Tattle and Tale
Iruma POV
We're all having a group study session, this time including most of our classmates. They're showing genuine motivation for studying for once; a rarity for many of them. Why? Because they don't want to have to take remedial classes. All they want is to have fun during their break and being stuck doing extra classes with Professor Kalego would get in the way of that.
Rimuru has been kinda leading the group since we're currently working on something she excels in, but suddenly, she asks something that seems off-topic.
"Jazz, do you have any particular attachments to that mug?" she asks, pointing to the mug of tea Jazz is drinking. It's a novelty mug, mocking the drinker for being easy to steal from.
"No, not at all, my brother got it for me this morning as some dumb way to take a jab at me, that jerk…uh, do what you will with it." Jazz says without a care after grumbling about his older brother.
Rimuru, still pointing her index finger at the cup utters the spell "Fractal."
The mug promptly falls upwards, completely defying gravity and shattering on the ceiling, making a mess of ceramic shards and tea.
"You've all been taught that Fractal reduces or increases the weight of an object, which it can, but that's only the most basic thing the spell can do. Used with enough skill, the spell can manipulate gravity in many ways, as I just showed you by having that mug fall upwards."
"How are we gonna clean that up though?" Lead asks, pointing at the mess on the ceiling.
"I'll show you! With all magic, a little creativity goes a long way, and we can use Fractal to solve our problem here." Rimuru explains in a very teacher-like tone.
"Remember that time we fought the Guardian of Cutthroat Valley, Sabnock?" Rimuru suddenly asks a seemingly unrelated question.
"Yes, of course! How could I forget such a pivotal event!" Sabnock booms enthusiastically.
"Your wings got all torn up so you couldn't fly away, but if you knew Fractal at the time, that wouldn't have been a problem." Rimuru grins as she casually points this out.
"What do you mean?" Sabnock asks, sounding astonished.
"Also, are we just gonna ignore the mug? It's all stuck to the ceiling still Rimuru." Goemon comments, also showing concern about the mess.
"I'm getting there!" Rimuru insists.
Many others also seem confused by this, muttering to each other and trying to guess where Rimuru is going with this. Rimuru, seeming to think their confusion is amusing, smiles smugly and lets out a small chuckle before continuing.
"Because if you use it properly it can be a substitute for wings! A way to fly without those, although a more finicky one. I've played around with it some so I've got the hang of it but it wasn't easy. Just keep this in mind for the tests; when asked about what a spell does don't just look at the applications you were taught, but other ways you can use those spells in interesting ways. It shows how well you understand them, impressing our teachers." Rimuru explains to the class, causing even more astonishment from our classmates.
A substitute for wings? Does that mean I can fly with it?!
I'm not sure if that thought scares or excites me more but maybe I'll have to give it a try in the future.
"I thought Fractal could only be used on other things…" Keroli comments quietly.
"Nope! You can use it on yourself too." Rimuru says with a grin.
"I never thought of doing that... your way of thinking is always so weird, Rimuru." Jazz chuckles, causing Rimuru to frown slightly.
"Oh, I didn't mean that in a bad way!" he quickly assures after seeing Rimuru's unhappy reaction to his words.
"Well, I should at least demonstrate; there's a mess that needs to be cleaned up."
After first muttering the spell again, Rimuru suddenly pushes off the floor and flies in the air, making many of us gasp in surprise. I suspected that Rimuru might be able to fly without wings before, but I hadn't seen it.
After doing a mid-air somersault, Rimuru ends up standing on the ceiling as if it's the floor. Squatting down, she picks up the pieces of the mug and performs the exact same stunt, this time reversed, ending with her landing gracefully back on the floor with apparent ease.
"And that's how you do it, folks. As I said, it takes some practice to get good at, but it's not impossible." Rimuru says happily, clapping her hands together once, looking fully satisfied with her demonstration.
After a while longer of Rimuru teaching everyone, I decided to go off and do my own thing. She seems to be having a lot of fun so I won't ask her to come with me, though, so I just take Azz and Clara to an isolated table in the room to study as a group of three.
Azz, completely on board with this plan, lays out 5 books on the table in front of us.
"There are five subjects we'll be tested on. What is your best subject, Master Iruma?" He asks me.
"I…uh, I'm not really sure…"
"We should play a game!" Clara cheerfully suggests.
"Your grades are much too low to be thinking about playing right now, you twit!" Azz shoots back.
They both start arguing loudly and I don't have the energy to stop them. Deciding to just pick a subject to focus on without them, I take a closer look at the books. One happens to catch my eye for whatever reason.
"Mythical Zoology Workbook, by Shichiro Balam." it reads.
The name of the author rings a bell and I decided to peek inside, but before I could open it, the book magically springs to life, sprouting a face and limbs.
"Huh?" I let out a gasp, startled.
Rimuru POV
The students who have chosen to sharpen their magical knowledge with me are all enamored by a new use for Raffire I'm showing them. I have a marshmallow on a stick, which is encircled by a ring of flame and getting neatly browned on all sides.
Proud of my clever demonstration, I explain what I'm doing. "See, by trapping the flames in a toroidal flow around an object, you can use Raffire to heat that object without burning it. It may not be useful for combat, but-"
Suddenly, I'm rudely interrupted by one of the most obnoxious voices I've ever heard.
"Question! How many wings do humans have?" a strange book screeches at Iruma, who's studying at the other end of the room.
"Um… none?" he responds.
"What foods do cats love the most?"
"Fish?"
The class is all paying attention to Iruma and the book now, the loudness making it impossible to focus on anything else. Even I'm not paying any mind to my now-flaming marshmallow.
"Is a dog an animal or a plant?"
"A-An animal."
"What do chickens lay?"
"Eggs!" Iruma answers, seeming more confident now.
"Do humans have tails?"
