The many people of the city gathered in a clearing beside the city where a short wooden stage was built for the lords. Rigurd was one of the many people eager to hear and see Demon Lord Milim for themselves and hear what the lords had to say. What was least expected was the sight of the young girl, seated with Lords Rimuru and F/N on the stage, eating a batch of simple honey cookies F/N quickly made while the stage was prepared. Stranger was how relaxed the three appeared, at least to the onlookers who didn't know that both the lords were nervous, wondering if Milim would cause trouble.
"I see you're enjoying the cookies," F/N nonchalantly cleaned her face of the crumbs left from the rapid devouring of the treats. "If you want more then promise you won't resort to violence."
"Hm," Milim was conflicted, "But I have to hurt anyone that looks down on me, to make sure they don't do it again."
"If they're people that are being hostile or that you hate, sure," F/N continued, "However, the people here won't be either. They will realize their mistake, or they'll have to deal with us. Understand what I mean?" He pulled the tray of cookies away from her.
"Okay, I'll leave it to you two then," Milim's agreement was approved when F/N pushed the tray back over to her.
F/N looked around to see how many had gathered then turned to Rimuru, "You have that thing the brothers have been working on?"
Rimuru pulled out a microphone made from magisteel and stood up, "Yup." Holding up the mic, Rimuru's voice loudened to reach the people, "From today on we will have an important guest staying with us, so please treat her with your utmost respect. Now, a word from them."
Milim got up and took the microphone with an excited smile, "I'm Milim Nava! I'll be living here from now on!" Rimuru and F/N looked at each other in a panic.
I thought she said she was just stopping by to say hi?! F/N mentally screamed to Rimuru.
Why are you asking me?! That is what she said! A visit every now and then is one thing, but living here is out of the question! Rimuru screamed back.
"Hey, Milim," F/N stepped forward, "Don't you have duties, you know, as a Demon Lord to take care?"
Rimuru supported the idea, "Yeah, we can't keep you from your responsibilities for too long."
"Why not? It's not like I need to do anything," Milim said without a care. "And I can always check in on them every now and then."
"But..." F/N looked into Milim's blue eyes and asked himself, Do I really want her to go? Sure, the city might be safer if she wasn't around to damage it or the people. But what did I want out of this? He offered a hand to take the mic, to which Milim gave it out of curiosity, "If you wish to stay, then as a friend I won't argue. Make sure you all get along," He had towards the crowd, who applauded and welcomed Milim.
F/N! What are you thinking?! Rimuru asked.
No point in arguing Rimuru, F/N commented back.
"That's right, we're friends, so you can rely on me if anything comes up!" Milim cheered, waving to the crowd.
Rimuru paused for a moment, "Friends, huh?"
"Speaking of," F/N added, "I need to visit him later if you don't mind."
Milim, a little in her own world, "Rather than friends... we're best friends!"
Rimuru became nervous, "Um, best is a bit-"
Milim's eyes sharpened, a fist clenched, but her expression became shocked, "Was I wrong?"
"Of course not!" Rimuru patted F/N on the shoulder, "I was just thinking that with you and F/N both being Dragonoids-"
"Huh? He's a Dragonoid?" Milim, finally, actually hearing it for the first time, suddenly became extremely serious and dark, dropping the shock, "Is that some kind of joke?" The crowd grew quiet for a moment, not hearing what was being said but feeling the tension in the air.
F/N, with all the certainty he could speak with, answered, "I am Veldora's son. Though I'm not as strong as you, I am a Dragonoid. We know how foolish it would be to try and lie to you."
Milim's expression suddenly shifted back to be cheerful, "Of course, I was only messing with you! No one I'm best friends with would be that silly and lie to me."
With the sudden and brief tension gone, the crowd was uncertain but glad things were fine. Things were, in fact, actually fine between Milim and the lords thanks to the quick thought process that happened in Milim's mind the moment after F/N answered her. F/N was correct that her eyes could tell if they were lying, if she wanted to know the truth. He's not lying, either of them. Clayman mentioned it, but could that be what I feel when I look at him. It's subtle... I'll play it off like he did earlier.
