Harumi opens the door to the official meeting hall, peeking in and seeing Rimuru sitting at his desk with his head bowed as he is surrounded by the ten knights, Luminous and his own representatives. As he hears the door open his head snaps up and he smiles at her as she enters with Zarathos by her side "Sorry for being late. I had a few envoys arrive this morning that required immediate attention" Harumi says and sits down in the chair next to Rimuru that Benimaru pulled out for her. Zarathos stands at her back and Benimaru sits next to her while she addresses the room.
"It's no problem Imouto. We were just talking about how our nations will be able to have a peace pact between us given that the tenets of the western holy church deem monsters a threat and preaches the eradication of them" Rimuru says and Harumi hums realizing that the tenets would indeed cause a problem if they were suddenly thrown to the side.
"That is irrelevant. I never made those tenets when I created the religion. Those silly rules were made up by the weak leaders from that time. The only thing I really care about is the faith" Luminous says, waving her hand dismissively at the burst of shock from Hinata. "Well regardless if you came up with them directly or not it is still a huge part of the religion. If you were to do away with it completely it would be problematic. People, especially humans, have never been good at dealing with change especially when it comes to what they believe in" Harumi says her eyes pinched together in thought.
"Mistress Harumi is correct" Renard speaks up solemnly "It would lead to chaos and unrest. The backlash would be devastating and the criticism would most likely cause the downfall of the religion itself"
"But we have to do it. The hope I held that we could keep this under wraps was dashed when those journalists witnessed the battlemages' defeat. That and the fact that we have over a hundred paladins here is not something the neighboring nations can overlook. They must be aware of us by now and if not then they will soon" Hinata looks troubled as she speaks with an almost defeated tone. "Then use me" Harumi suddenly suggests and everyone looks over at her with a mixture of surprise and confusion.
Luminous sits back in her chair with an interested look on her face "And how exactly do you propose we use you to fix this issue?" Luminous asks, taking a sip of her tea curious to hear what the young queen has in mind.
"I've heard numerous times that the western holy church holds nymphs sacred. It may not be on the same level they hold you since you are their only god but it's high enough up there to potentially help. Even though I am unsure of the reason I am revered you can most likely use that tenet to ease the blow. If you say that you signed a peace pact with tempest due to the last forest nymph reigning over it and the area it resides in then it may change things. The people who know of the religion and the importance of a nymph will have a better understanding of the reasoning behind the change and be more likely to accept it without to much unrest" Harumi says and looks over the stunned faces surrounding her "Unless I've misunderstood the significance of my species in the western holy church"
"That's actually not a bad idea. Nymphs are revered by the church and placed so high because they keep the balance of the world. Without them the Luminous faith wouldn't exist" Hinata says holding her chin as she thinks more on the possible solution.
"That was one rule I did personally create. When I first started the faith I made it clear that nymphs were not to be harmed by the followers of my faith. This was to ensure the survival of humans since without them everything would die" Luminous says with a glint in her eyes 'that and they are the only thing keeping the humans alive so that we vampires can feed on them as we please'
"Would this really work though?" Rimuru asks unsure if using his sister's status in the church would truly be enough.
"It should. Even though it's been a couple millenia since the last nymph was alive, people still preach the importance of them. Given that Harumi-Hime is the very last one just makes her existence all the more vital to coexist with for the survival of the rest of the world. No one who truly backs the church would think to intentionally harm her since it would be forgoing everything the church preaches about them" Hinata tells everyone a worried look entering her eyes ''But the fact that she revived the late King Acatae could be a potential wrench in that plan. Rumors of his revival have spread and that would mean that there's no longer just one nymph alive anymore"
"Well that is a simple fix. We will just have to spread more rumors about how he was revived. If people are told the truth behind his revival and how it works then they will understand that Acatae can't be here without me as his anchor. He's not truly revived, at least not in the way people think he is. The clergy member that came after me was planning to kill me and spare Acatae to maintain the balance. He was unaware that if I were to perish Acatae would disappear. Due to his soul being tethered to mine he no longer balances the world or forms soulbonds so he may have the body and skills of a nymph but he technically isn't one in the eye of the universe" Harumi explains and understanding floods the room.
