Traveling Trips

Iruma POV

After visiting with Clara and being led out of the Hubbub Forest, Azz separates from us, deciding to fly home from here. It's now pretty late in the evening, starting to get dark and stuff, so I was a little worried about Azz going home on his own, but he assured me he would be fine, and I took his word for it.

It's time to go home since Grandpa has told us the press was scared off by Ameri's dad and his men, just like he promised, meaning it's totally safe to return without having to deal with them all trying to interview us and stuff like at the Roosevelt Hotel.

Then I remember something; an important thing I haven't done yet since we've been so busy. I might as well do it now since I have the chance.

"Hey…Ciel?" I ask the woman standing nearby.

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry…"

She stares at me blankly, not saying a word at first.

"I assume you are referring to your attempt to manipulate my actions, am I correct?" she questions, her eyes growing noticeably colder.

"Yes…" I sheepishly answer, my heart filling with a sinking feeling of regret at my actions.

"Sheesh, Ciel, that's a pretty harsh way of wording that," Rimuru complains.

"But that's what I did," I admit sadly, looking down at my feet, not able to look either of them in the eye.

"I was aware of what you are doing so my actions were my own decision," Ciel explains in her usual flat tone. "...but I will say that I did have a stronger reaction than I expected to them…" Ciel trails off.

"Even though I've said this a lot lately, just don't do it again," Rimuru interjects, lightening the mood with a cheery tone.

"But I feel so horrible about what I did…" I repeat.

"And to a certain extent, you probably should. That's how you learn a lesson, after all." Rimuru replies, patting me on the back. But, Rimuru isn't the person I need to apologize to right now.

"Is there some way I can make it up to you?" I ask Ciel.

After a brief pause, she opens her mouth again.

"No there is not," Ciel says in a cold, ruthless tone.

Then, in a puff of black smoke, Ciel is gone.

"..."

Even Rimuru seems surprised by her actions, standing there stunned for a moment alongside me.

"But…" I start to speak but my words catch in my throat and tears start to well up in my eyes.

This isn't a problem that can be fixed with a simple apology… at least with Ciel, it's not. She's clearly less forgiving than Rimuru.

I was hoping that expressing my regret would be enough and that I could do something for Ciel to make it up to her, now that I've already resolved the issue with Rimuru. But, it's not that simple; I really did do something absolutely terrible back there and I can't make up for it so easily.

It's a stark contrast from just earlier today when Ciel was acting like a mother to me, but now, any warmth that was to her behavior has completely vanished.

"I wasn't expecting that reaction from her…" Rimuru mutters quietly to herself.

"R-rimuru…what do I d-do?!" I ask desperately, my voice shaking.

"Well…when I upset Ciel, I just stay on my best behavior for a while after and sometimes even spoil her a little. That usually does the trick…but I'm not sure that would go the same with you. The relationship between us is unique so I'm not sure if that'd work for yours."

Rimuru stands there thinking for a moment with a puzzled expression.

"I'm sure with time Ciel'll calm down. Today wasn't exactly easy for her, you know, so that could be part of why she reacted like that."

So it wasn't all because of me? Even so, that doesn't make what I did any less messed up…

Sniffling, I wipe the tears from my eyes and take a few deep breaths. Being a baby about this doesn't help anything so I'll just have to take Rimuru's advice and be careful not to do anything stupid. I start calming down, knowing there's nothing that I can do to fix the problem right this moment, so I focus on something else.

"I did notice her looking scared earlier…even you looked creeped out. Why was that?" I ask, eager to change the painful subject.

"This forest…" Rimuru looks over her shoulder at the treeline behind us. "There's something about it that Ciel and I find very unsettling, so she's been stressing out over my safety this entire time."

Unsettling? I know there were some weird things in there, but what could be so bad that it would scare Ciel of all people? Rimuru too, for that matter.

"But that doesn't matter now. We need to head home anyway… I'm guessing you'd prefer a gate and not a direct teleport, right?" Rimuru suddenly asks me.

"I thought we were taking the carriage…?" I ask, having been under the impression we'd travel the same way we did to get here.

"There's not really much reason to, is there? We can if you really wanna, but I thought you'd want to be home as soon as possible." Rimuru says.

"True…" I admit.

"We could also fly, letting you try out those prototype wings again. I don't think anyone would notice the difference between those and normal wings once we get up in the air, and this place is pretty remote."

