A/N: Hey guys, been a minute since I last got a chapter. Sorry, I've been pumping out chapters for my new story I'm working on, 'The Curse of Gundams (Gundam: Witch From Mercury x Male Reader)' feel free to check it out, I really like working on that book as well and feel it's one of my better works recently. I'm gonna be hopping back over to this story now though, so hopefully I cant get another chapter out soon for you guys who are reading. Thanks for all your support, I hope you enjoy this chapter. Bye!
After the long battle against Ifrit and trying to free Shizu from his control, the fight ended in a dramatic and definite victory for you and Rimuru. Though after claiming victory, your body had succumbed to the overuse of your magicules and caused you to collapse into a slumber. Even though your body was forcing you to rest, your mind was still in turmoil as you tried to wake up with great worries about what happened to Shizu. You were surrounded in the void space of your mind as the dim sparkles of magicules shined like a vast ocean of stars. Whilst looking for a way out of your mind, a voice spoke up.
"It's useless trying to wake up. Your body forced itself to sleep so that it could save what little magicules you had left. That was a reckless thing for you to do." Malenia's voice spoke in a serious tone as she stood behind you.
"Shut up. There's was nothing else I could do." You said while walking off in a different direction as she followed you into the void.
"Why go so far for someone you didn't know? I can't wrap my head around your decisions some times." Malenia said as you were growing irritated.
"Even if I didn't know her for long, she's an important person I care about. After all she's been through, I can't stand it to watch her suffer anymore. I need to wake up so I can help her. If you're my mother why won't you help me?!" You roared as your eyes glowed bright red and you turned around to your mother with an angered look on your face.
Your mother stood there with a stoic look on her face as she watcher her own child glare at her with great rage. Though that angered look on your face soon changed to one of confusion when you saw your mother lower her head and a sad look fall upon her face. After saying such things to you and seeing your reaction, Malenia's heart filled with an aching feeling as the rageful look on your face was not something she ever wanted to have directed at her.
"I'm sorry..." Your mother apologized as tears welled in her eyes, almost falling down her face. "I still don't understand the relationships you two create...I still don't know what I'm supposed to do as a mother either..." Malenia said with a sad tone as you were also feeling guilty for how you snapped at her. "In all my years I never had a child, and for most of my life I spent my time isolated from the world and all its creatures. I've lived for almost a millennia, yet I don't have the basic knowledge that a mother should have when caring for their child." She began to cry as the world in your mind began to grow dim and dark.
Malenia slowly began to walk towards you as you turned your head away with guilt, feeling horrible for directing your anger at her when you're normally such a gentle and caring being. Your mother's hand gently took hold of your head as she turned you back towards her and hugged you closely while resting her head on top of yours. Feeling her sadness and the tears from her eyes land on your head, you just nuzzled into her as tears also fell down your eyes.
"I'm sorry...I just..." You didn't know what to say to her, but your mother just shook her head as she smiled and made you look her eye to eye.
"No, I was too blunt and insensitive to your feelings that I couldn't understand. But I won't stay ignorant to your feelings any longer." She said as she wiped both her tears and yours away as she gave you a determined look. "I'll do my best to support you from this point on. Whatever I can do for you, I'll do my best." She said before kissing the top of your head as she easily washed these negative feelings you two had away.
"Thank you, mother." You said to her as she let go and backed away.
"You wanna go see her, right? I'll wake you up then. Just don't push yourself too hard, okay?" Malenia said with a worried tone.
"Yeah. I won't make you worry." You said to her as the magicules in the void began to shine their light once more.
"I'm your mother. I'm always going to worry." Malenia said as she raised her hand to you and it began to emit a gentle blue glow. "I won't bother you anymore today, so take care." She said the void of your mind began to fade from your vision.
"I don't mind you bothering. It's saved me multiple times." You said with a slight chuckle.
"Then, I guess I'll let ya know when I learn some new slang after going through more of ya memories." She said with a wink before the two of you laughed at the moment. "Rise n' shine, my cute reckless brat." She said with a smile before the world around you turned into a bright light.
