A few weeks had passed since my bout with Redhead. We'd both been avoiding each other. From a distance, I'd noticed how dejected he looked, but because I was advised not to say anything, I didn't try speaking with him.

His sister, on the other hand, had gotten closer to me. We've become friends over the time I've spent here, and she sticks near me whenever I'm in the village and not training with the Elder. She doesn't normally leave the safety of the settlement from what I've noticed, probably because she's a sort of royalty.

Anyway, she'd been spending her free time with me a lot. I didn't get what she saw in a slime like me, but the Princess liked to be around me and carry me around in her arms, as well as create new outfits to dress me up in like a doll.

She had also been showing me what she called Mystic Arts (magic utilizing a monster's aura directly). I'm a quick study, according to her, and now I was repaying the favor by showing her some of my skills.

The Princess can't copy them in the same way that I can copy what she'd shown me, but she still seems to get enjoyment out of seeing me play around with them. And 'play' is the best term to call it since I don't entirely know what I'm doing with all of them yet. The [Great Sage] keeps offering me strange combinations, creating new techniques for me to try out, and it's hard for me to keep up with it all.

"Rimuru, could you show me more of that transformation skill you have? It's very interesting," she suggested.

Nice, something simple.

"Yeah, sure."

I morphed into a few of the different monsters I'd previously eaten as the Princess watched in awe. But, as I worked through the laundry list of monsters, something occurred to me.

I'd eaten a Giant Bat in the Sealed Cave, which was awesome because it had given me back my ability to speak, but, there was another aspect to that monster that I could use: its wings.

Ever since I acquired [Universal Shapeshift], I'd been able to partially transform my body with ease, taking on the aspects of any monster I'd eaten without having to fully take its form. I'd used it to test out my skills a bit while hunting, actually, but I hadn't found it incredibly useful since changing my body's shape introduced more problems than it seemed to solve, at least right now. I tried to stick to combining my Human and Slime forms. They seemed the most compatible, probably because I practiced with both so much.

But, in the case of the Giant Bat, creating wings without turning into the monster itself sounded like an amazing idea!

I mean, who hasn't dreamed of flying at one time or another?

"Lemme try something out."

With just a simple thought, a pair of bat-like wings burst from my back. They spread wider than I was tall, startling my friend.

"I think I can fly with these!" I declared excitedly. The idea of soaring through the air was already filling me with anticipation.

"Please be careful!" The Princess pleaded with me, clear concern in her pink eyes.

"Oh, I will be!" I assured her as I gave moving the wings a try; just a little twitch to make sure they acted as I expected, which they did without issue.

As my excitement built, the incident in the cave with the lake popped into my mind; a self-warning to take this easy.

Just a little push off the ground with my feet and a flap of these wings is all I need to try at first…don't get ahead of yourself, man!

I pictured my feet leaving the ground by a good few feet before softly landing again.

Nice and easy…one little flap and- WHOA!

I shot up much faster than expected. These wings were much stronger than I'd expected, and seemed to disobey the laws of physics. With just a single pump of my wings, I'd ended up a few stories above the ground.

I, at least, managed to land on my feet after being momentarily surprised by my first try at flight, wobbling mid-air before dropping. I almost dropped Shizu's mask too, which was a problem. So, after returning to the ground, I made the decision to suspend it within my body. Safely tucked away, but it technically still being 'worn,' in a sense, should still have the same effects.

Still, I needed to figure out what exactly went wrong with my first test flight.

What went wrong, Great Sage?

[[Answer: as a result of the magical nature of the wings derived from Mimic: Giant Bat, forces exuded by their movement do not conform to purely physical phenomena from similar structures of non-magical origin.]]

I shot the ogre Princess a reassuring smile in response to her worried frown. I didn't like her looking at me like I'm some sort of wayward child doing something reckless.

"Let me try that again," I said, keeping my tone perfectly calm.

This time, expecting the severity of the speed, I again flapped my new wings and kicked off the ground. I began to soar up far above the treeline. Now high in the air, I tried to maintain it, staying mid-air rather than landing immediately.

It was tricky, trying to stay upright using a body part I wasn't familiar with, but I managed to stay up there for a few seconds.

[[Notice: Engage flight auto-assist? Yes/No]]

Auto-assist? Sure, that'd make things easier. Yes.

