Rimuru and Iruma's Adventures in the Netherworld

The Quest Concludes

Punctuation Key:

"Spoken dialogue"

'Quoting'

*Action*

Emphasis

Internal thoughts/talking to Ciel

[[Ciel talking]]

{{Thought Communication}}

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Sullivan POV

"...so then, by the time I noticed that I made a mistake, I'd already been dragged to the infirmary by Iruma and Kalego," Rimuru says in between bites of food.

She's explaining what happened earlier since from everyone else's viewpoint, she lost consciousness during one of her classes.

"He made me stay there too, for the rest of the day! It was pretty annoying, but I managed to entertain myself anyway." she continues.

"You forgot to mention the part where your face ended up on Lead's lap, Rimuru." Iruma snickers.

"Don't make me think about that part!" Rimuru immediately protests.

"Heh."

"Anyway...I'm fine, so I hope I didn't worry you too much. I gave Kalego a fake explanation saying I was struggling to control my magic or whatever. The man seems to be convinced that my Parallel Existence skill is a type of bloodline magic, so I used that as an excuse, along with the fact that the entire school assumes Iruma and I are both on our evil cycles."

"There's no way I could do something like that, though, so how're we gonna explain that?! We're supposed to be twins, remember?" Iruma asks.

"That...that's a bit of a problem, isn't it..." Rimuru mutters.

"Mixed bloodlines are a thing, which results in siblings with different abilities sometimes," I interject to help them.

It's an odd thing to happen since usually, one bloodline magic is dominant over the other in mixed families, but in some, that isn't the case.

"I guess that could be used as an excuse...what should we say Iruma's is then? We need to come up with something for him."

"I think my ability to dodge would work," Iruma suggests.

"Yes, that should work...what should we call it though...?" Rimuru ponders for a moment before suddenly smiling and snapping her fingers. "How 'bout 'Overwhelming Crisis Evasion Capability'? It's pretty much the same as the 'Detect Danger' skill with an added reflex boost, so I think that name fits."

"That sounds stupid," Iruma says bluntly.

Iruma's insult of Rimuru's idea visibly upsets Diablo, who starts to shake, but all it takes is a look from Rimuru to put a stop to his anger.

"I think it sounds lovely, actually," I comment, thinking that name is just fine if a bit lengthy.

"Yes, my Lord, once again you show me your incredible naming prowess! What a delightful name to give such an ability!" Diablo adds from off to the side, holding a teapot, waiting eagerly for every opportunity to fill Rimuru's cup for her.

Rimuru ignores Diablo's over-the-top comment and simply continues.

"Do you have a better name for it, Iruma?" Rimuru asks with a slight smirk on her face.

Iruma hesitates for a moment, looking unsure, before responding with a hesitant "No..."

"Then Overwhelming Crisis Evasion Capability it is!" Rimuru says triumphantly.

Iruma, looking annoyed, aggressively jabs his food into his mouth, pouting a little.

"Don't look so down, my grandson, it is a fine name for your special skill," I reassure him.

"I guess I can live with it..." Iruma says reluctantly.

"There is one thing I must point out though, my Lord." Diablo chimes in.

"Hm?" Rimuru makes a questioning noise, her mouth full with a bite of food.

"Your evasion ability is far greater than this human's, so wouldn't it be reasonable to say you have the same magic as him in addition to the other?" Diablo suggests, causing Rimuru to hard-swallow her food.

"I'm pretty sure having two types of bloodline magic isn't a thing here; none of the other students at Babyls are like that. I know this because I poured over their records not too long ago." Rimuru explains, shooting down the idea.

"In that case, you would be seen as a prodigy in the eyes of your peers, being worshiped and admired by them; any less would be insufficient for someone of your stature! You are one of a kind; a being above all! You deserve nothing less than to be special in the eyes of your peers at that school, only getting the utmost praise from them!" Diablo says, going into one of his 'Rimuru Rants' that I've become accustomed to hearing.

"That might cause some problems for me in the future, though." Rimuru continues turning down Diablo's suggestions.

"Not for someone as talented and amazing as you! It's only fair that you have two and if anyone becomes suspicious because of that, I will personally take care of them for you!" Diablo continues.

"Uh...there's no need for that Diablo! No need at all!" Rimuru quickly protests.

"It is not unheard of for the rare individual to possess two types of bloodline magic, only possible in those of mixed descent, but the chances are astronomically low," I say, trying to help some more, not wanting Diablo to do anything rash.

"I guess we can go with it, then," Rimuru says, convinced now that I said that.

"That's unfair," Iruma interjects.

"What?" Rimuru asks.

"People already look down on me as the 'lesser twin' and you wanna make that even worse?!" Iruma says, even louder, angered by the idea.

"No, that wasn't my intention," Rimuru says to him.

"Either way, that's what's gonna happen if we tell people that!" Iruma continues, sounding more agitated by the moment.

"I really don't think so; honestly, you're much more liked than I am at Babyls, you should know that," Rimuru explains calmly.

"You're little miss 'pretty, powerful, and popular', while I'm just...me," Iruma says in a mocking tone.

"Pfft...no I'm not! I just had two numbskulls try to take me out with a few explosives earlier today, so my reputation isn't as widespread as you think." Rimuru says, now sounding like she's getting a bit offended.

"Wait, what?!" I ask, nearly spitting out my tea.

"Are you kidding me?!" Iruma asks, also surprised by this.

"Professor Buer didn't tell you, Sullivan?" Rimuru asks me innocently.

"No, he has not informed me of that yet..." I mutter, still shocked that I haven't been told about this incident.

"Well, it happened, but nobody got hurt. I'm sure you'll hear something from him tomorrow about it." Rimuru pauses for a moment before looking back in Iruma's direction. "Back to what I was trying to say...I'm dead serious about you being better liked than I am. Why else would the entire class be helping you and going along with your plans? They have to trust you to do stuff like that!"

Iruma doesn't seem to know how to respond so he simply stares at Rimuru with a frown.

"Not even mentioning Azz who practically worships you! I'm not nearly as close with Azz nor Clara as you are, so I don't know why you think people look down on you. If anything, a lot of people look up to you, Iruma; and I've been noticing that more and more recently." Rimuru compliments.

"I suppose I have been noticing it too, but I thought it was just because I'm different than normal right now," Iruma admits.

"I promise you it's not that; I know what loyalty is like from personal experience, and it's not something earned in a day or two. This is something that's been building up since the start of the school year." Rimuru continues.

"I still don't like it...the idea of you making the gap between us even clearer..." Iruma grumbles.

Rimuru ponders his words for a moment before a conniving grin peels across her lips.

"I can make it up to you by showing you a new kind of magic if you want, how does that sound?" Rimuru offers, smiling as she entices Iruma.

"New magic?!" Iruma asks, seemingly very excited by the idea.

"Yes, I can show you a new toy, but you need to get over this sour attitude about this bloodline magic business." Rimuru continues.

"Fine. Teach me whatever you have in mind...it better be something good..." Iruma says, smiling slyly.

"Oh, it will be, don't worry!" Rimuru reassures, grinning with Iruma.

"It isn't anything too dangerous, is it Rimuru?" I ask concernedly.

"Nothing Iruma can't handle, no. We'll do this after dinner, capiche?"

Iruma gives Rimuru an arrogant grin, looking thrilled to learn whatever Rimuru is planning to teach him.

Both enthusiastically clean their plates in a blink of an eye, leaving me stunned by how fast both of them are. Rimuru is one thing, being a Demon Lord and all, but Iruma is an average human. He's been like this since I adopted him, but I'm still left puzzled every single time I see him do this.

Iruma POV

I'm annoyed by Rimuru's ideas about fake bloodline magic for the both of us, but I can put that aside for the moment. She's offered to teach me something new, a skill I assume. This isn't something I should take for granted, so of course, I happily agreed.

Rimuru led me into the living room and Grandpa followed behind us, looking curious about what we're about to do.

"This skill is very versatile and can even be fun if you use it right. Universal Thread, it's called. But first...put these on." Rimuru says, tossing me a black pair of fingerless gloves.

I catch them and look closer. They appear to be made of some sort of leather and are fingerless, their backs inscribed with some sort of rune or magic circle.

"Why?" I ask.

"Not only will it make your control of magic better, but they should also protect your hands. Remember how you got burnt at the exam? This'll prevent anything like that from happening ever again."

I slip them on and can't help but think they look cool, which makes me smile. Observing Rimuru's gift, I hold my hands in front of my face. They feel smooth and fit perfectly and I give my fingers a testing wiggle.

I notice the cutoff point on my middle finger is a little lower than the others, and only on my right hand; at the perfect level to not cover my Gluttonous Feeder Ring. It's like they were made for me, which they probably were.

