Adalman's POV

I had a sudden notion to visit Lord Veldora, it had been some time since I'd discussed any of our joint efforts. I was certain he'd be happy to receive me as well.

Upon entering his floor of the Labyrinth, I was surprised to find him absent. However, there was a peculiar magic circuit there on the ground. It appeared to be one devised by him, and it was specifically designed to work with Faith and Favor. Although, it was not intended for use in Holy Magic. Instead, it appeared to be to donate magicules.

I considered what it might be for, while reviewing my knowledge of the lore behind the Jura forest. It crossed my mind that perhaps Lord Veldora intended to create a new and powerful majin, however this made little sense in Tempest.

Even with the recent creation of Lord Rimuru's new child.

Instead, I believed that perhaps Lord Veldora intended to resume his duties as the guardian of the forest, at least to an extent. In what way, I was unsure.

As I sat there trying to understand the purpose of the circuit, something did come to mind. It may have perhaps just been something he was making to prove a point. Lord Veldora was very boisterous, even if not as truly divine as Lord Rimuru.

So he had a specific fancy for making and doing things just to prove he could do them. If you posed it as a challenge, you could get him to do almost anything.

This is when Lord Veldora himself finally returned. He seemed not to realize I was there until frantically approaching the magic circuit himself.

"Good Afternoon, Lord Veldora. What appears to be the matter?" I didn't particularly like seeing a frantic face on a True Dragon. It felt unsafe.

The Storm Dragon looked at me, appearing frazzled for a moment, before muttering. "I didn't think you-"

"Today was slow." I did not intend to allow him to embarrass himself.

"Ahaha! See… Very well then." He began to regain his composure, slowly Lord Veldora stood more proudly. "In that case, why are you here?"

"Simply to visit you, Lord Veldora." I was more comfortable talking to him in his boisterous state. "Lady Shuna has been invested in fulfilling prayers for the last several days, I suspect it is to detect leaks regarding the Princess."

"Fulfilling prayers you say?... Interesting. You do that?" The True Dragon appeared wide eyed again.

I had to stay silent for a moment to take in what he said. "Y-yes, Lord Veldora. I respond to prayers. I assist Rimuru in managing Faith and Favor, as using any of his power on it would be in his own words, wasteful."

Veldora's POV

Wasteful huh? That sounds more like Ciel just thinks it's below her to me.

Still, knowing he was good at using the skill gave me hope. "Could you tell me how it is you can have so much power yet give it to even simple humans safely? I can temper it with my skills, and even reduce it further with this circuit, but I still feel it is too much."

Adalman nodded knowingly. "Yes, yes. Just as much as I answer prayers, I also must temper Lord Rimuru's power further as well. Our connection allows me some access, but I still must reduce what I get. Rather than using this Magic Circuit, Lord Veldora, you could instead allow me to manage this prayer you plan to answer?"

I got excited for a moment. "Kuahaha-hahaha-hahaha! Now would you? That would be splendid!"

"Of course, Lord Rimuru may be my subject of worship, but I hold you in a high regard as well." The Lich King seemed rather pleased, despite his naturally unexpressive skeletal face. "Now, what kind of prayer is it you wish to grant?"

At that I paused. Lulu was very confused by my request, so it seemed likely Adalman would be as well. Therefore, I began to explain in extreme detail. "You see, I am assisting Benimaru's wives! They require assistance to give birth, as they wish for their children to become my new Niece's subordinates."

The skeleton stared back blankly for a few moments. "It feels unnatural for you to take such a request. However, I shall assist you regardless."

"Do you have any questions?" I was curious, because anything he could ask now would be useful. I must be missing something, so it needed to be addressed, whatever it was.

"How long do we have to prepare?" At the Lich King's question I paled.

We only had a few minutes at most, I did not want to keep them waiting. Especially after assuring them I could do it. It was a matter of my pride as a True Dragon!

Even so, I attempted to respond in a level way. "WE ONLY HAVE A FEW MINUTES AT MOST! Is there anything else we need?! Do you have to teach me anything?! What else could there be to this?!"

