How did it end up like this.
One moment I was peacefully taking a stroll through the Jura Forest and in the next I was suddenly warped into another world where I would be needed to stop a crisis.
"Jee, I just can't catch a break" Despite trying to make light of the situation, I was definitely shaken. Considering the scale of this incident though, who could blame me. Thankfully, there is someone I could rely on in troubling times such as this one.
"Hey Raphael, do you know where we are"
"…Negative. Currently analysing our current location"
Yikes, not a good sign. Though the fact that my trusty partner was with me calmed me greatly, it was also quite unnerving to hear our almighty Raphael couldn't ascertain where we were.
"…Hmph"
Ah, I don't think she appreciated that one
"I'm sorry Raphael" I tried to appease them quickly. "I wasn't poking fun at you here. Plus, I could really do with some information, so I am counting on you"
Raphael didn't respond back, but I would like to assume that they understand the gravity of the current situation and forgive my slip up.
Before I could follow up on them, Rin who was leading me stopped.
"This way please".
Rin walked into a glass elevator, gesturing me to follow. Admittedly quite hesitant, I swallowed my slight bit of nervousness and stepped inside.
"Welcome to Kivotos, Sensei"
The sight that greeted me left me stunned.
Numerous urban style buildings with dozens of skyscrapers protruding skyward. A myriad of aircrafts of all sorts of variety filled the sky, ranging from helicopters to massive blimps displaying holographic imagery back down towards the city. Splitting the city was a large river that would initially seem out of place in such a futuristic-esque city but gave it an almost tranquil ambience. In the distance, a tower that loomed over everything else could be seen. From its apex shone a beacon of light that stretched beyond even the skies and further than I could see. Centralized by the beam of light were consecutive expanding rings that spread across the sky, overlapping other rings centred over other buildings.
It would not be an exaggeration to call this a vibrant, modernized utopia.
"Wow, this place looks like it popped out of a sci-fi movie"
My mouth agape, I slowly processed the scene before me until Rin spoke up.
"Kivotos is a massive city, home to thousands of different academies. This is where you'll be working from now on"
I quickly snapped out of my daze hearing her.
"From now on? How long is she expecting me to stay here" Before I could rectify her, she continued.
"It's bound to be very different from the place you call home, you might find it difficult to adapt to it at first. But I hope you'll adjust in due time and support us as the one chosen by the General Student Council president"
I felt a slight pang of guilt. I could feel the sincerity of her request. Of course, this didn't take away from the fact that I still prioritized returning home. Though, giving them a helping hand wouldn't hurt right?
"Ah man, what should I do?"
DING!
A small ring signalling we had arrived at our destination floor rang out.
"We can leave the rest of the details for later, please follow me"
Rin stepped out of the elevator, with me following slightly behind her.
We had arrived on the first floor. As we walked out into the main room, I noticed the multitude of sofas and the desk facing the entrance. I assume this was a reception area for the building seeing how there were a group of four people waiting behind the desk. One of them noticed us approaching and came towards us.
"There you are, Acting President! We've been waiting! Get the real president in here already!"
She had navy-blue hair and adorned a standard uniform with a white and blue jacket over it. On her waist were a pair of submachine guns and she too had a halo over her head. This one however was a black circle with a blue line along the middle on the inside which made it look closer to a visor than an actual halo.
"I wonder if the halos are unique because of a specific reason"
"I've been waiting to see you, Chief Officer" The second one spoke up.
She was the tallest of the four, with long black hair that nearly reached her knees. She wore a black and red top and skirt, the latter of which seemed to be boldly designed to part over her knees. She held a rifle on her left arm and had a red star shaped halo with four daggers pointing outwards and a four-pointed star in the middle. The most curious thing was the pair of large black wings that sprouted from her back.
"So is she an actual angel then, or a maybe fallen angel"
"I'm here to meet with the General Student Council president. The head prefect has terms she would like to discuss" another one had chimed in
The third girl had brown hair and red glasses. She wore a standard white shirt, black skirt and red stocking. Nothing out of the ordinary save for the red armband on her left sleeve and the giant satchel bag slung over her right shoulder. Her halo was also red but was a simpler design, a red circle with four points forming a crosshair shape.
"Well… this timing is rather… inconvenient" Rin looked to the side muttering to herself. She turned back towards her guests.
"Hello, guests that represent neighbouring academies' student councils, disciplinary boards, and those who otherwise have too much time of their hands" Rin stated with a smile that was anything but friendly. "I am well aware why you irksome- I mean, important representatives have come here today"
"You can practically feel the venom from her words" I winced internally.
