The two took to wandering around the forest, with Rimuru basking in the sunlight. Raphtalia seemed to be doing the same, seeing as she hadn’t seen the outside in a very long time, the cave and Veldora becoming her new home. With Raphtalia holding Rimuru in her arms, her tail sways slightly reflecting her current mood of wonder and excitement. The lush greenery of the forest contrasting to the cave’s dark atmosphere, the sound of birds chirping sounding like a sweet melody to the racoon’s fluffy black ears.
‘I haven’t seen the outside in so long!’ Rimuru stated excitedly. ‘The air tastes so sweet! Not that I actually can taste….’
Raphtalia glanced down at the slime in her arms as he continued to enjoy nature. She couldn’t help but smile down at her new father, also taking joy from being out in the sun after so much time in that dark and damp cave.
Suddenly, there was the sound of multiple footsteps running towards them. Raphtalia seized her walking, her ears twitching and pointing towards the sound gradually getting louder the closer it got. Rimuru simply stared curelessly down the path.
A hoard of thin, badly armed, and seemingly terrified goblins appeared, standing in front of Rimuru and Raphtalia, shakily pointing their dull weapons at them.
“You there, stop!” the goblin up front, presumably the leader, said shakily.
Rimuru stared at the goblins in confusion when he felt Raphtalias’ trembling; he assumed it was because she was afraid of what people might think of her. ‘Raphtalia try to calm down, this could all be a misunderstanding.’ Rimuru reassured, Raphtalia’s trembling seized to small shivering.
“Strong one, do you have business here in the forest?” the lead goblin asked again. Rimuru looked side to side, unaware that the goblin was talking about him. He looked up at Raphtalia in confusion, earning a similar reaction from the demi-human.
‘W-Wait, you wouldn’t mean me?’ Rimuru asked shocked, the goblin nodded in conformation.
It took a second, but Rimuru managed to use his skills that he learned back at the cave to communicate with the goblins. For some reason, Veldora and Raphtalia could hear his thoughts when he projected them to the two, so he had been communicating mentally with Raphtalia as they travelled through the cave. He hopped out of Raphtalia’s arms and landed a few feet away from the goblins, preparing to greet the goblins.
‘Right, now...’
“Hello!!!” Rimuru bellowed, unknowingly using too much power. The goblins shivered in fear, and Raphtalia covered her sensitive ears, at his loud volume. “I’m Rimuru the slime! And this is my daughter Raphtalia Tempest! It’s nice to meet you all!!! ”
At this point, all the goblins had been knocked down and their weapons were on the ground. They trembled in fear at Rimuru loud voice. Raphtalia uncovered her ears and approached the slime, softly tapping the top of his slime body, causing him to turn to her.
“I think you s-scared them too much daddy...” Raphtalia stated meekly. Rimuru looked confused for a second before he turned back to the goblins, all of whom had assumed a bowing position with their 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 spear us from your all powerful voice!” Rimuru looked deep thought, and then tried speaking again.
“So, did you need something?” he whispered. The lead goblin raised his head to speak.
“We sensed a powerful monster and came here as a precaution.” The goblin responded.
“I don’t sense anything like that.” Rimuru said, looking around.
“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…your daughter correct? For a favour.”
Rimuru looked up at Raphtalia who slightly flinched at the acknowledgement.
As she slowly nodded, Rimuru turned back to the goblins. “Sure, I’ll see how I can help, please lead the way.” Rimuru said hopping back into Raphtalia’s arms. They were then lead by the goblins back to their village.
(>3<)*
When they arrived, the first thing that Rimuru noticed was the state of the village. The houses were small and the goblins themselves were in a weak state themselves.
Rimuru and Raphtalia were led inside the main tent, where an elder and the lead goblin from earlier knelt in front of them. Rimuru was sat on Raphtalia’s lap as she was sitting on her knees, on a pillow, on a platform that the elder would normally sit. Raphtalia’s grip on Rimuru stayed steady, not wanting to let her dad go.
“Welcome, visitors,” the elder shakily welcomed. “I am the elder of this village.”
“Hi, nice to meet you,” Rimuru greeted. Raphtalia following with a soft and shaky greeting of her own. “So, about his favour you wish to ask of me?”
The two goblins nodded towards each other, a silent agreement shared between the them. Behind them, a couple of eavesdropping goblins poked their heads through the gap of the fabric door. Raphtalia took note of this and accidently made eye contact with a few, immediately looking down flustered and finding the top of Rimuru’s slime body fascinating, softly patting the soft surface.