"The exposed parts of your fingers are still protected, just so you know, just with only the barrier produced by the magic imbued in them. They draw power from your ring while you wear them, but will go inert when you're not. They also won't work for others either; for your use only." Rimuru explains almost like she's advertising them, proudly explaining the gloves' function while wearing a classic salesman's smile.

"Iruma, can I please take a look?" Grandpa asks, looking intrigued by my new gloves.

I proudly thrust a hand out to him for him to inspect and I see his eyes light up, even from behind his glasses.

"The enchantment on these...it's so refined and complex. Did you make these Rimuru?" Grandpa asks, very curious.

"Yes and no. It was Ciel's doing, actually." Rimuru explains casually.

"Ciel made these?" I ask. I guess she can make things from inside Rimuru.

"Well, she's part of me so we kinda both did, but yes. It was her idea first, so I have to give her the credit." Rimuru clarifies.

"Why all of the sudden? Does this have to do with the magic you're gonna show me?" I ask, still not fully understanding what these cool gloves have to do with a thread skill.

"Yes, she was worried you'd hurt your hands, which in turn would make me feel guilty for letting you get hurt, so she came up with a solution: the gloves." Rimuru continues, looking like she doesn't exactly want to reveal this to me.

"Ciel did this more for your sake than mine then...?" I ask, a little annoyed.

"That's just how she is with everything, so don't get bent out of shape over it. I care about you, so she cares about you; that's how it is," Rimuru says, chuckling a little at my incredulity.

"She made me a pair too...so we can match, hahaha..." Rimuru says, holding up an identical pair of gloves to my own. "If anyone asks, we can just say they're a gift from our fake mom you decided to make up out of nowhere."

"You made a fake mother, my grandson?" Grandpa asks, sounding disappointed in me.

"It was just an offhanded comment; my classmates were questioning me about stuff, so I came up with an answer that makes sense," I explain, not thinking it's that big of a deal.

"Yes, and created a problem I'll need to solve in the future...but that can wait; I have a new skill to show you!" Rimuru says, brushing aside the subject.

"I'm looking forward to it!" I say excitedly.

"That's the spirit!" Rimuru says with equal enthusiasm.

Rimuru holds up both hands, pointing their palms toward each other, and suddenly a thread shoots out of one and she catches it with the other, now holding it in between.

"This is what the skill Universal Thread makes, a thread with variable properties that you can pick and choose when using it. It can be sticky, smooth, strong, sharp, stretchy, firm, anything you can think of really, as well as any mix of those properties, as long as they don't contradict."

Rimuru lets go of the thread and it seemingly dissolves into nothing.

"It's made of pure magic, so you can dissipate it if you want, or leave it intact."

Then, she points her palm at a nearby coffee table.

"And if you know what you're doing..." another thread shoots out of her hand and makes contact with a small decoration on the table. "...you can do stuff like this." Rimuru continues. Then, the thread retracts and the item flies right into Rimuru's hand.

That's so cool!

"You can also simply yank stuff toward you, like anything else attached to a normal string. That's much easier than what I just did and should be what you start with."

"I'm going to try!" I say excitedly, ready to give such a fun-looking skill a try.

"Focus on strength and stickiness. Be careful, too; with the right properties, it can be very dangerous." Rimuru warns, but I'm already caught up in my imagination about what I can do with this new ability.

"I think I can handle it," I reply, confident that I won't have a hard time with it.

"And don't grab anything breakable! I guess I could just fix it, but it's best to just avoid all that." Rimuru says before setting a small block of wood on the floor nearby, small enough to fit easily in my hand. "Try grabbing that; it shouldn't cause any issues."

I point my hand at it and imagine a sticky thread shooting out of my hand, and guess what? Exactly that happens, but I miss by a small margin. It came out of the middle of the palm of my glove, instead of my ring which is the source of the magic. This must be one of the bonuses of using these things.

"Just think of it releasing and try again," Rimuru instructs.

I do exactly that, and this time succeed in grabbing it.

"Now pull it back to you."

I whip my arm backward, flicking my wrist, making the block fling in the air. It ends up flying at me but I manage to catch it after all the practice I had to put into that sort of thing for the execution cannonball exam.

By simply thinking about it, the thread disappears, leaving just the block resting in the palm of my right hand.

I do the same thing a few times again and start to get a good feel for using this skill.

"Why do you have a skill like this when you're a slime? Did a spider bite ya or something?" I ask, chuckling a little, thinking of a certain red-suited superhero.

"No, but I ate a spider myself. That's where I got it." Rimuru responds.

"You ate a spider, and got the ability to make spider silk?!" I ask, very confused.

"Wait, I never told you?" Rimuru asks, tilting her head to one side curiously.

"Told me what?" I ask her.

"That's how I gain skills, by eating my enemies or analyzing their attacks," she says as if it's the most obvious thing ever.

Now that I think about it, didn't that hobgoblin man named Rigurd mention something like that when he was talking about Rimuru?

Yes, and I remember how crazy it sounded to me at the time, but I never said anything to Rimuru about it. Now though, I feel like I need to say something since it really is an insane ability to have. I mean, c'mon, stealing magic and skills just by eating and defeating your enemies? The potential power you can gain that way is mindblowing!

"...that's so broken," I grumble.

"Broken?" Rimuru asks innocently.

"No wonder you're so powerful, you're pretty much a cheat!" I complain loudly, exasperated by how dismissive she's being.

"Hey, I'm no cheat! It's just the hand I was given after reincarnating, that's all!" Rimuru complains back, trying to justify it.

"Are you saying that every time you've defeated a foe, or even witnessed their attack, you got more and more powerful, stealing and copying their powers?" Grandpa asks, sounding even more astonished than earlier.

"More or less," Rimuru says simply.

"What an incredible ability..." Grandpa mutters.

"Hehe...I got kinda lucky, didn't I?" Rimuru says, laughing awkwardly.

"That's an understatement..." I comment quietly.

"Can we stop focusing on my abilities and go back to teaching the skill? I'm not very comfortable talking about myself like this." Rimuru says, sounding annoyed by this subject.

"Fine. I wanna try out something more tricky with this thread stuff anyway!" I say, thrilled to give my idea a shot.

I decide to get a little fancy and shoot a thread out and whip it toward something to grab it, instead of just shooting directly at it. I let out a thread slowly, making it long enough to snag a pillow from across the room. I made sure to make it tough and heavy enough to give it some oomph too, otherwise, this whipping of it wouldn't do anything.

Yes...it needs to slice through the air and hit my target, or the air resistance will slow it down.

"What are you doing Iruma?" Rimuru asks skeptically, eyeing the thread I just created.

"Having a little fun with this!" I respond. "Now that I've got some practice with this, I want to show you what I can do with it!"

"Be careful, this skill can be dangerous! Remember how I said those threads can be sharp?" Rimuru cautiously warns me.

She's looking down on me, I can tell!

"I am being careful!" I say as I pull my arm behind my head and aim.

"Iruma, don't do-!" Rimuru starts to say, but it's too late; I've already swung my arm forward, my eyes trained intently on the pillow. But I missed the mark...and hit something else.

Rimuru POV

Now, look at what he's done...

Everything around me appears frozen since I've sped up my thoughts by more than a million times. Ciel engaged this as soon as she detected the 'threat', although I'd hardly call it that.

When Iruma whipped that thread back, I could tell he made it much too sharp, meaning very dangerous. I tried to stop him...but he didn't listen. I had previously disabled my barrier and resistances to allow myself to get hurt because I had a sinking feeling that he'd do something like this.

I expected to get cut, that was the plan, but somehow he managed to aim it in a way that'll perfectly lop my goddamn head off, of all things! I'm left torn about whether I should go through with this since beheading me will probably scare him worse than I initially intended.

A little fear to make the lesson sink in is fine, but traumatizing the poor boy isn't what I want; I've learned my lesson about how sensitive Iruma can be after what happened to Walpurgis.

[[I can show you a simulation of what would happen if you go through with this 'lesson', Master.]]

Ciel to the rescue, helping me out as always!

Great idea Ciel, show me, please!

A third-person view of the scene is projected in my mind.

Iruma's thread slices through my neck cleanly and my head falls to the floor, leaving behind a slimy stump of a neck on my body. My projected self is giving a stellar performance as a corpse, at least with my head. I even stuck my tongue out and everything!

That's a little overdramatic, isn't it Ciel?

[[This is a realistic projection; if you were to go through this exact scenario, I am certain you would take this exact action to make it more 'convincing' Master.]]

I guess I can't completely deny that can I?

Iruma screams as if he's just seen the most horrifying thing of his life, his confident demeanor completely shattering in an instant. He thinks he's killed me, even though I've told him just recently that's not possible.

Sullivan also looks very disturbed and worried but doesn't screech in the same way Iruma did.

