A shower of red fell down around me as the blood of the monster I was fighting spread through the air.

Over and over, I swung the sword gifted to me by Shizu, taking out my frustrations and grief on the unfortunate foe facing me.

Since the trio left me, I hadn't been able to stop thinking about Shizu. I knew it wasn't my fault, but she was the first person from my homeland that I'd met–and I lost her! Maybe, if I was just stronger, if I knew more, that wouldn't have happened.

I had nothing to do, and she wouldn't leave my mind unless I forced it out. Mapping the forest just involved me covering it on foot, spreading out my [Magic Sense], and analyzing it passively with [Great Sage], but the monotony of it left my mind idle. It kept wandering to what I'd lost–who I'd lost.

[Great Sage] was the only thing I had to talk to, but it can only give me simple responses. It's not the same. I even tried to speak with Veldora again, hoping that I'd have someone to talk to, but I never heard a response… so I started hunting.

I'd learned that hunting takes my mind off of things; it demands enough of my attention to do the job. So, that's what I've been doing for weeks now, not really taking any time to rest because as soon as I would, I'd be hit with the grief I'd been shoving out of my mind forcefully. Keeping busy was the best way to prevent that.

After I defeated monsters I would eat them, and that gave me plenty of material to make new clothes with. Sorry, Eren, I am not wearing this… dress-thing any longer than necessary.

So I had a navy shrug lined with fur, sturdy boots, black pants, and a white shirt. My fashion sense was horrible, so I had [Great Sage] put together the ensemble, adding more pieces as I encountered new monsters. But, as I fought more and more, it required less and less thought, defeating the whole purpose behind the action.

To keep up the challenge, I followed the strongest presences that I could parse with [Magic Sense], and eventually, I came across a true foe–or I should say foes. A gathering of powerful monsters, ones that I recognize, but have only taken on one at a time in the past. Apex predators of the forest; Knight Spiders. A whole clutch of them, I think; there are at least a dozen in this den, and I'm gonna take them all down.

I stood among the corpses of the Knight Spiders, the clothing I'd made for myself slashed to pieces. The reckless frenzy I went into to fight them was over, but I hadn't exactly escaped without damage, even against foes that I called weak when I faced them one-on-one.

As the adrenaline (or the slime equivalent) started to wear off, a familiar voice chimed in my head.

[[Warning. Magicule stores dangerously low. Further depletion of magicules by use of skills may result in loss of consciousness.]]

Really? I furrowed my brow for a second, then stored Shizu's sword with [Predator] and returned to slime form. I'd been fighting a lot of monsters, yeah, but I hadn't felt pain or fatigue so…

[[Notice. The individual Rimuru Tempest does not experience fatigue due to their nature as a slime. Pain is blocked by [Cancel Pain].]]

Well, that's… Actually, I didn't know how to react to that. Not feeling hurt or tired was great, but then how was I supposed to tell when I was overdoing it?

[[Notice. Magicule levels can be monitored with the use of [Magic Sense].]]

Oh. So it's like a game, then. Alright. I'd just have to keep a closer eye on myself in the future.

Now that the battle fever had worn off though, I realized what a gruesome scene I had created. The Knight Spider corpses were everywhere, bashed up, bleeding, and in pieces.

I winced a bit at the sight, but I guess this was simple enough. I'd just eat them all with [Predator], and that would do a lot to restore my energy as well. So I hopped up to the nearest corpse and jumped in the air, covering the dead spider and absorbing it whole, before moving on to the rest.

Once the cave was clean I morphed into human form and put my clothes back on. I still haven't figured out how to put them on mid-transformation, but it's been something I've been working on. It quickly occurred to me that it was strange that my clothes seemed intact because the last I'd seen them, they were in tatters. Maybe the sage fixed them up for me? It was the thing that crafted them in the first place, so probably.

…now what do I do?

I just took on an entire den of Knight Spiders and wasn't much worse for wear, but while I had been idle thoughts of Shizu, and my old life in Japan, had crept back.

It ached.

Knight Spiders couldn't be the strongest thing in this forest, right?

I decided to return to hunting.

I left the nest and continued my journey mapping the forest, still hunting to occupy my time, but being much more careful about it. Before, I'd been slinging skills around recklessly and letting myself get injured by both my own attacks and those of my foes, confident that I could just heal myself afterward.

