Assisting the Student Council

Ameri POV

"Yes Father, I'll continue to be careful. Goodnight." I say into my phone before hanging up, mentally drained from my busy day.

"Phew…that was difficult…" I breathe a sigh of relief as I flop backward onto my bed.

I just got off the phone with my father and, of course, he had to bring up Iruma. He had good reason since he heard rumors about what Iruma has been up to lately, but that didn't make it any easier for me to talk about.

My mind had immediately jumped back to that moment when our faces got too close and he intensely stared me in the eyes and…gah! I can't! I just can't!

I accidentally let out an "eep!" as I try to overcome the intense feeling welling up inside me from remembering that situation.

Then, the door to the female dorms of Babyls opens, and Smoke steps inside.

"Are you alright, President?" she asks. Smoke must have heard that embarrassing noise I just made.

"Yes! Yes, I'm fine, just fine."

Fine isn't exactly the best word to describe how I'm feeling right now, but I'm not going to reveal that to Smoke. We are all feeling overwhelmed with the extra work we've been putting in ever since the Misfit Class started trying to gain the Royal One.

It's caused the Council some issues since it has riled up the entire student body and also encouraged more rebellious behavior. We have our hands full, to say the least, even with our new member Ronove and our temporary helper Schnell (although the latter hasn't been much help at all if I'm honest, and the former is mostly only good for attracting attention instead of fixing problems).

"Are you feeling overwhelmed?" Smoke asks, seemingly seeing through my attempt to hide my troubles. She's sharp like that, which is great most of the time, but when I want to keep things to myself it surely isn't.

"I can't hide anything from you, can I Smoke," I say defeatedly.

She smiles, her eyes hidden behind her bangs.

"Perhaps we could call Rimuru in to help? It's been a while since she's directly assisted us so I'm sure she wouldn't mind." Smoke suggests.

Having Rimuru around would likely help, but she'd also do something irritating; that I'm certain of. Despite my personal misgivings, though, calling Rimuru in and putting her to work may be the best option available to me right now.

"I suppose that's a solution." I regretfully admit.

With a sigh, I pick up my phone again and start typing out a message to Rimuru.

I'm not sure if this is a good idea, but I am out of options…

Rimuru POV

It's late so I'm just lazing in my room like the blob I am, literally; I've dropped my human form in the privacy of my bedroom. I've been avoiding doing this in front of others while here since Iruma, Sullivan, and Opera are so used to my human mimic, but when alone like this, I sometimes take advantage.

Then, as I'm just getting comfortable, my phone goes off, telling me somebody texted me. So, I lazily roll my currently-round body over to my bedside table and pick the thing up, not bothering to change my form. Being a slime makes handling objects a little trickier, but I don't really care at the moment.

Seeing who it's from and what it says makes me sigh.

The message I got is from Ameri, and it seems that she needs my help with the Student Council for the next few days. She's overloaded with work; the student body's in a fervor; it's all my fault, apparently, blah blah blah. If it wasn't partly my fault Iruma was acting the way he was during all that Royal One stuff, I'd complain that her troubles are more his doing than mine, but I can't say that.

Maybe I should rope Iruma into this to lighten the workload I'm about to have dumped on me. I'm sure he'd jump at the opportunity to help out Ameri and she'd be more than pleased to spend some time with him.

Grumbling a little as I do, I hop off of the bed and change to my less-comfortable human form before I touch the floor. I then step outside into the hallway to go grab Iruma.

"Hey, Iruma~!" I say from outside the door to Iruma's bedroom.

It takes a minute, but the door opens, and out pokes Iruma, looking a bit sleepy and already wearing his pajamas.

"Huh? It's kinda late, Rimuru…what's up?" Iruma asks in a tired voice.

"Oh, I just wanted to let you know that I have to go to school early tomorrow, so I won't be walking to Babyls with you and your friends."

"Why? Does the Student Council need you for something?" already guessing properly why I need to go to Babyls early, Iruma inquires.

