A Little Girl and her Mother

Currently, I am laying on the hillside outside the town watching the clouds. The last few days have been the busiest of my life, with meeting hundreds of different individuals and naming tens of thousands. I have even been hounded by some of my more, passionate, followers ever since I told Chifuyu that I would grant her wish after everything with the Orcs was finished.

'120,000 Drow, 65,000 Gnomes, 50,000 Goblins, 1,200 Ogres... I haven't even gotten started with the Lizardmen, Tengu, Gozu, or Mezu yet. Plus there is that settlement of Drayds and Treants. Oh, and I can't forget about Western Jura. The majority of the elven population in the world lives in that "Sea of Trees" after all.' I think to myself. 'How did such a lazy person such as myself become so productive?'

[Answer! As a result of not being depressed, as you were in your previous life, along with the combination of Ultimate Skills [Avalon], [Hestia], and [Athena] have all subconsciously made master more productive and efficient.]

'Oh.' I think while I close my eyes and begin to doze off.

The cool breeze along with the warm afternoon sun creates such a calming atmosphere that I won't have the opportunity to receive again once Tempest makes itself known. 'Milim probably won't let me rest once she hears about me defeating the Orc Lord.' I think just before consciousness fades.

*BOOOOMMMMMM!!!*

'Rob damn it all!' I shout in my mind as I look up.

"Rimuru-sama. It appears that a group of humans has appeared in the forest and they are fleeing a group of Giant Ants. Demiurge-sama and Albedo-sama have both said they are the same ones from previously and that they have a rather powerful individual with them as well." Souei says as he appears from the shadows of the tree nearby.

"Alright then. I'll go say hi. Ranga! Fenrir! Time to stop using my shadow as your love nest and get to work." I say as I jump into the air and the two Wolven Monsters jump out.

Ranga has evolved in a similar way to canon, though at a much faster rate. He is now a Tempest Star Wolf, while Fenrir is an Arctic Frost Wolf. They seem to have claimed each other as mates and hang out together from inside my shadow every other day. On the days they don't stay in my shadow, Tenebris, the Church Grim, and Fleur, the Bloom Fang, do. They are also a couple.

'Love is in the air hu? Or more like its breeding season.' I think while I land on Ranga's back.

"Master! Shall we go!?!" Ranga says with enthusiasm, waving his tail back and forth wildly, causing localized gale-force winds.

"Ra-dear. Master has told you to watch out for your wagging tail. You don't want to accidentally destroy any mere buildings." Fenrir states, as her tail wags even faster than Ranga's.

"Either way, if Eren, Kaval, and Gido are back with someone stronger, that means its likely their country's guild is investigating the area. This time, instead of mind-wiping them and sending them away, we shall invite them in. Souei! Akatsuki! Have everything prepared!" I say to them.

Souei looks a little bit shaken when Akatsuki appears next to him, not even using skills or arts, just naturally ability at hiding her presence and muffling her breathing, but it is to such an extent that Souei didn't detect her even with [Magic Sense].

Akatsuki has been training all of the Kijin who have talent in stealth and espionage in the art of the spy/assassin, but Souei is by-far her star pupil. In a few months, he will even be her equal in the art of stealth and he already matches her in terms of combat capabilities.

"It will be done, my High Lord." She says as she disappears. She calls me her 'high lord' because Shiroe is her 'lord' but I am above him. She is also one of the only female NPCs whom I haven't touched since she clearly loves Shiroe and he loves her too. Or at least, that's how their bios were set up.

"Ranga, Fenrir. Prepare for battle. Let's show these humans how a real monster fights!" I say, smirking evilly. I've gotta impress Shizu after all. "{Gate}"

...

The scene before me plays out similar to the anime. Kaval's party is running away from a few dozen Giant Ants when Shizu turns around and begins to use fire-magic to destroy them all in seconds. Just as she thinks its over, one of the Ants that pretended to be dead sneak attacks her.

Shizu drops into her stance and just as she is about to strike, she flinches and cries out in angush.

"Guahhh!" She says as she falls to her knees. The Giant Ant looming over her.

"{Grasp Heart}!" I yell and crush the insect's heart with one of my best friend's favorite spells.

The creature screams silently as it falls to its side. Dead.