"No, no, a gate is fine," I assure her, not really in the mood to fly.

"Alrighty then." Rimuru shrugs in a 'suit yourself' kind of way.

Flying sounds like fun, but the prototype wings still have some issues that need to be worked out and I don't want to lose control again. Plus, teleporting back would be quicker and easier and I'm pretty tired from all the stuff I did with Clara, as well as that attempted apology just now.

While with my friends, we ended up gathering a bunch of ingredients out in the forest and making a big meal for everyone; it was a lot of fun! Azz and Clara got kinda competitive, but that's just how they are sometimes. Rimuru also showed off her cooking skills, surprising me a little. I always thought she was used to others cooking for her, but apparently it's a hobby she's picked up. It makes sense given her love of food, but I was still astonished watching her deftly prepare the ingredients.

I tried to help too, but I really didn't know what I was doing, so, outside of gathering the ingredients, I mostly just watched and also ate the food afterward. I should really learn how to cook more than super simple stuff; maybe I could have Opera teach me or something.

With a wave of her hand, a normal-looking door appears and Rimuru opens it, revealing the dining room at the mansion. I've seen Rimuru make fancier 'gates' before, but I guess she just didn't bother with making it look special this time.

Following Rimuru, we step through the open door and come out the other side, finding Grandpa sitting alone at the dining table sipping tea and looking sad.

But, as soon as he spots us both, his eyes light up and he hops out of his chair, lunging toward both to hug us.

"I'm so glad you're home! I missed you so much!" Grandpa squeals while hugging us both tightly.

"You just saw us earlier today!" Rimuru laughingly complains.

After a few seconds of hugging, he releases us and looks around for something.

"Where did Amane go? Did she not come home with you for some reason?" Grandpa asks, looking around behind us.

"Ciel is in here," Rimuru says, pointing to herself. "She wants to take a break from the outside world for a bit."

"I see…" Grandpa mutters, sounding confused, but he quickly drops the subject. "Well, I had Opera make you some snacks to enjoy so help yourself to them! Opera!"

"Right away, Sir."

"Dang, and right after we had all that stuff to eat at Clara's place…" Rimuru mutters.

"Do you not want any, Rimuru?" Grandpa asks.

"Oh no, I never said that!" Rimuru immediately answers.

"Same here, I have plenty of room!" I add.

Grandpa chuckles at both of us and Opera quickly brings out the tea and snack he must've prepared earlier. We dig in, eager to enjoy them.

After stuffing ourselves silly, Rimuru and I both head upstairs, ready to go to bed.

In the hallway between our rooms, Rimuru says while opening her bedroom door.

"Goodnight, Iru-"

Rimuru is cut off by something and I look at her, confused.

On her face is a slime, splattered flat and completely covering it. She pulls at the slime and rolls and balls it back up in her hands, returning it to its normal round bun-like shape. It's the little slime she brought from her homeland, and I guess it was excited to see her.

"Sheesh, I guess you missed me too, huh?" Rimuru asks the slime, laughing a little at the silly situation. "I didn't know you could move that fast, little guy! I'm sure that didn't feel too good hitting my barrier and splattering like that, now did it? I guess, like me, you probably can't feel pain though… either way, it doesn't feel good, I'm sure." Rimuru says in a sympathetic tone, gently patting the slime lovingly.

Pulling her attention away from doting on the slime, Rimuru looks at me again.

"Oh…um, goodnight!" Rimuru says, still holding the small slime.

"You talked like you've had that happen with you before Rimuru…" I mutter quietly.

"What, splattering across someone's face after flying in the air at high speeds?" she asks.

I didn't really mean it that specifically…

"I guess so…?" I reply hesitantly.

"Hehe, that's probably because I have," Rimuru replies in a carefree tone, and after a moment of silence caused by my confusion, she speaks up again. "Well, see ya tomorrow!"

The door closes leaving me alone in the hallway.

"Goodnight," I say out loud, even with Rimuru gone.

Slimes are weird… I can't help but think.

…

A week or so passes with us mostly just relaxing. Ciel hasn't come out ever since she stormed off, but Rimuru doesn't seem too troubled by this; I still feel a lingering sense of guilt about it, though.

Soon, we'll be heading to Tempest for a while, and Rimuru seems pretty excited. Grandpa is too, talking about all the places he wants to see since Diablo has been bragging about it a lot. Opera seems a bit nervous about going, though, probably because he didn't get to come with us last time and he doesn't know what to expect.

