Re:Insertion Vol 1 - Stranger Than Fiction

by AnotherBogStandardWriter

An ordinary anime/video game geek from New Jersey is plucked from his reality by a mysterious entity known as the Cosmic Writer and sent on a multiversal journey through many anime worlds with his name literally stolen from him. Now, under the new name of Slater, he must travel from world to world against his will and face numerous dangers along the way and find his way home.

6. A New Job, New Meetings, And-

A/N: Alrighty! Chapter 6 a go-go! This took a while to finish, but I did it!

Let's get the chapter underway!

---

Learning new languages can be an exciting thing to do. By doing so, you're broadening your horizons and you feel like you're just one step closer to understanding more about the world you live in, as well as its people. But of course, learning new languages can be a difficult affair, as some languages can be harder to learn than others. Japanese, for example, is one of the harder languages to learn. And no, you can't just bullshit your way through it using Google Translate like I did for my high school Spanish classes. As convenient as it is, it's also highly inaccurate, and trust me, Google Translate can only get you so far, but with Japanese, not so much. You see, there's all kinds of factors to consider. For the spoken language, there's the pronunciation of certain words and phrases, the various dialects like Kansai-ben and Osaka-ben, and the accuracy of the translations being somewhat dodgy. For the written language, there's many different types of writing styles, like hiragana and katakana. It all can seem rather complicated to understand, let alone learn, but if you really put in the time and effort, then you can be fluent in no time. Now why the sudden diatribe you may ask? Well, there's a reason for that, and it has to do with me.

During that meeting I had with Rimuru, I told him everything about how I got to his world, and he promised that he would help me find a way home. Also, I made a request to work a job in the meantime since it'll take a while for Rimuru to find a solution to my problem. That's all well and dandy, but here's the thing. Rimuru would find a job for me, but only if I learned Japanese from him. Of course, the very few words and phrases I DID know in Japanese wasn't gonna help me much, especially if I decide to venture outside Tempest and meet new people and such. Now, I did know beforehand that Japanese would be a difficult language to learn, but upon practice, I couldn't help but feel like I underestimated myself a bit.

For the next few days, Rimuru gave me a crash course on learning Japanese, from the spoken form to the written form. It was nothing too complicated; just the basics to help me reach an understandable level of fluency. Plus, I had those manga he conjured up to use as study guides in my off time. It's a bit of an off-the-wall method, but hey, anything helps. In the meantime, I got to know some of the residents a little better, like Shion and Gobta, so I'm a bit more comfortable with speaking with monsters now. Also, they were sometimes recruited to practice my conversational skills in the language. It was quite a challenge. Hell, this one conversation I tried to have with Shion ended up with me as a nervous wreck. I constantly mispronounced my words and stuttered. Shion found herself in a fit of giggles, Rimuru all but wanted to facepalm at my obvious mistakes, and I just wound up embarrassing myself. It almost felt like I flubbed a love confession to her. I may be more comfortable around her, but I still get easily flustered around her since she's so beautiful. Damn me and my inability to talk to women!

Anyway, I was finally able to speak Japanese on a basic level. I still occasionally get certain pronunciations and words confused and forget things, plus my written Japanese is still not perfect, but hey, it's progress at least. Also, Rimuru managed to find me a job. It was nothing more than a store clerk position for a grocery store manned by two goblin brothers. Well, sounds easy enough to me.

Now, for any of you who might have worked in retail before, let me just say that it's not the best kind of job in the world. It may be one of the most common jobs available in the job market, and some of you may be inclined to think that these jobs might be good if they're always available, but here's the thing though. Lots of retail jobs have high turnovers; going through many employees like we go through food and water. They promise you pay that's slightly higher than minimum wage, but that's just something to lure you in hook, line, and sinker. You do a lot of customer interaction, and not every customer is a ray of sunshine. Trust me, I worked at Walmart pushing carts for 4 years and I've seen my fair share of good customers as well as the bad. Some are nice and friendly, and some are nasty and entitled. Also, you do a lot of things that you don't want to do, things that aren't in your job description, but your managers force you to do just because they can. Basically you're getting barely decent pay in exchange for a shitty job.

Now, of course, obviously retail isn't for everyone. Some people like it, some people don't. But hey, retail jobs are easy pickings if you just want a part-time job to hold you over for a while until you find something better. We've all had to do less-than-stellar jobs to get to where we want to go in the future. It's not the best way, but it's the most practical.

-x-

So the day finally arrived. I got up early, ate breakfast, and prepared myself for my first day at my first, and only, job in a fantasy world. It's a fairly mundane setup; so mundane that it would be the plot to an isekai that would sell like gangbusters.

Rimuru came to get me and escorted me to my new workplace. It was about a 20-minute walk from the inn, so we managed to get there in no time at all. It was your typical small grocery store; lots of food as far as the eye can see. As I looked, I came across two goblins who were stocking fruit on the shelves. They must be the owners. One of the goblins looked a little on the plump side, and the other was taller and lankier than his brother. Come to think of it, the shorter goblin was dressed in red, and his brother was dressed in green. They both had color-coded hats and impressive-looking mustaches too! Could it be that they look just like… Nah! This is obviously a coincidence. As the taller brother finished putting apples into a basket, the shorter brother turned our way, noticing us for the first time.

"Oh, hello! Why if it isn't-a Rimuru-sama?" said the short brother, with the taller brother turning to us soon after.

"Oh! Goblio! Gobluigi! Good morning!" Rimuru replied with a smile on his face.

I'm sorry, what? Did I just hear that correctly?

"Good-a morning to you Rimuru-sama," Gobluigi said. "It'sa always a pleasure to-a see you!"

Seriously? Are you kidding me? Of all the- Just what?

I know Rimuru practically named all but two of the goblins in Tempest with 'Gob-,' followed by a random word or whatever, but come on! You honestly expect me to believe that you named these two without a clue as to what you were doing? Or better yet, did you deliberately stick me with these two because you noticed I wore Mario pajamas the other day and thought this would be funny? Well, maybe to you, but not to me. Also, why are the two…. Goblio Bros.(?) speaking in phony Italian? Or wait, I thought everyone in this world spoke Japanese? Or maybe what they're saying is a Japanese dialect and I misheard it as Italian? I don't know, it's too early for this shit.

"Are you-a the new help-a Rimuru-sama talked about-a?" Goblio asked me, pulling me out of my thoughts. Taken aback by what's essentially the goblin version of Mario talking to me, I had a major brain fart and couldn't think of a response right away. After a few seconds, I just shook my head, allowing my brain to string something together.

"Um… yes. That I am." I awkwardly replied. I took a deep breath before continuing. "My name is Slater, it's nice to meet you….. uhhhhhhhh-"

"It'sa Goblio! Goblio's the name-a!" Goblio cut me off as he stretched his hand out to shake mine.

"And-a my name is-a Gobluigi!" Gobluigi said not long after his brother, making to shake my hand as well. Just now, I noticed that the two also sound eerily similar to Mario and Luigi. Sheesh! Of all the cosmic-

Stop! Stop trying to make sense of all this! You wanted a job, and Rimuru got you a job! I can't be picky in this situation.

And hey, the Goblios may be faux-Italian-cum-Japanese-speaking goblins, but at least they're friendly and willing to give me a shot. That made my annoyance subside just a bit, but after I shook Gobluigi's hand, I leaned in to Rimuru's ear to say something.

"You did this on purpose didn't you?" I deadpanned in a whisper.

"Oh Slater, whatever do you mean?" Rimuru replied in a fake, innocent-sounding tone, averting my gaze as he did so.

