Rimuru And Iruma's Adventures In The Netherworld

by Mu1622

A bored Rimuru Tempest accompanies Diablo when he goes to meet with an old friend in the Netherworld. What will happen when he meets an out-of-place human boy who piques his interest?

114. Flustered as Hell

Author's Note: Thank Bellatrix for her help again!

Rimuru POV

It's the last schoolday of the week, and Ciel seems to be in a good mood, seeing me and Iruma off in the foyer.

"Have a good day at school, you two!" she sweetly says, plopping a demdol-themed lunchbox in my hands. My cheeks light up in shame at the treatment.

Oh no… she's definitely up to something.

"Um, Ciel, why are you being so weird?" I ask, as though she doesn't already know my problem with this.

"Hmm?" she innocently expresses non-understanding.

Pure evil, I tell you.

"I mean… like, I don't think you need to be getting this deep into the roleplay when there's no one even around…" I mutter, feeling a bit awkward trying to point out the issue.

"Whatever could you mean, Rimuru? All I've done is prepare a meal for you after that wretched man forbade you from eating lunch with your friends. And since you've spent the last few lunches leaving school grounds to buy junk food, I felt the need to prepare you something more wholesome and nutritious."

"But you packed it in a cutesy lunchbox and are trying to see us off like you're not coming with me… C'mon, you get what I mean, right Iruma?"

Iruma simply tilts his head in confusion.

Oh, c'mon, that's just way too sad. Of course he doesn't know what I mean!

Ciel gives Iruma a pat on the head, and then kneels slightly to be eye-level with me. "So then what's the problem, sweetie?"

You're really gonna make me say it out loud?! You troll, you know exactly what you're doing!

"C-Ciel… This is so humiliating! We're partners, alright?! Stop treating me like a kid!"

She smirks in delight. "Ara ara, we're partners you say? Then would this treatment be more preferable to you?"

With that, she scoops me up into a princess-carry, smiling lovingly at me with eyes that sparkle in the morning light.

W-wait! What's with this sudden reversal?!

I make a strange noise of embarrassment and start to lose viscosity and shape from my urge to disappear.

[[Checkmate.]]

"I-I'll… I'll be a few minutes, go ahead without me…" I blubber to Iruma as I seep through the floorboards to take refuge underneath.

He must be getting a bit more used to my slimy antics since he only seemed shocked for a moment before lightly laughing and walking right out the door, soon coming across Azz and Clara and explaining that I'll catch up.

So cruel of him to laugh at me for this! Well, I suppose it's just karma for all my teasing with him and Ameri…

Diabotany Class

My first class of the day is Diabotany, and what would fit better for a lazy day at the end of the week?

It's definitely underrated as an elective amongst the Misfits, who are such bundles of energy that they're not really interested in a quiet activity like this. But I'm the Demon Lord of a forest, so maybe I'm just different.

I take a sip of tea made from plants I grew myself, just enjoying the pleasant morning.

It's so nice and peaceful today, I could just drift back to sleep… I do feel oddly soft and lazy for some reason. I wonder why…

[[Do you recall how in the last pharmacology class, you tried to prank yourself by ingesting poison and letting it affect both of your bodies?]]

Ah, that! That'll be a funny prank when I get those memories, I'm sure. So he's trying to do the same to me now?

[[Yes, by getting himself 'plastered'.]]

Hahaha! That'll get annoying if it affects me the whole morning though, so please ask him to stop.

[[He is refusing.]]

What? Why?

[[Your prank happened while he was supplying your 'Divine Tree' with magicules, causing a surge of magic that resulted in its destruction. He is still upset.]]

… HE BLEW IT UP!? I've been carefully cultivating that treasure for more than a decade! I even recruited a local monster tribe to worship it as their patron god just to make it stronger! What have I done?!

[[Something incredibly foolish and shortsighted.]]

He didn't even tell me! I need to punish him for that! How dare he not even tell me!

[[The 'he' you refer to is yourself.]]

I know that! B-but…

My head is spinning right now, both from the logic of trying to interact with my other self and the curse of non-sobriety he's inflicted upon me.

I won't stand for this! He destroyed my favorite tree, tried to hide it, and now he's trying to make me drunk at school! I can be better than this!

[[Master… I've brought your external perception back up to normal speed, so try to not get too distracted.]]

Hey, I'm not done! I still haven't figured out how I'm gonna punish him!

[[That is the point.]]

I grumble as I take a sip of my tea, trying to plot my revenge regardless, but the now-moving outside world has too much that I need to pay attention to…

Like the fact that my boots have left the ground and I'm slowly rising upwards in a bundle of leaves. I should probably do something about that.

"Oh dear, are you two trying to devour a student again? Stop that!" Professor Stolas scolds a couple of giant flowers, which just as slowly lower me back down to the ground and release me.

Well, I suppose this is what passes for a peaceful morning in the Netherworld…

Netherworld flora is tediously carnivorous, the trait is more common than even among the Jura Forest's vegetation. Probably because there's no True Dragons flooding the environment with magic around here, meaning a plant needing a lot of mana would have to hunt for it.

I shake my head a bit to try to clear it of some of its fuzziness and start looking for a spot to set myself up where I won't be pestered by any more hungry plants looking for their breakfast.

After Iruma destroyed the previous Diabotany classroom, Diabotany Class and the Diabotany Battler have had to share the same space, meaning it's practically a jungle in here.

But after I talked Sullivan into passing off a bunch of the decision-making to his staff so he could spend more time with his grandson, Stolas was able to take ruthless advantage of that and push for the construction of a whole new greenhouse atop one of the towers, using the risk of 'another overly-prolific tree' to justify building it even bigger than before.

I can see the construction site from here and it looks expensive.

Sorry 'bout that, Gramps. I'm guessing she also used me as ammo since I take this class and 'might repeat what my brother did', and you didn't mention that part to avoid guilting me.

As I set myself up in a new spot and check the labels of the surrounding plants to make sure they're all okay to be near, I notice some new labels that weren't there before.

"Professor, why do all the plants have labels indicating toxicity now?" I ask.

"I wanted to talk about foraging today, yis!" Stolas cheerfully replies.

"Today? Not before the Harvest Festival?"

"If I teach students survival skills for a single exam, they'll forget them as soon as they're done. If I let them suffer from their ignorance first, the knowledge sticks much better!" she chortles.