I'm surprised that neither has realized I'm probably fine since the rest of my body has remained standing, but I guess they are both panicking at the moment, so I can't blame them too much.

Okay, Ciel, I've seen enough. Shit really hit the fan there, didn't it?

[[I agree that this decision created quite a chaotic situation. Do you want to take evasive measures to prevent this outcome, Master?]]

Of course. Let's just have my arm get chopped off instead...I'll just pull the same move I did to avoid decapitation that first time with Hakurou, alright?

[[Master, I must inform you of one more potential issue-]]

Yeah, yeah, I know the arm thing will scare him too, but that's the plan, right?

[[Yes, but there is a factor you are not-]]

Feeling like I've got everything sorted out, I disengage my Thought Acceleration with Ciel.

Iruma POV

I hear an unexpected slicing sound and it takes me a few seconds to comprehend what just happened.

Rimuru had twisted and ducked to the side, her arm stuck straight in the air...or it would be if it was still attached. Instead of an arm, all that's left is a stump, cut off close to the elbow and revealing Rimuru's light blue slime-flesh at the tip.

With a plop, Rimuru's forearm had fallen to the floor, leaving me speechless. It tumbled a bit across the carpet, now resting directly at my feet. Both the stump, as well as the arm have slime kinda 'glooping' out of them, grossing me out a little.

Down at the arm, up at Rimuru, back down again, and again to Rimuru's face. My eyes dart between the two, trying to process the situation.

I just cut Rimuru's arm off!

Immediate panic fills me and I let out a surprised yelp, especially since I can tell by her strange pose that if she hadn't moved, I probably could've hit her in the neck or head with my thread!

"Oh my..." Grandpa mutters, gasping in shock.

Rimuru straightens, glancing with an unamused expression at where her arm used to be. She looks mildly annoyed and disappointed, with not a single hint of pain in her expression.

Didn't Rimuru say she doesn't feel pain at some point? I guess that explains why she isn't screaming right now.

"Now look at what happened..." Rimuru says with a sigh. "Since you were the one that chopped it off, could ya do me a favor and pick that up for me?" Rimuru asks, pointing to the severed arm laid at my feet with her intact one.

"U-uh...sure..." I say as I hesitantly squat down to pick it up.

I grasp the middle of the arm, but as I lift it off the ground, it bends inhumanly. I'm being given a very clear reminder that Rimuru doesn't have bones. I kinda forget sometimes that Rimuru's slime to the core, despite looking human in every way on the surface.

I have to stop myself from dropping the arm since it feels gross to hold. My fingers are slowly sinking into it; the texture of the limb is squishy in a way that no flesh or muscle should ever be. It reminds me of how I first interacted with Netherworld food, almost.

"Eeh..." I let out a small noise of disgust as I hold the limb at arm's length. It seems to be fully melting back into slime, deforming more and more by the second.

Rimuru quickly grabs it from me, grasping it by the wrist with her intact hand. She looks troubled by me getting grossed out by it, her brows furrowed and lips tight with irritation.

"This is why I said to be careful..." Rimuru says chidingly, wiggling her severed arm at me, it still held in her hand. "Picture the bloodbath that could've been if it was you on the receiving end of that slice." she continues as she sticks it to the blue gooey end of it back onto the matching stump still attached to the rest of her. It reconnects, smoothing out and looking as good as new almost instantly.

"I'm so sorry Rimuru!"

"I don't need a 'sorry' from you, I need a promise that you won't do something this careless again." she scolds.

"I promise I'll be more careful! I just...I got so excited and wanted to try something harder...I didn't think I'd hurt you doing that!"

"Rimuru, are you truly fine? That was quite the injury!" Grandpa asks dotingly, still worried about Rimuru.

"I said I'm fine; an arm being sliced off isn't real damage in my book. Plus, I could've regenerated that arm in a split second if I wanted to, so you don't need to be concerned for me over this." Rimuru says, shrugging off his concern with her nonchalant attitude.

"Losing your arm...isn't 'real damage'...what the hell is then?!" I ask, completely exasperated by what Rimuru just said.

"Hahaha...that's a complicated question to answer, Iruma, so I don't think I should get into it!" Rimuru says, completely laughing off my question.

"C'mon Rimuru! Why d'you have to be so vague all the time?!" I ask, frustrated that Rimuru always keeps things from me.

"Fine, I'll give you something at least..." Rimuru says, thinking for a moment before responding. "Let's just say you'd have to bend the rules of reality itself to seriously hurt me and leave it at that," Rimuru says in an extremely casual tone that doesn't match the gravity of that statement at all.

"Bend the rules of reality itself..." Grandpa mutters, sounding scared by what Rimuru just made clear.

Wait...if that's what it takes to hurt Rimuru, how did I slice her arm off so easily?! I've seen her take much worse before without showing any sign of damage!

"If that's the case, how did I just slice off your arm?!" I ask loudly.

"Uh..." Rimuru says, sounding unsure as if I just caught her in a lie. "I didn't have my guard up, that's all."

"Did you let that happen on purpose?" I ask.

"Let's just move on from this, shall we?" Rimuru says, not even trying to answer my question, leaving me frustrated.

Rimuru POV

I end up letting Iruma practice a bit more with Universal Thread, and I could tell he had learned his lesson. I think Iruma figured out that I let him hurt me, but that's not a problem; he still realized that he could slice through a person with the stuff and that's all I wanted from him.

I didn't expect that he'd get so grossed out by what happened since there's no blood and gore associated with my body getting hurt, but then I remembered how he doesn't seem to like my slime-ness. Every time I've shown it, Iruma has looked a bit uncomfortable; I should've kept that in mind while choosing this plan.

[[...]]

I feel like Ciel has something to say, but I might just be imagining things.

[[That is not just your imagination.]]

Wait, what?

[[...]]

Wait...you knew this was gonna happen, didn't you?

[[Hmph.]]

If Ciel had a physical form, I'm sure she'd be pouting right now.

And that must've been what you were trying to warn me about earlier?

[[That is correct.]]

I'm sorry, I should have listened to you instead of jumping to conclusions! I'll make it up to you later, okay?

After making that promise to my partner, I spent a bit more time with Iruma, letting him practice with threads some more, this time while using a much safer application of the skill. He seemed to enjoy himself, despite the 'lesson' I gave him earlier, so that's good. I must've not scared him too badly back there.

It's probably good for him to have a little enjoyment since those forms he's been gathering alongside our classmates are due by the end of tomorrow. That's the only way Iruma can get Kalego's stamp of approval and in turn, earn the Royal One for the Misfit Class.

I think they're almost done with their collecting, so as long as Kalego doesn't decide to use that loophole Ciel discovered, everything should be fine. That's the best-case scenario for Iruma, but not the statistically likely one, unfortunately.

I did set up that little backup for him so we'll just have to wait and see if that comes into play or not; it'll be interesting to see how dirty Kalego's willing to play. He's a demon, after all, so I expect he wouldn't mind twisting the words of his agreement with Iruma to get out of giving the kid what he wants.

**The Next Day**

It's time.

I'm with the rest of the misfits, sitting next to Iruma in the same place as before when we last faced Kalego. Everyone else seems in high spirits, which makes me think they've succeeded in collecting all of the forms needed.

Iruma, just like he's been most of the time lately, looks supremely confident, facing Kalego with an arrogant smirk on his face.

Meanwhile, Kalego is staring him down sternly with folded arms

"Here are the permission slips from the teachers, all gathered within your time limit. See for yourself." Iruma says, pushing the stack of forms across the table in Kalego's direction.

"Yes...you do indeed have 36 approved permission slips," Kalego says solemnly.

"You're the only remaining hold-out. If you approach this in a 'dignified' manner, there's no way you won't give up your stamp, right?" Iruma says confidently.

"Yes, I did agree to give my stamp as long as the others did the same," Kalego responds.

The group of kids behind us start cheering (prematurely), happy that Kalego all but agreed to give his stamp.

Iruma's grin widens; he also thinks it's done and over with, doesn't he? I, for one, am still skeptical. Kalego is showing hints of smugness he shouldn't be if he truly was going to give his students the win.

Dammit, he is going to pull that loophole on Iruma, isn't he!

"In that case-" Iruma starts to say.

"However..." Kalego interrupts.

And there it is...

"I'll only give mine after you've collected all the other stamps," Kalego says simply, a small smirk forming on his lips. "Therefore...I cannot give you what you want."

Cheers of glee turn to gasps of shock; the mood in the room has suddenly turned much chillier after Kalego's declaration.

"These are permission slips from the other 36 teachers; I'm quite certain I told you I require permission slips from every single faculty member. And when I say every faculty member, that means the staff beyond the teachers. The cafeteria staff, the student store staff, the custodial staff, the librarian, etcetera. Everyone that works at Babyls is included in that number."

