(Sorry I'm late)

The next day found Rimuru and Jack walking on the streets of Rabianigh.

They both walked in an unusual silence, with the boy behind the teacher looking anywhere but forward. Rimuru was yet again confused. Jack hadn't talked to him after he woke up the next day. He tried asking what was wrong, but the boy just shook his head and said nothing. Was it something he said yesterday? He wanted to know what was bothering his poor student without intruding into his mind.

So, Rimuru wanted to try another way: by bringing the boy to a restaurant and bribing him with some delicious food. It sounded shady even when he thought about it, but he really just wanted to get rid of the boy's sadness. Eating food always made Rimuru happy and got him to be more talkative. He figured that if anyone else would be that way, it'd be pouting children.

{Correction: You're just a glutton, master.}

That in turn made Rimuru pout. It wasn't really his fault, okay? He was just reborn that way.

{I'm not saying it's a bad thing, master. Rather, it's one of the quirks I like about you.}

A bullseye, as always.

"Damn. You're bringing in the big guns today, huh?" he asked as he tried to calm his figurative heart.

{How can I not be thankful after you've forced me to watch three Big Mama movies with you?}

Oh. That was why.

Shit. Nothing good ever happened whenever his assistant got pissed. The last time she was, the multiverse came close to destabilizing. It took the joint effort of Tempest along the rest of the Octagram to juggle balancing the whole of existence while Rimuru begged for her to calm down.

He tried to reason with her, "Ehehe. W-Why don't we watch what you want next time?"

{Sure! I love you, master!}

Phew. Saying he dodged that bullet would be an understatement for what was supposed to be the "bullet."

It took a few more minutes to reach the place. Rimuru had picked the place based on the delicious smell he'd sniffed up. He read the sign:

The Bay Gull Eatery

What was with this world and its uncreative names? He shook his head as he entered along with the boy tailing him from behind. After picking their seats, Rimuru asked the boy to pick anything he liked on the menu. At first, the boy only looked at it and did nothing else. But, after some time, the kid started looking at the other tables, looking at a meal in particular; a smoked fish of some sort.

The blue haired demon quickly ordered two, one for each of them, and soon after the dish was served. Jack couldn't resist the allure of the fish and went to dig right in.

It was silent once again after they finished their meal, except for the sound of strangers chatting. But after a few more minutes, Jack changed his mind.

"...I'm sorry," the boy apologized.

"Hmm?" he hummed in confusion and said, "What for?"

The boy bit his lip and answered, "I'm sorry for not talking to you, teacher. I just didn't know what to say after, you know, that."

So that was his reason.

Rimuru laughed and waved him off, "Don't worry too much about it, kid. Just promise me that after this, if you have any problems, you tell them to me. It's a teacher's job to take care of their students, after all."

Jack smiled gleefully, nodding as he said, "Thank you, teacher. I promise."

That was a relief. Just seeing the boy smile had made his day. He looked at their empty plates and asked, "Hey, the fish was delicious, wasn't it?"

The boy nodded once more. He continued, "Then, you wanna get seconds?"

"Are you sure, teacher?" to his question, Rimuru confirmed, "Of course! I still want more of that fish."

The boy agreed, "Yeah. Please order more."

BANG!

Everyone turned around to the sound of the door banging against the wooden wall. On the entrance was a plump young man in fancy clothing with an insignia on his chest. It looked like the silhouette of a bird holding a grape vine. Beside him were two thug-like men, each with weapons hidden in their sheaths. It looked like there were more similar men behind the door. The rest quieted down after that.

The young man walked to the counter and said, "I heard that this place has the best seafood in the territory, even after counting Rowlhart."

The bartender, who was visibly nervous, answered quickly, "Of course, young master. I-Is there anything you would like to order?"

The young man snorted and said, "I wish for you to throw out these peasants first. Then I will have your finest dishes. Am I clear?"

The bartender was obviously troubled and said, "B-But wha--"

"Are you going to refuse one such as I, Bartholomew Viengrey, a prestigious noble of the Endlorean Empire? Do you know what will happen to any of you if you do?" threatened the obnoxious fatty not only at the restaurant, but also the customers.

The bartender could only look apologetically at them.

"Shit."

"It's a noble."

"I don't want to mess with them."

"Let's go, right now."