“Yes of course.” The elder responded. “Have you noticed that the monsters have been unusually active of late? Our god disappeared about a month ago. As a result, monsters in the area have been continually harassing us.”
Rimuru looked up at Raphtalia, who stared back down with equal confusion.
'Their god? Does he mean Veldora?' Raphtalia had a look of contemplation before nodding down at Rimuru.
'I think so daddy. The timeline sorta’ fits too, I guess.' Raphtalia responded back.
“We’ve tried to fight them, but we lack the numbers…” the elder trailed off.
“S-So we hoped you would…” the younger goblin added on.
“But I’m just a simple 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. “There is no way a mere slime would emit such an intense aura. You’re quite the famous monster, are you not?” The two goblins now appeared a bit appeared a bit worried and fearful.
'Aura? What’s he talking about? I don’t have one of those.'
Rimuru pondered a little bit before using his skills to change his perspective, only to find out that both he and Raphtalia were in fact emitting strong aura. To cover up his shock, he formulated a plan to appear like he was testing them.
“L-Leave it to the elder to notice.” Rimuru praised shakily.
“But of course. You cannot hide the formidable air about you.” The elder replied.
“I see. So you figured it out. You guys show great potential.” Rimuru then sucked in the aura he was emitting. The goblins let out a breath as they were no longer felt pressured by their 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. Raphtalia was just looking down at Rimuru in confusion, not understanding the situation at all. “I’m impressed you had the guts to talk to me in the first place!”
“Thank you so much.” The elder said. “Ah, as for the favour we wish to ask…”
The elder went on to explain how the Direwolves from the east were continually attacking the goblin village, resulting in many deaths. The ratio for a battle would be 10 goblins to 1 direwolf if they were lucky. However, due to their lacking numbers the village stood no chance. One goblin, a named one, served as their head warrior; sadly he was killed during battle, leaving the village defenceless.
Raphtalia felt sad at the news.
“There are about 100 Direwolves in total,” the elder informed.
“How many do we have?” Rimuru asked.
“Including females, we have about 60 who can still fight.” Raphtalia flinched as Rimuru slumped in the tanuki’s lap. At this rate the entire village will parish overnight.
“So did that goblin warrior fight them knowing he would lose?” Rimuru asked.
“No…” the elder started sadly. “That warrior gave his life just to retrieve information about the direwolves.” The elder bowed his head looking at the ground. “That warrior was my son, and his older elder brother.”
“I’m sorry, elder…” Raphtalia apologized softly, knowing how it felt to lose the people you love.
“I see…Forgive my asking.” Rimuru looked at the door, where a bunch of the younger goblins were peeking through the door, anxious and worried about the future of the village. He looked back up to Raphtalia, who was already looking down at him with sad brown eyes, her ears flat against her head, also anticipating her father’s answer.
“Elder, tell me one thing. What will we get in return for helping you?” Rimuru was simply keeping up his facade up as a powerful monster. He had already decided to help the village and to set a good example for his new daughter.
“W-We will offer you our loyalty!” the elder declared before bowing low to the ground. “Please grant us your divine protection!” His son soon followed, doing the same as his father.
“Daddy?” Raphtalia softly spoke to her father.
“But before everything, I do have one request though, if that’s okay with you?”
“We’ll do anything you ask of us as your loyal subordinates.” The elder said.
“All I ask is that you watch over my daughter, Raphtalia, while I’m busy with the Direwolves.” Rimuru requested Raphtalia’s safety first. Raphtalia looked down at her father before she hugged him in appreciation, glad that her new daddy was thinking about her safety and for helping the goblin village.
The elder agreed, internally awing at the sight of the snowy racoon hugging her father, as a father himself he couldn’t help but approve of the way the slime thought of his daughter’s safety.
“B-Before we begin could y-you take us to your wounded p-please?” Raphtalia asked politely. The elder took the two to a separate tent that held their wounded. It was a depressing sight to say the least, to think a single Direwolf could cause this much damage to someone. Rimuru looked over the wounded, thinking about what to do.
“Raphtalia,” Rimuru called out causing the young girl to turn to her father.
“Yes daddy?” Raphtalia asked turning away from the sad sight.
