Chapter 9: Departures and Arrivals

The next week or so was a hassle of activity for Rimuru that blurred together. There was still many preparations to receive the delegates from Eurazania as well as their own. Mainly, he had to carefully consider the people he would send. There was still work to be done around the city and plans for next year's crops and research. However, despite that, he was happier than he had ever been; spending most of his free time with Milim allowed him to feel relaxed and refreshed, even if she could be a handful at times.

Of course, it wasn't all fun he had in his free time; he continued training hard to master his abilities, including several sparing sessions with Milim, who still pulled no punches- relatively speaking; she was holding back considerably, of course, but it was still enough to keep him on his toes. He still marveled every time at just how undefeatable she was in combat; trying to catch her off guards was pretty much impossible and most attacks that did connect she shrugged off nonchalantly. It was a daunting task just trying to keep up with her and not get pummeled, but it served to really give him the experience he was lacking.

The happy days, of course, would eventually come to an end.

They were sitting in the dining hall of the main meal hall, eating, when suddenly informed him that she had something to do.

-'I need to go off to work!' she suddenly exclaimed and walked out. He stood dumbfounded for a second before what she said dawned on him, and quickly ran after her. She was heading outside the city.

-'You're leaving?' he asked in a hurry; of course, she had told him previously that she would need to get going at some point, but he still felt it was a bit sudden

-'No worries! I'll be back soon! Just need to check on the other Demon Lords and my city!' she stopped and turned around, flashing a smile and quickly enveloped herself in an aura; her clothes instantly changed into the ones she was wearing when she first arrived.

-'You're gonna meet the other Demon Lords?' he asked as he stepped in front of her

'-Yeah, it's my job. I'll be quick, I promise.'

A part of him wished she would stay; no, most of him wanted her to stay

He stepped forward and dragged her into a hug, not carrying that they were still in the city and people were looking; she gently returned the hug as she buried her head in his shoulder. Then he took a step back and took her hand in his, trying to keep smiling; he brought her hands up to his mouth for a kiss, enjoying the blush it made appear on her face.

-'Be careful, okay?' he told her;

-'You don't need to...' she stopped when she saw he was being entirely serious '...I'll be careful.' she said softly. Then, she leaned forward and placed a quick kiss on his left cheek, turned around and dashed at incredible speeds into the air.

Rimuru watched her zoom far off over the horizon. He stood there for a few seconds before he turned around to the sound of footsteps. The ogres and several others were approaching him.

-'Did she really leave?' Benimaru asked with some concern. He didn't really knew how they found out; then again, she loudly proclaimed she was leaving, so maybe someone was quick to inform them.

-'Yeah, she did.' he said, trying to keep any sadness out of his voice 'She said she had things to do. In her city.'

-'So sudden?! Without even saying goodbye?!' Shion cried out 'She hasn't even remembered my name yet!'

-'Ha ha, no worries.' Rimuru assured her 'She said she'd be back soon.' he said looking down

-'Lord Rimuru...' Shuna said worried

-'So! There's a lot of stuff to do!' he quickly interrupted 'And when she returns, let's welcome her back with a smile!'

-'Yes, sir!' they all exclaimed in unison. He smiled as he watched them return to their duties, then turned to look in the direction Milim had left. He already missed her.

The day had finally arrived; their delegation to Eurazania was ready to depart. Shuna had made special suits for all involved, which included Benimaru and Rigurd. On the hour of their departure, they all gathered in the central square where he gave a short speech and saw them off in a number of carriages drawn by Tempest Wolves. Later that day, Yohm and his party had arrived back in the city to report on his progress as 'champion'. He noticed that his party had increased in number, including a majin woman- he was certain she was a majin, but she was, apparently, posing as a human. He didn't feel any malicious intent from her and quickly dismissed it to the back of his head. He had more important things to do. Like host foreign dignitaries.

A few days later, Carrion's people arrive in fanfare, in carriages drawn by tigers. Their delegation was led by a woman named Albis the Golden Serpent, one of the Three Beastketeers, together with a feisty girl name Suphia and a man named Grucius. Almost immediately, a quarrel broke out; Suphia did not seemed especially eager to entertain some slime who got along with humans (Yohm and his party was present). Remembering that Eurazania placed great emphasis on strength, he proposed she fight with Shion. Meanwhile, Grucius was ordered to challenge Yohm. Fortunately, his two subordinate's performance was more than satisfying to the two; just like he had assumed, it was all only a test to see how strong they were.

