The Fate Of Izawa Shizue

by Bisel13

The journey of Rimuru and Hinata, in search of their beloved Izawa Shizue's soul.

9. Chapter 8,5

Hinata's POV

I always thought Rimuru is hiding something.

The way he talks toward his students is always reserved. And although he was pretty much open up to me, he still held some of his thought.

I never meant to pry into his circumstances, and I don't have any intention to do so. I believe in the right to privacy. If it is something that Rimuru never wanted to speak of, then just let it be.

In that sense, I genuinely respect him. Although he seems to always acting goofy, he's pretty much a calculating figure. I found him sometimes cunning as well, along with brazen ideas that were out of this world's common sense.

His love for a comfortable life is unquestionable, but his love for his companions is much more certain.

That includes people who are close to him.

I never saw Rimuru get sad, even though I ever saw him almost snap by letting his Demon Lord's aura leak. I don't know if is it because he didn't have anything to be sad for, or he kept it inside for himself.

Gradually, I grew to care for him.

His naivety is both his weakness and strength. By kept holding to his naïve idea, he continue to grow stronger. But with his naivety, he got himself a never-ending problem.

I saw him brush those problems alone with a cheerful laugh and an easygoing personality. I don't know where his cheerful energy came from, but I thought it was already part of his personality.

So as long as we knew each other, we both accept whoever we are.

But I began to wonder if that was his true face since a few days ago.

I happen to join him on a picnic with his students. They were also Sensei's students. Those kids are very lively. I may not show it, but I feel happy to see them grow healthy. But they can be too much lively sometimes. For example, the one named Kenya was asking for a spar.

I see some ulterior motives inside his behavior. My best guess is he tried to look great in front of someone.

But it turns out, the other boys also want to join in. With the three of them asking for a spar, I guess it's a good opportunity to see how Rimuru has educated them. I don't think Rimuru would spoil them, but sometimes he can be too doting toward the kids.

And when it's decided to be 1 vs 3, I decided to not go easy on them. And my decision is correct.

With their raw power alone, they could be on par with the Rooks. Their technique was somehow still rough on the edge, but they were able to perform it better than a trained Templar.

For example, the boy named Kenya is a pretty skillful swordsman. He knows where to hit his sword and he is able to control his strength to make an effective move. Then, there was a boy named Gale. His intuition and leadership are his best weapon. He can analyze the flow of the battle calmly, and he dedicated himself to taking a blow from me whenever it seems to be dangerous to his allies. He took my attention by attacking from middle range and receive my attack with his shield. He also commands the other two and plans various tactics. Meanwhile, the boy named Ryota seems to be the one who ambushes me whenever I am busy with the other two and sometimes acts as a distraction when Gale had to recover. His aim is very accurate, and when he imbued the arrow with wind magic, it becomes a missile that always chased me.

But unfortunately, one of my unique skills alone is enough to handle their teamwork. With their attack can be predicted, it's easy to avoid every of their attack. Their inexperience was also a decisive factor when I threw them a feint. Their movement becomes a dance on my palm.

Their teamwork is commendable, but their opponents are too bad. But I honestly praised them, and acknowledge their abilities. They still have many times to grow. And at some point, I'm sure they would surpass me.

And as a reward for their performance, I tell them one of my unique skills. But soon it's spoiled by Rimuru after he deliberately tells them I have two unique skills.

I got a bit annoyed by him on that day. But it's not because he reveals my ability, but it's because he unintentionally looked down on Sensei.

I would never tolerate anyone who looked down on her. But I actually knew he didn't mean it like that.

So I wanted to do some retaliation. On that day, I let myself become a selfish person and learn how to tease others. And my first victim was Rimuru. I never knew teasing a person would be fun.

I exaggerating a bit about my reason for being irritated by him. I was holding back my grinning lips when I saw his face in deep thought.

But that fun ended up pretty quickly after Rimuru made a face I never saw. I don't know what's he thinking, but I can see it's pretty troubling him. I felt a little guilty because it might be because of my teasing. But his face got brightened again after the kids showed their affection toward him.

Then I suddenly remember more about Sensei. Because his face resembled Sensei, I came to remember they both have a similarity.

