"Kenya, don't do that!"
"What? He's not eating it anyway!"
After we sat down with our lunches, Professor Rimuru went quiet again, sort of just staring at his food and not eating. Usually he loves eating, so I knew something was going on. Something serious.
Kenya decided to take this opportunity to try to steal some of our teacher's food, but Gale batted his hand away before he could.
Professor Rimuru didn't react at all to that, somehow.
"See? He doesn't care!" Kenya complained.
"Professor Rimuru, isn't it wrong for Kenya to take your food without asking?" Gale asked, but got no answer.
"He's completely out of it." Alice pointed her fork at our teacher, "Can't you tell?"
"I think he's tired. He always works so hard." Ryota added.
"Maybe." Gale agreed.
Kenya reached up and set his breadroll on top of Professor Rimuru's head.
"Haha, let's see what else we can stack on top of him while he's like this!"
"No, Ken, he'll be so mad!"
"It's just a bit of harmless fun. Professor Rimuru will probably just laugh over it!"
Alice sends the roll flying right into Kenya's open mouth, using her skill with a motion of her hand.
"Mmph!"
"Didn't Professor Rimuru tell us not to play with our food? You're such a child, Ken." Alice scolded, before reaching toward the top of our teachers head, "You got crumbs in our Professor's hair and now I have to clean up your mes-… wait, why is it so soft?"
"Let me feel too!" I stroked Professor Rimuru's hair too and Alice was right, it is super soft! "Woooow!"
"How is he still not reacting at all…" Gale muttered, clearly confused.
"Hehehe… this is our chance, Chlo!"
"Huh?"
Alice pulls out a pair of hair ribbons from her pocket, "Remember back in that cafe? His lady friend did his hair all pretty! Don't you think this color would look nice with our teacher's hair?"
Alice didn't even wait for my answer and started tying the ribbons into Professor Rimuru's hair, gathering it loosely on both sides.
"There!"
"Okay, now take 'em out." Kenya suddenly said.
"Yeah, I agree… wait, Ken, why are you trying to be the voice of reason?" Gale questioned.
"I just know he'll get all mad at us if you leave his hair like that. And it makes him look too cute… I don't like it." Kenya explained.
"Oh, does Ken have a crush~?" Alice teased.
For some reason, those words rubbed me the wrong way.
"Kenya, you can't have our teacher." I coldly insisted.
He's mine.
… wait, what am I thinking!?
"Whoa, Chlo, I was just kidding! Why do you sound so serious!?"
"I-I was joking t-too… j-just take the ribbons out A-Alice…" I muttered, embarrassed by my own reaction.
Alice gave me a strange look.
"Fine, I'll take them out. They did look pretty on him though, didn't they, Chlo?" she asked as she removed the ribbons from his hair.
"Yeah!" I nodded.
"Hey…" Ryota muttered.
"What is it, Ryota?" Kenya asked him.
"Uh… nevermind…"
"No, tell us what you were gonna say!"
"I'm probably wrong, but… is Professor Rimuru really a boy?"
"What!? Of course he is!" Alice insisted.
"But, I mean, he talked about being a man in his last life, and I know on the inside he's a man, but on the outside… I dunno, maybe…?" Ryota squeaked out, shyly looking down.
"Are you sayin' he's too cute to be a guy on the outside? You think he was reincarnated as a girl, but refuses to accept it?"
"Y-yes… but I'm sure I'm wrong… it was just a silly idea…"
"No, no, I think you might have a point." Gale pondered, "Has anyone ever seen Professor Rimuru go into a bathroom? If so, then which one?"
"No."
"Never."
"Hmmm… so we can't use that to figure it out."
"He didn't wanna go in the boys' bathroom with me when I was sick. He coulda just been respecting my privacy, but still." Kenya explained.
Everyone fell silent.
"I need to know. I'm way too curious now!"
"What are you curious about, Alice?" Professor Rimuru suddenly asked.
"Eep!" she let out a high-pitched yelp. Up until now, Professor Rimuru had been completely still and silent for most of the lunch period.
"N-nothing!"
Professor Rimuru squinted his eyes at her for a moment.