I'm a little nervous myself but also thrilled to see more of Rimuru's country. I wonder if I'll get to see Gobta again… He may have been a troublemaker, but he was still a fun person to spend time with; it's no wonder Rimuru considers him a friend.

I've planned out when I'm going to meet with Ameri so that I can make sure I'm back home for it when the time comes. I think I'm gonna go to an aquarium with her, but I haven't decided just yet.

Rimuru says it's no problem to go back and forth between dimensions, all I need to do is just ask, so I'm not worried about my absence from the Netherworld being much of a problem.

Today is the day to leave; I'm all packed and so is everyone else. Rimuru, again, isn't carrying any bags, but I know she did pack her stuff up. I saw her do it; she just made half the contents of her bedroom disappear in a snap, shocking and astounding everyone except for Diablo. He just smirked as if he expected as much from Rimuru, which is probably true.

The only thing she's 'carrying' with her is the tiny slime she seems attached to; it's sitting on top of her head, actually, like a squishy hat.

I've noticed it riding around on there a lot lately and I kinda find the sight funny. The slime likes to stick close to Rimuru no matter what, and I'm not quite sure why. I guess it has to do with both being slimes, even though Rimuru doesn't look like one most of the time.

I really don't know how it stays up there without rolling or sliding off, but it does. I've even seen Rimuru bend forward and it still didn't come off the top of her head, somehow.

"You guys didn't forget anything, right?" Rimuru asks everyone in the group.

We all nod 'yes'.

I've gone over my list of stuff I need multiple times, so I know I'm good. Rimuru actually stopped me from packing as much as I planned to again, saying that some of them will be provided by her country when we get there. We're gonna be official state guests, she said, and that most of our necessities will be taken care of. Rimuru made it sound super fancy, which I'm not sure how to feel about, but she said that since I'm her friend her people will insist on nothing less.

She also gave us all a more in-depth run-down on rules and things we should keep in mind. Stuff like how to address her in public, since her position makes that a trickier thing than you'd expect, and not to injure slimes, which apparently only Opera knew.

I have to use honorifics when talking to or about Rimuru in public so people won't think I'm being rude, which Rimuru thinks is silly and annoying, but it's just a fact of reality. I'm not the monarch of a country, so addressing her in the normal casual way will just go and offend people. Not Rimuru; she doesn't care about it, but for my sake, I need to be careful.

I didn't really talk with many people outside of Rimuru's closest subordinates and friends last time, so this wasn't as much of a problem, but since I'm staying in Tempest more long-term this time, I'm probably gonna interact with more people outside of Rimuru's circle.

"To them, I'm a public figure, a representation of power and authority itself, not a normal everyday person. It's tiresome to have people look at me like that, but unfortunately, that's how things are." Rimuru tiredly explained to me. "That's why my time in the Netherworld has been so refreshing, but even with all that baggage attached, I still miss my home, so I'm looking forward to returning and showing you more of what makes it great!"

And as for why we can't injure slimes and have to make sure that we take great care in doing so, in Rimuru's words:

"I'm a slime, so my people look at slimes as some sort of symbol of me, their Demon Lord. To injure one is seen as an insult to me, and they won't take that well, so yea…. Best not to do it."

After making sure we're ready, Rimuru makes a gate similar to the one we used to get home, but it looks like she put a bit more effort into it this time. It's larger and more elaborate, and I may be wrong, but I think it took more magic to make…? I've been getting a better feel for that kind of thing over time as I've used magic more and more, but I barely know what I'm doing so I could easily be wrong about this gate taking more energy.

First removing the small slime from her head with an audible pop, like a suction cup being removed from a window; Rimuru tucks it into her hoodie's front pocket and leads the way through the door to the other side.

After going through it, I see that we're in the same place I showed up before; Rimuru's office overlooking the city. Although, this time, it's a lot more crowded with everyone packed inside. It's a decent-sized room so it wasn't uncomfortably crowded or anything, though.

Rimuru immediately hops into her desk's chair, exclaiming "Home sweet home!"

After a few moments, she turns her attention to Diablo.

"First things first; Diablo, go check on Testarossa, Ultima, and Carrera. You've been away for a while and I wanna make sure those three haven't gotten into any trouble in your absence."

"Right away, my Lord," Diablo says with a bow before leaving with what I guess was some sort of teleportation.

