Saiyans of Jura

"So, how are our guests?" Kaen questioned, walking beside Rigurd with Rimuru on the Hobgoblin's shoulder, as they approached a hut made of animal hides and a sturdy wood frame.

"Well…" Rigurd paused as they reached the door of the hut, with Rigur standing guard.

"What the hell?" Kaval's muffled voice came from the other side of the hut door. "I already called dibs on that meat."

"Huh?" Kaen was confused. "What the hell's going on in there?"

"Back off, jerk." Eren's equally muffled voice responded to Kaval's. "I cooked this piece myself, so you can go hungry."

"If anybody's eating that, it's gonna be me." Gido stated.

"Rigurd, Rimuru, care to enlighten me on the situation?" Kaen questioned, looking to the Hobgoblin and Slime for an answer.

"It's all my fault." Rigurd said, sounding depressed.

"Don't be like that Rigurd." Rimuru said. "Short of it is, they said they were starving, so Rigurd and I gave them some food."

"You shouldn't feel bad about that, Rigurd." Kaen said, with a smile. "Helping people in need is a good thing, I'm proud of you, man."

"You honor me with your praise My Lord." Rigurd smiled. "In that case I will dedicate myself to helping others."

"That's called being a Hero. Something I hope to achieve here in this village." Kaen stated.

"After you." Rigur said opening the curtain, revealing the four adventurers eating from a flat top skillet.

"My apologies. I feel like we have little to offer you, but we welcome you as our honored guests!" Rigurd stated. "Please allow me to make introductions. Here, may I present to you the master of our village, the Great Lord Kaen."

"The Master?" The trio of the party said, looking up at the Saiyan teen.

"Got a problem with that?" Kaen asked.

"Uh, no, not at all." Kaval said.

"Good." Kaen smiled. "Allow me to introduce you to our village healer, Rimuru." Kaen said, as the slime on Rigurd's shoulder jumped in front of the Saiyan.

"Nice to meet you! My name is Rimuru the Slime! I'm not a bad slime, slurp." Rimuru said.

This confused the trio, but made Shizu and Kaen snicker, which shocked both Kaen and Rimuru that the black haired masked woman knew that reference. But he was brought out of his thought process, when Kaval bowed to Kaen, while still sitting on the ground.

"Forgive our rudeness." Kaval said. "It's just that we thought we were done for back there, and we never expected to be rescued by a monster. Thank you, so much."

"Yeah, and thanks a lot for feeding us, too." Eren added. "Everything's really delicious."

"We appreciate your hospitality. The last thing we expected to find here were a bunch of goblins building a village." Gido said.

"Okay, first off, to clear the air, I'm not a monster." Kaen said. "I'm a Saiyan. I might not be human, but my race doesn't exist anywhere else on this planet either. I'm what you'd call, an alien refugee forced from his home."

"So, why exactly are you guys in the forest?" Rimuru questioned, changing the subject before the adventurers could ask any questions.

"The name's Kaval, not that it's saying much, but I'm the leader of this party." Kaval said. "Back there…"

"My name's Eren."

"An' you can call me Gido, it's a pleasure to meet you."

"While she's not a permanent party member, this girl is tagging along with us since we were going to same way." Kaval said, pointing to their temporary party member.

"Shizu."

'A Japanese name. She might be like Mina, Eri, and myself, and was summoned here. Had to have been a while, I'm not sure if she's got a Quirk or not.' Kaen thought.

"And?"

"Well, our boss, who's this cranky old guy, ordered us to come here. He wanted us to investigate the monster activity in the area, since Veldora's disappearance." Kaval explained.

"Oh, I see." Rimuru said.

"Well, as you can see, all we're doing here, is building a goblin village. You don't think that'll be a problem with the guild do you?" Kaen asked.

"Uh, I don't think so." Kaval said.

"It should be fine. An' I don't think the guild has any say in it since the village isn't in our country. But I'm not sure about the country itself." Eren said.

"To be honest I have no idea." Gido said.