"So good!" Milim said before she continued to eat, seated at a table in the cafeteria with the two lords, Benimaru, Shion, and Shuna. "This curry thing is really good! Seconds! I want more of those cookies too!"
"It'll have to be later," I said, "I need a bigger surplus of sugar before I make a mountain of them. Honey treats, on the other hand, I'll look into."
"I thought those were hard slices of bread she was eating," Benimaru commented.
Shion asked, "Those were some of the things you wanted to bake, right?"
F/N nodded, "I planned to sell the recipes for treats, but without a steady supply of sugar or honey it'll be difficult. On top of that, if we did buy a lot of either it would just inflate the price and anger other buyers. Don't get me started on milk either."
"There are some leftover ones if you want to try them," Rimuru took some honey and cookies from his storage, giving each some. Everyone upon tasting the sweets appeared delightfully shocked.
Shuna spoke, "I've never tried sugar before, it being a rare delicacy. To think it would taste so wonderful." She stood proudly, "From tomorrow on, we will look for a source of sugar!"
"Yes!" Shion stood up, "I will follow you so that we may experience the full potential of sugar!"
"That's that spirit!" Milim jumped up.
With the three now friends, bonded by the power of sugary treats, busy in their own world, the lords had a gather with the other figures of the city. Seated in the conference hall were Benimaru, the other kijin, Kaijin, and the other hobgoblin leaders. The meeting was to discuss the events of Milim's visit and going forward.
"She's rather unstable," Rimuru, in slime form, said on the table, "So we need someone to keep her company and defuse any bad situations."
"May I interrupt?" Kaijin asked and was allowed, "It's about the other Demon Lords, I would watch out for them. They may see Lord Milim's declaration of friendship differently."
"Indeed," Hakurou added, "It's possible they will misinterpret this as a pact between the city of Veldora and the Demon Lord Milim. Changing the balance of power between the Demon Lords and potentially dragging the forest into another conflict."
"Asking her to leave is out of the question," F/N raised his hand at the other end of the table from Rimuru. "No matter the reason, I doubt she could be convinced without incurring her wrath. Worse yet, if we did, we would make ourselves more vulnerable to attacks."
Rimuru motioned his slime body in agreement, "Milim's presence might convince some that we're more trouble than we're worth... Let's leave that thought to the side for now. As for the one who will accompany Milim, I suggest F/N."
"Agreed," Hakurou as Benimaru nodded.
"Lord F/N would be a good choice," Rigurd echoed the thought as the others at the table agreed.
The only opposition came from Treyni who appeared at the side of the table, "I disagree. Those two together have caused enough damage to the forest already. I recommend Lord Rimuru."
"I mean," Rimuru spoke up, "The damage wasn't that bad, was it?"
"I'm pretty sure her attack could have leveled more if she didn't hold back-" F/N's train of thought was interrupted.
"F/N! Rimuru!" Milim called as she threw open the door with nothing but two short towels around her waist and across her chest. "The bath here is amazing! I can even swim in it!"
"Lord Milim!" Shuna called, "You can't run around like that, and you have to finish washing your hair, don't you?"
"Whoopies, I just had to tell them," Milim said as she turned to leave, "Seeya, let's go in together tomorrow!"
As the three moved to leave, Milim's top towel started coming undone. Shuna apologized and excused them. This moment ground the meeting to a halt. The table then looked to F/N, who was the one Milim looked at when she suggested they bathe together. Benimaru raised his hand.
"In conclusion, Lord Milim will be entrusted to Lord F/N," He declared.
"No objections," The rest agreed, reaffirming the original idea. Treyni attempted to object, but was ignored.
F/N rested his head on his hand, "I don't mind. With that, I believe the meeting is done for the night. You are all dismissed."
Once the others excused themselves and left for the night Rimuru hopped across the table, "So, ready to visit him? I'm sure Veldora will know a thing about Milim that might be helpful."
