Authors Note:

In response to Kirisuma: I added my timezone (EST, which is a US timezone for my international readers) to the description. Sorry about not clarifying that earlier; when I set that schedule I didn't even think about timezones making it a different day of the week for others, so my bad! The time of day I post is inconsistent due to my work schedule varying so much, but I usually post either in the morning or at night, rarely in the middle of the day.

I'm glad you guys enjoyed the bonus chapter earlier this week. I think I'm gonna use extra chapters like that for scenes that aren't very plot-relevant but are amusing, or at least feel a little out of place in a normal chapter. Expect another extra within the next few weeks!

Wrapping Things Up

Rimuru POV

We enter the auditorium for the announcement of the top three battlers this year. Along the way, we run into Sabnock. He seems to be a bit bruised from our match earlier, but otherwise, he's uninjured. I know that the demons that run the infirmary can use some kind of healing magic so they must've used it on him. The fact he's not fully healed, though, likely means Sabnock didn't stick around to be fully treated. Sounds like something he'd do.

I'm not exactly hopeful that we'll win anything today, considering the leader of our battler just tried to kill everyone, but the fireworks ended up being a fan favorite of the other students so not all hope is lost. Also, it seems like most of the students never realized the danger they were in, but know that Iruma and I, along with Azz and Clara, are responsible for the spectacle that everyone enjoyed. When it comes to the truth of the matter (as far as I know); the school's main staff knows, the student council knows, and the police know. Azz and Clara haven't even been fully briefed on the situation, believing that something simply went wrong with the fireworks and that Kiriwo panicked because of that, causing him to lose control of his magic and create all those barriers. I'll leave it up to Iruma to tell them the truth if he wants to. They befriended that jerk too, so I'm sure it'll be painful for them to learn what he was truly capable of.

The large room is buzzing with excitement and anticipation for the reveal of the winners, many students debating amongst themselves who could've possibly won. Azz seems a little too convinced that we've won the grand prize and Clara is eating up his words of grandeur and agreeing with him. Iruma seems less convinced, but still hopeful. I, on the other hand, don't really care about all this hullabaloo. If we do win, I'm sure Iruma would be thrilled, which will in turn make me happy, but if that doesn't happen, I'm fine with that too. I'm not gonna get bent out of shape over something so insignificant.

"Now, to announce the winners of this year's awards. Our official presenter…our beloved Student Council President…Ameri Azazel!" the announcer grabs everyone's attention before gesturing in Ameri's direction.

Ameri strolls confidently onto the stage, wearing something fancier than usual. She has a red cape, black elbow height gloves, black feather earrings, and something resembling her usual getup, but with a different color scheme. It looks nice on her, I have to admit.

"Iruma. Your girlfriend's lookin' pretty slick today, don't you think?" I ask playfully as I nudge him with my elbow.

"I told you to stop calling her that, Rimuru!" Iruma complains.

"Sorry, but she does look good in that outfit, right?"

"She does, but don't go saying stuff like that! It's embarrassing…" he whines even more.

I laugh off Iruma's embarrassment. The boy's undeniably attracted to her, based on the look he got in his eyes as soon as he noticed her a moment ago. Can't hide stuff like that from me, kid!

[[…]]

Don't get bent out of shape, Ciel! I can't help but acknowledge when a girl looks good in something. It doesn't mean I'm attracted to her! Plus, I'm trying to get her to date Iruma, so don't take me complimenting her clothes as anything more than that.

[[…if you say so, Master…]]

"You all did very well. I'm thrilled that this year's event was another grand and joyous affair. And now, let's move on to the awards, shall we?" she asks. Considering Ameri's fully aware of what happened, I'm surprised with how well she's hiding it. She knows that this year's battler party wasn't 'joyous' at all, yet her face gives away none of that.

The tension in the room grows in anticipation of Ameri's next words.

"Taking third place…the Succubus Battler!"

Sex appeal always draws in the attention…this isn't surprising.

Cheers erupt and the scantily clad members of said battler seductively waltz up to the stage to claim their prize.

"During the event, they used their elegance and appeal to keep it engaging, which got them the votes. Their reward will be a luxurious new clubroom."

"It's so unfair!" Clara pouts.

"This is still third place." Azz reminds her.

