The Conqueror of Flames.

It was absolutely a good idea to name all the goblins and upgrade

them into hobgoblins, though.

It did wonders for their intelligence levels, and they were all astonishingly quick studies. Their strength was upgraded, too.

The dwarves described regular goblins as straighton F-ranked monsters, while hobgobs hovered between C and D for the most part.

They felt more like people than they did before, to be sure.

Depending on their weapons and armor, not to mention their

classes and magical arts, there was a lot of room for growth.

On that note, I saw substantial variation in the hobgobs' sizes and strengths. The four goblin lords I'd just named, for one, all seemed more talented in life than the rank and file did.

Rigurd the Goblin King, meanwhile…

Rigurd: 「Oh, is that where you were, Sir Rimuru? I was searching for you!」

Who was this guy? He was practically a muscle-bound freak of nature at this point, huge in frame and almost the size of an ogre.

"Hell, larger, even!"—as Kaijin put it. That must've been the result of giving him a class in addition to a name I supposed.

I swear, the biology of these monsters was a total mystery to me.

I'd have to try assigning a few more titles to see what happened.

Rimuru: 「What is it?」

Rigurd: 「I've come to report to you, sir. We've captured a few suspicious individuals.」

Rimuru: 「Suspicious? A bunch of monsters, or?」

Rigurd: 「No, sir, humans. We did not engage them, as you ordered.」

Rimuru: 「Humans? Why here?」

Whoa! Sweet! Better get on their good sides, fast!

If it was those three idiots from the dwarven gate, I'd be happy to chop them up and feed them to our work crews, but…

Rigurd: 「They were engaged in battle with a group of giant ants, it seems.

Rigur and his security detail rescued them and took them here, but… apparently, he suspects they are conducting an investigation of the local area.

I thought I would come to you for advice…」

Hmm. Some country's checking out this place?

I already knew from the dwarves that the Forest of Jura was considered neutral territory, unclaimed by any nation.

It also seems that Sariel prevented the humans from entering the forest.

Perhaps there was a condition? I'll ask him when the time comes.

It seemed plausible that this was

an expeditionary force, trying to find some new territory to take for its own.

This could be trouble, but there was no point fretting over it

without hearing them out.

I could think about what to do after that.

Rimuru: 「All right. Take me to them!」 I said as I hopped on Rigurd's shoulder.

On that note, I established a communication link with the old timer.

Rimuru: 「(Hey, Fubuki. You good?)」

Fubuki: 「(Hm? Yeah. Stuff happened?)」

Rimuru: 「(Well, there seems to been a group of humans entering the forest, so I thought it'd be better to have you know ahead of time.

As of now, I'm headed there.)」

Fubuki: 「(Hmm, don't bother).」

Rimuru: 「(Eh? Why so?)」

Fubuki: 「(I'm actually in the middle of taking care of their sweet souls, so don't worry.)」

Rimuru: 「(...…)」

I simply cut the communication link.

Alright. Let me get this straight.

Fubuki's gonna kill them. Okay. That's cool. Yeah, totally okay.

Damn it!! Why can't he just be normal! He wants to kill them!

I gotta hurry!!

With that in mind, I quickly hopped off Rigurd's shoulder and dashed for the location.

Sure enough, the three idiots I met in the cave were the ones.

This time around, they had a new member. A masked woman.

Ranga being out on patrol made transport around our new town a

bit of a pain.

I could walk easily enough, but when I was by myself, my lack of height was an issue. I always resented the feeling of being

looked down upon whenever I met anyone.

Having people kneel to greet me just got in the way of actual work. I had a reputation to

uphold, besides, and I didn't want to be under people all the time.

Perhaps I worried about it too much, but I always thought it was

better to avoid trouble before it started.

That was why I tended to travel around on a lot of shoulders these days.

But, seriously, these guys were fools in every sense of the word.

They were being chased by ants. Not your everyday squashable ant, but those ones that would probably serve as dispatchable reinforcements for World Wars.

Red, bloodthirsty forces of nature that were born shred flesh and smear blood like crazy.

They were in the process of chasing their prey, but the new recruit decided to turn up the heat (literally).

With a perfect, smooth dance, she dispatched several of them with precise strikes to their weak points.

Her blade was coated in flames, so the attack dealt more damage.

That was really cool. Maybe, just once, when I get a humanoid form, I'll try it out.

I'll make mine black. The usual orange flame gets old quickly.

For a moment, she faltered. It was as if she was being attacked internally.

And at that point, one of the ants suffering from her flames decided to drag her skirt down.

It reached out to her, and for a moment, I thought she would retaliate, but she still seemed to be suffering from whatever.

Then, I struck.

Rimuru: 「『Black Lightning』!!」

Behold the lightning that carbonizes all of matter in a span of a second; the strike connected.

Then–

*BOOM*—!!

And it was over.

Fubuki: 「Nice one, Rimuru! Now, I'll take them out without interference.」

Rimuru: 「STOP-STOOOOOOP—!!」

Fubuki: 「Hm? Anything wrong?」

Rimuru: 「Anything wrong? Oh—no, nothing at all—of course, there's something wrong!! They're humans!」

Fubuki: 「Yeah? And their invading private property.」

Rimuru: 「..... Did you ask them?」

Fubuki: 「... There was this big-ass dragon I spotted. I'mma go kill it for dinner.」

Rimuru: 「You didn't…」

And off—he went. Do dragons roam around this forest?