"Please remain calm, Lord Veldora. I will read over the grimoire and extensively consider all the spells used for similar prayers." Adalman summoned that black book of his, and began to read frantically over the holy magic section, then flipped back to the demonic chapters.

"So?"

"It is… Possible." The skeleton's words were not inviting.

"Then our attempt will be successful." I suspected that if Adalman was to use Faith and Favor, we'd get interference regardless. So it was all up to if she was willing to play ball or not, as the humans put it.

"I will begin my preparation. May I use the magic circuit you have already constructed as a base?"

"Yes, please do."

At my words, the Lich King walked to the center of the magic circuit before channeling an interpolating magic aura into it. I assumed he was using that holy-demonic conversion thing that Rimuru obsessed over so much.

I really didn't see the big deal in it, since True Dragon magicules had the properties of both.

But he could be as impressed as he pleased, I suppose. It was rather cute to see him still marvel in some magical feats.

The magic circuit was rapidly modified by the golden and purple energies, until eventually Adalman constructed a further dome of magic circles around the circuit. Then they froze in the air a few moments later, a perfect balance between the golden and purple energies weaved together.

It was quite impressive as a sight, even if the magic could probably be copied. I'd note it away for later, and just hoped I wouldn't get punked for copying it.

"Is it done, Adalman?"

"Not quite yet, Lord Veldora…" the Lich trailed off and continued his work further refining the magic circuits. I thought he was taking too long, those women could show up at any time now!

After Adalman seemed to be satisfied, I asked the same thing again, "Is it done?"

After a small sigh, he said, "It is prepared. I can continue making preparations to use my own skills with such high amounts of energy, but I need you to focus! If you send me too much, this won't be enough."

"I understand!" It was the tenth time this week I'd been told I was careless with my magic, and I'd be completely dishonest if I said I wasn't getting annoyed about it. Still, I understood it.

So, I would use the best skills I could muster for this, I would combine fertility paradox with probability domination, in this way I could guarantee that the magicules would both be compatible for growing new life, and I could guarantee I'd send Adalman the correct amount.

Being a True Dragon really was troublesome at times. I wondered vaguely if maybe I should use one of those avatar things… Parallel existences are a pain to manage.

It was all too troublesome. Plus not having access to all my power when I need it is a sure way to get bullied!

"Then prepare your skills ahead of time." Adalman seemed frustrated and appeared to be straining himself. I felt sorry for him.

That didn't stop me from grumbling though, I never liked being told what to do.

I focused on my Ultimate Skill and made sure to channel a sizable portion of energy into the sub-skills, then did some small practice exercises.

A bunch of black vines started growing from the rocks at my feet, so I stopped. "Hm." Then I continued, however this time I manipulated the probability so that certain vines would grow at faster rates than others.

It was mostly successful, only making a few minor mistakes.

As good a practice as any. However I quickly needed to uproot and destroy the S-class vines before they became monsters of their own.

"I am ready."

I only had a few moments pause after my words, because the pair of women entered shortly after I said them. "Lord Veldora! We have come back, are you still here?"

I sighed deeply, but prepared my cheery attitude, even if it was a bit exhausting to do this more or less uninterrupted all day now. I simply had to try my best.

"Kuahaha-hahaha-hahaha! Welcome back! I have prepared what we need… With Adalman's help!" I had to make sure to remember to credit the Lich, he seemed particularly frustrated maintaining the magic circles, even if he had them frozen.

The women approached me slowly, seemingly confused by my change of form. It appeared the wolf-angel hybrid had something to say, as well. "I apologize, Lord Veldora… But I simply cannot respect you as much in that form! Your human shape makes you look much less imposing…"

Albis was much more reasonable, luckily. "When shall we proceed, Lord Veldora? We can plan everything if you've already requisitioned everything we will need."

While I did feel deeply hurt by the disrespect to the form I spent days theorizing and building in my mind, I accepted and entered my true form once again. "We can proceed now!"

