Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

It wasn't a bad life, nor was it a particularly good one. If I had to describe it honestly, I would say it was simply a life—thirty-seven years of it, lived in a way that was stable enough to avoid disaster and ordinary enough to leave almost no trace behind. I had a steady job, a small apartment, a routine I could manage without much effort, no serious debts hanging over my head, and no grand dreams waiting to be fulfilled. In other words, I had reached the age where a person stops expecting miracles and starts measuring success by how uneventful the day was.

I had learned long ago that happiness didn't arrive the way it did in movies. There was no dramatic soundtrack to announce the moment you found meaning in your life, no perfect instant when everything suddenly clicked into place and all your doubts vanished at once. Reality was far less theatrical than that. You simply kept moving forward, one day at a time. You worked, you slept, you ate, you grew older, and if you were lucky, you did all of it beside someone who made the repetition feel a little less empty.

I never got that part.

I wasn't especially ugly, and I certainly didn't think I was unpleasant to be around. But there are people who seem to have been born slightly out of sync with everyone else, as if the rhythm of their lives never quite matches the rest of the world. I had always felt like one of those people.

"Mikami-san!"

I looked up.

Tamura was hurrying toward me from across the street, waving one hand with exaggerated enthusiasm. Walking beside him was a dark-haired woman I recognized immediately.

Miho Sawatari.

Receptionist.

Popular.

Pretty.

The kind of woman who seemed to belong naturally to a completely different world from mine.

"Sorry for making you wait," Tamura said with a grin. "She insisted on coming."

"Because I wanted to greet him properly," she replied, lowering her head slightly toward me in a polite bow.

Even her voice sounded carefully gentle.

"It's nice finally meeting you officially, Mikami-san."

I gave a small nod.

"I've seen you around a few times already."

"Hm? Really?"

"Of course. Hard not to notice the person everyone talks about."

She blinked in confusion.

"They talk about me?"

"Well... you know how offices are. Rumors about dating someone from management. Rejecting half the building. Things like that."

It was meant to be a light joke, or at least I had tried to make it one. But the moment the words left my mouth, I saw her shoulders tense slightly.

Idiot.

I always did that. Said something just a little off and ruined the atmosphere without even meaning to.

Tamura let out an awkward laugh and placed a hand behind Sawatari's back.

"Come on, he's just teasing."

"Y-Yeah... I guess."

I looked away.

Even after all these years, I still didn't understand how to talk to people.

Especially women.

"Well," I said at last, trying to recover some sense of normalcy, "since you came all the way here, at least let me buy you dinner."

And then I heard the scream.

Just one.

Sharp.

Desperate.

I turned my head instinctively.

A man was running through the crowd, clutching something shiny in his hand.

A knife.

Everything happened too fast after that. People scattered out of his way. Footsteps pounded against the pavement. More screams rose up around me. Tamura froze in place, his face going pale as he stared at the man charging through the street.

Thinking after that took less than a second.

I shoved Tamura away.

Then I felt the impact.

Heat.

An unbearable heat tore through my back, so sudden and violent that for a moment my mind refused to understand what had happened.

What the hell is this? It's way too hot... Give me a break—

(Confirmed. Heat Resistance successfully acquired.)

My legs gave out before I could fully process it.

The asphalt felt cold.

Strangely cold.

...Stabbed?

Am I really going to die like this...?

(Confirmed. Piercing Resistance successfully acquired. Initiating Physical Resistance... successfully acquired.)

"Get out of my way!"

I heard the man disappear into the crowd.

Then silence.

No...

Not silence.

Panic.

Voices.

Tamura was saying something, his voice shaking so badly I could barely make out the words.

"M-Mikami-san, you're bleeding...! You won't stop bleeding!"

Ahh...

I really didn't want to hear that right now...

Damn it, this was starting to hurt...

(Confirmed. Pain Nullification successfully acquired.)

Well... shit.

The pain and panic were beginning to blur my consciousness. The heat slowly faded, replaced by an icy sensation crawling up from my limbs. The burning in my back disappeared entirely, and in its place came a freezing cold that spread through my whole body as if my blood itself were turning to ice.

That...

That's probably bad...

People die once they lose too much blood, right?

(Confirmed. Constructing bloodless body... successful.)

Ah.

I see.

So this is what it feels like.

To die...

I don't want to die.

I tried to speak.

And failed.

Shit.

I think this might really be—

The pain and heat were gone now. All that remained was cold. Freezing cold. It felt like I would turn to ice where I lay.

(Confirmed. Cold Resistance successfully acquired. Combined with previously acquired Heat Resistance. Skill has evolved into Temperature Resistance.)

At that moment, what remained of my oxygen-starved brain cells suddenly stumbled across a flash of brilliance.

OH SHIT, THE FILES ON MY HARD DRIVE!

Gathering the last strength I had left, I desperately forced out my final regret in life.

"T-Tamura...! If something happens to me... take my computer, okay? Put it in the bathtub, turn it on, and fry the whole damn hard drive for me..."

(Confirmed. Electrical data destruction cannot be executed. Additional information required. Substituting with Electrical Resistance... successfully acquired.)

It took Tamura a moment to process my request.

"I-I'll do it...! I promise...!"

Using the last bit of strength my body could still produce, I forced out one final sentence.

"Just kill my PC for me... please..."

...

...

......

It was an ordinary life.

A pretty mediocre one, honestly.

I graduated from college, got a stable job at a construction company, and with my older brother taking care of our parents, I settled comfortably into that gray routine called adulthood. There was nothing glamorous about it, nothing especially memorable, but it was stable, and stability had a way of becoming its own kind of comfort when enough years passed.

I worked.

I ate.

I slept.

And then I repeated it all over again.

I wasn't unhappy.

But I wasn't happy either.

I simply... existed.

And yet, after thirty-seven perfectly ordinary years, there was one impossible truth I couldn't ignore.

I was still a virgin.

Amazing.

Getting stabbed to death was already humiliating enough, but dying without ever having had a proper relationship felt like some kind of cosmic joke carefully designed to mock me. My poor manhood was probably crying as my consciousness faded away.

Sorry about that.

Guess I never managed to turn you into a proper adult.

If reincarnation really exists...

Then next time, I'll live differently.

I'll be more aggressive. More decisive. I'll stop standing at a distance and actually chase after the things I want.

Not necessarily by stabbing people, obviously, but you get the idea.

(Confirmed. Unique Skill "Predator" successfully acquired.)

...Huh?

The voice echoed inside my head again.

Cold.

Artificial.

Emotionless.

And honestly, it was starting to annoy me a little.

I mean, there I was, dangerously close to turning forty without ever touching a woman. At that rate, I probably would have ended up as some enlightened hermit living in the mountains.

A celibate sage.

The Great Sage of Abstinence.

(Confirmed. Extra Skill "Sage" successfully acquired.)

...Very funny.

(Extra Skill "Sage" has evolved into the Unique Skill "Great Sage".)

I couldn't help feeling insulted.

Who the hell was naming these skills?

"Great Sage"? Seriously?

That wasn't a unique skill. There were probably millions of guys like me in the world. I'm pretty sure the entire internet could confirm that.

If this was some kind of divine joke, it had a terrible sense of humor.

I wanted to keep complaining.

But my thoughts slowly began sinking into darkness.

And just before disappearing completely, I had one final unexpected realization.

Death...

 

—----------------------------------------------------------

Everything was dark, but no, dark wasn't really the right word for it. Darkness still implied the absence of light, some faint possibility that if enough time passed or enough eyes adjusted, shapes might eventually emerge from the black. This was something far more complete than that, something deeper and more absolute, as if the very concept of sight had been erased from existence and taken the rest of the world with it.

It was almost funny.

If someone had asked me to explain nothingness, this was probably what I would have described. Some clumsy, half-forgotten definition from the depths of the internet, the kind of thing you might find buried in a corner of Wikipedia no one had visited in years: "Nothingness is the absence of perception, matter, and existence." Yeah. That sounded about right. And somehow, for reasons I still didn't understand, that absurdly stupid thought was enough to drag my mind back into motion.

My name was Satoru Mikami. I was thirty-seven years old, an office worker, single, and, professionally speaking, an unfortunate virgin. And after shoving my coworker out of the path of a knife-wielding maniac, I had ended up getting stabbed like some irrelevant extra in a crime drama.

Alright.

I remembered all of that clearly, which meant I was still conscious. And if I was still conscious, then I was probably still alive.

...Probably.

There was no reason to panic yet. Panic had never really been my thing anyway. The last time I had completely lost my composure was back in elementary school, when I became convinced an earthquake was going to destroy the building and ended up wetting my pants. Just a little, but still enough to leave a lasting impression.

I tried opening my eyes.

Nothing happened.

...Huh?

I tried again, harder this time, but there was still nothing. A faint chill ran through me, and I immediately tried to calm myself down. Maybe I was sedated. Maybe I was in a hospital. Maybe I had gone through surgery and was still under anesthesia. That would make sense, right?

Instinctively, I tried rubbing my eyes, only to realize my arms weren't moving at all. The chill deepened.

Wait.

I tried moving my right hand.

Nothing.

My left.

Nothing.

My legs.

Nothing.

A heavy silence settled over me, and with it came a very unpleasant realization.

...Where the hell were my limbs?

No, wait.

More importantly—

Where was my head?

Woah.

Woah, woah, woah.

This was getting seriously terrifying.

Calm down. Calm down. Inhale... exhale... inhale... exha—

...

I couldn't breathe.

Panic slammed into me so suddenly that my thoughts nearly scattered. What the hell do you mean I can't breathe? I desperately tried inhaling again, but nothing entered. I tried exhaling, but nothing came out. There was no air, no lungs, not even the sensation of suffocating. Just... nothing.

And somehow, that was worse.

Much worse.

Because my body wasn't even reacting like it was dying.

Trying not to completely lose my mind, I mentally checked my physical condition. Maybe I was paralyzed. Maybe I was hooked up to machines. Maybe—

No pain.

Not even a single ache.

No cold. No heat. No pressure. Nothing.

Only a strangely uniform sensation surrounding my entire body.

...No.

"Body" wasn't really the right word either.

But it felt...

good.

Ridiculously good.

Like floating weightlessly in warm water, with no muscle tension, no exhaustion, and no discomfort weighing me down. Pure comfort. For a second, I almost forgot the terror. Then I remembered I still didn't have arms, or legs, or a face.

Ah, right.

Shit.

I tried moving again.

Nothing.

The anxiety came rushing back immediately.

I'm not in a coma... right?

No.

This felt way too strange to be a coma.

What if my nervous system had been destroyed? What if I was simply trapped inside my own consciousness? What if this was all there was? Endless darkness, no movement, no speaking, no feeling, just thinking forever.

A nonexistent nausea twisted through my nonexistent stomach.

No.

No, no, no.

I don't think I could endure something like that.

And then, suddenly, I felt something brush against my body.

I froze.

Well... metaphorically.

The sensation was faint, light, almost insignificant, but after that absolute nothingness it felt like a miracle. A thin texture. Sticky. Delicate. Strangely familiar.

Spider silk...?

The realization made me absurdly happy.

Seriously.

Just moments ago I'd been trapped in total sensory emptiness, and now I could feel something again. Even if it was just some damn spiderweb, it was still contact. Still proof that something existed outside my mind.

Driven by relief, I tried moving toward it.

And then it happened.

My consciousness shifted slightly, and I felt the ground beneath me scrape against something like wet stone. I stopped immediately.

...

Huh?

...

Did I just move?

I waited a few seconds in disbelief, then tried again. Once more, I felt movement. Slow. Clumsy. Like a soft mass sliding across rock. But definitely movement.

A wave of relief hit me so hard I almost laughed.

This... this at least proved something important.

I wasn't lying in a hospital bed.

I slowly moved across the uneven ground, feeling rock, moisture, more rock, and the occasional fragment of spider silk clinging to my body as I crawled blindly through that absolute darkness. Rocks. Spiderwebs. More rocks. It was strange how desperately my mind began clinging to every tiny sensation just to avoid feeling lost. Every texture became important. Every slight change in the surface felt enormous.

And then I bumped into something different.

I stopped immediately.

The surface beneath me was smooth, not perfectly even, but far softer than the rough stone I'd been sliding across until now. I slowly moved my body over it and felt something hard beneath me, though not cold. I had expected it to be cold, but instead it emitted a faint, steady warmth, like glass that had been sitting under sunlight for hours.

Crystal...?

The sensation was strange. Irregular. Crystallized. Smooth in some places, sharp in others. I focused all my attention on it, and for the first time since waking up, I felt like I could actually perceive something beyond simple touch. Not exactly see it, but vaguely understand its shape, as if my entire body itself had become some kind of dull sensory organ.

Hmm...

I still didn't understand anything, but at least it confirmed something important.

I wasn't trapped inside a room.

I wasn't inside a medical capsule.

I was... outside.

Probably.

Or inside something enormous.

A cave, maybe.

I continued moving slowly alongside the crystal, keeping my senses focused on everything that brushed against me, though "senses" was a very generous word for whatever I possessed now. I didn't even know where my head was, or if I still had one. I couldn't smell anything either, and I wasn't even sure I possessed that sense anymore. I didn't breathe. I didn't blink. I couldn't really hear. I simply... perceived.

And the more aware I became of my current state, the more uncomfortable a certain thought floating around in the back of my mind became.

My body felt soft.

Flexible.

Fluid.

Gelatinous.

As if I wasn't made of flesh and bone anymore, but some semiliquid mass capable of deforming freely. Similar to...

No.

No, no, no.

Come on.

That would be ridiculous.

I immediately decided to ignore that possibility before suffering a premature existential crisis.

Yes.

Denial.

My favorite coping mechanism.

Instead of dwelling on it further, I focused on something else. Out of the five traditional human senses, there was still one left untested.

Taste.

Although, considering I had no idea where my mouth was, that presented certain logistical difficulties.

So...

Now what?

And then—

A voice crossed my mind.

(Use Unique Skill "Predator"?)

(Yes.)

(No.)

...

...

Huh?

My consciousness literally froze.

What the hell was that?

The voice didn't sound human. It had no tone, no emotion, no intent. It was cold and artificial, like a computer reading text directly into my brain. My first thought was that I had finally gone insane, which, honestly, seemed perfectly reasonable given the circumstances.

So those weren't hallucinations...?

Wait.

No.

That actually made things worse.

Because it meant the voice was real.

And it also meant the bizarre list of skills I had heard while dying probably hadn't been my imagination either.

(Predator)

That didn't sound particularly friendly.

I decided to choose "No."

Instantly, the voice disappeared, leaving behind absolute silence. I waited a few seconds, but nothing else happened.

...Was that it?

It wasn't going to insist?

What a polite system.

Honestly, I had expected something more like an old RPG forcing me to repeat the same answer until it accepted the main quest. Well. Good enough.

Temporarily ignoring the terrifying existence of mysterious voices inside my head, I decided to continue my little sensory experiment. I slowly moved forward until I felt something thin and fragile brushing against my body.

Grass.

Or something similar.

Instinctively, I leaned forward, letting my entire weight rest against the crystalline surface and the nearby plants. And then it happened.

The contact area began to melt, and for exactly half a second I panicked with the kind of raw, animal terror that leaves no room for thought.

AM I MELTING!?

But no. It wasn't me.

The crystal beneath my body was slowly dissolving instead, breaking apart into tiny particles that were then drawn directly into me as though my body had been waiting for them all along. The plants followed shortly after, and I could feel them disintegrate in a way that was somehow both intimate and completely alien. They broke apart, dissolved, and were absorbed into my body without leaving behind any trace of flavor, scent, or even the faintest chewing sensation. They simply ceased to exist as separate things and became part of me.

...

...

So that was how this worked?

I ate with my entire body?

The realization left me completely still.

First of all...

I'm not human anymore.

So... yeah.

That really was it.

I slowly moved my body, focusing for the first time on sensing my own shape, and a soft mass responded elastically to the motion. Boing. The sensation spread through my entire body in a strangely uniform way, as if there were no bones, muscles, or organs dividing one part of me from another. There was only gel. A lot of gel.

...

Ah.

No.

No no no.

Come on.

I tried denying reality for a few more seconds, but it was already hopeless. Even without seeing myself, I could clearly picture my own shape now.

Round.

Soft.

Ridiculously viscous.

A slime.

I had literally reincarnated as a slime.

I mean... it could've been worse, I guess. Compared to a lot of fantasy monsters, slimes were at least relatively adorable. But still.

Why me?

Out of every possible mythical, magical, or legendary creature in existence, why had I ended up as sentient jelly?

I mentally sighed.

Or I would have, if I still had lungs.

Honestly, the odds of dying from a random stabbing and then reincarnating as a monster in another world had to be astronomically low. And yet here I was, somehow living proof that absurd things could happen if the universe felt like mocking you hard enough.

....
...
......

Chew.

Chew.

Chew.

Another crystal disappeared into my body.

Why did I keep doing that?

Well... why not?

It wasn't as if I had anything better to do.

Several days had passed since I finally accepted the fact that I was now a slime, or at least I thought several days had passed. Time was difficult to measure when you were trapped in absolute darkness with no sun, no sleep, no hunger, and not even the comforting misery of exhaustion to mark the passage of hours. There was only constant movement, endless absorption, and increasingly strange thoughts drifting through my head.

Although, honestly, the crystals stopped being the most important thing pretty quickly.

Because there were spiders.

Lots of spiders.

Way too many spiders.

And not normal spiders, either.

SPIDERS.

Huge ones.

Monstrously huge.

The first time one of them brushed against my body, I nearly lost what little mental stability I still had left. That thing had legs like spears and a massive body covered in stiff hairs that vibrated faintly whenever it moved, and the sheer wrongness of its presence made every instinct I had scream at once.

And they were everywhere.

The first one tried to devour me.

Or something close to that.

I didn't even fully understand what happened. I only felt pure danger, and then I started bouncing desperately between walls and rocks until I accidentally escaped. It was humiliating, but it worked.

Thankfully, most of the monsters seemed to ignore me after that. Maybe they perceived me as just another insignificant slime. Or maybe I simply wasn't worth eating. Either way, I wasn't going to complain.

Another, far worse problem appeared shortly afterward.

Teleportation.

Sometimes, while moving across the cave floor, something beneath me would faintly glow—or at least I thought I could perceive it—and the very next instant I would appear somewhere completely different. There was no transition and no warning. One moment I was surrounded by spiderwebs and crystals, and the next I was somewhere else entirely, where the air felt different, the humidity changed, the temperature shifted, or distant sounds of monsters moving through the darkness reached me from far away.

It was absurdly disorienting.

And honestly, I was beginning to hate this place.

Meanwhile, I kept eating crystals.

Absorbing them was... strange.

I could clearly feel my body breaking them down internally, separating their components, classifying information, and storing it somewhere inside me. It was always the same process: absorb, decompose, store. Again and again, with no variation except the growing sense that something about it was deeply unnatural.

Because there was something disturbing about all of it.

I never expelled anything.

Never.

Not even once.

I didn't need to use the bathroom. I produced no waste. I returned no matter to the world. I simply continued absorbing endlessly, and yet my size didn't seem to change much either.

So...

Where the hell was all of that going?

(Received. Ingested materials are being stored within the Unique Skill "Predator." Current storage usage: less than 1%.)

...Huh?

I stopped completely.

It talked again!?

Wait.

Since when was I even using that skill? I was pretty sure I had picked "No" earlier.

(Received. The Unique Skill "Predator" has not been manually activated. Passive absorption of materials occurs automatically.)

...Ah.

Well, that was mildly terrifying.

But it was also the first real "conversation" I'd had since waking up in this place, so honestly, I didn't even care anymore.

I decided to keep asking questions.

"So... what exactly does it do?"

A brief silence followed before the answer came.

(Received. The Unique Skill "Predator" possesses the following primary functions:)

(Predation: absorbs targets into the body.)

(Analysis: studies and processes absorbed targets.)

(Stomach: stores materials within a space isolated from time.)

(Mimicry: reproduces analyzed forms and abilities.)

(Isolation: neutralizes and decomposes harmful substances.)

...

...

What the hell?

And... wait.

Who exactly was this voice answering my questions anyway?

Was someone actually there?

(Received. This is the effect of the Unique Skill "Great Sage." The skill has taken effect, allowing more immediate accessibility.)

Chapter Text

By my count, around ninety days had passed since I reincarnated as a slime.

Or, to be exact:

Ninety days, six hours, thirty-four minutes, and fifty-two seconds.

How was I so sure?

Well... apparently that was one of the many absurd effects of the Unique Skill (Great Sage).

Seriously, that thing was ridiculously useful.

Any question that crossed my mind received an answer almost instantly. It was like having a talking encyclopedia embedded directly into my soul.

According to Great Sage itself, the skill had taken ninety days to fully fuse with me. Normally, it wasn't capable of holding actual conversations, but after detecting my constant stream of questions, it partially modified its functions using something called (World Language) in order to communicate with me.

Or something like that.

Honestly, half the explanations sounded like they came from a fantasy RPG written by schizophrenic programmers.

Still, I appreciated the company.

Because I was still completely alone.

Endless darkness.

Giant spiders.

Crystals.

Hellish teleport traps.

And me.

Technically, Great Sage didn't possess self-awareness. It didn't think independently or speak on its own. It only responded whenever I asked something.

Even so...

After being isolated for that long, even an emotionless robotic voice started feeling strangely comforting.

Although admitting that my best friend was literally a mental skill would probably sound concerning back in Japan.

Whatever.

Thanks to Great Sage, I finally confirmed something important:

Yes.

I was definitely a slime.

And apparently not a "normal" slime in this world.

Turns out the slimes here were parasitic creatures that attached themselves to plants and small organisms, forming symbiotic relationships with whoever consumed them.

...Yeah.

Pretty horrifying.

Thanks for the traumatic information, new world.

Compared to that, I seemed much closer to a classic RPG slime.

I absorbed mana directly from the environment to survive.

I didn't need sleep.

I didn't really need food either.

As long as enough magical energy existed around me, I could continue existing indefinitely.

Though in regions poor in mana, I would apparently need to absorb living creatures or monsters to compensate.

I tried not to think too hard about that last part.

Meanwhile, Great Sage also explained its own functions.

(Thought Acceleration) Multiplied my perception speed thousands of times.

(Analyze and Assess) Allowed analysis of targets and understanding of their composition.

(Parallel Operation) Separated mental processes in order to conduct independent analyses while I continued thinking normally.

(Chant Annulment) Eliminated the casting time required for magic.

(All of Creation) Provided information regarding phenomena and matter recognized by the user.

...That last one sounded completely broken.

"Wait. So I can literally know anything?"

(Negative. Information may only be obtained regarding concepts recognized and understood by the individual.)

Ah.

So not omniscience.

Just Premium Wikipedia.

Still, there was something much more important.

Magic.

Real magic existed in this world.

MAGIC.

My inner child almost exploded from happiness.

I immediately asked whether I could use it.

The answer was basically:

"Learn it first."

Cruel.

But right then, I had a better idea.

"Wait... can I connect Predator's Analysis with Parallel Operation?"

(Confirmed. Connection is possible. Would you like to link both functions?)

(Yes.)

(No.)

I picked Yes immediately.

It wasn't like I had much to lose.

Though...

What exactly could I analyze?

...

...

Ah.

The crystals.

The things I'd been eating for weeks just to pass the time.

"Go ahead."

The process started immediately.

For several seconds, I felt a strange vibration running through my body.

Then—

(Analysis complete.)

(Mana Crystal: a crystal composed of pure mana. Develops only in regions with extremely high magical density, such as dungeons and labyrinths. Continuous absorption significantly increases the user's mana reserves.)

...

Huh?

THAT'S what I'd been eating this whole time?

Did I accidentally hit the magical jackpot?!

After that, I officially became a crystal vacuum cleaner.

I calmly slid across the cave floor absorbing every glowing fragment I could find while avoiding giant spiders and teleportation traps.

And honestly...

I started relaxing too much.

I had a broken skill.

A useful voice in my head.

Automatic regeneration.

Absurd resistances.

For the first time since waking up there, I let my guard down.

And then—

I felt something.

Just for a fraction of a second.

A strange disturbance in the air.

"Huh—?"

BOOM.

Something slammed directly into me.

I was violently launched through the air before I even understood what had happened.

My body bounced off a rocky wall with a wet noise before sliding across the ground.

What the hell was that?!

The surface that hit me felt like...

Mud?

...Did I just get punched by mud?

I expected pain.

But it never came.

Only pressure distorting my body before it slowly recovered.

(Received. "Pain Nullification" has negated the perception of damage. "Physical Attack Resistance" reduced the impact received. Estimated body damage: 10%. Intrinsic slime skill "Self-Regeneration" has activated. Would you like support via "Predator"?)

(Yes.)

(No.)

I immediately chose Yes.

At that moment, I felt part of my body separate internally, as though damaged fragments of my gelatinous mass were being peeled away.

Then they were absorbed.

Analyzed.

Reconstructed.

And returned.

...That felt disturbingly unpleasant.

I didn't even have time to process it.

BOOM.

Another impact.

I was launched away again.

I bounced off the dungeon walls like a soaked rubber ball.

Shit—!!

The worst part was this cursed darkness.

I couldn't see a single thing.

I had no idea what was attacking me.

All I could feel were sudden impacts coming from different directions.

Mud.

Rocks.

Heavy vibrations trembling through the ground.

Something huge was moving nearby.

BOOM.

Another projectile slammed into me before I could even recover.

My body flew through the damp cavern air and skipped across the rocky floor several times before finally stopping.

...Okay.

This wasn't funny anymore.

The first attack could've been luck.

This wasn't.

Something was deliberately aiming at me.

And it had terrifying accuracy.

A third impact exploded beside me, partially covering my body in that thick substance.

Mud.

Definitely mud.

But not normal mud.

It was heavy.

Dense.

Compacted like wet stone compressed under enormous pressure.

(Confirmed. Projectile contains highly concentrated earth-attribute magic particles.)

Earth attribute...?

So this was magic?

My first magical experience in another world was getting mercilessly shelled with enchanted mud?!

Fantastic start.

Another shot tore through the air.

This time, I sensed it a fraction of a second before impact thanks to the vibrations running through the ground.

Instinctively, I compressed my body.

BOOM.

The hit still launched me several meters away.

But the damage was lighter.

...Wait.

An idea crossed my mind.

"Great Sage."

(Confirmed.)

"Can I absorb the mud?"

(Possible. Recommended to use "Predator" on fragments attached to the body.)

...

OH.

As another projectile exploded nearby, I forced part of my gelatinous body to wrap around the mud still stuck to my surface.

(Activating "Predator".)

The substance slowly sank into me.

Heavy.

Rough.

Filled with compressed minerals and enormous quantities of mana.

(Beginning Analysis.)

BOOM.

Another shot.

My body ricocheted against a wall.

BOOM.

And another.

This wasn't a fight anymore.

It was a beating.

I couldn't even see the enemy.

All I had were vibrations, impacts, and the vague sensation of an enormous mass moving somewhere in the darkness.

Shit...

How am I supposed to fight like this?

(Analysis in progress... 14%)

Another projectile struck me head-on.

I felt my body deform grotesquely before regenerating almost instantly.

(Auto-Regeneration activated.)

"Faster!"

(Parallel Operation accelerating Analysis.)

BOOM.

BOOM.

BOOM.

The monster kept firing relentlessly.

And slowly, I started noticing something.

Every attack shared the same structure.

The mana compressed.

Circulated.

Then exploded outward violently.

A formula.

A pattern.

Like every shot left behind a blueprint inside the absorbed mud.

(Analysis complete.)

(Earth Magic: "Stone Cannon" acquired.)

...

...Huh?

I got it?

Just like that?

I didn't even have time to celebrate.

Because another projectile was already flying toward me.

But this time—

I felt it.

The flow.

The movement of earth-aspect mana in the atmosphere.

Instinctively, I reproduced the pattern I had learned.

Compress.

Rotate.

Release.

An absurd amount of mana erupted from my body in multiple directions at once.

BOOOOOOM.

The explosion shook the entire cave.

For the first time since the battle started, I heard something else.

A deep roar.

Heavy.

The ground trembled violently.

Fragments of rock crashed from above.

Did I hit it?

I couldn't see.

But I could feel it.

A massive shape stumbling somewhere through the vibrations beneath me.

Huge.

Slow.

Heavy.

Then Great Sage spoke.

(Target identified: "Mad Skull".)

(Golem-type monster composed of magically reinforced mud. Weak point located: human skull embedded within thoracic region.)

...Ah.

So that's what you are.

The problem was obvious.

I couldn't see the skull.

Hell, I couldn't even see its full body.

But I could feel where my attacks landed.

And more importantly—

For a brief instant, almost instinctively—

Clarity.

A sharpness I hadn't felt since waking in this world.

Like a perfect, enhanced vision flashing through my consciousness—

And then disappearing.

"Great Sage."

(Confirmed.)

"Calculate the attack trajectory."

(Beginning calculation.)

The Mad Skull fired again.

Three Stone Cannons ripped through the air consecutively.

I didn't dodge.

I absorbed part of them on impact instead.

More.

And more.

And more.

The pressure building inside my body became dangerous.

"Perfect."

The monster advanced slowly.

Heavy.

Unstoppable.

I could feel several massive presences moving around it too.

Spiders.

Lesser monsters.

It was commanding them.

And then I realized something important.

That Mad Skull didn't see me as a threat.

It was just trying to crush some strange slime.

Fatal mistake.

(Prediction complete. Probability of core location: 87.3%.)

Good enough.

I compressed every ounce of accumulated mana inside my body.

Not into a single shot.

Into dozens.

Hundreds.

Malformed Stone Cannons began forming chaotically around my gelatinous mass.

No vision.

No true aim.

Just calculations.

Vibrations.

And a ridiculous amount of mana.

"Fire."

BOOOOOOOOOOM.

The entire cavern exploded.

Stone Cannons erupted in every direction like uncontrolled artillery.

Walls shattered.

The ground convulsed violently.

I heard spiders being crushed.

Rocks collapsing.

And finally—

CRACK.

A different sound.

Sharper.

More fragile.

The heavy movements of the Mad Skull stopped abruptly.

Silence.

...
...
Did I... win?

Fragments of mud slowly slid across the ground nearby.

Then I felt something small and hard buried among the debris.

Round.

Fragile.

A human skull.

...

Oh.

It actually worked.

I remained motionless for several seconds, still stunned by the result.

Then I slowly spread my body around the shattered skull.

(Activating "Predator".)

The mud.

The magic.

The core.

Everything slowly began sinking into me as the enormous mass of the Mad Skull collapsed around the cavern.

(Analyzing target "Mad Skull"...)

A few seconds later—

(Skill acquired: Earth Magic — "Earth Golem".)

...!!!

AWESOME—!!

...

Ahem.

Right.

I tried to recover at least a little mental dignity while absorbing the monster's remaining fragments.

Right now, I should focus on something much more important.

"Great Sage!!"

"How did I do that before?"

(Received. Please specify the phenomenon in question.)

"Seeing everything! The monster, the mana, the vibrations—how was I suddenly able to sense my surroundings?!"

There was a brief pause.

(The phenomenon is the result of the skill "Magic Sense".)

(The skill allows perception of magical particles and mana disturbances within the surrounding environment. Activation requires extending magical energy outward using the body as a conductive medium.)

...

Surprisingly, that didn't sound nearly as insane as it should have.

Not after surviving a magical artillery battle while completely blind.

I could still remember the sensation.

The flow.

The pressure.

The movement of mana racing through my body before erupting outward violently.

So...

Maybe I really could do it again.

"Okay..."

I concentrated.

Technically I didn't have lungs, so I couldn't actually take a deep breath, but mentally I did something close enough.

Relax.

Focus.

I slowly tried moving the mana inside my body.

At first it felt awkward.

Vague.

Like trying to flex muscles I had never used before.

But then—

Whoa.

Something immediately responded.

The mana within me began flowing surprisingly smoothly, traveling through my gelatinous body in calm, rhythmic waves.

It felt...

Natural.

Far too natural.

Like this body had been specifically designed for manipulating magic from the very beginning.

And then I pushed it outward.

The world exploded inside my mind.

(Would you like to acquire the extra skill "Magic Sense"?)

YES!!

Suddenly, an enormous web of sensory information flooded my consciousness.

An overwhelming amount—far beyond what a normal human brain should've been capable of processing.

And yet somehow...

I processed all of it.

Converted it into understandable information.

It was overwhelming.

Strange.

Beautiful.

I could feel mana drifting through the cave like invisible currents.

Crystals glowing like tiny magical bonfires in the darkness.

Giant spiders moving through distant tunnels.

The vibrations running beneath the ground.

Moisture clinging to the cavern walls.

Even tiny insects crawling through cracks far away.

Everything.

For the first time since arriving in this world—

I could "see."

And honestly...

It was incredible.

...Huh?

That easy?

(Acquisition was facilitated due to the individual's high magical sensitivity and prolonged exposure to high-purity mana crystals.)

...

Oh.

So accidentally becoming addicted to eating magical minerals actually had benefits.

Good.

I'll take it.

(Synchronizing extra skill "Magic Sense" with unique skill "Great Sage"... Successful. All sensory information will now be managed by Great Sage.)

Suddenly, my perception stabilized.

The overwhelming pressure crushing my mind disappeared instantly, and the world became unbelievably clear.

So clear that it felt absurd I hadn't been able to perceive it earlier.

Honestly, having Great Sage at my side was practically cheating.

If someone else possessed this ability, people would probably call it unfair.

Since I was the one using it, though...

No complaints here.

...Ugh.

This place is seriously ugly.

A damp cavern covered in giant webs, with piles of shattered rock and mud spread out in front of me.

...

How the hell do I get out of here?

Ugh.

Well...

For now, I should focus on making better use of my abilities.

Chapter Text

Twenty days had passed since I obtained Magic Sense.

Or at least, that's what Great Sage claimed.

Personally, I had completely lost the ability to distinguish "yesterday" from "a week ago" inside that damned labyrinth.

Everything still looked the same.

Rock.

Darkness.

Humidity.

Monsters trying to kill me.

Although...

things were different now.

Because I could finally fight back.

And honestly, I may have gotten a little too excited about that.

The first few days after obtaining Magic Sense were complete chaos.

Turns out, being able to "see" inside a labyrinth full of giant monsters only led to one important discovery:

There were WAY more monsters down here than I originally thought.

Far too many.

Seriously, how was this place even functioning?

Every tunnel seemed connected to a completely different ecosystem.

Some caverns were covered in gigantic mana crystals that illuminated everything with a dim bluish glow.

Others looked like underground graveyards filled with skeletons and mud creatures.

And some...

Well.

Some were filled with spiders.

Too many spiders.

I still hated that.

Although now I could detect them before they wrapped me in webs and turned my existence into permanent psychological trauma.

That helped a lot.

I also discovered something important about myself:

I was absurdly good at adapting.

Or more specifically—

Predator was absurdly unfair.

The first time I encountered an Iron Crawler, I genuinely thought a train had hit me.

The creature burst out from a side tunnel while I was peacefully moving through a crystal-filled cavern.

A massive shape.

Heavy.

Covered in dark metallic armor plates layered across its entire body.

It looked like some horrible fusion between a giant caterpillar and a military tank.

And it was fast.

WAY too fast.

"WHY IS SOMETHING THAT BIG MOVING THAT FAST?!"

BOOM.

The creature slammed directly into me and literally plastered my body against the wall.

For one entire second, my body deformed like gelatin crushed under a hydraulic press.

(Physical damage detected. Activating Auto-Regeneration.)

"THAT DOESN'T ANSWER MY QUESTION!!"

The Iron Crawler charged again.

This time I reacted faster.

I compressed my body, launched multiple Stone Cannons toward its legs, and slid sideways just before impact.

BOOM.

The creature tore straight through an entire rock formation.

...Okay.

That definitely would've killed a human.

Fortunately, that was no longer my problem.

After several minutes of bouncing around the cavern while that thing repeatedly attempted to run me over, I finally figured out how to kill it.

I couldn't easily break through its armor.

But I didn't need to.

"Great Sage."

(Received.)

"Weak points?"

(Lower joints possess significantly reduced physical resistance.)

Perfect.

I waited for the next attack.

The Iron Crawler roared and charged toward me again.

This time I didn't fully dodge.

I jumped.

Well... "jumped" was a generous way to describe whatever a slime actually did.

It was more like firing myself upward like a gelatinous bullet.

The creature rushed underneath me.

And then I unleashed an entire barrage of Stone Cannons directly into its joints.

CRACK.

One leg collapsed instantly.

The monster lost balance.

And before it could recover—

(Activating "Predator".)

I spread my body over the cracked section of its armor.

Absorbing it took several full minutes.

It was enormous.

Heavy.

And honestly, it felt disgusting.

Not physically.

Mentally.

Like absorbing an armored truck made out of insects.

But it worked.

(Skill acquired: "Enhanced Physical Strength".)

(Skill acquired: "Enhanced Physical Resistance".)

...Oh.

OH.

So THAT explained why it hit like a missile.

After that, battles started changing rapidly.

Every new monster meant another skill.

Another adaptation.

Another advantage.

And slowly...

the labyrinth stopped feeling like a prison.

It started feeling like one gigantic training ground.

The Tarantula Deathlords were still horrifying, though.

Absolutely horrifying.

Gigantic spiders covered in dark fur, with multiple glowing eyes shining faintly through the darkness and spear-like legs stretching across the tunnels.

And on top of that, they spat webs with terrifying precision.

The first time one caught me, I ended up stuck to a wall for almost three entire hours.

Three.

Hours.

"This is officially the worst day of my second life."

(Correction. The worst recorded day remains the fatal stabbing incident.)

"...Thanks, Great Sage."

(Confirmed.)

Ugh.

Anyway—

The Deathlords were dangerous because they fought at range.

They constantly fired webs while attempting to surround me.

But after absorbing enough Stone Cannons and improving my magical perception, I began anticipating their attacks.

I could feel mana gathering before each shot.

The vibrations in their legs.

The tension inside their webs.

And eventually...

I caught one.

Literally.

I used Earth Golem to raise stone walls around a Deathlord before it could escape.

Then I compressed my body around it from every direction.

(Activating "Predator".)

The spider screeched violently as it disappeared inside me.

(Analyzing target...)

(Skill acquired: "Poison Discharge".)

(Skill acquired: "Web Production".)

...

Okay.

That was actually useful.

And also mildly terrifying.

But the real problem started afterward.

Because apparently the labyrinth had multiple "floors."

And I kept accidentally falling between them thanks to those damned teleportation circles.

Sometimes I'd appear inside volcanic caverns filled with scorching air and monsters covered in molten rock.

Other times inside massive flooded tunnels.

And recently...

I had ended up on an entirely different floor.

A much more dangerous one.

Because the monsters there fought in organized groups.

Mad Skulls.

Iron Crawlers.

Deathlords.

All together.

And on top of that—

Armored Warriors.

The first time I saw one, I honestly thought I'd found a lost medieval knight.

A gigantic suit of rust-covered armor slowly walking through a tunnel illuminated by blue mana crystals.

A massive sword in one hand.

A heavy shield in the other.

Red eyes glowing inside an empty helmet.

It had no biological presence.

No breathing.

No heartbeat.

But I could clearly feel mana moving inside the armor.

As if something was possessing it from within.

And worse—

It fought intelligently.

The Armored Warrior blocked my Stone Cannons with its shield.

Dodged.

Counterattacked.

And nearly split me in half with a single sword strike.

"...Okay. That felt personal."

From that point onward, the next twenty days became an absurd routine of survival.

Fight.

Absorb.

Adapt.

Accidentally teleport into another horrifying location.

And repeat.

OVER.

AND OVER.

AND OVER AGAIN.

Another teleportation circle glowed beneath my body.

"...Ah, crap."

And the world vanished again.

The sensation never got better.

For a single instant, my consciousness compressed violently as the space around me literally folded in on itself.

Then—

WHUMP.

I landed on something soft.

...Huh?

That was already strange.

Most places I appeared in were filled with wet rock, mud, skeletons, or homicidal monsters.

This was different.

Soft.

And moving.

"..."

My Magic Sense reacted immediately.

Mana.

A massive amount of mana.

Concentrated.

Refined.

Human.

Human...?

Before I could fully process that—

"KYAAAAAAAHHHH—!!"

A brutal explosion of ice magic detonated in front of me.

CRACK—!!

Dozens of gigantic icicles tore violently through the cave.

(Ice Spell: Icicle Break absorbed.)

"WHAT THE HELL!?"

Instinctively, I peeled myself off the surface I had landed on and bounced backward as enormous shards of ice exploded against the walls.

Then I finally saw her.

A girl.

Dark blue hair.

A mage robe partially torn apart.

Heavy breathing.

Visible injuries on her arms and legs.

And huge eyes filled with absolute terror aimed directly at me.

...Oh.

OH.

I had just landed on someone's head.

That explained a lot.

"D-don't come closer!"

More magic circles instantly appeared in front of her.

Another barrage of ice began condensing.

Wait wait wait—

"I'M NOT HOSTILE!"

...

...

The magic kept charging.

Ah.

Right.

I had just spoken mentally.

As a slime.

Without moving a mouth.

That probably made things MUCH worse.

The girl went even paler.

"I-IT TALKS!!"

"YES! And honestly I'm still surprised about that too!"

BOOOOM.

Another rain of ice shot toward me.

I desperately bounced between stalagmites as multiple Icicle Breaks destroyed half the cave.

The girl froze completely still.

Her staff remained pointed at me while small shards of ice floated around the crystal tip. She was breathing hard. Very hard. Like someone who had spent far too long running alone.

Blue hair.

Mud-covered robe.

Small cuts on her arms and legs.

And an expression of absolute paranoia.

"...A-a slime?"

"...Yeah."

Silence.

"...But slimes don't talk."

"Well technically they also shouldn't shoot giant spear-sized ice projectiles at me, but here we are."

"...!!"

She immediately stepped back.

"D-don't come closer!"

"I'm not approaching you. I'm literally standing still."

"...Intelligent monsters exist..."

"That sounded racist."

"...Racist?"

"Never mind."

The girl was still trembling slightly.

Now that I could properly see her through Magic Sense, it was obvious she was exhausted. Her mana reserves were low, her breathing unstable, and small injuries covered her body.

She had fought a lot.

And she had probably been alone for days.

"...I'm not going to attack you," I finally said.

She didn't answer immediately.

She just kept her staff raised.

"Monsters don't talk to humans."

"Well, I do."

"...That's worse."

"...Fair enough."

Another awkward pause.

The girl carefully looked me up and down. Or well... down and up, I guess. I was still basically a blue gelatin ball.

"...So," she slowly asked, "what exactly are you?"

Hmm.

Good question.

"A slime."

"You already said that."

"A very talented slime."

"...That doesn't help either."

"A reincarnated slime from another world with absurdly broken unique skills and an AI-like voice in my head."

...

"...Huh?"

"Yeah, honestly I don't fully understand it either."

The girl blinked several times.

I think I broke her mentally a little.

"Wait..." she murmured slowly. "Another... world?"

Uh oh.

Maybe I shouldn't have casually mentioned that.

"Forget that part."

"HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO FORGET THAT PART?!"

"Focus on the important thing."

"ALL OF THAT SOUNDED IMPORTANT!!"

"...I'm a good slime."

"...That is DEFINITELY not the important part."

Huh.

She was pretty expressive.

"Look," I continued, trying to sound less suspicious, "I have zero interest in fighting you. Honestly I was just wandering through the dungeon until a teleportation trap launched me onto your head."

"...Ah."

"Yeah."

"...That explains a lot."

"Right?"

She lowered her staff slightly.

Just a little.

"...So... you really won't attack me?"

"No."

"Or absorb me?"

"...When you phrase it like that it sounds EXTREMELY criminal."

"Because slimes absorb things!"

"Well yeah, but usually hostile monsters. Or crystals. Or giant spiders. Honestly those spiders deserve to disappear."

...Huh?

I tilted my body slightly to the side.

"What do you mean 'not technically'?"

She looked away with a somewhat awkward expression.

"I'm from the Migurd tribe."

...

"The what tribe?"

"Migurd."

"...I have absolutely no idea what that means."

"We're a demon race from the Demon Continent."

Silence.

My mind took a few seconds to process that.

"...Ah."

Demon.

Of course.

Because apparently reincarnating as a slime in another world wasn't enough. Now I was casually talking to a lost demon girl inside a deadly dungeon.

Normal.

Totally normal.

"Does that explain the blue hair?" I asked.

"W-WHAT'S WRONG WITH MY HAIR?!" she immediately replied, covering her head reflexively.

"Whoa, relax. I was just asking."

"You said it weird!"

"Well sorry for not memorizing the full catalog of demon species."

She frowned slightly... although she looked more embarrassed than angry.

"...Migurds have blue hair," she finally muttered. "And we can communicate through telepathy within our tribe."

...Oh.

Wait.

Telepathy.

That explained a few things.

"So you hear voices in your head too."

"Ugh... not really... at least not me, i cant use telepathy"

Oof.

That sounded like I touched a sensitive topic.

Better not dig deeper.

"Understandable."

Roxy sighed tiredly before slowly sliding against the cave wall until she sat down on the floor.

Now that the initial tension was fading a little, I could see her better.

She was exhausted.

Not just physically. Mentally too.

Her hands were still trembling slightly around her staff.

"...How long have you been trapped here?" I asked.

She hesitated for a few seconds.

"...I'm not sure. Several days."

"Dungeons. What a wonderful vacation spot."

"It wasn't intentional..." she muttered in frustration. "I got separated from my group because of a teleportation trap."

...Ah.

"And you can't find the exit?"

Roxy slowly shook her head.

"This floor is full of circular traps. Every time I think I'm making progress, I end up somewhere completely different." She lowered her gaze slightly. "...And I'm running low on mana."

Huh.

That was definitely dangerous.

Because even I knew this place was horrible.

Tarantula Deathlords.

Mad Skulls.

Iron Crawlers.

Random teleportation.

And probably even worse things I still hadn't encountered yet.

"...Well," I finally said, "I guess we're now partners in suffering."

She slowly looked up.

"...Huh?"

"Think about it rationally. You can see. I can detect monsters and survive absurd beatings!!"

"...That sounds weirdly specific."

"Not important."

Roxy stared at me for a few more seconds.

Probably trying to decide whether I was trustworthy or simply the strangest monster she had ever met in her life.

Honestly, both options were valid.

"...A talking slime..." Roxy murmured.

And then—

My Magic Sense exploded.

Thousands of disturbances instantly spread through the cave.

Vibrations.

Heavy.

Fast.

Many.

Too many.

"...Oh."

Roxy immediately looked up.

"What's wrong?"

I didn't answer right away.

Because honestly, I was trying to process the absurd number of presences approaching from every direction.

Tarantula Deathlords crawling across walls and ceilings.

Iron Crawlers charging heavily through side tunnels like armored battering rams.

And behind them—

Large masses of earth mana slowly condensing.

Mad Skulls.

A lot of them.

"...I think," I said slowly, "I accidentally found the worst possible situation."

The color immediately drained from Roxy's face.

Then she heard it too.

SKRRRRRRRRRR—

The sound of hundreds of legs scraping against wet stone.

The walls began to tremble.

And from the absolute darkness of the tunnels, dozens of red eyes started appearing one after another.

"Oh no..."

Her voice barely came out as a whisper.

Then the horde emerged.

Iron Crawlers burst in first, enormous armored monsters advancing like living tanks while crushing stone beneath their weight.

Above them descended gigantic Tarantula Deathlords, firing webs between the walls to block escape routes.

And behind all of them—

The Mad Skulls slowly raised their massive mud-covered arms as brown magic circles began forming in front of them.

Stone Cannon.

Dozens of them.

"...That is completely unfair," I muttered.

"RUN!!" Roxy shouted.

The first rain of Stone Cannons exploded immediately afterward.

BOOOOOOM.

The entire cave shook violently.

Fragments of rock fell from the ceiling.

Roxy reacted instantly.

"!!Icicle Break!!"

Dozens of icicles appeared around her and shot forward, piercing several Tarantula Deathlords mid-leap.

The spiders partially froze before crashing violently into the walls.

Without stopping, Roxy swung her staff toward the front line of Iron Crawlers.

"!!Stone Cannon!!"

BOOM.

A compressed mass of rock exploded against one of their shells, violently knocking it sideways.

Whoa.

She was strong.

Really strong.

But the problem was simple.

There were too many.

The Tarantula Deathlords began firing webs from every direction.

Roxy narrowly dodged one by tilting her body while continuing to cast desperately.

Stone Cannons constantly exploded around us.

The Iron Crawlers kept advancing.

And behind them, the Mad Skulls continued bombarding nonstop.

Then Roxy took a deep breath.

Her expression changed.

Absolute concentration.

Mana violently condensed around her as she raised her staff with both hands.

"King of Frost, supreme ruler of the arctic lands..."

The temperature dropped abruptly.

Frost began spreading across the walls.

"...sovereign clad in pure white whose freezing cold steals all warmth..."

The monsters began slowing down.

Even the Mad Skulls hesitated for a moment.

"...Freeze my enemies, O glacial king who governs death...!"

Mana erupted around her.

"!!Blizzard!!"

BOOOOOOOOOOM.

A frozen storm tore through the entire tunnel.

Wind.

Ice.

Compressed snow.

The temperature plummeted brutally as dozens of monsters froze instantly.

Several Tarantula Deathlords shattered after slamming into ice-covered walls.

The Iron Crawlers became partially trapped inside thick layers of ice.

Even some Stone Cannons lost stability and broke apart before impact.

...Amazing.

For a moment, the horde actually stopped.

But only for a moment.

"!!Gh—!!"

Roxy staggered backward.

Her breathing was unstable.

Her hands trembled around the staff.

Bad.

Really bad.

That spell consumed an enormous amount of mana.

And even so...

the horde kept advancing.

The Iron Crawlers slowly began breaking through the ice with their monstrous weight.

The Mad Skulls continued firing from the rear.

And the Tarantula Deathlords kept descending from the ceiling.

Another web shot through the air.

This time it partially caught Roxy's left arm.

"Ah—!!"

The poisonous web yanked her slightly forward.

Roxy fell to her knees.

No.

Shit.

A massive Tarantula Deathlord descended directly from above, opening its gigantic venomous fangs toward her.

And behind it—

Three Mad Skulls raised their arms simultaneously.

Three Stone Cannons began condensing.

"...Tch."

I felt something strange inside me.

Annoyance.

Irritation.

Because after surviving alone for all this time...

the idea of watching her die right after finally finding another person bothered me far more than I expected.

"...Move."

My body shot forward before I even finished thinking.

A Tarantula Deathlord was descending directly toward Roxy, its fangs gleaming with venom while webs sealed every escape route around her.

And behind it—

Three brown magic circles slowly rotated in front of the Mad Skulls.

Stone Cannon.

I wouldn't reach her in time physically.

So I did something better.

((Cast Canceling.))

Mana exploded throughout my body.

For the first time since obtaining magic...

I stopped holding back.

"!!Icicle Break!!"

Dozens of ice spears instantly formed around me.

No.

Hundreds.

Roxy snapped her head upward.

"W-what—?!"

The spears tore through the cave like blue rain.

SKREEEEEE—

The Tarantula Deathlords were pierced before they even understood what happened. Their gigantic bodies exploded against walls and ceilings while dark blood and frozen shards rained everywhere.

The three enemy Stone Cannons struck an instant later.

BOOOOOOM.

My body absorbed part of the impact while the rest exploded against a rock wall behind me.

That hurt.

Well... it probably hurt.

Thank you, Pain Nullification.

(Auto-Regeneration activated.)

"Y-you—!!" Roxy stared at me in complete shock. "H-how did you just use Intermediate-tier magic without chanting?!"

Intermediate-tier?

"...THAT'S NOT THE IMPORTANT PART!!"

Another wave of monsters charged immediately afterward.

Iron Crawlers in the front.

Tarantulas descending from above.

Mad Skulls forming new magic circles.

And this time—

I raised earth mana too.

"Alright," I muttered. "Let's try this."

I recalled the structure of the spell I had absorbed.

Compression.

Density.

Shape.

"『Stone Cannon』!!"

BOOOOOOOOOOM.

The projectile tore through the cave like artillery fire.

It didn't hit one Iron Crawler.

It pierced through SIX.

Their armored shells exploded simultaneously while the projectile continued forward and blew apart part of the tunnel behind them.

Silence.

...

"...Okay, that was definitely stronger than normal," I admitted.

Roxy kept staring at me like I had just violated the fundamental laws of the universe.

"H-how is a slime using magic?!"

"Normal slimes don't do this?"

"NO!!"

Ah.

Well.

Oops.

A heavy vibration shook the ground.

The Mad Skulls slowly began advancing through the storm of monsters.

Dozens of them.

Massive bodies of reinforced mud moving like living fortresses while brown magic circles started appearing behind them one after another.

Stone Cannon.

Hundreds.

The pressure of magic filled the entire cave.

Even Roxy went pale.

"...That's bad."

"How bad?"

"VERY bad!!"

And right then—

(Complete analysis of target magic: "Blizzard".)

(Classification: Advanced-tier Water/Ice Magic.)

(Magical structure successfully integrated.)

...

Oh.

Already done?

That was fast.

Roxy was still trying to stand while staring in horror at the absurd number of monsters approaching us.

"We need to fall back—"

"No."

"...Eh?"

I slowly moved the mana within my body.

This time, I wasn't simply copying the spell.

I understood it.

The structure of Blizzard appeared in my mind like a perfect three-dimensional model.

Mana flow.

Compression.

Thermal expansion.

Atmospheric condensation.

It was absurdly complex.

And yet...

Great Sage processed everything as if it were simple mathematics.

(Parallel Operation initiated.) (Casting Cancel activated.)

Mana exploded outward.

The entire cave shook violently.

Roxy's eyes widened.

"...Wait."

The air changed.

The temperature dropped so quickly that even the cave walls began cracking.

Then the water appeared.

Not small droplets like before.

Monstrous amounts.

Entire underground currents were ripped from deep within the labyrinth as moisture, vapor, and water particles violently converged around me.

Blue mana illuminated the darkness.

"...T-that's impossible..."

Even the Mad Skulls stopped for a moment.

And then I spoke.

"『Blizzard』."

The world vanished.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM.

A glacial storm erupted in every direction.

This wasn't a spell.

It was a natural disaster.

Freezing winds tore through entire tunnels while enormous pillars of ice erupted simultaneously from the ground and walls.

The Tarantula Deathlords froze instantly before shattering into thousands of fragments.

The Iron Crawlers were buried beneath layers of ice so dense that their shells collapsed from the thermal pressure.

Even the Stone Cannons fired by the Mad Skulls froze midair before exploding like glass.

The entire cave turned white.

The air itself seemed to crystallize.

And the storm kept spreading.

More.

More.

More.

Until it completely swallowed the entire horde.

...

...

Silence.

Absolute, unnatural silence.

Tiny snow particles slowly drifted through the destroyed cave.

In front of us—

Hundreds of monsters remained completely frozen.

Motionless sculptures trapped within pure ice.

Roxy didn't move.

She didn't even blink.

"...Roxy?"

"...That..."

"Hmm?"

"...That was Advanced-tier magic."

"...Oh."

She slowly turned toward me.

"You can't just cast Advanced-tier magic WITHOUT CHANTING... and DEFINITELY not amplify it to THAT SCALE..."

"Well..."

Honestly, I had no idea how to answer that.

Because even I was beginning to suspect Great Sage was absurdly broken.

"...You're terrifying," she finally muttered.

"I prefer 'impressive.'"

"No. Terrifying."

"Both work."

...

...

"Still..." Roxy lowered her gaze slightly, still breathing heavily as she rested her staff against the frozen ground. "Thank you for saving me."

...

Oh.

For some reason, those words hit harder than any Stone Cannon ever had.

After all this time alone...

giant spiders.

monsters.

darkness.

hellish teleportation traps.

And now someone was thanking me.

"...Well," I replied, trying to sound casual, "letting you die probably would've been inconvenient."

Roxy let out a small tired laugh.

Very small.

But real.

And honestly...

that sound made this entire damned labyrinth feel a little less horrible.

A while later, we slowly moved through another tunnel in the cave.

Well.

"Moved" was a generous word.

Roxy staggered forward while I rested comfortably in her arms.

And honestly...

this was pretty comfortable.

Much better than bouncing off walls while spiders tried to eat me.

The bluish glow of magical crystals dimly illuminated the path while echoes of footsteps and dripping water resonated through the cave.

"...Hey," Roxy suddenly said.

"Hmm?"

"Do you have a name?"

...

Ah.

Good point.

I stayed silent for a few seconds.

Because technically, I did have one.

Satoru Mikami.

Average Japanese office worker.

Professional virgin.

Deceased.

But...

that name felt strange now.

Distant.

Like it belonged to another life.

"...Not really," I finally answered.

Roxy blinked.

"Don't normal monsters usually have names?"

"I don't think talking slimes exactly fall into the category of 'normal monsters.'"

"...That's also true."

Silence again.

Just footsteps.

Water droplets.

And the occasional distant vibrations of monsters moving through the labyrinth.

Then I had an idea.

"Hey, Roxy."

"Yeah?"

"Give me one."

"...Eh?"

"A name. You're the first person I've met in this world, so I guess it makes sense."

She looked at me in surprise.

"W-wait, that's a lot of pressure!"

"I fully trust your completely random judgment."

"That doesn't help!"

I could feel her thinking while she continued walking slowly.

"...Hmm..."

Several seconds passed.

Then—

"...Rimuru."

"Rimuru?"

"I don't know why," she admitted a bit embarrassed. "It just... felt like it fits you."

...

Rimuru.

The word echoed strangely inside me.

Soft.

Light.

Strangely warm.

And then—

(Confirmed. Individual name acquired: "Rimuru".)

A surge of mana violently swept through my body.

"WOAH—"

Roxy nearly dropped me.

"W-what was that?!"

"I don't know!! I think you just did something weird!!"

The mana swirled around me for several seconds before slowly stabilizing.

Roxy stared at me completely alarmed.

"...Does naming monsters normally do that?"

"...NO."

...

...

"Okay," she murmured slowly. "That is definitely scary."

"Yeah, well," I replied, still dizzy from the energy surge, "at least now I'm a scary slime with a name."

Roxy sighed tiredly.

"...I'm afraid I'm going to regret meeting you."

"Too late. We're now trauma partners."

Chapter Text

The bluish light from the magic crystals bounced off the wet rock while Roxy moved slow through the tunnel, dodging little puddles and bits of ceiling that had fallen off. Even after everything, I could still tell her steps were a bit off. Not bad. Just enough to remember how draining that last fight had been.

And she was still carrying me like I was made of glass.

Which was pretty ironic, considering less than an hour ago she’d frozen an entire army without her hands shaking once.

“You know?” I finally mumbled, letting out a small sigh. “This feels weirdly humiliating.”

Roxy glanced down, barely.

“Hm?”

“I’m being carried.”

She blinked once.

“...You’re a slime.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. But mentally I still feel like a functioning adult.”

That answer made her pause a second longer than usual. I saw her tilt her head a little, looking at me with that curious expression I was already starting to recognize.

“Mentally...?”

Ah.

Shit.

I tried to think of a quick excuse, but too late. The curiosity in her eyes was already fully awake.

“Now that I think about it...” she murmured while she kept walking. “You said something weird before.”

“That doesn’t narrow it down much.”

“You said you were... reincarnated.”

Her words hung there for a few seconds, echoing between the stone walls.

Guess I was gonna have to explain it eventually.

“Yeah.”

For a moment the only sounds were water dripping somewhere far off and her steps echoing softly against the wet rock.