He entertained the delegation with a banquet and talked about the many ways their two nations would profit from trading with each other. Eventually they settled on an initial trade of Eurazania's world renown fruits (mostly, it was Albis' way of asking for more booze, which the snake lady drank literary by the barrels; yes, plural.)

He decided to leave (dump the responsibility) the finer details to the head of the merchant Kobolds, Koby, and washed his slime hands of more trouble. If only they hadn't taken all the good liquor with them when they returned home... however, Grucius stayed behind, having been told to make himself useful in Tempest by Phobio; he decided to join the security patrols.

Some time after, Benimaru and the delegation returned home, with a detailed report on Eurazania's military, agriculture (both of which Benimaru keenly believed to be superior to their own) and citizenship. They also brought some souvenirs in the form of various sample of fruits; one taste was all it took for Rimuru to understand exactly why they were considered the best in the world.

Next came his own official visit to the Armed Nation of Dwargo; he decided to bring Shuna along with his entourage, as well as Shion...reluctantly, after she cried and threw a tantrum that nearly demolished a building. Along the way, he delivered some fine beer to Geld and the high orcs working to fix an expand the road to Dwargo.

He had dreaded the visit ever since he first got the invitation; at first, he considered pretending it never arrived, but it was too late: Shuna had found out, and he was overruled on pretty much everything.

Fortunately, he didn't have to do much once they arrived. Actually, he didn't have to do anything, as Shuna did all the talking and greeting and introduction, he just had to smile and nod. He dozed off somewhere along the way and didn't remember anything until meeting with the king in the palace. Gazel had a good laugh at him when he heard. Speaking of Gazel, first order of busyness on his mind was to ask about their superweapon used to kill Charybdis. Of course, they had a hard time believing it was Demon Lord Milim, but eventually Gazel decided to trust him. They talked for a bit more, and eventually he had to give a speech at the ceremony where their alliance was made public.

It was a terrible speech, and he knew it. Gazel was merciless in telling him that. He needed to let out some stress, so he allowed himself to get roped up with Gobta and the the dwarves (who had been invited along) and went into the...gentlemen establishment he had encountered Vesta the first time. He felt kinda guilty, like he was cheating...but he also wanted to take his friends out in town, so he decided to forgo his conscience and suffer the consequences later. And suffer he did, at the hands of two angry ogresses, and a week worth of Shion's cooking. When he said suffer, he didn't meant merciless torture; fortunately, they agreed not to tell a certain someone about his forays, which he considered a small blessing.

Thus his hectic week of international relationship building came to and end, and he was free to get on with some more personal work.

When allowing himself to sleep, he would sometimes have dream-like visions; Great Sage had informed him that they were pieces of the memories of creatures he absorbed. More specifically, he was mostly seeing memories left behind by Shizu, the adventurer woman that his human form was based on. At first they were a jumbled mess, barley discernible, but over the weeks they began to form coherent visions. A city in flames; a blond man with uncaring eyes; a mentor; two students. The most vivid one involved a few children; two girls and three boys, all looking quite young. They were laughing and smiling, but the memories didn't feel happy but sorrowful and regretful. Then a voice saying 'Lura'.

A quick inquiry with Great Sage told him it was the capital city of the Kingdom of Ingrassia, a large, prosperous nation west of Blumund, considered one of the most advance human nations on the continent. Its safe and convenient position had made it the hub of the Council of the West, a large collection of allied human states united against their common fear of the Eastern Empire, and the Free Guild. Both had their headquarters in Ingrassia's capital of Lura. Whoever the children in his visions were, they were located there. He had some idea where to start: Shizu was part of the Free Guild, so he figured they may know something about what she was up to.

Having resolved himself to see Shizu's regrets settled, one day he called his council and explained to them his intentions

-'I see...' Benimaru said after contemplating his story 'You seek to meet these human children...'

-'Yes' he told them clearly 'I have already made up my mind. And I wish to see for myself a human kingdom.'

Rigurd spoke up 'I understand, my Lord, but...I do not feel right allowing you to travel alone'

-'Indeed.' Hakuro interjected 'You are the foundation of our nation. If something were to happen...'

