Author's Note: I did have something planned for April fool's day, but I ended up running out of time for it, so sorry about that. Also, sorry for this chapter being a bit short again.

Alikred's Appearance

Iruma POV

The smoke creature retreats into my ring almost immediately and I breathe a sigh of relief.

The students who were walking toward me passed without saying anything, so they must not have seen the monster. Once they're far enough away to not see me doing what I'm about to do, I quickly look around and see a classroom door ajar and the inside is dark. I swing it open a little more, poke my head inside, and see that it is indeed empty. After slinking my way inside without anyone spotting me, I quietly shut the door and turn the light on.

This is a blatant breaking of school rules; I'm not supposed to use a classroom without permission, so I really hope nobody walks in and finds me in here. I also don't want them to see that smoke creature either; I don't even know how a random student or teacher would react if they saw that thing.

"Um…come out now if you can hear me…" I say hesitantly.

Almost immediately afterward, a plume of smoke emerges from the ring on my right middle finger and forms into the same creature again.

"Ah, yes, this is much better. Nice and secluded so we can properly get to know each other. My name is Alikred, and I am the incarnation of the Gluttonous Feeder ring you're wearing; that's what my mentor 'Miss C' told me I was." Alikred explains.

I wonder who this 'Missy' person is…

(AN: Yes, Iruma misheard Ali say 'Miss C')

"Ali-kred…" I struggle to pronounce his name a little.

"But you can just call me Ali, Iruma-boy."

"Y-you already know my name?!"

"Well, I have been keeping an eye on you for a while now, waiting for the right moment to appear and assist you. Since I am the incarnation of that Gluttonous Feeder Ring you're wearing, that makes you my master, but I get the feeling you wouldn't like me to call you that, would you?" Ali asks in an almost-teasing tone.

"N-no…no 'master' please. 'Iruma' is fine. S-so why exactly did you come out of my ring again? You're not hungry, are you? Like the first time?"

"The first time? Oh, you mean that time that Miss C mentioned. She said I caused you quite a bit of trouble, but I don't remember that clearly."

"Uh, yeah, you caused some of my classmates to faint."

"Well, sorry about that kiddo. I was ~so~ hungry at the time; that's all I can recall of that incident actually. My, how annoying it is to not be able to remember things properly. The first somewhat clear memory I have is that time I dragged you to that weirdo that you were looking for, but even that is a little foggy."

"So…you said you appeared to help me with magic and be my friend? And the reason you didn't come out before was that you didn't think you were needed?"

"Oh, not exactly. Miss C stopped me from showing myself to you right away since she didn't think I was ready. Only recently did she give me permission to come out and introduce myself to you. Otherwise, I could have come out and talked to you as soon as I gained full awareness."

"Full awareness?"

"Sentience, my boy. That part of me is tied to your rank since in a way we are linked closely by you wearing that ring. Only when you reached gimmel rank did my mind clear and I became fully aware."

"Wow…this is so much to take in…"

"Well don't worry about understanding everything at once, kiddo, because we're stuck with each other for the rest of your life! Just like how the ring is stuck to your finger."

"Who is this 'Missy' that you mentioned anyway?"

"That's one thing I can't tell you, unfortunately. I will be punished severely if I do, so until she says it's okay, her identity must remain a secret. The same goes for me staying a secret too. Don't tell your friends, don't tell your family, don't tell anyone, alright? If you do, they might ship us both off to somewhere to be experimented on!"

Experimented on?!

I doubt Rimuru or Grandpa would let something like that happen to me, but the idea of it alone is enough to freak me out.

"Oh, but you don't have to worry about that as long as I stay a secret! On a lighter note, how about I help you some with magic? You need a lot of practice from what I witnessed from inside the ring, so we should get started right away!"

"Wait, what do you mean by 'I need a lot of practice'? I thought I was getting pretty good at using magic…"

I've learned quite a lot from Grandpa, my classes, and Rimuru so thought I was finally getting a good grasp on how magic works, but apparently I'm still not good enough according to Ali.

"You lack elegance; imagination! Unlike those skills that your buddy lets you use, the magic here in the Netherworld is based on pure desire! It's the power to make your thoughts and wishes come to life!"

(AN: yes, I know tensura's skills are given to people based on their desires, but that doesn't mean that their effects after gaining them necessarily are.)

"As a little exercise, how about you use that transformation spell on me? You know, that one you learned in class?" Ali suggests.

A while back, I learned the spell 'Cherusil' in class. I used it to change the color of a frog after the teacher called me to the front of the classroom to demonstrate it. That's the only time I've tried it though, so I wouldn't say I'm very comfortable with it yet.

"On you?!" I ask, shocked that Ali would want me to use a spell I'm not very experienced with on him directly. Right after saying I wasn't good enough at magic too!

"Oh, don't worry about me, just use your imagination and cast the spell! I'd like to have a more refined body than this one; something with big eyes, a curvy body, and long slender legs. I wanna be a hottie! Imagine it! See it in your mind's eye!"