*Sigh*

I don't even understand what's happening anymore.

"Who… Who are you?"

Rimuru: 「Oh, just a slime that saved you from eternal doom. You can thank me back in my village. Let's bounce.」

"Elen. It talks. I swear, I'm not insane."

"Yeah, yeah, I saw it, too. No, rather, I heard it. Le'mme check something out."

"Hey! Don't pinch the cheeks!!"

"Yeah, we usually give out slaps to the dreamers."

And just like that, they went on to ignore their savior.

I think Fubuki would make do with their souls.

I simply went on to greet the miss whose mask had fallen.

Yes, she had a weird-looking mask like any other suspicious character would.

Don't ask me how. It's plot. Solid.

Rimuru: 「Hey, miss, you dropped something. Here you go.」

I returned the mask with my slime tentacles or arms, your call, really.

"Yeah, thanks, slime-san."

Okay, that has to change. The name's Rimuru—thank you very much!

Now, onto the main deal.

I led them back to the village where everyone was, and I simply dumped them onto Rigurd.

It sure is nice to have losers do all the tough stuff.

I now get what he (Sariel) meant. Well, I had to make a few plans with Kaijin, who needed my help on deciding something, so I was left with no choice.

My actions were justified!! Stop giving me the suspicious stares!!

 ◇◇◇

After finishing with Kaijin, I followed Rigurd, who led me to the tent where the humans were.

So aboard Rigurd's shoulders, I made my way to see these

adventurers. Who are they?

I wondered before a conversation entered my (figurative) ears.

"Wh-whoa! Hey! I wanted that!"

"That's just mean, isn't it? I raised this meat myself!"

"Sir, I regret to inform you that I am not giving up this food!"

"*Munch*, *Munch*."

Certainly seemed like some excitement.

They sure made quite the first impression.

Rimuru: 「Cover me impressed. Quite the fine bunch.」

Rigurd replied to my silent question.

Rigurd: 「M-my apologies, Sir

Rimuru.

It would seem the ants made off with most of their luggage… and even before then, they had not had a decent meal in some time, so I had some brought to them.」

Hmm. That was kind of the goblin king, to be sure.

Rimuru: 「Oh, that's no problem.」 I replied. 「In fact, good job noticing. Helping out someone in need is a nice thing, you know?」

I felt it was appropriate enough to praise him.

He was gradually becoming more and more of a leader, no longer asking me about every little thing that cropped up.

A good thing, I thought.

Rigurd: 「Ha-ha! I will do my best to improve my rule and be less of a burden upon you, Sir Rimuru!」

But I wish he wouldn't be so formal with me all the time, I thought as we approached a simple tent.

The hobgob guarding it opened the

flap for us.

The moment we stepped in, I felt all eyes upon me.

Four adventurers sat on the ground, their mouths full of assorted meats and vegetables.

Their eyes were wide open as they gawked at me. It was a hilarious sight to see, although they probably didn't realize it.

I wondered how any kind of food got through the mask this figure had on.

"*Munch*, *Munch*…"

They sat there for a moment, chewing. They sure were taking their time.

Fresh roasted meat…mmm. If only I had a sense of taste. Argh… Does anyone have some spare taste buds…?

Whoops, I got a little distracted there. I turned my focus to the

matter at hand.

Rigurd walked up to a tall seat on one side and placed me upon it.

Rigurd: 「My guests," he bellowed as he sat next to me, "I do hope you are comfortable here. Allow me to introduce you to our master, Sir Rimuru!」

I could hear them swallowing down their food. Then, in unison:

"""Huh? The slime?!"""

"*Munch*, *Munch*."

All of them reacted with shock. Well, except the mask woman who seemed to eat as if her life depended on it.

Rimuru: 「It is good to meet you. I am Rimuru, a slime. Not a bad slime, you know!」

I heard a sputtering sound from under the mask. With all the food

that guy was chewing, I'm sure the results probably weren't pretty.

Rude, uncultured jerk!

Must've been a surprise to hear a slime speak.

So. Who were these visitors? Good guys, hopefully.

"Well, pardon us, I guess. I just didn't expect we'd be saved by a

monster tribe."

"Oh! We're human adventurers, by the way, and this meat is really

good! We've been running for the past three days, I think, so it's been hard to eat much of anything… Thank you so much!"

"Yeah, thanks. I sure didn't expect some hobgoblins to be building a village around here."

"Urrp… Kof ! Glug glug."

Rimuru: 「Well.」 I said, 「Please, feel free to enjoy your meal, all of you. We can talk afterward.」

I sort of wished the hobgobs had called me over after the humans

were done stuffing themselves, but they were still lacking in politeness here and there.

I'm sure they were surprised, but something told me I'd need to hold a workshop on manners shortly anyway.

So I left the tent, not too interested in watching them eat on the floor, wondering about my good luck at obtaining these human guests (or prisoners, depends).

On the way out, I told their guard to take them to my personal gate near the cave once mealtime was over.

Rimuru: 「Don't worry about it」 I reassured the crestfallen Rigurd as we walked.「We can work on manners later.」

They were, after all, growing by leaps and bounds. I wasn't expecting every diplomatic effort to go perfectly with these hobgobs.

