Punctuation Key:
"Spoken dialogue"
'Quoting'
*Action*
Emphasis
Internal thoughts/talking to Ciel
[[Ciel talking]]
{{Thought Communication}}
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Iruma POV
Over the last few days, the city has been buzzing with even more excitement than usual as everyone prepares for the festival. I've been excited too, of course, spending some time scoping out the attractions ahead of time. Katelyn has been nice enough to show me, Grandpa, and Opera around quite a bit while Rimuru has been too busy to do that herself.
Multicolored lights and decorations have been strung up along the streets, adding vibrant splashes of color everywhere. Huge monsters that Kaitlyn told me are the High Orcs were doing a lot of heavy lifting, carrying out various materials, and setting up structures where various events will be taking place.
Now that everything has been built and set up, today's the day for the festival to start. Rimuru has some sort of speech she needs to make as a way to put a start to the festivities first and we're gonna go listen to it.
A massive crowd has gathered in the center of town around a large stage that was built just for the festival, the anticipation hanging in the air. All the residents of Tempest are thrilled to hear Rimuru's speech it seems.
Just then, the crowd roars louder and I strain to peek over the shoulders of the people in front of me to see what's happening.
"Let Grandpa help you, my precious Iruma."
I suddenly feel my feet leave the ground and see that Grandpa has picked me up so I can see better.
"W-wait!" I stutter, trying to stop him before it's too late. I know he's just trying to help, but since Grandpa is so tall, everyone's eyes are on me. I don't normally mind getting picked up, but in this case, I'd rather just blend into the sea of people below me.
"Please put me down, I think I can see from here without your help, actually."
"Oh, sure..." he says with a pout, lowering my feet to the ground gently.
Before I was put down, though, Opera had already snapped a pic of me being held like this. He'd already had the camera in his hands, preparing to take some pictures of Rimuru during her speech, but the lens had been turned on me, adding to Grandpa's endless album of photos of me.
Opera gives Grandpa a conciliatory pat after I'm released. I feel a little bad that he looks so disappointed because I made him put me down.
But back to spotting what all this excitement around me is about. I manage to sneak a peek up ahead through the mass of people and see that it's what I thought it was.
It's Rimuru, sporting super-fancy clothes, a cape and all. She really is like a completely different person when acting like the Demon Lord she is. I'm amazed by the difference every time I've seen it because I'm so used to Rimuru's casual side, not this majestic royal figure standing on the stage, overlooking this large crowd of people.
With a sleeveless vest resting atop a long-sleeve shirt, decorated with gold ornaments, she's standing upon a massive wooden podium. With a glittering microphone in both hands, Rimuru's voice booms, sending shivers down my spine from the sheer force as she speaks.
Rimuru confidently raised her voice and gave a brief yet effective speech, introducing the festival to the crowd.
Once done with the speech, Rimuru points upward with her microphone, having somehow turned it into a staff, and releases a massive magical laser into the skies, resulting in a massive explosion that reminds me of fireworks as the crowd cheers around her.
"Let the Tempest Career's Festival commence!" Rimuru's voice rang out amidst the booming of the explosion above and the cheering crowd all around, and then the people gathered started dispersing in all directions to the various festival events and stalls, joyous energy filling the air.
We plan on meeting back up with Rimuru later after she greets some of the more prestigious guests and stuff. So, in the meantime, I'm just gonna enjoy the festival with Opera and Grandpa.
The crowd thinned out in the meantime while I was trying to decide what to do first, making it easier to actually see what was around me.
While looking at the various stalls and activities being run, I hear a familiar voice at a stall named 'Alias Takoyaki'; it's Veldora and he seems to be using some kind of catchphrase while serving customers at the stall. He's wearing a silly dragon mask, but I can easily recognize him because of his voice.
It seems like quite the popular stand, just like Katelyn said, but I still want to give it a try since she said the food was really good and I want to talk to Veldora again after not seeing him for a while.
"Hey, Grandpa. I wanna go to that stand first." I say while pointing at it.
"Sure thing, my precious grandson!"
"Sir, isn't that the man that stayed at our mansion for a while? The one that is related to Rimuru in some way?" Opera questioned, squinting his eyes at the masked Veldora from a distance.
"Yes, I think it is, Opera. We should go say hi."
"We shouldn't use his name though since he's in disguise, I think," I add, not wanting to blow Veldora's cover.