My flight immediately stabilized with the sage's help and I found myself hovering in place, not wobbling at all. You might've thought I'd be concerned by how high up I was, but you'd be wrong! If anything, all I could think about was how stunning the view was.

Being able to see much of the forest from a bird's-eye view like this was interesting. It was a completely different perspective from what I'd experienced before; still similar with my [Magic Sense], but broader and more majestic. I was enjoying it.

While I hovered up there for a moment, taking in the view, I quickly spotted something that demanded my attention.

"What's going on over there?" I asked out loud, straining my [Magic Sense] and human eyes to see a ruckus happening at the entrance to the village.

I was picking up on an aura, something I'd become more accustomed to sensing after practicing on my own. It's stronger than one of an ogre, even Redhead, but not much compared to my own.

Maybe someone's attacking?

I dropped down quicker than I probably should have, impacting the ground hard enough to startle my pink-haired ogress friend.

"Something's happening at the entry gate, I should head over there."

I internally debated whether it was my place to do so, but the fact that whoever this is seems stronger than any of the ogres concerned me enough to decide to go investigate anyway.

"Wait, Rimuru, please tell me what you saw!" She pleaded with me.

"Someone is here. You can feel it too, I'm sure."

"Yes, an aura that I don't recognize." The Princess nodded.

"Exactly. I'm gonna see who exactly is here."

"I must go as well, let's go together," she said with outstretched arms, a gesture I've come to know well.

So, I exited human form and hopped into her arms to satisfy her.

While holding me, she started half-running toward the entrance, wearing a determined, resolute expression. I could tell the Princess was worried, but she still kept her dignity in the face of a potential threat against her people.

It turned out to be some dude in a weird plague-doctor-style bird mask, the way he carried himself just screaming about a self-important attitude.

"So I, the Great Gelmud, will honor you with a name, strongest of the ogres!" He declared to Redhead, who was standing directly in his path, likely to block him from getting further into the village.

It seemed like this weirdo just strolled into town without a care, like he owns the place, flaunting his aura like he was something special.

The worst part was Redhead seemed to be actually considering this bird boy's arrogant offer.

"Rimuru, this man is not trustworthy. I am going to say something." The Princess quietly said as she gently set me on the ground. "Brother, don't be hasty! A name is not something a strong ogre like yourself should accept so lightly!"

"Sister…" He muttered as he looked over at her as she walked up to him.

"I will not stop you if this is what you truly want, but please think it through first!"

"If I am to lead our race, I need strength, my sister, and if all the training and experience I've accumulated isn't enough to defeat a simple slime-"

"Brother!" She scolded him.

"What? I'm not wrong!" Redhead protested.

"I am certain you will grow strong, my brother. Without shortcuts! Please tell me your reasoning isn't purely from your defeat at Rimuru's hands!" She argued with him, sounding genuinely offended by Redhead's attitude.

"He has a name, and that is why he won. If I received a name too-" he argued.

The disrespectful bird-masked stranger interrupted him. "Yes, a name from me, a high-level majin, would surely help you soar to the strongest of the strongest! Let me bestow my gift upon you, ogre boy, and you will surely defeat this enemy that previously trounced you!"

'Gelmud' didn't have an ounce of shame in his demeanor despite the manipulation seeping from his words. It was crystal clear to me that he was trying to coerce Redhead.

This guy is considered 'high-level'? What does that make me, then?

But, questioning that was irrelevant at the moment, so I set that aside and took human form to approach this self-proclaimed 'Great Gelmud', placing the mask I'd been wearing inside my slime body back into my stomach. I need to flaunt my stuff to make myself clear against a fool like this, I thought.

Gelmud's attention immediately turned to me, his interest in Redhead vanishing so quickly, I was almost astonished.

"So the ogre boy isn't the strongest member of this village!" He exclaimed.

Redhead snarled as he said this, glaring at me for interrupting.

"I guess so." I shrugged.

"So, I will make you the offer instead. A name would make your great strength even greater, so do you accept?"

I think naming me would kill this guy, even if I didn't already have a name. This man is a real idiot, isn't he?

"Get outta here, you pathetic weirdo. I've already got a name." I snarled, and Gelmud's mood immediately soured.

I'd bruised his ego with just a few simple words, which was pretty laughable to me.

"The audacity! A weak little majin like you speaking to the incredible me like that!" Gelmud squealed in protest.