"What a pristine office…" Opera comments, looking around the room.

"I agree…I didn't get to see this room when I was last in your homeland, Rimuru, and I have to say it is a very nice place to work. I might need to take some inspiration from it!"

"Ah, yeah, the staff here are amazing at their jobs; plus, I haven't been around to make any messes in here for a while, hahaha…" Rimuru laughs. "But, if you find this impressive, just wait until you see Rimuru!"

"You mean the city, right?" I ask.

"Of course," Rimuru replies as if that should be obvious.

Opera twitches his ears and then asks "You named a city after yourself?"

"I didn't name it after myself, some of my people did. Trust me, I found it incredibly embarrassing at first, but have gotten used to it over time," Rimuru answers, sounding a little embarrassed about it despite saying she isn't.

"Are those two women gonna burst in like last time?" I ask, remembering the two oni women that had a tug-of-war over Rimuru last time I was here.

"I contacted them ahead of time this time so probably not. Promising to spend some time with them later was enough to stop them from dropping their duties just to see me immediately…but, I better check in with Shuna anyway, since she probably has some work for me. There's a festival coming up and I need to decide on some things to do with that. Oh, and there was that one project that Vesta mentioned a while back…I better contact him too…"

Rimuru trails off, mumbling to herself about various things. It sounds like she'll be pretty busy now that she's back in her country.

"Rimuru!" a familiar voice shouts.

"Gaaah! Veldora!" Rimuru screams in shock.

Veldora appeared out of nowhere, right behind Rimuru.

"How did he…?" Opera muttered, startled by Veldora's sudden appearance.

"Rimuru, take me to a different world! Please! Or eat me! Just do something!" he pleads.

"What are you going on about this time Veldora? Give me a good reason why I should do that?" Rimuru asks, irritated by his insistence.

"Big Sister Velzard! She's coming! Here!" Veldora shouts.

"She did? Did she say when?" Rimuru asks calmly.

"I-I don't know…I was just informed that she's coming to visit us both! Little Brother, I don't want to die! Please!" Veldora yells some more, grabbing Rimuru by the shoulders and shaking her back and forth.

"Who is this…Velzard?" Grandpa asks, curious about who this person is that has Veldora in such a panic.

"She's our eldest sister…and she doesn't really like Veldora all that much…well, that's not true, but the way she shows her love of him is kinda…cold," Rimuru explains.

"Yes, but she's so kind to you Rimuru! I don't understand why she treats me so differently; we are both her younger brothers, are we not?" Veldora asks, very upset by this reality.

"Yeah, but I wasn't a huge troublemaker from birth. Well, that's a lie, but at least I haven't destroyed any cities; do I need to bring up all those times you've rampaged? I've been told stories by her and Velgrynd, you know, and you were definitely a problem child, especially back in the past."

"Rimuru, this is not the time for that! She could arrive at any moment!" Veldora continues to whine.

"Well, at least she told us ahead of time." Rimuru points out casually, still not bothered by Veldora's distress.

"Will she actually kill Veldora, Rimuru?" I ask, a little worried for Veldora's safety. An older sister wouldn't do something like killing her little brother, right?

"Hmmm…probably not; unless he did something horrible while I was on vacation. You haven't done anything bad recently, have you Veldora?" Rimuru asks Veldora with one eyebrow raised and her arms folded.

"No, of course not! I am much too mature to do something to earn the ire of Big Sister!" Veldora declares with feigned confidence that I could even see through.

"And you say that after pissing off Velgrynd not too long ago…are you sure of that, Veldora?" Rimuru questions skeptically.

"Yes, of course!" Veldora shouts.

"Uh-huh…"

"Why do you not believe me, Little Brother?!" Veldora asks desperately.

"Just go back to the bottom of the Labyrinth. I'm sure that as long as you didn't do anything terrible, she's just visiting, wanting to spend some time with me. I did mention us all having a family get-together of sorts at one point."

Veldora's face turns to a look of betrayal, dismayed by what Rimuru just said.

"Y-you invited her?!" he screams.

"Why not? Unlike you, I happen to get along great with my big sister! So, why wouldn't I want to spend some time with her since it's been a while?" Rimuru continues.

Veldora doesn't seem convinced, but at least he's not screaming anymore. Rimuru doesn't seem to think Velzard visiting is much of a problem, but Veldora is still clearly upset.

After a little more mumbling and arguing coming from Veldora, Rimuru finally gets him to leave.