"They do not!"
"You got all the questions right! 100 points!" the book screeches in the loudest voice yet. "Congratulations! You've completed chapter one of the basic questions in this book!"
Woah, hey, isn't this super bad? Now everyone knows that he sucks at regular Netherworld subjects but is really familiar with the human world!
As I'm wondering what to do, the entire class is congratulating Iruma, seemingly glad he's found a subject he's great at.
Apparently… They don't suspect a thing?
I scratch my head with the stick, wondering if this class is dumb or just very trusting.
"Rimuru, your hair's on fire!" Elizabetta exclaims.
Taking a glance at myself with Universal Perception, I see that I've accidentally smeared some molten burning marshmallow in my hair.
"Huh, so it is," I casually observe.
"Do you… Do you plan on doing something about it? I'm worried for the sake of your good looks…"
"Of course, but I'm not in a rush. Who wants to learn a way you can use Raffire to put out a fire instead of making one?" I ask, seeing another teaching opportunity.
Iruma POV
The praise from my classmates feels so good! I absolutely nailed that workbook's quiz, unlike any others I've taken. Yes, I know that's only because it's on simplistic knowledge from my previous world, but still!
"Well done, Master Iruma!:" Azz cheers.
"You…think so?"
"Hey, Master Iruma, why don't we try to strengthen your Netherworld history? In fact, why don't we make that your next elective class? That can only help you more!" he suggests happily.
An extra class to help me learn more about Netherworld history? Sure!
"Netherworld history…okay, let's do this!" I exclaim, still pumped from doing so well on that workbook. I'm on a roll so I might as well keep going with this!
"Perhaps Rimuru should come along? If I remember correctly, this subject is one that she needs more practice with." Azz adds.
"Oh yeah…she didn't seem to have an easy time with it."
Clara, hearing this, runs up to Rimuru who is mid-lesson.
"Riri, come with us!" she demands, pulling on Rimuru's arm.
"Wait! I'm in the middle of something right now!" Rimuru protests.
"Despite your demonstration of magic being exemplary, I think it would be beneficial if you come with us. We're about to sit in on an extra lecture on Netherworld history with Professor Dali. Is that not a subject you need more practice with?" Azz inquires while attempting to pull Clara off of Rimuru.
"History? But I'm having so much fu-…I mean, I need to help all of these other kids learn about magic so I can't go abandoning them!"
"It's okay Rimuru, go do what you need to do." Jazz answers with a shrug.
"Yeah! Prioritize your studies over ours, my rival!" Sabnock shouts.
"Don't worry about us, we'll be fine!" Lead says.
Rimuru gives them a small betrayed glare before sighing deeply.
"I suppose I can come with you since it seems I'm not needed. Let's go…" she mutters defeatedly.
We leave and it doesn't take long before we get to the classroom, but before we can go inside, some students run out of it screaming their heads off.
"Hey! What's the meaning of this?! What are you running from?!" Azz asks the mass of students pouring out of the classroom.
"Professor Dali's out because of his evil cycle!" a boy answers through heavy panting.
"And P-professor B-balam is subbing for him, RUN!"
"No! Not Balam!" Azz exclaims with a nervous gasp.
"There's that name again…where have I heard it?" I ponder out loud.
First the workbook, now this?
Then it occurs to me, but before I can speak up, Rimuru does.
"Nope, I'm not dealing with this again. I'm outta here!" she says as she turns and starts walking back to where we came from.
"Oh yes, you were tasked with collecting his stamp, weren't you Rimuru?" Azz realizes, answering my question.
"Yes and that experience isn't one I want to go through again so I'm gonna split," Rimuru adds over her shoulder as she keeps walking away.
"Riri doesn't like Professor Blalalam?" Clara asks with a tilted head, curiously watching Rimuru leave.
"Wait Rimuru, is he dangerous?!" I ask quickly.
"I wouldn't exactly say that…you'll see if you decide to still attend, although I don't think that's the best idea," she suggests. "Don't do anything that might catch his interest and you should be just fine."
But I need to work on my history…if he's not really dangerous it won't be a problem to go to this class, right? And Rimuru wouldn't walk away if he was a real threat to me.
"Good luck!" she says with a wave before turning a corner and stepping out of sight.
With a slight sense of dread, I decided to go through with attending the class. I can always just leave or use my ring to call Rimuru for help so I shouldn't worry too much.
Poking our heads into the classroom, we find it completely empty.
"Looks pretty empty to me." Clara comments.
"Did something happen?" I ask as I look around for any signs of students or even the teacher.
Yes, I know some students ran out just a moment ago but it didn't seem like an entire class's worth of them. Where are the rest?
"Oh drat…well, if nobody else is here, let's just go, what do you say?" Azz asks uncomfortably, almost sounding like he's pleading. He seems really freaked out about Professor Balam and I think he wants to get away before encountering him.
"But we're already here and I wanna take Professor Balam's class!" I protest, determined to do this.
Suddenly, though, I feel something wrap around my waist and my feet leave the ground. Looking around, I see that I've been snared by a giant vine and carried up near the ceiling and I'm not alone up here. Many students are in the same predicament I am, helpless to escape this plant's grasp. I'm immediately terrified.
I can't move at all! This is bad!
"Well, isn't that nice…I love enthusiastic students like you." A man with long, white hair and a metal mask across his face says while hanging nearby by the same vines that are entrapping me and the rest of the students.
"Master Iruma!" Azz calls out to me desperately before both he and Clara are also scooped off of the ground by the vines.
"Now then, let's begin our lesson." the man says in a deep, rumbling voice.
The vines, still wrapped around everyone, place us in our seats in preparation for this terrifying teacher's lesson. I'm not even able to call Rimuru for help since my arms are pinned tightly to my sides, making it near-impossible to change the setting on my ring.
