Rimuru POV
After the minor distraction that was ensuring that Orobas will stay out of mine and Iruma's hair for… well, forever, it was time for the after-party.
The Harvest Festival after-party is a crowded event where everyone is finally getting to chat and relax after days of isolation in the woods, but after what happened during the awards ceremony I'm sitting away from everyone else and brooding… I mean, chilling out!
[[You are definitely brooding.]]
Ngh… Well, can you blame me? That jerk ran my name through the mud in front of everyone, so now the whole school… no, the whole Netherworld's gonna have their eyes on me! And not even in a positive way!
I don't care that much about what others here say and think about me, but I can only imagine the trouble it'll cause me in the future. I was trying to leave the attention for Iruma, as far as he wanted it.
[[I did inform you about the overconsumption penalty while listing all the rules, Master.]]
I don't remember that…
Ciel listed so many obscure rules that I just kinda… stopped listening after a while. She even told me most weren't even enforced, or it had been a very long time since they had been.
If I had just horrifically lost the competition and nothing else, I'd be fine with it, but revoking my cafeteria privileges is an entirely different story. I'll be honest, I'm angry about it.
[[Even if predictable, that demon's slander of you was still unacceptable. We should beat him up.]]
Don't tempt me, or I actually might…
I shake my head, trying to clear away those dark troublesome thoughts instead of letting them fester. Beating up Kalego would just cause me more trouble.
I'm an adult and a Demon Lord, I can just roll with the punches instead of dishing them out myself.
Besides, this is a party! There's fun and food to be had here, I shouldn't let a foul mood ruin it.
Iruma looks busy since everyone wants to talk to him, so food it is!
Making my way over to the buffet tables, I grab myself a plate and some tongs, eagerly nabbing anything that looks tasty, letting my excitement take over my actions.
Ciel, Ciel! What's this? And what's that?
[[Decoratively-sliced gatormelon, and patched cow cutlets with an umami-rich sauce.]]
Oooh! And what about– Uh…
I can feel many eyes on me. I hear whispers too.
"She's still eating?"
"I can see why she lost so badly…"
"Heh, Behemolt's got nothing on Rimuru!"
Ah, I guess it was a little tactless of me to indulge myself right after everyone heard that I was a 'gluttonous abomination' during the Harvest Festival.
I'm not angry at all the comments, but I'm definitely annoyed by them. All this negative attention isn't something I want to deal with. Not only that, but it reminds me of the worst parts of life back home. Humans aren't as kind as they lead you to believe. Not that these kids are human, but they feel closer to that than to the demons of Hell I'm used to.
I decide to retreat with my only half-full plate, picking a discrete corner that nobody seems to be standing in. Best to avoid the spotlight in a situation like this. Yet, the staring and comments seem to continue, and I just make an effort to tune them out by adjusting my senses.
Teenagers sure are cruel, I internally muse to myself.
I just watch the crowd in silence as I eat, irritated that this is even happening.
This isn't anything I've had to deal with before as I've always carried myself with pride as the most praised person in Tempest. Yes, sometimes things with the humans of my world have turned rocky, but I was never seen as some over-indulgent freak, which was the impression I got from all those gossiping comments.
I huddle up a little, thinking of just leaving.
Sheesh, why do I even care? But my questioning doesn't make the feeling go away. I'm still feeling like I just want to leave and have some alone time.
Iruma's proven himself to be pretty strong now, so it shouldn't be a problem to let Azz and Clara walk him home if I head to the mansion early… I need to go sort out the memories from my clones anyway. I've only been given snippets of what they experienced, just the most important things like what happened with Orobas, but the vast majority remains unexplored for now.
"Oi, Rimuru."
Someone standing over me snaps me out of my thoughts.
It's Ameri, who isn't exactly someone I want to see right now. She was being courteous earlier today, but after what Kalego said about my 'absurd behavior' during the Harvest Festival…
"I know what you want to say, so just leave me alone." I'd much rather deal with her inevitable lecture or interrogation at a later date.