"What was that!?!" Eren says as she turns towards the sound of my voice.

"Don't worry, it was simply an instant-death spell one of my subordinates knows" I say as I walk towards Shizue and reach down to help her up. 'I technically didn't lie, since Elias also knows this spell.'

"Thank-" She begins before pushing me behind her and readying herself again while pointing her blade at Ranga and Fenrir.

"Quite the rude one, isn't she, Ra-dear?" Fenrir says, slightly amused.

"You can talk?" Shizue says as she gathers magicules to prepare to fight again.

"Alright, that's enough miss," I say putting my hand on her shoulder. "They're with me. The white one is Fenrir and the Bluish one with the two horns is Ranga".

"Indeed! We are with master!" Ranga says as his tail begins to wag faster and more strong winds pick up.

"Ranga, if you don't stop that, I'm going to have to stop bringing you with me." I say with half-closed eyes.

"Ah! I'm sorry master..." Ranga says softly with his head down.

"CUTE!!!" Eren yells as she disregards her safety and runs up to Ranga to give him a head pat. "Ah, but the horns get in the way!" She exclaimed.

"You don't know the half of it..." I say as Shizu tilts her head to the side in confusion at my 'dead' facial expression.

...

After riding Ranga and Fenrir back to Altair (the new name of Tempest City), we all sit down in the city hall for a meal. Kaval, Gido, and Eren all immediately start to gouge themselves on the various meats and fruits, while Shizue simply eats the fish and vegetables we prepared for them.

'I guess she is still Japanese after all...' I think while looking at her.

Albedo, who was standing beside me took note of this and decided to strike-up a conversation with the woman.

"You there, in the mask. You said your name was Shizu correct? It is a pleasure to meet you. I am Albedo, one of the Overseers of Altair and the Waterfall Palace."

"Nice to meet you, Albedo-san. I am Shizu."

"If I may, why are you all visiting this part of the forest again?"

"EEEEHHHHHH!?! You saw us the last time!?!" Eren yells from across the table.

"Well we were building a city here and your group just completely walked past it, as though you didn't notice," I say, faking a worried tone.

"*Pfft*" Shizu catches herself before she can break out laughing.

"Oy! It wasn't that bad was it!?!" Kaval asks with a desperate tone.

"Well my Palace is directly above the cave entrance you know..."

"Ehehehe..." Eren awkwardly laughs while scratching her cheeks.

"Well to answer your question. We were here to see what happened to the Storm Dragon Veldora the first time. Now we are here to check on the forest and the progress of the monsters inside it" Kaval says. "Shizu-san here is a temporary member of the party since she was going the same way as us."

"I see. Well, I can give you all the information I have right now and make your job easier for you then" I say as I bring out a map of the forest from my Inventory. "In exchange, perhaps you can tell us more about the outside world?"

"Ah! That would be helpful!" Gido says as he pulls out his own map.

"How about we wrap it up here for today. Tomorrow we will go over the specifics." I say as I notice Shizu flinch and begin to shiver. "Albedo, when they are finished eating, please see them to their rooms," I say as I finish my food and leave the room while Albedo bows in acknowledgment.

(3rd POV)

After Rimuru left, the adventurers and Albedo continued to make small talk. they talked about everything from the latest fashion trends in Blumund to the debate between spirit magic vs tier magic in which was better.

After an hour of talking, Albedo got up and was preparing to lead them all to their rooms when Kanade burst into the room. "RIMURU-SAMA! Its time for your slime bath! Hu? Rimuru-sama sn't here?"

"Unfortunately not, Kanade-san. Rimuru-sama left a while ago" Albedo said with an awkward smile. Ever since Rimuru had started using Slime baths, neither Albedo nor any of the other girls had gotten the chance to wash Rimuru's back.

'Even though Shalltear got to! Even though that flat-chest got to!' Albedo screamed in her mind.

"Ah, well. I guess I can bathe you lot then!" Kanade said as her red eyes began to glow.

Her gaze shifted quickly away from Gido and Kaval but lingered on Eren, Albedo, and Shizue. After a moment, she looked away from Eren too and began creeping closer to Albedo and Shizue. Both of whom seemed a little freaked out.