"Throughout our history, countless imaginary beasts existed and roamed this plane. The study of them involves learning via imagination. After all, it's a subject in which we study creatures of the imaginary kind."
The vine wrapped around me lifts me off the ground again and draws me closer to Professor Balam, seating me right next to him.
"Master Iruma!" Azz calls out to me helplessly.
While reading his lesson from a book in one hand, Professor Balam starts stroking my head with his other. Put off by this, I try to shrink away from his touch but I can't move even an inch while bound by the vine.
Then, I am returned to my seat by the vine and Azz takes my place near Balam and he does the same to him, petting his pink hair as he reads from his book.
"And since there are so many unexplored regions in the Netherworld, there must be new species out there!"
"Um…excuse me!" I call out to the professor.
"Yes, you want to know what imaginary beasts dine on?!"
What makes him think I was gonna ask that?
Without waiting for my answer, he turns to his chalkboard and starts writing as he talks.
"We think imaginary beasts…hehehe…eat other imaginary beasts! He excitedly and creepily cackles as he draws on the board.
He sketches out a cat with bat-like wings.
"For example; cats here in the Netherworld catch and eat demon-birds and eat them, but the imaginary version of a cat does not have wings…" he explains as he draws out a normal-looking cat. He continues talking on and on about this, but I stop listening as Azz is returned to the seat next to me.
"Say, Azz, do you think the reason all the other students ran away and didn't want to get Balam's stamp might be…?" I ask, honestly feeling a little bad that Rimuru had to deal with this teacher partly because of me. It was mainly my classmates that came up with the idea of having her deal with him but I went along with it without asking for more details.
"Yeah…it's what people call Professor Balam's 'skinship'. He may teach imagination-based science but he can't keep his hands off living creatures, so the lesson idles."
"Apparently he touches everyone to see if they're fit for his diabolical experiments!" a nearby boy whispers to me after overhearing my conversation with Azz.
"Experiments?!" I ask, hoping that Rimuru didn't have to go through anything like that to get his stamp.
"They say he kidnaps the students he likes and does experiments throughout the entire night!" another student adds.
The thought causes a shiver to run down my spine.
"Now then…today's discussion shall revolve around humans."
I can't help but let out a surprised gasp.
"If a human were to suddenly appear in front of you how would you react? What would you do?" Balam inquires, addressing the entire class.
"Well we'd obviously eat 'em up!" someone answers almost immediately, along with some others making similar comments.
I try to stay calm on the outside as fear wells up in my chest.
Nobody can do anything as long as Rimuru is around…there's no way any of these demons will even figure out I'm human! I have nothing to worry about…nothing to worry about…
"It is said that humans are filled with desires and thus serve as strong sustenance for us demons." Professor Balam explains.
"So then, what would you do if you came across a human?" a girl asks.
"Who, me? Hmmm… well, if I were to encounter a human, I'd like to ask them how they managed to survive among us. Imaginary beasts are ancient, and the fact that they've managed to survive this long must mean that they live in a mostly peaceful environment. However, the Netherworld's ecosystem is unforgiving and we have developed the traits necessary to survive within it."
Then, for whatever reason, the professor walks up next to me, striking fear into my heart as I sit here helpless to his approach. He starts to touch my back, rubbing it as he did to my head.
"Humans, on the other hand, lack said adaptations such as wings. We all…have…"
His eyes widen and his patting and rubbing become more frantic, feeling around on my back, searching for something.
"No wing bases…you have no wing bases! Just like her…could you be…?!" He asks nonsensically.
Then, without warning, Professor Balam scoops me up under one arm and starts running out of the room. I scream and try to struggle my way out of his grasp, but he's too strong!
He's found out I'm human, I know it! But…what did he mean 'just like her'? Has he met a human before and touched them?!
I decide that knowing this isn't very important right now and focus on freeing my arms so I can at least call for help.
I still can't reach my ring…this is bad, so bad!
Professor Balam runs into a secluded room with me while I pray this isn't his secret experiment dungeon or something. Setting me down on the floor, I almost reach toward my hand to call Rimuru, but before I can he lifts up the back of my shirt exposing my entire back.
"Just as I thought…no sign at all…how interesting…" he mumbles quizzically.
"Uh…why did you grab me?" I ask hesitantly.
"You are the same…the same as that Rimuru…are you perhaps her brother Iruma?" he inquires. I wasn't expecting him to know my name so I'm left stunned for a moment.
The same as Rimuru…I guess her wings don't show in the same way as other demons here. He must've found this out after they met each other.
"Yes…I'm Iruma." I admit, still extremely nervous and uncomfortable about this situation. At least he doesn't seem to think I'm human.
"I see…I have a request then. Show me how your wings work. Your sister refused to show me how they unfurl from seemingly nowhere; I must know the mechanics behind them!"
"Uhhhh…."
Oh no oh no oh no oh no! What do I do what do I do?! I don't have wings to show him! If I refuse it might make him suspicious since he was just talking about how humans don't have wings!
"I…um…I…uh…" I struggle to respond at all.
"How curious…" he mutters.
"What?"
"They simply materialized out of thin air…although yours are much smaller than your sister's…" Balam observes.
Wait, what?
I glance over my shoulder and look at my back and find a tiny pair of wings. Confused, it only takes me a moment to figure out where they came from; Ali has saved the day, warping his body to look like a pair of swings and slinking his way up my sleeve and out the back of my shirt, creating a perfect disguise, although a small one.
Breathing a sigh of relief, I pull down my shirt since Professor Balam has released me now that he's satisfied.
"Okay…uh, I gotta go now," I say with a forced smile as I move to leave.
"No," Balam says in a deep, demanding voice while placing his hand on my shoulder to stop me. "Not. So. Fast."
I freeze, not sure what's going to happen next.
