Hey! Long time, no see, readers! This chapter is a short one, but we will be releasing a total of 6 chapters in a row, one a day. So, even though this one isn't much, collectively you will be getting a lot of content for this story soon! Enjoy!

I stepped up and hopped onto the stool they placed in front of the crowd of first-years and the 'sorting hat', as they called it, was placed on top of my head.

"Oh, you are quite a talented one, aren't you? Not only hiding your presence but your mind as well." the hat said in a quiet voice. I didn't think it was audible to anyone but me, thankfully.

"I'm not a fan of being probed." I softly replied.

"Yes, but I need to sort you into a house, you see. If I cannot read you, I cannot place you."

Reading my thoughts, even in a case like this, was distasteful to me.

"Can't I just pick one myself?" I offered, fully expecting the hat to give me a hard time about this.

"I suppose that is acceptable… you wouldn't be the first to request such a thing from me. Very well, tell me what house you wish to be in and I will announce it."

It's that easy? Glad this thing is reasonable. Now…what would be the best choice?

First unconsciously accelerating my thoughts, I considered the pros and cons of the four houses of Hogwarts based on the limited knowledge I had of them so far.

Honestly, the only one that seems interesting to me is Slytherin, with that whole 'all dark wizards are from Slytherin' thing. Plus, I'm a Demon Lord, so it fits my vibe.

"Let's go with Slytherin then."

"Are you certain? That did not take you more than a moment to decide."

Only because I used Thought Acceleration.

"Yeah, I'm sure," I replied.

"Slytherin!" the hat shouts, now loud enough for the whole hall to hear, first-years and otherwise.

I then made my way over to the corresponding table, which was clad in dark green and silver, and quickly took my seat.

Whispers and glances rather than warm welcomes were what I got from my new fellow housemates.

Huh, cold reception. I can't say I was expecting this.

I didn't care, really, but it still kinda sucked.

"She's not Bri'ish, is she?"

"I don't think so."

So that's why…

"And what's up with those eyes? They are strange."

"Kind of creepy, if you ask me."

Hmm… maybe I should've had my eye color altered too… oh well.

[[Changing your appearance further would be an atrocity, dear. You are perfect the way you are. Do not listen to these fools.]]

It was too late for that anyway, so I just brushed their insulting comments off. I was sure they'd warm up to me soon enough.

"Hi, I'm Rimuru," I said to the kids seated around me since multiple of them were still eyeing me. "I'm an… uh, exchange student."

"Are you a pureblood?" one of them immediately asked.

Pureblood?

[[I recommend you answer 'yes' to that question.]]

Okay, but what does that mean?

[[It seems in this world that some wizards value the 'purity' of their bloodlines, meaning only magic-using individuals are in their families. Some even discriminate against those who are 'impure' by their standards.]] Ciel answered, some disdain leaking into her normally neutral tone.

So more racism then. Great.

Just another mark against the record of this world and the likeability of the people living in it.

"Yeah," I replied.

"Then what is your family name?"

"Tempest," I answered without hesitation.

"What a cool name! Doesn't Tempest mean Storm or something similar?" one of the more friendly-seeming kids asked.

"Yes. Thanks for calling it cool." I preened, enjoying the praise. I was the one who came up with that name, after all, so hearing someone call it 'cool' felt nice.

But then a thought crossed my mind.

Wait, what if they look into that and figure out that my 'family' doesn't exist in this world?

[[I have already taken care of that issue, Dear.]]

As reliable as always. Thanks, Ciel.

"Have any of you met the Head of our House yet?" a first-year girl asked the surrounding students.

"I saw him earlier. He seems quite scary."

"Very scary."

"You shouldn't say anything bad about Professor Snape, he may hear you and I don't advise getting on his bad side. Especially before you even attend your first class." an older boy advised after overhearing the muttering from the first years.

"Haha, yes! I was told how, one time, he transformed a first-year who insulted him into a toad! He left them like that for the entire term, keeping them as a class pet, and failed them for the year's courses because they were unable to do much in that state. So, if you don't want to end up as a toad, you should shut it before Professor Snape overhears you!"

The kids gasped at the tall tale that I was almost certain was just that, a story. It was a pretty funny thing to spread around to these younger kids, and even funnier since they actually seemed to believe it.