"Yeah, Ameri is overloaded with work or something and wants my help."

Laying out my bait like this should be enough to make Iruma want to help.

"I want to go too!"

And without hesitation, Iruma completely fell for my trap.

"Oh, you do?" I play it cool, pretending I didn't expect this reaction from him.

Iruma quickly and enthusiastically nods.

I bet he'll regret this decision in the morning when I wake him up…oh well, that's not my fault.

"Well, I'm sure Ameri would appreciate your help too. I'll take you along with me." I reply with a smile, genuinely glad he agreed.

"Thanks, Rimuru!"

No, thank you, Iruma!

"Yeah, sure," I respond before he quietly closes his door.

Not only will he help with the work, but he'll put Ameri in a better mood too, which means she won't be as annoying as she can be with me. She seems to get bent out of shape all the time over the smallest things with me, so having her unofficial boyfriend (no matter how hard both of them try to deny it) around will be a decent enough distraction for her.

**The Next Morning**

"Uuuuuuugh…" Iruma groans as I literally drag him out of bed.

Yes, just as I predicted, getting up this early isn't easy for him.

"You sure you still wanna go? I didn't tell Ameri you were tagging along so you can go back to bed if you want." I say, not wanting to force him.

I know I went to the trouble of 'convincing' Iruma to come with me, but he's like a zombie at the moment and it's making me feel a little bad. I do have a conscience, you know.

"Nuuuu…I said I'd help…so I'll help…" Iruma mumbles as he stands there, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and slapping his own cheeks to wake up faster.

So, we both get dressed and soon step outside the door. That's when I realize we have a bit of a problem. Walking all the way to Babyls this early in the morning…well, I don't think Iruma would like it much. He's still pretty groggy and it'll take longer than usual. Flying, my usual solo way of traveling to the school would also be a bit much for a barely-awake boy and would also look strange to anyone who happens to see us since I'd have to carry him. Lastly, I could use Spatial Domination, but I know for a fact that Iruma doesn't enjoy that method either. That only leaves one more option to consider; Ranga.

Just yesterday I rode on Ranga to get to Babyls, so it shouldn't be a problem to do the same with Iruma joining me on my personal four-legged fluffball's back.

"Ranga." is all I need to say to make the direwolf poke his head out of my shadow.

"Yes, Master?!" he asks excitedly.

"Mind giving me and my friend here a ride?"

Ranga enthusiastically jumps out into the open, taking on a size that fits well for carrying two people, or about the size of a horse.

"Now, I don't want you going too fast, even though you're excited, alright? Iruma can't handle it, especially right now." I warn him, giving him a loving head-pat as I do.

"Yes! I will be extra careful, Master!" Ranga says, his tail wagging.

I hop on, hoisting a still-sleepy Iruma up with me after mounting.

"Grab on tight," I warn Iruma and he listens, gripping Ranga's fur tighter.

The ride was pleasant and Ranga was able to contain his excitement enough that his speed wasn't too much for Iruma. Also, I think the brisk morning air helped wake Iruma up since by the time we got to Babyls, he didn't seem nearly as groggy as he was when we left the mansion.

I give Ranga a thankful pat on the head and he hops back into my shadow, happy that he got to help me out.

"I hope everything's alright…Ameri hasn't called you in like this before, has she?" Iruma asks, a little worried.

"Oh, I'm sure things are fine. It's just all that Royal One business you started has riled up a bunch of people and more students are acting out." I explain simply.

"So this is my fault?!" Iruma asks, clearly upset and surprised by this revelation. I guess he didn't figure out last night why Ameri had more work to do,

"Kinda," I reply, not wanting to sugarcoat it too much.

"Aw, man…" Iruma says, his eyes downcast.

"Well, if you wanna blame yourself, just remember you're also gonna help clean up that mess, so it's fine. And as I said yesterday, it's partly my fault too."

With Iruma looking like he's feeling a bit guilty, we both head inside.