Yeah, you're a god damn trolling master in your spare time aren't you Rimuru? I just rolled my eyes at his response to my question. I'm on to your schtick Rimuru!

"Anyway," Rimuru began again, facing toward Goblio. "I'll leave Slater here in your hands." Goblio nodded in response. "And Slater," Rimuru turned to me "I'll be dropping by later on to see how you're doing. Based on what you've told me, you've done this kind of work before, so I'm confident that you'll do just fine. Good luck!" Rimuru finished, flashing me a smile and a thumbs-up.

"Thanks Rimuru, I'll do my best." I replied. And with that, Rimuru turned to leave, turning around to look at me one last time before heading on his way. Before I can continue to stare, a hand hitting my shoulder shocked me out of my thoughts.

"Okie dokie Slater!" Gobluigi began, as I turned around to face him. "Let'sa get you started huh?"

"U-uh, yeah… l-let's get started." I stuttered in reply, before being led deeper in the store. Time for the training to begin. Hopefully this won't be the fantasy equivalent to Walmart.

-x-

A few hours have passed, and it was high noon. By that point, I've been doing well for myself. The Goblio Bros. were a huge help in helping me get my bearings. To be honest, this wasn't all that bad. It's much humbler than Walmart, that's for sure! Also, the job wasn't so complicated either; just the typical stocking, cleaning, and helping customers. Although I may be more used to being around monsters, I still suck at being a people person. Many times I stuttered with my words and forgot simple facts and answers to questions. Not only that, but I wasn't all that good at calculating the currency in this world, let alone money in general. Even though Rimuru taught me what the currency system of this world was, we never had a lot of time to go more in-depth about it. I've never worked the cash register before, so with that and my lackluster money calculation skills, I was scurrying around and making a fool of myself. The Goblios had to bail me out each time, but surprisingly, they didn't berate me for my mistakes. Instead, they gave me words of encouragement and were really patient with me. I really appreciate how nice and helpful these two have been to me so far, but a part of me still chose to dwell on my mistakes, despite how minor they were. I don't know, I just get that way sometimes. I can't help it.

Anyway, when it was lunchtime, I was able to buy something to eat because Rimuru gave me a little bit of spending money. After I got back, I thought that the rest of the day was just going to be normal and boring. Yeah, despite my screw-ups, nothing major has been happening all day. You'd think that with a town full of monsters there would be a little more excitement around here, but I guess I was expecting a little too much. I mean sure, when your town is full of monsters who are civilized and well-mannered like most human civilizations, you kinda fit in with the standard, even if most of its citizens can fight and use magic. I just sighed and stared out the entrance, watching bystanders pass the store. It really was a bustling place, wasn't it? Occasionally during my downtime, I spent some time looking through one of the manga Rimuru gave me so I can study my Japanese some more, only stopping whenever I had to deal with a new customer. As I randomly looked up to see the bystanders again, I noticed Rimuru was coming my way.

"Yo! Slater!" Rimuru said, waving at me.

"Good afternoon-a Rimuru-sama!" Goblio greeted Rimuru as he walked to the front to meet him.

"How's my boy doing Goblio?" Rimuru asked Goblio.

"Oh, Slater's been-a great help-a!" Goblio replied. "He'sa really hard-a worker! He'sa had missteps here and-a there, but he'sa doing A-OK-a!" He gave a thumbs up at Rimuru, who gave a thumbs-up in response.

"Good! That's just what I like to hear!" Rimuru responded. He then turned to me. "You should be proud of yourself Slater! You're handling this job like a pro! You might even make employee of the month at the rate you're going!"

"Oh no, no. It's no big deal." I replied. "It's just a retail job. Anyone can do it. I'm just doing my best, that's all." I practically waved away the praise that was being thrown my way.

"Don'ta be silly!" Gobluigi suddenly said as he joined our conversation. "My brother only gives-a his praises to-a those who rightfully deserve it-a! And that-a also goes for me-a!"

"O-oh, I-I…" I paused for a few seconds. "I d-don't know what to say….. Thank you?" I awkwardly replied. They just chuckled at my response, causing me to chuckle in embarassment as I rubbed the back of my head.

Now, I'm not one to reject praise. Believe me, if you put in the work, especially if it was for something so difficult and frustrating that you feel like your spirit's about to break any second, then a little bit of praise is all you need to let you know that your hard effort was not only appreciated, but worth it. I'm not against that feeling at all, it's a good feeling to have, but it's just that I'm very peculiar about how I receive praise. The way I see it, you have to be humble enough to accept praise without getting carried away by it. What I mean by that is that I don't like being praised too much. It makes me feel uncomfortable since all the focus is on me, so I try to divert that attention away from myself as much as I can, saying stuff like 'it was nothing' or 'I just did the best I can', for example. To go even deeper, let's imagine that you're working in a group, and of the members of that group, you receive the most praise for putting in the most effort.

This can go one of two ways: 1). Your group praises you for your hard work and are genuinely happy for you, or 2). Your group praises you, but deep down inside, they resent you for being the one to take all the credit when everyone else did just as hard. Not only that, but your bosses make you some kind of gold standard for model employees, constantly egging on the other employees to try just as hard as you, but also earning you more resentment from your co-workers. I try to mitigate the possibility of the latter by being humble and saying that I couldn't have done it without everyone's help, that way everyone gets some credit.

The point I'm trying to make here is that I feel if you receive too much praise, you get complacent, and when you get complacent, your work quality suffers as a result. If there's one thing that I take pride in, it's the fact that I always do my best to put in a good effort, but I always try not to get carried away with accepting praise. Personally, I feel like that I have no amazing talents and my 'hard work' is all I have. I've got to remember where I stand, how I act, and why I do things the way I do. It may seem complicated, but that's just the way I am.

Anyway, I guess I can accept the praise this one-

*BOOM*

What the hell was that? An earthquake? An explosion? The sudden rumble brought me back to reality the hard way. I almost fell over, but luckily I grabbed onto the shelf behind me to keep my balance. I saw a huge dust cloud erupting from the ground a short distance away from here. What on earth is happening right now?

"Oh boy…" Rimuru began, sporting a somewhat annoyed look on his face. "Looks like she's back again."

"W-Who?" I began as I slowly stood back up. "Who's back again? Who's her-"

"YAHOO!" I was cut off by a loud shout before I could finish. That voice sounded like a young girl's just now. Actually, now that I think about it, that voice sounded familiar. I saw a vague silhouette in the dust cloud running towards us. As soon as it dispersed, I saw who the voice belonged to as the sound of her footsteps grew louder. It was a young girl, or at the very least, a young-looking girl. She had bright pink hair tied into twintails, and she was dressed in what seemed to be a crop top and pan-

"OH GOD NO!" I suddenly yelled as I averted my eyes, praying that that "little girl" didn't notice me catching a glimpse of her….. attire. Rimuru and the Goblios were caught off guard by my sudden shouting, looking at me with confusion and concern, but I didn't meet their gazes. That wasn't what was important right now. Just what on earth was that girl thinking?! Someone her age should NOT be wearing skimpy clothing. If there's one thing I don't want happening to me, it's being on the receiving end of implications and winding up on whatever the equivalent to a sex offenders registry would be in this world. Again, I'm a healthy young man with healthy sexual interests. Even if that girl over there is fictional, there are just some lines that you should never cross. Lolicons may think they're not doing anything wrong on the grounds that the girls they're into are purely fictional and are therefore not hurting anyone, but is that really an excuse? No, it's not. Lolicons are a sick breed that I do not, nor want to understand. No….. Just. No.

Slowly, I made to turn back around at the others. That girl was talking with Rimuru and the Goblios. Looks like she hasn't acknowledged my existence yet.

