Saga of Slime and Devil (Remake)

Vol 3 | Chapter 4 | Pixie und Pixie

"An invitation to dinner?" Rimuru asked with a tilt of his body to the side. He had been staying in Ingrassia for around a month now, but even still he had no contacts or friends beyond those in the guild.

The boy sitting across from Rimuru nodded, "Yes, it's from a merchant named Mjollmile. He said the children could come along as well." The boy was referring to the children he had taken on in Shizu's stead, though that fact had nearly caused a big misunderstanding with the boy when they first met.

The boy's name was Yuuki, and while Rimuru had come to respect him as a fellow otherworlder, something about his office that the two were currently in always threw him off. He had a strange instinctive feeling that something was watching him, even though Great Sage had failed to detect anything itself.

Rimuru knew it was all in his head, but that didn't make him any less uncomfortable staying for too long in his office. Within it was a shelf filled with memorabilia of Japan and Earth. What he would've expected to fill him with nostalgia only seemed to fill him with an eerie feeling. Things like a motorcycle, a nutcracker, and a traditional Japanese-style statue were on it, yet he felt like something on it was watching him.

But just as always, he shrugged off the feeling. Perhaps the nostalgia for his past had turned negative somehow. Maybe there was some longing there that his body had turned into spite. Whatever the case, Rimuru knew he couldn't dwell on it any longer.

"Just why is this guy inviting me, though?" Rimuru asked, confused.

"He said some mysterious blue-haired warrior saved him yesterday. It was you who defeated the Sky Dragon, wasn't it?" Yuuki asked as Rimuru simply made a smug expression on his slimy face.

Rimuru began, "Was it now? So this myo... Myu... Mii?"

"Mjollmile." Yuuki clarified.

"Right, this Mjollmile. Is he trustworthy?" Rimuru asked.

"I've done a background check and all seems good. He's got official merchant certification from the Free Guild and Blumund so it all checks out. I believe he can be trusted." Yuuki explained, flipping through some papers as he did.

Rimuru nodded, "I see... I suppose I have no reason to refuse. The dinner is planned for today, right? Send the details to my room, I need to get to class soon."

Yuuki nodded, "I understand, good luck with your class."

Rimuru nodded and bounced up, returning to his human appearance as he waved and left the office.

After a few moments, the boy's smile faded as he looked up at the shelf above.

"That slime is more observant than he looks." A deep, masculine voice echoed from the shelf above. Looking upwards, Yuuki saw the eyes of the nutcracker placed on it moving to look toward the door.

"I assume you plan to do something with him?" Yuuki questioned, folding his arms as he leaned back in his chair.

"There is no doubt. He is an ally of the devil, so he must be dealt with. Whether he is destroyed or merely delayed or distracted I do not care. He must not be allowed to help the demon." The voice stated, looking now at Yuuki.

"You have a plan, yes? I don't know the full extent of his skills but it's pretty obvious he's quite strong as he is now." Yuuki asked.

"The accurate term would be I had a plan. Unfortunately, I chose not to take a direct hand in influencing one of my potential pawns and it seems she acted on her own prematurely. As a result, she's become an asset of the demon instead."

Yuuki gazed unimpressed at the nutcracker, "That just sounds like an oversight on your part."

"Perhaps. I had hoped for her to build up animosity toward Tanya over time as her economic influence expanded into Rosso territory. I had no idea she would be so overconfident as to go right to Tanya herself."