"Morning," I say to the group in the Student Council's room.

It's Ameri, along with her usual entourage, but two extras are here that aren't part of the normal group.

Ronove, who ended up joining after losing his battler, is here. I heard about this after the fact from Ameri, but she let him join since she 'likes the challenge' of having someone like him around. Maybe that's part of the reason she keeps me around too? Outside of her father wanting her to spy on me, of course.

There's another boy that I didn't expect, though, since I thought his punishment would be over by now; I guess I was wrong about that. It's Schnell; not exactly a face I like seeing since it reminds me of my failure; not even mentioning his creepy behavior and strange obsession with Ameri. Honestly, I want nothing to do with him.

"Good, you're here Rimuru," Ameri says without looking up."I need you to-" Ameri starts to say, but stops mid-sentence once she does look in my direction. "Iruma…" she mutters, surprised to see the boy.

"Good morning, Ameri." Iruma greets Ameri with a smile and wave and her eyes light up for a moment. "I'm here to help!" he says cheerfully.

"That's-" Ameri starts to say, sounding both thrilled and frustrated that he's here.

Ameri then gives me a glare that tells me she knows exactly why I brought Iruma with me, but I don't care. Glancing between us both, she eventually seems to decide this is fine and acceptingly sighs to herself.

"I-I was not expecting you to come with Rimuru today, but I'm sure having your assistance as well will help us greatly," Ameri says, trying to sound more formal and serious but her voice wavering a bit.

So, Ameri starts delegating tasks to us all, and just like I was expecting, there's extra paperwork to do, and we all know that's my favorite thing to do…not! This is why I went on vacation; to avoid it! And yet it chases me wherever I go! Maybe it's fate at work, but paperwork never seems to leave my life no matter where I am and what I'm doing.

I have to work through it slower than my maximum speed too since showing off too much will just cause me problems. I still remember the incredulous looks I got last time I took shortcuts dealing with Council work.

This goes on for a while and I just try to zone out and do the work, not giving it much thought. Ameri is working closely with Iruma, just like I expected, which seems to be distracting her enough that she's not assigning a ton of stuff to me.

"Rimuru, when students start arriving, take those two with you and go on patrol; the rest go as another group and do the same."

When addressing me, Ameri pointed to the two people I'd rather not deal with; Schnell and Ronove.

Seriously? Dumping two eccentric antagonist types on me at once?! I can only handle so much at the same time, man! Ugh...at least that Kiriwo guy isn't around...

"So should I go with Rimuru's group?"

"No, I have…something else for you to do, Iruma."

Iruma looks confused but gives Ameri a nod.

I'm not too surprised that she wants to keep him close.

"Well, if you're going to make me responsible for both, I might as well do something to make it easier for me. Two's better than one, after all," I say simply.

I've already resolved to let my Parallel Existence skill be my fake bloodline magic, so I can use it freely to my advantage now. One Rimuru for each boy, so I don't have to deal with them both at the same time.

"Wait, Rimuru…are you…?" Iruma asks, sounding unsure but understanding what I'm about to do.

I give him a nod. Iruma looks nervous about this but doesn't argue.

"What are you talking about?" Ameri asks skeptically.

"Oh, don't tell me you forgot already!" I tease, knowing full well that she's seen this before. Not the actual process, but she stumbled across both of my selves at the Battler Party.

It takes a few seconds, but the look of realization that forms on Ameri's face makes me think she figured it out too. She stares at me intensely, wanting to see for herself what I'm about to do.

"What's Rimuru going to do, President?" Kimaris asks curiously.

"Just watch; it's not something I've seen for myself, but I have witnessed the results once," Ameri responds, not taking her eyes off of me for a second.

Deciding it best to obscure the process from view since I have a room full of witnesses, I'll just puff out a dramatic cloud of smoke around myself as I 'split' into two so they can't see the details. The way I normally do it does give away my slimy insides somewhat and we don't need them all to see that, that's for sure.