"Rimuru! I'm home!" the girl said energetically. Rimuru and the Goblios directed their attention back to the girl. Hold the phone. That girl…. Is she?

My eyes snapped open in realization.

Oh shit it's-

"Hey, Milim. Haven't seen you in a while." Rimuru said, still sounding annoyed because her 'entrance' caused some collateral damage, no doubt.

So the demon lord Milim Nava finally makes her appearance. I gotta admit, from a distance, she didn't look too threatening. She looked like an ordinary little girl….. who just so happened to dress skimp- NO! No! Do NOT comment on that again! We don't need to go down that road again! I covered my eyes again, parting my fingers slightly to focus on her face.

Anyway, as I was saying, Milim Nava looked ordinary to the point where she didn't resemble the demon lord that she actually was. But, I have to remember that she's someone who's definitely not to be trifled with. I already made a mental note of that yesterday; I'd do best to remember it. Hopefully, she'll leave without noticing I was there. I just got to make myself as small as possible; just gotta pretend to be invisible and everything will be-

"Ne?"

"JESUS!" I all but jumped when Milim Nava suddenly appeared at the front counter, talking to me. When did that happen? Shit! So much for trying to avoid her. She was looking right at me, and all I can do was stare back, scared shitless. My eyes reflexively looked down to Milim's outf-

"Damn it, no!" I unexpectedly voiced my thoughts aloud as I covered my eyes once more.

"Ne, Goblio-san?" Milim asked Goblio. "Who is this guy? I've never seen him before when I was here last time."

"Oh!" Goblio replied. "That'sa my new-a employee Milim-sama! He just-a started today-a! His-a name is-a Slater!"

"Hmm," Milim replied, analyzing me with an up-and-down look. "Slater, huh? It's not the strangest name I've heard before, but it is definitely strange." Sheesh! Blunt much?

"Now, now." Rimuru chimed in, making Milim face him. "Slater is my guest here in Tempest. He's having-" He paused for a second. "-very complicated circumstances at the moment. I'm trying to help him out with those."

"Oh, I see." Milim replied. "You're helping him?" She turned to face me again.

"Oi!" She said to me as she leaned in closer to my face. I just backed away slowly. I hate it when people get into my personal space. Makes me uncomfortable. "Is that true?" She asked with a serious look on her face. Come on Slater! Come up with an answer right fucking now! Before the possibility of being completely atomized becomes a 100% certainty!

"I…. uh…. uhhhhhh…." Damn it! Just say what you want to say! "Y-Y… Y-Yes! Yes. It-it's t-true. R-Rimuru's helping me." I finally stammered in response. Milim just "hmm'd" in response and continued to stare at me for the next few seconds, seeming to further analyze me as if to convince herself that I'm not a suspicious person. I just trembled as I broke into a cold sweat. Come on! Can't you see that I'm harmless? And even if I was one iota of a threat that you think I may be, you could off me without even trying. Just pleassssssseeee get out of my face now? I don't think I can last another minute before I lose control of my bowels!

"OKAY!" Milim backed away and suddenly chirped at last, causing me to jump in surprise. Just what I needed in addition to being scared shitless, having my eardrums assaulted by the vocal equivalent to nails on a chalkboard! Curse my oversensitive hearing! All I could do was stare at the bubbly pinkette as she flailed her arms around frantically. You know, putting aside the whole 'demon lord' angle, Milim is actually pretty adorable when she wants to be. I couldn't help but make a slight smirk at the sight. But that quickly went away when my eyes drifted downward agai- Damn it! I averted my gaze once again. Does she not realize how inappropriate that outfit is and that it doesn't fit her AT ALL? Ugh! I peeked back at Milim, who was staring at me again. Slowly, a mischievous smile curled on her face.

"Oh ho? What do you we have here?" Milim asked teasingly. Wait, she's up to something. I recognize that tone in her voice. Is she trying to-

Oh no…

Oh god no! Don't tell me she's-

I froze in place almost instantly. All I could do was look at Milim, who was slowly approaching me in a feminine strut.

Hell to the fuck no!

"Ever since I got here, you've been doing nothing but stare at me." Milim began. "Could it be that you're captivated by my beauty? Or maybe my charms? Whatever could it be? Fufu~" She touched my chest with her finger, rubbing it in a circular motion. I couldn't see my face, but I was all but certain that it was beet red and steam was coming out of my ears. I just couldn't believe what was going on right now. Milim was honest-to-god trying to flirt with me and get me aroused. I couldn't discern between whether she was doing this to get a rise out of me or if she was genuinely coming on to me. Right now, my mind was shouting just about every variation of "NO!" imaginable, but my body? It was reacting in the way that you'd expect from a male being seduced by a female; hormones and pheromones colliding with each other. Whatever words were coming out of my mouth was nothing but random gibberish.

God help me!

"Tee hee!" Milim said as she winked her eye at me. "So cute!"

"Um… Milim?" Rimuru awkwardly said at last. "You might want to stop that." I was so focused on the little demon lord in front of me that what Rimuru said just now didn't register in my mind. Milim didn't seem to pick up on what he just said as well. She just continued trying to lay on the seduction act. God this was so-

"Inappropriate." I unexpectedly voiced my thoughts aloud, causing Milim to flinch in shock.

"W-What?" Milim asked. God damn it! I couldn't take this anymore! I tried to comb my mind on what to say next, but the following words that came out of my mouth were not what I was expecting.

"I-I-INAPPROPRIATE!" I shouted, causing Milim to stumble and fall on her ass. "Someone your age shouldn't be wearing something so inappropriate! Put some god damn clothes on for crying out loud before I lose my fucking mind!" I quickly backed away from her, retreating to a nearby wall. At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if my face was hot enough to melt steel beams.

I quickly looked back and forth, and I noticed that Rimuru and the Goblios had these shocked and fearful looks on their faces that practically screamed "We're doomed!" Just what the hell was that about? The silence persisted for another minute, making me feel more uncomfortable. Finally, I noticed Milim was slowly standing back up. The look on her face that she had at this moment could very well have curdled milk.

"Ne?" Milim started at last. The tone and sound of her voice was low and subdued, sending chills down my spine. Oh god, what did I just do?! Am I going to die?

I gulped as I took one look at Milim's eyes. She wasn't just mad, she was absolutely livid!

"Is what you said just now true? Do you really think my outfit is inappropriate?" She was slowly approaching me, winding her arm around as if preparing for a mighty punch. Left with no other option, I slowly backed away the closer she got to me, but it was no use.

In retrospect, I should've known that I was screwed. No matter how far I managed to get away from her, no matter how much of a head start she would've allowed me, even if I had the physique of an Olympian athlete, she'd close the distance in a nanosecond! And it also didn't matter if I had powers or magic to defend myself; she had the power to wipe out entire countries in an afternoon, so I was fucked one way or the other! Damn it! I'm going to be squashed like a bug because of what I've said! Stupid brain! Stupid! Stupid! STUPID BRAIN! I've gotta salvage this situation somehow. I made to open my-

"Wait Milim!" Rimuru suddenly said as he covered my mouth, putting himself between myself and Milim. Just when did he get so close to me? Milim stopped in her tracks. "By 'inappropriate', he wasn't talking about your outfit! No, he was…. uh-" He paused for a second. "He was saying how inappropriate it was that you showed up out of the blue and didn't pay Shuna-chan a visit. She's got new clothes for you to try on, you know?" Milim looked at me, then to Rimuru, and back to me again. She opened her mouth to respond.