After being cast from the void of your mind and returning to the real world, all your bodily senses were beginning to wake up and act as normal again as you slowly opened your eyes to see yourself resting inside a tent. You slowly raised your head to see if anyone else was inside, but when you looked down, you were surprised to see Mai was laid down by your side, seemingly asleep.
"N-No...my Lord...I didn't eat the last...grape..." Mai spoke in her sleep as you were surprised to see her so close, but felt a glad seeing how much she cared for you.
"Thanks for looking out for me..." You whispered with gratitude before gently getting up and letting Mai continue to sleep.
After getting to your feet, you were about to head out of the tent, but you stumbled with your first few steps. Your head was spinning and it was a struggle to keep your eyes open, but mustering up whatever strength you could, one foot after another you continued ahead until you were able to get out of the tent. Heavy breaths were leaving your mouth as you looked around to see everyone rebuilding whatever could be saved and cleaning up the mess from the aftermath. Just as you were about to try and find where Shizu or Rimuru was, someone called out to you with a shocked tone.
"Great Y/N!" You turned around to see Rigurd run up to you. "Y-You're awake! I implore that you take more time to rest, though!" He said as you shook your head.
"I can't rest now...I need to see her..." You said as you slowly drudged forward to find them. "Where are they?" You asked him.
"G-Great Rimuru is with her, but I really must implore that you get more rest--!" Rigurd's pleas once again were silenced as you spoke up.
"Rigurd! I'm ordering you to tell me where they are." You said with a stern voice that surprised Rigurd. "Please...I need to see her..." Your voice was lowered to a weak and worried tone as the Hobgoblin could no longer deny your wishes.
"I understand. Great Rimuru and Shizu are in the tent just ahead over there." Rigurd said while pointing to the large tent at the end of the path.
"Thank you, Rigurd. Sorry..." You apologized as you slowly made your way over towards your friends.
Step by step you dragged your feet across the dirt path as you could really feel your body wanting to give out on your and rest. Your persistence and stubbornness however kept you on your feet as you finally made it to the front of the tent with tired breaths leaving your mouth and nostrils. Slowly poking your head through the entrance, you looked inside to see Rimuru sat by Shizu's head as she was laid in bed under a blanket.
"Shizu..." You spoke in tiredness as you entered the tent, catching their attention.
"Y/N? What are you doing up already?" Rimuru asked in shock of seeing you already on your feet as you walked next to him.
"Shizu...are you...?" Your question could only trail off as she looked at you with a sad smile and shook her head. "I see..." You said as you walked to her bed side and sat down next to her as you rested your head on her stomach while she gently placed her hand on your head. "I'm sorry..." You whimpered with a sad growl as your eyes began to slowly flash red in sorrow.
"You have nothing to be sorry for..." Shizu said as she gently rubbed the top of your head. "Y/N-san, Slime-san...Thank you." She suddenly gave you two her gratitude, confusing you both. "I nearly...killed someone I cared about again. With my own hands..." She said as you two remained quiet. "Hey, you two...Would you mind listening?" She spoke as you glanced at her and she turned her head to look at each of you.
"You shouldn't talk too much..." Rimuru suggested to her as she gave you and him a gentle smile.
"I want people to remember my story...and know that I lived." Shizu said as Rimuru spoke for the two of you.
"All right." Rimuru said as she began to tell you two what had happened to her from the very beginning of when she was summoned to this world.
You listened closely and with a pained heart as Shizu's back story really made you feel pity for her after hearing all the tough and hard events that happened in her life. Though a lot of things were too vague for her to remember in the moment, everything she said laid out the basic plot of her life once she came to this world. Being possessed by Ifrit right after she was summoned, how she was forced to and ended up killing her friend, and then...
"After Pirino died, I continued to serve the Demon Lord as his closest aide. But then I met..." Shizu trailed off as this confused you both.
"Met who?" Rimuru asked her.
"The Hero." Shizu said as this only further left you two clueless.
"Hero?" You both asked in wonder.