I thought I got away with that but maybe I'm wrong…what if he actually realized those wings were fake?!
"The study of imaginary beasts consists of preconceptions. After touching the skin of your back, I'm convinced you either have a severe illness or you're a very special creature who needs to be studied. I got a similar impression from your sister as well, but I was unable to satisfy my curiosity with her."
He begins to remove the mask obscuring the lower half of his face.
I wince, thinking that he's preparing to eat me after realizing I'm human. There's no way he bought those fake wings, I know that now!
"Please…don't hold this against me."
With my eyes closed, I brace myself for what's going to come next…but that never happens. I look up at Professor Balam cautiously and see that his face is now fully visible, revealing a nasty scar that reveals many of his teeth, stretching across most of his mouth.
"So…uh, do you think we could call it even?" he asks, sounding much more friendly all of a sudden. "My fangs are rather savage, which isn't exactly a rare phenomenon in the Netherworld but I got in an accident that left some of them far more exposed than they should be. I happen to love all living creatures, but everyone runs away because they're scared of these fangs. That's why I got in the habit of touching them as much as possible given the chance. I wear this mask so as not to frighten them into immediately fleeing."
"But why…are you telling me this?" I ask, surprised by his change in demeanor. He went from terrifying to friendly so suddenly!
"Well, I just figured that you probably didn't like me exposing your little wings. That must've upset you, sorry. I wasn't sure at first but that settled it for me. It simply wouldn't have been fair if you went through something so upsetting and all I offered you was an apology."
Professor Balam seems so scary on the surface, but he's actually super nice!
"Oh, wait here; I'll pour you some Hell Grey tea."
He does exactly that, muttering to himself to be careful pouring it as he does before gently handing the cup to me.
"It's hot so be careful," he says as I gratefully take the steaming cup from him.
"Thank you very much."
He didn't even seem like he wanted to eat a human if he came across one, only being curious about them. Does that mean that if he found out I was human that he wouldn't hurt me?
"Don't burn yourself," he warns.
My head is buzzing with thoughts; he seems so trustworthy, so genuine…I feel at ease now that I know Professor Balam's true nature. My imagination is running wild, considering what might happen if I just went and revealed my secret.
"I…uh…professor?"
"Hm?"
"I…I'm actually human."
…
The words escaped my mouth without a thought, but as soon as I realize what I just said, I quickly cover my mouth in shock.
I can't believe I just said that out loud! I didn't mean to actually say that to him, I was only thinking!
Right after I blurted that out, what looks like a shimmering wall forms between me and the professor, splitting the room in half. Then, just a moment after, the door opens and the next thing I know, Rimuru is right in front of me, her eyes sharply staring at Professor Balam.
Rimuru POV
After deciding to leave our little group, not wanting to interact with Professor 'Touchy-Grabby-Feely' again, I return to the room everyone else is working hard on studying in. Instead of starting another impromptu lesson, I just work alone silently.
I hope Iruma will be fine…Professor Balam isn't dangerous or anything, just a bit invasive.
I'm left worried, but not overly concerned. Iruma has a way to call me if he's in any trouble, so I don't need to be with him for this. I'm sure if I did that man would grab me up again and ask me tons of questions about my body and I want none of that!
My mind starts to wander a bit, drifting away from what I was focusing on studying since, of course, it's nothing that interesting to me. A little problem randomly pops up in my head; it's something that's been sitting in the back of it for a while now: who should pretend to be our fake mother?
Yes, this is a bit of a problem and I think I need to figure out a solution fairly soon. I fed Kalego and Balam some information to keep them happy for now but with the rumors having spread it's only a matter of time before she has to make some kind of an appearance.
Ugh, dammit Iruma. Why did you have to go and come up with a mother anyway?
I internally sigh, annoyed that I even need to deal with this issue.
So, I start weighing my options. The first to come to mind is out of the question; just playing the role myself using a Parallel Existence. No way am I playing my own mother, hell no! Just thinking about it is embarrassing!
Honestly, with appearance-altering magic, it shouldn't be too much of an issue to adjust hair and eye color, which opens more possibilities than you'd initially think.
In terms of looks, I think Testarossa would be best, the closest to a mother-type… but her personality…
[[… Master.]]
Yeah no, I don't think she'd work. Plus, as a mother, she'd have to 'keep me in line', even if it's just an act and I don't think she, or any of the other demons that work for me for that matter, could ever take a stern tone with me as a parental figure would. They're problem children like that… Not to mention she's probably busy with the Western Council because of the nonsense along our borders.
[[Master, there is a more-]]
I've got it! Shuna. She reprimands me all the time! Which… maybe isn't a statement I should make with so much pride. Anyway, she's perfect. She's also already experienced with Benimaru's kids. Now I've just gotta-
[[ REJECTED! ]]
Wha- Why? Sure, I might subject myself to years of teasing on her behalf but I'm pretty sure I can handle it. D-don't tell me…you're thinking of Shion?!
[[The fact that you even consider her is an insult to mothers all over the world. But no, Master, there's a more pressing issue.]]
Huh, what's that?
[[You have introduced your mother as Amane Tempest to your teachers. And none of your subordinates would dare to claim that name, even if only to put up an act.]]
Oh.
I didn't even consider that.
So…you mean to tell me, that playing fast and loose with names is causing me trouble yet again, and to top it all off, it happened with a name for a person THAT ISN'T EVEN REAL?!
[[…]]
Ciel's silence is deafening.
So that basically only leaves Velgrynd or Velzard to play the role, doesn't it? Ugh, I don't wanna ask Velgrynd, she might still be upset because of Veldora's shenanigans. Guess I'll have to ask Velzard later, although she's not exactly the most approachable woman, so I'm not so sure I should…
My thought process, that I didn't bother speeding up, is suddenly interrupted by Azz and Clara bursting back into the room, looking worried and frantic.