"Or maybe you should mind your manners so we can win the house cup again this year!" Another older student added in a prideful voice. "Slytherin has won many times in a row and I don't want all you new brats to end that streak of victory!"

But, before we could converse anymore, the sorting ceremony seemed to finish and the Headmaster stepped back up to the podium.

I barely paid any attention to the man with the crazy-long beard as he spoke and was more annoyed than anything because I had noticed a certain other man in the room.

It was that bozo from the bookstore, the one with the overinflated ego and incredibly punchable face. He's apparently the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, which means I'll end up having to deal with him on a daily basis.

I wonder when they'll bring out the food… being around idiots just makes me feel hungry.

…

I'd gotten a few odd looks when it came to how much I was piling onto my plate, but I didn't care. The food was good and I wanted to eat.

But, I ended up spending a bit too much time eating and was one of the last remaining students in the hall. I didn't mind, though, since I was enjoying myself quite a bit.

Huh, I should probably figure out where my dorm is, right?

I was starting to feel a bit tired; a consequence, or I guess you could call it a 'feature', of my current body. Nothing as forceful as real exhaustion that a human would experience, but still enough to make me want to go relax for the night. All the food I had eaten was also a contributing factor since I actually felt full.

It kinda hurt, actually, which was weird.

[[In your current body, your stomach is not endless. I have been forced to deal with the 'mess' you have made by overindulging.]]

Mess?

[[Throughout your meal, I have been forcefully removing food in your body's stomach and destroying it, just to make room for more.]]

Whoops.

After so much time having infinite capacity, I wasn't considering the consequences of eating a lot.

My stomach let out a loud groan.

Ciel, can you fix this? It's seriously starting to hurt!

[[No.]]

Dammit…

Grumbling at her refusal, I resolve to just cope with the discomfort. It's nothing I can't deal with.

Still, I should get some rest and sleep off this stomachache. First objective: find the Slytherin dorms.

I remember some 'older' kid blabbering about a tour or whatever before pulling the other first-years away earlier, but I didn't care enough to join them at the time.

Oh well, I'll find my own way.

Without using my skills, of course.

I wanted to explore this place for real since it seemed like a convoluted labyrinth of stairs and corridors. Using my Universal Perception would just spoil any potential fun I might have while wandering around the place.

…

I was told by a passing student that the Slytherin dorms are in the 'dungeon', which is a dark, dank area of the school that fits the name pretty well. Once I got there, I found that it wasn't exactly the most inviting place, but that didn't bother me in the slightest.

I kept exploring, looking for anything and everything that might be the Slytherin dorms, but no matter how many times I poked my head inside various doors, I had no luck whatsoever.

It was getting late, and I was getting more and more tired while still being haunted by this accursed stomachache. All I wanted to do was go to bed and get some rest, but I couldn't do that until I found that door!

Using my skills would let me find it in an instant, but that would be cheating, and at this point, I refused to do that! If I gave in, that would mean the last two hours of searching I'd done was meaningless!

[[Dear, would you like a hint at least?]]

Fine. Please give me a hint, Ciel.

In my vision, much like before when I was at Diagon Alley, a path lights up to guide me. When I said a hint, I didn't mean anything this obvious, but I wasn't going to complain.

A few minutes later, I reached the end of the path; a barren wall.

The light trail led right into that wall as if I were supposed to walk right through it.

Maybe it works like that weird platform at the train station…

I ran my hand along the cold, stony surface, pressing my weight into it to see if it would pass through, but nothing happened. Backing up a bit, I looked around the wall a bit more with just my eyes.

I pulled on a nearby sconce on the wall.

Nope, that wasn't it. That was too cliche anyway to be the answer.

Why do I get the feeling it has something to do with this statue?

It was a strange stone statue of a snake with oddly shiny scales for the material. Very detailed too; but the positioning didn't make any sense. I mean, why would someone carve a stone snake statue running along the floor and up against a wall? It just wasn't very visually appealing. I'm no artist, but even I could see there was something wrong here.

I stared the statue right in its slitted eye, pondering what could possibly be the solution to this puzzle.

Damn, I know this thing is the way through, I just don't know what to do to make it open!

My frustration came out as a small burst of aura, which wasn't exactly intentional. I honestly don't think my restraint is as good in this different body. It definitely doesn't have to do with me being uncomfortable and tired right now, I'd endured a lot worse than this in the past!

