Rimuru's Pov
After leaving the room with Ophis I immediately went home to find Veldora pondering something, he is probably thinking about Great Red. I walked over and sat down on the couch taking a deep breath, today was a lot more than I bargained for and somewhat wish I didn't go there. I may have learned a very large amount of information but it also brought a lot of trouble, now I am in the forefront of a conflict between the two strongest existences in this world. As I melted into the soft material Veldora spoke to me.
"Rimuru we need to get much stronger, I won't let that big red weirdo tease me like that, I also need to take back the title a True Dragon that he apparently has. For my honor as a dragon I can't let myself get clowned by that fatty."
He doesn't say it but I am sure he is also thinking about his sister and any other family he has, from what I understand he has always been the wild child, so doing something like this might be his hope to make his family proud of him. Of course Veldora and I are family as well, so naturally I will help him, I decided to talk to him straight.
"Ophis asked me to help kill Great Red, what do you think?"
Veldora turned and looked at me with the most serious look he has ever given me, it was very surprising because of how different it was from normal.
"I think we should Rimuru, I can't help but want that guy to be put in his place, but we must get stronger if we are going to do that."
If he wants to kill Great Red and has a good reason, like he does, for his family and to redeem himself, I will definitely help him.
"Hey Veldora, Ophis also said there is another Demon Lord from our world here, someone named Luminous Valentine, does the name ring a bell?"
Since the more serious stuff was talked about Veldora went back to normal.
"WAHAHA, I think I remember someone named that! I remember burning down their town a few thousand years ago, HAHA their face was so funny!"
After his response I couldn't help but slump down on the cushion next to me, of course Veldora has a history with this women. I shouldn't have expected any less, I will have to make the best of it when I meet her.
With that Veldora and I did what we did most nights, played games for a little, then he went to read and I started talking with Raphael about what we should do. Raphael is a three syllable, maybe I should name her something shorter, well I'll think about that for later, it's not like naming her will do anything crazy.
Since it was the weekend I didn't have work the next day, I decided to text Luminous in the late morning to set up a meeting. I would have called but I would prefer to introduce myself in person instead of over the phone.
To my surprise the address she gave me was in Rome, Italy I wonder why a Demon Lord is so close to the center of the Catholic Church. Thankfully I can fly faster than any plane, after all it is illegal for passenger planes to fly above the speed of sound so only military planes can travel at high speeds.
The place I was supposed to meet Ms. Valentine was a café just a few blocks away from Vatican City, I think she is intentionally so close to the Vatican, I don't know why.
As soon as I arrived at the café I instantly could feel who was the person I was to meet, she was the only one showing an unusual aura. When I walked up to the table and took a seat I saw her look up at me with a smirk.
I have to admit, she was drop dead gorgeous, she had beautiful long silver hair and red and blue heterochromatic eyes, if I was still a man I might have fallen for her on the spot. She was wearing a black gothic dress that made it look like she just came from a funeral, it didn't detract from her beauty though, if anything it contrasted well with her silver hair and pale white skin. She was the first to speak.
"Hello Rimuru, its been a while, hasn't it?"
Why is she speaking like we know each other, did she actually stalk me before I was transported here? I don't want this misunderstanding to continue because when she finds out eventually I am sure she would be mad.
"I'm sorry but I do not know you Ms. Valentine, it seems you know me but I don't know you."
When I said that she looked at me with visible shock, is she some creepy stalker with mental problems?
"Wait, you actually don't know me? Be completely honest, have you ever met me before just now?"
"Nope, this is the first time meeting you."
"How does that make sense though, judging from your power levels you have to have evolved to a Demon Lord already, you don't remember the Walpurgis? I went to your founding festival and then you came for the music exchange in Ruberios, you don't remember that at all?"
"I have oppositely no clue what you are talking about, I was transferred out of that world years before I became a Demon Lord, you must have me mistaken for someone else."
She looked at me dumbfounded; I have no clue what she means.
"I see, it seems like we are from different time lines, where I am from you never were transferred away and became the leader of your once village and made it into a great city. You are probably still doing something to improve it now, I was transferred here so soon after you became a Demon Lord."
"Well it seems you knew a different me then, I was transferred to a different world when I killed the Orc Lord in the forest. Even if I am not the person you know I hope we can get along together here as well."
Luminous definitely looked a little disappointed but gave me a small smile.
"Yes, I am sure we will get along very well like I did with your other self. I was transferred to this world after I killed a former hero named Granbell Rosso, maybe something about near death fights is what caused our spontaneous teleportation. Well that is to think about later, the way to talk makes it seem like you didn't come directly from that world, so where were you in between?"
I might as well tell the truth.
"I was initially transported to a different world that was much weaker, eventually I found a device that I tried to use to travel back home but I ended up here. With the device dust I was planning to find a new way home until meeting Ophis."
"Oh yes, the little dragon girl, she is pretty cute. She told me she met you and that damn dragon, gah I want to strangle that stupid lizard. He burnt down my entire damn city for no reason! My beautiful Night Garden, I will never forgive that bastard."
It seems I was right that she had some beef with Veldora, well dang, that is unfortunate.
"You seem to have an interesting relationship with Ophis, mind telling me more about her?"
"Ophis is a pretty simple individual, she wants to get Great Red out of the dimension gap by any means necessary, she found me after I was transferred here and tried to get me to help her fight. I told her that I am not fighting a Dragon God any time soon but I am not opposed to helping in some ways that don't involve direct confrontation, of course for compensation."
"So you work as some kind of contractor for her?"
"Not anymore, I stopped taking her jobs a while ago since her work makes too many enemies, and the wrong enemies at that. Now I work for the church as a bounty hunter on occasion, since I can do as high-level holy magic as some of the Archangels they call me for the big fish. Of course I do not do that for free, you probably can't see the full irony of the situation, but in the other world I was the "God" of a church. Being a Demon Lord and "God" at the same time is already ironic but being a Demon Lord and exorcist is also pretty funny."