"Didn't you think I might want to congratulate you?"
I blink in surprise. "What? No way I could believe that. I figured you wanted to say I was a disgrace to the Student Council or something along those lines."
Ameri sits down next to me, her attitude seeming surprisingly relaxed.
"I'm a reasonable person, you know. Technically, you gathered more points than anyone else with that crazy ability of yours, and I know you didn't really have the option of turning them in."
"Because I'd be screwing over Iruma if I did," I quietly say. There was no way I was gonna compete seriously against teenagers.
"Yeah. You've got a competitive spirit, but you'd be a terrible security devil if you used your bloodline ability to ruin what should be an amazing victory for your charge; so it only makes sense that you'd take the Harvest Festival in an extreme new direction."
In other words, 'You made a sport of eating everything so you could go all-out without winning.' She's kinda right, but…
"Well, you're right that I didn't want to win, but you seem to be the only one who sees it that way. I'm sure you've heard what others are saying about me right now."
Ameri hesitates. "… I heard some of it. It's just a few troublemakers though, they don't speak for everyone."
Her words are said to reassure me, but I know she's holding back. After all, if those hecklers don't speak for everyone, then what is everyone else supposed to make of what I did?
"Be honest with me. Everyone else thinks I'm just Iruma's weirdo sister who lost because of her insane food lust, right?"
"That's not- … Well, there's other ways of looking at it…"
"So it's true then."
"It's not! You only 'lost' in the sense that you rejected the goal set out for you by the teachers. Did you forget how you objected to Professor Kalego's criticism by saying that you used your strength to follow your desires?"
"That didn't mean anything, it was just my last-ditch effort to save face. I thought I'd try to copy what you might say to turn a crowd."
Ameri grins. "I knew it sounded a bit like my speech from the dissolution election."
Ah, she'd already noticed…
Really, I had copied her because her speeches strongly appeal to demonic values. I may be a more experienced orator after decades of leadership, but I'm still getting used to Netherworld culture.
"Anyway, there are lots of demons out there who'd respect that," Ameri continues, "Maybe you didn't quite save face, but I'm sure you won the hearts of just as many people as you weirded out."
"So I'm gonna be the loveable weirdo, huh?" I smirk, catching myself by surprise as I realize how quickly my mood has turned around. "…Honestly, I'm surprised a straight-laced demon like you would be the one to tell me that it's not horrifying that I consumed a small mountain of food."
"Well… If I judged you for it, then I'd be judging Iruma too since he's the same, right? But it's hard to fault him on that since he's someone I admire, and… um…" Ameri trails off as she realizes she's affectionately rambling, so she quickly changes the subject. "Besides! It takes a lot of nutrition to maintain a strong body!"
"Oh, so you also eat a lot too. Since you're so strong and all."
"R-Rimuru! That was incredibly rude!" Ameri balks at my playful jab. Though, after an annoyed huff, she grins at me. "Maybe you're better off with that arrogant streak. A member of the Student Council should be standing proud rather than holding back tears."
"Excuse me?!"
That was way ruder! I was not holding back tears!
Ameri walks off, unprompted and unfazed.
"Hey, get back here!" But Ameri is already too far away to hear my delayed complaining, or at least that's what I tell myself.
"Honestly, the nerve of her to just say that and leave…"
I give an irritated sigh and pick my plate back up before my food gets too cold.
Except I only end up grabbing empty air.
"Sabnock!" I yell at the demon responsible for this theft, who's towering over me. I let my guard down for two seconds and this jerk robbed me blind!
"Mm?" he replies with a mouthful of meat. "I only just woke up, and I'm starving. How'd the awards go?" He asks, seemingly oblivious to my irritation. I decide to just let it go.
"Uh, you're rank Gimmel now."
"Gimmel? Awesome!" He grins, checking out his badge that someone had swapped out while he was out.