“Does that mean what I think it means?” she asked at last.

“Depends what you’re thinking.”

“Were you human before you died?”

...Direct.

“Yeah.”

Roxy dropped her gaze a little.

“I’m sorry.”

“Whoa, wait, wait. Don’t make that face,” I said right away. “Honestly, considering everything, I’d say I’m doing pretty well.”

She looked at me for a few seconds.

“You’re a slime.”

“Exactly. Could’ve ended up a lot worse.”

“...Worse than being a slime?”

“I could’ve come back as one of those giant spiders.”

The reaction was instant. Roxy visibly went pale before she sped up her pace slightly.

“...You’re right. That’s definitely worse.”

“SEE?”

This time the laugh she let out was small, tired even, but a lot more natural than the ones before. It didn’t sound forced by tension or discomfort anymore. It just came out.

And, weirdly, that relieved me more than I expected.

After a few seconds of silence, she spoke again.

“Sorry if I’m asking too much but... you seem pretty familiar with the idea of reincarnation.”

I felt her arms tighten just a bit around me while she waited for an answer.

“Why?”

Roxy hesitated a couple seconds before answering.

“Because it’s not the first time I’ve heard something like that. There’s a very famous demon in my land who... comes back every so often. Or at least that’s what the stories say.”

Oh.

Well, that was actually interesting.

“So...” she went on a little later. “What were you like before?”

I tried to picture myself.

An office.

Screens.

Endless meetings.

Convenience store food.

Packed trains.

Work stress.

...

Wow.

Put like that, my previous life sounded incredibly depressing.

“I was human.”

Roxy frowned slightly.

“...Human human?”

“I think that covers most humans.”

“You know exactly what I mean!”

I couldn’t help but laugh a little.

“Yeah. I was a normal human man.”

Well.

“Normal” was maybe a pretty generous word considering certain parts of my life I’d rather never remember.

“What kingdom were you from?”

Ah.

Right.

Kingdom.

Because obviously “Japan” wasn’t gonna mean anything to her.

“From the easternmost kingdom in the world,” I answered, improvising with a confidence I definitely didn’t feel.

Roxy blinked.

“From the Central Continent...?”

I nodded fast several times.

“Ah... so you’re from Biheiril. No wonder you talk so weird.”

...

Sorry.

What?

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I protested immediately.

Roxy avoided looking at me.

“You just talk weird.”

“That’s still offensive.”

“I didn’t mean it in a bad way!”

“Incredible. I survived giant monsters just to end up discriminated against for my accent.”

The little laugh she let out this time sounded a lot more relaxed while she kept walking through the tunnel lit by the blue crystals.

“It’s hard to explain...” she admitted. “Some words you use sound way too formal and others completely absurd. Also... you’re speaking the Demon Tongue fluently. That’s not normal. You must’ve been someone pretty educated as a human.”

...Demon Tongue?

(The Great Sage skill automatically converts your words into the most appropriate language for the listener.)

“That does sound a lot like me.”

“Plus you say things I don’t understand.”

“That also sounds a lot like me.”

Roxy let out a small amused huff through her nose while she kept moving through the tunnel. The difference from before was pretty obvious; she wasn’t walking stiff anymore or holding her staff ready like she expected something to jump out from every corner. She was still exhausted, yeah, but at least she seemed to have stopped thinking she was gonna die any second.

And honestly… seeing her relax like that was weirdly satisfying.

While we moved, I spread Magic Sense through the nearby tunnels. Several presences were still moving in the distance: Tarantula Deathlords, some Iron Crawlers, and a couple of huge signatures that probably belonged to Mad Skulls sleeping inside nearby caverns. None of them were coming toward us for now, though that didn’t mean much in a dungeon like this.

“So...” Roxy spoke after a while. “What was your life like before?”

Ugh.

Tough question.

“Normal.”

She gave me a side-eye.

“That explains absolutely nothing.”

“I worked.”

“As an adventurer?”

“Worse.”

“A soldier?”

“Much worse.”

Roxy frowned slightly.

“…An assassin?”

I couldn’t help but look at her.

“Why would that be an upgrade?”

“I don’t know. You sounded depressed.”

…

Cruel.

Surprisingly accurate, but cruel.

“I was an office worker.”

The silence that followed lasted barely a few seconds.

“What’s an office worker?”

Ah.

Right.

How the hell am I supposed to explain modern capitalism in a fantasy world?

“It’s... complicated.” I hesitated a moment before sighing. “Imagine a place where tons of people spend most of their lives locked up working for someone else in exchange for money.”

Roxy blinked several times.

“That sounds horrible.”

“It was.”

“So... were you weak?”

Okay.

That stung a little more than I expected.

“Not physically,” I answered immediately. “Well, yeah, also physically, but that’s not the point. I knew a lot of useful stuff.”

“Like what?”

The curiosity in her eyes looked completely genuine.

I opened my mouth to answer… and blanked.

Internet.

Electricity.

Video games.

Anime.

Microwave.

…

Wow.

Hearing my own thoughts really wasn’t helping my self-esteem.

“Theoretical advanced knowledge,” I finally answered with as much dignity as I could scrape together.

Roxy’s eyes lit up instantly.

“So you really were a scholar!”

The excitement in her voice was so sincere I ended up letting out a small laugh.

It was weird. The more we talked, the more natural her expression got. The tension in her shoulders had dropped a lot, and even though I could still feel through Magic Sense that her mana reserves were way below normal, she didn’t look like she was forcing herself to stay conscious just to survive anymore.

That made me think of something.

“Roxy.”

“Hm?”

“Do mages usually take long to recover mana?”

“Depends on the person.”

“And you?”

She hesitated barely a second before answering:

“Faster than most.”

The little bit of pride in her voice was impossible to miss.

Huh.

I had no idea who’d let someone this small end up exploring a hellhole dungeon like this, but they’d clearly made some questionable decisions.

We kept moving for several minutes. Just the sound of water dripping, our steps echoing in the tunnel, and the faint blue light of the magic crystals lighting up the damp walls.

Until Roxy spoke again.

“…Do you miss your old body?”

The question caught me off guard.

For an instant I remembered city lights reflecting on wet streets, packed trains at night, stores open at midnight, and the tiny apartment I went back to after work. A boring life. Monotonous, even.

But it was still my life.

“…I think I do,” I admitted at last.

Roxy lowered her gaze toward me slightly.

“But?”

Huh.

She caught that pretty fast.

“But it’s not like I left much behind,” I went on slowly. “I didn’t have family. Or a partner. Most of my days were work, go home, sleep, and repeat the same thing the next day.”

Saying it out loud sounded way more depressing than I expected.

I felt Roxy shift me just a little closer against her chest. It wasn’t uncomfortable or invasive. Just... soft.

“Even so,” she murmured after a few seconds, “you still talk about that place like you miss it.”

I stayed quiet a moment before answering.

“Yeah. I guess I do.”

Because even if that life was boring, exhausting, and pretty empty…

it still belonged to me.

Silence came back between us, calm this time.

Until Roxy spoke again.

“I do have people waiting for me.”

I lifted my body slightly to look at her.

“Oh?”

Her expression changed just a bit. Warmer.

“My party.”

“Ah, right. The companions you mentioned.”

She nodded slowly.

“Paul… Geese… Talhand…”

The way she said their names sounded familiar. Tired, yeah, but also close. Like someone talking about problem people she still cared about a whole lot.

“Paul’s an incredible swordsman,” she continued. “Too impulsive, too loud, and probably the most irresponsible man I know…”

“But.”

Roxy let out a small sigh.

“But when it really matters, he always protects the others.”

Huh.

That sounded like genuine respect.

“Geese is hard to explain.”

“That description inspires a ton of confidence.”

“He’s useless in a fight... at least if we’re talking just physically.”

“Uh?”

“But somehow he survives any situation, he’s reliable, and he always has an answer.”

“...that actually is impressive.”

“He also talks too much...”

“Ah. Then we’d get along.”

“.....”

“And Talhand?”

Roxy’s expression relaxed a little more.

“Talhand is... Very strong. Very stubborn. Complains constantly.”

“So?”

“...He’s a good friend, and he’s always been there for me.”

The answer came without even thinking.

And it was weird, because even stuck in a dungeon full of monsters, she still talked about them with absolute certainty. Like she had zero doubt they’d eventually find her.

“Then they’re probably looking for you right now.”

“Yes.”

She didn’t hesitate for a second.

“We were also looking for someone.”

“Oh?”

“Zenith. Paul’s wife.”

Ah.

“She disappeared during the teleportation incident.”

I had no idea what exactly that incident was, but Roxy’s expression made it pretty clear it wasn’t something minor.

“We don’t know where she is,” she continued. “But we keep looking for clues.”

“That explains why you ended up in a death dungeon full of monsters.”

“...Yes.”

“Great.”

“It’s NOT.”

“A little yes.”

Roxy let out a small defeated sigh before going on.

“One of Paul’s sons was my student... that’s the reason I have to be here, I have to help.”

That immediately got my attention.

“Student?”

And then, for the first time since I’d known her, Roxy smiled for real.

Not tired.

Not forced.

A genuine smile.

“Rudeus Greyrat.”

…Oh.

That name clearly meant a whole lot to her.

“He was incredible,” she said immediately. “Honestly absurd.”

“That good?”

“He can do magic without incantations, and he reached Saint rank in water magic at 5 years old!!”

I waited for the rest of the sentence.

It never came.

“...Wait.”

Roxy looked at me, confused.

“What does Saint rank mean...?”

…

Long explanation about the basics of this world...

...

I tried to look impressed, but my absolute silence probably spoke for me.

Roxy, on the other hand, nodded with completely visible pride.

“I’ve never met anyone with that much talent.”

“What kind of monster did you raise?”

She let out a small laugh.

“And he was a bit of a pervert.”

That definitely didn’t help.

…

Uh oh.

Silence.

I stared at her from her arms.

“Roxy.”

“Yes?”

“Your student’s terrifying as hell but… if you’re a kid, how the hell did you even teach him that?”

The change was instant.

Roxy stopped walking.

I felt a huge amount of mana stir around her.

“...A kid?”

Oh no.

OH NO.

“Rimuru.”

Her voice came out dangerously calm.

“Yes.”

“How old do you think I am?”

That was a death trap.

“Well…” I hesitated a moment. “Twelve?”

CRACK.

A small crack split the nearby wall just from the magic pressure.

“...Fifteen?”

“Maybe sixteen if we count the strict teacher aura.”

“Rimuru.”

“Yes.”

“I’m going to freeze you.”

“I’M SORRY!!!!!”

Roxy took a deep breath before lifting me up in front of her face.

“I’m forty-nine years old.”

…

…

…

“Eh?”

I blinked several times trying to process that information.

“Migurds age slowly,” she explained with a completely serious expression.

“HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO KNOW THAT?!”

“IT’S NOT MY FAULT HUMANS AGE LIKE FRUIT LEFT OUT IN THE SUN!”

…

Ouch.

That was personal.

Oh,, actually no...

“And here I was thinking you were a lost student mage...”

“WHY DOES EVERYBODY THINK THAT?!”

“BECAUSE YOU’RE FIVE FEET TALL!”

—----------------------------------------

Several days had passed since I found Roxy.

Three. Almost 4.

The constant teleports completely destroyed any reasonable sense of time and, after going through enough identical tunnels full of homicidal monsters, even my sense of direction started to give up slowly.

If it wasn’t for Great Sage’s help I’d have no idea where we were.

Even so…

things didn’t feel as horrible as before.

We were still trapped in an absurd dungeon. Still lost, surrounded by creatures capable of ripping our heads off without much trouble.

But I wasn’t alone anymore.

During those days we ended up crossing a ridiculous amount of different zones: flooded caverns where the water came up to Roxy’s waist, tunnels covered in giant crystals that lit everything in bluish tones, ancient ruins buried under spiderwebs, and entire fields of teleportation magic circles that looked like they’d been designed specifically by some psychopath with a personal grudge against adventurers.

And we fought constantly.

Well.

“Fight” was a pretty generous way to describe what happened most of the time.

Because usually Roxy just watched me commit magical atrocities against the laws of nature while trying to accept that I existed.

“Rimuru.”

“Hm?”

“Slimes shouldn’t be able to use magic…”

Conversations like that started feeling dangerously normal. Too normal, actually. Enough that both Roxy and I let our guard down and forgot one pretty important detail:

we were still trapped inside a dungeon apparently designed by a lunatic with a personal hatred for all intelligent life.

We remembered at the worst possible moment.

The ground lit up under our feet with a bluish glow I recognized too late.

“...Ah no.”

The magic circle expanded violently around us. Roxy barely had time to go pale before trying to hold me tighter.

“Rimuru, wait—!”

The space around us warped like someone had slammed the world against an invisible mirror.

And an instant later everything vanished.

The sensation of teleportation was still awful. It didn’t exactly hurt, but every time it happened I felt like my consciousness was getting dragged through a dimensional blender for half a second before popping back into existence somewhere completely different.

When I got my bearings, we’d appeared in the middle of a gigantic cavern.

My Magic Sense reacted even before I could process what I was seeing.

The amount of presences around us was absurd.

Iron Crawlers crawling on walls and ceilings.

Tarantula Deathlords moving through huge masses of webs.

Mad Skulls gathering mana in different spots of the cavern.

There were monsters literally everywhere.

Roxy let out a small exhausted sound while she tried to steady herself after the teleport.

“...Not again...”

But then I felt something else.

Something much worse.

At first it was far, almost outside my perception range, but even so it made my entire body tense up instinctively.

It wasn’t just a huge amount of mana.

In fact, the more I tried to measure it, the less sense it made to describe it as just “a lot”. What that presence was giving off was a density so absurd that my Magic Sense stopped interpreting it as normal energy and started treating it like I was looking at some natural phenomenon impossible to calculate.

Like staring into the bottom of a completely black ocean and never reaching the end.

The environment itself seemed to warp around it.

(Warning. Detected magic energy quantity exceeds standard calculation parameters.)

…

Okay.

That was definitely NOT normal.

The presence kept approaching at high speed while, at the same time, all the monsters in the room reacted to our appearance.

Dozens of magic circles appeared around the Mad Skulls almost simultaneously. The Deathlords dropped from ceilings and walls while the Iron Crawlers charged straight ahead, kicking up chunks of rock in their path.

Roxy raised her staff immediately.

“Rimuru!”

“Got it.”

I released mana all at once.

(Earth Golem.)

The ground exploded under several monsters before huge stone pillars shot up and impaled multiple Iron Crawlers from below. At the same time I launched several Stone Cannons in different directions, blowing apart webs, limbs, and shards of exoskeleton that went flying against the cavern walls.

BOOOOOOM.

Roxy reacted right alongside me without losing a second.

Yep, acá va el cierre. Todo traducido, nada omitido, con el mismo tono roto y menos pulido:

Okay.

That was really fucking scary.

“Ah… thank god…”

The voice echoed through the whole cavern.

And for the first time since I’d known her, Roxy froze completely.

“...Eh?”

The young man ran straight toward us, cutting through the last few monsters without even slowing down.

And honestly, seeing him up close only made the feeling worse.

My Magic Sense was literally trembling trying to process the absurd amount of mana packed inside that human body. It was so huge and deep it was hard to understand how someone could exist normally carrying that much without accidentally destroying everything around them.

“...Ridiculous,” I muttered without meaning to.

The young man finally got to us.

His eyes found Roxy immediately.

And the next instant I practically vanished between the two of them when he hugged her with absurd strength.

HE’S CRUSHING ME.

“Su~u...”

“Eh? EHHH?!”

“GYAAAAAAAH—”

My body got violently compressed between the two while the guy buried his face in Roxy’s neck, breathing like someone on the edge of a full emotional breakdown.

WHAT KIND OF PHYSICAL STRENGTH DID THIS HUMAN MONSTER EVEN HAVE?!

“R-Rimuru—!”

“Rimuru?” The young man’s eyes went wide. “You were with someone else?”

“M-my slime!”

Roxy reacted late, completely red while she tried to pull him off a little.

The young man finally lifted his head.

“...Slime?”

“Yes! You’re crushing it!”

“Eh?”

Luckily he loosened his arms slightly.

OH THANK GOD.

My body slowly recovered its gelatinous shape while I peeled myself off his robe, traumatized.

Okay.

Breathe.

Mentally.

Because technically I still don’t have lungs.

The young man was still hugging Roxy, though now it looked like he’d realized something important.

“...Roxy… sensei…?”

His voice trembled just a bit saying it.

Roxy still looked completely confused while she stared at him up close.

“U-um...”

And then it happened.

I saw the exact moment realization hit her.

Her eyes slowly traced the young man’s face: the hair, the look in his eyes, the structure of his face… until they finally went wide.

“...Wait.”

The kid held his breath.

“...R-Rudeus?”

And the magical pressure around him exploded emotionally right away.

“YES!!”

Whoa.

Okay.

That was intense.

Roxy kept staring at him, completely stunned.

“...L-Ludy...?”

“It’s been like ten years!”

I had to process that for a moment.

Ten?

“SENSEI HASN’T CHANGED AT ALL!!”

“Migurds age slowly…”

…

Okay.

This was surreal.

The terrifying infinite-mana monster my Magic Sense had spent several minutes desperately trying to analyze was the little prodigy student Roxy had been talking about for days straight.

THE PERVERT GENIUS WAS THIS ARCANE DEMON?

No, wait.

That explained way too many things.

Rudeus kept looking at Roxy like someone who’d just found water in the middle of the desert after months walking alone. The amount of relief visible in his expression was so genuine that even I stopped being paranoid for a moment.

“...I thought I was too late,” he murmured, still breathing unsteadily.

Roxy’s expression softened slightly.

“Ludy…”

Okay wow.

That guy literally seemed to light up every time she said his name.

There were DEFINITELY A LOT of psychological issues going on here.

And then Rudeus finally looked at me.

His eyes slowly dropped to my gelatinous body.

“...Sensei.”

“Y-yes?”

“...Why do you have a slime?”

Excellent question.

Roxy opened her mouth to answer, but froze for a few seconds, clearly trying to decide where exactly to even start that explanation.

“...It’s complicated.”

“I’m a good slime!” I clarified immediately.

Rudeus went completely still.

And then he partially covered his mouth while trying to hold back a laugh.

…

EHHHH.

WAIT.

DOES HE KNOW THAT JOKE?

Chapter Text

The second floor of the Teleportation Labyrinth was a completely different beast. Nothing like the lower levels.

That was the first thing I noticed when we finally left behind the freezing nightmare of the third floor and reached a relatively safe area where adventurers had set up a temporary camp.

As we walked with the group, Roxy explained that each floor had its own ecosystem, monsters, and traps, and apparently the deeper you went, the more unfair everything became.

The first floor, according to them, was filled with relatively normal creatures.
The second was a chaotic mess of tunnels, ambushes, and monsters with serious anger issues.
The third...

Well.

The third floor was something else entirely.

More structured. More artificial. But also filled with random teleportation traps, endless hordes, Mad Skulls, giant spiders, complete darkness, and, as a bonus prize, permanent psychological trauma.

Right now we were inside a massive cavern being used as a resting area. Equipment was piled everywhere—blankets, backpacks, weapons—and a disturbing amount of people were staring at me like they'd just discovered a talking fish walking on two legs.

Which, honestly, was fair.

"...So," said Geese, the monkey-looking man, pointing at me, "a slime? I've seen a few on the Demon Continent and none of them looked anything like this. They definitely didn't talk either."

"I'm a special slime," I replied proudly from Roxy's arms.

Silence.

"Huh," Talhand muttered before taking another drink. "I hate to admit it, but that's pretty interesting."

"Thank you. I work very hard to maintain my level of weirdness."

Elinalise observed me with an amused smile.

"He's surprisingly polite."

"I was raised by modern society and trauma."

"I don't know what that means," she said calmly, "but it sounds sad."

"It is."

Paul, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, hadn't taken his eyes off me once.

"So you're the one who helped save Roxy."

"And technically I also froze an army."

"That too," he admitted.

Roxy lowered her gaze slightly.

"Rimuru helped me a lot."

"Sensei almost died several times," Rudeus added with a completely serious face.

"L-Ludy!"

"It's true!"

"...You didn't have to say it like that..."

I understood the family dynamic immediately.

Rudeus was sitting way too close to Roxy.
Paul noticed it.
Elinalise DEFINITELY noticed it.
And Geese was enjoying the emotional disaster from a safe distance.

Excellent group.

"So," Paul said as he stepped a little closer, "what exactly are you?"

"A slime."

"Yeah, we established that already."

"A very talented slime."

"That explains absolutely nothing."

"Reincarnated."

Total silence.

Geese blinked. Talhand slowly lowered his bottle. Even Elinalise raised an eyebrow slightly.

But the most shocked person there was Rudeus.

Looks like between my stupid little "I'm a good slime!" joke and the way I talked, he'd already picked up on something.

Not that I cared.

I wasn't going to bring it up unless he did first.

"What do you mean reincarnated?" Paul asked.

"I died. Then I woke up as a slime. Honestly I don't fully understand it either."

"And you're saying that so casually?" Geese asked.

"Buddy, after surviving alone down there for hundreds of days, existential crises kind of lose their impact."

"...Fair."

To my surprise, Paul was the first one to burst out laughing.

A loud, genuine laugh.

"HAHAHA! I like you, slime."

"Thank you, BUT MY NAME IS RIMURU. RI-MU-RU."

"No, seriously," he continued laughing, "anyone who survives alone down there and still keeps their sense of humor deserves respect."

Okay.

I liked this guy.

He had the energy of a deeply problematic but genuinely well-meaning father.

Rudeus sighed tiredly.

"Dad, don't get too close to the weird slime yet. We still don't know anything about him."

"Weird?" I replied, offended. "You're the one with infinite mana."

"Infinite mana?" Geese repeated.

"You're exaggerating," Rudeus muttered.

Exaggerating?

Every time I looked at him with Magic Sense it felt like staring into an abyss.

That amount of mana wasn't normal.

At all.

And apparently nobody else seemed disturbed by it.

"Roxy," I whispered, "was your student always terrifying?"

She actually thought about it for a few seconds.

"...Well, yes."

"Sensei!"

"He was giving me lewd looks at age five," she whispered back only to me.

"THAT WAS A LONG TIME AGO!"

"And you were always thinking weird things too!"

"YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO SAY THAT!"

Paul burst out laughing again.

"Yep. Definitely still the same guy."

Rudeus collapsed dramatically onto the table.

"Why is everyone against me?"

"Because it's funny," Elinalise answered immediately.

"Cruel."

While they kept arguing among themselves, I found myself relaxing a little in Roxy's arms.

And honestly...

it felt strange.

For the first time since arriving in this world, there were no monsters trying to rip my head off. No dark tunnels. No giant spiders descending from ceilings every five minutes.

Just a noisy inn full of normal sounds: people talking too loudly, plates clattering together, adventurers laughing after drinking a little too much.

Simple things.

Normal things.

And maybe that was exactly why it felt so strange.

Roxy adjusted her arms slightly around me when I shifted a little.

"Are you okay?" she asked quietly.

"YES!!"

I forced my entire body to wiggle dramatically in order to express my happiness.

"I'm just processing the fact that nobody has tried to murder us in the last two hours."

That earned a small smile from her.

Tired, but genuine.

"You're with us now."

The sentence was simple.

So simple that she probably didn't even think much before saying it.

But it still hit me harder than expected.

Because ever since arriving in this world, everything had been about survival. Adapting. Pretending I knew what I was doing while desperately avoiding horrible death.

And now suddenly there were people talking about me like I naturally belonged there.

Before I could think too much about it, Paul slammed his hand against the table.

"Alright! I've made my decision."

Geese immediately raised his hand.

"The slime stays!"

"WELCOME TO THE GROUP!" Talhand added while lifting his mug.

Even Elinalise smiled from the other side of the table while looking at me like they'd just adopted a very strange animal.

...

Okay.

This was starting to feel dangerously warm emotionally.

Paul cleared his throat after Geese finally stopped laughing.

The relaxed expression he'd been wearing until now slowly disappeared.

"Roxy told me what you did down in the labyrinth."

The atmosphere around the table shifted slightly.

Not completely.

But enough to make it obvious that this mattered.

"Silent casting. Saint-tier magic or higher." Paul leaned forward slightly, staring directly at me. "And you protected Roxy down there."

His voice didn't sound excited.

Or impressed.

It sounded tired.

Like someone who had been holding himself together for so long that he no longer remembered how to stop.

"Normally I wouldn't ask a favor from someone I just met." He rubbed a hand across his face before continuing. "But we're not really in a position to be picky anymore."

Roxy lowered her gaze slightly.

Elinalise stopped smiling.

And for the first time since meeting this group, the atmosphere changed completely.

Suddenly they weren't just loud adventurers drinking together.

They were exhausted people.

People desperately searching for someone.

"Zenith is still missing," Paul said quietly. "And every lead we find keeps dragging us into worse places."

A small silence followed.

Geese slowly set his mug down.

Even Talhand no longer looked relaxed.

Paul looked back at me.

And this time he wasn't speaking like a party leader.

Or an adventurer.

He spoke like a desperate husband.

"So I'm asking you."

His voice lowered slightly.

"Please help me rescue my wife."

------------

The exit from the Teleportation Labyrinth was far less glorious than I had imagined.

Mostly because I was being carried between the massive breasts of a half-dressed blonde elf, gently bouncing every time she walked.

...

Okay.

I needed to admit something important.

"...This is dangerously comfortable."

"Hm?" Elinalise asked while looking down at me.

"Nothing important."

Because honestly—

the difference was enormous.

Being carried by Roxy was nice because her hands were warm and soft.

But Elinalise...

this was literally luxury-grade elven cushioning.

Like sinking into two clouds specifically engineered to destroy my dignity.

Of course—

there was one problem.

"...Why are you looking at me like that?" Roxy asked from beside us.

"Like what?"

"...I don't know. But I don't like it."

Shit.

Was my slime face really that expressive?

I'm pretty sure I'm a slime. I literally don't even have a proper face.

Paul burst out laughing ahead of us as we walked through the gigantic stone gates leading outside the labyrinth.

"HAHAHA! I like this slime!"

"Thanks... I think."

"He talks weird but he's got spirit!"

"I heard that before and it ended in geographical racism."

"I don't know what that means but it sounded deep."

Geese sighed from the top of a nearby wagon.

"...I still can't believe we accepted a talking slime this quickly."

"Quickly?" Talhand muttered while carrying barrels. "The thing froze half the labyrinth."

"THAT helped convince us a lot!" Paul immediately replied.

"...I'm still right here, you know."

Honestly...

I was getting along absurdly well with Paul.

Which felt weird.

Because technically he was exactly the kind of person who would normally intimidate me.

Tall.

Strong.

Loud.

Way too social.

And yet—

talking to him was surprisingly easy.

Maybe because he seemed physically incapable of treating me normally.

"Hey, slime!"

"I have a name."

"Right! Rimuru!"

"...Thank you."

"Can you turn into a sword?"

"...What?"

"And armor?"

"PAUL," Roxy sighed tiredly.

"WHAT?! It'd be useful!"

...I think I actually could.

I'd rather avoid it if possible, but maybe I could try if things got desperate enough.

Still felt like a waste of my Mimicry ability.

Elinalise laughed softly.

"Personally, I prefer keeping him this size. He's adorable."

AAAAAAAHHHHHH

An elf.

AN ELF.

AHHHHH.

She called me adorable.

I AM adorable.

Please hold me more.

"But you ARE adorable."

"...I am..."

"HAHAHAHA!" Geese laughed.

...

...

When we finally reached the surface, I genuinely went speechless.

Rapan stretched out before us beneath Begaritt's reddish sky.

Sand.

Stone.

Low buildings that looked straight out of some fantasy Sahara desert city.

Fabric hanging through narrow alleys.

Merchants yelling over each other.

The smell of spices everywhere.

Massive beasts dragging cargo wagons.

And people.

Humans, beastfolk, dwarves, elves—races my brain still hadn't fully processed yet.

"...Whoa."

Elinalise smiled slightly after noticing my reaction.

"First time seeing a large city?"

"...Yeah."

After weeks trapped in darkness, ice, monsters, and death...

seeing something so alive hit differently.

Very differently.

The inn where the group was staying was packed with loud adventurers and smelled strongly of alcohol.

Talhand immediately found a bottle.

"...That dwarf is going to die drunk," I muttered.

"He'll be fine. High resistance," Geese nodded.

Roxy ended up being practically dragged away by Lilia and several other women from the group so she could bathe and rest.

Which left behind an unexpected situation.

Me.

Alone.

With the rest of the group.

...

Awkward silence.

Paul looked at me.

I looked at him.

He pointed at me.

"So you eat monsters?"

"...Yes."

"INCREDIBLE!"

"I don't think that should be your first reaction..."

"...I'm going to die," I muttered from Roxy's arms.

"Can slimes even get hangovers?"

"They can now."

Roxy laughed quietly while we walked through Rapan. It was infinitely better than staying behind with Paul and Geese while they destroyed their livers until three in the morning.

Rapan looked nothing like anything I'd ever seen before.

The entire city had been built inside the ribcage of a Behemoth that died centuries ago. The massive white bones formed a gigantic cage around the oasis where everyone lived. The place was chaotic, packed with adventurers, and everything revolved around the magic crystals extracted from the labyrinth. Even the Adventurer's Guild had been carved directly into an enormous rock formation in the center of the city.

The air was dry and hot, filled with the smell of heated metal, roasted meat, and strong spices that clung to your clothes. Sand-colored fabrics fluttered between reddish stone buildings while demi-humans guided massive beasts of burden through the narrow streets and merchants shouted prices at passing travelers.

Begaritt had an absurdly high mana density, which made everything feel heavy.

Vibrant.

Dangerous.

Rudeus walked a few steps behind us.

He wasn't saying anything.

Just watching.

And Roxy was acting weird.

Very weird.

They had spent almost the entire night together after the rescue, and somehow she still looked more comfortable talking to me than talking to him. Every time Rudeus tried joining the conversation, she tensed slightly like she suddenly forgot where to put her hands.

"...Are there really that many orcs in Biheiril?" she asked while we stopped near a spear stand, clearly searching for any excuse to keep talking.

"I guess."

"'I guess'... the weird way you talk makes me imagine weird things."

"That's linguistic racism."

"I don't know what that means."

"Neither do I."

Behind us, Rudeus watched silently.

It wasn't the look of a jealous boy.

It was something else.

The look of someone staring at their goddess.

Because to Rudeus, Roxy wasn't just "his former teacher."

She was the person who dragged him out of isolation when he was a broken child. The one who taught him magic. The first reason he ever found to leave his house.

He admired her with a devotion that bordered on religious.

He followed her with his eyes like he was still eleven years old and she had just walked into his room holding a staff.

"Sensei," he finally said, using that unusually soft voice reserved only for her, "are you still tired?"

"Eh? A-ah... a little."

And immediately she turned toward me.

"Rimuru, do slimes sleep?"

That was so obvious even I noticed it.

Rudeus noticed too.

His smile froze for half a second before he kept walking like nothing happened, although I caught the way his hand tightened slightly around the strap of his bag.

"Sometimes. I can rest by absorbing mana," I answered so she wouldn't leave him hanging awkwardly.

"That's convenient," Roxy said while nodding several times, suddenly way too interested.

Rudeus didn't say anything.

He simply walked ahead toward a weapon stand and stopped in front of a longsword.

It was a good weapon.

I could tell even without touching it.

Mana flowed faintly through the blade, and the balance looked perfect.

"How much?" he asked.

The merchant gave him the price.

"THAT'S EXPENSIVE," the three of us said at the exact same time.

Roxy laughed in surprise, and for a brief second she actually looked at him properly. Rudeus sighed and paid for it anyway.

"I guess surviving the labyrinth is worth more than saving money," he muttered.

"That sounded painfully adult," I commented.

"I'm surrounded by irresponsible adventurers. Someone has to be."

"Hey!" Roxy protested. "I spent all my money on books!"

"See?"

They kept walking through the market stalls, and the pattern repeated itself over and over again. Roxy became formal, nervous, almost stiff whenever Rudeus spoke directly to her. But with me she acted normal. She laughed, asked random questions, relaxed naturally.

It wasn't rejection.

It was panic.

Like she genuinely didn't know how to behave around the student who now literally towered over her and still looked at her like she was the woman who saved his life.

After a while, Roxy glanced sideways at me.

"Rimuru... am I acting strange?"

"Yes. Very."

"Ugh..."

Two meters ahead, Rudeus pretended to examine a collection of amulets.

He heard everything.

He didn't turn around, but I noticed his shoulders sink slightly.

And that was when I finally understood the problem.

No.

Worse.

I understood the entire disaster.

Rudeus was completely screwed.

That guy looked at her like Roxy was religion, salvation, and first teenage love all combined into one person. Every time she said his name, he looked seconds away from passing out from happiness.

And Roxy...

Roxy was operating at roughly twenty percent mental capacity.

Not because she was stupid.

Because she clearly had absolutely no idea what the hell to do with any of this.

Every time he looked at her too directly, she looked away. Whenever he stood too close, she tensed up. And when Rudeus talked about her—even casually—she turned red all the way to her ears like someone had thrown her into boiling water.

It was awkward.

VERY awkward.

Especially because I was still physically trapped between both of them while we walked through Rapan.

The city was huge. Noise everywhere, crowded stalls full of adventurers, merchants yelling over each other, and that weird mix of spices, cheap alcohol, and cooked monster meat that I was honestly adapting to way too quickly.

Rudeus walked ahead of us trying to act normal.

He was doing a TERRIBLE job.

Every five seconds he turned around to make sure Roxy was still there. And whenever our eyes accidentally met, he'd immediately look away like a criminal caught red-handed.

Yeah.

He was absolutely in love.

"...I don't know what to do," Roxy suddenly murmured, leaning slightly closer to me as we moved through the crowd.

She spoke quietly.

Like she wanted to make sure he couldn't hear her.

Spoiler:

that magical monster could probably hear an ant breathing from twenty meters away.

"Why?" I asked. "Because he grew up?"

"THAT TOO!"

The squeak escaped her so fast that she immediately tried to disguise it with a cough.

She failed miserably.

Further ahead, Rudeus suddenly became extremely interested in a dagger stand.

His completely red ears betrayed him instantly.

He heard all of it.

"...Before, he was a little kid," Roxy continued after a few seconds, still avoiding looking directly at him. "A weird kid. Talented. Far too serious for his age... but he was still a child."

I watched her lower her gaze slightly toward the ground as we walked.

"And now I look at him and..."

She didn't finish the sentence.

She didn't need to.

Because even I could tell how nervous she became whenever Rudeus got too close.

"...And now what?" I asked, even though I already knew the answer.

Roxy turned red all the way to the tips of her ears.

"He's..."

Roxy fell silent for a moment, clearly trying to organize her thoughts without dying of embarrassment in the process. Her fingers tightened slightly around my body while we continued moving through the crowded streets of Rapan, weaving around adventurers, merchants, and the occasional guy who was clearly drunk despite it still being midday.

Ahead of us, Rudeus continued pretending to care deeply about completely random stalls.

The guy could probably destroy a mountain if he wanted to, but apparently he had no idea what to do with his hands when he liked a woman.

"...He's kind," Roxy finally murmured. "Reliable. Responsible when he needs to be... and strong, intelligent, polite, and—"

She abruptly stopped herself.

"...I'm making it worse, aren't I?"

"Significantly worse."

"Uuu..."

She lowered her face slightly into the brim of her hat while we kept walking.

Chapter Text

"Hmm... Ludy..."
"Y-Yes, sensei?! What's wrong?"
"You're distracting me, walking past my door so much."

Roxy said that with a slightly forced smile while holding the book in both hands as she sat on the bed. I, trapped between her arms like a decorative emotional-support slime, watched as Rudeus froze in the middle of the hallway.

"…Sorry, I'll leave you alone."

He lowered his head immediately, without arguing or trying to defend himself, and the sheer dejection in his posture made him look less like a dangerous mage and more like a giant golden retriever that had just been told it wasn't allowed on the couch.

The poor guy slowly turned around, ready to dramatically retreat toward probably the darkest bar in town.

"Ludy."

He stopped instantly. No exaggeration. Instantly. I swear dust even kicked up behind his boots.

"If you've got nothing to do besides wandering around…" Roxy murmured, avoiding looking at him directly, "…there are a few points in the book I don't understand. So… could you explain them to me?"

"Of course!"

She hadn't even finished the sentence before he was already sitting beside her. It was impressive. I think he broke some law of physics.

And just like that, the two of them were sitting together on the bed reading while I stayed comfortably resting in Roxy's arms.

And honestly, this position was still excellent. Roxy's hands were soft, very soft, and warm too. She also smelled good now that she'd finally been able to bathe, which only made the whole arrangement even more pleasant.

"…What part don't you understand?" Rudeus asked, trying to sound calm and failing miserably.

Roxy flipped a few pages. "The author mentions that the Teleportation Labyrinth partially changes its structure every few years, but that the main circles remain in similar patterns…"

"Oh, that." Rudeus immediately started explaining, and it was weird seeing him talk normally like this. No monsters. No sudden ice-based catastrophes. Just a smart guy enthusiastically explaining labyrinth nerd stuff.

"According to the book," Rudy continued, pointing at a hand-drawn map, "the first three floors work almost like filters. The teleportation circles aren't just trying to lose adventurers; they're separating groups."

Roxy lowered her gaze to the text again. "The author mentions that monsters get more aggressive when they detect isolated people…"

"Yeah," Rudy replied. "And apparently some creatures evolved specifically to take advantage of the labyrinth's structure."

"…That explains the Deathlord Tarantulas."

"Exactly."

Roxy furrowed her brow slightly. "…I hate those things."

"Every rational living being hates those things."

I nodded solemnly from her arms, fully agreeing with that assessment.

Rudeus let out a small laugh, and the atmosphere immediately felt a little lighter. Social progress achieved.

"…It also says here," Roxy continued, flipping through a few more pages, "that the lower floors look like ancient ruins."

"Yeah," Rudeus replied, leaning a bit closer to the book. "The author theorized that the labyrinth fused with the remains of some old civilization."

"Can that happen?" I asked.

"In ancient labyrinths, yes," he explained. "Talhand thinks this place was originally a normal labyrinth, but ended up connecting with other underground structures."

Roxy observed one of the drawings in the book. Broken columns, giant stone doors, and strange symbols carved around magic circles filled the page, making the whole thing look like the ruins of some forgotten empire.

"…It's a little scary," she murmured.

"A lot," I corrected immediately. "I was on those floors for a while and it's full of Mad Skulls and Armored Warriors."

"Correct," Rudeus nodded.

I didn't say anything else, but I did give a solemn little nod from Roxy's arms, which seemed like enough to make the point.

Rudeus let out another small laugh, and the mood between them kept easing into something more natural. Roxy no longer looked like she was talking to some unreachable figure, and Rudeus, while still obviously nervous around her, had stopped acting like every sentence might explode in his face. Now she sounded more like a teacher talking to her student again, which was probably the healthiest version of this entire situation.

"…Ludy."

"Yeah?"

"…Thanks for saving me."

Rudeus froze. Roxy also lowered her gaze a little after saying it, as if the words had slipped out before she could stop them.

"…It was nothing," Rudy replied, softer this time. "It's normal."

"No," Roxy murmured. "It wasn't."

So awkward. They needed to kiss or argue or do literally anything else, because this level of tension was becoming unbearable.

"…Well," I intervened desperately, "if you keep surviving long enough you'll probably solve all this weird tension."

"WHAT?!" both said at the same time.

Perfect. Synchronization achieved.

Roxy turned completely red. Rudeus looked like he was about to magically self-destruct.

"…Rimuru," Roxy said slowly.

"Yes?"

"…I'm going to throw you."

Uh!?

—-------------- 

The day to return to the Labyrinth finally arrived, and this time the whole group was prepared.

The difference was ridiculous. The monsters on the third floor were still just as annoying as ever: Iron Crawlers forming the front line, Deathlord Tarantulas shooting webs from behind, and Mad Skulls leading the whole mess. Those huge mud golems with a skull buried in their chest were slow, resistant, and somehow intelligent enough to organize combat formations, which made them even more irritating than they had any right to be.

"…I hate this place," I muttered from Elinalise's arms as we advanced.

"Hm? Why?" she asked, amused.

"Too many spiders…"

Paul let out a laugh from up front. "HA! The slime's right!"

And getting along with Paul was turning out to be weirdly easy. The guy was an emotional human disaster, but as an adventurer he was genuinely incredible. He moved at the front of the group like he had been born inside a labyrinth, with no wasted movements and no hesitation, cutting monsters apart while still managing to shout orders to everyone else.

And besides, he was absurdly easy to joke with.

"Rimuru!" Paul shouted, cutting an Iron Crawler in half. "Freeze those spiders!"

"Gladly!"

(Nova of Frost)

CRAAACK.

The entire corridor was covered in ice.

"…Okay… that's terrifying," Talhand muttered behind us before clearing his throat. "That… Good job, Rimuru."

Meanwhile, I kept resting in Elinalise's arms, which was very comfortable. A lot. Too much, honestly.

"Ahhh… Thank you, miss elf…" I commented casually.

"Ara~ you're welcome."

"Roxy's hands are softer, but this has better cushioning."

"RIMURU," Roxy said, completely red.

Paul almost choked laughing while Rudeus looked ready to erase me with some kind of magic.

The combat dynamic ended up becoming absurdly efficient. Paul and Elinalise destroyed the front line, Talhand protected the center, Roxy and Rudeus froze entire groups, and I dedicated myself to eliminating Mad Skulls from the back using magic while absorbing any monster that seemed useful.

Eventually we found something new: two Armored Warriors, giant skeletons with four arms and black armor.

Roxy stopped me right before I shot at them. "Careful. They can deflect magic."

Okay, that was scary.

So instead of shooting, I waited. Paul and Elinalise held them back while I discreetly expanded my body under the floor using Predator, and as soon as one of them fell I absorbed it whole.

(Confirmed: individual "Armored Warrior" analyzed. Skill acquired: Water God Sword Style (Advanced).)

…Oh.

OH.

I don't even have arms. What good is mastering a sword style…?

"…That was… Incredible!" Geese commented.

"Thanks, mister monkey."

After several hours we finally reached the fourth floor, and the atmosphere changed completely. The natural walls disappeared, replaced by stone ruins, broken columns, artificial hallways, and ancient symbols carved into black rock. Even the air felt different down there, heavier somehow, as if the place itself had been waiting for us to notice it.

"…So the book was right," Roxy murmured.

Paul observed the surroundings seriously. "We'll explore a bit and go back to Rapan. I don't want to push too hard."

Nobody argued with that. It was the right decision. Even I was starting to feel the mental fatigue of that place.

A few minutes later, Paul ended up leaning an arm on Elinalise while we walked back.

"Good work today, slime."

"…Thanks."

"But stop trying to feel up Elinalise's breasts."

"Never."

"HAHAHA!"

Roxy sighed in defeat, while Elinalise kept carrying me with an amused expression as we advanced toward the labyrinth's exit.

"…Ara~ I think you're used to this already."

"…Obviously! I can't just crawl or hop around the labyrinth. This is much better."

And more comfortable.

That night I ended up drinking with Talhand, Roxy, and Rudeus at the inn.

Well.

"Drinking."

I was actually just pretending to drink alcohol while Talhand emptied bottle after bottle like he wanted to declare war on his liver.

"Listen up, brats!" he declared, slamming the table. "A real man needs muscles!"

"Again with that…?" Roxy murmured tiredly.

"MUSCLES ARE THE SOUL!"

"…I don't think that's anatomically correct," I commented.

Talhand pointed at me dramatically. "You get it!"

"No, I literally said the opposite."

Rudeus sighed while drinking silently next to Roxy, and watching him try to act normal in front of her was still hilarious. Every time Roxy looked at him, he stiffened. Every time Rudy called her "sensei," Roxy looked like she had taken critical emotional damage.

It was incredible.

"…Ludy," Roxy murmured half-asleep, "stop sitting up so straight… it makes me nervous…"

"H-Huh?! S-sorry!"

"…HAHAHAHA!" Talhand almost spat out his alcohol laughing.

I ended up laughing too, and while Roxy slowly started to fall asleep on the table…

—---------------------- 

We went back into the Labyrinth a few days later. Lilia had sent us off with a complicated expression.

"Go carefully."

And I think we all understood that wasn't just a simple phrase.

Luckily, this time the advance was absurdly efficient. Between the new gear, the accumulated experience, and Gisu looking like he was possessed by some god of labyrinth navigation, we reached the fourth floor in just a few hours. Even the teleportation circles cooperated, which was scary by itself.

We explored the fourth-floor ruins a bit more, completed parts of the map, and found the path to the fifth. Still no Zenith. Still nothing.

The fifth floor was where things started getting uncomfortable.

Little Devils. Small black creatures with long arms, sharp claws, and mouths too big to peacefully exist in divine creation. They moved along the ceiling, the walls, and sometimes directly over us, which made every step feel like walking through a nightmare that had learned how to cling to architecture.

The first time one dropped toward Roxy from above, I almost pierced its skull on reflex with a water projectile. And yeah, that probably would have been worse.

We quickly discovered they were fragile enemies. Dangerous by surprise, but not by resistance. The problem was that they completely destroyed our formation, because Paul and Elinalise could hold monsters at the front, but those things simply ignored the concept of a front line.

Then Gisu pulled out the miracle solution from the book: Tarafro berries, crushed and burned. The smoke made the Little Devils come down from the ceiling like cockroaches fleeing insecticide.

I'd never seen A-rank monsters turn into "administrative problem" rank so fast.

I even absorbed one of the bigger ones using Predator when it tried to lunge at me from above, and the result was a skill called "Sticky Step," which let me stick to walls.

Thanks to the incense, we advanced ridiculously fast. We found the entrance to the sixth floor and kept descending without returning to Rapan.

The group's atmosphere was good. Too good, even. Paul was motivated, Gisu was relaxed, Talhand was serious, Roxy seemed calmer since returning to the Labyrinth even though she still acted weird with Rudeus, and Rudeus himself kept acting normal and respectful, which somehow made him even more suspicious in a completely different way.

The sixth floor was worse. Much worse.

Little Devils everywhere. Entire nests. Rooms full of black eggs covered in mucus. It looked like a low-budget sci-fi movie that had somehow been cursed by a demon.

Roxy explained that the monsters probably survived by feeding on ambient mana while stabbing eggs with her staff without changing expression.

"Ludy, stop staring and help."

"Ah, right."

So I ended up destroying eggs alongside her while trying not to think too much about how those things were born.

 

—----------------- 

The fifth floor ended up feeling different in a way that had nothing to do with the scenery. The stone was still damp, the tunnels still seemed to stretch on forever, and every now and then we could hear the unpleasant skittering of monsters moving somewhere beyond the cracks in the walls. What changed was the atmosphere. The farther we advanced, the more obvious it became that the Labyrinth was no longer just a maze of random dangers, but something that was actively trying to guide us toward a specific place. That realization was unsettling enough on its own.

We eventually reached a massive square chamber that looked almost unnaturally empty. There were no monsters waiting for us, no eggs scattered across the floor, and not even any corpses left behind as evidence that something had passed through recently. The only things carved into the stone were three enormous magic circles, each one etched with careful precision into the floor.

"…This definitely seems suspicious," I muttered from Roxy's shoulder.

Paul frowned as he looked around the room. "Too clean."

"And too quiet," Elinalise added, tightening her grip on her sword.

Even Geese looked uneasy, and that alone was enough to make the situation feel worse.

Up until now, every important area of the Labyrinth had been packed with monsters. In fact, just before reaching this chamber, we had fought through an absolute nightmare of Little Devils, hundreds of them swarming us as if they were trying desperately to keep anyone from getting this far. And yet, after all that resistance, this room was completely empty.

"…Boss room vibes," I muttered under my breath.

"Hm?" Roxy glanced at me.

"Nothing."

Geese approached the magic circles with the book still open in his hands, studying the engravings carefully. "…Yeah. They match the description."

Talhand let out a low grunt. "Two should be random traps."

"And one the correct path," Paul finished.

Ah. So it was another teleportation puzzle. That brought back some very unpleasant memories.

Rudeus slowly stepped closer to one of the circles, his eyes moving over the engraved patterns with surprising focus. Watching him work was almost absurd. His gaze ran across the complex magical formulas as if he were reading a menu instead of deciphering ancient labyrinthine magic.

Roxy also moved closer to inspect the circles. "…Do you notice anything?" she asked him.

Rudeus shook his head slowly. "Not enough…"

I stared at the circles in silence. Three of them. All different. And yet something about them felt wrong in a way I couldn't immediately explain. "…Great Sage."

(Response. Analyzing magical structures.)

While the others continued discussing theories, I waited. A few seconds later, the answer came back.

(Result obtained.)

That was fast.

(Conclusion: none of the three circles correspond to an advancement portal.)

I blinked. "What?"

Several pairs of eyes turned toward me at once.

Oops.

"…What do you mean?" Roxy asked.

I looked back at the circles. "That none of them look correct."

Geese immediately frowned. "Based on what?"

"Magical instinct."

Technically, that wasn't a lie.

Rudeus watched me closely, and from the expression on his face, he seemed to be feeling the same strange discomfort I was.

"…It's true," he murmured after a moment. "The structure is strange…"

Paul sighed, sounding tired already. "Great. So now we have three traps instead of two."

"No," I said.

Everyone looked at me again.

"I think we're looking at this wrong."

I slipped from Roxy's arms and landed on the floor before moving slowly through the chamber. Stone. Mana. Silence. The whole room felt unnaturally still, as if it were holding its breath.

"…Great Sage."

(Response. Detecting hollow space under central surface.)

Bingo.

I stopped right between the three circles. "…There's something down here."

Geese's expression changed instantly. The man practically threw himself onto the floor, pressing his ear against the stone before knocking on it several times with the hilt of his dagger.

TOK.

TOK.

TOK.

…

TONK.

His eyes widened. "…Hollow."

That was all it took for everyone else to react.

"Seriously?" Paul said.

"No fucking way…!" Talhand blurted out.

Rudeus came closer and studied the floor with renewed intensity. "…Makes sense," he murmured. "The Orsted teleportation ruins had a similar structure…"

Roxy looked at me with clear surprise. "…How did you figure that out?"

"…I'm a very wise slime."

"You didn't answer anything."

"Exactly."

Geese was already feeling along the stones, searching for some hidden mechanism. "Hmm… I can't find an opening."

"Break it?" Paul asked.

"Probably."

Everyone turned to Rudeus at the same time.

"…Why are you all looking at me like that?" he asked.

"Because you're the group's magic cannon," Elinalise replied.

Fair enough.

Rudeus sighed and raised a hand. A small Rock Bullet struck the floor with a dull impact.

KAN.

Nothing happened.

"Harder," Geese said.

"Yeah, yeah…"

The second Rock Bullet hit with far more force, exploding against the stone.

KRAAAK.

The floor shattered, and beneath it there was only emptiness.

"Ohhhh…"

Geese immediately jumped into the opening and began tearing away the broken stones with his bare hands. A few minutes later, hidden stairs were revealed beneath the chamber.

"GYAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!"

Paul burst out laughing and slapped Rudeus hard on the back.

"Good job!"

"AUH—!"

Talhand did the same, and Elinalise followed right after. At that point it was starting to look less like encouragement and more like a coordinated assault.

Roxy slowly raised her hand and gently touched my gelatinous body. "…Good job," she murmured.

Cute.

Rudeus was still staring at the newly revealed stairs with a thoughtful expression. "…So the circles were decoys…"

"Seems like it," Geese replied with a wide grin. "And we were all overthinking it like idiots."

"…Speak for yourself," I muttered.

"Says the cheating slime."

Correct. I couldn't really argue with that.

We finally began descending the stairs, moving slowly and carefully until we reached the bottom. There, waiting for us, was a single magic circle. It glowed a deep red in the darkness, and the pressure radiating from it sent a chill through the air.

"…That one's real," I muttered.

Rudeus nodded. "…Yeah."

Paul drew his sword. "Then get ready."

Elinalise smiled. Talhand tightened his grip on his axe. Geese took a deep breath. Roxy adjusted her hat and lifted me back into her arms.

Up until now, every teleporter in the Labyrinth had given off that faint, almost artificial blue light. This one was different. Its surface seemed to pulse beneath our feet, as if the stone itself were breathing. The glow was a dark red, the color of fresh blood, and even someone with no experience in adventuring would have understood that this was not a place to let down their guard.

"It's clear what's waiting for us past this circle…" Paul murmured.

Nobody answered, but we all understood exactly what he meant.

The air felt heavier here, as though the entire Labyrinth was watching us.

"What do we do?" Geese asked while checking his daggers. "We're still fresh. We could go back to the surface and enter tomorrow."

He wasn't wrong. Thanks to the Tarufro berries, the sixth floor had been surprisingly manageable. The Little Devils had barely been a real threat, and because of that none of us had spent too much energy or mana. We were practically at full strength.

Paul stared at the red circle for a few seconds before answering. "…We move forward."

Nobody argued.

Everyone began checking their equipment in front of the magic circle. Weapons. Scrolls. Potions. Magic crystals. The usual preparations, but with the kind of silence that only comes right before stepping into something dangerous.

I sat beside Roxy while she organized her supplies. She carried an absurd number of emergency scrolls, including healing spells, detoxification magic, and even advanced water and earth spells. It made sense. For someone who couldn't cast without chanting, there were situations where using a scroll was far faster than constructing the spell manually.

"Rimuru," she said, extending several scrolls toward me, "keep some healing ones."

I took one and studied it for a few seconds. "…Hm."

The structure seemed strangely simple to me. Not the spell itself, of course; the magical ink was complex enough. But the catalyst was surprisingly straightforward.

(Analysis completed.)

Great Sage's voice echoed in my mind.

(The scroll's composition uses crystallized mana particles as a stabilizing core. Replacement possible through the individual's pure mana.)

…Ah.

So that was it. Scrolls basically worked by using small fragments of solidified mana to keep the formula stable. But I didn't need that. I was, quite literally, a mass of mana.

"…I can replicate them," I muttered.

"Huh?" Roxy blinked.

"The scrolls."

(Activate Predator.)

The structure was instantly absorbed into my consciousness. Formula. Compression. Release. Everything was recorded in perfect detail.

(Healing spell successfully registered.)

"…Done."

"…Done?" Rudeus asked.

"Yeah."

"What does done mean?"

"I made a copy."

"…How?"

"…Magic."

"No, that doesn't explain anything."

Fair enough. But I didn't exactly know how to explain Predator without sounding completely insane either.

Roxy stared at me with her eyes slightly widened. "…That shouldn't be possible…"

"My ability to analyze mana is a bit strange."

"That's not a bit strange…"

Even Talhand stopped drinking long enough to look at me, which was probably the equivalent of witnessing an eclipse.

Then Elinalise tossed something toward us. I automatically caught the small transparent sphere before it could fall. A magic crystal. Rudeus received another one.

"In case you run out of mana," she explained. "Use them only if necessary."

…Ah. Crystallized mana.

My expression changed slightly.

"…What's wrong?" Roxy asked.

"This excites me a little."

"Huh?"

Without saying anything else, I dropped one of my own crystals onto the floor. Or rather, something a little bigger.

The crystal was nearly the size of a human head, translucent blue, and shining intensely from within.

"…Ah."

"…Huh?"

"…WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?" Geese shouted.

 

Paul literally stopped breathing for a few seconds, and even Elinalise opened her eyes in surprise.

“…It's a magic crystal,” I replied as calmly as I could.

“WE CAN SEE THAT!”

“I absorbed a lot of them for a while, heh heh.”

Normally I would have consumed them immediately after absorbing them, but I had saved a few as a reserve. By “a lot,” I meant hundreds of thousands. The crystal contained so much magical energy that the air around it seemed to vibrate faintly, as if the room itself were reacting to the pressure it gave off.

Roxy stared at it in complete horror.

“…That has more mana than me…”

“Yeah, probably.”

“PROBABLY!?”

I pulled out another one, and then another after that. They were all gigantic, all absurd, and all packed with enough mana to make the situation feel even more ridiculous than it already was.

“You can use these if you run out of mana.”

“…Rimuru,” Roxy murmured slowly, “I think those crystals could buy a small city.”

“…Ah.”

Right. That might have been a little excessive.

Talhand burst out laughing.

“Gyahahahaha! What kind of monster did we bring into the group?!”

“A pretty incredible one…” Gisu immediately replied, grabbing one of the crystals with tears in his eyes. “YOU’RE MY BOSS FROM NOW ON!”

Paul let out a tired laugh and ran a hand through his hair.

“With this, I’ll buy a house as soon as I get Zenith back.”

“It’s about time. Are you all ready?”

Paul’s voice echoed in front of the red circle, and the mood in the room shifted so abruptly that it felt like someone had slammed a door shut.

One by one, we stood up. A few minutes earlier there had still been jokes, the lingering warmth of alcohol, and the kind of light conversation people use to pretend they aren’t afraid. That was gone now. Nobody was smiling anymore, not even Gisu. Everyone stared at the red magic circle as if it were the mouth of some beast waiting to swallow us whole, and in a way, that was exactly what it felt like.

“Ludy.”

“Hm?”

Paul looked at Rudeus for several seconds, as if he were trying to force out words that had been sitting in his chest for too long.

“Even though maybe this isn’t the best time… I want you to know that I…”

No. Absolutely not. That was exactly the kind of sentence that always came right before disaster in stories like this.

“If it’s something important, say it after we get out alive.”

Paul blinked.

“…You’re right.”

Good. Cut off in time.

Death flags were real. I knew it. I felt it in my bones.

Paul gave a small, tired laugh before looking over the rest of us one by one, checking our expressions, our weapons, and the determination we were all trying to hide behind our faces. Then he stepped toward the circle.

“Let’s go.”

The red light swallowed us.

— 

The air on the other side was heavy with age, ancient and oppressive, as if the room itself had been sealed away for centuries. The first thing I felt when we appeared was a strange pressure pressing through my slime body, the sort of presence that made it seem as though something enormous was breathing right in front of us.

The room was gigantic. No, gigantic was an understatement. It looked like the interior of a temple built for gods. Cyclopean columns stretched down both sides of the chamber, and the ceiling disappeared into absolute darkness. The floor was covered in enormous geometric tiles, each one fitted together with impossible precision.

And then we saw it.

“…Oh.”

Gisu’s voice came out broken and hollow.

At the far end of the temple stood a single monster, and that was enough to make every muscle in my body tense at once.

It was a colossal Hydra. Nine reptilian heads emerged from a grotesquely wide torso, each one moving slowly in a different direction like snakes waiting for the perfect moment to strike. Emerald-green scales covered its entire body, though “scales” almost felt like the wrong word; they looked more like sharp sheets of metal, each plate edged so cleanly that the temple’s light reflected off them like wet blades. Even standing perfectly still, the pressure it emitted was monstrous.

“…It's a Hydra…” Gisu murmured, his voice dry with disbelief. “Tell me I’m seeing things…”

Nobody answered, because we were all still staring at it. Even Talhand had stopped breathing.

“…First time I’ve seen one for real…” he muttered at last.

Rudeus stood frozen, staring at the monster. Roxy gripped her staff so tightly her knuckles went white. Paul, however, wasn’t even looking at the Hydra.

Because behind it, at the back of the temple, there was a gigantic crystal. It was green, brilliant, and at least two meters tall, a hexagonal prism embedded into the wall like some sacred relic. Inside it floated a woman with blonde hair and a peaceful sleeping face, suspended motionless in the crystal’s glow.

Zenith Greyrat.

“…Zenith…”

Paul’s voice came out broken and small, as if he could barely believe what he was seeing.