Does he not see my entire aura or whatever? He should be able to tell I'm stronger than him. Maybe his thick skull is blocking part of it from his perception or something.

"Fine, ogre-boy, the offer is still open to you!" He continued, having lost interest in me just as quickly after my vehement refusal.

After a moment of consternation, Redhead shook his head no, and his sister patted him on the shoulder to show her support for his decision.

"You really want to refuse my gift, you peon!?" He asked Redhead more aggressively.

I'd seen enough.

"Did you not hear me right? I said get outta here!" I shouted as I kicked him in the gut with a reverse roundhouse, sending him skidding past the gate in one swift motion.

He then scrambled to his feet and flew off with some sort of magic rather than wings, swearing his revenge or something as he whimpered from the pain of my kick. I also think I heard the words 'Demon Lord', which I found alarming, but he could've just been bluffing since I kicked the shit out of him.

"I was half-expecting you to accept his offer." I commented as I walked up to Redhead.

"You think me that weak-willed?!" He snarled back, still worked up emotionally from the encounter he just had,

"Brother, you were clearly considering it." The Princess chided him.

"Look, I'm trying to be nice here." I sighed, "I respect that you refused that wannabe tough guy. I mean, did you see that mask? What a clown!"

"What is a clown?" The Princess asked me.

"Never mind, it was just an insult."

I reached into my stomach and pulled out a chunk of magisteel, something derived from the ore I ate while in the Sealed Cave. It's magic metal, so it's gotta be something special, right?

"Here, take this to the town's blacksmith and have him make you a new weapon with it," I said as I placed the hunk of iridescent metal in Redhead's hand.

"This is…"

"Magisteel. Have them make you something special since you're so worried about being strong enough to defend your people. I'm sure an awesome sword will help with that." I grinned, thinking that his surprised expression was pretty funny.

"Rimuru, you amaze me again!" The Princess exclaimed.

"No, it's nothing. It's just a clump of refined metal, nothing more." I've got more where that came from, too.

"Thank you," Redhead muttered, lovingly clutching the metal in his hands like a precious artifact. But, as soon as he noticed my gaze, he acted much more casually about it. Guess he's gotta keep his sense of pride intact, at least around me.

"You're welcome. You're still determined to win against me, right? Well, get a new sword and we'll face each other in a fair duel. We can have a rematch when I come back to visit."

"Wait, you are leaving us?!" The Princess asked in an uncharacteristically loud voice.

"Oh, did I not mention that yet? Sorry." I apologized, realizing that I did neglect to mention this to anyone. It has been a lingering idea in my head for a little while now, but not one that I'd shared with anyone. "Yeah, I'll need to leave sooner rather than later, I have friends waiting for me and a job to do. I've already been here for longer than I probably should've been."

"You should tell our father the Chief if you are planning on leaving." The Princess quietly said, her pink eyes downcast with disappointment at the news.

"Next time you are here, I will be a different ogre! I will defeat you in battle, Rimuru, and prove my strength as the heir to the Chief of the ogres!" Redhead declared confidently to me, his eyes sparkling with determination.

"Don't get so worked up about it, you two. I'm not leaving immediately!"

That night, the ogre kids came running up to me like a stampede. I stopped walking and let them swarm me, wondering what the commotion was about.

"Let's play the story game!" One of the girls said brightly.

"The…what?" I asked, worried I was about to get wrapped up in another wrestling contest.

"The story game!" Another kid cheered, pointing at the darkening edge of the sky. "It's dark soon, so we're gonna do the story game!"

"Uh…okay."

The 'story game' turned out to be a campfire in the center of the village, where many elders and other villagers had gathered. I was on the ground in human form, cross-legged and holding an ogre toddler in my lap while they tried to chew on my fingers with their deceptively sharp baby teeth. It made me glad I wasn't capable of experiencing pain.

I mostly listened for a while, not really sure what to say. A lot of the gossip was about my punting Gelmud earlier, which I didn't see as a big deal–but he did say he was a 'higher-ranked majin,' or something like that. Maybe the ogres just don't see people like him around much.

"Let's hear a story from our guest, why don't we?" One of the elders suggested, turning to me. "It's been a while since we've had new tales around this place."

"Oh, uh…" To be honest, I didn't really want to. I mean, most of my memories are still human, and the ogres wouldn't understand a word of it.

But, as I cast my eyes around for an excuse to refuse, something caught my attention.