It's exactly how Ciel predicted it would go, but that doesn't mean I'm any less disappointed in Kalego's deception. He really does like to get in the way of both Iruma and myself, and this is making it all the more clear to me.

I couldn't help but let a small sigh escape my lips, which grabbed both Kalego's and Iruma's attention for a moment, but that was immediately diverted by Sabnock screaming his fool head off.

"What are you saying?!" he booms, angry and confused.

"That's like hundreds...it's impossible!" Lead adds, also mad at our teacher.

"So you have us an unachievable task to prove you never intended to allow this transfer at all!" Azz snarls, gritting his teeth and clenching his fists.

"That's exactly what he did," I mutter quietly.

"It's obvious you misunderstood my instructions," Kalego says in a tone soaked with smugness.

"Professor Kalego... You can't be serious..." Iruma says in disbelief, the confidence long gone, replaced by shock and disbelief.

"Be silent... you're always like this, you realize? You never take time to think things through. You're playing with an inferno and treating it like a sparkler! If you intend to even dare to touch the flames left behind by the one who laid the foundation of the Netherworld and bravely protected this school...as the gatekeeper of this hallowed institution, it is my solemn duty to bite off all your heads!" Kalego declares.

Kalego, planting one hand on the table, leans forward and points a finger right in Iruma's face, causing the boy to lean back in surprise and fear.

"Those who lack critical thinking, are fools who will be burned when entering the-" Kalego starts to say, but I interrupt his little lecture.

"Wait a sec, Professor," I say, holding my hand up to stop the man from continuing his dramatic monologue-like speech. I grab his wrist and pull his hand away from Iruma's face, thinking he's already scared the boy enough and also made his point.

"I will not be interrupt-" Kalego says, starting up again and also yanking his arm out of my grip.

"Shhh...just listen to me, okay? I get it, you think you've won and you're trying to give this big victory speech you've probably been planning out and looking forward to all week but-"

Kalego rudely interrupts, cutting me off "What do you mean by I think I've won?"

"Hey, I'm getting there! Just wait...um, 8 seconds?" I say.

I begin counting down, I could sense that the other staff members are all marching over here of their own volition, and now they're going to back up Iruma. Kalego, surprisingly, waits as I do this, impatiently drumming his fingers on the table, scowling at me the entire time, behind me the rest of the Misfit Class is murmuring amongst themselves, likely trying to figure out what we're waiting for.

Then, right on time, just as I finished counting down, the door opens; perfect. Ciel's calculations were spot on, as usual.

"Pardon; is Iruma here?" the head custodian asks from the doorway, sounding unsure whether he's in the right place at the right time.

"The janitor? Is this what you were waiting for?" Iruma asks me, looking confused.

I give him a small nod.

"Of course! He's right over here!" I say cheerfully to the man, gesturing for him to come inside. "You arrived just in the nick of time."

"Hey! You all come in as well!" the custodian calls out into the hallway, encouraging the rest to enter the room too.

The large crowd of minor staff members pours into the room, all holding stamped forms meant for Iruma.

"What is all this?" Kalego asks, irritated by the room quickly filling with people.

"Well, to continue your analogy about an inferno, you could call them a pair of fireproof gloves, I suppose," I say with a smile.

"Yes, we all wanted to contribute our forms to your cause since you've done so much to help us throughout the school year!" the janitor says happily, smiling as he hands his stamped permission slip to Iruma.

"Did you arrange this, Rimuru?" Iruma asks, astonished and happy.

"Not exactly; all I did was agree that you might need their stamps and they did the rest themselves. It wasn't even my idea at first...oh, talking about that, this is from the assistant nurse, Durandal, he was the one who proposed gathering forms from the other staff members," I say as I pull out the one permission slip I've been secretly holding onto.

Iruma is still in shock but gently takes the paper into his hands.

One by one, every single faculty member hands their form to Iruma, the stack he's holding growing thicker and thicker. As they do, they thank him for his hard work, saying Iruma earned these after helping them out. All year, Iruma has been stepping up and helping them whenever he can, and now all that effort is being paid back in their support.

"This is remarkable, Master Iruma!" Azz exclaims, his pink eyes sparkling in awe.

"Maybe you didn't know this, but we're all huge fans of yours, Iruma!" one of the many staff members says.

Iruma's shocked, dumbfounded expression turns into a smile before he breaks into a laugh.

"So I've got a real fanbase!" he chuckles. "Well, thank you all!" Iruma says, giving the man a fist bump.

As everyone is cheering and happily commending Iruma for what he's done for them, I'm left standing near Kalego off to the side.

"I thought you had said you would not involve yourself in this?" Kalego asks me, very clearly annoyed by this outcome.

"As I said, I didn't really do much. It was Iruma who convinced all these folks, not me. All I did was ask Durandal to let the others know that Iruma might need their forms, that's all."

Kalego doesn't look satisfied with this, but he can't really argue with it. He seems to ponder for a moment, letting my explanation sink in before speaking again.

"I hate to admit it, but you saw through my plan from the start, didn't you? Otherwise, you wouldn't have asked that man to inform the other staff," he says in a near-whisper, not wanting anyone else to hear.

"I thought pretty early on there was a good chance you'd do this, yes," I respond quietly.

"Tch. It seems you are the one with more critical thinking when compared to your brother; once again, I have underestimated you, to my own detriment." Kalego admits quietly with gritted teeth, clearly hesitant to say this.

"You underestimated Iruma too, and so did I; he just has different strengths than me," I say simply as I watch the boy graciously accept the praise from the school's staff.

"Ngh." Kalego lets out a small disgusted grunt, which I take as him agreeing reluctantly.

I'm impressed with the kid, that's for certain. I knew that some of the staff would likely bring forms, but I didn't expect this many, let alone all of them. Iruma truly does have the skill to get people to like him, purely with his personality and selflessness.

Iruma, having now gathered all of the papers, approaches Kalego.

"Everything you said before was correct. We're still very young, naive, and inexperienced. Everyone laughs at us and mocks us." Iruma says with a subtle frown.

"Sure, the Misfit Class may be a bunch of fools and nobodies, but fools can move the hearts of the masses; everyone here seems to agree on that. They all want to see the Misfit Class make it into the Royal One; curiosity wins this round! Since we got all the forms, are you ready to give us your stamp?" Iruma asks, thrusting the last form at Kalego, smiling proudly as he does.

Kalego pauses, seemingly trying to force himself to stamp the form. He hates this, I can tell; he's never been the type to admit defeat easily. But, as he promised, he stamped the form, although reluctantly.

The class cheers, and I smile, happy to see them happy; especially Iruma, who looks like he's feeling on top of the world right now as he triumphantly holds the newly-stamped permission form up in the air for all to see.

"We're moving to the Royal One!" Iruma declares in tandem with our classmates.

"Things never go as I expect them to..." Kalego grumbles in defeat. He briefly glares in my direction while moping as if to blame me for all of this.

I made it clear I didn't do much, so I don't know where this disdain is coming from, but whatever.

**A Few Days Later**

This sure turned into a big deal, didn't it?

The sounds of fun and festivity can be heard all around, as in the short time they were given, everyone had scrambled to organize whatever they could to celebrate the opening of Royal One.

Founding a country of party animals meant I was no stranger to planning impromptu celebrations, so I contributed where I could.

Since everyone loved the giant firework from the magic apparatus battler so much, I had Clara produce loads of small handheld firework launchers, handing them out like oversized party poppers.

It took all of five minutes for the roughhousing to begin between these crazy kids, with a few dozen students having an aerial battle with them high above.

Thankfully, fireworks were still being launched in the air, so it wasn't a problem besides the occasional singed student, but that could be handled with a water bucket.

I had also encouraged Sabnock to tell stories of the missing Demon King who once attended Royal One, a task he passionately accepted, making the crowds even more abuzz with excitement to see what lay within the sealed classroom.

Many others had made their own contributions, resulting in something resembling a miniature version of the Battler Party.

However, as I explore the festival, I notice one of my classmates sitting on the grass and looking gloomy. So, knowing I'm one of the few people that interact with the boy, I decided to check on him, plopping onto the ground to his side, sitting cross-legged.

"You look a little down, Soi, what's up?" I ask the moping, solitary student.

He takes some time to respond, not used to being greeted while he's invisible; though once Soi finds his words, he really gets going.

"... After this I'm going to be attending Royal One, sharing in a prize with everyone else, but I didn't do a single thing to help. Everyone else was working really hard, though right from the start I thought this was a stupid idea and felt no need to expose myself. So, you know, it's like, 'do I really deserve this?' and I'm sure the answer is no, but regardless this is my classroom now and it's where I'll be taking my classes." Soi goes on and on about his insecurities about this situation.

