February 19th ?:

Massive lumps of cracked stone and rock were scattered across the cold surface of an enormous cavern. Dead monsters of countless variety were spread on the ground, covered in deep lacerations and gashes.

Seated on the top of a humongous boulder in the cave Veldora Tempest had been sealed into, Ryomen Tempest Sukuna positioned his knuckles beneath his chin and watched his new companion fight.

For the last thirty days, Sukuna and Rimuru Tempest had explored the cave that had once housed the fearsome storm dragon. Different monsters had approached them, keen on ending their second lives.

Since he was a member of the Demonic-Humans species, Sukuna released an unnatural sensation—a sensation monsters feared. On Sukuna's command, Kamutoke had deactivated this strange ability.

After procuring himself a sound-based skills from consuming a number of bats, Rimuru had gained the capability of speaking aloud. Sukuna leaned his head back, listening to the battle beneath him.

A voracious scream of pure hunger graced Sukuna's ears from behind him. Four crimson eyes of endless boredom blinked, looked at the Armorsaurus who had its maws wide open, and ignored the creature.

Accessing his Unique-Skill: Laceration, Sukuna turned his head towards the Armorsaurus, flicked two of his fingers downwards, embedded a Dismantle into its head, and then killed the monster.

Once he had realized Rimuru's battle against a horde of monsters had finished, Sukuna hopped off of the massive boulder he was sat on and landed next to the slime. Sukuna was impressed by Rimuru's power.

The Unique-Skill: Predator that Rimuru had let him devour and analyze whatever creature he had consumed, gaining its skills in return. Dismantle was launched into a wall in the cave to create an opening.

At the moment, Sukuna and Rimuru's goal was to find the entrance to the cavern their sworn friend had been trapped in to make their debut to the realm they had reincarnated into. Sukuna stepped into the wall.

Having hopped onto Sukuna's shoulder to relax himself, Rimuru gasped in awe at the numerous magic ores and herbs in the area. Sukuna jumped across a cliff of sorts, landing on another ledge.

"This place is insane!" Rimuru complained to his friend. "We've been here for weeks and keep getting ambushed by all these monsters!"

Applying cursed magicules to the soles of his feet, Sukuna walked onto the water. "You have to admit, this is good training for us."

Huffing in annoyance, Rimuru responded. "Good training my ass! I swear, you're some type of battle-obsessed maniac or something!"

Unimpressed and amused, Sukuna said. "At least I ain't a slime whose damn hobby is sampling monsters and taking their skills."

Rimuru pointed the left side of his body at the reincarnated child. "I'll have you know my Unique-Skill: Predator is better than your slashes!"

"Or." Rimuru trailed off, wiggling his imaginary eye-brows. "Are you just jealous of how overpowered all of my skills are? I would be too."

Touching his feet down on a third ledge, Sukuna snorted. "I'm sure half, if not all, of your intelligence comes from Great-Sage, you idiot."

"Hey!" Rimuru yelled in response, indignant and offended. "I'm plenty smart, intelligent, and incredible! Even without Great-Sage's help."

"Besides." Rimuru somehow grinned at the crimson-eyed boy. "Didn't you tell Veldora and me that you also have a weird voice in your head?"

Sukuna shrugged in mockery. "I talk to the voice on occasion. Unlike you—who has to rely on Great-Sage for anything and everything."

Shooting a water blade into a monster behind Sukuna, Rimuru said. "Moving aside, I have been meaning to ask you some questions."

"Fire away." Sukuna dispelled the cursed magicules gathered into his feet. "I don't really have much to hide from you—so I'll answer them."

"What other skills do you have?" Rimuru was rather curious. "I've seen those slashes of yours—but I'm pretty sure you have more abilities."

A nonchalant smirk was Sukuna's response. "That's for me to know and for you to find out. I'll only use my other skills in an emergency."

Annoyed at Sukuna's antics, Rimuru waved a slime-made hand around. "Come on! Don't keep me waiting in anticipation, man!"

Sukuna punched a boulder to clear up the path they were on. "Think of this as payback for when you dumped water on me a week ago."

"What's a harmless prank between friends?" Rimuru nudged Sukuna's neck. "Fine, I'll stop pestering you about your skills—Mr. Mysterious."

Rimuru tapped Sukuna on the shoulder, noticing a large door. "I think we just found the entrance to this damn cave! At last, some freedom!"

[Notice.] Kamutoke's emotionless voice rang in Sukuna's mind. [I have detected three presences approaching you two and this entrance.]

Slapping a calloused palm onto Rimuru's face to cut him off, Sukuna dove behind a row of boulders. "I thought this place was sealed off."

[Common-Skill: Thought-Communication has been activated.] Kamutoke announced. [Link to Rimuru Tempest has been created.]

Moving his palm away from Rimuru's face, Sukuna spoke into his mind. "Sorry about that—Kamutoke sensed people coming here."

"Nah, it's fine." Rimuru was more casual about the situation than Sukuna had expected. "Wonder if they're humans or monsters."

Opening the large door to the cave, an adventurer sighed. "This took ages to unlock! The damn keyhole was more rusted than I thought."

Having entered the cavern, the second man groaned in irritation. "This place has been vacant for, like, three hundred years or something…"

"We should still be careful not to let our guards down." A woman stepped into the cave. "If trouble arises, we can use our escape skill."

"I don't even want to be here." The man bemoaned his fate. "I'll use Concealing-Arts on all three of us—so make sure to stay close to me."

Rimuru watched how they then turned invisible. "Think about the peeping a person could do! I do not plan to become his friend later!"

"How transparent can you be?" Sukuna groaned into his mind. "Keep those weird thoughts of yours away from me at all times, would you?"

Forming himself an arm to elbow Sukuna, Rimuru laughed. "Forget about all of that! We've found our ticket to leave this damn cave!"

Activating his Extra-Skill: Soul-Perception, Sukuna glanced in the direction the three adventurers had walked in. "Yeah, let's leave."

Channelling a decent amount of cursed magicules across his body, Sukuna rushed off into the forest outside of the cave in a burst of vicious speed. Rimuru stopped himself from falling off of his shoulder.

An abundance of sunlight illuminated the beautiful greenery around the two of them. Unlike Rimuru, Sukuna was less impressed by this. Sukuna sprinted onwards while Rimuru remained on his shoulder.