A little shrine, against a tree near the fire. In the place of honor was a carved stone dragon, and it looked a lot like Veldora. The resemblance was actually kind of impressive, given none of these ogres could have seen him. (It didn't look very old with [Magic Sense].)

"Alright," I said, taking the kid off my lap and handing him to a nearby ogress. "I've only been around for a couple of months, you know… but there is one story I've got."

"Tell us, tell us!" My dramatic prelude was already getting to the kids, who were still all hanging around me like I'm their pack leader or something.

"Okay, so." I leaned forward, drawing my youthful audience in. "I was actually born in the Sealed Cave, where Veldora used to be. So in my first months there…"

"You mean the Storm Dragon?" One of the kids piped up. Already I was being interrupted!

"Yes, now shush!" I chided. "So, I was in the dark, blind, helpless, just fumbling around… when by chance I wandered near Veldora."

"You saw the Storm Dragon!?" One of the kids shouted with glee.

"Yes!" I said, "listen! The Storm Dragon sensed me, and all of a sudden a massive voice shook the cavern!"

Some of the kids squealed in delight. I was enjoying this, too, ramping up the very plain conversation I'd actually had with Veldora.

"'Who dares to approach the mighty Storm Dragon!?' He said, and then: 'show yourself, or face annihilation!'"

I put on my best Veldora impression, making my voice all loud and deep. The ogres seemed shaken by how high I cranked the volume of [Sonic Wave], but I was trying to replicate the voice of an imposing dragon that definitely isn't a tsundere! I was sure that he wouldn't appreciate me ruining his reputation while he's not around, and for all I know, he could hear and see everything I could from inside my stomach.

"What happened!? What happened!?" A smaller kid literally jumped into my arms, begging to be told more.

"Well, what could I do?" I asked, rhetorically of course. "I came out, so the dragon said, 'A mere slime dares to withstand my presence!? State your reason for approaching me!'"

"Did you die!?" One of them shouted.

I had the passing thought to answer 'yes' to that, since I did indeed die at one point. But, I had a story to tell that was unrelated to my previous self's death.

"Of course not!" Another kid answered back, "Mister Rimuru's here, isn't he?"

"Well, maybe he's a ghost~! WoooOOoooO~!" The kid waved their arms in the air and imitated a ghost, or at least what they thought one sounded like.

Kind of, maybe. "No, I'm not a ghost!" I said. "So, Veldora asked me to speak, right? But I'm a slime! And at the time, I couldn't take this form, so I couldn't speak at all!"

This was met with dramatic gasps of horror. It was honestly surprising, but… yeah, not being able to obey their literal god would be scary, wouldn't it?

"Of course, at the time I was thinking, 'I can't speak,' and Veldora heard it!"

"It makes sense," an elder interrupted in a quiet voice, "that the Storm Dragon has powers to hear the mind."

Ignoring the interruption, I continued. "'You can't speak?' He said, and of course, I answered yes! I couldn't see either! And when he learned that, he gave me a challenge."

There were several looks of astonishment in the crowd, and even more of awe as I had evidently survived Veldora's challenge.

"'I will give you a test, to see if you are worthy!' He declared," man I was loving this theatric acting. "'You must learn [Magic Sense], right now, and when you look upon me, you must not fear me!'"

"To learn a skill so quickly…" another ogre murmured.

"It took a bit, but I'm mostly made of magicules anyway, so I was lucky that I already kinda knew what they felt like. And I learned it, and got to see the world for the first time!"

"What did the Storm Dragon look like?" Someone piped up.

"We're getting there," I waved a hand dismissively. "So, I did as instructed, and I looked at the dragon–and he was terrifying!" I used [Body Armor] to turn my hands into scaled gauntlets, tipped with sharp claws, and held them over my head to imitate a scary monster. Then I got an idea–why not go all out? I killed a lesser dragon before meeting the ogres (it was one of the few monsters to give me a tough time,) and I had those wings from the bat too.

So using [Universal Shapeshift] I made myself a pair of scary black horns, and big black wings popped out of my back that cast an intimidating, giant shadow over the fire-lit wall of one of the houses nearby. I even made a spiked tail, whipping it behind me to add to the effect. This was met with the delighted cries of my now very large audience.

"He was massive, almost as big as the mountain itself, and covered in pitch-black scales, with teeth as big as my arm! And he said, 'what do you think, little one?'"