Now, though, I started actually being careful and tactical when fighting, and in the process, I was growing stronger. I didn't care a terrible amount about that, but it did seem to have odd effects on the monsters I attacked.

Beforehand, strong monsters would often come to me first, but the more of them I defeated the harder it was to find them. Pretty soon, I realized that monsters were running from me as soon as they were in range of my [Magic Sense], which was super weird. It was almost like everything in this forest had suddenly gained ESP. With my quarries getting harder to sneak up on, I had to change strategies. I had learned that, while my slime form was great for maneuvering and harder to hit in battle, it wasn't very fast in a straight line–the complete opposite of my human or direwolf forms.

So as soon as I caught sight of something that looked interesting I'd take off after it, usually running it down in wolf form and finishing it off as a slime or as a human, and that's what I was doing when I encountered the ogres.

"Father, I will take care of this threat."

The Chief, my father, stood before me, staring at me pensively.

"I understand that you are strong, my son, but this is a threat you cannot take on alone. Bring the Elder and a team of a few others with you."

The impending threat of a pack of monsters is nothing that my strength couldn't handle, but this swarm of monsters is being chased by something much stronger. What is it? Nobody has a clue, but the aura we can all feel even at a distance is very worrying to everyone. I, as the future Chief of the ogres, want to defend my people personally.

"I understand, Father."

"Listen, Son. We don't know this monster's intentions, so if negotiation is possible, please go in that direction. Don't be the aggressor since we will surely lose people if a fight breaks out."

What is he talking about?! This thing is definitely trying to attack us, I can feel the bloodlust coming from it!

In my mind, there was no way this unknown monster is possibly something we can talk it out with.

Still, I needed to heed my father's words; he is the Chief of all the ogres and his word is law.

So, I did as he said and collected my forces before leaving town and putting us in the path of the threat, ready to stop it from reaching all the noncombatants living there.

Soon, a pack of hover lizards fleeing from the monster with the large aura reached our group and we threw ourselves into combat, slaying many of the beasts as the aura approached us.

Suddenly, while still fighting the hover lizards, a blue-haired majin with girlish features appeared. She was the majin that has been emitting the huge aura, but thankfully she seemed to be targeting the lizards and not us, at least for the moment.

Wielding a sword, she swiftly cut down the monsters while also shooting strange, shiny blades of what appeared to be water out of her hand. Within seconds, the entire pack of multiple dozens were mercilessly diced by the newcomer.

Stunned into silence, my men and I watched the majin with caution, still holding our weapons in anticipation of a possible attack.

But, the majin's bloodlust was gone, and she simply stared back at us.

"Hey, uh, sorry for chasing those things right in the direction of your village; it wasn't on purpose. You're ogres, right?"

"What are your intentions, majin?!" I boomed confidently at the small majin.

"Intentions? I just wanted to kill those lizard things and they ran off, so I chased them."

I was a little disturbed by the majin's answer. This person just wanted to kill those hover lizards and that's all? I understand the thrill of hunting and fighting, but the innocent way she explained her intentions was strange.

"So you have no desire to attack our settlement?" The Elder stepped forward and asked her.

"No, not at all. So…um, you're not gonna attack me or whatever? I'd prefer to just go home if you all aren't determined to attack me with those weapons you're pointing at me."

"Put away your weapons."

"But, Elder!" I protested.

"This one doesn't have any intention to fight, I can sense that much. Remember what the Chief said, Young Master?"

Irritated, I sheathed my sword but kept my eyes trained on the strange majin with the unusual demeanor.

"Do you live far from here?" The Elder gently asked the majin.

"Not really…it wouldn't take me long to get home."

"If you wish, we could take all this fresh meat back to our village and we could share a meal and talk, perhaps? We did both contribute to killing these beasts and there is a lot here."

I was shocked that the Elder was inviting this majin to come back with us.

"A meal?!" The majin asked loudly, her eyes lit up with sudden excitement. "Well, if you're offering, I'll take you up on that. I should probably introduce myself first; my name is Rimuru Tempest."

She's named?!

"Oh, and I'm a guy, by the way, before any of you get the wrong idea about me."

And they're a boy?!

While I stood there, surprised, the majin named Rimuru stared at us expectantly, waiting for something.

"Oh…I forgot, you probably don't have names." Rimuru suddenly said and nodded to himself.

"No, none of us are named." The Elder confirmed.

"Figures. Well, we can still make this work."