"When are they announcing the grand prize?" Sabnock asks impatiently.

"Next, we have second place. The recipient of this award is…the New Magic Battler!"

"We didn't get it again…" Clara says.

"So we shall be taking the grand prize!" Sabnock announces cockily.

"Oh, give it a rest!" Azz chides him, losing patience.

"This battler had a magic experience corner and expanded on magic development via interaction with the student body. Their new magic was a wondrous sight to behold! Their prize is a year's supply of black holy water to help continue the advancement of their research." Ameri continues.

From the whispers around me, it seems that many of the students think the Magical Apparatus Battler is gonna win the grand prize. This only makes Azz even more confident as he continues to quietly bicker with Sabnock over who'll win it. Iruma is looking uncomfortable, whether it be because we might win, which will draw a lot of attention, or because he's trapped between the two arguing boys. Maybe a bit of both.

#Hey, be quiet you two. They're about to announce the grand prize!#

I tell them to cut it out since their spat is extremely distracting. As I already said, I don't care much about winning this, but I at least want to hear who gets the prize.

"Now, for the last prize."

"Here it comes!" Clara says, eyes sparkling with excitement.

"Here it comes right to me!" Sabnock interjects.

"I hope you're mentally primed, Iruma sir," Azz says, fully convinced that we're gonna win.

"…uh…sure…" Iruma mumbles.

"Over the battler party's two days, this battler garnered the most praise, putting them in the number one spot. Let us all praise them together!"

The tension in the room is palpable. Every single student is now silent, hanging on Ameri's every word.

"The winner of the grand prize is…"

*drumroll*

"…The Broadcast Battler!"

Yes, the guys who made the announcements. I have to confess, I'm surprised, but after thinking about it, it makes sense. They helped with keeping order during the incident, along with the teachers and Student Council. They worked alongside Professor Dali to make sure nobody found out what was really going on. I understand why, but that doesn't mean most do. Everyone around me looks completely flabbergasted by this twist.

"What?!" Clara screeches.

"Seriously?! I was positive we would take the grand prize! How could this happen?!" Sabnock screams.

"I admit, I didn't expect this!" Azz whines, distraught by the results. He looks like he's gonna cry or something.

Sabnock looks the most upset out of our little group. He was fully convinced that his performance in that play would win his battler the grand prize.

Iruma is simply clapping politely and smiling with relief, although I do spot a hint of disappointment in his eyes. He seems to have mixed feelings about not winning anything.

"Throughout every unforeseen situation, they kept broadcasting with level heads. Their perseverance and dedication to their task over the last two days merits the utmost praise."

Among the cheering, there seems to be some confusion. As I observed earlier, many of the students were convinced our battler would win the grand prize. Since we didn't win anything, it's left many puzzled.

Suddenly, the buzz of chatter comes to a halt with a single word from my least favorite teacher.

"Silence!" Kalego says in a commanding voice after taking the mic from Ameri.

"This is normally when we would end the ceremony, but I have some news to report. This year's battler party with rife with much more drama than it's seen in recent memory. During the ruckus, one battler, specifically two of its members, took it upon themselves to act out and put their lives in danger without a single word to the faculty." Kalego spits, his voice carrying a venomous tone.

Iruma tenses up, knowing what's coming next.

Looks like he's calling us out in front of the whole school.

"This would usually warrant a penalty, but ignoring all the attention they received would go against everything the battler party is all about. Therefore, we will be awarding the two fools most involved with a raise in rank. Now get up here quickly, Sullivan Twins!" he yells into the mic irritatedly. I have a feeling that this reward wasn't his idea, and that he's being forced to present it.

Iruma stands completely still with shock so I pull on his sleeve to get him moving.

"Let's go!" I urge.

We go up on stage and stand facing Kalego. Iruma is still as stiff as a board, terrified by all the eyes watching us intently.

"Honestly, that was nearly an utter disaster! You couldn't spare a few minutes to report to me!?" Kalego asks angrily, getting right up in Iruma's face. He's not using the mic anymore, but I'm sure many of the students can still hear his words, and even if they can't, they can surely tell that his words aren't friendly. The way he's treating this issue strikes a nerve in me.

"I-I'm really so-" Iruma stutters in an attempt to apologize before I cut him off.