"Sorry about that; family drama, you could say." Rimuru apologizes with a sigh.

"I was not aware you had family outside of that man, Veldora." Opera comments.

He's aware that Veldora is technically Rimuru's brother, just like the rest of us here, but even I didn't know that Rimuru had two older sisters too. I think she mentioned one of them at some point, but not Velzard.

"Oh yeah, I haven't really talked about them, have I? Well, it's a long story so I won't get into that right now. I, unfortunately, have some duties to attend to so I'm gonna cut you three free and let you enjoy yourselves however you want. I know Sullivan and Iruma know their way around at least part of town, so go have some fun; I'll join you in the evening when I have time."

Rimuru then starts muttering incomprehensibly to herself, distracted and thinking about a lot of different things, I can tell.

Rimuru really is a busy person, which makes sense since she's in charge of an entire country…

"In that case, why don't we go exploring, my grandson?" Grandpa offers, placing his hand on my shoulder and smiling at me.

"Yeah!"

"Yes, I am quite curious about this place… but, there may be danger, so please keep aware of your surroundings, Sir." Opera cautiously points out.

"Don't worry, Opera! I know I may get a bit too excited at times, but I know how to be careful!" Grandpa assures him cheerfully.

"Wait a moment…I need to give you something first." Rimuru suddenly says. "Here; this should be enough, but try not to spend it all."

Rimuru hands me a sack full of coins, revealing a mix of copper, silver, and gold when I open it.

"Thank you!"

"Now, what should I take care of first…" Rimuru starts mumbling, not paying attention to me anymore after handing me my 'allowance'.

Leaving a preoccupied Rimuru in her office, we all step out of the room and out into the hallway. As we walk, a few maids and servants of different types give us brief curious stares, not recognizing us, but don't say anything or stop us from moving on. I guess the fact we're in here is enough to make them think we belong, I'm not sure.

Stepping outside, the bright sunlight half blinds me for a moment, and the warm summer air surrounds me, feeling very pleasant. It's definitely hotter out than the last time I was in Tempest, but I like it. Seeing this place again fills me with excitement!

Now out in the fresh air, I see the same hustle and bustle of people that there was last time, minus the problem of me being with Rimuru. So, we're not really grabbing too much attention as we make our way down the street.

"There are many strong individuals here, I can tell. The way they carry themselves is quite intimidating…" Opera mutters quietly.

"Yes, this is how it was last time I was here. It is impressive, isn't it?" Grandpa comments.

"Yes, but also concerning." Opera corrects.

"But these are Rimuru's people, remember? I don't think you need to be so worried, Opera." I say, not seeing much to worry about since all these people seem friendly.

"Remember what she said about referring to her in public, Iruma? You wouldn't want to be overheard…the last thing I'd want is for you to get hurt by one of these folks! Of course, I would defend you, but…" Grandpa whispers to me, sounding concerned.

That would upset Rimuru if she heard about that…

"I get it, Grandpa, sorry…it just slipped out."

But I guess I can kinda see why Opera is worried; there are a lot of armed people here, many of them guards and adventurers. It does seem like security is pretty strict…stricter than the last time I was here. Although, it's hard to tell since there were a lot of guards last time too…maybe I'm overthinking things?

Rimuru POV

"Thanks again, Shuna."

"You are very welcome, Lord Rimuru."

I've had Shuna make arrangements for my guests to stay here long-term, as well as take care of some necessary paperwork for some other things. It kinda sucks, being thrown right into work right after returning, but that's just how a lot of jobs work, right? It almost feels like reality itself punishes you for taking a break by dumping a ton of trouble on your plate right after returning from a well-deserved hiatus.

But, I can't slack, so taking care of it and getting caught up as soon as I can is all I can do, then I can relax a little and spend some time with Iruma, showing him the sights of Tempest and doing fun summer activities with him.

"One more thing, my Lord."

"Yes?"

"That project you assigned to me…it is almost finished, I simply need to fit them to you and your little human friend," Shuna says, giggling a little at that last part.

"Oh, already? I guess I should have expected that from you, Shuna! I'll make some time and pay your workshop a visit, alongside Iruma later so we can get that taken care of."

Shuna beams at me, nods, and leaves with a bow.

I commissioned something specific from her last time I was here, and it seems like Shuna has finished with it in the meantime. I'll have to tell Iruma I have a surprise for him and take him there later today, or maybe tomorrow if it gets too late…I still have a lot to do before I have 'free time'.