Both Sensei and Rimuru never show their weak side, not even to their closest one. Even though I respect anyone's decision to handle their problems privately, seeing Sensei and Rimuru didn't trust me to help them made me irritated.

I don't like being a liability and being treated as a helpless kid. That attitude was there within me since I saw my father change. I don't like being helpless while the people I care about were suffering.

I'm not afraid to dirty my hands as long as the people I care about can be happy.

But I have been failed to do so after the relationship between me and my mother got worsen. I also failed to realize Sensei's circumstances, and simply left her out of my selfishness.

Sensei's death made me broken because I knew I didn't have any opportunity to repay or to lend her hand anymore. Even I don't have a chance to see her again.

Those regrets had made me picking a fight one-sidedly with a person who took care of Sensei's last wish. I'm again just adding more regret by almost killing him.

And then, just when I started to lament about myself,

"I just suddenly think about Shizu-san more than usual"

That sentence coming out from Rimuru was surprising to me. He rarely says anything emotional.

He continue to tell his story about the first time he met with Sensei. I took this opportunity to learn more about Sensei.

But the more I know about Sensei, the more I regret what I have done. All of this wouldn't happen if I stay by Sensei's side a bit longer.

Or perhaps, this is my own punishment after all I've done. Besides, speaking objectively, everyone already got what they want. Sensei can finally rest in peace, the kids are safe, and I have a pretty satisfying life.

So for me to continue this sadness would be pointless. Since there's nothing I can do about it. Sensei has passed away, and her last wish was already taken care of by Rimuru.

But then, what is Rimuru has gained from this?

Somehow, his earlier facial expression keeps bugging me.

It's such an oversimplification to say he's being sad. What I saw there earlier, is much more than that. I'm certain it's not because of my teasing, but I'm sure I had triggered something unpleasant inside his mind.

In my logical sense, I have a debt of gratitude towards him.

He has fulfilled my Sensei's last wish whom I owned a debt of gratitude as well. He saved Sensei's last students who thought it to be impossible for being saved. And he has forgiven not just me, but the whole of my companion for destroying Tempest's incident.

Although I'm not directly involved in the Falmuth invasion, I'm certain he actually has a grudge against me for that incident. I wouldn't blame him if he still resent me. In fact, I would wholeheartedly accept any kind of his wrath.

Even on the surface he gave us forgiveness and wanted to end the hostility, I doubt he get through it without any wound in his heart.

For a long time after the incident, I simply thought that he was trying to be okay with it. And he didn't want anyone to interfere with his own problems. And I respect that, and accept his way to continuing life without any resentment.

But that face earlier is still bugging me and triggers my memories of Sensei. His appearance which resembled Sensei, only made me feel more in pain since I always saw that kind of face on Sensei's face.

Right, that kind of face that hides the real pain.

But what is the scar in Rimuru's heart? What is he hiding?

And after thinking for a while, I suddenly realize, when he tells the story of his first meeting with Sensei, he never mentions anything about his feeling at any point.

He didn't deny or admit about Sensei being his "Destined One", he didn't tell how he felt when he saw Sensei's death, he didn't tell why he granted Sensei's last wish, and most of all he didn't tell what is his feeling toward Sensei.

Is there any wound about it? If it's true, is that the reason why he's still reserved when interacting with the kids, and me?

Is there something he didn't want to tell anyone about him and Sensei?

I keep wondering about this thought. But I found it to be inappropriate to ponder about this with Rimuru.

But then, Rimuru said something baffling.

"I'm sure Shizu-san's life would be happier than she was here"

Does he mean Sensei's alive somewhere?

I kept asking him to look at his reaction. Even I used some intimidation a bit on him.

Then the kids got joined in the fray. But perhaps because of that, all his responses become goofy and playful again. He acted normal. And for a moment, I thought I was just overthinking things before. I guess that's just how Rimuru is.

But after Ryota asked him why he's not gonna search for Sensei, he answered.

"Because I don't want to disturb her new life"

And for a glimpse, I saw that face again. He's talking about Sensei's new life as if he has made an unforgivable mistake to Sensei when she's still alive in this world.