"Didn't he say you couldn't show fear?" Someone from the back asked.

"That's right," I pointed a clawed hand at the speaker, "and I didn't! I thought I was gonna die of fright on the spot, but I looked at him and said, 'now that I can see you, wanna be friends?'"

That got a reaction. The entire crowd gasped, and some of them looked a bit pale. Was Veldora really that scary of a guy? I still remembered him as a whiny tsundere–he wasn't even as big as I said he was.

"How are you alive!?" Someone shouted.

"He liked it!" I answered, "he laughed! He said, 'never before have I met someone with your audacity! Why don't we be friends? I have been alone for a very long time!' So he gave me my name, as an equal–Rimuru, and our shared name, Tempest."

Sensing the conclusion of the story, the previously (mostly) silent crowd suddenly went into an uproar. I heard things like "amazing!" and "he's lying! That can't possibly be true!"

"Hey, Rimuru!" Someone shouted above the rest, "do you know what happened to Veldora?"

That got them to quiet down real fast. Dozens of pairs of eyes stared at me, curious and apprehensive all at once.

Um… I ate him…

"I don't know." I feigned a bit of sadness. "I escaped the cave one day and got lost in the forest. By the time I found my way back, he was gone."

This was met with murmurs or sympathy, probably a better reaction than what I would've gotten otherwise. "Do you think he'll come back?" Someone asked.

That I had an answer to. Sooner or later, in a year or a hundred (most likely more than a hundred,) we were going to break his seal. I'd promised that, and I don't break promises.

"Of course!" I flashed a grin, "he's Veldora. I'm sure that, wherever he is, he's trying his hardest to return to us!"

I meant that as a little jab to keep him going if Veldora could indeed hear me, and I had a sneaking suspicion that he could.

My story was the talk of the rest of the night, and I bet that they'd all talk about it for a lot longer. I'd put on quite the show, so there was no way they'd forget it any time soon.

The Chief solemnly closed his eyes after I broke the news to him that I would be leaving them soon. I'd almost finished mapping out the forest, so I had little reason not to leave immediately, but I still wanted to stay a bit longer before departing.

It was now the next morning. I'd decided to reveal that I'll be leaving to him first thing, hoping that I could catch the Chief before he got busy with his work.

"You have been with us for months and my people have grown attached to your presence, but if you must go, I have no right to try and stop you, Rimuru."

Yes, the ogres had grown attached to me, especially the Princess and some of the children. But, I had things I needed to take care of; Shizu's dying wishes still remained unfulfilled, so I couldn't stay here forever… even if life among the ogres had been pleasant.

"Thanks for understanding. Next time I'm in the area, I'll make sure to stop by, as long as I'm still welcome."

"That home we have let you stay in is yours to return to, Rimuru. You are welcome to come back and live with my people after you've accomplished what you are setting out to do."

"Father, we should hold a feast to send Rimuru off properly." Redhead, who had been with the Chief when I found them, suggested. That wasn't what I expected from him at all.

I guess he figured out how much I love food. I'm surprised he picked up on that with how hostile he's been toward me.

The Chief seemed just as surprised as I was that Redhead would make an offer like that unprompted.

"I will let you organize that, my son."

Things were starting to move fast so I felt the need to clear a few things up.

"Wait one moment, I won't be leaving for another week or two, I think. I'd like to spend a bit more time here before departing."

My sudden announcement about leaving was kinda an accident, something that just spilled out of my mouth. I wasn't emotionally ready to leave the ogres just yet. I'd made friends here, so I needed a little more time.

The Chief laughed a little at my assurance.

"Well, we will make sure to send you off properly when the time comes."

"Yes, I will cook you the best meal, Rimuru!" The Princess chimed in.

"Can we have fish?" I asked the Chief.

"Fish?"

"Yeah, don't you guys fish?"

I haven't had any fish since coming to this world, but there's no way people don't eat seafood around here, right? It doesn't hurt to ask, at least.

"Sometimes, although rarely. If that's what you want, Rimuru, I'm sure we can accommodate you."

"Oh, if it's too much trouble, then never mind. But, I can even help you catch fish if you want; it's been forever since I've gone fishing!"

"You two should go fishing together in preparation for the feast," the Princess suggested.

"Us two?" Redhead asked, glancing at me and pointing at himself.