That's just evil! Though as a former teacher, I can certainly respect any trick to make students learn faster…

Professor Stolas gathers us for the lecture session of the class and sits us in a circle on the floor, a bunch of vine cuttings spread out in the middle of us.

She holds up one orangish-red sample, wearing gloves to be able to touch it. "Now, you should all know about the Spotted Duskcrawler, it's a soft vine with a vicious sting. Touching it will be like getting a nasty scald. Heating it first gets rid of the stinging effect, but even then it'll make you temporarily blind if you consume it."

Note to self: Get some for pharmacology, also find out if it's secretly delicious but no one eats it due to how rare poison nullification is.

Stolas then holds up some similar-looking samples. "As it happens, the Spotted Duskcrawler is such a fearsome plant that several other perfectly-edible vines have copied its appearance so they won't be eaten either. But they look completely different if you cut them open and look at the inside, see?"

She makes a fresh cut in all the vines, displaying them one after the other. "Spotted Duskcrawler is filled with black sap, but False Spotted Duskcrawler lacks this characteristic. The slightly-less-similar Redtail Weed is red on the inside as well, and this one that's a bit more pinkish with yellow insides is the Grubby…" Stolas trails off and glances towards Clara, whose eyes are sparkling with pure delight, then sighs in resignation. "The Grubby-bubbly Shoomba Weed."

"Did you name that species or something?" I turn toward and give her an incredulous stare.

"Nah, Momma did! Though she said I would've gotten to name it if I was old enough to speak."

Huh. I guess that would've been a fun way to get an interesting name… that could make for a nice proud-mom moment, I'm sure. Letting your kid name a species.

It's a shame I can't do something like that for Aoki, as the Cardinal World is pretty much fully explored, and even the untamed territories of Tempest have all been thoroughly documented over the years.

What? Jealous? No, I'm not jealous!

[[Actually, now that you have conquered your phobia of seawater, you could probably find an undocumented species of sea slug in under an hour.]]

Oh, you're right, even on modern-era Earth there were lots of new deep-sea species being discovered! Here, it's probably so easy that Aoki wouldn't have any trouble discovering a species on her own! … No, wait, Iruma told me that Aoki has a phobia of seawater too.

…

After the lecture ends and we're heading back to our spots, I accidentally stumble and bump into Clara.

Who then trips over a pot.

And lands head-first in a carnivorous flower.

Neither of us are sure how to react for a few moments.

"Riri!" Clara's muffled voice calls out from inside the plant, "It's dark-dark in here!" She starts flailing her legs, which are the only part of her that's still visible. She's clearly stuck, so I decide to help her. I was the reason she ended up in this situation so it was only fair that I get her out of it too.

"On it!" I grab her by the ankles and yank her out, briefly wrestling with the huge plant for her freedom. "Sorry for bumping into you like that Clara. I must be a bit dizzy this morning."

"That's okay," Clara assures me and gives a thumbs-up, "Nuthin' wrong with a lil' morning sickness!"

"Morning sic–?! … Firstly, don't call it that. Secondly, if it was that, it would be very wrong."

She just gives me a confused head-tilt.

"You know what, nevermind," I mutter. It's like trying to explain tactfulness to Milim, she just doesn't get it.

But then Clara turns away from me and I hear her quietly giggle. I'm smote with shock!

Hang on, that was a joke?! Gah, of course she knew what it meant, she's got baby siblings!

"You're such a menace…" I whine.

Can't believe I got played by Clara of all people! Damned wooziness… I really need to get back at the other me for this!

I try to refocus on the task in front of me. I can think about self-revenge later.

"Quan," I cast on the nearest convenient sapling, causing it to thicken and form many thin branches that then weave themselves into a lattice.

One of our long-term projects has been to make plants grow along threads of mana such that we can shape their growth however we like.

To my surprise, close observation revealed that following the instructions on how to "fix a mana thread in place" actually turns it into an invisible structure of magicules, which then bait's and influences the plant's growth.

They're delicate structures though, so unless the plant is growing in a matter of minutes, or ideally seconds, the plant must be sealed in a mana-rich container and protected from strong auras in order to keep the magicule structures intact. Not that they're hard to rebuild if destroyed.

It's slow going, but the point is to allow us to observe the interaction of magic and biology in extreme detail. How does a plant react to the concentration of mana? What if it hits a knot in the thread? Can we make it bud or branch at whatever point we like?

This kind of observation done over the course of months allows us to better control spells that might happen over as little as a few seconds, even if it is tedious.

Quan-Quan allows you to rewrite the biological rules of a plant, but it only 'shapes' a plant in the sense that you can make a rose with a rose seed. You just end up with a random specimen of whatever species you imagined.

Someone who knows how to control a plant's growth with their mana though can Quan-Quan a plant into any form they please, or just 'Quan' for a simpler growth spell that doesn't change biology. They could make a hand, a shelter, a ladder…

Or a chair, like I just made.

I sit down in it with a slight groan. Hopefully the antics of my other self won't affect me too much. I'd rather not be stumbling around all day like a clumsy idiot.

Pharmacology Class?

"… Now, with the current resurgence of the old ways of demons, I feel I should offer a strong word of warning: Eating romantic rivals is not a good idea, for so many reasons! If any of you watch that new movie Chainsaw Love Massacre, you should view it through the lens of it being an antiquated form of romance," Professor Raim lectures to the class full of girls.

"Professor, isn't that a spoiler?!" a student in the back complains.

"Chainsaw Love Massacre is a bit too graphic for impressionable first-years to be watching, I'll have you know!" Raim retorts.

A movie that's graphic even by demon standards? Also, I'm sensing a theme of 'edibility' in the classes today, first Diabotany and now Succubus Class…

I suddenly realize where I am.

"Wait, this isn't my class!"

"I was wondering what you were doing here. Did my dear students make you curious about the subject after they recruited you in the Harvest Festival?" Raim asks me while withholding a giggle.

"Um, no, I think I just accidentally followed Clara…"

"Nuh-uh! I lured Riri here!"

"Wha– no you didn't!"

[[Yes she did.]]

"She did not!" I accidentally reply out-loud.

Clara is just giggling evilly at me, and Raim is staring at me with an equally-evil and amused smile.

After a few small and dignified chuckles, she continues, "End-of-week absent-mindedness, I see. Well, you might as well join us since you're already here, today we're talking about how to still look approachable to men even if we're stunningly gorgeous!"