So I do exactly that; create a Parallel Existence to my side and split my consciousness so it's easier on my mind. As the smoke clears, revealed to the room are two me's, causing multiple of them to gasp in amazement.

Coming up with some stuff on the fly, as well as going off of some pre-planned shenanigans, I decided to give them a bit of an explanation. I need to give them some rules and restrictions for the ability that aren't real but should make it seem more believable to the average demon.

Iruma POV

Rimuru has decided to show off her cloning magic to everyone here. Part of me wishes she wouldn't, but I knew it was inevitable after our discussion about it.

They call us twins, but the two Rimurus standing in front of me right now fit that word much better since they're entirely identical down to the cell. It's still mind-boggling though, seeing two Rimurus at the same time, even if I've seen this before.

"This is my bloodline magic: Doppelganger. I can split myself into multiple selves like this, but I'm not in direct control of them." the first Rimuru explains.

"I essentially copy my personality and memories, but we act independently. There's little to no difference between us both as long as the magic is performed and controlled correctly." the second Rimuru adds to the first's point.

"I'm only capable of making one other full-size self, maybe two if I press my luck, but I can make up to four extra smaller ones since those are easier." the first says, speaking up again.

"S-so wait for a second…which one is the original; the real Rimuru?" Ameri sputters, clearly exasperated by this situation.

"Both." the first replies.

"And neither." the second added immediately after.

" "We're both just as much Rimuru as the other." " Both Rimurus say in perfect unison.

They strike a cute pose together, mirroring each other and winking playfully at Ameri. I can tell Rimuru is just messing with Ameri at this point, and is having a ton of fun doing so.

"President, isn't there another magic that is similar that's called Doppel?" Smoke asks.

That's nothing I've learned about, at least not yet.

"Oh yeah, that thing." One Rimuru responds, seemingly having heard of it before.

"My magic is different; takes less mana but is harder to control." The second clarifies.

"It has different rules too." the first added.

"But I…I mean we won't get into that right now." the second says with a chuckle.

"We have work to do, right President?" the first asks Ameri.

"Wait, I think we all wish to ask a few things," Johnny says, stopping them.

The Council members ask Rimuru some questions which she answers, some of them in a more vague way than they wanted.

"Can Iruma do the same?" Johnny asks, staring at me with interest.

"Nope. He has his own special talent." Rimuru says before spouting that embarrassing made-up name she came up with for my above-average reflexes and mentioning that she has the same ability in addition to her 'Doppelganger'. This amazes everyone again while I stand off to the side, awkwardly trying to pass the time and wanting to hide in a corner as Rimuru spouts some sort of story.

"So you said you could make smaller clones, right? Do you mean smaller in general or younger in appearance?" Smoke asks curiously.

"Younger-looking," Rimuru replies.

"You'll have to show us that sometime." Kimaris chuckles.

"Hehe…if only the President had that ability, then I could have one of her all to myself!" Schnell says to himself, cackling quietly in the corner as he watches everyone else excitedly ask Rimuru questions.

" "Stop being such a creep!" " both Rimurus chorus, immediately scolding him in unison from opposite sides of the room, their voices equally full of disgust. They must've heard the boy's sinister snickering, even from a distance.

"Mmh~ Yes, Lady Rimuru~," Schnell responds, almost mockingly.

Both Rimurus march right over to him, backing him further into the corner.

They roughly yank him out into the middle of the room. One knocks him off-balance with a shove to the left shoulder and the other foot-sweeps him to finish the job. Schnell ends up slapping the floor hard and is now lying flat on his back, all four of his limbs spread-eagled.

"Heh…it's a shame you're not wearing a skirt right now…" Schnell whispers in a strained voice, still trying to catch his breath after having the wind knocked out of him by his fall.

Glaring down at him, one standing to either side, both Rimurus simultaneously stomp one foot down right between Schnell's legs, threatening him with the implication of what will happen next if he keeps talking to Rimuru like that.

"I have very little patience for people like you so don't test me!" one Rimuru snarls.