-'I understand your concerns, but I won't be alone. I will bring Ranga with me as my bodyguard.' he explained and turned to Soei

-'And I can send one of my clones to keep a close eye and stay in contact.' Soei quickly added before he could say anything.

Hearing that, Rigurd seemed to be more at ease and sighed 'Very well, my Lord.' The other councilors in turn voiced their agreement, and went on to prepare for his departure.

-'Now I just need some guides.' he added

-'Guides?' Rigurd asked

The guides in question were the trio of adventurers that had accompanied Shizu in the first place, Eren, Kaval and Gido who were familiar with both Blumund (which he would have to pass through) and would be more familiar with how things work in Ingrassia than he would, even if they never went there before (and as adventurers in the Free Guild, who's headquarters was there, he imagined they had to have at least go once or something).

He would also take the opportunity to stop by in Blumund and other kingdoms to see if he could arrange some sells of their high-grade healing potions. No point wasting an opportunity, after all.

Once the three human adventurers arrived, he said his goodbyes and entrusted the city to his subordinates.

They traveled on foot through the forest, having to stop at the orcs' resting ledge along the way.

While journeying with the three, he somehow got the offer to join them in their adventuring in the future too, which he politely declined. Thinking about it, he really wasn't sure how long it would take for Tempest to be fully self-sufficient and not need his help. Being humans, they might not even be alive anymore by then...which brought up a though

'Maybe this is how Milim feels?' he wondered how many important people she may have lost over her long, long lifespan. He didn't really want to think about it too much as it just caused him to miss her even more than he already did, but he could hardly stop himself

'When we meet again, I want to tell her...that I won't ever leave her side.' he steeled his resolve as he finally entered the human nation.

Not long after Milim left Tempest

The massive aura of the protector of the City of the Forgotten Dragon drew near, and everyone in said city could feel it. Their goddess, their reason for being, had returned home after her long period of absence, which were quite common. The main part of the city radiated outwards from a mountain cliff where it met a large lake; the cliff housed the Great Temple, the personal residence built by the Faithful for their object of worship, the Dragon Princess and Demon Lord, Milim Nava.

In a hasty but well rehearsed chaos, the priests in charge of running the city assembled in the front of the large marble stairs leading down into the city from the main temple. Waiting at their head was a large, imposing bald man; this was Middray, the head priests and de facto leader of the Faithful as Milim had little interest in actual governance. He looked over in the distance, sensing their Master coming closer at unimaginable speeds. The massive force descended from the clouds and landed right in front of them, but there was not so much as a speck of dust disturbed.

As she looked around to check her surroundings, her eyes landed on the hundred or so priests assembled, who all immediately dropped down on one knee. She suppressed the urge to roll her eyes and simply said 'Rise', and they obeyed.

Middray respectfully approached, head held low 'My Lady, it is good to see you again!' he said in a gruff voice 'We are blessed by you presence!'

-'Yes, yes...sure you are.' she said, turning slightly to look over the city 'Everything alright around here?' she asked mostly to continue the facade. It wasn't like they required her to baby them with every minor thing, though she guessed they would like that.

-'Yes of course, Lady Milim!' the head priest informed 'Your Faithful are in great health and prosperous as always, by your good graces!' she nodded, then turned around to head into the temple.

-'I'm just passing through. I have some things I really need to get done, so let's make this quick...' she was referring to the trays of offerings the priests had assembled from the common citizens, arrayed on a large stone table hosted underneath a statue of her and a throne.

She didn't really care about any of it- not the gross raw food, the gold or the jewels- but they did, so she gritted through the tedium; a thousand years had passed since she had saved a few villages from being eradicated by a hoard of monsters, and in that time they had grown into a small but prosperous city, if dull and stagnant. She watched generation after generation toil to work the land and build up, brick by brick, a city from nothing, and they did it all in her name, because she gave them her protection. Like most things, it was a whim on her part; and like most of those whims, it had long since grown out of her control. Not that she cared about any control. She had merely wiped some small fry monsters, as far as she was concerned it was hardly a reason to build statues of her, but she just could't bring herself to tell them away. She gave her word they would be safe, and she was no liar; they would be under her protection for as long as she lived, which she guessed was probably forever.