"I haven't been outside in forever!" Rimuru cheered to himself. "The air tastes so sweet, the wind feels perfect, and the weather looks great!"

Sukuna's voice was confused. "Wait a second, are slimes even able to taste whatever they eat? I just thought it dissolved in your stomachs."

"Don't ruin the mood!" Rimuru protested against the random question. "Just let me appreciate the beauty of nature without any interruption!"

Slowing himself down, Sukuna saw a crowd of around thirty goblins that blocked off their path. "What was that about any interruptions?"

"Shut up!" Rimuru disconnected Sukuna from his mind, then talked to the goblins. "Nice to meet you all! I'm Rimuru Tempest—a slime!"

Rolling his four vermillion eyes at Rimuru, Sukuna grouched. "I think these goblins can tell you're a slime hitching a ride on my shoulder."

The goblin trembled, ignoring Rimuru's introduction. "Strong ones, forgive my impudence. But what business do you have in the forest?"

For some reason, Rimuru's presence became more intense. "Are you calling me and Sukuna over here strong ones? I'm kind of confused."

"Yeah." Sukuna snorted, arms crossed and face entertained. "Why the heck would they think you're strong? The question of the century…"

Rimuru watched the goblins bow to them and heard the leader reply. "We sensed a powerful monster and human roaming around here."

Nervous and unsure, the goblin elaborated. "So we came here to investigate the origins of such powerful and demonic presences…"

Blinking his non-existent eyes, Rimuru glanced around the area. "Whoa, so did you and your pals find out where it came from?"

Sukuna snorted for a second time, whispering to the slime. "Are you being dumb on purpose? The presence they sensed was our ones."

Not hearing Sukuna's statement to Rimuru, the goblin said. "You jest! You can't fool us, sir. Even if you have transformed into a mere slime."

"And you." The goblin looked at the reincarnated child. "Your presence was much more demonic than your friend on your shoulder, um, sir."

"I'm the powerful monster?" Rimuru created a question mark on his head. "And you're saying Sukuna is the powerful human you felt?"

"Please, excuse me." The goblin replied. "But since you and your friend are so strong, we wanted to ask the two of you a favour."

Sukuna remained silent, listening to the conversation. Rimuru tilted his body to the left in curiosity. "You want to ask the two of us a favour?"

(-)

Sukuna and Rimuru had been taken to the small Goblin-Village by the group of armed creatures they had encountered after leaving the cave. They had been introduced to a somewhat wrinkled goblin elder.

In a run-down hut in this village, Sukuna was seated on its uncomfortable surface. Rimuru had decided to move himself onto Sukuna's head to receive a better view of his immediate surroundings.

Kneeling in front of the two of them, the elder said. "Welcome to our humble town. We are so honoured to have the two of you here."

Palm placed beneath his cheek, Sukuna let Rimuru speak for them. "I'm Rimuru Tempest and this dude is Ryomen Tempest Sukuna."

"So." Rimuru noticed Sukuna's silence. "What kind of favour did you want from the two of us? I'm not really sure what you want us to do."

Nodding at the goblin they had spoken to earlier, the elder spoke. "Have you noticed how active monsters have become in this area?"

"No?"

"The god who protected us disappeared a month ago." The elder sighed. "So many monsters have been harassing our humble village."

"Veldora, I'm guessing." Rimuru saw the image of a dragon engraved into the wall of the hut. "He must have kept those monsters at bay."

"We tried to fight them off ourselves." The elder's shoulders shook. "But we lacked the power and numbers to beat these monsters."

"That's why we asked the two of you to come here!"

Deflating a little in response, Rimuru said. "I'm not sure. I'm just a slime. I'm not sure about Sukuna—but I doubt I'd be much help."

A chuckle surfaced from the elder's wrinkled lips. "You and your companion are such modest creatures. I respect your modesty."

The second goblin chuckled, scratching his nose and smiling. "And funny too! Please, do not undermine your strength for our sakes."

Leaning forward, the elder said. "It's impossible for a mere slime and mutated human to emit such an overwhelming and demonic aura."

Speaking more and more, the elder told them. "It's obvious to all of us that you and your friend are both rather powerful creatures, of course."

"Great-Sage." Rimuru called out to the voice in his mind. "Change Magic-Sense's perspective. I want to look at myself and Sukuna."

[Adjusting the settings and perspective of Extra-Skill: Magic-Sense.] Great-Sage answered. [Your perspective has now been changed.]

Flinching once he had detected their power, Rimuru thought. "No wonder they're all so scared! It's like our flies have been down!"

Sukuna had Kamutoke create a mental connection between them. "I was wondering how long it would take you to sense our leak in aura."

"Asshole!" To play off his embarrassment, Rimuru chuckled. "So you indeed noticed our grand power? How wise of you and your friends."

Inclining his head, the elder responded. "Of course, strong ones. There is no hiding the formidable air that surrounds the two of you."

Sucking in his power like Sukuna had, Rimuru hummed. "All of you have great potential in power since you endured my power, good!"

"Of course." The elder murmured to himself in realization. "You were testing us. I'm sure many of our people were scared of your aura."

"Indeed! Indeed!" Rimuru dug himself into a deeper hole. "I'm surprised you were capable of speaking to the two of us at all!"

"Your kind words honour us." The elder replied. "I suppose I must speak to the two of you about the favour we asked of both of you…"

According to the elder of this village, they had been attacked by a species of monsters called direwolves who had ambushed them from the east of the forest. Countless goblins had perished in this battle.

Direwolves were superior to the goblins in most of their attributes. It took around ten goblins to even have a chance of harming one wolf. The named warrior who guarded the village had been killed in a fight.

After recounting this tale, the elder lowered his head. "All together there are around one hundred direwolves who could attack us."

Curious, Rimuru tilted his body to the side. "How many people do you have in this village? You did mention that you were outnumbered."

"We have sixty who are able to fight…"

"Those are terrible odds…"

"Like a boss level in a video game." Rimuru pondered, then spoke. "So that goblin warrior still fought even if his chances were low?"

Lowering his head again in despair, the elder said. "He gave up his life so he could bring information about the wolves back to the village."

