(Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear…)
(He noticed, he noticed.)
(Oh, my, my, my, my, my…)
(Tee-hee-hee-hee-hee!)
(You bore us, guest!)
(Be more scared for us!)
(Be more frightened for us!)
Fubuki: 「Ramiris, will you end such nonsense? It's starting to get to me.」
(Huh??? Do I know you?)
Wow, so cruel. She's already forgotten about her glorified chef.
Need I remind her with my awesome cooking or pure intimidation?
Intimidation seems like the better option.
Rimuru: 「Uhh, do you know them?」
Fubuki: 「Kinda. An old friend of the sort, I guess.」
He simply nodded to my answer.
I saw Kenya and Ryota look around searchingly; they could all hear the same voices, no doubt.
Chloe hung on to Rimuru's clothing, refusing to let go. Alice was acting defiant, but she, too, was staying right by me.
These kids were really weird, not gonna lie. Gale had his sword out, seeking to keep everyone safe. His job as the oldest, I
suppose.
It was the sword Rimuru gave him, a child-size one he asked Kurobe to forge for him. Small but made of pure magisteel and capable of changing its shape to match the wielder's habits.
I was hoping he wouldn't have to use it, but…
(Good, good!)
(Be more afraid!)
(That's it, that's it! It's too boring otherwise!)
Hmm. Now I know where it's coming from. All this selfish chatter was getting on my nerves.
Fubuki: 「Ramiris, I'll give you a second chance. If you mess this up, I'll be taking it personally with you.」
(Boo! You're all so lame! Can't you try to act a little scared or something?!)
Another pathway of light appeared in the corridor in front of us. Apparently, we were invited. We had to go.
The path of light was no problem to walk on. Proceeding across it, we found ourselves in a large, open chamber that housed a big standing statue, a giant of steel looming over us.
(Let me explain the rules of the trial!!) a telepathic voice boomed. As it did, the eyes on the giant statue glowed red.
What is it with creepy monsters all having eyes that glow red like that? I don't know why that thought struck me, but it did.
Fubuki: 「So… we're kicking this thing's ass?」
(Kukuku—Hahahaha! Now you're speaking my language!)
Gotta admit, that's pretty easy.
(Hmm? Hmm? Hmmmmmm?)
(Doing this by yourself?)
(Too much confidence is a dangerous thing!)
Fubuki: 「And being too stupid is a synonym for death.」
Before the elemental colossus could move an inch, I had already acted.
I had created a barrier separating us from the elemental colossus.
I sent a water blast to the giant, making sure the water entered its insides.
(So dumb! Water won't affect my greatest masterpiece! You're way too dumb!)
Manipulating the electric potential, I created large amounts of positive energy and negative energy below and above the elemental colossus.
When I say large amounts, I mean, really, really large amounts of energy.
This process was simply the build-up in electric potential, and naturally, an electrical discharge occurred.
A really powerful bolt of lightning struck the ground, creating a powerful shockwave due to the rapid expansion of air.
Since the density of the air insulating the electric field above was low, the release came faster.
As it struck the ground, the shockwaves crashed against the barrier.
The heat generated from the air resistance vaporized the elemental colossus from the inside-out, and a small but terrifyingly concentrated steam explosion occurred.
It had long surpassed the heat produced from the surface of the sun.
Kenya: 「Woow! That thing—did you see that?! That was so cool!!」
Ryota: 「Amazing! You're really strong, Mr. Fubuki!」
Chloe: 「What type of magic was that?!」
Gale: 「That wasn't magic, was it? It's more like he did it naturally. I didn't sense any magic being used.」
Alice: 「Wha—?! Hey, if you told me you were that strong, I wouldn't have challenged you like a fool! Why didn't you tell me?!」
(Wha—?! My sweet elementa—you've ruined it!)
Fubuki: 「Yeah? Whatcha gonna do 'bout it, huh? Nothing. We've defeated this scrap of metal, now come out before I make this whole structure history. I'm the best at doing things like that.」
Ramiris: 「Yes! Yes, yes, yes!! I have humbly been called upon!!」
She came out of her hiding place, standing as if she had been ready for a row call. She's still small and bratty, isn't she?
When will she grow up? She used to be a really hot onee-san, now she's just a disgrace to all the struggling women out there.
Ramiris: 「Ta-daaaaaa! Behold, for I am the mazzh… Ahem!」
Should I poke fun at her for that? She just fumbled her line.