In my objective point of view, he has done nothing wrong to Sensei. On the contrary, he has done more than enough for her.

But I know it may be not the case for Rimuru.

And my hunch who I rarely rely on, somehow tell me to persuade Rimuru to chase Sensei's soul.

I don't have any possibility let alone a definite conclusion about what's inside Rimuru's mind about Sensei. But I have a feeling, that it must be not a simple one.

In the worst case, it's probably more than just one scar.

So I kept making reasons to make Rimuru chase after Sensei's soul. But even so, the ones who made his resolve are probably the kids. I merely only made him agree to check Sensei's soul, and not chase for it.

In that case, someone needs to keep his resolve. I knew Rimuru would never betray his own words, but it's still possible he would feel down when he meets unexpected events.

Somehow, I feel the urge to support him. I feel eager to go with him.

I don't know whether it's because of my debt of gratitude, or my regret toward Sensei who made me feel this way. But I wholeheartedly accept it.

I accept my own feelings for wanting to walk beside him.

And for my further luck, turns out I was capable to accompany him to the other world where Sensei's soul was located. And so, with a surprisingly joyous feeling, I came to another world with him.

But sadly that transferring process to another world quite taking a toll on me. My body feels incredibly exhausted. And I sense no magicules around me, so it's not making me able to fix my sight with magic sense.

Activating a skill turns out to consume a quite amount of energy for me in this world. I was starting to worry I would hinder Rimuru's journey at this point.

But luckily, Rimuru is offering to take a break. I deliberately accept and chose an easy workload to collect firewood. I suspect none of us bring a tent, but I believe Rimuru would do something about it.

And turns out, what he did was pretty outrageous. He just casually took a two-story wooden house out of nowhere. He even absorbed several trees and made an empty land.

I sighed but can't complain. Because I can't deny it would be more comfortable than a casual tent. So for now, I take his hospitality. He even offered to make a dinner.

I honestly feel bad for him because I probably become a burden. But he didn't seem to think about it that way. And as bad as it seems, in my condition right now, I can't do anything but accept his offer again.

I was choosing a room on the second floor. It's just a reflection of my memory of when I stayed with Sensei and Yuuki. Because I used to be living in a two-story house as well with both of them.

I'm already a Saint but I can still sleep like a normal human. Even in some cases, sleep would still help me recover better.

So after taking away my armor, I took sleep very soundly.

I can't remember anything but I knew I had a pretty good sleep. I was recovering quite better when Rimuru calls me to have dinner.

At first, I teased him again a bit about me being a Saint who doesn't need to eat. But I immediately brushed it off after I saw what he make.

Miso Soup.

A dish that Sensei used to make. It's very nostalgic and brings out happy memories with her. And somehow, eating together with Rimuru was giving me a sense of warm and comfortable feeling. I suspect most of it must be because of his appearance resembling Sensei a lot.

So it feels like I have dinner together again with Sensei.

"Mine had a bit salty," he said. Commenting about his miso soup.

In my honest opinion, even sometimes Sensei had terrible taste of food. So I don't even mind his error in taste. I simply enjoying this moment.

While we eat our dinner, I try to feed my curiosity about him by asking about his life before he got reincarnated. And after I hear about him dying to protect someone's life, my respect for him increased. But I honestly think it would be more strange if he died in natural ways. For him dying for the sake of others, he's not changed for who he is in our Cardinal World.

So we continue our talks. And for these rare circumstances, I tell him some part of my personal story as well. I have no specific reason to tell him so, but I find it comfortable to tell him. And perhaps, I could use it to encourage him more in this journey. So, I exaggerate some parts of my story to seek more of his reactions.

But even so, I'm still not used to opening up too much, even to Sensei. And for my luck, Rimuru started to avert the conversation into a discussion about our future plans. Rimuru might be worried about the incomplete reincarnation of Sensei, but I still have a hunch it would help Rimuru to become happier.

Our discussion went on without any problem. Rimuru now seems eager to do anything he could. He even going to make sellable items to procure some money.

I feel a bit relieved seeing him being this eager since I was the one who provoke him to do this journey. I can't explain to myself exactly why I want him to chase Sensei's soul.