"That boy was my son and his older brother." The elder glanced at the second goblin in acknowledgment. "He brought pride to this village."

Decision made, Rimuru said. "I do have a question. If we fulfil this favour for you and your village, then what's in it for me and him?"

"I don't really want anything from them." Rimuru transmitted to his friend. "But I think it's best if we keep up this type of persona for now."

"We'll grant you our unfaltering loyalty!" The elder bowed. "Please, grant us your divine protection and this village will swear to you two!"

Shrinking his body for a second, Rimuru sighed. "Even after everything that's happened, I'm still bad at saying no to people."

Sukuna rose to his feet and Rimuru wobbled a little from the sudden action from being on top of his head. Cutting into the air, an aggressive howl boomed into the ears of every villager in the sector.

Hurrying outside, the elder and his son assured the villagers. "Please! Please! Everyone just stay calm! This is, of course, a trifling matter…"

Having walked out of the hut, Sukuna heard Rimuru speak. "You have nothing to fear! We're going to beat the crap out of them! Don't worry!"

"So, does that mean…?"

The slime had somehow smirked. "In lieu of Veldora, Rimuru Tempest and Ryomen Tempest Sukuna will protect the people of this village!"

"Right." Rimuru spoke to Sukuna in his mind, glancing at his friend. "I didn't really ask if you were fine helping out this village, did i? Sorry."

Unbothered and bored, Sukuna responded. "I'm not against helping out this village. So, I'll follow whatever plan Great-Sage can make."

"Hey! I make good plans!"

Rimuru noticed the goblins all bowing at them. The elder declared. "We are grateful! From this day forth, we shall be your loyal servants!"

(-)

Sukuna had placed Rimuru down from his head. Despite the goblins pledging themselves to both him and Rimuru, they shared a much more emotional connection to the slime instead of him.

Of course, Sukuna was unbothered by this recent development. Out of the two of them, Rimuru was the social one who could keep a conversation going without any real difficulty or trouble whatsoever.

Deciding to leave the village for the time being, Sukuna slipped through the entrance, walked into the forest, and found an empty spot. A mental tap on the shoulder from him summoned his helper of sorts.

[Unique-Skill: Ten-Shadows has been activated.] Kamutoke announced. [Please use the hand-sign to summon the wolves.]

Shadows twisted and turned after Sukuna performed a hand-sign. Surfacing out from these shadows, a black-furred wolf and white-furred wolf yipped, wagged their tails, and raised their heads.

Patting the Divine-Dogs on the head, Sukuna smirked. "I still have to tame the other Shikigami. If I'm right, Toad is next in the taming ritual."

Spending the next six hours training alongside the Divine-Dogs, Sukuna dispelled the wolf-themed Shikigami, turned around, inserted his hands into his pockets, and then ventured off into the distance.

Hopping from tree-branch to tree-branch, Sukuna reached the area where the Goblin-Village was located. Moonlight glowed upon him, illuminating the intensity of his four vermillion eyes of indifference.

From what Sukuna had seen, Rimuru had built a fence around the village, created a trap from his Steel-Thread, and had killed a few of the wolves. Not one to be left out, Sukuna descended upon them.

Once he had landed next to Rimuru, the slime said. "It took you long enough! I had to handle all of this crap while you were out and about!"

Interrupting them, the leader of the pack growled. "A weak slime and human dare to stand in our path?! I will slaughter the two of you!"

Emboldened by the leader of their pack, two other wolves followed him and bit through the Steel-Threads Rimuru had set around the area. Fangs bared at the slime, the leader lunged at him in fury.

However, the leader of the direwolves' pack had been stopped by Sticky-Thread this time. Wasting no time, Rimuru shot a water blade into the wolf, killed him, and watched his body fall onto the grass.

Moving underneath the Sticky-Thread, two of the other direwolves were about to reach Rimuru. Dismantle was launched into both of them, digging gashes into their fur and hurtling their corpses back.

"How weak." Sukuna blinked his four eyes in mild impassivity. "I didn't even have to use one of those wolves from Ten-Shadows on them."

Impressed, Rimuru looked over at the reincarnated child. "Whoa! Good job, Sukuna. I'll handle the clean-up for the rest of this fight."

"Thanks." Scratching his head, Sukuna nodded in appreciation. "I should practise Blood-Manipulation soon, I'd like to test it out."

Having no interest in seeing the aftermath of this ordeal, Sukuna returned to the village, disregarded the amazed glances flung at him, found an unoccupied hut, made himself comfortable, and then slept.

(-)

February 20th ?:

Sukuna yawned into his hand in avid disinterest, standing on the left side of the bisected tree trunk Rimuru was on alongside the elder of the Goblin-Village who stood on the left side of this tree trunk.

After Sukuna had left the battle, this aggressive pack of direwolves had sworn their allegiance to both him and Rimuru. Since he had his Divine-Dogs, he wasn't interested much in having any direwolves.

Making up his mind about the odd situation, Rimuru announced. "Listen up, everyone! I'm gonna have all of you pair up together!"

Noticing their confusion, Rimuru elaborated. "To explain what I mean, one wolf and one goblin will create a group of two together, alright?"

"Okay." Rimuru said once these groups of two were assembled. "We'll have to figure out what to do about food, shelter, and then clothing."

"Now that I think about it." Addressing the village's elder, Rimuru pondered aloud. "Yo, elder. Do you goblins have names I can use?"

"I doubt that." Sukuna's voice echoed across Rimuru's mind. "I think they would have given their names to us or at least you at this point."

Confirming Sukuna's theory, the elder replied. "It's unusual for monsters to have names. We can communicate by our thoughts."

An imaginary eye-brow was raised by the slime. "Talk by thoughts? I guess it's similar to that Thought-Communication skill Sukuna uses."

"To make this easier for me." Rimuru created himself a tentacle out of slime, cupping his chin. "If it's okay, I think I'll just give you all names."

Shock and awe overcame the crowd. Rimuru was baffled by this reception. "Uh, why are they all psyched over a bunch of names?"

"Are you sure?" The elder asked Rimuru out of the blue and all of a sudden. "Are you sure you want to give all of us here names?"

Somehow shrugging at the elder, the slime responded. "I'm sure. Giving you all names makes it easier for me to talk to all of you."