Then all nine heads moved at once, and the entire temple trembled. One of the massive necks lowered itself slowly in front of the crystal, guarding it as though Zenith were some priceless treasure.

And something inside Paul shattered.

“ZENITH!”

He vanished from my side in a blur, sword and dagger already in hand.

“IDIOT!!!” Gisu shouted. “DON’T CHARGE IN ALONE!”

Too late.

The Hydra reacted instantly. All nine heads rose at once, and for the first time since coming to this world I felt genuine danger clawing at the back of my mind. It wasn’t just big. It wasn’t just strong. It was the kind of monster that made every instinct in your body scream at you to run.

“We’ll cover him!” Elinalise shouted, rushing after Paul. Talhand moved with her, and Roxy immediately raised her staff.

“Rimuru!”

“Yeah!”

I instinctively gathered mana, and Rudeus did the same beside me.

Several of the Hydra’s mouths opened at once, and an absurd amount of heat began gathering inside them.

“Shoot before it attacks!”

Roxy was the first to finish her spell.

“(GLACIES)!”

Frozen rain crashed down on one of the heads, striking it directly, and then—

TJIINNN.

An unbearable screech tore through the room, like metal scraping against glass. The spell vanished as if it had never existed.

“What?!” Roxy shouted.

My Rock Bullet hit an instant later.

TJIINNN.

The same sound. The same result. Nothing. Not even a scratch.

“…Magic doesn’t work?” Talhand murmured.

Paul didn’t hear any of it, because by then he had already reached the Hydra. One of the heads lunged at him, and Paul cut it off in a single strike. The severed head flew through the air as blood exploded outward, and another head fell immediately after.

I couldn’t even fully follow his movements. He was ridiculously fast.

But then the blood began to move. The wound started closing. Flesh grew. Bone regenerated.

“It’s healing!” Roxy shouted.

The head regrew before our eyes, and the brief shock that froze everyone nearly cost Elinalise her life.

One of the Hydra’s heads struck sideways. She raised her shield, but the impact made the entire temple tremble.

“GH—!”

Her arm bent backward violently, and she was thrown several meters away while blood sprayed from her shoulder.

The scales alone were enough to cut through flesh and armor at the same time.

“Elinalise!” Rudeus shouted.

Paul roared like a wounded beast and kept attacking without a shred of caution, as if thought itself had been burned out of him.

“He’s going to get himself killed!” Gisu shouted.

The nine heads began to close in around him, and my stomach dropped.

We needed information. Anything. Something that could tell us how to survive this.

A suggestion from Predator surfaced in my mind: direct analysis of the target was recommended.

“…Got it.”

“Rimuru?” Roxy said.

I looked at her.

“…I need to absorb it.”

“WHAT?”

“I can’t understand what’s happening without analyzing it.”

“ARE YOU CRAZY?!”

“…Probably.”

Another head descended toward Paul, too fast for comfort. Elinalise was injured. Talhand was still holding the line. There was no time left to hesitate.

“Roxy!” I shouted. “Throw me!”

“…Huh?”

“THROW ME!”

Roxy looked at me for two seconds, then at Paul, then at the Hydra, and made her decision instantly.

“DON’T DIE!”

She grabbed me and hurled me through the air as if I were some kind of thrown weapon.

The world spun violently as I flew straight toward one of the severed heads, and Predator activated the moment I made contact.

“DEVOUR!”

My slime body slammed into the cut head, and for the first time the analysis began to give me something useful. A series of alerts flashed through my mind, identifying the creature as a Manatite Hydra, confirming that its scales were made of manatite, warning that they could break down offensive spells on contact, and explaining that its regeneration was abnormal. The analysis also revealed that each head possessed independent offensive capability, that the wounds could be stopped only through immediate cauterization, and that the risk of total party extermination was extremely high.

…Ah.

Well. That explained a lot.

“RIMURU!” I heard Rudeus shout.

The Hydra shook violently, trying to bite me apart, but I expanded my body and forced Predator to keep devouring the head that had latched onto me. Flesh tore. Blood was absorbed. Mana was swallowed. Even the scales began to break down under the pressure.

At last, the head partially collapsed into my slime body.

Predator reported partial success and confirmed that a biological sample had been acquired.

Unfortunately, that wouldn’t be enough unless I managed to absorb it completely.

I tumbled to the floor, covered in green blood, and looked up just in time to see Paul.

He was breathing like a beast, his gaze fixed only on the crystal and on Zenith beyond it.

The Hydra roared again, but Paul took another step forward.

“I’ll kill you.”

His voice came out low, broken, and full of rage.

“Even if I have to cut you a thousand times…”

The nine heads roared at the same time.

“GET AWAY FROM MY FAMILY!!!!”

“Retreat!”

Roxy shouted for us to pull back, but Paul was beyond hearing. He kept screaming and throwing himself at the monster, even forcing Elinalise to keep up with his reckless assault just to minimize the damage. Then Gisu signaled to Talhand and sprinted to the front line with surprising speed. He reached Paul in seconds and threw something to the ground.

Pa-Pa-PAN.

The object exploded on impact, and a thick cloud of smoke began to rise between the Hydra and the front line. A smoke bomb.

Gisu shouted something at Paul that I couldn’t understand and grabbed his arm, but Paul still tried to lunge forward until Elinalise slammed her shield into his face with a tremendous bash.

That finally made him stop long enough for Gisu to say something else before running back toward us.

“Ludeus!”

Elinalise shouted his name, and he quickly raised a dense mist between us and the Hydra to hide our retreat. I didn’t have to do much after that, because Gisu quickly picked me up in his arms and carried me away at full speed.

TON—TON—TON.

Even through the smoke, I could hear the Hydra’s footsteps pounding after us, though thankfully it didn’t seem especially fast.

—

We regrouped about twenty meters away from the monster, using the mist and smoke to buy ourselves a little breathing room. Paul was breathing heavily, blood trickling down his temple. Elinalise clutched her broken arm, pale but still standing. Talhand panted while leaning on his axe, and even Gisu looked shaken despite his usual composure.

“Magic doesn’t work!” I blurted out as soon as I could speak. “The scales are made of manatite. They break down any spell on contact!”

Roxy clenched her teeth.

“I figured… That’s why Glacies did nothing.”

“There’s more,” I continued quickly. “It regenerates like a damn troll. If you cut a head off, it grows back in seconds. The only way to stop it is to cauterize the wound immediately. Fire, or something just as hot.”

Rudeus rubbed his chin as he processed the information.

“So… swords and fire. That narrows our options to…” He looked at Paul and Talhand.

“Tch!” Paul spat blood. “I don’t care. I’m going to tear it apart until it stops moving.”

“Don’t be an idiot!” Roxy snapped. “If you keep this up, it’s going to kill you before you even reach the crystal! Zenith is still alive in there! Do you want her to watch you die?”

Paul stopped.

For a single heartbeat, the madness in his eyes cracked under the weight of her words. He gripped his sword so tightly his knuckles turned white.

Elinalise dropped to her knees and pressed a healing scroll against her arm. The bone cracked as it reset, and she hissed through her teeth.

“I can’t stay on the front line,” she said, her voice tense. “Not without this arm at a hundred percent.”

Gisu swallowed and glanced toward the mist. The footsteps were getting closer.

“We need to decide now. That thing’s going to break through the mist any second.”

Talhand stepped forward.

“I have fire. My earth magic can generate enough heat to seal wounds. But I need someone to keep the heads still.”

“I’ll handle it,” Paul said immediately.

“No,” Rudeus cut him off. “You’ll die if you go alone. We need coordination.”

Paul glared at him furiously, but Rudeus didn’t look away.

“Trust me. Just this once.”

For a moment I honestly thought Paul was going to punch him in the face. But then he let out a breath through his teeth and gave one sharp nod.

“Alright,” I said. “New plan. Paul and Elinalise distract and cut. Talhand, you cauterize every wound as soon as a head falls. They can’t regenerate if the stump is burned.”

“What about magic?” Roxy asked.

“Useless for attacking,” I answered. “But I can use Predator to weaken them if I manage to swallow one whole. And Rudeus…”

“I can use earth magic to change the terrain,” he finished. “Slow them down, create walls, make them misstep. I won’t hurt them, but I can take away their mobility.”

Gisu raised a dagger.

“I’ll get underneath and go for the legs. If that thing falls, it’ll be easier to aim for the neck.”

Roxy took a deep breath and adjusted her hat.

“I’ll cover Talhand. If a head gets close to him, I’ll push it back with wind or water. I won’t hurt it, but I’ll buy time.”

Everyone nodded.

It was a suicidal plan, but it was the only one we had.

The mist began to thin, and a colossal shadow formed within the smoke. Nine serpentine silhouettes rose, hissing.

Paul smiled, though there was nothing pleasant about it.

“We’re going to save her.”

And we charged.

Chapter Text

One by one, we ended up back in the previous chamber.

The magic circle behind us dimmed with a low, heavy hum, almost alive, like the labyrinth itself was exhaling after watching us flee. The glowing blue runes slowly faded away until only warped shadows remained crawling across the damp stone walls.

Silence settled over the room.

Not completely.

Because Paul was still breathing like a wounded beast seconds away from tearing the world apart with his bare hands.

The air felt thick and hot. It smelled like metal, sweat, dust, wet stone, and that burnt scent magic leaves behind when you overuse it. Every breath scraped against my throat.

I was still resting in Roxy's arms.

Although "comfortable" was no longer the right word.

Elinalise leaned against the wall, breathing heavily. Blood streamed down from her shoulder in dark uneven lines, slipping between her fingers before dripping onto the stone floor with a wet, unpleasant sound.

Calling the wound "serious" would have been laughably inaccurate.

It wasn't sliced.

It wasn't pierced.

It had been ripped apart.

Like something enormous had barely grazed her and still torn away an entire chunk of flesh.

Back in my old world, that would've meant emergency surgery, intravenous antibiotics, months of rehabilitation, and enough trauma to last a lifetime.

And the worst part?

That had only been a glancing hit.

I didn't even want to imagine what would've happened if that thing had bitten down properly.

"Is it deep?" Roxy hurried closer.

"Don't worry~ It's just a scratch..."

That was NOT a scratch.

And I genuinely didn't understand how she was still smiling.

The Hydra's scales were insane.

My analysis was still incomplete, but the conclusion was already obvious: if that thing caught you directly in its jaws, you died.

Simple as that.

Roxy raised her staff. Mana gathered around her as she began a healing chant. Before she even finished the first syllable, I extended part of my body from her arms.

"I'll handle it."

"...Eh?"

I activated the magical structure instinctively.

Green light flooded the chamber.

No chant.

No preparation.

No visible effort.

It just happened.

I watched muscle fibers reconstruct layer by layer, blood vessels reconnect, skin reform into place. The bleeding vanished as though it had never existed.

Seconds.

That was all it took.

Honestly, healing magic was ridiculously simple compared to everything else I'd analyzed.

Compressed ice storms demanded constant calculations. Explosive magical pressure required surgical precision so you didn't accidentally vaporize yourself in the process.

This?

Mana goes in. Tissue repairs itself. Done.

Efficient to the point of being insulting.

The light faded.

Silence returned.

Elinalise blinked several times, stared at her completely restored shoulder, then flexed her arm experimentally.

"...Ara."

Talhand stared at me from across the room with the exact expression of someone internally debating between "genius" and "biological nightmare."

"That was advanced healing magic without chanting."

"Yep."

Roxy kept looking between me and Elinalise's shoulder over and over again like her brain had stopped functioning properly.

"Since when can you use healing magic?"

"About... an hour ago."

"...WHAT?"

"I absorbed the scroll."

Silence.

"You can't just absorb things and learn them," Rudeus muttered automatically.

I glanced sideways at him.

Yeah.

Still sounds absurd even to me.

But after reincarnating as a slime in a world filled with monsters and swordsmen capable of violating physics, my standards for "normal" died a long time ago.

Strangely enough, nobody seemed particularly impressed.

Because Paul was still staring at the magic circle.

Motionless.

And then I noticed it.

That expression.

It was never a good sign.

He was gripping his sword so tightly his knuckles had turned white beneath the dried blood.

"...That was Zenith," he finally muttered.

His voice came out cracked.

Low.

Heavy.

Every word sounded heavier than the armor he was wearing.

"...There's no doubt."

Nobody answered.

There was nothing to say.

I didn't have words either.

Paul had every right.

Every single right.

That was his wife. The person he'd spent years searching for. The reason he had descended into the depths of a suicidal labyrinth in the first place.

He had every right to lose control.

To be furious.

To do something reckless.

Anyone would.

Because it was family.

And judging by the way he gripped that sword, he would probably try punching the labyrinth apart with his bare hands if it meant getting her back.

"...Tou-san."

Rudeus carefully stepped forward like someone approaching a wounded animal.

"...Do you think she's still alive in there?"

Oh no.

NO NO NO.

Paul reacted instantly. He grabbed Rudeus by the front of his clothes and lifted him off the ground in one violent motion.

"WHAT DOES IT MATTER WHETHER SHE'S ALIVE OR NOT?!"

His voice exploded through the chamber.

The echo slammed against the walls like a roar.

"DOES THAT CHANGE ANYTHING?!"

Silence.

Yeah.

Paul was right.

Completely right.

It didn't matter whether Zenith was still conscious. Breathing. Already beyond saving.

They still had to bring her back.

Even if it was impossible.

Even if it was irrational.

Even if the entire world said it wasn't worth it.

Because that's what family does.

Geese immediately stepped between them before things escalated further.

"SAVE THE FAMILY ARGUMENTS FOR WHEN WE'RE STILL ALIVE!"

Reasonable.

I greatly appreciated Geese's existence.

Without him, this group would've emotionally imploded three days ago.

Elinalise let out a tired sigh and slowly stood up straight again.

Eventually we all sat down in a circle on the cold stone floor.

Exhausted.

Injured.

Covered in blood.

Mentally destroyed.

And then every pair of eyes turned toward me.

"Well," I muttered, "I partially analyzed that thing."

Roxy leaned forward immediately.

"What did you find?"

"First: the scales are made of something called manatite."

Talhand frowned.

"...Magic stone?"

"Biologically assimilated." I organized the thought before continuing. "It's not armor attached to the outside. It's part of its biology. The magical mineral fused directly with living tissue. The scales function as an extension of its body."

"That explains the magic nullification..." Rudeus murmured.

I nodded.

"Offensive spells break apart the moment they touch the scales. The mana loses structure before penetrating."

Roxy lowered her gaze.

"So magic is useless..."

"Not entirely."

Several heads turned toward me immediately.

"The wounds still function as vulnerable points."

I remembered the exact moment clearly: severed heads, exposed neck tissue, magical flow disrupted for a split second.

"When Paul cut the heads off, the exposed areas temporarily lost protection."

Rudeus understood immediately.

"...The scales disappear for a short time."

"Correct."

His expression shifted as he mentally reorganized everything. I could practically see him connecting the pieces together: severed heads, interrupted magical flow, regeneration, spell nullification.

Everything fit.

"...But it still regenerates," Geese pointed out with crossed arms.

"Disgustingly fast, yes."

I paused briefly before continuing.

"...Although the regeneration CAN be stopped."

The atmosphere in the room changed instantly.

Paul lifted his head so sharply that even I froze for a second after seeing the look in his eyes.

"...How?"

"Cauterization."

The Hydra attacked again.

All nine heads moved at once this time.

The sound alone was horrifying. Flesh, scales and air exploding together as enormous jaws crashed downward hard enough to crack the stone floor apart. Dust burst everywhere. Fragments of rock flew through the chamber.

“MOVE!” Paul roared.

Rudeus reacted instantly, sliding under one of the necks while another slammed into the ground where he’d been standing less than a second earlier. The impact shook the entire room.

Too fast.

Even after seeing it before, the Hydra’s speed still felt wrong. Something that gigantic shouldn’t move like that.

Paul cut upward with both swords.

One head came off.

Green blood exploded across the chamber.

“RUDY!”

“I KNOW!”

Rudeus shoved both hands forward. Fire magic erupted point-blank directly into the open neck before the scales could regenerate.

BOOOOM.

For a second the severed flesh writhed violently.

Then the regeneration stopped.

The cut neck blackened completely.

“Oh thank god,” I muttered from atop Roxy’s head. “It actually works.”

“DON’T RELAX YET!” Geese shouted.

Right.

Because the Hydra immediately lost its mind.

The remaining heads shrieked together, the sound so loud my whole body vibrated. Mana exploded through the chamber. The pressure alone made the air feel heavy.

Then everything started moving faster.

“Careful!” Roxy warned.

Two heads lunged straight toward Paul from opposite sides while a third came from above. Elinalise intercepted one with her shield, boots grinding against the floor from the impact, while Talhand buried his axe into another jaw to force it aside.

Paul twisted through the opening anyway.

That man was insane.

No hesitation. No fear. Every movement looked reckless until you realized he was calculating everything by instinct alone.

Another head fell.

“NOW!”

Rudeus fired again.

This time he was closer.

Way too close.

The flames struck the open wound directly and the entire neck ignited from the inside. Burned flesh filled the chamber with a nauseating smell.

The second head didn’t regenerate.

“Yes!” Geese yelled.

But the moment everyone focused on the success—

the Hydra changed targets.

One of the remaining heads snapped violently toward the backline.

Toward Roxy.

“Oh, COME ON.”

Everything happened at once.

Roxy tried to retreat while raising barriers. Rudeus spun around immediately. Paul shouted something. My Magic Sense screamed so hard it practically hurt.

Too fast.

The jaw descended like a collapsing building.

And before I could even think—

Rudeus moved.

No hesitation.

He launched himself between the Hydra and Roxy instantly.

“LUDY—!”

The impact exploded across the chamber.

Rudeus barely blocked it with layered earth magic and barriers stacked over each other, but the force still sent him skidding violently across the floor. Blood splattered from his mouth.

“…Tch.”

The Hydra opened its jaws again.

It was going to hit him a second time before he recovered.

And honestly?

My body moved before I even thought about it.

I jumped from Roxy’s head.

“RIMURU?!” she shouted behind me.

Mana burst through my entire body.

(Black Lightning.)

The spell detonated point-blank into the Hydra’s face.

CRAAAAASH.

The chamber flashed white for an instant.

Electricity exploded across the scales, forcing the head sideways just enough for Rudeus to roll out of the way before the jaws crushed the floor where he’d been.

The shockwave alone sent debris flying everywhere.

“…You have lightning too now?!” Rudeus shouted from the ground.

“THIS ISN’T THE IMPORTANT PART RIGHT NOW!”

The Hydra screamed again.

Okay.

Maybe jumping directly in front of the giant immortal magic-canceling murder monster had been a terrible survival decision.

Good to know.

One of the heads turned toward me slowly.

Its vertical pupil locked directly onto my body.

…

Ah.

I was about to die.

“RIMURU, RUN!” Roxy yelled.

“I AM AWARE OF THE SITUATION!”

The Hydra lunged.

And Paul intercepted it mid-charge.

Steel flashed.

The head spun through the air.

“DON’T JUST STAND THERE PANICKING!” Paul barked.

“…RIGHT.”

Honestly, getting yelled at by him was weirdly motivating.

Rudeus was already back on his feet despite the blood running down his chin. His expression had completely changed now.

No panic.

No hesitation.

Just focus.

The mana around him thickened violently.

“…Tou-san,” he said quietly.

Paul grinned without taking his eyes off the Hydra.

“Yeah.”

Another head came down.

Paul cut.

Rudeus fired.

The neck burned.

Three heads left.

The chamber was collapsing around us now. Cracks spread across pillars and chunks of stone crashed from the ceiling while the Hydra thrashed in complete fury.

But for the first time since entering the room—

it was losing.

And the moment everyone realized that, the entire atmosphere changed.

Even exhausted.

Even bleeding.

Everyone moved faster.

Like hope itself had finally entered the fight.

 

Three heads descended simultaneously this time, but their movements had changed.

Faster.

Sharper.

The Hydra had understood something dangerous:

we could actually kill it.

Elinalise intercepted the first strike with her shield.

BOOOOM.

The impact drove her several inches into the stone floor.

Talhand twisted his axe with his entire body behind it and barely managed to knock aside another massive jaw before it could crush Rudeus.

And Paul—

Paul carved straight through the third head with monstrous speed.

The blade cut through flesh, bone, and scales in one clean motion. Green blood exploded across his body, but he never slowed down.

“NOW!”

Rudeus reacted instantly.

He rushed toward the exposed neck while compressed mana gathered around his arm, then released the spell directly into the wound.

BOOOOOOM.

Flames detonated inside the exposed flesh.

This time there was no distortion.

No magical collapse.

The fire penetrated directly into the tissue and began burning it from the inside.

The smell was horrible.

Burned flesh.

Blood.

Melting scales.

The head didn’t regenerate.

“…It worked,” Roxy whispered.

The Hydra answered with a roar that shook the entire temple.

Not rage.

Pain.

Another head lunged toward Talhand.

Too fast.

I extended part of my body from atop Roxy’s head and concentrated mana.

The spell structure was still fresh inside my mind. I could feel the copied formula floating clearly in my consciousness.

BOOOOOM.

The fireball slammed into the Hydra’s head from the side.

It didn’t do much damage, but it shifted the trajectory just enough.

The jaws missed Talhand’s torso by inches.

“—GH!”

Talhand staggered backward in shock.

“…Rimuru?”

“I’m helping!”

“That was advanced magic!” Rudeus shouted from behind.

“Yeah. I copied it from you.”

Roxy immediately moved toward Talhand, and I activated Healing on the wound across his shoulder. Flesh regenerated almost instantly beneath the green light.

Meanwhile, the battle only became more violent.

The Hydra’s remaining heads twisted through the chamber like enormous serpents. Their scales hissed through the air, and every collision made the temple walls tremble.

“…It’s working,” Rudeus muttered while staring at the cauterized necks.

Then he raised his voice.

“IT’S WORKING!”

Heat filled the chamber.

Blood.

Mana.

Fire.

Everything blending together into escalating chaos.

“YES!” Paul roared as another head went flying through the air.

Rudeus cauterized the neck immediately afterward.

BOOOOOM.

Flames illuminated the entire room, and the air itself began warping from the temperature.

Even so—

the Hydra was still alive.

“Cover the left flank!” Elinalise shouted while deflecting another monstrous bite with her shield.

“On it!” Talhand answered.

Then the Hydra changed rhythm.

Five heads descended toward him at once.

“KUH—!”

He dodged the first.

The second tore open his shoulder as he rolled across the floor.

He barely blocked the third using both axe and shield together.

The fourth caught him.

“GUOOOOH!”

Its jaws clamped around his leg and lifted him from the ground like a doll.

The fifth head descended immediately after.

Straight toward him.

“ORYAAAAAA!”

Paul burst directly into the attack.

Two flashes cut through the air.

Two perfect strikes.

The massive heads crashed to the floor simultaneously while green blood exploded across the chamber.

“BURN BOTH OF THEM!” Rudeus shouted.

Roxy reacted instantly. Flames descended like compressed explosions, consuming both exposed necks.

For several seconds—

everything seemed to be working perfectly.

Until it didn’t.

The Hydra slowly pulled back.

And my instincts started screaming.

Something was wrong.

The central head lowered itself toward one of the cauterized necks.

CRUNCH.

“…What?” Rudeus muttered.

The Hydra ripped away the charred flesh from its own neck.

The scar vanished.

Regeneration started again.

“DON’T GIVE IT TIME!” Paul roared.

Elinalise charged forward immediately.

Roxy froze the incomplete regenerating head before it fully formed and burned it again with fire magic.

But something had already changed.

The remaining three heads slowly rose toward the ceiling.

Perfectly still.

Jaws open.

Mana gathering deep within their throats.

Dragon Breath.

“WHAT?!” Rudeus shouted.

At that exact moment, one of the heads lunged violently toward Roxy.

“Roxy!”

She barely managed to throw herself backward.

I was launched away together with her hat as the group scattered to reposition.

My body bounced across the stone floor several times before stopping.

Damn it.

The moment I looked up, I understood immediately.

I was too far away.

“GET CLOSE TO RUDY!” I shouted instantly.

Rudeus reacted without hesitation.

A massive wall of water appeared in front of the group just as Paul, Elinalise, and Talhand rushed toward him.

But I—

I had been left on the opposite side of the chamber.

Alone.

I slowly looked up.

The remaining three heads stared directly at me.

Jaws open.

Heat building inside their throats.

The world turned white.

FWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH.

Dragon Breath exploded through the temple like a solar storm.

This no longer resembled ordinary fire.

The floor melted instantly.

Columns shook violently.

Stone glowed red from the heat.

And the impact swallowed me completely.

…

…

…

The steam slowly began to clear.

Roxy was the first to lift her head.

Her eyes trembled.

“…Rimuru…?”

Rudeus looked up immediately afterward.

“RIMURU!”

But there was nothing there.

Only smoke.

Melted stone.

And fire still burning across the ground.

“…No…” Roxy whispered, her face completely pale.

Then—

“…That honestly didn’t hurt as much as I expected.”

A small blue figure slowly emerged from the smoke.

Completely unharmed.

Everyone froze.

Roxy looked like she was about to collapse.

“R-Rimuru… how…?”

Behind me, the floor was still melting.

And for the first time since the battle started—

I was genuinely irritated.

My body suddenly expanded.

Black armor spread over my form.

Four arms emerged as enormous quantities of compressed mana surged through my body.

Seconds later—

the Armored Warrior stood before the Hydra.

Massive.

Armored.

Monstrous.

The Hydra roared.

 

And I charged straight at it.

Elinalise had just been blown away by another impact, her sword spinning across the floor covered in blood.

I caught it with one of my four hands.

Heavy.

But usable.

(((Water God Style — Advanced)))

Information flooded my mind instantly.

Posture.

Flow.

Deflection.

Center-of-gravity control.

“…Huh.”

The next head came crashing down toward me.

My body reacted before I could even think.

CLAAAAANG.

The sword intercepted the jaws and diverted the attack by only a few centimeters.

My entire arm shook violently.

“—GH?!”

Okay.

That hit absurdly hard.

Another head descended immediately afterward.

This time, I counterattacked.

The movement was rough.

Heavy.

Nothing like Paul.

But enough.

CRAAAAACK.

The blade tore partially through the neck, leaving the head hanging as green blood exploded around me.

“RIMURU!” Rudy shouted.

“I SAW IT!”

Two of my arms gripped the sword.

The other two began forming magic simultaneously.

BOOOOOOM.

Flames detonated directly against the half-severed neck.

The flesh immediately began to char.

“…He’s fighting and casting at the same time?!” Rudy shouted.

“HE HAS FOUR ARMS, LUDY!” Roxy yelled back, still in shock.

The Hydra roared furiously and lunged again.

Another head.

Another clash.

The Water God Style kept guiding my movements automatically.

Deflect.

Sidestep.

Counter.

FWOOOSH.

The second head finally came off.

Another Fire Ball exploded over the exposed neck using my free arms.

BOOOOOM.

Two heads down.

Even Paul was staring at me strangely now.

“…Rimuru,” he said slowly, grinning like an absolute lunatic covered in blood.

“…I LIKE YOU MORE EVERY SECOND! I’LL OWE YOU FOR THIS FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE, SLIME!”

The sword vibrated violently in my hands.

Heavy.

Far heavier than I expected.

The Water God Style moved my body almost on instinct, redirecting impossible attacks and guiding the blade through precise trajectories…

but even so—

I wasn’t a swordsman.

Not like Paul.

Every strike against the Hydra felt like trying to split a mountain apart with brute force alone.

And still, I kept advancing.

Because right in front of me, Paul was still laughing like a madman while another head flew through the air.

“…GYAHAHAHAHAHA!”

“RIMURU!”

“I’M ON IT!”

Two arms held the sword steady.

The other two formed magic simultaneously.

BOOOOOOM.

The flames exploded over the exposed neck before regeneration could even begin.

The smell of burned flesh flooded the chamber again.

“One more down!” Rudeus shouted.

“Two left!” Talhand answered while blocking another strike with his axe.

The Hydra roared desperately.

And for the first time…

it looked afraid.

Honestly…

watching a monster suffer like that almost made me feel bad.

Aren’t we technically the same kind of creature?

Uh…

Probably not the best thing to think about right now.

“TOU-SAN!” Rudy shouted. “The thinner one first!”

“GOT IT!”

Paul vanished again.

Even with Mimicry I could barely follow him visually.

The Water God Style continued moving my body almost automatically.

Sidestep.

Deflect.

Reverse slash.

The black blade carved a brutal arc through the air as the full mass of my Armored Warrior body rotated with the momentum of the strike.

FWOOOSH.

The second-to-last head went flying across the chamber while liters of green blood erupted everywhere.

And before it even hit the floor—

BOOOOOOM.

A Fire Ball slammed directly into the exposed neck.

Flames instantly engulfed the flesh, charring it before regeneration could begin.

Perfect.

Almost there.

The Hydra staggered backward while only the main head remained alive.

Its massive body writhed around the giant blue crystal. Green blood poured down black scales while thick steam escaped from the cauterized necks.

But then…

something changed.

My perception caught the movement first.

It wasn’t a lunge.

It wasn’t a bite.

It was something else.

The gigantic body began swaying slowly.

Heavy.

Unnatural.

Like it was gathering force inside every remaining muscle.

“…Hm?”

Paul reacted before anyone else.

The expression on his face changed instantly.

“GET AWAY FROM IT!!”

Too late.

All eight cauterized necks moved simultaneously.

And honestly…

it was terrifying.

Because even without heads, they were still monstrously huge.

Eight gigantic manatita-covered whips swept across the chamber with absurd force.

The sound was horrible.

The air exploded.

Talhand barely managed to raise his shield before impact.

Elinalise tried to retreat.

Roxy threw up a magic barrier almost on reflex.

And I—

I saw the hit coming too late.

One of the necks slammed directly into my torso.

KRAAAAAAAAAAAK.

The world spun violently.

I felt several armor plates shatter instantly as monstrous force tore through my entire body.

Two of my arms were blown off.

My body smashed through entire temple pillars before crashing brutally into the floor.

BOOOOM.

Stone fragments exploded everywhere.

For several seconds I couldn’t hear anything.

Just a sharp ringing inside my head.

…Ah.

That hurt a lot.

Viscous mass began reconstructing around my ruined shoulders while mana slowly regenerated the missing arms.

Fragments of the Armored Warrior’s black armor fell one after another as the structure began repairing itself.

But then—

I heard Paul roar.

And I immediately looked up.

The final head was descending directly toward Rudeus.

Too fast.

Too close.

Rudy had barely recovered from the previous attack. He was off balance. No stance. No time to cast magic.

“…Shit!”

Paul moved.

No hesitation.

Not even for a second.

His entire body exploded forward through pure physical force alone.

“LUDYYY!”

Paul shouted again and kicked him in the back, throwing him out of the way. At the same moment, something enormous crashed down beside where I had landed on my knees.

When my vision finally focused, I saw a massive eye staring directly ahead between Rudeus and Paul. Its gaze was wild and unfocused, the look of a cornered beast fighting for its life.

It was the eye of the Hydra’s final head.

A massive horn protruded from its forehead—the same horn it had tried to kill him with.

“OOOOOOOOOooo!”

Almost on reflex, Rudeus drove his left hand into the eye and unleashed a massive Stone Cannon through it.

From a distance, I watched the back of the Hydra’s skull explode outward from the inside. The Stone Cannon blasted through the head entirely, forcing the Hydra’s body to whip backward from the impact.

And before the projectile even struck the ceiling—

“R-ROXYYYYY!!”

Rudeus’s desperate scream echoed through the chamber with every ounce of strength he had left.

“O tiny spark that seeks greatness, show the world your blazing fury—『IGNI-FLARE』!”

I barely heard her voice in the distance.

Then the final neck of the mythological monster ignited.

Burned.

Blackened.

Cauterized.

And finally collapsed.

The Hydra’s gigantic body crashed onto the ground with a deafening roar, shaking the entire chamber and sending up a massive cloud of dust. Even then, it continued twitching for several endless seconds.

TRR-RRR-RRUMMM.

TRR--RRUUUMM.

TRRUMMM.

TRUM.

After a while, the Hydra’s strength slowly faded until the enormous body finally became completely still.

Dead.

“…Did we win…?”

Silence.

Then—

“WE WON!!”

At that exact moment, I heard Rudeus cry out in pain and rushed toward him, returning to my slime form.

“Ugh…”

His left hand was gone.

I could see exposed bone, torn muscle, shredded flesh around the wrist. Blood poured nonstop from the mangled stump, pulsing straight from the artery.

“My hand… My left hand…”

“You did well… Let me heal it before you bleed out,” I said, far more worried than I sounded.

I couldn’t even imagine what he was feeling. Getting stabbed once had already been enough to traumatize me back in my old life, and this kid—barely seventeen—had just lost his arm.

The blood flow stopped almost instantly. Pink skin spread over the ruined flesh, sealing the wound and restoring the mangled remains of his wrist.

“Ffhaa… Ffhaaa…”

“…Thanks, Tou-san. You saved my life,” Rudeus finally whispered.

I froze for a second.

Then I looked around for Paul too.

It was strange not hearing him shout. At the very least, he should’ve been standing near Zenith’s crystal.

But Paul was nowhere.

“…Tou-san?”

Why did the atmosphere feel so heavy?

Why wasn’t anyone speaking?

Why was Rudeus completely still?

That’s when I realized everyone was staring at the same spot.

I slowly followed their gaze.

And then I saw him.

Paul was lying on the ground.

At first…

my brain genuinely failed to process what I was seeing.

…Huh?

He looked exhausted.

That was my first thought.

Just exhausted.

Covered in blood after an impossible fight.

But then I looked closer.

And something inside me went cold.

The lower half of his body was gone.

…

…

…Ah.

Time seemed to slow down.

There was no dramatic spray of blood.

No heroic music.

No grand final speech.

Just…

too much blood.

Too much silence.

Too much empty space where the rest of him should have been.

Paul’s eyes trembled slightly before opening again.

His gaze immediately found Rudeus.

Not anyone else.

Rudy.

And somehow, that hurt more than anything else.

Because even now—

even dying—

he was still a father.

“…”

Paul didn’t say a word.

But his expression…

There was no fear.

No regret.

Only exhaustion.

Like someone who could finally stop fighting.

A weak choke escaped his throat.

Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

And then—

the light left his eyes.

Silence.

Not normal silence.

Not peaceful silence.

The kind that crushes your chest.

The kind that forces everyone in the room to understand that something has disappeared forever.

…

…

…

Paul was dead.

And the worst part was that, for a moment, my mind went completely blank.

Because this wasn’t supposed to happen.

Not like this.

Paul was impulsive.

Loud.

Annoying sometimes.

Too emotional.

Too human.

But he also felt like the kind of person who would always stand back up somehow.

The kind of man who kept moving even while broken.

The kind who shouted louder than fear itself.

And now…

he was just there.

Still.

Not moving.

Not breathing.

Gone.

I felt Roxy’s arms trembling slightly while she held me.

Very faintly.

Almost imperceptibly.

But I noticed.

She was trying to stay strong.

For Rudy.

For everyone.

Then I looked at Rudeus.

…That hurt even more.

Because he wasn’t crying.

He wasn’t screaming.

He wasn’t reacting at all.

He was only staring at Paul’s body like his mind still hadn’t caught up to reality.

Like accepting it was too painful to even begin.

He’s just a kid…

And I think that was the moment Paul’s death truly hit me.

Not as “a character died.”

Not as “a companion fell.”

No.

It felt personal.

Because throughout this entire journey—

Paul had been there.

Shouting.

Protecting everyone.

Throwing himself at danger without caring if he died.

And even though I was technically still a slime…

even though I came from another world…

even though I kept acting carefree—

somehow, Paul had become important to me.

…And now he was gone.

The pain felt strange.

Heavy.

Hard to describe.

It wasn’t entirely mine.

But it still pierced straight through me.

And in the middle of that unbearable silence—

I tried to say something.

Anything useful.

Something that might help even a little.

My voice came out much quieter than usual.

“…Roxy…”

She lowered her gaze toward me slightly.

I tried to choose my words carefully.

Tried not to sound cold.

Tried not to sound out of place.

“…I can store Paul’s body… if you want to give him a proper burial…”

And I hated how calm my voice still sounded.

They must think I’m a monster…

…

But the only thing I felt was Roxy holding me just a little tighter.

Chapter Text

And then, the enormous blue crystal began to crack.

The sound echoed throughout the chamber in a series of violent fractures that seemed capable of tearing space itself apart.

CRACK.

CRACK.

CRAAAAAK.

The cracks spread across its entire surface until, at last, the magical prison collapsed completely, shattering into thousands of gleaming fragments that drifted slowly downward like a rain of blue glass.

Amid that luminous cascade, Zenith remained suspended. Her body hung in the air for a few brief moments before tilting forward and beginning to fall, motionless and asleep, yet still breathing.

Rudeus tried to reach her.

However, the moment he took a step forward, his legs finally gave out.

"...Ah..."

His body had reached its limit. The blood loss, the exhaustion, the constant pain running through every muscle, and the shock of everything that had happened all came crashing down on him at once.

Before he could hit the ground, I moved.

I appeared in front of him and threw myself forward to cushion his fall.

"It's okay, Rudeus... you can rest now. We'll take care of the rest."

Roxy reacted a second later, rushing to his side and catching him in her arms while he struggled to stay conscious.

"R-Rimuru... Shishou..."

"It's okay... it's okay..." she murmured, holding him tightly.

But it wasn't okay.

None of this was okay.

Paul had just died, Rudeus had lost a hand, and all of us were covered in blood. And yet, after all that suffering, Zenith was finally standing before us. I should have felt relieved.

Instead, as I stared at the shattered remains of the crystal scattered across the floor, an uncomfortable sensation slowly crept through my body. It was difficult to describe. It wasn't killing intent, nor was it the familiar flow of mana I had sensed countless times since arriving in this world.

It was something else.

Something wrong.

Like a misplaced piece in an otherwise perfect puzzle.

My gaze slowly shifted toward Zenith.

"...Roxy."

She looked up.

"Hm?"

"Hold on to Rudeus. I need to check something."

The mage stared at me for a few seconds, probably surprised by the seriousness in my voice. Then she silently nodded and fully took Rudy's weight into her arms as she lowered him to the ground.

I was already moving.

Splosh.

Splosh.

Splosh.

Each step echoed faintly across the battlefield's blood-soaked floor, and the closer I got to Zenith, the stronger that strange feeling became.

When I reached her, I found Elinalise carefully supporting her body while Talhand stood nearby in complete silence.

I stepped closer, extended a hand, and touched her.

"Great Sage."

(Yes?)

"Analyze the crystal."

(Understood.)

The response came immediately.

(Analyzing...)

(Analyzing...)

Streams of information began flowing through my mind as the skill examined the remnants of the magical prison. Vast amounts of magical energy still lingered within the crystal fragments, but that wasn't what had caught my attention.

There was something else.

Something mixed within it.

Something incomplete.

(Partial result obtained.)

I blinked.

"...What did you find?"

(Target "Zenith Greyrat" maintains normal biological functions.)

A small sense of relief spread through me.

But it lasted only an instant.

(Target's soul does not possess complete synchronization with the physical body.)

...

(Conclusion: Soul-body separation.)

(Conclusion: Irreparable.)

My thoughts froze.

I didn't fully understand the phenomenon, nor did I know how it was possible, but I understood enough.

Zenith was alive. Her heart was still beating. Her body was still functioning.

And yet...

something inside her was missing.

As though part of her existence had been left trapped somewhere unreachable, as though her soul and body no longer fully belonged to the same world.

My eyes slowly shifted toward Rudeus.

Covered in blood.

Shaking.

Completely broken, both physically and mentally.

Paul had just sacrificed his life to save him.

No.

I couldn't tell him this now.

Not after everything that had happened.

An unpleasant pressure settled inside my core as I looked at Zenith's unconscious body resting in Elinalise's arms.

She held her with surprising gentleness, so different from the carefree and provocative woman we all knew. There were no jokes, no teasing smiles, only exhaustion.

Dried blood still stained parts of her damaged armor as she carefully examined Zenith's face.

"She's breathing normally," she finally murmured.

Talhand released a breath he seemed to have been holding for several minutes.

The massive dwarf was still leaning heavily on his axe, and the leg the Hydra had bitten continued trembling slightly even after being healed.

"...We did it, Paul. You can rest easy now."

His voice was barely above a whisper.

And as I looked at him, I realized something.

All of us were broken.

Roxy still held Rudeus while he fought to remain awake. Elinalise could barely stay standing. Talhand breathed as if every movement hurt. Geese sat against a wall staring into empty space, unable to speak.

We had won.

But the price had been brutal.

"...Rimuru."

Rudeus's weak voice pulled me from my thoughts.

I slowly turned toward him.

His eyes remained fixed on Zenith.

"Is my mother okay?"

What a cruel question.

Because honestly...

I didn't know the answer either.

Great Sage's report sounded far too serious.

Far too final.

Soul-body separation.

Irreparable.

And yet Zenith was still breathing. Her heart was still beating.

And at that moment...

that was all that mattered.

"Yes."

Rudeus slowly exhaled, as though that single word had been holding his entire world together.

"...I see."

Roxy hugged him a little tighter.

I turned back toward Zenith.

Asleep.

Motionless.

And for the first time since we had found her, a disturbing thought crossed my mind.

She didn't look like someone resting.

She looked like an empty doll waiting for something to return.

...

"Everything is fine," I finally said.

It was a lie. An absolute lie. And yet, despite that, my voice came out remarkably steady.

"She just needs to rest."

Elinalise watched me for several more seconds, her eyes searching my expression as though trying to find a crack in the flimsy facade I had just thrown together. I didn't think she fully believed me—there was no way she could. We had all seen the same thing. We all knew what had happened. And yet, after a long moment, she lowered her gaze toward Zenith.

"...She's done enough," she finally murmured.

Talhand slowly nodded in agreement.

"...Yeah... we can worry about it after we get out of here..."

Nearby, Roxy helped Rudy sit against a wall while continuing to support him carefully.

"...Shishou..." he murmured weakly.

"...Rest," she replied, gently stroking his hair.

The way Rudy kept trying to look toward Zenith despite barely remaining conscious hurt more than I expected. His eyelids could hardly stay open, and his body had clearly reached its limit, yet he continued searching for his mother with his eyes as though he needed to reassure himself again and again that she was truly there.

...

He's just a kid.

No matter how often I forgot that because of everything he was capable of, moments like this made it impossible to ignore. He wasn't a hero, a legend, or some invincible mage. He was simply a son who had lost his father.

My thoughts drifted toward the Hydra's enormous corpse. Even in death, I could still sense vast amounts of magical energy flowing through its body. The manatite scales retained their absurd properties, the magical cores remained intact, and immense quantities of compressed mana continued circulating through its flesh.

It was a ridiculously powerful creature, a biological monstrosity that seemed to exist purely to defy common sense.

And after everything that had just happened, I wasn't about to let a monster like that simply rot here.

"...Predator."

My slime body slowly expanded over the corpse. The scales began to dissolve, the flesh disappeared, and fragments of magical energy were absorbed one after another as the massive body was gradually consumed.

Talhand watched me for a few moments but didn't say anything. He was probably too exhausted to question it, or maybe he simply understood that none of us had the energy left to argue about anything anymore.

(Analyzing...)

A flood of information poured into my consciousness. Magical circuits, biological structures, layers of manatite, regeneration patterns, and magical resistance mechanisms all flowed through my mind in an overwhelming stream of data.

And then—

(Skill acquired: Magic Nullification.)

...

The journey back was... horrible.

Not because of the monsters.

Not because of the traps.

Not even because of the physical exhaustion.

Simply because there was no one left to lead the way.

Paul had always been the one walking at the front. He was always the loudest, the one who broke the tension whenever things became too heavy. He was the one shouting orders, making split-second decisions, and somehow making even a labyrinth capable of killing veteran adventurers feel like something that could be conquered with enough effort.

And now he was gone.

The silence he left behind felt heavier than any enemy we had faced.

I spent most of the journey in Roxy's arms.

Her embrace was different too.

Stronger.

Much stronger than usual.

As though she was unconsciously making sure I was still there.

As though she feared something else might disappear if she let go.

...

Honestly...

that hurt a little.

Because I understood exactly why she was doing it.

And even so...

I wasn't the one suffering the most.

Rudeus walked several meters ahead of the group, just behind Geese, who was leading the way.

Or at least...

he was trying to walk.

His body moved in a clumsy, mechanical manner, as though every step required an absurd amount of willpower. Several times he stumbled on his own. Other times he simply stopped in place, staring blankly at the ground until someone gently urged him forward again.

Elinalise supported him by the shoulder more than once.

Talhand even slowed his pace to stay close whenever we passed through dangerous areas.

But nobody said anything.

Not a single word.

Because we all knew exactly what was happening.

Seeing him like that made everything feel even worse.

Because Paul had died to save him.

And Rudy knew it.

...

Talhand took the lead for most of the return journey.

His heavy way of walking had changed completely. Now he moved slowly, exhausted, leaning partially on his axe while checking every corridor before allowing the rest of us to move forward. Even in his condition, he continued carrying the responsibility someone had to bear.

Elinalise remained close to Zenith at all times.

She carried her in silence for hours without a single complaint.

Sometimes Geese took over.

Sometimes Talhand.

Sometimes Roxy.

But Zenith never woke up.

Not even once.

And every time I looked at her...

I remembered Great Sage's words.

...

I hated that word.

Irreparable.

She was still breathing.

Her heart was still beating.

Her body was still functioning.

So there had to be a way.

There had to be.

I refused to believe that this was the end.

Not after everything we had gone through to reach her.

Not after Paul had given his life to save her.

...Right?

Nobody knew what to say.

Not Elinalise.

Not Talhand.

Not Geese.

Not even Roxy.

Though more than once I felt her tighten her embrace whenever she thought I was trembling.

...I hadn't even realized I was shaking.

When we finally emerged from the Labyrinth...

the sunlight hurt my eyes.

After spending so long underground, seeing the sun again felt strangely comforting. The air seemed lighter. The sky felt impossibly vast. For a brief moment, I thought someone might smile simply because we had survived.

But even then...

nobody smiled.

...

The hardest part came before we decided to leave.

Because we had to decide what to do with Paul.

I wanted to bring him back.

Even if I had to use Predator.

Even if it meant preserving his body inside me.

Leaving him down there, abandoned in the place where he died, simply felt wrong.

But Elinalise slowly shook her head.

"...We shouldn't."

Her voice was soft.

Tired.

But firm.

Talhand later explained that adventurers who died inside labyrinths sometimes returned.

Not as people.

But as monsters.

Corpses animated by mana.

Empty shells.

Twisted echoes of who they once were.

And honestly...

the mere thought of Paul becoming something like that made my core churn.

So...

we cremated him there.

In silence.

No grand speeches.

No dramatic farewells.

Just us.

The flames slowly engulfed Paul's body.

The fabric disappeared.

His skin darkened.

The fire gradually consumed everything that remained of him.

And through all of it...

Rudeus never looked away.

Not even when the flames completely consumed the body.

Not even when only bones remained.

Not even when those bones were reduced to ashes.

...

We gathered the ashes and left.

Only three things remained.

His sword.

His magic dagger.

And his arm guards.

Relics.

Remnants.

Silent proof that he had once been there.

Everything else...

had turned to ash.

...

I don't remember much about what happened when we returned to the city.

Everything feels blurry.

As though someone else had been moving my body while I watched from a distance.

I remember Shera crying.

I remember Vera collapsing to her knees.

I remember the women who seemed to have traveled alongside Paul for who knew how many years covering their faces as they struggled to hold back their tears.

I remember Geese explaining something.

But the words never really reached me.

Rudeus remained the same.

Empty.

Standing only because the rest of the group continued supporting him.

And then Lilia appeared.

...

She didn't cry.

She didn't scream.

She didn't ask any questions.

She simply walked slowly toward Rudy.

And hugged him.

A strong embrace.

A silent embrace.

A desperately warm embrace.

Rudy trembled slightly.

And for the first time since Paul's death...

he looked truly small.

Not like the prodigy everyone knew.

Not like the powerful mage who had defeated impossible monsters.

Just a broken boy who had lost his father.

I watched from Roxy's arms.

I think that was the moment something inside me finally collapsed.

Because Lilia didn't blame anyone.

Not even a little.

She didn't ask why Paul had died.

She didn't ask why we couldn't save him.

She didn't look for someone to blame.

She simply held Rudy as though she understood exactly how much he was suffering, as though she knew that any words spoken in that moment would be meaningless.

And somehow...

that made everything hurt even more.

...

That made me feel infinitely worse.

One by one, everyone began leaving the room.

Shera helped Vera to her feet with slow, exhausted movements. Talhand left while heavily leaning on his axe, dragging his feet as though each step weighed more than the last. Geese walked out without saying a single word, something unusual even for him.

The entire atmosphere felt heavier.

Harder to breathe.

Even Roxy eventually turned toward the door, still holding me in her arms as though she feared leaving me alone, even for a moment.

But before she could take more than a couple of steps, I shifted slightly.

"...Roxy."

She looked down.

"Hm?"

"...Wait a little."

Roxy studied my expression for several seconds. Her eyes searched my face in silence, trying to understand what was going through my mind.

Maybe she already knew.

Maybe she simply understood that there was something I needed to do myself.

In the end, she nodded.

And stayed.

Lilia remained alone beside the bed.

Her back facing us.

Still holding a piece of Paul's clothing in her hands.

The fabric was wrinkled from how tightly she was gripping it.

That made me hesitate.

I didn't want to do this.

I didn't want to approach her.

I didn't want to hear what she might say.

I didn't want to face that reality again.

Because as long as nobody talked about it, as long as nobody spoke the words out loud, a small childish and cowardly part of me could still pretend that none of this had really happened.

But I needed to do it.

Slowly, I slipped out of Roxy's arms.

Splosh.

Splosh.

Splosh.

The wet sound of my body echoed through the silent room.

Every movement felt strangely heavy, as though I were pushing against an invisible current and every inch that brought me closer to Lilia forced me to accept Paul's death a little more.

Eventually, I stopped in front of her, and then the words came out on their own.

"...I'm sorry."

Silence.

"...I'm so sorry."

My voice barely managed to remain steady as I forced out the words.

"...I couldn't save him."

The words felt inadequate, ridiculous, and empty—so absurdly small that they seemed incapable of containing even a fraction of everything I wanted to say.

And yet they kept coming.

"...I'm sorry."

"...I'm sorry..."

I don't know how many times I repeated it. Maybe too many. Maybe not enough.

Because honestly...

I felt like I had failed.

I had Great Sage, Predator, regeneration, and absurd abilities that no normal creature should possess. I had survived impossible situations and defeated enemies that should have destroyed me.

And yet...

Paul had died right in front of my eyes.

It didn't matter how many times I tried to justify it. It didn't matter that he had saved Rudy, that everyone else was still alive because of him, or that, rationally, I knew that battle had been insane from the very beginning.

It still felt unfair.

It still felt wrong.

It still felt like failure.

Lilia remained motionless for several seconds before slowly kneeling down in front of me and smiling.

It wasn't a happy smile, nor was it a calm one. It was small, painful, and terribly fragile—the smile of someone desperately trying to remain standing while her entire world had just collapsed.

And yet...

it was incredibly gentle.

"No."

Her voice trembled slightly.

"Thank you for staying with Young Master Rudy."

...

That hurt far more than any accusation ever could because she truly didn't blame me.

There was no resentment, no accusations, no anger.

Only gratitude.

And honestly...

I think I would have preferred it if she hated me.

It would have been easier.

Much easier.

Lilia slowly extended a hand and gently stroked my slime body.

"Paul-sama died protecting his son."

Her eyes began to grow moist.

"I'm sure that... he regretted nothing."

Her voice cracked slightly at the end. Only a little, but it was enough.

Because behind those words, I could hear all the pain she was trying to suppress, all the suffering she refused to show in front of everyone else, and all the love she still carried for the man she had just lost.

I felt something heavy sink deep into my core.

It wasn't physical pain.

It was something worse.

Much worse.

Something human.

Something empty.

Something I simply didn't know how to carry.

And when Roxy picked me up again, I didn't protest. I merely settled a little deeper into her arms, as though hiding could make that feeling disappear and closing my eyes could erase the image of Paul smiling one last time.

But it didn't work.

Because some wounds don't fade so easily.

RUDEUS POV

The next morning, getting out of bed felt impossible.

My body felt heavy, but not physically. It was something much worse, as though every thought was trapped beneath a layer of mud and even opening my eyes required more energy than I could gather.

For several minutes, I simply stared at the ceiling without moving or truly thinking about anything.

Because every time I tried...

I saw Paul again.

His eyes.

The blood.

The exact moment the light vanished from them.

Over and over, like a nightmare that refused to end.

I didn't want to go back to sleep, but I didn't want to be awake either. I didn't want to remember, yet I couldn't forget.

In the end, I forced myself to stand because there was something I needed to do.

I needed to see Zenith.

My legs carried me slowly through the hallway until I stopped in front of her room, and just before opening the door, I took a deep breath.

I didn't know what I expected to find.

Zenith asleep?

Confused?

Finally awake?

Maybe I simply needed to confirm she was still there—that after everything that had happened, there was still something left to save.

I opened the door.

And froze.

Everyone was inside.

Geese.

Talhand.

Elinalise.

Roxy.

Even Lilia.

The room was completely silent—not an uncomfortable silence, but something different, something heavy and strange enough to make my heart begin to pound.

And that was when I noticed it.

Lilia was crying silently, tears rolling down her face while both hands partially covered her mouth.

But at the same time...

she was smiling.

A small, trembling smile, like someone witnessing an impossible miracle.

My gaze slowly shifted toward the bed.

And my mind went completely blank.

...Huh?

There was nobody there.

No.

That wasn't right.

There was someone there.

It's just that...

it wasn't Zenith.

An unfamiliar figure sat on the bed, naked and much younger than Zenith. Their body was slender and delicate, with features so soft it was difficult to tell whether they belonged to a man or a woman—perfectly androgynous, strangely beautiful, and almost unreal, like a work of art created to exist only within a dream.

But what truly stole my breath away was the face.

It was Zenith's face.

Only much younger.

Far younger.

As though someone had taken my mother's features and recreated them from an idealized version of her youth.

Long sky-blue hair flowed down their back like a shimmering waterfall.

And their eyes...

Brilliant golden eyes.

Eyes I knew perfectly well.

The figure slowly turned toward me and smiled—a small, sad smile.

"...Aa..."

A pathetic sound escaped my throat because my brain still couldn't process what I was seeing.

Lilia was the first to react.

"Ludeus-sama..."

Her voice trembled.

I still couldn't move.

The figure tilted their head slightly and then spoke.

"...Rudeus."

...

That voice.

I recognized it immediately.

My heart nearly stopped.

"...Rimuru?"

My own voice sounded broken, dry, and weak.

I didn't know if I was afraid, angry, or looking at some kind of illusion.

I only knew that I needed an explanation.

"W-What... what happened?"

Silence filled the room once more.

And then—

The story rewinds one hour.

RIMURU — 1 HOUR EARLIER

The hallway was silent, but it wasn't a normal silence. It was the kind that settled over a place when everyone knew something important was about to happen—something capable of changing everything.

Lilia was inside, seated beside Zenith's bed. Zenith remained exactly as she had been since we returned: unconscious, breathing, alive, and yet undeniably wrong in a way that simple rest could never fix. Something fundamental was missing.

I entered first, followed by Roxy. Geese remained unusually quiet, Elinalise didn't even attempt a joke, and Talhand stayed near the doorway, observing everything without a word.

Lilia sat beside Zenith, holding her hand between both of hers. Her expression was calm—too calm. It was the face of someone who had already cried until there were no tears left to shed.

"She's been like this since we got back," she murmured without taking her eyes off Zenith.

Her voice didn't shake, but it sounded hollow.

"She won't respond."

I approached the bed slowly. Zenith looked exactly the same as before. Her breathing was steady, her condition stable—almost unnaturally stable. It felt less like looking at a patient and more like staring at a perfectly functioning shell whose contents had vanished.

Great Sage answered before I even called for it.

(Processing...)

(Target status: Irreparable.)

(Soul–body connection: incomplete.)

I already knew that. Still, hearing it confirmed while standing in front of her made it feel far more real.

Lilia lowered her gaze.

"If you're going to do something... do it now."

The room fell silent.

"I just want to know if she'll recover."

Those words carried a weight that settled over everyone present. There was no anger in them, no demands, no desperation. Only the final remnants of hope from someone who had already prepared herself for the worst.

Roxy looked at me. She didn't need to speak. Her expression alone made it clear there was no other choice left.

I nodded.

"Great Sage."

(Yes?)

"Force the soul–body synchronization."

For the first time, Great Sage hesitated. The pause was brief, but noticeable, as though even it was calculating the risks of something it considered dangerous.

(Warning: unstable procedure.)

(Risk of severe spiritual damage.)

(Outcome uncertain.)

I closed my eyes.

"…Do it."

The world changed instantly.

It wasn't magic—not in the conventional sense. It was something deeper, something that existed beneath the ordinary laws governing reality. It felt as though I were reaching into an invisible layer of existence where souls and bodies remained connected by threads no living being was ever meant to touch.

Zenith's body reacted immediately. A faint tremor passed through her fingers, her breathing shifted, and Lilia tightened her grip on her hand.

"Zenith-sama..."

She whispered the name like a prayer, as though trying to call someone back from an impossibly distant place.

I took a deep breath and felt resistance. Something broken. Something separated. Something that refused to fit back into place.

Then I pushed with everything I had.

FORCED CONNECTION

The world had no shape.

There was no up or down, no light or darkness, no distance or time. Every concept had dissolved into a vast emptiness where nothing could be measured or understood. Only the sensation of endless falling remained, as though I were descending through an infinite abyss without ever reaching a bottom, suspended in a place where even existence itself seemed to lose meaning.

Then I felt a presence.

Small, distant, fragmented.

A consciousness barely visible within that endless void, weak and scattered like a flickering flame struggling to survive in the middle of a storm powerful enough to extinguish it at any moment.

(Establishing contact.)

"…Zenith."

There was no immediate answer.

Only noise.

Echoes.

Fragments of memories drifting through the darkness like shattered pieces of a mirror trying desperately to become whole again.

A house.

A field bathed in sunlight.

Warm laughter.

Three children running through the grass.

A name.

And then a voice.

"…Lilia…"

My eyes snapped open.

At the same moment, Zenith's body reacted.

Her eyelids trembled before slowly opening, as though even that simple action demanded tremendous effort. She wasn't fully awake, nor did she seem entirely aware of where she was. Her blue eyes remained unfocused, caught somewhere between reality and a distant place beyond it, as though part of her still lingered within the empty void she had just escaped.

Yet despite that confusion, her gaze found Lilia.

"…I'm sorry…"

The words emerged weak and broken, so fragile they sounded as though they had traveled through layers of darkness just to reach us.

Lilia trembled.

"Zenith-sama..."

The hand holding Zenith's began shaking visibly.

Zenith tried to smile. It seemed as though she had forgotten how; the muscles of her face barely obeyed her. Even so, she made the effort.

"…Rudy…? …Norn…?"

The silence that followed was painful.

Those names landed in the room like stones dropped into still water, sending ripples through everyone present.

And in that moment, I understood.

This wasn't a reunion.

It was a farewell.

Lilia lowered her head as tears began falling once more.

"…I'm sorry…"

Her voice broke.

"…I'm sorry I wasn't with you…"

Zenith watched her quietly before slowly lifting a hand. The movement was awkward and uncertain, as though she were relearning how to use her own body after years of absence. Her trembling fingers eventually reached Lilia's face.