One by one, the patrons left with dissatisfaction mixed with apprehension. Even if they didn't like it, none of them could go against a noble. Jack was frowning. He didn't like people who looked down and oppressed others just for their own satisfaction. But even he could understand what the fat man implied. He pushed his chair to sit up... only to be held down by the shoulder by his teacher. She shook her head and pushed him back into his seat. He wanted to reason with her, but in the end he didn't. He would put his trust in her.

The fat noble smirked as he saw the rest of them leave. Peasants could not go against one such as him, especially when he was the son of a territory's leader.

A territory leader is one of the highest positions one could have in the empire. It involved managing a large piece of land and reporting directly to the Imperial Family.

Bartholomew was sent here by his father to accompany his little sister in her enrollment to the Arcanus Academy because his father was currently busy. He had felt distaste coming back here, seeing that he failed to enter the academy while his little sister was able to. To let off some steam, he wanted to eat some fish from a place he'd heard about beforehand. As the place became less crowded, he walked into the biggest table and sat on his seat. Before he could do anything else, however, he heard someone talk.

"Hey, waiter! We'd like to order some more, please!" he turned around to see one table was yet to be emptied.

"You!" the fat man quickly stood up and walked briskly to their table.

How dare some peasant ignore his commands! As he reached closer, he heard the one who spoke earlier speak again, "Is there any problem?"

He looked at the deviant and observed her. Soon, his angry glare turned into something else. Hmph. At least he would be compensated tonight after the blatant disrespect he was treated with, even if she were a peasant.

He scoffed and said, "You dare go against a noble?"

The woman just rolled her eyes and said, "If I do, what are you going to do about it, fatty?"

He seethed. How dare this peasant whore mock him! He signalled the mercenaries he hired and said, "Arrest her, men! Tie her up and bring her into my chambers!"

He then added, "After I'm done with her, you can all have your turns!"

The mercenaries then chuckled as they neared the woman. They nearest one extended their arm to grab at her, only for the both of them to stop with the sound of a snap.

"Argh! My arm!" screamed the first mercenary as he fell to the floor, clutching his arm.

Everyone turned to look at the one who did it. It was the boy everyone had been ignoring the entire time. He was standing on a table, snarling at the offenders.

"Don't you fucking touch her, you filthy animals!" he roared.

Jack was beyond pissed. Seeing these assholes walking to their table made him remember about the Morgue Moths. Back then, all he could do was stay silent as they took their money and harassed the orphanage. He had promised to himself back in the rabbit hole that he'd protect his loved ones from harm. And right now, he intended to do just that.

"You brat!" the other mercenary shouted as he unsheathed his weapon to swing at him.

It was a worthless attempt. His brutal training with his teacher had resulted with him being able to respond to an attack in a moment's notice. The other man went down in a similar fashion.

"You!" pointed the fat man as he glared at him and screamed, "Get in you idiots! Bring his head to me!"

And so, the rest of the men got in. Jack jumped off the table to face them.

...

To say Rimuru was a bit annoyed earlier would be like saying that he had a mild dislike for the name Clayman. To not only bother him while he was eating, but to also ruin a precious moment between him and his student, it would not be a lie to say he was near the point of outrage. But seeing his student battle a group of people out to get him had warmed him. He knew why the boy was doing this, even though earlier he was about to relent to the snobby noble. Knowing how dear he now was to the boy's heart had taken away all the anger he felt.

The blue haired retiree laid back onto his chair as he watched the fight ensue. He was now seeing the fruits of his labour. Jack had followed his instructions as perfectly as he could. The boy was just eager to learn. Unlike other kids, he wasn't one to go back on his word just because of a mild inconvenience. Rimuru thought he really struck gold with this one.

He then waved at one of the waiters who was near him. The waiter neared him, albeit with slight fear. He then said to him while he pointed at the table, "I would like to order two more of these fish."

"U-Um…" the waiter was unsure what to do.

"It's all right. I'll pay for it in full, including all the damages the kid does," explained Rimuru.

After a few seconds of consideration, the waiter nodded and received his order, "Coming right up!"

A few minutes later, the battle had ended with Jack standing over a pile of groaning men on the floor. He was gasping for air and sweating all over. He then walked back to his and his teacher's table and sat back.

"Sorry for being too hasty, teach," he apologized.

He knew that they were now going to get in trouble for his actions.

