Lost Boys

On the way home...Tomo flew around, but she found two ill boys.

Japanese like herself, suffering severe magicule toxicity to her horror. They were older teenagers dressed in worn-out earth clothes.

Using spiritrons, she purged them of magicules to save their lives and used Recovery.

'You guys OK?' Tomo asked them in japanese, picking them up and quickly flew away before they get poisoned again.

'W-what did you just do...?' the purple-haired boy asked her weakly as he found himself flying with her and his companion.

'You guys are in Jura Forest, the more dangerous eastern side where masou are a lot thicker, therefore dangerous to humans, even for those with Unique Skills like myself.' said Tomo. 'Why go east? Didn't you know how dangerous it is here?'

'We ended up in some country, inside what's obviously a magic circle.' said the other boy in distaste. 'We're having nothing of that bullshit.' Tomo choked at his words. These guys are that unlucky, but they were able to escape that fate somehow? 'We didn't know.'

'...good thing you ran away.' Tomo shivered. 'Us otherworlders are sought after by human countries here as living weapons if we travel across worlds through Summoning or Straying and gained Unique Skills, a powerful military asset equivalent to a man worth a thousand kills.' she told them. 'I'm a Stray Otherworlder so I never encountered that. I encountered a Reincarnator Otherworlder who took me in and told me what I needed to know, and I've been training since.' she said. 'He now rules a town of monsters and everyone was nice.' she reassured them before sporting a wry smile. 'Nicer than humans...I've never been treated so kindly in my whole life. A definite improvement from where I once was back in Japan.'

'Hee...what's your name, ojousan?' purple-boy inquired.

'Tomo.' said Tomo, writing her name in kanji as 'friend'. 'Surnames are irrelevant in this world. Humans here don't got any unless you're an otherworlder or royalty or noble. So I threw my surname away.' she informed them. 'Senpai also threw his old japanese name away in favor of what his friend gave him instead...because a name is a big deal for monsters.' she told them.

'If a monster is Named by a stronger monster, they evolve and gain great power if its a master-subordinate relationship. But if named on Equal Terms, the namer must think of a name for the other, while the to be named will think of a surname they will share as equals. So senpai is Rimuru Tempest now. He won't even say his old name. Just that he used to be a Contractor that he was able to build a pretty town and map out a whole city properly before building it all with everyone's help.'

'He the ruler of monsters in your town?' brunette asked her.

'Yup. He's a Slime Monster now...he can take on a human form but he appears around a child ten years old in human age even if as a reborn slime he's two years old. He's still everyone's leader though. And I'm still human if you're asking...but the western side of Jura Forest is safer for humans. The masou or magicule level is low.' she said the word magicule in English. 'Thick atmosphere of magicules is poisonous to humans. The only way to cure Masou Dokusei was to purge you using Reisou or Spiritrons. Shuna-neesan and I can use Spiritrons to help poisoned people out. The other way to survive poisoning is either you evolve into a Majin, or become a mutated feral monster.'

That was a prospect neither liked.

'Then you know the language of this world.' said purple boy.

'Yup. Rimuru-senpai downloaded the language and grammar in my head with help of his Unique Skill: Great Sage. Its an A.I skill assisting him with stuff while talking like a robot...I can copy and paste language and needed know-how with your consent?' she offered. 'I learned how to from Great Sage out of necessity.'

The two boys exchanged looks.

'...how much is the knowledge?' purple-hair asked warily.

'Nothing. Its up to you how you wanna live afterwards.' Tomo told them. 'Just don't tell any human you're otherworlders. Deny to the very end you're one if you have to or...shut them up permanently if they won't shut up about the topic...and be wary of the word 'Hero'. That just translates to 'be a good weapon for us against monsters or against this country we want to invade' by human countries here.' she warned. The boys sported dark looks on their faces, clearly against the idea.

'Duly noted.'

'For now, let's hunt a monster...I'll do the hunting and killing for now since you guys have no equipment on you.' said Tomo, noting their...rags. 'This way, you guys can eat something and we can bring carapaces and shells home to make swords and armor out of it. If we provide high-class material, you won't worry about paying the Production Department in Tempest City.' this got them elated. They really need weapons and new clothes, and this girl can get them that! She seems willing to help them out of goodwill as a fellow traveler to warn them of dangers this world's humans are towards them.