"I know a little about your power, Harumi-hime and this may be for my own personal curiosity more than anything else, but how was it you couldn't fully resurrect King Acatae?" Hinata asks, voicing everyone's own thoughts as they were thinking about the same thing.
"Well I can resurrect people if I have access to their soul. I can't unfortunatly resurrect them if their soul is fractured and incomplete. When I came into creation Acatae split his soul giving me a piece of it to instill my nymph species. This fractured his soul. Now because all of his pieces were still attainable I could separate that piece of soul that was within me to partially resurrect him. The only terms to this loophole was that he would be tied to my own soul. Even though he retained all of his other skills he could not hold the intrinsic skills soulbond or supreme balance that he once did since he didn't have a whole soul capable of holding nymph specific skills. This also means if he were to be 'killed' in that vessel his soul would return to me and I could just put him back into a newly created vessel. If I were to die his soul would separate back into the pieces they were in before until it would eventually be dispersed back into the world around us"
Silence overtakes the room as the knights including Hinata truly start to understand the power this nymph holds. From the display during the battle to the explanations of both abilities she used it blatantly clear that this nymph holds an insane amount of power. The knights come to the same realization Hinata had the previous day that if Harumi were to use this power for evil there would be little they could do to fight against her. This makes them shiver and feel relieved that she is the benevolent and kind creature that only wants to help others.
Harumi has her own set of thoughts running through her head that were sparked from her explanation. 'I wonder if that is why it took so many of my magicules to revive him'
'Understood. When you extracted a piece of your soul to revive Acatae even though it was originally his, it put strain on your own soul. When dealing with the souls of others it is a simpler task and has less of an impact on your own abilities. When dealing with your own soul and altering the properties of its makeup, it takes a higher amount of magiules and strength to safely complete the task while also keeping you unharmed in the process' Castiel speaks up, answering her thoughts.
'If his vessel dies will it also take that much out of me to resurrect him again?'
'No. Since his soul was restored when you first resurrected him he will become whole again when with you. You will just have to refracture his soul and put it into a new vessel. There is a possibility that his soul will remain restored when you do this process though the chance is only about 6%. This can have two outcomes, one where your soul is left fractured due to the loss of the piece of his or two it can leave your own soul without resulting in your death as your soul may be able to compensate for the loss of this piece'
'What happens if either of these outcomes happen?'
'If your soul fractures your body will start deteriorating and eventually you maydie. If you manage to survive you would be broken physically and mentaly to the point you would just be an empty shell that roams the land. Now if your soul is able to overcome the loss of King Acatae's soul shard you will no longer be a nymph since the type of soul you have stems from the piece of King Acatae's soul. And since you would no longer be a nymph you would lose all related powers that come from your species.'
'Oh that's not good. Is this 6% chance cumulative or independent?'
'It is independent. The chance of this event occurring would always stay at 6% regardless of how many times you repeat the process of fracturing and returning King Acatae to his vessel.'
'So we need to keep Acatae from dying, got it. Speaking of Acatae where is he at?
'Answer. King Acatae is still within the Jura forest near where you left him. He is hunting down rouge monsters and eradicating them'
'Humph. So he is avoiding me then. How rude'
'I will start analysing the piece of Acatae's soul to come up with preventative measures if this were to happen after restoring Acatae to his vessel after death'
'Thanks Castiel. You are a lifesaver, literally'
'It's of little issue. I am the Lord of souls. I exist to serve my master and I will not allow any harm to befall you while I am here'
Harumi sweatdrops as his voice takes on an almost human-like tone that holds anger tinged with conviction. Unbeknownst to Harumi, Castiel had felt his first emotion that day during the Falmuth attack. It may have been the only time and it was a fleeting wisp of emotion but it was there and it was human. Frustration bubbled up within him when he was still an integrated part of Great Sage knowing that he could not help her when she needed him the most. It was something that a normal skill like himself should have never been capable of and so he had silently started a process to analyze himself to narrow down the root of this issue.