Ramiris: 「Behold, for I am the majestic Ramiris of the Labyrinth, one of the Ten Great Demon Lords!! Bow down be… Um, before me!!」
Rimuru: 「Are you stupid? Look, I have a real demon lord as a friend, and her name's Milim. That's how I know you're making that up. You're so weak, it's not
even worth comparing you two.」
Ramiris: 「You're so stuuuuuuupid! Stupid, stupid, stupid!! A big stupid man!! You know what they call Milim? They call her the most ridiculous demon lord in the universe.
She tries to solve every problem
she runs into with her fists. It's pretty rude comparing someone so ridiculous with sweet li'l old me, don't you think? Because if you don't understand that, we're gonna have problems, mister!」
Rimuru: 「Sure thing, ma'am.」
Ramiris: 「So you really do know Milim?」
Rimuru: 「Yeah, she recently became my friend.」
Ramiris: 「…Oh. Well… wait a second. Are you, um, that slime who became the new leader of the Forest of Jura with some other majin?!」
Rimuru: 「Yeah, got a problem with that?」
Ramiris: 「Ahhh, I knew it!! She stopped by for the first time in a while and bragged about this new friend she had, so I laughed her right out of this place…」
Rimuru: 「Well, glad my reputation precedes me. I'm Rimuru, Milim's friend. And this here is Fubuki, my buddy. I'm here because I had a request」
Ramiris: 「Oh, I guess you really are someone Milim knows, so I'll believe you. So stop looking at me so suspiciously! I'm a demon lord, I mean it!」
That wrapped up pretty quickly. But has she forgotten about me? What's up?
Fubuki: 「Uhh, do you… not remember me, Ramiris?」
Ramiris: 「Huh? I dunno. You really reminded me of someone, but I don't think you're him.」
Fubuki: 「You lost some of your memories again? I don't think so.」
Rimuru: 「Uhh, if you want someone to remember your face, aren't you supposed to remove your mask?」
Daaahhhh! I forgot! How did I not remember wearing a mask?!
I quickly removed the mask, revealing myself with a faint smile.
And as expected, she was shocked.
Ramiris: 「Uhh, hold up a minute, Sariel?!」
Shit! She said it out loud!
I turned to look at the kids, who seemed confused.
Kenya: 「Sariel? What does that have to do with you?」
Alice: 「Eh? Isn't he the demon deity people always talk about?」
Chloe: 「Yeah, yeah, I read it in my book.」
Gale: 「Chloe, do you have a picture of him?」
Chloe: 「No… only the descriptions. Silver hair, bright golden eyes…」
They all turned to look at me. Man, and I thought I couldn't get into any more trouble.
Ramiris: 「Sariel! It's you! It's really you! You're alive!」
She rushed in and hugged my forehead—and I won't lie, it was extremely weird and embarrassing.
I guess it's been a long time since we last met. I will admit, I missed her usual antics, but not so much.
I already had friends and a lot of things to do, so I wasn't really lonely, and that might be the reason I don't miss her very much.
She, on the other hand, had nobody to mess around with. There were only a handful of people willing to tolerate her usual habit, and even they had their own lifes to live.
She must've been really lonely. I guess I could forgive her for blowing my identity.
「Note: I'll start using Sariel for this gang only until his identity becomes generally known.」
Sariel: 「Alright, alright, I get it.」
I began to console her like a child. She becomes really cute when you never expect it.
Ramiris: 「You jerk! You stupid jerk! You ran away from me, and they all started bullying me again! That stupid crybaby, the disgrace of an angel, they all bullied me! It's not fair!」
She launched at me again, this time, only to punch my forehead repeatedly. Once again, she was really cute doing so.
Sariel: 「Alright, fine, I'm sorry. I'll make sure to spend a lot of time with you after this.」
Ramiris: 「Hmph!」
Seriously, from a hot onee-san to a cute imōto—some evolution that was.
I turned to face the kids, and they were hungry for answers.
Chloe: 「Is your name really Sariel? If not, why did she call you that?」she questioned with a squinted gaze.
Kenya: 「Yeah, you can't deny it! Just tell us!」 he, on the other hand, asked in excitement.
Gale: 「Are you really the demon deity?! The descriptions match you perfectly. You're as beautiful or even more beautiful than described in one of the books in the library.」
Alice: 「Yeah, please, tell us immediately!」
Ryota: 「Mhm.」he simply nodded.
