Delving Into Circumstances

Henri POV

"So tell me, Henri, do you know if Ameri normally wears perfume? Because it seems like she was wearing some right after the incident." Rimuru says casually while flipping through a stack of documents.

"She was wearing perfume?!" I ask loudly, shocked by the information Rimuru just revealed.

My little girl is trying to impress a boy! I know she has some kind of relationship with Iruma but for her to be going to such lengths…things must be getting more serious between those two!

"Okay, based on your reaction, I'll take that as a 'no'," Rimuru says, but I barely hear her over the tempestuous roar of thoughts coursing through my mind.

I can't let this happen! He's going to take my daughter away from me! The next thing I know, they will be getting married and having children!

"Henri?" Rimuru asks, looking confused by my silence.

Can demons and humans even have children together?! I'm not ready to become a grandfather!

"Henri!" Rimuru shouts, finally fully grabbing my attention.

"What?!" I snap.

"Why are you getting so upset?" Rimuru asks, tilting her head to the side slightly and peering at me curiously, one eyebrow raised.

"My little girl does not wear perfume, so if she was it must have been for a boy…that human boy has seduced her, hasn't he?! He might even be responsible for-"

"Whoa there! Calm down, let me explain why I brought it up!" Rimuru cuts me off, raising her hands to stop my emotional ranting.

I force myself to take a few deep breaths and sigh, trying to calm myself after losing my composure.

I can't let my imagination run wild like that…I need to stay focused on the facts.

"Yes, please explain," I say, my emotions somewhat back in check now.

Rimuru ruffles through some papers before finally explaining to me what she's thinking right now.

"So, I noticed a faint, strange smell on her soon after she was found. Almost like a perfume, but there was something odd about it that I couldn't pinpoint. I didn't think too much of it at first but I think it might have to do with what was used on her." Rimuru explains.

"Why were you paying attention to such a thing?" I ask, a little disturbed that Rimuru was sniffing my daughter…at least it wasn't some boy like her twin brother paying attention to Ameri's 'scent'…

Also, for someone to even notice such a subtle change, even more so during a tense situation is very strange too. Smells aren't something an average demon focuses on or memorizes, so why was that detail even made note of in the first place? I'm again reminded that this isn't someone I can underestimate.

"It was just something I happened to notice. That smell could've been an aerosolized potion or something similar; that would explain the mist that Ameri saw before passing out."

"That does sound probable…" I mutter.

That would make sense since normally a spell this complex would be impossible for someone, let alone a student, to cast fast enough that Ameri wouldn't be able to defend herself against it. A potion on the other hand can be splashed or in this case, sprayed, on someone instantaneously.

"We should see if we can gather a sample…if we can determine its possible identity, it will help us narrow down who could have done this, especially if it involves rare materials." I say after considering the possibility for a moment.

"Exactly." Rimuru smiles. "We should go back to the room where Ameri was modified, I bet there's residue from it still coating some of the surfaces in there."

Rimuru stands up, straightens out her clothes, and starts heading to the door.

This entire time Rimuru has seemed more amused than concerned about this situation…is she possibly viewing it as a game? Is that why she initially wanted to perform this investigation on her own?

If that's the case, that makes me worry quite a lot.

Does that mean she simply views me as a piece in said game and is leading me on? I know for a fact that this girl can be quite deceptive, having convinced me back during the battler party that she didn't know what was going on.

I shudder at the thought of being deceived again, making sure to keep that possibility in the back of my head but refocusing on what's really important; finding who did this to my daughter.

"Are you coming with me?" Rimuru asks, pausing in front of the door and looking at me from over her left shoulder.

"Why wouldn't I be?" I retort before standing up. I quickly join Rimuru at the doorway and we both go to the scene of the crime.

There doesn't seem to be anything out of place in the room where my daughter was sprayed with an unknown substance. I look around, trying to find anything that might point to who is responsible. Rimuru begins strolling around, also seeming to be doing the same thing as me.

After a moment, she pauses next to one of the tables, leaning to look a little closer at its surface.

"This one. I think there's some kind of oily residue on it."

I walk up next to her and do the same. After getting closer to it, I quickly notice a subtle shine to the table that the others in the room don't appear to have. Nothing obvious, but it somehow only took a few seconds for Rimuru to locate it.

"Yes, this might be the material that was sprayed in here." I ponder, still leaning forward to get a closer look like Rimuru was a moment ago.

"Here. Wanna do the honors, Mr. Chief of Police?"

Rimuru holds out some swabs and an empty glass sample vial for me to grab.

"Where did you get those?"

"What? You didn't see me grab them before we left the room we've been working in?" Rimuru asks with an innocent-looking smile. I can see her eyes subtly glimmering with amusement, however.

"No, I didn't," I reply sternly.

