Tour Around Town

Iruma POV

Fresh air, bright sun; I'm outside taking a little stroll around town with Katelyn, the maid Rimuru assigned to me yesterday. When she showed up to wake me up this morning, I told her I wanted to explore the city more, so she offered to go with me; or more like she said it was her duty to keep an eye on me. Direct orders from her boss, apparently, after she heard that Rimuru specifically asked for her to 'attend to my needs'.

She's kinda stiff and formal with me, but not quite as much as she seemed to be when around Rimuru. Still, I find the situation a little awkward since I'm not really used to this. Opera can be similar at times, but he still treats me more like family than anything despite technically being Grandpa's servant.

Rimuru is still catching up with her work, and today, Grandpa and Opera decided to go to the Labyrinth's dungeon after Grandpa spent an hour raving about it to Opera. I'm a little worried about them both getting hurt since they both said they wanted to 'test their skills' in there, but knowing how nobody can die in there and that there are potions that can heal you within seconds is a reassuring thing.

As we continue walking, mostly just wandering around right now, the foot traffic starts to slow for some reason and the people begin to crowd together. I hear excited shouting and cheering up ahead, but the crowd is too thick to see through enough to know what's happening.

"Katelyn, do you know what's going on over there?" I ask her, pointing ahead of us.

She stands on her tiptoes, attempting to spot the reason by looking over everyone's heads, but she seems to fail.

"Unfortunately, I cannot tell, Sir Iruma." she politely apologizes.

I want to tell her to just call me Iruma, but remembering how things went last night where I tried and failed to be nice to her with my offer, I don't want to make her more uncomfortable again. It's not that big of a deal anyway since I'm used to Azz also addressing me all formal-like.

"Hmmm…I'm gonna take a closer look." I say, very curious.

Gently pushing and tapping my way through the crowd, followed by Katelyn who doesn't look the happiest about what I'm doing, I start to get closer to whatever is causing this block in the road.

I manage to make my way to the front and Katelyn joins me, fixing the arrangement of her hair after having to push her way through after me.

"Sir, you are an official guest of the Demon Lord, I could easily have made people step aside so you could get through." Katelyn calmly explains with a slightly tired expression.

"Oh…I didn't really think that was an option…sorry Katelyn."

"There's no need for an apology," Katelyn reassures me with a small smile.

But, turning my attention back to what's ahead, I see something I definitely didn't expect; it's a parade of slimes completely obstructing the street and seemingly being led by multiple people that kinda look like crossing guards holding signs with a cartoon of a slime drawn on them.

You'd expect people to be annoyed by the hold-up, but if anything, the people all around me seem more excited than anything; included in them is Katelyn, who after noticing, seems to have a thrilled sparkle in her eyes.

I mean, I've definitely seen slimes around in the brief time I've spent in Tempest (not counting Rimuru in that number) but never so many at once. All of varying sizes, yet the same blue-ish color, the large collection of slimes are all moving in one direction across the road, bordered by people cheering and even throwing some kind of food for the slimes to eat as they pass by.

"This is one of the famous slime migrations of Tempest! I've never seen one from so close up before!" Katelyn squeals, any formal demeanor shattered by the slimes.

"Oh, so this is a normal thing?" I ask.

"A normal thing? Only during the summer, I believe. I haven't been in this country all that long myself, so I haven't actually gotten to see something this special yet! It's something that many people look forward to when visiting here since Tempest is the only country to have anything even close to this!" She happily replies.

She starts rambling about how during the summer, slimes herd and congregate, migrating in large droves before shallowly burrowing into the soil and going dormant during the winter.

"I have somewhere to be! I'll just shove my way through all those stupid blobs!" a nearby man shouts out of nowhere, his anger and frustration clear in his voice and expression. I immediately feel the cold glares from the crowd honing in on him as they all scowl at the man's impatience with the situation.

He takes one step toward the stream of slimes before another man roughly grabs his arm from behind. The first, angry, man is human, but the man that grabbed him is clearly a monster; an ogre, I think, based on the thick horns coming out of his forehead and the color of his skin and hair. His eyes are practically glowing with fury at the person he just grabbed and stopped from trying to squeeze his way through before the slimes are done passing by.

"Don't you dare disrespect the rules of my country, human! Those are sacred creatures and you are not allowed to interfere with them!"