"Well, it seems a little unfair to expect someone as reserved as yourself to go around talking to people you're unfamiliar with. If you feel like you need to help out your classmates, it can be in your own time, in your own way." I say calmly.

"Help out my classmates? They don't even know I exist. Also, I can't think of a way I can help them out, I'll just be waiting for an opportunity that may never come."

"It's your classmates' fault for not paying attention to the roll call. Plus, in my opinion, you already do contribute to the school, by adding a certain charm to it... ~Pixie~." I say, putting on a teasing tone as I say his nickname.

"I didn't think anyone knew about that..." Soi complains, with a slight blush.

Seizing on his embarrassment, I praise him with flowery poetry, having a bit of fun with him. "Every day at five, the air seems to come alive, passionate notes that make heads turn from a source that none have learned. The people praise the Pixie! A trumpet player bold; he makes the school much sweeter, on his instrument of gold."

Soi turns his head from me, trying to hide his embarrassment. "Right now I want to vanish, but I'm already as invisible as I can get, and it's not working..."

"Heh, sorry, I'm just too good," I say with a chuckle.

Kalego walks up to us, and Soi takes this as an opportunity to leave. "Rimuru, stop tormenting him." the man scolds, assuming I'm being a bully or something.

"Oh, I was just cheering him up, Professor!" I correct him.

"Tch... I'm not even going to ask why you can see him." Kalego grumbles. "Anyway, I came to tell you that you need to rein in your brother, he inconsiderately ate all of the yakisoba that a battler had prepared for the festival. It was genuinely disturbing to see that much food eaten that fast." Kalego says with hints of disgust while remembering what he saw.

"Wait... Iruma ate all of the yakisoba?! I didn't even get any yet!" I complain loudly.

Damn that kid's crazy appetite...I was looking forward to trying that stuff!

"Also, as a Student Council member, you should be doing something about all of those idiots playing around with fireworks up there. Fireworks that you had the idea of giving them, might I add." Kalego continues, glancing up at the sky with folded arms and a disapproving stare.

Although the news about the yakisoba is...disappointing, I've got permission to join the fireworks battle, and no one can complain about it afterward!

"Alright, Professor, I'll get right to it!" I say enthusiastically as I stand up, leaving Soi and Kalego behind.

Jazz POV

The sky is a free-for-all battlefield, colorful explosions appearing all around. I've become something of an ace, as my accelerated perception from Pit makes dodging and aiming far easier.

I have a second-year on my tail, and she fires a rocket at me, but I dodge out of the way and fire right back at her. The rocket connects, and explodes into blue sparkles, knocking the demoness out of the sky.

The Broadcast Battler, which took notice of and is commentating on the battle, announces her defeat over the speakers. "Down goes Smoke! An excellent maneuver by Jazz, that's his seventh defeated opponent so far!"

Man, I'm so good at this...

But my confidence shatters when a blood-chilling announcement rings in the air.

"Woah! It looks like Rimuru has entered the fray! She's brought some heavy weaponry, and is attacking from up high!"

Everyone looks up. Looming above all of us is Rimuru, blocking out the sun with her majestic wings, and holding two firework launchers that have many, many more barrels than what any of us are using. I'm wondering how she got better launchers than the rest of us, but then I remember that Rimuru was the one that provided our weapons in the first place.

"Hi guys, mind if I join?" she asks with a devilish smile.

"Everybody, fire at her!" someone shouts in a panic, and I don't need to be told twice what to do; if we can't bring her down, we're all in grave danger!

Dozens of rockets are fired at Rimuru, but her speed is ridiculous, and not a single rocket detonates anywhere near her. Rimuru is a blur of motion as she twirls, dives, and darts rapidly around, dodging the shots expertly.

How does she even move like that?!

"It looks like everyone wants to bring down the newcomer, but they just can't do it! This is going to be quite the battle, folks!" shouts the announcer.

"Now it's my turn!" Rimuru taunts, and she opens fire.

We're so screwed...

What follows is nothing short of a massacre. The horrific downpour of fireworks turns the battlefield into a sea of sparkles and smoke, and all the while Rimuru laughs maniacally, raining sparkly, fiery terror upon her foes.

I'm the last to go down, stunned by a multitude of explosions all around me. I lay with the other singed, smoking demons on the grass, trying to process what just happened.

"A spectacular and total victory for Rimuru!" declares the announcer. "We'll be sure to have a brief interview with her later, as well as other students from the Misfit Class."

Rimuru gracefully lands amongst us, looking proud. "That's 26-0!" she cheers, pumping her fist into the air, smiling happily at her overwhelming victory.

"Stop laying around, you fools!" says Kalego, looking with disdain upon the fallen. He then turns to Rimuru, but he can't think of anything to say, so he simply leaves.

She's brutal...

Rimuru walks over to me, still lying prone on the ground despite Kalego's complaints, and she holds out a hand for me to grab.

"Nice job up there; you almost got me a few times, hahaha!" Rimuru says, wearing a grin while I take her hand. She hoists me to my feet with apparent ease.

"How d'you even know it was me that almost got you? The air was so full of fireworks trying to hit you that you couldn't keep track of what came from who!" I say, wondering how she could know something like that, considering how chaotic that battle got at the end.

"Oh? Um...I'm just guessing." Rimuru replies breezily. "Still, you put up a good fight!" she says as she lightly punches me in the shoulder.

"Yeah...sure..."

Nothin' compared to you, though. Sheesh...that was insane, how fast Rimuru was moving!

Iruma POV

"Ha! I called it!" Lead cheers with a fist pump.

"I really thought she was too mature to join in..." I mutter in disbelief.

"Sometimes you've gotta make a far-fetched bet! Now, pay up!" Lead says pridefully as he holds his hand out.

I hand a week's worth of my allowance to Lead, who hums while counting the money to taunt me.

"Yeah yeah, rub it in my face," I grumble.

"Master Iruma!" Azz calls out as he emerges from the crowd, carrying Clara under his arm.

"Fweh..." she says, limp and lazy; she's usually very energetic, so this is the first time I've seen her like this.

"What's up with her?" I ask.

"She used up all her mana making fireworks, even after we started charging for them, people were still asking for more..." Azz explains.

"Charging? Well, you can keep all the money, Clara, you've clearly worked hard." I say as I give her a small pat on the head.

"Master Iruma! Your generosity amazes me!" Azz exclaims with glee.

"Iruma-chi..." Clara sleepily mutters with a smile on her face, her words slurred with grogginess.

Suddenly, Rimuru shows up out of nowhere and pokes Clara's cheek. A slight glow appears for a moment in the spot where she touches and the light returns to Clara's eyes. She immediately becomes lively and wriggles out of Azz's grasp.

"Oh my gosh! There's a whole load of things to do at this festival! Bye-bye, see you later!" Clara shouts, now brimming with energy.

Clara bolts off, and Azz chases after her, calling for her to calm down.

Rimuru chuckles at the sight. "Heh, wow! I didn't expect her to be off so fast! I just gave her a little mana recharge, since I felt a little bad seeing her exhausted from making all those fireworks I asked her to create."

"Yo, Rimuru! Thanks for giving me your brother's allowance for the week!" says Lead, waving his winnings in the air.

"When did I do something like that?" Rimuru asks, tilting her head slightly.

"We were watching the fireworks battle and made a bet on the outcome, Iruma bet on Jazz and I bet that you'd suddenly show up and wipe everyone out. So thanks for doing exactly that!" Lead says, still grinning at the fact he won the bet.

"I thought I knew you, but you're more childish than I thought..." I say, teasing Rimuru a bit.

"And you're gambling!" Rimuru exclaims, firing right back. "It's not a good habit to get into, and I don't wanna see you asking Grandpa Sullivan for more money because you lost your allowance on a silly bet. Also, you ate all the yakisoba! You really should be more considerate of others." Rimuru scolds.

"Whatever, you're not my mom." I retort.

Rimuru pouts at that. "I am the older twin though!"

"By ten minutes!" I quickly retort.

"It still counts! Should've been born ten minutes earlier!" Rimuru quips back.

"Well, you should have been ten minutes earlier to the yakisoba!" I snark back at her.

"Gah! Don't remind me..." Rimuru groans.

"Mmmmm! It was soOoo delicious!" I say in an exaggerated tone.

Rimuru scowls at me for rubbing it in her face.

"Yeah, well next lunchtime I'm not gonna order you anything from the high-rank menu, so there!" Rimuru jabs back.

"Oh no, I'll have to eat the rank 3 peasant food for a single meal! How ~tragic~!" I say with blatant sarcasm.

Even though Rimuru's been glaring at me during most of this conversation, I did see her crack a small smile a moment ago. Rimuru isn't upset at all; the exact opposite actually.