"Well if your Guild Master does have a problem, be sure to extend an invitation for him to come here, personally from the leader of the village." Kaen said. "In the meantime, you're more then welcome to stay the night, before heading back out on your journey back. Our village is your village."

"Thank you so much." The four adventurers said, with a slight bow.

"Rigurd, Rigur, take care of them properly, but don't do so good a job, they wanna stay and live here forever." Kaen said.

"Yes My Lord." Rigurd said.

"Papa, Papa." Eri called out, running into the tent.

"Eri, what are you doing in here?" Kaen asked.

"Kaijin wanted me to come find you. He has a few questions about something you proposed the design of." Eri said, hugging his leg. "It's really important."

"Alright, come here you little goober." Kaen chuckled, raising his leg with Eri clinging to it, before she climbed up to hang off his shoulders. "Eri, don't be rude, greet our guests."

"Hello there." Eri smiled. "My name is Eri Yagi."

"She's so cute." Eren squealed.

"So adorable." Shizu said, trying to keep herself under control.

~That Night~

"It's too bad that your design proposition was impossible to do." Mina said, changing into her sleepwear in the hut she shared with Kaen.

"With the current manpower we have, I should have expected it. We don't have the men, funding, materials, nor the equipment to do something like that." Kaen sighed, getting dressed in his own sleepwear.

"It was a nice thought though. So, how are our guests doing?" Mina asked, sitting next to Kaen on their bed.

"They're doing great." Kaen said. "Though there's something about Shizu I'm concerned with."

"What's that?"

"Rimuru told me that Shizu was summoned here, during the bombing of Japan in the Second World War." Kaen said. "If that's true, then why does she still look so young?"

"That is a bit concerning. Maybe she has a Quirk that makes her age slower?" Mina suggested.

"I don't think that's it." Kaen said. "Quirks were about less then 20% of the population back during the war, and not even 3% were located in Japan. I think once she was summoned, something was used on her, and a side effect is it's kept her looking like she's in her early to mid twenties."

"You really think that could be possible?" Mina asked.

"In this world, I'm pretty sure anything is possible." Kaen sighed.

"Well what are we gonna do about it?"

"What else can we do? As much as it would be wrong, I hope that it comes out here in our village."

"Why?"

"Because I want to make sure that I can take it out, before it hurts anyone, if it hasn't already." Kaen sighed. "Best get some sleep, we've got a busy day tomorrow."

"Wait, wasn't Shizu the one you saw in that crystal ball when you went to that brothel?" Mina asked.

"Oh yeah, the one Rimuru's supposed to spend the rest of his life with." Kaen said. "I don't really know how that's gonna happen though."

"I'm sure Rimuru will figure something out." Mina smiled. "Now, Eri's in bed, and I've got a feeling tonight's gonna be… a special night."

"I think I'm picking up, what you're putting down." Kaen smiled, grabbing Mina by the hips, and pulling her in closer, before they kissed.

"Let's try and not to wake the entire village though, okay?" Mina giggled, after the kiss broke.

~The Following Morning~

"I see you're an early riser." Kaen said, walking up the hill and meeting Shizu there, with Rimuru on Ronga's back. "Do you like our little village?"

"Yes, I love it." Shizu said, after removing her mask and showing them her face.

"Glad to hear it Shizu." Rimuru said happily, with Ronga wagging his tail.

"You're more then welcome to stay in our village. It's not much to look at, but from one Summons to another, we'd appreciate having you here." Kaen stated.

"I appreciate the offer, but I really should be going." Shizu said.

"Why's that Shizu?" Rimuru asked.

"Because if I do stay here, I'm afraid I'll bring you nothing but trouble." The Summoned woman said. "There's still something I need to do."

"Like finding the one who summoned you to this world?" Kaen asked.

"So it was that obvious huh?" Shizu chuckled.

"Why else, would a retired adventurer, feel the need to join three others on a mission to the forest of Jura?" Kaen asked. "I asked Kaijin if the name Shizu sounded familiar to him, and he told me about your reputation around the major Kingdoms, Shizu Izawa."

