"Thank you for taking us in."
"You're welcome, Krone," Rimuru, still in his human form, said as he sat down. He had arranged housing for the children, and gotten the dwarves and orcs to start work on a large house for all of the kids and their caretaker. The children were currently getting settled at their temporary digs, or exploring the town with a guide. That left him time to talk to the only adult among the new arrivals.
They were currently settled in the meeting room used by his council. Most of the council was present for this; Benimaru, Geld, Souei, Rigurd, Hakurou, and of course Shion, who always stayed near him in case of trouble. If Krone was intimidated by the group sitting before her, expecting answers, she didn't show it. Rimuru had spoken with Great Sage before the meeting, and could tell she was nervous. It turned out that the Great Sage could monitor a person's physical responses pretty closely. It was telling him that Krone was not as calm as she appeared. The only outward sign, though, was a bit of sweat on her brow.
"I'm sure you have questions," she began. "Why don't you let me tell you what I can, first?"
Rimuru nodded.
"I don't know anything about the history of my world. No human does. We're taught what we need to know and nothing more. The demons control everything, as far as I know. There were originally five plantations where human children were raised and educated. The smartest of them are culled routinely. That is, they're taken by the demons as food. I don't know why intelligence is important to them, but it is. No one lives past age 12, except those few girls that are offered the choice."
"Choice?" Souei asked for the group. His expression was as serene as ever, but Rimuru could tell that he was watching their guest intently.
Krone nodded. "To train to become moms. Some girls, like me, are given a choice of dying like the rest, or begin training to run plantations of our own as a 'mom', someone who takes care of the kids, and lives a long healthy life; as long as they keep the product coming."
"Product?" Rimuru knew the answer, but had to hear it anyway.
"The kids, of course," Krone shrugged. "The demons only like the young ones for food, but they need humans to raise them, teach them, and keep them under control. Guess they don't like to be bothered with 'menial' tasks."
"And you were offered a chance to be a mom and took it," He tried to keep the condemnation out of his voice, but what he was hearing sickened him.
"When the option was dying? Of course, I did," Her tone was bland. She made no apologies, and according to the sage she was telling no lies.
Her tone irritated him, but her words gave Rimuru pause. What would he do in her position? What would anyone do? "Continue, please."
"We are trained to protect and care for the children. This includes everything from changing diapers and cooking, to treating serious injuries. We are also trained in tracking and hand-to-hand combat, among other things, in case the kids should ever try to rebel or escape."
The members of the council traded looks, engaging in a silent conversation for a moment, before Rimuru decided to move on. "Where are the other plantations and the training facility?"
"The training facility for the moms is at headquarters. I don't know where it is in relation to any of the plants are, since whenever I was moved; it was in a locked vehicle with no windows. Until recently, none of the children were aware of any of the other plants' existence, as humans are kept ignorant about most things."
"So, your job was to take care of the kids till they were old enough to feed to the demons?" Rimuru questioned.
"It would have been, eventually. There were originally only five plantations, so mom positions rarely come open. We were at plant 3, where I had just been assigned as a helper. The kids were taught to call me sister Krone. The next shipment wasn't due for another week or so," She allowed a slight smile. "I hope they're hurting over the loss of 'product'."
"What can you tell us about the lands around the plantations?" Souei inquired.
"Nothing. I've never been outside the plantations or headquarters."
"Do any of them have any defences?" he asked, guessing that his lord would wish to move against these demons eventually.
"They do have security guards, especially at headquarters. There aren't many guards around the plantations, though, as they mostly rely on the tracking devices imbedded in each of the children to tell them where they are. However, since our liberation, I can't vouch that my information is still accurate."
"Are you willing to share what you do know about the operation of the plantations and the headquarters?" Rimuru added. "Including the layouts?"
She answered without hesitation and with a hint of satisfaction in her voice. "I'll tell you everything I know."
"Lord Rimuru, what are you planning?" Shion cut in.