"I had the situation under control, so getting you involved was unnecessary," I explain calmly to the agitated teacher. "You should already know this after talking to the Chairdemon."

Iruma has nothing to apologize for, being the victim in that situation. He simply did all he could to stop Kiriwo. In addition to that, grilling him in front of all these people is inappropriate and unprofessional in my opinion. Punishing students in front of their peers is a form of public humiliation, which is not an okay thing to do. When I was a teacher, I would've never done something horrible like this to my students. Discipline is a private matter, not something to be done on a stage.

In response to my retort, Kalego scowls at me. I return his glare with a smile, perfectly keeping my calm composure. I'm not gonna start something on stage just because this dude's acting like the fool he is.

After I shut down his rant, he seems to have realized that he's not gonna win this argument and stops. Holding the mic again, he makes another announcement.

"In this young lady's case, this prize is also acting as her reward for winning the Combat Battler's tournament today."

Seems like a copout, but whatever. I don't care about this ranking stuff.

So Kalego switches out both of our badges, making Iruma a Gimel (rank 3) and me a Vau (rank 6). The crowd cheers, happy for us. Iruma looks extremely uncomfortable with our current situation, though.

(AN: There are so many different spellings, depending on the translation, for the name of the 6th rank, so I went with the one I like the most. 'Waw' is what's used in the anime, and I think that looks stupid so I'm not using it.)

[[Surge in the strength of the presence inside the Gluttonous Feeder Ring detected. A physical manifestation of the entity is imminent.]]

Surprised, I take a glance at Iruma's ring. Iruma's too distracted by his nerves to notice me focusing on his right hand.

A physical manifestation, huh?...you mean, like a body, right?

[[Yes, it may also develop a personality to some extent.]]

I hope it won't be dangerous to him. I don't want the kid being attacked by that thing. It wasn't exactly friendly when it first showed itself, chomping on Azz and Sabnock.

[[That is an unlikely outcome since it is sated by the power you are supplying it. Would you like me to make contact with the entity so I can assess its motives, Master?]]

Right now's not the best time for that, since that might make it come out. Let's make sure we're somewhere nobody will see it first, since I think it should be kept a secret from most. Do you think you can suppress its manifestation until I say it's okay?

[[Certainly, Master.]]

With that potential ticking time-bomb diffused, we leave the stage, concluding the battler party. The students begin to sing that awful song that scares Iruma so much, and to my surprise, he starts to sing along with them.

Last time I laughed at how ridiculous the song was, and here I'm again; laughing. I can't believe that Iruma's actually singing it with a straight face!

"Why are you laughing?" he asks.

"That song, why are you singing that song?! I thought you hated it!" I say to him between bouts of laughter.

Iruma looks shocked by the realization.

"Hehe, you didn't even think about it, did you?" I ask, chuckling.

"Uh…no," Iruma says hesitantly, freaked out by how easily he went along singing that song he finds terrifying.

Before I can laugh even more from his reaction, we're both tackled by someone. It's Sullivan, who's thrilled that we both ranked up. I had stopped myself from sidestepping and let him have his way since I knew he just wanted a hug.

"Oh, my precious grandchildren! Congratulations on your promotions! I'm so proud of you!" he squeals in a high-pitched babying voice.

"It's no big deal…" Iruma says nervously, blushing from the praise.

"I agree, you don't need to make a big deal out of it or anything. Thanks, though."

Next thing we know, a horde of students with cameras, likely kids in charge of the school paper, come running at us down the aisle we're walking down. They want interviews and pictures from us. Iruma gives me a look of sheer terror as if to say 'please protect me!', so I do. With a wave of my hand, I erect a barrier in front of us, the same type I used during the rookie hunt. Yes, you know it, the 'bouncy' type. It's my new favorite ever since I developed it on the spot back then.

I give Iruma a grin and a wink to show him I understand what he wants, and not even a moment later, the mob hits the barrier, bouncing back and being sent hurtling through the air in many directions.

"Oh my," is all Sullivan has to say in response to the multiple students getting flung into the air right before his eyes.