"You're here to blame us for the fuss happening in academy city. Isn't that right?"
The blue-haired girl responded strongly back. "If you're well aware, then do something! You represent the General Student Council after all!"
I couldn't help but be impressed, to argue back despite the blatant hostility.
"Thousands of academy districts are in panic! Our academy's wind generator shut down just a few days ago!"
"Sounds like a lot of damage has been done"
"There are also rumours a student under the Federal Corrections Bureau's custody has escaped" The brown-haired girl added.
"Don't know who that is but by the sounds of things, someone dangerous has been let loose"
The final person then spoke up.
"There has been a sharp increase in the number of thugs attacking our students on their way to school. Public safety is not being properly enforced"
She wore a grey uniform and had long white hair. She had a pale purple halo that was also in the shape of a crosshair and had arrows pointing outwards towards the edges. She had a single white wing that emerged from her left side and had a similar logo attached to her uniform as the girl with black wings.
"Maybe those two are related somehow. Regardless, sounds like the situation can't get much worse"
As if to contradict my thoughts, the latter girl topped it off. "Illegal distribution of tanks, choppers and other unknown weapons have increased by over two thousand percent. At this rate, ordinary school life in Kivotos will be a thing of the past"
…
Rin stood there silently, listening to their complaints. Whilst I was flabbergasted.
"Wait a minute, isn't this absolute chaos?" Though I knew nothing about the inner workings of this foreign city, even I could tell that if dangerous weapons were suddenly given out more by twenty times it would cause major destruction and havoc.
Finally, the one who started the complaints raised her voice once more.
"And what is the General Student Council president doing during such a sorry state of affairs? I demand to see her right this instant!"
As the four people continued to press Rin, she breathed a heavy sigh before finally giving in.
"The president is not in at the moment. To be frank, she's gone missing"
The group of four went silent, taken aback by the sudden news.
"Allow me to cut to the chase" Rin continued. "The General Student Council has no authority because the top administrator of Sanctum Tower has gone missing"
This bit of information shocked me.
"You mean to say all authority was given to a single person, which is then all gone if something happens to said person" I kept myself from reacting for the sake of politeness.
"We had been searching for a way to bypass the need for verification, all to no avail…until recently"
The black-winged girl raised her eyebrow. "You mean you've found a way now, Chief Officer?"
"That is correct" Rin turns around and gestured with her hand towards me. "Sensei here is the answer to our problems"
…
Though part of the confusion came from the abruptness at which I was suddenly thrusted into the conversation, it was mostly the sudden claim of which I was the key to all their solutions.
"I am?" I pointed at myself with a befuddled look prompting a nod from Rin.
"Eh!?" The other four exclaimed, turning their attention towards me.
"This is Rimuru Sensei" Rin began to introduce me. "Not only are they going to be teaching in Kivotos, but they've also been personally selected by the General Student Council president"
"Hey, wait a minute. Rin I didn't agree to the whole teaching business" Before I could vocalize my opposition, the four had grouped towards me staring me down.
Quite literally in fact. Though these people were students as implied by their earlier conversation, there was still a height deficit between us.
With a brief period of silence due to their observation, I decided to speak up.
"Hello, my name is Rimuru Tempest, chancellor of the Jura Forest." I paused for a second. "Well, I guess that doesn't mean much at the moment. In any case, it's nice to meet all of you"
The four of them stopped, looked at each other for a moment before turning back to me.
"Ahem" The blue-haired girl began. "It's nice to meet you, Sensei. My name is Hayase Yuuka, I am the treasurer of Millennium Science School's student council, Seminar"
"My name is Hanekawa Kasumi, vice chairman of Trinity General School's Justice Task Force" The black-winged girl continued. "I wish we had met in more ideal circumstances"
This time the brown-haired girl spoke. "As do I. I am Hinomiya Chinatsu, member of Gehenna Academy's Prefect Team"
"And finally, I am Morizuki Suzumi. I am part of the Trinity Vigilante Crew. It is nice to meet you Sensei"
I nodded. "Mhmm, nice to meet you all" I smiled whilst giving a small wave eliciting some interesting reactions from the group.
Yuuka went seemingly quiet, her cheeks going slightly red. Hasumi had a rather perplexed look on her face as if confused by my existence. And Chinatsu and Suzumi had a look with which you would look at a small animal, I could have even sworn I hear the word cute being blurted out quietly by the latter.