"Master Iruma has been taken by Balam!" Azz shouts.
"Blalalam grabbed Iruma-chi!" Clara screams at the exact same time.
"Tell me exactly what happened!" I immediately demand.
"He took interest in Master Iruma after touching him and without warning, grabbed him and ran out of the room!" Azz explains quickly, sounding desperate.
"Iruma-chi was screaming and kicking, trying to escape but Blalalam was too strong!" Clara adds.
Dammit! I didn't think he'd actually snatch Iruma up like that in the middle of a class!
Instantly dropping what I was doing, I run out of the room, pinpointing Iruma's location with my Universal Perception. It's a prep room, not a classroom, and once I'm out of view of any other students, I utilize Spatial Domination to appear right outside the door.
My first instinct is to burst inside and see what's going on, but that's just my emotions doing the talking, I realize that. Trying to stay calm, I take a cautionary peek inside with Universal Perception. Busting the door down would be a bit of an overreaction since I'm not at all aware of what's going on inside the room.
Inside, Iruma is having what looks like tea with the man.
Oh, thank goodness…I guess I was just overreacting. I'll have to tell those two kids off for scaring me so badly, although I think they were just trying to help, so maybe I shouldn't.
I feel momentary relief, realizing that this wasn't as dire of a situation as I first thought, but then the unthinkable happens.
"I…I'm actually human." Iruma blurts out, leaving me shocked.
What…? What the hell is he thinking?!
Without hesitation, I split the room in two with a barrier, my reflexive action being to keep Iruma safe from this demon who now knows his secret.
I keep myself from bursting in immediately, waiting a few seconds to see how Balam reacts. He's trembling, and slowly backing away, not taking the revelation calmly at all.
"Hu-human?" he stammers.
The way he's acting, he could attack at any moment...
Barrier or not, I don't want a teacher even attempting to attack Iruma; so I finally burst into the room with my sword drawn and put myself between Balam and Iruma.
"Why did you just tell him that, Iruma?" I ask angrily, as black flames spread across my blade.
"I…I wasn't…it just…" he stutters, flustered and surprised.
"You know what? Never mind, you can tell me later. I have something else to deal with first."
"Is it true then?" Balam asks in a deep, serious voice, putting me more on guard.
"N-no! I d-didn't mean…!" Iruma desperately tries to deny his own words.
"Don't try to deny it Iruma, it's too late for that," I state clearly, knowing that things have gone too far already.
"B-but…" Iruma stutters, still trying to deny it.
"She's right, you said you were human, didn't you?!" he shouts.
"Uh…yes?" Iruma squeaks out after finally realizing that there's no going back on this.
"Now that you know, what are you going to do about it?" I ask testingly, still holding my flaming sword in hand pointed directly at him.
I expect him to make a move now that his suspicions have been confirmed, but instead, Balam just keels over, fainting from the realization.
"Professor Balam!" Iruma yells, sounding very concerned.
"Well…I didn't expect that…" I admit.
[[Master, this is a prime opportunity to wipe this individual's memory of the events of the last few minutes.]]
A memory wipe…I really don't want to resort to that, but I might not have much of a choice this time.
I internally fight with myself about the decision, absolutely hating even considering this option, but the situation is pretty dire. I ultimately decide that it needs to be done, although I'm pretty reluctant about it. I can't let even more people here find out Iruma is a human; it's just too risky in my opinion.
Then, I debate whether I should call in Diablo to do the job or not but decide to just do it myself with the assistance of Ciel. This should be fairly easy since it's a general removal of the last few minutes of memory instead of a pointed removal of specific memories from the past.
"I'll fix this…it shouldn't be long," I say as I extinguish my sword and tuck it back inside my imaginary space, no longer needing it. It was mainly for show anyway, a way of stopping Balam from making any moves, and now that he's out cold I don't need it anymore.
"'Fix'?! R-rimuru…wh-what do y-you mean by th-that?!" Iruma asks nervously, seeming to catch on somewhat to what I'm doing.
"Do I have to spell it out? I'd rather not dwell on it…it's not something that I wanted to resort to." I admit quietly, regretful that it's come to this.
I drop the barrier, step forward, and place my hand on the still unconscious Balam's head, preparing to do the job.
"Wait! Professor Balam won't hurt me because of my secret!" Iruma shouts.
"How do you know that?" I ask, not convinced.
"Because he said so! He said if he ever found a human he'd just want to talk with them! Nothing about eating or hurting! Professor Balam won't hurt me, I know it!" Iruma shouts in a pleading voice.
What do you think Ciel? Do you think he'll be hostile when he wakes up?
[[No hostility was detected before the individual Shichiro Balam lost consciousness, even after he discovered the boy's humanity, Master. It can be surmised that he has no intention of hurting anyone because of this revelation.]]
"I know I might be putting myself at risk, but I think it should be my choice to make, whether you do anything to Balam because of what I told him!" Iruma continues, sounding certain of his decision. He seems to fully trust that this man is no threat.
Iruma's insistence is making me even more hesitant to go through with this, so I remove my hand from him, changing my mind. I guess I can see how he reacts after regaining consciousness first before taking action.
Just afterward, Balam stirs and begins to wake up. He opens his eyes and sees me kneeling on the floor next to him, which immediately shakes him wide awake and he rapidly backs away.
"If he is human…that means you are as well! B-but…those wings! Both of you have wings!" he yells while hiding halfway behind a file cabinet.
"I never said I was human." I correct him calmly.
"A-and my wings were fake!" Iruma admits.
Fake wings? Since when?
[[Those were a cover-up done by my playthi-...I mean, Alikred. He acted to protect the boy earlier, manipulating his own body to resemble a pair of wings.]]