"Is that true?" Milim asked with that scary look in her eyes. I looked at Rimuru, who just gave me a look that said 'Say yes! Say yes!" I looked back at Milim and for a lack of words due to my mouth being covered, I quickly nodded at her in response. For the next few seconds, she continued to stare at me. Damn it! It's blatantly obvious that she doesn't buy any of this for a second! She may be childish, but she's not completely stupid! Farewell cruel wor-

"Oh! That's right!" Milim said as she slammed her fist into the palm of her hand, interrupting my thoughts. Her face went from scary to normal in a flash. "I forgot! I need to go see Shuna! I can't wait to see what clothes she has for me this time! Be back in a flash!" She finished excitedly, and as she did so, she ran right out of the store until she was no longer in sight. With Milim gone, the rest of us breathed a collective sigh of relief, even me despite having a hand over my mouth still. Finally, Rimuru removed his hand and turned to me.

"That was way too close for comfort Slater," Rimuru began. "If I hadn't stepped in, you would've been splattered all over the wall."

"Y-Yeah, no shit." I replied. "What was that all about anyway?"

"Yeah, about that…" Rimuru nervously replied as he rubbed his hand behind his head. "Milim… doesn't like it when people criticize her outfit."

Huh?

"That's why she got angry?" I replied incredulously. "All because of that? Come on! I can't be the only one who noticed how inappropriate that outfit is for someone as young-looking as that! I almost thought that I was gonna get implicated as a-"

"I know, I know!" Rimuru replied, cutting me off. "You're not the only one who's noticed. All of us think the same thing, but here's the thing though. Milim may look like a little girl, but she's a demon lord. She's got more than enough power to wipe out a country and then some, just so you know. Actually, scratch that. I guess you would already know that, given your… sources." He paused for a moment before continuing. "Anyway, just FYI, don't talk about her outfit like that again."

"Duly noted! I very much enjoy not being a ketchup stain." I replied. "But I have one more question though. Has Milim… always been easy to trick?"

"Yeah, to an extent," Rimuru replied with a wave of his hand. "She's childish, but she's a lot smarter than she looks. However, like a child, she easily shifts her attention to whatever's the most interesting at the moment. That's one of the reasons why we have Shuna make her new outfits to try on every time she visits. Well, that, and she was sick and tired of wearing her usual outfit all the time, but I digress."

"Oh… I see." I replied as I rolled my eyes. Then, I turned to face Goblio. "Um, Goblio-san, can I…. use the restroom for a bit? I'm not feeling so good."

"Oh of-a course!" Goblio replied. "Take-a as long as you-a need!"

"Thanks." I said as I walked to the backroom in a huff.

-x-

For the next 10 minutes, I just squatted in the bathroom, racking my brain over everything that just happened out there. Sure, I came here initially because all that stress made me sick to my stomach. I did throw up in the toilet a few times mind you, but there was still a lot to unpack here, so let's take it from the top.

Milim Nava, one of this world's demon lords; one of the most powerful, if not the most powerful of the demon lords in the setting of Slime, not only tried to flirt with me, but also threatened to kill me when I unintentionally insulted her choice of clothing. Her clothing for crying out loud! The fuck man?! Just how petty can you get? I have never, up until this point in my life, had my life threatened, especially from a fictional character of all things!

I knew who Milim was and what she did to an extent, but I didn't think that was one of her berserk buttons. Thank God Rimuru was there to save me! I almost thought I was gonna die! I'm surprised I didn't shit myself either!

But still though, I wasn't expecting the flirting part. By all means, I'm not the most attractive-looking man in the world, nor the most interesting; my 230 pounds of flab, my hobbies, and my general social-awkwardness can tell you that much, but like any hormone-addled man, I've had my fair share of sexual fantasies, many of which involved attractive women coming on to me. However, I always imagined that if that ever happened to me, my first time would be enjoyable. Unfortunately, reality had other plans, as screwed up as reality is for me right now.

If Milim looked 15 or so years older than she looked right now, her flirting probably would've worked, but sadly that wasn't the case. As you already know, I am not, nor will I ever be, a lolicon. But the way she flirted with me though, it made my hormones go into overdrive; from her way of teasing me, to her rubbing my chest with her finger, to her-

I had to stop thinking for a moment to look down. What is…. Was that my….. And was it trying to-

"NO!" I suddenly shouted. "Stop it, stop it, stop it, STOP IT!" I repeatedly smacked myself in the face. God damn it! Thinking about what Milim did, not about Milim herself mind you, was making me feel… 'that' way again.

I don't care if Milim is thousands of years old, I don't care if she could single-handedly turn this world into a lifeless husk with her power, and I ESPECIALLY don't care whatever scenarios the screwed-up parts of my mind are cooking up for me against my will are; from every minute I spent giving her my undivided attention. from every ounce of comprehension that the saner parts of mind put together, Milim not only looks like a god damn kid, but acts like a god damn kid! You picking up what I'm putting down 'mind?' She does NOT look good in a skimpy outfit, no matter what she might say or think, she CANNOT pull off the 'sexy seductress' act, and I will not, ABSOLUTELY WILL NOT, fall in love with her or wish to have inappropriate relations with her! Ever! A thousand-year old loli is still a god damn loli, and I'll be damned if I ever cross that line! I'd slit my goddamn throat before that would happen!

You got that 'mind?' Now come off your sick, twisted logic! Right! Now!

After that little diatribe, I turned the faucet on and washed my face a few times. I looked at myself in the mirror and saw the bruise marks on my cheeks. What shocked me the most about that was that the 'tattoo' on my right cheek wasn't smeared by all the smacking I did. Then again, given how it won't come off no matter what I do, I shouldn't be all that surprised. I turned the faucet off, took a few deep breaths to try and calm myself down, and prepared to head back out on the floor.

I walked out of the bathroom, and surprisingly, I saw Rimuru standing before me.

"You alright Slater?" Rimuru began. "We heard you shouting in the bathroom and I rushed over to see if you were okay."

"Yeah….. yeah." I awkwardly replied. "I just had some… problems getting a grip on the situation from earlier. It was… not the easiest to deal with, if you catch my drift."

"Ah, I see," Rimuru stated. "I don't blame you. Milim can have that effect on people sometimes. You just gotta do your best to try and ignore it."

"Yeah, because obviously the whole 'seductress angle' coming from a thousand-year old demon little girl is easy enough to ignore." I deadpanned.

"Oh….. that?" Rimuru awkwardly replied. "Yeah, don't worry about that Slater, the next time I see her, I'll tell her not to try that with you again. She considers me her bestie, so she'll listen to me. I know you have mixed feelings about her right now, but try not to think too badly of her. Milim can be a pain sometimes, but deep down, she's a sweet girl. I know you can trust my word." He reassured me.

"Will you? Thanks Rimuru." I felt a bit of pep returned to my voice. "Once again, I owe you one."

"Nah, don't mention it!" Rimuru replied, followed by a laugh. I couldn't help but laugh in return, but I quickly stopped as a question crossed my mind.

"By the way Rimuru, I've been meaning to ask." I said as Rimuru "hmm'd?" in response. I leaned closer to his ear, hoping that the Goblios weren't eavesdropping by any chance. "Goblio? Gobluigi? Really? You couldn't have come up with better names?" I deadpanned.

"Hey come on now!" Rimuru replied, feeling a touch indignant. "Do you know how many goblins are living here in Tempest? There's hundreds of them! Imagine how hard it was for me to come up with names for all of them!"

"Riiiigggghhhhttttt…." I further deadpanned. "Who else do I not know about? Maybe I'll run into two more goblins both named Gobwario and Gobwaluigi within the hour." I finished sarcastically. Rimuru looked a little nervous all of a sudden, simply "umm-ing" in response as if struggling to find the right words to say.

