Chapter 48: I Am Not the Evil Stepmother [Bonus Chapter]

When Zaydas mentioned his "problem" of getting smaller animals for Rimuru, he commanded the Goblins, and soon they brought him chickens, roosters, pigs, cows, and a bull.

It took two days, but it was worth the wait.

"Thank you, Rimuru-san, this will help me a lot." Zaydas sincerely thanked him.

"Fumu." Rimuru, in his human form, said: "Don't worry about it, I've received a lot of help from you, it's the least I can do."

"Yes, Rimuru-sama is right!" The Goblins said: "We are very grateful to you, Zaydas-sama!"

Zaydas smiled.

The truth was that he could try to bring animals from his world to Rimuru's, but if there was one thing he had already learned, it was that the chances of surviving during Dimensional Jumping were lower if they were weak.

Not to mention that, coming from his dimension, which was above High Rank, to Rimuru's, which was High Rank... It must be even more "burdensome" for those taken along.

That's why he intended to name at least one male and one female of each animal.

When Rimuru saw him naming the chickens and roosters, he exclaimed: "Seriously, why didn't I think of that too?"

"Huh?" Zaydas looked at him.

"I mean, if they are named, there's a chance they could gain abilities, or even become tastier, right?" Rimuru wiped his drool with the back of his hand.

It was easy to imagine that he must be thinking about a feast of named animals...

"Well, even if we don't eat the animals themselves, we can always eat infertile eggs, and in the case of cows, the milk should be better, don't you think?" Zaydas asked rhetorically.

"Yes, yes." Rimuru said happily: "As expected of Zaydas-kun, I'm going to adopt your idea~!"

"Well, go ahead." Zaydas didn't mind at all.

"By the way, can I keep a pair of each one?" Rimuru asked, adding: "I want to test this now, and after I get other animals, I'll share them with you, okay? By the way, bees should be good... Rabbits too."

"Alright." Zaydas agreed. He wasn't losing anything, and Rimuru was the one who gave him these animals in the first place.

...

Zaydas made an area to keep the animals he named while he decided to go out for a bit while waiting for the animals' evolution to finish.

With the risk of them dying, he preferred to wait until they became a little stronger before returning to the INN.

Eating a golden fruit, Zaydas floated through the forest, heading toward the sealed cave where Veldora was.

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"It's all your fault, Cabal-danna. Messing with the Giant Ant's nest like that with your sword!!!"

"Q-Quit it, I'm the leader, okay!?"

"So irresponsible even as a leader!"

"Urgh...!"

"If I die, I'll turn into a ghost and haunt you at night!"

"Hahahahahaha! You won't be able to do that!! You know why? Because I'm about to die with you!"

"Noooooooooooooo!!"

"I'll stop them."

"Shizu-san? Hey, don't do that!!"

"Don't worry, if it's just to give you all a chance to escape, my current self can still do it if I use the power of these flames."

However, before she could take action, snowflakes began to fall. And then, the sound of a shamisen echoed as a mist that made it difficult to see started to rise.

(The shamisen is one of the most well-known Japanese musical instruments. With three strings, it is considered quite versatile and capable of producing a wide range of tones, being used both in traditional kabuki theater and bunraku puppet theater performances, as well as in more modern and innovative occasions.)

A deep male voice recited a poetic chant that reached their ears:

"In the wind, the flame..."

"Who's there!?" Cabal became alarmed, unable to find the source of the voice.

At the first verse, all the giant ants froze as snowflakes fell on them.

"Burns strong, dances free..."

At the second verse, a cold wind caused the frozen giant ants to start cracking.

"Ash or light? Choose."

*Crack!!!*

*Crack!!!*

*Crack!!!*

*Crack!!!*

At the third verse, a strong wind shattered the frozen giant ants into ice fragments.

This poem unsettled Shizu. She placed her hand on her chest and clenched it into a fist against her chest, but since she wore a mask that hid her face, it was difficult to see what kind of expression she was making at that moment.

"Show yourself!" Ellen shouted, looking around.

As the mist began to dissipate, a human silhouette started to become visible in the sky.

Shizu was finally able to see after almost all the fog disappeared along with the previous snowfall.

The one before her was an ikemen.

His hair was short, messy, and crimson-colored, and his eyes were blue-green. He had a well-symmetrical face with almond-shaped eyes. His skin was so flawless it could be mistaken for a woman's, if not for his obvious muscles.

He wore clothes that gave him an elegant yet casual air: black pants, black shoes, a white shirt, while in his left hand was an elegant shamisen and in his right, a wooden bachi (plectrum).

However, red magic circles appeared just below his hands, and then he simply let go of both, making them disappear along with the magic circles.

Without them asking, he began to explain: "This poem suggests the duality between being consumed by fire, destruction, or transforming into light, transcendence."

...

[+699 AP]

Zaydas was holding himself back from blushing in embarrassment. This kind of scene was something he had seen in the anime Saikyou Onmyouji no Isekai Tenseiki.