"Oh yeah?! All I see is just a buncha mindless blobs that just look like the Demon Lord of this country, but they are nothing but animals! Why should I waste my time waiting for them to slide by so slowly?!"

The ogre grabs the man by his shirt using one hand and reels back with his other, looking like he's about to punch the human in the face. But, before they actually come to blows, one of the sign-holding people managing the slime migration steps in and rips the two men apart, scolding them both for their misbehavior.

"Violence in these streets is just as great a disrespect to the Great Demon Lord Rimuru, who wishes for peace among all races. Human, the rules regarding the slime migration and their importance are posted all over the city during summer, please show respect, if you need to get somewhere within Tempest, you will not be faulted for delays caused by the slimes." the guard explains.

The man, still looking disgruntled, listens but doesn't seem to like what's being said. Even so, this, combined with the people around him clearly not agreeing with his actions, quickly de-escalates things. He did end up getting some sort of ticket for his actions but wasn't arrested or anything like that one guy that tried to attack Rimuru during my first visit here.

Katelyn is shaking her head disapprovingly at the sight, like someone witnessing a child acting up.

"Here you go little slimy!" I hear a child nearby say as he holds out a hand to the swarm of slimes.

One of them scootches out of the flow and up to the child before springing onto the kid's hand and eating whatever it was he was holding. The little boy giggles as the slime takes a few seconds to finish eating before rejoining its group.

I wonder what that was…

It was something green, maybe some sort of dried pellets. It sure looked like some kind of pet food or something, but I'm not sure. The slime sure seemed to like it though, and I think that other people are tossing the same stuff to the slimes.

Curious, I decided to ask the kid what he fed the slime.

"What was that stuff you were feeding it?"

"Uh…hipokute pellets. Wanna try?" the kid offers, holding out a handful of them to me.

"Sure…thank you so much!" I gratefully respond.

I take the pellets and roll them around in my hand, wondering what they're made of.

"I believe they are made with a byproduct of potion production, which are created with hipokute herbs" Katelyn adds, noticing my curiosity about the slime food.

"You mean those special healing potion things?" I ask, remembering how Gobta told me some about those and even used one on me.

"Yes, I've heard some things about how that all works, and there isn't much use for the leaves after the juice is squeezed out of them. There are still some magicules left in the dregs, so they get pressed into these pellets that people like to feed the slimes with."

"Huh…well, I guess I'll give it a try."

Part of me wants to just toss the food to the slimes since I know it kinda feels weird to touch them, but a lot of people seem to be enjoying hand-feeding the slimes.

I crouch down and hold out my hand and one of the larger slimes approaches me. After a few seconds, it does the same thing the first did and hops on top of my hand and also part of my arm since it really is quite a bit bigger than the small one that the kid fed.

It felt cold and wet, similar to what I expected, but just like last time, it wasn't like it left behind a residue or anything. Not a bad experience, really, since it only lasted a few seconds.

But, instead of immediately returning to its herd, the slime just sits in front of me, not moving.

Is it okay?

The slime has started quivering strangely and it's making me a little worried. Did I do something wrong by feeding it those pellets? No, that can't be it; everyone is feeding slimes those things.

I give it a cautious poke, but it doesn't budge and the quivering keeps getting worse.

"Hey, Katelyn, I think there's something wrong-"

Part of the slime distorts and a smaller one pops out before both the large one and the new small one bounce their way into the horde of slimes, disappearing from my sight.

"Did it just…give birth?!" I shout, completely shocked by what I just saw happen.

"Wooooow! That's amazing!" the kid who shared the pellets with me exclaims.

"What an honor; it's considered good luck to witness a slime divide right after feeding it." Katelyn cheerfully exclaims, also looking happy about the slime having a baby right in front of us.

"So that happened because I fed it then?"

"Exactly. Slimes divide once they reach a certain size brought on by eating; it's just how they work."

The question of whether that rule applies to Rimuru too crosses my mind, but with how much I've seen her eat, I doubt it.

"All slimes?"

"As far as I know-...wait, are you asking about Lord Rimuru?"

I nod my head.

Katelyn tries and fails to suppress a giggle.

"I don't think so…oh, I'm sorry for laughing, but I wasn't expecting a question like that!"

"But you don't know for sure, do you?"

"Well, of course not. Maybe since you are friends with Demon Lord Rimuru you should ask him yourself. Someone in my position wouldn't know a secret like that."