Once we get up to the food stand, Veldora's eyes light up as he notices me, still visible through his extravagant mask.
"Hello! Welcome to Alias Takoyaki, little blue-haired boy that I definitely do not know!" Veldora shouts, pretending that he doesn't know me.
"Hi, um..."
I struggle a little since calling him Veldora would be a bad thing right now, but I'm not sure what to call him outside of that.
"You shall call me Alias, the Takoyaki Dragon!" Veldora booms, answering my unasked question.
"Sure...Alias...uh, can I get some..."
I glance over at the menu (which thankfully has two versions, one in Japanese), posted on a board next to the stand. There is an assortment of foods, but it seems like the highlight product is the takoyaki, which has multiple sauces of different flavors that you can pick from.
Wait...why are two of those sauces named after Rimuru and Veldora? And aren't two of the other ones the names of their older sisters?
I know that there are a lot of Rimuru-themed things here, so maybe that's normal? Oh well, I guess I won't dwell on it.
Velgrynd's Flame-Sauce - super spicy, it's flaming hot!
Velzard's Frost-Sauce - minty and mild, it's chilly and refreshing!
Veldora's Storm-Sauce - incredibly sharp and shockingly tangy!
Rimuru-Blue - a Tempest favorite!
Those are the weirdly-named sauces, among some normal-sounding ones. I'm honestly not sure what to think of them, especially the Rimuru one that doesn't give me any idea about how it tastes.
I guess, since I'm curious, I'll order the Rimuru-Blue one to see what it's about and what makes it a favorite here.
"Okay, Veld-...Alias, I'll get the takoyaki with the Rimuru-Blue sauce with a melon pan and knight-spider skewered meat."
"Great choice, my little human friend!"
Grandpa and Opera ordered too, getting the same dishes as me along with their takoyaki though choosing different sauce options, Opera picking the Velgrynd sauce and Grandpa the Velzard one. Veldora, for some reason, seemed a little disappointed after we ordered.
Still, he whipped up our food on the spot and handed it to us.
Mine is covered in a deep blue-colored sauce, Grandpa has pale blue, and Opera's a vibrant red.
We walk a ways away, finding a nice spot to sit and eat away from the excitement gathered around Veldora's stand.
I pop one of the takoyaki balls into my mouth and it tastes...blue.
Um...what? Yeah, blue! That's the only way I can describe it! It's good, but it tastes like nothing I've ever eaten before, the word 'blue' being the only one that seems to make sense when talking about it.
Either way, I like it. That's magic for you, I guess.
My eating is interrupted by a sudden stream of flame coming out of Opera's mouth. My head whips to the side, and even he looks startled by what just happened.
"This has some incredible spice to it, but I did not expect that to happen," he comments, his eyes still a little wide with shock as he stares at a blazing-red impaled takoyaki ball.
Grandpa just laughs lightly at this. "It seems that the food here has some magical effects imbued in it. Somehow, this 'Velzard' sauce on mine feels cold, yet the food is still warm. It's quite enjoyable, I have to say." he happily comments.
Just as we're finishing eating, I spot a petite girl approaching us, even cutting through the crowd. With snowy white hair and pale blue eyes, she's almost as short as Milim so I almost could think she is a teenager, but she carries herself with the maturity and air of a grown adult.
She passes her eyes over all three of us but then focuses on me in particular. Staring at me awkwardly for a moment, she finally speaks up.
"Excuse me, could you tell me where it is you bought that? I've heard rumors about the...sauces...from that stand and would like to try them myself," she says specifically to me, now ignoring Opera and Grandpa after giving them a passing glance.
The air around her seems to chill as she talks about the sauces from Alias Takoyaki, but the smile remains on her lips.
"Uh..." I hesitate, feeling unusually overwhelmed by this lady. On the surface, she seems the same, but now I'm feeling a strange pressure from her words and demeanor alone. I'm not sure if she is impatient with us for an answer, but I think she might be upset about something.
Maybe she's having a really hard time finding the food stand, that's my best guess for why she seems annoyed. The festival just started, though, so why does she seem so impatient? Maybe she's been waiting a long time for the festival to even start and has been looking forward to visiting that popular place.
Whatever her reasons are, I can help her out by pointing her in the right direction.
"Right over there, ma'am." I nervously say, pointing in the direction of the stand.