"Dang… I let my food get cold…" he grumbled, "Oh well."
Our teacher starts quickly eating the rest of his food.
"What?" he asked, catching me watching him closely.
"Are you… keeping a big secret from us, teacher?" I asked, staring into his pretty golden eyes.
He stopped mid-bite and stared back at me.
"Everyone has secrets, in one form or another." he answered with a warm smile. "Especially when it comes to adults."
He shoveled the last bite into his mouth and stood up abruptly. "Now, let's head back to the classroom. I have something I want to give you all."
Dang, I should've used [Thought Acceleration] when looking over those simulations the sage constructed for me.
After coming up with the idea to use Greater Spirits to resolve my students' issue I had my trusty skill run some simulated experiments based on data gathered from Ifrit.
I may have spent a bit too much time in my own mind and had let my food get cold.
Oh well, this was more important than a meal. I'm glad you were able to squeeze some more useful info out of Ifrit.
[[Yes, further cooperation from Greater Fire Spirit, Ifrit, led to further discoveries and more detailed findings.]]
Wait, further cooperation?! What do you mean by that? You are acting like that guy's still alive and decided to help us.
[[Answer: the Greater Fire Spirit, Ifrit, has been contained within the [Stomach] of the unique skill, [Predator]. Indirect contact with Greater Fire Spirit, Ifrit, is possible through unique skill [Great Sage]. Contact has been utilized to gain further data on Greater Spirits.]]
Contact… wait, if you can talk with Ifrit in my stomach, doesn't the same apply to Vel-
"Professor Rimuru, can you help me with this word?" Chloe asked, pointing at the page of her book and standing next to me. This was during a quiet, self-study period for today, so I was just sitting at my desk, keeping an eye on my class.
I'd had the brilliant idea of creating some manga copies in the language used in this world to help my students learn how to properly read it. It's been slow-going, but they have all been improving by the day, the fun stories motivating them to work hard.
Today, I gave them all a new set to dig into, which led to a perfectly quiet classroom up until now.
"Let me see… ah, that's 'admittance'." I answered, grateful for the Sage's translation assistance. I'd never been good with foreign languages, even in my past life when I stubbornly insisted I'd 'never need them'. It's not my fault that I never considered I'd get isekai'ed one day.
"Thank you, teacher!" Chloe warmly thanked me before practically skipping back to her seat.
"You could've just asked me, Chlo. You shouldn't bother Professor Rimuru when he's thinking so hard." Gale whispered to her quietly.
Dang… did I zone out again?
[[Notice: the individual, Rimuru Tempest, remained completely motionless for 14 minutes and 49 seconds.]]
I think I'll leave the deep pondering until after school hours. These kids need my attention right now.
Later that night, when I turned my attention back to the issue of how to get Greater Spirits for my five students, I came to a revelation… or I should say [Great Sage] did.
It had deemed this info 'irrelevant', by its words, until now, but it was able to give me a lead on where I should go.
The country called Urgrassia.
A shamanistic country somewhat cut off from the rest of the world, but not an unwelcoming one to outsiders, just mysterious and disregarded by most nations. Their people apparently all make contracts with spirits, it actually being a requirement of citizenship. Obviously, they have some way to summon them.
Yes, the summoning of Lesser Spirits is well-known enough for me to figure out on my own, but Greater Spirits were another story. Those don't just hang around in broad daylight for anyone to stumble across.
I guessed that it was the former that every Urgrassian was required to bond with (otherwise that would be too overpowered), but that didn't mean that the lead was dead.
It was worth a trip there to investigate, at least, but I suspected it would take some time. I'd need to ask Yuuki to get someone to watch my kids for a week or so.
Yes, I remembered what happened last time I did that, but this is different. Not only do I believe that was caused by the stress of knowing their classmate is sick, but this will also be a planned absence; I was sure they could manage without me for a week.
"Quite demanding, eh, Rimuru? Asking for an entire week off when you haven't even been working here for that long."
Yuuki's smirk told me that this was just him teasing me yet again. I swear, this guy…
"Yuuki, this is important."