Rimuru looked down for a moment. "I can't sit back and do nothing while there are children waiting to be fed to demons. We need to start making plans to infiltrate those other plantations, and rescue the other children."
"How?" Rigurd wondered. "Miss Krone here admits that she knows nothing about the other plantations, or how to get to them."
"Then we'll just have to find out for ourselves," Rimuru looked up. "Once Milim gets back, send her to me. We'll need her help since she's the only one who can open a portal to their world. We'll start making preparations, but for now, we have 30 scared children to take care of, which leads to my next question," He looked back at Krone. "Tell me, Miss Krone; can I trust you?"
She looked startled for a moment, but then smiled. "I promise you I will tell you everything I know about..."
"I'm not talking about that," He interrupted her. "I'm talking about the children. Can I trust you with them?"
She looked back at him with a puzzled expression. "I'm not sure what you mean?"
Rimuru sat back in his chair, and looked her dead in the eye. "Because you are going to be the children's new... mom, as you call it."
"Lord Rimuru, are you sure about that?" Benimaru interjected.
The others looked just as dubious, though they stayed silent, and Rimuru couldn't really fault them for it. From what Krone had told them, and the lack of empathy she had shown when talking about her duties, and her willingness to send children to their deaths to save her own life, he couldn't blame them for thinking that she shouldn't be allowed anywhere near the children. Assigning her as their caretaker must seem like a horrible idea.
Rimuru held up his hand to quiet them. "Honestly, I'd be lying if I said I didn't have reservations about letting a woman who admitted to being willing to send little kids off to be some demon's banquet, be those kids' caretaker. But what we have to remember is that she comes from a very different world; one where humans are treated like cattle, and there was no chance of escape. How desperate would any of us be in her place, knowing that she could be killed at any moment, and the only way to stay alive was to bow and scrape to the demons? I can't even begin to imagine what her life was like," He focused on Krone. "That's the only reason I'm willing to give you a chance and let slide what you said you would do if you had been made a mom in that world!" He said the last part with a stern tone, eyeing her dangerously.
Krone said nothing, merely waiting with a stoic expression.
Rimuru sighed. "But since you were never made a mom, and even helped these children escape, I'd say you deserve a chance, so I'm granting you probation."
'Probation?' Krone wondered, but stayed silent.
"Even so..." Souei started, but Rimuru interrupted him.
"Guys, we have 30 scared kids out there. They're strangers in a strange world they know nothing about, filled with creatures they have never even imagined of. Krone is the only adult who they all know and apparently trust. They don't know any of us. Plus, Krone says she's been trained to be a mom most of her life, so she is the best person for the job."
Hope began to grow in Krone's heart, and she even allowed herself a smile. That smile fell away, though, at Rimuru's next words.
"However," he said, staring hard at her, "while you will be the children's caretaker here, you will also be supervised. There will always be someone nearby to keep an eye on you and make sure that the children are all in good health. As long as they are, there will be nothing to worry about," His face and tone darkened. "But if I find that any of those kids have been mistreated in any way, or that you've lied to us about your past or your intentions..." As he spoke, his shadow seemed to come alive, as a huge shape grew out of it and took on the form of the massive wolf from earlier. Rimuru petted the direwolf's leg, as he was too big for him to reach his head. "... Then Ranga here will have found a new chew-toy."
The blood drained from Krone's face, as she stared up at the snarling wolf in front of her. It was definitely the same wolf she had seen playing with the children earlier, but it was now at least twice the size it had been before, and it didn't look nearly as friendly.
"I trust we have an understanding, Miss Krone?" Rimuru rose to his feet, and held out his hand for her to shake.
Krone swallowed the lump in her throat, ruthlessly shoving down her nervousness, and smiled back as she took the slime's hand and shook it. "We do, Lord Rimuru. I look forward to proving myself to you."
"Excellent! Now, let's go see how our young charges are doing."