He remembers how he thought it was cool when the protagonist Seika recited a poem in some scenes before appearing. That moment was etched into his mind and became one of the 100 wishes he wanted to fulfill one day.

'Well... One less wish, I guess...' Zaydas thought to himself.

And he achieved his goal with this poem upon noticing Shizu's subtle reaction.

'I didn't expect to meet you here, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't want this to happen.' Zaydas murmured in his mind.

Since he knew Rimuru had gone to the city and was aware that the dwarves had arrived at the Goblin village, he knew it was only a matter of time before Shizu and the other three came to this forest. And, unlike the original storyline, Rimuru had not moved away, as the lands with the plantation he had created for Rimuru were too valuable to abandon.

"Pleasure to meet you all, my human friends." Zaydas said slowly as he began to descend: "I am Zaydas, The Traveler."

"Zaydas, The Traveler?"

Ellen, Cabal, and Gido exchanged glances, looking confused.

As if he didn't notice their confusion, Zaydas made a red magic circle appear before each of them, and soon a golden fruit materialized above the magic circle.

"As a symbol of our first meeting, this is my gift to you." Zaydas said with a friendly smile.

Mechanically, they took it—only Shizu did so more naturally.

"What is this?" Ellen asked.

"A spirit fruit." Zaydas replied. "It's good for the body and helps recover magical power. And, not least important..."

*Mogu mogu*

"Delicious~~!" Ellen didn't even let him finish, interrupting with an exclamation: "What is this? It's so delicious~!"

Coughing, Zaydas felt a bit awkward in front of such a... let's say, energetic girl.

Noticing that only Shizu continued paying attention to him while the other three started devouring the golden fruit, he chuckled.

"Don't worry, I'm not the Evil Stepmother from Snow White~" Zaydas joked upon seeing that she hadn't taken a single bite yet.

*Gulp*

"Snow White?" Ellen seemed confused.

"You don't know Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs?" Zaydas pretended to be in shock.

"I don't. Do you guys?" She looked at Cabal and Gido.

Cabal and Gido shook their heads, while Shizu...

"Shizu?" Her lack of reaction made Ellen call out to her a little louder, concerned: "Are you okay?"

"Ah, yes, I am." Shizu replied.

'That voice, how strange... In the anime, it wasn't like this...' Zaydas thought.

While in the anime it was still a sweet girl's voice, what he heard now was a voice impossible to identify—neither male nor female, adult nor child.

Moreover, even her outfit was slightly different, being loose clothing, especially in the chest area, making it hard to tell whether she was a man or a woman.

"Who is Snow White?" Ellen seemed curious about it.

Turning his attention to her, Zaydas said, "A very kind princess."

"Duhh, that didn't answer my question." Ellen puffed out her cheeks, but seeming to remember something, she said, "Ahhh... I still haven't thanked you. Thank you for saving us." Turning to Gido and Cabal, she spoke through clenched teeth, "Hey, you two, thank him too!"

"Thank you for your help," Shizu said.

"Thank you, you saved us!" Cabal added, followed by Gido: "Danna, thanks."

"It's all good, relax." Zaydas waved his hand nonchalantly, not minding at all.

Then, a thin smile appeared on his lips as he said, "You want to know about Snow White, right? Well, I can tell you, but before that, let's find a better place to talk, okay?"

"Yes, yes." No one opposed the idea.

As he walked with them, Zaydas assessed their appearances, noticing subtle differences from what he had seen in the anime.

Cabal had the appearance of a young man with medium-length hair. Gido had a tall and strong build and a rectangular head. His short brown hair was paired with a goatee. His cheeks had distinct depressions.

Ellen was a young woman of average height with blonde hair. She had blue eyes, special markings under her eyes, and wore a blue headband. Her outfit consisted of clothes suited for traveling as an adventurer.

Shizue was a young woman of medium height. She had long, dark hair that fell over her shoulders and face, parted more to the right side, with a good portion covering the right side of her mask.

She wore a white cape and a white scarf over her chest area, combined with predominantly dark clothing. Her outfit included a long-sleeved blouse and loose pants, secured with bands. In her hands, she held a sword.

"This fruit is amazing, I feel a little stronger after eating half of it," Ellen suddenly commented.

"If you're already satisfied, give me the rest, Ellen," Cabal said to her.

"No way! This is mine!" Ellen protected the half-eaten golden fruit like a mother protecting her child.

"Cabal-danna, wouldn't it be better if you gave what's left of yours to me? After all, I'm the one who needs to strengthen my body the most. I swear it's not because of the delicious taste!" Gido said with a serious look.

"Gido, you..." Cabal seemed to feel betrayed.

Seeing this, Zaydas chuckled a little. Beside him, Shizu was eating the golden fruit without removing her mask. He asked her, "Are they always like this?"

"Mm, they're an energetic group." Even without distinction in her voice, it was noticeable that she sounded gentler now.

"Seems like it." Zaydas chuckled a bit.

Meanwhile, they arrived at a more open area and stopped.