"I wasn't trying to hide them or anything…I'm surprised you didn't notice until now…" Rimuru says, smirking slightly at my reaction.

"I…my mind was occupied with other matters!" I insist.

I certainly didn't see her grab anything before we left…but if Rimuru didn't take those very specific tools from the room, where in the Netherworld could she have gotten them?!

I also didn't even see her pull them out of a pocket and they definitely weren't in either of her hands when she was walking around this room. It is as if they appeared out of nowhere!

Rimuru shrugs and holds the vial and swabs out for me to grab again.

"Well, it doesn't matter. So, are you gonna take them and swab this table, or should I just do it myself?" she asks, chuckling a little to herself. She must think my confusion is funny; how irritating.

So, I take the tools from Rimuru and swab the table thoroughly. Whatever it was that had settled on its surface appears a faint, translucent purple after being collected for analysis

"I'll take this back to the lab at the station to analyze."

Rimuru shrugs again.

"Go ahead." She says in an uncaring tone.

Rimuru POV

Henri stormed out of the room, or at least left in a huff, leaving me with an amused smile on my face.

I wasn't even trying and I got that man all flustered…he's almost as funny as his daughter is when she gets like that!

Now that I'm alone, I guess I could interview a few people about the case. I doubt Henri would care much.

I start walking down the hallway, trying to collect my thoughts and decide on who I should talk to right now.

"I've already talked with some of the teachers and none of them knew anything…based on their behavior I've mostly ruled out Ameri's Student Council groupies…hmmm, that leaves people like Ronove or potentially a random student with an unknown motive…" I ponder out loud while walking down the hallway.

My train of thought is quickly disturbed by something annoying, though. Parading down the hallway up ahead is one of the last people I want to see right now; Ronove. He and his two girls are sauntering along, tossing fliers in the air. When I get close enough, I pick one of the papers up and see what appears to be a beautified picture of Ronove's face. Classy.

I'm only half-listening, but I can tell he's making more of his 'non-promises' to the surrounding students. It really gets under my skin seeing him do this again despite the fact that I expected it. I think I overheard something about a waterslide in the hallway? Ugh, I don't understand why these kids are even buying that shit…

But, this could be an opportunity. Even if I find it annoying, questioning Ronove could be beneficial for me.

On second thought…maybe this is a good thing, running into him…yeah…

I can grill him for information and guarantee that he's not involved in what happened to Ameri. A lot of people seem to be convinced that he's responsible, but I'm not. As I've said before, I don't see this boy doing anything sneaky or underhanded; he's about as discrete as Veldora on a good day, if not worse. He's much more annoying though since at least Veldora listens to me most of the time.

"Hey, Ronove!" I call out to him.

"Yes, it is I! Oh, if it isn't little miss Student Council rookie!" he says happily, smiling widely as he closes the distance between us.

"Don't call me that. You know my name." I respond bluntly, not appreciating that nickname.

"Fine, Rimuru Tempest! For what do I owe the ~pleasure~ of speaking with you?" Ronove pauses in front of me and asks, leaning in uncomfortably close to my face.

I back away slightly, not liking how close he's getting to me.

"I just have a few questions for you," I bluntly reply.

"Yes, I did hear that you were trying to find who weakened our dear Student Council President, aren't you? Well, if you believe it was me, I cannot take the credit for that!" Ronove declares in his usual dramatic tone.

"Even so, I still need to ask you some things. So, come with me and we'll have a little chat, alright?"

Iruma POV

I'm really starting to worry about Ameri's chances of winning this dissolution election. From what I'm seeing, most of my fellow students are siding with Ronove, falling for his ideas for a 'fun' Babyls. Some of the things he's mentioned sound appealing to me at first, but I'm smart enough to realize that many of them are unrealistic and others very harmful. This is a school, not a playground, yet Ronove seems to want to turn it into one.

The other students also seem to be growing wilder with Ameri not keeping a hold over them. I've noticed more fights in the halls, vandalized property, and general unrest like students running in the halls. It's making me nervous, this unpredictability, but all I can do about it is try to comfort Ameri and try to help her get better

She's been a little clingy with me actually, which feels strange but also somewhat nice at the same time. Ameri has been sticking close to me whenever she can, relying on me for comfort, and a part of me is enjoying it.

Is this how Rimuru feels when she's protecting me? Having someone rely on me like this feels really nice…

Ameri's since changed into the normal female school uniform which is a bit less revealing than her normal outfit. She said she felt more comfortable wearing this and honestly, she looks cute in it. Much different than her usual look but she's still as pretty as ever.

I'm not the only person who thinks this either, based on many of the comments I've heard from passerby students while walking with Ameri. Some of them were upsetting and if I was a more brash person, I would've said something back.

I hope that Ameri will be okay before this election because I'm really getting worried. Rimuru promised that everything would turn out alright, but I'm still doubting that because of what I've been seeing.