"That makes sense…"

Soon, the slimes finish passing by, only taking a few minutes. I didn't mind waiting, and the same goes for most of the people here. If anything, everyone seemed more thrilled than annoyed while watching the little blue blobs trek across the road.

I wonder where they're all going? I can't help but think as I look in the direction that all the slimes went.

Rimuru POV

"When we are done here, I do have some more paperwork for you," Shuna says as she finishes up with the adjustments to my outfit.

These clothes are for me to wear at the upcoming festival. Almost every single time we have something like this, she insists on sewing something new for me to wear and flaunt around. It's a source of pride for her, I think.

Shuna holds out a stack of papers to me.

"What's this?" I ask, taking the stack into my hands.

"More planning for the festival, Lord Rimuru. There are many proposals for different festivities that need your approval." She explains to me.

"...so Veldora wants to run a takoyaki stand again?" I tiredly ask out loud as I glance at the top page.

"As to be expected," Shuna replies matter-of-factly.

He does this every time we have a festival (which is pretty damn often, by the way), somehow getting a kick out of it year after year. I don't get why he's so insistent about it, but it makes Veldora happy and is a harmless pastime for him, so I don't mind.

Normally, a request to run a stand wouldn't ever reach me, but because this is Veldora we're talking about, my approval is necessary. This goes for most of his requests, actually, since a lot of my people have a hard time saying no to him because of who he is combined with his usual brash attitude.

So, to prevent him from doing anything dumb, most of the time his requests and demands get funneled right to my desk, or he comes to me directly in person. I guess I should be grateful Veldora asks first at all with most things, actually, even though I find it pretty annoying.

"By the way, where is your human friend, Lord Rimuru?" Shuna asks.

"Oh, I assigned him one of the palace maids and she's taking him around town, letting him enjoy himself exploring and seeing the sights."

"I do need to see him soon so that I can finish up that custom uniform you asked me to make. We need to work on yours too."

"Yeah, I know that, but it can wait for a little bit longer. Once I get a little more caught up with the current stuff we can get that all taken care of."

Shuna frowns a little at this but drops the subject. She knows full well how busy I am at the moment since she's the one bringing me a lot of the work that's keeping me that busy. Not all of it, but Shuna is definitely well-informed about my responsibilities.

"I'm surprised that you don't use your skills to create multiple bodies to finish it faster, my Lord."

The suggestion makes me sigh; Shuna knows that's not a comfortable skill for me to use, yet she still suggests it for productivity's sake.

"You know that's not something I like to use unless absolutely necessary, Shuna. I'm keeping up with my work so it's not needed."

Yesterday, I already went and absorbed my Parallel Existence clone that I left behind to avoid confusion, and the only reason that wasn't an unpleasant thing to do was that it was mostly dormant throughout my Netherworld vacation.

"I understand," Shuna says, not seeming fully satisfied with my excuse. She really can be a slave driver at times, I swear.

Shuna soon finishes her work and I change back into my previous outfit.

"Really, though, I am surprised that you don't have Iruma ready for me, even given the circumstances." Shuna huffs, still keeping her tone polite.

"I'm sorry, okay? I know it's been a while since I asked you to make those uniforms so I should've been prepared for you to fit them to us both,

It has been a hot minute since I put Shuna to the task, but I haven't had much of a chance to bring us both to her workshop so she can finish up the projects. Shuna has been working hard, I'm sure, so I do feel a little bad about this.

I still remember the embarrassing conversation that happened when I went and asked Shuna to make the uniforms…she practically interrogated me so there's no way I can forget.

**Flashback**

"Lord Rimuru, if I may… You've been staying in another world for a long time, and it doesn't sound like you plan to properly return here anytime soon. Is there a particular reason you want to stay there?"

Her tone and expression don't seem judgmental, just a little concerned. Shuna is one of my most trusted and level-headed confidants, so I don't mind talking to her a bit about my situation.

"Well, it is more complicated than just a vacation. It's a bunch of reasons at once, really."

"Is it okay if I hear them?" she inquires.

With a sigh, I resign myself to a long explanation.

I, of course, told all my executives some about what I was doing, but I've never gone much into the specifics of it.