"Also, Iruma and Lead won, so they're the 'Young Kings' on those fancy chairs over there." I point over at the two boys on the other side of the room.
"Great! Then let's go!"
"Wah?!"
Sabnock has hoisted me into the air by the back of my coat, and the oversized teenager only needs a handful of strides to set me back down in front of Iruma, who seems to have most of the Misfit Class gathered around him.
"Hey, I found these."
These?
Keroli timidly peeks out from behind Sabnock. Seems like I'm not the only one who was avoiding others in the wake of the Harvest Festival.
"Rimuru! Keroli! I'm glad you came to join us!" Iruma cheerfully exclaims.
"Ssshhh! Don't say it so loud, Iruma!" Keroli harshly whispers.
But it's too late.
A cry of "My queen!" and other similar phrases ring out, as Camui and others who were charmed by Keroli's act storm our way.
"R-Rimuru! You promised to protect me, so do something!" Keroli squeals in the face of this incoming mob of fans.
"Hey, I didn't say anything quite like that. But I'll be nice just this once, 'kay?" I say with a wink.
The charging simps are stopped right before Keroli by an elastic barrier and get violently launched into a buffet table.
It's almost a total disaster, but Jazz springs into action, sweeping his hand through the air and elegantly relocating the airborne dishes.
"Ooooh, good job." I give a small clap of amusement. I'm not sure how he managed to do that so easily, but I chalk it up to his recent training.
"Oi, you." Picero glares at Keroli with surprising harshness, floating our way. "I owe her a beatdown, so stand aside, Rimuru."
"Now, now! She was a good opponent for us, right?" Goemon steps in, holding Picero back.
"A good opponent? We couldn't attack each other in the Harvest Festival, so what happened?" Iruma asks.
"We were being way too generous and offering up space in our castle to anyone who asked, then when Keroli and that damned bird noticed," He shoots a glare at Camui, "they threw an entire army of beasts at us!" Picero angrily answers before anyone else can. "Couldn't sleep a wink with those dumb animals headbutting the walls."
Oh, I remember that battle. That was fun to watch.
"I went totally crazy with power, but now I'm just super embarrassed about it…" Keroli quietly admits from behind me. She seems to have switched from Sabnock to me as her hiding place, which isn't too surprising given how much she was treating me as an emotional support slime. It's pretty funny though, since I'm in no state to hide behind right now, even for a small girl like Keroli.
I really wish I could just absorb those clones and go back to normal, but Ciel…
She's off cuddling and doting on the entire mess of them I made, I can sense it from here. If I took away her 'toys', she'd surely be upset with me.
"Haha, no one went as crazy with power as Asmodeus!" Sabnock laughs. "He nearly got himself disqualified by killing those Dorodoro brothers."
"You nearly did the exact same thing, dumbass!" Azz fires back.
"I would have merely maimed them because I'm not the fool who went into an evil cycle just from an insult!"
"Heh, those Dorodoro brothers must've sure been softies if your biggest worry was hurting them," I joke.
"Nah, they were actually some pretty skilled fighters. But they had real war experience like you, so I was expecting them to be as tough as you as well; in the end, they were kind of a letdown."
"Really? Well, everyone has a different experience on the battlefield. I got the way I am because I had to tough it out through a lot of scary fights."
"Got it then, I'll head off to war and dance with death so I can build my strength!" Sabnock boldly declares with a thumbs-up.
"Wait a sec! Please don't do that!"
Come on, teenagers are way too impressionable!
Sabnock crouches down and slaps me on the back. "Hahahaha! I was kidding about that, Rimuru! I learned my lesson the first time, that the shortest path to becoming the Demon King will just get me killed."
"Yeah, Sabnock's actually pretty smart," Lead says while looking all smug in his victory throne. "Speaking of smarts, sorry for calling you a cheating brat and all during the competition, Rimuru. I didn't realize you were planning to lose as hard as possible!" Lead laughs. Hard. Unable to contain it any longer.
He doesn't seem very sorry for whatever this is, but I can't remember any such conversation occurring.