“Please use this on the wounded.” Rimuru asked spitting out a little bubble of healing potion that he was able to create from all those herbs he ate back at the cave, ‘Hepoctai Herbs’ to be more precise. Raphtalia set down her father, took the bubbled potion, walked over to one of the wounded goblins and gently applied it to the wounds. As soon as the potion touched the goblin his wounds healed instantly, to the shock of the elder and the rest of the village.
Glad that his plan actually worked, Rimuru gave more of the potions to Raphtalia as she healed more of the wounded goblins. Soon enough they were all healed. “There we go, now you’ll have more fighting power.” Raphtalia said happily in her usual soft voice.
“Alright, now that that’s settled, let’s get to work.” Rimuru said confidently. After Rimuru held a mini town meeting to give the goblins instructions on how to fortify the village’s defence, make new weapons and told them to prepare for the fight.
“Daddy,” Rimuru turned towards Raphtalia’s at her call, making a sound of acknowledgement. “W-What can I do?” Raphtalia asked shyly.
“It’s too dangerous, plus I don’t want you to get hurt. You’re not in top condition yet as a result from your limited food consumption and lack of exercise from all that time in the cave.” Rimuru replied. The saddened look that she gave him broke his slime heart, knowing that she felt useless just sitting around while others fought. “After the battle I’ll make sure that you get enough food and exercise, so next time you’ll be able to help, but promise that no matter what happens you’ll trust me to help you, okay?”
“I promise, Daddy.” Raphtalia promised with her entire heart before both of them walked over to the other goblins to help prepare for the looming battle.
(>3<)*
Shortly after the sun set, the howls of Direwolves sounded through the forest. The goblins still trembled in fear at the sounds, but Rimuru just stared towards the direction of the wolves in recognition.
“If any of the wolves get past me, I want you all to evacuate as fast as possible. Understood?” Rimuru instructed as the goblins nodded in understanding.
Raphtalia was told by Rimuru to stay inside the elders’ tent, and to not come out under any circumstance.
The first wolf, presumably the leader of the pack, approached and appeared from forest line, but he stopped in confusion at the goblins that had surrounded the village with a fence. He could also faintly smell the scent of a rarity amongst these parts.
A demi human? How unusual, but no matter. “Hmph! What an adorable little fence!” The wolf mocked.
Outside the gate at the very centre stood Rimuru. Behind him the goblins raised their weapons.
“A slime?” the wolf mentioned in surprise.
“Turn back now, and we won’t take any action!” Rimuru laid down his offer. “Leave this place at once!”
“Insolence!” the leader growled. “No mere slime can order around the mighty Direwolves! Tear down that pitiful fence! Spill the blood of those lowly goblins and that demi-human as well!” He howled once more, as if signifying the start of the battle.
Raphtalia flinched slightly at the wolfs threat towards her and the goblins, but she had to stay strong and fight no matter how scared she was, her daddy was counting on her after all. The wolves began to charge forward, straight into the trap Rimuru had laid out.
As they got closer, they all started dropping like flies due the ‘Steel Thread’ that Rimuru had set out. Any Direwolves that were within range that happened to avoid the threads were then shot by the goblins using bows and arrows.
“Threads?” The leader observed.
“That’s my skill, ‘Steal thread’.” Rimuru explained.
“This is your doing?” he growled in anger. It wasn’t surprising that he was upset. 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 like a bug!”
With a burst of speed and disregarding his son’s call, the leader took off towards the fence at speeds faster than any of the wolves that approached them so far. Using his sharp teeth to bite through the threads, thanks to his packs blood exposing their position, and efficiently tearing through the goblins defence. He ran straight for Rimuru, pouncing when he got close enough. Raphtalia and the goblins were slightly unsettled, but Rimuru didn’t seem worried the slightest bit.
In just a split second, the wolf was suspended in the air by more threads. This time immobilizing him in mid-air.
“That’s, ‘Sticky Thread’, Rimuru named his other skill.
“This won’t hold me!” the wolf grunted, trying to get loose.
Raphtalia turned her head from the spectacle, having an idea of what was about to happen.
“Skill ‘Water Blade’!” Rimuru activated another one of the skills he gained in the cave. Within a split second, the leader of the Direwolves had been brought down. His read falling off and rolling and stooping right in front of Rimuru’s slime body. The rest of the surviving wolves, including the now dead leader’s son, watched on in shock as their leader had just been bested by mere slime.