Oh god. You can't be serious.

"Really Rimuru? Really?" I deadpanned.

"Hey, why are you ganging up on me all of a sudden? I'm not perfect, you know?" Rimuru replied. He broke into a nervous laugh, and I simply continued to stare at him for the next minute before he tried to change the subject. "Anyway, let's get back to the front. The Goblios must be worried sick by this point."

"Okay okay. I get it. Obviously you don't want to talk about this anymore. Let's go." I replied with a touch of sarcasm in my voice. We went back to the front of the store, where Goblio and Gobluigi were manning the front counter. The two of them noticed us and smiled.

"Oh, Slater! Rimuru-sama!" Gobluigi stated.

"Are you alright-a Slater? We were-a starting to get-a worried about you." Goblio stated.

"O-Oh," I began with a stutter. "I'm okay! I'm okay! Sorry about all that!" I then made to change the subject. "So anyway, what did I miss?"

"Oh nothing-a special!" Gobluigi replied. "We didn't have-a many customers since you went-a to bathroom. Everything's fantastico!" He flashed a thumbs-up at me.

"We're just-a glad you're okay-a Slater." Goblio stated. "Are you-a ready to get back to-a work?"

"Y-Yes, I think I'm ready. Thanks you two….. for worrying about me I mean." I replied, feeling a touch embarrassed.

"No problem-a!" The Goblios replied in unison.

"Okay Slater," Rimuru began at last. "I think this is where I take my leave. I've got other matters to attend to. If you have any problems, don't hesitate to ask the Goblio Bros. or me. Keep up the good work!" He flashed a grin and a thumbs-up at me.

"R-Right! No problem." I replied, giving a thumbs-up in return. Rimuru was about to leave, when he suddenly turned his head back at me.

"Oh! And by the way, if Milim comes back here later, try not to be too much of a stranger around her. She won't do anything bad to you, I promise. Just don't mention the 'you know what' around her, ok?" Rimuru reminded me.

"O-Ok, I'll try." I awkwardly replied. And with that, Rimuru went on his way, with the Goblios waving goodbye.

-x-

I soon got back to work not long after. Not much happened since that run-in with Milim. The day quickly went back to being boring and uneventful, as it should've. I just continued going about my time helping customers and stocking shelves. Ah! Peace and quiet! Is there anything better than-

"YAHOO!" The all-too-familiar voice of Milim Nava rang through my ears, putting an end to my quiet bliss. "Goblio! Gobluigi! I'm back! Do you have that honey-flavored candy I like?!"

Well, it's not like I wasn't expecting Milim to come back. Both me and Rimuru pretty much called it. As she ran back into the store, she was now wearing much more modest clothing. It was just a simple floral-printed sundress, but hey, at least it was more age-appropriate for someone like her, despite the whole being "more than a thousand years old" thing. She actually looked like an ordinary little girl in that outfit. It was kind of cute in a way, but I digress.

"Oh Milim-a-sama, welcome back!" Gobluigi replied. "Yes, we just-a put some more-a candy on the shelf! Help-a yourself!"

"WOO-HOO!" Milim chirped excitedly, as she bounded over to the candy shelf. "Yummy yummy yummy! I've got love in my tummy! Doo doo doo doo doo doo doo doo!" She said in a sing-song voice, followed by her humming the rest of the tune while she was browsing. Wait, that's a song from my world. Hmm. Maybe Rimuru taught that to her or something? Who knew that he liked American music? What are the odds?

After a few minutes, Milim came up to the front counter, slamming down a shit ton of candy right in front of me. Holy shit! I don't think I've ever seen so much candy in my entire life! During the last Halloween I went trick-or-treating, I brought home an entire pillow sack of candy. It was the most candy that I ever received, but what I was seeing right here made my candy haul look like a joke. It was like a literal mountain of candy, and it was so tall that it almost touched the ceiling. How the hell it's not collapsing right in front of me, I don't know. Physics can be a doozy sometimes.

"L-Let's see here." I said as I tried to count up how much candy Milim had. "10, 25, 50, 75, 150…." I muttered to myself. Jeez, just how much food can she put away? Probably enough to feed an entire country if I had to guess. Now then, the honey candy costs… 3 bronze pieces I believe? There's over 500 pieces (I think?) right here on the counter, multiply the amount by the individual cost, and you get….. I don't know. What exactly was the tax amount in Tempest again? Goddamnit! How do you figure this out?

"Ahem?!" Milim suddenly announced. I stopped what I was doing to crane my head around the candy mountain and I saw Milim, who had an impatient look on her face, complete with crossed arms and tapping foot. And those eyes; they looked the same as they did during her earlier visit.

Shit! I gotta hurry up unless I enjoy being dead! What to do? What to do? Ah! I know!

"Hey Goblio!" I called out at last. "Can you come here for a minute? I need some help!"

"Okie dokie!" Goblio replied as he walked toward me. "What'sa the problem Slater?"

I whispered in his ear, he "mmm hmm'd" in response, and got to work helping me with ringing up Milim. While I did feel bad for making Goblio do the work, I was relieved; not just because I was spared from accidently invoking Milim's wrath again, but also because of the whole money issue.

When it comes to money, I'm usually good when it comes to spending or saving it; more so the latter than the former. Why is that? Part of it was due to the occasional impulse buy I'd indulge in every now and then. We've all had times like that when you wanted to buy something that you really wanted as soon as possible, but nine times out of ten, said item you wanted was super expensive. Logically, you'd either want to wait til you have enough money to buy it or wait til the price went down, but when you really want something that's worth buying, you don't care about any of that. I've bought games and anime that were hundreds of dollars many times before (thank you Aniplex and bullshit aftermarket prices), and while I sometimes had buyer's remorse, most of the time I thought that my purchase was worth it; insane price be damned! Another part of it was due to not entirely understanding the math behind the money. I may understand the basics, but I still get confused here and there. What I mean by that is that I usually fail to take taxes into account of when I'm about to purchase something. Not only that, but I'm not exactly the best when it comes to doing math in my head. I'm very dependent on calculators and counting using my fingers, and while I may not be proud of that fact, it's better than fumbling around in the dark.

And how does my problem factor into this situation? Well, I didn't exactly have enough time to learn about the currency system of this world, as previously stated. All I know is that the currency is classified by bronze, silver, and gold pieces, I don't know exactly how much they're worth. And the taxes add a whole new variable too. Granted, I wasn't too good with figuring out the costs and taxes of U.S. dollars back home as it was, but this? You'd think that the currency here - let's just call it RPG money for now - would be easy to figure out, but it wasn't. It was a lot more complicated. And no, there are no calculators in this world. Note to self, ask Rimuru if he can invent the calculator and make my life easier.

The point I'm trying to make here is: Fuck math and its complexities! Fuck math and money! And fuck me for my own lackluster math skills!

But I digress.

"Okay-a Milim-sama! That'll be-a 500 gold-a pieces!" Goblio said at last. Jeez! With that much money, I bet you could buy a decently sized house in this world!

I looked over at Milim, who had a look of shock on her face and "EHHHHHH'D!" in response. Let me guess, she doesn't have that kind of money? I doubt Rimuru would be generous enough to give her that much money. With me, it was justified. With Milim though, she did NOT need that much money for candy, let alone that much money or candy in general. I can already see how this would turn out. She was about a stone's throw away from throwing a full-blown tantrum, and given her powers as a demon lord, something like that would quickly escalate into chaos if we didn't play our cards right.

"I don't have that kind of money." Milim said at last. "Can't you just give me a discount? Pretty please? With whipped cream and a cherry on top?" She clapped her hands together and gave this pitiful "cute girl with puppy dog eyes" look that would've melted the hearts of the coldest individual. I'll admit, it was a cute sight, but I sure as hell wasn't gonna buy it. Not in this situation anyway.