He seems very miffed by the fact that we're not named. Is he looking down on us? The way this majin simply flaunts his aura around, he seems quite arrogant. My disgust must have shown on my face, as the white Elder murmured a stern "Young Master."

I forced the slight scowl off of my face and tried my best to be polite to our "guest."

We all began leading Rimuru back to our village and the majin seemed completely at ease the entire time as if he wasn't surrounded by some of the strongest warriors of the Great Jura Forest.

We are ogres, the top of the pecking order when it comes to the races living within Jura, yet this Rimuru is treating us as no threat at all! It is infuriating!

I understand that this majin has a lot of strength based on his massive aura, but making light of us ogres is still unforgivable in my eyes. The Elder's decision to invite this person as a guest of honor seems like a mistake to me, but I have no choice but to go along with it. Father did say to try to negotiate with this majin, so even if it angers me, I need to tolerate this disrespect.

I want to challenge him, but I don't know what would happen if I did…

With how at ease Rimuru is, I thought it might be possible for me to surprise him with an attack, but just as this thought crossed my mind, those gleaming golden eyes shot right in my direction.

"Heya, Redhead, I thought you weren't planning on attacking me." He nonchalantly jabbed at me with an unamused look.

I immediately stopped walking, shocked and disturbed that he seemingly just read my mind.

"Nobody here is hostile, the Young Master is just a little impulsive at times." The Elder said in a grandfatherly tone to the majin, placing one hand on his shoulder and leading him to the front of the group.

I was left standing as everyone kept walking, leaving me at the back, still stunned by what just transpired.

I grit my teeth and clenched my fists at the disrespect, but let them put some distance between us and maintained that for the rest of the trip back.

What's this guy's problem anyway?

After stopping those lizards from rampaging into that settlement I could sense ahead, I met up with a group of people that aren't quite human. Ogres are what the [Great Sage] called them, although they don't quite fit what I would expect of ogres from my previous world's knowledge.

They seemed quite reasonable too, surprisingly, and even invited me back to their place for a meal! There is one of them that seemed to have a problem with me for whatever reason though.

This redheaded guy with two black horns has been doing nothing but scowling at me the entire trip. He was staring daggers at me from behind, seemingly debating whether he should attack me or not; this was easy to see with [Magic Sense]. After putting up with it for a while, I questioned him since I was under the impression they weren't hostile now and that seemed to shut him down.

The old man that the redhead called Elder seems to like me a good deal more, kinda giving off grandfather vibes with his treatment of me and acting the calmest out of the entire dozen or so ogres.

Still, I don't really get why the redhead has an issue with me when I haven't really done anything to him personally. I've been polite, as far as I know, but maybe I hurt his pride somehow? It's hard for me to say.

Once we got to the town the ogres live in, I was met with a thrilling sight. Actual houses, and ones I can get close to and possibly even go inside! My last stint into civilization did not turn out well, but this time I was invited, so there are no worries about being chased out as long as I mind my manners.

Plus, these are monsters, just like me, so they'll probably be more accepting than those human guards that tried to kill me on sight.

On top of the excitement of an actual town, I've also noticed that the clothing and architecture here have some similarities with early modern Japan, which makes me question how that's even possible. Perhaps an otherworlder from the same place as me came here and influenced these ogres in the past.

My daughter set tea in front of me on the sitting table, smiling sweetly at me as I met her gaze. I watched for a moment as she busied herself filling a cup for our guest at the other end, and setting up some biscuits.

"Thank you, sweetheart," I said. "Wait in the back for us to be done, alright?"

A powerful majin had been sensed chasing a pack of hover lizards toward our village. The lizards themselves were no problem, but I had sent my son out to negotiate with this unknown force–now a messenger had informed me that my son and the Elder were bringing it back to the village.

I was dressed in my best clothes, exercising my aura to an extent I hadn't in a while. Back in the day, I could wield it fearsomely, but after I had my kids, that changed. I would never regret that decision anyway, but I wanted my little Princess to be out of the room at least, in case things turned hostile. This visitor's presence was so powerful, I feared I couldn't win if it came to a fight.

Soon enough I could feel the majin's presence draw closer. The aura was overwhelming. No longer hostile, but it bore a strength that couldn't be ignored.

The Elder entered the room, accompanied by my son. The white-haired old ogre bowed to a figure I could just see coming around the corner now, sweeping a hand toward me. "Our noble Chief."