Settling down back in my tent, I began patiently waiting. Rigurd

had one of his female assistants prepare some tea for us.

It looked more palatable than the last beverage I'd tried from them, but I could only guess at the taste.

Neat how evolution even affected areas like that.

Slowly, we were settling down into a truly cultured society.

Something about that tea convinced me.

 ◇◇◇ 

I went to check up on them after my leave, and they turned out to be really nice fellas when you ignored their level of idiocy.

From our interaction, I learned of their names.

Elen, Kabal, Gido, and Shizu.

From there, I instantly deduced that the Shizu person was, in fact, an otherworlder.

It was hard to tell her gender or age strictly from her voice.

But after honing my talents trying to differentiate goblinkind, I could tell right off—she was a woman.

And, if my hunch was correct, maybe even Japanese? That was the impression I had.

The way she carried her teacup and the way she knelt just so, tops of her feet flat against the floor.

That position, I thought, had to be rare in this realm, and her three companions certainly didn't bother.

The men just sat cross-legged on the wolf-pelt rug over the ground, and Elen chose to keep her legs to one side instead.

Ah, well. It wouldn't be strange to have a culture somewhere on

this planet that resembled Japan's. I'd pursue that train of thought later.

Although it occurred to me—was it me—or were these adventurers

being way too cavalier with their own safety right now?

So far, they seemed to be enjoying their stay immensely—eating, drinking, and laughing with each other.

This was a monster's den they'd wandered into. They knew that, right? Maybe they just had several loose screws, I dunno.

…Oops. Got sidetracked. It's time to continue the conversation.

They were exceedingly forthright with their story, apparently not

wary of my motives in the least.

Their guild master had sent them to examine the area around the cave and check to see whether anything suspicious had taken place…but this mission was proving to stymie them.

Kabal: 「Yeah, that's the thing!」 Kabal continued. 「We're here looking for 'suspicious' things, but what the heck is 'suspicious' supposed to

mean? We're clueless here!」

Elen: 「Totally!」 Elen chimed in. 「I wish he could've said, like, 'Look for this or that or the other thing' instead of leaving it so vague!」

Gido: 「We might be good scouts and all that, but we can't do everything, y'know?」 Gido added.

And so they bad-mouthed their guild master without a care in the world. I almost felt sorry for the guy.

Along the way, this group had run smack into a large, suspicious-looking boulder with a hole in it.

This is it! they must've thought,

because they drew their swords and stabbed it a little bit…only to wake up an entire nest of giant ants.

For the love of–… brother.

I didn't know what to say.

It was a miracle they were alive—they'd spent the next three days

constantly on the run, losing all their possessions on the way before making it here.

I had to hand it to them for managing that, really.

Rimuru: 「Well,」 I reflected, 「I wouldn't say there's much 'suspicious' going on around here, no. The cave, mainly, I guess?」

Elen shook her head.

Elen: 「But we didn't find anything in there, no. Did

you know the story behind that cave?

There's supposed to be this big, evil dragon sealed inside, but we spent two weeks running up and down that cave, and nothing!

Two weeks without a bath, and we got practically nothing for it…」

Rimuru: 「Whew. You must be stinky as hell. Hey, hey, I think I need some personal space of the sort. Nothing personal, okay?」

Kabal: 「Whoa, c'mon!」 an unnerved Kabal barked back. 「We can't go around revealing that much to them!」

Gido: 「What do you care?」 Gido countered. 「She's the one who did it! It don't matter to me!」

The men completely panicked at Elen's unwitting revelation. I already knew, of course, thanks to my last encounter with them.

And these people liked a dip now and then, huh? Maybe I'd have to

get a bathhouse built around here. Strictly mine!

Moving on.

Rimuru: 「So what were you looking for in that cave, exactly?」

It couldn't have been treasure, after all.

Kabal somberly shook his head in response.

Kabal: 「Well, if she's said that much, no point hiding it. Like she said, rumor's been going around that the dragon in there's stopped responding…」

Hmm. Not that I could've known, but Veldora's disappearance

must've put the humans in a hotpot.

That vanishing act, despite his

being safely sealed away was huge news—I guess this was some crazy

powerful dragon, after all, although to me he'd just seemed like a nice guy who liked to chat sometimes.

Must've been a big deal, though, if people were sending out search

parties. Was building this town near the cave mouth a mistake?

Kabal: 「We brought along a Reaction Stone, too, because they said the cave was practically bursting at the seams with magicules…but it wasn't anything near what we thought it'd be.

I mean, the concentration's a little heavier than your typical cave, but nothing outside what's normal now. And that is pretty unusual, so at least we've got that to go back home with, but…」

Elen: 「It's still packed with strong monsters, though, so I don't really wanna go back in again if I have the choice.

No treasure to speak of, either, and no magic ore. All that monster hacking you gotta do, and there's no payoff for it at all!」

Gido: 「Yeah.」 Gido added, 「you might find some bandit gear if you look a bit, but nothin' worth goin' out of your way for.」

Oops. No ore, huh? Well, what if I told you that there used to be

loads of it…and I swallowed it all up? Crazy stuff, right?

And what if I told you the magic had declined in there because I swallowed up Veldora, the guy generating all of it? That's all basically my fault, isn't it?