"Sorry, but that's not how that works." I said in response. "If you don't have the money, then put the candy back, or at the very least, put enough of it back until you have an appropriate amount that you're able to buy. You don't need that much candy." Saying that earned me a quick glare from Milim, causing me to flinch and hide behind Goblio in a hurry. Damn it me! Quit trying to provoke the pint-sized demon lord! I'm on thin ice enough as it is for crying out loud!

"Now, now!" Goblio said. "Slater makes-a good point! But you should-a know that you're not-a the only one who-a likes that honey candy. If you take-a my entire stock-a, it'll make the children sad. You don't want to-a do that, right-a Milim-sama?" She seemed to mull over his words for a few seconds, before opening her mouth to reply.

"Okay…" Milim said dejectedly. "I guess I can put some of it back." And like that, she grabbed a large chunk out of the candy mountain and put it back on the shelf - sloppily I might add - and leaving a relatively small pile behind on the counter. Well, at least it was a more appropriate amount for an ordinary kid with a sugar tooth, but it was still a little much.

"Okie dokie!" Goblio said. "That-a brings your-a total to 10 silver-a pieces." Milim beamed at the mention of the reduced cost. She paid up with no hassle, and she made off with her candy in no time flat. Before she was out of the store, she turned back around.

"Thank you!" Milim said excitedly before running off to enjoy her candy haul. Phew! Thank God she's gone again! Now I can relax a little.

"You're a lifesaver Goblio." I began. "I couldn't have handled her without you."

"It'sa no problem Slater." Goblio replied. "Milim-sama may-a be a demon lord-a, but she can-a be easy to deal with-a if you know what-a you're doing."

"I know right?" I said with a nervous chuckle. "And, uh, sorry about the whole money thing too."

"No-a worries! I know-a you're not well-versed-a in our currency yet, so don't-a beat yourself-a over it!" Goblio replied.

"Y-Yeah, right." I awkwardly replied. "I'll have to fix that." As we were talking, Gobluigi walked up to the front.

"Slater-a," Gobluigi began. "You can-a go on your-a last break now."

"Okay." I replied simply. I could use a breather after everything that happened just now.

-x-

I found a nice picnic table to sit down on for my last break of the day. It was underneath a big tree and it blocked out some of the sunlight. There was a nice breeze blowing through too, so it was an ideal spot for taking a break. I just breathed a sigh of relief. This was pure bliss.

Today has certainly been a strange one so far. Throughout the course of the day, I've started working for the goblin equivalents of the Mario Bros., met the one and only demon lord Milim Nava, was unexpectantly seduced by her, and nearly killed by her more than once. Just thinking about that last one left me a bit on edge. That'll be quite a story to tell my family the next time I see them. It'll make their day at work seem like child's play in comparison, not that they would believe me, but still though. Weirdest workday in my life! Hopefully the rest of my day will be nice and unevent-

"YAHOO!" The familiar voice of Milim rang through my ears, causing me to jump in surprise. Goddamn it! Didn't Goblio just get rid of her? I thought she would've been far away from here playing with Rimuru or something. What does she want with me all of a sudden? "Slater! What are you doing over there, huh?" She ran over to me, holding what was left of her candy.

Great…. Just what I needed; more stress and the fear of death on top of everything else that I just went through. Well, for obvious reasons, I can't run or hide from Milim, so if I'm gonna be stuck with her, I might as well just shoot the shit with her until she gets bored and goes away. So, here goes nothing.

"Oh, uh, nothing much…." I awkwardly began. "Just taking my last break, that's all." I sat back down, and Milim sat down next to me. Yep. Definitely saw that coming. "Anyway, what do you want?"

"Come on Slater, don't be that way! Let's be friends!" Milim chirped in reply. She reached into her pile of candy, grabbing a piece and holding it in front of my face. "Here!"

"O-Oh, uh…. Sure. T-Thanks." I stuttered in response, taken aback by the sudden offer. I made to take the candy from her hand. I quickly unwrapped it and popped it into my mouth. This is...

Oh wow! This tastes really good! Milim just giggled in response, obviously pleased that I liked it. Look, at least I can try my best to follow Rimuru's advice. Maybe she's a lot nicer than I thought initially.

For the next few minutes, Milim bombarded me with countless topics, ranging from questions like "What's your favorite food?" to her own recollection about how she met Rimuru. She was definitely exaggerating the details with that one. Just listening to her was making me tired. I don't know how Rimuru and the others can put up with her brand of energy, but I almost felt like I was gonna nod off any second now. Before I could do so, Milim offered me another piece of candy, which I quickly popped into my mouth. Not long after, her face suddenly turned serious. She must have something important to say.

"So tell me Slater," Milim began. "What's an Otherworlder like you doing here in Tempest?" I choked on my candy at that exact moment, almost spitting it out. I quickly swallowed it.

"H-How…. How did you… I mean, I never….. Did Rimuru-" I tried to respond, but I was soon cut off.

"Oh no, Rimuru didn't tell me anything." Milim responded. "I sensed something was up with you the moment I first saw you. Compared to other Otherworlders I've seen throughout the years, your aura came off as… unique, for lack of a better term. That, and that marking you have on your right cheek is very... peculiar. I've never seen anything like that before." The way she worded that just now made me even more nervous. Just what does she have in store for me anyway? I swallowed my candy and just continued to stare at Milim, waiting for her to respond. She simply stared right back at me, expecting me to respond instead. Reluctantly, I opened my mouth to speak.

"U-Unique? Peculiar? W-What do you mean by that?" I asked. Milim leaned back into the table, resting her arms on it, before coming up with a response.

"That's just it though," Milim replied. "Everyone has their own aura, from the lowest lifeform to the most powerful of beings. Humans have a relatively weak aura, but if they're Sages or Saints, their aura's more powerful. The same goes with demon lords such as myself. Our auras are among the most powerful in this world; it's just that my aura happens to be a teensy bit more powerful than the other demon lords." She seemed to be half-serious, half-boastful with that last part.

Yeah, no shit! Of course you're more powerful!

Milim paused for a few seconds, before continuing her explanation.

"And then there are the Otherworlders," Milim continued. "How they get to this world varies. It can either be a result of being summoned or by being reincarnated. In part, they give off an aura that's unique only to them. With the proper training, they would be able to detect other auras as well as their own. Their potential for using magic also varies from person to person. Some may turn out to be simple warriors or wizards, while others might be able to wield holy power and become Sages or possibly Saints. Do you understand any of this?" On the one hand, I understood some of her explanation, but on the other hand I didn't understand the rest of it. My lore on the world of Slime was not up to snuff if you catch my drift.

Milim just turned to face me; serious look and all. Gulp! Better say something quick!

"U-Uh, y-yes! Yes! I-I understand." I stammered in a half-truthful reply. I just took a deep breath to try and calm myself down, hoping that Milim didn't figure call my bluff. She simply continued where she left off.

"And that brings us to you Slater." Milim stated. I could feel the sweat forming on my brow at this point. This can't be good. "Tell me, how exactly did you come to this world?"

Why does Milim want to know that? Why does she want to know the specifics behind that? Was she… interrogating me? But why? Was it because she wanted to help me? Nah! That can't be it. We barely know each other and compared to Rimuru, Milim had absolutely no reason, nor obligation, to help a complete stranger like myself.

Hold up for just a second! I just thought of another possible reason.