And since he said he's going to do everything by himself, it's a good opportunity for me to take another rest. I was pretty happy to be able to take my time to have another sleep. I promised myself, tomorrow I'll do better to help him.

And so on, the night has been spent.

In the early morning, I have my body in nearly good shape. I still got a little pain in some parts of my body, but not to the point I couldn't use it. So I walk down the stairs and found a pair set of tunics with other clothing. One of the tunics is colored white with a long sleeve. I thought that would be mine.

I was going to ask Rimuru about this, but surprisingly, I found him asleep in a nearby room. I never knew Rimuru still need sleep. Or perhaps, he also needs a rest after performing that teleportation between two worlds.

And for that, I chose to not disturb him. I waited there while examining the other creation by him.

A few dozen minutes later, he came with a refreshing look. He greeted me and explain about the tunic and food he made.

He chose the blue tunic, and leave the white one for me. After that, it's my turn to change.

After changing our clothes, I carry the bag of food. I felt responsible so that's why I took anything I could do for.

We began our journey to the market that Rimuru mention. I don't know from where he knew such a thing, but I guess it's fair since it's part of his power.

Along the way, there's a problem arose with a group of knights who seems to rob us. I was preparing myself to finish them by force, but Rimuru handled it better.

Unfortunately, with my body still recovering, I still cannot properly activate my skill due to the energy I have still in trouble. So I didn't use my Magic Sense, and couldn't understand what these people said. And again, I have some trouble with my sight since my eyes were myopia.

I chose to let Rimuru take charge of everything. I don't want to decide his way, so I choose to support whatever he decides. So I keep myself from joining up with an unknown conversation and only talks when Rimuru asked me.

At some point, I learned about this place, or rather this kingdom's situation. I hear the story from Rimuru, but I can see the gestures from the knight when they tell the story to him. And from the story, the individual named Constance turns out pretty interesting.

I really can't be sure, but if he has such a personality, I wouldn't be surprised that he's the one who has a part of Sensei's soul. I told him such a thing, and again, I got surprised to see his face.

He shows a discomfort expression. Or rather, a disappointed one. He looks down and he seems to be in a deep thought. And this time, he didn't immediately back to composure.

Is this, perhaps he expecting Sensei to be a female again?

If so, then why? I don't know many things about souls, but based on how they reacted after the death of the individual, it's no wonder to inhabit a random person out there.

Is there perhaps some other naivety inside Rimuru's mind about this journey?

I can't keep asking around myself. To confirm it, I better asked him directly.

"Are you disappointed Sensei didn't reincarnate into a female again?"

"N-No! That's not it! It's…"

Then a brief silence. What is this? Why is he acting this way?

Or don't tell me, the actual reason is…

I see. I think I know the gist of it. I won't be too much certain about it, but that's the most possible answer I have right now.

If I was right, then it would be the answer to my other questions as well. But it seems Rimuru himself didn't aware of it, so it's still premature to make it a final conclusion.

So for now, I think the best way to continue the search was at a slow pace. On that note, I heard Rimuru murmuring the sentence "I don't know".

Strangely I felt a bit happy and tried to comfort him by saying I would find it troubling as well if Sensei was reincarnated as a male. He seems to be quite amused by my response, and by adding his other thought, he seems to came back to his normal self.

But now, I can predict a little bit of his attitude in particular circumstances.

We continue the journey with high-spirited knights who coming along. Some of them tried to talk to me, but I cannot understand what they say so I kept quiet.

Rimuru has also tried to attract anyone who tried to talk to me. He seems to want me to feel unbothered by them. But whatever the reason, I'm pretty happy to see he can distract himself from his earlier troubling thoughts.

And so, even for me, the journey felt quick. A big fortified city is standing in front of us. I heard from Rimuru that this city is named Cardinalis. Previously our intention here was to sell the food that has been made by Rimuru. But as things went on, we were going to take those knights' hospitality.

Long story short, we were given pretty much supplies from them. We have food, water, money, and a tent. After that, Rimuru has been explaining about his solution to my inability to activate Magic Sense. I agreed with his solution in the end. Although I find it pretty difficult to accept more of his generosity by using his own magicule reserve.

