Punctuation Key:
"Spoken dialogue"
'Quoting'
*Action*
Emphasis
Internal thoughts/talking to Ciel
[[Ciel talking]]
{{Thought Communication}}
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Rimuru POV
With our plans set in motion, we prepare to leave. Iruma seems both excited and apprehensive about leaving, but I think that's a normal reaction. He doesn't know a lot about Tempest, so of course, he's gonna be a little nervous at first. I just hope my people don't make too big of a fuss when I show up out of nowhere. I considered telling them ahead of time and putting off the trip until next week or something, but I decided against it. If they knew I was coming home in advance, they'd surely overdo it with some kind of celebration. I love our festivals, but for someone as anxious as Iruma, the large crowds and craziness associated with them would be overwhelming. I'm sure they'll throw some kind of party anyway but on a smaller scale, which is best.
I also sent Diablo ahead of us, along with Sullivan, so he can show his friend around personally. Diablo's also giving my top subordinates a heads-up about my arrival, so they can prepare at least a little ahead of us.
There is one little snag I'm having to deal with before we depart, though; Veldora. He doesn't want to leave for whatever reason. I suspect that his reluctance comes from whatever he escaped from when he first came here. At the time, I concluded that he probably pissed off one of the other True Dragons, and his current behavior now reinforces that idea.
"C'mon, Veldora! You can't stay behind!" I shout through the door he's barricaded himself behind.
"Rimuru, please!"
"Dammit, Veldora! Just come out already! I don't want to force you to do this, but I can't have you staying here alone. You need to pay a visit to the labyrinth to do your job, too. I'm sure that thing's running low on magicules at this point."
"B-but Rimuru!"
"No buts! If you don't come willingly I'll pack you up like luggage and drag you back instead!"
"I don't want to go back there! I'll end up dying!" he whines.
"What the hell are you talking about?! Why are you gonna die?"
"Velgrynd is mad at me..."
"What did you do, Veldora?" I ask sternly.
"Why do you assume I did something?"
"Because you did. Why else would she be angry with you?"
"I...um...I p-played a prank on Masayuki..." he reluctantly admits.
Oh, brother...
Yes, he's played some kind of a prank on the somewhat naïve boy-toy of his older sister. She takes overprotective to a whole other level when it comes to Masayuki, and it seems that Veldora has set her off by messing with her man. Masayuki is admittedly an easy target when it comes to that type of thing, even now, years after he became Emperor of the Eastern Empire. I used to tease him a bit back in the day, but I've had to hold off on that ever since Velgrynd found him.
*sigh* "Just apologize and I'm sure she will go a little easy on you at least. Just be glad it's her and not Velzard you pissed off this time."
"Can't I just stay here and read manga? I promise I won't cause any trouble!"
At this point, I'm getting seriously annoyed by his nonsense. If this keeps up, I'll have to take his dessert and manga privileges away...
[[Would you like me to help persuade your foolish older brother, Master?]]
Sure, Ciel. Knock yourself out...
I'm a little hesitant to let Ciel take control in this case, but it'll make things easier for me. Veldora is almost as scared of Ciel as he is of his older sisters, so bringing her out is a good tool to use to convince him in some cases.
Iruma POV
Rimuru went to fetch Veldora, who's apparently locked himself in the bathroom. I've heard her shouting at him for a few minutes now, so I follow the commotion to see exactly what's taking so long. I'm all ready to go at this point, so I'd like to get going soon.
I arrive just in time to see Rimuru's eyes change color. It looks like Ciel's taking control for a minute, probably to help get Veldora to come out.
Suddenly, something appears in Ciel's hand; it looks like a paper fan. There's something...unsettling...about it though. It appears to have an ominous glow around it and I'm scared of it for reasons I don't completely understand.
She then leans forward so her face is right up against the door, so close that her lips are almost touching it.
"Come out here, Veldora Tempest or I will administer punishment." I hear Ciel's flat, emotionless, voice threaten him coldly.
I hear a high-pitched "eep!" come from behind the door after hearing Ciel's words.
"C-ciel?!" Veldora cries out, sounding terrified.
"Yes. Cooperate with my Master's demands and show yourself." She's now tapping the fan on the palm of her other hand rhythmically in a threatening manner.
"Fine..."
The door slowly opens and a sullen-faced Veldora reluctantly steps out. But, as soon as he spots what's in Ciel's hand, he takes a step back to avoid whatever's coming next. He's not fast enough, though. Veldora got whacked on the top of his head with the strange weapon before he could escape, or at least that's what I think happened. It was too fast for me to perceive, but based on Veldora now holding the top of his head with both hands and wincing, combined with Ciel's arm being outstretched holding the fan, I can put the pieces together.