"Not interested!" I declare with my arms crossed in an X. "I'd sooner join a class that's the exact opposite, I want to make men stop flirting with me."

"Oh! Right, of course you would… Well, we actually do cover that in Succubus Class."

"Wait, for real? I was just joking."

"Safety's no joke! Even us succubi have times when we don't want to be bothered, so we have our tricks for turning our usual charms into thorns that repel. I could invite you to our classes on that if you like."

"That does sound kinda useful…" I muse, seriously considering it until I catch myself about to agree to something insane.

Hold on a sec'! I'm getting baited in! By the succubus class of all things!

"… B-but I'll pass! Seeya, Professor!" I stammer and then bolt out of the room, kicking myself for forgetting to be wary of succubi.

Pharmacology Class?

… And then in my hurry, I end up in the wrong classroom again.

The first, and only thing that distinguishes it from a normal lecture hall is what's being projected up on the wall: A video of a very graphic, very real torture session.

Holy moley! I was not prepared to see that! I can handle gore nowadays pretty well, but that doesn't mean I want to see that stuff!

[[Would you like me to censor such surprises in the future?]]

N-nah, I don't wanna lose my edge and become a Demon Lord who can't handle a shock. I'm fine now.

I try to ignore the video, but the audio alone tells me exactly what's happening since there's a wet sound just like fresh game being skinned — but game doesn't scream or beg or cry.

At least I've mostly lost my understanding of what physical pain feels like over time.

Professor Marbas seems to be the only one who noticed me enter, as the students are really suffering right now; despite all having signed up for this class voluntarily, there's only a few of them that seem to have a strong enough stomach to be unfazed by this.

After staring at me thoughtfully for a few moments, he pauses the video to address his class.

"Oh, that reminds me, I wanted to talk about a torture method that is often overlooked in this modern era. While it may be too savage for most demons that haven't turned primal, your fangs work just fine for torture," Marbas' eyes dart toward me for a moment before averting, "simply devouring your victim, tearing away at their flesh, is one of the most horrifying and painful treatments you can give them."

"… And why exactly does me coming to your class remind you of that?" I ask him with a scowl.

"Come on," he smirks, "You know why."

I sigh heavily. "I solemnly swear that I have never sunk my teeth into another demon like some kind of returned-to-origins barbarian. Kids spreading weird rumors is something I can understand, but teachers too?"

"Don't take it too seriously, we just thought Kalego's tirade was pretty funny. I'm impressed that you made him so angry he had to be escorted off the stage! Any other student would have learned to fear him months ago."

"But he's not even scary, just annoying."

That comment sparks some protest from the students who until now have just been enjoying the distraction from this psychologically-taxing subject.

"Are you out of your mind, girlie?!"

"He's almost as scary as Balam!"

These kids sure are silly for thinking someone like Kalego is scary.

"Oh please, he's a schoolteacher at heart, the all-bark-no-bite 'Guard Dog of Babyls'. He's nothing like a properly-scary demon," I taunt, perfectly happy to make a jab against the man behind his back.

Marbas seems a little confused by that statement. "He isn't?" He asks incredulously, "Then what would you consider a 'properly' scary demon to be?"

"Obviously, the kind that makes you genuinely fear for your safety. The kind that could actually do something terrible to you if they're angry."

"Ah… Ah-hahahaha, yes…" Marbas quietly laughs, no doubt recalling his own harrowing experience not even a week ago.

"Mmm, I know a thousand-yard-stare when I see one, so I'll be off." I turn and begin to leave, figuring this would be a good time to excuse myself.

"Wait!" Marbas calls out, just a step behind me. "My apologies for getting distracted, there must be a reason a member of the Student Council is visiting this class."

"Um, well actually…"

"Oh! You must be wanting to volunteer yourself as a practice subject, right?!" Marbas takes a step closer, getting right in my face with his eager eyes. "We occasionally get a student through the door who made a dare or a bet or just wants to be tougher, and we… help them train their pain tolerance," he finishes with a peaceful smile.

That's gotta be a demon rights violation! This guy shouldn't be a teacher!

Thinking of the fastest way to excuse myself while saving face, I pull out a knife. "Nuh-uh, I wouldn't be any good as a practice subject, see?"

Then I plunge the knife deep into myself, just above the 'collarbone' area. Without flinching, of course. Again, physical pain is something I grew out of a long time ago.

"Anyway, I should go see Professor Buer about this, bye!" I hastily excuse myself with the knife still sticking out of me, intending to just go to the correct class instead.

Pharmacology Class.

"There you are, Rimuru! You're pretty late, I'm nearly done brewing this poison," Jazz informs me as I rush in.

"I was ten minutes," I grumble as I set myself up next to him. "That's not an entire recipe late."

"In this case you are, we're learning to make a simple poison from ingredients we can get in the wild. For helping us take down beasts in a pinch."

I look at the recipe on the board. All we need to do is mix a few ingredients together while warming them with Raffire. Simple stuff.

Jazz looks like he's putting care into making this though since this is a subject he struggles with. A lot of the other students are already done.

So, I instead make mine as hastily as possible without enhanced perception speed, not caring if I'm sloppy. It takes me only a minute.

"Damn, you're really in a rush to catch up, huh?" Jazz chuckles.

"It's a recipe made to be improvised out in the wild, so I figured it'd be interesting to compare one made extremely quickly to one made a bit slower."

"… Compare? Now hang on, you're not gonna–"

Poison nullification off, here we go! Make sure this hits my other body too, Ciel!

I take a swig from my vial, ignoring the clear exasperation I can feel from my manas, and I can only describe the taste as 'vile', the shock of ingesting something so bitter making me grimace with a scrunched-up expression.

"That's so gross!" I complain, setting down the vial. At least it's not even close to as bad as Shion's cooking when she tries without using Susanoo.

"Of course, it's poison!"

"It's bad poison! The good stuff doesn't warn you that it's poison."

"Honestly, what were you thinking? Do you need me to make you throw up?"

I slump over on the workbench, feeling a bit funny and fragile as the substance wreaks havoc on my body.

"N-nah, just let it run its course. I don't have a gag reflex anyway."

"… Lewd," Jazz smirks.

"I DON'T–! … Ngh, this stuff really is made to take down beasts…" I mumble, unable to find the energy to curse out Jazz for what he just said.