Oh—well. What they didn't know couldn't hurt them.

We continued talking for a while. They had said too much anyway,

as Kabal put it, so they might as well go all the way.

These guys were a lot more good-natured than I gave them credit for at first.

And if the cave was no longer a location of interest, maybe we

wouldn't be the center of attention after all.

I was considering having the town moved as a worst-case scenario, but now I doubted it'd be necessary.

No country had any legal right to this land if what Fubuki told me was correct, so it wasn't as if

anyone could force us out.

The land also belonged to someone already, so any act against it would also be known as a declaration of war and stuff.

Just in case, I decided to ask whether the guild would have any

problems with us building a town here.

Kabal: 「It…oughta be fine, right?」 Kabal said.

Elen: 「Yeah.」 Elen agreed. 「It's not the guild's problem in the first place. What about the local governments, though?」

Gido: 「Ooh, that ain't for me to say.」 That was Gido's opinion.「Besides, the forest belonged to Sariel-sama, so no one would dare try to take it over.

Those who tried to do so in the past were mercilessly slaughtered in the cruelest way imaginable.」

Elen: 「Ah, yeah… Honestly, that still scares me till today.」

Now, that caught my interest.

Rimuru: 「Kugh? What's that about?」

Kabal: 「Oh, you didn't know? There was this nation of dummies that set out to conquer the forest some time ago due to Sariel-sama's mysterious disappearance.」

Elen: 「Yeah, yeah.」 Elen chimed in. 「They marched to the forest, sending most of their elite warriors to conquer the lands, but something horrible happened, and over a hundred thousand soldiers ended up dying in an instant, with only a few thousands returning with permanent unseen scars.

According to them, it was a short introduction of hell itself. They went through pain beyond anyone's imagination. The only reason they survived was because they were spared, but that was it.」

Gido: 「In the end, the nation's defense was heavily weakened, and they were taken over by another kingdom. That's how the Falmouth Kingdom came into existence.」

W-Wow. That's rough. From this, it's easy to deduce that Sariel wiped out those soldiers.

Kabal: 「Well, they did invade his territory, so no one really blamed him. But the mental scar of his wrath still remained.

They served as a deterrent to others. That's why no one has really gone out of their way to openly claim the forest.

But with his absence for centuries, folks begun to believe that he had been sealed or that he simply lost interest in humanity.」

Elen: 「Yeah, no matter how kind one is, when they retaliate, the result is always nasty. No one can really continue to endure it all.」

Talk about scary. He's a monster.

Well, that's not really my matter to talk about.

Besides, if there were a bunch of stupid humans trying to take over my land, I'd also do the same.

But, well, I'd rather resort to a more friendly retaliation.

I guess old timers always have grudges to keep.

Rimuru: 「I see… Well, that's something I'll worry about for another day. I guess I understand how the guild wants to do things now.」

Of course, the guild wouldn't know what their host nations were

thinking.

Plus, if any of them took action, they'd have to prove their claim to the other nearby nations. It wouldn't be worth it.

Then, as I thought over this, I noticed that something was going on with Shizu, who'd been sitting there listening the whole time.

Suddenly, she slumped to the floor, unconscious. We all immediately came up to her, trying to hold her up, when…

Shizu: 「Nhh… Nraaaaahhhhhh!!」

Things progressed quickly after that.

 ◇◇◇ 

Once Shizu's extended groan ended, the tent was visited by absolute silence.

Cracks were now appearing over her mask, mystical force wafting

out from beneath.

All of us could tell that something bad was happening.

Elen: 「Summoning magic?!」 Elen shouted in surprise.

Kabal: 「Whoa, for real?! Where the hell'd that come from? What rank is it?」

Gido: 「…Umm, judging by the size of the magic circle, I'd have to guess B-plus or higher.」

Elen: 「Well, we can't just sit here, boss. We gotta stop it!」

So they were seasoned adventurers, after all, when they needed to be. A few words were exchanged, and they immediately leaped into action.

Elen: 「Great Earth, place thy bonds over her! Mud Hand!」

Kabal: 「Urrrrrraaahhh! Knockdown!!」

First, Elen tied her down. Then Kabal landed a full-body blow.

Gido played backup, ready to act the moment trouble appeared.

Hmm. For B ranks, their teamwork was top-notch. Not a single

wasted movement.

But all Shizu had to do was lift the top of her index finger up a bit, and that was enough to trigger a small explosion around her.

So much for my tent—which I didn't mind that much, but what about those three?

Were they hurt? There was a bit of a shock wave, but I was

unscathed.

Kabal, who had landed a knockdown on Shizu after Elen bound her, had sadly taken the full brunt of the explosion with his body.

It had sent him flying. Gido was fine, however, and he'd sensed danger early enough that he'd pushed Elen aside to safety as well.

Gido: 「You all right?」

Kabal: 「We're just fine, yeah!」

Elen: 「Um, I'm kinda aching all over!」 Elen protested.「They better give us some hazard pay for this!」

Kabal, for his part, was already on his feet.

Kabal: 「Owww… Guys, could you worry about your leader at least a little?」

He must've been made of some sturdy stuff.