Iruma POV

I am walking the streets of Tempest, munching on the various goods I've collected from stalls and vendors along the side of the road. I'm glad Rimuru gave me some spending money so I could fully enjoy all the cool foods being sold!

Grandpa, Opera, and I have been going on our own little self-guided tour of Tempest and it's been a lot of fun! Having Gobta show me around last time was great, but being able to lead the way and go wherever you want is even better!

While lost in my own thoughts I was only barely able to hear part of a conversation, jolting me out of my carefree thoughts of food and all the nice sights of the city.

A specific word, in particular, seemed to slice through the otherwise ambient noise produced by the people walking the streets.

"... war …"

Huh?

Zeroing in on the people the words are coming from I see a young woman holding a small child talking with one of the less busy vendors, someone who is selling various goods from the back of his wagon, a merchant probably.

The man continues. "Yes. Gustrela and Floidor are two small nations to the west of Tempest. Their tensions have been brewing for a while now and things seemed to be coming to a head the last time I was there."

"There has been talk among my merchant group that, unless you want to sell weapons and risk getting caught up in the fighting, you better stay clear of their territories for the time being. Not to mention the Council of the West has threatened sanctions as both of the nations so far have refused any and all opportunities to sit down at the negotiation table."

The woman, who couldn't be older than her early twenties seems quite troubled by the news.

"Oh no. M-my parents and younger brother live near the western border in Luralk village. I only just… just moved here with my husband to s-start a business. What's going to become of them if they get caught up in the fighting?" she worriedly asks, her voice quivering.

She cradles the baby close as tears seem to well up in the corners of her eyes. Clearly distraught at the prospect of her loved ones coming face to face with the fighting of the other nations.

"Not to worry ma'am." The merchant assures her "The Demon Lord Rimuru wouldn't allow the people under his protection to come to harm from some skirmish between small nations like this. As someone who travels all over this continent, let me assure you, there is hardly a place safer than Tempest."

Or so he declares with a boisterous smile. Whether it was true or not, it seemed to ease the woman's worries.

"Y-yes, you are right. The Great Rimuru has always been looking out, even for us common people. I'm sure he will take care of things."

The talk between the two having evidently concluded, I continue on my way all the while the colorful snacks I am munching on seem to have lost some of their flavor.

War huh? I guess just because Tempest is at peace that doesn't mean there are no fights elsewhere in the world.

I'm filled with worry by this news, not for myself and my safety, but for all those poor people getting caught up in a war. I've never experienced anything like that, living most of my life in peaceful Japan, but from what I've gleaned from history lessons and such, war is never a pretty thing. I don't even want to think about the horrific things those living through war have to experience.

"It seems that this world isn't free of conflict, even now." Grandpa solemnly comments.

"Huh?"

"Diablo has talked at length about how much effort Rimuru puts into keeping the peace here, yet it seems like there are some folks that still cause conflict." he continues.

"No world is free of troubles of this nature," Opera adds.

"Oh, but don't worry, Grandson! As those people said, your sister will take care of things." Grandpa reassures me, ruffling my hair.

"Yeah…yeah, you're right!" I say with newfound confidence.

No, I shouldn't worry about it too much. Just like the merchant and Grandpa said, Rimuru's got this handled. I'm sure she will take care of things and resolve this war before things escalate.

**That Evening**

Katelyn POV

The hustle and bustle of the day has wound to a close as the sun hangs low in the sky, the palace almost silent compared to just a few hours earlier.

I've been assigned to the night roster of palace maids, and it's rather peaceful, not to mention that the cool evening air makes the work a lot easier during the heat of the summer.

My main task tonight is to wax all the wooden furniture in the meeting hall, which is simple enough, but…

Who could this ridiculously small chair possibly be for? It practically fits in my palm…

I shrug it off as simply one of the quirks of this country's diversity of species, and get to waxing, even though this feels more like a toy than an actual chair.

Quickly finishing it and moving on to the next chair, my focus is broken by a fairly short figure walking past the room; not moving with confidence and direction like the usual denizens of the palace, but instead more timid and explorative, as if unfamiliar with this place and not wanting to draw attention.

This doesn't seem right. Maybe I ought to follow along…

Tailing the figure from some distance behind, I see that he's a (probably) human boy, no more than 14 or 15.