Huh…I'll have to thank the guy later for that.
But back to the main point, Balam seems more scared by the idea of coming across a human than ravenous. It's not at all what I was expecting.
"A human! A real live human! The real thing versus what I've been imagining…you really don't have wings, I wasn't wrong, I knew it!" he screams, almost sounding crazed by the idea of a human being right in front of him.
I guess to most demons, humans are mythological creatures, so I get why he might react like this on second thought. Just imagine coming across Bigfoot or the Loch Ness Monster back on earth; that's the level of nuts it is to run across a human for most Netherworld demons, I think. It's not helping that mythology is Professor Balam's subject that he teaches either, making humans a passion of his. For Balam, this must be a dream come true, one that he can't seem to fully grasp on the spot.
"So you don't want to eat him then?" I ask, almost left speechless by his strange reaction. I don't think he wants to eat Iruma based on his actions, but I need to make sure.
"Well…I do sort of…" Balam admits.
I tense up slightly, readying myself for a possible attack on Iruma, but it doesn't come.
"But he's a precious protected species!" Balam quickly corrects.
Seeing an opportunity, I decided to play along with his line of reasoning.
"Which is exactly why I'm protecting him," I reply simply.
"Huh?" Balam shows confusion for a moment but listens intently.
"He's my adopted brother, a human, so of course, he'd need someone to look after him here in the Netherworld, right?" I clarify.
"I see…" Balam mutters insightfully, appearing to be thinking deeply about what I just revealed.
"I didn't expect him to blurt out his secret like that, but if you're not planning on hurting him or telling others, I don't think we have anything to worry about here," I add in an attempt to ease the tension in the room.
"I'd never! Although…I really want to touch him…I've never touched a human before!" Balam declares excitedly, reaching out in Iruma's direction but making no further move to do what he wants to.
"But…you touched me earlier…" Iruma mutters.
"But I had no clue you were human at the time! Also, if the others found out you were a frail human you would be eaten in an instant!" Balam shouts, making it very clear that Iruma telling him about his humanity was a horrible idea.
"Exactly my point! Why did you go and tell him anyway?!" I add my own question to the mix, asking the boy for some form of justification. With how nervous he usually is about these demons finding out what he is, I'm completely dumbfounded that he'd willingly reveal exactly that to a demon he doesn't even know that well.
"He seems so nice and safe and I let my guard down!" Iruma states his justification with a warm smile.
"Now listen, you! I'm the only one that'd react to a human like this! Any other demon would've devoured you in a single gulp! Do you understand?!" Balam once again raises his voice to make his point.
"Yes, are you trying to put yourself in danger?!" I add to Balam's words, making sure to grill the severity of the situation into Iruma.
But, instead of taking my side, Balam does something I didn't quite expect. He turns to me and gives me a similar look to the one he gave Iruma, one of disbelief and exasperation.
"You put yourself in danger too, Rimuru. Rather than grabbing Iruma and running, you chose to stand your ground and challenge me. As strong as you are, if I actually wanted to attack your brother, you very well could have been torn to pieces!" Balam shouts, now in my direction.
Balam lifts the fur mane of his vest to reveal his rank badge: Chet, or rank 8.
I better show some regret for my decision otherwise my boldness might raise some suspicion.
"Rank 8?! Uh... in hindsight, I guess I was a little hasty… I have a bad habit of jumping in to protect those I care about despite the odds." I admit, which isn't entirely incorrect.
I give a bit of nervous laughter, acting like I'm trying and failing to play it cool after risking getting myself killed. Of course, I wasn't in any real danger, but Balam doesn't know that.
"I would say that was more than a 'little hasty'! That was an extremely reckless move, young lady! But there is one thing I must know;if Iruma is human, then what does that make you? You seem exceptionally powerful, yet apparently not related to Sullivan, so I can only assume your origins are anomalous as well."
The world around me stops as I engage Thought Acceleration. I expected a question like this, but I need time to think of an answer.
With Henri, I simply told him that I'm a Demon Lord. It was the logical choice for the situation: If I acted like a mere rank 6, he'd interfere with me as he'd doubt my ability to protect Iruma. If I pretended to be on par with higher ranks, he'd interfere with me due to me being a potential threat. But by revealing myself as being a power beyond anything the Netherworld can deal with… He's smart enough to know not to mess with me.
In Balam's case though, I don't think the truth would serve me well. His fear of me would be more of a nuisance than a boon, and even if he keeps a lid on Iruma being a human, there's always a chance that he'll tell others I'm a Demon Lord.
Thus, Ciel and I work on an elaborate lie, taking the details we've already told others, and fleshing them out into a full backstory.
Apparently, she figured out that Balam has some kind of lie-detecting ability, but Ciel has no problem blocking it from reading me, so our little story won't register as a lie. Balam having this ability might even lead to him being more open to believing me since normally he'd be able to detect any lies but he won't be able to detect any from me no matter what.
After what was hours for me but only a moment for Iruma and Balam, I finally respond. "I suppose if Iruma is laying everything bare like this, I might as well too."
{{Pretend this is all stuff you've heard before. Also, Ciel warns me that he's very good at spotting lies, so be careful about what you say,}} I tell Iruma through Thought Communication. He looks at me and gives me a subtle nod.
Balam POV
"I won't say anything that could potentially be traced back to my original family, so my apologies if I'm being vague about certain details. I was born in a distant land to a prestigious demon family, to my mother Amane Tempest and a father I'd prefer to forget." Rimuru begins to recount with little hesitation.
I'm astonished that she's willing to open up after all I've heard from Kalego. He always complains about how secretive she is so this is a pleasant surprise.