"Yes, if I'm going to be put in charge of you for a while, you better behave yourself more than that!" the other warns.

One of the Rimurus looks over at Ronove, giving him a look to tell him that the message applies to him as well, while the other continues to glare down at Schnell.

"Ronove will not cross you…Ronove has learned his lesson…" he mutters timidly.

"Rimuru, aren't you being a little harsh?" I ask quietly.

"You remember what he did, right?" one Rimuru asks me.

"Yes…" I say, fully remembering that he's responsible for that horrible spell used on Ameri that nearly made her lose her position as President.

"So I have a good reason not to like him, and so do you. The same goes for everyone else here, minus Ronove." the other Rimuru responds.

"With difficult demons like him, force is sometimes necessary," Ameri adds, agreeing with Rimuru's actions."But why are you making that face right now?" Ameri asks, now glaring down at Schnell alongside both Rimurus (keeping enough of a distance that he can't 'sneak a peek').

For some reason, despite Rimuru's threats, Schnell seems to be enjoying himself.

"Three brutish dames standing over me, with one of them being my beloved President and the others a pair of twin beauties, why would I not be basking in this experience?"

Rimuru clenches all four of her fists between her two bodies and Ameri seems just as seethingly angry.

"Rimuru; soon we are going outside to do morning exercises. Make sure to grill some discipline into this fool. I'm sure you're fully capable of that, am I right?" Ameri asks in a dark tone.

Rimuru nods, giving Ameri a pair of evil grins.

"But first…one of you come with me out into the hallway for a moment," Ameri commands more seriously, looking a little confused about which Rimuru should go with her.

One of the Rimurus shrugs and follows Ameri out the door while the other continues watching Schnell closely. He stumbles to his feet and Rimuru doesn't stop him, but she maintains that intimidating stare, her golden eyes trained on him, unblinking.

Ameri POV

At first, I was a little shocked by Rimuru's sudden violence with Schnell, but it didn't take me long to realize her reasons. Recalling that conversation I had with her recently, I immediately got concerned. That's why I asked her to join me out in the hallway.

I'm not only Rimuru's senior but also the President of her battler, so despite our differences and previous conflicts I still need to step in and check on her.

"Are you alright?" I ask quietly after checking to make sure nobody else was around.

Rimuru looks honestly confused by my question.

"Uh…yeah? I know I lost my temper a bit just then, but I'm fine." Rimuru responds, completely casual and relaxed.

"That's good…I was concerned after I remembered what you went through in the past. I'm sure Schnell reminded you of your harasser."

It seems to take Rimuru a moment to realize what I'm talking about, but when she does, her eyes light up.

"Oh! Uh, yeah…I can't deny that, but as I said, I'm fine." Rimuru says with a smile. I can't decide if it's a fake one or not, but if Rimuru says she's fine, I'll let this go.

Rimuru goes back inside, but I stay here for a moment, lost in thought.

To think, I've found a weakness in Rimuru…

She seems perfect at most things, unshakeable and strong, but this one flaw makes her seem less 'absolute', more vulnerable.

I don't know whether I should report this to Father, though. It's a significant discovery since he essentially told me to keep tabs on Rimuru, but it's such a sensitive subject that I'm reluctant.

I'll keep it to myself for the time being.

Iruma POV

"Rimuru, why's Ameri taking the other you out into the hallway?" I ask, a little worried alongside everyone else in the room.

"I have no clue. Maybe she didn't like how I treated Schnell? I don't think so though since she seemed just as angry as I was." the Rimuru left behind says while still keeping a close eye on Schnell.

It only takes a minute for the other Rimuru to come back inside ahead of Ameri.

"Yo; other me! What's going on?" the Rimuru that stayed with me asks the other.

Can't Rimuru just communicate with their other self with telepathy?

"Nothin'." the second one replies nonchalantly, smirking slightly.

"Don't give me that!" the first Rimuru protests.

