Author's Notes:

There will be more involving the demoness trio (this is in response to Misaka Phenex specifically), just not in this chapter. I plan on doing a couple more chapters after this one with Iruma still in Tempest, and maybe more later during a second visit, so don't be upset if I leave someone out this time. There are just too many characters for me to cover in one go.

Also, I recently reread the later volumes of the LN to refresh my memory on some of the characters and holy shit are there a lot! There's no way I can include all of them, so if I can't come up with an entertaining interaction for them, they probably won't be mentioned, but I'll do my best. I only have so much creativity (I've never actually considered myself a creative person, as funny as that sounds coming from someone writing a fanfic), and the less of a feel I have for a character, the harder it is to come up with good ideas using them.

Exploring The Monster Country

Iruma POV

After a little more walking, Shion ends up leaving us to work on that cake Rimuru promised to eat later. Curious about her strange attitude toward it, I ask.

"Hey, why don't you want to eat Shion's cake?"

"You'll know why when you see it, Iruma," Rimuru says, giving me a defeated look.

Rimuru didn't really answer my question so I'll just have to be patient I guess.

While we make our way to find something to eat, I can't help but notice the sheer variety of races here. The demons in the Netherworld vary in appearance quite a bit, but the differences here are even larger.

"So, can you tell me what all these types of monsters are called? I'm curious, but I don't want to have to ask everyone you introduce me to. It was way too awkward asking earlier…"

"Well, the human-like ones with greenish skin are hobgoblins; the ones that look like lizard or dragon-people are lizardmen and dragonnewts, which are part of the same evolutionary line; the ones that look like a mix between a pig and a human are high-orcs. You already know about oni, but there are also ogres and kijin, which are similar since they're closely related. All three of those have horns growing from their foreheads, but the ogres look a little less human-like. There are many other types of monsters here too, but those are the main ones at least. It would take me forever to list all of them so I'm not gonna bore you with that."

"Wow, that's a lot! How did you bring so many types of people together like this? I'm guessing that it wasn't always like this."

"Oof, that's gonna take a while to explain, so why don't we talk about that stuff over our food? There's a nice café up ahead we can eat at."

I nod enthusiastically since my stomach has been growling for a while now. Knowing how much Rimuru likes to eat, just like me, I bet the food here is amazing!

It doesn't take long for us to get there, and from what I can tell from outside, it looks like a very nice place. We pass through its front door with Rimuru leading the way and I notice that the place is packed with people. Not a single table is free. I'm disappointed since this means we need to wait or go somewhere else now. But, to my surprise, Rimuru confidently walks over to one of the tables that happens to have a couple of free seats, only being occupied by a single woman, and sits down.

Isn't that rude? What does she think she's doing?!

"Uhhh…Rimuru?" I ask, still standing near the entrance.

Rimuru ignores me though, thoroughly focused on the woman. I can tell from here that she's clearly Japanese, based on her features. She's quite pretty too if you ignore the unsettling coldness in her eyes.

"Fancy seeing you here, Hinata," Rimuru says to her, wearing a large mischievous grin.

The woman sighs as she sets down the cup she was sipping from then looks at Rimuru.

"Go away." The woman named Hinata says coldly.

"C'mon Hinata! I'm just saying hi! Why do you have to be like that?"

"I'm trying to enjoy my coffee right now. Alone."

"But I brought a guest with me who you might want to meet. He's Japanese, just like us." Rimuru says, gesturing toward me.

"You mean that teenager?" she asks, looking at me with her cold eyes.

This woman terrifies me for some reason and I have no idea how to respond. So, trying to hide my apprehension, I give her a forced smile and a small, awkward wave.

"Yeah, he's my friend who's visiting Tempest for the first time." Rimuru continues.

"Tch. Figures you'd befriend someone with the same level of maturity as yourself." Hinata says matter-of-factly as she takes another sip of her coffee.

"Hey, now! You don't have to say stuff like that!" Rimuru says, sounding both annoyed and amused at the same time.

"Whatever." She says before turning her attention to me again. "What's your name?" she asks.

I take this as my queue to approach the table and cautiously sit down across from her.