After months spent in the Netherworld, we're so wrapped up in our false identities that the sibling banter comes naturally like some kind of absurd roleplay. Contrary to the tone of our conversation, I can tell that Rimuru is enjoying herself; she always seems to speak in a more calculated, formal manner than this unless she's truly having fun.

"Hahahaha, come on you two!" chuckles Lead. "Don't get too worked up, there's so much more to explore before the ceremony!"

"Is the Game Battler doing games with the virtual sorcery hats again? You know, like at the Battler Party?" I ask.

"Yep!" Lead confirms.

Rimuru POV

**Two hours of virtual wizarding duels later**

"The opening ceremony will now begin!" is heard from the speaker systems, and everybody settles into a hush.

Kalego had instructed us on how to conduct ourselves during the ceremony, so without instruction the Misfit Class comes forward, forming a line behind the teachers.

Solemnly, he removes the rope cordoning off the colossal door.

"This place was created for a single student who went to this school. This student's abilities were unparalleled. The netherworld has never seen another like him, and he would eventually become the missing Demon King, Lord Derkila."

He strides towards the door.

"Ever since, these doors have been sealed tight for many years. But as of this moment..."

Kalego gestures towards two pairs of teachers, each holding a massive key, signaling for them to begin. They fly up to the two padlocks of the chains that bind the door.

"The area that has been closed off to everyone at this school, the Royal One, shall be opened!"

At his command, the keys are inserted and turned, causing the chains to begin to move and glow. He then prepares a powerful spell to complete the unsealing of this place.

"The Royal One has been opened!"

The chains vanish, and there's a brief pause before the doors slowly open. Behind them, a vast room is revealed, brightly lit and ornately decorated.

My classmates look ready to rush in full of excitement, but I hold them back with my hand and a stern look so that Kalego can complete his speech, not wanting them to make the class look bad by disrupting such an important ceremony.

"Beyond this point lies the pride of this school, the legacy of the king, and now, your classroom. I expect all of you to become students worthy of having studied in this place."

A few moments pass in silence. Then, seeing how excited the whole class looks, he sighs and says "Go ahead."

Cheers erupt from everyone and my class rushes in, immediately spreading out as soon as they step inside. Meanwhile, I'm calmly walking inside, along with Iruma.

"Wow, it's even grander and shinier than I expected..." I say as I look around. "I never bothered to peek inside; I didn't want to give myself spoilers." I chuckle, but Iruma doesn't seem to be paying any attention to me.

His eyes are fixed straight ahead of us and his expression isn't what I was expecting. He looks like he's taking this all for granted; as if it was a given that this was all his.

We reach a large door across the room and Iruma pushes it open, revealing what looks like the classroom, but just like the rest of this place, it's fancier than any classroom I've ever seen. Our classmates follow, intent on seeing whatever Iruma had made a beeline for.

Iruma's solely focused on one thing in the room, while the others are looking around; he's got his eyes on the single chair in here. Apparently, that's the seat Derkila sat in while he had lessons, and let me tell you, it's huge!

"When all's said and done, the real prize is right over there," Iruma says with a sideways smile.

He struts closer, going to take a better look at it.

"That's a gigantic chair!" Clara exclaims.

"That chair...is the Demon King's..." Azz says before loudly gasping.

"...throne." I complete the boy's sentence for him since he seems to have lost his words.

Yes, it's a throne; there's no other way to describe it. I have something similar back home, but not nearly as fancy. It's also smaller, too, since having something this size seems like a bit much to me. I'm not exactly tall, so having a throne this big would just make me look smaller in comparison, if not give the impression that I'm trying to compensate for my relatively short stature.

Iruma's getting very close to the throne; I'm not quite sure what he's planning to do, but I have a bad feeling about it.

Seriously...what the hell is he doing?

"Iruma, don't you dare-" I begin to say, but he's not listening. With a dramatic flourish of his jacket that he's wearing like a cape, he climbs onto the massive throne and poses as if he was king of the Netherworld.

Oh boy, he went and did it. I can only assume that was sacrilege, and that he's now in a world of trouble.

The whole class is gawking at him, shocked by what he just did. But looking carefully, there's something else to their expressions, something... familiar.

They're all paralyzed by their emotions, overwhelmed by fear, awe, and reverence. It's something I had seen countless times during my own rise to power, but I never expected anyone to look at Iruma in that way.

What are they seeing that I'm not?

I have to stop myself from saying something like 'How's the weather up there?' since I don't want to ruin the mood. Iruma's pulling off the look, I have to admit, and everyone else here seems enamored by him right now.

"Rimuru... Would you care to join me?" he asks smoothly, almost sounding like he's asking me to dance with the suave tone Iruma's using.

"I'll let you have this one," I respond without a moment's hesitation, not wanting to sit on a throne when that's the exact type of thing I'm taking a vacation from.

"Wait, really Rimuru?" Lead asks, shocked I'd turn it down.

"Yes, it is the throne of the Demon King, how could you not want to sit upon it?!" Sabnock asks as if I just turned down an opportunity of a lifetime.

"I'm just not interested," I say with a shrug.

"I never thought someone like you would be against the idea of sitting on a throne, Rimuru. Just get up here!" Iruma continues to urge in an aloof tone, getting some curious looks from our classmates from the 'someone like you' part of it. I assume they just think he's talking about my personality and nothing more, even though it's clear to me that Iruma was referring to my Demon Lord status.

Sheesh...it's almost like he's trying to order me around...

"Indeed, as the highest-ranked member of our class, as well as our strongest, it only makes sense you should be sitting up there!" Azz excitedly adds.

Sick of the arguing and the disbelieving stares I'm getting from the entire room, I give in. I suppose after all of Iruma's hard work, I can humor him...but that doesn't mean I won't give him a hard time about it.

"Fine," I say flatly.

I eye the seat for a moment. There might be enough space on it for the both of us, but Iruma's sat right in the center of the cushion, making that impossible.

"What do you expect me to do? Sit on your lap?" I ask, deciding to tease him at least a little.

Iruma responds by squinting his eyes a little at me before shifting to one side of the seat.

So, I sit next to him, which was fairly easy for someone like me despite the height of the seat. A jump mixed with a tiny bit of Gravity Control and a mid-air twist was all I needed to get up there without difficulty.

"Satisfied?" I ask Iruma in a hushed tone.

"Very," Iruma responds quietly, sounding supremely full of himself as he basks in the moment.

Iruma's making the most arrogant smile I've ever seen from him as he sits up here, looking down on our class like a king. Azz looks enamored staring up at us both, particularly at Iruma. Mouth agape, eyes wide and sparkling; he almost looks like he's daydreaming while gazing up at us.

Everyone else is staring at us, completely mesmerized; even Sabnock! I half-expected him to suddenly run up and unceremoniously rip us both off of this thing so he could sit here himself, but instead, he's enjoying the sight with the rest.

After a minute or two of this, I think this is starting to get a bit silly.

"Alright mister 'wannabe Demon King', let's get down from here and stop lording over our classmates," I say, patting Iruma on the shoulder.

Iruma sighs, annoyed that I'm ending his little charade, before hopping down from the chair alongside me.

He surely has won over her peers, though, and I'm proud of him. They all see Iruma as a leader, I can tell by the way they're looking at him; it's an expression I'm very familiar with. We'll just have to see if their attitude sticks after the spell wears off and Iruma goes back to normal.

**Later**

Sullivan is still moping a little, Opera is still scared; Iruma is, well, the same, I guess. He's definitely looking self-satisfied after that little show he put on hopping on that throne and all.
And, just like I thought he might, Iruma went on bragging to those two about his win over Kalego. By the time he finished, Sullivan had grabbed his camera and looked like he was trying to muster up the courage to ask the boy for a photo.

Just ask him already...sheesh!

"May I...uh...take a photo with you while you're a bad boy?" Sullivan finally asks nervously.

In response, Iruma just gives him a glare that screams 'no', which causes the man to whimper. "Oh...of course not..."

"Oh, sir..." Opera mutters pityingly as the man starts to cry from Iruma's rude, wordless rejection.

For being such an impressive figure in the Netherworld, Sullivan can be surprisingly soft and submissive when it comes to Iruma.

"C'mon Iruma..." I say, disappointed in him for being like that over something so small.

I've had to put up with Sullivan's photo-taking antics for months by now, so I get that it can be annoying. But, Sullivan is already having a hard enough time coping with Iruma's different attitude so indulging him a little in this way is the least he can do for the man.

Iruma sighs and walks over to Sullivan, giving in to his request, I assume.

They really make a nice little family, don't they?

Their posing for a photo makes me think of the time when I first introduced cameras to Tempest, and how out of hand it got because of a dumb rumor spread by Gobta. It was still fun taking photos with my 'family' there though, and by my family I mean my closest companions.