"The fuck." Sukuna witnessed how the crowd and the elder had an over-the-top celebration about receiving names. "They're so excited."

[Notice.] Kamutoke bubbled out from nowhere. [Upon being given names, monsters will undergo an evolution of sorts and gain power.]

Chin cupped in a calloused hand, Sukuna hummed. "So what Rimuru offered them is a power-up of sorts. I wonder if he even knows that?"

Once everyone had lined up in front of Rimuru, he asked his vermillion-eyed friend. "You wanna help out naming all of them?"

"I don't think cursed magicules will have a positive effect on them." Sukuna shook his head. "No. Trust me, I'm not good at this crap."

"Okay." Rimuru turned towards the large line in front of the tree trunk he was on. "Didn't your oldest son have a name? Could you tell me?"

"Yes." The elder trembled a little, holding onto the pommel of his name. "The name my oldest son was given was that of Rigur."

"Sounds good." Rimuru thought about the name for three seconds. "Then I guess to honour your son, I'll give you the name Rigurd."

Some type of golden glow surrounded the elder's body for a moment. Tears fell from his eyes. "To think you'd give such a good name!"

"I'll name you after your older brother and call you Rigur." Rimuru said to the child of the elder. "The next one will be named, um, Gobta."

Rimuru named more and more goblins while Sukuna watched. The four-eyed boy then groused. "I wonder when they'll evolve from this."

"We know how strong your magical power is compared to ours." The elder spoke. "But is it okay to name them all of them in one sitting?"

Confused by the elder's concern, Rimuru shrugged. "Yeah, it's okay." He turned to the next goblin in the line. "Your name will be Haruna."

After giving the goblins all names, Rimuru looked at the wolves. "I'll give him something based on mine and Sukuna's family name!"

"Tempest? Tempest-Fang? Storm-Fang? Let me think." Rimuru then inflated himself in excitement. "Yeah, Ranga! That sounds good!"

"Huh." Rimuru felt his entire body deflate, shrink, and decompress on the tree trunk he was seated on. "Why the egg mode all of a sudden!"

[Warning.] Great-Sage chimed in. [Internal magicule reserves have fallen below the minimum limit. Recovery time—around three days.]

Sukuna rubbed the back of his head. "I should have told him about the side effects of expending so much of his energy all at once, huh?"

"Heh." Sukuna hid his amusement and handed Rimuru to a few concerned goblins. "Kamutoke, how long will he be asleep?"

[Notice.] Kamutoke announced in Sukuna's head. [The recovery for the individual called Rimuru Tempest is estimated to be three days.]

"Lord Sukuna." Rigurd approached the reincarnated child. "Forgive my impudence—but shall you name the others on lord Rimuru's behalf?"

Sighing in response, Sukuna said. "I'll leave the naming to Rimuru once he wakes up. Make sure he's taken good care of until then."

"Of course!" Rigurd snapped to attention, then bowed. "I will make sure lord Rimuru is given the greatest care this village can provide!"

"Enjoy your evolution into whatever stage goblins evolve into." Sukuna lifted his hand. "I'll leave you in charge of the village, if that's alright."

"I will not fail your task, my lord!" Rigurd's bow was even more passionate this time. "I assume that you will be heading out?"

"I'll be back soon, don't worry." Sukuna's crimson eyes glowed. "I just want to explore this forest a little more—I'll return here by tomorrow."

(-)

Sukuna emerged from an abundance of bushes, approached the entrance to the cave Veldora had once been sealed in, activated Soul-Perception, and looked into the shadows ahead of him.

Those adventurers had left from what Sukuna could see. He wondered about the reason they had entered the cavern—the most possible theory was to investigate about Veldora's disappearance.

Hands tucked his hands into his pockets, Sukuna deactivated Soul-Perception, vanished into the bushes, ended up on a dirt path of sorts, found an isolated spot in the woods, and called for his helper.

[Unique-Skill: Blood-Manipulation has been activated.] Kamutoke declared. [What technique of Blood-Manipulation shall you learn?]

"I want to learn how to use Piercing-Blood." Sukuna responded. "Give me a good mental manual on the first step to learning it, would you?"

[Convergence is one of the main components of Piercing-Blood. It is where your blood is condensed and compressed onto your palms.]

Sukuna's mouth was twisted into a grin of pure excitement. "I guess it's about time I train all of these skills of mine and use them, huh?"

(-)

February 23rd ?:

In one of the large huts located in the expanded Goblin-Village, Rimuru's unconscious body rested on a blanket in the room. Tended by Haruna, Rimuru felt his magicule reserves restore itself at last.

"Behold!" Rimuru bounced up and down—one could compare it to the over-dramatic attitude Veldora had. "After sleeping, I have recovered!"

Haruna glanced at Rimuru, smiled, and leaned down towards him. "Oh, lord Rimuru! I can see you've woken up from your long nap."

"Huh." Rimuru blinked his non-existent eyes after Haruna patted him and left to notify the village's elder. "I don't remember her being here."

"Lord Rimuru!" Rigurd yelled out, entering the hut that Rimuru inhabited for the time being. "I'm happy to see you've recovered."

"Yeah." Rimuru took a good look at Rigurd—who had somehow gained an insane amount of muscles. "What happened to you?!"

"We've all evolved into greater versions of yourselves from your names!" Rigurd flexed his muscles. "I have become a fine specimen!"

Moving himself to the side in confusion, Rimuru murmured. "I guess that makes sense why you were all excited to be given names."

The front walls of the hut were destroyed. Ranga rushed into the room. "Master! Let me tell you how good it is to see you've recovered!"

"Ranga?"

Holding himself at a prideful position, Ranga spun his tail in a circle. "I evolved into a much newer and greater form because of your name?"

A hurricane was formed by Ranga spinning his tail around, obliterating the hut and throwing Rimuru into the air. "I was not expecting this!"

Having been caught by the crowd of wolves and villagers, Rimuru was hurled between everyone. "Huh, looks like Gobta didn't change much."

[Notice.] Great-Sage spoke to the slime. [The male goblins have evolved into hobgoblins and female goblins evolved into goblinas.]

Rimuru was thrown onto Sukuna's shoulder. "Man! I can't believe everyone evolved after I named them! Isn't that pretty sweet?"