"I think you should tell me where you're going then. I can't have the slime that miraculously controlled Class S and promised to save them just run off into parts unknown, never to be seen again… that would be a tragedy!"
"I can handle myself just fine; you know that."
"You've become integral to the stability of this school at this point. I'm serious when I said I don't want to lose you."
"And you won't. I'll be back in a jiffy, I just need to take a little trip out of Englesia."
"Hmmm… paying a visit to Jura? Getting homesick? Is it mating season for slimes and-"
"No! No, stop! What gives you that idea?!"
"Haha, I bet I'm right on the mark! You can just tell me the truth, Rimuru. I'm great at keeping secrets." He winked at me just to rankle my nerves further.
"I'm serious, cut it out! This is serious Yuuki!"
"Good. Because if it was something silly, I'd need to talk you out of it."
"You can't talk me out of this. I'll leave regardless of you finding a fill-in for me, this is a courtesy for you, the school, and the Vice Chairman more than anything."
"This has something to do with your purpose for being here."
It wasn't a question, but a statement.
I lightly nodded in response.
"Now I'm more curious about where you're going, but I'll hold off for now. I assume you'll tell me afterward if you find a fix for those poor kids."
"We'll see about that."
"Do you need transport? I can arrange that kind of thing for you."
"No, I'll be traveling my own way. It'll be faster than a carriage."
"I know you're faster than you look on those stubby little legs, but still…"
Yuuki's stare was intense; again, he was probing me to find out where I was going exactly, pouncing on the opportunity of an extra reason to squeeze the answer outta me.
I needed to give him something to chew on or he'd never leave me alone at this point.
"Sheesh… I'll be flying, alright? I can sprout a pair of wings and fly."
His eyes went wide before filling with clear childish jealousy.
"You're kiddin' me… you can FLYYYY!?"
I sighed and whipped out my bat wings; we were in private, so this was perfectly fine.
"Never thought I'd see a slime grow super-cool demon wings!"
"They're bat wings, for the record, not demon wings."
I could make those too, but bat wings are just what I'm used to.
Bat wings, dragon wings, demon wings… I could even make more bird-like wings if I wanted to, with feathers and stuff. The large myriad of monsters I'd eaten by now left me with many options, but I'd chosen to stick with the classic bat wings I'd acquired first.
"What else can you do?"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Can you partially mimic other animals and monsters too?!"
"Only ones I've eaten-... hey, don't get any weird ideas!"
Just like with the ridiculous costumes he'd constantly tried to get me to wear, I was certain Yuuki was starting to get some disturbing ideas. Knowing his taste, I wouldn't be at all shocked if he tried to get me to mimic cat ears and a tail or something equally distasteful. The worst part was that I could probably manage that feat if I tried.
"Ahem… I don't know what you mean, Rimuru." Yuuki's surely well-practiced innocent smile completely obscured his intentions from his expression, but he wasn't fooling me at this point. I decided to just let it go.
Yuuki clears his throat and looks at me more seriously.
"Is there anything you need for your trip, then? As Grandmaster of the guild, it's my job to take care of my members. Plus, if this has to do with those kids, I personally want to help if I can, even if you won't tell me the details yet."
How reliable of him… Yuuki can be professional and worthy of respect when he wants to. I knew that already despite his usual antics.
"No, I'm good. Thanks for the offer."
"Come back in one piece, 'kay? Or, I guess being split in two wouldn't kill you, would it, Rimuru?"
"I've… never tested that."
I did have my arm cut off once and was perfectly fine, but that's different than being split evenly into two pieces.
It made me wonder for a moment which half would be 'me' if that happened. Both? Neither? And which side would regenerate in the first place? Would the other half gain sentience? Wasn't splitting mitosis-style how slimes reproduce?
I didn't want to dwell on those disturbing thoughts.
"Haha, I was just joking! Come back safe, is what I should've said."
"Thanks."
"WHAAAAT!?" All five kids screamed.
"I said I'm leaving for a week."
"B-but… what about us?" Ryota asked, holding back tears.
"You'll stay here. Don't worry, I won't be gone for long." I reassured him, patting his head.
"You jerk! You scumbag! You're abandoning us, aren't you!?" Alice screamed.