"What was that for?! I did what you said!"
"You wasted my Master's time with your idiocy, so I carried out the necessary consequence of that choice," Ciel states, just as coldly as usual. Although, I do see a small satisfied smirk form on her lips for just a moment.
After Ciel made her point, her crimson eyes return to gold. Veldora breathes a sigh of relief.
"Why did you have to unleash that sadistic fiend on me, Rimuru...?" Veldora grumbles while still rubbing where he was struck by Ciel.
"If you'd listened to me in the first place, I wouldn't have had to!" Rimuru scolds.
"She just had to use that horrible thing on me too... my head's still throbbing from it..."
"Haha, c'mon now, Veldora! She didn't hit you that hard with it! How 'bout I try to reason with Velgrynd for you so she doesn't hurt you too bad since you've already taken some punishment, okay?" Rimuru chuckles as she leads Veldora down the hallway by his arm she has ahold of. Veldora doesn't look thrilled with the situation but complies anyway. Rimuru then opens some kind of magical gate and shoves him though it before it disappears.
I feel bad that he got whacked since I can tell it hurt quite a bit, but in a way he had it coming.
"Why did you close that gate?"
"I sent him somewhere different than where we're going. Still in Tempest, of course, but different. He has a job to do."
"So, are we leaving now?" I ask.
"As long as you're all set, we are."
"What was that fan thing you had a moment ago?"
"Oh, this?" She asks, holding up the object for me to see. "It's just a paper fan, nothing special."
The fan doesn't have that strange glow anymore, now simply looking like any other paper fan, exactly like Rimuru just explained.
"Why did it hurt Veldora then? Isn't he, like, super strong like you?"
"Well, Ciel wrapped my magical force around and applied a draining effect to it. It doesn't feel nice to be hit with, even for True Dragons."
I don't completely understand what Rimuru means by that, but I don't ask for a further explanation since we need to get going. Before we leave, Rimuru changes to a slightly younger-looking form. She's said she normally goes with something a little smaller than the 14-year-old appearance she takes here to match my age, so I'm not too surprised.
"I need to tell you about a few things. Expect people to be...um...how do I put it?...excessive when it comes to their reaction to me showing up. They might act a bit crazy at first, but I promise that nobody's gonna hurt you, even if we get mobbed. My people just get overly excited when I make an appearance after being gone for any amount of time."
I'm not entirely sure what she means by this, but it makes me a little nervous imagining a large crowd of people running at us.
"Also, I know we banter back and forth sometimes and tease each other, but avoid saying anything to or about me that might be interpreted as rude or disrespectful. I'm fine with it, but some of the more impulsive folk among my subordinates might get upset. It's hard enough to keep some of their tempers in check without extra stuff setting them off."
"Okay, I'll be careful what I say."
I'm feeling a bit nervous about how her people are gonna treat me based on what Rimuru's said to me, but I'm sure I'll be fine. If they care about her that much, they'll listen to her if she tells them to stop.
After going over a few warnings and rules, we head downstairs and Rimuru summons up a magical gate of sorts. The thing looks kinda scary, but it's not the first time I've seen it. When Rimuru first visited, she used something similar to leave before returning.
With all the preparations done, we step through the portal. There's an almost blinding flash as we do, so I close my eyes reflexively. When I open them, we're not in Grandpa's mansion anymore.
"Where are we?"
"My office. Nice, huh?"
"Yeah, it's a nice place!"
"Let me show you something even nicer then. Take a look out this window, the view's great from here."
I walk over to the window and watch as Rimuru pulls the curtain covering it to the side. The view is stunning, overlooking a prosperous and beautiful city. You can see a large number of people going about their days, walking down the street below. The buildings look somewhat modern but don't have the same cold, lifeless look that a lot of city architecture has back on earth. There's still a warmth and friendliness to the look of the city that's hard to explain in words.
"So this is Tempest?"
"Yup, this is my country. We're in its capital to be exact."
"What's the capital called?"
Rimuru hesitates, looking a little embarrassed about answering my question.
"Hehe...funny enough, it's Rimuru or Rimuru City as some call it."
"Are you serious? So the country's name is your last name and the capital of it is your first? That's not very creative..."
"Hey, the city's name wasn't my idea, trust me! Also, Tempest is just a short way of saying Jura Tempest Federation, which is its official name."
"What's the 'Jura' part of the name mean?"