"Yeah." Sukuna nodded. "I'm not the best at leadership to be honest. So I kind of let Rigurd handle the management of this village."

"It's fine, I'm sure you'll learn over time." Rimuru jiggled and inflated himself. "This is a learning experience for the both of us, I guess."

Closing his lower two eyes, Sukuna said. "Just to let you know, the other direwolves evolved into tempest-wolves from Ranga's name."

"That saves the trouble of having to name them." Rimuru was relieved. "Naming so many people all at once is kind of exhausting, though."

Everyone then settled down. Rimuru climbed onto Sukuna's head. "I'd like to establish three rules! Do your best to follow all of them, please!"

"First—no attacking humans. Second—no fighting amongst yourselves. Third—no belittling other races. That's about all."

Rigur lifted his hand up at them in curiosity. "Sir? Is there a reason why one of the rules you've given us is not to attack other humans?"

Passionate to defend one of his lords, Rigurd shouted at his son. "How dare you question one of the rules that he's created, Rigur!"

"Calm down, Rigurd." Rimuru told the elder of the village. "It's simple. I just happen to like the humans—so that's the reason for that one rule."

"But humans also live in large groups." Rimuru said. "If you attack one of them, then they might retaliate against us. I doubt we can handle it."

Another hand was lifted by Gobta—who pointed at the four-eyed boy. "Isn't he one of the humans? Wasn't he accompanying you here?"

Once again passionate to defend the second of his two lords, Rigurd yelled out. "Do not question the presence of one of our two leaders!"

"Sukuna's one of my good friends!" Rimuru responded to the two questions. "But he's a singularity—if you want to call him that."

"Besides, befriending humans is beneficial to us." Rimuru elaborated. "Also, Rigurd! I think I'll give you the title of Goblin-Lord!"

"Sukuna already gave him the job itself. A title will make it sound more official." Rimuru thought. "Wait a second, is he really crying over it?!"

Tears slithered down Rigurd's cheeks. He kneeled down. "I accept the great job and title that both you and lord Sukuna have provided me!"

"I'm counting on you!" Rimuru looked off to the side. "I don't think he realized that I dumped the gig on him because I don't want to do it."

(-)

Rimuru had assigned teams to the lookout of the village and gathering food for the village. However, one of the problems was that the goblins weren't the best at either construction or creating any type of clothes.

Sukuna stood in front of a hut that was constructed minutes ago. Rimuru was on his shoulder. "I did work in general contracting…"

Seeing the hut collapse in on itself, Rimuru sighed. "So I'm pretty sure this type of building would get shut down by the health department."

"For clothes." Rimuru was unable to suppress or hide his blush. "I just think the clothes could use more coverage, that's all!."

Rigur was helpful in his response. "We don't have anyone here in the village that's really skilled at either making homes or making clothes."

Mental link established, Sukuna pondered. "Do you think they have shops or anything? I'm guessing other civilisations have those."

"Of course!" Rimuru turned to the elder of the village. "Isn't there any place where you could buy clothes? There's got to be at least one."

"We do make the occasional trade." Rigurd rubbed his head in contemplation. "There are also people who can make homes."

"Nice! So—where are these people?"

"I'm talking about the dwarves." Rigurd replied. "They live in Dwargon—or rather the armed nation of Dwargon if you like."

Excited, Rimuru cheered in awe. "Dwarves? Like the masters of crafting and creating type of dwarves?! That sounds so much fun!"

Even Sukuna was interested in this. "Wonder what type of weapons or magic tools a nation of dwarves would sell. I'd like to visit that place."

"It's decided!" Rimuru shouted out. "We'll travel to Dwargon on our village's behalf! Rigurd, are you okay to handle the village while we leave?"

"Yes, my lords! My muscles will keep the village secure!"

Rimuru chuckled a little. "Rigurd will make sure everything stays fine."

Sukuna sighed.

(-)

Rimuru assembled a group of goblins and tempest-wolves to accompany Sukuna and him on their journey to Dwargon. After bidding them farewell, they set off to travel to this huge nation.

They followed the Ameld-River to reach the nation of Dwargon. From this trip, Rimuru learned one of his skills was the ability to summon some type of wolves from the shadows—a rather good ability.

Kamutoke had also told Sukuna about Temporary-Totality—where he could combine his Shikigami into one creature and separate them afterwards. Sukuna rode on a Temporary-Totality of his Divine-Dog until they stopped to rest for a while.

"Rigur." Rimuru had settled down, comfortable on the rock surface close to the river. "I was wondering—who named your brother?"

"Sir!" Rigur looked at the slime. "I was told a passing demon named lord Gelmud named him! He saw promise in my brother's strength."

"He's from the Demon-Lord's army."

"There are demons and Demon-Lords?" Sukuna was curious. "Wonder if Veldora forgot to tell us about them or something."

They had travelled some more and had set up camp. Since Sukuna was a Demonic-Human, food and water were meaningless to him. Flames flickered from the pile of wood in between the group.

Gobta had given Rimuru and Sukuna a plentiful amount of information about the nation of Dwargon. Though, Sukuna had noticed Rimuru zone out once it was mentioned elves also resided in this large kingdom.

(-)

February 26th ?:

They reached the entrance point for the kingdom of the dwarves. Instead of all of them heading out, Rimuru made the decision for him, Sukuna, and Gobta to be the ones who stepped foot into this nation.

Noticing Ranga's distress at having Rimuru leave, Sukuna patted the wolf on the head. "Don't worry about anything—he'll be just fine."

Wagging his tail in agreement, Ranga nodded. "Of course! I also feel assured that you'll be there alongside him, lord Sukuna! Thank you!"

"No problem." Sukuna slid his hands into his pockets, followed Rimuru and Gobta, and blinked in mild surprise. "A lot of people are lined up."

"Look at this line." Rimuru rested on Sukuna's shoulder, overlooking the long line of both monsters and humans. "Security must be strict."

Keeping his bag secured on himself, Gobta then replied. "Yeah, it is. Once we get in, we're free to pretty much do whatever we want."

Thinking about all the elves he could meet, the slime zoned out. "Whatever we want, huh? This is gonna be so exciting, isn't it?"