"Yes...The Hero." Shizu said as she remembered her first encounter with the Hero at the Demon Lord's castle. "There was a battle, and the Demon Lord abandoned his castle, leaving me behind as the rear guard. Was it the will of the fire spirit Ifrit, or was it of my own volition? I'm still not sure." She said as she remembered her impossible struggle against this fearsome Hero.
"Was this Hero that Shizu faced also the same one who sealed away Veldora? It's all too confusing at this point..." You thought as you tried to imagine what this 'Hero' was like.
"I thought I'd be killed instantly...But then she spoke to me. She asked my why I was there, how I stayed alive...I was a majin, and she believed everything I said. She told me, 'It's all right now.' My emotions came back to me. Then the Hero took me in..." She remembered crying in the arms of the Hero as she turned her head to look up at her mask that was sat on a nearby bed stand. "She was the one who gave me that mask. She said it would boost my magic resistance and help suppress Ifrit, the spirit dwelling within me." She said while struggling to reach for the mask.
"Hang on a sec." Rimuru said as he grabbed the mask and handed it to her as she laid back down with it on her chest as she continued to hold you near her stomach, but her other free hand held her mask.
"By traveling with her, I learned about this world, and I learned magic. Through the power of the mask, I even learned to use Ifrit's power, to some extent. By helping others, and fighting..." Shizu trailed off.
"That's how you came to be known as the Conqueror of Flames. Well, that was an awesome attack, all right! You were on fire!" Rimuru said with excitement while giving a thumbs up.
"Literally..." You said weakly which made the three of you giggle from the humor.
"I was so happy traveling with her. But..." Shizu didn't know how else to explain the next part of the story.
"But?" Rimuru asked as she opened her eyes, determined to tell it none the less.
"Then she disappeared, leaving me behind." Shizu said as she remembered the day her teacher left her.
"Why?" You asked her in wonder.
"I don't know. Why did she? Why..." Shizu said with a longing tone of wonder as she opened her eyes with a sad look. "I'm certain we'll meet again.' That's what she said to me." She said as her grip on her mask tightened slightly. "I decided to become stronger. I wanted to help people who were suffering. I worked really hard. For decades! Doesn't that sound impressive?" She asked with a amused smile.
"Yeah, it sure does." Rimuru said with a praiseful tone.
"People started to call me a Champion...But I wasn't young anymore. It was becoming more difficult for me to control Ifrit. One wrong step, and I could unleash Ifrit by mistake. When I thought about that, I got scared. I knew I could hurt someone I cared about again..." She said with a pained and and fearful frown on her face as she instinctively flinched at the thought of causing her loved ones pain. "So I retired and became an instructor." She said.
"An instructor?" Rimuru asked.
"A teacher at a school." Shizu revealed the existence of schools in the world.
"Oh! There are schools here?" Rimuru said in surprise.
"Yes, in a place called the Kingdom of Engrassia. It was a school for kids from other worlds." Shizu said as you couldn't help but pique interest in this topic.
"So there's a place for those like us who came from other worlds...ANd when you say kids, does that mean there's an abundance of people there?" You asked her as Shizu turned to Rimuru.
"It was one of them who taught me that video game line you quoted." Shizu said as you all looked at each other.
"I'm not a bad slime!" You all said in unison before giggling in humor for a brief moment as Shizu looked at you two with tired eyes.
"It was so much fun." Shizu said as she looked up at the sky through the hole in the tent above, but her mind remembered the image of the children she was taking care of back at the school and how they looked up to her so fondly. "Those days were so peaceful." She said as a sad frown fell upon her face once again as she remembered one of her students who changed after growing up. "Some of them eventually went off on their own and left me...But one of them went on to become the Grandmaster." She said with a hint of pride.
"Grandmaster?" Rimuru asked in confusion.
"The one responsible for overseeing all the guilds in every country." Shizu explained the role of the Grandmaster.
"That sounds like a big deal!" Rimuru said in awe of the responsibility the title held.
"Yes, it is. So I thought there was nothing left that I could teach anyone. And then, possibly because I'm nearing the end of my life, it became more difficult to suppress Ifrit's will." Shizu said while as a thought came to mind. "There was only one thing I could remember, so I decided to go on a journey." She said as you scooted your head up a bit on her stomach.