"Guess you really are from the same world as me." Shizu said. "But yes, I am hunting down the man who summoned me here, and I will make him pay for what he has done to make my life, a living hell."

"Okay then, just promise you'll come back and visit sometimes. You're always welcome here." Kaen stated. "Plus, I'm pretty sure Rimuru would get a bit lonely if you never came to visit."

"Kaen." Rimuru said, trying to get him to shut up.

"Well, I'll do my best." Shizu said, before she walked up to Ronga, and knelt down to hug him. "Thank you, I mean it."

'It's gonna be a long road ahead for her, if revenge truly is her goal.' Kaen thought.

~Later~

"Hey Shizu, could I ask you something?" Eren inquired, brushing her hair. "Why don't you come back with us, it'll be fun." She said, surprising Shizu with those words. "Honestly, I'm just not ready to say goodbye yet."

"Eren, you're all exceptional adventurers, and I have no doubt that traveling with the three of you, would probably be entertaining." Shizu said.

"So okay?" Eren asked excitedly, turning to look right at Shizu, only for the older woman to shake her head no sadly.

"Joining with you all, has shown me how good it is to adventure with a group of friends." Shizu said. "An' I want you to know that I'm truly grateful that my last journey was with you guys."

"Wait hold on, what are you trying to say?" Eren asked.

"I've been around for a few decades now. I may look young, but I'm not." Shizu stated, putting her mask back over her face.

"Oh, I get it you were just making a silly joke huh? Jeez, you shouldn't scare me like that Shizu." Eren said, sighing in relief.

~Outside~

"Ah, here they come." Rigur said, standing with Kaval, Gido, Kaen, and Rigurd with Rimuru on his shoulder.

"Sorry to keep you all waiting." Eren said as she and Shizu made their way to the waiting group.

"We've been standing out here forever." Gido said.

"Yeah, and why do women take so long to get ready anyway?" Kaval asked.

"That my adventurous friend, is one of life's greatest mysteries." Kaen chuckled.

"Shizu." Eri called out, running up and grabbing her by the leg in a hug. "Please come back again soon, I really like the lessons you were giving me."

"Eri's really taken a liking to you." Mina said, coming up next to the two women. "We were just making our way here to see you off with the others."

"I appreciate…" Shizu began to say, but froze up, with a strong surge of power emanating from her body, alerting Kaen to trouble.

"Mina, pull Eri back, NOW." Kaen called out.

With barely any seconds to spare, Mina grabbed Eri and pulled the child into her arms, before jumping away from Shizu, before she fell to her knees, practically in pain, and screamed in agony, just as her mask cracked, as it was failing to suppress her power, with a pillar of light shooting into the air through the cracks.

"What the hell, what's wrong Shizu?" Eren asked as Gido and Kaval held her back.

Once the light subsided, Shizu's body began to defy gravity as she floated in the air, and the sky began to darken with thunderclouds. As she climbed higher and higher into the air, her body was enveloped by an explosion of flames, knocking everyone off their feet, and charring the ground with immense heat.

"Is everyone alright?" Kaen asked. "Any injuries to report?"

"Okay what the hell? I'm gonna charge hazard pay for this." Kaval said.

"Yeah? Well tell that to the guild master next time you see him." Gido said.

"Look up there." Eren shouted, spotting Shizu surrounded by flames, with her cloak flying around in the heat. "It's Shizu."

"Wait, Shizue Izawa?" Kaval questioned, shocking the others.

"You've gotta be kidding me." Gido gulped nervously.

"You seriously traveled with her all this time, and never bothered to ask what her family, or full name was?" Kaen questioned. "Yes, she's the summoned hero known as, the Conqueror of Flame."

"Hold on, you mean she's the legendary hero of the guild from fifty years ago?" Eren asked. "They're the same girl?"

"Impossible." Gido stated.

"How? All the rumors that I've heard say she's retired." Kaval said.

"Rumors or not, she's right there in front of you." Kaen stated. "Rigurd, Rigur. The two of you go evacuate the village, and get the Hobgoblins to safety."

"Are you sure?" Rigur inquired.