I need to do something else about this, but what…who can I ask to help who isn't already?

Azz and Clara!

Yes, my two close friends! Maybe they can help find out who's doing this! I know Rimuru is investigating, but it wouldn't hurt to have someone else doing the same thing, right? I don't think Rimuru would want their help though…I guess I could just ask those two to go off on their own? I don't need to tell Rimuru either. Rimuru seemed excited to solve this herself so she doesn't need to know.

So, I separate from the Student Council group so I can make a couple of phone calls. First, I call Azz. The phone didn't even ring twice before he picked it up.

"Azz, I'm sure you already know about what happened to Ameri, so could you please keep an eye out for anyone that might be behind it? Maybe students that are aggressively speaking out against her?"

"Didn't you say that your twin sister was taking on the case? I doubt with someone like her involved that I would even be needed for this."

"Well, yeah, but I'd still like you to help."

"If you say so, Iruma-sir! I will gladly help out with the problem with the Student Council President!"

"Thanks, Azz! I'm glad I can count on you!"

Then, I call my other friend, Clara. She also picked up quickly, but not as fast as Azz did.

"Hey, Clara!"

"Iruma-chi!"

"You know how Ameri had something happen to her, right?"

"Yeah! Lady Redhair had some magic-whatsit used on her and now she's acting weird!"

"Yes, and someone did that to her, so could you help out with finding them?"

"You want my help?!"

"Yup, I just want you to keep your eyes out for anything related, that's all, can you do that for me?"

"Yes! Even though I don't like Lady Redhair, I'll do it for you Iruma-chi!"

"Thanks, Clara, I appreciate it."

Whew…glad that's taken care of…

To my relief, both of my friends enthusiastically agreed to keep an eye out for stuff for me. It might not help much, but it's at least something.

I stuff my hellphone into my right pocket and try to think of what to do next. I get lost in thought, but this doesn't last long. Something touches my shoulder with absolutely no warning, startling me and causing me to jump and flail.

I quickly whip around, completely spooked by the unexpected feeling. It seems like the noise I let out in my surprise has startled whoever just touched me because I heard a yelp from them.

It's Ameri, and she seems startled by me being startled.

"A-ameri!" I say, surprised. "Is something the matter?"

"O-oh…um…I-iruma…can I, talk to you…?" she asks nervously, her hands clasped together and held to her chest.

"Sure…"

We walk together to the same room we read manga together in. After the door is closed behind us, she stands in front of me, appearing to be mustering up the courage to ask me something. Ameri is fidgeting in place, her eyes downcast and her expression troubled.

"I-iruma…I don't know what to do…at this rate, we're going to lose the election! I'm only going to end up causing more problems for you and my members so maybe I should just give up…" Ameri admits painfully.

Ameri slumps down onto her knees and I quickly join her in sitting on the floor, knowing that I need to be there for her. It breaks my heart to see my friend like this. Ameri seems so sad and lost, so confused and troubled.

"Ameri…you aren't causing me any problems! Don't say that! You've been doing your duties for the Student Council and-" I start to say but am quickly interrupted.

"Yes, I am...! I'm…very aware that my members have been working hard to try to cover for me this entire time. Even you have been helping them and you aren't even part of the Student Council!"

Unfortunately, Ameri isn't wrong about this. Even though I've been sticking by her side most of the time since her personality was affected by a spell, I've also been dedicating a lot of time and energy to helping out the Council. They've been struggling since Ameri's 'change' happened because it's greatly affected her productivity.

Those four almost went to get Rimuru to help, despite them being mildly suspicious of her, but I think they're starting to realize that Rimuru isn't a good suspect. I know Johnny is still convinced Ronove is responsible, but nobody has completely figured out yet who cast the spell on Ameri.

Anyways, I told them asking Rimuru for help isn't a good idea and they listened to me since I'm her 'twin brother'.

So the Council continued to struggle and I felt lousy and useless just sitting there watching them, so I ended up offering my help. It's been hard, but by sacrificing some of my sleep, I've been able to help them all keep up with the work that needs to be done.

"…You're the only person I can talk about this with, Iruma…" Ameri admits softly.

I don't know what to say…

"The thing is…I love everyone on the Student Council, they're so smart and proud! So sincere and they care so much about me! Well, maybe not your sister…" Ameri says the last part with a small, pained chuckle, but her tone quickly darkens and she starts to tear up.

"But Grave, Smoke, Kimaris, and Johnny…their precious dedication and loyalty bring me so much joy! But…all that respect and care…it's for the former version of me…she's the person you all admire so much, not this pathetic mess I've become…" Ameri admits defeatedly, her voice quivering and lowering as she speaks.

"That's not-!" I say to stop her from beating herself up.