But I tried to brush it off by joking about being too much relying on him was annoying. And with my joke, it seems he kept getting back to his normal self.

Later after, we went to a place known as a tavern. In my opinion, it's a pretty much uncomfortable place since the unhygienic environment. But this place looks like a perfect place to gather information.

Our main objective in this city is to gather information about this world. At least, that's what's Rimuru's thinking. Meanwhile, I was thinking about more specific situations.

While Rimuru had talked to the young waitress, I enhanced my senses with the magic sense. I'm looking for a potential informant.

With my thought acceleration, I scanned through the room and found many kinds of people being gathered. I also tried to listen to every interesting matter. But there seems not much information I could gather by eavesdropping alone. And then, I found a fine-looking man with neat attire. He looks pretty well-educated. I was preferring someone educated rather than someone who takes on every piece of information circulating around.

I turn my head towards him. And somehow, he also happened to looking at me. I made a gesture with my head to ask him to come over. I see him nod, so I waited for him to come by.

"I'm planning to give you a discount since this is your ever first tavern. Are you sure you won't order any of our wine?"

"Thank you for your offer, but you see, we need to save some of our money for our journey"

I heard an exchange of talks between Rimuru and the young waitress. It seems that there was an unfortunate deal.

So I give a hand to him.

I ask how much the discount is, and manage to exchange a bargain. My teasing skill was somehow increased, and I find it a fun way to treat people.

And by doing that, I manage to obtain some market value of the commodity around this city.

I tacitly observed the men whom I was asking to come by. He readily moves to our table, but I suddenly notice another man coming closer. And this man doesn't look to have good intentions.

I tried to patiently wait. But as it turns out, both of them are coming at the same time. And unsurprisingly, both of them had quarreled. The fight ensues into a fistfight. I honestly felt bad for him. I wanted to help him, but the other guys around are blocking me. At least they also tried to separate them.

But then, a tall young man appeared. He beat both of them pretty badly. And I sensed another guy behind him.

And I was right, he's a sweet-looking old man with his hair already become white colored. He have a long beard on his chin but didn't have any moustache. He often closed his eyes.

After dealing with the two earlier guys, they came toward our table. The old man asked to share our table politely, and I find it amusing so I let him and the young man have a seat at our table.

They introduced themselves as Gray and Eric. Gray-san seems to be a lively person, while Eric seems to be a bit shy and awkward even though his physique was rather dominating. Rimuru has taken a liking to both of them, especially Gray-san who immediately befriended him.

Gray-san seems to be an observant person as well. Because he can see the real gender of Rimuru. I find it amusing as well when he admits he's actually a male. The reaction from other customers was succeed to make me struggle a bit to hold my laugh.

But the conversation went on very lively. Rimuru and the two other seems to be joking around about smoking. I personally dislike smoking since it's a sign of delinquents, but it's a different case for now.

Gray-san also pondered about our money since we were able to buy a bottle of wine. And from that part, I gather a lot of important information from Gray-san. I genuinely respect Gray-san for his knowledge.

After I know more about this kingdom's situation, I concluded that the Prince was already in a dire situation. The only way to win this war is through a major victory since prolonging a war would cause a collapse on Prince Constance's side.

I made my comment about the current situation, and because of that, I became to know Eric seems to want to join the ranks of the knight. I have no commentary on his decision. As a human, we ought to make a lot of decisions in our life. Some might be regretted, and some might be grateful.

But it seems the other two had more to think about it. Gray-san seems to be looking pretty sad but hides it with a small laugh and says Eric would be a proud knight. I have not understood how it feels, but I know it's pretty hard to let your family do what they want.

I see.

I guess that is what Sensei felt when I said I'll be gone to join the Crusaders.

Behind her smile in our farewell, she must be felt sad for being left by me.

I unconsciously took a glance at Rimuru.

And again, Rimuru showed a face that I normally didn't see. He's in deep thought. I keep wondering what he might think about Eric who's going to join the army. And at that time, I can't comprehend about what's the connection between Eric's departure and himself who didn't have any relationship.

Or, is it actually Sensei's memory that has taken his mind?

Is he saw that memory too? Is the memory of Sensei when I left her, appear through this conversation?