The figure that entered was much smaller than I expected–they reminded me of a human child I had once seen on the border of the forest. Light blue hair framed his soft and unassuming face, but despite those features, his piercing gold eyes conveyed the same sense of danger as their aura.

I said nothing for a moment as the majin paused, examined the room suspiciously, and sat down on the cushion facing me. "Well, hi." He said somewhat awkwardly, staring at me with curious but calculating eyes. His voice was as deceptively innocent as his appearance.

"Greetings, majin." I bowed slightly and saw my son stiffen at the sight with my [Magic Sense], and mentally resigned myself to pay attention to him. "I am the Chief of this village. What should I call you?"

"My name is Rimuru Tempest," The majin answered. "Thank you for having me."

So he is named; that explains the power he exudes.

"No, no." I assured him, "it is our honor to host someone of your strength. What brings you to our village?"

"Well," Rimuru shrugged, "I was just wandering. I didn't mean to intrude."

Just wandering, eh? It was reassuring that Rimuru hadn't come with the intent to conquer, but creatures of his strength were often opportunists. I had to make sure he did not see me as subservient and decide he wanted to rule this village. "Well, I'm sure traveling through this forest has tired you. We would be glad to have you as our honored guest if you wish to rest here a while."

"Huh." Rimuru seemed to muse aloud, tilting his head a bit as he studied me. His demeanor was easy to read; I could almost sense his intuition as his posture straightened, the expression on his face turned flat and his tone leveled out. "I would like that very much," Rimuru said, mimicking my little bow. "Thank you."

He was adorable.

Despite Rimuru's apparent terrifying strength, he reminded me of my son trying to copy me when he was a child. This majin was either quite young or very solitary; maybe both. Whatever the reason, he was definitely making an effort to be polite to me.

My son, meanwhile, had been watching this exchange with a tense frown. He will be a great leader one day, I think, but his pride and his impulses still need to be tamed. He was currently glaring daggers into Rimuru's back, and the majin knew it.

"Hey," Rimuru glanced back at where my son was standing guard along the wall. "What's your deal anyway?" A hint of irritation leaked into his voice–I would have to address this.

"Son," I ordered with a stern glare, "leave us." This obviously caused him even further discontent, but I could not risk offense to our guest.

"Come, Young Master," the Elder murmured. My son grudgingly followed him out, casting a one-eyed glance at me before he disappeared.

"I apologize for my son," I bowed again. "He is a powerful ogre and a great defender of our people, but he is still young. I'm sure your strength has triggered his protective instincts. Perhaps his pride, as well."

Rimuru nodded silently, turning back to me to take a sip of the tea. I took that as acquiescence for my son's sake. As he drank, the majin's eyes lit up.

"Ah," he sighed, setting the cup down with a longing gaze. "It's been some time since I've tasted anything," he admitted quietly.

I was confused by his words but kept that to myself. "…I'm pleased you like it." I smiled, trying to keep the questioning inflection out of my voice. I reached over for the teapot my daughter had left with us and poured him another cup.

The ogre Chief was being especially polite to me, surprisingly. After dealing with the other red-headed ogre, I was half-expecting conflict, but he seemed much more reasonable than his son.

I also learned that this world has tea, and I was able to taste it! It was such an exciting experience that I couldn't help but exclaim after taking my first sip, which got me a weird look from the Chief, but oh well.

Our little talk went smoothly after he sent his boorish son out of the room and I'd even been offered a place to stay!

A house, an actual house! I'll get to live in it for a while, which was something I hadn't fully realized I'd missed this much until I stepped inside the small hut-like structure I was led to by a few of the ogres.

The apparent leader of this group that led me there was a pink-haired ogress that the others called 'Princess', so I assume she was the daughter of the Chief and probably the sister of that redhead. She was also much more polite with me than that other guy.

She left me with a few necessities and invited me to the feast they'd have later tonight. I couldn't help my excitement coming out the moment they left. With a small cry of joy, I dropped into slime form and began rolling happily around the one-room building.

The floor felt wonderful against my body, cut surprisingly smooth for what I assumed were primitive monsters in the middle of this forest. The house they gave me seemed quite a bit nicer on the outside than many of the other village structures, actually. Colorfully embroidered curtains flanked the window, and a similarly nice blanket was neatly covering the bed. I hopped onto it and discovered it was even silk!

Silk! In a place like this! The house also had a basin of water, a kitchen-type setup with a fire pit underneath the chimney, and a few other things like a dresser and chests. They were definitely giving me royal treatment, though I had no idea what I'd done to prompt it.