'Somehow, I feel like I was just insulted' Eren thought to herself.

"Hehehe..." Kanade laughed to herself, as her blue slimy skin became flushed and red in the face and her smile began to drool as her eyes focused on the twin peaks of the two girls in front of her. "Hehehehehehehe...."

"K-Kanade-san? Y-you're scaring me..." Albedo said, having backed up with Shizue near the corner of the room.

"Hehehe... no worries Albedo-sama! I'm not a bad slime you know!"

'EEEEEHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!' Shizue thought to herself as the slimy pervert neared them.

Slowly, she began to realize, she had encountered a VERY bad slime.

...

(Rimuru POV)

'Well [Athena]? Did you get everything?'

[Answer! Even though the presence of the Anti-Magic Mask slowed analysis, I was successful, master. It seems three souls are bound to the singular body of Shizu.]

'Wait what? Three souls!?!'

[Affirmative. The Soul of Shizue Izawa, Ifrit the Fire Giant, and the soul of an older woman.]

'I don't understand. That was never something that happened in canon. Why is there an older Woman's soul in Shizue's body?'

[Answer! There is a chance that the soul of Shizue Izawa's mother was accidentally pulled into the summoning process with her daughter. Her mother died only moments before she was summoned and the magicules used for the summon most likely bound the soul of Shizue's mother to her daughter in that instance. The likelihood of this occurring is 987,440,871 to 1, though this is the only possible conclusion.]

'Then why did Shizue's mother never manifest herself in Shizue's consciousness?'

[Answer! It did. The Unique Skill [Degenerate] is likely possessed by Shizue's mother, as Shizue was summoned too young to manifest a Unique Skill of her own. Because the acquisition of skills requires the user to give up some amount of magicules to acquire and Leon Cromwell had to bind Ifrit to her to save Shizue's life, not only from the burns but her rampaging magical energies similar to other child summons, there is no other possibility other than that Shizue's Mother's soul was used to create the Unique Skill [Degenerate].]

'I see. That does make sense. Other children who are summoned don't gain Unique Skills. Hinata was a transmigrator, not a summon, and Yuuki Kagurazaka has [Manas: Velda] inside him, which is why they are exceptions.' I think to myself.

'Is there any way to free Shizue's mother's soul?'

[Answer! By creating a spiritual and physical body for the woman and transferring the Unique Skill [Degenerate] to it, it is possible that Shizue's mother's soul would be able to latch onto the body and thus, allow for a revival. On the other hand, it is possible that Ifrit will use this chance to escape Shizue's body and bind with the new body]

'What are the odds of success?'

[12%]

'What if I remove Ifrit?'

[77%]

'I see...'

...

After thinking about it all night, I finally have come to the conclusion that I should try it. I'll remove Ifrit from Shizue and have her evolve to a Human Sage to regain her youth while reuniting her with her mother. I also want to get Ifrit out of her so she doesn't burn down our town tomorrow like in canon.

I walk over to Shizue's room and knock on the door.

I stand there for a few minutes before finally using [Universal Detect] to see that she has snuck out and is on the hillside outside of Altair. 'Same place I was napping hu?' I think as I use [Shadow Movement] to arrive there instantly. It's twilight after all.

"This place is nice," I say from beside her, causing her to jump slightly. "You can see the entire town from up here. In the afternoon, there is a particular breeze that blows through and makes this hill perfect for napping."

"I-I see." She said as she looked back over the town.

The wind blew as the two stared off towards the distance.

"Rimuru-san. Your a reincarnated person. Aren't you?"

"Yeah. I died in my previous world and was reincarnated into this one. Are you a reincarnated person? Or are you a summon?"

"I am a summon..."

"I see..."

"..."

"You're not going to say 'I'm sorry' or ask me about it?"

"It wouldn't change anything if I did, but it may make you feel uncomfortable. So I won't say anything."

"..."

"..."

"... Thank you..."

"Don't thank me yet. I still have two more things I need to do for you." I say with a soft smile.

"Oh? And what would those be?" She said, slightly teasing but also curious.

"Reviving your mother and removing Ifrit from you without killing you"

Shizue Jumped immediately and drew her weapon.

"Who are you!?!"