She nods and her smile grows terrifying as she looks in the direction I pointed. Without saying anything else, she leaves and I breathe a sigh of relief.
"That woman is incredibly powerful. You handled that well, my grandson."
"She is?" I ask, confused as to how he was able to tell at a glance.
"Yes, I am sure of that as well. She is not one to trifle with." Opera agrees.
I wonder who she is...
Putting aside the strange lady, I look around for something else to do. I swear I heard a man screaming loudly in the distance, but I'm sure it was just someone that got a little too excited from this festival. It stopped almost immediately so I think whoever it was that yelled is okay.
"Oh look!" I shout, spotting something that I've heard about before. It's one of those things where you try to catch a goldfish! Back on Earth, this was a thing at festivals and stuff, even though I never got to go to one myself. I bet this is something Rimuru introduced to this world, or just a crazy coincidence, maybe.
"Do you want to give that game a try?" Grandpa asked me.
I nodded, already excited to play.
Grabbing up one of the spoons, I look down into the pool of water. It looks unusually deep and I can't seem to spot any goldfish in it or even the bottom.
"Huh?"
*SPLASH*
Instinctually, I throw myself backward and catch myself from completely falling by putting my hands behind me.
Now completely soaked, I look up above me and see Opera holding a massive goldfish with scarily sharp teeth right above me with one hand.
"Got you." he calmly says to the fish.
Grandpa quickly helps me off the ground.
I remember that time that Rimuru dried us both off with that water-controlling skill I was taught. I got some practice in with the help of Ciel, so maybe I can pull that off too.
Turning the dial of my ring, I imagine the effect that I want, which is to first just remove the water from my clothes and then ball it up. Then I'm safe to just let it go after, but the tricky part is the first step.
I attempt it, but instead of gently coming out of my clothes, the water instead sprays outward in every direction, getting all over Grandpa and Opera standing nearby.
"S-sorry...I think I put too much force into it..."
"I'd say so," a familiar voice chimes in.
Rimuru, holding the pair of disguise glasses from before and wiping the water off of them, seems to have walked up behind me right before I sent all that water flying. She's dressed completely differently, wearing much more casual clothes, unlike the fancy monarch outfit from earlier.
"Oh...um, I'm sorry..." I sheepishly blurt out.
"It's fine," she says, using the same skill to skillfully and properly remove the water from herself, Grandpa, and Opera like I initially meant to, plopping it back into the tank of water.
"Oh yeah...I remember the first time I saw a Jura Gold-Carp...I bet that guy scared ya pretty bad when he jumped out of the water at your face, didn't he?" Rimuru asks, chuckling and staring at the fish still being held in Opera's arms. "Here, hand it to me and I'll show you a little trick."
Opera nods and hands the massive scary goldfish to Rimuru. Holding it with one arm, Rimuru gently strokes the smaller of the two dorsal fins of the fish with her free hand, and right before my eyes, the fish rapidly begins to shrink. By the time it stops, it's the size of a normal goldfish, resting in Rimuru's palm.
"They like it when you pet that particular spot and will calm down when you do," Rimuru explains with a smile.
"But, how did it get so much smaller?" I ask, wondering how that even works.
"They only are big like that when agitated. They're a type of magical beast that can change their size at will, just like direwolves. You wanna keep him, right?"
"Sure..."
"I'll hold onto him for the time being, then."
The fish disappears with a small swirl of black.
"Now...let's all go enjoy ourselves! I don't normally get to have much fun at these events nowadays, but I've gotten ahead on my work and crafted an excellent disguise this time so I can enjoy it with you three!" Rimuru enthusiastically says with a sparkle of excitement in her golden eyes, covered again by the pair of glasses.
I'm wearing my pair too, not wanting to be spotted just in case someone remembers me from the few times I've walked around with Rimuru in public.
"You looked quite dignified up on that stage," Opera comments to Rimuru with a sense of slight astonishment in his voice.
"Oh yeah? Well, I've gotten better at that kind of thing over time. It's definitely not something that comes naturally to a pleb like me, but with enough years of practice and some advice from a friend of mine, I can put on that act fairly convincingly." Rimuru states.
"A friend of yours?"
"Yeah, a king of one of Tempest's allied nations. I've known him for a long time now and he's kinda a mentor figure for me."
"Well, act or not, we were both impressed," Grandpa adds, patting Rimuru on the head.