"You know you'll find out later when we merge back together later, silly." the second Rimuru quips back.

"Of course I do." the first Rimuru responds, but before the second can say anything more, Ameri comes back inside.

"Alright! We are heading outside to do our morning exercises!" Ameri declares loudly to the room from the doorway.

I gulp nervously, remembering how intense those are after spending a little time helping the Council, and that was with the others leading, not Ameri, so I suspect this will be even harder. She's a more stern and commanding leader with her battler than the other members so it only makes sense that these exercises will also be more intense.

Once we get outside, Rimuru plays rock paper scissors with herself for some reason and it ends with one of them muttering "Dammit…we're literally the same person, how did I lose…?"

That same Rimuru then shuffles over to Schnell dejectedly. I guess they were trying to decide which one gets stuck with him and the other with Ronove.

Those four (three?) go off to do their own thing while I stay with Ameri and the rest of the group. We ended up running laps first, which I struggled to keep up with until I remembered that 'Strengthen Body' skill Rimuru opened up for me to use a while back. It still wasn't easy for me, but using it definitely helped.

I was right about everything being more intense with Ameri running the show, but I managed. I did hear some screaming in the distance from where I was, but I tried my best to ignore that and focus on what I was doing instead.

If I were to guess, Rimuru's going very hard on both of those boys, especially Schnell, but I don't think they'll end up too hurt in the end. Rimuru promised not to actually injure anyone, so I'm sure both will be fine after Rimuru is done with them.

This goes on for a while, with us doing various intense exercises, which I'm only able to perform effectively with the help of Rimuru's skill; I still ended up exhausted at the end, though.

Both Rimuru's rejoin us afterward, one with Ronove following behind, looking wiped-out tired, and the other literally dragging a bruised-up Schnell by his collar. Maybe they did some combat training like that one time with Sabnock? That's my best guess, at least, since I see that he's covered in bruises; this also leads me to believe that the screaming was likely from him and not Ronove. I feel a little bad for him, but I don't think he's badly hurt.

Even though he's being dragged, I can tell that Schnell's not unconscious. He's definitely more exhausted than Ronove who's still on his feet though.

"I 'grilled some discipline' into him as you asked, President," one Rimuru says with a smirk, plopping Schnell at Ameri's feet.

"My…waifu…" Schnell mutters at Ameri, his voice an almost inaudible whisper as he reaches toward her with a shakily weak arm.

"I see that," she remarks, giving him a disgusted look.

(AN: Schnell actually refers to Ameri as his 'waifu' in the English dub of the Iruma anime, just so you know where that came from.)

"President, will we be doing flying exercises today? We usually start off with those but it seems like you skipped them today?" Grave asks, mildly confused.

Flying?! That's one thing I can't pull off, even with Rimuru's help!

I start to panic a little since I'm not sure how I'll get out of this.

"Oh yes, flying, we did neglect that particular exercise didn't we. I suppose we could just do it now." Ameri says, but then I notice Rimuru, using both bodies, giving her a stern look.

Ameri looks offended for a moment before her eyes go wide and she briefly glances in my direction before looking back at Rimuru.

Looking a little flustered, Ameri clears her throat and continues, having reestablished her commanding demeanor.

"But it is getting late so it won't hurt to pass on that for today," she says quickly, changing her mind.

What was that about?

I'm confused since Rimuru just giving Ameri a look was enough to get her to change her mind, which doesn't make much sense to me. They aren't friends or anything so why would Ameri give in like that? Also, why did she look at me just then?

Then I remember what I look like right now; utterly exhausted. I'm sitting in the grass, sweaty and out of breath. Not laid out like Schnell but tired enough that I don't feel like standing right now. Ameri and Rimuru both must be worried about me, and that's why Ameri decided to conclude the exercises without the flying being included.

Honestly, I think Ronove and Schnell are better examples of 'too tired to fly' than me, but Ameri and I are pretty close so it makes sense for her to go a little soft on me, especially after the ruthless regimen she just put me through along with everyone else.

