The table was set, subtle glares were exchanged under the guise of wansering eyes. The had had this argument before, and they would continue it again and again until one side would be victorious.
Eris could only rest her face on the table and groan as the other gods started at it again. Guille gave her a pat on the shoulder as he solemnly watched the next shit show start. World Spirits and lesser deities shifted in their seats, as Administrator D took in a deep breath.
"For the last time, a visual system would be far superior too all others." She stated with a serious tone. "Yet we can not disregard the old systems of power in many worlds." was the response from the Dragon Veldanava. "Pah, many of these worlds have visual systems. What is so wrong about giving the other worlds the same thing?" D retorted. "Mortals tend to panic in the face of the unknown, a collection of numbers and bars suddenly appearing in their faces would entail such panic." One of the many World Spirits responded.
Eris just tried to bury her head further into the table as the discussion around her devolved into yet another shouting match. "Please Guille, you said you had good news, please tell me?" She begged while glancing up to him. "The one you sent on the mission has found the Shield Hero and is traveling with him, but there's something else." Guille said. "There's always something else." Eris lamented. "He was traveling with the victims of-" Guille leaned in. "The False God." he finished. Eris covered her mouth in shock, a look of realization edging onto her face.
"Have you told anyone else?" she asked. "I tried, most are..." Guille trailed off while gesturing to the shouting match around them. "Well, we have to help them. Rules be damned, these Waves are a threat. I know this is wrong of me, but would you be willing to aid them in any way possible?" Eris pleaded. "I will do what I must. But I will not directly intervene unless necessary." Guille responded. "Good enough." Eris commented just as Guille raised a fist to block the chair flying at them.
The light around them faded, some relaxed at the familiar atmosphere around them, others just raised their brows at their location.
Subaru ran off as quickly as he could, hands no longer covering Yuika's eyes and ears. The rest heard him ascend the stairs just a ways away before a woman upstairs screamed in shock.
"Are. Are we in the right place?" Raphtalia asked hesitantly. "Yep, shop basement." Kazuma said as he pointed at the upper half of a broken blade lodged in the floor. "Then who did Subaru just scare?" Shea asked. "Considering it's a woman screaming rather than Subaru, probably Wiz." Kazuma said as he made his way to the stairs.
The Spider sisters scuttled after him, the others not far behind.
As they passed through the basement door they saw quite the sight. Subaru, with tears running down his face, was comforting another young girl while she hugged his neck. A quick glance to the side revealed Kazuma with a deadpan stare while a well endowed woman in purple went gaga over the Spider Sisters.
'She must be Wiz' was the collective thought as they watched the two exchanges. Kazuma gave them a small gesture to follow as he made his way to the door. The Isekaied could only glance as they past rows of furniture, foods, and many other things from Japan which were being sold in said shop. They left Subaru behind, preferring to let him have his reunion as the Spider Sisters caught up to them.
Tempest itself was just dripping with Japanese inspiration. The buildings were a mix of European and Japanese architecture. The streets were filled with business and joy as Monsters and Demi humans walked them with little care. They took note of the caution some of the people were giving them though.
"Papa, this place is nice." Myu said as she took her place on Hajime's shoulders. "That it is Princess, that it is." Hajime replied as he took in the scenery. "Sir Noafumi, is your old world like this?" Raphtalia asked as Rifana dragged Keel away from a food stand. "Somewhat." Naofumi muttered with a deadpan glare.
"Come on, the quicker we reach Rimuru the sooner I can give Kumoko a piece of my mind." Kazuma said as the Spider Sisters scuttled passed them.
"They seem, rather scared." Yue surmised. "Probably just the waves, almost everyone's been rattled by them." Kaori replied as she stole a glance at one of the stores. "No, They're looking right at us." Naofumi interluded. "This is a town of monsters. They must not like humans." Raphtalia theorized. "No, I doubt they had any problems with Subaru, they're scared of us." Hajime whispered as they finally reached a large building near the centre of town.