"Alice, he didn't say that. Remember how he promised to help us?" Chloe corrected her.
"He's just taking a trip… I'm sure Professor Rimuru has a good reason. I don't like it, but he said he would come back." Gale added.
"He will come back," affirmed Chloe. She looked over at me with sad eyes, "Right, Professor?"
"Of course I will. And you're right Ryota, this is something very important. I wouldn't just leave for no reason."
"Why won't you tell us why then?!" Kenya whined.
"Because I can't. End of story."
None of them liked my answer, but I didn't want to get their hopes up for nothing. That would just break their hearts and their trust in me that I worked so hard to build over the time I've been their teacher.
My flight to Urgrassia went perfectly smooth; it's not like there were any other monsters up at the altitude I was flying at. I still remembered that one I sensed last time I flew, but that one wasn't there sneaking around this time.
I landed outside of the first settlement I found within the borders of Urgrassia. There didn't seem to be any sort of barrier around it, unlike the ones in Blumund and Englesia, which was surprising but not completely unexpected.
Based on what I could see of it from there, I could tell these people took a much more natural approach to their way of living. It was refreshing, seeing another new culture in this world, but I didn't have time to dawdle.
There was no checkpoint at the gate either; I was allowed to just walk inside. Yeah, there were guards, but they just asked me a few questions, why I was there, where I'd come from, and let me be.
After some time asking around about where I could find Greater Spirits, I was led to the town's elder, who graciously gave me directions without question. Apparently it's their 'sacred duty' to aid 'aspiring heroes' in their journeys, specifically to someplace called the 'Dwelling of Spirits'. Pretty on the nose with that name there, but I couldn't complain.
Large, ancient stone doors in the side of a tall rocky hill topped with grass; it sure looked like an entrance to a sacred place. I was glad that it didn't take me terribly long to find once I got the somewhat-vague directions from the elder.
Just touching the door was enough to send me inside. Yes, I had intent to enter, but I wasn't expecting sudden teleportation. It was a bit disorienting.
A long, straight hallway that seemed to stretch on forever ahead was what I was met with after I was pulled inside. Above also seemed to have no end, fading into darkness sprinkled with the occasional drifting glint of light.
I could tell there was more to this place than human eyes could see; thank goodness I had [Magic Sense] to help with that. It was teeming with energy too; I could almost taste it in the air.
So, I started walking… and walking… and walking. For a long time… minutes? Hours? Days? I wasn't sure, but it felt like forever.
[[Answer: it has been 52 minutes and 32 seconds.]]
Oh. Well, I still feel like I'm getting nowhere here…
Not only did I feel like I was making no progress, I swore I could hear faint echoing giggles in the distance, mocking me for persisting for as long as I had.
I was determined, though, so I kept going.
As my face twisted with frustration, the giggles grew louder, to the point that I could no longer just dismiss them as my mind playing tricks on me.
"Who's there?" I called out to the seemingly disembodied giggles, "I'm trying to find Greater Spirits, can you kindly show me the way?"
Trying manners first is always a good practice, so I put on my charisma and a nice smile to hopefully get a response from someone or something.
But, all I got was louder giggles and some small, amused whispers I couldn't quite make out with the echo. They seemed to be coming from every direction at once; I just couldn't pinpoint them, even with [Magic Sense], which put my slightly on edge.
"They want us to show them the way? How funny!"
"Why would we do something like that? Finding your way by yourself is part of the trial!"
"Silly, silly, child! They don't understand!"
Now I could clearly make out the voices… just to find out how annoying they were. High-pitched nasally teasing voices taunting me for asking a simple question!
"Alright, I already asked nicely, so I'll give you one more chance to help me out."
But all I got was more obnoxious giggles from them.
Time to be a bit more forceful.
[Coercion], a skill I hadn't bothered trying out despite having it for a while now, might be a good thing to use right now.
I triggered it instantly, sending my aura out in an ominous cloud around me, and funnily enough, I swear I hear some screams from those same voices that had been making fun of me not even a moment ago.
It's too bad they ended up running off too.