"From a very young age, I showed an aptitude for magic and could use the bloodline abilities of both of my parents, which drew a lot of attention from my extended family. I gained a reputation as the family prodigy, thus I was treated with great respect and showered with luxury… but I was put through grueling training, as my father and grandparents believed they could make me into one of the most powerful demons in the Netherworld, massively elevating the status of our family."
"Two bloodline abilities? That's rare indeed, any demon with such a trait is regarded as a jewel of the family… I understand one is Doppelganger, but what's the other one?" I ask curiously. This is the first time I've come across this phenomenon in person and I'm intrigued to learn more about it.
"Overwhelming Crisis Evasion Capability. Iruma is extremely good at dodging for a human, so it was possible to say he has the same thing. The real-deal ability is a lot more powerful though." Rimuru clarifies.
"Is that how you completed the flying exam so fast?" I inquire; I still remember Kalego's frustration with her results from that test, ranting and raving about how it was impossible without cheating.
"Yep! Anyway, Mom put up with how I was being treated for a long time, but eventually, she decided the training was going too far. I was getting little sleep, and by the age of 11, my sanity was starting to wear thin from the sheer intensity of the trials I was being put through. She couldn't convince anyone else to show me mercy though, so she took me and fled. Sullivan, being as kind-hearted as he is, was willing to take us in. He adopted my mother, making him my grandfather."
That does sound consistent with the Chairdemon's personality.
"To him, the opportunity must have seemed like a miracle. As one of the Three Greats, he'd likely want a family who wouldn't be too far beneath him in their power, but usually, the families that harbor such power are closely-knit making adoption from them impossible." I say, giving my input.
"Yeah, as kind as he was to take us in, I'm sure he had his own reasons. As you might imagine though, I got pretty restless from the change; I had gone from hardcore training and being put on a pedestal, to living a much more quiet and reserved life. I had all kinds of talents hammered into me, and no way to use them. So, at the age of 12, I ended up running away to somewhere that I could prove myself!"
"Where did you end up going?" I inquire, fully engaged in listening to Rimuru's tale.
"The Northern Battlefield. Yeah, I know, the whole 'naive young demon joins a war to seek glory' cliche."
"Goodness, I never would have expected that from you of all students, let alone at such a young age; most young demons who yearn for war are a few years older than that when they run off!"
Yes, it is not too uncommon for demons aged around the same as our students here at Babyls to run off and do such things, but Rimuru did the same while even younger.
"What can I say? Most demons don't get pushed to such extremes at such a young age. Anyway, I joined up with the 113th company; they thought it was pointless to take on a kid like me, but they changed their minds I showed what I could do; back then, I was probably on par with a Dalet rank like Asmodeus, more than a match for many adults." Rimuru says with a slight smile.
"Oh dear, you joined that company…" I mutter.
I've heard about this specific group, and the details aren't ones that I most enjoy talking about. Almost every single member of the 113th company was killed in a single battle, so I can tell this story is about to go in a dark direction.
"Yeah, I know. It was a harrowing experience, especially with how bold their tactics were. Prodigy or not, a single mistake or gap in my defense could potentially end me. I fought really hard though, for a long time! But after almost a year with the company… we got torn to shreds. We overextended at precisely the wrong time, and ended up getting wiped out by an elite squad that was probing for weaknesses."
"How did you survive, if I may ask?" I ask cautiously, knowing full well that this must be a sensitive subject.
Rimuru gives me a pained smile before continuing.
"Oh, no, I was killed too. I was stabbed in the back; literally. That was scary and painful, bleeding out on the ground like that, thinking it might be the end for me…"
Rimuru gets quiet towards the end of her sentence, as it's obviously a painful memory for her. Though how can she remember dying?
"Wait, if you were killed, then how are you…" I mutter, but it quickly occurs to me how something so unbelievable could be possible. "Oh, I see, it's your bloodline ability isn't it?"
"Yes, I had a copy of myself elsewhere at the time, thank goodness. The copy of me left to die still believed that was it for her though since I didn't know at the time that the mind of a killed copy still merges like normal. Needless to say, I fled back home after that; I may be brave most days, but that day I just felt like a scared little girl..."
"There's no shame in that; even for an adult, it would take absurd willpower to fight on after that nightmare…"
Rimuru looks like she needs some comforting, so I pull her onto my lap and give her some reassuring pats on the head. She pouts a bit, and Iruma seems to find it funny, giving a small chuckle.
"I thought Mom would be furious with me, but she was too relieved to be angry. It must have been very awkward for Iruma, having his sister who he had never seen before show up in a mess of tears, and then see his new mom reduced to the same state."
"So this is where Iruma shows up?" I ask, looking at the human boy who has been silent this entire story, listening closely alongside me.
"Yeah… Mom didn't think she'd ever see me again after nearly a year without a word from me, but Grandpa ended up stumbling across something that could fill that hole in her heart; a human boy that just so happened to end up in the Netherworld. That was Iruma, of course, and knowing he wouldn't make it on his own here, he and Mom adopted Iruma as their grandchild and child respectively." Rimuru explains and Iruma nods in confirmation.
"By the way, I didn't think it was awkward when you showed up!" Iruma interjects. "It was cool to suddenly have a sister, the household became that much more lively when you arrived."
At that comment, Rimuru looks away from her brother, showing slight embarrassment. "Well, it was a little awkward for me, suddenly finding out I have a brother who's there to fill in the hole I left in the family. If Mom wasn't so relieved to see me, I'd have thought I'd been replaced. And imagine my surprise when I found out my new brother is a human!"
I chuckle at the thought. "Did you want to eat him at first?"
"I might have wanted to give a few curious nibbles…" Rimuru says with a slight smirk, causing Iruma to elbow her playfully. She chuckles a bit at the boy's reaction before continuing her tale."...But Mom got me to play nice with the strange human, and soon enough I began caring about him, accepting him as my brother. It wasn't long before we started attending this school, and naturally, I became very protective of Iruma, which takes us to now."