Sukuna gave his friend a four-eyed glance of confusion. "What the hell are you thinking about now? All of your thoughts are so damn weird."

A voice cut into the discussion. "Well, look at what we have here. A bunch of scrawny little monsters accompanied by a random brat!"

Sukuna turned to the two humans who had confronted them. One said. "There aren't any rules about fighting outside of the kingdom!"

"Gobta, did this happen last time?" Rimuru asked the goblin while one of the humans pulled out a dagger of sorts. "Talk about troublesome."

Trembling a little, Gobta responded. "It did, sir. I was waiting in line to get into the kingdom and then got beaten up by some humans…"

"That's the fate of weak monsters."

"Maybe it's time to change that…"

Even more aggravated than a moment ago, the blond one grunted. "You dumb monsters better stop ignoring us or you'll be regretting it!"

"Hold on." The bald human stopped his companion. "A talking slime is a pretty rare sight to see! We'd make a fortune selling it to someone."

Rimuru looked at the goblin who had accompanied him. "Gobta, do you remember the first rule I had set after waking up from my sleep?"

"Yes, sir!" Gobta snapped to attention much like Rigurd, saluting. "The first rule was to not attack humans! That was the rule you had set!"

"Close your eyes."

"I have closed my eyes, sir!"

Ignorant of this interaction, the bald one pointed his dagger at them. "Listen, the kid who has those freaky four eyes! Give up the slime!"

Hopping off of Sukuna's shoulder, Rimuru transformed into a tempest-wolf to intimidate them. "Leave now and I shall spare you!"

Three more companions of these humans joined the other two. All of their spells and attacks bounced off of Rimuru's body. Growing bored of this encounter, Sukuna opened all four of his eyes and yawned.

Dismantle was launched into the blade one of the humans held. Sukuna stepped forward, appeared behind the armoured man, punched him on the shoulder, and propelled him into his friend.

To help out Sukuna, Rimuru activated a skill called Menace and roared at the five humans who had assaulted them. A massive amount of wind was produced, hurtling these five into the distance.

Having heard the commotion outside, three guards from the nation of Dwargon left to check out whatever had happened. One of them blinked down at Rimuru—who had transformed back. "A slime?"

Rimuru jumped onto Sukuna's shoulder and chuckled. "Yep!"

(-)

They were escorted to a prison cell for the commotion that had occurred. Gobta was asleep, bound by a few ropes. Rimuru was jammed into a barrel. Sukuna had been given simple hand-cuffs.

Kaido—the head of security—sighed. "Since your group has a goblin, slime, and teenage human, they saw you all as easy targets to rob."

Rattling his hand-cuffs in annoyance, Sukuna heard Rimuru talk. "We're sorry for the trouble. We just wanted to scare them away."

"Witness reports back up this claim of yours. This once, I can—..."

"Captain, there's some trouble!" A guard rushed into the room, desperate and worried. "There's an Armorsaurus in the mine!"

"Huh?! Where's the suppression unit?"

"They're on route, sir!" The guard shouted in response. "But Garm and his brothers were out in the mines and have already gotten hurt!"

"Potions?!"

"Not enough! We've allotted them to war preparations!"

Teeth gritted in desperation, Kaido yelled out. "They're all like brothers to me! Start looking for potions—I can't risk them dying, you hear me!"

Rimuru tapped Kaido on the shoulder, pointed at the healing potion in the barrel, and said. "Ignoring that I left the cell, this should help you!"

Realizing what was in the barrel, Kaido cradled it in his hands and took off alongside his subordinate. "Come on, we can't waste time!"

Sukuna had ripped off his hand-cuffs and had leaned his back on the wall. "I never knew that you could make those potions. Useful ability."

"They were created from the herbs in the cave Veldora was sealed in." Rimuru returned to the cell, covering Gobta in threads. "Real handy."

"Do you want me to slash an opening for us?" Sukuna had closed his four eyes—but then opened one of them. "It'll take a second to leave."

Shaking himself in refusal, Rimuru responded. "Too much trouble. I think giving them those healing potions will increase our reputation."

After some time, Kaido and the healed dwarves entered the room. "Your potion worked! I thank you for helping in healing my friends!"

Rimuru had been thanked by the three dwarves he had healed. Kaido opened the cell, watched Rimuru and Sukuna exit it, took them to a different room that had snacks and drinks, and sat down on a sofa.

Sukuna drank the beverage in his cup while Kaido spoke. "I've never seen such an incredible potion. If you want something, just ask me!"

"If you're willing, can you introduce us to a skilled blacksmith?" Rimuru asked the dwarf. "It would be helpful for our village if you could."

"Of course, no issues there." Kaido nodded. "I'll introduce you to one. If you don't mind me asking, how did a human and slime even meet?"

Not caring much about the question, Rimuru chuckled. "An odd duo, huh? Not much to tell, I met Sukuna and we became fast friends!"

(-)

Kaido had taken Sukuna and Rimuru out on a tour of the nation. Settled onto Sukuna's head to get a better viewpoint of the place, Rimuru was in awe of how developed the kingdom of Dwargon looked.

Noticing that Rimuru's attention was fixed onto the blade on a wall, the dwarf pointed at the weapon. "The blacksmith you'll meet made that."

Sukuna rubbed his chin in fascination. "I rely more on hand-to-hand combat and Kamutoke can turn into a weapon. But I still do want one."

Taking them to a different building, Kaido stepped into it and called out. "Hey, bro, it's me! Are you busy? I got some visitors for you!"

Following behind him, Sukuna noticed a dwarf who was in the middle of crafting a weapon. He said. "Hey, Kaido. Give me a second."

Introducing them to his brother, Kaido said. "The name of the man over there is Kaijin. He's my brother and he's also a great blacksmith."

Sukuna spotted the three dwarves who Rimuru had helped heal enter the same room. "Huh, I guess those three work for Kaido's brother."

Kaijin placed the blade he had crafted onto a table. "You know him?"

Dord, Garm, and Myrd nodded. Garm then announced. "That's the slime who healed us and the one we were telling you about earlier!"

Approaching Sukuna, Kaijin addressed the slime on his head. "Thanks so much for your help. I'm grateful that you healed these three up."