Middray quickly moved to lead her to throne 'May I ask, how were you're travels?' he asked

-'Ha, pretty great!' she beamed and stopped to face him 'You won't believe this, but there's this new nation in the Great Forest of Jura. I spent some good time there with their leader!' she explained

'The forest of Jura?' a younger looking man that was trailing behind Middray spoke up 'Isn't it off limits even for Demon Lords?' he asked

-'Hermes!' Middray bellowed 'Nothing is off limits to our Great Milim!'

-'It was.' Milim turned to Hermes, completely ignoring the baldy 'But Veldora vanished from his cave. So, the treaty keeping the Forest closed was abolished.' she explained, drawing shocked gasps from everyone around

-'The Storm Dragon is gone? How?' Middray asked

-'Nobody knows.' Milim said as she shrugged 'Two years ago almost, he just...vanished. No trace. He isn't dead, either, because he would have definitely reformed by now.' she said 'Then the monsters began to go crazy and in the middle of that, Rimuru shows up out of nowhere and builds up an entire city of monsters.' she exclaimed

-'Rimuru? I assume this is the leader you mentioned?' Hermes asked

-'Yup! You will never guess, but...he's a slime!' she laughed at their bewildered expressions

-'A slime, leading a monster nation?' Middray exclaimed

-'A ha ha, not any slime. He's really smart and also powerful.' she turned to look at Middray with a smirk 'He could probably give you a hard fight.'

Middray was by far the strongest of all the Faithful; he would occasionally have mock battles with Milim herself and hold his own reasonably enough. For their Master to say that about someone, anyone, no one there doubted this 'Rimuru' was a special individual indeed.

-'He's my...er, best friend.' she nearly said 'boyfriend' but quickly stopped herself, not wanting to give that secret away yet. Rimuru was insistent they keep it under wraps when she left. 'So I want you all to show him the proper respect!' she added.

-'Yes, of course, Lady Milim!' Middray immediately agreed 'Now, may I present to you our offerings?' he said with starry eyes

Milim took one good look at the large stone table and all the things neatly arrayed on it; as she feared, all the food was raw. She wanted to throw a fit right then and there, but managed to hold herself back, if barley. After experiencing the godly food in Tempest, there was no way she wanted to go back to this...but, reluctantly, with the blank poker face only centuries of practice could allow, she sat down and began munching away. Middray looked on in pride.

Many in the crowd knew better though, especially Hermes, who knew: she hated it. He could hardly blame her; he had visited numerous places in his travels, from Dwargon to Eurazania, and he knew just how she felt. But the fact that she soldiered through really raised his already high opinion of their masters; he doubted he could last as long as she did.

After a few minutes, however, Milim had enough; she really had to get out of there before she snapped. But she needed an excuse 'Ah...' she said as she shot up from the throne 'I really need to get going, so I'll umm, leave this to you!'

-'But...my Lady...' Middray tried to protest

-'No, no, it's fine!' she shot him down 'I have very important things to talk with the other Demon Lords that can't wait.' and quickly began walking away 'the food was, erm, great! Tempest had some great food too, but...ah, never mind. See ya!' and as fast as she could shot out of the temple, leaving Middray with a stunned expression while holding a tray of vegetables. Hermes had to shake his head at the oblivious head priest.

Rimuru arrived in Blumund with the adventurer trio and was quickly struck by just how medieval the capital was; it was an extremely archetypal medieval city with high stone walls for defense against invasions. It was too cliche, but nevertheless it had a bright air about it. From what he had gathered, the capital, Rondo, was the only large city in the small nation, with most feudal lords being little more than glorified villages; most of their defense was through their close association with the Free Guild and, according to Fuse, a healthy dose of information gathering (of which he was in charge of alongside his duties as grand-master of the Guild in Blumund). He intended to meet up with him anyways, but as the stopped in an inn and explained in more details his quest, the trio had told him something interesting, namely that the Grand Master of the Guild, Yuuki Kagurazaka, was once Shizu's student (alongside a woman named Hinata Sakaguchi); he realized the two were the students in his visions.

Both of them sounded japanese, so he assumed they both must be otherworlders like himself. Now he had even more reason to try and meet up with them and talk. He asked the three to take him to Fuze so he could quickly talk things through

-'Oh yeah boss...' Kaval nonchalantly said on their way there 'If you're going to Ingressia, you should register as an adventurer with the guild.'