"Iruma Suzuki, ma'am," I squeak out nervously while under her cold gaze.

"My name is Hinata Sakaguchi. It's nice to meet you, Iruma." She says politely. "I take back what I said, this boy seems more mature than you, Rimuru."

"That's harsh…I think your words hurt more than that sword of yours did when you tried t-"

In a flash, Hinata's blade is pointing at Rimuru's throat. I don't think Rimuru's too bothered by it, though, considering that she's still smiling breezily at Hinata. Scratch that; maybe Rimuru's a little nervous, but not to the degree that you'd expect from someone who has the tip of a sword held against their neck.

Even though I couldn't react to the motion of the sword, as soon as I comprehend what's happening, I instinctively lurch back and away from the blade, almost tipping my chair backward enough to make it topple over. Luckily, I managed to regain my balance (by flailing my arms) before fully losing it and embarrassingly falling to the floor.

"Why do you have to bring that up you stupid slime?!" Hinata asks angrily, her cold eyes even icier than before.

"Haha, sorry, sorry. I went a little too far there, didn't I? Can you please put the sword away, though? You're scaring Iruma and the other people trying to enjoy their food." Rimuru says, slowly pushing the blade away from her neck using one hand.

Hinata then sheathes her sword, looking annoyed.

Rimuru gives the other customers in the café a friendly smile to assure them that everything is alright since some of them look scared and others look like they might attack Hinata for her aggression. Their reactions are justified if you consider who Rimuru is to this country, but they relax as soon as Rimuru shows them that there's nothing for them to be worried about.

Soon, a waitress comes over and takes our orders, looking very nervous. I'm not sure if it's because Rimuru is so famous or the fact that Hinata just pulled a sword on her a moment ago though. I'm still petrified, wondering why Rimuru would still want to sit with this Hinata woman after having her life threatened.

Rimuru, noticing that I'm still freaked out sends me a telepathic message.

{{Don't worry Iruma, she wasn't serious about killing me or anything. We're sorta friends and she wouldn't try something like that here anyway.}}

There Rimuru goes again, downplaying crazy stuff to the point where I doubt her sanity a little. Needing to say something in response, I change my ring's setting discretely under the table.

{{Are you sure? She seemed pretty serious to me!}}

{{No, I promise she wasn't. I would know, trust me.}}

"You better not be talking about me; I can tell you're using a skill to communicate with each other," Hinata says, sounding not amused.

Scary. Somehow she could tell what we're doing. I quickly switch my ring back, not wanting to make her angrier.

"Of course not!" Rimuru says with a nervous laugh.

When the waitress comes out with our food, I can tell just by the smell that it's good stuff. I ordered a bowl of soup, while Rimuru got some type of sandwich and a coffee.

"You still load that stuff up with sugar like a child?" Hinata asks as she watches Rimuru mix cream and sugar into her coffee.

"I like what I like, don't judge me for that," Rimuru says in a casual tone.

I try a spoonful of my soup and I was right. It's delicious! I want to shovel it down, but that would be bad manners, so I take it slow and savor it instead. After a few awkward minutes of mostly silent eating, I decided to ask a simple question to ease the tension.

"So, how do you know each other?" I ask, curious about how this 'unique' (to say it nicely) dynamic formed between these two.

Rimuru nearly spits out a sip of her coffee when I ask this, leaving me confused.

Did I say something wrong?

"Heh, funny you ask…" Rimuru chuckles.

"What's funny about it?" I ask.

"I just had a sword pulled on me for mentioning it, so I don't think Hinata wants to talk about it."

Oops.

"As long as you don't put it in such an infuriating way, I don't mind it being explained," Hinata says. "Make sure nobody else can hear us though, Rimuru."

"I already put up a sound-canceling barrier after the waitress delivered our food. Don't worry, nobody can eavesdrop."

"Essentially, I was given false information about him. I was told Rimuru was an evil monster that cruelly murdered the one person that showed me kindness and then stole her appearance, so I went to get revenge. Rimuru tried to reason with me, but because he's a monster, I didn't listen at the time." Hinata explains.