"I might as well start from the beginning. So, I went on a trip with Diablo to meet one of his old friends in the Netherworld, that friend being Sullivan. As it turns out when we visited he had recently bought and adopted a human teenager from Japan, even though the Netherworld is extremely dangerous for humans."

"Oh my, that doesn't sound good… I'm guessing the teenager is Iruma?"

"Yeah, but here's the twist: Iruma's parents were abusive towards him, while Sullivan is loving and doting, and his demonic friends think he's amazing. So ironically, the world he'll be most loved in is the world he'll be in the most danger in. Sullivan was aware of how much danger a human in the Netherworld would be in though, so he begged me to help protect Iruma."

"And you accepted?" Shuna asks, sounding a little surprised by my seemingly impulsive decision.

"It may have been a ridiculously bold request, but yeah. I was curious about how Iruma would adapt to his circumstances, and the Netherworld seemed like it'd be interesting to learn about and explore. So I just called it a 'vacation' and decided to hang around for a while."

"Sounds similar to when you went to save those kids in Ingrassia," Shuna comments with a smile.

"I suppose it is a bit like that. Though with those kids I just had to stabilize their energy, and I couldn't stay for long because I had a fledgling nation to take care of. Now… there's no clear end goal, and no urgent need to return long-term. So really, I don't know how long to stay for…"

"Hmm, that's a tricky one…" muses Shuna. After some thought, she asks "Well, are you having fun there?"

"I am! It's been chaotic and unpredictable, and full of new things to learn and do. I think I've also mellowed out a bit from not having to act as a Demon Lord all the time."

"You do seem a bit more relaxed nowadays, it's a nice change…" Shuna sweetly says in a quiet voice, giving me a gentle and comfortable hug from behind. "So what do you do there?"

"Erm… well, Iruma goes to school, so I do as well, kind of like with the kids in Ingrassia…" I hesitantly explain.

"So you're a teacher there?" she asks, making my apprehension even worse.

"… A…um…student," I say with slight embarrassment.

"That's adorable, I bet you're learning so much!" Shuna sweetly says, talking to me like I'm a child, but I let it go. Shuna is just like this a lot of the time, with both me and Benimaru, so I normally just brush it off.

"It's a whole different world, of course, so I'm gonna learn a lot. But also, it's a well-developed civilization of magically-powerful beings, like Tempest; and since they've been around for far longer than this country, we can learn a lot from how things have worked out for them."

Shuna's eyes light up at the idea of new unique magic.

"Ooh… Now I want to study them a bit myself; did you copy any books from their world?" she asks, excitement in her voice.

"Thousands, in fact! I really recommend going through their spellbooks, they are so far ahead of this world in transformation and creation magic, working on a different system and all. Maybe you'll find some of it useful in your work." I pull out a book I had Ciel produce just in case.

"Oh, speaking of that… Can I make some school uniforms for you and your friend?"

"Ah, that would be nice actually! The normal designs there are kinda tacky, and customization is allowed…"

"Wonderful! To get started I'll need some climate data and an idea of the style of clothing, I'll also need to take Iruma in for some measuring and experimenting… Oh, and I hope you don't mind me asking, but did you sign up for the school as a boy or a girl?"

Ack! Oh, the shame… me, a male Demon Lord being caught living as a schoolgirl… Ciel, please stop my cheeks from flushing so much!

[[But it's adorable when you get embarrassed about things like this!]]

You and Shuna are just devilish…

I don't say anything since Shuna is someone I struggle to lie to, but my flustered expression is enough of an answer for her.

"Schoolgirl designs it is~," she giggles.

"Please, don't make it TOO girly!" I beg Shuna desperately.

I then clear my throat, trying to change the subject.

"Ahem d-didn't we get a bit off-topic?"

"Ah, silly me! Well, if you're having fun there, I personally think that there's nothing wrong with you taking as much time as you think you need. Tempest is doing very well, and you've granted many of us such long lives that even a few years is a short time in the grand scheme of things." Shuna beams.

"Oh, well, that's good to hear!"

"Of course, those are my personal thoughts. I don't wish to speak ill of the others, but they can be rather unpredictable…"

"Well, there's a side to this whole situation that I haven't mentioned yet that might change their minds… There's a slight possibility that Iruma will end up ruling the Netherworld one day."

Shuna looks surprised by this.

"Wow… But are you sure? He seems like a lovely child, but Iruma is also very timid from what I can tell."