As for why the professor is ignoring my self-inflicted peril, that was something I had to negotiate for: I assured that I'd have a clone set aside for insurance before trying anything reckless in pharmacology class, and in exchange I'm allowed to test extremely dangerous substances on myself without intervention, though the privilege will be revoked if I actually wind up killing myself somehow.

Which'll never happen! Alcohol is just one kind of poison that has an interesting effect on the body and is very bad at killing. For me, all poisons are like that, no matter what they are. Though they're generally either less palatable or less pleasant than simple booze, in this case both.

[[This is definitely one of your worst hobbies.]]

It's interesting to experience things normally though! It's letting something have an actual effect on me, one I'm not faking or controlling.

[[One might also call that helplessness.]]

Oh shush, most folk do just fine experiencing life things this way. I would know, that was how it was when I was human.

[[If you had experienced this as a human, you would have died in minutes. That is not 'just fine' as you would define it.]]

Stop being such a party pooper and just enjoy the data gathering I know you're already doing, Ciel.

[[...]]

"And now for the comparison!" I grab Jazz's vial and take a swig from that too, not giving him a moment to try stop me. "… Ugh, still gross… But woah, it has a kick to it that mine didn't! The extra time spent refining it removed the delay in the onset that mine had."

Then before I can put the vial back, I keel over, both me and its remaining contents taking a spill.

"Uh, Professor!" Jazz raises his hand, "Rimuru collapsed!"

"Heeheehee… It feels like my insides are melting, it tickles…"

Which is impressive given that my insides are already molten!

Once the effect lapses, I find that I'm actually feeling even better than before.

[[Your other self finally passed out. Possibly due to this. No… definitely.]]

Ha! That's what you get, me!

In the end, we both got graded very well for producing data on the tradeoff between brewing speed and efficacy, even if it got us a lot of weird looks.

That was just the start of the class though, and there was something I was much more eager to try out…

…

"So, you have no idea what this does?" Jazz asks, looking at the indigo potion with swirling gold sparkles.

"Nope! I got my hands on a highly-potent mystery ingredient, so I mixed it with a bunch'a stuff I figured it'd react well with. There's only one way to find out what effect it might have."

"Don't tell me–"

"Bottoms up!"

I chug about half of the liquid in one go. It smells almost like incense but doesn't really have much of a flavor to it, which definitely beats that poison in terms of tastiness and scent.

Jazz stares at me, cringing slightly in cautious anticipation.

And then, after a tense moment of expectation… nothing happens. Just about the worst outcome the concoction could've produced, but that's science for ya.

I sigh. "Well that's disappointing, I had high hopes for–"

Then there's a bright flash of light.

Astrology Class

"You went into the wrong classroom twice?" Iruma asks with a look of concern.

{{Don't judge, I've had a weird morning…}}

"I'll say. And I take it you found your way to Pharmacology class next?"

{{Uh-huh.}}

"And then you put that powder in a potion…"

{{A powerful beast's feather turned into wings and disintegrated by sheer force of magicules, how could I resist?}}

"Then you drank the potion, without poison resistance…"

{{Of course, how could I identify the effects otherwise?}}

"And now you're a bird."

I stare at him with my beady eyes and flap my wings as if to say "Duh!"

Yup, the potion temporarily turned me into this small feathery creature. But I'm used to it as a shapeshifter, and demons are willing to accommodate for sudden unexpected transformations, which are particularly common amongst pharmacology students (and one Professor Kalego).

"Just to clarify, that is your sister, right?" Professor Orias inquires, seeming not entirely sure whether to count me as in attendance.

"Yeah, I recognized her when she flew in through the window…" Iruma hesitantly replies, then something seems to strike him dumbfounded. "Wait, how did I recognize her?"

"Twins have mysterious powers, I'm sure it's just that. Anyway, back on topic–"

And at that moment I suddenly revert to my human form, nearly landing on a bewildered Azz on account of my size change dislocating me. Immediately, I sit down and start completing my pharmacology report now that I've regained my hands.

My quill scribbles away as I mutter, "Alright, the effect lasted for almost precisely twenty-two minutes, and the exact species I turned into was…"

"Stop disrupting my class!" Orias scolds, and I'm interrupted by a crystal ball being thrown at my head, which bounces off hard enough for him to catch it again afterwards.

"Huh… bouncy. Anyway, don't lose interest in this class just because you can't eat the stars, Rimuru."

"Oh, so it really is because of me that all the classes have been like this today, huh?!" I stand up straight, my hands slamming the desk with a cracking sound, startling Iruma and a few other students around me.

"Woah! H-hey, calm down, I just grabbed the nearest thing to get your attention, but I'll admit a crystal ball–"

"I'm not talking about that!" I jab an accusatory finger at the teacher, "I know you teachers are spreading some aggravating rumors amongst yourselves like a bunch of nosy teenagers!"

"It's perfectly grounded compared to what the actual teenagers are saying…" he mumbles to himself.

"What was that?!"

"Nothing! But you should get used to the attention: Demons like interesting things, and you're an interesting demon, for better or worse."

"That still doesn't give you the right to say whatever you please. Honestly, grow up already!" I grumble, folding my arms.

"Hahaha, alright," Orias laughs a little nervously. "Anyway, where were we? I believe I was explaining the importance of the juxtaposition of…"

Boooring. I start to tune Orias out.

"I wonder what a star would taste like…" Clara quietly muses. Apparently that was her takeaway from the conversation.

"It wouldn't taste like anything but the vapor of whatever you had on your person," I answer.

"That reminds me, I need to get your new phone's contact details since yours apparently melted," Azz leans over and whispers to me.

"You four…" Orias says in a warning tone, wanting us to focus on the class.

Iruma appears a little confused as he didn't even say anything, and I try not to roll my eyes at how tedious the professor is being about his tedious subject.

No hate on astrology, a long-time acquaintance of mine has given me a good impression of it, but good god man! We waste so much time on the local constellations and planetary movements! At this point I know more about the night sky of the Netherworld than my own homeland, yet I don't even have a long-term future under these stars.

Iruma POV

"Seeya later," Rimuru waves as she separates from our group, lunchbox tucked under her arm (with a scarf wrapped around it to hide the cutesy demdol design). Rimuru seems to find it embarrassing, but I don't see the problem with it. Lots of the girls at Babyls have similar lunchboxes.