Is that the actual face of Sensei, when I left her?

"Johan-kun?"

Gray-san is calling him. Rimuru becomes flustered and acts awkwardly. But even though he acted that way, I sense what he saying is the truth. It seems he's accusing himself of being immature.

But then,

"You have experienced losing a person you love, and not just once, but twice, right?"

The face that Rimuru's making is like someone who's been stabbed. The face of someone who's being hit in their core. It's an oversimplification to say he's shooked. Even if it's for a very brief moment, he showed not only what's inside his mind, but what's inside his heart.

So it's not a memory of Sensei about me leaving her, but he hides his grief over Sensei's death?

He didn't deny Gray-san words, so he really feel that way toward Sensei.

And so, I feel very sorry for him.

Losing someone whom you loved unconsciously, and accused of being her murderer. He tried to find any reason to not open his scar by saying Sensei's soul might inhabiting a person in a good life. But I guess, what he actually felt was he was afraid to see her again.

Then, this journey has become a mistake. Rimuru shouldn't meet Sensei, or whoever she is now. It will only make him overthink his mind. An unknown feeling is a great threat since you wouldn't be able to find the solution.

And I'm certain, Rimuru is not aware of his feeling toward Sensei.

He took a glance at me. He looks like he's trying his best to hide his feeling. I have to get him out of this situation.

"I'm sorry Gray-san. But what you said is true. You've crossed some line. My brother has been through a lot. So I humbly ask you to not pursue the matter"

I asked Gray-san to not ponder about Rimuru's circumstances. Even though I actually haven't known much about it, I think it's a good thing to not ponder about it now.

And fortunately, Gray-san is a good man to know his position.

After Gray-san apologizes, Rimuru seems eager to change the atmosphere. And not just that, as much as I couldn't believe it, but I saw Rimuru's expression has got brightened.

It seems he's been successful at something, or at least, found a way to succeed.

The happiness which shown in his face, made me suddenly rethink again about what I thought to be a mistake. Is this journey something Rimuru needs?

Even though it will pain him, will it actually make him become better? Will it at some point, he'll never have that sad face anymore?

If that's so, for my own benefit as well, will it be counted as I repay my debt of gratitude toward him? But what if the continuation of this journey turns out to be more painful?

But all those thoughts are starting to disappear upon seeing how happy Rimuru having drinks with our new acquaintances. Perhaps, in some way, just accompanying him on this journey is enough to make the journey fruitful.

After drinking our wine together, I notice the story from Gray-san about this kingdom's civil war has affected our views on this world. I'm from another world, but I still consider myself as part of the guardian of humanity.

Even though we basically just stumbled upon this area which undergoes conflict, any kind of bad action against humanity is a violation.

Rimuru seems wanted to help, but he worries about the effect on us. And for that, I cannot deny it. Since it's mostly true. But I know Rimuru doesn't want to regret anything. I wonder if this truly going to be okay for him.

We both agreed to return the provisions that have given by the knights. I don't need it as well, but I understand we cannot just reject anyone's kindness. When Rimuru returns the food to the knight's base or rather, infiltrates, I waited for him outside.

But thanks to the magicules he's sharing, I can hear better to the surrounding. And by that, I knew that Rimuru has eavesdropping the knights before. But unfortunately, I didn't understand their circumstances. While in the other hand, Rimuru seems to have a better idea about what they have talked about. Because Rimuru has taken plenty of time observing them.

But even without knowing their circumstances, I can hear the solidarity between them.

In that sense, I try to guess what is Rimuru's feeling about it. He's more kind than me, so I knew he was more eager to help rather than me. But at the same time, there's probably more Rimuru to know than me about the whole world.

I'm not very sure about it as well, but Rimuru seems to have a concern about the effect of meddling in this world affair. Even if we only meddling in one kingdom, perhaps he has already foreseen a bigger conflict that could arise because of it. Rimuru has become a king, so it's no wonder if he understands more about politics than I do.

But as I have seen before, Rimuru has made some kind of resolve. My best possible guess is Rimuru trying to heal the wounds he has. Whether it may be about Sensei, or it's possible there's something else that still bothers him.