"He's kind of like Masayuki, I guess. Timid as he is, he's revered and adored by many, and can rally a huge amount of support when he wants to. What's more impressive is that, unlike Masayuki, it's not from some crazy crowd-influencing ability; demons genuinely love him for who he is, and his leadership skills are the real deal, if he just gets over that naive airheadedness he has. It'll take some work if he wants to go that route, but he definitely has potential."

"As impressive as that sounds, is he even interested in ruling?" Shuna questions, still not convinced.

"I have no idea. He has an ambitious streak, but you normally can't see it because his horrible parents left him with no sense of self-worth. I know at least that if he did show an interest, his classmates and Sullivan would likely back him; which is a huge deal, since some of his classmates are from powerful families, and Sullivan is considered the main contender for the throne even though he doesn't want it."

"It's almost as if that world wanted to hand you an opportunity to change it, after seeing how much nicer you made this world. If you are interested in seeing this through, I'm sure everyone would support you." Shuna assures me with a smile.

"Yeah… I still need some time to think about it, since it's a huge commitment. But thanks for the advice, Shuna! I feel a lot less unsure of myself now!"

**Flashback ends**

Iruma POV

"Oh, I know that place!" I call out, pointing at the nearby building. It's the school that I briefly spent time in last time I was in Tempest; it's where that Hinata lady teaches classes.

I internally debate whether I should go inside and say hi, even though Hinata is kinda scary, but I decided that would be too rude. I'll probably see her around later since I'll be in Tempest longer this time so interrupting her class and upsetting Hinata isn't necessary.

Katelyn just gives it a small glance, not too interested in the school. We're heading to go get some lunch anyway, so I don't mind moving on without stopping.

But, a sudden sense of danger fills me and I jump backward and something large falls out of the air right in front of me. I don't think it would've landed on me if I didn't move, but it was definitely close.

After taking a few seconds to get a grasp on reality, I see that Hinata has landed right in front of me, and after looking up, I see an open window a few stories up on the school building.

"M-miss Hinata!" I shout. "D-did you j-just-"

I'm stopped by her cold glare, but I don't think I need her to answer me anyway. She definitely just did what I think she did; Hinata hopped out of that window just to talk to me, it seems.

Isn't that super dangerous?

"Lady Hinata?!" Katelyn squeals in surprise, immediately bowing deeply to the other woman.

"One of the palace maids, huh?" Hinata asks, scrutinizing Katelyn briefly before returning her gaze to me. "It's been a while, Iruma; Rimuru hasn't dragged you into too much trouble since I've last seen you, has he?"

Immediately, the whole thing with Kiriwo comes to mind, but that wasn't really something Rimuru 'dragged' me into; more like I dragged myself. I got into that mess of my own volition.

"N-not really…" I stutter, my voice coming out much less certain than I intended.

"Tch…I will have to have a talk with Rimuru, it seems." Hinata mutters. "But in the meantime, I'll just talk with you instead."

Oh no…

I feel like Hinata is about to squeeze me dry of information whether I want her to or not.

"Suuuure…um, I was about to grab lunch, so do you wanna eat with me?" I offer, wanting to maybe put Hinata in a better mood.

"That works; I was about to take my lunch break anyway."

Hinata starts confidently walking, expecting me to follow without even asking me to, and I do.

We end up at a ramen shop and both order. Katelyn is waiting for me outside since it is a small place and I guess she doesn't think it's appropriate to eat with us both. I didn't try to push her into joining us either this time.

"You're a little taller now," Hinata comments out of nowhere after a few minutes of eating.

I guess I have grown a small amount in the last few months but I'm surprised she noticed.

"Uh-huh." I nod my head in response, looking down at my already empty bowl.

Hinata looks at my already-empty bowl and a small expression of surprise forms on her face.

"It was really yummy…" I admit awkwardly having a feeling about what she is thinking.

I wish I could have another bowl, but I don't want to ask for too much…

"Are you still hungry?" Hinata asks, reading my expression like a book.

"Yes!" I enthusiastically reply.

"Order as much as you want; I'll pay." Hinata calmly assures me.

"Thank you!"

We continue eating for a few more minutes and I go through a few more bowls of ramen, enjoying it a lot.

"Where do you put all that?!" I hear an exasperated mutter come from Hinata as she stares at the stack of used bowls in front of me.