Elen: 「I knew Shizu was a magic user, but summoning, too…?」

Kabal: 「What'd she summon, anyway?」

Gido: 「No, no, no.」 Gido cut in. 「that ain't even the half of it. As far as I know, you can't launch magic without a chant during a summoning—」

Before he could finish, he stopped, looking at Shizu as if he couldn't believe his eyes. He had just hit upon an idea.

Gido: 「Wait… No way… The Conqueror of Flames?」

Shizu was still casting a spell. Her entire body was glowing bright red, hovering in the air a little.

Her mask remained prominent on her face as her long black hair spilled out of her robe. What's she trying to do?

She seemed strange to me a moment before all this happened…

Rimuru: 「Rigurd, get everyone out of town! Don't let anyone near here!」 I shouted.

Rigurd: 「But…」

Rimuru: 「That's an order! Once they're evacuated, get Ranga here for me!」

Rigurd: 「Yes, Sir Rimuru!」

The goblin king sped off.

I could tell neither he nor his race could do much against this.

It'd be a waste of countless lives.

And I didn't want Ranga as a fighting companion.

I'd called for him simply because I'd considered the possibility that this was all an act on the adventurers' part to divert

our attention.

Their oddly loose lips made a lot more sense to me if they'd never intended to let us live from the start.

That, or they really could have been that stupid, but…

If this was an act, they might try to stab me in the back while I was struggling with Shizu. That was what Ranga would be for.

Fubuki was, in a word, useless. In these kinds of situations, he was always nowhere to be seen. He could never be relied on.

I put that at the back of my mind and pay attention to the scene before me.

Maybe I was overthinking things, but you can never be too careful.

Rimuru: 「Yo, Gido! What's that Conqueror of Flames thing?」

Elen: 「Wasn't that a hero or something?」 Elen chimed in first. 「I think she was active around fifty or so years ago?」

Famous, then? I thought to myself. Then Shizu's mask fell off her face.

Flames shot upward.

Up in the sky, three flame salamanders appeared. It was a hell of a way for Shizu to reveal her face to us.

Her black hair fanned outward

with the shock wave, shining brilliantly against the inferno.

She had a fleeting, transient beauty to her—but her eyes emitted a wicked shine, and the edges of her lips were twisted upward in what seemed to be

an expression of utter joy at the carnage she had seen.

Something about it struck me as completely unnatural, in a way I

couldn't describe very well.

Then…

VOTW: 「Launching unique skill 『Deviant』.」

The voice of the world echoed around us. As it did, the beautiful young girl transformed into a giant of pure fire.

Gudo: 「No mistakin' it.」 Gido shouted. 「That's the Conqueror of Flames, the master of Ifrit, the titan… The strongest elementalist in the world!」

Fubuki: 「Ha! The strongest elementalist in the world, you say? Don't make me cry!」

Rimuru: 「Fubuki?! I thought you were useless!」

Fubuki: 「You know, if it were any other person, I'd have long taken their soul.」

Somehow, with what I've heard about him, I began to believe it.

Well, all that aside, I'm glad he's here. With him by our side, we could easil–

Fubuki: 「Yeah, 'bout that, don't get your hopes up. I'm taking the audience seat for this one. See ya!」

Yup, it has been confirmed. He's definitely useless.

I returned my focus to the flame spirit

Ifrit, the fire titan. The lord of fire, capable of burning anything in his path.

A level above any royalty, mortal, or divine.

Kabal: 「Gahh! Ifrit? Isn't that spirit, like, above A-rank and stuff?!」 Kabal yelped.

Elen: 「Oof… That's my first time seeing it,」 Elen said. 「But…how could we ever beat that?!」

Gido: 「Yeah, we can't.」retorted Gido. 「We're all gonna die here…Some short life that was, I guess.」

With his three flame salamanders by his side, the Conqueror of

Flames surveyed his domain.

No wonder the three of them were in such a panic. Even a single salamander boasted B-plus strength. But…

What was the deal with Shizu? To me, it didn't seem as if she was

controlling all this—more like Ifrit was controlling Shizu.

There was a shock wave as Shizu—or Ifrit—unleashed a torrent of

magic force.

…That was weird. It wasn't aimed at anyone, not meant to kill—just a little show of violence, although there was nothing little about it.

It didn't seem like the work of a free mind; the attack looked more as if it was preprogrammed by someone.

Now, there was no doubting it.

This wasn't Shizu's will at work. Ifrit was supposed to be hers to

handle, but now he was out of control.

Whether that theory was right or not didn't matter right now.

The problem was the force behind those attacks. It was beyond lethal.

Pale red shock waves rolled across the landscape, hot enough to instantly burn all the buildings we had under construction.

Fubuki: 「God dammit! We just got started, too! Work harder, fools!」

Do something about it if you don't like it, asshole!!

I could only scream internally.

The three adventurers tried using a magic barrier to block the

attack, I guess, but it didn't even last a single shock wave.

They weren't dead, but they weren't doing too well, either—conscious, but probably immobile by now.

Rimuru: 「Guys, don't move!」 I yelled at them. 「You'll wind up getting targeted!」

They responded by bunching up together, launching both Magic

Barrier and Aura Shield. Guess this isn't an act.

They were seriously defending themselves. So much for the "let's kill all the monsters—!!"

theory.

Talk about force, though. The magic power Ifrit was releasing—

with no casting time at all—was blowing searing-hot wind a good

hundred feet in every direction around us.