'Kufufufu...that's reassuring.'

'I'll protect you boys with Spiritron Barriers. I'll get us a nasty beastie...the stronger the beast, the more nutritiously-delicious the meat and stronger the material, by the way.' she informed them before looking sympathetic. 'You guys have definitely seen better days since escaping your summoners...you must have gotten by with your Skills or Unique Skills if you had any.'

'Can you download now?' brunette asked her. They need INFORMATION. They survived so far by working together as it was most unwise to go about solo or else. So they teamed up out of necessity even if they weren't the type to be Team Players.

'OK. How about you?' Tomo asked the purple-hair who also nodded. With their consent, she put both of her hands on the sides of her head and looked concentrating...before pulling out two balls of energy out of her head, one per hand, and pushed it into their memories.

They got language, and knowledge of this world Rimuru knows.

'That was...enlightening.' said purple-hair. 'I am Mukuro.'

'...Kyouya.' said the brunette.

'Well, Let's get hunting!'

xxx

Mukuro and Kyouya noted that Tomo mostly used magic against a crab monster she picked a fight with living in some lake.

'Anything with carapace or large bones is useful for swords and armor, beasts are good for fur and leather so we'll go after a beast next after we eat.' she would tell them. She would also call for Ranga, a large wolf beast that talks telepathically, asking him to bring the excess meatstuff home to 'Gobuichi'. The crab meat they ate, was the most delicious crab they ever had! It was wonderful! They ate so much till full.

'...Rimuru uses Japanese names?' Mukuro noted in amusement as they carried the materials home through magic.

'Yup, but there's millions of citizens now that he ran out of creativity juice, so don't be surprised by some of the names at home later.' said Tomo wryly. 'But Names are sacred to Majin, so no dissing it, they'll get offended big time and earn a lifelong enemy you don't need, so keep things to yourself.' she warned.

Upon coming to Tempest through flight, they made a beeline to the Production Department.

'Hey there Tomo! You brought interesting stuff over!' Kaijin marveled with his fellow dwarves as they recognize high-class goods on sight and drooling over the material. 'Where'd you get these fellows?'

'In the East when Rimuru-sama and I went out for a short trip.' Tomo informed them. 'But he had to continue on himself since as a human, I can't keep up a barrier forever, the magicules in the East are too strong and thick, I rescued these two.' she said, glancing at the boys she was with. '...runaway Summoneds.' the dwarves cringed in sympathy, a thing the boys noted.

'Good thing you got away, lads.' said Dord in relief. 'Otherworlders summoned by most human nations...don't get a happy ending. You're used up for your Skills till you die.' the boys frowned at his words. 'Did you guys get a Curse Shackle?'

'They clearly didn't, otherwise they can't leave their summoners, leashed to them and can't even kill them to be free.' said Garm wryly. The boys felt a chill like icy water was dumped on their backs in horror, as they realized what a close shave they got, by fleeing immediately!

'Oh yeah...good thing for that.' Dord agreed witha gulp. 'So my boys, what type of equipment do you like? We can forge anything you like, just name it since you brought a lot of material over! We need your measurements so you can also get clothes and shoes.'

Given the material they brought, they can obtain Unique-Grade Equipment.

Rare-Grade and Unique Grade, enables them to 'level up' and become powerful humans, that the knowledge they gained stated that 'A level 100 human is equivalent to a B-Class Monster in physical stats of strength, speed, agility, stamina, endurance, and durability of the body. Thus to win against high-level monsters or majin, they need classy equipment, magic and Unique Skills to even out the odds, as well as being better fighters.

But if a human evolves to Enlightened, they gain power equal to A-Class Monsters. But if they become a Saint-Class Human...they can compete with Demon Lords.