"Yeah, some of the stuff she was told was right, and some of it wasn't. I technically did kill the person she was close to, but it was something akin to assisted suicide, not murder. Shizu, that was her name, was already on her deathbed and asked me to eat her, as gruesome as that sounds." Rimuru adds.

"You ate someone?!" I ask, horrified.

"As I explained, Shizu asked me to do that. It wasn't anything violent or painful for her. I was simply laying her to rest since she said she didn't want to be buried in this world after being summoned here against her will." Rimuru continues.

I can't help but feel uncomfortable with the idea of Rimuru eating a person, but since it was fulfilling someones dying wish, I think can let it go.

"So she was summoned here just like those students you talked about?" I ask.

"Yes, she was actually their teacher before I was, and the reason I knew about and chose to help those kids was her asking me to save them in her place." Rimuru clarifies to me.

"She was also my teacher too, but that was long before Rimuru reincarnated here. We had been apart for years before I heard about her supposed 'murder' at the hands of a monster, so it was devastating knowing that I'd never see her again. That's why I acted so rashly and decided to personally get vengeance by killing Rimuru with my own hands." Hinata adds.

"Don't hold it against her or anything, though, Iruma. Hinata was manipulated, so it's not entirely her fault that whole mess happened in the first place. I made it out alive and have forgiven her at this point."

"So Hinata is the person that you mentioned almost killing you after being misled?" I ask, remembering Rimuru mentioning someone like that a while back.

"Exactly."

"Talking about that incident, you've never told me how you managed to survive it. I know I saw your body get caught up in my Disintegration." Hinata says.

"After all these years, you still care about that?" Rimuru asks her with a puzzled expression.

"It was very embarrassing at the time. I had a flawless record when it came to exterminating monsters, and having you fool me into thinking I killed you and then reappearing seemingly out of nowhere wasn't easy to explain to people. Not only that, but you becoming a Demon Lord afterward made things even worse!"

"Why should I, though? I might need to use that trick if you try to kill me again!" Rimuru replies jokingly.

"Pfft…like even could at this point; I missed my chance when you survived the first time. If we fought seriously now, you'd kill me in an instant."

"Are you sure? I'd have a hard time killing someone with a face like yours, though, so maybe not," Rimuru says with a smirk.

Hinata stands up and glares menacingly at Rimuru as she grips the hilt of her sword once again. She looks angry, but there is also a slight blush on her cheeks from the compliment.

"Okay, sorry! I shouldn't have said that! Please don't get mad again, Hinata!" Rimuru says with a hint of desperation, holding her hands up to stop Hinata.

Hinata sighs; folds her arms, then sits back in her chair.

"You need to learn when to keep your mouth shut you idiot," a still blushing Hinata says. She's wearing an aloof expression and avoiding eye contact with Rimuru by looking to the side. "Anyway, how did you escape back then? You owe me an answer after what you just said."

"Well, what you fought was a body double while the real me was hiding out in the grass, praying that you wouldn't notice."

"Are you serious?"

"Yes…"

"Ugh…how did I not notice? I can't believe I was tricked by something so simple!"

"Don't ask me!" Rimuru says, holding her hands up again.

After a moment of quiet with Hinata seemingly reflecting on what happened in the past, she quickly finished her coffee and stands up.

"I need to leave before I'm late to class."

"Okay, Hinata. How have your students been doing lately, anyway?"

"Fine, as always."

"Well, I'll see you around, alright?"

"Sure." She says flatly to Rimuru. "Oh…and Iruma? Don't let this idiot pick on you too much. He has a terrible habit of annoying the hell out of people he's friends with."

"Uh…thanks?" I say, already well aware of that fact. She then exits the café, leaving Rimuru and me at the table.

"Wow, she had to go and say it outright like that. She's not wrong, but still…" Rimuru grumbles.

"So is she a teacher?"

"Yeah, she teaches some of the children here."

"Hinata seems like she'd be even harsher than Kalego…"

"Well, in some ways, yes, but she surprisingly likes kids, so I'm sure it's not as bad as you're imagining," Rimuru says before looking like she just remembered something. "Oh! We got a little sidetracked there, but didn't you want to talk about how Tempest came to be? You were curious how so many types of monsters came together."