Some of the more subdued students in the group stop before reaching my barrier and settle with taking pictures from a distance. We still end up completely surrounded, with the barrier only keeping all the people from getting up in our personal space. Eventually, we give in and allow a few interviews with some of the more calm reporters, but something, or should I say someone, catches my eye. We have a visitor; Henri Azazel. He's watching from a distance. It hasn't even been a day since we spoke, so him coming so soon is not something I expected. I'm guessing he's here to spend time with his daughter and not to talk with Iruma, but I could be wrong.

I look him straight in the eyes from across the room, letting him know I'm aware of his presence. His expression sharpens slightly in response, but he doesn't approach us. Iruma's too distracted by the students all around us to notice my distractedness.

Once the crowd retreats, I'm approached by someone I don't feel like talking to. It's Professor 'Stick-Up-His-Ass', making his glorious return after having tried to publicly humiliate Iruma a bit ago.

"We need to have a serious discussion in my office. I will summon you once I decide on an appropriate time." Kalego says in a serious tone.

Before I get a chance to tell him no, he walks off. I don't feel like chasing the guy, so I let it go. Just because he's gonna 'summon' me to his office for a talk, doesn't mean I need to show up. If I skip out on this meeting, it'll surely piss him off, but that doesn't matter to me at this point. This guy's been a pain in my ass since the start of school, and I'm starting to lose patience with his nonsensical antagonism. Based on his tone, this meeting's not gonna be very friendly. It's probably his way of punishing me or something, and I don't feel like dealing with that. I've already got enough on my plate. The police have an eye on me, Ameri thinks I owe her a favor for something, Iruma's ring is acting weird, and now this? Yeah, no thanks.

**A Few Days Later**

Iruma POV

It's before school starts, so we're standing outside the gates waiting for them to open. There are very few students here so early, making the wait more pleasant. We're a little earlier than usual since I wanted to get ahead of the crowd. Azz and Clara weren't able to leave so early, so we didn't walk with them today. They were disappointed when I texted them about this, but I'm sure they'll be fine.

Even though the conflict at the battler party was resolved, since then my mind keeps wandering to the subject of Kiriwo. I keep getting hung up on how much I deeply trusted him, and how brutally that trust was shattered.

If I misjudged him, have I misjudged someone else too? Do I have another friend that's tricked me? They're demons…those creatures are supposed to be great at lies and deception, right?

I look over at the Demon Lord that I have for a pretend sister.

What if Rimuru's been lying to me too? What if she's just like him…what would I do then?

"Hey, is something wrong? That's not a great look your giving me there, Iruma." Rimuru asks concernedly. I must've let my worry show on my face.

"It's nothing. I'm just worried about a few things, that's all."

"Well, if you wanna talk about it, I'm here for you, alright? No need to be shy with me at this point." Rimuru says with a friendly smile.

What if that smile is fake...just like his was…?

I shake my head and do my best to brush aside my paranoid thoughts, dismissing them as just me letting my anxieties get the best of me.

Rimuru POV

I can't help but worry after seeing that look of distrust in Iruma's expression. He's been acting a bit…off…since the battler party, and I think I know why; Kiriwo. That asshole's actions have compromised Iruma's trust in others. I think that this is the first time he's experienced betrayal, so it's affecting him a lot. You could call what his parents did to him betrayal, but it wasn't the same as this time. Iruma didn't have much trust in them to start with, so the impact wasn't the same as this time. Kiriwo completely threw him for a loop, turning Iruma's view of him on its head. I can't blame the kid for feeling a bit paranoid for a while, but I need to nip this in the bud while it's small.

"Iruma, why don't we do some more skill training after school today? I think you're ready to learn something new." I propose us spending some time together to get his mind off of Kiriwo. He's only been acting sullen when he isn't busy doing something else, so minimizing his downtime should help.

"You think so? What're you gonna teach me?" he asks curiously.

"You'll see," I say, leaving him with something else to speculate about.

That should help distract him. What do you think's best for him to learn, Ciel?

[[I recommend teaching the boy 'Thought Communication' so he can contact you at any time.]]

Perfect, it's about time that he learns to contact me whenever he wants. It's been a one-way street for too long and it's starting to get annoying. Plus, he'll find it reassuring too, I bet.

When it's time, we go inside and have our morning classes. Things go normally, for the most part. We're still getting mobbed in the hallways because of the fame we gained from the battler party. Iruma is acting more like himself, plenty distracted by the attention we're getting.