Thus they can train and level up. They can tell their levels through the Voice of the World speaking to them. And becoming a Level 100 human classifies you as Champion by the human governments. Not only that, every level increase, so does your ability to tolerate Magicules. And your aging slows down every ten levels to the point that at Level 100, you age ten times slower than humans will, basically giving you the same lifespan as most majin!

'So once your equipment is done, what do you guys plan on doing from here?' Tomo asked them as they hunted their own food in the forest again.

'Well, get stronger of course.' said Kyouya. 'We'll train in this forest before we work our way to the center of this forest where magicule levels aren't high.'

'Alright, just don't be wasteful with food OK? And when you're powerful enough, look for people like us. There are Strays who have yet to get real unlucky thus can still be saved. Take them under your care and teach them like how I taught you. Nobody deserves being enslaved after all.' she said. 'You can stay here for the time being to train safely. I'll take you to Rigurd to get yourself a Point Card.'

'Point Card?' Mukuro blinked.

'You do odd jobs for points and people pay you with points by tapping your cards together.' said Tomo. 'The Point System was because Tempest is a newly-minted Monster Country so money can't really circulate yet, so they put this system in place. Human Merchants who wants to buy stuff from us visit Rigurd and pay for Points.'

'Heee...'

And so...

'So you're helping fellow Strays out eh? Its good to rescue them while they're not Enslaved yet.' said Rigurd, a tall, beefy Hobgoblin to Tomo who cheerfully gave Point Cards to the boys. 'Boys, if you need points, go check the Point Bulletin for jobs. You start with a free initial 500 silver points, but to earn more, you do jobs.' he told them, glancing at the Bulletin Board in the lobby of the Government Hall where monsters lined up to see which jobs to take from Goblina Receptionists. 'Tomo can't do jobs yet as she is still healing from her bad ordeal in your world and training to be capable of those jobs, so she's under Rimuru-sama's guardianship until she's ready to work.'

'Bad ordeal?' Kyouya frowned.

'...malnourishment of an extreme case.' said Tomo with a bitter smile. 'I'm as frail as a biscuit right now so I have to eat carefully while training. Even the most lightest accidents...what's a small bruise to you is a big bruise or at best, a hairline fracture to me. A fall? I'll really break bones.'

xxx

'So for now, we live in a Town of Monsters.' Mukuro mused as they chose the Farming Job for physical workout and they were given tools for the trade. They get free lunch from the Culinary Department which is a bonus. And it's a 8 silver job a day. Farming work is done every day because unlike in human lands where magicules are thin, weeds sprout like crazy overnight. The farms need daily weeding and checking for pests. Its back-breaking work and easily the toughest! The jobs that are physically-demanding, are the highest paid and after that, the most mentally-demanding. The easier jobs, the lesser pay. It was mostly children doing said easy jobs to help parents out.

'No choice do we? We need a place to sleep in while our equipment is being forged.' said Kyouya.

Inns are constructed with generous spacing, and there are Communal Baths, Sento-Style. Everyone bathes in the Communal Baths for socializing, and due to the number of citizens, there's thirty bathhouses in Tempest that can accommodate 500 people at a time. There's also free wash-and-wear service while you bathe!

'At any rate, what did you get from Tomo with your skills?' Kyouya asked him.

'...a tragic victim of subtle abuse from her family, and a bully victim in school with useless teachers who won't lift a finger. So to these monsters who showed her kindness while humans gave her nothing but cruelty, she is loyal to everyone here.' Mukuro told him, secretly keeping from Kyouya that Tomo was of a high-class Mafia Bloodline he hated for his own abusive childhood.

But he sympathizes with Tomo who was betrayed by her own father in his misguided attempt to keep her alive and safe from the Main Vongola Family. And her air-headed insensitive mother obliviously hurts her own daughter emotionally while still managing to be cheerful somehow! So yes, Tomo would rather live in Tempest where she had a caring guardian, adults she could turn to, and finally had friends in three monster girls. She was no longer alone, and no longer hurt for entertainment that she's happy here.

Rimuru has theories. He got one thing guessed right, everything else, WRONG.

The family is rich and powerful - correct.

Aristocrats overseas - hell no.