Bashful, Rimuru deflated somewhat in concealed embarrassment. "It's no big deal! Or is it? I was just happy to help out wherever I could."

Sukuna decided to cut off his friend and said. "We were here to get some help in regards to construction and clothing for a village."

Nodding at the reincarnated child and slime, Kaijin sighed. "I'd love to help. But, because of that minister, I'm being swamped in work."

"Minister?"

Explaining the situation, Kaijin responded. "We could be heading to war soon—so the minister commissioned twenty longswords from us."

"We don't have enough materials for that, though." Kaijin slumped his shoulders. "Despite the commission, we've made one longsword."

Kaido was unimpressed and crossed his arms. "Dummy. Why didn't you turn the minister's commission down since it was impossible."

"Don't call me a dummy." Kaijin grunted at his brother. "I tried to—but that minister went on and insulted me so I couldn't let that happen!"

"Sounds like my old boss." Rimuru decompressed, amused. "So, what? Is the main issue you four are facing a lack of materials?"

"Yeah, a material called magic ore."

"Those three were mining for it." Kaijin answered. "And the mine looks to be cleared out. Even then, it would take two weeks to make it all."

Returning to his task, Kaijin grunted again. "We have five days to do it. Every smith in the kingdom has. If not, then we lose our certification."

Sukuna spoke to his friend. "Magic ore, huh? Rimuru, wasn't that the name of the material you had collected back in Veldora's cavern?"

Hearing Sukuna's voice in his head, Rimuru sprang in excitement. "You could be right! Man, who guessed it would come in so handy?!"

Ejecting a piece of magic ore from himself, Rimuru chuckled. "Ha! Ha! Ha! It's your lucky day! Will this material be able to make the blades?"

Kaijin lurched forward at the magic ore. "Incredible! What a large chunk of magic ore! And, I can't believe it, it's such a pure chunk!"

"Check again."

Taking off the goggles on his face and lifting them up, Kaijin yelled. "Unbelievable! It's been manufactured into a cluster of magisteel!"

"This also has extreme value!" Kaijin turned to the slime on Sukuna's head. "How can I compensate for this—anything that is in my power!"

After some dramatic silence Sukuna was unimpressed by, Rimuru said. "I'd like you to gather some artisans who can visit our village."

"And I'd also like them to be willing to teach us their trade."

Kaijin slapped himself on the chest. "You've got yourself a deal! If that's all you want in compensation, I can help you in that regard."

Deciding to remind them of their crunched time limit, Garm said. "We've only got two weeks, Kaijin. So we better start soon, then."

Sukuna whispered to the slime who rested on his head. "Is Great-Sage able to help you in duplicating the one they made?"

"That's the plan!" Rimuru asked the dwarves. "Would you be able to let me see the longsword that you've already constructed, please?"

Once it was placed onto a table, Rimuru consumed the blade and created twenty copies of the weapon. "That should ease you up."

After some more time had passed, Sukuna and Rimuru were given an odd offer. "A party? Are you sure you want to throw one about this?"

"Yeah." Kaijin answered the slime. "Without your help, I would have never been able to complete the commission from the minister."

"Nonsense." Rimuru shook his body in response. "You don't have to do that for me and Sukuna—you've already accepted our payment."

Sliding towards Sukuna to get closer to Rimuru, Garm said. "Come on, it will be fun! There will also be a lot of beautiful elf girls at the place!"

Sukuna's hand twitched in annoyance. Myrd then spoke. "Yeah, it's called Butterflies-Of-The-Night! A lot of beautiful women are there!"

"Elves." Rimuru zoned out, then heard what Myrd had said. "And butterflies. Is this a gift for being stabbed to death or something?"

"Since you insist." Rimuru chuckled. "I guess Sukuna and I will be happy to come along! Not because of those elves or anything."

"Huh?!" Sukuna ignored the dwarves' cheers of excitement. "Why the hell do I have to come? I ain't interested in your weird fantasies!"

"Simple." Rimuru stretched a tentacle made out from slime to tap his shoulder. "You're like free transport for me! So, you can't leave."

The dwarves took them to the Butterflies-Of-The-Night—where a bunch of elves approached their group. "Welcome!"

"Elves! E-L-V-E-S! Elves!" Rimuru bounced on Sukuna's head in excitement. "This might be the greatest benefit to being reborn!"

One of the elves rushed over to Rimuru, plucked him off of Sukuna's head, embraced his entire body, and said. "Oh! What a cute slime!"

Sukuna slumped his shoulders in irritation while the elves all held Rimuru over their chests at once. "What the fuck is my life now?"

The dwarves all grinned at Rimuru—who had grown excited. "You sure are having fun for someone who was reluctant about coming."

"Who's ready for drinks?!"

Once they were seated down on different seats and given drinks, Kaijin laughed. "I still can't believe you made all those blades!"

"They were only like that because of you." Rimuru responded. "I just copied the longsword and analyzed it and then copied it to make those."

"Even then." Kaijin took a sip of his drink. "I'll take on the challenge of creating such an amazing blade that you won't be able to mimic it!"

Seated on an elf's lap, Rimuru chuckled. "That's the spirit, Kaijin! And, speaking about spirits and all of that, could I have a refill on my drink?"

Another elf approached Rimuru, pouring him a drink. "Can you even taste any of the drink you have, Mr. Slime? I find that hard to believe."

"Nope! But I'm sure it tastes good if you're serving it!"

"My, what a charming slime."

"You've got to be fucking kidding me." Sukuna sipped his non-alcoholic beverage. "What the hell is this situation I'm in?"

Tipping the rim of his cup towards Sukuna, Kaijin pondered. "Hey, Sukuna. How did you even meet Rimuru and become friends?"

"I just met him while out in the forest and we became friends." Sukuna's four eyes were closed. "Not much of a story to tell."

Sukuna heard one of the elves speak. "How about his destined one? Wouldn't that be interesting to hear about? What do you think?"

Everyone nodded. After making Rimuru believe he had none, the elf waved her hands over her crystal ball. "Oh, I can see someone."

Curious, Sukuna glanced at the black-haired women in the image from the crystal ball. "His destined one? Wonder when he'll meet her, then."

Drawing attention away from himself, Rimuru said. "Hey, Sukuna! How about we see who the heck you're destined one is supposed to be?"