I, unfortunately, have to leave him alone with his two friends for a bit later, since I have something I need to take care of, not that I want to. I've been dreading this the past few days; my discussion with Ameri about me 'owing' her for some reason. Iruma's visiting with her first for their manga reading, but after they're done, it'll be my turn.

Ameri POV

I am in the midst of a reading session with Iruma, joined by Rimuru's strange friend of sorts, Veldora. He's quite the loud man, laughing at an obnoxious volume at every single remotely funny moment in the story. I put up with this only because he is one of the few people here that have knowledge of and share an interest in the forbidden texts and for one other motive; I want to get information out of this man about Rimuru. They're just too secretive of a character; well guarded and cautious. This man, on the other hand, is quite boisterous and loose-lipped, along with being quite close to the person of interest. It should be fairly simple to extract some basic intel out of him with just a few well-aimed questions. He may grate my nerves, but he's also a potential source of valuable information, so I can't act too confrontational with him.

"Wahahahaha! What a wonderful relationship Rin and Kakeru are developing! I can't wait to learn what happens next!"

I decide to segway into a topic that has been bothering me ever since I met this man, what exactly is Rimuru to him? After she's been seen with him by some students, rumors have been going around about the two of them being an 'item' but that doesn't seem right to me.

"Speaking of relationships, what exactly is yours with Rimuru, Veldora?" I ask the man.

"We are friends!" he declares.

"Yes, I understand that but there seems to be more to it. I can tell you two are quite close, almost like siblings."

Veldora's face twists slightly with discomfort, meaning that I'm on the right track.

"…You think? Well, we are very close friends, that's for sure." Veldora says nervously.

"Also, could you tell me what type of person Rimuru is in your own words? I can't get a good grasp on her true motives." I continue to pressure him further.

"No can do, little girl! I might end up sharing something I shouldn't with you, and that would make Rimuru mad at me."

Little girl?! I am not a little girl! Also, maybe he isn't as 'loose-lipped' as I first thought, I will have to try a different tactic than straight-up questioning.

"Well, if that's the case, how about I throw in something that you want as payment for your words? I can give you the rest of the cookies on that platter over there." I say before pointing at a plate with a couple of dozen cookies stacked on it. They are for us to eat during reading, but I had previously limited this man to only taking two. I've observed that he has quite the sweet tooth, so they may make a good bribe.

"All of them?" he asks excitedly.

Perfect! I've got him now!

"That's correct. You can have all of them if you answer a few simple questions for me about Rimuru." I say coercively.

Iruma, who has looked uncomfortable since this subject came up finally interjects.

"Ameri, I don't think you shou-" he says before I cut him off.

"Please be quiet, Iruma, this is important." I stop him from interrupting further.

Iruma POV

Oh no, I think he's actually considering it!

Rimuru's friend Veldora is being tempted by Ameri into revealing secrets that Rimuru doesn't want anyone to know. I'm not sure what to do, if Veldora says too much, Rimuru will be incredibly angry with him. I may even be held complicit for not stopping him! I don't want Rimuru to get mad at me…but how do I stop this? Ameri already told me to be quiet, and I'm too much of a push-over to go against someone as commanding as her…

Veldora POV

What do I do?!

I'm torn between potentially betraying my own brother and the delicious plate of cookies sitting in the room, taunting me with their presence. Those cookies are amazing and I really want more of them…but I can't have them unless I answer this little girl's questions.

As long as I'm careful about what I say, things should be fine. Yeah, I just won't give this girl very much info and then I will get to have those incredible cookies!

{{Don't even think about it Veldora!}}

I've been found out…

{{But, Rimuru! I wasn't going to tell her anything sensitive!}}

{{Even if that was your intention, you should've asked me first!}}

Ameri POV

"Sorry, but I cannot do that. I don't reveal people's secrets in exchange for bribes, that would make me a horrible friend." Veldora refuses, yet still sounds unsure about his decision. Rimuru must have a lot of influence over him because this doesn't seem like a decision he made purely by himself.

"So be it. Let's move on with the reading, Iruma." I drop the subject, realizing that my chances of making him talk are now close to zero. I can tell by his expression that he doesn't want to anger Rimuru by sharing her secrets, and I don't blame him. I've personally experienced how intimidating she can be, so if he is scared of her as well, then he won't talk about her like that.