If I didn't fight these guys—Ifrit and those three flame salamanders—we were all going down.

What a pain. But it was strange.

Even in this predicament, I wasn't trembling with fear or anything.

Was it because Fubuki was around?

Nah. It's not worth considering.

At times, I get the feeling that if I were stuck in a death situation, he'd just watch me scream to death with a smug smile.

Maybe it was because I was a monster now.

I mean, Veldora and that black snake kinda freaked me out at first, but both wound up being good snacks for my belly in the end.

Rimuru: 「Hey. What're you trying to—」

*BOOM!*

An explosion went off behind me. I was guessing that trying to talk this out with Ifrit wasn't going to work.

He just answered my question

with another white-hot strike in my direction.

This time, unlike that untargeted shock wave from before, he was

clearly trying to kill me, and his beams of pure heat were vaporizing anything they touched on the way.

The force behind them far

outclassed that first release of magic power—but, hey, if they didn't hit me, no biggies.

I had already dodged those beams, and with my quick senses, I could see things coming at the speed of sound.

In a way, I was glad we weren't finished with the town yet.

I probably should've been more concerned about the flame titan in front of me, but that was the thought that popped up anyway.

Our tents and temporary outhouses were gone, but that wasn't any

disaster.

Fubuki had already cut down the surrounding trees to expand the

clearing. If we'd been in the forest, there probably would have been a massive wildfire by now.

There's a silver lining for you.

I was a bit concerned about the wood and other supplies we had piled up, but there wasn't much I could do for it now.

This giant had a hell of a lot of nerve, though! With that attitude of his, I was sure he saw me as nothing but an annoying little bug in his way.

He was dissing me, and that was more than enough to get on my

bad side.

Ifrit was my enemy, and I decided now was the time for a

counterattack.

I had my qualms about Shizu—the person Ifrit was probably feeding off for all this, but if I didn't strike, this would never end.

Suppressing Ifrit was priority one; I could check up on Shizu later.

For all I knew, maybe Shizu wasn't being controlled at all.

I'll give her a good slap in the face if that were the case.

I shot a 『Water Blade』 at Ifrit's stomach. It evaporated right before reaching the flame giant; a spiraling plume of fire cut it off.

Hmm.

Guess that won't work. But I didn't have time to ponder it because the salamanders had just reacted to my attack.

Elen: 「Icicle Lance!!」

Elen's ice magic stabbed its way through one of them. As I took a

peek at her, she was already fleeing back into her corner of the Magic Barrier.

It was a clever attempt. It looked as if the barrier was holding up well enough without much concentration on the caster's part.

But it'd take more than an Icicle Lance to shoot down those salamanders.

One of them headed straight toward the adventuring trio.

Fubuki: 「*Sigh* Small fries like these really get on my nerves. I'll help out with those lizards. You can focus on the big guy.」

Great! At least he offered reassurance.

And when I thought things couldn't get any better–

Ranga: 「You called for me, my master!」

The best doggo arrived!

I hopped right on his back. At least I had some speed now. The

salamanders were pretty quick up there, but not as quick as Ranga.

Rimuru: 「I want you to focus on dodging them.」 I ordered. 「You don't need to attack at all. I'll take care of that!」

Ranga: 「Understood!」

We had almost a wordless connection with each other.

Ranga instantly understood what I wanted to do. Then we were off.

I tried out some 『Water Blade』 attacks.

Unlike the fire giant, the salamanders couldn't cut off the attack before it hit home.

I managed to slice off a limb…but, ridiculously enough, the ugly shit grew it right back again.

It must've been made of fire like everything else. Just cutting it off wouldn't accomplish much.

The black snake probably exuded more raw strength than these guys, but the salamanders' special powers would make them a tad trickier to defeat.

Ranga: 「…My master, physical attacks will not work against spiritual foes.

Striking their elemental weakness or using magic will do.」 Ranga explained.

Oh. Right. Hitting an elemental spirit with a sword wouldn't do

much, would it?

What about launching a ton of water at it, then? My "stomach" had about that much in storage from the underground lake.

Would that be enough to put the brakes on this guy?

«Understood. It is possible to release a large amount of water.

This will cause a steam explosion upon contact with the salamander, but is this all right? [Yes]/[No]»

Huh? A steam…explosion…? What…?

«Understood. A flame salamander is formed from collected heat energy.

Being doused in water will cause it to immediately vaporize, creating steam that envelops the salamander's body.

It will also trigger a high-temperature, highly compressed wave of pressure, creating a series of explosions.»

—And? Will that beat the salamander?

«Understood. Pressure times volume equals water released times vapor constant…»

Daaah!! Stoppppp! Give it to me in a way I can understand! Jerk, you knew my weakness! Don't tease me!

«…Understood. It will trigger a large explosion, and it is possible that the salamander will

be knocked out without a trace.

However, the results will likely turn the local area into a

vacant plot of land.»

Oh, come on! What's the point, then? I'm not a suicide bomber.

But if not that, then what? Water Blades do nothing practical

against it…

Elen: 「Icicle Lance!!」

I spotted the trio once more, doing their best to survive, with Elen casting magic in the center.

Wait a second. Water Blades don't work because they aren't magic, I

suppose. So is magic all I need?