"…Don't cry…"

Her voice was barely audible.

"…You took care of my son…"

Lilia squeezed her eyes shut.

Then Zenith smiled.

It was small and weak, but undeniably real.

"…Thank you."

Somehow, she knew.

I didn't know how much she remembered or how much she truly understood about everything that had happened during her absence. Perhaps she remembered almost nothing. Yet somehow, beyond memory and reason, she knew.

Lilia slowly shook her head.

"…I don't know if I did enough."

Zenith looked at her for a few moments longer.

Then something changed.

It was subtle, almost impossible to notice. Like a light slowly dimming within her. Not sadness. Not regret.

Acceptance.

The quiet acceptance of someone who had finally stopped fighting the inevitable.

"…It's okay…"

she whispered.

"…I can rest a little now."

Then she turned her head toward me.

Her eyes met mine and lingered there, studying me with confusion and gentle curiosity as she tried to understand what she was seeing.

"…A slime?"

Lilia smiled through her tears.

"He helped rescue you."

Zenith looked at me again.

She didn't truly recognize me, but there was something deeper behind her gaze. Something beyond memory or logic. It felt as though she could sense my intentions even if she couldn't fully understand them.

"…If you can…"

Her voice trembled once more.

"…take care of Rudy."

The room became completely still.

Lilia tightened her grip on Zenith's hand. Roxy lowered her eyes. Even Talhand remained silent.

I didn't answer immediately because I understood exactly what those words meant.

And because I already knew what I was about to say.

…

"…I can do more than that."

Zenith blinked slowly.

"…Hm?"

I stepped closer.

"…I can keep you here."

Lilia's head snapped up.

"What do you mean?"

I took a deep breath as every gaze in the room fixed itself on me.

"…Your soul isn't fully in this world."

Silence returned immediately.

"…I can bring you with me."

No one spoke.

No one moved.

The air itself seemed frozen.

"…You won't be exactly yourself anymore."

The pause that followed was long, heavy, and difficult.

"…But…"

My voice dropped to little more than a whisper as I looked directly into Zenith's eyes.

"…You could still see Rudy. You could still see Norn. You could still remain with your family."

Something tightened painfully inside my core as I continued.

"…Let me carry what remains of you. Your dreams. Everything you couldn't finish."

I lowered my gaze.

"…Your regrets."

Zenith watched me in silence.

Aquí tienes la continuación traducida en inglés, manteniendo el mismo estilo y tono:

She probably didn't fully understand my words, nor the exact meaning of what I was proposing. But she did understand the intention behind them.

Because something changed in her gaze.

Something soft.

Something warm.

Something that seemed to respond directly to my feelings.

"…Rudy…"

"…Norn…"

she repeated slowly, clinging to those names as if they were the last threads still connecting her to this world.

And then she smiled.

It wasn't a happy smile.

It wasn't a complete smile.

But it was real.

A smile born from the simplest and most human desire that could exist.

"…I want to see him grow."

Lilia immediately lowered her head.

Tears began falling uncontrollably.

"Zenith-sama…"

Her voice completely broke.

I closed my eyes for a brief moment.

Just one.

Because there was no turning back anymore.

Because the moment I accepted this decision, I would stop trying to save Zenith in any conventional sense.

And I would become something far heavier.

Far more important.

I would become the place where what remained of her could continue to exist—carrying her memories, her emotions, her unfinished wishes, and everything that still bound her to the people she loved.

I would become the last refuge of a mother who still wanted to see her children grow.

Chapter Text

The atmosphere in the inn was uncomfortable. Not hostile, not exactly, but uncomfortable in that constant, heavy way that becomes impossible to ignore once you notice it.

I felt it every time I walked down a hallway. Conversations didn't stop when they saw me.

That would've been easier to understand. What happened was worse: voices would drop just a tone, just enough to be noticeable, and gazes would turn away too quickly, as if looking at me for more than a few seconds was wrong.

And then there were the silences.

Brief, artificial, awkward. Silences that were born the moment I entered a room and died when I left.

I couldn't blame them. Because even I understood the reason perfectly.
My new human appearance was the problem.

Not just because I now had a human body, nor because I was still, technically, a monster using a borrowed form. The real problem was that it looked too much like Zenith.

Long hair. Delicate face. Soft expression. The same features. The only real difference was the color: sky-blue hair and golden eyes.

Nothing else. And honestly, that didn't help at all, especially for people who had lived with her for years.

Seeing me walk the halls must have felt like observing something wrong. Something familiar, but broken. Like a warped reflection of someone they loved. And on top of that, I was still a monster.

Yeah. I understood the discomfort perfectly.

Although, curiously, the only two people who acted relatively normal around me were Roxy and Lilia.

Roxy simply accepted it, or at least it seemed that way. I think that for her, what mattered wasn't how I looked, but whether I was still me. I noticed it every time she watched me for too long. There was no fear in her eyes, no rejection. Only worry, as if she was constantly trying to confirm that there was still something left of the slime she had met in the labyrinth.

Lilia was different. From the moment she saw me take this form, she never asked a single question again. Not once. She never tried to understand it or argue about it. She simply accepted my existence as something separate from Zenith. Not as a copy, not as a replacement. As another person.

And even so, not even she could hide it completely. Because, just like the others, her eyes also filled with sadness every time she looked at me. A silent, deep sadness.

Right now I was in my slime form on the desk while Roxy sat across from me. The candle half-lit the room, casting soft shadows on the wooden walls. The air smelled of old parchment, melted wax, and accumulated exhaustion.

The silence between us was heavy.
Roxy kept her gaze fixed on the flame.

"…He's worse than I imagined." Her voice came out low, exhausted.
I bounced once softly on the table.

"Yeah."

There was no other way to describe Rudeus's current state. Empty. That was it. Empty, as if something inside him had been ripped out by the roots, leaving only an impossible-to-fill hole. It didn't even look like sadness anymore. It was absolute emotional exhaustion, that expression that appears when a person stops finding a reason to keep moving forward.
Roxy stared at the darkness beyond the window.

"…Elinalise says I should leave him alone." She paused. "But I can't."
Her voice grew lower, fragile, uncertain.

"Every time I see him… I feel like he's going to break at any moment. I want to help him." I lifted my body slightly to observe her better. Roxy nervously fidgeted with her fingers before continuing. "I want to comfort him. Even if I have to use my body to do it."

For a few seconds I didn't respond. Because I understood perfectly how she'd reached that conclusion. This world was harsh, much more direct about certain things. People sought human warmth wherever they could find it. Contact. Company.

Something to remind them they were still alive. And Rudeus, right now, was desperately starved for affection. Not desire. Affection. Something capable of filling, even for a few seconds, the void he carried inside.

But even so…

"Roxy."

She slowly lifted her gaze.

"Rudeus has a wife waiting for him at home," I said. Her expression trembled slightly. "And she's pregnant."

"…I know."

"Then don't do it."

Silence returned to the room. Heavy. Slow.

"Right now he's broken," I continued, and my voice came out lower than normal. "And when someone breaks like that, they can cling to anything that lets them keep breathing. But that doesn't mean you should become that 'thing'. When we get back to Ranoa… his family will still be waiting for him."

Roxy lowered her gaze. And after several seconds, she let out a small, bitter laugh.

"…Sometimes I forget you used to be human."

That left me motionless.

Lately, I'd been starting to forget it too.

That's why I kept clinging so tightly to my memories as Satoru Mikami. Because the longer I spent in this world, the stranger my own humanity became.

My attachment to the people of this world was, being generous, superficial. Weak. Distant. Except for Roxy, I didn't really care that much about them.

I owed a lot to Rudeus. And that's why I was going to help him get home, no matter what. But after that… I had to seriously think about what I'd do with myself.
—------------
The desert had a curious way of devouring time. The days blended together: sand, wind, heat, silence. And even so, no one in the group could fully relax. Because we all knew something: the trip was going too well. No dead. No serious injuries. No disasters. And after what happened in the Labyrinth, that felt almost unnatural

Currently I was on top of the carriage, in my slime form, gently rocking with each jolt of the giant armadillo pulling the vehicle. The monster snorted heavily.

I still couldn't believe Gisu had found something so useful in the middle of Begaritt. Although, to be honest, Gisu was scary precisely for that reason. That man seemed useless until you stopped paying attention, and then he'd do something absurdly efficient: find routes, negotiate prices, get information, avoid bandits, detect monsters. He was irritatingly competent.

"…That monkey is pretty amazing…"

The desert had a strange way of emptying your thoughts. Sand, wind, heat. Hours at a time without hearing anything except the creak of the carriage and the heavy breathing of the armadillo monster hauling it. And still, no one could fully relax. Because even though the trip was going well—too well, even—we were still carrying something uncomfortable with us. Or more specifically… someone. 

Right now I was on top of the carriage in my human form. Sky-blue hair moving with the warm desert wind, golden eyes, calm expression. The same face. Or almost. And honestly, I still hadn't gotten used to it. Not me. Not them. 

I noticed it in the glances. In how Talhand avoided looking at me for too long. In how Shera lowered her eyes the moment ours met. In how Vera tried to act normal and failed miserably. Even Gisu. Especially Gisu. That guy usually treated everything with levity, but with me there were moments where he just went quiet, like now. He walked beside the carriage smoking something awful, and every few minutes his eyes would drift toward me. Not with fear. With discomfort. Like he still didn't know how to categorize me: monster, companion, or walking grave. 

Yeah. I understood the feeling perfectly. Because even I knew that seeing me had to feel wrong, like a distorted memory. 

Rudy was probably the one handling it worst. He tried to pretend it didn't affect him, and honestly, sometimes it even worked. But only sometimes. Because there were moments, small moments, where I'd catch him looking at me without realizing it. Lost looks. Instinctive. Like for a split second he'd forgotten Zenith was gone. And then he remembered. He always remembered. The expression he made afterward was strange, uncomfortable, like someone trying to swallow something they just couldn't accept. 

Well. It wasn't like I could blame him. Because honestly, even I admitted this whole situation was extremely weird. His mother disappears. I absorb her body to save her. And now I walk around using her appearance. Yeah, it definitely seemed like the kind of premium psychological trauma this world handed out for free. 

Luckily, the desert didn't leave much time to think. Hot wind slammed into the carriage again as I expanded Magic Perception around the group. Movement under the sand. Big. And fast. 

"Sandworm on the left. Thirty meters." 

"Again?!" Talhand growled, lifting his axe. 

Gisu let out a whistle. "They're starting to like us." 

The sand exploded an instant later. A gigantic mass erupted from the ground, opening absurdly huge jaws lined with spiral teeth. Yeah, this continent definitely hated intelligent life. 

The armadillo shrieked, panicking. Elinalise shot forward before the monster even finished emerging. Fast. Very fast. Her spear slammed into one side of the worm, sending up an explosion of sand. Talhand followed immediately. 

"HAAAA!" 

The axe crashed into the monster's body with a nasty metallic sound. 

"What the hell does this thing eat to have skin that tough?!" 

"Sand, probably," I answered on reflex. 

"THAT DOESN'T HELP!" 

Rudeus raised his staff, trying to support from the back. And then it happened again. That tiny instant. The involuntary reflex to move the left hand that wasn't there anymore. His body faltered for just a second, enough to break the flow of his spell. 

"Tch…" Rudy clicked his tongue, frustrated. 

And almost immediately, Roxy appeared at his side. Natural. Fluid. Like she'd been doing it for years. She steadied his right arm before he could lose his balance. 

"Ludy. Breathe." 

Just that. But it worked surprisingly well. 

Rudeus exhaled slowly. Then mana exploded around him. Three giant stone spears pierced the worm's body almost simultaneously. 

BOOOOM. 

Sand everywhere. The monster thrashed violently before collapsing onto the desert with a heavy thud. 

Silence. 

Then Gisu let out a laugh. "HAHAHA! Now that was excessive!" 

"Says the guy who picked this route to avoid monsters," Talhand muttered while shaking sand from his beard. 

"Hey, it's not my fault the desert's full of monsters." 

Elinalise landed elegantly on the sand, wiping blood from her sword. "Could be worse." 

We all looked at her. 

"How exactly could it be worse?" Gisu asked. 

"They could fly." She murmured, pointing behind us. 

Silence. 

Then we heard a shriek in the distance. We all slowly looked up at the sky. Several giant shadows were crossing between the dunes. 

Gisu smiled nervously. The shriek cut through the night sky again. Sharper this time. Closer. I looked up automatically. Three huge shadows circled above us in the hot air currents. Griffins. 

Great. 

Gisu let out a dry laugh. "See? For opening your mouth." 

"And when exactly did I open my mouth?" Talhand answered. 

"Like five minutes ago you said the trip was going too well." 

"That doesn't count." 

"IT ABSOLUTELY COUNTS!" 

Elinalise spun her spear in one hand while watching the sky. "Shut up and get ready." 

The armadillo monster made a weird noise and started panicking again. The poor animal was already developing PTSD. 

The griffins dove. Fast. Way faster than I expected for something that big. 

"Rudy!" Roxy shouted. 

He hesitated for a few seconds but then raised his staff immediately. Several stone spears shot into the sky. BOOM. One of the creatures barely dodged. Another took the hit head-on and spun violently while letting out a furious shriek. The third kept diving straight for the carriage. 

"WHY DO THEY ALWAYS GO FOR ME?!" Gisu yelled while running. 

The griffin spread its wings right above us, kicking up a brutal sandstorm. Big. Much bigger up close. Sharp beak, huge talons, dark feathers coated in desert dust. It definitely looked like a creature specifically designed to ruin trips. 

Elinalise jumped. Literally. She used the side of the carriage as a foothold and launched herself several meters into the air. Ridiculously strong. Her spear pierced one of the monster's wings. The griffin roared violently. Talhand took the opening. 

"Rimuru!" 

"Yeah, yeah." 

I spread water magic above the monster. Compression. Pressure. And then— 

"«Freeze.»" 

CRACK. 

The wounded wing was trapped in ice instantly. The griffin lost balance and crashed heavily into the dunes. BOOOOM. Sand everywhere. 

And then Rudy finished the job. 

"«Stone Cannon.»" 

The explosion punched clean through the monster's head. 

Silence. 

Then the body stopped moving. 

Gisu threw both arms up dramatically, though he was clearly just forcing it to lift the mood. "And that, gentlemen, is exactly why I hate the desert!" 

Talhand snorted. "The sandstorm's still coming." 

… 

It was fun. Well, maybe "fun" wasn't the right word. But after the Labyrinth, traveling like this felt strangely light. Dangerous. Uncomfortable. Exhausting. But alive. Very alive. 

The armadillo monster advanced like a tank through the sand while the storm roared behind us. Gisu led the way up front. And yeah, you had to admit it: that guy was absurdly good at surviving. 

We spent hours moving between giant dunes. Sometimes fighting monsters. Sometimes running. Sometimes just trying not to die of dehydration. I also discovered something important: Sand Worms hated ice. A lot. The first time I partially froze one, the creature started thrashing like I'd just insulted its entire bloodline. Useful information. Definitely useful. 

Though Talhand didn't look impressed. "See? Told you bringing a weird monster along would come in handy." 

"I'm not a multitool." 

"You talk like one." 

"That's because I'm AWESOME." 

Eventually, the landscape started to change. The sand faded slowly. First came stones. Then reddish earth. Then vegetation, small at first, but denser and denser. Until finally— forest. 

In front of us.

Everyone stood still for a few seconds, because the contrast was absurd. We had gone from an infinite ocean of sand to a damp forest full of cold wind and the smell of wet earth. 
Talhand let out a slow breath. "Never thought I'd miss the trees." 
Elinalise turned to Rudy. "Is this it?" 
Rudeus nodded slowly. He finished covering their eyes and we finally went in. 
Yeah. This was it. The ruins of the teleportation circle. Or more specifically… 
One of the ancient transfer points built centuries ago by the dragon race. They were hidden in a wooded area north of the Central Continent, far from any major cities and relatively close to the regions that connected to the Kingdom of Ranoa. That was exactly why the place remained untouched: no normal person had any reason to come out here. 

The entrance was partially covered by roots and stone. Old. Too old. Like the forest was slowly trying to swallow it. And honestly… that made it way more suspicious. 

Why do I know if we're all blindfolded? Simple. I don't need my eyes to see. 

Ancient magic. Dense. Heavy. The kind of energy that survived centuries. The ruins continued underground: huge hallways, ancient stone, worn symbols. And in the center, the magic circle. Pale blue. Enormous. 

...…. 

Snow crunched under our feet as we advanced through the white forest. Dense, silent, freezing. Winter in the northern region of the Central Continent was ridiculous. The snow reached almost up to the waist in some places, and even so Elinalise kept walking ahead like nothing was happening. Honestly… elves were scary. 

I was a few meters behind, spreading heat magic over the path. The snow melted just enough to let the improvised carriage and the armadillo monster hauling part of the luggage pass. Or well, "Jirou" now. Yeah, Rudeus had finally named him.

And weirdly, that improved the poor animal's morale a lot.

Or maybe he was just delirious from hypothermia. Hard to tell. 

"Slower in the back," Elinalise said, glancing behind her. "The slope's getting slippery." 

"Got it." Rudeus answered automatically. No emotion. No energy. Just… automatically. 

That was still the most worrying part. He wasn't destroyed like in the inn. Not anymore.

But he wasn't okay either. It was like he'd learned how to move again without really coming back to life. He still talked. Still fought. Still organized the trip. But there was something missing behind all of it, like an empty room. 

And Roxy knew it. That's why she didn't separate from him too much, but she didn't get close like before either. Not after that conversation in Begaritt. Now she kept her distance. A soft distance. Respectful. Like she understood that anything she did right now would only make the guilt Rudy was carrying even worse. 

So she just stayed nearby. Almost always to his left. Ready to help when he forgot he didn't have an arm anymore. Ready to cover him in combat. Ready to talk if he wanted to. But without intruding. Waiting. Waiting to get home. Waiting for Sylphy to do for Rudy what she no longer could.

That had to be incredibly painful for her. 

"Rimuru-sama." Lilia spoke from behind the carriage. 

I turned my body slightly. She was carefully adjusting the blankets around me. Well, around my human form. It was still weird. Especially when I caught the occasional looks from the group. Less frequent now, but still there. Like an involuntary reflex. Like their brains still associated that face with someone else. 

Zenith Greyrat no longer existed. But her face was still walking alongside them. And yeah… it was still uncomfortable. Even for me. 

"What is it?" I asked. 

"The armadillo is shivering again." 

I looked toward Jirou. The poor monster looked like he was on the verge of an existential crisis. He had snow on him. On his legs. On his snout. He definitely hadn't evolved for this ecosystem. 

"Rudy." 

"Yeah." 

"Warm up the carriage a bit before we lose the tank." 

Rudeus raised his staff without protest. Fire and wind magic. Controlled. Precise. Heat slowly enveloped the carriage as the armadillo made a strange noise that sounded like a sigh of relief. 

Gisu let out a laugh. "He's spoiled now." 

"He earned it," Rudy replied. And honestly… it was the first time in days I'd heard anything close to real warmth in his voice. Small. But real. 

We kept moving for hours. White forests. Frozen trees. Icy wind cutting through layers of clothes. Several times monsters appeared: snow wolves, horned beasts, a huge group of white monkeys that were way too aggressive for their own good. Nothing particularly dangerous. Not for a group like ours. 

Elinalise tore through the front line. Talhand covered perfectly. Gisu detected threats before they appeared. Roxy handled magical support. And Rudy… gave it his best, even though every tiny mistake on his part seemed to deepen his pain. After losing Paul, after everything, Rudeus Greyrat didn't react to violence the same way anymore. 

That night we camped next to a huge rock formation that partially blocked the wind. The fire crackled in the middle of the camp. Everyone was tired. Even Elinalise looked exhausted. I stayed seated on a rock watching the snow fall slowly from the dark sky. Silent. 

Until I heard footsteps approaching. Roxy. She sat near me, adjusting her hat. 

"Aren't you going to sleep?" she asked. 

"Slimes technically don't need to." 

"You do a lot of things that slimes technically shouldn't." 

"Fair point." 

Roxy let out a small laugh. Soft. Tired. Then she looked toward Rudy. He was sleeping near the fire with his staff still gripped in his fingers, like he needed to be ready even asleep. 

Roxy lowered her gaze. "... He still has nightmares." 

I didn't answer immediately. Because yeah, I'd noticed too. Rudeus slept badly. Sometimes he talked in his sleep. Sometimes he woke up startled. And once… once I clearly heard the word "Dad." 

Roxy slowly hugged her legs. "I think he's trying to hold himself together until we get to Sharia." 

"Probably." 

"And when he gets there…" She didn't finish the sentence. She didn't need to. 

Sylphy. Everything revolved around that now. Getting home. Seeing Sylphy. Clinging to something stable before he finally broke. 

Roxy understood it perfectly. That's why she stayed back. Even if it hurt. Even if she wanted to get closer. Even if she probably loved him more than she should. 

The fire crackled. The snow kept falling. And for the first time in a long time, the journey started to feel close to the end. Sharia wasn't far now. Just a few more days crossing the snowy forest. A few more days before going home. 

—------------ 

The city appeared through the snow like a mirage. Sharia. Finally. 

After months crossing deserts, ruins, monsters, storms, and that damned Labyrinth… we'd made it. 

The air was different here. Cold. Humid. Familiar. 

Rudeus stood still for just a second, staring at the snow-covered walls. And then he ran. Literally. 

"Huh?" —Gisu blinked—. "What the hell's gotten into him?" 

Rudy didn't even answer. He just charged ahead through the main street, nearly crashing into several people. And honestly… I'd never seen him run like that. Desperate. Not fast. Desperate. Like someone trying to get there before something irreversible happened. 

Elinalise reacted first. "Ludeus!" She went after him immediately. 

Roxy hesitated for just an instant. Then she started running too. 

I stayed still, watching them go. Snow kept falling slowly around the city. 

Gisu muttered under his breath. "That doesn't look good." 

"It isn't," Talhand murmured. 

Lilia remained silent. As always. But even she looked tense. 

I looked up at the gray sky for a few seconds before sighing. "I'm going after them." 

And I started walking. Not running. Walking. Honestly… if Rudy was panicking again, he probably needed to get there alone first. 

The streets of Sharia were exactly the same. Students in robes. Merchants. Mages. Snow piled on the roofs. Normalcy. 

And even so, I could feel Rudy's anxiety even from far away. Because Magic Perception still connected me partially to the flow around me. And strong emotions… were loud. Very loud. 

When I finally reached the Greyrat house, the door was open. Elinalise stood outside, leaning against the wall with a complicated expression. Roxy was a few meters back. Still. Not going in. 

That made me stop. Because I understood immediately. 

Roxy didn't want to intrude on that moment. Not after everything. Not now.

Then I heard the sound. 

Crying. Not silent. Not contained. Real crying, desperate, broken. 

I went in. 

And for a second the atmosphere hit me harder than I expected. Warmth. The smell of home. Food, wood, clean clothes. Life. 

The room was in absolute silence except for Rudy. 

Sylphy was kneeling on the floor, holding him tightly. Her huge belly barely let her bend properly, but even so she held him the best she could. 

And Rudy… Rudy was completely destroyed. Much worse than at the inn. Far worse. Because there he had still been empty. Not here. Here he had finally allowed himself to feel. Everything. 

His shoulders were trembling violently. His right hand clutched at Sylphy's clothes with childlike desperation. He buried his face against her as if letting go would mean falling apart for good. And he cried. Not silently. Not with dignity. 

Sylphy didn't say much. She just held him. Stroked his hair slowly. Held his back, like she was trying to keep together something that had been breaking inside him for months. 

"Welcome home," she whispered again. 

And that finished destroying him. Because Rudy let out a horrible sound. Choked. Broken. The kind of sob a person makes when they finally understand that they survived. 

Aisha watched from the side, completely frozen. Confused. Worried. She'd probably never seen her brother like this before. 

Roxy remained near the entrance. Still. Silent. She wasn't crying, but she lowered her gaze just a little when she saw Sylphy holding him. And for the first time since I'd known her, Roxy looked truly small. Not physically. Emotionally. 

Because she understood something immediately. She had helped Rudy survive, yes. She'd pulled him out of the abyss. She'd held him when he was broken. But this… this was different. Sylphy was the place Rudy came back to. His home. The person in front of whom he could finally fall apart without fear. 

And Rudy kept crying. For a long time. Longer than I expected. Longer than he probably thought possible himself. 

He cried for Paul. For Zenith. For his lost arm. For the Labyrinth. For the constant fear during the journey. For the guilt. For the relief. For being alive. For arriving too late for some things… and just in time for others. 

Sylphy barely lifted her gaze toward us. Her eyes were still wet, red, but even so she managed to smile. Small. Trembling. Exhausted. 

"Thank you… for bringing him back." 

No one answered immediately. Because honestly, after seeing Rudy break like that, we all understood something. That journey hadn't ended when we left the Labyrinth. It had ended just now. In this house. Among tears. In the arms of someone who was still waiting for him. 

Sylphy breathed slowly, trying to calm herself while she kept stroking Rudy's hair. Then she lifted her gaze a little more. First to Elinalise. Then to Roxy. To Lilia. Gisu. Talhand. 

And finally… to me. 

The movement of her hand stopped. Completely. 

Her eyes opened slowly. The little calm she'd regained vanished in an instant. Because now she was getting a good look at me. The face. The hair. The features. That impossible resemblance. 

Her breath trembled faintly. 

"Z-Zenith-san…?" 

…

Chapter Text

The heavy wooden door slowly closed behind everyone, sealing the interior and leaving the freezing winter outside.

For a few moments, the creaking of the frame was the only sound breaking a dense, uncomfortable silence—one filled with words no one in the room knew how to put into speech.

The living room was barely illuminated by the warm glow of candles, which contrasted sharply with the relentless snowfall still pouring over Sharia through the windows.

Inside, however, the atmosphere felt strangely alien.

Rudeus remained seated next to Sylphy, closer to her than usual; it was almost as if even the slightest distance might make him lose everything again.

Sylphy continued holding his right hand between hers while speaking to him in a low voice about everyday matters: the university, Norn, Aisha, Zanoba, even Rinia and Pursena. Small, ordinary topics.

She wasn't trying to extract information—she was trying to keep him connected, and that was the only thing preventing him from completely breaking down.

Because it was already clear even now: Rudeus was exhausted in a way that went far beyond physical fatigue.

He had endured the desert, the journey, the labyrinth, and Paul's death, pushing forward with a single thought in mind: returning home.

Now that he had finally achieved it, it was as if his body no longer knew how to keep itself going. His answers came late, and his eyes remained distant even when he looked directly at someone.

It was like watching a person who was still trapped inside that labyrinth while the rest of us had already returned.

Meanwhile, I remained near the wall with the rest of the group. Shera and Vera observed the room with visible discomfort, too aware that they were intruding on a family moment that didn't belong to them. Talhand already had alcohol in hand—which, honestly, was the least surprising thing of the night—and Gisu kept looking around with blatant curiosity.

"Senpai…"

"Let her take care of it…" Talhand growled before taking another drink from the bottle.

Elinalise, on the other hand, remained silent.

Her eyes slowly moved between Sylphy, Rudy, and Roxy, observing something that probably only she fully understood. Roxy also hadn't said much since we entered.

She had deliberately stayed back, keeping distance between herself and Rudy even though her gaze kept returning to him again and again, almost reflexively.

It didn't take a genius to understand why: she perfectly knew that, right now, the person Rudy needed by his side was Sylphy.

So she simply stayed silent, waiting, making sure he had truly managed to return alive.

In the end, it was Sylphy who slightly broke the tension.

"So… was the journey that dangerous?"

The question came carefully—soft, almost uncertain.

Rudeus lowered his gaze slightly, and the air inside the room immediately tightened.

We all understood the same thing at the same time: he still hadn't told her anything. Not about Paul, not about Zenith, not about the labyrinth… not about me.

Rudy opened his mouth to respond, but the words never came.

Sylphy noticed immediately. Her fingers tightened slightly around Rudy's hand as she looked at him with genuine concern.

"Rudy… you don't have to force yourself."

That almost broke him again.

I could clearly see his shoulders trembling for a brief moment before he lowered his gaze once more, as if using all his strength just to remain seated.

At that moment, Aisha returned hurriedly to the living room.

"Norn still hasn't come back! She was still in practical classes, I'm going to get her!"

And once again, silence filled the room.

A heavy, uncomfortable silence, because no one knew how to continue the conversation.

It was then that Sylphy finally lifted her gaze toward us. She tried to smile, even now, even seeing Rudy in such a miserable state.

"Thank you… for taking care of Rudy."

Her eyes slowly swept across the room: Elinalise, Talhand, Gisu, Roxy… and finally landed on me. Then she stopped.

Her eyes widened slightly. First came confusion, then doubt, and finally something much more fragile: hope.

Because only now was she truly looking at me. Not as part of the group, not as just another person in the room—but at me.

And it was impossible not to understand why.

Even though my body had changed so much since Begaritt, even though my presence no longer fully matched what it once was… the face was still the same.

Sylphy froze completely. Her breath faltered slightly, and when she spoke again, her voice came out so low it almost felt like she was afraid of hearing the answer.

"So… Zenith-san…?"

The question hung in the air—dense and heavy—freezing the atmosphere of the room in an instant.

Rudy closed his eyes, unable to meet anyone's gaze, while Roxy lowered her head with a mixture of sadness and resignation.

Witnessing that scene was genuinely heartbreaking.

I could feel the despair suspended in the air; that blind, human need to believe that, against all odds, at least part of the family had returned intact from the horror.

But I couldn't feed a lie—not even out of compassion.

"I'm sorry…" I murmured slowly. "But I am not Zenith."

Before the weight of those words could fully settle, the living room door was thrown open violently.

"Nii-san!"

Norn entered almost stumbling alongside Aisha. Both were still covered in snow and out of breath; it was obvious the girl had run all the way from the university.

Her eyes frantically scanned the room until they stopped on me.

Time seemed to freeze. Her pupils slowly dilated.

"M… mom…?"

No one managed to react. Before Rudy or Roxy could say anything, Norn ran straight toward me.

"MOM!"

The impact caught me completely off guard.

Her arms clung desperately to my clothes as she immediately burst into tears.

It wasn't a restrained or quiet kind of crying; it was the heartbreaking wail of a girl who had spent months imagining the worst possible outcome.

"Mom…! I thought… I thought you were already…!"

"Damn it. This was far worse than I expected."

Through the contact, I could feel everything: relief, fear, and months of accumulated anguish.

And although I rationally understood that all of this stemmed from a terrible misunderstanding, I found myself at a crossroads about what I should do.

My body simply couldn't push her away. Because at the end of the day, she was just a child.

I slowly raised my hand. I hesitated for only a moment before gently stroking her blonde hair.

"…It's okay."

My voice came out lower than usual, softer—and that only made Norn cling to me even harder as she broke down into tears again.

An uncomfortable feeling settled in my chest, because I knew perfectly well that this embrace didn't belong to me.

But right now, it was probably the only thing keeping Norn together.

Rudy silently observed the scene. Then he let out a slow breath.

"Norn…"

She didn't respond, too busy crying against me.

"Norn, listen to me…" —Rudy stepped forward— "We need to explain a few things first."

The room fell silent again.

Norn was still clinging to my clothes, trembling slightly from her sobs, until she slowly lifted her head.

Her eyes were completely red and swollen, and the confusion that appeared in them when she noticed the atmosphere in the room was almost painful to see.

"…Huh?"

Rudy took a deep breath.

From where I stood, I could feel Sylphy tense up beside him immediately, as if she already knew where this conversation was heading.

Roxy also lowered her gaze slightly. Honestly, no one wanted to be in this situation—and yet someone had to explain it.

Rudeus began to speak. The story came out slowly, sometimes interrupted by uncomfortable silences that seemed heavier than the words themselves.

He spoke about Begaritt, the desert, the Labyrinth, the Hydra… and finally, about Paul.

Norn stopped moving completely when she heard that.

It was strange to see—like the words took several seconds to truly reach her mind.

"…Dad…?"

Rudy nodded slowly. He didn't try to soften it or find excuses, probably because he was already too exhausted to.

"He died saving us."

The room fell completely still after that.

Norn slowly lowered her gaze while her hands began to tremble again. However, what surprised me most was that when she looked back at Rudy, there was no hatred in her eyes, no anger—only pain.

Because it was impossible not to understand what had happened just by looking at him: the missing arm, the exhausted expression, the hollow eyes.

Rudeus looked like someone who had left a part of himself buried in Begaritt and had barely managed to return with the rest.

And Norn understood immediately.

Tears began falling down her cheeks again as she slowly walked toward him, before tightly hugging him.

"Nii-san!"

Rudy trembled slightly. "I'm sorry…"

"No…" —Norn's voice broke through her tears— "Don't say that… If you ended up like this… then you really tried to save him…"

That almost destroyed Rudy again.

I could clearly see it in the way his breathing suddenly broke; for a second, I thought he might collapse right there.

Sylphy immediately held his hand tighter, stepping a little closer without saying anything. She didn't need to.

But then Norn turned back toward me.

She was still crying, still visibly shattered by confusion and grief, as if everything she had just heard still hadn't fully settled in her mind.

"…Then Mom…"

The air in the room tightened instantly.

Rudy closed his eyes for a moment, as if that question was exactly what he had been avoiding since the conversation began.

When he opened them, his voice came out lower than usual, heavy with exhaustion.

"The person in front of you… is not Mom."

Norn slowly froze.

The sentence didn't seem to register at first; her expression remained suspended, as if her mind refused to process it.

"…Huh?"

Rudy pressed his lips together. The gesture was brief, but enough to show he was forcing himself to continue.

"The body… does belong to Mom."

The change in the room was immediate.

The color drained from Norn's face. Aisha, who had been standing near the entrance, involuntarily stepped back as if the physical explanation of what she was hearing unsettled her.

Even Sylphy, who had been trying to stay composed the entire time, widened her eyes slightly in silent tension.

But Rudy didn't stop.

"When we found Mom inside the Labyrinth… there was no way to save her conventionally." —His voice trembled slightly at the end, as if each word weighed on him physically— "And he…" —slowly, he pointed at me— "…offered to save her by absorbing her body."

The silence that followed was absolute. Not tense, not uncomfortable—empty, as if the entire room had forgotten how to produce sound.

Norn stared at me.

At first, only confusion—like she was trying to translate the sentence into something that made sense.

Then denial, quick and desperate.

And then something more dangerous: the certainty that it couldn't be real, so it must be a lie.

"…Absorb…?" —her lips trembled.

Aisha frowned with an immediate expression of disgust, sharp and instinctive. "That sounds…" —she stopped mid-sentence, looking around the room for someone else.

Lilia.

But Lilia wasn't angry. She didn't seem surprised either; she was just silent, observing.

That alone was enough.

Aisha clicked her tongue, lowered her gaze slightly, and released the breath she had been holding. She wasn't satisfied, but she held herself back.

Norn, on the other hand, had no way to hide what she felt.

Her breathing began to break, irregularly, as if every word she had heard was still searching for a place to fit inside her… unsuccessfully.

Her eyes kept shifting between Rudy and me, over and over, as if looking at me differently could somehow change what she was seeing.

Rudy spoke again, quieter.

"When Zenith was absorbed… she could no longer remain as before."

The word landed heavily.

Norn took a small step back.

"…So… Mom…?" —her voice broke before she could finish— "…is she… gone?"

The entire room ran out of air.

Rudy paused for a moment before answering, and when he did, he didn't raise his voice—as if that could make it any less real.

"Zenith can't come back the way she was."

Norn remained still—too still—as if something inside her had just broken without making a sound. Aisha looked away with a low, uncomfortable "tsk," as if the situation bothered her but she didn't know where to place that frustration. It wasn't clear anger… it was something else, more disordered.

"But her memories… her emotions… part of her…" —I brought a hand to my chest without really thinking— "…are still here."

It didn't sound right. It didn't even sound like something anyone would want to hear, but it was the only truth I had. Silence fell again, though it was no longer as heavy as before; it was more fragile now, as if a single misplaced word could shatter it.

Norn lowered her gaze, and for a second I thought she would collapse inward. But she didn't. She suddenly lifted her head, and there was no confusion left in her eyes.

"…Liar." —Her voice came out broken, small, but burning with something sharp. A second later, she stepped forward— "...LIAR!"

Aisha reacted immediately. "Hey—!"

But Norn wasn't listening anymore. Tears began falling without order or pause, as if there was no longer any point in trying to stop them.

"…MOM! GIVE HER BACK! GIVE ME BACK MY MOM!" —she took another step, her whole body trembling— "DON'T TAKE HER! DON'T TAKE HER TOO!"

Aisha opened her mouth again, but didn't move. This time it wasn't fear or doubt… it was simply that there was nothing she could say that would fit this moment. Lilia remained silent, watching, and that somehow kept Aisha frozen in place.

Norn was no longer speaking—she was breaking.

"…KILLER!" —the scream came out with everything she had— "...KILLER! GIVE HER BACK! GIVE ME BACK MY MOM!"

Her fists slammed into my chest. "Give her back…! Give me my mom back, you monster…!"

Her voice, already completely hoarse, gradually faded. The strength behind her punches diminished until they became faint, trembling pushes against my clothes.

Finally, her legs gave out completely and she collapsed onto her knees, gripping the fabric of my robe with stiff fingers to keep herself from falling entirely, her head resting exhausted against my chest.

Her crying turned into a constant, choking hiccuping sound—one that crawled under the skin.

A few steps away, Aisha took a sharp step forward, her teeth clenched and her face pale. The mix of disgust and frustration in her eyes was obvious; she wanted to pull her sister away from what she saw as an aberrant existence, but the stillness of the room—and Lilia's solemn gaze—kept her rooted in place, fists trembling at her sides.

Rudy made a motion as if to step forward, his expression full of guilt and helplessness, but I gave him a slight glance—barely noticeable—silently asking him to stop.

This wasn't a moment for logic or explanations.

Slowly, I lowered my gaze toward the small blonde figure still sobbing against me. I exhaled inwardly, stripping away any trace of lightness; in situations like this, cheap words of comfort only sound like mockery.

Seconds passed, marked only by Norn's trembling, until I finally spoke.

My voice didn't try to sound imposing or defensive. It came out low, calm, and brutally honest.

"I'm not going to ask you to forgive me, Norn. You have every right in the world to call me a killer."

She shivered slightly at my words, but didn't lift her head.

"I know I'm not the person you wanted to see return," I continued, slowly lowering one hand without touching her—careful not to trigger another reaction, but close enough to offer presence. "And I know nothing I say will change the fact that Zenith can't embrace you herself anymore.

But I didn't take her to destroy her. Part of her soul, her warmth, and the love she had for all of you… merged with me so she could continue living."

I clenched my free hand lightly over my own chest.

"I can't give you your mother back exactly as you remember her. That would be a lie. But as long as I'm here, I promise you that the love she had for you won't disappear. Even if you hate me… whenever I can… I will protect you."

Norn didn't respond with more insults.

Exhaustion and emotional collapse finally caught up with her; her grip on my clothes weakened, and her sobs turned into unintelligible murmurs.

That was when Rudy, understanding that the immediate crisis had passed, approached with slow steps and knelt beside his sister.

With infinite gentleness, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Aisha quickly moved to help him lift her.

Although she still shot me a wary, distant glance, the initial disgust had shifted into tense resignation. Together, they began guiding Norn out of the room, her body moving almost on inertia, completely drained.

I remained standing in the center of the room, watching them leave in silence.

Lilia and Sylphy stayed a few moments longer, processing the weight of what had just happened, before following the siblings to offer support.

Chapter Text

The front door closed behind the others with a dull thud.

For a few seconds, I remained still, staring at the empty space they had left behind. Only minutes ago, the Greyrat household had been filled with voices, tears, and restrained arguments. Now, it had fallen into an unsettling silence.

The only sounds that remained were the occasional crackle of firewood in the fireplace and the steady tapping of snow against the windows.

Norn and Aisha had already left with the rest of the family.

Honestly, I wasn't sure which feeling bothered me more.

Norn's anger was understandable.

I'd expected something like that.

If someone had told me that an unknown creature had absorbed my mother and was now walking around wearing her face, my reaction probably would've been much worse.

What truly unsettled me was what came next.

The expression I'd seen in Sylphy's eyes before she went upstairs with Rudeus hurt far more than I expected.

Normally, when someone hated you, you knew exactly where you stood.

Hatred had always seemed simple to me—predictable, even if painful.

But Sylphy's gaze was different.

More unpleasant.

As if she didn't even consider me worthy of hatred yet.

When people tried to understand you...

Things became complicated.

I let out a quiet sigh and glanced toward the door.

Roxy still seemed uncertain about leaving.

Her hand remained on the doorknob, and for a brief moment our eyes met.

The concern on her face was obvious.

She was probably thinking the same thing I was.

This conversation was unlikely to be pleasant.

"I'll be fine," I said, attempting a smile.

Roxy frowned slightly.

On her, it looked less like disapproval and more like contemplation. Small. Almost childlike.

During our journey back, I'd grown accustomed to seeing her worry about everyone around her—including me.

She really was an incredible friend.

My friend.

Eventually, she nodded.

"I'll be waiting with the others..."

I watched as she disappeared through the doorway.

The sound of her footsteps gradually faded away, followed by the soft click of the closing door, until the house was completely silent.

Then I turned my attention back to Sylphy.

She was descending the stairs slowly, her eyes lingering on the upper floor where Rudeus was finally resting.

The tension hadn't left her shoulders.

If anything, it looked as though it had settled there permanently.

For months she had waited for news of her husband while carrying an increasingly heavy pregnancy. She had imagined his return countless times.

And when it finally happened, she found a broken man consumed by grief and guilt.

Yet she was still standing.

Not because she was fine.

Not because she was strong.

But because someone had to keep the house from collapsing while everything else threatened to fall apart.

For Rudeus.

For the child who would soon be born.

For Norn, Aisha, Lilia...

For everyone.

Sylphy walked over to one of the chairs in the living room and sat down across from me.

Instinctively, I did the same.

For several seconds, neither of us spoke.

"Rimuru-san."

Her voice was surprisingly calmer than I had expected.

Not because she was relaxed, but because she'd spent so much time thinking about this that she had likely exhausted all the more immediate emotions.

The fear.

The confusion.

The disbelief.

Those things were already behind her.

What remained now was simply the need to understand.

I raised my eyes to meet hers.

Sylphy sat across from me with her hands resting neatly in her lap and her back straight.

At first glance, she appeared composed.

But the way her fingers discreetly gripped the fabric of her dress, and the faint tension lingering in her shoulders, told me this conversation was costing her far more than she wanted to show.

"I want you to explain what happened."

It wasn't a demand.

It didn't even sound like an accusation.

It was simply a request.

A sincere one.

"I've heard what Rudeus was able to tell me, but he doesn't fully understand it either. Every time he tries to explain it, he ends up returning to the same point and seems more confused than before."

She lowered her gaze for a moment.

A small, weary smile appeared on her face before quickly fading away.

"I want to know what happened inside that labyrinth," she said, using the calm voice she always used when she didn't want her own emotions to betray her. "I want to understand what happened to Zenith-san."

The next part was much harder for her.

I could see it in the way her shoulders sagged slightly.

In the way she swallowed before continuing, as though the words themselves carried weight.

I saw it clearly.

"And I want to understand what you are."

She looked directly at me.

A brief silence followed.

Not because she was searching for the right words.

She'd had them from the beginning.

It was because she seemed to be gathering the courage needed to say them without breaking apart.

"Because every time someone tries to explain how Zenith-san came out of that place..."

Her voice dropped lower.

Almost a whisper.

"They all end up using the same word."

Her fingers, which had remained still atop her skirt until now, tightened slightly.

Her knuckles turned white.

"Absorb."

The room fell silent.

It was an ugly word.

A brutal one.

The kind of word that didn't describe something—it condemned it.

A word that turned any explanation into something monstrous before you even heard the details.

A word that made you imagine jaws, acid, a body disappearing forever.

And the worst part was that I couldn't blame her for reacting that way.

If someone had told me that story without context—a slime took your mother-in-law inside its body—I probably would've reached even worse conclusions.

Sylphy looked away for a moment.

Not toward the door.

Toward the floor.

As though she needed a few seconds where she didn't have to maintain eye contact with me.

"So it was an improvised decision...?"

I slowly shook my head.

"No... not really."

I paused.

"I simply couldn't find another way. There wasn't any way to restore her."

She didn't interrupt.

She simply waited for me to continue.

"Zenith was alive, but the crystal's structure had permanently separated her soul from her body."

I looked down at my hands.

"It seemed to me that, at the very least, she should be the one to decide how she wanted to spend the rest of her life."

"So I gave her that choice."

Sylphy remained silent.

The expression on her face didn't change much, but I could see her trying to imagine the situation from my perspective.

"And absorbing her was the best option...?"

"..."

I shook my head slightly.

"I don't know. But I'll do everything I can to make sure it was the right decision... and in the meantime... I'll give everything I have to help her family."

Sylphy lowered her gaze to the hands clasped in her lap.

"And now..." Her voice cracked slightly, suspended somewhere between a plea and the terror of giving form to a possibility she wasn't ready to accept. "Do you think she's still there?"

I remained silent.

Not because I was uncertain, but because I understood all too well that whatever I said next would become inseparably tied to this family's hope—or their grief.

"Yes."

The word left my mouth at last.

My eyes drifted toward the floor. Meeting her gaze felt almost sacrilegious, as though I were intruding upon the fragile vulnerability of that moment.

"Though I couldn't tell you exactly in what form. I don't know how much of her remains intact inside me... I really don't know. I have no way of knowing."

I paused.

"But I believe she does."

Perhaps someday Great Sage would be able to give me an answer.

The process was vast, almost endless. I had a feeling it might take centuries before a complete conclusion could be reached.

And because of that, I decided not to mention it.

Asking them to wait hundreds of years would have been crueler than silence itself.

"If you're asking whether Zenith disappeared the moment I absorbed her..."

I slowly shook my head.

"...then the answer is no. Absolutely not."

Several seconds passed before Sylphy found the courage to speak again.

"Then...?"

"Maybe..."

I let out a quiet breath.

"I can't promise you anything, Sylphy. I don't know if there's a way to bring her back."

My hand unconsciously tightened.

"But as long as I can still feel that part of her inside me, I won't stop looking."

I raised my eyes slightly.

"Even if it takes me a lifetime."

Sylphy closed her eyes for a brief moment.

When she opened them again, the tension was still there, etched into her features.

But now it was mixed with something else.

Something warm.

Something subtle.

Something that looked far too much like relief to ignore.

"I think that's what I needed to hear," she murmured.

I frowned slightly.

"What part?"

A small, exhausted smile appeared on her face.

The kind of smile that only emerged after the soul had spent far too long at war with itself.

"I trust you, Rimuru."

She hesitated for a moment.

"Let's get along."

The conversation ended shortly afterward.

Sylphy walked me to the front door and, before saying goodbye, offered a small but sincere smile.

"Don't stop coming by, Rimuru-san. This is still your home as much as anyone else's."

Then her gaze drifted elsewhere.

"Just... give Rudy a little more time."

She didn't need to explain what she meant.

After everything that had happened, he was probably still trying to figure out how he felt about a great many things.

"I will!!!"

She nodded, satisfied with the answer.

"Thank you."

We parted ways soon afterward, and I continued walking through the snowy streets of the city.

And honestly...

I felt a lot better.

Now then...

Time to find Roxy!!!

One month later, on a day when the snow was falling heavily...

Sylphy went into labor.

Honestly, I was far more nervous than I'd expected.

Not because I thought something would go wrong.

Between Lilia, Roxy, and my own abilities, the chances of an emergency we couldn't handle were absurdly low. If any serious complication arose, I could intervene in seconds.

And yet I was nervous.

I suppose it was because they weren't my family.

Or rather...

I didn't feel like I had the right to act as though they were.

During the past few weeks, I'd barely spoken to any of them.

Things with Rudy were still awkward, and neither of us seemed to know how to bridge the distance that had formed between us after the Labyrinth.

It wasn't open hostility.

But it wasn't normal either.

Just a constant tension that both of us pretended not to notice.

So I stayed near the doorway while Lilia organized everything and Rudy practically crushed Sylphy's hand out of sheer anxiety.

I was there in case something happened.

Nothing more.

Well...

Also because I would've felt like complete trash if I'd stayed home drinking tea while a pregnant woman was giving birth only a few meters away.

Snow battered the windows.

Lilia issued instructions.

Roxy remained ready in case healing magic became necessary.

And Rudeus looked like he was simultaneously experiencing the happiest and most terrifying moment of his entire life.

Honestly, seeing him like that felt strangely human.

For months I'd watched him carry Paul's death.

Carry Zenith.

Carry responsibilities.

Carry guilt.

And now he was terrified of something completely different.

His daughter.

A little girl who hadn't even been born yet.

When the baby's cry finally echoed through the room, it felt as though everyone relaxed at once.

There were no particular complications.

The baby was healthy, not premature, not breech.

The only notable issue was that the snowfall had become so heavy that the doctor wouldn't have arrived in time even if someone had gone to fetch him.

"But there's no need to worry, Rudeus-sama. Sylphy-sama is doing well, and everything is proceeding normally."

Despite the pain she was enduring, despite her exhausted appearance and tense body, Sylphy couldn't help smiling a little when she looked at Rudeus and saw how nervous he was.

"Um... Ludy, if you keep squeezing my hand like that, you're going to take it with you."

Even Aisha let out a brief laugh.

Lilia immediately smacked her lightly on the head.

The exchange between mother and daughter drew a soft laugh from Sylphy as well—

"Nh?!"

—and just as the atmosphere began to relax, another powerful contraction struck.

"Stay strong, Sylphiette-sama. Now, take a deep breath... and push."

"Ughhh... Nnngh...!!"

For hours, I'd kept telling myself there was no reason to be nervous.

Between Lilia, Roxy, and my own abilities, this room was probably better equipped for a medical emergency than most hospitals from my previous life.

If something went wrong, I could step in instantly.

wasn't my child.

Not my wife.

Not my family.

...At least not in the way they were Rudy's.

That's why I remained near the wall, trying not to get in the way while watching everything unfold.

The moment arrived before I even realized it.

For who knew how long, the entire room had revolved around Lilia's instructions, Rudy's attempts to make himself useful, and Sylphy enduring what seemed like endless pain.

Yet when Lilia asked her to push one final time, and Sylphy gathered every last bit of strength she had left to obey, I had the strange feeling that the entire world was holding its breath alongside her.

And then it happened.

The sharp cry of a newborn pierced through the room, instantly shattering the tension that had been building for hours.

It was strange.

No one spoke immediately, and yet I could feel the atmosphere change.

Rudy's shoulders sagged as though an impossible weight had finally been lifted from them. Roxy closed her eyes for a brief moment as she released a breath she'd been holding. Even Lilia seemed to allow herself the smallest trace of relief before returning her full attention to her work.

As for Sylphy...

All of her attention was fixed on the tiny girl who had just been placed in her arms.

She held her with almost reverent care, studying every detail of her face as though she wanted to engrave it into her memory forever.

And when she finally spoke, her voice was so weak it was barely above a whisper.

"Thank goodness... she doesn't have green hair..."

Uh...?

What's wrong with green hair?

My gaze shifted toward the newborn.

She was small.

Absurdly small.

And yet somehow she seemed to contain more life than the entire room around her.

She squirmed, cried, and waved her tiny arms without the slightest understanding of the world she had just entered.

And for some reason...

I found myself smiling.

Watching that little life enter the world felt...

Different.

Like a pause.

A breath of fresh air.

Something warm amidst everything else.

A slight pressure brushed against my side.

Roxy had approached without me noticing and was now leaning lightly against me, wrapping both arms around one of mine as she watched the newborn with an unusually gentle expression.

At first, she said nothing.

She simply stood there.

Watching.

"She's so tiny..."

Roxy murmured at last.

"Yeah... she's beautiful."

So small it was hard to believe she would one day walk.

Talk.

Develop opinions of her own.

So small that it felt impossible to imagine she would someday become a complete person.

Roxy rested her head a little more firmly against my shoulder.

"It's incredible..."

"What is?"

"To think that all of us were like that once."

I couldn't help letting out a small laugh.

"Well... some of us grew up better than others."

"Rimuru..."

"Yes?"

"Shut up."

By the time I reached the hill, it was already too late to pretend I didn't know where I was going.

Even without using magic perception, I would've been able to find him.

With it, losing track of him was outright impossible.

The amount of mana Rudy possessed had become ridiculous a long time ago.

Even from hundreds of meters away, he stood out like a torch in the middle of the night.

Finding him in an open area was about as difficult as losing sight of a mountain.

That's why I found him sitting in front of a gravestone partially covered by snow.

The bottle beside him was already empty.

The grave was too.

And judging by the expression on his face, it looked like he'd just finished a very long conversation.

I simply walked over and stopped beside him.

"Am I interrupting something?"

Rudy turned his head.

For a moment, he looked surprised.

Then he let out a small smile.

"You're late."

"Meeting already over?"

"More or less."

I sat down beside him, the snow crunching beneath my boots.

For a few seconds, neither of us spoke.

It wasn't an uncomfortable silence.

"How are you doing?"

I finally asked.

Rudeus didn't visibly react.

His eyes remained fixed on the empty bottle.

"That would've been a terrible question a few months ago..."

A faint laugh escaped him.

"But... I think I'm just grateful."

My gaze drifted toward the gravestone.

Snow slowly accumulated on the stone, gradually covering the edges of the engraved name.

"He would've liked meeting Lucy."

Rudeus lowered his gaze.

For the first time since I'd arrived, he smiled genuinely.

It wasn't a large smile.

Nor was it particularly happy.

But it was real.

"Yeah..."

Several seconds passed before he continued.

"He would've loved her."

A brief silence followed before he let out a quiet laugh.

"He wouldn't have let anyone else hold her. I'm sure of it."

"And he would've spoiled her rotten."

After everything that had happened during the past few months, seeing that smile was enough.

"That too."

For the first time in a long while, the conversation began to flow naturally.

We didn't talk about the Labyrinth.

We didn't talk about Zenith.

We didn't talk about Paul's death.

We simply talked about him.

About the ridiculous things he'd done.

About the things he probably would've said.

About how he would've acted if he'd been able to hold his granddaughter in his arms.

And little by little, almost without realizing it, the tension that had existed between us ever since our return began to unravel.

It didn't disappear.

It was still there.

But it no longer occupied all the space between us.

That was when I decided to ask.

Not because I'd planned to.

Not because it seemed like the perfect moment.

It simply happened.

"Rudeus."

"Hm?"

I stared at the gravestone for several seconds.

"There's something I've been wondering for quite a while."

He turned his head slightly.

Waiting.

I took a breath.

"Are you Japanese too?"

Rudeus froze.

For a second, I could've sworn he'd stopped breathing.

Snow continued to fall onto the gravestone.

Onto his shoulders.

Onto the empty bottle his fingers still absentmindedly brushed against.

"What...?"

His voice came out low, as though saying the word any louder might break something.

I kept my eyes on the stone.

If I looked at him, maybe neither of us would be able to continue.

"Japanese," I repeated.

"From Earth. With the internet, manga, and anime."

Rudeus closed his eyes.

When he opened them again, the surprise was gone.

All that remained was a kind of old exhaustion.

The look of someone who had carried a secret for far too long without knowing whether it could ever be shared.

"So you too..."

he finally murmured.

It wasn't a question.

It was confirmation.

The acceptance of something he'd been trying to process for the past several seconds.

I nodded once.

"I reincarnated."

A brief pause.

"Just like you."

Rudeus remained motionless for a few moments before letting out a low, strained laugh that gradually dissolved into a long sigh.

"I guess you had even worse luck than I did... reincarnating as a slime..."

I chuckled softly and shook my head.

"Trust me. Reincarnating as a slime was one of the easiest problems I've ever had."

That earned a tired smile from him.

After that, his gaze drifted back to the snow slowly gathering around Paul's grave, and for a while neither of us felt the need to continue talking.

"That explains a lot of things..."

he murmured at last.

"Yeah. It does."

A weary smile appeared on his face, one burdened by exhaustion and years of accumulated stress.

"So there's another one..."

he added a moment later.

It took me a full second to process what he meant.

A long second.

My mind scrambled to catch up with something he already seemed to consider obvious.

And before I could stop myself, a confused—

"Huh?"

—slipped out of my mouth.

Rudeus looked away from the grave and absentmindedly scratched the back of his neck, a habit of his whenever he didn't want to look directly at someone.

Then he casually dropped the thought as if it had only just occurred to him.

"Now that I think about it... you should probably meet her."

I stared at him.

"Meet who?"

For the first time since this conversation had begun, I was the one who looked genuinely surprised.

"I see..."

Rudeus muttered to himself.

Then he raised his eyes toward me.

"Her name is Nanahoshi Shizuka."

Chapter Text

The Ranoa Magic University was exactly the kind of place one would imagine upon hearing the words "magic academy."

Stone towers rose above the campus, connected by wide pathways where students of all ages came and went carrying books, scrolls, or simply chatting among themselves. The air was filled with voices, occasional laughter, and small displays of magic appearing here and there with the casualness of someone absentmindedly playing with their fingers.

As I walked alongside Roxy through one of the main corridors, I found myself watching that constant movement with a certain sense of nostalgia.

Not because I wanted to be a student again.

Quite the opposite.

If there was one thing my previous life had taught me, it was that the student years always look much better once they're over.

From a distance, it seemed pleasant. Even fun.

From the inside, it was a far less romantic combination of exams, sleep deprivation, and an alarming dependence on caffeine.

Unfortunately, it was an experience I remembered all too clearly.

Beside us, Rudeus walked with the ease of someone who already knew the place like the back of his hand.

"Don't worry too much," he commented while guiding us through the hallways. "The principal is usually busy, but Jinas-san always finds time for people he considers promising."

"Uh... that sounds opportunistic."

"I suppose it is, a little," Rudeus admitted with a carefree smile. "But it's also part of his job. Recruiting talented students is a pretty effective way to improve the academy's reputation."

"At least he's honest about it."

The small laugh Rudeus let out confirmed that this was probably not the first time he had heard that comment.

Roxy, on the other hand, barely participated in the conversation.

Anyone looking at her from afar would have assumed she was as calm as ever. Her expression remained serene, her steps steady, and her voice had not changed in the slightest since we left home.

However, after so many months traveling together, the differences were obvious.

The slight stiffness in her shoulders.

The brief pauses before answering.

The way her eyes wandered across the building whenever she thought nobody was watching.

She was nervous.

And considering what she had told me during the journey, it was perfectly understandable.

After all, she was about to reunite with someone who had been an important figure during her training.

"You can still run away," I told her.

Roxy shot me a look.

"I'm not going to run away."

"Are you sure...?"

"....maybe..."

"HEY!!! What happened to that determination from a moment ago???"

She shook her head.

And for a brief moment, a small smile appeared.

Mission accomplished.

Sometimes the best way to help someone was simply to give them an excuse to distract themselves for a few seconds.

Eventually, we arrived in front of a large wooden door.

Rudeus knocked twice.

"Come in."

The voice that answered us from inside sounded tired, very tired. Not the exhaustion of a bad day, but the chronic, resigned fatigue that, in my experience, only two kinds of people in the world possess: parents of newborns and administrators.

When we pushed the door open, I knew I had been right. The desk had disappeared beneath mountains of folders, files with bent edges, and half-signed forms; the shelves in the back groaned under stacks of yellowed papers bound together with rubber bands and rusty clips; more unstable towers of documents rested on side tables, on the guest chair, and even on the floor, forming narrow pathways. There was so much paper piled up, carrying that dry smell of old ink and cold coffee, that for a moment I wondered whether the office had been built first and then filled, or whether they had simply stacked the archives and built walls around them afterward.