"But My Lord." Rigurd said.

"That's an order." Kaen growled, as Shizu was enveloped in a pillar of flames that touched down on the ground. "Our village isn't a place, it's its people. We can always rebuild, but if we lose any lives from our village today, we may never recover."

"Right." Rigurd said as he grabbed Rigur's arm, and pulled him to his feet.

"What about me Kaen?" Rimuru asked.

"Take Mina, Eri, and the three adventurers over there. Help Rigurd and Rigur with evacuations, and treat any who may have been wounded in that blast. The radius was pretty wide, so I'm certain there are at least a few with some burns or other injuries." Kaen explained.

"But you can't fight her on your own." Kaval said.

"Don't underestimate the power, of a Saiyan." Kaen declared, a milky white aura enveloping his body as he looked right at Shizu, through the flames as her mask fell to the ground bellow.

Shizu's sclera was red, with amber yellow irises. But Kaen couldn't feel any hatred from her, instead all he felt was agony, and sadness, as he watched her tears form, before evaporating in the heat of the flames, right before Shizu was completely swallowed up by the fire, blocking his vision of her, before they vanished with a burst of power, revealing what had been hidden underneath. In Shizu's place, was a dark skinned fire demon with flaming hair, ornate belt and bracers, with what looked like magma on the underside of his neck glowing a bit brighter with each breath it took. The demonic creature let out a mighty roar, as Kaen just stared it down, and pulled out his Scouter Shades.

"Analyze." He said, as the mini-computer in the shades began doing their thing.

"Notice: Fire Spirit Ifrit, a Demonic Spirit requiring a host body or vessel to survive in the realm of the living." Great Sage said.

"I get it's a fire spirit, but I doubt regular old water or ice will be enough to beat this thing." Kaen huffed, putting his Scouter Shades away as they came up with nothing. "Guess I'm in for a the long haul today."

Crouching down, Kaen continued to glare at Ifrit, before he flew right up at him, as the fire demon was destroying the village.

"Hey sulfur breath." Kaen shouted, as he drew his fist back.

Ifrit turned to look at Kaen, and moved back to avoid the punch thrown at him, but was too slow to maneuver away, as Kaen pulled his arm back and hit Ifrit with his elbow, knocking the demon forward. Grabbing Ifrit's head, Kaen continued the momentum of the fall before the demons face, slammed into his knee, with Kaen striking him multiple time, before Ifrit managed to free himself, and let out an enraged roar, and released a wave of energy, forming three spears of fire before they turned into fire dragoons.

To Kaen's horror, the Dragoons began to fly around the village, spreading embers from flapping their wings, that turned into blazing inferno's, threatening to consume the village. The Saiyan teen was just frozen in shock, his fists clenched, before he reached up for his face grabbed it, one of his eyes glaring out through the opening of his fingers.

"Great Sage, I need a way to convert those flames into energy, and save the village." Kaen said.

"Notice: The unique skill, Elemental Beast, allows the user to consume or physically absorb, any element of magical, or non-magical origin, and convert it into power, while tapping into the users inner beast." Great Sage said. "Would you like to acquire this skill?"

"Please." Kaen said, before Great Sage began processing.

"Integrating…: Complete. The unique skill, Elemental Beast, has been integrated and successfully acquired." Great Sage stated. "Be warned though… this does not allow for immunity against any elements that may be used to attack, only when the element is being absorbed through the skin, does the immunity activate."

"It doesn't matter, I'll take it either way." Kaen said, dropping his hand to his side. "Ifrit… You made a big mistake choosing to attack my village, villain. An' I'm gonna show you just what happens, to villains when they cross my path."

Closing his eyes, Kaen let the magic flow around him, before he began to take in a deep breath, as if he were about to shout to the heavens. As he continued to breathe in, the flames burning on the village to the ground, began to travel upwards with the epicenter of their gathering being Kaen, as he devoured the flames like instant ramen. With the last of the flames leaving the ground, Kaen shut his mouth, and his eyes show open, revealing his golden ember irises, and the red shadow trim forming around and over his eye lids, with his fingers being akin to claws as his nails grew longer, thicker, and sharper. When he smiled, he revealed his canines were longer and sharper, and his aura flared bigger then before as his power grew.