I also forgot due to all the craziness that unfolded in this café.

"Yeah, I was!"

"I've got a better idea than me telling you. I can let some of the former leaders of those groups give you explanations from their perspectives instead. Want to do that?"

"Sure! I'd love to meet more people, as long as they're not as scary as Hinata."

"Haha, yeah, she's scary but not a bad person. Don't worry about the others, though, they're a lot nicer than her."

We exit the café and begin walking down the road again.

"Okay, how 'bout this: I need to have a meeting with my top people about what's been going on during my absence, but after we're done with all that, I can call you in and you can talk with them about all that. Many of them were leaders of their respective groups back in the day."

"I guess that's fine…"

I'm concerned since the way Rimuru worded it, it seems like she'll be leaving me alone for a while. I'm not familiar with this place, so as nice as it seems, I don't want to be left without someone I know. Grandpa's busy with Diablo right now too and I don't want to interrupt whatever they're doing.

"Hey, don't make a face like that! I'll find a babysi-…um…I mean someone for you to hang out with during the meeting, so don't worry!" Rimuru says, noticing the nervous expression on my face. "Let me 'call' him, give me a sec."

I wonder who Rimuru has in mind…I hope they're nice…

"Who are you calling?"

"A friend of mine, he's a hobgoblin," Rimuru answers before muttering something else to herself. #Sheesh…he's not responding…I bet that dumbass fell asleep on the job again…# Rimuru mumbles irritatedly.

"Maybe he's busy?" I suggest.

"Nah, he'd still answer if that was what's going on. He's great when the moment calls for it, but he's lazy as hell when things are peaceful, like now."

Rimuru gestures for me to come closer.

"Alright, seems like we'll have to go to him. We'll teleport to make things easier, so come here for a second."

"Can't you just make a gate like before?"

"I mean, I can, but this is easier for non-interdimensional travel. It's how I get around a lot of the time, except for the fact I'm dragging you along with me this time. I'll have to adjust things a bit because of you being human, but it's still easier than that gate. You ready?"

"I'm ready."

With me giving Rimuru the signal, she 'teleports' us in a split second.

We're instantaneously somewhere else, which is startling but also cool. It's nothing like the gate I stepped through. Rimuru described it as 'dragging me along' with her and based on the feeling I got from the experience, that's a good way of putting it. I feel like I was dragged somewhere, the suddenness of it making my stomach lurch.

After the teleport, my sense of balance was thrown off, causing me to stumble momentarily before regaining my bearings. I look around and it seems like we're in a clearing in a forest, completely surrounded by trees. Rimuru talked about Tempest being located in the middle of the 'Great Forest of Jura', so I assume that's where we are. Nearby, some people are doing what looks like military drills, but that's not what Rimuru is focused on right now. A short distance away is a hobgoblin sleeping while leaning up against a tree. He's goofier-looking than many of the other hobgoblins I've seen on the street; quite a bit shorter too. He has a big bulbous nose and a round face and is snoring loudly.

"Hey! Gobta!" Rimuru shouts at the sleeping guy. "Wake up!"

What kind of name is that? Poor guy got the short end of the stick when it comes to names, I guess his parents weren't very creative…

Despite Rimuru being loud; plenty enough to wake me up at least, the hobgoblin named Gobta doesn't even stir in his slumber.

Rimuru pinches the bridge of her nose in annoyance before pulling out her sword, still in its sheath.

"Gobta! Get your ass up, I need you for something!" Rimuru continues trying to rouse him, now poking his large nose with the sheathed sword and yelling at him multiple times. Still, he doesn't react at all, continuing to snooze away.

I'm actually worried that there might be something wrong with him since any normal person would wake up from the stuff Rimuru's trying. I know I would.

"Is he okay, Rimuru?" I ask concernedly.

"He's fine…he's always like this…" Rimuru says with a sharp sigh. "Well, Gobta, I didn't want to resort to this, but you leave me no choice," Rimuru says.

Now I'm a little scared at what she might do to the sleepy hobgoblin.

"Don't hurt him or anything! Maybe he's just really tired and needs a nap? You could have me stay with someone else during the meeting, right?"