"I don't know what you're talking about. You probably talked to a clone, and I don't have their perspectives yet," I say dismissively.
"Yeah, Mom is playing with all your clones still, isn't she?" Iruma asks.
"Yup. Not that I'm eager to retrieve all those memories anyway. There's two month's worth, so I'm really not looking forward to it."
"Er… two months, from just those four days? Isn't that going to really, really hurt?"
Iruma seems genuinely concerned for my wellbeing, and while he would normally be right to be worried, Ciel pushing me to learn to properly use the skill means that it'll just be mentally tiring rather than torturous.
"Mom taught me what I was doing wrong with merging my clones, so it shouldn't hurt anymore."
"Oh, that's good–"
"But the memories themselves will definitely make me want to die," I say with a dark look in my eyes, expecting that those little gremlins did countless embarrassing things in their combined two months of running around.
"That's a little extreme!" Iruma blurts out. Then he looks away awkwardly, scratching the back of his head. "… But, yeah, it's probably gonna be rough for you."
Hmm? What's with that reaction? He's seen before how ashamed I can feel during those merges, but…
"Any particular reason you're saying that? You're making it sound like you saw something."
Lead answers on Iruma's behalf, with a sly chuckle. "The clone we ran into ended up getting kidnapped and charmed by Liz. She totally got you!"
I know she apparently carried one of 'me' around for a while, but charmed?! Seems like a stretch to me.
"Charmed? No way, I was probably just pretending so I could play a trick on her," I reply with just a hint of uncertainty. "Those small clones are even more mischievous than my usual self."
Elizabetta tilts her head. "But there was no trick, you were actually very~ helpful once you stopped trying to get away. Lead was rather jealous that you got to team up with me and Clara."
Lead brushes off the remark with smugness alone. "I'm a changed man now. I wouldn't be on this throne if I met Rimuru's fate."
Now I'm actually starting to get anxious.
"Hang on, you're bluffing! Full Love Gauge shouldn't work on me or my clones, ever!" I hastily explain. "I'm extra-cautious of psychological magic because it's the most dangerous kind."
"Oh, you resisted very well, but I'd be a half-rate succubus if I needed magic to charm someone." Elizabetta says with a wink and giggle, "Finding your weaknesses was very easy!" She teasingly smirks, making grabby hands at me.
Ciel? Ciel?! I'm getting scared now, is this something you're gonna get mad at me about?
[[The fragment in question said I could pat his head if I would overlook that incident.]]
That still doesn't tell me what happened!
[[You will be informed in the near future.]]
This doesn't make me feel any better.
"I'll, uh… have to find out what happened later…" I say with a nervous laugh.
"Don't feel too bad. Your brother fell victim to my companion's wiles himself, so you won't be able to tease each other as siblings."
Wiles? Fell victim?!
"Yeah! I pulled him into my costume and made a tiny Iruma-chi!" Clara announces, waving her hands in delight.
Wha-?!
Myself, and seemingly everyone but Iruma completely fluster at Clara's incomprehensible outburst.
"A tiny… what-huh?!" I blurt out, completely distracted from my own plight.
"That's what you two were doing for hours?!" Lead yells in annoyance.
"W-wow, you sure got popular with the girls, Iruma…" Jazz awkwardly mutters.
Clara 'made a tiny Iruma-chi'? She was talking about it at the tea party, but she actually went and crossed that line with him?! And she's so lewd that she's bragging about it in front of everyone?!
That doesn't seem like the Clara I know, but these are a bunch of teenagers… and demon teenagers to boot. And Clara has been trained by the succubus teacher, so…
"Um, congratulations Iruma! But what about Ameri?" I frantically ask, having no idea how to approach this situation.
Iruma looks at me quizzically. "Ameri? It's fine if I play with both her and Clara, right?"
No! She's gonna kill you, you damn playboy!
[[Master, that green cretin's atrocious wording is at fault. She means she literally used her magic to turn Iruma into a small child.]]