-'Huh? Why?' he asked confused

Eren quickly dug through her pockets and brought out some kind of ID card 'Adventurers do most of their work outside of towns, right?' she said cheerfully 'A registration with the Guild will prove your identity in any country that recognizes it.' she explained 'You are allowed entry in most cities if you have it.'

He realized then that, as a monster, he didn't really have any identification paper; he had to give it to them for bringing it up before he ended up getting arrested or something for trying to enter a county without it. He decided to take care of that first things first.

At the guild, he stopped by the main receptionist to try and register; naturally, with his small, girl-like stature and wearing the mask left by Shizu (it hid his monster aura, allowing him to pass as a human) he was quickly mistaken for a little girl and accused of cosplaying as Shizu. Thankfully, the backing of the three adventures was enough to convince the receptionist to allow him to take the test for the combat division. His instructor was a one legged veteran named Thegis, and the test was, to Rimuru at least, laughably easy. Even the last test for B- minus ranking was 'just' a lesser demon he quickly dispatched, much to the shock of the gathered crowd. Thus he became a B rank adventure. The real test came when trying to calm down Fuze when he heard about it.

-'If you wanted identification papers, you should have just asked me!' he said in between scolding the adventurer trio, who were sited on the floor in his office 'I could have used my guild master privilege to get you a B- rank with no fuss.' he sighed and rubbed his temples

-'Ah, is that so?' Rimuru said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head

-'Whatever...' Fuze eventually said, sitting down on his office chair 'Just be more careful. If people find out you're a monster...'

They talked for a bit more about Rimuru's plans; hearing about how he was going to see to Shizu's last wishes, Fuze was quick to agree to give him a letter of introduction, which he would need to meet with the Grand Master in Lura. According to Fuze, Yuuki was indeed an otherworlder, but not much else was known about him. Meanwhile, he had quite a bit to say about the other student, Hinata Sakaguchi- she had become something of a champion of mankind, rising up the ladder to the rank of Commander of the Holy Knight Order of the Western Holy Church, the largest religion on the continent and one which was vehemently dedicated to extermination of all monsters in the world. As a monster himself, he was not keen to ever meet her.

In any case, Fuze had other news for him: namely, that the King of Blumund wanted to have a meeting with him. Never one to let an opportunity slide, Rimuru agreed. First he met with a count, Velyard, chief minister of Blumund, to discuss the details of an agreement between the two nations. Next day, he met the king and queen to seal the deal. He felt both could have gone better, especially since he realized he got the short end of the stick with the defensive part of the treaty.

In the end, he managed to get a pretty good deal going for his potions; a quick demonstration on Thegis, limbs regrowing and all, was more than enough to bring everyone onboard. It was almost enough to make up for the treaty he had been bamboozled into...

The rest of the journey to Ingrassia continued on with no issues. A few days later, they came up to the capital...

It was, in a word, massive. A veritable modern city with hundreds of thousands of inhabitants, massive walls and even multi-floor buildings that could have easily passed for modern 20th century Earth. It made Tempest look dinky and small by a long mile. Thankfully, as a B- rank adventurer he was easily allowed entry, and the mask did it's job of concealing his identity to the powerful anti-monster barrier surrounding the city.

His first order of busyness was to talk with Yuuki; the headquarters of the Guild was a large building with a dozen floors, with large glass windows and even magical automatic doors. The letter from Fuze allowed him an immediate meeting with Yuuki and he was taken up to his office (the trio had to stay behind). The initial meeting could have gone better. He was still wearing the mask, waiting in the office, when a young-looking man walked in

-'Thank you for waiting...' he said in a boyish voice 'I am the Grand Master of the Guild, Yuuki Kagurazaka. And you are...' his voice faltered as he saw the mask. Then things escalated when Rimuru took it off to talk

-'Hello, I am Rimuru Tempest of...' before he could finish, Yuuki had lunged at him with a fierce kick, which he only barley managed to block

'Whoa, what's up with this guy?!' he though as they exchanged blows. Thankfully, he quickly realized the problem 'Wait! This isn't what it looks like!' he screamed as he jumped away from the Grand Master, who scowled at him

-'Why do you have that mask?' he asked with a threatening voice 'And that face? You have the aura of a monster too..'

-'Please, I know how it looks but I can explain.' he said as he put his arms up 'Please.'