"He's slacking off so I need to wake him up. Don't worry, this guy's endured worse than what I'm about to do. As hard as it is to believe looking at him like this, he's one of Tempest's military generals."

When you think of a general in the military, you'd never picture someone like this. I've learned that you can't judge a book by its cover, though, so I guess I could see it if I stretched my imagination enough. He is wearing what looks like a military uniform.

Rimuru then sharply pokes him with her sheathed sword in the nose, this time not pulling it away immediately. I watch as dark-colored electricity shoots down the length of it and into the poor snoozing hobgoblin, shocking him awake. That couldn't've felt good, that's for sure. He flails and squeals in pain for a moment before looking up and seeing Rimuru.

"Lord Rimuru!" He shouts excitedly, despite the painful experience he's just undergone. Maybe Rimuru's right and this guy's tougher than he looks, having recovered so fast from that zapping.

"Why'd'ja have to shock me awake like that, sir?!"

"I tried to wake you up nicely, but you were sleeping like a rock!"

He swiftly stands up, adjusts his clothing, and tries to look like he wasn't just sleeping on the job just a moment ago.

"Oh…sorry …hey, wait…you're back! Does this mean you're done with your vacation?" Gobta asks, finally connecting the dots that Rimuru is back home. It doesn't seem like that clicked until just now.

"Nah, I'm just checking in with everyone before going back. I do have a special task for you, though."

"Does it have to do with this human you have with you?"

Rimuru nods.

"Go ahead and introduce yourselves."

"Your name is Gobta, right? I'm Iruma Suzuki…"

"Yup! Gobta's my name, given by Lord Rimuru! Nice to meetcha Iruma!"

"Wait, what? Rimuru named you?"

"Oh yeah! I never told you, did I? Names are something very important to monsters. Giving a name takes magic and strengthens the named monster, forming a special connection between the namer and the named. I'm responsible for naming every single monster in Tempest, including Gobta here."

The concept of names making someone stronger is a strange one, but since this is magic we're talking about, I guess anything's possible. Still, every monster in this country is named by Rimuru? That's crazy considering how big this place seems!

"Everyone?!"

"Well, at this point it isn't directly, but Ciel's invented a system to allow my citizens to name their children using the connection I hold with them. They end up using my strength to name their children, making it so I indirectly name them, in a way. The results aren't as good as direct naming, but it gets the job done."

"Yeah! But I had the honor of being one of the first to be named directly by Rimuru!" Gobta says with a big, cheesy grin, his voice brimming with pride.

So Rimuru is the person who came up with that stupid name for poor Gobta? I guess Rimuru isn't great with coming up with that kind of stuff. Maybe that's the main reason she came up with a way of indirectly naming monsters?

"Well, we've gotten a bit sidetracked so let's get back to the main point of this conversation."

"Oh yeah! You said you had a special task for me, right sir?"

"Yes, I want you to keep an eye on Iruma while I meet with the others about what's happened while I've been gone."

"So you're saying I don't have to go to the meeting Benimaru mentioned earlier?"

"Nope, you get out of it as long as you watch Iruma for me. You'd probably sleep through the thing so there's no point in you attending anyway."

"Thank you Lord Rimuru!" Gobta says with a big, happy grin, very clearly excited about not having to go to the meeting.

"Sure, but don't get into trouble with Iruma. He doesn't know all the rules around here, so if I find out you roped him into doing something stupid, I won't be happy. Other than that, as long as it's not dangerous or illegal, you can take him anywhere you want in Tempest."

Rimuru then leans in closer to Gobta.

#We'll pay a visit to the butterflies later too if you behave yourself!# Rimuru whispers to him while grinning devilishly.

'Butterflies'? What the heck is Rimuru talking about?!

Gobta gets a large smile on his face as she tells him this and he nods his head enthusiastically. Whatever these 'butterflies' are, he seems thrilled about the prospect of visiting them.

"Are you okay with staying with Gobta for a little while? I wanna make sure you're comfortable before I leave you with him."

"I'm not completely comfortable, but as long as I'm still able to contact you, I guess I'm fine with it."