"Yes, you two! I want Rimuru to leave on good terms with you, Brother, so some time spent together would be beneficial."

So thanks to the ogre Princess, I found myself on a fishing trip with the Redhead.

"It's too bad there isn't any saltwater nearby…" I grumbled out loud.

"Saltwater?" Redhead asked.

"Yeah, the ocean probably has better fish than the lake we're going to," I explained.

There was an awkward pause, so I looked over at him and saw a serious stare. At first I was questioning if he might not know what an ocean was or something, but apparently that wasn't his problem.

"Rimuru." He sternly jabbed at me.

"What?" I asked a little defensively.

"You do realize that slimes cannot handle saltwater, right?" He asked condescendingly.

I was genuinely surprised by this.

"Wait, what?"

"I heard about it as a kid. Too much salt can make a slime shrivel up. You should stay away from any saltwater, I believe." He explained, sounding pretty satisfied with himself for schooling me on something he probably thinks I should already know.

"Oh…" Was the only response I could give.

He just gave me a look like I was suicidal…cut me some slack, man! I've told you how long I've lived in this world, so you should understand!

I mean, how was I supposed to know that?! Well, I'm just glad that I didn't learn that lesson the hard way.

We were walking together to a known fishing spot. Redhead knew the way and I could guess where we were heading based on the map I'd made of the forest. It's a lake, but not the one where it's all marshy. I'd been told that's territory that belongs to a race called Lizardmen, so fishing there isn't allowed and is considered encroaching on their land. The ogres only seem to control part of the forest, and this lake was included in that territory.

Once there, I peered at the clear, glistening lake spread in front of us and pulled out the two fishing poles I'd stored away for our trip. They were very similar to what I was used to from fishing back when I was human, although these were a bit more simplistic. Either way, they should do the job just fine.

Redhead stared at me for a moment, as if in deep contemplation. I really wondered what that airhead could be thinking about so hard before he suddenly spoke. "What should we use as bait?"

"Uh…you know the fish here better than I do, what would you recommend?" I really didn't have any idea, and even with the sage, I doubt I could really figure it out immediately.

Redhead scratched the back of his neck and looked uneasy for a few moments. "I don't think you'd want to know."

What's that supposed to mean?

"It can't be that bad, even if it is kinda gross," I deadpanned. Humming a bit, I wondered what gross or gnarly kinds of things monster fish would like as bait.

Redhead rolled his eyes. "Your loss then. Normally, we would use slimes as bait. The fish here like them, so we'd normally skewer them on hooks, and use them."

I shuddered for a moment, an inexplicable chill running down my back from the idea. "Come on, what's with you people!? Can't you understand that slimes have feelings too?! We aren't just unthinking blobs!"

Without a lot of thought, I burst out, finally wanting someone to vent about the mounting feeling of slimes being abused so often.

"I told you that you wouldn't want to know." He huffed back and looked back out onto the lake. "I'm sure if we look, we can find something else to use instead."

"I guess… you're right." I sighed. "Sorry." I turned and tried to hum off my embarrassment while looking around. I even asked the sage to thoroughly scan the area with [Magic Sense].

[[Notice: Several possible bait substances have been identified within this area.]]

Reliable as always. I followed the little markers the sage set on my mental map of the area and ended my search with a pile of large monster bugs and a few small animals. That felt a little cruel, but I wanted fish for dinner tonight. You have to break some eggs to make an omelet, as they say.

In the meantime, Redhead had collected his own pile of potential bait, and presented me with a giant snake-sized worm, along with a comb from some kind of monster termite mound.

"I think this will be enough." I smiled and looked between our two piles of bait.

"Well, let the better fisherman win then." Redhead grinned, and took one of the poles, before quickly setting his bait and casting to the center of the lake. Which was pretty impressive, at least by human standards.

I got my own chance to roll my eyes, before setting my own bait and casting as well. Our hooks landed near each other, so it was a matter of who had picked better bait now.

So the both of us sat there, intently focusing on our hooks.

And we sat there.

Then we sat there some more.

Finally, we sat there for a little while longer.

"Dangit!" I threw my pole into the air, it had been nearly two hours and nothing had even cared about our bait.

"Are you giving up?" Redhead smirked again, although I could tell from his tight grip on his pole, he was also angry we weren't getting anything.