The young looking man scowled and considered the situation. Then, he sighed, and relented 'Very well. I will listen to what you have to say.'

He spent the next half an hour explaining his circumstances, how he was reincarnated, how he met the monsters (he decided to leave Veldora out), became their leader and met Shizu, and the reason he came here to speak with him. Sitting crossed legged on the floor (most of the furniture had been displaced in their short scuffle) he looked to be reminiscing about something

-'So...Shizu Sensei is dead...' he said sorrowfully 'And you inherited her will? I see...'

-'Yeah, I am sorry.' he told him sincerely 'I tried to think of something to save her but...'

-'No, its fine.' he assured him 'Sensei did told me when she left that she could feel herself losing control of Ifrit. I knew...deep down, that I would not see her again. Anyways...' he said as he got up and began to move the furniture back in its place 'She died with some peace, did she not?'

-'Maybe...' Rimuru said as he too began picking up some of the scattered stuff in the room 'Though she did have some regrets left.' he informed him

-'Ah, yes, the children in your vision.' Yuuki said as he sat a chair up 'I know who they are.' Rimuru perked up from where he was 'They too are summoned, like me and Hinata, but...' he trailed off 'What do you know about summoning rituals?'

As he explained, summoning someone from another world was a long, drawn out process that took several dozen high class mages days to perform. In short, since gaining special skills and powers n this world was nearly impossible for humans, it was a much safer bet to try and summon someone and hope they acquired skills and powers in the process; even with the low success rate, it was still preferable. The drawback was the failures, at least for those who were deemed a failure

-'Failure?' Rimuru asked curiously 'If they were successfully summoned, how is it a failure?'

-'The difference between 'success' and 'failure' is that the successful ones acquire powers and skills; the failures do not. They are only summoned. To put it bluntly, being summoned involves being disassembled there and reassembled here; in the process, those pieces gatherers up massive amounts of energy. If successful, that energy manifests as a special or even unique skill. But if not,...'

-'Dose it just remain in your body?' Rimuru asked in curiosity.

-'Yes. If you're lucky, like me, you don't get a skill but do get some high resistances or physical enhancements, or a really bad deal like being unable to properly age...' he explained, looking somewhat miffed at his condition; he could understand that. 'But most are very much not lucky. See, with no outlet to be expended, all that energy remains in the body...and eventually can't be contained, and leaks out. Violently.'

'-What?'

-'Basically, they explode, and die. That is the fate of the majority of other world summons.' he finished 'This is especially true if the summoned are children. Willpower seems to have some effect on whether it succeeds or not, and children rarely have the willpower necessary...most don't last more than three or five years after they are summoned'

Rimuru stayed slacked jawed for a few more minutes; on one hand, he was really thankful he was reincarnated and not summoned, but on the other he was quite furious with the people that continued to summon people only to condemn them to die. Now he knew exactly why he felt such sorrow at the visions he had. He decided to ask about the students

-'They are so called 'failures', of course.' Yuuki informed 'Of no use for the nations who summoned them, Shizu brought them in to the Freedom Academy, where she could keep an eye on them, teach them...maybe even find a way to save them...'

-'She never did find a way to save them, did she?' Rimuru asked the obvious; he wondered if Shizu was looking for such a way when she came to the Jura Forest...

-'No.' Yuuki informed 'but she did entrust them to you, didn't she?' he said with a smile

-'Yeah...' Rimuru said 'Could I meet with them?'

Yuuki considered the question, then snapped his fingers 'I have an even better idea!' he beamed 'How about you take over as their teacher?' he said cheerfully

-...'what...'was all Rimuru could muster

Some Time Later...

-'Alright, let's try this again.' Rimuru said cheerfully as he sat up from his desk; five children were seated in front of him, two girls and three boys. They were the five students Shizu left behind: Alice Rondo, Gail Gibson, Chloe Aubert, Ryota Sekiguchi and Kenta Misaki. He called each of them and they answered, though when he got to the last one...

-'This is tyranny!' Kenta shouted, trying to sound brave; he failed, trembling in fear as Ranga loomed behind him.

-'And what is swingeing a flaming sword at someone you only just met, then?' Rimuru asked annoyed

The situation necessitates some explanation...