"Yeah!" Kaijin and everyone else nodded in agreement. "I wonder what type of person would be interested in someone so gloomy!"

Sukuna placed his cup onto the table. "Romance? Never really thought much about having a girlfriend or anything like that at all."

"The friends I did have in my past life have dated people." Sukuna snorted. "I didn't tell them anything about the surgery that killed me."

"It's fine." Sukuna shook his head, picked up his drink, and replied. "I'll worry about all of that later—so leave me out of whatever this is."

[Notice.] Kamutoke told Sukuna, its voice emotionless and bland. [I have detected the presence of a hostile individual in your vicinity.]

All of a sudden, a voice spoke out in mockery. "My, what an interesting situation I've found you in. Must you really be drinking at all, Kaijin?"

Kaijin mumbled in annoyance at the others. "It's minister Vesta…"

"Jokes on you, Vesta." Kaijin grunted, leaned back in his chair, and waved his cup in his face. "We've completed those twenty blades."

Sukuna ignored how Vesta rambled on and on. "This is the one who made that commission? Man, this dude must love his damn voice."

Vesta pressed his hands on his hips, gazing at the slime. "I'm much more worried about that creature—what a dreadful looking entity."

"I can't believe you had the audacity to bring it to such a nice place." Vesta put a handkerchief over his mouth. "I feel myself puking…"

To deescalate the situation, a blonde elf gave Vesta a drink. "Please, minister, it's just a harmless little slime. Here, have a free drink."

"How sly." Vesta harrumphed in distaste, pouring the drink over Rimuru and the elf's lap. "This is how this creature must be treated."

Kaijin punched Vesta twice in retaliation. Stumbling into his attendant, Vesta gasped in pain and cradled his face. "You struck my dear face!"

Sukuna positioned his knuckles beneath his chin, letting this situation unfold. "Let's see what's gonna happen after all of this, then…"

(-)

Guards had been called by the attendant who accompanied Vesta and the minister had been placed onto a stretcher. Rimuru was trapped in chains while Sukuna was bound in hand-cuffs for the second time.

Sukuna established a mental link between Rimuru and himself. "This entire trip has been just one annoyance after the other. I'm bored."

A guard dragged Rimuru forward by the handle of his chains. "Yeah, sorry about all of this. I'm sure we can clear up this misunderstanding."

Having been taken to the same cell they had been imprisoned in earlier, Sukuna leaned his back onto the familiar wall. From what he heard, Kaijin and his friends were willing to head out to their village.

Much to Sukuna's hidden amusement, Gobta had been asleep during this tedious debacle they had found themselves in. Sukuna closed his four red eyes, deciding to waste some time by going unconscious.

He had woken up two hours later.

More and more time passed in amicable conversation and silence until they were escorted into a courtroom of sorts. Sukuna remained bound in hand-cuffs—but his fingers then twitched in irritation and boredom.

Armoured men were lined up against the walls of the courtroom. To garner more sympathy, Vesta had covered himself in more bandages than one would expect from being hit in the face only two times.

"This trial shall begin soon!" A man in unique robes called out. "I present to you the king and ruler of this grand nation—Gazel Dwargo!"

Sukuna's face remained indifferent at the arrival of this powerful dwarf in particular. Even when Kaijin, Garm, Myrd, Dord, and Rimuru bowed to him, Sukuna raised his hand-cuffs in annoyance and rattled them.

"What a pain in the ass." Sukuna stared at the ruler of this nation. "I wonder how powerful someone called the Hero-King would be…"

Gazel Dwargo's eyes fell on Sukuna: whose crimson irises glowed in response. "His aura itself is powerful—but he's suppressing himself."

From the very beginning of this trial, Sukuna had zoned out in disinterest as the lawyer they were assigned worked against them. This persisted before Gazel spoke. "How have you been, Kaijin?"

Sinking down to one of his knees in return, Kaijin closed his eyes. "I have been well, my lord. I'm glad to see you are also in good health."

"That's good to hear." Gazel's deep voice rumbled. "I've been rather curious. Would you be willing to return to my ranks at all, Kaijin?"

Silence overflowed the room. Kaijin then replied, head lifted. "Forgive me, my lord. But I have already sworn myself to two masters."

"Two?" Sukuna blinked, comprehending what Kaijin had meant. "First Ranga's pack, then Kaijin and his friends. Why am I included in it?"

Kaijin kept his determined gaze planted on Gazel and then declared. "My word and my oath are of the greatest treasures that I own…"

"I would never do anything to forsake them! Even if you ordered it!"

"Insolence!" One of the knights who stood next to Gazel on his throne shouted. "How dare you speak to lord Gazel in such a rude tone!"

Multiple knights lined up against the walls pointed their weapons at them. Sukuna yawned, flicked two of his fingers up, and the blades and spears these knights held in their gauntleted hands shattered.

"Sukuna!" Rimuru sweated, hoping Gazel wouldn't retaliate. "Sometimes I forget how easy it is to rile him up!"

Uncaring of how Sukuna destroyed these weapons, Gazel spoke. "I will pass my judgement—Kaijin and his companions will be exiled!"

Sukuna glanced at Kaijin: who had somewhat teared up. "Can't really blame him for reacting like that—at least that's the end of that…"

(-)

They had been released at last. Kaijin and his friends had gathered their belongings and they had been escorted outside of the kingdom. Sukuna wasn't interested much in listening to their heartfelt chatter.

Once Kaido had softened his resolve and closed the gates on his elder brother, Sukuna followed his group from behind. Multiple thoughts drifted through his mind. He slid his hands into his pockets.

How strong would he be able to grow in the future?

(-)

Gazel was stood outside of his castle, positioned in between two massive pillars. One of his undercover shadows—Henrietta—appeared from the shadows and bowed.

"Have you apprehended the proxy? Make sure to punish him."

"Yes, sir."

"And I want you to observe that slime and human's movements." Gazel said. "It is unthinkable we have released such creatures…"

"Do not be seen, no matter what."

Henrietta disappeared—but her next statement echoed. "Of course."

"That slime's strength matches the storm dragon—Veldora." Gazel clenched his fists. "That boy's power is like that of a primordial…"

Gazel sighed.

A/N: Thanks for reading.