Great, the headaches…
Should I tell them another thing? I could tell them I'm just a demon under him, but being known as a demon in the school on its own would get immediately rough.
I don't know whether I could trust them to keep it a secret.
Rimuru: 「You guys, you should know that anything he tells you here can not leave this group.
It's not just a game of being mysterious. It's a really serious situation requiring him to hide.
I trust you to keep whatever he says a secret.」
They all nodded with serious faces. Alright then, let's do this.
Sariel: 「Well, the reason I was called Sariel is because—」
The tension rose sky-high, and I wanted to break the news to them.
Sariel: 「I am the adopted son of God …」
Absolute silence…
""""...""""
They all bore a drained expression. That must be among the most stupid things I've ever said, but I was proud.
Ramiris: 「Pfft—nice one! You got 'em good! Gahahahaha!!」
At least I made one person laugh. That's definitely worth it.
Rimuru: 「..... He's Sariel, the demon you all speak of. But what does that have to do with him being a demon dei—」
Alice: 「Oh my God, oh my God! It's really you, isn't it?! I'm your biggest fan!」
Ryota: 「Me too! Me too!!」
Kenya: 「Huh?! Back off, guys!! The last time I checked, I was his biggest fan! Don't go around telling stupid jokes!」
Chloe: 「Did you really create your own magic type?! Is it true?! Is it really true?!」
Gale: 「We have the demon deity as our teacher! That's amazing!」
Ryota: 「Show me one of your magic, please!」
Rimuru: 「Relax, guys, one at a time.」
I ended up answering "most" of their questions, emphasis on most, by the way.
It was a really troublesome pain to deal with.
◇◇◇
The kids had settled down by now, but they still had a lot they wanted to ask me.
Alice now looked at me with stars in her eyes. And the rest kept on watching my every movement as if I was a divine being of the sort.
I mean, guys, it's nothing that special, is it?
Ramiris: 「That thing, I spent several years to have it completed, you know?」
Fubuki: 「Yeah?」
Ramiris: 「Besides, that thing had a lot of features! It had earth elementals controlling its weight, water elementals working all the joints, fire elementals powering its engines, and wind elementals adjusting its heat level.
A big elemental party! All the top names in spirit engineering worked on it, too…」
She just refused to drop the damn subject. Maybe I shouldn't have destroyed it, after all, I almost caught myself thinking. But then I'd be indulging her too much.
Rimuru:「Spirit engineering? Can you explain that for me? It's like that magic-armor soldier project the dwarves were working on with the elves. Is that it?」
Ramiris: 「Ding-ding-ding-ding! I'm impressed you knew that! But that failed because they couldn't make the spirit-magic core that served as its heart.
No way you can just make that out of plain steel and expect it to withstand an elemental's force. So, thanks to them using a bunch of shoddy parts like that, it went berserk and got broken up.
They just threw out its outer shell, so I brought it back home and fixed it up! I guess you could say I'm kind of a genius, huh? Isn't that great?」
Listening to Ramiris gave me a general outline of that magic-armor soldier project.
It was apparently meant as a way to produce so-called "crucial golems," driven by elemental power and controllable by a regular person.
It's a sort of ultimate weapon in this world, you could say. Not really something I would consider a threat, but it still doesn't mean it was weak.
Sariel: 「Alright, I admit it. You have your times, and I'm sorry for destroying your masterpiece. How about this:
If you help us out, I'll whip up a new golem for you, deal?」
Ramiris: 「Hmm, alright! I accept! You better be grateful!」
It's a fucking deal, not an act of generosity, you fool!
I resisted the urge to give her a good slap across the face—uhh, body.
Ramiris: 「So, what's the problem?」
Rimuru explained the kids' situation to her. The whole, honest story, not hiding
anything. The children meekly listened.
Ramiris: 「Ahhh, they've been through a lot, huh?」
Rimuru: 「That's why we need your help. We need to see the spirit queen.」
Ramiris: 「I see. I thought I had already told you, but I'm actually the queen of spirits!」
Rimuru: 「Huhh? I'm not really in the mood for jokes…」
Ramiris: 「How rude! It's not a joke at all. It's real!! Tell 'em, Sariel!」
Sariel: 「She's a fraud. She's a big-time world-level scammer. But no matter how much she steals, she always gets poorer than the fodder she stole from. That's how big of a fraudster she is.」
Rimuru: 「Oof, I see…」
Ramiris: 「Daahhhh!! You're all being so mean to me! I thought you'd have my back!」
Sariel: 「What? Can't take a joke? Need I remind you that you tried to mind control us? But that's all beside the point. We'll be requiring your help, so please guide us to the platform.」
Grumpily, she began to move.