We're about to go to the cafeteria, but apparently Rimuru doesn't want to press her luck by sneaking in today. Even if she'd only be eating the lunch that Ciel gave her, that doesn't remove her ban from even stepping into the lunchroom.

But before we leave the Astrology Classroom, I have something I need to do: Convince Soi to join us for lunch. I want him to warm up to us before he lets all the Misfit Class know about his existence. I think it'll make it a bit easier for him.

So, I start using Magic Field and walk over to him, where he's sitting in the back, silently collecting his things.

"Soi!"

He ignores me at first.

Undeterred, I ask him, "Wanna eat lunch with us? "

"Why? Is this your way of revealing me?"

"No! I just wanted you to eat with us so you don't have to be alone anymore. Rimuru's usual seat will be free for… uh… forever."

"Although I'm acquainted with a whole two people in the class now, I'm not exactly in a hurry to surround myself with people. You'll have plenty of company at your table already, won't you? You should be content with them."

"But don't you wanna get to know everyone a bit better?"

"I know them already. I have been watching you and our classmates all school year. Didn't I tell you this before?"

"No, I mean on a personal level."

Soi pauses without answering.

"Iruma-chi, what's the holdup? You talkin' to ghosties?" Clara butts in.

"W-what?! No!"

"Lame! Move your butt if you're not doin' anything worthwhile!" She pulls on the back of my coat to get me moving.

"Don't be rude, Valac!" Azz picks Clara up by her collar to make her let go of me, "He surely just needs a moment of quiet contemplation, he's not talking to ghosts since he's not crazy like you."

"But I wanna catch a ghostie! Then I'll catch a human, a dragon, The Supreme Leader Despelanga…" Clara's voice fades away as she's quickly dragged off.

"Anyway…" I turn around to continue talking with Soi, "Can you plea– ...wha–?"

He's gone, not just invisible. Soi snuck away while I was distracted.

"Aw man…" I've failed at inviting him. I really just want Soi to make friends with our classmates, but it seems this is gonna be harder than I thought.

We still have some time before the Music Festival to coax Soi out of his hiding. So, I stop using Magic Field and leave.

I'll just try again next time… I can't give up!

…

I catch up with Azz and Clara, then we sit in our usual spots at lunch. Azz makes a 'fire wall' around our table to stop other students from bothering me since the attention from the Harvest Festival still hasn't died down.

Lead, still dealing with the same trouble as me, is sitting with us too to avoid it.

With a gust of wind, a gap forms in the fire ring, causing Azz to scowl at the person responsible.

Semi-sheepishly, Goemon steps through the hole he made and approaches our table.

"Yo, mind if I sit with you guys? Picero's caught up in an intense napping duel right now, so I didn't wanna bother him." His fur tousles slightly as he speaks from all the fire and wind magic whirling about.

"Only if Master Iruma says you can join us," Azz sternly replies.

"Of course you can, Goemon. We have a few open seats."

The hole in the fire closes and Goemon sits down. I hope this doesn't get us kicked out of the cafeteria too. I guess we could join Rimuru if that happened, but I don't wanna miss out on the amazing food!

"So… Iruma," Lead pauses his eating and talks, "Have you cooked up a plan for the Music Festival yet?"

Huh?! Was that something I was supposed to do? Did I nod off in Homeroom Class or something?

"W-well… I think we need to put the Bet-ranked students in the spotlight."

"So Liz then."

"Yeah."

And Soi… but I can bring him up later.

"Meanwhile, we'll put you and your sister in a box where no one can see you, since everyone pays way too much attention to you guys and it's everyone else who needs to rank-up. And that goes for you too Azz. You three can all be in a box together."

"You're also ranked Dalet! Why are you not putting yourself in this hypothetical box?" Azz scolds.

"Because I'm not nearly as flashy as you three! I'd have to be front-and-center to get any attention at all!"

"Um, Lead, I get your point, but isn't that a bit too far? We can just help in the background," I calmly suggest, trying to cool down the quickly-heating discussion.

"With bags over your heads to hide your identities! Just to be safe!"

"I'm sure we can manage not to stand out without that…"

Lead just stares at me in response, completely and clearly unconvinced.

"Oh! What if you disguised yourselves with fake beards or mustaches?" Goemon eagerly suggests. "Facial hair does wonders at hiding things."

The idea sounds funny for a moment, but then I realize a big issue with it. "Wait, that wouldn't work, Rimuru would insist on joining in. And I think a girl wearing a mustache would only draw more attention!"

"You think she would?"

"I know she would!"

"Hm… well, that option's off the table, then," Lead shrugs.

"Yes, when Rimuru sets her mind on something, there's no stopping her," Goemon chuckles, drawing agreeing nods.

"How 'bout we dress you up as a girl for the performance as your disguise then? Since you've got experience and all," Lead suggests with a cheeky grin at me.

"W-what?! How do you know about that?!" I stammer out, my cheeks almost immediately flushing at the possibility that he knows I performed as Irumi that one time.

"What do you mean, 'what'? That damn tutor had us both dressing up as maids, it's a shame we bear together. … Wait, don't tell me you've been doing it in your own time too!"

"NO!"

"Haha, okay, sheesh, I was just joking when I suggested it as a disguise. It just came to mind since you'd be able to pull off a getup like Irumi's, you've got her looks and all."

Ack! Don't say I'm like Irumi!

As he watches me squirm with an evil smile, Lead's expression slowly morphs from amusement, to shock, to dawning realization.

"Oh… You've got her looks… And her name… And her sister."

"Are you saying that Master Iruma is the demdol Irumi?" Azz asks with skepticism.

"Iruma-chi's a demdol!" Clara shouts excitedly, grinning.

Too busy with my soul trying to escape my body, I'm simply frozen in horror as Lead searches up something on his phone, and then pulls up an image.

He lays the phone on the middle of the table, and no words are said as everyone just stares at the picture of 'Irumi' and 'Mika'.

Lead slowly shakes his head. "… I can't believe I didn't see it before. Maybe 'cause I didn't know at the time that Rimuru could make herself small like that."

"You are truly multi-talented, Master."

"Please don't tell anyone! It was just a one-time thing!" I plead while hiding my face with my hands.

"Yeah, now that I think about it, Rimuru would probably kill me if I told anyone she was a secret demdol…" Lead mutters, averting his gaze and starting to look guilty for bringing up this topic.