"Well, this place is located right in the middle of the Great Forest of Jura, a formerly dangerous, untamed, monster-ridden area that most people avoided back in the day" Rimuru explains before her face contorts. "...oh, it seems like we've been noticed..."
"Noticed?" I ask, but before Rimuru can answer, the door bursts open.
"Lord Rimuru!" A woman in a tight business suit cries as she runs toward Rimuru. She has violet hair pulled back in a ponytail and a long black horn growing out of her forehead.
"I missed you so much, My Lord!" she weeps while hugging Rimuru tightly. Rimuru seems to be trying to say something, but it's muffled by their face being buried in this woman's chest while being embraced.
After a moment of Rimuru being squeezed, another woman walks into the room after her, but in a much calmer way than the first. She has pink hair and two white horns.
"Shion, you can't go breaking into Lord Rimuru's office like this." She scolds the other woman, apparently called Shion.
"B-but Shuna! He's been gone for what felt like forever! I know that you've missed him just as much as I have, so you should understand!"
*sigh* "Of course I've missed him, but that doesn't mean that I will behave inappropriately like you are." She continues before turning her attention to me. "I am very sorry for her behavior. I am Shuna and this is Shion; you must be the boy Lord Rimuru has been spending his time with recently." Shuna says with a polite bow.
"Hello Shuna, it's nice to meet you. My name is Iruma Suzuki." I respond, trying to ignore Rimuru getting smothered and squeezed to death nearby. Rimuru's tough, so I know she'll be fine.
"Hi, Iruma!" Shion greets me cheerily while still hugging Rimuru tightly. "It's nice to meet you!"
"Nice to meet you too, Shion!"
Rimuru finally escapes Shion's grasp.
"Hello Shion, Shuna. It's nice to see you two again." Rimuru says.
I'm curious about these two women and what type of monsters they are. They almost appear human, the main difference being the horns coming out of their foreheads. I don't want to be rude, but I still want to know the answer.
"Um...if you don't mind me asking...what type of...?" I ask sheepishly and point toward my forehead to try to convey what I'm trying to ask both women, hoping they won't be offended by this.
I hear a soft chuckle from Rimuru but I try to ignore it.
"Oh, how cute! Are you trying to ask what race we are?" Shuna giggles, amused by my embarrassment.
"Y-yes!" I stutter.
"We are both Oni. To be specific, Shion is a 'Wicked Oni' and I am a 'Fair Oni', or at least something that evolved further from those two species. Does that answer your question Iruma?"
"Yes, thank you, ma'am."
"So polite! No wonder Lord Rimuru has taken a liking to you!"
The praise causes me to feel a wave of embarrassment that I try my best to hide.
Then, without any warning, Shuna grabs Rimuru's arm and hugs it.
"I have so many nice outfits that I've designed especially for you, My Lord! Why don't you come with me, along with your guest?" she asks, fluttering her eyelashes at Rimuru and smiling.
"...what kind of outfits?" Rimuru asks hesitantly, gulping nervously.
"You will just have to come with me and see, Lord Rimuru!" Shuna replies cheerfully, but that doesn't seem to put Rimuru at ease.
Shion, now looking annoyed with Shuna, grabs Rimuru's other arm and tries to pull them close again. Now both women are hugging one of Rimuru's arms and glaring at each other. They seem to have some kind of rivalry going on.
"No Shuna, he should come with me! I've come up with some new recipes that I'm sure Lord Rimuru would love to try!" Shion says as she tries to yank Rimuru away from Shuna.
"Uhhh...have you run these new recipes past anyone else yet, Shion?"
"Of course not! They're especially for you, My Lord!" Shion declares.
"Greeeaaaat..." Rimuru says with a forced smile.
"Well, I think he'd rather try on all the dresses I worked so hard on since his departure!" Shuna says, tugging on Rimuru's other arm to get him away from Shion.
"No, I'm sure Lord Rimuru would prefer to try the special cake recipe I made for him!" Shion insists, jerking Rimuru's arm again.
I watch helplessly as the two women argue and fight over Rimuru. What ensues is a game of tug-of-war between the two women, with a mildly annoyed Rimuru and their arms being the rope. Rimuru just lets them do this for a minute, looking somewhat fed up with the situation before finally putting this game to a stop.
"Could you two please stop fighting over me?" She asks surprisingly calmly, going easy on the two women. Rimuru must care about them a lot to be so patient in this situation.
" "Sorry, My Lord!" " both say before letting go simultaneously.
"I promise that I'll do both of those things, just please let me show Iruma around first," Rimuru says, giving both of them a nice smile while smoothing out her clothes since they became disheveled from the scuffle.