He wanders around for a while until he finds the executive mess hall. He immediately goes inside, and loads a tray with all kinds of random food, taking a bit of everything. It seems like far too much for one person, and the sketchiness of this situation is growing by the second.

It looks like some strange kid found his way to the executive mess hall and started plundering it… I should probably step in.

"Hey kid, what are you doing, skulking around at this hour?" I ask, half-expecting that this is some daredevil who's seeing if it's possible to get away with stealing food from the palace of a Demon Lord.

The idea may sound unbelievably stupid, but teenagers can be that way sometimes. If that is what it is, then I'll just scare him off; I'd rather he wasn't caught, since I'm not sure I trust the more fanatical people here to avoid overreacting to a fairly harmless intrusion, there are some honest-to-goodness demons in this place.

He jolts when I speak, but only from the surprise of being suddenly greeted, seeming unfazed afterward.

"Oh, I'm just grabbing some snacks! Rimuru said I could get some from here, I hope that's okay!"

"I suppose it is, but… No title, just 'Rimuru'?"

The boy gets a look on his face like he just screwed up.

"Well, I'm his friend, I think he'd find it weird if I was too formal about it…" he mutters, not sounding too convincing, but nobody would lie about being friends with the almighty Demon Lord Rimuru!

Ah, this must be a personal guest of the Demon Lord! It was careless of me to treat him like a potential intruder!

I had heard about some guests staying in the executive palace, just arrived today, but I never imagined a normal-looking boy like this to be one of them! Official guests like that are normally royalty from other countries and other high-up figures of lofty status.

"My apologies for my earlier rudeness, Sir! Would you like me to prepare a selection of delicacies for you, and bring it to your quarters? I can also provide some hot chocolate."

"Really? Oh, alright then! I'm in, uh… The corner room one level up, somewhere thataway."

The boy gestures in the general direction of the room, and I understand where to go.

I feel like there's something I'm meant to know about that room, but I can't remember what it is.

"I'll see you shortly then, Sir."

Iruma POV

Hmm, that hot chocolate sounds good right now…

It's been a little while since I parted ways with that maid, she seemed a bit on edge.

I'm sitting with Rimuru in the room near her office; a place she says she uses to sleep when she doesn't want to go back to her actual home since work keeps her very busy. So, it's essentially her spare bedroom, and we're hanging out in it before I go to bed for the night.

*Knock knock*

"Ah, that's Katelyn, she must be the maid you met earlier. Could you get that, Iruma?" Rimuru requests.

As I get up to open the door, the way that Rimuru immediately knew who it was barely registers in my mind; by this point, I'm used to seeing her casually defy normal human logic.

I let Katelyn in, and she greets me with a slight bow, a tray of all kinds of delicious things in her arms.

"Greetings, Sir, I've brought your-"

Suddenly, she freezes up.

"My greatest apologies for intruding, Lord Rimuru, I didn't know you were here!"

"It's fine, it's fine, just set that down here," Rimuru replies, clearing away some space on the table for the tray.

"Thank you, Katelyn!" I say as the maid nervously sets the tray down, and Rimuru's eyes light up in delight as she gets a proper view of all the goodies.

"Oooh, that hot chocolate looks good, can I please get some too?" she requests.

"R-right away, Lord Rimuru."

I kinda feel bad for Katelyn as she heads out the door, she seemed very nervous about serving us.

"Wait a moment! Do you wanna join us?" I ask, wanting to make it up to her. "We've got lots of delicious things here now, thanks to you!"

"Me? With the Demon Lord? I… I…uh..of course!" Katelyn stammers. "B-but first…I will p-prepare that hot chocolate for you, Lord R-rimuru…"

Ah, she sounds even more nervous now…

"Go right ahead, thank you," Rimuru replies kindly and the maid steps out.

As soon as the girl steps out of the room, Rimuru's smile fades.

"That was probably not the best idea, Iruma," Rimuru says with a sigh. "Look, I know you were trying to be nice to her, but you can't just spring that on someone out of nowhere."

"I don't understand…"

"A question like that is interpreted as a gently given order when it comes to someone of my social status, and in your case, a close friend of someone of my social status. Either way, there was no way Katelyn could say no to your 'offer' in her position."

"So I forced her by accident?" I ask, shocked that was how my words were taken. The last thing I wanted was to put her in a bad situation like that!

"Essentially, yes. But don't worry…it's not a big problem." Rimuru calmly waves off my concerns.