I internally praise my good luck and considerate friends as I stand up. We're heading back inside to finish up the Student Council's work before classes start. Schnell is at least on his feet at this point, but he's not in the greatest shape. Ameri orders him to go rest in the infirmary and Rimuru decides to merge her selves together now that she only has Ronove to manage.

Rimuru blocked our view of the process again, which I know isn't part of it, but I fully understand why. The one time I watched her do the same thing revealed that she was nothing but slime on the inside, if only for a moment. I don't blame Rimuru for not wanting everyone here to find that out since it was kind of weird to see…

Once we're settled, Ameri starts handing out tasks, putting us into pairs; Rimuru and Ronove, Smoke and Kimaris, Johnny and Grave.

"...and finally Iruma and I will be starting the process of working through all these request forms." Ameri finishes.

"Heh." Rimuru lets out an amused grunt and I see that she's smirking.

This, of course, immediately grabbed Ameri's attention.

"What is it, Rimuru? Do you have something to say?" Ameri asks, not looking very happy with Rimuru.

"Oh, no, don't mind me," Rimuru says with a smile, waving off Ameri's question.

And with that, the room clears, leaving me alone with Ameri.

We begin working through some request forms from other battlers, you know, asking for supplies or permissions, sometimes just flat-out funding. Either way, we work together, approving or denying them all.

Ameri seems very serious about her work, which I expected, so we got through it faster than I thought we would.

Ameri POV

Working with Iruma is so nice. He's so helpful and easygoing about the whole process, but I have to say he's a little too soft to make the decisions completely on his own. Iruma wanted to approve most, if not all of the request forms, feeling bad anytime I told him not to. I couldn't allow that, of course.

Eventually, he seemed to get a grasp on what I was okay with and what I wasn't, and after that things went very smoothly.

Working through the stack with Iruma at my side, I see something that makes me frown. Another application for a new battler called 'Our Battler'. They've applied countless times, but just as I always do whenever that name pops up, I immediately give it my stamp of disapproval. No matter how many times they submit an application form, I'll never let that group of nutjobs become an actual battler.

'Aerial Combat Battler' is next, and although this one piques my interest at first, I realize their intent as I remember what happened yesterday at the festival. A group of demons was flying around shooting fireworks at each other, setting multiple stalls on fire, and endangering bystanders. Denied!

Moving onto the next application, for 'Our Battler'… Oh, those bastards! I flip through the stack and see they've sent countless applications, trying to annoy me into approving.

"Iruma, I need you to go through this stack of applications and shred all the ones that are for 'Our Battler', then give any remaining applications to me," I instruct him, trying to hide how frustrated I am with the situation. Iruma still seems to pick up on my irritation but simply gives me a kind smile, which quickly improves my mood.

He has such a nice smile…but now I'm getting distracted!

A while later, the pairs I sent out to do various tasks return and begin helping with the work on the forms, picking up the pace that we're getting through them all.

At some point during the process, as I'm talking with Ronove, Iruma appears at my side.

"Here are all the applications I didn't shred, there's not many left," he says quietly, sounding like he's hesitant to interrupt me.

"Thank you Iruma," I say as I reach to take them from him without looking up from my work.

Eh?

My hand lands on something unexpectedly soft, which ruffles a bit as I feel around for the papers. I look and realize that I'm touching Iruma's hair!

Oh no, I forgot how short he is! How am I going to explain this to him?! He doesn't seem to mind though, his expression is so cute…

"Haha, am I getting patted because I did a good job?" he asks with a light chuckle, smiling his usual cute smile.

Iruma giving me a way to play it off snaps me out of my embarrassment, which had made me freeze, not sure what to say next.

"Of course, it was very good of you to help out when you heard we were busy," I say quickly to cover up my mistake, and he seems to believe it.

Since Iruma gave me a perfectly good excuse to work with, I continue patting him for as long as I feel I can get away with. While doing so, I may have heard some snickering from someone else in the room, but I ignored that the best I could. I don't need a certain blue-haired golden-eyed girl ruining this moment for me!