Rimuru: 「Elen! Hit me with an Icicle Lance! Just one's fine!」

Elen: 「Hahh?! Umm, that's kind of…」

Rimuru: 「Just do it!」

The request gave her some pause, but after a second, she began

chanting.

After another moment, the freeze-magic Icicle Lance was

launched.

Elen: 「Don't complain about this to me later! Icicle Lance!!」

As she shouted out the spell, a pillar of ice shot my way.

I could probably capture that magic with my Predator skill.

And if I could—

«Report. Launching unique skill 『Predator.』 Icicle Lance Predation and Analysis successful.»

Great! Just as I thought. Really, I half doubted it while it was being explained to me, but this Predator had to be some kind of rule-breaking skill.

That magic probably packed a punch, but Predator absorbed it all, leaving me undamaged, and I even learned it to boot.

Elen: 「Hehh?! What happened to my magic?!」

I ate it, sucker!

Sorry, Elen. Can't explain.

The analysiss wrapped up in an instant, and now I could cast the

spell just by thinking about it.

No chanting required—that was

another nice side effect of Predator.

As I turned to look at Fubuki…

Fubuki: 「『Extinction Haze』.」

A dark violet smoke cloud was ejected out of his hand.

Then, the salamanders that had been constantly assaulting the adventuring trio were engulfed in the violet darkness.

After that, he did something to make the smoke disappear, but the salamanders were nowhere to be seen.

I don't know what he did, so I'm not bothered. I would've probably been terrified for life if I knew.

Since the salamanders were being dealt with, I focused on the flame giant.

"Let's get this farce over with", I thought as I stared the fire giant down.

With everything handled, I ordered Ranga to lead the trio out of harm's way.

He seemed unwilling to do so but relented.

The flames whirled violently in the air. Ifrit, before my eyes, had split himself up.

Now, I had multiple giants blocking my escape routes.

Rimuru: 「You fucker—!!

He had some tricky talents, but I wasn't too concerned.

My detection skills could accurately tell where the fire was going.

Even if the multiple Ifrits all launched attacks at the same time, I could easily determine their fire's danger level from the temperature and take suitable action.

I already knew that they weren't all at the same level.

I sincerely doubted that Ifrit could hit me with any kind of effective attack.

But at the same time, nothing I had was successful against Ifrit.

Those flames were tough. The ground was turning into magma

amid the ridiculously high temperatures.

There's no way I could just walk

across that, not unless I wanted a class change to "burnt slime."

Now what…?

Alright!

Rimuru: 「Take this! Icicle Lance!!」

I launched several icicles' worth at the Ifrit clones and successfully vaporized a few of them.

Vaporizing with ice sounds a bit odd, but with the clouds of water vapor after the attacks struck home, that was the best way to describe it.

I started getting into this little target-shooting game, knocking down the clones one by one with my lances.

But—

By the time I thought Oh, shit!—It was already too late. The

moment I felt it, I was already surrounded.

A wide-range barrier to trap me? One of Ifrit's intrinsics?

In an instant, there was a magic circle painted on the ground, no

chanting required to cast it. I forgot I wasn't the only one who could do that.

He had transformed his own body into gas and turned a hundred-yard radius into a searing-hot ocean of flame.

Probably one of Ifrit's high-level ranged attacks, and even worse, the area was brimming with energy from the Ifrit clones I had defeated.

Ifrit: 「Flare Circle!」

I heard a voice that I couldn't quite decipher. Man, woman, young, old? It's hard to tell.

There was…no escape. I was at the mercy of my enemy's spell. Ifrit

made me attack those clones on purpose.

They were both a distraction

and a way to charge up his energy.

I mentally prepared myself for death.

Dahh… I didn't think I had let my guard down, but I could've

handled that better.

And I played right into the enemy's hands, too!

So much for my short slife…

Fubuki: 「(Uhh, do you seriously have any idea of how hilarious you look?)」

That was when I realized.

«…Understood. The effects of "Resist Temperature" have successfully canceled flame-based

attacks automatically.»

I detected at least a bit of "You forgot all about Resist Temperature, didn't you?"—sarcasm to the voice.

Who asked you to speak up right now, you pile of junk?!

Yeah. I thought I got a «...…» in response to that little outburst.

Hopefully, that was just my imagination. The Sage had been

completely faithful to me before now.

「Note:…—And that, my friend, was how the legendary catchphrase was born.」

It wasn't even self-aware. It'd be stupid to think otherwise.

Ha-ha-ha. I'm just being silly. I'm sure of it! Now, then.

Wait. It cancels flame-based attacks, right? So…

Dude, I have this in the bag, don't I? Like, this is all part of the plan.

I pretend that I'm on the ropes, then I turn the tables. Let's go

with that.

Right. Time to finish up, then.

I silently unraveled my sticky thread across Ifrit's body.

He was done for. My analysis already showed that he was using Shizu for his body's core.

I couldn't have tied up a pure spirit beast like the salamanders with this string, but one with a physical core was a different story.

Next, I'd combine the Sticky Thread with some steel thread to get the benefits of both.

Another product of my experimentation, and as a bonus, it adopted the same immunities I had, so it wouldn't get burned up.

Checkmate! I know I sneered at you earlier, but you were

probably sneering at me, too.

Let's call it even. You're free to hate me for this if you like.