After chillaxing in my new place for a while, someone knocked on the door.

I quickly changed into human form, managing to put my clothes on successfully mid-transformation, something I'd been practicing. I needed to look my best now that I was eating with other people again; which was exciting after being alone for some time.

"Oh…come in!" I called out, slipping on the jacket part of my outfit since multiple layers at once were still too complicated for me to pull off.

"The feast is ready, Sir Rimuru. I can escort you there if you wish." said the pink-haired princess.

"Sure, I'll be ready in just a moment."

I had the passing thought to add one more thing to my outfit; Shizu's mask. I'd kept it safe in my stomach until now. But now, I felt the urge to display it in Shizu's honor so, I affixed it to the side of my head, not wanting to cover my face. I didn't think I'd be able to pull off that trick she did where she ate with it on, so keeping my mouth uncovered was a must.

"Oh!" the Princess let out a small gasp which grabbed my attention.

"What is it?" I asked, wondering what it was that I did to get a reaction like that.

"Your aura…it just vanished!" she exclaimed, sounding very surprised as she eyed me closely.

Wait, aura? What aura?

[[Notice: Monsters possess a magical aura that they exude unless restricted. The effect of the Mask of Magic Resistance has restricted the aura you were previously emitting.]]

"Well…um, yeah! That's what this mask does, isn't that cool?" I asked her, playing it off as if I knew about it all along.

"Very much so! I have never seen such a magic item before, able to completely hide an aura as large as yours!" She enthusiastically replied.

"Really?" I asked curiously as we began walking to the feast. "Is it that uncommon? I don't really have a frame of reference for this stuff…"

"Very," the Princess nodded vigorously. "It's more difficult to restrain aura the stronger a monster gets. Most strong monsters don't bother hiding their aura anyway, but to have a way to conceal it so completely is nothing short of amazing."

We arrived as she was talking, so the ogre Princess pointed me to a seat on the left side of the Chief. The redhead was already seated on his right side, with his sister taking a position opposite from me.

"How are you liking your accommodations, Rimuru?" The Chief asked as I sat down. I saw him do a double-take when looking at me… for the same reason as his daughter, I suppose?

"They're wonderful," I said happily.

Sue me, I'm not good at professional speak–and I don't really see a reason to act all stiff. I am trying to mimic the Chief's posture though. If I'm on his level, I need to act like that around the other ogres, right?

He must be doing it for a reason at least, and that's good enough for me.

The Chief smiles genuinely, looking pretty pleased. "I'm very glad to hear that," he says. "Though, if you'll pardon this question: what happened to your aura? I almost didn't recognize you coming over."

Really? I wondered, I guess aura is a bigger deal for monsters than I thought if they use it to identify each other. "Oh, I don't mind," I said. "It's the effect of this mask I got a while back…" as I spoke I took it off to show him, and the effect was dramatic.

The ogres had set up a few long tables where the food was laid out, the Chief's being the longest. It seemed like the whole village was there, and as soon as I removed the mask every head whipped in my direction. I even heard a few people seemingly choke on their food or something, they were so shocked.

Oh. Wow. I cringed, seeing the astonished looks some of them were giving me. Great Sage, help! I need to see what this looks like!

[[Understood.]] The Sage replied, [[switching perspective using [Magic Sense].]]

My vision changed, and all of a sudden I could sense this dark, foreboding energy just pouring off my body. Like, no wonder they were scared half to death! That stuff was terrifying me, and I was responsible for it!

"Ah," I quickly placed the mask back on and watched with interest as my aura vanished to nothing again. "Sorry," I cringed a bit. "I forget the effect it can have…"

Well, I didn't know what effect it would have, but I've gotta play it cool here.

"No, no." The Chief recovered quickly from the sudden onslaught I'd put him through. His son was still looking shell-shocked, but I thought it served him right for being so rude earlier.

"You have nothing to be sorry about," The Chief said. "An aura is a badge of strength; you should be proud to wield one so immense."

"Eh…" I rubbed my head awkwardly. "Thanks." Thinking I had better figure out more about this "aura" stuff for future reference, I probed further. "I still scared a lot of your people when I'm just a guest; I feel a bit bad about that."

"A powerful aura can indeed have oppressive effects on weaker monsters, but you needn't worry here. We were startled by the sudden release of it, yes, but ogres are a proud, strong race."