◇◇◇
We changed locations to the Dwelling of the Spirits, located in the deepest part of the labyrinth.
Ramiris: 「You've done this before, haven't you? Why don't you handle everything yourself.」
Sariel: 「Nah, let him do it. It's better for him to gain the experience himself. I have all the experience I need.」
What I meant by experience is simply him gaining the power to manipulate elementals.
From this journey alone, I can tell he's gained a good amount of information on spirits.
I already have a good enough understanding of them, so yeah.
Rimuru: 「Alright, let's begin, Gale.」
Gale nodded and followed Rimuru to the platform. They spoke for a minute before beginning the ritual.
A little time passed. Eventually, little particles of light began to float down from the heavens, like a light snow. I couldn't feel any sense of strength or will from it.
Gale failed to notice any of this and continued praying. His prayer had been answered not by a high-level elemental but by low-level ones with no sense of self.
Fragments of natural energy. Sort of like magicules, but not really.
Rimuru consumed the spirits and merged them, forming a pseudo-greater spirit of earth.
I'm sure the pseudo-personality was gotten from Ifrit, just like I did with Kalisha.
He placed his arm on Gale's head and merged the spirit with him.
Rimuru: 「Okay, it's all over. Great job!」
It seemed to go very well. Soon, he'd be able to control that berserk energy to some extent—and as he grew, he'd gradually gain new abilities.
Gale: 「Th-Thank you!!」
Ahh, too emotional.
◇◇◇
I watched as he repeated the same for the other two; that is, Alice and Ryota.
Ryota summoned two energy masses of water and wind—lesser elementals—and Alice simply summoned some lesser spirits of wind.
Kenya, though, got accepted by a greater spirit of light. That one kinda surprised me.
Alright, one more person, and we'll be done with it all.
Chloe, the final child, was a bit scared as well, so Rimuru lifted her up onto the disc. She seemed to appreciate it. I couldn't believe she was scared at first, actually.
Just there—just there and then, I heard something truly atrocious.
Chloe: 「Y-you know what, Mr. Rimuru?」she whispered in his ear, cheeks blushing hard.「I… I looooooove you!!」
What in the… dude…?
And his response?
Rimuru: 「I love you too, Chloe.」
Yup, it's official. I'm suing a certain slime after this. Shuna must hear of it. I'm definitely snitchin' with that one.
◇◇◇
Just like all the others, Chloe began to pray.
—That's when things changed.
How should I put it? I suppose it was something like the sky falling down.
With an intense gust of air pressure and a strikingly vivid aura, a beautiful woman appeared.
Her hair was long, shiny, and a darkish shade of silver,
radiating light throughout the chamber.
The energy—the sheer force of existence—was like no elemental spirit I knew. But she didn't have a physical form…I'm guessing that's her spiritual body.
Was this the event Chloe spoke of, although vaguely? I guess this is another remarkable event that must not be altered.
Again, I'm guessing that's the accumulation of Chloe's negative emotions and memories after repeated failures in time travel attempts.
Then she must be Chronoa, the being named by Hinata.
She eyed Rimuru all over before rushing in for a...
What is wrong with today?
She just kissed him and went into Chloe's body.
The asshole didn't even spare me a glance!
Meh, I think it's better that way. I don't really wanna meet another problem.
◇◇◇
Ramiris: 「That thing is dangerous, don't you get it?!」
Sariel: 「I do, and that's why I'm telling you to calm down. I've got this under control, okay?」
Ramiris: 「Uhh, whatever! It's not my fault, I knew nothing about this, and I'm not going to help you out ever again!」
Yeah, you wish.
Once they were all back together, I had them all give their thanks to Ramiris.
"""Thank you very much!!"""
Ramiris: 「Bah! It's fine, it's fine!」
Even bratty as she was, that demon lord was still pretty cute
when she smiled.
◇◇◇
Rimuru and the gang headed out for the academy. I told them I would be joining them soon, but I had a few things to do, like crafting some of the magisteel in my world, to remake her golem.
I was molded it like clay, working from memory to re-create the robot's humanoid form, I wordlessly handed it over to her.
It was the magisteel robot I promised her—a golem.
It was just under a foot tall, much like Ramiris herself.