Whether it was due to my current youthful appearance, my less than average height or my jovial and carefree actions, I must have given the impression of that of a child or at least someone much younger than them. Obviously it was not my intention to do so, but that was the only explanation I could think of as to why I had been given such looks. As if to confirm my suspicions, Hasumi asked.
"Are you really an adult, Sensei?"
With this being the second time today I have been asked that, it really made me question my choice of appearance up until this point. In their defence, I had the body of a twelve-year-old and my body itself would only be three years old. But considering my mental age, I was definitely an adult compared to these students.
"I have lived longer than all of you, that's for sure" I replied back trying to divert the conversation from further questions.
"Ahem" Rin coughed aloud in order to reclaim attention. "If that's introductions concluded, I would like to move on to solving our current issues"
We all turned back to her before Yuuka questioned her. "And how exactly are you going to do that"
Rin pulled out a rectangular device that resembled a mobile phone and clicked a few buttons. The device then projected a holographic map over itself.
"Are we sure we didn't just travel a few centuries into the future"
"We currently need to get Sensei to the Schale building" Rin explained pointing towards a specific building that was highlighted red. "Schale is the Independent Federal Investigation Club that the president created, an extrajudicial organization with authority separate from the academies"
It seemed like the role I was going to be given was far more important than I realized.
"At the president's request, we had left a terminal within the basement of the building. With this terminal, Sensei should be able to access and return control of the authority of the Sanctum Tower"
From the explanation, I can't imagine this being a difficult task. Just a simple pop into the building, access whatever this terminal is, and we should be good.
"The building is located 30KM away from here" Rin then clicked a few more buttons. "Momoka, I need a helicopter to take us to the Schale building.
The device stopped projecting the map and then a holographic image of presumably another student appeared.
The girl had pink hair tied into twintails with triangular hairclips attached to her bangs. She wore the same uniform as Rin albeit far more lazily and held in her hand what was… a packet of chips. And though it wasn't very noticeable, on her head I spotted a pair of horns on her head.
"The Schale building?" She replied whilst casually eating her snack. "That's over in the outskirts. Things are kinda crazy over there right now…"
Rin raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by 'crazy'?"
Momoka shrugged her shoulders as she continued. "A suspended student escaped from the Correction's Bureau and is wreaking havoc. It's a battlefield over there right now"
Rin's face darkened. "What?"
"They rallied all the thugs in that area and are destroying everything in their path to get revenge on the General Student Council. I hear they've even got a Crusader Tank!"
With each bit of bad news, Rin's expression grew grimmer.
"They look like they're trying to occupy the Schale Building. It must be because they think the GSC is hiding something valuable there. The city is a dump anyways, can't do much about it"
DING DONG!
A doorbell rang out on the other side of the call.
"Ah! Delivery's here. Talk to you later"
Click
And just like that she hung up.
"Talk about carefree to the extreme" The city is under attack from armed terrorists, and she just orders a take-out. If this is the behaviour of someone part of the higher ups of the GSC, the crisis occurring due to the disappearance of the president suddenly makes more sense.
I turned to Rin who frankly looked on the verge of snapping. She clenched the device with a vice grip, with an expression that could rival Shuna's at the peak of her anger. All while staying deadly silent.
As much as I didn't want to speak up, there was not too much time left by the sounds of things. With armed terrorists on the run, the city would be left in shambles and the number of casualties, especially of innocent bystanders, would skyrocket.
"And I won't let any innocent blood be shed"
Bracing myself I tapped Rin on her shoulder. "You okay there?"
Rin turned around. "I'm fine… It's just a minor setback. No problem at all"
Although her words were strained and the irritation was still on her face, it was clear she was trying to compose herself.
"That's good to hear" I replied back before continuing. "In any case, the situation looks more dangerous than I thought. So, I guess I will help you out"
Hearing this, Rin gave a small sigh of relief. "Thank you for your consideration, Sensei"
"No problem now let's head to the building pronto"
Rin tilted her head in confusion.
"You have a plan?"
"We just need to get this terminal in the Schale building right? We'll just beat up the terrorists that's barricaded the place and get it. Simple right?"
Though my method was simple enough and probably just as easy to execute considering my myriad of powers after becoming a demon lord, Rin seemed to think otherwise given her flabbergasted look.
"Umm Sensei. Surely you are not suggesting raiding the enemy by yourself" She asked incredulously.
"Is there something wrong with that?" I replied without much thought.
Whether it was due to my lax response to her question or my overly simple plan, Rin simply sighed.