Behind that administrative fortress, entrenched like a sentry, sat him: a man in his fifties, reddish hair already streaked with gray at the temples, sleeves rolled up and wrinkled at the cuffs, and deep dark circles etched beneath his eyes. He slowly raised his gaze with the effort of someone pulling their eyes away from one report while already knowing another awaited them, and silently looked at us.

"...Well.... It's been a long time...."

Those were the first words Jinas spoke, and they were enough for me to understand that he had recognized Roxy the moment she stepped through the door. A faint smile, carrying a trace of nostalgic bitterness, appeared on his face. Curiously, Roxy responded with an almost identical expression.

"Longer than I expected," he added as he leaned back in his chair. "Though, thinking about it, I suppose it was inevitable that we'd meet again someday."

Roxy remained silent for a few moments, as if organizing her thoughts before speaking. Eventually, she lowered her head slightly.

"I wanted to apologize for the way I behaved back then."

The declaration plunged the room into an unexpected silence. Even Rudeus, who normally found a way to insert himself into any conversation, chose to stay out of it.

Jinas observed Roxy for several seconds before letting out a tired sigh.

"If we're going to start listing all the stupid things we did more than ten years ago, we're going to need a much bigger room."

Roxy stared at him for a moment before letting out a short laugh. It wasn't a polite laugh or a forced one; it was genuine. The tension she had carried since we left home seemed to evaporate instantly, as if those few words had torn down a wall that had been standing for far too long.

Jinas shook his head, though the slight curve of his lips suggested he didn't dislike the situation either.

"It seems you've changed."

"I could say exactly the same thing."

"I certainly hope so. It would be worrying if we were still the same people after all these years."

As I watched them exchange comments, I couldn't help finding something oddly fascinating about the scene.

To me, Roxy had always existed as a single image. It was relaxing, and almost endearing, to see that she had more facets to her than that.

However, there, standing before that man, I could make out fragments of a much younger version of her. A proud Roxy, stubborn to an extreme degree and, probably, far more troublesome than she would ever be willing to admit.

Though, to be honest, that last part didn't seem to have changed all that much.

"..."

That... is a surprisingly terrifying look.

I blinked.

"I didn't say anything."

"You didn't have to. Don't think that again..."

Damn it.

I was spending far too much time around people capable of reading expressions.

The laugh Jinas let out was the first genuine one since we had entered the office, and with it the atmosphere finally transformed. What had seemed like an awkward meeting between a former student and her director only minutes earlier had finally become what it truly was: the reunion of two people who had gone far too many years without seeing each other.

Rudeus took advantage of the moment to give me a small nudge.

"I get the feeling they'll be busy for quite a while."

"I was thinking exactly the same thing."

"Then, would you like me to show you around the university?"

I turned my gaze toward the window. From there, a large portion of the campus could be seen stretching into the distance: stone towers, wide courtyards, academic buildings, training grounds, and a frankly alarming number of students moving from one place to another.

Without realizing it, a small smile appeared on my face.

"Sure."

After all, if I was going to spend some time here, the least I could do was get to know the place.

We left the office behind, leaving Roxy and Jinas alone.

Judging by their expressions, that conversation was going to take a while.

A very long while.

Probably long enough for me to graduate before they finished catching up.

As we walked through the hallways, Rudeus naturally slipped into the role of tour guide.

"So... where are we going first?"

"I need to see a friend. He still doesn't know I've returned."

"Oh!!!! Is he someone interesting??"

"Don't worry. Zanoba is a great person."

"Then it'll be a pleasure to meet him!!"

Rudeus let out a small laugh.

We continued through the campus while Rudeus guided us through different sections of the university. The farther we went, the more obvious it became that the place was enormous.

Every few minutes, something appeared that was capable of drawing attention.

Eventually, we left the more crowded areas of the campus and arrived at a much quieter section. The buildings there were smaller, less ornate, and clearly intended for research work.

Rudeus stopped in front of a rather ordinary-looking door.

"Here it is."

I looked up at the sign.

"Research room?"

"Exactly."

"Sounds awesome."

"It is."

I stared at the door for a few seconds.

"Now I'm curious. What exactly does he research?"

Rudeus smiled.

And decided not to answer.

That only made me even more curious.

Without saying anything else, he opened the door.

"Good news, Zanoba! I'm back!"

What I found on the other side caused my brain to freeze for several seconds.

The room was packed with tools, blueprints, materials, and mechanical parts of every kind. Worktables were covered in notes, components were scattered everywhere, and there were enough unfinished projects to fuel the nightmares of any remotely organized person.

It was exactly the kind of laboratory one would expect to find inside a magic university.

Until I looked at the center of the room.

There was a huge man standing there.

Really huge.

And that man was leaning over a life-sized female mannequin.

Very leaned over.

Extraordinarily leaned over.

Enough that any innocent explanation was rapidly losing credibility at an alarming rate.

"...Huh?"

The giant slowly raised his head.

He looked at us.

We looked at him.

Not a single word was spoken.

For several seconds, the only sound present in the room was that of several people sharing the exact same very uncomfortable interpretation of the scene....

...

...

My eyes drifted toward Rudeus.

Rudeus did exactly the same.

For a moment, we shared that silent look that only exists when two people have just witnessed something neither of them was prepared for.

Then we both looked back into the room.

Zanoba also seemed to be processing the situation.

First, he looked at us.

Then at the mannequin.

Then back at us.

And finally at the mannequin once more, as if trying to determine at what exact point in that sequence things had gone so horribly wrong.

Without a doubt, it was one of the most awkward situations I had ever witnessed.

And that was saying quite a lot.

Even so, this one was competitive.

Nobody spoke.

Nobody seemed particularly interested in doing so.

Eventually, Rudeus made a decision.

He took a step backward.

Then another.

With slow and careful movements, like someone trying to discreetly leave the territory of a dangerous creature without provoking a hostile reaction.

Then he extended a hand.

And closed the door.

Gently.

Click.

The silence that followed was even worse.

We remained motionless for several seconds.

"Rudeus."

"...."

"That was Zanoba, right?"

"Yes..."

"The same Zanoba you consider one of your best friends?"

Rudeus remained silent for a moment.

"..."

I slowly nodded.

"I see..."

I understood absolutely nothing.

Another pause followed.

"Rudeus...."

"Yes...."

"Was he doing it... with a mannequin...?"

Rudeus' expression tightened for just a second.

"..."

"..."

"I'm going to pretend that didn't happen..."

"Me too..."

What happened afterward was surprisingly simple.

Once we got past the small mannequin incident—an incident that none of the three of us ever spoke about again under the implicit threat of immediate social death—I discovered that Zanoba was much more normal than first impressions suggested.

Well.

Relatively normal.

He was still a noble obsessed with dolls, statues, figures, and anything even remotely related to craftsmanship.

But compared to several of the people I had met since arriving in this world, he didn't even make the top ten list of concerning individuals.

Besides, he was kind.

Surprisingly kind.

And extremely easy to get along with.

Perhaps too easy.

It didn't take long for him to accept me as a friend simply because I was a friend of Rudeus.

Nor did it take long for him to discover that I possessed a concerning amount of strange knowledge from my previous world.

Which turned out to be a mistake.

Because the combination of Zanoba's obsessive curiosity, Rudeus' technical creativity, and my modern knowledge produced exactly the result anyone should have expected.

Chaos.

A lot of chaos.

Over the following days, I found myself visiting the laboratory frequently.

At first, I only observed.

Then I started making suggestions.

After that, I ended up participating.

And before I knew it, I was sitting among mountains of tools, blueprints, and impossible prototypes while we spent hours discussing absurd ideas.

It was also during that time that I witnessed one of Zanoba's most important projects.

The Magic Hand.

An artifact developed together with Cliff that was capable of partially replacing Rudeus' lost arm.

Seeing the expressions on both of their faces when the prototype finally worked was difficult to describe.

Rudeus tried to maintain his composure.

He failed miserably.

Zanoba didn't do much better.

For a few seconds, they looked like two children who had just built the most amazing toy in the world.

And honestly...

Maybe that was exactly what had happened.

It was in the middle of one of those sessions that I had an idea.

A dangerous idea.

An idea capable of forever altering the productivity of any civilization.

An idea that probably should have remained buried in my previous life.

I grabbed a stack of paper.

Sat down in front of them.

And spoke the words that doomed the future of this world.

"I want to show you something."

Rudeus looked up.

Zanoba did as well.

Using Great Sage's analytical capabilities, I began reproducing images on the paper.

Panel after panel.

Page after page.

Everything appeared before them at a speed that would have made any professional artist cry.

Rudeus watched in silence.

Zanoba remained motionless.

When I finished the first page, neither of them had said a word.

I finished the second.

The third.

The fourth.

Finally, I placed the stack of pages on the table.

More specifically, a generic isekai H manga.

Silence.

Several seconds passed.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Why is nobody talking?"

Zanoba slowly picked up the first page.

He examined it.

Turned to the next.

Then another.

And another.

His breathing began to quicken.

"T-This sequence..."

He turned another page.

"The images tell a story!"

Another page.

"The expressions change between scenes!"

Another.

"The reader can follow the visual narrative without needing a full illustration on every page!"

"Yes."

"IT'S REVOLUTIONARY!"

He slammed the table so hard he nearly broke it.

Rudeus didn't seem much calmer.

"Rimuru..."

"Yes?"

"I'll make sure to pay you for the rest of my life..."

Zanoba had already begun flipping through the pages for a second time.

Then a third.

Then a fourth.

Finally, he raised his head.

His eyes were shining.

And when I say shining, I mean genuinely terrifying.

He turned a page.

Then another.

And another.

His breathing began accelerating again.

Another page.

Another one.

He slammed the table.

The entire room shook.

"Do you like it?"

"I LOVE IT!"

"Consider it my gift!!!"

Zanoba remained still for several seconds.

Then he looked up.

And gave me an enormous smile.

"Rimuru-dono."

"Yes?"

"We are friends now."

"I thought we already were...."

"Now we are best friends."

The afternoon had passed much faster than I expected.

Between touring the university, meeting Zanoba, surviving the experience of meeting Zanoba, and witnessing the man develop an emotionally concerning relationship with a pile of manga he had only just discovered, time had practically vanished.

By the time we finally left the laboratory, the sun was already beginning to descend over the campus.

Before reaching our destination, Rudeus showed me a large portion of the university.

I met several of his friends.

And I confirmed a theory I had been developing throughout the day.

Rudeus attracted strange people.

It was practically a talent.

First there were two beast girls named Rinia and Pursena.

Then we tried to greet someone named Cliff, but the... peculiar noises coming from his study made us turn around.

So the moment had arrived.

"So..." I said as we walked along one of the main pathways. "Who's next?"

Rudeus, who had been strangely thoughtful for the past several minutes, looked away.

"I think it's time...."

"Hmm?"

"I'll take you to Nanahoshi."

Good.

This was the moment.

I had been waiting for this meeting for quite some time, and now that it was actually about to happen, I could feel an absurd amount of tension building inside me.

Come on.

You can do this, Rimuru.

We continued through the university's research buildings while the bustle of the campus gradually faded behind us.

The voices of students disappeared.

The courtyards were left behind.

Even the architecture seemed different.

Fewer classrooms.

More laboratories.

More spaces intended for people who had spent far too long chasing impossible answers behind closed doors.

That was when Rudeus spoke.

"Before we go in, I want to ask you something."

I raised an eyebrow.

"That doesn't sound suspicious at all."

"Just try to be patient."

His smile became slightly awkward.

"It's difficult to predict how she'll react."

That warning only made me even more curious.

After climbing several flights of stairs, we finally arrived in front of a simple wooden door located at the end of an almost empty corridor.

Rudeus knocked.

Several seconds passed.

Then a female voice answered from inside.

"Come in."

The voice was low.

Monotonous.

Tired.

It did not sound like the voice of someone who had slept well in years.

We entered.

The room looked more like an operations center than a research laboratory.

Documents covered much of the tables.

Maps were pinned to the walls, complex diagrams, strange tools, mountains of open books, and enough scattered notes to cause a nervous breakdown in any remotely organized person.

Everything conveyed the same feeling.

The feeling of someone obsessed with solving a problem that refused to be solved.

Seated in front of a desk overflowing with documents was a young woman.

And the first thing I thought was that she looked much younger than I had expected.

At first glance, she looked like a student.

Her skin was pale.

Her hair was completely black.

Truly black.

And for some reason, that detail immediately caught my attention.

A strange white mask covered her face, though even that wasn't enough to hide the accumulated exhaustion.

She looked tired.

Not tired from sleeping too little.

Tired of existing.

When she looked up and saw Rudeus, she let out a small sigh.

"You're back."

"Yes."

"Good."

The response was short and dry.

Even so, even I could notice the relief hidden behind those few words.

"Now we can continue the research."

"Sorry for taking so long."

"As long as you've returned, it doesn't matter."

Rudeus smiled faintly before stepping aside.

"Nanahoshi."

he called. The young woman slowly turned her head toward me, and her eyes settled on my face without any hurry, scanning me from top to bottom. Blue hair. Golden eyes. She observed me in silence for several eternal seconds, as if verifying a piece of information in a mental archive. She blinked once, then again, maintaining the same empty, clinical expression as always. Her face didn't move an inch: no surprise, no annoyance, no curiosity. Nothing.

"..."

"Hello."

The dismissal was so immediate that I almost had to admire it.

Nanahoshi barely spared me a glance before turning all of her attention back to Rudeus, as if my existence had ceased to matter the instant I spoke.

"And what does this person have to do with me?" she asked with such natural indifference that she seemed genuinely annoyed to be having this conversation. "Don't waste my time."

Rudeus let out a tired sigh, the kind that felt as though it had been repeated far too many times.

It was obvious this wasn't new to him.

"This is Rimuru."

"Hello," I repeated, because apparently the first time hadn't worked.

"Nanahoshi."

That was the entirety of the effort she was willing to invest in an introduction.

Rudeus let out a small awkward laugh and tried to keep alive a conversation that clearly refused to cooperate.

"He's also a friend of mine."

For some reason, that information didn't help much. If anything, Nanahoshi's expression became even more suspicious, as though she had just confirmed some absurd theory she had been constructing in her head.

She continued observing me in silence.

Then she looked at Rudeus.

And then back at me.

"..."

"And also..."

Rudeus hesitated for a moment. His eyes shifted from me to her before he finished the sentence.

"He also comes from Japan."

It was not an exaggeration to say that the world seemed to stop.

The atmosphere in the room changed so abruptly that even I could feel it.

Nanahoshi looked back at me with growing intensity, as if trying to reconcile what she had just heard with something she had buried in her memory long ago. I had seen that expression before in other people, though never this clearly. It was the look of someone who had just found something they believed lost forever and still didn't dare accept that it was truly there.

Rudeus seemed to notice it as well.

"Nanahoshi?"

She didn't answer.

She didn't even seem to hear his voice.

All of her attention was focused on me.

The chair scraped backward abruptly as she stood up, and for several moments she remained motionless, staring at me as if she were seeing something entirely different from a slime sitting in front of her.

"It can't be..."

The words were barely a whisper.

A sound so faint it felt more like a conversation with herself than words directed at anyone else.

Then she raised a hand toward her mask.

Up until that moment, I had never seen her remove it.

Not even once.

That was why the gesture carried unexpected weight.

The mask fell onto the table with a sharp clack, and for a moment nobody said anything.

Beneath it was not an expression of joy.

Nor one of sadness.

What I saw was something far more difficult to look at.

Hope.

Not calm hope.

Not measured hope.

It was desperate hope.

Brutal.

The kind of hope that can only be born after years of living alongside disappointment.

Her eyes remained locked onto me with almost painful intensity. She seemed incapable of looking away, as if she feared that any distraction might make what she was seeing disappear.

Then she began walking forward.

One step.

Then another.

And then another.

Each movement seemed driven by a need she wasn't even trying to hide.

"Do you recognize me...??"

Her voice trembled.

"You are..."

She stopped only a few meters away.

"Akito?"

I blinked, confused.

"Huh?"

The question didn't even seem to reach her.

Nanahoshi continued staring at me as the words began spilling out faster and faster, tripping over one another in a desperate race toward an answer.

"Akito Shinohara? Seiji Kuroki? Do you know them? Have you seen them? Do those names sound familiar? Do you remember the accident?"

The desperation behind every question was so obvious that the entire room seemed to freeze.

She was seeing a possibility.

A possibility so important to her that it had torn down in seconds every wall I had watched her build during our conversation.

For the first time since I met her, the mask that truly mattered wasn't the one she had left on the table.

It was the one she had worn for years in order to keep moving forward.

And it had just shattered right in front of us.

Unfortunately, the answer remained the same.

I felt an uncomfortable pressure in my chest before I even opened my mouth.

Because I knew that feeling.

I knew exactly what it meant to cling to something impossible.

I knew the desperate need to find a way out when every door seemed closed.

And precisely because of that, I knew how much my next words were going to hurt.

"I'm sorry."

My voice came out much quieter than I expected.

Nanahoshi froze.

"My name was Satoru Mikami... I don't know any of those names."

The silence that followed was unbearably heavy.

"I see..."

Her voice came out as little more than a whisper, so quiet that I had to hold my breath to make out the syllables. At that very moment, her shoulders, which had been rigid as wood only a second earlier, lost all tension and slumped, and the force that had been holding her posture together drained away at once, as if someone had cut her strings.

"…"

Rudeus stood up after a while.

"I think Sylphy is going to kill me if I keep disappearing."

Nanahoshi didn't even look up from her cup.

"Good luck... say hello for me."

"I will."

He turned toward me.

"You'll be alright?"

"Of course!!"

"Perfect. Then I'll leave you two to keep talking."

After Rudeus left, the room was enveloped in a strange silence.

It wasn't hostile tension, nor one of those particularly awkward situations that made you want to escape as quickly as possible. It was simply strange. Nanahoshi was sitting across from me, I was sitting across from her, and for some reason both of us seemed to be waiting for the other to take the initiative.

Which was rather absurd.

After all, we had just discovered that we were both Japanese people trapped in another world. One would think we would have an endless list of things to talk about.

And yet, now that we were alone, neither of us seemed to know where to begin.

Nanahoshi rested her chin on one hand and watched me for a few seconds before finally breaking the silence.

"This is..."

"Yeah... I know."

"I simply wasn't prepared... sorry, this changes a lot."

"Haha, don't worry. I understand."

The conversation came to a halt once more, though this time the silence felt a little less awkward. It seemed more like we were both trying to process the situation.

In the end, Nanahoshi was the one who broke it.

"So... what prefecture were you from?"

"Shizuoka."

She blinked in obvious surprise.

"Seriously?"

"What? Were you expecting a different answer?"

"I don't know. I guess Tokyo."

"Everyone expects Tokyo."

"Because it's always Tokyo."

I couldn't help letting out a small laugh.

To my surprise, she smiled too.

It was something small, barely noticeable, but it was enough to relax the atmosphere a little further.

"And you?"

"Saitama."

"Oh."

Nanahoshi immediately frowned.

"What does that 'oh' mean?"

"Nothing."

"You said it with a very suspicious tone."

"I was just thinking about something."

"What?"

"A bald hero."

The answer almost slipped out.

A bald hero capable of defeating any enemy with a single punch.

But I stopped myself before saying it.

Because Nanahoshi's expression showed not the slightest sign of recognition.

She didn't seem to be pretending.

She simply didn't understand the reference.

And that could only mean one thing.

She had disappeared from Japan before that work existed.

The time gap between our deaths was greater than I had imagined.

For a moment, I felt the urge to mention it.

To tell her that in my era there was a manga called One Punch Man whose protagonist shared the name of her prefecture.

But the idea died almost as quickly as it appeared.

That information served no purpose.

All it would accomplish was reminding her, once again, how many years had passed since she last saw her home.

And there was already enough sadness in her eyes without adding more.

"Nothing important," I replied at last.

Nanahoshi watched me for a few seconds, as if trying to decide whether I was hiding something.

It still felt strange to sit across from someone who had been born in the same country, spoke the same language, and understood references that the rest of this world would never comprehend. Even so, as the conversation continued, the feeling of sitting in front of a stranger gradually began to fade, replaced by a familiarity that was difficult to explain.

Eventually, I decided to pull her out of her dilemma.

"What is it?"

She hesitated for only a moment before answering.

"Your appearance."

"My appearance?"

"Yes."

Her gaze traveled across my face once again.

"The blue hair. The golden eyes. You don't look Japanese at all."

"Ah."

"At first I thought you might be mixed-race or something, but after hearing you speak and learning your story..."

The sentence trailed off as she rested her chin on one hand.

"Did you reincarnate?"

The question came so naturally that I couldn't help smiling.

"What if I told you I did?"

"I'd say that explains a lot."

"Then yes. I reincarnated."

Nanahoshi nodded slowly.

She didn't seem surprised by the answer. If anything, she looked satisfied to have confirmed a suspicion she had been building for some time.

"I didn't."

"I assumed as much."

"I was summoned. I arrived with my own body."

"Rudeus told me something similar."

"Then... what happened to you?"

I shifted slightly in my chair while thinking about how to summarize a story that could honestly take days to tell.

In the end, I chose the short version.

I told her how I had died in Japan and awakened in a completely unfamiliar place without understanding what was happening. I told her about the endless darkness surrounding me, the enormous cave where I had appeared, and the confusion I felt during those first moments when I didn't even understand what I was.

Nanahoshi listened without interrupting me once, following every word with almost complete attention.

When I finished, she tilted her head slightly.

"So... what did you reincarnate as?"

I didn't answer immediately.

Instead, I watched her for a few seconds before sighing.

"Promise me you won't laugh."

Her eyebrows rose.

"Now I'm curious."

"I'm serious."

"So am I."

I shook my head.

"Fine. Don't say I didn't warn you."

Then I allowed my body to change shape.

My human form disappeared in a bluish wave, and a moment later a small translucent sphere rested on the table in front of her.

The silence was immediate.

Nanahoshi became completely still as she stared at me.

Then she looked at me again.

And then once more.

As if she were checking whether what she was seeing was real and not some kind of illusion.

Finally, she opened her mouth.

"...That's horrible."

I blinked.

"Huh?"

"You woke up in another world as a gelatinous mass with no arms, no legs, and no face."

She thought about it for a second before adding:

"Now that I say it out loud, it sounds even worse."

The disbelief was still present on her face, but little by little it began to be replaced by something entirely different.

Something I hadn't expected.

Compassion.

Genuine compassion, without pretense or calculation, the kind you feel in your stomach before you feel it in your head.

"That's horrible," she said, with a sincerity that completely caught me off guard.

"It's not that bad," I replied automatically, trying to downplay it with a faint smile.

"No, seriously. That's horrible," she insisted, her voice growing firmer, as though she needed me to understand. She didn't seem to be joking in the slightest. If anything, the more she thought about it, the more concerned she looked, her brow slightly furrowed while her fingers nervously played with the edge of her sleeve.

I lowered my gaze and could only shrug.

"I survived," I muttered.

"But you woke up as a slime!"

She brought a hand to her forehead and let out a long sigh, as though she were trying to process information that was simply too absurd to be real.

"My God..."

"It wasn't that bad."

Nanahoshi slowly turned her head toward me.

The look she gave me made it abundantly clear what she thought of that statement.

"What do you mean it wasn't that bad?"

"Well..."

"You died."

"Yes."

"You woke up in a place you didn't recognize."

"That too."

"Completely alone."

"I suppose so."

"Without knowing where you were, what was happening, or whether you'd ever see anyone again."

"When you put it that way..."

"And on top of that, you discovered you'd turned into... that!"

The pause that followed was brief.

"Rimuru, that sounds horrible... it really does...."

Chapter Text

I couldn't help but laugh. It was a strange reaction. Not because Nanahoshi was wrong, but because she was probably the first person in a long time who genuinely seemed concerned about what had happened to me after arriving in this world.

"Well, I can't really complain… in the end, things turned out pretty well."

Nanahoshi looked at me as if she had just heard something absurd.

"How can that be considered 'well'?"

"Well… I feel fine. That's what matters."

The answer didn't convince her in the slightest.

"That doesn't answer anything at all."

"It does."

I leaned back into my chair and tilted my gaze toward the ceiling as I tried to sort out my thoughts. Explaining something so simple somehow felt more difficult than it should have been, as if putting it into words made it more real than I was willing to accept.

"I made my first friend in a long time."

The image of Roxy immediately surfaced in my mind, as clear as if she were standing right in front of me. Her blue hair, her always-serious yet gentle expression, and that strange way she had of trying to remain composed as a teacher while still getting surprised by the smallest things. Without realizing it, I ended up smiling.

"She was also the first person who truly accepted me."

Nanahoshi said nothing, so I let the silence fill the space for a moment before continuing, resting my elbows on the table as I lowered my gaze to my hands.

"When I arrived here, I didn't understand anything. Everything was new, too big, too strange. I didn't know what was normal, how I was supposed to act, or even what I was supposed to be in this world." I let out a small laugh, more out of habit than humor. "I guess I still haven't fully figured that part out."

The memory of Roxy grew clearer then, as if she wasn't just an image but a presence.

Anyone else in my place would probably have seen a monster. Something dangerous, or useless, something that didn't belong anywhere.

But she didn't.

She spoke to me normally. She explained basic things as if it were the most natural thing in the world to sit down and teach someone who knew nothing. She scolded me when it was necessary, and yet she never stopped treating me like someone who could learn, like someone who could simply exist there without being a burden.

I let out a slow breath.

"It sounds simple when I put it like that… but it wasn't for me."

Nanahoshi didn't interrupt. She didn't seem to judge me or look for contradictions in my words. But somehow, it felt like she was growing more and more drained with every sentence I spoke.

"In Japan, I didn't really have a close family either."

"Or at least, not one I could call home."

The words came out more easily than I expected. Maybe because I had accepted that fact a long time ago. Even when I was still an office worker, I had already come to terms with it. Perhaps those wounds had already begun to heal long before I ever noticed.

Nanahoshi lowered her gaze to the cup she was holding, falling into a deep silence.

For the first time since I had met her, Nanahoshi Shizuka looked her age. Not the investigator. Not the cold, distant girl. Just a woman in her twenties who was terrified.

"I've been researching for years," she whispered. "That's why I don't sleep. Because if I don't find a way back, I'm going to stay here. Forever. Watching all of you…" She lifted her gaze. And there it was. The plea. She didn't say it outright, but it was there in her gray eyes, broken. "If anyone can understand mana well enough to see something I can't… it's you, Rimuru. If you would… if you—"

"Mm? I guess she wants to ask me for something. Come on, Nanahoshi. Just say it. If you need help, I'll gladly help you adapt here. After all, you're my dear friend!"

"Did you know?" I said, leaning forward. "At first, I hated this world too. But it has its good sides. Magic, food… people are more honest. Even the air smells different. It's simpler. I think I might even like it more than Japan. I want to enjoy this life to the fullest. Maybe that's the reason I was sent here. Maybe someday you—"

"SHUT UP."

Her pupils contracted, and the hand she had been halfway to extending across the table froze in midair. She stayed like that for a few seconds, completely still.

Then, slowly, her fingers began to curl inward, forming a weak fist, almost without strength, while her gaze remained fixed on the surface of the table.

There was no perfect answer. No miracle solution. Anything would have been enough. A single word showing that I had understood what she was trying to say. A sign that reopening that wound after so many years hadn't been a mistake.

Her hand finally dropped onto the table. There was no violence in the motion, not even frustration. Only exhaustion. The exhaustion of someone who had been carrying a weight she never wanted.

For several seconds, she said nothing. The silence stretched between us, making the room feel uncomfortably small, and it was then that I realized I had answered in exactly the worst way possible.

Nanahoshi swallowed and looked away. It felt like she was fighting against something trying to force its way out, pushing it back down over and over again. Her shoulders trembled slightly, so subtly it would have been easy to miss. But when she finally spoke, her voice came out unnaturally low.

"What do you know…?"

I froze.

She let out a short, dry laugh with absolutely no humor.

"Do you even understand it?"

Then she lifted her head, and her eyes locked onto mine.

"How could you possibly understand it?"

She gritted her teeth and looked away for a moment before bringing a hand to her face.

"You have no idea…"

"Y-yo… uh… I—"

"What do you know?" Her voice changed abruptly. All emotion vanished behind that artificial calm. Her tone turned cold, analytical, distant, while her hand slowly lowered toward the mask resting on her lap, placing it properly.

"I've been studying this world for years… The more I learn, the more I realize that… everything I've done since I arrived has been research… working harder than I ever did in my life, pushing myself more than ever, because I…"

She broke off, struggling to continue, then fell silent.

"Because seven years… I've been rotting in this place where I didn't even have the luxury of being reborn. Not like you people. You reincarnated. You got a clean slate, a ridiculous excuse to start over. But I didn't."

"I was dragged here whole—body and all—as if this world kidnapped me and threw me into an alley just to see if I'd freeze to death…"

"What have I done until now? I studied. Transport circles. I documented every damn engraved stone in ancient ruins. And all I discovered is that this world is disgusting—closed off, stagnant. Everything here decays slowly and no one cares. People are born, they die, and their children repeat exactly the same bullshit their parents did. Nobles stay nobles. Slaves stay slaves. And everyone is gray. Everyone. I look at them and I don't see people."

"I see pieces on a board that have been playing the same game for centuries without even realizing it. Their faces are all the same. Their problems are all the same. Their dreams don't go any further than the next harvest. And I'm trapped among them—isolated, speaking a language I hate."

"Because at least Rudeus was reborn. He got a new life, a family. You got to start over. But me? I didn't. I'm still… what am I? Someone who can't even die in peace, you know? I don't change. I haven't grown even a single bit since the day I arrived here. I still look exactly like I did in high school…"

"I hate it. Because if I don't age, then I don't die. I'll just stay here watching this stagnant world repeat itself, watching you all live your lives and leave. This world is disgusting. And I don't belong here. I never did."

"In Japan I had a future. I had people I loved. I had a reason to exist."

"Why?! Why do you all accept this?! Why?!"

"Rudeus got used to it. So did you. Of course you're fine—this world gave you what Japan didn't. A second chance. A purpose. But what about me? What's my purpose? To stay in a world I hate as an immortal ghost that never ages?"

"I don't exist here. Nothing connects me to this place. I can't even use magic. I'm the only one in this world without mana. I'm not here. This is just a long, horrible nightmare."

"No. I refuse. I refuse to rot here forever. I refuse to die without even having a grave because I'll never get one. I refuse. I won't die here. And worse—I won't live here forever. Even if I have to… I will go back. I refuse to rot here."

"…."

"…."

"Sorry. I got carried away," she said at last, sitting back down and lifting her cup as if nothing had happened. But her hands were still trembling. "Anyway, that's me. Do whatever you want…"

God. I'm an idiot.

The thought hit me like a hammer.

I tried to speak. "Nanahoshi, I—"

"No." She raised a hand. Not aggressively. Just exhausted. "Stop." Her voice came out hoarse.

"Don't say anything."

I messed up. I messed up so badly.

She wanted me to understand. That was all. Not to fix her life. Not to promise her a way back to Japan. Just to say, "yeah, this is shit, and it must be awful for you." And instead, I gave her a tourist brochure.

"Nanahoshi, I'm sorry, I didn't—" I started, my voice sounding pathetic even to me. "I didn't mean— You're right, I don't understand anything, but—"

"Rimuru."

She said my name without emotion.

"Leave."

I blinked. "What?"

"Please." Her tone softened slightly.

"I need… I need to be alone right now."

She stood up. Didn't look at me. She picked up her cracked cup from the table with mechanical movements, like an automaton doing inventory.

"What I said… forget it. It was pathetic. I'm tired. That's all."

She was lying. We both knew it. But I had no right to call her out on it.

I took a step toward her. "Nanahoshi, let me—"

"No." She shook her head. She still didn't turn around. "If you stay, I'm going to say something I don't want to say."

She stopped by the door. Her back was perfectly straight. Rigid.

"Thank you… for listening…"

I wanted to say a thousand things. That she wasn't worthless. That the world wasn't as gray as she thought. That if she didn't age, then we had time—endless time—to find a way back. That she wasn't alone.

But all of it sounded like self-help nonsense. Like I still didn't understand anything.

So I nodded, even though she couldn't see it.

"Okay," I whispered. "I'm going."

I opened the door. The air outside didn't smell different. It smelled like wet earth—and failure.

Before leaving, I stopped. I didn't turn around. If I looked at her, I'd say something stupid again.

"Nanahoshi."

She didn't answer.

"I'm sorry. For being an idiot. For not understanding. And… if someday… when you feel like talking again… even if it's just to yell at me… I'll—"

"Get out already…"

Click.

The door closed.

I stood there in the hallway with the door shut in my face.

"I like this life. I want to enjoy it to the fullest."

God.

I really wanted to punch myself.

—-----------------

Roxy's Perspective

I had been working for three weeks as a temporary teacher at Ranoa University. It wasn't a permanent position, just a replacement for a water magic professor who had broken his leg during a demonstration. Ironic.

Returning to the classroom felt good. Explaining fundamentals, correcting postures, watching students go from panic to understanding in a matter of hours… it reminded me why I loved teaching. But every evening, when I returned to the inn, that feeling faded.

Because Rimuru was different.

At first, I thought it was just my imagination. That he was busy. But nearly ten days had passed. Ten days in which he barely left his room. Ten days in which that smile of his—the one he always had even without a mouth—seemed to have faded.

Today, when I entered, I found him in his slime form, almost completely liquefied on the floor, spread out in a way that screamed "depressed" in some indescribable way…

I placed my books on the table with more force than necessary.

"Rimuru."

He jumped. Literally. His slime body deformed from the shock.

"R-Roxy! I didn't hear you come in."

"Obviously not." I crossed my arms. "You've been like this for a week…"

"I'm fine," he said too quickly. "Just… thinking a lot. You know, slime things. Very philosophical stuff."

I walked over and sat in front of him. He shifted uncomfortably.

"What happened?" I asked bluntly. With him, subtlety never worked. "Since you came back from talking with Rudy's friend, you've been weird…"

His entire body tensed. So that was it.

"Nothing happened," he murmured. "I just… said something stupid. As always."

"Rimuru."

"No, seriously." He slowly began spreading out on the floor again. "She was hurting. Really badly. And I… uh… messed it up." He curled in on himself. If a slime could become smaller, he was trying to. "I'm a mess, Roxy. I always ruin things when I try to help. Nanahoshi just wanted someone to listen to her, and I said really bad things…"

I sighed. I leaned forward and gave him a light knock on the head.

"Ow. What was that for?"

"For being an idiot," I said. "Yes, you messed up. Congratulations. Welcome to reality. We all mess up all the time."

He looked up at me, confused.

"But Rimuru… are you going to stay locked up here, rolling around in this forever?"

"I…"

"Because if so, then yes—you really are a mess." I stood up and walked to the window, opening it. The cold air of Ranoa rushed in.

He said nothing.

"But you," I continued, turning back to him, "can't fix what you said by staying still. You can't help her from this room. And you definitely can't help me either if you keep making that face."

"Help… you?"

I took a deep breath. I had been postponing this, waiting for the right moment. But sometimes the right moment is when everything is going wrong.

"Rimuru, do you remember the promise?"

He blinked. "What promise?"

I narrowed my eyes, my tone becoming unexpectedly cold and firm. "…The one we made in Begaritt."

"I-I y-yeah—"

"You said that someday we would go together to the Demon Continent. That you would accompany me to see my family again."

His expression changed, as if something inside him remembered how to breathe.

"I… I said that, didn't I?"

"Yes. And I took you at your word." I crossed my arms, imitating my teacher's pose. "I haven't seen my parents in years. I haven't stepped foot in my home in years."

He fell silent. Then, very quietly: "Roxy… I'm not reliable. I just proved that."

"You're an idiot," I corrected. "There's a difference." I crouched down to his level. "Listen, Rimuru. You're not perfect. You say stupid things. You hurt people without meaning to. Like everyone else."

I tapped his head again, softer this time.

"You're the one who stayed by my side when I thought I was going to die alone in that cave. And you're the only idiot who promised to take me home, so keep your promise."

He swallowed. I literally heard it.

"You can't change what you said," I told him. "But you can decide what you do now. You can stay here, feeling miserable, or you can get up, walk out that door, and start doing something you can actually control."

I stood up and extended my hand toward him.

"So what do you say? Do we go on this journey, Rimuru?"

His slime form quickly transformed into his human form. His eyes looked almost glassy as he stared at me.

For a moment, he didn't move. Then his body trembled. And out of all that misery, a laugh escaped him. Small. Broken. But real.

"When you put it like that… staying here sounds pretty humiliating."

"It is." I smiled. "So decide. Are we going, or are you going to keep being an idiot?"

"Uh… yeah, yeah." Finally, he took my hand. "Thank you, Roxy."

"Let's do this."

Chapter Text

The morning light slipped through the window before I had fully opened my eyes.

I remained lying in bed for a long while, staring at the ceiling without really paying attention to anything. My mind was strangely calm, though not in a good way. It was more as if I had temporarily exhausted my ability to worry.

For weeks, every morning had begun exactly the same way: I would open my eyes, remember everything that had happened, and a heavy feeling would settle over me before I had even gotten out of bed. Then I would remain motionless, wondering why I should bother starting another day when I had no real motivation to do so. Getting up or staying in bed seemed to produce exactly the same result.

But that morning was different.

The weight was still there, lodged somewhere between my chest and stomach like a stone I carried everywhere. It hadn't disappeared overnight, nor had it become any lighter. I could still vividly remember Nanahoshi's expression when she lost control. I could still hear her words whenever I spent too much time alone with my thoughts. And I still felt that unpleasant mixture of guilt and helplessness that had followed me ever since.

Because at the end of the day, no matter how many excuses or nuances I tried to find, reality was fairly simple.

I was the one who had made the mistake.

And I was the one who had to accept the consequences.

Maybe I had never intended to hurt her. Maybe I had never imagined my words would provoke that kind of reaction. But intentions didn't change results. It was a lesson I should have learned a long time ago.

Even so...

Something had changed.

Perhaps not inside me exactly, but in the direction I was looking.

For the first time in a long while, I had a concrete goal. A destination to move toward. Something to do besides standing still while the days passed one after another. It wasn't a magical solution to my problems, nor a way to escape them, but it was movement.

I slowly sat up and stretched my arms, letting out a long sigh.

It was strange. Really strange. Even I could tell the difference. I wasn't happy—thinking that would be a ridiculous exaggeration. There were still too many unresolved things.

After shifting into my human form and getting dressed, I headed downstairs to the inn's dining hall.

The place was already bustling with activity. Merchants hurried through breakfast before departing for their destinations, adventurers inspected their weapons and equipment while discussing possible jobs, and several travelers tried to wake themselves up with hot drinks and sleepy conversations.

The dining hall smelled of freshly baked bread, its warm crust still releasing steam. From the kitchen came the aroma of hot soup—vegetables and thick broth—and freshly brewed coffee left a bitter trace in the air. Everything blended together, making the place feel a little more alive.

For some reason, that ordinary scene felt charming this morning.

"Good morning, Rimuru."

I recognized the voice immediately and turned my head.

Roxy was sitting by a window and, of course, had already been awake for hours. Spread out in front of her were maps, neatly organized documents, and enough pages filled with notes to plan an entire military campaign.

I couldn't help but smile a little when I saw her. There was something comforting about finding her exactly as I expected.

Roxy was still Roxy.

"Don't tell me you've been awake since before sunrise..."

"Mm? What's wrong with that...?"

"That means yes."

Roxy blinked a couple of times.

"Yes..."

I sighed.

Just as I thought.

"For how long?"

"About four hours."

"..."

I took a seat across from her just as an employee set breakfast down on the table: freshly baked bread, eggs, something resembling bacon, and a hot drink.

I stared at the food for a few seconds.

It was strange how something so simple could seem so valuable after a rough stretch.

Wait...

Ever since becoming a slime, food had been nothing more than fuel. I'd never really cared about it.

I'm in my human form!

Maybe that's why.

I grabbed a piece of bread, and the moment I took a bite, my eyes widened.

It was warm, crispy on the outside, and perfect on the inside.

After everything that had happened recently, that simple sensation almost made me forget everything else.

"AAAAAH! TASTE BUDS! I LOVE YOU!"

Roxy blinked and looked at me as if I had suddenly lost my mind.

"What?"

"This is incredible!"

The scent of freshly baked bread filled the air, mixing with the steam rising from the cup in delicate spirals. The eggs had a soft, pleasant texture, and every bite tasted far better than it probably actually was.

Getting this excited over an ordinary breakfast was ridiculous, but I couldn't help it.

"AAAAAAAH!" I exclaimed, clutching my chest. "DELICIOUS!"

Several people turned to stare at me, but I couldn't have cared less.

After the past few weeks, this was practically a religious experience.

"Mm?"

"What is it?"

"You're smiling."

Roxy froze for a moment before looking away toward the window.

"Finish your meal already so we can talk."

My attention eventually drifted toward the mountain of documents occupying a good portion of the table.

There were maps, notes written in surprisingly neat handwriting, time calculations, city names, and enough annotations to organize a military expedition.

I picked up one of the sheets and examined it for a few seconds.

"What's all this?"

"The main route."

I raised an eyebrow.

"There are too many pages for this to be just a route."

"I also prepared alternative routes in case something goes wrong during the journey."

My eyes moved across several columns filled with observations. There were notes about the weather, warnings regarding specific regions, and even estimates of how much time we could save depending on the season.

I turned to the next page.

Then another.

And another.

The more I read, the more obvious it became just how much work she had poured into all of this.

"Roxy..."

"Mm?"

I looked up from the document.

"You're amazing."

She blinked.

Taking advantage of the moment, I picked up another sheet from the pile.

It contained a detailed list of inns, villages, and possible places to spend the night along the journey, complete with small notes scribbled in the margins.

"Decent food."

"Clean bathrooms."

"Avoid during peak season."

I had to suppress a laugh.

"No, seriously. What the hell is all this?"

"Places where we could rest."

"You researched all of this by yourself?"

"Well... I've spent years traveling as an adventurer."

The hesitant answer was enough.

I set the document down on the table and stared at her for a few seconds.

"Now I completely understand why Rudeus thinks you're a goddess."

The effect was immediate.

The tips of her ears turned slightly red, and her gaze dropped to the documents as if they had suddenly become the most fascinating things in the world.

"I just want the trip to go as smoothly as possible..."

The way she said it only made it harder to hold back my laughter.

After several hours of reviewing maps, trade routes, and listening to Roxy's explanations, I eventually leaned back in my chair while staring at the enormous distance separating us from the Migurd Village.

It was ridiculous.

I'd never stopped to think about just how absurdly far away Roxy's hometown actually was.

First, we'd have to leave Ranoa and cross a large portion of the Central Continent, following trade routes until we reached the Kingdom of Millis. That part sounded simple compared to everything that came afterward.

Millishion, the capital, would be our first major stop.

Then came the Great Forest.

Apparently, reaching the Demon Continent without passing through it was impossible.

After that, we'd need to secure passage on a ship along the northern coast and cross the sea to the Demon Continent. The oceans of this world seemed to have a deeply concerning obsession with giant monsters.

Finally, we'd arrive on Roxy's home continent and continue from there to the Migurd Village.

The conversation about supplies began in a surprisingly normal manner, which, in hindsight, should have been a clear warning that everything was about to derail in the most absurd way possible.

As we walked through one of Sharia's busy commercial streets, Roxy carefully reviewed a rather extensive list of supplies.

She had written down enough food for several weeks of travel, clothing suitable for different climates and regions, emergency equipment, basic medicine, and a reasonable amount reserved for unexpected expenses.

In short, it was flawless planning.

Logical.

Practical.

Completely sensible.

The only problem was that none of it could be acquired for free.

"We're going to need quite a bit of money," Roxy commented without taking her eyes off her notes.

"I have some savings—" Rudeus began.

"I'm not accepting your money."

Rudeus let out a long sigh of resignation.

While the two of them argued, I quietly thought things over.

The subject of money lingered in my mind for a few seconds before a forgotten idea suddenly surfaced from my memory.

"Ah."

"Mm?" Roxy looked up.

"I think I have money."

"You think?"

"Well... not exactly money. But I can probably sell some materials from the Teleportation Labyrinth."

Rudeus immediately brightened, far happier than he should have been at the prospect of helping.

"Perfect. I know a place that buys rare materials—"

That statement, though well-intentioned, would end up costing him several years of mental peace.

Rudeus decided that trying to sell such a massive quantity of materials to an ordinary merchant would be a terrible idea, so he took me directly to the Adventurers' Guild instead—the most suitable place to handle something of that scale.

The building was exactly what you'd expect from the guild of a major city: a large structure of stone and wood, with high ceilings and thick beams designed to withstand the constant flow of armed adventurers.

The first floor was dominated by a spacious common hall where the smells of ale, leather, metal, and freshly cooked food mingled together.

One wall was covered by an enormous request board packed with jobs organized by rank, while several long tables near the entrance were occupied by adventurers discussing strategies, dividing rewards, or simply resting between assignments.

At the far end stood a line of service counters where receptionists handled registrations, mission reports, and material appraisals.

The place overflowed with activity.

Adventurers came and went without pause. Entire parties gathered around tables to plan their next jobs. Mercenaries negotiated contracts, and receptionists dealt with an endless stream of requests.

All of it blended into the familiar noise of a guild operating at full capacity.

Rudeus approached the main counter and spoke with one of the receptionists.

"We'd like to sell some materials."

The woman responded with a professional smile.

"Of course. What kind of materials?"

"Well..."

Rudeus stepped aside, giving me room.

Partially transforming into my slime form, I opened (Storage).

The first thing to appear was a massive black scale, which I placed onto the counter with a heavy thud.

The receptionist blinked as she stared at it.

"That is..."

Before she could finish, I placed down a second scale.

Then a third.

And a fourth.

The nearby conversations gradually began to die down.

Several adventurers turned their heads at the sound of the impacts, while others approached out of curiosity.

The receptionist stared at the scales for several seconds, and her professional smile slowly vanished.

They were enormous—thick as armor plates and a deep black color that reflected bluish highlights beneath the guild's magical lamps.

Even someone with no knowledge of monsters could tell they belonged to an extraordinary creature.

"W-wait a moment..."

"Are those scales from...?"

"Oh, right. There's more."

I opened (Storage) again.

A fifth scale landed on the counter.

Then a sixth.

A seventh.

An eighth.

By that point, the counter had completely disappeared beneath a growing mountain of materials.

Silence began spreading throughout the guild as more and more people turned their attention toward us.

"What's going on?"

"Are those monster materials?"

"Those scales are huge..."

"Wait... don't tell me those are from a... dragon? A Hydra...?"

"No way..."

The receptionist swallowed nervously.

"M-Mr. Rudeus..."

"Don't look at me!" he replied, raising both hands. "I had no idea how much he'd stored away either!"

"How much is left?"

I paused to think for a few seconds.

Hmm...

(Great Sage), how many detached scales are left?

((Estimate: considering the preserved corpse in its entirety and the mana-induced regenerative capacity, current stock is approximately four hundred and seventy-two additional scales, eight complete claws, multiple organs, fangs, and one intact magic core.))

"...Um... a lot?"

The receptionist froze.

"A lot...? H-how much is a lot?"

"Well..."

I extended my hand again.

A massive claw appeared on the floor.

Then another.

And another.

Each impact sent a slight tremor through the guild's reinforced floorboards.

At that point, there wasn't a single person left who wasn't staring at us.

The adventurers had abandoned their conversations. The receptionists at the other counters had stopped working. Every eye in the building was fixed on the growing collection of materials.

The claws were as large as short swords and retained an unsettling metallic sheen. Even separated from the creature's body, they radiated a sense of danger that was impossible to ignore.

"Those are...?"

"Hydra claws..."

The silence that followed was absolute.

An older man who appeared to be one of the guild's appraisers pushed through the crowd and approached with a serious expression.

He picked up one of the scales and examined it carefully, running a hand across its surface before inspecting one of the claws.

After a few seconds, he became completely motionless.

"These scales..."

His voice sounded strangely strained.

"Where did you obtain them?"

"From a Hydra."

"A Hydra?"

"The Manatite Hydra."

Rudeus immediately stepped forward, waving his arms frantically.

"W-well, we, uh... um... It was in the Teleportation Labyrinth in Begaritt!"

The entire guild froze.

Somewhere in the back of the hall, someone dropped a mug.

CRASH.

The appraiser stared at me.

Then at Rudeus.

Then back at the mountain of materials as though he expected it to disappear on its own.

"The Manatite Hydra?"

The man covered part of his face with one hand while the receptionist looked seconds away from a nervous breakdown.

And honestly, it wasn't hard to understand why.

The Hydra was a creature whose existence was known even beyond the region itself—a legendary monster whose mere presence kept countless adventurers away. Materials harvested from such a beast were extraordinarily rare and worth astronomical amounts of money.

And we had just dumped a considerable portion of its corpse onto the guild's main counter.

I looked at the pile of materials.

Then at the crowd surrounding us.

Then back at the materials.

I suppose, from an outside perspective, it did look a little strange.

The appraiser suddenly snapped back to reality.

"Seal off the counter! If anyone touches these without authorization, execute them on the spot!"

Several employees moved immediately.

"Clear the area!"

"Nobody touch anything!"

"Call the Guild Master!"

The adventurers began whispering among themselves as the news spread throughout the hall.

Some tried to get closer to inspect the scales.

Others debated whether any of this was even possible.

More than a few seemed convinced they were witnessing a historic event.

The appraiser took a deep breath before addressing us again.

"Please, Rimuru-dono. Would you accompany us to a private room?"

They led us toward the second floor of the guild.

Or at least, they tried to.

Making progress turned out to be far more difficult than expected because practically every adventurer in the main hall seemed to have abandoned whatever they were doing in order to follow us.

The commotion caused by the Hydra materials was so great that the guild employees had to actively hold the crowd back.

"Return to your tables!"

"There's nothing to see!"

The voices overlapped as we pushed our way through the mass of people.

Only when the second-floor doors closed behind us did the noise become muffled, finally allowing us a moment of peace.

The private room they brought us to was spacious and elegant, likely reserved for important negotiations or meetings between high-ranking guild members.

A long wooden table occupied the center of the room, while the walls were lined with shelves packed with records, documents, and account books.

The appraiser who had accompanied us let out such a deep sigh that it sounded as though he had lost several years of his life in the process.

"Alright..."

He slowly sat down at the table.

However, the moment he settled into his seat, his eyes drifted back toward the Hydra scales.

He stared at them for several seconds before releasing another long sigh.

"Alright..."

Rudeus and I exchanged a glance.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

The answer came immediately.

"No, Rimuru-dono. I am not okay."

As he spoke, he rubbed his temples in obvious exhaustion.

"I've worked for the guild for thirty-two years, and I have never seen anything like this in my life."

Then he pointed toward the mountain of materials on the table.

"I have never seen someone walk through the front door and dump an S-Class Calamity onto my counter as if it were a routine delivery."

The man stared directly at me, as though expecting some kind of reasonable explanation.

Unfortunately, I wasn't entirely sure what the problem was either.

Before I could say anything, the door opened once more.

An elderly man with a gray beard entered alongside two guild employees.

His mere presence was enough to make the appraiser immediately stand up.

"Guild Master."

Ah.

So he really was someone important.

The old man calmly approached the table.

At first, he said nothing.

He simply examined the materials one by one—the scales, claws, fangs, and magic stones.

Only after inspecting them thoroughly did he raise his gaze toward us.

"Rimuru?"

Then his eyes shifted toward my companion.

"And... Rudeus Greyrat."

The old man nodded slowly.

"You are the ones who completed the Teleportation Labyrinth?"

"That's right."

The Guild Master closed his eyes and remained motionless for several seconds, as though organizing his thoughts—or mentally preparing himself for something.

Finally, he opened them again and slowly lowered himself into a chair.

"I see..."

Though judging by the expression on his face, he clearly understood absolutely nothing.

"Rimuru-dono... the Sharia Guild cannot buy all of this."

"Huh?"

"We couldn't afford even a quarter of it."

Now that actually worried me.

"Is it really that expensive?"

All three men looked at me as though I had just asked whether the sun was hot.

The Guild Master took a deep breath before answering.

"The eight scales you placed on the counter alone are worth more than several homes within this city."

...

"What?"

"The claws are even more valuable."

...

By the time we finally left the guild, the sun was already beginning to set, and the news seemed to have spread through half the city.

There were adventurers stationed outside the entrance, merchants lingering nearby, and even a few university students pretending they just happened to be there.

All of them were trying very hard to look like they weren't watching us while very obviously watching us.

I decided to ignore them.

It was much healthier for my mental well-being.

Rudeus walked beside me as we made our way down the main street, and for several minutes neither of us said a word.

A small leather pouch hung from my belt. Inside rested one hundred gold coins that produced a surprisingly pleasant metallic jingle whenever the bag moved.

In my hand, I held a thick rolled document sealed with several official emblems.

One belonged to the Adventurers' Guild.

Another to the Kingdom of Ranoa.

And a third to the Magic University.

According to the Guild Master, it was a promissory note.

According to Rudeus, it was enough money to buy a city.

According to me, it was just a piece of paper.

A piece of paper that happened to say:

2,840 Gold Coins.

I looked at the number again.

Then again.

Then a third time.

It still looked ridiculous.

"Rudeus..."

"Yeah...?"

"Is that... a lot?"

He pointed at the document.

"That's 2,840... gold coins..."

"I know..."

"No, I don't think you do."

I remained silent while Rudeus let out a resigned sigh.

"With that amount, you could buy several noble estates... a title... entire villages... or live comfortably for multiple human lifetimes."

I looked at the paper once more.

Then at the pouch containing one hundred gold coins.

And finally at the black S-Rank plate hanging from my waist.

The plate looked absurdly modest for something that had caused such chaos inside the guild.

I could still hear the Guild Master's words echoing through the room.

Direct promotion approved.

No additional requirements.

Official recognition for the subjugation of an S-Class Calamity.

I had simply nodded.

"I still think they exaggerated."

Rudeus stared at me for several seconds in complete silence, as though trying to decide whether to patiently explain things or simply give up entirely.

In the end, he chose a third option.

Slowly, he raised a hand.

"Rudeus?"

Bonk.

"OW!"

"Stop saying that."

"But it's true!"

Rudeus' expression became even more incredulous upon hearing me say that so naturally.

Without saying a single word, he raised his hand again.

Bonk.

"OW!"

I rubbed the top of my head where he'd struck me while Rudeus released a long, exhausted sigh.

"Sometimes I wonder if you truly understand how absurdly strong you are."

"Huh...?"

Rudeus stared at me.

I stared back, completely unable to understand what was wrong with my answer.

He continued staring for several more seconds, perhaps waiting for some sign of comprehension that never arrived.

"No. You definitely don't."

"What a terrible personality..."

The vein that appeared on his forehead was all the answer I needed.

Bonk.

"OW!"

Maybe 2,840 gold really is a lot...

It still surprises me how beautiful Rudeus' house is.

It wasn't some extravagant mansion.

Nor was it a noble residence designed to impress visitors.

It was something much harder to obtain.

It felt like a home.

The windows glowed with the warm light of sunset.

The small front garden was well maintained.

And from where I stood, I could faintly hear people moving around inside.

Conversations.

Footsteps.

Life.

And now he had all this.

A wife.

Sisters.

Friends.

A family.

A stable life.

I couldn't help but smile.

I was happy for him.

Truly.

Rudeus interrupted my thoughts.

He approached the entrance, opened the door, and held it open for me.

I remained standing where I was.

"Mm?" Rudeus turned his head. "Aren't you coming in?"

I scratched my cheek.

"I don't think that's a good idea..."

"Why?"

"Well..."

How was I supposed to explain it?

"It's a family dinner, right? And I'm not family. Besides, your sisters hate me."

"So?"

"..."

Rudeus stared at me for several seconds.

"Rimuru."

Before the discussion could continue, Sylphie poked her head out from inside.

Her hair had grown a little since the last time I'd paid attention to it.

The warm light from the house softly illuminated part of her face as she looked at us curiously.

"What are you two doing just standing there?"

"Rimuru doesn't want to come inside."

Rudeus threw me under the wagon without hesitation.

"Huh?"

Sylphie looked at me.

"Why?"

"I don't want to be a bother..."

She blinked a couple of times.

Then she let out a small laugh.

"Rimuru. You're more than welcome here."

Her answer came without the slightest hesitation.

No politeness.

No formalities.

Simply a fact.

"Besides, we've already prepared food for everyone."

"Sylphie..."

"And if you leave now, Lilia will probably get upset."

That was genuinely concerning.

"Aisha too... she seems to want to talk to you about something."

Ah.

Rudeus burst out laughing.

"See? You don't have an escape route anymore."

I sighed in resignation.

Looking at the house once more—the lights, the voices, the warmth spilling from inside—I felt something strange.

For a long time, I'd thought homes were places.

But maybe I was wrong.

Maybe homes were the people waiting for you when you opened the door.

"...Alright."

Sylphie smiled.

"Welcome home, Rimuru."

Chapter Text

The dinner ended much later than I expected.

It was because I was genuinely enjoying it.

The table was full.

Too full, perhaps.

There were bowls of steaming soup, precisely chopped vegetables, meat stewed in a thick and aromatic sauce, freshly baked bread, and small side dishes that seemed to have been prepared with an almost exaggerated dedication. The steam rose in thin columns and mixed with the warm scent of the food, enveloping the room in an atmosphere so welcoming that, for a moment, it made me completely forget that, in theory, I had only come for dinner.

Lucy was sitting in her little chair, swinging her legs impatiently while watching each dish with wide eyes.

It was obvious that she was hungry.

And also that she had no intention of waiting patiently.

"Open your mouth, Lucy," Sylphy said with a soft smile, holding a small spoon filled with puree. Lucy obeyed immediately.

"Aaaah." Sylphy blew on it a bit before bringing the spoon to her lips. The girl swallowed enthusiastically and then raised both hands as if she had just received a prize.

"More!"

"Not yet," Sylphy replied with a low laugh. "Swallow properly first."

Beside her, Rudeus was already cutting a small piece of meat with an almost solemn concentration, as if feeding his daughter were a task of utmost strategic importance. "If you give her too much at once, she'll choke later," he murmured, more to himself than to the others.

"I know," Sylphy answered with infinite patience. "But you are spoiling her too much as well."

"Because she's my daughter."

Rudeus made a face, but he still placed the piece of meat onto Lucy's plate with a surprising gentleness. The girl looked at him, then looked at the meat, and finally opened her mouth again.

"Aaaah."

This time it was Norn who took the small spoon.

Her expression remained serious, almost stiff, but her movements were careful. There was something in the way she held the spoon, in the manner she leaned in just as much as necessary to not make Lucy uncomfortable, that made it clear she was trying much harder than she let on.

She chewed with her cheeks puffed out and then smiled with her mouth full.

Norn sighed, but she didn't seem truly annoyed.

"There's no need to rush her," she commented softly. "Children eat better when they don't feel like they're being watched."

"Thanks for your help, Lilia. I wouldn't know what to do without you," Rudeus replied gently.

"Me?" Lilia tilted her head slightly, feigning surprise. "What a strange thing to say."

Sylphy let out a little giggle.

"I think we're all spoiling her a bit."

Lucy, completely oblivious to the discussion, extended both hands toward the next dish she saw pass by.

"That!"

"No, not that," Rudeus said instantly, pulling the bowl away before she could stick her fingers inside. "That is too hot."