Taking it like a little girl with a doll, she wavered in the air, finding it too unwieldy to carry.
Sariel: 「That's a done deal. Nice doin' business with you.」
Ramiris: 「No, no, no! Not this… I mean, it does look pretty neat, but not this!
You broke my Elemental Colossus, and I don't have anything to guard this place anymore!
Until you make me something that can protect me, I'm never gonna let you out of here!」
Sariel: 「I can easily get outta here without any problem. Wanna see me try it out?」
Ramiris: 「Waaait! Sorry—Sorry!! I'm in big trouble here! I'm still a child, remember?!
All weak and innocent and stuff?! So come on! I'm in deep shit! Do something about it!!」
Sariel: 「*Sigh,* Fine.」
Hearing my answer, she squeaked happily. Really, this demon lord is a handful.
I could easily summon a demon, but the material body…
That's gonna take long. Gathering matter from the atmosphere takes some time, but that will be my only saving grace.
◇◇◇
I spent a lot of time with her, making up the material body and learning that spirit engineering from her.
She seemed excited to get to teach me something I knew nothing of.
I wasn't always there for the whole day. Of course, I had to create some sort of interval.
I would make my way back to Englesia and back to the labyrinth.
I had some important stuff to attend to back in Tempest, so I decided to go back and forth.
This was my last visit. The material body was complete, so I figured Rimuru should tag along.
I processed each piece of magisteel I had taken out. If we were gonna make a humanoid figure, it had to have ball joints.
That was non-negotiable for me—and it actually surprised me how much it turned out the way I pictured it.
Carefully, I put together the movable parts, adding a few original elements of my own.
With the high-level computational power I possessed, doing such things without Reina-san's help wasn't really difficult anymore.
My evolution into a true demon lord really boosted my spirit and soul, huh.
The former Spirit Queen was looking at my work with great skepticism, no doubt wondering what the hell I was doing. Along the way, though, she started to get visibly excited.
Ramiris: 「Wow, this is…! That's amazing, Sariel! You should've told me you knew how to do these kinds of things!」
Yeah, so that you'll push all your troubles over to me? Not happening, ma'am.
I had considered doing the summoning myself, but I quickly realized that every summoning ritual I perform always wind up being highjacked by my demons.
They'd always find a way of being summoned forcefully. It didn't matter to them—as long as they were being summoned by me.
Knowing this, I wouldn't have to be the one to summon them. They'd never like the idea of serving someone else either way.
Rimuru will do the deed.
He activated the summoning magic, and the results certainly did produce a Greater Demon for us.
Its eyes had the spark of wisdom in them, unlike your typical Lesser Demon who'd go into a murderous rage without the caster magically shackling it.
The difference was clear in its behavior from the start. It immediately kneeled before us—its head reverentially bowed down.
"You called for me, master?"
Good, no problem whatsoever.
Sariel: 「Right. I called you here in order to create a golem. I shall grant you this figure of magisteel to serve as your physical body, so I want you to fill it with your spirit. In exchange, I will provide my magical energy. This contract will last for… uh…」
How long? I dunno. I don't want to be held accountable for anything. Plus, this was a demon from the black lineage we summoned here. I don't know what he'll think about it.
I looked at Ramiris. Hurriedly, she began counting on her fingers.
Ramiris: 「I—I want a
hundred years! I'll be fully mature in a hundred more years!」
I looked back towards the demon.
Sariel: 「Do you accept?」
"I would wish for nothing else, my master! I have already received your energy as payment."
Continuing on, I instilled the magisteel figure with the demon's magical corpus—incarnating it, you could say.
The figure was actually a step down from the Greater Demon size-wise, but it seemed to fit the guy perfectly.
It voluntarily did away with its magic-driven body, fully fusing itself with the new metal one.
Then, it did a few exercises to get used to the thing. No problems, apparently.
Sariel: 「Howdya feel?」
"Yes, it is simply wonderful," it said, moving its limbs around to get used to them.
"Its physical intervention levels are showing very high numbers.
Compared to incarnating in a human or magical beast, my offensive strength goes without saying, and my physical defense is simply incomparable. Wonderful! This is truly an astounding body!"
Well, it's a good thing he likes it, apparently.
"I swear upon this body that I will fulfill my role, master. Once my pact to serve as that fairy's guardian expires in a hundred years, I hope you will let me work under you."
Hmm, that's problematic.