And I would feel bad if he didn't get what he need.

"May Mighty God Veldanava is in our favor"

I heard the head knight offering a prayer.

And I sensed that Rimuru had shocked.

For me, Veldanava is just a mighty creature who creates this world's system. He has long gone, and never involved in this universe's matter. All of the world's matter has been done by his own creature.

That's why, I didn't really put anything to mind when I heard Veldanava. But it seems, for Rimuru, it's an important matter. Or perhaps, Veldanava itself has become someone important to him.

Luminas-sama herself never talked much about Veldanava, so I never knew her personal opinion. But I have never been told about her origin. Something about Divine Ancestor, named Twilight. I also happen ever read a little about it in the Ingrassia library, but since I didn't find it important, I never take it seriously.

Just when Rimuru manage to come back, we talked about it a bit. He seems to be thinking about it more seriously, and it made me a bit guilty for not learning more about this matter.

But maybe, that's a good opportunity.

I don't know how important Veldanava is for Rimuru, but if this world worshipped him, he might find something useful. And all I can say is this world might be somehow connected to our Cardinal World.

In that sense, I also find myself having a bit sense of attachment to this world. If Luminas-sama found this world, I think she would find it amusing to develop a new land here.

Rimuru has spouted his mind about didn't want to meddle too much in this world. Which, I already know. And moreover, I think I know the important basis of that idea as well.

But I think he has to deal with it. To continue pursuing Sensei's soul, to make the resolve I saw earlier to be achieved.

At this time, I tried to not overthink it and decided that Rimuru's scar in his heart must be about Sensei.

But it turns out, it's a grave mistake.

After I talked about our plan to teleport, many things happen. And my suspicion about Prince Constance is the one who has Sensei's soul, turns out to be true. I don't know how he did it, but I can see footage inside my mind of a lot of carriages having a convoy toward our location. And that footage, became a nightmare as I saw cruelty happen to the people.

For me, abandoning my ideals is an extreme doing. So seeing the civilians being slaughtered with such brutality, is enough to make me decide to meddle in this world.

Rimuru seems to be more horrified than me, but I see some hesitation inside him. Or rather, a scared expression. But after he put more thought into it, he resolves himself. And thus, we both agreed to join the fray.

"Remember, once we arrive, there's a battlefield"

He said. And I nodded. I knew that much, so I prepare myself.

Then, suddenly a circle of light appeared underneath our foot. And before I knew it, we've already in another place.

The surrounding area is in chaos.

People are running to my back, screaming is everywhere, and horses are running uncontrollably. Many carriages have been left behind.

The first thing I do is to check my surrounding area. I looked around to find any possible enemies, identified civilians, and found allies. I saw in my back there were about 6 knights standing. Four of them are holding someone in noble attire, and they look shocked after seeing me and Rimuru had appeared out of nowhere. I recognize the one in noble attire, he's the Prince Constance. Meanwhile, the other two has immediately pointing their sword toward me.

As I saw Rimuru on my side, he was immediately gone and attacking the mounted knight. I cannot be left behind him.

So I turn my head, gazing at the prince.

"Leave it to us"

And then I went forward like Rimuru.

Rimuru seems to engage the enemies, while the civilian is still in panic. Some of them are falling, and many of them are injured. I decided the priority are saving the civilians first. And so, while Rimuru distracts the mounted knights, I gather the remaining guards and helped the civilians who run away. They are all in panic, so after seeing me who's still in composure, not just civilians, but even the guards are following my directions. I also put some healing magic on the guards and civilians who had serious injuries. As I expected, every one of them are shocked.

"Wha-what is this? How can it be?!"

"My-my wounds!"

"What are you?!"

But I rebuke them immediately by saying, "Just shut it and take it"

In this dangerous situation, you have to accept any kind of help to survive. No matter how hard it is to accept it, as long it makes you survive, and you have to move fast since the enemy won't let you take time to run away.

Not long after, I saw no more civilians running to my direction. So I gave a command to the guards who were still nearby.

"Hold your line, I'll go forward"

They seem to be wanting to join me, but none of them are following me in the end.