"Would you like my assistance with that, Lord Rimuru?" Shuna asks, looking mildly excited.
"Actually, I have something different for you, Shuna...can you have a couple of guest rooms prepared? I have two people with me, one being with Diablo at the moment, so they need somewhere to sleep tonight." Rimuru says to Shuna. "Oh, and can you everyone know that I'll meet with them later today over dinner or something, I want to show Iruma around town first."
"I will take care of that for you, My Lord."
"Thanks, Shuna. You're always so reliable!"
Shuna blushes slightly at Rimuru's words, causing her cheeks to match her hair and eyes.
"Since you are giving this boy a grand tour, as your secretary...?" Shion starts to ask.
"You want to carry me while I show him around Tempest, don't you Shion?" Rimuru asks with a knowing smile.
Shion beams and nods her head enthusiastically. Rimuru then 'melts' into her slime form before excitedly being scooped up off the floor by Shion. The lady looks extremely happy to be holding Rimuru for some reason. I don't quite understand why she's so thrilled about something so simple.
We leave the office, traveling through multiple large hallways along the way. We're definitely in some kind of government building, which makes sense. Rimuru's in charge here, so of course, her office would be somewhere important.
After exiting, we emerge onto the bustling street that I saw from the window of Rimuru's office. Shion is still carrying Rimuru, humming to herself and looking happy as pie. It's like she thinks it's her purpose in life or something with how much enthusiasm she's showing.
"So you're Rimuru's secretary?" I ask, trying to start a conversation.
"First secretary and bodyguard." She says proudly, wearing a smug expression.
"Do you really need a bodyguard Rimuru? You're super strong!"
"Well, it's not something I need necessarily, but it's always nice to have someone watching your back, right?"
"Yeah, I guess I get where you're coming from," I respond. It's sure been nice having Rimuru around watching my back.
"Plus, it makes Shion happy; right, Shion?" Rimuru asks, seeming to look up at the woman. It's hard to tell when she's in this form, but I saw her blob body shift as if peering upward at Shion's face.
"Yes, Lord Rimuru! Being your bodyguard and serving you is my purpose in life!" Shion says as she squeezes Rimuru's slime body in a hug and rubs her cheek on it.
I'm a little uncomfortable with how vehement she is about 'serving' Rimuru, but I guess that's what Rimuru was talking about when she described her people as 'obsessed' with her and 'excessive' in their reactions.
Even though the street is crowded, everyone is making way for us. All eyes are on us, which is nerve-wracking, to say the least. I can tell many of them are curious about who I am, which makes sense considering that I'm casually strolling around with this country's leader and their bodyguard. People seem to be very excited to see Rimuru too, shouting and waving, freaking out just at the sight of the little slime. She doesn't look fazed by this at all, though, simply waving back with a 'slime tendril'. It's kinda funny when you look at this situation without knowing who and what Rimuru actually is. Rimuru's extremely powerful and is the founder and leader of this place, so it makes total sense that the people here would love her.
"So, Rimuru, do you just get carried around like that all the time?"
"Sometimes. My people seem to like carrying me, and I don't mind not having to walk."
So there's Rimuru's lazy side showing again...I better not say anything, though, with Shion around. Rimuru warned me not to say anything rude, even if it's just a joke. I mean, look at that massive weapon Shion has with her; she's gotta be crazy strong, right? I wouldn't want to make her mad.
"Where do you want to go first, My Lord?" Shion asks, smiling brightly.
But, before Rimuru can answer, Shion stops in her tracks and both of them seem alert about something happening up ahead.
"How annoying..." Rimuru mutters.
"What's wrong?" I ask, still confused about what's going on.
"It seems like we have a troublemaker up ahead. They stroll into my country sometimes, thinking they're hot shit and cause a big stir." Rimuru says, pointing ahead.
Once the threat is in view, Rimuru continues. "Stay here, Iruma. I don't want you to be in any danger. Even if this dude is weak compared to me, he could probably obliterate you in one hit."
The 'troublemaker' is strange, looking like a mix between a person and multiple types of animals.
"Ah, so the Demon Lord has finally returned! I've been waiting to face you in battle!" it cries in a grating voice.
"That won't be happening," Rimuru replies flatly, sounding annoyed.
"Lord Rimuru, would you like me to take care of this pest for you?" Shion asks, sounding excited.
"Go ahead, but give me one moment to try to reason with him first. Don't do anything until I signal you to," Rimuru says to Shion before addressing the creature. "If you stop now, you can leave without getting hurt."