Clara puts her hand in the middle of the table.

"If Iruma-chi wants this to be secret, let's make a pact!"

After a moment's pause, Azz puts his hand on Clara's, then Lead, then Goemon.

I put my own hand on too but Lead asks "What are you doing?" and I quickly pull away with a "Sorry!"

Looking as serious as I've ever seen her, Clara begins to recite what sounds like a dark and ancient ritual.

"If I spill this secret, may my blood spill. If I let the truth be squeezed out of me, may I be squeezed in a cage of spikes. Let my forebears bear witness to this pact, and see that the life be choked out of me if I violate it."

The ritual concludes with a puff of green sparks that showers over all of us.

"That was a real spell?!" I exclaim in horror.

"Nah, it's just something from my favorite storybook, and the light was just an illusion."

"So those horrible things won't happen to someone if they spill the beans?"

"They will! 'Cuz we'll do it ourselves!"

Scary!

Lead gives me a poke. "Hey, I'll throw you a bone here and give you a change of subject since you look like you want one: Any other secret talents we should know about? Don't hold out on us."

"Uh… well… you remember that sense you stole from Rimuru during the Harvest Festival?"

"Yeah, the one that made my head nearly explode? I don't think I'll ever forget it!"

"Yes, that. I started learning to do something that's kinda the same thing." I turn to my other puzzled tablemates, "It's part of our Bloodline Magic and lets me, well… see stuff in any direction, even if it's something I normally can't see. I can move objects at a distance too, but that's a lot harder."

"Can you give us a demonstration?" Azz asks eagerly.

"Yeah!" Clara cheers.

"Uh… sure," I cover my eyes with my hands and turn away. "Hold some fingers up and I'll tell you how many."

I activate Magic Field and focus on Azz, and see that he is holding up 4 fingers. The image is fuzzy, but as I narrow the scope of Magic Field, I'm able to make it out enough to count.

"Four," I answer, then I detect something else. "And uh, Clara's holding up two on one hand and one on the other."

"Woah, you can see through solid objects like that?!" Goemon exclaims in alarm.

"Yeah! But–"

"You'd better not use that on me!" he exclaims in unusual panic.

"I'm not gonna look through your clothes or anything, don't worry," I assure him, making a point of 'looking away' with my ability (not that he can see me doing that).

My sense fixes right on Rimuru's 'empty' seat. And then it blips out.

Wait, what?! I think I just saw Soi, but then Magic Field…

"Gaaah!" Lead's voice screeches, "That's not as bad as Rimuru's, but still too much! Wait–"

I uncover my eyes and turn back around, just to see Lead staring at that same spot.

"Who's that? He seems… familiar. Kinda."

Lead holds his head in clear pain, as his nose starts bleeding, but I can sense Lead still has a hold of Magic Field with his Controller.

"Lead's spotted a ghostie!" Clara shouts, "I'm gonna catch it!"

Clara lunges at the open seat and slams onto the floor…

On top of Soi, who is now very much visible to everyone.

He really did come?!

In a flash, Azz hops over the table, a sword made of fire appearing in his hands and then being pointed right at Soi. "Who are you, and why are you spying on us?!"

"Wait, wait! He's not a spy!" I wrest Azz's arm upwards, not wanting anyone to get hurt by that dangerous-looking blade. "Remember… remember that joke Rimuru made about how Kalego might fail us because we forgot about our 'secret invisible classmate'? W-well… that's him!"

Azz's flame sword disappears out of his hand and I let go of his arm.

"My apologies, Sir," Azz bows to me.

Clara rolls off of Soi, who looks a bit shocked by all of this, only expressed by his eyes being a bit wider than normal.

"What's ya' name, ghostie?" Clara asks with a big grin. When she doesn't get a reply in three seconds, she lightly smacks Soi a few times.

"What are you doing, Valac?!" Azz scolds as he quickly pulls her away.

"Waking him up, he looks like Riri does sometimes."

"I'm just… completely overwhelmed…" Soi whimpers, still laid helplessly on the floor, before he starts to turn transparent again. It only takes him a few seconds to go completely invisible to my eyes since I'm not using Magic Field at this point.

For a moment I want to stop him, but mid-movement I change my mind.

Instead, I just do my best to offer some kind words to the air. "Soi, I'm sorry that meeting some of your classmates became such a mess, but I think if you introduced yourself to everyone next week, you'd feel very welcome in the class."

Then I turn to Azz. "Could you please let him out?"

Azz nods, still looking a little shocked from this development, and makes an opening in the wall of flames around us.

"Who the heck was that?!" Lead shouts, finally breaking out of his silent gawking at the situation.

"Soi Purson. He's our classmate, but nobody in our class outside of Rimuru noticed him until recently." I pause, wondering if I should share this next point, but knowing that the Music Festival is coming up, "He's also known as 'Pixie', y'know, that amazing trumpet player that we hear all the time?"

Lead's eyes immediately light up, "So he can win the Music Festival for us?! Why didn't you say anything sooner, Iruma?"

"W-well, I only found out just this week myself…"

"Wait, what about Rimuru?! From the sounds of it she knew about this guy the whole time and never told us! What the hell, man?"

"There's no use yelling at me about it! She just… really respected his privacy, I guess."

"What about our privacy? There's been an invisible guy lurking around us for what, nearly a year? Oh hell, what things has he seen?!"

"I'm sure he's seen nothing as embarrassing as me being caught as a demdol..."

"Right, about that... Can I, um..."

"Hmm?"

"Can I have your autograph?"

"Uh, sure!" I take out a pen. "Do you just want me to sign my name as Irumi?"

"No, no, you're just Iruma right now! I meant I… wanted an autograph from Irumi…"

It takes me a moment to realize what he means.

"… Wait, are you asking me to cross-dress again?!"

Rimuru POV

Finally, some time to take it easy… I think to myself as I stroll through the halls, making an active effort to ignore passers-by and their unnerving preference for looking my way.

My reputation around the school hasn't been the best of late. It's kinda like how the Misfit Class regarded me at the start of the year, except instead of fearful respect, I'm seen as more like a cryptid, a strange beast surrounded by even stranger rumors.

Rumors about what depraved things I did to end up in the Misfit Class.

Rumors that I eat my enemies, which is far too close for comfort.

Rumors that some recent event made me go crazy.

Rumors that I was always crazy.