The lamia paused for a few moments. "Are you absolutely certain? You are… prepared? You have thought through every possible side-effect?"

"Of course!" I had given it the warranted thought at this point, I was sure.

Now the angel-wolf hybrid wanted to question me as well. "Are you sure you can say that? With absolute certainty?"

"Yes yes. I will even explain the process to you. You will be praying to me, much the same as many monsters in the past. Adalman here will answer your prayers, and I will channel my powers to him so that you may be granted them in a safe way." I paused, looking at the Lich again.

It seemed the Lich was making a jittering noise as he was struggling to maintain the magics he had summoned.

"It appears we must act fast as well! Place your prayers now!"

…

"What were you thinking!?"

"I wanted to help! You can't fault me for that, little brother!"

"Yes! I! Can! How long ago did you do this!?"

"Two days ago!"

"Lord Rimuru, nothing appeared to be wrong at the time. We were unaware the effects would be this potent…"

Despite the Lich's efforts, Rimuru seemed no less angry with me.

"Without asking me… I had no time to prepare… what am I going to do, I'm not ready!"

Meanwhile, Benimaru was muttering to himself in the corner, huddled and rocking back and forth from panic. I didn't know why he was so worked up, it wasn't like he wasn't aware that his children would be born in the near future.

Rimuru glanced at the redheaded man with a small bit of pity, but that didn't stop him from immediately glaring back at me not even a few seconds later.

"If you don't explain everything that you did, I swear Veldora, I will stick you in my imaginary space for a whole century! Do you understand!?"

Rimuru's POV

I could almost see thought acceleration churning in Veldora's soul. I was glaring at him with my full use of Dragon Eye, as anything else seemed completely under-warranted. He managed to finally mouth something out. "Well… You see, it is really simple. I filtered the energy I passed to Adalman to answer the prayers through fertility paradox…. Then I used probability manipulation to make sure I stopped at the perfect amount to have the children born as soon as possible… Is anything wrong with that?"

"As soon as possible!? You absolute idiot, no wonder they're in labor right now! Did you even give this an ounce of thought? Any consideration whatsoever!? You put those two women and their babies in grave danger, Veldora!"

"But… I regulated it perfectly, so they will be perfectly fine!"

I was getting nowhere with Veldora, so I turned my attention back to Benimaru. I hadn't seen him this panicked since… well, ever, actually.

"Benimaru, stand up. Get yourself together, everything will turn out fine in the end. I will make sure of that."

"L-lord Rimuru… thank you. I'm sorry for losing my composure, it's just… I'm so concerned for Momiji and Albis, as well as our children!"

"And you have a right to be," I shot another glare at Veldora, "But Shuna is tending to them, and after she's done, I'll scan your wives and kids as thoroughly as I can to make sure they are perfectly healthy. And if they aren't, I'm sure I can fix whatever problems may happen."

I knew that overwhelming a being with too many magicules could severely damage their soul, and rushing things along might affect the development of the babies' wills, but with Ciel on my side, I was certain both could be dealt with in one way or another. I was pretty experienced messing around with souls at this point, so if it was necessary, Ciel and I could step in and help.

Although, I was hoping I wouldn't need to… it seemed pretty invasive and drastic to do something like that to a newborn.

Testarossa could do something less intrusive, using her skills and knowledge. Along with being able to help and report any problems back to me. Ideally she wouldn't be needed either.

I had one more person I needed to address.

"Adalman, how many times have I told everyone to filter any requests from Veldora through me?"

"I saw it as a request from the ladies, not Veldora himself… I am very sorry for defying you, Lord Rimuru. Please forgive my grievous mistake. I will accept any punishment you have ordained." The look in his eyes was enough to tell me my subordinate could not take any more.

Even as an awakened demon lord, in his position I probably wouldn't have been able to muster out a no to something Veldora was set on doing either. Especially if he asked for my help with it. My case was special.

Normally refusing the will of a True Dragon in any circumstance would be an affront to the world itself.

"Stay here in case we need help, then." I didn't want to reprimand him further. Although I was starting to become a little suspicious. Ciel was being oddly quiet again.