"Uh…okay…"

Let's see…eyes, curves, long and slender…

I try my best to picture something that meets Ali's requests, but I'm not sure if it's good enough. I'm also nervous about messing it up and possibly hurting Ali somehow.

"Cherusil!" I call out the spell's name with my hand pointed at Ali.

The results were…not quite what I expected. I know the image in my head wasn't very well-defined, but at least Ali seems to now match what I was generally going for. It's my best shot at the spell, though, so I hope he doesn't get upset if it's not perfect.

He does have long, slender legs; one big eye; and I guess his body could be considered 'curvy'? Not really, though. He still has those two characteristic horns on his head that were there before the transformation and his body is less an almost-formless cloud and now much more humanoid. His skin and clothing are both dark purple, his outfit resembling a suit with a long tailcoat. Also, the string of smoke connecting him to my ring now much more closely resembles a tail.

Ali observes his new form for a moment.

"Ah yes indeed! This is a big eye, I guess these are curves and my legs are long! Hahaha!" Ali says cheerfully with a little chuckle.

Whew…I'm glad he likes it…

Just as I'm breathing a sigh of relief, Ali suddenly yells.

"Where's your imagination!?" Ali yells after suddenly flying inches from my face.

"I'm sorry! I'll do better!" I quickly apologize, surprised by his sudden change in mood.

"Ugh…what am I going to do with you…?" Ali sighs defeatedly.

Seeing my guilty, sorry expression, Ali perks up a little.

"Don't worry Iruma-boy, even if it takes a long while, I'll whip your magic-using skills into shape!" he declares.

"Thanks, Ali! I appreciate it…" I say, still disappointed in myself for not meeting his expectations after he trusted me to use the spell on him.

"No problem! Next, you should attempt to cast that spell on yourself! You can look all freaky too!" Ali suggests.

"Wait, what now?!"

Use it on me?! After screwing up?! I'm not sure I'm comfortable doing that…well, I guess if I have to I can just try it on my clothes; that shouldn't do much harm if I mess up again.

"Um…how about my clothes then…Cherusil!" I mutter before once again casting the spell.

"Huh…? Ooh, that's weak…see? No imagination!" Ali says, looking disappointed again.

I look down at myself and the only thing that changed about my clothes was their color. Instead of a mix of blue and white, my school uniform is now completely white. This was all I could think of off the top of my head.

"Let's step up the creativity! Next, try to imagine something you would never be caught dead in! We're going to force your imagination to work overtime!" Ali urges.

"Something I'd never wear? Hmmm…" I ponder.

Let's see…something really expensive, maybe? No grandpa buys me pricey-looking clothes…

"C'mon! Chop-chop!" Ali says, rushing me and applying pressure.

Something I'd never wear…something I'd never wear…never, never, never, never, never, never…!

"Cherusil!" I cast the spell again with my mind still frantically trying to come up with an idea.

What I was picturing was not at all clear, which is a bad thing for spells like this I think. Reluctantly, I once again look down at myself to see the results of the spell. In my struggle to come up with an idea, I transformed my clothes into a dress!

Noooo!

I desperately try to figure out a way to remove the transformation, but before I can come up with anything, the door to the room flies open and Ali quickly retreats into my ring.

No! I can't let anyone see me like this!

"Who's in here?! You need permission to use empty…rooms…" Ameri sternly asks before trailing off after noticing it's me and the outfit I'm wearing.

Her face immediately flushes red with embarrassment and she slams the door shut.

"Wait! Ameri! I can explain!" I shout desperately.

I scramble toward the door and stumble out into the hallway, still wearing the dress.

"Ameri! Please! Just wait!" I plead to try to stop her from storming off.

"I didn't see anything, okay? I did not see anything!" She says quickly, not bothering to even look in my direction as I chase after her in the thankfully empty hallway.

"N-no Ameri! You're misunderstanding!" I yell as I grab her arm to stop her from trying to walk away again. This manages to stop her and she turns and looks at me again.

"What do you mean?" Ameri asks sternly.

"I-I was just practicing transformation magic and it went wrong! I swear I don't like wearing stuff like this!" I frantically explain to try to get her to understand.

"Practicing magic?" she asks, her tone and expression softening a little.

"Y-yes!"

"Oh…that makes sense. Sorry for jumping to conclusions, Iruma. I was just so shocked to see you wearing…that…" Ameri mutters, still blushing.

"Hehe…yeah, I don't blame you for being surprised…" I reply nervously.

I think for a moment about how to change my clothes back and the idea to use the same spell again pops into my mind. If I can transform them into this, I should be able to transform them back the same way, right?

"Cherusil." I cast the spell again, this time properly picturing my school uniform as I do.

There's a puff of smoke that surrounds me and when it dissipates, my clothes are back to normal.

"Much better." I sigh. "Well, I'll see you around Ameri. Could you maybe…keep that little accident a secret? Please?"

"Yes, of course, Iruma. I will tell no one about it, I promise."

"Thanks, Ameri."

I leave to go to my next class, hurrying a little since I don't have much time left to get there.