"Notice: With Ifrit being a fire elemental spirit, Elemental Beast, can be used to absorb him directly." Great Sage stated.

"Hey Ifrit, you wanna know something?" Kaen questioned, clenching his fist tight, before he vanished and created a funnel of wind that surrounded Ifrit. "No matter how many times you use fire against me, I will always be able to put it out."

Ifrit kept looking around himself to try and figure out where Kaen's voice came from, before he was forced to look straight up, as Kaen landed an uppercut to his jaw.

"Because I am a Saiyan Warrior, and I will always rise to the challenge, when protecting those who can't protect themselves." Kaen stated, quickly twisting around and hitting the fire demon with a kick to the side.

Quickly steadying himself, Ifrit flew back at Kaen, but stopped when he saw the Saiyan was gone, and out of range of his magic. It wasn't until he felt something hit him, that he found Kaen, and caught what had been thrown, to see it was one of the dragoon heads.

"Looking for someone?" Kaen questioned, floating there while holding the other two severed heads of the dragoons, before they began to vanish in a storm of embers.

Ifrit was now annoyed, more then ever as he just glared at Kaen, before he charged right at him. Raising his hands, Kaen deflected, and redirected each of Ifrit's strikes, all the while absorbing fragments of his energy, with every contact he made.

"You're finished Ifrit." Kaen stated, grabbed the fire demon by both his wrists.

Flying upwards, and flipping forward, Kaen pulled Ifrit down, and threw him to the ground bellow.

"RIMURU."

"PREDATOR!" The slime called out, lunging at Ifrit, just as the demon began picking himself up.

Ifrit looked in shock, unable to move in time, before Rimuru enveloped him entirely, and separated him from Shizu.

When everything settled down, Rimuru could be seen next to Shizu, as the woman laid unconscious on the ground, before Kaen landed on her other side, and knelt down to pick her up.

"What are you gonna do with her?" Rimuru asked in concern.

"I'm gonna make sure, she's okay." Kaen said. "While I'm happy we subdued the demon, I don't think this is all gonna be a happy ending."

~Later~

"Do you think everything is okay in there?" Kaval questioned, as he, Gido, and Eren were waiting outside the hut Shizu had been taken too, after Ifrit had been removed from her body and soul.

"I doubt it. Shizu looked so young, and full of life, but she's supposed to be in her 90's at this point." Eren said. "Ifrit was the only thing, keeping her young and healthy. But with him no longer with her…"

The trio paused, as they weren't looking forward to what might be happening to Shizu.

"I'm sure everything will play out as it should."

The trio of adventurers looked up and turned around to see Mina, with Eri in her arms, having some bandages on parts of the childs arms, with Rigurd by their side.

"Lady Mina." Kaval said as they bowed to her.

"What's all this?" Mina asked.

"It's our fault this happened. We allowed Shizu to join our team, and brought her here. We're to blame for the villages destruction.

"No, don't even worry about it." Mina said. "Though Eri got a few minor burns from the village's attack. Kaen had hoped this would happen."

"He did?" Gido asked.

"Why would he do that?" Eren inquired, the entire team shocked.

"It might sound strange, but he wanted it to happen, because he wanted to be able to free Shizu from whatever was tormenting her, instead of waiting for Ifrit to break free and destroy someplace different. He wanted it to happen, to isolate the danger, and minimize the damage this outbreak would cause, so he could nip it right in the butt."

"I see. That's why he was kinda tense around Shizu. He was waiting for Ifrit to emerge and show himself, so he could take care of this on his own." Kaval said

"If you'll excuse me, I have to give Ms. Shizu a fresh change of clothes." Rigurd said, politely moving past them.

"Go ahead Rigurd, you've got more duties to fulfill then by our side." Mina, as Rigurd went for the cloth door.

"Lord Kaen, Lord Rimuru… excuse me for the intrusion." Rigurd said, before gasping.