Oh… Ooohhh! Wait, what?
I clap my hands together, wanting to restore order in our gathering. Best to clear this misunderstanding up immediately. "Clara… tell everyone exactly what you mean when you 'made a tiny Iruma-chi'."
"I have this super-fun place in my costume that I call Clara's Toybox, and I can turn visitors into children to play with them!" She answers.
[[It is a terrifying spell. It pulls the target into an illusory space under her control, weakens and charms the target, and steals their mana. It was necessary to replenish the magicules in Iruma's ring once he finally left the space.]]
The two descriptions contrast like night and day. I'm a little shocked that Clara learned such an advanced spell, but not nearly as shocked as I was by her earlier misleading statement.
"That… sounds more like something Valac would do," Azz admits, his shoulders relaxing.
"Mhm." I nod.
"Everyone suddenly calmed down…" Iruma observes, a little confused. "What were you all thinking Clara meant?"
Lead whispers the answer into Iruma's ear and he goes as red as a tomato.
We all have a laugh about it, and the rest of the afterparty ends up actually being pretty fun as the Misfit Class tells some less awkward tales about what happened in those wild days spent in the forest.
Iruma POV
It's already nighttime by the time we leave the party, and Rimuru has Azz and Clara part ways with us rather than join us on our walk.
I figure at first that it's because she has something serious or secretive she wants to talk about, but she never ends up broaching a topic; I suppose she really just didn't want to make Azz and Clara walk all the way to our home before heading to their own.
That, and as soon as my friends were out of sight, Rimuru reverted to full size. I assume she absorbed the clones from a distance or something, sick of being small.
"Man, it's a beautiful night, but I've already had my fill of the outdoors," Rimuru eventually breaks the silence, looking up at the stars and twin moons.
"I know, right? I miss my soft, warm bed."
"Heh. Couldn't you have just summoned your familiar for that? I did." Rimuru flashes me a wicked smirk.
Summon my familiar as a bed?
I try to imagine it, but Kalego's fluffy form is too small to be anything but a pillow. A very angry pillow.
"No way! By the way, isn't there only one of Ranga? How'd your clones manage?"
Ranga peeks out of Rimuru's shadow. "I suppose you could say I got dogpiled."
I hear a wheeze of laughter from Rimuru at the pun, and it gets a giggle out of me too.
There's also a more refined chuckle coming from an unexpected direction, sounding more like it was just meant to get our attention.
Wuh? Ciel?!
She steps out from the shadows of the trees, in the guise of Amane. "It was certainly a sight to see. Some observers remarked that their hearts were in danger of exploding, although my simulations of demon physiology indicate this to be impossible."
"I wasn't expecting to see you there, Ciel…" I say, a little startled.
"Like many others, you seem to find it alarming if I address you without taking physical form. I hoped this would be easier for you."
"Not really, when you're coming out from the forest at night…"
Ciel stares at me like she's puzzled by what I said. "If you learned true Magic Sense, foliage or poor light would not be a cause for concern."
"Let's talk about this later, Ciel!" Rimuru changes the subject. "What did you want to say to us?"
"Sullivan is currently waiting at the door. I felt pity for his eagerness, so I came to fetch you two early."
"Ah, that's very considerate of you," Rimuru says softly, taking Ciel's hands in hers.
"Master?!"
"Is something wrong?" Rimuru looks at Ciel with an innocent smile. "I'm just making physical contact since you're about to teleport us."
"You know that isn't how it… well…"
We're about to teleport? Should I be making contact for it or not?!
Bracing myself for that awful lurching feeling, I reach to grab Ciel's arm, but before I can I realize we're already in front of the mansion.
The teleportation felt far smoother than when Rimuru does it, even though I'm sure it must be the same magic — it really just goes to show how amazingly reliable Ciel is, and that she's probably doing more for Rimuru than I could ever know about.
