"What?! You're telling me I'm going to marry that dummy Ron in the future?" Hermione stared at the ending in disbelief. How could someone as brilliant as her end up with a blockhead like him? "Please don't let me find out who directed this movie," she muttered, fuming. "If I do, I'll make sure they experience the full wrath of a Transfiguration spell!"
Inside the guild hall, a massive holographic magic crystal stood tall in the center. The crystal emitted a soft glow that projected a vivid, three-dimensional movie scene into the air. Rimuru and the other guild members were all gathered around it, completely absorbed in the film. They sipped sodas and munched on popcorn as the movie played.
"That's the path your original world had planned for you. But now? You're free to rewrite everything," Rimuru comforted her with a grin. "If you want, we can head over there right now, dig up that Voldemort guy, bring him back to life, and grind him into the dirt—thirty times over! Make him beg for death, but never let him have it. How's that sound?" he added fiercely.
Well, it would've sounded fierce… if it weren't coming from his baby-faced, cherubic smile.
Hermione's eyes sparkled with excitement. "Wait—can we actually do that? That… kinda sounds awesome!"
"Of course we can!" boomed the old man with the white mustache, waving his hand grandly. "Little Hermione, if you ever want, I'll gladly go with you and have a nice little chat with that guy." His smile twitched, veering slightly toward the creepy and deranged side.
"Thank you, Grandpa Whitebeard," Hermione replied politely, bowing her head in gratitude.
"Gurararara!" Whitebeard beamed with joy. "Say, would you like to be my daughter?"
"Eh??" Hermione froze in place, her eyes wide as saucers (⊙▽⊙!). Wait, asking for help means I have to become someone's daughter now? Realizing the implication, she frantically waved her hands. "N-No no no no no! I already have a dad, thank you very much. I don't need another one!"
"Aww, what a shame." Whitebeard's shoulders slumped in disappointment. He gave a side-eye to his sons, who all looked like they were suffering from a bad case of second-hand embarrassment.
"Hermione," Rimuru said with a chuckle, "that's just how Grandpa Whitebeard is. He really values family, and he means no harm by it. I hope you won't take it the wrong way."
"Ohhh, I see now!" Hermione gave a sweet smile. "For a second there, I thought it was just some weird guild rule. But since Grandpa Whitebeard just wanted to help me, I really appreciate it—I wouldn't dream of being offended."
"Gurararara! What a good girl you are!" Whitebeard laughed heartily. "If you ever change your mind, you just let me know."
"So, what are you going to do next?" Milim suddenly popped her head into the conversation. "If you're planning to fight Voldemort, I'll help! Guys like that don't even deserve to be called Demon Lords."
Hermione lowered her gaze, deep in thought. After a long pause, she finally said, "Thanks. But if possible, I'd like to take Voldemort down with my own hands. His existence is a constant reminder for me to grow stronger. I want to defeat him myself, and prove that I can protect what matters."
"I see…" Rimuru smiled gently. "Just promise you'll be careful. And remember, if you run into anything you can't handle, don't hesitate to ask for help. The guild has your back—we're your strongest support system."
"Mhm! I will. Thank you, everyone!" Hermione's eyes shimmered, misty with emotion. Though her time with the guild hadn't been long, she genuinely felt a warmth and sincerity among them—a sense of family that couldn't be faked.
"Well then, I'll be heading back now. I'll come visit again soon," she said, walking toward the Dimensional Portal, waving goodbye.
"Jeez, you act like we won't ever see you again," Rimuru sighed. "You can pop in anytime, y'know? Plus, we've got the guild chat channel—you can talk to us whenever you want."
"Eh? Really?" Hermione blinked in surprise. Her face quickly turned crimson, and she covered her cheeks with both hands before dashing through the portal.
"Bwahahahaha…" The whole guild burst out laughing at her adorable escape.
"Do you think hanging around all of us idiots for too long lowered Little Hermione's IQ?" Rimuru muttered in mock concern.
"Hey! We're right here, y'know!" came the chorus of annoyed voices.
"Tch. Like I said—prove me wrong," Rimuru scoffed, glancing at the others with disdain. "You muscleheads only ever solve things with violence."
"Awww, I really wanted to beat up Voldemort…" Milim's ahoge drooped dejectedly.
"There, there." Rimuru patted her head. "We'll have plenty more worlds joining the guild in the future. Who knows? There could be even more Demon Lords for you to pummel."
"Bestie!" Milim's eyes sparkled, clearly moved. Then she suddenly gasped, her expression lighting up. "Wait! Bestie—do you think we can go to Little Hermione's world?"
"You just want to go play over there, don't you?" Rimuru sighed, already seeing through her.
"Well, it's not impossible. But you should probably ask her if it's okay first."
"Okay! I'll ask right now!" Milim was already on the move like she'd been shot out of a cannon.
"Little Hermione! Hey, Little Hermione, come back out!"
Hermione: "What is it now?"
Milim: "Can we go play in your world?"
Hermione: "Of course! You're always welcome."
Milim: "Yay! Oh—by the way, does your school happen to be hiring teachers? Or, like… students too?"
Hermione: "Why do I suddenly have a really bad feeling about this…"
Rimuru: "Yeah… me too."
Milim: "Ehehehehehehe~"
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