Rimuru approached the body, willing the threads to retract and drop the rest of the wolf corpse. The other wolves standing back growled menacingly at the slime.
“Hear me, Direwolves!” Rimuru called. “Your boss has been vested. I’ll give you this just this once you can either: submit or die!”
None of the wolves reacted.
'Yikes…' Rimuru thought. 'What if they decide to take the suicide route and attack all at once? I wish they would just turn tail and run…'
Raphtalia looked back at her father in concern, wondering what he’ll do next. She didn’t actually want the rest of the wolves to die, as strange as that sounds.
“Oh! ‘Predator’!” Suddenly Rimuru got an idea, activating his ‘Unique Skill’, consuming the dead Direwolf’s corpse. The wolves the area tensed at his actions. Shortly after consuming the corpse, he used another skill of his ‘Mimic’ to transform into the wolf leader. The other wolves became antsy as the slime transformed.
“Hear me!” Rimuru 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!’
As extra incentive, Rimuru used his newest skill, ‘Menace’, and roared at the wolves. The force of the skill was so intense that the goblins had to brace themselves, while Raphtalia covered her tiny white ears. As Rimuru continued to roar, the wolves forced their way through ‘Menace’ and slowly kept on the ground towards the village.
'Why aren’t they leaving!' Rimuru began to worry, thinking that they still wanted to fight.
When the Direwolves got right in front of Rimuru they lowered themselves before whimpering in submission.
“Our pack yields to you.” They addressed Rimuru in unison.
Silence rang through the battle field at the unsuspecting sight.
“U-Um…D-Did we win?” the goblin elder asked unsurely.
Rimuru changed back to his original form.
“Yep! All is good in the goblin hood!” Rimuru informed. “Like they say: ‘Make love, not war.’!”
The goblins quietly took in this information before everyone erupted in cheers as the battle came to an end. Raphtalia had ran towards Rimuru, when there was no longer a threat, and hugged him close to her chest, tears running down her pale cheeks.
Tears of relief...
(>3<)*
As dawn came, Rimuru took the time to survey the surroundings of the village and the new residents. Rimuru was currently perched atop Raphtalias’ lap as she sat on a stump.
After realizing their numbers were more or less the same, he had them all pair up in two’s. After everything settled down and everyone had a partner, Rimuru begun discussing the situation on food, shelter and clothing.
“We’ll start with…” Rimuru trailed off, only now remembering he never got their names. “Hey, do you guys have names or what?”
“Monsters don’t particularly have names,” the elder responded shakily, “but we can still communicate our thoughts to one another.”
“Really?” He looked up at his daughter, who looked back down at him and gave him her signature shy smile, remembering how Veldora explained that having a name is a priveledge most monsters don’t get to experience. He looked back at the village with a new resolve.
“It would be more practical if you had names, so if none of you mind I think I’ll just give you some.”
After calming down the uproar that followed his statement, Rimuru proceeded with the naming.
He named the elder ‘Rigurd’, after his eldest deceased son, and named his youngest son ‘Rigur’, inheriting his brothers’ name.
After naming all the goblins, it now came down to the wolves. Rimuru could feel Raphtalia shaking a little; it seems she was still shaken from the threat on her life the late Direwolf leader had made.
‘He’s the son of that leader, isn’t he? I wonder if he’s upset…'
Rimurus’ thoughts were dispelled at the excited tail wagging from the wolves.
'Or maybe not...'
The wolf with the star on its forehead, the son of the previous leader, sat in front of the duo first.
“U-Um…All right! Your name will be ‘Ranga’!”
As the newly named ‘Ranga’ accepted his name, Rimuru began to melt in Raphtalias’ lap, startling everyone in the vicinity. Raphtalia in particular was in hysterics, her eyes filling with thick tears and calling out to Rimuru.
“Daddy!”
“Master!”
“Lord Rimuru!”
Not long after Rimuru lost consciousness, he was quickly made a place to sleep comfortably by the fire.
Both Raptalia and Ranga were curled up next to Rimurus’ sleeping body. Raphtalia had cried herself to sleep, after being reassured that her father wasn’t dead, and Ranga took it upon himself to both comfort and guard the daughter of his new master. Seeing as Ranga had grown attached to the little girl in the short time they spent together.
“It must be because he named so many of us at once…” The elder, Rigurd, thought to himself.
Howling of the other Direwolves rang through the otherwise silent night.