I start getting a little lost in my reminiscing, closing my eyes, and smiling.

I'll have to visit home again soon...

Then, without any warning, my arm is grabbed.

"Hwah!" I let out a surprised yelp as I stumbled while being dragged off my feet.

"We can't take a photo without you Rimuru!" Sullivan says gleefully as he pulls me into their little group pose.

"Sure..."

Why didn't you warn me, Ciel?!

[[Notice: No hostility or danger detected.]]

Again with a robotic response?!

[[Teehee...]]

I heard that!

Trying to ignore Ciel's giggling, I let them take the picture, with Iruma doing the honors of snapping it himself. He didn't bother smiling for it, just like any other angsty teen out there. They never seem to smile in photos, especially when they're being forced to be a part of them.

Sullivan looks elated as he looks at the newly-snapped photo and Opera seems impressed by it as well.

"May I have a copy when you go to the trouble of printing it?" Diablo asks, popping up out of seemingly nowhere.

"Of course, Diablo!" Sullivan cheerily replies.

I hope he doesn't do anything weird with it...

"Diablo, you better keep that photo to yourself," I warn.

"Of course, Lord Rimuru," Diablo replies smoothly and respectfully.

I don't have much of a problem with him keeping a copy of this particular photo since it's not really a compromising one, unlike that video that he managed to get his hands on. I'd just prefer it not get leaked, even if that happening wouldn't be too big of an issue.

**The Next Morning**

Iruma POV

I went to bed feeling fully confident and satisfied with my actions over the last week or so, but now?

Now all I'm feeling is a piercing headache!

The spell has worn off, I could tell right away as soon as I woke up, and it's left me in a mix of both physical and mental pain.

Sitting on my bed, hugging my knees and trying not to freak out from the amount of embarrassment I'm feeling, I run through my memories from when I was under the effect of that magic.

I was rude, condescending, overbearing, nearly violent, unapologetic, as well as a bunch of other horrible things!

"Rimuru's gonna kill me...I'm surprised she hasn't already after the way I talked to her!" I whine, too scared to face a single person right now. "Grandpa too...I was so disrespectful! I even made him cry!"

Also, I was terrible to Ameri too! I got too close and made her so uncomfortable! I can tell by how red I remember her face got and how panicked her eyes were.

And Professor Kalego! I was already on his bad side and now I've made things so much worse! He's going to hold this against me, I just know it!

"What am I gonna do...how can I show my face at school after doing all of those terrible things to everyone! I bet everyone hates me now!"

"You getting ready?" I hear Rimuru ask from behind the door to my bedroom.

Not wanting to talk right now, I keep quiet.

"What's taking you so long?" Rimuru asks, now poking her head through the door, opening it without asking. "Oh, I see...the spell wore off, didn't it?"

"Mmhm..." I hum, my face buried in shame in my knees.

Rimuru chuckles, thinking this is amusing for whatever reason, before sitting on the bed next to me.

"Embarrassed?" she asks.

"Why wouldn't I be?!" I whine.

Rimuru just smiles.

"Heh, I'll admit your behavior was...problematic, but in the end, you achieved something pretty big, didn'tcha? I don't think you have much reason to be embarrassed...maybe apologetic, but not embarrassed." she continues.

"I was so mean...to everyone...to you!" I point out.

"What, you don't think I can take a bit of meanness?" she asks.

"Well..."

"I told you when you crossed the line before, and I would have done the same if you did again. So don't beat yourself up about it; I've already scolded you plenty enough that you don't have to do that to yourself." Rimuru reassures me, not sounding at all upset with me for how I acted.

"B-but...Rimuru..." I feebly protest, feeling terribly guilty still.

"I have to take some accountability too since I let it all happen," Rimuru adds.

"Yeah, I know..." I mutter.

"Just don't act like that again and we're golden, okay?" Rimuru says with a beaming smile.

"I won't!" I say quickly.

"Although, you showing some leadership and taking the initiative were a few positives."

"What?"

"You inspired a lot of people and made some stuff you wanted to happen, happen. That's not a bad thing."

"I guess I did, but that doesn't make it okay..."

"True, but I'm pretty sure everyone will forgive you," Rimuru says, giving me a reassuring pat on the back before standing up and leaving the room.

After a few minutes spent getting dressed, I shuffle my way downstairs, feeling dejected and disappointed in myself for acting the way I did.

"G-good morning...Grandpa...Opera..." I say, nervous about getting their reactions. "I'm sorry for all the trouble, and for making you both worry so much," I apologize, bowing a little to them.

"Ooooh! My darling Iruma, he's back!" Grandpa squeals (instantly going into 'egg mode') and runs up to me, hugging me tightly as he sobs tears of happiness.

"Yes, welcome back," Opera adds, also happy, even though he's not showing it on his face.

"See? I told you he'd be back to himself sooner or later." Rimuru says nonchalantly, already standing near the door, bag in hand and ready to leave.

"I'll get your carriage ready!" Grandpa says.

"Oh, please don't worry about it!" I say.

"Dangit...I actually was enjoying not having to walk...oh well." Rimuru grumbles non-seriously.

After giving Grandpa an extra hug to help make up for all I've done recently, I step outside with Rimuru. As always, Azz and Clara are there to greet us at the gate.

"Good morning! You seem to have a much more sunny appearance about you today, Master Iruma."

"Yeah, Rimuru and I are through with our evil cycles, sorry if I was a little harsh..." I apologize, not even able to look Azz in the eye after the way I treated him.

"Don't be! While I believe I prefer your usual self, you were still magnificent." Azz compliments.

"Really? Thanks..." I say, feeling a little awkward but pleased he's so supportive of me.

I'm glad neither of them seem angry with me for the way I treated them; it helps calm my nerves somewhat knowing that I had nothing to worry about with these two.

Clara is petting Ranga, who Rimuru is riding right now. She's done this a few times; at first, Azz thought it was odd that Rimuru rides her 'familiar' but didn't question it much. Clara simply got excited about how fluffy Ranga is. Either way, Rimuru seems to miss the lazy ride in the carriage that she'd grown used to during my so-called 'evil cycle', so that's why she's riding Ranga today.

For the first few minutes, our walk to school is quiet, aside from the sounds of nature.

Grandpa's mansion lies in a forest, and while the trees usually make the path very dim in the morning, the high summer sun shines through the red canopy, bathing us all in dappled light.

As I'm admiring how beautiful my surroundings are, I spot a funny-looking critter peeking out of a burrow, like a tiny fluffy cloud with eight tiny legs and a silly-looking face. It doesn't seem to be afraid of me, so I carefully pick it up.

"Look at this little guy I found!" I call out to my friends, who gather around to take a closer look.

"That's a mogurin!" Azz exclaims. "When I was little, I knew the locations of many of their burrows in the forest near my house, and I'd sometimes visit them to feed them treats."

"You're such a country bumpkin, Azz-Azz!" Clara teases.

"You're not allowed to say that, Valac! I know what your family's like!" Azz complains.

"Am I the only one who thinks it looks a little creepy?" Rimuru asks flatly.

"Yes!" Clara responds.

The mogurin makes a grumbly squeaking sound as I pass it to Azz, who holds and pets it with delight for a while before passing it to Clara who does the same. Clara then offers it to Rimuru, but she turns it down.

"Nah, I've got the best fluffy guy right here. Isn't that right, Ranga?" she asks as she gives him pets and scratches.

"Woof!" he replies cheerfully, wagging his tail.

"Well, time to get a move on; put that thing back in its burrow, Clara," Rimuru says as she and Ranga turn back towards the path ahead.

"Okay!" Clara says, but she pauses, looking like she's cooking up a scheme before sneaking up behind Rimuru and dropping the mogurin down the back of her shirt!

"What the- ... Kyaaaaaaa! It feels so weird! Get it out!" Rimuru squeals.

She starts letting out small forced giggles as the creature tickles her by squirming around inside her shirt. She's flustered and panicking, having no idea what to do about the small critter that's brushing against her after deciding she's warm and snuggly.

She probably has a million ways to deal with this, but she's just acting on reflexes, flickering from place to place as if trying to teleport herself away from the mogurin.

"Hahaha, just teleport the little guy, not yourself!" I say with a chuckle.

"Woah, Riri became super-duper fast... I'm gonna try this on more people so I can see how speedy they are!" Clara declares, intrigued by this phenomenon.

After a few moments, Rimuru summons the small critter into her hands, staring it down with an annoyed and embarrassed expression.

"In all my years, you are the first being to dare tickle me... I'll give you a choice, would you like to be thrown into space-high orbit, or into the fiery flames of the sun?" Rimuru says to the little puffball resting in the palms of her hands, using an overdramatic super-villain-like tone.