"Yeah...uh...please don't do that when I'm not in disguise. It's not a good look for someone in my position." Rimuru comments, sounding a little embarrassed.
"Of course, my granddaughter, of course."
"I'm glad no one that can see through my disguise saw that...like Guy." Rimuru mumbles quietly.
"Yo." says a new voice, one that brings back thoughts of darker times.
Rimuru turns around immediately, a scowl forming on her lips.
"What the hell..." Rimuru grumbles.
"Speak of the devil, and he shall appear!" he declares with a wide smile.
"Where did you even learn that phrase, man?!" Rimuru loudly asks, clearly annoyed.
He just laughs at Rimuru, finding her surprise and irritation funny.
The redheaded man looks a bit different than when I last saw him, sporting a floral Hawaiian button-up shirt, khaki shorts, flip flops, and sunglasses; dressed like the typical tourist from Earth. But, his signature crimson hair and other features easily give away his identity to me. It's Guy Crimson, the Demon Lord that got much too close for comfort at the Walpurgis meeting.
"So, you're still hanging around that human kid, huh? Looks like you've got a few new faces with you too," he comments while observing the three of us.
"Yeah, these are some demons from the world I've been visiting. This is Sullivan and that's Opera. Don't go introducing yourself on the street though, or it'll cause people to panic." Rimuru says to him.
"Sure, whatever, I get that you're trying to hide your identity right now, so I'll hide mine too." Guy chuckles. "Just know that I'm someone of the same rank as this little nuisance here," he says to Opera and Grandpa, jabbing a thumb in Rimuru's direction.
Grandpa's eyebrows raise in surprise, "I see...I think I understand your status, then. Opera, be sure to show this gentleman respect."
"Of course, Lord Sullivan." he nods with understanding.
Rimuru, for some reason, is smirking at Guy and seems to be holding in a laugh.
"What's so funny to you?" Guy irritatedly asks Rimuru.
"That outfit!" Rimuru suddenly shouts out, clutching their sides and laughing.
"What do you mean by that?! You were the one that gave it to me!" Guy yells.
"Yeah, and I think it looks hilarious on you! Why do you think I gave it to you in the first place?" Rimuru teasingly asks him with a conniving grin.
"You said this was normal summer clothing from your original world! Don't tell me that was a lie!" Guy shouts angrily.
"It's not a lie!"
"Then what's so funny about it?!"
"It just...on someone like you...it makes you look like an old man!" Rimuru bursts out, her words interrupted by even more loud laughter.
"At least I'm not dressed like a little girl like you were in that-"
"Don't bring that up!" Rimuru's demeanor changed almost immediately from amusement to completely serious and angry.
"If I'm an old man, then you're a cute little girl, how 'bout that? I think it fits." Guy teases back after finding that weak point.
"SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP!" Rimuru rapidly yells back at Guy with a bright red face.
I notice that we're starting to draw a lot of attention, many people staring at Rimuru and Guy and forming a crowd around our little group.
"Hey, uh..." I mutter, tapping Rimuru on the shoulder to grab her attention.
Rimuru finally looks around and seems to notice what I noticed.
"Where are those two maids of yours anyway? They're normally stuck at your side like glue, aren't they?" Rimuru asks.
"Trying to change the subject, huh?" Guy observes.
"We're grabbing too much attention."
"That's fair, I suppose. Well, to answer your question, I cut them loose and am letting them enjoy the festival a little." Guy answers, not sounding very thrilled about it.
"That's surprising; you don't normally reward them that way."
"It was Velzard's idea, actually, and it's not like I can argue with that woman when she sets her mind to something."
"Well, I hope those two girls are enjoying their time here," Rimuru says with a shrug.
Raine POV
"Ugh, what now?" I groan, looking at the empty sack in my hands.
Today has been great and this festival is amazing! We even got to wear our signature colors instead of that stupid blood red that Lord Guy insists on most of the time. This flowy, light dress that was a gift from Demon Lord Rimuru feels much nicer than those tight, annoying maid dresses!
So, while having the time of my life, I got a little over-excited and might have spent our entire allowance already. It's not all my fault though, don't misunderstand that!
"It's your fault, you know," Mizeri comments as if to contradict what I was just thinking.
"Don't blame me for this! Everything here is just so appealing! I had no choice but to buy all this stuff! Plus, you bought that snack, remember? You didn't need to get that!"
"Your logic is flawed..."