"Well, that was a short walk home!" I joke, hopping up the mansion steps and nearly tripping as I haven't quite regained my bearings.
Literally the moment I start turning the door handle, the door flies open, and I'm pulled inside.
Grandpa's got me by the arms, spinning me around while beaming a great big smile at me!
"Irumaaa! I know I've already said this, but congratulations on winning the Harvest Festival! Your grandpa is so very proud of you!"
"Waaaauuaaaauuaaaauuaaaa!" I cry out while being twirled through the air until I'm caught in a hug.
"So, did you have fun?"
"Yeah! It was a little scary at times, but it was so exciting!"
"That's good to hear, I'd love to hear more! And we're throwing a party to celebrate your victory too, we've got lots of food and sparkly decorations!"
"Hahaha! Yay!"
Grandpa sets me back down, then opens his arms wide for Rimuru.
"Don't think I forgot about my darling granddaughter!"
"Wha–? Come on, really?" Rimuru seems taken aback by the invitation for a moment until she just laughs it off. "Haha, alright, Gramps. I'll humor you."
Grandpa is so tall that it'd be hard for him to hug Rimuru without picking her up, although he respectfully spares her from the spinning treatment and simply lifts her.
"I am glad that you helped train Iruma. He has become rather strong, hasn't he?"
"Yeah! I'm real impressed with how far he's come," Rimuru says with a smile, stirring up a warm feeling of pride inside me.
"And I'm also glad that you let him have a fair challenge, rather than helping him or simply winning. I must say though, Professor Kalego was rather cruel to publicly denounce what you did instead of those things."
"Eeh… I'm guessing you don't approve either…"
"Ohoho, demons love new and interesting things, especially old ones like me. Such an unprecedented result will certainly be an amusing story passed down in Babyls."
Returning Rimuru to the floor, Grandpa ruffles her hair, which Ciel immediately strides over and starts fixing.
"Anyhow, Ciel told me you'd be wanting some time to yourself. We can listen to your own stories about the Harvest Festival for another day."
"Haha, that's why I need time to myself. I haven't pored through all the memories just yet so I literally don't yet know what I got up to. Well, other than that my clones were a bit too efficient with the 'ingredient sampling' mission I gave them…"
Rimuru then heads down the hall, accompanied by Ciel.
"Good luck, Rimuru!" I call out to her.
"I'll need it!" she calls back, before disappearing into her room.
I spend dinner having fun telling Grandpa all the wild stories from the four days of the Harvest Festival; from Clara's incredible new power to telling a story to the genie Thoth, to the desperate scramble to get the Legendary Leaf grown and delivered in time.
Grandpa looks so pleased as he listens that I skip over some of the more haunting stuff such as the horrible things I saw in the illusions, or Thoth being wary that someone like Rimuru exists in this world. I'm sure those things don't matter at all. I'd rather just put them behind me.
Even though I've told so many stories, there's so much food that dinner is only halfway done by the time I finish. Which I'm super happy about, I burned so many calories and ate so much less than usual during the Harvest Festival!
"Iruma." Grandpa grabs my attention in a serious yet friendly tone after my storytelling.
"Y-yes?"
"Less than a year ago, I was worried about whether a human could survive in this world at all."
I gulp nervously. Is he starting to wonder if it was right to bring me to the Netherworld, similar to what he said in the illusion?
"… But at some point, I stopped worrying that," he continues with a small chuckle. "Instead, I found myself eagerly awaiting how you'd next show everyone how wonderful you are. You truly have become… one of the finest demons."
"…Yeah!"
I laugh in relief since I got worried over nothing, Grandpa's just really proud of me!
Truly, the Netherworld is where I belong!
Near the end of the dinner, I think I heard a faint "Nooooo!" coming from Rimuru's room, but something told me it was just my imagination.
**The Next Morning**
The next morning is a nice sunny weekend, a pleasant break to unwind from the intense adventure that is the Harvest Festival.
So we're able to take things pretty easy, but when Rimuru hasn't shown up even at the start of breakfast I'm a little concerned.