Sylphy brought a hand to her mouth to hide a smile.

Aisha, on the other hand, was already laughing openly.

The scene had something strangely harmonious about it.

Rudeus, Sylphy, Lilia, Norn, and Aisha moved around Lucy with an improvised but surprisingly effective coordination. One gave her soup, another brought the bread closer, another cut the meat, another watched to make sure she didn't get too dirty, and Aisha took charge of turning each little step forward into a sort of game.

Lucy, of course, was the absolute center of everything and seemed to enjoy it without the slightest shame. I watched the scene in silence while I ate. The food was delicious—not just "acceptable" or "good for a family dinner," but genuinely delicious. Each dish seemed to have been prepared with special attention, and though I wasn't someone who usually let himself get carried away by something as simple as a meal, that night I found myself eating with true enthusiasm. The aroma, the taste, the warmth of the freshly served dishes... everything fit together in a strangely comforting way. Aisha, who was helping with the table, gave me a smile that was much more cordial than usual, though slightly forced.

"Is it good, Rimuru-sama?"

"Yes. Very good!!"

My answer was sincere. Perhaps that was why she seemed instantly satisfied.

"I'm glad."

Her tone was kind, almost too kind compared to other times, so much so that she even served me an extra portion without me having to ask. In contrast, Norn remained silent through almost the entire dinner; she didn't say anything offensive or make any direct comments, but her gaze, brief and restrained, made it clear that my presence was still not particularly pleasant to her. It wasn't an open rejection, but something more subtle—a small, almost imperceptible disdain for anyone who wasn't paying close attention. Even so, I noticed it. And, for some reason, it didn't bother me as much as I expected. Perhaps because the food was too good to ruin my mood, or because, deep down, that reaction seemed more honest to me than a forced smile. Or perhaps simply because I was too busy enjoying every bite to give it any importance.

It was such a domestic scene, so warm, that for a moment I found myself watching them longer than I should have.

It wasn't hard to understand why Rudeus had built a life like this.

There was noise.

There was disorder.

There were small arguments and silly jokes.

But there was also something else.

Algo that couldn't be easily faked.

Belonging.

he attended to her, corrected her, protected her from food that was too hot, and made sure she didn't choke.

Every time Lucy got too close to him, Rudeus reacted with a precision that was far too measured. He picked her up, yes, but he didn't hold her any longer than necessary. He spoke to her with tenderness, as if carefully choosing every word before letting it out. Even when he smiled, there was a very brief instant where his expression seemed to tighten, as if something inside him refused to fully relax.

It was caution. And that caution wasn't directed at Lucy as a child, but at something deeper, something he didn't say out loud and that perhaps he didn't even want to admit. When we finally stepped outside, night had already fallen over Sharia. The air was cool and the city lights illuminated the main streets while a gentle breeze stirred the leaves of the nearby trees. Rudeus walked by my side for several minutes without saying anything, and I didn't speak either. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence; there were simply too many things that neither of us needed to explain, as if words were redundant when the weight of the unspoken already floated between us with total clarity.

"So it's final then."

Rudeus's voice finally broke the silence that had settled between us as we walked. I nodded without stopping, hands relaxed at my sides and my eyes fixed on the path opening up ahead of us.

"We will be leaving soon."

"Roxy told me the route."

"And? What do you think?"

"I think you're crazy, but it's the best way to go."

"I know."

Rudeus let out a small laugh, brief but sincere—the kind that doesn't seek to mock anyone, but rather to acknowledge an uncomfortable truth with a certain resignation.

"I'm glad to know that you are at least aware of it."

We continued moving through the streets of Sharia, which by that hour had almost completely lost the bustle of the day. Most of the merchants had packed up their stalls, and only a few scattered lights remained, lit here and there, illuminating the corners with a dim glow that made the city seem more peaceful than it actually was.

"Though I suppose I'm not the right person to say that."

"Mm?"

"The part about being crazy for crossing half the world."

I turned my head toward him, immediately interested by the tone in which he had said it.

"Are you talking about your journey through the Demon Continent?"

"Yes."

His expression changed slightly, becoming strangely nostalgic. It wasn't sadness, at least not entirely; rather, he had that kind of look someone adopts when remembering a life that no longer belongs to them, a stage so different that it seems to have happened to someone else.

"Sometimes I feel like that happened centuries ago."

Rudeus looked up at the night sky for a few seconds, as if searching the stars for a way to organize his memories before continuing to speak.

"Back then I was still a child who knew absolutely nothing about the world—even with my past life, I was immature."

Rudeus snorted, though the corner of his lips remained curved in a smile, before continuing in a calmer tone.

"When I showed up there, I was completely lost. I didn't know the continent and barely understood how that place worked."

His voice became softer as he said it, less light than before.

"If I had been alone, I probably would have died."

It didn't sound like an exaggeration or a way to dramatize the past. He said it with the same naturalness with which someone notes that the sky is cloudy. And precisely because of that, his words carried more weight.

"But I wasn't alone." He fell silent for a few seconds, as if carefully choosing how to continue. "I traveled alongside two people."

I listened without interrupting him, letting him go at his own pace.

"One of them was a very good friend." For an instant, his gaze got lost in some distant point down the street, as if what he was remembering no longer belonged to the present, but to an era buried under too many experiences. "We parted ways under bad circumstances."

He didn't give more details, and it wasn't necessary. There was a certain type of pain that didn't need to be explained to be understood—the kind of pain that appears when someone speaks of wounds that have already closed, of scars that stopped bleeding a long time ago, but never completely disappear.

"For a long time, I felt terrible about it."

His smile, when it appeared, was small and melancholy—one of those smiles that don't ease the weight of what was said, but do make it more human.

"Now I think I simply want to hear her side of it."

I didn't add anything. Some conclusions could only be reached after years of distance, when time took care of putting everything in its place and making clear what previously seemed confusing.

"And the other person?"

Rudeus's smile changed then. It became warmer, more sincere, as if the memory he had just invoked held a much brighter place in his mind.

"A good friend."

I blinked, surprised by how directly he had said it.

I ignored the comment and let him keep talking. Rudeus continued walking as he spoke, hands in his pockets and his voice now tinged with a different, more intimate familiarity.

"His name was Ruijerd."

The moment he pronounced that name, his tone acquired an immediate gravity, a kind of respect that couldn't be faked or improvised. It was the type of respect reserved only for people who have left a real, deep mark, impossible to erase with the passage of time.

"He is probably one of the people I respect most in this entire world. He was incredibly strong... not just physically, he was probably the most honorable person I've ever met."

For a few seconds, he seemed to be arranging memories in his mind, as if each phrase opened a different door inside him.

I couldn't help but laugh, and Rudeus joined me with a brief, almost complicit smile.

"But when Ruijerd said something, you knew you could trust it. There was no double meaning, no embellishments, no excuses. If he promised something, he kept it. If he said he would do something, he did it. He was one of those people whose word carries more weight than anyone else's."

The smile remained on his face as he kept speaking.

"When things got complicated, he was the first to step in front of us."

We kept moving forward while a light breeze swept down the street, barely rustling the edges of our cloaks and carrying with it the nightly scent of the city. Then Rudeus seemed to remember something, because he let out a small sound of realization and looked up at me.

"Ah."

"Mm?"

"There's something I wanted to ask you."

He turned to look at me, calm.

"If you happen to run into him..."

"Yes...?"

I nodded slowly, waiting for him to finish the thought before responding.

"And how am I supposed to recognize him?"

Rudeus let out a laugh, this time more open, as if the question seemed genuinely amusing to him.

"Trust me. You'll recognize him."

That, of course, answered absolutely nothing.

"Rudeus?"

"He's a tall man."

"Bald."

"Pale."

"And he has a huge scar crossing his face."

...

"Ah."

"See? Now you get it."

"Yeah. Definitely now I do."

"His name is Ruijerd Superdia."

The surname immediately sounded familiar. Very familiar. Superdia. One of the best-known names on the Demon Continent, one I had heard about thanks to Roxy.

"If you happen to see him..."

"Tell him you're a friend of Rudeus Greyrat."

I watched him from the corner of my eye, trying to measure the exact weight behind those words.

"Just that?"

"Just that."

I nodded. "Alright."

"Thanks."

In the distance, part of the Magic University could be seen illuminated by the nightly lamps. My eyes drifted unconsciously toward that direction for merely an instant before returning to the road, heading back home. Rudeus didn't say anything. Neither did I. Maybe I should ask. How was she? Had she left her room? Was she still angry? Was she still sad? Did she hate me? The questions appeared one after another, and one after another they vanished before even reaching my lips. I didn't ask. I had no right. Besides... what answer was I even hoping to hear? My footsteps continued forward as the silence settled between us. Beside me, Rudeus didn't mention the subject either. And that, in some way, said far more than any conversation. It wasn't simply that he avoided talking about her. It was as though he avoided getting too close to those thoughts, as if naming her might turn something abstract into a reality impossible to ignore. As if certain wounds needed distance to keep closing. And then, almost without wanting to, my mind followed that line of thought. Rudeus had lived two lives. So had I. Both of us knew better than anyone that some people leave scars that do not disappear, no matter how much time passes. Not because the pain remains the same, but because a part of us continues to exist around those memories. Perhaps that was why neither of us said anything. Because there were silences born from discomfort, and others born from understanding. This was of the second kind.

He knew better than anyone what it meant to wake up in another world with memories that did not belong to this place. He knew how easy it was to feel out of place even when everything seemed normal. He knew how strange it could be to look at others and wonder which part of them was truly "them" and which part was just a continuity broken by another existence.

Perhaps that was why his care for Lucy was not simply that of an overprotective father, but something much deeper and difficult to name, a quiet unease that seemed to be born from a place too intimate to ever say out loud. Perhaps there was something else behind that constant vigilance, something uncomfortable even for himself, a suspicion he did not dare to fully formulate because, once spoken, it would cease to be just a possibility and would become a truth capable of changing everything. The idea arrived slowly, as if it had been waiting for the exact right moment to reveal itself, fitting together piece by piece until it acquired a shape so precise that it was impossible to ignore.

Rudeus didn't seem to fear that Lucy was different, or that she was strange, or even that she was hiding secrets. What truly seemed to trouble him was something else, something far more personal and painful: he was afraid she might be like him. He was afraid to look into his daughter's eyes and discover, behind that innocent gaze, someone who had already lived an entire life before being born. He was afraid that Lucy might also be a reincarnator. And not out of rejection, nor a lack of love, but precisely because of the opposite—because no one knew better than he did the weight a second life could carry. The guilt, the regrets, the mistakes that survive death, the wounds that cross worlds and continue bleeding long after having left behind the body that suffered them.

Rudeus had built a family, he had found friends, people who loved him, and a place where he truly belonged. He had achieved something that many never manage even while living a single life, and yet I knew that a part of him still carried the man he was before becoming Rudeus Greyrat. Not because he was trapped in the past, but because certain experiences do not disappear: they integrate, they become part of you, they accompany you even when you believe you have left them behind. Perhaps that was why he observed Lucy in that way, with that mixture of tenderness, caution, and a barely perceptible tension. Perhaps he wasn't trying to discover if she was a reincarnator. Perhaps he was praying, in silence, so that she wasn't.

Because if she were, it would mean his daughter had arrived in this world carrying a weight that no child should ever have to bear. And if there was one thing Rudeus wished for her, more than talent, more than power, or more than any blessing imaginable, it was that she could live her life from the beginning, without someone else's shadows over her steps, without borrowed memories, without the need to repair the remnants of a previous existence. Just once. As Lucy. And not as someone trying to rebuild themselves from the fragments of another life.

Instead, because if that were true, then he would have to face a question he might not know how to answer: how do you keep being a father to someone who, in a certain sense, has already lived another life?

Perhaps that was why he maintained that barrier so thin. He didn't want to look too closely at a possibility that would force him to acknowledge that his daughter might not be only his daughter, but also someone who would one day remember being somebody else. The fear wasn't in losing her, but in having to accept that she carried something he could neither understand nor control. And, if I was honest with myself, I couldn't blame him. After all, I knew better than anyone how disorienting that could be: waking up with memories that don't fit, with a name that weighs on the tongue, and with the certainty that you are no longer entirely who everyone believes you to be.

After several minutes, we arrived in front of the house. The light from the windows was still on, and inside, movement could be distinguished: shadows, people, family. Rudeus observed the building for a few seconds, as if sopesing everything those walls kept. Then he smiled. A small, calm smile, the kind that doesn't need to justify itself. It wasn't relief nor resignation, but the silent acceptance that, no matter what happened with Lucy and with his past, that place was still his home.

"I'm going to miss having you around."

I blinked.

"EH?!"

"H-hey, don't react like that..."

Rudeus sighed in embarrassment and placed his hand on my shoulder.

"Obviously, I'm going to miss my friend."

"It's not that big of a deal, I can come back whenever I want."

"I know that too."

"Then stop acting like this is a romantic farewell."

I couldn't help but smile, and seeing that, Rudeus smiled too. For a few seconds, the weight of everything left unspoken dissolved, and we felt like before again: simple, normal, just two people sharing the cool night air without expectations or caution. It was a brief, almost fragile instant, but enough to remember what calmness felt like. Then, the front door of the house burst open, and a small figure came running out into the garden, shattering that comfortable silence with the relentless energy that only a child can have.

"Daddy!"

Lucy.

She ran straight toward Rudeus, who scooped her up naturally before she could crash into him.

"Shouldn't you be sleeping?"

"I'm not sleepy!"

"It's not that late yet, Rudeus."

Rudeus shot a glare at me.

I raised my hands.

"S-sorry."

"Traitor."

Lucy turned her head.

Her eyes met mine.

"Are you leaving tomorrow?"

"NOPE!! There's still some time left before that!."

"Very far away?"

"Pretty far away."

The girl pouted slightly.

"Are you coming back?"

Am I coming back...? I wasn't sure—you can never really be sure—but I would definitely like to.

"Yes."

I answered after a few seconds.

"I'm coming back."

Lucy seemed satisfied with that answer.

She nodded with gravity.

"Then it's okay."

Children really were mysterious creatures.

Rudeus slowly lowered his daughter back to the ground.

She ran back toward the house after saying goodbye, waving both hands.

"Goodbye, Uncle Rimuru!"

"U-uncle?!! Uh... Goodbye, Lucy."

I watched her disappear through the door, running back toward the warm light of the home, and for a few seconds, neither of us said anything. The sound of her small footsteps gradually faded until it was completely lost, swallowed by the distant murmur of the house and by that strange silence that remains when someone important leaves and the air seems suspended in their absence. Then Rudeus broke the quiet, and he did so in a completely different tone than before: lower, firmer, heavier; there was no trace left of the lightness with which he had spoken until then. It was the voice of someone who was no longer joking, nor testing the waters, nor hiding what he felt behind a smile. It was the voice of a man who was about to ask for something that, to him, was worth more than anything else in the world.

"Rimuru."

"Mm?"

Rudeus looked at me dead-on. This time, he didn't avert his gaze for a single instant. His eyes, normally warm and approachable, were tense, serious, loaded with a determination so deep that it forced me to straighten up without realizing it. When he spoke again, every word came out with an almost solemn clarity, as if he were uttering an oath.

"Take care of Roxy."

There was no smile, no sarcasm, nor the slightest attempt to soften those words with some absurd joke or a witty comeback. Just a bare, direct, absolute request. But precisely because of that, it carried so much weight. It didn't sound like a simple request for help. It sounded like a plea. As if, in that instant, all his trust, all his fear, and all his love were concentrated in those four words.

For a moment, I looked toward the door where Lucy had disappeared, then toward the illuminated windows of the house, and finally, my eyes met Rudeus's again. And then I understood something with uncomfortable clarity: he wasn't speaking to me as an adventurer, nor as a mage, nor even as a friend. He was speaking to me as Rudeus Greyrat, Roxy's student, who had loved her too much to ever allow himself to treat this lightly. As someone who, after years of separation, suffering, and impossible reunions, had finally managed to gather a family to protect, and yet was willing to let one of the most important people in his life go because he knew this journey was important to her—because he understood how much it meant to Roxy to return home, because he loved her enough to let her part without trying to hold her back.

I felt a slight tightening in my chest, a strange and hard-to-name mixture of responsibility, guilt, and determination. For a long time, I hadn't been sure about many things: about myself, about my decisions, about whether I truly was someone capable of helping others when they needed it most. But this time, I didn't hesitate. I couldn't. Because in Rudeus's eyes, there was no room for doubt. This wasn't just any request. This was trust. And something else too, something that didn't need to be said out loud.

I looked away from the house and met Rudeus's eyes once more. And when I spoke, I did so with a firmness that surprised even myself.

"I will."

Rudeus remained motionless for a second, as if measuring the exact weight of my response. Then, very slowly, he gave a slight nod.

It wasn't a large gesture.

But it was definitive.

Chapter Text

A few weeks earlier.

The hallways of the Magic University were as crowded as ever, overflowing with students of every race coming and going with books pressed against their chests, scrolls tucked under their arms, and practice materials that looked ready to spill from their hands at any moment. Amid that constant flow of voices, hurried footsteps, and half-finished greetings, professors and assistants did their best to maintain some semblance of order within the academy's usual chaos. Though, truth be told, the place always carried that same overwhelming energy, as if every corridor were on the verge of turning into a small battlefield of schedules, assignments, and frayed nerves.

Rudeus and I walked through one of the main corridors at a relatively relaxed pace, though saying we were both equally calm would have been a lie. He seemed completely oblivious to the murmurs around us, as if other people's attention carried no weight whatsoever on his shoulders. Meanwhile, I once again felt that uncomfortable tingling sensation of eyes fixed on me from every direction.

It wasn't anything new. I'd discovered long ago that my appearance attracted a fair amount of attention, but that didn't mean I'd gotten used to it. The silver-blue hair, the golden eyes, the difficulty people seemed to have in deciding exactly what race I belonged to... all of it contributed to the kind of curiosity that sometimes bordered on outright rudeness. And when you added the fact that this world seemed to be filled with people incapable of hiding their interest, the result was always the same.

Even as we walked, I could feel several gazes following us—some discreet, others so obvious they were almost insulting.

"They're staring at you again... it's getting creepy..."

Rudeus's voice carried that natural bluntness of his that sometimes bordered on accidental cruelty.

"I know..."

In my previous life, I was never even remotely above average. I never stood out in any way. That's why this is, honestly, overwhelming...

He let out a small laugh at what was probably my defeated expression, brief but genuine, and I couldn't help sighing in resignation as we continued until we reached one of the classrooms reserved for advanced-ranked students.

This was where our paths usually split. I had to head toward the first-year classes, while Rudeus attended lessons in this section of the campus. It was a familiar routine by now, almost mechanical, so I simply stopped beside the door and prepared to say goodbye.

"Well, see you later."

"Good luck with your classes, Rimuru!"

I was just about to turn around when the classroom door suddenly burst open with such force that, for a moment, I thought someone had been launched from inside.

Before I could react, two figures rushed toward us at a speed that could only be described as enthusiastic and completely uncontrolled.

"Boss!"

"Boss, good morning!"

Linia Dedoldia and Pursena Adoldia appeared in front of us almost like a single mass of movement and energy, both beastfolk approaching Rudeus with their tails wagging excitedly. Their voices carried that familiar mixture of admiration and casual familiarity they always used with him, as though they had adopted him as some sort of personal leader.

"Boss! Are we having practice today?"

"I hope we are!"

"Good morning to you two as well."

Rudeus responded with his usual calmness, but the two of them came to a halt in front of him only a second later.

And that was when they truly noticed me.

The change in both of them was so abrupt it would have been funny if it hadn't seemed completely involuntary.

Their tails froze midair.

Their ears shot upright.

Their fur stood on end as if they had just received an invisible shock.

Their pupils contracted at an alarming speed, and before I could understand what was happening, both of them bared their fangs.

It wasn't an aggressive posture.

It didn't even seem like a conscious threat.

Rather, it looked like a purely instinctive reaction, like two animals that had suddenly come face to face with something their bodies recognized before their minds could.

I blinked, utterly bewildered, as Linia took a step backward and Pursena immediately copied her. Even their legs seemed to be trembling slightly.

"Huh?"

Rudeus frowned and looked from one to the other, clearly not understanding anything.

"W-What's wrong?"

he asked, but neither of them answered.

They simply kept staring at me, their tension so obvious that it almost felt tangible in the air.

"Linia?"

Rudeus spoke again, this time with a hint of genuine concern.

"Boss..."

Linia's reply came out stiff, strangely tense.

"What is that?"

"Rimuru?"

"THAT THING HAS A NAME?!"

—

Linia Dedoldia POV

I couldn't understand what I was looking at.

He looked like a new student, one of those boys who arrived with an innocent air and a presence far too polished to be completely normal. He was small, slender, and in a strange way that annoyed me to admit, far too pretty...

Weak-looking.

But the moment I truly observed him and allowed my instincts to do their job, my entire body went rigid.

My ears shot up on reflex.

My tail stopped moving.

Even my breathing caught in my throat.

I couldn't understand it.

I couldn't explain it with words, not even with coherent thoughts.

It was something impossible to measure.

Something that shouldn't exist in the same space as us.

My father was the chief of the Dedoldia, one of the strongest warriors in the Great Forest, and I had grown up surrounded by hunters, fighters, and magical beasts since childhood.

I had felt the pressure of enormous creatures before.

I had stood before threats capable of crushing a person with nothing more than a breath.

None of that compared to this.

Aquí tienes la traducción manteniendo la estructura, tono y ritmo del original:

It was like comparing a simple campfire to an entire mountain erupting.

My instincts began screaming at me.

Danger. Danger. Danger.

Every fiber of my body was trying to force me to run, to flee as far away as possible. And the longer I looked at him, the worse it became.

I felt many.

Too many.

As if countless monsters had been piled on top of one another, as if dozens of predators had been compressed into a single existence.

And behind all of that, there was something else.

Something so vast that my mind refused to process it.

Something ancient.

Something monstrous.

My body trembled despite myself, and when I glanced to the side, I saw that Pursena was exactly the same.

We didn't need to speak to understand each other.

We were both thinking the same thing with terrifying clarity.

We're going to die.

And yet, in the middle of that panic, part of me tried to cling to something.

Rudeus.

Boss.

If there was anyone in this world capable of doing the impossible, it was him.

I had seen him defeat Badigadi with a single spell.

A single spell.

I had seen with my own eyes how someone who seemed like an absolute threat had fallen before him as if it were nothing.

If Rudeus was here, then maybe...

Maybe this had an explanation too.

Maybe it wasn't a catastrophe.

Maybe it wasn't the end of the world.

Maybe it was just another absurd thing that he had somehow already figured out.

I thought it with all the clarity I could muster.

I'm going to trust Rudeus.

I'm going to trust my Boss.

I'm going to trust that if he's calm, then I should be calm too.

But my body didn't respond.

My legs remained tense.

My hands kept trembling.

My tail stayed puffed up.

Even though my mind had made a conscious decision, even though I truly wanted to believe in him, my instincts kept screaming so loudly that I could barely breathe.

"Boss..."

My voice came out shaky, barely more than a thread of air.

"What is that?"

"Rimuru?"

"THAT THING HAS A NAME?!"

"Yes."

Rudeus blinked, completely confused, as if he wasn't looking at the walking calamity standing beside him.

And that only made me feel worse.

How was he still alive?

How could he be so calm in front of something like this?

Had he tamed it?

Was it his summon?

His pet?

His bodyguard?

I didn't know, and honestly, I didn't want to find out.

Then the worst possible thing happened.

Rimuru smiled and took a step toward us.

"Ah, I think I can explain—"

He never finished the sentence.

Pursena and I reacted at the exact same time, leaping backward as though we had just watched the gates of hell swing open.

"KYAAAAAA!!"

"DON'T COME CLOSER!!"

The two of us slammed into the hallway wall with so much force that I nearly lost my balance.

Several students screamed.

A professor dropped a stack of documents.

And for one extremely humiliating moment, I seriously considered throwing myself out the window.

From the second floor.

Without using the stairs.

Apparently Pursena had the same idea, because she was already staring at the window as though it were the most reasonable exit in the world.

"Linia!"

"I know!"

"The window!"

"The window!"

Rimuru POV

In the end, everything escalated far more than I had imagined.

And when I say "escalated," I mean that two students were on the verge of throwing themselves out a second-floor window just to get away from me, a reaction that still seemed slightly disproportionate, to put it mildly.

"What were you two thinking?"

Rudeus's voice echoed through the hallway while Linia and Pursena remained before us in a flawless dogeza, their foreheads pressed against the floor, backs bent, and tails completely motionless.

Their desperation was so obvious that it was almost comical.

"WE'RE SORRY, BOSS!!" they shouted in unison.

"Don't apologize to me," Rudeus replied.

Both of them immediately stiffened before slowly turning their heads toward me with almost theatrical slowness, as if they had just discovered a dragon staring at them.

I raised a hand in a calm gesture.

"Hello."

The reaction was immediate.

They slammed their foreheads against the floor even harder than before.

"WE'RE TERRIBLY SORRY, RIMURU-SAMA!!"

"PLEASE DON'T EAT US!!"

I stared at them in silence.

"What?"

"I WASN'T GOING TO EAT YOU!" I protested, though that only seemed to make things worse.

"THANK YOU FOR NOT EATING US!!"

"YOUR GENEROSITY IS INFINITE!!"

I looked at Rudeus, and he returned exactly the same bewildered expression.

We were both thinking the same thing.

What the hell was going on here?

"See?" he said, crossing his arms.

"You've just confirmed it yourselves. He still hasn't eaten you."

"YET!!"

"NOT YET!!"

"I WAS NEVER GOING TO!"

Linia barely raised her head, trembling.

"Really?"

"Yes..."

Rudeus brought a hand to his face and let out a weary sigh.

I was beginning to understand why he seemed to age every time he dealt with them.

By now, a small crowd had gathered around us.

Several students were watching the scene with curiosity.

One professor pretended to review documents while shamelessly listening in.

And more than a few people were struggling not to laugh.

I couldn't blame them.

The situation was ridiculous.

"Listen," I said, trying to sound as friendly as possible.

The two of them stiffened again.

"I'm not going to do anything to you. I'm not going to eat you, chase you, or throw you into a dungeon. And just to be clear, I'm not angry either."

That seemed to confuse them more than any threat could have.

Linia lifted her head a few centimeters, followed by Pursena.

They looked at each other, then back at me, and for the first time since this whole disaster had begun, the tension started to ease.

Only a little, of course.

They were still looking at me as if I might transform into some ancient calamity at any moment.

Which I found deeply unfair.

I was a perfectly reasonable person.

"Anyway..." I began.

Linia swallowed hard.

"We're sorry, Rimuru-sama."

"Yeah..." Pursena added, lowering her head again.

"We're sorry, Rimuru-sama... Linia is an idiot... I didn't want to react like that."

"Right, right... Hey, wait, why me?"

Seeing that I wasn't angry, both of them seemed to relax a little more as they started arguing with each other.

Rudeus finally let out a long, resigned sigh.

"Good. Now that you're done trying to escape through a window and Rimuru isn't planning to devour you, can we go back to behaving like normal people?"

"YES, BOSS!!" they replied immediately.

Present

"Faster, Pursena!"

"You're the one who's losing, nya!"

The roar of the crowd spread across the arena like a wave of excitement, blending with the thunder of impacts and the cracking of the ground beneath their feet. I blinked once, still trying to process the scene in front of me, and for a moment the memory of those two beastfolk trying to run away from me months ago returned with absurd clarity, only to fade away again almost immediately.

Now they were out there, tearing apart the University's training grounds in a fight so intense that, if you didn't know who they were, you'd swear they were two veteran adventurers settling a life-or-death dispute.

I suppose time really does change people.

Or maybe they had simply come to the conclusion that I wasn't planning to eat them.

The second option seemed far more likely.

Beside me, Roxy watched the match with genuine interest as the two exchanged blows at a speed that would have been difficult for any normal person to follow. Her eyes moved attentively from one to the other, evaluating every movement, every block, and every retreat with the calm appreciation of someone who knew how to enjoy a good fight.

"They're pretty strong," she commented.

"They are," I replied without taking my eyes off the arena.

At that exact moment, a cloud of dust exploded as Pursena blocked one of Linia's kicks with enough force to send both of them sliding back several meters. The impact made the ground tremble, and almost immediately the crowd erupted once more, louder than before.

It was impossible not to get swept up in that energy.

Graduation.

Who would've imagined it?

It felt like just yesterday that the two of them were still Rudeus's troublesome subordinates, causing problems at every turn and acting as though the entire world was against them.

And yet now they were about to leave the University.

One chapter of their lives was ending, and with it came an enormous responsibility that one of them would have to shoulder.

Roxy, still watching the arena with curiosity, asked why exactly they were fighting so fiercely.

Rudeus, wearing the resigned expression of someone who had already explained this far too many times, answered that among the beastfolk tribes of the Great Forest there were several important clans, including the Dedoldia and the Adoldia.

Linia was the heir of the Dedoldia.

Pursena belonged to the Adoldia.

Once they returned to the forest, one of them would have to take on responsibilities within her tribe.

"The winner?" I asked, assuming that would be the obvious logic.

But no.

"The loser."

I blinked, convinced I had misunderstood.

"The loser?"

"The loser," Rudeus repeated with complete naturalness.

That sounded, at the very least, counterproductive.

Rudeus sighed and took the time to explain it more clearly.

According to the logic of those tribes, the stronger individual enjoyed greater freedom to act outside the territory, while the weaker one was expected to stay behind to help lead and protect their people.

In other words, the one who lost was the one who ended up trapped by the clan's internal responsibilities.

It still sounded counterproductive.

Roxy let out a small laugh at that explanation, and I couldn't help thinking that, deep down, there was a peculiar sort of logic to it.

So they were fighting to avoid becoming leaders.

Basically, yes.

I looked back toward the arena, and suddenly a lot of things started making sense.

Now I understood why they were fighting as if their lives depended on it.

Because, in a way, they did.

Rudeus glanced at me and told me to imagine Linia being forced to sit behind a desk doing paperwork for decades.

Ah.

Now I understood.

It was a tragedy.

An absolute tragedy.

A catastrophe.

A natural disaster of incalculable proportions.

Even Roxy ended up laughing, unable to maintain her composure after such a description.

Meanwhile, in the arena, Linia threw a punch that Pursena dodged by mere centimeters, close enough to trigger another explosion of cheers and laughter from the audience.

They weren't even trying to hide their real motivations, and yet nobody seemed bothered by it.

Quite the opposite.

Everyone was enjoying the show.

Although, thinking about it, I couldn't really blame them either.

My eyes returned once more to the arena, where Linia and Pursena continued clashing with almost desperate determination.

Two future leaders doing everything in their power not to become leaders.

The fight ended in the most anticlimactic way possible.

Though, thinking about it, it was probably the most fitting outcome imaginable for Linia and Pursena.

After nearly half an hour of punches, chases, bites, scratches, and a concerning amount of childish insults, both of them had reached the absolute limit of their strength.

They were panting heavily, covered in dust from head to toe, and barely able to remain standing without swaying.

That was when Linia managed to land one final charge with enough force to throw Pursena off balance.

Pursena stumbled, spun around in a desperate attempt to recover her footing, and ended up falling backward outside the marked circle.

For a moment, the arena fell silent, as though nobody quite knew how to react to such a sudden conclusion.

A second later, the referee raised his hand and announced the decision in a firm voice.

"Victory goes to Linia Dedoldia!"

The crowd immediately erupted, celebrating the result with an enthusiasm that contrasted absurdly with the condition of the two fighters.

Linia herself remained frozen for several seconds, as though she had suddenly remembered what winning actually meant.

The color drained from her face.

"..."

Pursena was still lying on the ground, staring into space with an expression of absolute disbelief.

She blinked several times.

First at the sky.

Then at the referee.

Then at Linia.

And finally back at the referee, as if expecting this entire thing to be some sort of cruel joke.

"Huh?"

"The winner is Linia."

"Huh?"

"You lost."

"..."

For a moment, it seemed as though the entire world had come to a halt along with her.

The silence lingered for only a few more seconds, but it was enough for everyone to understand that something was about to break.

And then it happened.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"

The scream was so heart-wrenching that the arena trembled slightly beneath everyone's feet.

Dozens of birds took flight from the nearby trees.

Several students covered their ears on reflex.

And Pursena began rolling around on the ground as though the mere act of accepting defeat was physically unbearable.

"I DON'T WANT TO GOOOOOO BAAAAAACK!!!"

"I DON'T WANT TO WOOOOOOORK!!!"

"I DON'T WANT TO DO PAPERWOOOOOOORK!!!"

"I DON'T WANT TO LISTEN TO THE ELDERRRRRS!!!"

Linia, on the other hand, collapsed to her knees, though not from exhaustion.

It was relief.

Relief so overwhelming that it almost looked painful.

Her eyes began to moisten as she placed a hand against her chest, still unable to believe what she had just achieved.

"I won..."

Her voice trembled slightly, laden with an emotion she could no longer hold back.

"I actually won..."

"TRAITOOOOR!!!"

Still sprawled on the ground, Pursena turned her head toward her with renewed fury.

"I wanted to escape too!"

"TRAITOOOOOR!!!"

"IT WASN'T MY FAULT!"

"OF COURSE IT WAS YOUR FAULT!!"

As for me, I simply watched the spectacle with a mixture of resignation and amusement.

It was like watching someone discover they had failed an exam.

Except the exam lasted a lifetime, and the punishment was being sent back home.

It had been a bad idea from the start.

The moment she understood they were taking her back to the Great Forest, she panicked with almost admirable speed.

"NO!!"

"I DON'T WANT TO GO!!"

"I REFUSE!!"

"I HATE RESPONSIBILITIES!!"

Then Pursena turned her head.

And saw me.

Her eyes lit up immediately, and at that moment I had the distinct feeling that no one had ever looked at me with such desperation before.

As if I were a lifeboat in the middle of a stormy ocean.

"RIMURUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!"

Oh no.

I knew that look.

It was a bad sign.

A very bad sign.

Before I could react, Pursena sprinted across half the arena and threw herself directly at me, ending up clinging to my arm with surprising strength.

"Pursena?"

"TAKE ME WITH YOU!!"

"What?"

"PLEASE!!"

"What?"

"PLEEEEEASE!!"

"What?"

Roxy blinked awkwardly.

"She seems desperate."

"I AM!!"

Pursena immediately turned toward her as though she had just found a divinely sent ally.

"ROXY-SAMA!!"

"Yes?"

"YOU'RE GOING TO THE DEMON CONTINENT!!"

"Yes."

"AND YOU'RE CROSSING THE GREAT FOREST!! AND THE DEDOLDIA TERRITORY!!"

Pursena's ears shot up with almost comical speed, and her tail began wagging frantically, betraying a renewed hope she could barely contain.

"THEN TAKE ME WITH YOU!!"

Roxy looked at me.

I looked at Roxy.

Pursena looked at both of us with tears in her eyes, still clinging to my arm as though letting go would condemn her to an irreversible tragedy.

"Just until Dedoldia territory."

"..."

"..."

"I promise I'll behave."

At that moment, Linia approached with tired steps.

She was still panting from the fight, but her expression carried a strange mixture of relief and resignation.

"Rimuru-sama."

"Yes?"

"Take her with you."

...

"She'll become the Adoldias' problem once you reach the forest."

"LINIAAAAAAAA!!"

"I'm sorry, Pursena..."

"TRAITOOOOOOOR!!"

Chapter Text

The day of departure arrived beneath a clear sky, a clean, almost motionless blue, with that serene brightness that sometimes feels like a small cruelty when you know you are about to leave an important place behind. Morning light fell over Sharia with a soft golden touch, brushing the slanted rooftops, the stone towers, and the streets still damp with dew, as if the whole city had just woken up and refused to fully admit it. There was nothing to interrupt the moment, nor any reasonable excuse to delay it. Only a long road stretched out ahead, silent and patient, as if it had been waiting forever for us to finally decide to walk it.

The south gate of Sharia was already crowded when we arrived. From a distance, the wall looked like an imposing, orderly line; up close, the entrance was a hive of constant motion. Wagons loaded with goods moved slowly, their wheels sinking into the ruts of the road while the horses snorted and the handlers tugged at the reins with abrupt gestures. Merchants argued among themselves in tense, rapid voices, accustomed to noise and haste. Guards checked documents with the mechanical precision of people who had repeated the same motion hundreds of times, exchanging orders, warnings, and curt remarks that blended into the general murmur of the crowd. Adventurers crossed the gates with disproportionately large backpacks, travel-worn cloaks, and expressions that hovered between urgency, exhaustion, and that kind of resignation that only appears after too many nights sleeping under the open sky. Some were returning from jobs that, judging by the way they dragged their feet, had been far less pleasant than they had probably imagined at the start. Others were leaving with the nervous energy of people who still did not know whether they were about to live through a grand adventure or a monumental stupidity.

The city, though quiet, never truly slept. Even at dawn, when the sun had only just begun to rise above the rooftops and the shadows still clung to the narrowest corners of the streets, there was movement everywhere. Horses, voices, footsteps, the sound of wheels over stone, the clatter of hooves against the cobblestones, and the metallic jingle of armor and buckles formed a kind of chaotic music that could belong only to a place like this. From the nearby streets came mixed scents: freshly cut wood, worked leather, iron, smoke from distant chimneys, and freshly baked bread, still warm, drifting out from bakeries that had opened before dawn. Even the air seemed to have layers of its own, as if each street contributed its own scent, its own noise, its own life.

But that morning the gate was not occupied only by merchants and travelers.

Everyone who mattered was there.

There was no need to name them one by one to understand what was happening.

It was enough to observe the way they had gathered there, with that very human mixture of affection, concern, and awkwardness in trying to hide it. There were hands offering us last-minute supplies, voices repeating advice we had already heard before, and jokes thrown out with too carefully practiced lightness, as if everyone were trying to maintain an appearance of normality while avoiding looking directly at what was really happening. Some pretended to be busy with straps, bags, or cloaks; others stood motionless, almost rigid, as if moving too much would make the farewell feel more real. Everything had that strange, solemn air of important occasions, of those moments when no one wants to be the first to admit that something hurts, so everyone ends up talking about routes, food, rest stops, and any practical detail that allows them to keep breathing without having to put into words what is truly weighing on their chest.

The first to break that fragile balance was Zanoba.

Or, more precisely, it was his hug.

I had no chance to react. One moment he was standing in front of me, and the next I felt two gigantic arms wrap around me with a force capable of splitting trees. My feet left the ground, my spine protested with all the dignity it could muster in such a short time, and my internal organs—nonexistent, fortunately—seemed to reconsider several important decisions about their existence.

"Rimuru-dono!"

"Z-Zanoba!"

"I shall miss you deeply!"

"Y-YOU'RE GOING TO KILL ME!"

Fortunately, he let out a laugh and loosened his grip a little before I ended up as abstract decoration. His eyes shone with a sincerity impossible to fake, and when he spoke again, he did so with that solemnity of his, as if he were swearing an oath before an invisible altar.

"I promise I will continue working. And one day I shall fully replicate your sacred art!"

I immediately felt a bad premonition.

"What art?"

"The Manga H!"

"..."

"I shall create a work worthy of your legacy!"

I looked up at the sky with a resignation that was already starting to feel far too familiar. Maybe leaving Sharia was a good idea after all.

Then came Cliff and Elinalise.

With Cliff, I exchanged only a few words. We had never been especially close, though we shared enough acquaintances for familiarity to arise naturally, almost effortlessly. We wished each other luck, reminded one another to stay safe, and, as expected, he quickly responded with that mixture of seriousness and exhaustion that characterized him.

"Good luck, take care, and don't do anything stupid."

"THANKS, I make no promises."

Elinalise, on the other hand, was different. Much different. Before I could say anything, she wrapped her arms around me and pulled me against her with a naturalness that still unsettled me, as if physical contact were for her such a habitual way of expressing affection that she did not need to think about it even for a second.

"Take care, darling."

"I'll try."

"And take especially good care of her."

Her gaze shifted toward Roxy, and for an instant the provocative woman everyone knew disappeared completely. In her place remained something far more intimate and quiet: a friend of decades, a companion in adventure, a family chosen by time and by the habit of surviving too many things together. Elinalise then stepped toward Roxy and hugged her tightly, without needing to dress that gesture in unnecessary words. They did not say much. They did not need to. Sometimes the most important farewells are precisely those that need the fewest explanations to hurt the most.

Aisha and Lilia were next.

The former smiled with that impeccable courtesy that never seemed to leave her, even in moments when anyone else would have let something more human and disordered slip through.

"Have a safe trip, Rimuru-san."

"Thank you."

"I'm sure Big Brother will find a way to worry even from here."

"I have no doubt."

Lilia, for her part, simply bowed her head with a serenity that carried something maternal in it, something of a quiet firmness that never needed to raise its voice to be felt.

"Please take care of Lady Roxy."

"I will."

"And come back safely."

Those words carried the calm weight of a mother. They were neither an order nor a warning; they were a sincere wish, spoken with the kind of concern that does not seek to impose itself, only to accompany.

Then Linia appeared.

She looked at Pursena, smiled with that expression of hers that always seemed to hover somewhere between mockery and affection, and decided to make use of her last chance before they parted.

"So you're finally going home."

"Shut up!"

"How sad."

"I'm not sad!"

"Sure."

"I'm not!"

"Of course."

Pursena growled with obvious irritation, while Linia kept smiling as if every angry reply only amused her more. But then both of them fell silent. It was only for an instant, one of those brief silences that seem insignificant until you realize they contain far too much. The smiles vanished. The growls too. And before anyone could say a word, the two of them threw themselves at each other, embracing with a desperation they no longer tried to hide, crying, insulting each other through their sobs, and crying even more.

"I don't want to go back!"

"I know!"

"I'm going to die!"

"You're not going to die!"

No one intervened. No one laughed. Because beneath all that comedy, it was a real farewell, and the two of them knew it perfectly well. Maybe that was why it hurt so much: because even their jokes carried the honesty of something that was about to end.

Finally, there were them.

Rudeus.

Sylphy.

And Lara.

Sylphy held Lara in her arms while the little girl watched the world with that impossible-to-read gaze, so calm and so strange that at times it felt like she was seeing more than any of us could imagine.

Rudeus approached first.

We looked at each other for a few seconds that seemed to hold too many things at once: memories of the university, fights, classes, problems, trivial conversations, and moments that, though they had not seemed like much at the time, had ended up building something far more solid than either of us would have admitted out loud. Then, without needing to say anything else, he extended his hand. I did the same. The handshake was firm, simple, and sincere, the kind that needs no embellishment to convey exactly what it means.

"Take care of them."

"I will."

"You know you can come back whenever you want."

Sylphy smiled softly, with that quiet warmth that always seemed to wrap everything around it without effort. Lara raised a tiny hand, as if she too wanted to take part in the farewell in her own way, and then, just when it seemed everything was over, Rudeus turned his gaze toward Roxy.

"Do you have a moment?"

Roxy blinked, surprised by the sudden change in tone.

"Huh?"

"I want to talk to you before you leave."

Their expressions changed only slightly, just enough for me to understand that this conversation was something neither of them wanted to have in front of the others. So I simply stepped aside, giving them the space they were asking for without needing to say it aloud, and watched them walk away together amid the noise of the caravans and the constant movement at the city gate.

It was probably the last conversation they would have before the journey.

We stood there for a moment, in the middle of that restrained noise, letting the weight of the moment settle.

Then I saw her.

Norn was standing a little apart from the others, arms crossed and brow furrowed, as if she had decided that the best way to say goodbye was to keep hating me until the very last second. Her expression was exactly that of someone who still had not forgiven me completely, or perhaps of someone who did not want to admit she was about to miss the person standing in front of her. There was something tense in her posture, something held back, as if she were containing an emotion too large to let out. She was not looking directly at me. Or rather, she was doing everything she could not to.

Unlike the others, Norn did not seem to have come to say goodbye.

I approached slowly, without rushing, because I understood that any sudden movement would only make things worse. She noticed my presence, of course, but did not look up. She only pressed her arms a little tighter against her chest.

"Norn," I said quietly.

She did not answer.

I let out a small sigh and stopped in front of her.

"I know you still hate me."

That did manage to provoke a reaction. Her lips tightened, and for a moment I thought she might say something sharp. But she did not. She only turned her gaze away.

The silence between us stretched for a few seconds.

I took one more step closer.

"I'm not going to ask you to forget how you feel right now," I told her. "And I'm not going to pretend everything is fine just because we're about to leave."

Norn clenched her jaw.

"Then shut up," she muttered, her voice lower than I expected.

But I did not step away.

"I just want you to listen to me once."

She did not answer, though she did not leave either. I took that as a small victory, but a victory nonetheless.

"No matter what happens," I continued. "If you ever need me, I'll do whatever it takes to protect you. Whatever it takes. I don't care about the place, or the danger, or the price. If you're in trouble, I'll come. If someone hurts you, I'll come. If you can't ask for help, I'll come anyway."

At last, she looked up.

Her eyes were shining.

"I promise."

Not tearful yet. Just shining, as if she were fighting with all her strength not to let anything break in front of the others.

"Shut up... shut up... I don't want your help..." she said, but the sentence came out more fragile than she probably wanted.

"Maybe," I replied softly. "But that doesn't change what I'm promising you."

Norn opened her mouth, as if she were going to retort, but she never did. Her eyelashes trembled slightly. A tear slipped free before she could stop it, sliding down her cheek with almost cruel speed. She reacted at once, turning her face away to hide it.

She clicked her tongue

She wiped her face with the back of her hand, too quickly, too clumsily, like someone who does not want anyone to see what she feels. And yet another tear appeared, small and silent, betraying her just like the first.

She did not want anyone to see her cry.

And precisely because of that, when she looked back at me, she was already trying to pull herself together with a dignity that kept falling apart by the moment.

"I hate you," she murmured, but her voice trembled at the end.

I smiled faintly.

"Maybe..."

She let out a broken breath, as if she wanted to say something else but could not find the words. Or maybe she found them and chose not to use them. Instead, she lowered her head for an instant, turned abruptly, and walked away before anyone could see her completely break.

Then the group breathed again. Someone let out a long sigh. Another person looked away toward the road. There was a brief exchange of glances, the kind that says more than any comment ever could. No one allowed themselves to make a joke at that moment. No one wanted to break what had just happened. And somehow, that was the kindest thing we could do for her.

I kept staring at the place where Norn had disappeared.

I didn't regret what I had told her.

Not even a little.

If there was one thing I had learned, it was that some promises aren't made to sound good. They're made because you need them to exist. Because there are people you can't afford to lose. Because, even if the world keeps moving forward with its usual indifference, there are names that stay carved into your chest like a mark that can never be erased.

And yet, as I watched her walk away, something old and unpleasant stirred inside me.

A memory.

Not from this world.

From before.

From when I was still Satoru.

There was a time when I also had to say goodbye to things. To stages of life. To classrooms. To jobs. To places that were supposed to matter. School ended, you gathered your things, listened to a few empty words, maybe a "good luck" said out of obligation, and then everything kept going as usual for everyone else. You changed grades, changed buildings, changed jobs, changed routines. And no one ever seemed to stop long enough to see whether you were really leaving with anyone beside you.

No one came to my graduation. No one cared.

Not because there weren't people around.

But because no one had ever been close enough.

No one who truly waited.

No one who made a farewell into anything more than a formality.

I remembered those times with uncomfortable clarity: the end of school, the moves, the job changes, the moments when you leave carrying a box in your hands and the feeling that the whole world had already decided to move on without looking back. I remembered thinking, more than once, that maybe that was normal. That maybe that was just how things were for everyone. But the truth was simpler and sadder: there had never been anyone close enough for my absence to matter. No one waiting at the door. No one calling my name with that urgency that makes a farewell stop being an empty gesture.

And now—

What had once seemed normal to me, that silent indifference, that habit of leaving without anyone trying to stop me, suddenly felt unbearable.

Because, for the first time in a long while, leaving meant something to someone else.

To many people.

So someone as insignificant and pathetic as me can have the chance to start over in this world. Even someone like me can be incredible.

Beside me, Pursena adjusted the straps on her luggage for what had to be the tenth time. Ever since she realized we had truly agreed to take her with us, she had clung to the expedition with the enthusiasm of someone who had finally seen the door to a prison swing open. Which, from her point of view, wasn't entirely wrong. She still had the return to the Great Forest ahead of her, the return to responsibilities, to the elders, to leadership and, of course, to paperwork. Her tail moved with restrained impatience, and every time she looked toward the road stretching out beyond the city, her ears lifted just a little higher, as if simply getting away from Sharia already counted as a personal victory.

Roxy, on the other hand, remained unusually quiet. My gaze drifted toward her almost without meaning to. She was a few steps ahead of us, her staff resting lightly on her shoulder as she looked back at the city. Sharia. The University. The place she had called home for years. The morning breeze stirred several strands of her blue hair, and for a moment she didn't look like a teacher, or a researcher, or even the famous king-rank water mage admired by students all across the university. She looked like an adventurer again, a traveler at the beginning of another journey, someone preparing to leave familiar ground behind with the same mixture of calm and nostalgia that only those who have departed many times before can carry.

"Roxy?"

She blinked, then offered a faint smile, as if she had just returned from a very distant place.

"Sorry."

Her gaze returned to the city walls.

"I was just remembering."

The University had become part of her life so naturally that it was hard to imagine her without it. And yet, there she was, setting out once more, returning to the road for reasons that probably felt strangely familiar to her. There was something soft in her expression, almost melancholic, but not sad. More like the kind of nostalgia that comes when you look back and realize a place has stopped being just a setting and has become part of yourself.

I followed the direction of her gaze. From there, the imposing structures of the Magic University still rose above the rooftops: the enormous central building, with its pale walls and tall windows; the training grounds, wide and open, where I had seen students practice until exhaustion more times than I could count; the distant towers outlined against the sky as if they wanted to remind anyone passing by that this place was not just a school, but an entire world in itself. Even from a distance, the university commanded respect.

These were places I had walked through almost every day since I arrived in this world, places that had slowly stopped feeling strange. And then a curious thought struck me, one of those that arrive uninvited and linger longer than they should.

When I first came here, everything had seemed temporary. The city, the classes, the friendships, the routines. I always assumed that sooner or later I would move on, that none of it would be more than a brief stop on a much longer journey. And yet, without realizing it, Sharia had become a home. Not my first home. Not even my second. But a home, all the same. I had met Rudeus here, studied here, laughed here, embarrassed myself here more times than I cared to remember. I had made friends, created memories, built a life. And now I was leaving it behind, at least for a while.

The idea felt strangely heavy. Not painful, exactly. Just real. The kind of feeling that appears when you finally understand that a chapter of your life has ended, even if you still don't quite know what kind of story will come next.

"Ready?"

My voice broke the silence and made them look ahead. Then I looked at Roxy, then at Pursena, and finally, once more, toward the city. Sharia's walls rose proudly beneath the morning light, familiar, comforting, and already distant even before they had fully disappeared. From there I could see the sun beginning to illuminate the upper parts of the towers, the shadows slowly retreating from the inner streets, and the city's movement growing more intense as the day went on. It was a living place, immense, full of stories that would continue without us.

"Let's go..."

The carriage's wheels began to move slowly, almost imperceptibly, and little by little Sharia began to disappear behind us.

—--

Rudeus POV

The carriage moved slowly along the main road leading away from Sharia, leaving the city and the bustle of the graduation ceremony behind. From where I was, I could still make out Rimuru, Roxy, and, to my surprise, Pursena as well. I still found it hard to believe she had managed to sneak onto the trip, though, to be honest, after seeing her cling to Rimuru's arm for nearly an hour straight, I was starting to think there had never really been any chance of stopping her. Even from a distance I could still hear her voice, lively and overflowing with energy, as if the mere fact that she had temporarily escaped her responsibilities was reason enough to celebrate for the entire journey. I couldn't help smiling. The trip had barely begun and it already looked like it was going to be troublesome. Very troublesome.

However, among all those people already leaving, there was one person who still hadn't moved from her spot. I turned my head slightly and saw her there, hidden in a narrow alley between two nearby buildings, far enough away not to draw anyone's attention.

"Don't you really want to say goodbye, Nanahoshi?"

She remained silent, her usual mask covering her face and her arms crossed with that familiar stiffness of hers, stubbornly looking in any direction except the road the carriage had just taken. Her attitude was so obvious it was almost funny, as if staring at a wall had suddenly become the most interesting activity in the world.

I couldn't help a small smile slipping out at the sight of her like that.

I didn't get an immediate response. Only silence. The same stubborn, obstinate silence she had been using for weeks, as if it could keep any awkward conversation or any emotion she didn't want to acknowledge at bay. Finally, after a few seconds that felt longer than they really were, she answered with a single word.

"No."

The response was dry, simple, and sharp, exactly as one would expect from her.

"I see."

I looked back toward the road. The carriage had already gone quite far, and by now Rimuru probably couldn't even make us out from that distance. Even so, I kept talking, more out of habit than necessity.

"You know..."

Nanahoshi didn't answer, though she didn't make any gesture that suggested she was about to leave either.

"For someone who didn't want to say goodbye, you made quite an effort to come all the way here."

Again, silence.

"..."

"..."

"I didn't come for him."

"Of course."

"I mean it."

"Of course."

"Rudeus..."

"Yes."

"Stop smiling."

My smile, of course, only widened automatically.

From the alley came a small snort, barely audible, but enough for me to understand that, even if she didn't want to admit it, she was reacting. For a moment I thought she might leave right then, that she'd simply disappear using some excuse so she wouldn't have to stay there any longer. But she didn't. She remained still, silent, watching the empty road until the carriage finally disappeared completely over the horizon.

And that, more than anything else, told me everything I needed to know.

Because I knew Nanahoshi. She was proud, terribly proud, the kind of person who would rather endure any discomfort than admit something that made her seem vulnerable. If she truly didn't care, she wouldn't have come. She wouldn't have stayed hidden, watching from a distance. She wouldn't have waited until the very last moment, as if she needed to make sure of something before letting that scene go. Maybe she was still angry. Maybe she was still hurt. Probably both at the same time. But even so, she had come, and considering who she was, that already meant a great deal. Far more than she would ever admit out loud.

"They'll come back."

Nanahoshi didn't respond, but she didn't contradict me either.

Chapter Text

The first day of travel turned out, to my surprise, to be normal. By comparison, that should have been obvious—it was just a matter of following a rural road.

The sun shone softly over the fields of the Kingdom of Ranoa as the wagon slowly made its way south. Roxy sat up front, holding the reins with such natural calm that she looked as though she had been born to drive that vehicle along endless roads. The two horses pulling the wagon—Naofumi and Tanya—had been bought with the hundred gold coins I had been paid at the guild, and I was still convinced it had been an excellent investment. Roxy and Pursena, on the other hand, still didn't understand why I had given them SUCH WEIRD names (for them). To me, they were simply characters I adored; every time I mentioned them, they looked at me as if I were trying to baptize the animals with words from some completely absurd foreign language.

"I still don't understand why you gave one of the horses that name," Roxy murmured with a patient smile, watching me with that mixture of resignation and curiosity she always managed to keep, even when I did something completely ridiculous.

I tilted my head and looked at her with an amused expression, enjoying a little the confusion already beginning to show on her face.

"Do you want to know why that horse is called that?"

Roxy blinked, clearly surprised by my question, and then nodded with growing curiosity.

"Yes."

Perfect.

Then I casually leaned to one side, allowing my body to dissolve effortlessly until I became a small gelatinous mass. The transformation was so smooth it barely seemed like movement, though the effect on those watching me was exactly what I expected.

Roxy's eyes widened, unable to hide her surprise.

From the pile of luggage in the cart, Pursena let out a loud laugh, the kind that seemed to burst straight from her chest without any filter.

Now in slime form, I moved toward a stack of blank sheets I had brought with me and absorbed them calmly, as if this were all part of a perfectly reasonable explanation. And in a matter of seconds, the empty papers transformed into three perfectly bound volumes of The Rising of the Shield Hero light novel, complete, organized, and ready to read, as if they had always existed and had not just been born before their eyes.

Roxy stared at them in silence, not saying a single word as she processed what she had just seen.

I returned to my human form with a satisfied expression, almost proud of myself, and for a moment I felt a ridiculously intense burst of joy—the kind that only appears when you manage to do exactly the sort of nonsense you've been imagining for a long time.

Great.

Now all that was left was for her to read the first one and start understanding.

Sharia had been behind us for several hours, and with it the towers of the University, the walls, and those streets covered in snow for much of the year. All of that now belonged to the immediate past, to the kind of place you leave behind with the feeling that it still exists somewhere in the world, but no longer belongs to the present once the horizon swallows it. As we moved farther away, the landscape began to change gradually: the conifer forests surrounding the northern regions gave way to more open stretches; the air was still cold, as befitted the Northern Territories, but the wind no longer carried that persistent smell of snow that wrapped around Sharia for so many months of the year. Ahead of us stretched gentle hills covered in grass, small scattered woods, and trade roads winding between villages built around inns and exchange posts. It was a peaceful, human, ordinary landscape—the exact kind of scenery one expects to see when one is not about to be attacked by something with too many teeth.

The wagon did not move quickly. The wheels creaked over the ground hardened by the cold, and every so often the vehicle tilted slightly when it passed over a stone or a poorly leveled dip. Roxy kept the pace with the patience of someone who knew these routes well and understood that pushing the horses too hard only meant reaching a breakdown sooner. Naofumi and Tanya snorted from time to time, and the vapor of their breath mixed with the cool morning air before fading into the clear sky. On both sides of the road, the freshly plowed fields showed dark furrows where the earth waited for the arrival of a new season, and beyond them stood wooden fences, isolated barns, and the occasional farmhouse with smoke rising from the chimney.

For a good stretch of the journey, absolutely nothing happened, and far from being boring, there was something pleasant about that. The silence was not uncomfortable; it was filled with small sounds people usually overlook: the creak of the wheels, the occasional jingle of the harness, the murmur of the wind through the dry grass, the distant song of a few birds brave enough to challenge the cold. Even the smell of the journey was different from the city's—less damp stone, less chimney smoke, more earth, wood, and clean air. I was surprised to discover that I could pay attention to those things without feeling like I was wasting time. Maybe because, for once, there was no urgency behind every minute.

"I'm hungry."

Pursena's voice broke the calm with the same delicacy as a stone breaking a window. The beastfolk was lying on top of the luggage as if she were crossing a deadly desert instead of a perfectly passable road, and that despite the fact that we had been traveling for less than half a day.

"We ate an hour ago," I replied without taking my eyes off the road.

"I'm hungry again."

"You'll have to wait."

"Who decided that?"

"I did."

"Ugh…."

I let out a long, resigned sigh. Pursena closed her eyes dramatically, as if the injustice of the entire world weighed on her shoulders, and flopped even farther onto the luggage. Her attitude would have been more convincing if she hadn't devoured four full servings just a little while ago.

"How much longer until lunch?" she asked after a few seconds, in the voice of someone who already considered herself the victim of a historical tragedy.

"A long time."

"And until we reach the forest?"

I sighed and looked at Roxy, who also sighed.

"...A few months, I suppose."

Pursena let out a theatrical groan and covered her face with one arm.

"I'm going to die… I want meat…"

From the driver's seat, Roxy let out a small laugh that was barely audible over the rattle of the wagon. She had several folded maps beside her, and ever since we had set out, she had checked them so many times that I had already lost count. Probably more than ten, maybe more than twenty; in any case, the focused expression on her face made it clear that this was not just a habit, but an almost instinctive need to make sure everything was still in order.