When Yuuki suggested he become a teacher at the Freedom Academy, he was a bit taken aback at how sudden it was; however, he quickly realized that the Grand Master had a very good idea: he could keep an eye on the kids and look for a way to cure them, just like Shizu wanted. As the Headmaster of the Academy, Yuuki could give him a recommendation and everything would be fine. He would get a room at the dormitory, a salary and access to the schools library and other privileges, so it was more than a fair deal. As Yuuki explained, the kids trusted no one after Shizu left; any new teachers assigned to them would be chased away, crying, within hours. Yuuki hopped Rimuru would be different.

Speaking of Yuuki, he had taken to calling him 'Master' after Rimuru asked for some paper and used it to recreate some of the -many- manga he had read, as a kind of gratitude. Yuuki was so happy he started crying.

In any case, the next day he saw the adventuring trio off, as he would be staying until further notice; then he made his way to the Academy to begin his time as a teacher. It did not start well. Both Yuuki and the manager of the institution had warned him that the kids were rowdy, but getting attacked by the Kenta kid with a flaming sword before he could even properly step into the classroom was way beyond 'rowdy' and straight up 'delinquency'. So, he decided he could play the dirty game too; hence, Ranga.

-...'Miss Shizu always dodged it...' Kenta said lowly. The other kids nodded, looking non to pleased at the current situation either.

-'Hm, yeah!' the blond girl, Alice, shouted 'And was always way nicer to us!' the others nodded in agreement 'She would't sick some giant dog on us...'

Rimuru carefully considered the kids; Yuuki said they were aware of their conditions. Thus, they knew they were living with a ticking time bomb inside their bodies, which would certainly put an adult on edge, let alone a kid. Then there was the fact that they got summoned here, ripped from any family they had, and then discarded like trash for being 'failures', he imagined they had quite a few good reasons to trust no one. He certainly would. He considered his options, then came with an idea...

-'Ah, fair enough.' he said 'Then how about this? We're gonna have a test!'

-'What?!' was the immediate collective protest 'Already?!'

-'No, no, not that kind of test.' he reassured them, to which they relaxed a little 'We'll go outside to the field and have a little one-on-one spar, yeah?' If you win, I resign. If I win...you gotta respect and listen to me, agreed?'

He had lay the trap, and they bit hook line and sinker. They all quickly agreed, cheering about how they were gonna make him leave like all the others. They didn't. Rimuru was almost sorry; they had no real chance against him, but he figured it had to be done. In order, all five of them were defeated right in the school yard.

They returned to class, dejected but with a newfound- very small- respect towards Rimuru. After talking for a bit about their education, Kenta spoke up

-'What's the point? We're gonna be dead in a year or two...' he said cynically. The others looked down and did not deny any of it. 'Even Miss Shizu abandoned us...' They could hardly say anything, with some looking ready to cry at the though, but then...

-'No, she didn't.' he told them firmly 'She never once did. In fact, she left to find a way to save you; I know, because that's why she sent me here...' he said; he realized he should tell them the truth about her death sometime, but not now.

Hearing what he said, the kids all looked up in surprise, eyes wide 'So, teach...that mask, it's really Shizu's?' Alice spoke up

-'Yeah, it is.' he told her 'She gave it to me as a memento when she entrusted you to me.' At this, the kids all looked at one another, as if speaking a secret language, but looking indecisive on weather to trust him. He decided to seal the deal, and took off his mask. Upon seeing his face, they all got tears in their eyes

-'Don't worry' he said smiling 'I'm taking over for Shizu; I want you to be good boys and girls and trust me when I promise this: I am going to save your lives!'

Thus began Rimuru's life as a teacher. He would try his hardest to succeed in his promise, no matter what lengths he would need to go.

He wanted to return to Tempest with his head held high, relieved of the burden he had accepted upon himself when he absorbed Shizu. Only then would he be able to smile the best he could when he welcomed someone special back.

Around the same time

The great city carved into the mountain side came into view as Milim came out of the clouds; unlike her own, this was build right on the peak of one of the tallest mountains in the region. This was Jia, the capital of the Harpy Kingdom of Fulbrosia, led by the Sky Queen Frey, a fellow Demon Lord. As she approached, the guards noticed her but didn't get in the way. They already knew who she was and had standing orders from their queen not to get on her bad side.