Maybe I should've held back a bit more with my skill? Eh, too late for that now.
"Lady Ramiris, Lady Ramiris! We have a Code: L!"
"WHAT!?"
"This one's super scary! And super strong! They were gonna kill us!"
"I almost died, I almost died! When they looked in my direction, I thought I died!"
"Tch." the small, blond-haired pixie clucked her tongue in annoyance, not wanting to deal with someone like this again. It was bad enough when she had a strong, arrogant invader the first time, let alone a second. She refuses to let this one have their way with her and her precious spirits!
"Prepare the Elemental Colossus! Let's watch those bold eyes fill with despair!"
The pixie cackled evilly, juxtaposed to her cute, small appearance. But you can't judge this book by its cover, because this pixie is one of the Ten Great Demon Lords, Ramiris of the Labyrinth. Knowing that, her laugh and expression seem much more fitting.
It's just one kid, she thought to herself, even if they're strong, there's no way they'll stand a chance against my ultimate weapon! Plus, if that fails, I can use my 48 secret killing moves to dispose of this brat! I'm the strongest Demon Lord, after all!
Suddenly, the dim uniform light in the mysterious hallway went out and it became pitch black. I could still see just fine, of course, but was left wondering why someone flipped the metaphorical switch on the ambient glow of this place.
Then, directly ahead, some spotlights appeared, lighting up a figure that I sensed appeared just a few seconds before.
"Dun, dun, dun-dun! I am the Great Ramiris of the Labyrinth! Who dares show themself before this beautiful, gorgeous lady of endless grace!?"
The figure shot toward me before coming to a sudden halt right before hitting me in the face. It took a lot of willpower not to just swat her away like an annoying fly.
She was a little pixie girl with blonde hair, maybe a foot or so tall, with dragonfly wings and a black dress. Her arrogant smirk and pompous tone and way of introducing herself told me that she definitely had an inflated ego. Maybe she's the boss of this place with all that ironic confidence she's oozing.
"Are you in charge around here? I'm lookin' for some Greater Spirits."
One of her eyes twitched as she stared at me from her position floating in front of my face.
"Yeah, I'm 'in charge', I'm the queen of spirits, Ramiris of the Labyrinth! One of the Ten Great Demon Lords!"
This little fairy is the queen here? And she's a Demon Lord too? I wasn't exactly impressed or convinced. Aren't Demon Lords supposed to be ominous, strong, and scary, none of which this Ramiris could be described as? Maybe this is what passes for a demon lord in this world, but I had no frame of reference.
"Don't look at me like that!"
"Like what?"
"Like you don't believe me!"
"It's not that I don't believe you… but you aren't what I'd expect from a queen. Or a Demon Lord, for that matter. But, if you say you are, I guess you are. And since you are so impressive, why don't you help me out? I really do need your help, O' Great Demon Lord Ramiris." I wasn't able to get my tone completely genuine with that last part, but still hoped it'd do the trick.
"Listen here, kid. Flattery will get you NOWHERE after you showed that attitude in here! You need to pass my trial first… THEN, and only then, will my gracious self CONSIDER your request! Do. You. Understand?!" She punctuated those last words with a jabbed finger to my forehead.
"Trial? What trial?"
A sinister smile peeled across her lips and she moved her arms above her head, spinning mid-air as she finally respected my personal space and backed off.
"[Small World]!"
The area around us melted away and reformed into a smaller, completely enclosed octagonal room of stone brick walls. I didn't feel myself being taken somewhere different, rather, the actual architecture surrounding me changing at the will of this pixie.
Standing in the center of the room was something very impressive; a large metal robot that stood four times my height, painted a vibrant pink. Honestly, it looked pretty awesome, but I had the sinking feeling we weren't going to get along.
The robot stood up slowly, becoming closer to six times my height. At that point I became a little more concerned. However, I could still clearly see it didn't reach my level in terms of magicules.
Although that didn't exactly matter, as the same was true of me when compared to Ifrit when I fought them.
I took a more cautious stance than I had before, it was definitely a pretty big bump in the power level of things I'd seen. I would need to be careful.
It was also fast, as it closed the distance between us really quickly.