"Diablo, do you know how Rimuru is this morning?" I ask.
"My impression was that Lord Rimuru was in a poor mood, so I kept my distance for both our sakes. Though it would be fine if you checked on him yourself, as he appears to find your presence calming." Diablo takes a sip of tea, seeming rather passive about the whole thing, outside of the hint of jealousy with that last part.
"Yes, your sparkliness is able to subdue even a Demon Lord's wrath," Opera adds in a flat tone.
My… sparkliness?
I chuckle at the odd remark. "I'll go see how she is then, I'll be right back!"
I arrive at Rimuru's room and knock on her door. Ciel is the first to answer, but Rimuru squeezes past her, looking worse for wear.
Her hair is frazzled and she has dark circles under her eyes, making it look like she didn't sleep a wink. However, I know that even skipping sleep doesn't do this to her.
"Wow, Rimuru, you look… um, not so good this morning."
I would have said terrible but it felt too dangerous with Ciel right there.
"Neat, right?" Rimuru replies with a very fake smile. "I don't have the biology for psychosomatic symptoms, yet I can have my mimicry reflect my emotional state to this deep a level."
"… So, you–"
"I spent days sorting through that mess of memories!" she snaps, that fake smile now gone. "For you last night was just last night, but so much time has passed for me since then! And it was hell!"
She learned to use her cloning skill better, so she immediately went completely overboard… How is it that the strongest person I know always finds a way to sabotage herself?
"It will be faster and easier as you practice merging clones properly." Ciel puts a hand on Rimuru's head, and she quiets down. Her appearance has also gone back to its normal, neat state, making me wonder if Ciel sneakily dispelled the effect.
"Why did you make so many clones anyway?" I ask, wondering why Rimuru would do something she should've known she'd end up regretting. "All of us were using new things we learned from our tutors, did your secret tutor not teach you anything you could use?"
Rimuru crosses her arms with a grumpy expression. "That's exactly the problem, my tutor never showed up! I was just going off and getting into random fights, no one taught me any cool magic or special techniques like the rest of you."
The image that pops into my head is Rimuru going to some shady bar and dragging everyone into a massive drunken brawl. It seems like what most likely happened, given her nature.
"That must've been disappointing. But I'm sure you already know more spells and tricks than the whole Misfit Class put together."
"I would have loved learning something cool though! I mean… After gathering the perspectives of all my clones, I'm a little jealous that everyone but me got to flaunt new talents."
She's pouting… This ridiculously confident and powerful Demon Lord is pouting!
I can't blame her though; I always feel a rush of excitement when I break past my limits, yet all she can do is watch as our class tries to muster even a fraction of the ability she already has. I'd be frustrated too!
"Tests of strength don't suit you well, right? Maybe you'll have more fun with the Music Festival, that could be fun for both of us."
That catches Rimuru's interest, and the light returns to her eyes.
"Oh, you're right! Performing instead of being performed to, that'd be a first for me! Well… discounting you-know-what of course. And I've probably been in some simple music performances as a kid, but that was like sixty years ago, y'know? Might as well call this a first and see where it goes."
"Right? It's the last event of the year, so we should make it loads of fun!"
"Yeah!" Rimuru cheers, only to then suddenly clutch at her hair in panic. "Gah! It's the last event of the year! We still have two rank Bets, and most of the rest of the class is Gimmel, so if we want to pass Kalego's challenge then us high-ranks will end up getting sidelined!"
Rimuru's words are like a shock to my core. Me, Rimuru, and Azz might be shoved into some obscure corner since all of us already have the ranks we need to stay in Royal One!
I'd feel super bad if that happened to Rimuru after she already had such a letdown.
"Maybe hanging onto Royal One is too much trouble, if we're trying so hard to keep it that we stop having fun…" I sigh in resignation.