She flew quickly into the main entrance of the palace, located in the upper part of the complex, then landed and walked. Standing on each side of a large door were two identical harpy guards, both of which had panicked looks on their faces as she casually and loudly slammed the doors open. Inside, completely undisturbed by the commotion, was Demon Lord Frey, sipping tea

-'Helooo, Frey!' Milim billowed as she entered 'Nice day today, huh?!' she asked. She was wearing her Dragon Knuckles proudly on her arms, and Frey immediately guessed that she was looking to show off.

-'Indeed, it is, Milim.' Frey said with a smile 'What's that?' she said as she looked at the gauntlets. She had to admit, while they didn't suit her outfit, the gauntlets looked exquisitely made. Milim immediately had a starry look in her eyes and launched into a tirade about her latest exploits in the land of Tempest, showing off not only her gauntlets but many of the new clothes she got. Frey listened with the patience of a woman who had centuries of practice with hyperactive intruders; she had always liked Milim, even if the dragonoid got carried away at times. She especially liked how open and genuine she was; as a society built of strength, harpies often had to betray and back-stab one another to climb the social ladder, and Frey was no different: her current position as Queen was taken by slaying the previous one, her own mother. It was safe to say she had an impossible time trusting others or being genuine with them. Milim had no such problem; she was always truthful to a fault, though there were times when Frey saw glimpses of a deeper, more mature side of her. What that side was, truly, she could not say for sure.

In any case, she listened carefully at Milim's explanation and nodded along; she already knew she was in Tempest (she herself had recently sent someone to see what the place was about, but she didn't expect much from that particular girl...). She tried to hide her surprise at the more unexpected things. More importantly, she tried to hide her anxieties and fears of the future; recently, she had fallen in quite the conundrum when she accepted the assistance of Demon Lord Clayman with a little problem called 'Charybdis', and was in a bit of a bind.

-'My, this place dose sound like something, but...' she contemplated; Milim seemed...different, somehow. Something she never saw in her before. She carefully considered the way she talked on and on about this Rimuru, and then realized something... 'Hey, Milim?' she interrupted the dragonoid, who put down one of the dresses she was holding up

-'Hmm?' the girl asked.

-'Do you...like this Rimuru?' she asked. The huge blush that immediately appeared on Milim's face told her all she needed to know 'You do..' she said, unable to hold herself from smirking a bit. Of all the things, Milim having feelings for someone like that was on the very low end of the list

-'Ahhhhh...'Milim quickly tried to talk back, but stuttered wildly 'He he, ya see...its...not that...more like...' she looked away, looking like she wanted to run away, but decided against it 'yes...' she said meekly, like she herself was still coming to terms with it '...actually, we're...kind...a thing already...' she finished with a nervous smile

Frey had to blink. 'I see..' was all she could say. That was even lower on the list. She decided to offer a supportive smile 'Congratulation. I'm happy for you.'

'Eh he he...' Milim laughed as she scratched the back of her head, then heaved a sigh.

Suddenly, Frey felt a strange tension in the air. Milim's face turned to her and she could see the more serious side she knew of taking the place of the usual bubbly girl. Whatever it was, it was going to be bad for someone, she just knew it...

-'Listen, Frey...' she said slowly 'I know you're in some kind of trouble.' Frey thanked her lucky stars she had a good poker face, because inside she was actually panicking. She wasn't sure she wanted anyone else to get involved in her issues, let alone Milim. Not because she though the dragonoid could't help, but because she didn't want the girl to get more involved with her shady busyness.

-'Why do you say...' she tried to say but a look from Milim told her she wasn't buying it. She sighed...'It's personal...'

-'Dose it have something to do with Charybdis?' Milim asked; Frey blinked at her. 'When that think attacked Tempest...' Milim said 'It was coming from the direction of your nation; and you were awfully worried last time I saw you...' she tried to explain, continuing to lock eyes with her 'and even though it's dead, you still look really...off.'

Frey had to give it to her; she was more observant than most people ever gave her credit. She didn't though she looked particularly worried right now, and maybe she wasn't, but that was not fooling Milim in the slightest.

-'Something is going on. I have some idea, but I wanted to hear it from you...' she told her in a serious tone that Frey had never heard before. She wanted to keep denying it and tell her to leave, but felt a small, gentle hand placed on her shoulder 'Please. You can trust me.' Milim said with concern. Frey looked up in the girl's blue eyes.

And for the first time in a long time, she felt she could trust someone fully.