As I ran toward Rimuru, I notice in far away there was a group of black mantled men, committing cruelty against people. But as much as I wanted to save them, I don't think I would be fast enough to reach them. So the idea which popped into my mind was taking over Rimuru's role to take care of the mounted knights and let Rimuru take care of the enemy in far away since he's much faster than me.

Rimuru seems to be feared by those knights, but those knights are still trying to engage him. At this point, he'll only be wasting time.

So when I saw one of the mounted knights charging at him, I jumped forward and drop a flying kick towards him. The knight got blown away until he hit a tree.

I stand beside him. He looks in very good condition.

"I'll handle the mounted knights, you rescue the people in front"

"Got it!"

Then, he ran forward with inhuman speed.

"Wh-what the hell?!"

"What is going on?!"

"Oy! There's another one here! Finish her!"

They began to charge at me. But they seem to be foolish since I can do the same as Rimuru. I dodged their charge and appeared in their blind spots. Their horses are starting to panic and run amock around, causing chaos on their own. The knights fell to the ground, and they started to collide with each other.

I quickly ran towards the remaining knights, including the knights who fell and disarmed them. Mostly I hit their armor with the bare minimum strength, and make them groan in pain or fainting.

Everything seems to be okay and we slowly gaining more foothold.

But then,

"' Arrrgghhhh! '"

The remaining enemies are screaming in agony. The mounted knights all fell unconscious, and the remaining civilian who near me were also fainted. The horses are running wilder, fleeing from the road.

I felt a dense aura. A Demon Lord's aura. No, it's rather more powerful than that.

It's a True Dragon aura.

I was confused. I'm very certain it's a True Dragon aura. But there's no possible way there's a True Dragon here, and furthermore, at the same time wasn't deadly enough to kill people.

If it's coming from a True Dragon, there should be more casualties. I don't know who's appeared, but I have a very bad premonition.

And then, the ground is shaking. A ray of black lightning appeared far away from my position, but it was very huge so it can be seen from many kilometers away.

And that black lightning, I knew who was able to cast such deadly magic.

That Rimuru, what is he done?!

I ran as fast as I could. And then, after a few kilometers ahead, I saw dozens of black-mantled men lying on the ground in horrible conditions. There's a corpse that has been cut in half, arms cut, decapitated, and burnt to ashes.

Then the aura is disappearing. I follow the remaining aura. And ran towards it. It took me another several hundred meters. But there, I found Rimuru standing in silence.

He didn't move, but some of his aura is still leaking.

"Rimuru! What are you doing?!"

I was very upset about what he has done. The damage is worst than anyone in this world could imagine. Trees are on fire, the grounds are cracking everywhere, the road also become damaged and has covered with black ashes, and people far away are trembling in fear.

I was going to reprimand him for how reckless he has done. But then, I notice his silence.

He stood there, in the center of the cracks in the ground, without saying any words. His long hair has covering his face. The lights from the fire around us illuminate the scene, but his face is simply dark from the cover of his hair.

His shoulder are lumped, and he didn't look anywhere. His head is looking down.

And at that moment, I came to know. I know the rage he can do. I know there's a painful wound inside him. And I knew, deep inside of him right now, he was crying.

At that moment, I became certain that Rimuru was hiding more than just one painful wound.

The rage that he showed towards those men in black was out of his personality I knew.

Blood spilled easily around with his hand, and a serious killing intent came from his eyes, it's all brand new to me.

"Rimuru…"

I tried to reach out to him, but he didn't even budge.

The sight was scary, but for me, it was painful.

The always-smiled Rimuru, who brushes his problems off with goofiness, had cried in silence in front of me.

Then, out of nowhere, I saw Sensei inside him. I saw Sensei is really crying in Rimuru's place.

It can't be…

I felt a sudden pain inside my chest. It's more painful than I ever feel.

I feel helpless.

I feel a pierce inside me.

"Sen… sei…"

I tried desperately to reach out to her.

I dragged my feet towards her. The closer I get, the heavier it goes.

I reached out to her with both of my hands.

But then, she disappeared. Leaving me with Rimuru.

But before I know it, my hands have reached Rimuru. I can feel him. I can feel his cold skin in my hand.

"Rimuru…"

And before I realized it, I hugged him.