"No. You don't need to apologize. While you do need to think before you act, I can guarantee you we won't get into much trouble after this. So, thank you for standing up for me. I'm very proud of you," his teacher explained and thanked him.

He couldn't hide the blush he got from her complimenting him. He replied, "If you say so, then."

The fat man from earlier suddenly screamed, "You!? How dare you!"

"Dare I what?" Jack asked, mimicking a thug's attitude. With so many bad people in his life, he was able to copy it very well.

"Y-You dare go against me!? I'll have you punished!" he squealed.

The boy then grabbed his bokken again and said, "Oh yeah? Why don't you come a bit closer and say it to my face?"

The fatty took a step back in fear of getting hurt. He then ran for the door, screaming, "I'll be back! You're going to get into a world of hurt once I tell my father about this!"

He heard his teacher snort. A moment later, a waiter came up to them and put down their dishes.

"Eat up. We're going to the tower after this," his teacher said.

He nodded and began to dig in.

...

True to his word, they went to the Last Tower immediately after finishing, though not before paying for the food and repairs.

Rimuru had asked more about the enrollment first. It turned out that it would start in two weeks, a week after the New Leaf Festival. The age of enrollment had to be between twelve and thirteen. Jack interjected, saying that he was only eleven, but Mario said he'd make an exception for him. After that, Rimuru told him what happened earlier that morning.

"I see. Thank you for telling me about it. No need to worry, I'll handle it," said the old demon as he waved them off as they left his office.

He then went and grabbed an artifact before he activated it with magic.

He talked into it, "Good morning. This is Mario Magna speaking. I would like to speak to Lord Viengrey…"

...

A few days later in Rabianigh…

A man in his fifties walked into a prestigious inn. His clothes were professional and noble, and he had an insignia of a falcon grasping a vine grape on his chest. Rodrick Viengry walked into his son's temporary stay.

Bartholomew immediately stood up from his bed and greeted his father gleefully. He wanted to explain about the brat and whore who crossed him a few days ago.

Bartholomew began, "Father, I wanted to tell you th--"

However, he was interrupted by a hard slap; one that sent him flying back into his bed.

"You absolute fool!" screamed his father, "Do you have any idea what you've just done?!"

The plump young man just sat there in shock. His father had never been this forceful to him. So, why…

His father continued, "The archmage has helped our family greatly over the years. Without him, our family line would not be here today!"

Not just Mario Magna, but the Blade also helped them save their noble household years ago. If the archmage were to get into this scuffle, then the Blade would also follow. If so, then two of the most powerful people in this empire would be after them.

"The people you offended are closely related to him! After all that he's done for us, how do you think he felt when he heard the people he saved all those years ago had been the danger of his close friends?" said his father as he glared at him.

He tried to reason with him, saying, "B-But father, how would I have known--"

"No! If you hadn't acted so recklessly in a foreign territory, none of this would have happened!" his father shut him down once more.

The man stood quietly for a minute. Bartholomew didn't say anything else. He just thought about how unlucky he was to cross those nobodies. He grit his teeth as he tried to think of a way to get back at them.

His father then sighed and said, "It seems you never learn. I guess that is partly my fault."

Continuing, he said, "Go back to our manor. You aren't allowed to leave that place until I come home. When I return, I will make sure I thoroughly discipline you."

Bartholomew dragged his feet out of the room, ignoring the girl peeking through the entrance.

As Rodrick saw his son leave, he noticed auburn locks and green eyes partly hidden behind the door. He called out to his daughter, "Come, Felicia."

Soon after, a girl of twelve years of age came to stand in front of him, her meek stature stood anxiously. He slowly patted her head and said, "Don't worry, I'm not mad at you. You're big brother's the one at fault here."

The girl quickly nodded. He continued, "I'll be accompanying you through the weeks. We'll have time to spend before that. We'll even be able to experience the festival together. I hope you look forward to that."

Felicia offered him a smile. She was about to speak, but her father hadn't seemed to be done talking, "But before that, I'll need to apologize to the archmage and his close friends. This isn't necessary, but do you want to come with me?"

Her eyes gleamed. She wanted to see what it was like inside the tower. Felicia readily agreed, "Yes, father."

(Which do you prefer: shorter chapters with more frequent releases, or longer chapters with less frequent releases? Let me know what you think.)