"Mrrrrp," it replies defiantly.

I quickly pluck the mogurin out of Rimuru's hands before it meets an untimely end.

"The little guy was just showing he likes you; you're so overdramatic sometimes! Hahahaha..." I say as I give the small creature a pat.

"I was kidding! It's not like I'd really throw it into the sun, how would I even do that?" Rimuru asks as if that's an insane suggestion.

With you, I bet it's possible...

For most people, it would be an insane thing to consider, but since this is Rimuru, I get the feeling she could pull it off if she wanted to.

"Riri and monchymin are best friends now!" cheers Clara.

"Since when?!" Rimuru protests, pouting.

We keep walking until we reach the school, and the first thing I do is go straight to the Student Council's room. I need to apologize to Ameri immediately, after the way I treated her.

"Where are you going?" Rimuru asks.

"I...uh...need to apologize to Ameri...I was so rude and harsh with her...I hope she isn't mad at me!"

Rimuru, after hearing this, appears to stifle a giggle before responding.

"Sure, Iruma, sure. I promise she isn't mad at you, but go check on her if you want, I guess." Rimuru says, still trying not to laugh.

"What's so funny?" I ask, confused by her reaction.

"Oh, nothing! Just go, okay?" Rimuru says, finally letting out a chuckle as I walk away, leaving her with Azz and Clara.

Rimuru POV

Pfft...of course, he rushed to go see his girlfriend right away!

Honestly, out of all the people Iruma supposedly wronged, Ameri was likely the person bothered the least. Well, she was still 'bothered', but not in the way Iruma thinks she was; I could tell she enjoyed Iruma being more aggressive for once.

I'm left with Azz and Clara, both of which were clinging to Iruma a moment ago and don't seem too happy about him leaving them behind. Now, I guess I'm a surrogate for them because I'm the one being clung to by the two.

"Can you guys stop that?" I ask patiently.

"We must ensure that neither you nor Master Iruma, enter your evil cycles again!" Azz says, staying uncomfortably close to me.

"Yeah, I want Riri to stay normal!" Clara adds, respecting my personal space much less than Azz by literally hanging off of me like some kind of playground equipment.

I sigh, annoyed by these two kids, but not enough to scold them for showing genuine concern. They're being sweet, even if it's in an obnoxious way.

I'll just wait for Iruma to get back...I'm sure they'll both latch back onto him as soon as he is.

And that's exactly what happened. As soon as Iruma was back with us, they refocused on him, relieving me of their overbearing nonsense.

What ensued afterward was a deluge of dogezas from Iruma, directed at all those he thinks he's wronged during his 'evil cycle'. He was super apologetic to everyone, to the point of it being excessive. Just like I expected, none of the misfits, or anyone else for that matter, seemed upset with him at all. Evil cycles are a normal thing for the demons here, so that, combined with Iruma's positive reputation, made it easy for others to be understanding and forgiving of his actions.

But, after a while, Iruma had finally satisfied his need to apologize to practically everyone at the school he'd interacted with while under the effects of that spell, and we end up in our new homeroom; the Royal One.

I'm sure glad I'm used to fancy stuff, otherwise I'd find this place overwhelming.

"Sit closer, Rimuru, so I can monitor your condition along with Master Iruma's!" Azz insists while sitting very close to Iruma. Both he and Clara are sticking ridiculously close to him, but Iruma no longer has the guts to tell them to back off. They've been doing this all day so I'm surprised Iruma isn't fed up with them by now. Instead, he's just breezily smiling at them constantly invading his personal space.

"Uh...no thanks, I think I'm good," I reply, not wanting to be sandwiched up against the boy.

Azz looks sad about my response, but I already indulged him earlier, so I don't think I need to agree to this too.

Our other classmates seem to think this behavior is just as silly as I do and are all staring at the trio that's practically glued together at the moment.

"Do you guys wanna maybe get a room?" Lead asks teasingly.

"Oh my, how passionate!" Elizabetta adds.

"They're like a tin of sardines." Goemon comments.

"Who's babysitting who here? It's sorta confusing!" Lead says, scratching his head.

"Clara's anxious I might go through my evil cycle again, so she's feeling a little protective of me," Iruma explains.

"Yeah...anxious..." Lead responds wearily.

"She looks like she just woke up from a nightmare." Jazz says.

"What's up with Azz then?" Lead asks.

"As Master Iruma's personal attendant, I am keeping my distance so I can observe both him and his sister; looking out for changes small or significant so I can respond accordingly!" Azz declares, trying and failing to hide his true motive.

"Keeping your distance? You asked me to get closer a just minute or two ago..." I say incredulously, seeing through his flimsy act. Azz just wants to be close to Iruma, as well as myself but on a lesser level. Another Diablo-like behavior from him that I can spot with ease.

"I was just about to say! That's an odd way of 'keeping your distance', man!" Jazz says, chuckling a little and agreeing with me.

Everyone continues teasing Iruma about the two demons very blatantly clinging to him before Sabnock decides to pry Clara off of him; or try to, I should say. She's held on tightly enough that it was impossible for him.

"She won't let go! Come now you strange little beast, it's your favorite pastime, climbing onto Sabro's back, now hop on!" he encourages her, but Clara doesn't budge.

They all continue to attempt to coax Clara and Azz away from Iruma but aren't successful.

"C'mon! If you cling that tightly to him, you'll cause trouble for Iruma." Jazz points out.

"He's not wrong, you two. It was pretty hard to move while you were doing the same to me earlier." I add. This is a bit of a lie, but for anyone else, having two others grabbing onto you would make it hard to do much of anything; the only reason this wasn't a problem for me was because of my abnormal physical strength.

Azz and Clara take this like it's a knife to their hearts.

They are both immediately reduced to pouting and they release Iruma as he stands up.

"I'm sorry guys." Iruma apologizes before noticing his moping buddies. So, he just sits back down and lets them both latch back onto him.

I just shake my head, knowing he's being too soft with them.

[[Don't you treat the individuals Shuna and Shion in a similar matter when they demand your attention, Master?]]

That's different!

[[...]]

Ciel doesn't seem convinced, but oh well.

"It's no use...this obviously means that we all should cling to him too!" Lead says cheerfully.

[[Alert: Danger imminent. Vacate the area to avoid excessive squishing.]]

Squishing? That's a weird type of danger to warn me about, but sure!

That was probably one of the weirdest alerts I've ever gotten, but I'm still going to take advantage of it.

I quickly back away from Iruma and within seconds, all of the class has dogpiled onto him. Sabnock tried to grab me along his way to join the mound of students, already dragging Keroli along with one hand, but I sidestepped out of his reach before he could snare me as well.

I'm sure Iruma is just fine since everyone is laughing as they squirm around in a pile, so I don't do anything to intervene.

While my classmates are all a scramble of limbs and excitement, I stand off to the side, not wanting anything to do with that mess. Kalego steps into the classroom and glances at the ball of teenagers, then over to me, who's simply observing the ridiculous sight, then back to the group of hooligans. He sighs, before saying what I've decided to call his catchphrase.

"Silence! What in the world are you miscreants up to?" he asks incredulously, already fed up with the kids even though he's barely stepped in the door.

Everyone calms down fairly quickly and takes their seats.

"I see that you have all settled well into your new classroom. But, I must warn you, the legacy of the Royal One must be upheld!" he announces. "That means I expect all of you to be on your best behavior from this point onward!"

Kalego sweeps his scanning gaze across all of us, hesitating when he reaches me, staring at me longer than the rest. He must still be upset that I foiled his little scheme yesterday.

He went on and on about what an honor using this place is and how we have to respect it, but I didn't listen much. It was just your normal 'you're in a fancy place so treat it well' hullabaloo I'm used to. I've had to learn royal etiquette, although I wouldn't call myself an expert at it. Because of this, though, I'm sure I can handle this without having to listen to Kalego's droning.

...

Honestly, things went pretty much textbook for the rest of the day, the setting change to the Royal One making very little difference to me. There are some recreational rooms here that some of the others took the liberty of exploring in their free time, but I didn't have much interest in it all. Maybe I'll check them out another time.

We're definitely the talk of the whole school at the moment, though, so that's probably the biggest change that came from all of this. I mean, that was true to a certain extent beforehand too, but now it's much worse.

Iruma's reputation here has grown, that's for sure, and alongside his, mine has as well. Iruma's desire for him and the rest of our class to gain recognition is long gone, replaced with his normal nervousness about grabbing attention, but there's respect mixed in with that fame; I think that part still has meaning to Iruma.

Maybe that taste for leadership will stick with him?

Iruma truly did a good job when it came to banding these demons together, getting them to work toward a single goal, so maybe he has a knack for this type of thing? It's too early to say at this point.