Tomo is related to the currently-most-powerful Mafia Famiglia in Italy through her father who is the CEDEF Boss. Though as far as his made-to-be-ignorant family is concerned, he works as an Oil Miner in UAE with a swanky salary to match when in reality, his pay is much bigger than that, that he can easily trick his wife and daughter that his monthly salary is 700.000 yen and sends home 350.000 yen. But he earns way more. As in, millions more as CEDEF Boss in terms of yen.

His salary is 40000 euros. Over 4.1 million yen a month as Vongola is that wealthy to afford a paycheck like that.

She was crippled with Sky Sealing as there's only one reason: branch family she may be, but she was probably stronger in flames than Timoteo's sons, and the old man felt threatened that he threatened Iemitsu through his daughter. With resources and the strongest arcobaleno on his payroll, its easy for an innocent girl to disappear. Collateral damage in Mafia Politics. And Mukuro had a hand in Enrico's death and Massimo's drowning, before he and his crew got caught...well, someone else will kill Federico anyway. He was the only son left.

Xanxus thinks he's Timoteo's son? Nope. The men who have weak minds, are ripe with intel. He was adopted but has no blood ties to Vongola. But for possessing a Wrath Flame, better a Vongola Asset than anyone else's! And Xanxus is under House Arrest for the Cradle Incident, a week prior to Tomo's sealing.

And Tomo, thanks to the Sealing, has a really bad case of Malnutrition induced by supernatural means, that if she ever had a Lab Test, concerned doctors will report Sawada Nana for possible Child Abuse Case by starving her daughter, and law drama will ensue.

But she was healing thanks to monster meat, usage of her Skills and eating mutated crops. Typical vegetables in human lands, mutate well in Jura Forest, making it very packed with nutrition. She would recover in a year, if she eats five times a day while training, eating food enough for six people in meals with targets in mind! Normally, an amount like that will kill anyone from overeating as meals take hours to digest. But with magic and skill, process is done quickly and efficiently very much!

As for combat skills...her skills born out of frustration with her life, is a great boon to her now.

She has combat knowledge and techniques thanks to Rimuru but unable to train in combat lest she break a bone in one hit alone...once a year is done, she will surely rise in strength and catch up to them.

For now, they're stuck here.

Enchanted Clothes? Easy. Its the Equipment that'll...take a while.

'The material Tomo brought is an A-Class Aggressor. This makes for a really high-level Unique Grade armor and equipment which will be a big boon in increasing your levels.' Kaijin told them. 'For us dwarves and our standards, it'll take a month to craft your weapons and armor. That's hella long for us when normally it takes us a day at our fastest. You should hang around Tempest for a while.'

Mukuro detected no lies due to his abilities, thus the boys can only agree in resignation.

They live in a hotel for now, 3 silver points a day. Food is free only during lunch. Breakfast and dinner, total of 20 copper points a day. Baths is 1 silver a day in the Communal baths and 30 silver for wash-and-dry. Given their farming job, they earn more than they spend, actually...

xxx

Rimuru returned a week after Tomo took the boys to Tempest. He had absorbed enough Magicules to be closer to the highest level he can be, as only Demon Lords like Milim and Dragons like Veldora can only be Class S. He had hit his cap limit as a Special Class A Monster as Great Sage warned him of, which was why he's going home. At least he did all he could in getting stronger, by making the power he absorbed his. So its permanently his levels now.

'Shion, how are things?' Rimuru asked Shion, wondering what work he has on his desk.

'Oh, Tomo brought home two Strays.' Shion reported. 'Two boys, one who's 16 and the other, a year younger. They're currently working in the farms while waiting for their equipment to finish making because Tomo brought home powerful material...a high-level crab monster in Eastern Jura and a beast for fur and leather.'

'I see...any work for me on the desk?'

'Yes sir! A lot of reports are waiting as well as paperwork!' And Shion cheerfully dumped a horrifying pile of work on his desk.

"Shion, this much would terrify any white-collar worker..." Rimuru whimpered. "Nothing is free indeed!" 'Oh yeah, tell Ririna to tell those human boys that I'll see them after dinner.' he instructed Shion.

'Yes, Rimuru-sama!'