Sariel: 「Noir wouldn't mind, would he?」
"The Black King does not care about these sort of things."
Sariel: 「Alright, then, I agree.」
Rimuru: 「Let's name 'em. It's weird calling the demon it or they.」
I shrugged, giving him the space he needed.
Rimuru: 「From today, you shall go by Beretta.」
With its new name, Beretta began to evolve.
Spreading out from each of its ball joints, its chest, head, hips, arms, and legs connected together, the surface is now covered by a skin-like membrane.
The face remained the same as my mask; the long, jet-black hair was now a radiant shade of silver. It was a sort of demon golem, with a beauty I could only call bizarre.
Beretta stood up, then bowed deeply.
Beretta: 「I am Beretta, the arch-golem, and I am ready to carry out my received orders.」
Welp. That oughtta suffice as an Elemental Colossus replacement. Probably about twice as strong in battle, too.
Rimuru said his goodbye before heading back to Englesia.
I, on the other hand? kept my promise to Ramiris, even if I got a little carried away and made an even stronger guardian than I meant to.
I did promise to spend much more time with her, so we naturally parted ways (Rimuru and I).
Ramiris: 「—Hey, are you even listening?!」
Sariel: 「Ah, sorry about that. What were you saying?」
A pretty messy day, to be honest.
○
(Rimuru's POV)
Once back at the academy, I immediately made contact with Yuuki, reporting on the results of our journey and going in-depth on the children's futures.
I had considered taking them in for good, but I also thought children like them really needed the right learning environment to thrive in.
We had this academy here, filled with talented teachers. They could receive both a basic education and magic in the same place.
Thus, we decided they would remain here at the academy to learn.
—The time had come to go home.
It was the day of my departure.
Chloe: 「You… You're leaving, Mr. Rimuru?」
Alice: 「You can't make him wait any longer, Clo.」
Chloe: No, but I… I mean…」
Chloe was about to cry. I wasn't feeling much better myself…but, you know, I could pop on over anytime I want with Spatial Motion. This wasn't the end.
Rimuru: 「Ha-ha-ha! You're such a crybaby, Chloe. Here, how about something to cheer you up?」
I removed the mask I had on and gave it to her.
I wasn't sure what drove me to give it to her; it just seemed like the natural thing to do. She accepted it without hesitation.
Alice: 「Awwwwww! I wanted it, too…」
Chloe: 「Hee-hee-hee! It's all mine now!」
It cheered Chloe up, so I was happy. For the crestfallen Alice, meanwhile, I had a school uniform Shuna prepared for her.
Alice: 「Ah!」
Gale: 「Are these for us?」
I had outfits for Kenya and Gail—Ryota, too, of course. They looked the same as all the other uniforms in the academy, but they were sewn with sturdier custom cloth.
The children all gleefully accepted them.
Rimuru: 「Now listen, I want you guys to keep studying, all right? It's hard to say goodbye
like this, but it's not like I'll never see you again. Come over to my town once you're on break, okay?」
"""Okay!"""
The children saw me off, their teary eyes turning into smiles. I left the Englesian capital while the smiles were still fresh on their faces.
It seemed like a short trip to human lands, but it wound up extending for quite a while. It was tough going, but I'd built some bonds I could never replace,
not for anything in the world.
Getting to interact with children like that again, as a slime, was something I never could've dreamed of.
Everything seemed to be going great.
—Or perhaps, a little too great.
In a world like this, negative emotions like jealousy and envy can unknowingly fester in the hearts of your peers.
I had intended to be careful in all my actions, lest I become the target of such feelings.
But as they say, garbage in, garbage out. The Great Sage had astounding predictive skills, but if I gave it the wrong questions, it'd give me the wrong answers.
If Tempest grew prosperous, that meant somebody was going to lose out in the backlash.
I instinctively knew that, of course, but I didn't think it would happen at a scale or speed beyond my expectations.
During my time as a slime here, I had my own small ambitions. To live among the humans I looked up to. To make contact with otherworlders.
I had made that happen, and now, in my new homeland of Tempest, I was building the foundation for greater developments.
In a way, I had already succeeded, and in another, I had failed. I was just a regular person; I didn't understand much about government or politics.
About the cold egoism and Machiavellianism that often reigns.
Now, fate was making changes at an ever more rapid pace, forcing me to settle upon my future direction.
The days of peace were drawing to a close; days of war were beginning.
—————————————————————————————————
Word Count: 「5025」.