Standing in the middle of the room, with his back turned to Rigurd, was a young looking man, with hair as blue as Rimuru's slime, butt naked, with Kaen stepping out of the hut with a solemn look on his face. But Shizu and Rimuru were both missing.

"Hey." Eri cried as Mina covered her eyes, while the three adventurers gasped.

Turning to face them, the four saw that the stranger had Shizu's face, but their eyes were the same color as Rimuru's slime, just like his hair. But his eyes, were filled with the tears of mourning, of losing someone precious to you.

"Master." Ranga said, pushing his way into the room between Eren and Gido.

"That body…" Gido said.

"Hold on, are you saying that's Rimuru?" Kaval questioned, when they all realized what Ranga said.

"It is." Kaen said. "Shizu's final was for Rimuru to eat her, and become one with him, to be his final resting place."

~One Explanation Later~

"So then… Shizu has passed away?" Kaval questioned, he and his team looking saddened by the news, standing in front of the humanized Rimuru.

Eri sat in Kaen's arms, leaning into his chest as she'd cried herself to sleep, after learning of Shizu's passing. She might not have been here long, but she really put a lasting impression on Eri, and many others in the village.

"Hold on, how can we be sure you're really Rimuru?" Gido questioned.

"Of course we're sure." Rigurd said.

"I was here when it happened." Kaen sighed. "It's really him. You're looking at Rimuru, in human form."

"That's right. You really think I wouldn't recognize my own master, just because his body's changed?" Ranga asked with a growl.

"That's not what we meant at all." Kaval said, turning to look back at Rimuru. "It's just… you look like a younger version of Shizu."

"Well, it's me." Rimuru said, wearing the change of clothes Rigurd brought for Shizu. "Watch." He raised his arm, before he turned back into a slime, surprising the three travelers.

"Whoa." Kaval gasped.

"Not gonna lie, I'm impressed." Gido said.

"Does that mean you ate Shizu, the same way you ate Ifrit?" Eren questioned.

"I did, but because it's the only burial I could give her." Rimuru said, sounding regretful. "I'm sorry, I should have consulted you guys, before I did anything."

"No." Kaval said. "After all, you were just honoring her last request, so it's fine."

"Sorry Eren." Rimuru apologized. "You must think I'm a real monster."

Eren just looked at Rimuru for a moment, and shook her head no, with a soft understanding expression on her face. "Mmm-mmm. But, if nothing else, I wish I could at least have said goodbye to her."

"Before she died. Shizu told us she had a lot of fun traveling with you three." Kaen said. "She also mentioned that you were a bit danger prone, but that made traveling with your group so much fun for her."

Gido and Eren just looked to Kaval.

"Hey hold on, don't blame me." Kaval said, noticing their gazes were on him.

"Your the leader." Eren scoffed.

"Yeah." Gido agreed with a smirk.

"Huh? Well what about you Gido? Remember the pitfall?" Kaval reminded him.

"Hold on, that only happened, because Eren pushed me." Gido said.

"Nuh-uh. You fell 'cause you're clumsy." Eren stated.

"Actually, it kinda sounds like you relied on her too much." Rimuru said, with the three adventurers ignoring him.

"Mmhmm." Rigurd, Ranga, and Mina nodding in agreement.

A short while later, after the bickering between the three travelers ended, they met up with Kaen and Rimuru again, intending to say their goodbyes, while Mina took Eri to put her in bed for some proper rest.

"We appreciate all your help, but we should be heading out." Kaval said.

"Back to your country?" Kaen asked, Rimuru on his shoulder.

"Yeah, we gotta report to the Guild Master, about what we found here, and about Shizu." Kaval explained. "Don't worry, we only have good things to say about your village."

"We'll have to report about you as well Lord Kaen. But I'll handle that part of the report. After all, Kaval isn't the best when describing someone's personality." Eren said.

"Fair enough." Kaval sighed.

"We'll tell him about you to Rimuru." Eren stated.

"If anything ever comes up, you can count on us." Gido added.

"Thank you. I'll keep that in mind."