"No! I just don't think this is working, alright?!" I huffed and skipped a large pebble to the other side of the lake to demonstrate what I meant. Nothing even reacted to the disturbance at the surface. Everything must've been pretty deep, and clearly, our bait wasn't very enticing.

Redhead looked out over the lake and nodded. "Well, what do you want to do then? Surely a great majin like yourself wouldn't be defeated by a simple fish?" He took a clearly sarcastic tone and an even more wicked grin.

However, he had the perfect idea. "You know what! You're right. A 'powerful majin' like me would never be beaten by a fish! You said they like slimes, right? Well, we have a slime right here!"

"Hey, that was teasing. What crazy idea have you cooked up?" He tilted his head and looked a lot more confused, not to mention concerned. "Wait, you don't mean-"

"I'll just go in there, draw them in, and beat up the fish myself!" My patience expended, I ran toward the edge of the lake and jumped, while mid-air dropping my shapeshift and letting my slimy self sink into the depths.

I watched Rimuru hop into the lake and disappear under the shiny surface of the water, questioning his sanity.

"Well, if he thinks he'll be fine, I'm not gonna stop him." I shrugged.

So, I just watched intently, waiting to see what happened. I wasn't lying when I said that the fish here love slimes; it's one of their natural prey, as far as I understand. Slimes are prevalent in the summer, and because they're mostly made of water mixed with magicules, it's not uncommon for them to hop in lakes and such to cool off on the hottest days of the year. The fish here go mad for them when that happens, especially since slimes tend to move en masse.

A few minutes passed with no sign of Rimuru. I started to worry that he might've drowned, but knowing what he is, I bet he doesn't even need to breathe, does he? I decided to just wait a bit longer, not wanting to jump in after him and get my clothes all wet.

Suddenly, something large broke the surface of the water and flew right at me. I jumped out of the way and watched as a massive fish slapped into the ground where I was standing.

It wasn't moving at all and seemed to be dead.

But then, the mouth began to move a little and something blue and shiny wiggled its way out. It was Rimuru, of course.

He quickly changed into his human shape after escaping the maw of the dead fish.

"That…was an interesting experience. Not one I'd like to repeat, though." Rimuru grumbled, smoothing out the clothes he put on mid-transformation.

"Why did you let that fish eat you?" I questioned.

"I didn't let it eat me. I was just baiting it to get closer, but before I could decide how to kill it, I was in its mouth." Rimuru casually explained to me.

"How did you kill it exactly?" I asked, not noticing a single wound on the fish as I looked at it closer.

"I yanked this out of it." Rimuru held up an organ that he pulled out of seemingly nowhere; it looked like a heart encrusted in mana crystals. "Once I was inside, it was easy to get to it, and taking it was enough to kill this fish instantly."

"Do you think we should bring back more of these? It would be nice to have more than one fish for this feast."

"Only if you play the bait for them. As I said, I do not want to experience getting gobbled up by a fish again!"

"I don't think I would work as bait. I'm too big and I definitely don't resemble a slime."

"Well, there's no way I'm going in that lake again, so let's settle for this one fish. I was the only person that wanted it badly, so people can eat something different if it's not enough."

"That's fairly selfish of you, but whatever." I didn't actually believe the majin would eat the entire fish, it was nearly the size of a large shed.

"Hey, I'm not a glutton. Just look at this thing, it's huge!"

"I've never once seen you turn down seconds at a meal, even though you are given a larger portion than most of us. If that doesn't make you a glutton, I don't know what would."

"All slimes eat that much!" Rimuru protested.

"No, slimes don't eat at all. I've never once seen one eat a single thing." I folded my arms and explained to him.

"Stop trying to act like you're a 'slime expert!'"

"Says the slime that didn't even know that salt could kill him."

Rimuru huffed, angry but unable to say anything back after that.

"Let's head back," he grumbled.

"Sure, but what are we going to do to carry that thing? I didn't expect our catch to be that large."

"I'll handle it."

Rimuru, again, dropped out of human form and proceeded to completely engulf the fish with his body.

"You were supposed to wait for the feast…and didn't you say that was too large for you to eat by yourself not even a moment ago?" I questioned him.

"I just stored it, I didn't actually eat it." Rimuru explained, but this didn't really make sense to me. As far as I could tell, it looked exactly the same as the times I'd seen Rimuru eat things while in his natural shape.

"You get weirder and weirder the more I learn about you." I teased a little.

"Tch…rude…"