"Yeah, there's that too," F/N stood up. "Alright, see you in one hour."
Once F/N was devoured by [Gluttony] Rimuru jumped off the table and changed into his human form with a worrisome expression. When F/N entered, [Great Sage] took the opportunity to turn its full focus on examining him inside and out. Rimuru didn't enjoy holding back on the information gathered so far, but it was better than telling him the truth.
Then there was the Spirit Grande. Like Rimuru, F/N recovered all of the magicules used in the naming process, but that didn't explain how Aruru evolved and became Special A, the same as F/N. The skill proposed the idea that the blessings received at the Dwelling gave F/N access to the spiritual world's mana. That, combined with what was supplied by the soul corridor between him and Veldora, allowed Aruru to evolve into a Spirit Grande. This, however, was a mere idea.
"How would you deal with Milim?" F/N asked Veldora as they and Ifrit sat down in the void and chatted.
"Well..." Veldora started poking his claws together, "My brother usually kept her away from me... Calling me a bad influence." He spoke the last part quietly.
F/N leaned closer with his arms crossed, "Should I be worried about her father? Being a True Dragon and all, because she's dangerous as is."
Veldora softly spoke, "He is not a threat nor around anymore. It would be for the best that you don't bring Veldanava up within hearing range of her. Long ago, he and his wife moved on from this life."
"Oh," F/N became a little surprised, "I didn't know True Dragons could die."
"His case was special. His powers were almost entirely transferred to Milim, the rest into a pet dragon for her. He then reincarnated as a human to be with his human wife," Veldora stopped and lowered his head. "Please kept this between us."
"I'm surprised how serious you're acting," F/N commented.
Veldora flinched, "F-Fool! Even I have matters I treat seriously!"
"Sure, pops," F/N grinned before nodding, "I'll keep quiet. But on the topic of True Dragons, what is [True Dragon Magic]?"
A groan came out of the Storm Dragon, who looked at Ifrit, "How do I explain it?"
"I do not know anything of [True Dragon Magic], less of how to explain it," Ifrit answered.
"I know that! The problem is..." Veldora rocked his head, "As the Storm Dragon, it is innate as I am a part of the world and so can request a change be made to the world within reason. The closest I can liken it to is less of magic with spells and more of a request to the smith to make something into reality."
"Then [Storm Magic] is separate from that," F/N parted his hands, earning a nod.
"Think of [Storm Magic] as the natural result of [True Dragon Magic]. I am the Storm Dragon, therefore I must have the power and control of the strongest storms, thus [Storm Magic]. From that naturally comes magic relating to water, wind, and on."
"While we have the time," F/N continued, "Do you mind teaching me how to use [Storm Magic] better?"
Veldora laughed with excitement, "Gladly!"
***
Returning to his home, F/N planned to watch some movies and forget about the near-death experience from earlier. A slight problem was in his way, Milim, who had been guided to F/N's residence by Shuna and Shion under Rimuru's orders while F/N was speaking with Veldora. So when F/N opened the door to his house and heard rattling in the kitchen he took quiet steps toward it, peeking into the room to discover Milim raiding the place to find other baked treats he might have hidden.
"Milim," F/N's call made her pause, "What are you doing here? Didn't they prepare a place for you to stay?"
"Rimuru said that I could stay here," She said, acting as if she hadn't done anything.
"He did now, hm..." F/N picked up some of the ingredients Milim moved around. "I'll make you a deal, you can stay here and I'll cook for you if you keep a secret from Rimuru."
"What kind of secret?" Milim asked.
And so began the start of the Secret Society of Movie Watchers, which would be destroyed when Milim eventually told the members of the Sugar Alliance, from which rumors of moving picture stories would spread. But for a single night, after making a meal for Milim as hush money, F/N enjoyed watching a movie with Milim, seeing her amazed reaction and interest. It was a simple thing that made him come to a decision, to actually try and be a friend to Milim.