The three travelers looked to Rimuru, to each other, and then to Rimuru again.

"Hey uh, could we possibly ask you for one more favor?" Kaval questioned.

"What's up?"

"Do you think that, maybe you could take your human form again?" Kaval asked.

"Huh? Sure I guess." Rimuru said, before jumping down from Kaen's shoulder, and taking his human form in a puff of smoke. "Does this work okay?"

There was a moment of silence, before Kaval and his two companions bowed to Rimuru, but it's what they said, that really took him by surprise.

"Shizu. Thank you so much for everything." The trio said in unison.

"An', I'll try to be the kind of leader, you won't have to worry about." Kaval said.

"We had some great times together. I'll treasure those memories." Gido said.

"Thank you." Eren said, hugging Rimuru. "You became like a big sister to me Shizu." She cried.

Rimuru just smiled as he hugged her back, patting her head to comfort her.

'This was the only way, these three could say their goodbyes and give their gratitude to Shizu. I'm really glad Shizu's last adventure was with these three.' Kaen thought. "By the way, what's the deal with that junk you call gear?"

"Huh? How mean." The trio of adventurers said, covering themselves, like a bunch of school girls in the locker room in front of a peeping tom.

~The Following Morning~

"No way. This stuff's like my dream armor." Kaval said, looking himself over in the armor Rimuru had him put on. Unlike his old gear, he now wore blue shell like crustacean armor, that looked stronger then steel.

"Whoa, look at the quality of this robe, and it's light but sturdy. Not to mention gorgeous." Eren said, looking herself over. Different from her old gear, Eren now wore robes, white as snow, with gold trimmings and hems, over her salmon pink blouse and skirt.

"Someone pinch me, I've never owned such fine equipment before." Gido said, before he noticed something. "Whoa, it's even lined with fur from a Direwolf." Gido's new thief gear consisted of some light, but sturdy material that looked like leather, but was just as hard as an Armorsaurus's armored plating.

"They're parting gifts. Some of our artisans best work." Kaen said, Rimuru on his shoulder again. "An' the fur's from a Tempest Wolf, not a Direwolf. But as I said, our artisans made these to the best of their abilities."

"Artisans?" Gido questioned, before they noticed the artisans coming.

"Haha. I wouldn't call them our best work, they're only prototypes." Kaijin said.

"So, do they fit you all right?"

"It's all about craftsmanship, you know."

"Mmhmm, mmhmm."

"Say something." Rimuru stated.

"Let me introduce you. From the right, this is Kaijin, Garm, Myrd and Dord."

"Wait, Kaijin? No way." Kaval gasped.

"As in Kaijin the world famous blacksmith?" Eren questioned.

"An' Garm, Myrd, and Dord. The three renowned Dwarf Brothers?" Gido asked.

"Thank you so much, I'll make it an heirloom." Kaval said, grabbing Kaijin's hands.

"I'm so happy." Eren said, hugging Myrd and Dord.

"You just made my life." Gido said, picking up Garm and pulling him into a hug.

~Afterwards~

"Whoa boy, I thought they'd never leave." Kaijin said. "It was starting to get awkward there."

"I bet." Kaen said. "Kaijin, come with me for a moment, there's something I wanna talk with you about."

"Sure, I can spare a few moments for the village chief." Kaijin said, following Kaen to his personal work space. "What's on your mind?"

"This." Kaen said, showing Kaijin the blueprints on the wooden desk.

"The blueprints for the building you wanted constructed?" Kaijin asked. "What about it, do you have a way around the dilemma of manpower?"

"I realized you were right." Kaen stated, pulling out another set of blueprints. "Doing something as monumental as this would take more manpower, and financial resources, then we currently have. So we'll be saving it for when we do have the manpower, and I was also thinking we could do something a bit simpler."

"What do you have in mind?" Kaijin asked.

"Something that I think could benefit the entire village." Kaen stated, unrolling the blueprints, and showing them to Kaijin.

"Ooh." Kaijin seemed intrigued. "Do tell, what will this structure's purpose serve?"