"Of course you can, but you shouldn't have to. Well, as long as you're all set, I need to go get this meeting over with. I'll come back and get you when I'm done, alright?"

"Sure, Rimuru. Have fun at your meeting!"

"I don't think I'll be having 'fun', but okay," Rimuru says as they leave.

And with that, I'm left alone with the dopey-looking hobgoblin named Gobta.

Rimuru POV

I leave Iruma in capable hands…well, maybe not 'capable' but I'm keeping an eye on the boy from a distance, so his 'babysitter' doesn't have to be perfect. It's unlikely Gobta will step out of line anyway, especially with the promise I made to him if he behaves. He does what he's supposed to when you motivate him enough; that's why I threw in that little bribe. I'd love to keep showing Iruma around personally, but I'm a busy guy! I have adult issues to deal with which I think will be easier if I leave the teen out of them.

Not only do I have to meet with Rigurd and the others, but I also have to deal with some 'sibling drama'. After sending Veldora ahead to Tempest before Iruma and me, I knew it wouldn't take long for Velgrynd to notice his return. I, like the decent brother I am, promised to help so I contacted her almost immediately with thought communication, pleading for her to put off Veldora's punishment until I have time to deal with it. It took a little finagling, but I managed to talk her down somewhat. I had to make a deal with her, promising to arrange a fancy dinner date for her and her man in exchange. This is only to delay the inevitable, of course, so I still need to play damage control and make sure she punishes him in the least destructive way possible.

Velgrynd's already showed up in Tempest but isn't pursuing Veldora yet per my request. She's being kept in one of the many rooms I meet with guests in, probably enjoying tea and snacks prepared by Shuna if I were to guess. So, first steeling myself to deal with my 'older sister' (it took a while, but she's acknowledged me as one of the true dragons, making her something like my older sister), I teleport right outside the door to the room she's in.

I politely knock before entering. She already knew I was just outside the door as soon as I teleported, so this was just purely a gesture of good manners. I want to keep her as calm as possible, considering the circumstances behind her visit. I'm not even sure exactly what Veldora did to Masayuki, but I'm not gonna probe Velgrynd for details. Despite having defeated her in the past, Velgrynd still scares me, so I can't help but act wearily.

"Heeeeey…how're you doing today, Velgrynd?" I ask sheepishly, grinning at the beautiful blue-haired woman wearing an eastern-style dress.

She glares at me in annoyance, causing me to become even more nervous. The look says it all, she's pissed!

"I'm sorry for what Veldora did, alright? I'm sure he's sorry too so please don't go too hard on him."

"Why are you interfering anyway, Rimuru? This has nothing to do with you."

"Agreeing to help resolve this 'issue' was the only feasible way to convince Veldora to come back here without using force."

"Just let me teach that boy a lesson and stop shielding him! He made such a fool of my precious Rudra!" Velgrynd exclaims, growing more agitated. She still calls poor Masayuki Rudra, but I don't think it bothers him much at this point. As an old friend of his, I know for a fact he prefers to be called Masayuki over Rudra. I bet he doesn't have the guts to tell Velgrynd this though, knowing his personality.

"Fine, fine. I agree that you should be allowed to take a good few swings at that numbskull, but can we keep it at that? I'd rather not see my country reduced to a smoldering wasteland in your attempt to punish him." I somewhat agree with her to calm her down.

It's not a lie though, I do think that Veldora needs to be punished for his recklessness, I just don't want to deal with any of the repercussions that come with a fight between True Dragons. Normally, I'd recommend the labyrinth for an all-out brawl between two strong people, but I already know that Velgrynd is capable of breaking it, as unbelievable as that is. The thing's supposed to be indestructible, or at least that was the idea before she wrecked the place to get to Veldora in the past.

"If you want, you two can use my 'stomach' (aka infinite space) as a battleground instead," I suggest. "Just don't get too rough or you'll give me indigestion," I say lightly with a small smile, trying to ease the tension in the room.

Velgrynd doesn't seem to think my joke was funny, but she still nods, agreeing to the overall message behind it.

"That will do, I suppose." She responds with a sigh, likely not completely satisfied, but at least willing to compromise to this extent.