"What did you remember?" You asked in wonder.
"My search for the man who summoned me." Shizu revealed the goal of her journey.
"Do you want revenge?" Rimuru asked her in wonder of her feelings on this journey.
"I don't know...but...There was something I wanted to find out from him. That's why I..." Shizu trailed off as she remembered her meeting with Eren, Gido, and Kaval. "They were such nice people. A little-danger prone, though." She said with a sad, but grateful tone.
"That's true." Rimuru said.
"It was so much fun...But now..." Shizu fell silent as she knew her time had finally come, but grew confused when she suddenly felt her hand grow wet, and lifted her head a bit to look at you and see tears seeping through your closed eyes as you nuzzled into her hand sadly. "Hey, Slime-san, Lizard-san, what's your name?" She suddenly asked as she wiped your tears away while you and Rimuru grew looks of confusion.
"Huh? I told you, I'm Rimuru." Rimuru answered her.
"No, I mean your real name." Shizu said in reference to the names you two held from your original world.
"Oh, It's Satoru. Mikami Satoru." Rimuru spoke his real name to her.
"S-Sorry...my name really is Y/N...Y/N L/N. Also, I'm not a lizard...the truth is, I'm a Gojira." You revealed your real species as she looked at you with surprise.
"Gojira? Really?" Shizu asked as you nodded. "Wow...I never thought I'd actually meet such a legendary animal..." She said in awe as she pat your head and you let out a gentle bellow from your throat. "I'm Shizue. Izawa Shizue." She revealed her real name as she gave you two a gentle smile before breathing in a deep breath.
"Shizue-san, you should sleep now." Rimuru, speaking as Satoru for the moment, suggested to her.
"Satoru-san, I'd like to ask a favor. May I?" Shizue asked him.
"Of course. Ask me anything." Satoru said in reassurance.
"Please...eat me." Shizue revealed her last request, shocking both you and Satoru. "Just like you ate the curse that had been cast on me. That made me so happy." Shizu said as you moved over to press nuzzle yourself up to Shizue's head as your tears flowed freely now and she also held you close. "I dislike this world...Still, I can't abhor it. Just like that man...So...That's why...I don't want to be absorbed by this world. This is...my last request." Shizue slowly reached her hand out as she placed it gently on top of Satoru's slime formed body. "Would you...let me rest inside you?" She asked as Satoru remained silent for a few moments.
"Okay." Was all he could answer to her as she smiled in happiness and tears formed in her eyes.
"And can I ask you a favor, Y/N-san?" Shizue asked as she raised your head to look you eye to eye.
"Yeah...anything..." You said with a shaky voice as she gave you a kiss on the top of your snout and nuzzled her head against yours in a loving and caring tone.
"While my body rests inside of Satoru-san's body...let the last moments of my life here where we met rest in your heart and mind." She said as you two stared at each other with tear stained faces. "Please, don't forget about me." She said.
"I'll never forget you, Izawa Shizue..." You said as she embraced you in a warm hug one last time before you had to move away and stand behind Satoru.
"What's the man's name?" Satoru asked her.
"Leon Cromwell." Shizue answered.
"Leon Cromwell..." You and Satoru both repeated the name as it was seared into your minds forever.
"One of the most powerful Demon Lords." Shizue added that bit of information to the name.
"What did you want to find out from him?" Satoru asked her as Shizue's voice grew tiny and quiet, as it was almost time for her to go and you two leaned close to her her final words.
"I just wanted him to acknowledge that I, this human, had existed...perhaps. And...if those kids could be saved...and returned to...their world..." Shizue's voice grew weaker and weaker as Satoru placed his slime appendage on her hand and you placed your tail on top of her hand as well.
"I swear to you on the name of Mikami Satoru and Y/N L/N...no, Rimuru Tempest and Y/N Tempest, that we will make certain the Demon Lord Leon Cromwell hears your wishes!" Rimuru let her know that her wishes would be fulfilled no matter what by you two.
"Thank...you..." Were her final words as her life finally left this world.