Rimuru grabs the front of my shirt. "No way am I letting Kalego get one over on us, I'm still mad at him!" She then releases me with a huff, looking a little guilty for letting irritation get the better of her. "Besides, securing Royal One is an achievement you've been so proud of. Don't you dare let it slip out of your fingers now! At this point, I'd be disappointed to lose it after watching you try so hard."
She sure is temperamental today…
Apparently my 'sparkliness' isn't helping much, but thankfully Ciel knows the perfect cure.
She stoops down, kisses Rimuru on the forehead, then scoops up the now-blushing Demon Lord. Rimuru changes into her slime form, almost like she's shrinking into herself out of shyness.
"Master, I'm sure you'll find this matter easy to deal with when you are back to your usual self. In the meantime, I thought of something you might enjoy."
"What?"
"Perhaps merging perspectives with your other self in Tempest would be nice."
"More memory processing? I dunno… and we're not due to do that for a few more days."
"Yes, but I think it is worth it."
"Mmh… fine."
**In Tempest**
Rimuru (the other one) POV
"Here's your coffee, Lord Rimuru!" Shion cheerily announces, strolling into my office and setting down a tray.
"Thanks. You didn't do anything with it, did you?"
"Not at all!"
"And you didn't touch it, or even think about it too hard?"
"Your coffee is completely untampered with! I delivered it straight from the kitchen!" Shion bows desperately.
"Alright, alright, sorry for prying! Thanks, you can go now."
Shion is currently my only secretary since Diablo is serving the other me in the Netherworld, and since the cake incident, I've been a little more cautious of her bizarre influence on food and drink. Drinks are usually safer than food when it comes to Shion, but showing a little caution never hurts.
She at least seems to be trying hard to be a good secretary though, showing more of an effort than she has in decades. Diablo's absence really highlights her lingering inadequacies, but it also means she has the chance to take care of issues herself rather than having Diablo swoop in and show how much better he is.
Must be kinda stifling to compete with an ancient primordial demon. I'm sure she's loving that there are two of me now.
I take a sip of the coffee, enjoying a small moment of quiet.
[[Your body in the Netherworld is requesting a memory synchronization, Master.]]
Odd. I set my cup down on my desk, Aren't we not due to do that for three more days? It's supposed to be a weekly thing.
[[That is true, but there is good reason for this request.]]
Let me guess, he misses Aoki?
[[You will understand after I perform the synchronization.]]
Fine, fine, just do it.
I shudder as the flood of memories hit me. Despite it being less than the usual amount of time between synchronizations, the volume of information is far larger, and I can see why as I realize how many perspectives my other self had used during the Harvest Festival.
He already did most of the work of sorting the memories though, so it's a simple matter for us to integrate our memories with each other, and briefly become a single unified self.
…
I open my eyes and see my office.
Okay, so I'm in Tempest this time… Honestly, I won the coin flip, the next week at Babyls is sure gonna be weird for me. Well, the other me, since I'm not in the Netherworld anymore.
These cross-dimensional synchronizations really mess up my sense of time and space, since there's no convergence of my two different pasts. I can remember being in two places at once up until just a moment ago, and now I'm in suddenly in one place.
Gathering my thoughts, I recall what I was doing a moment ago in this dimension. I was about to read a very thorough medical report on Momiji, Albis, and their newborn children.
Usually, I wouldn't need to read something like this, and I'm sure some (namely, Hinata) would say I shouldn't, but due to the extenuating circumstances, I'd like to assure myself that my subordinates as well as Aoki's potential future subordinates are safe and well.
Not only are the parents some of the most powerful beings that could possibly have a child naturally, creating great danger for the parents, but there was also an unnatural step in the process: Momiji and Albis requested that Veldora hasten the birth of their children, and, being the patron god of fertility he is, he recklessly made the two women go into labor.
I can see why Ciel suggested synchronizing early to cheer my Netherworld self up though: I saw the newborns yesterday, and they're adorable. It wouldn't surprise me if right now I'm telling Iruma about them.
[[You are.]]
Heh, figures.