"I am simply someone with an analysis skill who can see the three souls attached to the one body. I know one is yours, one is Ifrits, and another belongs to an older woman."

"Mother...?" Shizue thought while her stance relaxed before she shook her head and hardened her eyes, glaring daggers at me.

"Even if you can remove Ifrit from me, I won't allow it! I need his power for a little longer!"

"What if I could grant you power beyond what you currently have now? I can only do this once he is removed."

"What makes you believe that I will go along with this?"

"You've seen the proof for yourself. Every single monster, human, and demon in Altair has a name. You should know what kind of being someone who can name thousands of monsters is..."

"A Demon Lord..." Shizue says, still not taking her eyes off me.

"Not officially. One of my many skills is the Unique Skill [Evolver]. With it, I can name as many monsters as I wish without permanent losses to my Magicules."

"Then what does that have to do with me?"

"Didn't you hear me earlier? I said ONE of my Unique Skills. Among them is a skill which can solve all of your problems, but I need your consent."

Shizue's stance once again begins to waver. Just as she hardens her resolve once more, she shutters and collapses as Ifrit seems to be trying to break free once again.

I immediately stand up and cast a bounded field around us before reaching Shizue. "Shizu. You're not going to be able to hold on like this! Did you really think you could face down a Demon Lord while in this state? Let me help you! Let me save you!"

Shizue's mask falls off her face. One of her eyes is that of the fire spirit while her other is the same deep blue eyes almost verging on black. Tears swell within both. "Help me..." she says as she begins to lose consciousness.

"[Carnivor]" I say as silvery-blue liquid consumes her body.

[Beginning Operation!]

[Analyzing Unique Skill [Degenerate]]

[Successful]

[Aquiring a copy of [Degenerate]]

[Successful]

[Utilizing Unique Skill [Degenerate] to [Separate] Individuals Ifrit, Shizune Izawa, and Asagi Izawa]

[Successful]

[Issolating original version of Unique Skill [Degenerate]]

[Successful]

[Issolating individual Ifrit]

[Successful]

[Utilizing Unique Skill [Evolver] to evolve individual Shizune Izawa into Human Sage]

[Error]

[Hero's Egg Present]

[Analyzing individual Shizue Izawa's current Magicule limit to awaken hero's Egg with [Scáthach]]

[Magicule Limits insufficient to awaken Hero's Egg]

[Supplimenting Magicule debt with Magicules from Magicule Battery]

[Successful]

[Utilizing Unique Skill [Rule Breaker] and Ultimate Skill [Scáthach] to super-evolve individual Shizune Izawa]

[Successful]

[Individual Shizue Izawa has super-evolved into Human Hero]

[Notice! Due to individual Shizue Izawa's Evolution wish, individual Shizue Izawa has acquired Ultimate Skills [Vulcan: King of Fire] and [Eros: King of Love]]

[Successful]

[Utilizing [Hephestus] to create a physical and spiritual body for unique Skill [Degenerate]]

[Successful]

[Individual Asagi Izawa has been revived as a human sage! Congratulations!]

[Notice! Excess magicules present inside of individual Asagi Izawa detected!]

[Utilizing [Hephestus] to create new skills]

[Successful]

[Individual Asagi Izawa has received Unique Skills [Mother's Rosario] and [Degenerate]]

[Successful]

[Operation complete! Ejecting individuals Asagi Aizawa and Shizue Izawa]

Shizue and her mother are immediately ejected from my body. After a few short seconds, both of them begin to stir. Shizue opens her eyes first and begins checking over her body.

"Amazing! I feel so much stronger and I can't feel Ifrit at all!" She says as she turns her head sideways and sees her mother stirring.

"Hmm? Shizu?" She says as she wakes up.

"Mother!" Shizue yells as she embraces her mother and begins to cry.

"Mother. Mother! Mother! I missed you so much!" Shizue continues while Asagi gently hugs and caresses Shizue.

"My dear Shizu. I never left you. Look at you now. You became so big and strong! I'm proud of you dear."

At that, Shizue begins wailing in happiness for several hours while hugging her mother closely until they fall asleep in each other's arms. Afterward, I gently pick up the duo with a bit of {Levitation} magic, carry them to Shizue's bedroom, and tuck them in, still hugging each other gently.