Removing your tail and Satoru's hand from her, Shizue's body quickly changed to match her true age as her hair turned white and she rested with a peaceful look on her face. You let out a pained roar as your eyes flashed bright red with sorrow and your tail laid flat with sadness on the ground.
"Shizu-san, my destined one...Rest in peace within me." Satoru said, as he now embraced his new name and new promise once again.
"Use unique skill 'Predator'?" Great Sage asked Rimuru.
"Yes." Rimuru said as his body glowed a gentle blue light and he slowly spread over Shizu's body like water.
"Thank you for being a part of my life...Shizu-san." You closed your eyes as you bid farewell to your fellow otherworlder as her body was consumed by Rimuru, and the memory of her was consumed by your heart and soul.
Once you didn't hear anymore noise of Rimuru putting Shizu to rest, you opened your eyes to see her no longer on the bed. Your sadness was interrupted however by shock from what you saw when you turned towards your friend. After he absorbed Shizu into his body, his slime form began to change and shape in a larger being and before you knew it, he changed into a humanoid form that was almost the spitting image of Shizu. Once he came out of his transformation, tears began to roll from his eyes as he opened them to reveal a pair of deep golden colored eyes as his new long, bluish-silver hair flowed down just pass his shoulders, the only difference between him and Shizu's forms were that he seemed a lot younger like a child, and looked to be androgynous with no identifiable parts to distinguish his gender.
"Rimuru...?" You said as the two of stared at each other in silence as both yours and his tears remained welled in your eyes.
"Wha...!?" You two heard shocked gasps come from the entrance of the tent as you turned to see Rigurd frozen pass the entrance in shock, while Kaval and his friends were also stunned from what they were seeing.
"Master!" Ranga suddenly popped in and instantly called to his master in surprise of his new appearance.
"Huh?" Kaval and and the others looked at Ranga in confusion.
"That body..." Rigurd muttered in disbelief.
"HUUUHHH?!?!?!" Kaval and his friends all screamed in shock. "T-That's...Rimuru?!" Kaval yelled while pointing at Rimuru's new humanoid form as he turned towards them as yours and his tears remained, still impacted from the death of Shizu, and even more concerned about what to tell them.
After taking sometime from the rest of the day to mourn your recently passed friend, the sun had begun to set over the horizon as you and Rimuru called for Kaval, Gido, and Eren back to the tent where Shizu passed on from to tell them about what happened to Shizu while Rigurd and Ranga stood outside the tent. You remained silent for the most part as you laid on a bed with a sad look on your face while Rimuru was still in his new humanoid form, wearing a shirt now as he sat against you.
"I see...So Shizu passed on." Kaval said as an awkward silence filled the air, but Gido decided to chime in.
"Are you really Rimuru?" Gido asked, still shocked by this sudden change in appearance by the slime.
"There can be no doubt!" Rigurd said with firm belief of his master's identity.
"Did you really think I wouldn't recognize my master just because his body changed?!" Ranga growled in offense to their doubts.
"Uh, no, I didn't mean it that way..." Kaval apologized while waving it off to them as he turned back to Rimuru. "It's just, well...You look a bit like a smaller Shizu." He commented on the smaller nature of Rimuru's new body.
"It's true. See?" Rimuru said as he raised his arm up before his entire body turned back into slime and a few moments later, he returned to his small, sphere like shape as he bounced on the bed gently in front of you.
"Wow!" Kaval said with a flabbergasted face.
"That's quite remarkable." Gido said in awe of his new ability.
"Did you eat Shizu? The way you ate Ifrit?" Eren asked in an uneasy voice, as Shizu's passing clearly had an affect on her as well, and tears welled in her eyes.
"That's not it." You spoke up as Eren looked to you. "Shizu wanted to be put to rest inside his body, so she wasn't eaten...We put her to rest..." You said as Eren looked back towards Rimuru.
"It was the only burial I could give her. I'm sorry we didn't consult you, her travel companions, first." Rimuru apologized.
"Well...If it's what Shizu wanted, there was no other choice." Kaval said as he just accepted Shizu's wish.
"Sorry, Eren. You probably think this was unreasonable." Rimuru apologized to Eren as her sad frown turned into a sad smile.