A tall Oni(?) dressed like a samurai came forth. "What is it now Kazuma? Rimuru's busy meeting with someone that Kumoko brought." he said. "Ah Beni, I brought some people in to have a discussion about our Wave problem, but I also have something to talk to Kumoko about." Kazuna paused as he gestured to his feet. Benimaru looked down, eyes half widening as he saw the Spider Sisters. "Don't tell me?" he trailed off. "I have some choice words for her. Do you know where she is?" Kazuna asked.
Benimari just pointed to the entry way. "She's gauging herself on snacks in the third room." he answered. "Thanks Beni, I promise not to cause too much damage." Kazuma said as he walked off with the Spider Sisters in tow.
"He left us." Shea muttered. "So it would seem." Rifana said. Filo, without any sort of fear, walked right up to Benimaru. "Hi mister." she greeted as Naofumi tried to call her back. "Oh, hi there. Are you with them?" he asked while leaning down. "Yep, daddy's been traveling with my big sisters and fighting the waves. Then we met uncle and I made a friend." Filo said without hesitation. "You've been fighting the waves?" Benimaru asked, not looking up despite directing the question to them.
Naofumi sighed; "Yes, they've been a real pain in the ass to deal with." he said. "Been a pain for everyone." Benimaru replied. "I think any more discussion about the waves should best be saved for somewhere more private." Kaori spoke up. "Yeah, I'll get Shion in inform Rimuru about another meeting. Just don't cause trouble." he half begged.
Any more conversation was put on hold as a woman in white and pink with the bottom half of a spider burst through a window with Body Brain and Information Brain scrambling over her. Magic 1 and 2 followed after them as the woman began rolling on the ground to get them off. "Not getting off that easy." Kazuma yelled as he jumped out the hole and followed after them.
Benimaru just covered his face with his hands. The group just stared at the unfolding madness that was rolling down the street. "You never get used to it." he lamented.
After that display Benimaru showed them to a waiting area. It had some light novels and books scattered around alongside several chairs and a coffee table. They even had one of those puzzle playsets filled with blocks that would normally be seen in doctor hospital waiting rooms. Filo and Myu were quick to take it over as the others just took their seats.
"Can we even trust this guy?" Shizuku whispered to Tio. When she didn't receive an answer she turned to the Dragon lady, just to find her eyes locked on another in the room. A tall man with tanned skin, clad in a cape and loose trousers. He may have been leaning back and reading one of the Light Novels, but just looking at him felt like she was staring at a predator.
"Tio, Tio?" Shizuku nudged Tio as she tried to get her attention. Tio was slowly developing a sort of mad blush on her face as she continued to look at the man.
It was then that the door at the end of the hall opened and an imposing figure covered in a purple robe and a mask walked out. A short guy(?) with blue hair waved him off as he left. When the figure walked past them, it felt as though time slowed down for a second.
He didn't act hostile, but his mere presence was far more imposing than any threat.
Then he left, not even bothering to look at them. Tio shook her head and looked away from the relaxing man. "Sorry, he was just so..." she trailed off. "Its fine, just don't do it again." Suzuki replied.
"Alright, Shion told me that Kazuma brought you in for a talk. Do you want to wait for him or does this involve just you guys?" The blue haired guy asked as he got closer. "We'll wait, he left out some things that would be important to know." Hajime replied, not even taking his eyes off of Myu. "Ah well, I'll get Benimaru and Shion to retrieve him then." the guy said.
His expression changed; "Ah, I forgot to say but my name is Rimuru, it's nice to meet you all." Rimuru said while holding his hand out. Kaori was the one to shake it with a kind smile. "So, you made all this?" Raphtalia asked. "Ah, I just helped make it." Rimuru replied while rubbing the back of his neck. "Ignore that, my bro's done a lot for this place." The relaxing man spoke up with boisterous volume.
"Veldora." Rimuru turned to the man. "Seems to good to be true." Naofumi spoke up. "First time I've heard that one." Rimuru replied. Veldora just chuckled before going back to his light novel. "What Naofumi means, is that this place is a paradise when compared to many others." Raphtalia spoke up, giving a subtle glare to Naofumi. "We've had to work hard to get to this point. Tempest isn't just the work of one person or monster." Rimuru replied.