I am going to pretend she didn't just say she was pretending to be God in the other world, she must have some massive balls to impersonate the creator as a Demon Lord, well I guess the God of this world and the God of the multiverse are both dead, so whatever goes.
Luminous seems like a very strange girl, she is a Demon Lord but seems to have some preference for holy things and the church, I don't get it but I guess that is who she is.
"How long have you been in this world? You make it sound like you have been here for a long time."
"Your would be correct, I have been here over 200 years. I have been here as humans have evolved technologically so much; in some ways it makes me envy this world. In the other world angels attack every 500 years and try to destroy anywhere that is technologically advanced. This is what they are all missing out on though, phones and planes, cars and tv, even complex electrical systems and most of all the internet. Imagine my surprise when I come to this world and find the beautiful music you played at the founding festival was anime music, tch I still remember my reaction."
I played anime music in a festival, I feel third hand cringe from hearing that, was the other me a shameless weirdo?
"Well Veldora and I will be working with the three factions in Kuoh Town, according to Ophis that will be where the action is, and since I am looking to get stronger that is where I will be. I would like to be friends with you as well, so I will ask you if you want to team up."
When I asked she gave me a creepy smirk, I feel like I am not ready for her response.
"Oh, I will definitely be moving in with you and that lizard, I won't pass up a chance to make him pay."
"Ok, well were currently are living in an apartment that would be a little cramped so we will need to sort out other living arrangements. Also you will probably need a cover job, Veldora is working at a Takoyaki stand and I am working as a teacher at the Devil's school."
Somehow her smirk grew, I feel like this women is a teaser, I am thankful that I have developed a pretty thick skin and do not get embarrassed easily. Old human me would already be blushing like an idiot.
"Do not worry about that Rimuru, when I heard you were in Kuoh Town I took the liberty of purchasing a property that can accommodate all of us. As for a cover idea I have a great idea, why don't I show you the house now though."
I just nodded, having a nice house sounds great, I have never had a house before since I lived in the city, other than in my village back in the forest I have always been in apartment buildings.
We stood and Luminous paid, I know what you are thinking, "the man should pay" but I didn't even order anything. Why would I pay when I didn't even buy anything? That is definitely not gender equality, besides Luminous probably has much more money than I do.
She then led me to a back alley and started a teleportation spell, her control over magic was superb, exactly what you would expect of a Demon Lord. When the spell finished we were in a very elegant living room with a white and black aesthetic, it was pretty nice. As I looked around I could see it was a very modern house with big windows and digital wall panels to control parts of the house.
Using [Universal Perception] I could feel that the house wasn't necessarily a mansion, but it was definitely much nicer than a normal family home. It had 5 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, 2 offices, and large living and dinning room, along with a in built movie theater and an outdoor pool. The house was situated in the outskirts of the city low on the mountains that were close by, it was very beautiful.
While I was focusing on the house Luminous spoke to take me out of my stupor.
"Welcome home master."
I couldn't help but be confused by her calling me "master" is she some kind of weirdo, to be honest I wouldn't be surprised, everyone I meet that is powerful is a complete nut case. When I turned to her though I was surprised.
She was wearing a very well made and well-fitting maid outfit; it was clear that it was very far above the quality of some maid cosplay someone might have. I would say she either spotlights as a maid or is seriously into maid cosplay to the point of buying a professionally made outfit.
To be honest the maid outfit even looked slightly erotic on her, the skirt was shorter than I expected where it showed a lot of leg. If I was human I would definitely have fallen into her grasp with just a look, thankfully now I do not have those hormones. That doesn't mean I can't admire beauty though; she was very pretty after all. After a few seconds I realized I was starring and looked away awkwardly. She chuckled and spoke.
"You don't give as good of reactions as your other self, I guess I will get to spend more time with you though. This is what I think I should do as a cover though, I could be your maid, back in the other world I pretended to be a maid while I had a puppet act as Demon Lord in my place sometimes. It worked very well and I think it will work again, it also puts me in the perfect place to punish that stupid lizard."
"Won't having you as a maid give you and me both away, if you have been here for 200 years won't tons of people know you?"
"Ara I wonder what you think of me, my deal for any deal is absolute secrecy, Ophis is the only one who knows I am from our world. The only other people I ever dealt with are Michael and Gabriel, unless they broke their end of the deal they should be it. Perhaps a few others know from them but nobody else will recognize my face or magic signature, I'm not an idiot after all."
I am not sure how confident about that since Great Red hinted that he knew another Demon Lord from our world was here, unless there is another one he was talking about Luminous. Her and I will have to talk more about what she knows later, but for now I think this is good. I will call Veldora to move in here in a little and then we will start again as a trio instead of Veldora and I only.
It might seem strange for me to trust Luminous so quickly, but since she is from my world and seemed to know another version of me I am inclined to trust her. According to Raphael the chances of her betraying me are very low, if we truly were friends and allies in her timeline I believe she will be an invaluable ally. She knew about my village in the forest and other stuff about that world so until I am giving a reason to second guess her I will put my trust in her. It is definitely not because I am a sucker for a very hot girl.
The End
Hey awesome readers, another chapter in the books. I do not know what my upload schedule will be starting tomorrow since the Spring Semester of college starts tomorrow. I know some of you wish I just ignored that I wrote every day, but even a shut-in nerd like me has to worry about really life sometimes. I hope you enjoyed the chapter; I know Luminous joined the squad sort of quickly, but I am a sucker for her so I wanted her to squad up with Rimuru and Veldora quickly. Vote if you enjoyed and comment anything you want. Like always have a good day and stay safe.