"Which is why I'm so frightened! I just want nothing but the best for Babyls…I always have! But…I don't believe my current self can accomplish that goal…and that scares me! I'm terrified I'm going to fail! A-and I'm more terrified that people will speak ill of you all! The entire school mocking everyone that's remained at my side through all of this, just because of me! People like you, Iruma!"

"Ameri…" I try to find something to say to all of this, but my words fail me.

"I'm terrified…of not living up to everyone's…faith in me…" she sobs, looking down at the floor.

The tears that have been gathering in Ameri's eyes finally fall to the floor as I helplessly watch.

I truly don't know what to do…Ameri was there for me when I needed to cry and now I need to return the favor. But…I just don't know how!

"Maybe I could run away…and step down as President…and attend classes as a regular student…I could read books and have tea with you…things could be peaceful!"

Ameri leans toward me, bringing our faces very close together. Our eyes are level with each other, which is something I don't experience very often due to our height difference. She stares me in the eyes, her face red from crying but a small smile on her lips as she offers her idea.

"So, Iruma…if you can accept me as the person I happen to be right now, I promise to stay…by your side forever!" Ameri declares, her glistening eyes pleading with me to agree.

I let out a small gasp, shocked by what she just said.

Does she mean…?...No, Ameri doesn't think of me like that…

Mentally shaking my head, I brush aside the potential implications of what Ameri just said and immediately return my attention to the moment at hand. Now, I finally know what I need to do. I need to do the same thing she did for me, just like I decided earlier. My feelings about what Ameri just revealed are irrelevant…right now, I need to be the voice of reason for her.

"That's not an ambition, that's an ideal!" I say firmly, standing up and taking Ameri by the shoulders. She peers up at me, looking surprised and confused by my vehemence.

Yes, I repeated the same thing she said to me a while back. Ameri is someone that embodies ambition in my eyes, so I can't let her carelessly let go of hers. Ameri has always talked so passionately about her goals and dreams, and now here she is, nearly abandoning them!

Part of me wants that…for us to spend more time together…for Ameri to stay like she is now, 'by my side' like she just said. But this isn't about me, this is about Ameri and her happiness. I know she's still the same person deep down, so, as her friend, I need to remind Ameri of her priorities.

"Do you remember? That's what you once told me, Ameri. To achieve your ambitions, you always worked so hard! You had so much confidence and endured every hardship because you were so determined to fulfill them. I believe that's why…so many people look up to you. I also believe you should do whatever you want to do, and if you can do that outside of the Student Council, I think it's fine if you step down. After all, the example that people followed wasn't set by the President, so to speak, it was set by you Ameri!"

There's a momentary pause while Ameri seems to process what I just said. Her sad, crying red-orange eyes are now sparkling with…excitement? Ameri is looking at me in a way she hasn't before.

"B-but…I'm so timid I can hardly function like how I used to…" Ameri mutters, doubting herself again. Her eyes return to the floor as she does.

"And that's alright!" I say in response.

"Even if I'm clumsy and can't run the Student Council properly?" she asks.

"We'll back you up! I'll even join the Council if you want, so I can keep helping you with that. I know you wanted me to join in the past, right? I want to be there for you Ameri!" I say, still trying to cheer Ameri up.

Ameri is still gazing at the floor with a sad expression, though. So, without thinking much, I do what feels right and take her face in my hands, redirecting her gaze back to my face.

"Everything will be okay…you will be okay, so please keep your head up!" I say, putting on my best comforting smile.

Ameri freezes and I continue.

"It doesn't matter how you look or act, when you pursue your dreams, it just makes you more lovely!" I continue, still giving her the nicest smile I can.

This lasts for a moment before I see Ameri's face turn as red as her hair.

I swiftly remove my hands, finally having it dawn on me how invasive holding her face is and the implications behind an action like that.

"I-I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to touch your face!" I sputter out an apology, backing away from Ameri quickly.

What in the world was I doing?! Why did I touch her like that?! That was so…wrong of me!

Ameri's face is beet-red as she clutches her chest, still sitting on the floor in front of me.

"D-don't worry! I-I-I'm o-okay…" Ameri manages to squeak out with some difficulty.

I must've made her feel so uncomfortable…now I feel guilty…

Ameri takes a few breaths, calms down, and then stands up.

The evening glow coming through the window behind her makes her long, red-orange hair light up like the sunset.

"Iruma?" she asks.

"Yeah?"

"Th-thank you! I'm gonna give this my all! Can I…c-count on your support?" Ameri asks with a soft smile on her face, her eyes glittering with happiness and determination. She extends her hand for me to hold and I do exactly that.

"O-of course." I say sincerely, trying to hide the leftover awkwardness that I'm feeling from the 'face touching' thing.

Her hand is soft as I hold it in my own; it feels good.

I need to be there for her. I need to help her win this! But, if she does end up losing, I'll still be there to support her!