Rimuru POV

I poke my head in (figuratively) for one minute to check on Iruma just to find Veldora almost being bribed into giving information to Ameri about me, and for a plate of cookies no less! I know that Veldora loves his desserts, I've used them to bribe him many times myself, but still! I didn't think he would bend so easily to that girl's will. She's conniving, that's for sure, but I already knew that much. I decide not to bring it up with her when we meet later, since I know that she probably didn't mean anything harmful by it and she didn't succeed anyway. Veldora's an easy target for that kind of stuff, so she probably just saw an opportunity and took it. It's more Veldora's fault than anything.

**Later That Day**

Ameri POV

"Okay, Ameri. Before you tell me what favor you want, I need to know exactly what caused me to owe you one." Rimuru says annoyedly after coming to my office for a meeting.

The two of us sit down in chairs facing each other. I prepared some tea for the occasion, which Rimuru seems pleased by. It's normally reserved for my reading sessions with Iruma, but I made an exception today. I want this girl to be in as good a mood as possible, considering what I'm about to do.

"Certainly, that is a given. I not only had to lie to a teacher but also make myself look incompetent in the process. All to cover for you! When I agreed to keep your secrets, I never imagined I would have to lie to the school's faculty!" I emphasize the gravity of the actions I had to take the other day.

#Wow, this is pretty good…# Rimuru says quietly to nobody after taking her first sip. She then looks up from her cup and responds to my complaint "Is it really that big of a deal?" Rimuru asks, raising an eyebrow at me. Based on her lax expression, she isn't taking my complaint seriously, which is incredibly infuriating.

"Of course it is!" I try to convince her of the severity of the situation.

"Why so? A little white lie here and there isn't harmful." She responds nonchalantly as she takes another sip, still not convinced.

"If I, the Student Council President was ever caught lying to a staff member, I would lose all my credibility; my respect!" I clarify.

"Fine, I get it. I'll do you a favor, what's it that you want from me?" she asks, finally accepting that what I explained was problematic.

You can do this Ameri! All you have to do is ask her to join, just like Father wants.

"I discussed it with my father…" I begin to explain.

"You mean Henri? Yeah, he talked with me the other day." Rimuru says in a casual tone.

"Yes, I am aware…also, don't address him so casually! He is one of the Thirteen Crowns, you know!" I say, defending my father's position. It is extremely disrespectful for a teenager to address someone like him by his first name.

"Sorry, sorry…Mr. Azazel, is that better?" Rimuru asks, sounding annoyed by my correction.

"That will do, moving on…when I told him that you owed me a favor, he recommended that I recruit you." I explain to her.

"Recruit me?" she asks, raising a skeptical eyebrow at me.

"Yes, I would like you to join the Student Council." I clarify further.

Rimuru sets down her cup on the table between us and her expression shifts into a much more serious one. She leans forward, now staring me in the eyes intensely.

"Why would you want that? I get the impression that you don't like me and now you want me to work under you?" Rimuru asks, now glaring at me suspiciously. I get a sinking feeling in my stomach as her eyes bore into me.

Oh crap, she's putting up her guard! I need to give her a good reason for me wanting to recruit her, otherwise, she will figure out I have an ulterior motive!

One wrong move could screw this up. I already know Rimuru is an extremely cautious and observant person, and now that she's got her discerning eyes trained on me, I need to be extra careful in the way I approach this subject.

"What happened the other day made me realize how inadequate I am, and how competent you are. As I said, my father recommended I ask you since he deemed you capable of protecting Babyls. Despite my personal feelings about you, your participation in the Council would be invaluable." I butter her up in hopes that she'll be less defensive with me, but Rimuru seems to be unaffected by my flattery.

"No." Rimuru refuses without a moment's hesitation.

"Why not?"

"I don't want to become one of your little minions. " she explains.

How dare she call my subordinates 'minions'!

"Don't call them my 'minions'…" I object.

Rimuru leans back in her chair, folds her arms, and closes her eyes before she explains her perspective.

"But that's what they are, aren't they? You're the tyrant that rules Babyls and the Council with an iron fist, controlling people with fear. That methodology can be effective to a certain extent, but I wouldn't want to work under those conditions."