Ameri POV

I part ways with Iruma, glad that that whole situation is over. I was so shocked when I stepped into that classroom and found him wearing a dress yet again! The worst part? He actually looked good in it! How is that even possible?!

I'm still very flustered as I walk down the hallway when I hear a commotion up ahead. All the students who are in the hallway are buzzing with gossip about something that must have just happened. I hear a few snippets of their conversations as I pass them even though I wasn't paying much attention.

Then I hear one of them mention Rimuru, and based on some of the other things I heard, it seems she's gotten in trouble for something.

Rimuru is a member of the Student Council and also someone my father tasked me with keeping an eye on. This means her breaking the rules is automatically my business, so I need to investigate and find out exactly what happened.

"Tell me what happened," I commanded the student who mentioned Rimuru.

"Sh-she was being dragged down the hallway by Professor Kalego! I think he was taking her to Chairdemon Sullivan's office! Nobody knows what she did wrong, though, but the professor looked very angry!"

"I see…thank you."

First, she does something that upset Iruma and now she made her homeroom teacher mad enough to drag her to the Chairdemon! What in the world is Rimuru doing?!

It is well-known around Babyls that Rimuru and Professor Kalego don't see eye-to-eye, but this situation, as long as people aren't exaggerating, is on another level.

Depending on how bad Rimuru's transgression is, I might have to report it to Father, and with how busy he is I'd rather not have to do that. Next time I see her, I'll have to ask Rimuru about what it was she did to anger Professor Kalego that badly.

Rimuru POV

I came back and ate my lunch. I could tell that Clara snuck a few bites of it while I was gone, but it wasn't worth scolding her for. I don't really need food and she didn't take much of it, so I just shrugged it off.

[[How dare she…]]

It's fine, Ciel, I don't care that much.

With lunch now being over, I start heading to my next class, but I stop when I sense something strange. I've been keeping an eye on Iruma with my universal perception, but I haven't been putting a lot of attention to the process, pushing the 'view' into the back of my thoughts. My attention was grabbed by a sudden surge of magical energy directly next to him, though. It seems familiar, and it should be since this isn't the first time I've encountered it.

Is that what I think it is, Ciel?

[[If you are referring to Alikred, yes. He has manifested and is conversing with the boy, Master.]]

I focus a little more and it seems that Iruma is freaking out a little at Alikred suddenly appearing, but he quickly ducked into a nearby room to hide him from the other students in the hallway.

Well, I hope those two get along. Let me know if anything goes wrong between them, Ciel.

[[Yes, Master.]]

The rest of the school day is fairly normal except for the fact that Iruma is still keeping his distance from me. He does seem a little calmer though, or maybe just distracted? That probably has to do with Alikred appearing earlier. Either way, if he's not freaking out as badly because of it, that's a positive in my book.

After getting home, Iruma almost immediately goes upstairs to his room, probably trying to avoid me more. I'll talk with him later when he's ready; I might as well let him rest some after school first.

Iruma POV

What a day…

Glad to be home, I go right up to my room and flop onto my bed. All the craziness that happened today has worn me out. First the stuff with Rimuru, then Ali appearing out of nowhere, then the incident with the dress and Ameri seeing me in it…I've had enough.

Without warning, Ali pops out of my ring again and sits on my pillow.

"You look quite tired, Iruma-boy," Ali says.

"I am…"

"Wait…no, it's not just that, is it?"

I stiffen a little, knowing what Ali is about to talk about.

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"You're stressed and upset, I can tell," Ali says knowingly.

"Maybe a little…you know what happened yesterday," I reply quietly.

"Yes, I do. I witnessed the whole thing, you know."

"Yes…I know."

"You really should address this problem soon, kiddo. You should feel better afterward. Your 'sister' seems to want to, so why don't you take the initiative and have a little talk with her?"

"I…I'm not ready yet…"

"Are you sure you will be any more ready tomorrow? A week from now? Putting off your problems is not a good way to deal with them!"

"I know…"

"If you know that, then why haven't you done anything about it? Why aren't you downstairs right now talking this out?"

"I'm scared, Ali…"

"Conquer your fear then! Sitting here stewing in your fear does you no good, kiddo! I promise you will feel better after fixing things with Rimuru."

"Why are you pushing me into this?"

"Because you need a little pushing so that you can get over this mess. You've been moping long enough; both of us know that. C'mon, I've been with you for a while now, even if you weren't aware of it, so just trust me!"

I really do feel guilty for how I've been treating Rimuru since Walpurgis. The sad looks she's been giving me every time I tried to avoid her, and the concerned looks and questions from my friends and classmates. I've been upsetting everyone around me by not addressing this problem.

Part of me knows Rimuru must've had her reasons for killing Beluran, even if I don't know them. I've been avoiding the issue because I don't want to face it, but I need to eventually, right?

"If you're worried about doing this alone, why not have your grandfather help? I'm sure he would help you discuss things with Rimuru."

"Yeah…with Grandpa…that would be easier, wouldn't it?"

If I get Grandpa involved…I think I can do this!