"No. I just wish I could have said goodbye to her." Eren said as she also accepted Shizu's wishes.
"Shizu-san said she had fun traveling with you three. Though she also said you were a bit danger-prone." Rimuru relayed Shizu's comments about them as Eren and Gido gave questionable looks towards their leader.
"Hey! Why are you looking at me that way?!" Kaval asked in irritation.
"Well, you know..." Eren couldn't help but smirk in amusement as she looked at Gido with an understanding eye.
"Yeah." Gido also agreed with Eren with an amused grin before Kaval shoved his finger towards their faces.
"Well, what about the time you got caught in that pitfall?!" Kaval brought up another time that Gido was in trouble.
"That was because Eren pushed me!" Gido defended his case and shifted the blame to Eren.
"Hey! Don't blame me for that! A spider landed on me out of nowhere!" Eren began to defend herself in this argument as they went on and on about who's the reason for them always getting in trouble.
"Hey..." You spoke to Rimuru with Thought Communication as the two of you stared at this chaotic trio in front of you. "This is what Shizu would want to see from them, huh?" You asked as Rimuru glanced at you for a second before turning back towards the chaos.
"Yeah. This suits them a lot better than being all sad and somber." Rimuru replied before a certain thought popped in his head. "Actually, I'd say they relied on her too much." He whispered to you as you just nodded in agreement with him.
After letting them know about what happened to Shizu and quickly moving on like how she would've wanted you all to do so after she was gone, the next day came and it was finally time for Kaval, Gido, and Eren to return to where they came from as their mission was complete. You and Rimuru were seeing them off as you and Rimuru were seeing the three of them off inside of Rimuru's tent.
"We appreciate all your help. We'll be on our way now." Kaval said as they had all their belongings ready for the journey back.
"Back to your home country?" Rimuru asked as he was sat on a small table in front of them in his slime form.
"Yeah, we need to report to the Guildmaster about our findings, and about Shizu. We won't say anything bad about this place." Kaval said with a helpful wink as you stepped forward next to Rimuru with a kind smile on your face.
"We appreciate the thought and are glad to have met such a kind party such as yourselves. May you have a safe journey back home." You said as you moved your tail up to Kaval as he shook in with great respect.
"We'll tell him all about you, too, Rimuru and Y/N." Eren said with a reassuring tone.
"If anything comes up, you can always send for us." Gido offered their unquestionable support.
"Thanks, we'll do that." Rimuru said as you walked back behind him, but the two of you were confused when the three of them looked at each other with strange glances before nodding at each other.
"There's one last favor we'd like to ask..." Kaval asked with a slightly nervous tone.
"What is it?" Rimuru asked him.
"Could you take your human form again?" Kaval asked, surprising Rimuru.
"Hm? Sure, I suppose..." Rimuru agreed to their request as a puff of smoke popped from where he sat and everyone back up to let him stand in front of the three of them as he appeared in his humanoid form, wearing a white shirt with the mark that was imprinted on Shizu's clothes and he looked to them. "So what is it you want?" He asked in wonder before growing a surprised look from what they did next.
"Thank you so much, Shizu!" Kaval and his friends all said in unison as they were giving their final goodbyes to 'Shizu'.
"I'll strive to be the kind of leader you won't have to worry about!" Kaval promised to her.
"My time adventuring with you will be my life's treasure!" Gido exclaimed how precious this adventure was to him.
"Thank you!" Eren yelled as she suddenly ran up and wrapped her arms around Rimuru as she pretended it was Shizu and tears welled in her eyes. "You were like a big sister to me!" She said as she let her feelings run free and cried loudly as Rimuru just embraced her and took on the role for Shizu.
"Shizue-san...The people who you were surrounded by at the time of your end...I'm grateful it was them who were there with you." You thought as you wiped a single tear from your eye with your tail as you remembered the image of Shizu and this party getting along and having fun.
"By the way, I noticed your gear is looking rather shabby." Rimuru commented on their equipment.
"That's mean!" They all said in unison as they were embarrassed and covered themselves instinctively.