"Let's go grab him then if that's okay with you." I offer, wanting to get this mess over with.

Velgrynd nods before willingly being absorbed into my infinite space.

I'm glad, but now I have to go fetch Veldora and jam him inside with Velgrynd. It's harder than you'd think when he fights it, so I'm not looking forward to it. I'll also have to keep an eye on the two to make sure they don't go too far. I still need Veldora to be healthy enough to maintain the labyrinth's magicule levels which are already running low from his absence. That reason sounds cold and uncaring? I'm just being pragmatic here. With Veldora being unable to die, the main consequence of him getting roughed up too badly is his job performance would suffer, so, I can't let that happen. I care about the guy, but as I've already said, this is his fault for acting like an idiot.

[[That will not be a problem. I will take care of managing Veldora's punishment, Master.]]

Oh? Seems like Ciel's up to the task. That's a relief.

So, I teleport down to the bottom of the labyrinth, knowing that that's where Veldora's hunkering down to avoid Velgrynd as long as possible. He's not escaping this time, though, since I've already bent over backward to fix what he did. I won't let him.

So, I teleport directly behind him and place my hand on his back. Before he can even react, he's already been taken into my infinite space. Physical contact makes the transfer easier since if Veldora fights it, it makes it exponentially harder to isolate him like this. So, catching him off guard and touching him like this has made it possible to drag him in against his will, despite his strength.

After the task is accomplished, I breathe a sigh of relief. Soon, I think I can hear Veldora shouting and screaming from inside, but I pay that no mind. He brought this upon himself, and I'm sure he'll be fine with Ciel refereeing the 'match'.

**Inside Rimuru's Infinite Space**

Veldora POV

I look around, momentarily panicked before realizing what just happened. I've been betrayed! Betrayed by my little brother! How could Rimuru do this to me?!

Yes, I'm inside Rimuru's stomach, or what's become of it over time, once again. I'm not alone either, with someone I'd rather not face right now being here as well; the younger of my two older sisters, Velgrynd. I may have made a teensy little mistake and set off her explosive anger, but who can blame me? It's not my fault she can't take a joke! That's all it was, a joke, a little harmless prank, yet she took it far enough to lead to this!

Along with us two is another person that scares me; Rimuru's manas Ciel. It's hard to decide, but she may be scarier than either of my sisters! After slave-driving me back in the day as a simple skill named 'Great Sage' and later 'Raphael', I can't help but feel apprehensive when encountering the manas that lives inside Rimuru's soul.

"You have 10 minutes to do with him as you wish, Scorch Dragon Velgrynd," Ciel says flatly to Velgrynd, causing a smile to appear on my sister's lips.

Ciel then turns her cold, glowing crimson eyes in my direction and addresses me as well.

"You will accept your punishment without resistance, Storm Dragon Veldora Tempest. Any attempt to fight back will be repaid by extending the time Velgrynd is allowed to unleash her anger upon you. I will also intervene on behalf of my Master if you choose to disobey, so keep that in mind."

Yup, there's no use arguing with Ciel, I already know that, so I'll just have to grin and bear it. Thankfully, few will see me in such a pitiful state, allowing my sister to punish me despite the strength I've gained over the years. I can face her as an equal at this point, but if Ciel is involved too…well, let's just say that makes a difference in the power balance. I understand perfectly that Ciel's existence is one of the main reasons Rimuru's as dangerous as he is, and I don't want to cross her.

**Back Outside**

Rimuru POV

With the issue of Veldora being solved, I now need to focus on this meeting with Tempest's top people. There can't be too much of note to cover, considering that they never woke the dormant parallel existence copy I left behind in case of emergencies. I'm sure it's a bunch of boring status-quo stuff that I need to have Ciel file away in my mind for later, but not anything that urgently needs attention from me personally. Just as I'm about to issue a message to everyone calling them to meet, something unexpected happens.

{{Rimuru? Are you there?}}

The voice of someone that I recognize appears in my mind. One of the last people I expected to suddenly contact me out of nowhere like this since it's not like him to do so; Guy Crimson, the Red Primordial.