Hajime just sighed for a second and took his eyes off of Myu. "Are you from Japan?" he asked calmly. "Yep, got reincarnated as a slime." Rimuru replied with no hesitation. The group just gave him various confused stares at his answer. Rimuru huffed before he suddenly turned into a small blue slime. "See." he emphasized to their shocked expressions.
"Is no one normal." Shea quietly lamented. She had seen the cruelty that Hajime could unleash on his enemies. Witnessed the burning hatred that Naofumi harnessed to destroy everything in his path. Watched as Kazuma pulled himself back together from a hundred foot fall despite most of his organs being on the outside. Subaru had the strange immaterial arms and might be psychotic for all she knows. And the less said about Kumoko and the Spider Sisters, the better.
"Normal's overrated." Kazuma replied as he walked up to them. A cleaned up Subaru was right behind him while Kumoko and the Spider Sisters were being dragged along by Shion and Benimaru. Shea almost jumped away as the two groups gathered together. "Alright, what is it you wanted to talk to me about?" Rimuru asked. "Its about the Waves, and how to fight them." Kazuma replied.
Naofumi just sighed, knowing that this would take longer than expected.
A Goddess.
Kazuma had traveled through the wave with the request of some Goddess named Eris. She had told him about the four Cardinal heroes and her request to get them working on helping save the worlds from the waves. Naofumi, Hajime, Kaori, Shizuku, and (surprisingly) Rimuru were somewhat apprehensive to the idea.
"Ok look, I'm not really asking. I'm just the middle man for her OK." Kazuma defended. "Can we even believe you?" Hajime interrogated. "Ok look, I know it's kind of sketchy but it's the truth." Kazuma replied.
"Doesn't really matter, if these waves destroy the world than we have no choice." Subaru lamented too the Spider Sisters. 'Worlds' Information Brain replied. "Its fucked up." Subaru deadpanned. 'Lots of things are fucked up about this' Kumoko replied.
"Then how do you talk to her?" Hajime leaned in. Naofumi was just glaring at Kazuma as Hajime prepared to grab one of his guns. "Now now, this is my office, I'd rather you don't start destroying things." Rimuru spoke up, rising from his chair.
"Do we even have a choice?" Naofumi spoke up. Everyone turned to him. "I have to beat these waves or they destroy everything. If I or any of the other heroes die then we're all doomed." he spoke with a calm aura. "Excuse me." Hajime clarified.
"Before I met any of you, we ran into a being who was raised by a previous hero. They laid the ground works for the rules that these waves function by." Naofumi said whole rising from his seat. "The presence of a Cardinal Hero increases the amount of time between waves and causes it to close the moment the boss monster dies." he spoke calmly. "If one dies then the waves become harder, and the only solution is to kill the other three and summon a new batch." he dropped the bomb.
"Add in the fact that these waves consume worlds, it seems that I truly have no choice in this." Naofumi lamented as he walked over to Kazuma and Hajime. Hajime let him pass as Naofumi grabbed Kazuma by his collar. "But tell your Goddess, that I refuse to work with the others." He said while glaring into his eyes.
He let go of Kazuma, letting him fall to the ground. "So, anything else?" he asked. "No, but I think we should do one other thing." Rimuru spoke up. "What would that be?" Naofumi and Hajime asked at the same time. "A resolution, just because we have no choice but to fight the waves doesn't mean we have do nothing else about them." Rimuru answered. They raised their brows at his words.
"Let's make a vow. That all those willing shall dedicate themselves to helping fight against the waves." Rimuru said. "Not just everyone present?" Subaru clarified. "There's too many people I know who are willing to join in." Rimuru replied.
Kazuma finally picked himself up. "I can live with that." he said. "Welp one down, three to go." he muttered. The others were leaving the room until there was only him, Subaru, and Rimuru. "I'm going to have tell my executives and a new friend of mine about all this." Rimuru said as Subaru just looked him in the eye.
"This is so screwed." he said. "I know, honestly just screw being isekaied, it sucks." Kazuma replied. "True that." Subaru said as they walked out of Rimuru's office.
Rimuru just shook his head as the door closed behind them. "Looks like there's more folks I have to help." he commented before his Shadow began to shift. "Gather the executives and Ainz Ooal Gown, there's a meeting we have to have." He said as his shadow began to move.