The main map showed the route south with a level of precision that only an obsessive cartographer or a very experienced traveler could truly appreciate. There were markings for villages, crossroads, small bridges, and areas where the terrain became more uneven. Roxy ran her finger along the lines with an almost reverent attention every time the wagon stopped or rolled along a particularly straight stretch, as if each bend in the road reminded her of something only she could read in those notes. Every so often she would lift her gaze to compare the parchment with the real landscape, and then she would nod to herself with quiet satisfaction.

"Everything okay?" I asked. "You've been looking at the same maps for hours."

"Yes," she replied without taking her eyes off them, though her ears reddened slightly.

"I know."

Roxy remained silent for a few seconds, studying the lines drawn on the parchment as if they might hold a more precise answer than the one she was willing to give me. Then she looked up and smiled with a softness that did not entirely hide her unease.

"I'm just checking the route."

Her laugh was brief and light, but the wind took that moment to stir a few strands of her blue hair, and for a few seconds she kept staring at the horizon with an expression that grew calmer, though also more distant. There was something in her silence that had nothing to do with travel fatigue, but with a deeper, more intimate emotion.

"It's been a long time since I took such a big trip..." she said at last, in a voice lower and more distant than usual.

Roxy looked back at the road, though a small smile remained on her face. Still, even without needing to watch her too closely, I could notice something else in her expression: nostalgia. It made sense, of course. She was going home, to a place she hadn't seen in years, to her parents, to her village, to the oldest version of herself. I wondered what she would feel when we finally arrived, what kind of emotions would crowd her chest when she set foot again in a place she had left behind so long ago.

The road continued beneath a clear sky that, little by little, grew brighter as the sun climbed higher. By midmorning we crossed a small stretch of low forest where the trees grew farther apart, revealing clearings covered in yellowing grass and cold-resistant shrubs. There the wind blew harder, slipping between the bare branches and making a few dry leaves spin in place before disappearing into the undergrowth. On a couple of occasions we saw fresh wagon tracks from those who had passed before us, as well as the marks of some small animal that had crossed the path during the night. Nothing seemed dangerous, but even so I couldn't help watching the edges of the forest with the habit of someone who has learned that peace rarely lasts very long.

At noon we made a brief stop beside a narrow stream running between moss-covered stones. The water was so cold that just dipping a hand in it was enough to feel the numbness creep up my fingers, but it was enough for Naofumi and Tanya to drink and for us to stretch our legs. Roxy took the opportunity to check the wagon's straps, while I helped unload some of the supplies. Lunch was simple: hard bread, dried meat, cheese, and some preserved fruit that Roxy had insisted on bringing because, according to her, "a long trip is always easier if you don't rely only on dry food." I couldn't argue with that.

Pursena, of course, devoured her portion with the speed of someone who hadn't eaten in days.

"MORE!!!" she declared after finishing.

"YOU ALREADY ATE 2 PORTIONS, BAD DOG!!!" I reminded her.

"...and I'm still hungry..."

"That's your problem."

"How cruel."

Roxy, seated on a nearby rock, watched the stream with a calm expression while slowly nibbling on her piece of meat. The sunlight reflected off the water's surface and gave her face a soft, almost domestic brightness that contrasted with the image of the great mage I had so often seen at the Academy. At that moment she looked simply like another traveler, a woman returning home after a long time. Maybe that was why the silence between us felt so comfortable.

After eating, we set off again. The afternoon unfolded with a pleasant slowness, and the landscape changed once more. The hills became a little steeper, secondary roads appeared and disappeared between fields of crops, and in the distance we began to see small villages clustered around windmills and grain warehouses. In one of them we crossed paths with a group of merchants transporting sacks of flour and barrels of salt. They greeted us politely as we passed, and one of them even raised a hand when he recognized Roxy, though she pretended not to notice to avoid drawing attention. Farther on we saw two adventurers in worn armor walking in the opposite direction, probably on their way back to a nearby city after a minor commission. Their tired faces reminded me that, for most people, traveling had nothing epic about it: it was simply a long, uncomfortable task full of dust.

Even so, there was something comforting about sharing the road with strangers. Every wagon, every rider, every walker seemed to be part of the same silent current crossing the continent without stopping. Some were heading north, others south; some were looking for work, others for goods, others for family. They all had different destinations, but for a moment they coincided on the same route, under the same sky, moving at the same slow pace imposed by the world's distances.

"Are you nervous?" I asked after a while, when the wagon's rattling once again surrounded us.

Roxy took a few seconds to answer, as if choosing the exact word carefully.

"More excited than anything."

"About seeing your parents?"

"Yes..."

I nodded slowly. It made sense. For some reason, her answer made me think of my own family, in Japan, of a home I could never return to. The feeling lasted only a few seconds, just long enough for a faint melancholy to appear and vanish almost immediately.

The rest of the afternoon passed in an almost hypnotic calm. The sun slowly descended, casting longer shadows over the fields and tinting the edges of the grass gold. In some stretches the road narrowed and forced the wagon to move more carefully; in others it opened enough for us to see, in the distance, small isolated farms and columns of smoke rising from lit chimneys. The air grew cooler as the afternoon went on, and the smell of the earth changed slightly, as if the whole day were preparing to give way to night.

Pursena, who had spent much of the journey complaining about being hungry, ended up asleep on top of the luggage with insulting ease. Her breathing became slow and steady, and for once her expression no longer looked like a permanent protest against existence. Roxy was still awake, though she had already put away most of the maps. She now guided the wagon with quiet serenity, as if every kilometer traveled brought her not only closer to her destination, but also to a part of herself she had left behind a long time ago.

When the sun finally sank behind the hills, Roxy pointed out a faint light at the edge of the road. It was a roadside inn, built beside a crossroads where two trade routes converged. The building was broad, made of dark wood with a slanted roof, with a stable attached to one side and several lamps lit in the windows. Even from outside, the movement of people coming and going could already be felt, along with the neighing of tired horses and the constant murmur of voices mixed with laughter and arguments in the courtyard.

The inn had that unmistakable look of places where travelers stop only long enough to recover their strength before heading back onto the road. The courtyard was covered in mud hardened by the cold, marked by wheel ruts and hoofprints. Near the entrance, two adventurers in worn cloaks were arguing while emptying their mugs with suspicious speed. Farther in, a group of merchants had gathered around a long table, their shoulders sagging with exhaustion and their hands still stained with road dust. Some spoke in low voices about prices, routes, and deliveries; others simply ate in silence, too tired to pretend to be enthusiastic. The air smelled of hot soup, freshly baked bread, damp wood, and chimney smoke. After a full day of travel, that aroma was almost offensively welcoming.

"Finally," Pursena muttered, waking up at once as if the word "food" had pierced her dream.

"Remember that you pay your own expenses," I pointed out, bored.

We entered the inn along with the rest of the travelers who had arrived before us. The interior was warm, lit by oil lamps and by the fire of a large fireplace at the back of the hall. The tables were mostly occupied by people passing through: adventurers in dented armor, merchants in heavy cloaks, a couple of messengers who looked as if they had crossed half the continent without stopping, and a few farmers who had probably come to sell produce or spend the night before returning to their villages. The general murmur formed a constant backdrop, interrupted now and then by an overly loud laugh or the sharp thud of a mug against wood.

Pursena froze for just a second, inhaling deeply with an expression of absolute happiness.

"It smells good," she said.

"Yeah. Very good," I replied.

The beastfolk headed toward the counter with a determination that would have been admirable if it had not been driven entirely by appetite. The innkeeper, a sturdy man with a short beard and broad hands, greeted us with a look accustomed to dealing with all kinds of travelers. He didn't seem surprised by anything; he had probably seen enough strange groups that three more people wouldn't change his night.

"A table for thre—" I said.

"MEAT!" Pursena added before I could finish.

The innkeeper nodded with the resignation of someone who had already realized that this customer was going to be a problem for the kitchen.

We sat near a window fogged by the contrast between the warmth inside and the cold outside. From there, the courtyard could be seen, where Naofumi and Tanya were being led to the stable while a stable boy dragged a bucket of water. Inside, the atmosphere was lively but not overly noisy; the kind of bustle found only in places where no one expects to stay for very long. A weathered-faced adventurer raised his mug toward another group in a corner, and a woman with a spear resting against her chair was laughing at something her companion had just said. The merchants, on the other hand, seemed too tired to take part in the general cheer. They ate with straight backs, as if even sitting down were a luxury, and spoke little, except to exchange information about the road or complain about the price of lodging.

Pursena didn't take long to order food.

"I want five dishes," she announced with complete naturalness.

The innkeeper blinked.

"Five?"

"Yes! Whatever smells this good."

Roxy covered her mouth to hide a smile.

"Are you sure?" the innkeeper asked, perhaps hoping the answer would be no.

"Yes, very sure," Pursena looked at him as if he had just suggested she breathe less. "I'm hungry."

The man sighed, took the order, and headed back to the kitchen.

While we waited, Pursena rested her elbows on the table and began watching the other customers with shameless curiosity. At the university, she usually behaved with a mixture of defiance and discipline, as if she were constantly measuring the space she occupied in front of others. There, however, she seemed freer. More direct. Wilder, even. There were no professors, no classes, no dorm rules forcing her to hold back. There was only food, tired travelers, and a long night ahead, and she seemed perfectly willing to claim everything she could.

"Look at those guys," she said, nodding toward a group of adventurers drinking by the fireplace. "I'm sure they wouldn't mind if I took a little of their food… right?"

"I don't think so," I replied.

"How boring…"

Pursena clicked her tongue, clearly disappointed by my lack of criminal enthusiasm.

The first round arrived shortly after: a large bowl of thick soup, freshly baked bread, meat stew with vegetables, and a plate of roasted tubers that were still steaming. Pursena attacked the food with such speed that even the innkeeper raised an eyebrow. She didn't speak for several minutes; she simply ate. And when she finished the first plate, she raised her hand without the slightest shame.

"Three more."

"Three more?" the innkeeper asked, already looking tired.

Roxy let out a soft laugh. I simply watched as the man behind the counter brought a hand to his forehead before heading back to the kitchen.

Pursena didn't seem embarrassed at all. In fact, the more she ate, the more satisfied she looked with the world. There was not the slightest intention in her to hide her appetite or behave elegantly.

When the three additional dishes arrived, she received them as if they were a deserved tribute. One of the adventurers at the neighboring table looked at her with a mixture of surprise and respect, and she returned the look with the confidence of someone who considered food a natural right.

"What are you looking at?" she snapped.

The man immediately looked away.

Roxy, still amused, took a sip of her drink and looked at me over the rim of her cup.

"Looks like she's in her element."

"Seems like it…"

"You have my respect, Greyrat… I really don't know how you managed to control a beast like that."

"I didn't know she could be this… direct."

"There's no one here who can force her to behave."

Pursena, who had only half-heard the conversation, perked up one ear.

"Force me to do what?"

I let out an exasperated sigh.

"Nothing, nothing…"

Before I could answer, Pursena leaned toward my side with suspicious speed and, with the naturalness of someone who considered other people's property merely a suggestion, tried to take a piece of my bread.

I moved the plate away just in time.

"Don't even think about it."

Pursena narrowed her eyes, assessing the distance between her hand and my food as if calculating a military strategy. Then she smiled with an expression far too innocent to be believable.

And then she reached for my plate again.

But a stream of hot water, harmlessly concentrated on her forehead, managed to drive her back.

We went up to the room shortly after finishing dinner, still carrying the warmth of the recent meal and the fatigue of the journey in our bodies. The inn only had one triple room available, which was fairly common along trade routes, and although it wasn't especially large, it had that cozy feeling only places meant for exhausted travelers seem to have: three wooden beds lined up against the wall, a small window letting in the cold night air, and an iron stove crackling slowly in one corner, filling the room with a soft, comforting warmth.

Pursena barely made it through the door before starting to give in to sleep. She managed to say something between one yawn and the next, just an unfinished murmur about how tired she was, took a couple more steps, and, without even bothering to find a dignified position, flopped face-first onto one of the beds. In a matter of seconds, she was completely still, as if exhaustion had simply switched her off.

I stared at her for a moment, blinking in disbelief. Was she already asleep? I moved a little closer to check, and quickly confirmed that she was: her breathing was slow, deep, and completely relaxed, and she had even started snoring with almost admirable naturalness. I looked at Roxy, who immediately let out a small laugh at the sight.

"She has a special talent for sleeping."

"It's impressive," I replied, still watching Pursena with a mix of surprise and resignation. "She didn't even take off her boots."

Roxy laughed again, this time more softly, as we carefully moved closer to take off her shoes and cover her with a blanket. Pursena barely stirred; she only murmured something unintelligible about roast meat and went back to hugging the pillow with a huge smile on her face, as if she were having the best dream possible.

"She's definitely dreaming about food," I commented quietly.

"I wouldn't expect anything else," Roxy replied, amused.

For a few seconds the room fell silent, broken only by the steady crackling of the stove and the distant murmur of the tavern still alive on the floor below. Then I walked over to the window and pulled the curtain aside just enough to look outside. There were a large number of caravans parked around the inn, lined up irregularly in the open ground beside the road, and among them several tents could be seen where merchants and their companions slept, protected from the night cold as best they could. Beyond that small improvised camp, the city of Ranoa was barely outlined in the evening light; from there it seemed almost invisible, blurred by the darkness until it blended with the horizon.

I let out a quiet sigh and allowed my body to slowly lose its human shape, letting the transformation complete itself with the natural ease it had already acquired for me. My body began to shrink until it returned to my small blue slime form, much more comfortable when I didn't need to pretend to be a person.

I bounced once on the mattress and settled myself with a small satisfied wiggle.

Much better.

Roxy smiled as soon as she saw me in my original form, with that expression that was always somewhere between accustomed and still a little fascinated, the one she always gave me in moments like this.

"I think I'll never get used to it."

"Mmm! You should! This is my true appearance."

I paused briefly before adding, with all the solemnity I could manage in my state:

"…adorable slime."

She sat down on the bed in front of me, legs crossed and hands resting on the mattress. There was a different kind of calm in that moment, a quiet that didn't resemble classes or university workdays. There were no students, no teachers, no one watching us, no pending obligations forcing us to keep our distance. It was just the two of us, like any two travelers resting after a long day on the road.

While I was still settling in, I noticed that Roxy had taken a book out of her bag and was holding it naturally on her lap. When I looked at the cover, I immediately recognized volume 1 of the LN of The Rising of the Shield Hero. I couldn't help feeling an absurd, genuine burst of happiness; seeing her reading a light novel from my previous world made me smile for real.

"Are you reading that?"

Roxy looked up for a moment, as if she didn't understand why I had suddenly gotten so excited.

"Yes… some things are pretty weird, but it's entertaining."

"I'm really glad!!!"

I couldn't help staring at her with very obvious happiness. It was a strange feeling, almost nostalgic, as if a small part of my previous life had suddenly appeared in the middle of that warm, quiet room.

"Hey, Roxy!"

"Mm?"

"Are you happy about this trip?" I asked almost without thinking, letting the question come out with a naturalness that even surprised me.

Roxy took a few seconds to answer. First she looked toward the window, then at the ceiling, as if searching for the exact way to arrange her thoughts, and finally looked back at me with a serene expression.

"Very."

Then she smiled, but it wasn't the elegant smile she showed other people, nor the slightly shy smile she wore when teaching. It was something simpler, more honest; the kind of smile that only appears when someone stops pretending everything is fine and finally admits that it truly is. It was the smile of a girl who had spent far too long waiting for this moment.

"I feel like I've been imagining this trip for years."

"Really?"

She lowered her gaze, as if the question had taken her to a more intimate place in her memory.

"For a long time I convinced myself it still wasn't time to go back. I always found a different excuse: that I needed more experience, that I had to get stronger, that I still needed to become a better mage."

She laughed softly, with a mix of tenderness and a little embarrassment toward her own past.

"Then I thought I needed to become a teacher."

"And then a certain slime appeared."

"Yes…" she replied, and there was a warmth in her voice that made me feel strangely proud.

I let myself fall onto the bed and bounced a couple of times before going still, looking at her from my small gelatinous form.

"So…"

"Yes?"

"What do you feel now?"

Roxy rested one hand on my small gelatinous body. It was a gesture she had made for a long time, something natural, done without thinking, as if petting me were a perfectly normal habit. And, oddly enough, it was. It hadn't felt strange to me for a long time; in fact, at that moment it felt as familiar as any other show of affection.

"I think…" she began, and her voice dropped to barely a whisper. "That I've always felt uneasy about seeing them again."

"Your parents?"

She nodded slowly.

"It's been many years. I don't think they've changed much."

I stayed quiet for a few seconds, thinking about it. Then I gave a small hop onto her lap, where she didn't even seem surprised; she simply kept stroking me with the same absent-minded gentleness, as if that gesture were part of the conversation just as much as our words.

"I'm sure they'll be happy."

"Why?"

"Because every time you talk about them…"

I tilted my body slightly, trying to find the best way to express what I meant.

"You speak with so much love."

Roxy blinked, as if she had never really noticed it before. Then she smiled again, this time a little wider, and there was something so sincere in that expression that I felt I had hit the mark exactly.

"I suppose you're right."

We stayed like that for a long while, without needing to speak, simply sharing the silence while rain began to tap softly against the wooden roof. The wind slipped through the cracks in the window, the stove kept crackling in its corner, and from the bed beside us came Pursena's completely off-rhythm snoring. It was strange to realize how natural all of it felt. I had spent so much time fighting, training, or solving problems that I had almost forgotten that sharing silence with someone could also feel good, that not every moment needed words to have value. It was enough to know the other person was there.

Roxy finally broke the silence.

"Thank you."

I looked up at her.

"For what?"

"For coming with me."

I watched her for a few seconds before answering. Then I smiled, or at least tried to; being a slime, it was never entirely easy to tell whether my expression was obvious.

"Thank you for inviting me."

She slowly shook her head.

"No."

Her hand returned to stroking my gelatinous head with a calm, almost unconscious tenderness.

"I'm very glad that it's you who's making this trip with me."

For some reason, those words made that small room in a simple inn lost in the middle of the road feel much warmer than the stove burning in the corner. And as sleep slowly began to overtake me, I thought that if the rest of the journey stayed as peaceful as that first day, I wouldn't mind at all if it lasted a little longer.

Chapter Text

The first sound that reached my senses that morning was not the song of a bird or the distant murmur of people waking up in the village, but the slow creaking of wood under the weight of some carriage moving along the road in front of the inn, accompanied by the tired snorting of the horses, still drowsy from the coolness of dawn. That noise, so ordinary and so detached from any urgency, brought me back to consciousness with a pleasant slowness, as if the world refused to yank me out of my rest all at once.

I turned my head toward the window and watched as the light of dawn had only just begun to tint the fields surrounding the inn with gold. A thin mist rested over the prairies and drifted softly through the grass, as if it still did not want to leave the earth; the first rays made the dew gathered on the blades of grass sparkle, and from the ground floor came a warm, comforting smell that made me smile before I even thought about it: freshly baked bread, butter, something of meat cooking slowly.

My stomach reacted before my brain did: I needed breakfast. The destination was far away, but I was traveling because I wanted to, not because I was running away. Just to take Roxy home.

My peace lasted exactly three seconds.

Because just as I sat up, I heard the sound of a blanket shifting behind me. I turned on reflex and found myself facing a scene that left me completely frozen: Roxy was sitting on the bed, still half asleep, fixing her hair with a calm expression, while Pursena, beside her, was already awake and stretching her arms with complete naturalness. And then both of them did something that left me speechless: they started changing clothes. Without any hurry. Without the slightest hint of modesty. As if I weren't there. As if changing clothes in front of a slime monster that was, technically, a human, was the most normal thing in the world.

I froze.

"Huh?" I muttered, stepping back a little.

Pursena, who was already putting on part of her clothes, looked at me with a confused expression.

"What's wrong?"

Roxy, still adjusting her shirt, also looked up.

"Rimuru?"

I vaguely pointed toward the bathroom door, trying to get my brain to find a dignified escape from that impossible situation.

"I... I'm going to... yes. That. The bathroom."

And before they could say anything else, I slipped at full speed toward the small door at the back of the room. I shut it behind me with a sharp thud, turned the latch, and, just in case, pressed my body against the wood as if that could protect me from the social chaos that had just unfolded.

From outside I heard Pursena's voice.

"Did he hide?"

Roxy's sounded a little more amused.

"Looks like it."

There was a brief pause.

"And?"

"And he's Rimuru."

Pursena took a second to answer.

"Ah..."

Another pause.

"Does that explain anything?"

"Yes," Roxy said with absolute calm. "Rimuru isn't a pervert."

I stayed silent inside the bathroom. I didn't know whether to feel relieved or embarrassed. Probably both. Im a slime.

This shouldn't be an issue. But my human brain panicked anyway.

I heard Pursena laugh.

"Then he left because he got embarrassed! Ha, ha, ha!"

I rested my forehead against the door and closed my eyes in resignation. I definitely needed to get out of there before the conversation got any worse.

"So... do you want me to give birth to your pups?"

Roxy went still.

Then she turned red all the way to her ears.

"Pursena?"

"What?" she asked, blinking innocently. "I thought that's what you meant. Rimuru-sama is interested in us, but he'll only act if we're married, right?"

"That's not what that means!"

"Oh, it doesn't?" Pursena tilted her head. "Uh... how complicated."

Roxy opened her mouth, closed it, and then shot me a look that mixed embarrassment and threat.

"Because he's a gentleman."

From the bathroom I brought a hand to my forehead.

"Pursena..."

She burst out laughing.

"Alright, alright. I was just joking."

Roxy was still red.

"Don't joke about that."

"About what? About Rimuru having pups? They'd definitely be super strong," Pursena said with a mischievous smile. "And don't worry, I'd allow him to have more than one wife!"

"Pursena!"

Getting out of the bathroom was definitely going to be worse than staying inside.

The ground floor was already full of travelers when we came down. There were merchants reviewing accounts with focused expressions, farmers eating breakfast before returning to work, and a couple of adventurers finishing a conversation about some nearby mission. The innkeeper greeted us as soon as he saw us appear at the stairs and then, as if he already knew the natural order of things by heart, directed his gaze straight at Pursena. There was a brief silence, one of those resigned silences 

"What are you going to order...?" the man asked, already defeated in advance.

Pursena raised a hand enthusiastically, as if she were announcing a perfectly reasonable order.

"Five loaves of bread! Three plates of eggs! Two jugs of milk! Ham! Sausages! And if there's any soup left, that too!"

The innkeeper simply nodded with the calm of someone who has learned not to argue with certain customers.

"The half-human girl's table from yesterday."

"Exactly."

He didn't even seem surprised. He simply disappeared toward the kitchen with the naturalness of someone who had already accepted that amount of food as part of the inn's usual operation. Roxy sighed beside me, though her expression held more amused resignation than annoyance.

"I think he already has a special reserve prepared for you."

"HAHA, good human servant!"

I couldn't help but laugh. Breakfast arrived shortly after, abundant and steaming, and while Pursena attacked her plate with the energy of someone who hadn't eaten in days, Roxy and I ate more calmly, watching the movement in the inn and listening to the scattered conversations of the other travelers. After breakfast, Roxy decided to check the supplies before setting out.

"We need to buy a few things before we leave," she said as she set her cup aside.

"Do you want help?"

"I won't take long."

She went back into the inn to speak with the owner while I headed out to the courtyard, where the atmosphere was completely different. There, several merchants were preparing their caravans with almost mechanical efficiency: some were checking the wheel axles, others adjusting straps, an old man was patiently feeding the horses while another was arguing over the price of a load of cloth. It was a perfectly organized chaos, a choreography of work and habit that seemed to repeat itself every morning no matter the weather or the time.

While I watched all that movement, a burly man let out an appreciative whistle.

"Nice carriage."

He looked behind me and added with a smile:

"Traveling south?"

"Yes."

"So are we. We'll make it as far as Latakia if the weather holds."

Another merchant approached shortly after, leaning casually on a wheel.

"First time on these roads?"

I nodded.

"Then listen to some advice," he said, adopting the tone of someone who enjoyed sharing experience. "The main roads are fairly safe. The problem starts when someone tries to save time by taking old paths."

"Bandits?"

"Sometimes."

Another man shook his head, taking some of the drama out of it.

"More annoying than dangerous."

"What really gets on your nerves are the small monsters," added another, shrugging.

"Goblins?"

"Goblins, wolves, the occasional giant boar... nothing a decent escort can't handle."

For a moment I had the feeling I was listening to people talking about routes, dangers, and stops with the same naturalness with which, in my previous life, people talked about roads, gas stations, or traffic jams. The conversation went on for several minutes and, without realizing it, I ended up paying attention to each of their recommendations: bridges where it was wise to rest, inns with good food and others best avoided, rivers that swelled too much after rain, and roads that became impassable if you strayed too far. They even argued about the best place to buy goat cheese, as if that were a matter of strategic importance.

"Rimuru."

I turned when I heard my name and saw Roxy coming out of the inn carrying several bags, more than I expected she could hold on her own. There was bread, vegetables, dried meat, spices, a new rope, lamp oil, and some extra blankets. I immediately ran over to help her.

"Give me that."

She pulled one of the bags away before I could reach it.

"I'm not that weak."

"I know, I know."

"Then let me take care of these things."

I let out a theatrical sigh, though I was actually enjoying myself.

"I'm just trying to be nice."

"I know."

After a few seconds she finally handed me two bags, accepting the help at last with a naturalness that made me smile.

"Much better," I murmured.

Together, we carefully arranged all the supplies in the back of the carriage, making sure nothing was left unsecured. That was when Pursena appeared, with a huge piece of bread sticking out of her mouth and an expression of absolute satisfaction.

"Are we leaving already?"

"Where did you get that?"

She thought for a few seconds, as if the answer required deep investigation.

"...I'm not sure."

Roxy decided, with admirable wisdom, that it was better not to ask.

The wheels began to turn slowly, and the inn was left behind, followed shortly after by the small village surrounding it. Finally, only the road remained, stretching out before us like an open line toward the unknown. Now, at last, the real journey had begun.

On both sides of the path stretched endless wheat fields swaying in the wind like a golden ocean. Each gust drew new waves across the ripe stalks, and farther away one could see windmills turning slowly, their enormous blades marking the calm rhythm of those lands. Small rivers crossed the plains; some were little more than streams that could be jumped over easily, while others required sturdy stone bridges built generations ago. On the isolated farms, cows and sheep grazed, and the dogs lifted their heads when we passed, alert but not alarmed. The children, on the other hand, ran to the edge of the road to greet us enthusiastically.

"Have a good trip!"

"Bye!!!"

Some merchants waved back from their wagons, and we did the same as we kept moving forward. In the distance, green forests appeared, not threatening, but simply integrated into the landscape as just another part of that immense continent. The wind moved through the grass with a soft murmur, and for a moment I had the feeling that the whole land was breathing slowly, with an ancient and patient calm.

And we, just three more travelers, kept making our way along one of its countless roads.

—---------

a few hours later

The road continued descending slowly toward the south, and as the hours passed the landscape kept changing without losing that sense of familiarity that seemed to accompany everything in this region. The vast wheat fields gave way to stretches where barley, flax, and small orchards carefully bordered by wooden fences alternated, while here and there windmills rose, their huge arms turning with an almost hypnotic slowness, driven by a constant breeze that never seemed to run out.

From my seat I watched those blades cast long shadows over the crops, and I couldn't help thinking there was something deeply serene about that image. People depended on the wind, the rain, and the patient work of their own hands.

The carriage then descended a gentle slope until it reached a stream of completely clear water. The water flowed between rounded stones, producing a relaxing murmur that blended with the sound of the wind through the grass. An old man was fishing while seated on a rock, while a child held a bucket almost bigger than himself; when they saw the caravan pass, both raised a hand in greeting, and the merchants responded just as naturally, as if they had known each other all their lives.

We kept moving, and the road eventually crossed an ancient stone bridge partially covered in moss. Its surface was worn down by countless wagon wheels and horseshoes, and a single glance was enough to understand that this place had endured the passage of entire generations.

"It must be hundreds of years old..." I murmured.

Roxy nodded while holding the reins firmly.

"Probably more."

"Was it never repaired?"

"It was, many times. But the foundations are still the original ones."

I ran a hand over the railing as we crossed it and noticed that the stone had been polished smooth by centuries of travelers. long before I was even born, how many stories must have passed through there without leaving any trace beyond that silent wear on the rock.

On the other side, isolated farms began to appear, some reduced to little more than a stone house with a stable, while others had huge wooden silos and pens full of cows whose lowing mixed with the sound of the wind. Chickens ran freely through the yards, and an old scarecrow seemed to watch over the crops with almost admirable dignity. Pursena sniffed the air with obvious interest.

"It smells like milk."

"At least tell me you're not hungry again..."

"I was never not hungry! So it's your fault."

I couldn't argue with that logic.

"Can we stop to buy meat? If there's milk, there are cows..."

She looked at me with big pleading eyes and (almost) pure affection

...

"No"

Every so often, a family working in the fields would come into view, and the adults would pause their labor for a few seconds to watch the caravans pass by. The children, however, were unable to stay still: they would run to the edge of the road, waving both arms enthusiastically and shouting greetings that were carried away by the wind.

"Have a safe trip!!"

"Come back soon!!"

Even a few dogs would end up joining the run for a few meters before returning to their owners, and that scene, so simple and so ordinary, brought a smile to my face without me even realizing it.

Beyond the grasslands, immense forests could be seen covering the hills on the horizon. They did not have the threatening air that forests on the Demon Continent usually gave off; on the contrary, they seemed ancient and serene, like sleeping giants watching the travelers pass without bothering to interfere. The wind constantly swept across the grass, and thousands of stalks bent at the same time, forming green and golden waves that rolled across the plains until they disappeared from sight. For an instant, I had the absurd feeling that the continent itself was breathing, and that we were nothing more than three tiny points crossing it.

Shortly before noon, we reached the first village, Hegel. It couldn't have had more than fifty houses, but the smell reached us before the buildings did: hay, milk, and livestock. Large pens occupied much of the place, and practically every family seemed to be dedicated to raising cows, goats, or sheep. The merchants slowed down to let several cattle cross the road, and then something happened that immediately caught my attention.

"Roxy!"

A middle-aged woman raised a hand from inside a barn.

"It's been years since I last saw you!"

Roxy smiled right away, with a warmth that did not seem forced at all.

"I'm glad to see you're still doing well, Liz!"

She returned the greeting so naturally that at first I barely paid it any mind. Maybe they just knew each other from before, I thought, and I kept watching the road as the caravan resumed its journey.

A few hours later, we passed through another village, completely different from the previous one. Large crop fields surrounded the houses, and dozens of people were working, harvesting vegetables under the sun. An old man leaned his hoe against the ground when he saw us pass and raised his voice with a broad smile.

"The little mage!"

Roxy let out an embarrassed laugh and covered her face with one hand.

"They still call me that!?"

Roxy puffed out her cheeks slightly, clearly annoyed by the joke, though without losing all of her good humor.

"You didn't have to say it so loudly..."

We moved on, and for a moment I thought that had been an isolated coincidence. However, it didn't take long for it to happen again. And then again. A village dedicated to the timber trade welcomed us with the constant sound of axes striking logs, while carts loaded with planks came and went without pause. As soon as they saw us, several voices began rising from different parts of the place.

"Roxy!"

"Long time no see!"

"Have you found a husband yet?"

Roxy nearly lost control of the reins.

"J-Just keep working!"

Laughter erupted behind us, and I, who had already begun to notice a pattern, couldn't help thinking that this was no coincidence. Five villages. Five greetings. Five different groups of people who seemed to know her, or at least remember her, with surprising familiarity.

Finally, I couldn't contain my curiosity.

"Do you know them?"

Roxy let out a small laugh before answering.

"Not exactly."

"But they all seem to recognize you very well."

She fell silent for a few seconds, as if sorting through her memories, and then spoke calmly.

"For several years, I constantly traveled these routes when I was an adventurer."

Her gaze drifted for a moment down the road, as if she were seeing something beyond the present.

"I slept in these same inns. I took escort jobs. I protected caravans. I helped solve problems in the nearby villages. Sometimes it was driving away monsters. Other times it was simply healing someone, finding a lost child, or delivering medicine. They're small things."

She paused briefly before adding, with a modesty that seemed genuine:

"But enough for people to remember you."

She smiled with a calm, almost shy expression.

"I suppose so."

As we continued onward, she kept returning greetings along the road, and what surprised me most was not that they knew her, but that she also remembered many of those people. She asked about children who were now adults, remembered the name of an old carpenter, and was glad to see a man who, according to her, had been seriously injured years ago, now recovered. It wasn't fame built on great feats or exaggerated stories of legendary monsters defeated or impossible battles won. They remembered her because, at some point in their lives, she had been there when they needed her. And, strangely enough, I found that much more admirable.

The sun slowly began to descend toward the horizon, and the shadows stretched across the grasslands while the last merchants quickened their pace, hoping to reach an inn before nightfall. We veered slightly off the main road until we stopped in front of a vast meadow covered in tall grass swaying gently in the wind. Here and there, a few solitary trees grew, casting long shadows over the field, and not far away, the constant murmur of a small stream could be heard, its channel shining with the last orange reflections of the sunset.

Roxy observed the place for a few seconds before nodding in satisfaction.

"We'll camp here."

Pursena let out a yawn while stretching her arms without a care in the world.

"Sounds good."

I climbed down from the carriage and looked up at the immense open sky above our heads.

—--------

Night fully fell as the fire crackled with a soft, steady sound, wrapping the small camp in a trembling light that barely managed to dispel the darkness of the grasslands. The flames cast dancing shadows over the tall grass, and beyond that orange circle there was only the distant murmur of the stream, the scattered song of a few insects, and an immense sky so vast it seemed impossible to take in all at once. Dinner had turned out... acceptable, or, to be honest, barely edible, though no one had complained too much. Pursena, for her part, had devoured her plate as if it were a banquet fit for a king and was now resting on a blanket, her ears relaxed and her tail moving slowly as she fought off sleep. Roxy fed the fire with a couple of dry branches, and sparks rose slowly into the night sky. For several minutes none of us said a single word, and, surprisingly, the silence wasn't uncomfortable; on the contrary, it had something peaceful about it, as if that stillness were a natural part of the landscape.

"What are you thinking about?" Roxy asked suddenly, without taking her eyes off the flames.

I watched the fire for a few moments before answering.

"That this trip is turning out very differently from what I imagined at the beginning."

"Better?"

"Calmer."

She smiled with a soft, almost satisfied expression.

"I'm glad."

The fire crackled again, and I don't know exactly why, but at that moment I felt like the atmosphere was inviting conversation, perhaps because that immensity made one want to fill the silence with words, or perhaps because, after so many years traveling alone, Roxy simply needed to share some memories she had kept buried for far too long. It was she who broke the quiet once more, this time in a lower, more intimate voice.

"You know? The first time I left my village... I was fifteen."

I looked up at her, surprised that she would start such a personal conversation without warning.

"Hm?"

Roxy let out a small laugh before staring at the flames for a few seconds, as if searching in them for the exact way to answer.

"I was terrified," she admitted at last. "Even though I tried to convince myself I wasn't."

The orange glow danced across her eyes as she kept speaking, and her voice took on that calm tone that only appears when someone is remembering something they have already learned to accept.

"My village was... very small. Everyone could talk to each other using telepathy."

I already knew that story, but I stayed silent, because I wanted to hear it told by her, in her own words, with the exact weight of her memories.

"Everyone... except me."

There was no bitterness in her voice, only a quiet, almost ancient resignation.

"When I was little, I used to try to pretend I could hear them. I would smile even when I didn't understand what was going on, sometimes I answered late, and other times I said something completely different. The others were never mean to me... but it was impossible not to feel different."

Her fingers idly played with a small branch as she spoke, and for an instant she seemed younger, more fragile.

"I thought I had been born defective."

Those words left a knot in my chest. It wasn't hard to imagine what Roxy must have felt: growing up surrounded by voices she couldn't hear, smiling so she wouldn't seem different, carrying alone a sense of strangeness that no one else understood. I had known that kind of loneliness too, though in another form; in my past life I spent years shut away inside myself, watching others from a distance, convinced it was easier not to get close to anyone. That was why hearing her hurt in a strange, familiar way. I hesitated for a moment before asking carefully, almost afraid of breaking something delicate.

"Your parents...?"

A warm smile appeared immediately on her face, completely transforming the expression she had worn until then.

"They were wonderful."

She didn't answer quickly; on the contrary, she seemed to choose each word with almost reverent care, as if she wanted to honor the memory of the people who had raised her.

"My father always said that a person is not defined by what they lack," she explained softly. "And my mother..."

She laughed with such tender nostalgia that it was impossible not to imagine her in the middle of some domestic argument, defending her daughter with tooth and nail.

"I think she even argued with half the village because of me."

I couldn't help smiling.

That sounded exactly like a mother.

"They never tried to hold me back," Roxy continued, lowering her gaze to the fire. "On the contrary. They were the ones who insisted I had to go out into the world. 'If here you're always the Migurd who can't use telepathy...' they told me, 'then go to a place where no one expects you to be able to.'"

Roxy fell silent for a few seconds, and when she spoke again, her voice carried a mixture of embarrassment and tenderness toward her own past.

"At the time, I thought they just wanted to get rid of me."

She slowly shook her head, as if she still couldn't believe she had ever thought something like that.

"How foolish I was."

The wind swept across the prairie with a soft murmur, and for an instant the only sounds were that, along with the steady crackling of the fire. Then, with genuine curiosity, I asked:

"And what was it like when you left?"

Roxy let out a laugh so embarrassed that even I smiled before hearing the answer.

"I discovered that traveling was much harder than I had imagined."

From there she began to tell me how her first job had been helping clean out a warehouse so she could pay for one night at an inn, how another day she spent hours carrying boxes for a merchant just to buy a piece of bread, and how more than once she accepted badly paid jobs simply because she couldn't afford to turn them down. Her story had no unnecessary drama; she told it with quiet honesty, like someone who had already made peace with her memories, even if that didn't make them any less harsh.

"There were days when I only ate once," she confessed. "And also days when I ate a lot, because someone invited me or because I found enough work to afford a good hot meal."

She paused briefly, looking at the fire.

"There were days when I was surrounded by people... adventurers, merchants, travelers, people who never stopped talking and filled everything with noise. And there were also days when I didn't see anyone for hours, days, or months, walking alone along empty roads without hearing anything but my own footsteps. There were days of terrible cold, when I felt like my fingers were going to break even though I was wearing gloves. I slept trembling, wrapped in whatever blanket I could get, wishing morning would come soon. And there were also days of unbearable heat, when the air seemed to stand still and everything stuck to my skin, when traveling under the sun was almost worse than spending the night in freezing cold."

She lowered her voice a little.

"There were days when I felt strong, able to keep going no matter what happened. And there were others when I felt so small that I just wanted to hide and disappear."

She looked at me with a serenity so delicate and luminous that, for an instant, everything around her seemed to fade away; her face, calm and gentle, had an impossible beauty, the kind that stays etched in memory without asking permission.

"That's what traveling is like. It's not all grand adventures. Sometimes it's hunger. Sometimes it's companionship. Sometimes it's cold. Sometimes it's heat. And sometimes... it's simply keeping on walking even though you have no idea what awaits you at the end of the road. I slept in stables, in barns, under carts... Once I even tried to sleep inside a mill."

She smiled with an amused, almost childish embarrassment.

"I don't recommend it."

At that moment Pursena let out a small snore. We both turned our heads at the same time and found her fast asleep, hugging a bag of supplies as if it were a pillow. Roxy let out a stifled laugh and lowered her voice even more so as not to wake her.

"For a long time I thought I wasn't suited to being an adventurer. The important jobs always went to people with more experience, and... well, my appearance didn't help either. People looked at me and thought I was just a child playing at being an adventurer."

She had accepted that reality with a smile, but behind that expression there were still traces of the insecurity of the teenager she had once been. Then her eyes brightened slightly, as if a different, brighter memory had come to rescue her from those difficult years.

"Until I met Elinalise."

She smiled in a different way, with genuine affection.

"It was she who found me completely alone. She taught me how to negotiate a job without letting myself be cheated, how to choose a good inn, which people it was best to avoid... how to survive."

She laughed softly, with a mixture of affection and resignation.

"She also tried to teach me many other things..."

I preferred not to ask. Knowing Elinalise's reputation, I could perfectly imagine what kind of lessons had been left out of Roxy's education.

The fire kept slowly consuming the wood, and I remained watching her in silence. Until that moment I had always seen her as a brilliant mage, a teacher, the woman who had guided Rudeus, an experienced adventurer capable of facing the world with calm and determination. But that night I saw for the first time the fifteen-year-old girl who had left home without really knowing what awaited her, the child who felt different even among her own people, the adventurer who went hungry, who slept alone under the rain, and who kept getting back up again and again until she became the person now sitting in front of me.

Then I understood that Roxy's strength had never come solely from her talent for magic. It had also been born from all those nights when no one saw her, from every time she chose to keep going even when it would have been much easier to go back home.

Roxy smiled with a mixture of nostalgia and embarrassment.

"Although, if I'm being honest, there was a time when I myself was convinced I was a genius," she said quietly. "When I arrived in Ranoa as a student, I walked with my head held too high."

She told me that, after so many years of traveling, she had arrived at the Ranoa Magic Academy with the intention of learning as much as possible. The headmaster received her with suspicion from the very beginning; not only because of her childlike appearance, but because she didn't seem like an ordinary student. Roxy, proud and confident, argued with him without backing down, until she finally demonstrated her magical ability and forced him to admit her.

"I thought I had already seen enough of the world," she murmured, watching the flames. "I believed the academy would just be another place where I could confirm how brilliant I was."

She let out a small laugh, this time directed at herself.

"How arrogant I was."

She said she studied with fierce discipline, absorbing every lesson as if she wanted to prove something to the entire world. And when she finally graduated, she did so with the same haughty expression she had arrived with, convinced she no longer had anything left to learn. She left Ranoa with her chin held high, proud of herself... until life once again reminded her how small confidence was when compared to experience.

The flames continued to dance slowly between us, and neither of us felt the need to break the silence.

Roxy kept staring into the fire for a few more seconds, as if she were sorting through very old memories in her mind.

"After that... I arrived at the village where Zenith and Paul lived."

Her voice grew softer, as if speaking those names brought her back for an instant to a very distant memory.

"And there I met Rudy."

I looked up.

She smiled with a strange mixture of tenderness and wonder, as if she still found it hard to believe how that meeting had changed so many things.

"At the time, I was convinced that I had finally reached a point where I could consider myself a fairly competent mage," she continued. "In short... I felt like a genius."

I couldn't help smiling.

Roxy let out a short, almost embarrassed laugh, and gave a slight shake of her head before continuing.

"And then Rudy appeared."

Her tone changed again, though there was no mockery in it, only sincere admiration, almost disbelief, as if she still found it difficult to put into words what she had seen in that boy.

"He was just a child. A little boy. But he had a talent..."

Roxy slowly shook her head, as if even after all these years she still struggled to accept what she had witnessed.

"It wasn't normal. It wasn't 'promising.' It was simply absurd."

Her eyes gleamed with the reflection of the fire as she remembered that first encounter with him.

"I taught him magic expecting it would take him weeks to understand the basics," she said. "And he..."

She smiled with a mixture of pride and defeat, as if the experience had been as frustrating as it was fascinating.

"He learned everything too quickly. Too quickly. As if the whole world had been made for him. Chantless magic... and saint-tier water magic at the age of five..."

She fell silent for a moment, letting the crackling of the flames fill the space between her words.

"I had spent years believing I was special because I had managed to get that far. Because I had survived. Because I had learned to make my own way alone. And then this boy appeared... this little monster of talent... and he made me realize that the world was far bigger than I had imagined."

The way she said it didn't sound bitter. On the contrary, there was a kind of quiet gratitude in her voice, as if that revelation, however harsh it had been, had also opened her eyes.

"Rudy taught me something very important," she continued. "This world is huge, much bigger than I thought... it's beautiful and full of talent and incredible people to meet."

Roxy rested one hand on her knee and kept staring into the flames, absorbed in her own memories. She smiled softly, with a warmth that made her expression seem younger.

"He showed me that there's also a kind of strength that comes from something else. From curiosity. From passion. From wanting to move forward without fear. From learning just because. From looking at an impossible problem and deciding to solve it anyway."

Her words hung in the air, and I simply listened in silence.

Roxy let out a small laugh, this time lighter, as if the memory of that boy still brought her a mixture of awe and resignation.

"He made me rethink a lot of things. My way of seeing magic. My way of seeing effort. My way of seeing the world. Even my own arrogance."

The confession came out with disarming naturalness, as if it didn't cost her anything to admit it because she had already made peace with that version of herself.

"I think that, in a way, Rudy taught me humility," she said then. "Because he showed me that there is always something beyond. Always someone more talented. Always someone faster. Always someone capable of surprising you."

Her eyes softened as she kept speaking, and there was such clear sincerity in them that it was impossible not to pay attention.

"And yet... he didn't make me feel small. On the contrary. He made me want to keep moving forward. He made me want to be better. He reminded me why I had left my village in the first place. He made me want to become strong enough that I could proudly shout that I am his teacher."

The fire crackled loudly for an instant, sending a brief shower of sparks into the darkness.

Roxy smiled, this time with obvious warmth. She paused, as if searching for the right word, and finally let out a small amused breath.

"I think that place changed my life just as much as my village did."

Her fingers relaxed on her knee, and her voice grew even calmer.

"That time... was an enormous gift."

Pursena shifted in her sleep, mumbling something incomprehensible before settling still again. Roxy looked at her with an amused smile and then turned her gaze back to the fire, as if that small scene had finished softening the atmosphere.

Her smile became smaller, more intimate, filled with quiet nostalgia. And seeing her like that, I couldn't help thinking how incredible Roxy was to me. Not only because of her talent or everything she had achieved, but because of the way she had endured so many things without ever stopping, without letting life break her. I felt deeply grateful to have met her, to be able to hear her story with such honesty, and even more so that she trusted me enough to tell me something so personal. There was a silent strength in her that I found admirable, almost impossible to match, and in that moment I understood that having her near me was a privilege I should not take for granted.

Chapter Text

Several days had passed since we left behind the southern plains of Ranoa, and the change in the landscape had been so gradual that at first we barely noticed it. However, once one paid attention, it became impossible to ignore: the villages began to grow farther and farther apart, as if civilization were slowly retreating before the presence of something older and harsher; the cultivated fields vanished with the same discretion with which they had appeared, replaced by hills covered in dense forests, narrow ravines, and much busier stone roads, where wheel tracks and hoofprints overlapped one another until they formed an almost continuous surface. Caravans were now more numerous, and almost all of them moved in the same direction, as if an invisible current were pushing merchants, travelers, and escorts toward a single destination.

South.

"It looks like we're not the only ones headed that way," I commented as I watched the long line of carriages stretching out before us.

Roxy, seated at the front and calmly guiding the carriage as usual, nodded without taking her eyes too far off the road.

"It's the most important trade route in the north. All commerce between Ranoa and the southern kingdoms eventually passes through here sooner or later."

That explained the traffic, though not entirely the tense atmosphere hanging in the air. Among the travelers were merchants with their goods carefully protected, mercenaries hired to escort valuable cargo, craftsmen traveling in search of better markets, adventurers who seemed to move by habit alone, and even priests advancing with an almost ritual solemnity. Several entire families were traveling with armed escorts, as if crossing that region required the kind of preparation one would expect for a military expedition. No one seemed to be traveling for mere comfort; everyone carried the expression of someone who knows that, beyond the next bend, the road could turn dangerous without warning.

We did not take long to understand the reason for so much caution.

A group of thugs appeared shortly after, moving among the carriages with the irritating confidence of people who believed the world belonged to them. There were four, maybe five of them, wearing cheap armor, muddy boots, and the kind of crooked smiles that announce trouble before they even open their mouths.

"Hey, you," growled the one who seemed to be their leader, pointing at our wagon. "Move. We're going first."

Roxy didn't even raise her voice.

"No."

I had no intention of arguing either. I had seen too many times how those things ended. The best thing was to ignore them and let them go on their way.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," I muttered, resting one elbow on the edge of the carriage. "It's not worth it."

Roxy gave the slightest nod.

Pursena, on the other hand, bared her fangs.

"Do you want me to kill them?"

"No," Roxy and I answered at the same time.

She clicked her tongue, clearly disappointed, but crossed her arms with an expression that promised violence the moment she was given the slightest excuse.

The thugs kept advancing, clearly annoyed that they had not gotten an immediate reaction.

"What's the matter?" one of them mocked, folding his arms. "Cat got your tongue?"

"Or maybe she doesn't understand what we're saying," another added with a crooked grin, looking Roxy up and down. "Though with that look, I don't really care if you can't talk."

"Hey, you," the first one said, jerking his chin toward her. "Aren't you going to say anything? What are you? With that hair color, you could pass for a Superdia demon."

Roxy's shoulders tensed slightly.

Before she could take a step, I felt her hand clamp onto my arm. It wasn't a strong gesture, but it was firm, the kind that left no room for doubt.

"Rimuru," she murmured in a low voice, without taking her eyes off those men. "Leave it."

I blinked and glanced at her out of the corner of my eye. Her expression remained serene, but there was a slight stiffness in her jaw that betrayed that she was not as calm as she appeared. The thugs, seeing that we were not reacting, let out an unpleasant laugh.

"What's wrong? Are you a coward too?"

"Come on, if you want to pass, you'll have to pay."

"Or maybe you'd rather come with us; we accept payment in kind."

One of them stepped closer, leaning toward Roxy with a disgusting smile.

"Though, thinking about it, a blue demon like you is probably worth more alive than dead. And your sky-blue-haired companion isn't far behind; she must belong to that same inferior race too."

Roxy tightened her grip on my arm.

"Rimuru," she repeated, this time in a clearer tone. "No."

I took a deep breath.

I could feel irritation rising slowly through my chest, but I also noticed the tension in her hand. She didn't want me to intervene. Or at least, not yet. So I forced myself to stay still.

"Aren't you going to answer?" another of the men insisted, clicking his tongue. "What a disappointment. I thought demons were more proud."

"Maybe she's just waiting for someone to teach her manners," the first one said, bursting into laughter.

"Or for her master to tell her what to do."

Roxy closed her eyes for a moment. Her hand was still holding my arm, and I was still enduring it.

"Come on, demon, I'm sure you'll have a lot of fun when we try your little body."

That was the limit.

I opened my eyes wide.

The air around me changed instantly.

Pressure fell over the group like an invisible slab. The smiles vanished. The thugs took a step back almost at the same time, their faces twisting with a mixture of surprise and alarm.

"What...?"

I didn't let them finish.

I slowly raised my gaze. Very slowly. And when I spoke, my voice came out low, cold, and charged with a fury I no longer intended to hold back.

"Say that again."

The silence that followed was absolute.

Roxy, beside me, said nothing. But her hand was still gripping my arm, and this time it was no longer to stop me. It was because she knew perfectly well that, at that moment, there was no way to do so.

I felt something break inside me. It was not a thought or a conscious decision, but a pure reaction, a rage so cold and so intense that it emptied my head completely.

"Repeat it," I said.

My voice came out low. Too low.

The thug smiled, still not understanding the mistake he had just made.

"What's wrong? Did that bother you? Then listen carefully, Superdia demon—"

He didn't finish the sentence.

Something exploded inside me.

A brutal wave of killing intent surged out from my body like a black tide, spreading in all directions with impossible violence.

The horses neighed and reared. Several travelers fell to their knees. One of the mercenaries dropped his spear with a muffled groan. Two merchants collapsed without even understanding what was happening. The thugs instantly went pale. The one who had spoken before staggered backward, eyes wide and mouth open, unable to make a sound.

Pursena glanced at me out of the corner of her eye, and for once even she seemed to hesitate.

Roxy, however, turned her head slightly toward me.

"Rimuru..."

I didn't answer.

I was still staring ahead. I was still feeling that rage burning in my chest. And then I made a decision.

If they wanted to provoke a monster, I would give them one.

(Unique Skill acquired: Hydra Presence)

The notification appeared in my mind, but I barely registered it. The pressure kept growing, growing until it covered several kilometers around us, crushing the air, freezing the blood, and making the entire world seem to bow beneath an invisible weight.

I activated the newly acquired skill.

My body began to deform with a wet, deep crackling sound, as if flesh itself were being rewritten from within. My skin darkened, hardening into gleaming scales. My torso lengthened. My limbs multiplied. A massive tail unfolded behind me with a sharp slam against the ground.

And then the heads came.

One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

Five.

Six.

Seven.

Eight.

Nine.

Ten.

The transformation did not stop there. My body kept growing, growing until it clearly surpassed the size of the hydra we had defeated in Manatina. It was not a copy or a simple imitation; it was something bigger, heavier, more monstrous, and, above all, far more terrifying.

The heads rose one after another, opening their fanged jaws as a multiple roar shook the air and made the ground beneath our feet tremble.

The quiet was deafening.

Then came the chaos.

A scream. Then another. And soon a wave of panic swept through the entire area. Several travelers ran without looking back. A couple of women fainted on the spot. A child began crying in desperation. The horses broke their reins and fled in a frenzy. The soldiers at the fortress raised their weapons with stunned faces, not knowing whether they were seeing an illusion, a monster, or the end of the world.

The thugs, on the other hand, reacted in the worst possible way.

One fell backward and lay motionless, his eyes rolled white. Another started trembling so badly that he ended up wetting himself. The one who had spoken before let out a shrill scream, grabbed himself between the legs, and froze in place, completely drenched in fear.

Pursena's eyes went wide.

"What the hell...?"

Roxy was left speechless.

Even she seemed unable to process what she was seeing.

I took a step forward. My multiple heads all tilted at once toward the thugs, and that was more than enough to make the rest of the courage they had left collapse completely.

…

…

For several long seconds, no one said a single word. The ten heads of the hydra remained motionless, rising above the carriages like a living wall, and even the wind seemed to hold its breath, as if it too had been paralyzed by that impossible sight. The horses backed away in terror, neighing desperately as they pulled at their reins, and several merchants had fallen backward during the transformation; now they remained there, frozen, unable even to tear their eyes away from that colossal creature occupying the road as if it were the absolute master of the place.

Then, little by little, the enormous heads began to dissolve into black smoke. It lost volume until it compressed once more into a human silhouette. An instant later, there was no trace of the hydra left. It was only me.

I took a deep breath while the silence continued to weigh down on all of us. It wasn't the first time I had used that transformation. I lifted my gaze and saw that the merchants were still completely petrified; no one dared speak, no one dared even take a step forward, as if any movement might cause that scene to repeat itself.

That was when my eyes found Roxy. She was still staring straight at me, without having taken a single step back, though she hadn't moved forward either. Her expression was hard to read at first, but it wasn't fear, at least not exactly. What was on her face was something deeper, a mixture of awe and bewilderment so intense that for a few seconds she seemed to have forgotten even how to breathe. Our eyes met and, after a brief silence, I ended up calling to her cautiously.

"...Roxy?"

She blinked slowly, as if she had just awakened from a trance, and then let out a small nervous laugh before shaking her head.

"Every time... you manage to surprise me more."

She sighed softly, still looking at me with that expression of disbelief and fascination I knew so well.

"I know you're strong. I've always known that. But knowing it... and actually seeing it are two very different things."

Then she smiled with that characteristic mix of admiration and resignation I had seen from her before, though this time it seemed even more pronounced.

"I'm starting to think I'll forget what it's like to see you do something... normal."

I couldn't help but laugh, and that small reaction was enough to immediately ease the tension still hanging in the air. Beside us, Pursena was still staring at the spot where the ten heads had appeared, wagging her tail so fast she seemed unable to decide whether she was excited or simply impressed by what she had just witnessed.

"That was incredible!" she exclaimed, hurrying over almost at a run. "Can you do it again?!"

"It's not exactly a transformation I want to use to entertain the public."

"What a shame..."

Her disappointment lasted barely two seconds, because she immediately smiled again as if nothing had happened, with that effortless way of hers of moving from one emotion to another without getting stuck in any of them. Seeing them react like that made an invisible weight disappear from my chest. Maybe I was still a monster; that would never change. But, at least for them, I was still simply Rimuru.

Only then did the merchants' restrained murmur fill the road once more, and the enormous traffic jam caused by the incident began to move again.

Though you'd have to be an idiot not to realize that what had happened would have consequences.

The first impression was almost unreal.

The road descended slightly into a narrow valley, and there, wedged between two stone masses that rose like natural walls, stretched the fortified pass. From a distance, its size was already apparent, but only as we drew closer did we truly understand its scale. It wasn't a simple defensive structure built to control the flow of travelers; it was a work designed to dominate the terrain completely, a military city born of necessity and shaped by generations of vigilance.

Two gray stone walls rose several dozen meters high and joined directly to the cliffs, using the very geography itself as part of the defense. The mountain rocks seemed to have been carved to fit the fortress, as if both had been conceived at the same time. Watchtowers were spread across different levels, some taller and slimmer, others sturdier and lower, all connected by walkways and corridors that allowed soldiers to move quickly from one point to another. From up there, the sentries watched the valley with an almost unsettling stillness, motionless except for the occasional movement of a cloak or the glint of a crossbow as it turned toward the next carriage.

The banners of the Kingdom of Ranoa flew strongly in the cold mountain wind. The sound of the fabric striking the poles mixed with the constant murmur of the air between the rocks, creating a kind of deep, persistent rumble that seemed to come from the fortress itself. The main gate was so large that three carriages could pass through it at the same time without difficulty, and yet it still gave the impression of being too small an opening for such a colossal structure. The reinforced wooden doors were marked by years of use, with scratches, dents, and dark stains that spoke of constant traffic and vigilance that never fully relaxed.

Soldiers patrolled the walls continuously, others watched from the battlements with crossbows ready, and the whole place conveyed a sense of constant surveillance, as if the fortress were not there to receive travelers, but to withstand the siege of an entire army. Even the air felt different there: colder, drier, steeped in stone dust, torch smoke, and the metallic smell of freshly oiled weapons. The noise of hooves, wheels, and voices echoed between the walls of the pass, returning in short bursts that made everything sound more solemn than it really was.

"WOW, HOW AMAZING!!!"

That was the only thing I managed to say, because anything else seemed insufficient.

Pursena perked up her ears and stared at the fortress with a mixture of surprise and caution.

"It's huge."

Roxy let out a small laugh, brief but sincere.

The line moved slowly, at an almost maddening pace. Each cart was inspected before it could continue, and the process seemed to follow a protocol as meticulous as it was rigid. Soldiers opened crates, checked barrels, verified documents, and asked about the origin of the goods with a level of attention that left no room for improvisation. Some mages even used simple detection spells on certain loads, as if they expected to find something more dangerous than contraband among sacks of grain and tool chests. It wasn't strange; a large part of the northern economy passed through that gate, and any oversight could mean the entry of weapons, dangerous creatures, or forbidden merchandise.

While we waited our turn, I took the opportunity to get down from the carriage and stretch my legs a little. The ground was covered in a mixture of dust, gravel, and dry mud hardened by the constant passage of wheels. The air was colder there, and also drier, though every so often a gust would descend from above, bringing with it a damp scent of wet rock and moss hidden in the mountain cracks. The atmosphere was very different from the villages we had left behind. No one there seemed relaxed. The merchants spoke in low voices, as if afraid of drawing the attention of something invisible; the mercenaries stayed close to their clients without ever taking their hands off their weapons, and each group seemed to carefully measure the distance between themselves and the other travelers.