"Can't I just say 'never mind' and let her go back to what she was doing? I feel bad about it now…" I mutter, wanting to fix my mistake.

I expect Rimuru to agree, but she shakes her head.

"It's too late for that this time, Iruma. I'll just make the best of the situation…I actually have an idea."

"I am back, Lord Rimuru." Katelyn says, reappearing in the doorway.

Sheepishly, she approaches us and places the cup in front of Rimuru before sitting next to me, looking incredibly nervous.

We sit there, silently eating and sipping, an awkward air filling the room.

"Say, Katelyn…I actually have an offer for you." Rimuru says out of the blue.

Katelyn sits up even straighter than she already was, which I didn't think was possible since she already seemed so stiff, clearly uncomfortable being in the room with both of us.

"Y-yes…what is it you wish from me, Demon Lord Rimuru?" Katelyn asks, struggling to respond because of the suddenness of Rimuru's words.

"This is Iruma, my friend, as you already probably know. He's not from Tempest and needs someone to watch over him and attend to his needs and such, and I think since you both have become acquainted, I might as well assign you to him for the time being."

"Wh-what?!" I sputter, nearly spitting out some of my hot chocolate.

"Plus, she's human, just like you, Iruma. Not that that matters a ton, but I thought you'd appreciate it. So, are you both fine with it? I'm not going to force the issue." Rimuru continues, not bothered by my astonishment.

"Of course I accept!" Katelyn immediately says, bowing her head to Rimuru.

"Do I really need a personal maid?" I ask, thinking that having someone like that is a bit much. I've had Opera around as Grandpa's servant, but that's different.

"Yup."

I stop for a moment, thinking about the situation. Part of me is uncomfortable with the idea, but I guess it would be nice to have someone help me around Tempest when I need it. I probably don't have to have Katelyn with me constantly either so it's not much of a problem.

"If you say so…" I agree.

"Good, then starting tomorrow, Katelyn will be your personal attendant while you are in Tempest." Rimuru declares.

With a satisfied smile and another sip of her hot chocolate, Rimuru speaks up again.

"Thank you, Katelyn, go and continue with your normal duties now if you wish."

Katelyn stands up, respectfully bows, and shuffles out of the room, looking a little relieved as she reaches the door and closes it behind her.

Once Katelyn leaves the room, Rimuru sighs. "Good, I'm glad I resolved that little issue. It's not like I could task Gobta with watching you again. Still…I feel a little bad about springing that on the poor girl…oh well, I'm sure she will get a bonus for it, so it's fine. But…"

"What is it, Rimuru?"

"I know I kinda touched on this earlier, but I need to make it a little clearer so we don't have another misunderstanding. For most people here the idea of interacting with me so directly is terrifying. Familiarity helps of course, but it's asking too much for the average person to be able to enjoy spending time with me since they end up worrying too much about what impression they leave on me." Rimuru says, her expression a little sad at the idea.

"What makes it so terrifying for them though? You don't seem that scary."

"Well, you got to know me as Rimuru the schoolgirl before ever learning the full extent of my role as a Demon Lord. Say that you knew of me from a young age as an unstoppably powerful Demon Lord who rules over a large swathe of the world, yet knew little about my personality. Would you have kept calm when meeting me then?" Rimuru questions.

I try to imagine what it'd be like meeting Rimuru if she was a random monarch back on Earth, and yeah, it's pretty unnerving to imagine casually talking with someone like that.

"… I guess not," I admit.

"Back when I had far fewer subjects and wasn't known as a Demon Lord, I used to join in with the common folk all the time, and they thought nothing of it. We would work and play together, as if I was just another citizen of Tempest," Rimuru reminisces with a smile, yet sadness in her eyes. "It's ironic, isn't it? I set out to build a country where all kinds of people can live together in happiness, but along the way, I got left out."

This conversation got way heavier than I expected…

"Is that why you try to avoid being identified while out in public?" I ask.

"Yeah… I guess it's not really as bad as I made it out to be, since I always have the option of hiding who I am, plus there are plenty of people and places already familiar with me. Not to mention that people in other worlds have no idea who I am, which makes it really easy for me to blend in without any issues."

"Other worlds like… The Netherworld?"

"Yup! Besides being an interesting place with lots of new things, I don't have to hide there either, y'know? I can let loose a little bit more. It feels nice to not need to keep appearances up all the time."