Could she be trying to assess whether or not I'm a threat? Because apparently I'm a unique case among Otherworlders and that's enough grounds for suspicion? Come on man! How could I possibly be a threat to her, let alone a threat to this world? I'm an out-of-shape video game/anime geek and I don't even know how to fight. Although, I did used to take karate back in the day, however, I'm been long out of practice, and besides, even if I was an efficient fighter, I'd know better than to fuck with a demon lord; Milim especially. I already have that "clothing" debacle from earlier to show for it. Well, I better keep my mind on track and answer her honestly. Hopefully she won't kill me on the spot.

"I-" I paused for a moment before continuing. "I was abducted with no warning and sent here by some cosmic being or something. I don't know why and I don't know how, but I'm here now. I just want to go back to my own world, if it's even possible." Milim "hmm'd" in response and seemed to mull over my words for a minute. Finally, she made to speak once again.

"I see." She began. "So that's your situation huh? Well, it's certainly different, I'll give you that." She paused for a moment. "Tell me Slater, what if there was no way for you to go back to your own world? What if you had no choice but to spend the rest of your life here? For all you know, you could be wasting your time trying to find a way back, even with Rimuru's help. Your efforts could be futile. Could you live with that?"

I just froze upon hearing those words. I tried to open my mouth to speak, but I quickly closed it. I just couldn't believe what I heard.

Did Milim just imply... that there was no way for me to go back home?

I just rested my chin on my hand, losing myself in thought. Yeah, I have thought about the possibility of being stuck in this world forever, albeit briefly. And Milim, due to being thousands of years old, probably would've known from the start that there wasn't a way for me to get back home, otherwise she wouldn't have said what she said just now.

I never really stopped to think about it much because I wanted to believe in the possibility that I'll be able to go home, no matter how small the possibility might be. Rimuru's already doing everything that he can to help me, and that's on top of everything he has to do as leader of this nation. My situation is practically giving him more stress and frustration to deal with. I feel bad, but….. but-

But what? What if Rimuru can't find a way to get me home? What then?

I think the answer is obvious: I'll never see my friends and family ever again. I'd never be able to accept that, no matter how many times I try to convince myself that there has to be a way back home. That's a one-way trip towards insanity. Even if I have friends here now, no matter how much they try to help and support me, and no matter how kind they are to me, I don't think they'd be able to fill the void in my heart. I….. I just-

"Don't know…" I suddenly blurted out without thinking, earning a "hmm?" from Milim. I raised my head, raising my hands to my face to wipe something from my eyes. Tears? When did that happen?

"So you don't know what'd you do?" Milim asked. I took a deep breath, quickly wiped away the last of my tears, and tried to speak again.

"Y-Yeah, I don't know what I'd do." I began. "Maybe you're right. Maybe this is all pointless. Maybe I should just accept the fact that I'm in this world with no way back." I stopped for a moment to take another deep breath, before giving Milim as stern a look as I could. "However, I want to believe that there's some way that I can go back home. I want to believe in something! Nothing in this world, or any other, is absolute, you know? That's what I believe anyway." I took another deep breath before continuing. "And even if it turns out that all my efforts would amount to nothing, I can at least tell myself in the end that I tried. Isn't that's what's important? Better to have tried than to have never tried at all?"

I just continued to stare at Milim, who gave a bit of a dumbstruck look at me. My eye just twitched in response. Jeez, of all the- Did I really just make a corny speech about never giving up and all that jazz? It would have been impressive if I believed a single word of that last part. Was I just trying to make a good second- or was it a third? – impression to Milim with all my bluster? Or was I just making shit up as I went along? At this point, I don't even know anymore. My mind was just stuck on "appease the demon lord and have her leave me alone." Regardless, I do want to believe that there's a way for me to get home, even if it's a longshot.

Going back to Milim, her features soured a bit, before lowering her face slightly. And she looked like she was…. trembling? What's going on? Does she have to go to the bathroom or some-

"BWA-HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!" I just about jumped when I heard that, but what the hell? Milim… was laughing? Why was she laughing? What was so-

"You're one interesting Otherworlder, you know that?" Milim said in between her bouts of laughter. She was clutching her stomach with both hands, momentarily stopping here and there to take a breath. My face started to flush a shade of red. I was starting to go from confused, to annoyed, to angry in an instant. Finally, after about a minute, she got her laughing fit under control. I made to speak first however.

"W-Well excuse m-me that m-my situation is so h-hysterical to you!" I replied, feeling angry, embarrassed, and indignant at the same time, before turning my back to Milim and crossing my arms.

*SLAP* Ow! Did- Did Milim just hit me on the back?

"Hey come on now Slater, don't get mad at me. I'm only teasing you!" Milim said as she continued to slap my back, albeit more lightly, but I was twitching in pain. God damn, that first slap hurt! It was almost like getting hit with a 2x4. And the repeated slapping was making it worse! I turned back to Milim, rubbing the spot where she hit me, seeing an innocent grin appear on her face.

"It sure doesn't sound like teasing to me!" I replied indignantly. "I'm having enough problems as it is dealing with my situation, and here you are laughing at my misery! Not to mention your previous teasing of me in the store earlier! I don't need to put up with anymore of this shit!" I turned around to leave, but Milim quickly put herself in front of me.

"Wait!" Milim began. Her features softened a bit. "I'm sorry. About laughing at you. And about the teasing from before. Really, I am. I didn't mean to offend you, and for you to interpret it as such. I just wanted to get to know you better. I'm so... sorry." She suddenly paused, looking slightly downward. Upon further inspection, she had a really sad look on her face, almost looking like she was- Wait, was she…. about to cry?

It really is easy to forget that Milim was a demon lord, wasn't it? If this were taken out of context, it would've looked like I picked on a little girl until I made her cry. Shit! A little paranoid, I quickly looked around us and saw some bystanders looking at us while they walked past. Double shit! Either they were taking this scene out of context, or some of the bystanders who knew Milim was a demon lord are thinking that I just signed my own death warrant. Shit! Shit! SHIT! What is it with me and pissing people off today? Before I know it, I'm gonna be known around here as Slater: Invoker of a Demon Lord's Wrath; and an enemy to all children apparently. Seriously! What the actual fuck?

But….. I guess I was mean to her though. Even though my whole "stuck in another world" situation sucks right now, is that really any excuse to lash out and act like a total ass?

No. It wasn't. My brief argument with Rimuru last night was proof of that. He knew I was frustrated, but I shouldn't have acted out like that. And this situation right here is no different. Even though Milim annoyed the hell out of me today, and even though she's a demon lord, most of the time, she's practically a child. A child who's thousands of years old, but still, all those times she was messing with me weren't of malicious intent. And both times it looked like she was going to smear me against the pavement, I genuinely didn't know about her berserk buttons. There were some things about Slime I knew, and most things I didn't. That's the way it is.

Rimuru told me to give Milim a chance, so I might as well start now. It's the least I can do. I'm willing to let bygones be bygones. So, I got down on one knee to look Milim right in the eyes. Thankfully, she looked back at mine.

"Hey," I began. "I'm sorry. For the way I acted just now, I mean." Milim "hmm'd?" in response, but I just continued. "It's just… my whole situation for the past few days has been really stressful for me, even if Rimuru has been working to help me with that. Not only that, but I knew about your being a demon lord, so that just made me even more scared than I was already. I wanted nothing more than for you to stay away from me as much as possible, to be honest. Especially after that whole 'seductress' bit from earlier. And hell, all the questions about how I got stuck in this world and what would happen if I couldn't get home didn't help me feel better either. You know, I couldn't tell if you were actually curious about my situation or if you were trying to see if I was a possible threat or not. There's no way right? I mean look at me! I can't even punch through a wooden board, let alone hurt you! I'm practically harmless, you know what I mean?" Milim slowly nodded before drooping her head down slightly.