The Misfit Class themselves still treat me well though, so it's… whatever, I guess. I can wait for a bunch of dumb teenage rumors to blow over.

With a few brisk hops, I bounce onto the school's outer wall, off of it onto a tower wall, then clear over the the outer wall. Now that I've got video games back in my life after thirty years, I've gotta try some awesome video game moves, right?

I walk over to the edge of the mesa that Babyls is built on, finding a gap in the fence and sitting myself down, my legs dangling off of the sharply overhung cliff.

It's a nice secluded spot with an incredible view. Well, a view that would probably make anyone who couldn't fly queasy, since if I shuffled forward just a bit I'd have a long enough fall to text Iruma that I'd be back late before I got skewered on one of the many sharp rocks below.

But I'm above such problems, I can just sit here and appreciate how the sun rising lower in the sky each day has the countless natural stone spires cast long shadows over each other. The scenery in the Netherworld really is something unique.

With a relaxed sigh, I open my lunchbox.

And then immediately close it.

[[What's wrong?]]

You… y-you doubled-down and drew on my memories to create the most stereotypical Japanese-mom lunch you could…

[[But it's adorable, is it not?]]

More cautiously this time, I open it again. It looks delicious, and has lots of cute and tasty things in it, like those little hotdogs cut up into octopi — something I haven't seen for half a century, now that I think about it.

And the love and care put into this is clearly real rather than just filling a stereotype, because it even has some appetizing-looking magicrystals, a consideration for my tastes as a slime that usually goes ignored.

I guess I just feel a little embarrassed about being doted on like this. Ciel's been so teasingly affectionate today, and yet she's done it with a big heaping of plausible deniability, almost as though she wants to watch me squirm over nothing.

Is this payback for when I got you so flustered that we ended up in the infirmary?

[[It is…]]

Aha!

[[… just your imagination.]]

You rascal… I grumble, picking up a piece of delicious seafood with my chopsticks and then losing all ability to be offended once I pop it in my mouth. … Thank you, Ciel.

[[Anytime.]]

A minute later, I'm thoroughly enjoying myself, forgetting all about the troubles of the day. Sitting here alone with my partner, the nonsense prattle of the students and staff means nothing at all, just some craziness I can just deal with later.

There's no need to worry about reputation, rumors, or watchful eyes as I happily munch away.

…

Having finished a nice meal, I flop back onto the gravelly stone with a soft crunch… And find myself looking straight up at someone standing right behind me.

I scream, he screams, we both scream.

And then, on reflex, I chuck my embarrassment of a lunchbox right at the boy's face forcefully enough to knock him off his feet.

Now we're both sitting in the dirt, staring at each other, wide-eyed.

[[No hostile intent detected.]]

I didn't ask!

I snatch the girly-looking lunchbox off the ground nearby and proceed to toss it off the cliff. Nobody can see that thing, not even a stranger!

[[Littering is a crime, Master.]]

I'll go get it later!

The kid just watches me do this, still silent. He's not someone I know, but looking back at the student records I previously stowed away in my mind, I know he's a second year student. Kinda tall and lanky, with a mop of hair striped a deep crimson and cream, and four dragonfly-esque wings draped behind him like a cape.

I hop to my feet and face the startled boy still staring at me with a dumbfounded expression.

"I wasn't expecting a visitor up here. Mind telling me why you snuck up behind me like that?"

He just blushes with shame and averts his eyes downward, mumbling something under his breath so quietly that even I can't understand him.

Maybe I'm being too stern with him… He seems like he might be an apologetic softie like Iruma.

"Hey," I hold out my hand, "I'm not mad about it. Let me help you up."

He stares at my hand for a moment like it's a venomous snake about to bite him, but still takes it, and I hoist him to his feet.

"So? What're you doing up here?"

"... to give you something."

Give me something? I don't even know this guy… what's going on?

He shakes his head, as if realizing he made a mistake, before speaking up again.

"Um, I'm Pazuzu! Zozo Pazuzu, a second year… I like to do art and stuff…"

"Oh, we're starting with introductions? Then I'm Rimuru Tempest, a first-year of the Misfit Class. I prank folks and fool around with magic."

Pazuzu forces a smile as he fidgets in place, "I know we don't know each other, but… well, I've seen and heard a lot of incredible things about you!"

Oh no… is this going where I think it's going?

"Y-you're so unstoppable. Like a storm! Nobody can hold you back from doing what you want. I-I think that's amazing… s-so you inspired me… and I m-made something. For you."

"Made what, exactly?"

"A painting. But it's in the Art Battler's room, so can you follow me there?"

"Uh…" I pause, "Sure."

The least I can do is go look at the thing.

He takes to the air and I do the same, and we both fly back over the wall surrounding Babyls and land in front of the main entrance.

I'm not really paying any attention to what's going on around me because of one thing occupying my thoughts completely.

He made art. As a way to ask me out.

But that isn't the issue here. What's bothering me is an old, incredibly uncomfortable memory of me trying the same thing at one point. Not with a painting, but something else.

As Satoru, when still in high school, I tried to ask a girl out by writing her a poem and reading it out loud to her.

It was a disaster.

The entire thing was spread wide across the school afterward, and I was bullied about it for weeks! Someone even scratched what I wrote into the door of my locker just to humiliate me even more. Everyone knew, and everyone was talking about it, even my own older brother; it was a nightmare.

[[Alert: You are being dragged.]]

Eh?

Snapping back to reality, I see that this Pazuzu guy is eagerly pulling me through one of the main hallways by my wrist. Not in a forceful, aggressive way, but it is sure grabbing some attention, and that's the last thing I want.

"Hey. I can keep up without that," I insist as I force my arm out of his grasp.

"Oh. I apologize. I'm just… excited to finally show you my work!" He grins.

I hope it's not some hyper-beautified portrait of me. I've seen enough of those in my life, and I won't be too happy to see yet another. I can go raid Diablo's stash if I want to see dozens of pictures of me, which I very much do not. I'd rather pretend his 'collection' doesn't exist for the sake of my mental health.

It doesn't take much longer before we reach the Art Battler's room, which is a place at Babyls I've never gone to before.

There's a few different easels with canvases on them, but they're covered by cloths, so I'm not sure which is the one that's Pazuzu's. One of them, strangely enough, seems to be magically warded.

"What's up with that one? Why's it magically protected?"