"Oh…um, did I overdo it?" I ask, feeling a little guilty.

I swear I held back! Even though Hinata said that I could have as much as I wanted, I still stopped myself from eating as much as I could.

Hinata looks at my genuinely-regretful expression and just sighs.

"No, no, it's fine. I was just surprised, that's all." Hinata assures me, but then her eyes sharpen. "But you will have to tell me what I want to know in exchange."

"B-but what about all the other p-people in here?!"

There may not be a ton of bystanders, but I'm afraid that someone still might hear us talk about something that Rimuru wouldn't want to be spread around in rumors.

"I can pull off a similar trick to Rimuru and make it so nobody eavesdrops, don't worry. Now…tell me what you were thinking about earlier when I asked you about Rimuru causing trouble." Hinata explains.

"I don't know if I sh-should-" I start to answer.

"Tell me," Hinata demands.

I shrink into my seat a little under the pressure of Hinata's stare, feeling completely overwhelmed by her.

"B-but…R-rimuru said…I sh-shouldn't…" I sputter, finding my words extremely hard to get out. I don't want to cause Rimuru even more trouble, after all.

Another moment of tension passes with Hinata's cold, dark eyes burning holes into me, but she sighs and returns her eyes to her food.

"If Rimuru silenced you, then I will just get my information from the source."

I breathe a sigh of relief, glad that she didn't keep pressuring me about it.

"S-sorry…"

I feel a little bad since I think Hinata is even angrier at Rimuru now, but it can't really be helped. If I tell Hinata something I shouldn't, Rimuru would get upset with me, and Hinata plans on talking with Rimuru later anyway.

"On another note, what is your story?" she asks suddenly.

"Huh?"

"Well, there has to be some reason that Rimuru seems so attached to you."

"..."

"And your nervous demeanor…your awareness of your surroundings and ability to detect danger…you've been through a lot, haven't you?" she questions.

Hinata looks at me with surprising warmness in her eyes, completely opposed to her harsh questioning from a minute ago.

"I…uh…I guess you could say that…but it's okay, things are different now!" I assure her.

"But you still are always on guard, hyper-aware of your surroundings, so you must still feel some similarities with your past." Hinata points out.

"Well…I guess so, but I have friends now so it's not so bad! I can go to school, I know when my next meal will be, and Grandpa cares so much about me…even if he sometimes is…clingy, I'm not sure the right words to describe it."

"You said your grandpa, but what about your parents? Did something happen to them? And those other things…you make it sound like you haven't had those before…" Hinata says quietly, but quickly shakes her head and says. "Nevermind, you don't need to respond to that."

Despite what she said, I feel like I need to answer her anyway. I get that the questions are a little invasive, but sharing a little of my past with someone Rimuru trusts is something I don't mind doing too much.

"I was just too busy for school, helping my parents out by doing odd jobs and stuff…and, at some point, they kinda…sold me for money. I'm sure they really needed it or they wouldn't have done that!"

"They…sold you?!" Hinata almost rises out of her seat at the table, but quickly composes herself before anyone takes notice of her.

"But it's fine because I have a great life and I've made a ton of friends!" I hold my hands up and quickly make it clear that it isn't a bad thing.

"Your grandfather, he found out you were sold? How long was it before he found who you were sold to?" Hinata continues pressing, her words coming out faster as if she's frantic, but her tone is neutral and calm.

"Grandpa….is the one who they sold me to," I explain.

Hinata pauses before resuming her questioning "You are from modern Japan, right? I know that other worlds are on different time scales."

"Modern? Yeah, I guess so. There are cars and manga and big tuna fishing boats and a bunch of other stuff…"

Hinata just stares at me, completely silent, with an unreadable expression on her face.

"Now I have something else to mention during my 'talk' with Rimuru…" she grumbles under her breath.

"Rimuru didn't have anything to do with this! This all happened before we met!" I frantically clarify, realizing that Hinata misunderstood what I've said.

"As much as I would like to ask you more about this, I don't have the time right now."

Hinata picks up the bill and sighs.

"I hope we can talk again at some point…" Hinata says "…maybe not over a meal next time, though." she adds in a quieter voice.

"Thank you for the meal!"

Hinata gives me a small, gentle pat on the shoulder before paying and leaving the ramen shop. I walk out after her and reunite with Katelyn, watching Hinata head back to work.