"That would be far too reckless Sensei" she said shaking her head. "Our enemies outnumber us greatly and they even possess dangerous weaponry on their side too. It would be much too dangerous for anyone to try and confront them by themselves"
"Not to mention, you don't even have a halo. So, this is extra dangerous for you" Yuuka chirped from behind, whilst the other three nodded in agreement.
"Do those haloes grant them powers or am I missing something"
From what Yuuka explained, the haloes must provide some kind of function in battle if they are so readily removing me from potential scuffles. But with the urgent situation, all I could do is surmise.
"In that case, do you have a plan Rin?
Rin glanced in the direction of the group of four. "Well, we have our trustworthy academy representatives here with us"
Yuuka could only respond with a "Huh" as Rin continued.
"We are going to need your help to bring peace back to Kivotos. The helicopter has just arrived. Let's go" Rin said sternly, allowing for no rebuttal.
Feeling the pressure emanating from Rin, we had no choice but to follow along.
As the helicopter took off, I gazed out the window. The city was bustling with activity. From students gathering around a café, to arguments between what seemed to be thugs and… robots? And just further ahead I could see a small mob of people carrying signboards and a microphone doing a protest?
"I have certainly landed myself in a curious place" I thought to myself
"Agreement, this world does greatly differ from our own"
"Raphael?" I sat up upon hearing my companion speak up.
"Is there something wrong Sensei" Chinatsu noticed and asked.
"Ah nope it's nothing ahahaha…" As I hopelessly attempted to cover up my sudden excitement.
"Hmmm, if you say so" She replied seemingly unconvinced but looked the other way regardless.
Thankfully she didn't press too hard. I returned my attention back to Raphael.
"So, what did you find?"
"Report, we have most likely been summoned to this world through travelling through space and time"
As crazy as it sounded, it was also the most logical explanation considering the absurd circumstances.
"Is there any way for us to travel back"
"Negative. Lacking the skills necessary for space-time travelling and the magicules necessary to perform such a skill. The world we currently occupy has zero magicules"
Although I had an inkling this would be the case, it was still not good to hear. Raphael could probably create the necessary skills for space-time travel, given an adequate amount of time. But the lack of magicules could not be solved at all. Considering the scale of which the act of travelling to another world is, it would cost me nothing less than every magicule in my body and then some. And sacrificing myself to travel back to my world would be putting the cart before the horse.
"Anything else to report" I asked Raphael.
"Although certain skills may be harder to activate, you hold enough magicules to sustain your current skills"
This, if nothing else, was at least a sigh of relief. At the very least, I could defend myself from any potential dangers if it came down to it.
Speaking of potential dangers, would the guns the students are carrying cause me any harm?
"From my analysis I have concluded that they would not be able to break your barrier, but would have enough power to blow through a regular human's body"
Raphael's information only affirmed my assumptions.
"So those guns are real then. But in that case doesn't that mean these students are essentially entering a warzone?"
Worry began to creep over me. These students were going to be in grave danger like this, surely it would be better for me to keep them out of this. They were only dragged here by Rin as impromptu reinforcements.
Hasumi must have noticed my expression growing darker. "Sensei, is everything alright?"
As I was once again brought back from my thoughts abruptly, I began tripping on my own words.
"No, I mean yes. I mean-" I stopped myself as the group watched me compose myself.
"Isn't this dangerous for you all, we are practically going into a battlefield right now. And everyone seemed to be… ill-prepared to be blunt"
The group of four took glances at each other before looking back at me. This time Yuuka spoke for the group.
"You might not know this Sensei, but-"
She was suddenly interrupted by a sudden shaking from the helicopter.
"Ahh!" Yuuka cried out grabbing her seat as she tried not to tumble down.
"What happened" Hasumi shouted towards the pilot.
"We are currently under fire" The pilot yelled back. "The helicopter has taken some damage, and we need to land before the damage gets severe. Please hold on everyone."
With that, the helicopter started hurtling it towards the ground avoiding the oncoming fire aimed at it. As we grabbed onto whatever we could, we braced ourselves for a rough landing.
"Landing in 3… 2… 1… and safe" Thankfully the helicopter was able to land onto the ground without too much trouble.
Upon landing, Suzumi quickly slid the door open and jumped off, pulling out her rifle from her side.
"Quickly everyone, our attackers will probably arrive here soon"
Hasumi and Yuuka nodded as they followed suit. Whilst Chinatsu looked over towards me.
"Are you ready, Sensei?"
From the looks of things, we were going to engage in combat soon whether we wanted to or not. I suppose I would just have to take extra caution during this fight and support them as much as I could.
"Ready as I'll ever be" I jumped off with Chinatsu and regrouped with the other three as we headed straight into battle.