Did you know about any of this, Ciel? I just hoped she wasn't trying to mess with people again.

[[I was vaguely aware.]]

Why didn't you intervene?

Ciel went quiet for just a moment before simply saying, [[I did.]]

Then how did this happen?!

[[I did not intervene to stop them, instead, I stopped anything from going awry.]]

I sighed, finally realizing what had happened. Why Adalman had really helped Veldora. It was likely due to some suggestive influence from Ciel. It even seemed like she managed to get it to go right.

[[It was for the best. This way we do not waste any of our own magicules on this, nor do we need to go to great lengths to control the transfer. It is far safer.]]

I trusted that Ciel was right, but it still felt a tiny bit deceptive. Could've just told me…

[[Your reluctance and caution would have likely meant that the two children would not be ready for our daughter's unveiling. Therefore, this method was better.]]

I groaned audibly this time. Fine. I didn't think I'd win the argument anyway. It wasn't that different from what she'd done with Aoki, so long as she didn't plan to turn them into some super strong monsters.

Aoki's POV

I had finally been able to sit on Mother once again. I had made sure I wasn't able to be noticed. I was on Mother's head.

Mother was having a long conversation with Veldora, and what appeared to be some of her other subordinates. Including a skeleton that I only saw before I was 'born.'

According to Analysis he was a Lich King.

I was curious what the conversation was about as well, but the entire time I hadn't really been able to figure that out. Everyone was speaking in an indirect way, avoiding defining the topic.

The one thing I knew for certain, was that the red-haired one, Benimaru, had come to Mother in a panicked state. At first, I assumed he was scared of something, however it seemed to instead be that something was wrong with his wives.

I waited until Mother finished speaking with Father before questioning it. I was enjoying being able to sit on Mother's head for the time being. So I didn't want to stop doing that earlier than I needed to.

"Mother. Can you explain what is happening?"

Rimuru shivered a bit. "When did you get up there? Uh…" Mother stayed silent for a moment after the speaking stopped. It seemed like it took him time to figure out what to say. He was being bad at using thought acceleration again.

I waited patiently for an answer.

"Well… I guess it would be easiest to explain like this. Humans… Not that Albis and Momiji are human… Most monsters have babies different to us slimes, so that's what they're doing. It happened unexpectedly because of something Veldora did. The babies were inside them, but soon they'll be outside." Mother almost tried to pause at each word before continuing, meanwhile he was looking down and sighing at the end.

It didn't sound that different from my time in the Rimuru space, but Mother seemed to imply that the spawn of humans and most monsters were literally in the body of their Mothers. "Why not let them form from magicules normally?"

Mother went silent for a moment. "You need to be really strong to have a baby that way, Aoki. So it isn't the normal way."

"Isn't Benimaru strong enough to do that?"

"I don- Well. I guess he was at the time. He didn't want to do it that way though. The way they did it was more special to them. You'll understand when you're older." Mother lifted me from atop his head and held me close.

"I do not think more time would explain this." Mother had said I'd understand a number of things when I was older, however they did not become easier to understand yet.

"We'll see, little one." Mother carried me to a seat nearby before sitting down with me in his lap. "Now, Shuna can handle this so I'll sit with you for now. I may need to go though, okay?"

"You are going to hold me?" I had thought I'd be forced away from Mother as soon as he noticed me.

"Under the circumstances, I'd rather hold you. Even if just to make sure you don't wander off." I could tell Mother was lying again, but I wasn't sure how. Mother was holding me tightly though.

"Can I ask more questions?"

"You don't normally stop asking questions, Aoki. So yes. You can. It's nice to hear your thoughts."

"Those two you are talking about. Are they the ones who said their children would be my subordinates? The memory is fuzzy, because it was before I was Named."

Mother went quiet for a moment again. "Hm. I'll say yes, but I don't want you to have subordinates yet, Aoki."

"Why not? Am I not strong enough?" I knew I should be capable of having subordinates. I'd seen many monsters in the city far weaker than I was.