I dodged out of the way, and yelled into the surroundings. "Hey! Do I just gotta beat this thing up?"
The voice laughed maniacally. "Sure! If you really think you can, little monster!"
"Alright then! Don't say I didn't warn you!" I decided not to fight this thing head on with my sword, or anything melee.
I was fairly certain it was physically stronger than me, so there was no point.
Instead, I could just melt the thing, slime-style. So, as it tried to smash me with its giant fist, I let it… and intentionally splattered all over the metal surface of the thing.
It was exactly what I was hoping for, as I tried to use [Predator] on the metal. I wanted to melt through the thing's shell and eat at its insides.
Unfortunately, not all things go to plan.
[[Notice: The magisteel surface of this construct is capable of resisting the effects of [Predator]. Would you like to use analysis to identify weaknesses?]]
Darn! Well, sure I guess. Gotta change my plan.
[[Notice: This construct has been identified as a mass of spiritual energy possessing a metal shell, if the individual, Rimuru Tempest, were to use [Predator] on the spiritual energy, the construct would become inoperable.]]
Ah! Well that shouldn't be too hard!
I let my slime seep into the joints and exhaust vents of the golem, and began using [Predator] on everything I came into contact with.
I even forced more of myself into its core as I went to make the process faster.
By the end, I had ended up absorbing quite the collection of lesser and mid-level spirits, as the sage reported.
After I was done, the construct simply fell to pieces around me, and I slithered out from under its mass.
"Hey! Hey! HEY! What did you do!? You destroyed my Elemental Colossus! It was perfect! It was invincible! You're crazy, crazy I tell you! A crazy slimy abomination that ate up all the cute little spirits piloting my greatest creation! HOW COULD YOU!?"
I didn't get why she was so upset; I even spared the outer shell that I thought was so cool. I could've totally eaten that thing after neutralizing the golem.
"Soooo… about those Greater Spirits…"
"NO! No way! No way am I helping you now! You're a meanie! A big meanie monster that needs to leave my home NOW!"
"But… you wanted me to fight it…"
"Yeah, but I didn't want you to EAT my adorable little spirits! They had feelings too, y'know!"
"Uhm… they did?" I thought lesser spirits were unintelligent…
[[Answer: lesser and mid-level spirits possess weak egos but are incapable of exercising free will. They can be considered on the same level of sentience as some animals.]]
"Of course they did, you deranged idiot!"
"Look, I'm sorry!" I shouted, a bit flustered. "I just wanted to beat your cool robot-thing so you would help me save my kids!"
"Eh?" It was like a record scratch, seeing this pixie's face change. "You think my colossus is cool!?"
Ah, I'm getting somewhere with her now. Time to lay on the compliments.
"Yes, it was super cool! That's why I didn't wreck its shell. You can just rebuild it now, right?"
It was like I sent her into her own little world; she flitted around happily with her chin raised high, proudly muttering my compliment to herself over and over.
"Wait, what's this you said about kids?" she suddenly asked, seeming a lot more friendly after her little self-ego-trip.
"That's why I came here. See, I have a group of five human children that are failed summons and need to have some compatible Greater Spirits inhabit them to save their lives. I was hoping to make a deal of some sort before bringing them here to have that happen."
"What's a monster doing with human children? You didn't steal them, did you?"
What does she take me for? Some sort of demon?! I thought that was rich coming from someone that was supposedly a Demon Lord herself.
"No, no, nothing like that! I was friends with the human that was in charge of them and promised to save them after she died."
"Pretty noble for an oddball slime thing. That is what you are, right? You sure looked like a slime earlier!"
"Yes, I'm a slime, but that doesn't matter right now. Since you're the head honcho here, can you tell me if it's fine to bring them to this place to have some spirits make contracts with them?"
"Well… I can't promise that the spirits will cooperate, if the affinities of those kids don't mesh with them, but I am willing to let them try!"
"Thank you."
"But you can't have any!"
"What?"
"No more spirits for you, mister! You're too much of a jerk!"
"Fine, fine, this wasn't for me anyway."
"Now… out! Out until you bring those poor kids! I don't need you breaking something else!"