I don't give a damn.

Ifrit, in a panic, struggled to free himself. I expected that. But my 『Sticky Steel Thread』 was never going to let him.

I took my sweet time, casually approaching like any second-rate villain would.

It was time to land the final strike. On Ifrit, the monster that had probably taken Shizu's body over.

There is no need for too much haste. I walked up to this flailing creature, who was trying to throw every attack he could to stop me.

Sadly for him, flames didn't work on me.

Then…

With the suggestion from the Sage given, a flash of bright light covered the area, then suddenly vanished.

All that was left was an old woman and me.

 ◇◇◇ 

A week passed before Shizu woke up again.

Shizu: 「Is this…? Oh, hmm? I…apologize.」

Despite the transformation, she still retained all her memories.

Shizu: 「I was dreaming.」 she told me. 「Dreaming about the past. The city I lived in… A place I can never return to.」

Japan?

Shizu: 「Tell me, slime. What is your name?」

Hmm. Maybe her sudden elderliness was affecting her memory

after all.

I knew I had introduced myself in her presence before.

Old hag…

Rimuru: 「Rimuru, ma'am.」 I replied.

Shizu closed her eyes as if thinking over something.

Shizu: 「Could you maybe tell me your real name?」 she said.

She must've known all along. I hesitated for a moment.

Rimuru: 「Hmph!」 I offered. 「You aren't long for this world anyway. I'll tell ya. It's Satoru Mikami.」

My real name. A name I figured I wouldn't be using again.

Shizu: 「Ah. From my land, are you…? I had thought you might be. I sensed it from you.」

She fell silent for a moment.

Shizu: 「I had heard from my students, as well. The city's much better now? Prettier? The last time I was there, there was nothing but fire all around me.」

Rimuru: 「Yeah. I could show you, if you'd like.」

I used 『Thought Communication』 to do exactly that.

Fairly useful thing to have at a time like this. I liked it.

Shizu: 「Ahh…」 The sight made Shizu shed a tear.

Shizu: 「Listen, slime-san…or I

should say Satoru-san, I suppose. I have a request for you. Would you mind listening to it?」

Depends…

Rimuru: 「What kind of request?」

Nothing particularly doable, I was sure. But I did promise to take care of her to the end. She deserved to be heard out, at least.

Shizu: 「I want you to eat me…」

Um? What did this old lady just say? Eat you? Right. Pass. I like them young!

Shizu: 「You consumed the curse…that was placed on me, did you not…? I'm so glad to be rid of it…」

Her voice grew quiet.

Shizu: 「I wish I had the chance—I doubt I could've ever done it, but I wish I could've had the chance to confront the person who placed it on me one more time…

So I have just one request for you—would you let me sleep inside

you?」

Something about her eyes, the resolve that she just couldn't

relinquish, grabbed at me. It seemed so absurd, so cruel…

Shizu: 「I have to tell you—I have nothing but spite for this world. But I couldn't bring myself to hate it, still.

It's the same as how I feel toward that man… Perhaps I can't help but think of him when I look around me.

That's why I… I don't want to be taken into the earth here. So please… I was hoping you could eat me instead…」

Hmm. Well, that's easy enough.

Fulfilling her request would bind me, no doubt, and give me a

curse of my own.

I would be charged with taking on her despair and hatred.

Was there any need to waver on that, though? If I wanted her to

see the afterlife with her mind at peace—the answer was obvious.

Rimuru: 「All right. I'll be happy to take on your feelings. And what was the name of this man…the one who hurt you?」

At the question, Shizu opened her eyes, scrunched up her burnscarred face, and shed a few more tears.

Shizu: 「Leon Cromwell」 she said. 「One of the strongest demon lords.」

She looked at me with pleading eyes.

Woman—you want me to confront one of the strongest demon lords just because you wanna hold on to some stupid old grudge?!

What do you take me for?! A slime?! Do you actually think I'll do that?!

Rimuru: 「I promise!」 I declared. 「By my name as Satoru Mikami, or Rimuru Tempest, or whatever works best for you.

I promise I'll make Leon Cromwell know everything you feel about him. I'll make him regret every moment!」

Shizu: 「Thank you…」 she whispered, and then she closed her eyes, her breath turning shallow as she slept.

«Use unique skill "Predator"?

[Yes]/[No]»

—Here's hoping you'll find some peace inside me, then.

"Yes", I thought to myself, in a sort of prayer to her—a hope that her dreams inside would remain happy forever. With no more rude

awakenings.

 ◇◇◇ 

It was Shizu. It was a white darkness. One that filled the entire space.

She looked up, her face bearing the innocence of youth.

Relief spread across it as a smile emerged on her face beautiful.

"Well, there you are! Don't ever leave me alone like that again, all right?"

But the figure shook its head before pointing at something far

away.

The girl turned toward it, then, her expression suddenly clouded with doubtful sadness.

There she found—

Shizu: 「Mom!!」

A burst of happiness rushed through her entire body as she rushed toward her mother.

The figure watched her trot off for a moment—then disappeared, as if nothing had ever occupied the space at all.

Perhaps it was just an illusion crafted by the girl's memories.

Thus, the girl was reunited with her mother.

It marked the end of what had been a long, long journey.

—————————————————————————————————

Word Count: 「8110」