"No, that isn't why. I just don't think you're ready yet. So when they are born, don't think of them as your subordinates. Just your friends." Mother paused for a moment. "I'm sure Benimaru will expect them to be your guards too, but I think you can protect yourself better than they will be able to."

"What do you mean by 'friends?'" I was starting to get comfortable in my slime form.

So it was a little annoying when Mother picked me up off his lap. "Enter human form for a moment, I want to look into your eyes if I'm gonna explain that."

"Why would that change anything?"

"I just like to have eye contact when speaking, okay?"

I begrudgingly entered my human form, being held now just under the arms, while standing in Rimuru's lap.

"That's better. Alright… To keep it simple, a friend is someone close to you who you have… A mutual relationship with. You both help each other with things, and go to each other when you want to do something. It requires trust though, since you can't force them. Friends are your equals."

I stayed silent for a moment, before using Thought Acceleration to find some hole, I knew there was something wrong here. "What about the Goblinkin? Wouldn't she be my subordinate?"

"No. She will be your caretaker. That is different."

"Explain."

"Kokobu will attend to your needs, but will not listen to your orders. She will take care of you when I'm not able to be around."

"Can't you always be around?"

"I can, but I shouldn't. For your own good, there are times you'll need to be apart from me."

"I don't understand. Why? Isn't there nothing Mother doesn't have power over?"

"Maybe for now, but there's no guarantee that will always be the case." Mother paused for unnecessarily long again. "You'll also need to go off on your own, eventually, for a healthy mind. You can always come back, but it's good to be independent."

I didn't like the way that sounded, but I also didn't want to say anything. I would need more information to respond. So instead, I went back to the other subject. "What will these other children be like?"

"How should I know that? I know their parents, but they'll be their own people."

"Can't Mother just predict it? Or Father?"

"Well, maybe. But where's the fun in that? Wouldn't it be more interesting to challenge yourself to notice that kind of thing by actually interacting with them?"

"Why would that be fun? If there is something you miss, you'd lose control."

"What do you mean by that?"

"How would I know what to do if I don't know what others will do?"

"If you get to know someone well enough, you can more easily figure that out. But, that doesn't mean you can't learn how to figure that out with other people too. Most of the time there's just a right thing to do, so you can just assume someone will do that."

"I don't understand."

Mother sighed. "If I say it again, will you get upset?"

"Say what?"

"That you'll get it when you're older?"

"I don't think that answer makes sense."

"It's the best one I can give."

…

A white-haired woman with red eyes stepped into the room. She was a Demon King named Testarossa, I knew that from analyzing her before.

"All is well, Lord Rimuru. There was no damage to their souls to be mended, and Miss Shuna assured me that everything is fine otherwise. You have no need to worry about the mothers or their children."

"That's great. Thanks for checking on them, Testarossa." Rimuru smiled at her.

Benimaru, from the corner, let out a loud sigh. I think he was relieved to hear that, even if what was said wasn't directed at him.

"Y'hear that, Benimaru? It's just like I said; everyone will be just fine."

"Yes, thank you Lord Rimuru." He paused for a moment, "Can I go see them? I still want to see my wives, even if you say they are alright."

Rimuru looked at Testarossa questioningly.

"You can, but I think there will be consequences if you do." she answered simply.

"No need to rush things, then. Last thing we need is a scolding from Shuna!" Rimuru laughed, while Benimaru nodded in understanding.

"I'll just be patient then…" he muttered quietly.

I wanted to go see what was happening too, but if Rimuru won't, then I knew I shouldn't. Looking with magic sense should be fine, though.

So, I pointed mine at the room behind the door, but hit some resistance. Someone had put up a barrier that blocks perception skills, it seemed. I pressed a bit harder with my skill, but I just couldn't break through the barrier. I was annoying.

"Aoki, stop. That's a violation of their privacy."

"What is privacy?"

Mother sighed for some unknown reason. Was he upset with me? I didn't do anything wrong.

"Shuna can explain it to you later."