"If it helps we can also say that Hinata and myself dueled to a draw and we ended up signing a truce because of it" Rimuru suggests and Hinata deadpans at him. "That would ruin your reputation as a demon lord. There have only been a handful of humans that have been able to defeat a demon lord. You are still a fledgling and if you just say 'oops I lost' that could lead to others thinking you are weak and going to attack you"
"If you really want to then use me again. Just say I intervened and forced you to call it a draw so the fighting stopped in my forest" Harumi sighs and Rimuru smiles sheepishly at her. "Well your reputation is quite useful. Sorry that we keep having to use it to avoid bigger problems in the future imouto"
"Don't worry about it Aniki. I am glad it can be used for something. Besides I live here too and I am also in charge of Tempest. We are in this together and I'll do whatever I can to make things go as easy as possible" Harumi smiles at him trying to ease his tension. She understands where he is coming from. Being the older of the two he still feels responsible for her and doesn't like relying on her protection when he believes he should be the one to protect her.
"That could work. It's just a matter of if the people will really believe that story" Luminous says from her spot at the table. "Well I think we can deal with that. Now let's talk about this hundred year peace treaty"
"I want you to come with me to Blumund to meet Mjollmile" Rimuru says breaking the silence between the two siblings as they lounge in Harumi's house. Harumi lifts her head from where it's pillowed on his slime form and shoots him a questioning look. "Whatever for Aniki?" she asks curious as to why he wants her to meet the merchant that he saved the first time he went to Belmund.
"Well with the upcoming festival I would ask him to join Tempest and take over our finances. Shuna can't do them forever and you have been the one in charge of trade negotiating between our allies but I can't ask you to do that forever since you now have more duties to take care of being queen and all. I figured if he agreed it would take that off your plate and relieve Shuna from that job as well" Rimuru tells her and waits patiently for Harumi to finish thinking about it.
"Sure Aniki. It would be interesting to see a human city. I haven't visited any of the other kingdoms since Dwargon so I think it would be nice to see what the other nations look like" Harumi chirps and Rimuru smiles at her excitement.
"When is Diablo coming back?" Harumi asks suddenly while she slides off the top of Rimuru's form.
"Well all of the others I sent to help with Falmuth have come back and according to Diablo he's just wrapping things up before he heads back here. Do you want him to come back early?" Rimuru asks with a slight guilty tone as she nods meekly. He knew that having Diablo all the way in Falmuth was going to put strain on Harumi. With the demon being so far away and the soulmate bond being so new it was bound to cause issues eventually. And it doesn't help that Acatae has temporarily exiled himself to the wilderness due to his actions making Harumi unnaturally sullen by his absence.
He metnally sighs and decides to do something about that situation. He can understand to a point why Acatae was acting this way having heard about what happened but it seems the old king isn't thinking with a clear head. If he thought about it he would realize that Harumi is a very forgiving person and doesn't hold grudges especially for something so petty as actions taken to protect her.
'Hey Benimaru, are you busy at the moment. I have a mission for you' he says and awaits a response.
∾❁∾
Acatae tramples through the forest, his mind foggy from the last battle he just had. The clouds above him light up with lightning from the sheer amount of electricity that he has put into the air from his attacks. Two other figures follow him silently making his eye twitch "You know you two don't have to follow me everywhere. I'm fine on my own"
"Are you though? You are blinded by your rage and are throwing yourself head first into battles with little thought to your own safety. I will continue to follow you and help you not because I agree with what you are doing but because I don't want you to get yourself killed and cause more grief for Harumi-hime" Kage says bluntly.
"I agree with Kage-sama. I will be following you to ensure that you are able to go back home when you are finished with your self exile" Elesella says softly, her eyes filled with understanding at the man's plight.
