

"What are you...?" Aiz was confused by Rimuru's reaction. Why would she be happy that Aiz doesn't trust her?

"Hmm?" This time she tilted her head as if she didn't understand. "Is something wrong?" Rimuru asked.

"...Why are you fine with me not trusting you?" Aiz asked.

"Hmm? Oh well, if you did say you trust me I'd have little to no choice but to think you were lying," Rimuru said.

Aiz simply blinks at this.

"I mean come on... I don't mean to brag, but I'm a very powerful monster that appeared out of nowhere. Even if you're told I'm not planning to do anything it's still hard to just trust that I won't. That uneasy feeling of being at someone's mercy, even if you guys try to hide it, you guys fear me...don't you?"