"Don't worry, we've got just the man who can gear you guys up in no time." You said with a confident look as you looked at Kaval with a smirk. "Follow me, shabby leader." You said.
"Don't call me that!" Kaval said in shock of your teasing.
After taking them back out to the camp, you led them over to where Kaijin and his friends were working and asked him if he had any equipment that they could offer as gifts to Kaval, Gido, and Eren. Being the reliable dwarf that he is, Kaijin hooked the three of them up with gear that the party could only dream of having as they were shocked by what was handed to them.
"Ohhh! It's the scale mail I've always wanted!" Kaval said as he looked at his new armor in awe.
"Wait! What the heck is this robe!? It's light, but sturdy...and it's so pretty!" Eren was freaking out over her new, cute robe.
"D-Do we really deserve such fine equipment? It's even lined with Direwolf fur!" Gido said in shock of the small intricate, but very fine details in his armor.
"Well, as long as you give thanks to the Direwolves who offered up the fur..." You said with a nervous sweat bed on your forehead as you avoided the look of two fully shaven Direwolves who were looking questionably at the back of your head.
"They're parting gifts. Our artisans' best work!" Rimuru said as he rode atop of your head in his slime form.
"Artisans?" Kaval asked in confusion.
"Yo!" Rimuru called out as they turned to where he was looking and were finally shown who he was talking about.
"Hehe. Our best work? They're actually just prototypes." Kaijin said as he revealed himself and his workers/friends to Kaval and his party.
"How do they fell?" Garm asked them with cuirosity.
"It's all about craftsmanship." Dord said with pride.
"Mhm! Mhm!" Myrd just hummed and nodded as he usually does.
"Just speak!" Rimuru exclaimed, but that was briefly put aside as always as he turned back to the three of them. "I'll introduce you. From the right, this is Kaijin, Garm, Myrd, and Dord." Rimuru introduced his newest addition to his village as they were shocked by the name.
"K-Kaijin?! Are you serious?!" Kaval said in disbelief.
"The blacksmith who's world-famous for his skills?!" Eren said as Gido looked at the three brothers.
"And Garm, Myrd, and Dord...The three Dwarf brothers?!" Gido was stunned to see such famous blacksmith workers as Kaval excitedly took hold of Kaijin's hands.
"I'll make it my family heirloom! Thank you so much! Kaval exclaimed the preciousness towards his new armor.
"I'm so happy!" Eren yelled as she hugged Garm and Myrd.
"It's like a dream come true!" Gido said as he picked up Dord from the ground and held him in the air before hugging him as all the dwarves were overwhelmed by their expressiveness.
"Hm, seems like we have a few celebrities in our village, huh?" You said to Rimuru as you two watched them get fawned over by Kaval and his friends.
"Mhmm. They're human national treasures...or is it 'dwarven national treasures' you think?" Rimuru asked as you both shrugged in wonder.
After getting Kaval and his party back in high spirits again and giving them parting gifts for the road, you and Rimuru saw them off as they left the way they came and journeyed back to their home country. After that was done, you and Rimuru made plans to meet each other on the hill where you two spent time with Shizu to make a grave for others to remember her by. You were accompanied by Mai while Rimuru showed up in his humanoid form, wearing a new set of clothes as Ranga was by his side, and not letting your companions help you, the two of you made a small grave out of stones for Shizu and prayed for her soul to be laid to rest at peace. After you were done praying, the two of you stepped towards the edge to look out at your growing home as Rimuru spoke up.
"Hey, Y/N." Rimuru called to you.
"Yeah?" You asked him as you both continued to look over the lands that were your home.
"We promised Shizu-san...Before either of us can slug the Demon Lord Leon Cromwell who made Shizu-san cry, we need to gather information first. We're men who keep our promises, isn't that right?" He asked you.
"Yeah, that's right." You said as you looked out to the sky, wondering if Shizu was watching over you two in that moment. "We'll make sure her wishes are met. No matter what." You said as you were dead set on fulfilling her wishes, and prepared yourself to move mountains if you had to to keep your promise to Izawa Shizue, the otherworlder who was the Conqueror of Flames.