So soft… so cute…

"We never get headpa-" Ronove tries to say before I cut him off.

"Get to work, you slacker!" I fire back, not wanting to hear any backtalk from him, especially while I'm enjoying some quality time with Iruma that has nothing to do with him.

The head-patting lasts a little while longer before we get back on task and continue our work. Once we're finished, it's time for us to go on patrol. I tell everyone to remain in the same pairs as before, which made Rimuru groan, but I'm not going to pay any attention to that.

"So we're going on patrol?" Iruma asks as the pairs split off.

"Yes. Are you alright with that?" I inquire in turn since I'm not certain he's fully comfortable with this part of the Student Council's duties. He is just helping us out today, after all.

"Yes, I'm curious about what you do, Ameri, so I want to try this out!" he replies enthusiastically.

Once Iruma and I are on patrol, we head to Royal One as I haven't yet adjusted the Student Council's patrol routes to account for its opening.

Unsurprisingly, we find a couple of students trying to sneak in. They haven't yet noticed us as we're watching from a distance.

"Iruma, would you like to handle this?" I ask.

"Huh, me?" Iruma asks, surprised.

"You said you wanted to see what patrol duty is like, and I'm curious to see what you'd do in this situation."

Iruma looks nervous and torn about what to do about these two, but seems to quickly get over any apprehension he was experiencing.

"Alright! I can do this!" Iruma says, looking determined.

Now, what will he do? It was interesting seeing how his 'sister' handles things on patrol, I wonder if he has his own unusual approach?

"Um, excuse me!" Iruma says as he walks over to the pair, getting their attention. "I don't think you're supposed to be here!"

"Crap, it's that Iruma kid! Y'know, one of the Chairdemon's grandchildren…" mutters the taller demon.

"Oi, do you think you deserve to keep something as fancy and important as Royal One all to yourself?" the shorter demon says tauntingly.

Iruma looks put off by the demon's hostility for a moment but maintains his smile.

"Um, well…Professor Kalego told us we shouldn't let other students in…we've been entrusted with this classroom and it would be very bad if anything was stolen or vandalized," Iruma explains calmly to the two, but he doesn't seem to get the reaction he expected from them.

"So you're calling us vandals now, huh?!" the demon asks, raising his voice.

Iruma's eyes go wide and he seems to be panicking a little now, but he still stands his ground and doesn't turn to me for help.

"No, no! It's just… Professor Kalego said I'm too trusting, and that he'd never forgive me if something happened to this place because I let someone in without question. But…" Iruma continues, holding his hands up while trying to get the demons to calm down.

"But…?" the other asks in an accusing tone.

"I can give you a guided tour if you like! You won't have to sneak in here to look around if I'm here!" Iruma responds quickly.

The two demons look at each other and then nod at Iruma.

"Sounds like a good plan, we'll take you up on that offer." one of them responds in a surprisingly calm way.

"We'll have to do it later, though, since I'm a bit busy at the moment. I promise I won't forget, though!"

The two demons look a little skeptical but seem to take Iruma's word at face value.

With Iruma's promise in place, they leave without a fight and Iruma returns to my side, smiling from ear to ear.

He dealt with the situation well; I'm proud of him.

Iruma handled that much differently from Rimuru or any demon for that matter. It was very 'Iruma-like' of him though, solving that situation with kind words.

Is this how all humans are?

I'm not sure about the answer to that, but according to the forbidden texts, that's not reality. Iruma is an exception if anything, but that just makes me like him even more.

Author's Note: Yes, I know this cuts off a bit suddenly, but I didn't have much of a choice after some unexpected IRL stuff interfered with my writing. I hope you all still enjoy it, even if it's not as long as the last few. (Also, I need to thank all of my plot helpers on discord again, including Bellatrix who wrote a couple of the scenes in this chapter. Make sure to show them some love!)