A little farther ahead, a group of adventurers passed by us. Their armor was covered in scratches, one of them had his arm completely bandaged, and another walked leaning on a spear like a cane, his face hardened by exhaustion. They didn't look like men returning from victory, but like people satisfied only by still being alive. One of them let out a dry cough, another spat on the ground with a distracted expression, and the third didn't even lift his gaze as he passed. That image, more than any warning, made it clear that the road beyond the fortress was not a simple trade route, but a border between relative safety and absolute uncertainty.

"First time crossing the pass?"

The deep voice made me turn my head. A gray-bearded merchant was smiling as he leaned against one of his wagon's axles, wearing the calm expression of someone who had seen too many roads to be impressed by one more. His hands were calloused, his clothes worn by travel, and he had that look of someone who could read the condition of the road just by studying the dust gathered on the wheels. I nodded with a slightly awkward smile.

"Is it that obvious?"

"Pretty much."

He let out a short, rough laugh, the kind that seemed to drag dust and years of travel along with it.

"Everyone makes that same face the first time."

It didn't take long for two other merchants, who were also waiting for the inspection, to join in, and as often happens among travelers sharing a long, tedious wait, the conversation began naturally enough. They talked about the condition of the road, the price of wheat, the shifting mountain weather, and the taxes imposed by the various kingdoms on goods crossing their borders. One of them complained that the last toll had made salt transport far too expensive; another replied that, compared to losing the entire load to an avalanche, paying a few coins was almost a relief. Their voices blended with the sound of carts moving forward a few meters and stopping again, with the occasional whinny of an impatient horse and the metallic clatter of the guards' armor.

Then, almost without anyone suggesting it, the topic shifted to the mountains and the dangers hidden within them.

"The pass is safe... within reason," said one of them, shrugging. "As long as you stick to the main road and don't stray too far from the marked route."

"And as long as the weather holds," added another with a resigned grimace.

A weathered-faced man slowly shook his head.

"Don't underestimate the storms. An hour of rain is enough to trigger a landslide, and when that happens, it doesn't matter how fast you are or how well armed you are. The mountain always wins."

As he spoke, he lifted his gaze toward the peaks, as if he could still see the trace of some past collapse in them. His hands, resting on the edge of the wagon, bore old scars and broken nails, signs of someone used to carrying, pushing, and repairing more than he should have had to.

The old man who had started the conversation added another problem with a somber gesture.

"There are monsters too. Wyverns, magical bears, packs of mountain wolves... and when food gets scarce, bandits show up."

The stories began piling up one after another, each one more specific than the last, as if everyone had lived through or heard of some different misfortune on that very road. A caravan trapped for three days by a sudden snowfall. A bridge destroyed by the thaw. A mercenary dragged away by a treacherous current while trying to cross a swollen river. A group of travelers who vanished without a trace after straying from the main route for only a few hours. I listened carefully, not because those dangers worried me all that much, but because I liked hearing from people with real experience. Great Sage could give me data, statistics, and probabilities, but it couldn't tell me anecdotes or convey the weight of a voice that had survived the very thing it was talking about.

The old man stayed silent for a few seconds, as if he were deciding whether to keep feeding the conversation or let it die there. Then he looked around to make sure no one else was listening and lowered his voice slightly.

"Although..."

He paused long enough for everyone present to lean in a little.

"If you're really unlucky... you might run into a Red Dragon."

The effect was immediate. The conversation died at once, as if someone had switched off a lamp in the middle of the night. One of the merchants clicked his tongue in obvious annoyance, while another frowned with a mix of disbelief and irritation.

"Don't joke about that."

I looked at Roxy. Up until then, she had remained silent, listening with the same serenity with which she observed almost everything. However, now she had a slight frown, an expression I had only seen a couple of times since we started the journey. That was enough to turn my curiosity into something much more serious.

"Do they really exist?" I asked.

Roxy took a few seconds to answer, as if carefully weighing the value of each word.

"Yes."

The mere idea made me smile immediately.

"A dragon? That would be incredible! I'd love to fight one."

She didn't add anything else. And precisely that silence was far more unsettling than any detailed explanation could have been. It was a real possibility, something that could appear at any moment among those silent mountains.

I lifted my gaze toward the peaks rising beyond the fortress. They remained hidden among white clouds drifting slowly, like veils stretched over a presence too ancient to be easily understood. From down there, they seemed immense, cold, and distant, almost solemn, as if they had been silently watching every traveler pass for centuries.

As we crossed the fortress's enormous gate, it felt as though we had left an entire world behind and entered a completely different one. There was no smooth transition or gradual change in the landscape; the endless plains of the Kingdom of Ranoa simply fell away and were replaced by an imposing mountain range, so tall and abrupt that it seemed to defy the sky itself. The road began to climb between walls of rock that grew tighter and steeper with every step, while the vast wheat fields disappeared entirely from view. In their place rose immense conifer forests covering the slopes like a dark green ocean, with firs, pines, and ancient cedars stretching as far as the eye could see. The air was filled with the resinous scent of the trees, and waterfalls fed by the melting snow descended between the mountains, forming crystal-clear rivers that rushed with a force impossible to find on the plains.

In some stretches, the road crossed those torrents by means of old hanging bridges made of wood and steel, structures that seemed to endure the passage of time through sheer stubbornness. Every step made the ropes tremble, and below us the water slammed violently against the rocks dozens of meters down, sending up a cold mist that rose all the way to the path. Farther on, the route changed again, because there was no longer room for bridges or simple solutions. The ancient engineers had carved directly into the mountain, opening a path barely wide enough for a wagon to pass. On one side rose the rock wall, damp and dark; on the other opened a cliff that seemed to have no bottom. Even I, who had fought creatures far more terrifying than a fatal fall, preferred not to look down for too long.

The air had changed as well. As we climbed higher, it grew colder and cleaner, and the wind came down from the peaks carrying a freezing scent that contrasted brutally with the heat of the plains we had left behind. Even though it was still summer, patches of snow could be seen stubbornly clinging to the places where the sun barely reached the rock, as if winter refused to abandon those heights. It was hard to believe that only a few days earlier we had been crossing fields bathed in warmth, under open skies and along gentle roads, when now we were advancing along a harsh, narrow, and hostile route, where every curve seemed to demand an extra effort from us.

The horses began to feel the climb long before we admitted it out loud. Tanya was snorting constantly, shaking her head impatiently, while Naofumi showed increasingly obvious discomfort, flicking his ears nonstop and tensing his body at every steeper stretch. They were nervous, and no expert was needed to notice it. Roxy slowed down even more, holding the reins with both hands while carefully watching every bend in the road, as if she expected to find some hidden threat among the mountain shadows at any moment.

"Don't you think we're pushing them too hard...?" I said, watching the animals begin to show signs of exhaustion.

She gave a slight shake of her head without taking her eyes off the path.

"It's not fatigue... I think this kind of horse isn't used to this climate."

For a few seconds she looked toward the mountains, as if trying to hear something that escaped the rest of us.

Pursena perked up immediately. Her nose twitched several times, drawing in the air with unusual attention, and her carefree expression vanished completely.

"Umm... I think it's something else... I can feel it too."

"What is it?"

She frowned, visibly uneasy.

"I don't know... but I don't like it."

For the first time since the journey began, the always carefree beastfolk seemed genuinely unsettled. She didn't make another joke for the rest of the climb, and that silence from her was almost more disturbing than any sarcastic comment.

Several hours later, we finally found the reason the caravan line had stopped. A particularly narrow curve that dropped straight into the unknown was blocked by huge rocks that had fallen from the mountain, and part of the path had disappeared beneath tons of stone, preventing any vehicle from passing. Dozens of merchants watched the scene in frustration, some trying to move debris with improvised tools, others arguing among themselves while searching for an alternative route that did not exist. When one of them saw us arrive, he raised his hand desperately.

"We need help!"

He pointed at the landslide with his arm outstretched, as if trying to convince us of the urgency of the situation.

"If we clear a little, we can get the carts through one by one!"

Roxy exchanged a brief glance with me, and I nodded without hesitation. There was no reason to refuse, and besides, helping clear the road seemed like the most sensible option if we wanted to continue the journey without unnecessary delays. So the three of us got out of the carriage and went to work. I used earth magic to break apart some rocks that were too large to move by hand, and Roxy coordinated several merchants to keep the ground from giving way beneath our feet. For a few minutes everything seemed completely normal, as if we were simply cooperating with other travelers trapped by a mountain accident.

Until it stopped seeming that way.

While lifting a block of stone, I noticed something strange in the behavior of those supposed merchants. They were barely working. Instead of focusing on clearing the road, they kept looking at one another too often, exchanging small nods and quietly positioning themselves around the caravans, as if they were taking positions. None of them seemed truly concerned with moving the rocks or opening the path; their attention was on something else, and that something else was certainly not the safety of the travelers.

My eyes swept over the group more carefully. One of them had a sword hidden beneath a blanket. Another kept his hands too close to a leather pouch that did not seem to contain merchandise. A third was constantly watching the soldiers who had been left much farther behind, tracking their movements with a concentration that did not fit a simple merchant at all. No. Those men were not merchants.

"Roxy."

She barely turned her head, but it was enough. She had reached exactly the same conclusion as I had. Then I saw her tense her shoulders and, with icy calm, tilt her face slightly while her lips moved in an almost inaudible whisper. She was reciting an incantation. Mana began to gather around her with impeccable precision, preparing a spell as the air grew denser and denser.

Then everything happened at once.

"Now!!"

Several of the fake travelers threw small black spheres to the ground. They were not stones or mineral fragments, but carefully prepared magical artifacts. At the same time, others began reciting fire and wind spells in perfect synchronization, as if they had rehearsed this moment over and over again. The explosions thundered through the mountains with deafening violence, one after another, filling the air with smoke, dust, and pulverized rock. The blast struck the path right where the landslide had weakened the mountain, and then I heard a sound I will never forget: a deep, enormous crack, as if the mountain range itself were splitting in half.

"Back!!"

I threw myself toward Roxy and Pursena without thinking, while an earth barrier instinctively rose in front of us. It was too late. The road vanished beneath our feet and tons of rock began sliding downhill with an impossible force to stop. The entire mountain gave way at once, and I felt the ground cease to exist beneath us. Then there was only falling, dust, darkness, and the deafening roar of stone collapsing all around us.

"..."

I slowly opened my eyes. Everything was dark, except for a few small flames dancing in front of me with a weak, trembling light. I had survived. The first thing I did was sit up carefully, still dazed by the impact and by the echo of the collapse ringing in my head.

"Roxy?"

"Here..."

Her voice sounded tired, but steady, and that was enough for relief to wash through my chest. A few meters away, Pursena was sitting down, holding her right arm with a tense expression. A deep wound cut across her forearm, and blood still stained part of her clothes.

"Don't move."

I channeled healing magic immediately. The wound began to close slowly, and Pursena flexed her fingers several times to check that her arm was responding normally.

"Much better..."

Around us there was only rock. We were on a narrow ledge protected by huge blocks that had broken loose during the fall, solid enough to have saved us from certain death. We had probably been cut off from the main road, trapped in some kind of stone pocket in the middle of the mountain. The wind blew violently through the cracks and gaps in the landslide, slipping in everywhere with a sharp, constant whistle.

I raised both hands and, with a focused motion, several columns of earth rose from the ground, forming an improvised dome around us. Then I lit a small fire with magic to warm the interior and keep away some of the cold seeping in from the rock walls. Silence returned almost immediately, broken only by the gusts that kept striking the mountain insistently. None of us spoke for a long while, perhaps because we were still processing what had happened, perhaps because we all knew the worst was not over.

Finally it was Roxy who broke the silence.

"Damn… they were pretty well prepared… I should have realized it sooner"

I slowly shook my head, my gaze fixed on the entrance of our makeshift cave.

"They were waiting for us. They knew exactly what to do."

Pursena lowered her ears, visibly uncomfortable, and hugged her injured arm tighter.

"But... why?"

We didn't answer, because none of us knew. And yet, as I watched the darkness beyond the entrance of that makeshift cave, I had the strange feeling that those men were no longer our biggest problem. Something else was out there, hidden among the peaks, waiting in silence.

The sound came without warning, breaking the stillness of the night with such an uncanny presence that, for an instant, none of us was able to react. It wasn't a roar in the usual sense of the word, at least not one I could compare to any other I'd ever heard before. In fact, I didn't remember ever hearing a sound like it: deep, ancient, so low it didn't seem to merely pass through the air, but rather to resonate directly within the mountain, as if the mountain range itself had decided to answer a call impossible to ignore.

The rock beneath our feet vibrated in an unsettling way, barely perceptible at first, but enough to make small stones begin rolling down the slope and the nearby stream's water draw tiny ripples across its surface. Even the fire we had lit inside the earthen dome flickered for an instant, as if that invisible presence had altered the very balance of the surroundings. No one spoke. No one moved. The silence that followed was so dense it was almost oppressive.

Pursena was the first to react. Her ears shot up and the soft fur on her tail bristled immediately, while her pupils narrowed into two thin slits. That expression wasn't fear, not exactly; it was something more primal and deeper, the pure instinct of a beast recognizing a predator far above it in the food chain. Roxy, for her part, was already on her feet. Her gaze remained fixed on the opening of the dome, and for a few seconds it seemed to me that she wasn't even breathing.

"Roxy..."

But she didn't answer.

Then the roar sounded again, this time much clearer and closer, and the entire mountain answered with an endless echo that bounced between the cliffs again and again, as if dozens of invisible creatures were answering the call of a superior authority. We didn't waste any time. We immediately left the shelter, and the cold night struck my face with a harshness that made me narrow my eyes. The sky was completely clear; millions of stars covered the firmament, and a huge moon bathed the mountain range in silver light that made the rocks and snow-covered peaks shine with an almost unreal glow.

Then I saw it.

In the distance, atop one of the highest peaks, an immense reddish silhouette stood motionless, watching the valley from above with a calm that was even more terrifying than any gesture of violence. Even from that distance its size was colossal. Its scales faintly reflected the moonlight with a dark, almost crimson sheen, while its long neck remained held high with an elegance impossible to describe. It did not convey the uncontrolled ferocity of a wild monster; it conveyed authority. It was like looking at a king surveying the territory that had belonged to him long before roads, fortresses, or human kingdoms existed.

A freezing wind descended from the mountain, carrying with it the scent of snow and cold stone. Then it spread its wings. It was a slow, majestic movement, so imposing that the huge dark membranes seemed to cover half the peak while the air rushed violently down into the valley. The trees began to sway violently, the snow piled near the summit rose in a white cloud, and in the middle of it all, a third roar tore through the mountain range. This time it was much more powerful. For a few seconds no one was able to say a single word. However, what happened next was even more unexpected. A shadow emerged from among the clouds, then another, and then another. One after another they began to rise from different parts of the mountain range, small compared to the main figure, but unmistakable. Dragons. They beat their wings, tracing wide circles around the gigantic reddish creature, and they didn't seem to challenge it or surround it with hostility; rather, they followed it, like a group of predators escorting the strongest one in the pack.

Pursena swallowed hard with evident difficulty.

"W-WHAT... That's a..."

Roxy answered almost in a whisper, though her tone sounded much more serious than usual. Her eyes remained fixed on the creature atop the peak as she added, with a tense calm I didn't know from her:

"Red Dragons live in small family groups. That one..."

She paused briefly, without taking her eyes off the winged colossus.

"...is the dominant male."

She didn't add anything else, and it wasn't necessary. Even without using any skill to measure its power, I could feel it with overwhelming clarity. The amount of magic emanating from that creature was absurd, colossal.

And yet, I didn't feel fear. Not exactly.

My heart was beating faster and faster, but not from terror, rather from a much harder emotion to explain. Curiosity. Anticipation. That feeling that appears just before discovering something extraordinary, like a researcher facing an impossible phenomenon or an adventurer seeing unexplored territory for the first time. I couldn't look away. For an instant I forgot the cold, the collapse, and the men who had ambushed us. Only that creature existed, dominating the night sky with such absolute presence that it seemed to erase everything else.

The Red Dragon beat its wings once and its enormous body slowly rose above the peak. The other shadows followed immediately, and in just a few seconds they disappeared among the clouds, as if the mountain itself had swallowed them. Silence returned, but it was no longer the same. I remained motionless for a few more seconds, still looking at the place where they had vanished, and then slowly lifted my gaze toward the dark peaks that disappeared into the horizon.

Without realizing it, a small smile appeared on my lips.

Chapter Text

The last beat of wings vanished among the clouds until the enormous reddish silhouette finally merged with the darkness of the mountain range. And then everything returned to silence, a silence so heavy and unnatural that no one dared break it. The merchants remained motionless for several seconds, as if even breathing too loudly might draw that creature's attention back. Only when they were completely certain the Dragon had disappeared did they slowly begin making their way back to the shelter.

No one was laughing or talking. Even the mercenaries walked with a hand resting on the hilt of their weapons. It was obvious that what they had seen had shaken everyone's mood, and we were no exception. Pursena walked pressed close to Roxy, something completely unlike her; her ears were lowered and her tail was rigid. It wasn't exactly fear, but pure instinct. Animals knew when a predator was nearby, and that creature was several levels above any monster she had ever seen in her life.

When we entered the shelter again, some travelers began closing the shutters while others stoked the central fire. No one seemed to have any intention of sleeping. Roxy stood there for a few seconds, staring at the flames before speaking in a low voice, as if she were recalling an old book.

"When I was studying monsterology..." she said, and when she lifted her gaze toward me she added, "...I read something interesting about Red Dragons."

I waited in silence, so she continued without taking her eyes off the fire.

"Unlike other high-ranking monsters, they almost never leave their territory."

"Why?" I asked.

Roxy tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and answered with a simplicity that took me a few seconds to process.

"Because they don't need to. They are absolute predators. They don't hunt because they have competition, nor do they patrol because they fear invasions. Everything that exists within their territory... belongs to them."

Silence settled between us again, but Roxy kept speaking with the same calm tone.

"Monsters flee when they sense their presence. Animals change their routes. Even other predators avoid getting close. They don't need to chase anything; the food ends up coming to them on its own."

It was... logical. When you are the most dangerous being in an entire mountain range, the whole world eventually adapts to you.

"There is only one exception."

Those words immediately caught my attention. Roxy took a slow breath before answering.

"When they detect another dragon," she said after a brief pause. "Or a creature whose magical presence could become a threat to their domain."

I felt a small chill run down my back. Not from fear, but from something else, an uncomfortably familiar sensation. Roxy continued speaking, completely unaware of what was beginning to go through my head.

"Dragons possess extraordinary magical perception. They can detect concentrations of mana over enormous distances. If they sense something comparable to themselves... they go immediately to check what it is."

"..."

The pieces began falling into place one after another.

The Hydra. The skill I had obtained recently. I had thought it only strengthened my body or my presence. But...

"Great Sage."

(Yes)

"Did my magical signature change after obtaining the Hydra skill?"

There was a brief silence.

(Answer. Affirmative.)

I felt my stomach tighten.

(The unique skill 'Hydra' partially alters the structure of the individual's magical flow while it remains active.)

"..."

(For humans, demons, and most intelligent races, the change is practically imperceptible.)

The next sentence answered all my doubts.

(For monsters with highly developed magical perception, the subject is no longer identified as a slime.)

"..."

(It is perceived as an unknown entity with characteristics close to a dragon-class predator.)

I slowly closed my eyes.

Now I understood everything.

The Red Dragon had not appeared by chance. It had come out... because it had sensed me. Not exactly me, but something that, from its perspective, should not exist: an ancient, unknown presence, powerful enough to invade its territory. And it had come to check it personally.

I didn't say anything. Roxy would probably try to make us leave the mountain range immediately, and, to be honest... I wasn't sure I could blame her.

Dawn arrived beneath a completely clear sky. The first rays of light began illuminating the snowy peaks while the travelers hurriedly dismantled the improvised shelter. We did the same. However, something had changed.

I noticed it the moment we stepped outside and came to a sudden stop.

"..."

There were no birds. Not a single one.

Normally, even in the high mountains, dawn was full of sounds: birdsong, the buzzing of insects, some small monster moving through the bushes. Now there was nothing. Only the wind. The pine branches remained still, the shrubs were untouched, and not even the murmur of small animals hidden among the rocks could be heard. It was as if the entire mountain had decided to hold its breath.

Pursena slowly raised her ears and her expression changed.

"...I don't like this."

Roxy nodded in silence and then looked toward the place where we had left our carriage the night before. She frowned. I followed her gaze.

"..."

Empty.

The posts where we had tied Tanya and Naofumi were still there, but the ropes, cleanly cut, hung down onto the ground. There was no sign of the horses or the carriage; only deep wheel tracks remained, leading away between the rocks.

Pursena sniffed the ground for a few seconds before speaking.

"There's a human smell. Many."

Roxy sighed.

"Bandits," she murmured.

I looked at the tracks disappearing down the mountain. We had survived a landslide, attracted the attention of a Red Dragon, and now we had also lost our transportation. Our journey had just become more complicated in a way none of us had anticipated.

I left the shelter behind with an almost solemn slowness until it became a blurred silhouette among the mountain mist. We no longer had a carriage or horses, nor the comfort of a relatively stable journey; we only carried three backpacks, a few supplies rescued in a hurry, and the immense slope of the mountain range stretching out before us like a silent trial. I saw Roxy adjust the strap of her staff on her back while she watched the path disappearing between the rocks.

"It'll take us almost twice as long."

"As long as we get out of these mountains alive, I'm satisfied," I replied calmly.

After that, none of us spoke again. The silence between the three of us wasn't uncomfortable, just cautious.

The path climbed upward, following the course of a river born from melting snow, a thread of icy water that wound between the stones and vanished at times beneath the shadows of the cliffs. The landscape had changed completely from the roads of Ranoa; the broad, well-traveled paths were long behind us, replaced by enormous walls of rock that seemed to split the sky in two and by steep slopes where only nature's resilience allowed anything to grow. Centuries-old pines clung to the cliffs with almost desperate tenacity, covered in a thin layer of snow that did not melt even under the summer sun. The wind descended from the peaks with a biting harshness, and every breath became a small white cloud that vanished instantly into the cold air.

I extended a hand without stopping and, without uttering a single word, let a gentle current of warm air envelop Roxy and Pursena. It wasn't a complex or spectacular spell; rather, it was a demonstration of absolute control over fire magic and wind magic combined, a precise and delicate application, enough to keep a pleasant temperature around their bodies without wasting energy. Pursena smiled immediately, grateful for the relief.

"Much better..."

Roxy also let out a small sigh, relaxing her shoulders slightly.

"Unchanted magic really is convenient."

"It has its advantages."

The path continued upward through narrow curves and stretches of bare rock, but as we advanced, something began to unsettle me with an insistence that was hard to ignore. It wasn't a visible threat or a strange sound; it was precisely the opposite. The silence was too deep. There were no birds flying over the treetops, no insects buzzing hidden in the undergrowth, not even the nervous movement of small monsters that would normally flee upon sensing the presence of travelers. The mountain seemed empty, as if every form of life had decided to withdraw from it long before we arrived.

After nearly two hours of walking, Pursena stopped abruptly. Her nose began to twitch rapidly, catching something the rest of us had not yet noticed, and her expression changed at once.

"It smells..."

She turned her head toward the forest, tensing her body like a beast that recognizes danger before anyone else.

"...like blood."

We quickened our pace without needing to agree on it. The smell grew stronger and thicker until the path curved around a huge boulder and the scene appeared before us with brutal clarity. There were the carriages, or rather, what remained of them: shattered wheels, broken axles, wood torn away as if it were paper, goods scattered everywhere, barrels split open, and torn cloth fluttering weakly in the wind. Among the wreckage lay numerous corpses, the bodies of the bandits who had tried to ambush the travelers. None of them remained whole. Some had been pierced by enormous claws, others seemed to have been torn apart with such overwhelming force that it was hard to imagine what kind of creature could have done it. Several simply had no upper half of their bodies.

I felt a knot form in my stomach, though not because of the dead men. They had chosen that path, and the price of that decision was something that did not awaken pity in me. My gaze continued to sweep over the remains with colder attention until it stopped completely.

"..."

There they were. Tanya and Naofumi.

The two horses lay motionless on the snow stained red, their bodies broken by a violence that had left no room for survival. I stood still, saying nothing, not even approaching. I simply watched them for long seconds, with an expression that was difficult to read. We had traveled hundreds of kilometers together over several days; they were not merely pack animals, but part of the journey. And now all of that had been reduced to a heavy silence, almost unbearable.

Roxy placed a hand on my shoulder, without needing to say a word. At that moment, verbal comfort was unnecessary; presence was enough.

A shadow crossed the sky.

The three of us looked up almost at the same time, alerted by something we could not immediately understand. A massive figure cut through the clouds for a fleeting instant, just two or three seconds, enough to leave an impression impossible to ignore before disappearing again into the whiteness of the sky. Pursena took a step back, her body rigid and her breath held.

"..."

Roxy had gone completely pale, and for an instant that felt far too long even to breathe, the only sound dominating the mountain was the beating of enormous wings, slow and deep, approaching with an almost unbearable solemnity. The clouds began to part with ominous slowness, as if the sky itself hesitated to let through the creature descending among them, and suddenly a gigantic red figure appeared, settling onto a cliff several hundred meters above the path.

It was a Red Dragon.

Its scales reflected the midday light as if they were plates of red-hot iron, and its enormous golden eyes fixed on me at once with such intense attention that it was hard not to feel it as a physical weight. It did not roar. It did not attack. It did not show uncontrolled fury or any immediate intent to destroy whatever stood before it. It simply watched, still and majestic, with a stillness more imposing than any violent gesture, as if the creature were trying to understand what kind of being stood before it and why my presence felt so strange.

"..."

It had not come to kill me. It had come to identify me.

Roxy glanced at me from the side, surprised to see me holding the dragon's gaze in absolute silence, as if the scene were nothing impossible. To her, all of this must have seemed insane; to me, however, it was nothing more than another conversation that had not yet begun, one of those that announce themselves with tension before finding their words.

The dragon remained silent for a few more seconds, and then the world exploded.

A roar tore through the entire mountain range with a violence capable of making the air vibrate and the stone beneath my feet tremble. Two enormous figures descended from opposite directions, striking the ground with such force that entire blocks of rock broke loose from the cliff and cascaded down onto the path. The trail disappeared beneath a rain of debris, and a gigantic fissure opened between us, separating me from the rest of the group in an instant, as if the mountain itself had decided to divide us.

"Rimuru!"

"Rimuru-sama!"

I barely heard them. The two dragons began to circle slowly around the fissure, showing neither haste nor open aggression, as if they did not need to rush to prove their superiority. They did not attack. They did not breathe fire. They simply surrounded me with unsettling patience, watching me from different angles, waiting, like soldiers awaiting an order before acting and who need not speak to make it clear they have already decided the outcome.

I raised one hand slightly and called to Roxy with a calm that contrasted almost absurdly with the tension of the moment.

"Roxy."

She looked at me immediately.

"Back away."

"No!"

"Please."

My voice remained completely calm, almost too calm for the situation, as if the threat before us could not quite disturb my tone.

"They didn't come for you."

My gaze stayed fixed on the dragons.

"They came for me."

Pursena clenched her teeth, unable to accept the idea of standing still while I was isolated on the other side of that fissure.

"We can fight!"

Then I smiled, a small and strangely excited smile, as if the situation awakened in me something closer to anticipation than fear. My hands were trembling, yes, but not from terror. It was something else, a much rarer and more valuable sensation, a spark that had gone far too long without appearing.

Anticipation.

It had been a very long time since I had felt that: the certainty of standing before a completely unknown rival, a presence whose strength I still could not clearly measure and which, precisely for that reason, was fascinating.

Then the light vanished.

Not because the sun was setting, but because wings infinitely larger completely covered the sky. The wind became unbearable, and the magical pressure made the entire mountain tremble as if the whole range were about to crack under an invisible weight. Slowly, a third figure descended from the clouds, and its mere appearance was enough to completely change the atmosphere of the place.

It was much bigger.

Much, much bigger.

Each scale looked like a plate of armor, and every movement was charged with an impossible natural authority. Its horns were longer, more imposing, and its wings completely eclipsed those of the other two dragons. It didn't even need to roar to impose its presence. The two Red Dragons immediately lowered their heads and stepped back several meters, as if they recognized without hesitation the arrival of their leader and instinctively accepted the hierarchy that placed him above them.

I watched that scene in silence, with an expression that was no longer one of surprise but of understanding.

This was not just another Red Dragon.

It was the sovereign of the entire mountain range, the predator before whom even the other dragons bowed their heads.

And yet, when it opened its mouth, its voice was clear, ancient, and perfectly understandable.

"You."

I raised my chin calmly.

The great dragon watched me for a long moment. Its golden pupils narrowed slightly, as if it were measuring something invisible, something that could not be perceived with sight but only with an intuition forged over centuries.

"So it was you..." it murmured at last. "The strange presence I've been sensing."

I didn't answer right away.

It didn't seem to expect a quick response either. Its wings slowly folded against its back, and the wind it had stirred began to dissipate little by little, though the pressure emanating from its body was still enough to make the air around us tremble.

"My name is Alud," it said then, with a solemnity that needed no embellishment. "I am the dragon that rules these mountains."

Its eyes never left me for a single instant.

"And you are..."

"Rimuru."

Alud slightly tilted its head, as if that confirmation fit something it had already suspected from the beginning.

"Rimuru..." it repeated, testing the name with strange calm. "You don't smell like a human. Nor like an ordinary monster. And yet, you're not a dragon either."

Roxy, still on the other side of the chasm, widened her eyes upon hearing the dragon speak so clearly. Pursena, on the other hand, seemed unable to decide whether she should attack, flee, or simply accept that reality had become absurd.

I kept looking at Alud without moving.

"I have no idea either."

For the first time, a faint spark of interest crossed the dragon's eyes.

"Oh?"

"Yeah."

Alud let out a low snort, almost amused, though there was no lightness in it—only a kind of recognition.

"Your answer is insolent."

"And you show up blocking a mountain pass with three giant dragons. I think we're even."

For an instant, silence became absolute. Even the two lesser Red Dragons seemed to tense up, as if they didn't know whether this conversation was a provocation or madness, or perhaps both at the same time.

Then Alud spoke again.

"I came to confirm something."

"What is it?"

Its eyes sharpened.

"Whether I should eliminate you."

The answer was so direct that I couldn't help but smile a little.

"And have you reached a conclusion?"

Alud remained silent for a few seconds. Its tone wasn't arrogant; it was simply that of someone who had lived too long to bother pretending modesty or softening its words.

"When a creature like you appears in my territory, I have two options. Ignore you... or find out whether I should tear off your head before you cause trouble."

Its words were slow, measured, almost ceremonial, as if each one had been carefully chosen.

"There are threats that destroy out of hunger. Others out of instinct. Some out of ambition."

Its golden pupils locked onto me.

"And then there are those that destroy because they can."

I didn't answer right away.

"Then tell me something, Rimuru."

Its voice dropped a tone lower, becoming even more grave.

"What are you?"

The question hung between us like a sharp blade, motionless in the air and about to fall.

Roxy held her breath.

Pursena did too.

I, however, smiled with a calm that was not entirely human.

"A Slime."

For the first time, the dragon let out a sound that could almost be mistaken for a low laugh, a brief exhalation filled with genuine interest.

"Interesting."

Its wings shifted slightly, raising a new current of air. Alud tilted its head to one side, as if it had just heard something unexpected and, precisely because of that, found it even more worthy of attention.

The dragon lifted its neck slightly, and its voice echoed with an authority that made the rock tremble.

"Rimuru. I want to fight you."

The declaration fell over the valley with more weight than any roar. Alud watched me with an intensity that was almost unbearable, and its golden pupils sharpened even more, as if it were already measuring the exact moment when it would have to strike.

"I'm not going to let someone like you remain in my mountains without testing your strength."

The two lesser Red Dragons tensed their necks, as if expecting an immediate order. But Alud didn't move. It only kept looking at me, motionless, as if every second of silence were part of a carefully measured hunt, of an ancient ritual in which prey and hunter had to recognize each other before exchanging the first blow.

Finally, it spoke.

"I'll give you a chance. To prove whether you deserve to keep standing before me."

The magical pressure rose again.

The air grew denser.

The wind began to swirl around us in violent spirals, lifting dust, fragments of rock, and the echo of a tension that could no longer be hidden.

Roxy stepped forward, desperate.

"Rimuru-sama!"

But I raised a hand without taking my eyes off Alud.

"Don't come closer, Roxy."

She froze.

Alud watched me in silence for a long moment. Then, for the first time since it had appeared, its expression changed slightly. It wasn't a smile. It was something more dangerous.

Expectation.

"Good," it said at last. "That's what I wanted to see."

And, with a calm that was almost insulting, it added:

"Let's see if you can really withstand my fire."

The wind disappeared because all my attention had been completely focused on the three creatures in front of me. The two lesser Red Dragons remained several hundred meters apart from each other, one on each side of the formation, while the dominant one stayed motionless on the summit, watching, waiting, judging with a calm that was far more unsettling than any roar. It looked like a king merely observing his subordinates do the dirty work for him. Behind me, on the other side of the chasm, Roxy and Pursena had already retreated, and that relieved me more than I was willing to admit, because I didn't want to have to worry about protecting them too when I already had enough problems right in front of me.

One of the dragons then advanced with deliberate slowness, without roaring, without showing open hostility, as if it weren't attacking yet.

"I suppose talking is off the table."

(Answer. Highly likely.)

"Thanks, Great Sage. Very helpful."

The creature slightly tilted its head, but its golden eyes remained fixed on me with almost unbearable intensity. And then it disappeared. My pupils contracted immediately, though I quickly understood that it hadn't vanished at all; it was simply incredibly fast. I turned my body purely by instinct, and a claw the size of a sword sliced through the exact spot where I had been an instant before. The shockwave pulverized the rock beneath my feet and forced me to leap back abruptly.

"What the hell?!"

I propelled myself backward with wind magic, just in time to avoid the next strike. The dragon lunged at me again, and then again, and again, without stopping or giving me even a single second to catch my breath. That was when I understood something important: the second dragon still hadn't moved. It remained watching, waiting, not passively, but with a calculating attention that chilled my blood. The first attacked; the second learned.

A spear of rock burst from the ground with a dry thunderclap, followed by another and then another, until dozens, hundreds of stone needles began firing toward the Red Dragon with relentless violence. The creature twisted in midair with surprising agility; it dodged two, then three, then ten, but the rest struck home. Its scales burst into glittering fragments, and blood splattered across the snow in a deep red that stood in brutal contrast to the white ground. For the first time, the monster was forced back.

Good. I could hurt it. That already made things much easier.

But then the second dragon moved, and I immediately understood my mistake. While all my attention had been focused on the first, the other had vanished among the trees and was now descending from above, straight toward my back. I clicked my tongue.

"Tch!"

A burst of fire exploded around me, and the entire forest was engulfed in flames. The snow vanished at once, the rocks began to glow red-hot, and the air grew unbearably thick with heat. The flames wrapped around me completely, but I felt no pain; heat resistance was an incredible skill. The dragons, however, did seem surprised. I burst through the explosion in a leap and unleashed a compressed wind blade at the attacker's neck. The wound appeared instantly, deep, though not enough to kill it. Blood fell onto the snow like scarlet rain, and both dragons retreated for the first time. They were hesitating.

The dominant one was still watching from its position, motionless, not having changed its posture even once. That irritated me more than it should have, so I raised my voice with a mix of challenge and annoyance.

"Aren't you going to join in?"

Naturally, it didn't answer. One of the dragons roared furiously, the other took to the air, and then I understood that the real battle had just begun.

The sky was the problem. Everything was happening up there. The dragons twisted, climbed, descended, and attacked from impossible angles while I remained trapped on the ground, forced to react to every movement with only a fraction of a second to spare. That was when Great Sage spoke with unusually timely clarity.

(Suggestion.)
(Partial transformation: Hydra.)

I smiled, because I had been thinking the same thing.

"Do it."

A sensation ran through my back. My clothes cracked with a dry sound, and my skin tightened as if something were about to tear through from the inside. And then it happened. Two enormous black wings burst through my clothes and spread out behind me, formed of dark membranes and glowing veins that seemed to pulse with a life of their own. They didn't look like normal wings; they gave the impression of belonging to an ancient creature. The two dragons froze in place, and even the dominant one slightly widened its eyes.

"Well then..."

I flexed the wings cautiously, feeling how they responded to the movement.

"Let's try this."

The ground exploded beneath my feet, and I launched myself into the sky.

The entire mountain range became a battlefield.

The clouds were torn apart by the sweep of their wings, the cliffs cracked under shockwaves, and the mountain rivers evaporated into columns of steam whenever a burst of flame brushed their surface. The forests burned, froze, and burned again within seconds, as if the entire landscape were being erased and rewritten with every exchange.

A spear of ice emerged from above, sharp as a giant needle, slicing through the clouds with a piercing whistle. One of the dragons spun in midair and shattered it with a sweep of its tail, scattering the fragments in a rain of crystals that glittered for an instant before melting. At the same time, the other dove toward me with its jaws wide open; I responded by raising a wall of rock in front of it, but the creature smashed through it without slowing down, pulverizing the defense as if it were dry mud.

I dodged by the narrowest margin.

Its claws tore through the air beside my side, and the force of its passing sent me flying backward. Before I could regain my balance, a bolt of lightning fell from the sky, zigzagging through the clouds with terrifying precision. I managed to shield myself with one of my wings, but the lightning struck dead on, coursing across my scales.

Even so, they kept advancing.

They weren't attacking at random. They weren't rushing in thoughtlessly. One forced my defense while the other cut off my retreat; one made me rise while the other waited above; one pushed me left while the other was already turning to intercept me from the right. Every movement seemed to answer the previous one with perfect synchronicity, as if they shared a single mind, as if they were two bodies obeying the same instinct.

If I dodged one, the other was already there waiting for me.

One appeared on the left and the other on the right, sealing off my path with perfect coordination. It was an impeccable trap. I smiled, and in the next instant I vanished using magical propulsion. The two dragons collided with each other in brutal violence, and the impact made the entire mountain tremble.

Minutes later, one of them fell. It wasn't dead, but it was badly wounded; one of its wings hung uselessly, and the second was bleeding from multiple wounds while breathing heavily. I wasn't unscathed either. My regeneration had been working nonstop, consuming magic at an alarming rate, but I was still standing—or rather, still flying. Then it happened.

The dominant one descended.

It didn't roar. It didn't breathe fire. It didn't do anything spectacular. It simply jumped, and the world exploded. The pressure generated by its descent tore entire trees from the ground, shattered the rocks, and forced the other two dragons to move aside at once, like soldiers giving way to their commander. I felt a crushing force pressing against my body, and my breathing became difficult almost immediately. The difference was obvious. This... was something else.

The dragon watched me with ancient eyes, intelligent, dangerously intelligent. Then it advanced. That was all. One step. Then another. And then it vanished.

The impact struck me like a meteor. I didn't even see the attack coming. One mountain. Two. Three. I was blasted through three mountains before finally stopping, and rock exploded around my body while the entire range trembled as if it had taken a direct blow to the heart. For a few seconds, I remained motionless, staring silently at the sky.

That should have hurt... a lot, if I weren't a slime.

"..."

Now I understood. The other two hadn't been trying to kill me. They had been evaluating me. This was the real monster.

I forced myself back to my feet. My wings were damaged, my regeneration was working at its limit, and my magical reserves were dropping rapidly, but I kept moving forward anyway. The dominant one did the same, unstoppable, silent, like a force of nature that didn't need to announce its arrival.

I closed my eyes and smiled.

"Then..."

"I guess it's time."

All the magic in my body began to gather. The Hydra's dark veins appeared across my arms, my throat burned, and the temperature around me began to rise violently. The snow vanished, the rocks started to melt, and the nearby trees charred within seconds. The two subordinate dragons immediately backed away, driven by instinct, by fear, by a recognition that needed no words. The dominant one, however, did not move. It kept watching me as if it understood exactly what I was doing, as if it accepted the challenge without needing any grand gestures.

(Hydra Breath.)

The world fell silent.

And then I raised my palm.

A white line cut across the mountain range from one side to the other. It wasn't fire. It wasn't lightning. It was pure heat, so concentrated it seemed to cut through reality itself. The mountains split open, the rock melted, and the air turned incandescent in an instant. The beam struck the dominant one head-on, and the ensuing explosion lit up the entire horizon with blinding intensity. For a few seconds, nothing existed but light.

Then, a massive cloud of steam covered the entire mountain range, and the figure of the Dragon King disappeared within it.

I lowered my hand. The heat burned my throat. And from within the steam, I caught the smell of charred flesh.

Chapter Text

The light slowly faded away, as if the sky itself refused to keep watching what had just happened. The immense column of steam began to dissipate gradually while the roar of the Hydra Breath died out among the mountains, leaving behind a distant, distorted echo that faded little by little until it vanished completely. Then silence returned—a silence so dense and overwhelming that it seemed to have weight of its own, as if it had spilled over the valley and covered everything. Not even the wind dared to break that stillness.

I descended calmly to the ground, feeling how the Hydra's black wings remained spread across my back, though they were already beginning to dissolve into tiny particles of magic that scattered through the air like luminous ash. In front of me, the landscape had changed so brutally that for a moment I struggled to accept what I was seeing. The mountain had practically disappeared. Where there had once been an enormous cliff, there was now only a vast channel of molten rock stretching hundreds of meters up the slope, as if a glowing wound had split the mountain range in two. The nearby trees had been completely charred; they were not burning, not smoking, they had simply ceased to exist, reduced to black, brittle skeletons. The ground was still incandescent beneath my feet, and small rivers of liquid stone slowly flowed down the slope, tracing bright lines across the darkness of the terrain.

"I think I overdid it a little."

"Response. Confirmed."

"Thanks. Always so encouraging."

That was when I saw it.

The Red Dragon was still alive.

It had fallen at one end of the valley, its body sprawled awkwardly and heavily over the blackened rock. It was breathing with difficulty, each inhale accompanied by a harsh, painful sound that seemed to tear through its chest from the inside. The entire right side of its body had been devastated by a massive charred wound; the scales had melted together, the flesh was black and seared, and in some places even the bone was partially exposed. And yet, its eyes remained open. They watched me without looking away for even an instant.

There was no hatred in that gaze.

Nor fear.

Only a silent, almost solemn acceptance, as if the dragon had understood from the very beginning how that battle would end.

I walked calmly until I stopped in front of it. The enormous golden eye followed every one of my movements with absolute attention, but neither of us did anything for several seconds. No words were needed. It had come to see whether I was a threat; I had proven that I could defeat it. The result was clear, and we both understood it.

I lowered my head slightly, offering a gesture of respect.

The enormous dragon slowly closed its eyes, as if answering the greeting with the same dignity with which it had carried itself through the battle.

I smiled softly.

"Thank you. It was a good fight."

I placed a hand on the scales that were still intact, feeling beneath my fingers the residual heat of its body and the ancient hardness of that creature that had ruled the mountain range for so long.

"Rest."

The skill responded immediately.

"Activate Predator?"

I remained silent for a few seconds, looking at the Red Dragon one last time before making my decision.

"Do it."

A dark mass emerged from my arm, spreading without violence or abruptness, like a living shadow advancing with almost reverent patience. It enveloped the enormous dragon's body slowly, scale by scale, as if even Predator itself understood that this was no ordinary enemy, but prey worthy of recognition. The Red Dragon did not resist. Its body began to disintegrate little by little into particles of magic, until it finally disappeared completely, leaving behind only the echo of its presence and the emptiness of its absence.

"Target acquired."

"Beginning analysis."

"Multiple racial traits acquired."

"Physical resistance increased."

"Magical resistance increased."

"New skill obtained."

"Draconic Perception."

Before I could ask anything, another roar tore through the mountain range, much farther away than the previous one, but still powerful enough to make the air around us tremble. I looked up and saw them: the other two Red Dragons were still there. Both were injured; one could barely stay airborne, while the other dragged a partially destroyed wing that moved with difficulty through the air. We stared at each other for long seconds, and for a moment I thought they would attack again, that the pride of their species would force them to throw themselves at me once more. But they did not.

Both of them lowered their heads slightly.

Just for an instant.

Then they beat their wings hard and disappeared into the clouds, flying away without looking back. They were not fleeing. It was not that. They were simply leaving the territory of a king who no longer existed.

When I returned to Roxy and Pursena, the two of them were still completely motionless. They looked at me as if they were seeing a monster entirely different from the companion they had traveled with for weeks, someone who had suddenly stopped belonging to the same world as them. I was the first to break the silence, though even my voice sounded strangely normal in the middle of that scene.

"Are you okay?"

Pursena opened her mouth, closed it, opened it again, but couldn't manage to say a single word. Roxy, on the other hand, took several deep breaths before she managed to speak, and even then her voice trembled slightly when she said my name.

"Rimuru..."

She looked at me with a mixture of disbelief and restrained tension.

"Do you know... what you just did?"

I blinked, still not fully understanding the extent of her reaction.

"Defeated a Red Dragon?"

She slowly shook her head, never taking her eyes off the devastated valley that now split the mountain range in two. The broken mountain, the trees reduced to charcoal, the rock still molten and glowing... all of it seemed to have completely surpassed the scale of anything either of them would have considered possible.

"No," she said at last, with a seriousness that made me pay full attention. "You defeated the dominant one of this entire mountain range."

She fell silent for a few seconds, as if she needed to sort out her thoughts before continuing.

"Red Dragons don't obey easily. They only follow the strongest. And you... just defeated the individual who kept all the others under control."

Pursena swallowed hard with visible difficulty.

"I've never... never seen anything like that," she murmured, still pale. "Not even in the stories from my childhood."

Roxy let out a small smile, a strange mix of pride and disbelief, as if she still couldn't quite believe that it had happened right in front of her eyes.

"I've met extraordinary adventurers," she said quietly. "I've seen magic on the level of a King. I even traveled with people capable of defeating armies. But this..."

She shook her head, unable to find a comparison that did justice to what we had just witnessed.

"This belongs to another category."

I stayed silent. I had never thought much about fame or power as something to pursue for its own sake. I had only done what was necessary to survive, to protect those around me, and to keep moving forward without letting the world crush me. And yet, hearing her speak like that, I couldn't help feeling that something had changed irreversibly.

Roxy continued, this time in a more reflective tone, almost as if she were weighing the meaning of every word.

"If this feat ever became known... many people would start talking about you. At the very least, the great powers of the world would want to know who you are."

Her gaze remained fixed on me, serious and piercing, as if she were trying to imagine how far all of this could go.

"And I wouldn't be surprised..." she added after a brief pause, "if one day your name ended up being mentioned alongside the Seven Great Powers."

I frowned slightly.

"The Seven Great Powers?"

Roxy blinked, surprised by my ignorance, and immediately adopted that patient, instructive tone she used whenever she wanted to explain something important with absolute clarity.

"Let's take it step by step," she said, raising one finger as if she were standing in front of a class. "The Seven Great Powers are a historical ranking of the seven strongest beings in the world. It doesn't matter whether they're human, demons, dragons, or something worse. If someone makes it onto that list, it means their power stands above everything else."

She paused briefly, making sure the idea was clear.

"The seven strongest."

Pursena, who had been walking silently beside us, opened her eyes a little wider when she heard that.

Roxy continued, now with the tone of a teacher who didn't want to leave out a single detail.

"I don't remember all the exact names, but if I'm not mistaken, the current order is: Technique God, Dragon God, Fighting God, Demon God, Death God, Sword God, and North God."

I stared at her in silence.

"They're not 'gods' in the religious sense," she added immediately. "They're titles. They all have one thing in common: they're on a scale most people can't even imagine."

She adjusted the backpack on her shoulder as we kept moving along the shattered road.

"And that's the important part, Rimuru. It doesn't mean they're invincible in every situation, but if your name ever gets mentioned alongside theirs, you'll be in the conversation of the strongest."

The wind swept through the mountain range again, sliding between the blackened rocks and the remains of the battle. But this time it didn't bring the roar of dragons or the threat of another fight. It only carried the silence that remains when a king falls, when an entire mountain has been split apart, and the world, for an instant, is forced to acknowledge that something impossible has just happened.

And we kept walking.

Before leaving the valley, we went back to where we had left our things and recovered everything that could still be saved. Our backpacks, the blankets, the canteens, part of the supplies, and the gear the bandits had stolen were still there, scattered among the rock and the disturbed earth. We also took a few useful things from the corpses: a rope, a couple of knives, a pouch of coins, some dried food, and a thick cloak that could still be useful to us.

We left the rest behind.

The bandits had been defeated by the Dragons, and it didn't seem right to drag their bodies away or strip them any more than necessary. They had died in battle, and even if they were criminals, they had fallen to the force of those predators. I wasn't going to desecrate that end.

Besides, we would have to continue on foot.

Without a cart, without horses, and with the road still ahead of us, carrying everything would have been stupid. So we decided to leave many of the things behind, keeping only the essentials to continue the journey.

The valley was left behind, silent, as if the whole world had held its breath.

The road stopped seeming like an open wound and began to turn into a more traveled route. The mountains gradually fell behind, slowly replaced by gentle hills, signposts, and better-maintained roads. Finally, at dawn on a cold morning, we spotted the watchtowers on the border of the Asura Kingdom.

It wasn't an imposing wall like the one around a capital, but rather a well-organized checkpoint: a reinforced wooden gate, two guard towers, and a small post where merchants, travelers, and traders waited their turn to enter or leave the territory. Even so, the atmosphere was very different from any other place we had passed through. There were soldiers in clean armor, officials checking documents, and several carts loaded with goods.

"So this is the border of Asura..." Pursena murmured, looking around with evident tension.

Roxy nodded.

"Yes. And if we want to keep moving without drawing too much attention, we'll need something better than walking."

She glanced at the bag with the coins we had left. More than enough. After everything we had spent and lost, it was barely enough to cover the essentials.

"Leave it to me."

Roxy walked over to the stall of a merchant who rented mounts and small vehicles. The man, a burly fellow with a thick mustache and hands hardened by work, tried to charge her an outrageous sum for a horse and a small single-horse carriage. Roxy didn't even blink. She listened calmly, checked the condition of the vehicle, asked about the sturdiness of the frame, the quality of the wheels, and the horse's feed, and then began bargaining with such razor-sharp precision that the merchant ended up sweating before agreeing to a much more reasonable price.

Pursena watched the scene with wide eyes.

"Roxy... is scary when she does that."

"She really is amazing..." I replied, though my voice came out lower and heavier than usual.

I could feel my body loosening completely, as if I were about to dissolve into a puddle of slime at any moment. I could barely keep my human form, but I was still holding on.

She glanced at me out of the corner of her eye.

They noticed.

They didn't say anything at first, but their expressions changed immediately. Roxy slightly furrowed her brow, watching me with a mix of caution and concern, while Pursena swallowed and looked away for a moment, as if she still couldn't believe what she had just seen.

In the end, with the money we had left, Roxy managed to get a sturdy-looking brown horse, a small but durable carriage, and the necessary supplies to continue the journey: dry bread, salted meat, water, some dried fruit, and feed for the mount. It wasn't a luxury, but it was enough to keep moving without relying on luck.

When she finished paying, the merchant handed us the reins and pointed at the carriage with pride.

"Try not to lose this one like the last...."

Roxy bowed her head in thanks and gave a sweet, almost awkward smile, the kind that made it seem like she didn't fully understand the situation.

But behind that kind expression, her eyes hid a cold, deep hatred.

"That's the plan."

I approached the vehicle with curiosity. The wood was well crafted, the wheels looked sturdy, and the interior was more comfortable than I had expected. I extended a hand to touch the edge of the seat, just to check the texture of the material.

And then it happened.

The exact second my fingers touched the carriage, my body lost all strength.

My vision blurred.

My human form immediately unraveled, shrinking down into a small bluish slime ball that fell softly onto the seat with a faint "plop."

"Huh...?"

Pursena froze.

Roxy's eyes went wide.

The accumulated exhaustion, the tension from the battle, the journey, and everything else dragged me straight into a deep sleep. The small slime ball settled onto the carriage's wooden floor and fell completely asleep, motionless, as if the entire world had stopped mattering to it at that moment.

"...He fell asleep... or so I think..." Pursena murmured, still unable to believe what she was seeing.

Roxy sighed, ran a hand over her forehead, and then smiled in resignation.

"I suppose....."

She carefully picked up the small blue ball and placed it on a blanket inside the carriage, arranging it with almost absurd delicacy, as if this were something perfectly normal.

Pursena watched her in silence for a few seconds, her ears slightly raised and her expression a mix of confusion and concern.

Roxy closed her eyes for a moment before answering, as if she needed to gather the patience required to accept what she was seeing.

The horse snorted calmly, completely oblivious to our conversation, while the carriage kept moving along the road without anything outside seeming to notice how strange the scene was.

And so, with Rimuru deeply asleep in his slime form inside the newly purchased carriage, we finally crossed the border of the Asura kingdom.

—-------------

The darkness was warm, enveloping, almost comforting. There were no dreams to interrupt that state, nor memories clinging to me from some corner of my mind; only a pleasant sensation of emptiness remained, as if my consciousness were floating suspended in a place where nothing hurt and nothing demanded to be thought about.

...

The next thing I perceived was a voice, distant and muffled, as if it were coming from the bottom of a lake or through several layers of water.

"...still not awake."

"That's normal, nya..."

"He used an absurd amount of mana..."

I tried to open my eyes, but my eyelids felt as if they were made of wet stone. I made a second effort, slower and clumsier than the first, and this time the light slowly began to seep in. The first thing I could make out was a wooden ceiling; then, dark beams swaying gently with the motion; and finally I understood that the rocking didn't belong to a bed, but to a moving cart.

"..."

A cart?

I blinked several times before slowly sitting up. The sheer exhaustion made my whole body feel heavy and sluggish. Every muscle protested at the simple fact of being awake again.

"Rimuru!"

Before I could fully react, a small blue figure jumped straight at me and hugged me with unexpected force. It was Roxy. Her hair was a little messy, with several loose strands falling over her forehead and the sides of her face, as if she had spent too long without bothering to comb it. Slight dark circles showed beneath her eyes, making her fair skin look even more delicate. Her cheeks, normally soft and serene, were faintly flushed with worry and relief, and her lips, slightly parted, trembled a little as if she had truly been holding back tears. Even her breathing seemed different, shorter and more restrained, as if her whole body had been waiting for this moment. And for the first time since I had known her, her expression mixed relief with an emotion so clear, so sincere, and so fragile that it made my chest tighten. Seeing her like that, so exhausted and at the same time so happy to see me wake up, filled me with a tenderness and concern I couldn't hide.

"Rimuru!" she exclaimed, squeezing me against her while I was still in my blue slime-ball form. "You finally woke up!"

"How do you feel?"

Her voice sounded much softer than usual, almost too careful, as if she feared that any word spoken in a louder tone might break me. I looked around with some difficulty and then I saw her too: Pursena, sitting at the far end of the carriage, watching me with her arms crossed. The beastfolk let out a long sigh the moment she confirmed that I had awakened.

"I'm fine... I'm fine... sorry for worrying you..."

Then Pursena suddenly stood up and, with a little hop, threw herself at us too, joining the hug without the slightest shame. Her ears twitched adorably, rising and falling in little jerks, and her eyes shone with a mix of relief and irritation that made her look incredibly cute. I couldn't help thinking she looked like a beautiful cat greeting her owner at the end of the day, all eager to come closer, unable to hide how worried she'd been to see me like that.

"Finally... I thought you'd keep sleeping forever..."

I tried to smile, though I still felt too weak to do it naturally.

"How long was I unconscious?"

The two exchanged a brief glance before Roxy answered.

"Four days."

"..."

Four days. That was far longer than I'd expected.

"Your magic reserves were practically empty," she explained calmly. "Regeneration also consumed an enormous amount of energy."

Great Sage immediately confirmed her words.

(Answer. Correct.)

(All biological functions were reduced to the minimum to prioritize recovery of the magic core.)

It made sense. After unleashing Hydra Breath, still standing was, in itself, a miracle. I stretched slowly, though the simple movement made my muscles protest with unpleasant stiffness.

"And you two?"

Pursena was the first to answer. She crossed her arms with a serious expression, though her face was still full of relief.

"You scared us so much."

Roxy nodded silently and, for a moment, lowered her gaze.

She paused briefly, as if it were hard for her to continue, and when she did, her voice sounded even lower.

"I thought... I thought maybe..."

I watched her in silence for a few seconds. It was strange to see her like that. She had always been calm, confident, someone who seemed to keep her composure even in the most tense situations. Now, however, she seemed relieved in a much more human and fragile way. Not because she'd won a battle against a dragon, but simply because I'd opened my eyes.

I smiled with a bit of embarrassment.

"I'm sorry."

She immediately shook her head, almost firmly.

"You don't have to apologize. But... next time try to let us help you..."

I couldn't help laughing, and Pursena ended up laughing too. The tension that had built up in the carriage dissipated almost instantly, as if that little joke had brought air back to a place that had been holding its breath for too long.

I pulled aside one of the carriage curtains to look outside.

"Where are we?"

Roxy followed my gaze and answered while looking at the landscape stretching beyond the road.

"We've already left the mountain range behind. Now we're crossing the Fittoa Region."

Fittoa. I remembered hearing that name once in conversations between merchants, though not much more than that. I leaned a little closer to the window and studied the landscape carefully.

"..."

It was... strange.

Not ugly. Just strange.

The enormous mountains were far behind us, and ahead of us stretched vast fertile plains that seemed to go on forever. Young wheat fields swayed in the wind, and vast stretches of farmland covered both sides of the road. However, despite the abundance of land and the greenery spread everywhere, everything gave off a feeling that was hard to explain, as if this region had only recently started over.

The trees were too small. Entire forests seemed newly born, with perfectly ordered rows that still didn't cast enough shade. There were huge clearings covered only in new grass, and here and there old blackened trunks stuck out, broken near the roots, too large to belong to the current trees. They looked like the skeletons of a vanished forest, silent remains of something that must once have been immense.

Farther ahead, a village appeared, or perhaps something that was still trying to become one. The houses had new roofs, and the wood still kept that pale color typical of recent construction. Several homes looked as if they'd been finished only a few months earlier, while others were still surrounded by scaffolding. Teenagers carried planks alongside their parents, and blacksmiths worked out of makeshift workshops. Everything gave off a strong sense of reconstruction, of a continuous effort to raise up something that had been torn down before.

We kept moving, and the scene repeated itself again and again. Another village. Another newly built mill. Another bridge whose stone still hadn't lost its color. Immense fields stretched out everywhere, but there were few houses, too much arable land, and far too few people to occupy it. It was as if the region had been designed to house a much larger population than actually lived there.

Even the roads stood out. They were wide, far wider than necessary for the current traffic. Some ended abruptly in empty lots where only wildflowers grew; others passed by abandoned foundations covered in grass, as if something had once existed there and then, suddenly, simply wasn't anymore.

I watched all of it in silence. It wasn't a sad landscape. People smiled, children played, and farmers worked with enthusiasm. There was hope in every visible corner, but that hope stood on scars too large to ignore, even if I didn't know where they came from.

Roxy smiled as she looked out over the fields.

"They look better every year."

I nodded slowly.

"It seems like a region with a lot of promise."

She remained looking out the window for a few seconds before answering.

"...Yeah. I think so."

She didn't add anything else, and I didn't ask. Sometimes you didn't need to know the whole story to understand that a place had suffered; it was enough to watch how people kept building, brick by brick, as if refusing to give up.

As the carriage continued onward through those endless golden fields, the wind made the wheat ripple as if it were a vast ocean. It was a beautiful landscape, the kind that invites you to keep staring for a long time, but for some reason I had the strange feeling that these lands still remembered something I would never come to know.