"My leadership is based on respect, not fear!" I explain fervently, taking offense to her judgment of my authority.

"Fine, but the respect is sourced from fear. Lose that intimidation factor of yours, and you'll lose your footing. If that ever happens, the people you trust will turn on you in an instant. That's what happens when the respect you've earned is built on a foundation of fear. Even if you've built real trust with the people directly under you, the ones you hold authority over, the student body, will be even more reactive in a situation like that. Being a leader is tricky business."

"What would you know about being a leader?" I question her, knowing that she likely doesn't have as much experience as I do.

Rimuru smirks slightly at my question.

"Hehe, more than you think. I'm just trying to warn you here; build your respect using something other than fear, doing so would stabilize your position." She arrogantly advises me.

"I assure you that my position is plenty stable and not just based on fear," I affirm that I don't need her advice.

*sigh* "Okay, if you say so. Just keep what I said in mind. You should be fine as long as you never lose your edge."

There's no way I would ever lose my authority over the school! She doesn't know what she's talking about!

"Whatever, we have gone too far off subject. Will you change your mind about joining? You still owe me a favor, after all." I say to reign in the conversation that has gone in a completely different direction than expected.

Rimuru sits back up in her chair, a quizzical look on her face as she weighs her options.

"Hmmm…" Rimuru pauses, thinking for a moment. "…I could join and help for a week or two…a month tops if that's not enough to satisfy you, how about that?" Rimuru suggests, trying to compromise.

"That's not a possibility, as it would reflect badly on the Student Council and harm its reputation. If we recruited a new member just to have them quit soon after, it would be a PR disaster!"

"Huh, I guess it's just a flat no from me then…" Rimuru says, now slumped back in her chair again.

Dammit, I'm losing her!

"Wait! Joining the Student Council is an enviable thing, something many students only dream of. Very few are recruited, you should see this as an honor!" I desperately try to change her mind. My father trusted me with this task, and I don't want to fail at it.

"Well, I don't. I know it's a lot of responsibility and I have enough on my plate as is."She explains, unconvinced by my enthusiasm.

No! I need her to join so I can follow Father's directions. Think, Ameri, think! What can I do to get her to join?!

I think for a moment, trying to come up with some kind of compromise that will convince her to join while excluding things she is against.

That's it! I can create a special position just for her! I am not fond of bending over backward for this girl, but this is necessary for me to recruit someone as difficult to deal with as Rimuru.

"If you don't want to do menial work, perhaps I could have you work as an independent operative?"

Rimuru's eyes light up at the interesting-sounding fake position that I just came up with out of nowhere.

"Oh? What does that entail?" she asks, now sitting up straight and looking interested in what I am saying for the first time in this meeting.

"You will not be given the daily responsibilities as a normal member, but will still help patrol the school and keep order. I can ask you to do things, but you have no obligation to them unless you agree. Attendance of some meetings will be necessary but those would be few and far between. I would also require you to report any investigations you are conducting within the school. With much more detail than last time, I want to avoid a similar situation to what led us to this meeting."

"Would I get to wear one of those uniforms? You know, the black and red ones?" she asks with a hint of excitement leaking out into her voice.

"Of course you wou-… hey, why does that matter to you of all things?!" Thrown off by the unexpected question, I stumble a bit as I try to respond.

"I think they look cool! Much cooler than what I have to wear to school right now. I'm not into skirts or pink or girly stuff. The getup the Student Council wears is much more to my taste! So, can I?"

"Sure, so does that mean you will join?"

"Only if you agree to trust me to take care of things by myself if I say I can. You already know this, but I don't want any interference. And lastly, we'll be equals in this. I'll pretend to work under you in front of others, but you hold no authority over me. It'll all be an act, so don't think you can control my actions. I'm a reasonable person though, so if you ask me nicely to do some stuff on occasion, I'll help you out."

"That will be fine."

Are you happy now, Father? You wanted me to get closer to this girl so I can monitor her movements and report to you…I hope this is worth it…-

"So, when do I start?"

"Right away. I will introduce you to the other members and give you your uniform after school today."

"Can I modify the uniform at all? As an 'independent operative' shouldn't there be some differences?"

"Why are you so obsessed with the uniform?" I ask exasperatedly, perplexed by her preoccupation with her clothing.