The snake statue seemed to come alive, the light of intelligence appearing in its eyes and a sudden movement of its head.

"So what are you, some kind of gatekeeper for a magic door?" I asked the snake.

The snake nodded, showing that it at least understood what I'd just said.

"Then just let me through to the dorms so I can get some rest!"

The snake just flicked its tongue and continued staring at me warily. After a few seconds, it shook its head 'no' at me.

"Do you know the passsssssword?" it hissed in a low voice.

"Password? Nobody gave me a password."

"No passssssword, no entry into the dormssssss."

"You're pretty useless, aren't you?"

The snake had no answer to that and just cautiously stared at me some more like it was afraid I would hurt it. Not afraid enough to just open the damn door though!

I ended up just sitting down and waiting for someone to walk by.

Just then, the statue seemed to notice something and moved, forming an arch with its body and revealing a door that was completely hidden before.

Out runs a boy, bawling his eyes out and the door swiftly closed behind him before I could get to it.

"Hey, wait! Tell me the password!" I shouted and chased after him, but the kid didn't even seem to notice and just continued running.

After a small chase, I stopped and gave up, now feeling even more tired than before and out of breath.

Stupid human body and its needs…

Walking back over to the uncooperative snake statue, I sat back down, deciding to wait for that kid to come back or for someone else to leave or walk by.

I guess I can just sleep on the floor if I have to.

Guessing the password was worth a shot too, since I didn't have any other options at this point.

…

"Abracadabra."

"No."

"Open sesame."

"Incorrect."

"OpenThisDoorOrI'llSmashYouToPiecesYouStupidStatue!"

"That is not the passsssword, little one."

The statue moved again and I hopped to my feet, ready to stop whoever it was that was exiting. Hopefully, they'd be more helpful than that crybaby from earlier. He never did come back; I wonder what happened to him.

Anyway, out the door stepped a stern-faced teen who scanned the surroundings outside the entrance. It was the same one that I think took the other first-years on a tour earlier.

"There you are. What do you think you are doing, trying to bypass the door without the password?"

"I didn't go with you when you guided all the first-years around, so I never got the password."

The girl paled at that realization.

"I left a new student behind?!" she asked in horror, "If Professor Snape finds out, I will get scolded for sure and my reputation will be destroyed! I might even lose my position as prefect!"

She was getting super worked up over it for some reason. Yeah, she inconvenienced me quite a bit, but she was making a mountain out of a molehill in my opinion.

"Whoa, it's fine, I won't tell any teachers. Can you just tell me the password so I can go inside and get some sleep?"

The student walked up to me quickly, but seemed to use a spell discretely to quiet her steps then whispered near directly into my ear. "The password is 'pureblood', I will go back inside, so try to open the door. If you can get through on your first try, no ill feelings, yes?" It was a bit uncomfortable.

Plus, that password was ludicrous! Pureblood?! Blood pure of what? Pancake syrup? What is it with these magical societies in other worlds and being incredibly racist for no reason?

I said the password out loud, and surprise surprise, the snake thing finally let me in.

The few students nearby as I passed through the Slytherin house common room stared and snickered at me. I wouldn't be surprised if they figured out that I got locked out on the first day and they thought it was funny. Kids will be kids.

I didn't care enough to say anything and walked toward the dorm rooms, and I didn't know which direction to go until I saw the signs. I headed toward the men's dorm.

On my way out of the room, I overheard a conversation about the boy who had run out crying earlier. His name specifically, I didn't really care about anything else. Sebastian, huh? Maybe I should teach him a defensive spell or two to scare 'em off.

Shortly after, I'm stopped though, as an older girl steps out in front of me. "You aren't planning to meet any upperclassmen, are you?"

"Huh?" Then I realized I was currently a girl. "Uh, no. I guess I just didn't read the signs." Then I turned around and walked down the other hall.

It seemed the girl who told me that though, did happen to go into the boy's dorm after.

I sighed softly walking down the dungeon halls, you know. They were rather clean? It was just weird that they put students in a dungeon. I eventually found my way to the room number I had remembered being given on a piece of paper.

If it wasn't for the faint magic sense I still had enabled, I would've had a hard time navigating without a candle, though.

I walked into the room, then immediately flopped into the bed and enabled sleep mode.