"I see… That's a fascinating story you have there, Rimuru. Though what will you two tell others if they ask about Iruma's background?" I question, knowing that this will be vital to Iruma's safety.
"Even though we're supposed to be twins, Iruma and I contrast like night and day in many regards. But that's easy to explain: if my natural magical ability caused my parents to be abusive in trying to reach my full potential, what do you think they'd do to a twin brother who couldn't match up?"
"They'd abuse him in a different way? He'd be treated in a demeaning manner, I'm sure." I reply, agreeing that Rimuru's explanation should work just fine to cover this up.
"That pretty accurately describes my human parents, they just saw me as a personal slave…" Iruma admits sadly.
"Oh! I get it, you tell a lie that's an allegory for what actually happened, making it easier to stay in line with the details of the fabrication," I realize with sudden insight.
Suddenly, I feel suspicious and look over towards Rimuru.
What if…? I suppose it's possible…
"Hmm…" I let out a hum as I consider the possibility that's exactly what she's doing right now.
"What is it?" she asks.
"Oh, nothing."
Maybe I'm just being paranoid due to my ability not working; usually, it's clear-cut whether someone's telling me the truth or not, but here I have to rely on my own judgment. Does her story make sense? I know a fair amount about this girl from how many times Kalego has voiced complaints about her to me.
I mentally run through a list of the facts I know about her.
She seems impossible to intimidate, even brushing off Kalego's aura. She is very alert to possible danger and didn't hesitate to protect Iruma from me or Kalego. She was noted as being 'dangerous' by her own adoptive grandfather. And lastly, Rimuru seems to have fine-tuned her combat skills, even having mental defenses in place.
This is an unusual set of traits for such a young demon, and the best explanation seems to be exactly what Rimuru told me: That she really does have a large amount of training and real combat experience.
There are still countless questions that I want to ask her; for example, about the immensely powerful aura felt during the Battler Party, which there's plenty of evidence pointing to her as the source of. But I feel it would be unfair to keep these two around much longer, not after they've shown such vulnerability and trust towards me.
There is one thing I must ask though, for the sake of Iruma's safety:
"Rimuru, with all you've told me, I have to wonder… Do you think you could accept it if Iruma's legacy outgrew yours?"
Rimuru looks a little surprised to be asked this, but almost immediately smiles breezily.
"He could become the Demon King for all I care, I'll support him in whatever he does. Lofty aspirations were forced upon me, but I'm happy to just have a fun life," she replies happily, leaving me relieved.
Rimuru POV
Our little meeting with Balam was over and I finished telling him our fake backstory. I may have gone a bit too far with it…scratch that, I definitely got a bit carried away, but I couldn't help myself! I still stuck to the narrative I constructed with Ciel so it's fine, but I really went heavy on the details and had fun cooking up our protagonist-like past.
This isn't the first time I've done this, but I think this one will stick better. I still remember that BS story I came up with during that time I was jailed in Dwargon, but it was pretty clear Kaido didn't buy it since he seemed to ignore it right afterward.
Either way, that little tale I told seemed to do the trick. After we had finished constructing it, Ciel fell silent, saying she had something to 'work on', requesting the use of some of my skills. I didn't press for details since she seemed to want to surprise me, so I just gave her the okay and let her do her thing.
"That was a lot, Rimuru…how did you come up with that story?" Iruma asks, sounding dumbfounded.
"Just a little imagination mixed with reality." I nonchalantly answer.
"I don't know if I'll be able to keep track of it all…"
"You can always just be vague if you need to, plus since you came into the picture late in the story, you don't have to remember the details from before that," I reassure him, and it seems to help.
"That's true…I'll try my best," Iruma says with a small smile.
Iruma seems a bit overwhelmed, but that's understandable. Not only did he reveal his secret and have to deal with the stress associated with it, but I'm sure that sitting through that lengthy narrative I spewed also was mentally taxing for him.
Thankfully Balam is a bit eccentric by demon standards, just like Sullivan, so he has no interest in hurting Iruma. If anything, he wants to help keep him protected so I may have scored an ally today. Putting aside his desire to touch people, I think I will get along with him just fine.
As soon as they spot us returning, Azz and Clara come rushing over.
"Master Iruma! What happened between you and Balam? He didn't do anything terrible to you did he?" Azz frantically asks.
"Oh, um… He's just a little too passionate about his work, maybe he was excited about someone getting 100% in that book of his. He didn't do anything bad, we just talked for a while," Iruma hesitantly answers.
"Of course! That makes perfect sense, that talking book must also be enchanted to alert him when a student shows great skill in mythology studies… I'm amazed by how easily you figured this out, Master Iruma!"
"Blam-blam knows that Iruma-chi is a smartypants!" Clara cheers.
Seeing Iruma and his friends like this, I can't help but wonder if they'd still act this way if they knew he was human. Balam seemed to accept it, but he's a mythology teacher who's always wanted to meet a human. Azz and Clara though…
If he couldn't resist the urge to tell a teacher he just met, there's no way he'll be able to hide the truth from his best friends forever. He'll be desperate to tell them one day, so what do I do when that day comes? What happens if they can't accept him?
My mind is full of questions lacking easy answers so I didn't notice that I'd been left behind by the trio until a paper plane hits me right in the middle of my forehead.
"Valac, that was rude!" Azz complains.
"Riri, wakey wakey! You gotta teach us more cool magic stuff!" Clara pleads, her eyes sparkling with excitement.
"Oh, right, coming!" I say, a little surprised about getting caught lost in thought like that.
The remaining school hours pass without incident, but I'm still left mentally exhausted by the end of it.
When I finally get back to the mansion, I'm greeted at the door by quite the surprise; a woman I wasn't expecting to see here and now.