Nuts. Gotta get back on track here. I held up a finger to make sure she was still paying attention to me. I placed my hand on her shoulder and continued.

"However, in spite of everything that's happened to me so far, there was really no excuse for lashing out at you like I did. I should've realized a whole lot sooner that you were just trying to be friendly with me, but I took it the wrong way. Well, actually, you could've done without the 'laughing at me' thing, but-" Milim's eyes just continued to water. Damn it! I gotta hurry up and get my point across! Reaffirming myself, I put my other hand on her shoulder to keep her focus on me. "Look, what I'm trying to say is that I'm really sorry for hurting your feelings. It was wrong of me, and I'd very much like to put all the bad stuff behind us. Would you….. like to be friends?" As I finished, Milim looked downward again, contemplating what I just said. What will she do? What will she decide? I don't know how-

"OKAY!" Milim suddenly shouted in excitement, causing me to almost lose my footing. And she yelled that so close to my-

*GLOMP*

Milim wrapped her arms around me, squeezing me in a big ol' bear hug. And I do mean big! I would've reciprocated, but here's the thing. She's squeezing me hard. Way too hard in fact! Seriously, I feel like a tube of toothpaste that was about to burst right now! If I didn't get out of this quickly, I probably WOULD burst like a toothpaste tube!

"M- M- Mil-im!" I gasped in response, lightly tapping her back with my hand to get her attention. "T-T- To-o t-tigh-t!"

"Oh!" Milim said, letting me go at last. "Sorry about that. Guess I don't know my own strength!" She finished with a "tee-hee", before tapping her head with her fist, sticking out her tongue with one eye closed in a "silly me" gesture. I was just desperately gasping for breath, coughing all the while. Finally, I slowly got back up on my feet.

"Yeah," I began, pausing for another breath. "You got to watch that. I'm not exactly built to last, you know?" I extended my hand out to Milim, who took notice of it. "Here. If we're going to be friends, might as well make it official." After a moment, Milim took my hand in her hand, and we shook on our newfound friendship. "My name is Slater, nice to meet you."

"Milim Nava! Nice to meet you!" Milim responded.

"Slater?" A new voice called out. We turned around and saw it was Gobluigi. "It'sa time to get back to-a work now!" Oh damn! Was breaktime over already? It felt like it went on longer than I thought.

"Okay! Be right there!" I called out to Gobluigi. I turned to Milim. "Sorry Milim, looks like I need to get back to work now."

"Okay!" Milim replied. "I'm going to go play with Rimuru! He promised me that we'd go play in the fields today! We should hang out when you have some free time! Catch you later Slater!"

"Right. Catch you later." I replied.

And so we both went on our way. Well, it was nice that I was no longer on Milim's bad side, but I couldn't help but feel that was easier than I thought. Why was that? Was she manipulating everything from the start?

I don't know, I'll have to think about it later. Those fruits and vegetables aren't going to stock themselves.

-x-

And so, my first day on the job came to an end. Rimuru came to pick me up, I bid the Goblios farewell, and on top of that, I got paid. I received a small pouch filled with a few gold, silver, and bronze coins. Add that to the amount of money leftover from what Rimuru gave me, and I have a decent amount of pocket change. I wonder how much a week's worth of pay would amount to?

As the sun set over the horizon, the two of us walked down the street, shooting the shit over how our day went. Some of it was chuckle-worthy, and some of it came off as surprising, but all in all, I say we had a good day.

"-I'm completely serious!" Rimuru said. "Milim totally hit Gobta with the ball so hard that he was launched hundreds of feet in the air! I seriously thought he was gonna enter low orbit!" He chuckled.

"Sheesh! He must be durable if he can survive a thrashing from a demon lord!" I replied. Well, Gobta was the comic relief character. He could take an attack that could demolish the side of a mountain and walk it off with only a few scrapes and bruises; give or take a few broken bones here and there. Regardless, I did feel bad for him, even if he did have a tendency to bring it all on himself at times.

"So anyway Slater," Rimuru said, changing the topic suddenly. "How was your first day on the job?"

"Oh that?" I replied. "It went pretty well, actually. It wasn't so bad, at least compared to my time at Walmart."

"That's good!" Rimuru replied. "Before we left, I had a talk with the Goblios, and they had a lot of good things to say about you!" I blushed a little after hearing that.

"Aw it was nothing!" I said, trying to downplay the praise as best I could. "I just did the best that I could do, that's all."

"No need to be so humble Slater!" Rimuru replied. "You should hold your head up high! There's no shame in being proud of your accomplishments!"

"I know, I know!" I replied, feeling a bit embarrassed. "I take pride in the hard work I give, but what I did today was nothing that couldn't be done by anyone else. You know what I mean?"

"Yeah, yeah! I get you, I get you!" Rimuru replied. "Still though, I'm just glad you're settling into Tempest quite nicely! The other day, you were completely scared out of your wits. But now, you're talking to some of the people, like Shion and Gobta, with relative ease. You've even made friends with Milim too! That's not an easy task to accomplish!"

"Didn't you become her friend by bribing her with honey or something?" I deadpanned. That caused Rimuru to flinch.

"Okay, you got me!" Rimuru replied as he rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "Maybe it is an easy task, at least if you know what you're doing." He laughed, which was contagious enough to get me laughing too.

"So anyway Rimuru," I began, earning a 'hmm?' from Rimuru in response. "Where do we go from here? As far as you helping me, I mean." He pondered for a few seconds, before making a response.

"Well Slater," Rimuru began. "Right now it's still too early find a solution to your problem, but don't worry, I've been having Great Sage do some research about traveling to and from different worlds. Even while she's still figuring out how to undo Veldora's seal, she's pretty good when it comes to multitasking."

"Ah, I see." I replied. "She is pretty good isn't she?" I chuckled slightly.

"Yep!" Rimuru replied. "And as for you, I'll have you continue to work for the Goblios in the meantime. They sure could use your help."

"Sounds good." I replied. "At least it'll keep me busy until-"

*BZZZZZT*

What the hell was that?

*BZZZZZZT*

The sudden sound of static interrupted me. But that's not all. For just an instant, my vision was clouded with the same kind of static you'd expect on a dead TV channel. I quickly checked on my surroundings to see if anything else was amiss, and I noticed Rimuru had stopped ahead of me; looking just as confused as I was.

Wait. Did he hear that? Did he see that?

"Slater!" Rimuru stated in alarm. "Are you okay? What the hell was that?"

"I-" *BZZZZZT* "-d-don't" *BZZZZZT* "-k-k-k-k-k-n-n-n-n-n-" *BZZZZZZT*

Slowly, the static was filling up my vision once more. I suddenly felt myself losing the strength to stand on my own two feet, and before I knew it, I was kneeling down. It was taking every ounce of my strength to stay on my knee, and I was starting to get wobbily. I started to feel slightly nauseous; my head throbbing in intense pain like a migraine. It was almost similar to what happened to me back in the interrogation room the other day, but I think this was quickly escalating into something worse.

"Slater! Sla-" *BZZZZZT* "-ter!" *BZZZZZT* "Sl-a-a-a-a-a-" *BZZZZZT*

I couldn't even hear Rimuru clearly anymore. His figure was starting to become a blur as it looked like he was running toward me.

*BZZZZZT*

The static had enveloped my vision completely. The pain was becoming almost too much to bear. Was I about to lose consciousness again?

*BZZZZZT*

Or was I-

*BZZZZZT*

-about to die?

*BZZZZZT*

Somebody…..

*BZZZZZT*

Help…. me…