"Hey, I want to look good, alright? What's wrong with that?!" Rimuru says, irritated by me questioning her priorities.

"I will allow you to do so as long as you run it past me first." I agree so that she doesn't possibly change her mind about joining.

"Cool, I will see you in a few hours then, President! Or do you prefer 'Madame President', or 'President Ameri', or-"

"Any of those is fine. Just refrain from referring to me as just 'Ameri' around others. It is much too casual for someone who is working under me, even if they are acting."

"Makes sense, I'll do that. See you then!" she says cheerfully.

After she leaves, I breathe a sigh of relief.

I don't think she figured out my true motive…now to let my father know about my success…

Rimuru POV

That sly fox…using his daughter to spy on me…

I leave the room Ameri and I just had our conversation in. I never expected her to ask me to join her little group, but it works in my favor in the end. It gives me more authority, making it easier to do my job without interference. I just played hard to get so that she thinks she's won this little game. I don't care if that Henri guy spies on me a bit, I'm not doing anything illegal so it doesn't matter. If having a little information about what I'm up to keeps him out of my hair, all the better. All I have to do is tolerate pretending to be Ameri's subordinate, which shouldn't be much harder than what I'm already doing.

**Later That Day**

I return to Ameri's office to find the entire Student Council waiting for me. I guess she's gonna introduce me to the group.

"So you did end up recruiting this girl huh, President?" The blond-haired and yellow-eyed demon with freckles asks with a small chuckle. This is the same guy I overheard say that I had 'potential' or something during the rookie hunt. He seems friendly enough, I think I can get along with him.

"Yes, she is the one that calmed that group of unruly students during the rookie hunt, correct?" the boy with split-colored black and white hair asks. His violet-colored eyes are covered by his large round glasses. He sounds a bit more serious than the other guy, but he isn't rude or anything.

"Indeed. After witnessing her exploits during the party eve's disaster, I decided that she was more than qualified to join our ranks." Ameri answers, clarifying her reasons to her subordinates.

So that's the reason she's going with, publically at least.

"Hello, I'm Rimuru Tempest." I introduce myself politely to the group.

"Nice to meet you, Rimuru, I'm Kimaris." The blonde boy introduces himself.

"Yes, welcome to the Student Council. You can call me Johnny." The demon with black and white hair follows suit.

"It's nice to finally have a new member, I'm Smoke." The only other girl outside of Ameri says. She has purple hair and skin, and I can't see her eyes behind her bangs.

"My name is Grave. Welcome aboard." The dark-haired boy says. He seems to be a bit older than the other members, but it's hard to tell.

All of them are second-year students or above, making me the 'youngest' one. I'm older than them all, but they don't know that.

"Alright, before you are fully inducted into the Council, you will go through a two-week probation period where you must show your dedication to the cause by performing well at specially assigned tasks," Ameri explains.

That sounds like a flowery way of describing hazing! She never told me about anything like that!

While I'm internally worrying about this 'probation period', Ameri continues.

"This is something all members must go through, so it is unavoidable. I understand that you have proven yourself in the past, but exceptions cannot be made." She continues.

I suppose it would look fishy if I just skipped over something that everyone has to go through. It's sketchy enough that she's giving me a special position right off the bat, so I'll just have to put up with this.

"I understand, President Ameri," I respond, trying my best to sound respectful since I'm right in front of her little posse. I don't want them to hate me right away, I need to get along with these kids or it'll make this whole situation even more troublesome.

"Now that introductions have been made, here is your uniform. You can either stay in the dorms with the rest of us or report here two hours before school begins to perform your duties." Ameri continues her spiel.

Two hours?! Sheesh…I'm glad I don't need sleep, otherwise, that would suck big-time!

"I will be there, President," I respond.

I'm guessing that I won't be allowed to personalize this uniform until after those first two weeks. It sucks that I have to go through this probation crap, but I'll just have to do my best to earn these kids' trust in the meantime so they don't fuss when Ameri 'promotes' me. With my social skills, I'm sure I can win them over in no time!

"Wonderful. I will see you first thing tomorrow." Ameri says.

With that all taken care of, I head home with my new uniform in hand. I promised Iruma that I'd spend some time with him and teach him a new skill, so that's what I'm gonna do.

(To be continued in the next chapter)