"Oh, that piece is Beem's. I don't recommend touching it. His art is incredible, but disturbing."

Pazuzu stops at one of the easels, his excitement visibly ticking upwards but willpower ticking down with each passing second, clearly happy but nervous to show me his painting. He holds a corner of the veil and begins preparing both me (and himself) for the big reveal.

"I tried to capture your essence with it, but now I know it doesn't stand up to its inspiration. I've stood so close to you in person now… and I can see you're more beautiful than my art could ever portray. Eyes like lightning, vibrant and bright, full of stunning power and grace–" His face turns redder and he stops before stuttering out, "B-but I hope you still like it!"

Oh man, he's being so genuine and vulnerable… what am I supposed to do here?

I'm suffering just as much as Pazuzu is right now, still trying to shove away that humiliating old memory, on top of juggling the fact that I'm now on the other end, and have to find a way to let this boy down as gently as possible.

This is entirely different from the other times I've had to reject teen boys at Babyls. In general, demons are very direct and authoritative about their advances. It's a thing to do with Netherworld culture, I think, where strength and confidence are valued, and timidity and weakness are greatly frowned upon. The problem is just compounded by my rank and status here. "A rank Vau student would never accept a gentle confession!" is their view on it.

Telling someone 'no' won't shatter their confidence if they have a lot of that to start with.

But in this case…

Well, I'll just have to do my best here.

But first, I need to at least acknowledge what he made.

With only a slight extra pause for hesitation, Pazuzu removes the veil.

Revealed is a painting, sorta abstract and made with an assortment of colors. At first, I can't really make out how it's supposed to connect to me at all, but after a bit more looking, I see something that honestly shocked me a bit. Mixed in with all the slashes of color, you can kind of make out a dark, somewhat draconic silhouette with spots of gold for eyes.

"I-I know I'm not that good… I t-tried my best."

"It's good."

"What?"

"I'm no artist, but I think you did a good job." The kid deserves at least a bit of credit.

Pazuzu's eyes light up and he stands a bit straighter than before.

"In that case…" he hesitates, "Could we maybe… eat lunch together sometime? I know how you've had to eat all alone because of what happened during the Harvest Festival. I want to get to know you, Rimuru. The real you, not the 'Rimuru' that's been in the rumors."

"People really have been stretching the truth and making things up recently, haven't they? Even the teachers are adding to it."

"Y-yeah," Pazuzu laughed shyly. "It seems really unfair."

"Tell me about it!" I groaned, "But, uh…"

Crap, I think I just made this worse by being all friendly. I bet he's taking this as me actually about to say yes to his date offer.

Rather than possibly lead him on, I need to shut this down right away.

"To be completely clear… you are asking me out on a date, right?"

Pazuzu hesitates for an uncomfortably long moment.

"Yes…" he flashes a nervous smile.

"In that case… I'm not interested. But–"

"I-I should just g-go. I'm s-sorry for bothering you…" Pazuzu sputters, desperately trying to hold in tears.

"H-hey! Don't take it personal! I'm just–"

He cuts me off with "I'll d-do better for you next time… b-better…", muttering and staring off as if he isn't listening anymore.

Then Pazuzu looks at his painting again.

"But first…" Pazuzu says as he grabs a nearby paint bucket and opens it, taking a step toward the painted canvas.

"Now don't ruin the thing. I said it was good, remember? I said it was good!"

"N-not good enough," he sniffles, solemnly raising the bucket in the air, "Just like father said."

I didn't want him to wreck all his hard work just because of what I said, so I dart between him and the painting to stop him.

Then I get drenched in red paint.

I thought he would pause if I was right in front of him, but I suppose I was wrong.

I try my best to wipe the paint off of my face with my hand, but just ended up smearing it more than anything. I'll just clean myself up later.

"Oh no… NO!" Pazuzu screams in horror. "Nononono what have I done!?"

"Calm down! It's just paint!"

Pazuzu stumbles backward, teary-eyed, then with a hasty beat of his wings (that splatters the paint even more) throws himself at the window.

Through the window, with a loud crash.

"Well… that didn't go as smoothly as I hoped."

The room is an absolute disaster now, with all the items scattered by the wind Pazuzu's wings produced, and also speckled with the same red paint I'm currently covered in.

*Drip, drip, drip*

As I stand there, red paint still dripping off the edges of my clothing, I notice quiet footsteps out in the hall almost masked by that sound.

"Zuzu? How'd it go with–"

The source of the footsteps and the voice, a tiny black-haired girl now peeking in through the doorway, stops as she sees what a state the room is in.

She trembles in horror, her mouth moving but only choked sounds coming out.

Oof… I totally get how she feels, though you get used to coming back to destroyed rooms when you live amongst Tempest's elite.

I raise my hands apologetically. "Hey, it wasn't me who did this. And look, I'll clean up, see?"

Swirls of black spill over the splatters of red, scouring away the mess of paint that got all over myself and the room.

The girl runs away. Can't blame her, Azathoth's a pretty spooky-looking skill to see for the first time.

After finishing cleaning up, I leave through the broken window since I've got homeroom class coming up soon, and the fastest way to reach Royal One is by flying. I'll have to let Sullivan know about the window since it'll need to be fixed, but that can wait.

No more weird nonsense today, please! I've had enough!

I swoop into Royal One, and Lead trots up to me the moment he sees me, with some kind of picture rolled up under his arm.

"Hey Rimuru, we've still got a bit of time before class, can I get your autograph?"

"My autograph? Why would you care about a thing like that?" I ask, not thinking that the 'Young King' Lead would suddenly start obsessing over the status of those around him.

But then he unfurls the picture he was carrying, and I'm struck with horror.

It's a poster of me and Iruma… from a brief photoshoot that someone insisted on after we performed as 'Irumi and Mika' in that demdol concert.

And it's already got an autograph on it:

"Your heart is mine! - Irumi"

Lead is barely holding in his giggling. "Go on, sign it! It'll just look sad if it's only got an autograph from one of the demdol sisters."

From behind Lead, Iruma (who, for some reason, is wearing eyeliner) claps his hands together and bows in apology. "I am so sorry…"

Wha–? How? Huh?

I pause my external perception, mentally retreating to the quiet void of Imaginary Space.

Calm, empty black, spreading out forever and ever.

A place where nobody will hear me if I just…

Inhaled, and…

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"