She's wrong, she's so wrong! It's both of our faults that we're out of cash! Wait no, it's not my fault! I just did what any other girl would in this situation! If Mizeri had a problem with it, she should've stopped me!
"Well, there's no way Lord Guy will give us anything more to spend," I admit grumpily.
"We could get some another way. I'm sure I can take some from one of these people around us. Many are so unaware of their surroundings that it would be no trouble at all."
"No, no, we can't do that...not in Demon Lord Rimuru's land."
"I suppose. Do you have any better ideas, then?"
"I do!"
It's the perfect plan, one that is not only fun but also more effective than pickpocketing like some low-life criminal!
"Why not set up a stand and trick these people into handing us their money willingly?"
"And how do you want to do that?"
"Use your brain, Mizeri! A couple of pretty girls like us are much stronger than we look, right? So if we set up a little gambling thing where people try to arm wrestle one of us, paying a fee for the chance to win more if they beat us, I bet those fools would line up to try and we'll get rich! Then I can buy that awesome paint set I saw earlier that I couldn't afford!"
"For once, you're not being an idiot. I think that plan would work, if we do it right," Mizeri says, actually looking a little excited.
...
I'm a genius! A total big-brain demon with equally impressive looks! I mean, look at this giant pile of cash my plan just made!
We even rigged it by having one of us pose as a challenger and win, getting all the burly adventurer humans to think they had a chance against me, just to have their hands slammed into the table without mercy! I'll admit, that part was Mizeri's plan, but I was still the one that came up with the idea in the first place!
It's called arm-wrestling; it's something I'd heard about from Demon Lord Rimuru when he was talking with Lord Guy. He said it was a 'test of strength' thing back in his previous world and it makes for a good way to trick people into gambling their money away too! He didn't say that last part, but it only makes sense.
"Raine, I think we should get out of here," Mizeri says to me out of nowhere.
"Why's that? We're making so much money!" I complain, wondering why she'd want to bail on this amazing scheme.
"What do you two think you're doing?"
"Yeah, you don't have permission."
Oh no...
Violet and Jaune...no, Ultima and Carrera have found us and they don't look happy! I'm sure I could take them in a fight since I'm so strong, but like, this is trouble I didn't want! The whole reason I said no to the whole stealing thing was so we wouldn't have to deal with these two!
"I don't know what you mean, I'm just running an innocent little business here and making some money to spend at the festival!" I quickly say.
"Don't try to play it off as something 'innocent', Raine. You know that there are laws here in Tempest against unofficial gambling and uncertified businesses, even at festivals." Ultima responds, not buying my clever diversion.
"Did I say a business? I meant a game! I'm just letting people have a little fun, right Mizeri? We're just playing a game with the people here!" I reply.
"Yes, these people are willingly giving us their money, so I see no problem," Mizeri added.
"We're off-duty so I don't think I'll arrest ya, but I don't like the idea of you two taking the hard-earned money off Lord Rimuru's people with your stupid gambling joint. Whaddaya think, Ultima? Should we beat the shit out of these two idiots?" Carrera asked the purple-haired girl.
"Yeah, maybe, but not here, Carrera. I think Lord Rimuru would be upset if we started a four-primordial fight on the streets, especially during a festival. How 'bout in the Labyrinth? That's where we fight to settle our differences." Ultima says with an evil grin.
"For once I agree with you, Ultima. You two; follow us or we'll get permission to arrest you right here and now, and I bet that would bring nothing but embarrassment to Demon Lord Guy, wouldn't it?"
"You don't have to ask me twice! So if we spar with you two, then you won't report us?" I retort, not wanting to get scolded by Guy when I didn't even do anything wrong!
"I guess so. Like I just said, we're off-duty and under Lord Rimuru's orders to 'take it easy', which means no work. If we did anything official about this, we'd be going against that, and that would be betraying our master." Carrera responds with a shrug.
You need to be ordered not to work?! I'm so jealous! I work so hard yet Lord Guy barely ever gives me a break! The only reason I got one today was because Lady Velzard told him to!
"A little battle won't go against that, though, and it also stops you two from continuing with this illegal stuff. I think it's the perfect solution." Ultima comments.
I made plenty of money already so I can just buy that paint set later with it; we don't really need to keep up the arm-wrestling thing at this point anyway.
All four of us smiling, we head to Tempest's Labyrinth to duke it out.