"Speaking of your 'self exile' when will you be done with your little tantrum?" a new voice asks, making the white haired man spin around to see Benimaru standing between two trees, his red eyes glinting in the darkness.
"Benimaru-sama" Both Kage and Elesella bow to him as he makes his way towards Acatae.
"What are you doing here?" Acatae asks cautiously as he eyes the fair oni. 'Did Harumi send him to drag me back? If so I guess it's time to face her'
"You are an idiot. To think I thought you would be the smarter one out of the two of you. Veldora has acted more mature than you when upsetting Harumi. He at leasts faces her head one and what are you doing? Hiding out here in the forest taking your rage out on unsuspecting monsters? You're throwing a tantrum like a child" Benimaru says harshly, his jaw clenched.
"You wouldnt understand. I intervened and sent her away without her permission. You've never done anything to upset her before so how can you judge my actions?"
"Well you're not wrong. I haven't done anything to upset her but I am sure it will not stay that way forever. You can't always be perfect Aacate and Harumi understands this. Just ask souei. He upset her greatly and she still forgave him. But you are wrong with assuming I can't understand your actions. I was there that day she was taken and I would have done anything to keep her safe even doing what you did. You saw a threat that held a clear intention to take her life and you did what you thought was best to ensure her survival. She may not have agreed to it but she understands it. But I will judge your actions after that was done because not only are you punishing yourself but you are punishing Harumi and that's not fair to her" Benimaru tells him and watches as the old king's eyes widen.
"I never intended to punish her. I just felt that I needed to redeem myself from what I did and the only thing I could think of was to go out and defend her domain. I mean after what I had done it didn't even matter because the guy who wanted to kill her still got to her"
"Well regardless of your intentions you being absent is hurting her. It's already hard enough on her that Diablo is missing but now you have been avoiding her and it's not making it easy on her. Now let's return. I'll make sure the house is empty tonight so you two can resolve this whole situation privately"
∾❁∾
Harumi stands on her engawa leaning up against the support beam while she looks over the pond. Her eyes are lidded as she thinks about Acatae and Diablo missing the both of them and worrying about the former as he wanders the forest. She lays her head against the beam with a sigh and closes her eyes trying to reach out to him through their bond, her heart growing heavy as it still remains silent. She stays like that for a few minutes until she feels a presence enter the area and her head whips over to the gate to see a shadowy figure make their way to the house. Stepping away from the pole she holds her hands to her chest as she stares at Acatae with watery eyes as he steps in front of her.
"I'm sorry my little Moonbeam" he whispers and cradles her face in his hands wiping her tears away with his thumbs.
"What for Acatae? You didn't do anything wrong. I understand why you left and I understand why you sent me away. I wish you would have just trusted that I could take care of myself but at the end of the day I get it" she tells him wrapping her arms around his waist and burying her face into his torso "I'm just glad you're home now."
Acatae takes in a shaky breath as he realizes just how right Benimaru was. He should have seen it earlier. He jokes about her forgiving nature so often that it's a wonder how he forgot it when he was the one needing it. But here she is not asking any questions on what he was doing out there. Not angry at the fact that he was missing for two whole days and ignored her attempts at reaching out for that whole time. Not even mentioning the things that happened to get them to where they are now.
No, all she is doing is taking him into her arms and telling him how she understood why he did it and welcoming him back home. He wraps his arms around her tighter and closes his eyes 'I was such an idiot. Maybe her forgiving nature isn't too bad. As long as it's only for her family then I guess it's alright'
(Posted: 11-22-2021)
(Pages: 7 | Words: 3637 | Lightly Edited | Book 8)
Note: Well just one more chapter before the beach scene. And yay Diablo will be returning next chapter to accompany Rimuru and Harumi to Blumund. Also with me posting this from my phone now I have realized how it is to read on there. So I made the chunks of text slightly smaller and more spaced out. Let me know if this is better or if you guys prefer the old text style. I can do either. I just wanted to make it easier to read on the phone. Happy Reading!