"I heard you were soft, but you're even softer than I expected, you sorry excuse for a Demon Lord!"
Shion now looks angry, with that smile she had earlier nowhere to be seen. She's gritting her teeth, waiting for Rimuru's signal. I can tell she's holding herself back, probably only because Rimuru told her to wait.
"One more chance to apologize and leave peacefully," Rimuru says before glooping out of Shion's arms and reforming into their human shape before hitting the ground.
Rimuru is full size now, looking like the adult she is, wearing something I haven't seen her in before. It's elegant and regal, that's the only way to describe it. Long sleeves and pants, mostly black with white details like the stripe down the middle of the shirt. There are golden accents too, along with a long, flowing white cape. The air she gives off isn't dark, malicious, or angry this time, but it's definitely intimidating. Rimuru's expression is serene, which is not something I see too often with her. With how much of a goofball and prankster Rimuru can be, it's weird seeing her act with such maturity. Maybe she's putting on an act? She's acting serious, I know at least that much.
"Never!" he cries as he shoots some kind of magic at Rimuru, which she effortlessly absorbs with one hand. Shion is now fuming mad at the guy, based on the dark expression she's wearing.
Rimuru sighs before giving Shion a small nod and the oni woman begins approaching the creature, grabbing hold of the hilt of her oversized sword.
"Oh, so you're a scared little slime hiding behind your subordinates?" the creature taunts.
"Not at all, I just don't waste my time on trash like you," Rimuru says coldly. "Make sure to leave some for Ultima, Shion. Don't kill him." Rimuru says, likely trying to keep Shion under control. She seems to be a bit of a hothead.
Leave some of what...? Fighting? Who is this Ultima person anyway?
Without warning, Shion seems to disappear in a blur as she springs forward and attacks the troublemaker. A flurry of blows ensues, so fast that there's no time to grasp what just happened. One second she's strutting toward the threat, the next Shion has the guy pinned to the ground, beaten and bloodied.
Shion looks pleased with herself as she holds him down with one foot standing on his head. As she stands proudly, a person approaches her. A girl, not looking any older than me, with purple hair, pulled in a side-ponytail, wearing what looks like a military uniform. Shion, seeing her, removes her foot and returns to Rimuru's side.
"Attempted assault on the Demon Lord; reckless endangerment of civilians, multiple counts; unauthorized use of offensive magic within city limits..."
I hear her list off what seems like a bunch of legal terms for crimes while cuffing the criminal. With the threat neutralized, Rimuru begins to walk forward, gesturing for me to follow.
"...with all those charges, it looks like I will be having some fun with you..." the girl says ominously with a sinister grin on her face while crouched down next to the unconscious attacker.
"Hi, Ultima," Rimuru calls out.
The girl's eyes light up when she hears this and she quickly stands up.
"Oh, Lord Rimuru!" She says as she turns to face Rimuru with her arms behind her back, smiling. "I am so sorry for not being here before-"
Rimuru interrupts, holding one hand out to stop her.
"It's fine, Ultima. Shion and I had everything under control. Just go take care of that guy and get him out of the middle of the street, okay?"
"Already being taken care of, Lord Rimuru." She says as two, less human-looking people seemingly appear out of nowhere and begin carrying the cuffed attacker away. "Oh, who is this?" she asks, now looking at me.
"That's Iruma, he's a friend of mine."
"Iruma? Well, nice to meetcha! My name's Ultima, and I'm the Chief Prosecutor of Tempest." She says before looking at me quizzically. "Is he a human?" she asks, tilting her head to one side.
Rimuru nods.
"To be friends with Lord Rimuru, you must be something special!" she says, smiling cutely.
"Th-thanks..." I say, not sure how to respond.
"Alright Ultima, give the boy some space," Rimuru says with a chuckle, noticing how uncomfortable I am. "You should get back to what you were doing."
Ultima nods and bows before leaving.
"I swear that doesn't happen very often, Iruma. It probably has to do with me being absent for a while. Sorry for putting you in that tense situation." Rimuru says before returning to slime form and hopping back into Shion's arms. "How 'bout we go grab something to eat?"
"Yeah, after all that, I'm feeling hungry," I say.
"Does that mean you want to try my new cake recipe right now, Lord Rimuru?" Shion asks, her eyes sparkling with excitement.
"Uuuhhhh...we'll leave that for later, okay?" Rimuru replies.
"Yes, Lord Rimuru..." Shion responds, looking downcast.
I wonder why Rimuru's so hesitant to eat Shion's cooking? It can't be that bad, can it?