Good to know, I filed that away in my mind. Meanwhile, the redhead had recovered and was stewing jealously, picking at his food with a scowl.

But that didn't concern me. I turned my attention to the food that had just been placed in front of me, directly after the Chief's and his children's meals. I could tell right now, it was going to be good. The meat smelled heavenly, filets from those lizard monsters stacked with herbs and spices and just dripping juice.

Table etiquette had never been one of my strong points, so I waited a moment to see how the Chief ate before I picked up my knife and cut out a warm, pink bite still steaming.

I paused for a moment, internally debating if this was okay. I'd avoided eating in human form until now, my appetite pretty much being nonexistent after Shizu's passing, but now…

Curiously, I put the bite in my mouth.

Wow.

Wow.

WOW!

It chewed like ham and tasted like chicken, the strange pink-white color smothered in a tangy sauce that burned a bit as it hit my tongue. The flavor, the smell, the texture…

So goooooooooooooooooood!

A giggle broke me out of my trance and I realized the ogre Princess was watching me, hiding behind her sleeve with an amused look in her eyes. The Chief and his son, too, were giving me amused looks. Well, the Chief looked amused. Redhead just looked at me weirdly.

"Ah…" I paused a minute. How was I going to explain my way out of this? "I haven't had food this good before," I mumbled, but continued eating. No way would I let embarrassment ruin an experience like this!

Besides, it was the truth. All my single (past) life I mostly ate cheap, whether it was takeout or microwaveable ramen. I ate some pretty nice things at festivals and the like, but the stuff in front of me now… It could give four-star, even five-star restaurants a run for their money.

The ogres had given me a sizable helping, which was odd, but I chalked it up to the royal treatment they were giving me. I cleaned the plate and still didn't feel full. I liked the taste so much that I wanted more, but it would seem odd if I asked for some since I'm just a guest. I didn't want to be rude to these people I just met.

Seeing that I was done, the Chief asked politely with a knowing look in his eyes that I decided to ignore, "would you like seconds?"

Oh no. I did, but I didn't want to eat them out of house and home. At this rate, I might never be satisfied. "Um, yes, that would be great," I said. Great Sage, what's up with me?

[[Answer. Due to slimes absorbing energy from the environment, the individual Rimuru Tempest has no need to eat, and therefore cannot feel "full."]]

I'll cut it off after the second plate then, I decided. I gratefully took my second portion and went through it a bit slower, savoring the taste of each morsel and making sure I didn't look too gluttonous.

After the feast, the Princess offered to escort me back to my house, but I had [Great Sage] to keep me from getting lost so I turned her down. Walking back and listening to the sound of the forest, and tasting the air, for the first time I realized I might have been a little homesick.

This place was nice.

It seemed like the ogres went to bed at night. I couldn't sleep, so I just changed to slime form, spreading out on the bed and relaxing until the sun came up.

"He is an interesting majin, isn't he, Father?" my daughter asked me with a small giggle.

"Yes, he is. I thought this at first, but tonight just helped confirm the fact that he seems to be quite young and inexperienced."

"I also got that impression from him, Father. Sir Rimuru didn't even seem to be aware of his aura until I pointed out that his mask was blocking it, although I can't be sure."

"With a little guidance, he could be an asset to our people. If I'm honest, I've already taken a liking to Rimuru."

"Same here, Father. If I may be frank about my feelings…despite his strength, I find him adorable. The way he reacted to the food earlier was precious!"

"Hehe, yes, that made me think of when you and your brother were younger." I mused.

"But Father…are you sure that we can keep him as a long-term guest? I am afraid that some of our people may object to a non-ogre living with us, even if we have no problem with Sir Rimuru."

"You are speaking of your brother, aren't you?" I asked, surmising the true meaning behind her words.

"Yes, I am concerned he will do something foolish."

"I am as well, my daughter. Please keep an eye on him for me and if a fight breaks out…"

"I will take action if anything of the sort happens."

"Thank you. It is essential for his safety. Even if I believe that Rimuru won't intentionally kill him over a little confrontation, with Rimuru's seeming inexperience, he may not be able to hold back properly. I fear the worst might happen if those two come to blows."

I will also have one of my covert team members watch Rimuru from a distance and alert me about any trouble. My daughter is great when it comes to cooling her brother's head, but if things get too out of hand, I will personally need to step in and do something about it.