Katsumi melted into the kiss, her body mainly being supported by Benimaru's arms which were wrapped around her waist. Her hands were flat against his chest and all she could think about in that moment was how fast her heart was beating and how soft his lips were. She felt him pull back slightly, to which she began to lean back as well, only to have him change his mind and pull her into another close-mouthed kiss.

To be honest, Benimaru was planning on only kissing her once, but he had waited for so long he couldn't hold back on the second one. When he began to pull back, he briefly opened his eyes, only to see that Katsumi's face was flushed red and her eyes were still shut. In that moment, he was enchanted again by her beauty and couldn't help but steal another kiss.

In surprise, Katsumi started to pull back, her dual-colored eyes half-lidded as she did so. Benimaru allowed her to fully get a grasp on the situation again before he mischievously stole yet another kiss with her body pressed against his. At this, she began to slap his chest in an attempt to force him to release her.

"I can't breathe!" Katsumi complained once she managed to push herself away. While she would've loved to kiss him more, she could only hold her breath for so long.

"You're supposed to breathe through your nose, Little Blue," Benimaru said with a chuckle. He gently rested their heads against another, her one white horn between his two black ones and against his forehead. His bright red, ruffled hair contrasted against her light blue, silky strands.

"Well, how was I supposed to know," Katsumi said childishly as she glared at him. She was attempted to ignore the burning of her face from their close proximity. Her glare intensified after a few seconds, causing Benimaru to pull away slightly in confusion and worry.

"Why're you looking at me like that?"

"Why do you know you're supposed to breathe from your nose?" She stared at him accusingly. "You've had another secret lover that I didn't know about even after saying how you waited so long, haven't you?"

"What, no!" Benimaru's eye's widened at the random accusation. "I've loved you for at least an entire decade. How would I have space in my heart to have another lover?" He flicked her on her head as a small scolding for the mindless question. Katsumi stared into his eyes, trying to judge for herself. When she was finally satisfied with the fact that he was telling the truth, her expression morphed back into a wide smile as she rubbed her face back and forth on his broad chest. Her arms were now wrapped around his waist as his rested at her lower back.

While Katsumi was happily snuggling into him, Benimaru looked up, only to feel a bit of guilt fill him up as his eyes fell on Rigur's figure. Rigur, who just got rejected by Katsumi, had seen their entire interaction. Yes, Rigur was his competition, but Benimaru still felt bad about how badly he probably just had his heart broken. The hobgoblin was staring straight at Katsumi, who hadn't even looked back at him once since she turned to Benimaru, before he lifted his gaze and met Benimaru's.

In some kind of acknowledgement, Benimaru nodded his head slightly in Rigur's direction. Despite it being dark, the moon was bright enough to see everything clearly. Rigur hesitated before returning the acknowledgement. Then, he spun stiffly on his heels and headed down the road where he had come from.

Hearing the retreating footsteps, Katsumi lifted her head, about to turn around. Benimaru stopped her by moving his right hand to the back of her head and his left hand to her upper back. Quickly, he pressed her back to him, immobilizing her slightly. He didn't want her to see Rigur in possibly the worst state that he had been in since Rigur had told the Kijin about the death of his brother. Rigur may have been a rival for Katsumi's affections at one point, but that didn't mean that Rigur wasn't a friend.

"What's going on, Benimaru?" Katsumi asked, her voice muffled by his clothing.

"Nothing. Just thought I saw Shuna," Benimaru lied. In her giddy state, Katsumi didn't think too much about his lie and simply smiled at him. He smirked, releasing her as Rigur turned a corner and disappeared from their sight. "We should go back in before you freeze."

"Share your warmth, then," Katsumi said as she grasped his hand. Instead of transferring his heat to her, he pulled her into a side hug and began walking back to his house. Even if she asked for it, Benimaru had already found out about the pain that Katsumi could and would feel whenever he did so, and thus he refused to do it unless the heat was really out of control or her temperature was too low. Otherwise, he'd be perfectly happy warming her up via hugs and cuddles.

~~~

"Wait, so both Rigur and Benimaru confessed last night?!" Shuna shrieked as she slammed her hands on the table and pushed herself toward Katsumi, the chair behind her being knocked onto the ground. Katsumi flinched and leaned back away from the sparkly-eyed princess.

"Yeah?" Katsumi answered quietly, staring wide-eyed at her pink-haired friend. Shuna leaned in even closer.

"So what did you do?!"

"What do you mean did I do?" Katsumi leaned back even further, almost falling back in her chair.

"Did you and Benimaru kiss?!"

Katsumi flushed, not answer but also not denying. At the memory, she dipped her head to stare at her lap. Shuna shrieked again, her dolphin scream piercing the air as she lunged across the table at Katsumi in excitement, knocking both of them over as she wrapped the blue-haired kijin in a large hug. Her heterochromatic eyes widened in panic as they fell back off the chair and tumbled to the ground.

"Oh my goodness! You're gonna be my sister-in-law!!"

"Shuna!" Katsumi yelped as her face flared even brighter. Sister-in-law?! "We just confessed yesterday! It's too soon to be talking about that!"

"Oh c'mon! We both know that he's been chasing after you for years now. And we also know that you've liked him for longer than you realize. No way you two are going to leave each other after this!"

"Shuna!" Katsumi shrieked in embarrassment as she covered her red face with her hands.

"What's going on here?" Shion asked as she walked in, her large broadsword hanging from her back. She detached it as she eyed the other two kijin in the room and placed it by Katsumi's claymore on the table.

Shuna jumped up, sparkly-eyed, as she grasped Shion's hands and dragged her to Katsumi who was picking herself up off the floor and dusting off her kimono. Her blue hair was ruffled from Shuna's attack, so she removed the flower clip that she took care of so carefully and brushed her hair out of her face, gently placing the clip back in her hair when she was satisfied.

"Tell Shion what happened, Katsumi!" Shuna demanded excitedly.

"You already made me spill everything earlier, Shuna. You could probably recall everything as clear as I can..." Katsumi said with a glare. Shuna was unaffected by the glare and simply smiled.

"Rigur confessed to Katsumi and then Benimaru confessed to Katsumi and then Benimaru and Katsumi kissed and now they're dating and she's going to be my sister-in-law!" Shuna explained all in one breath.

"Rigur and Benimaru confessed?!" Shion parroted with her eyebrows raised. "Tell me more!"

"There's nothing to say!" Katsumi tried to brush off.

"I want to hear it again too!" Shuna chimed in, causing Katsumi to sigh. With two eager Kijin staring at her, she gave in.

"After the bath, I was walking around while I waited for Benimaru -"

"Why were you waiting for Benimaru?" Shuna interrupted with a smirk. Katsumi glared at her, but ignored her question.

"Anyways," Katsumi continued, "I was waiting for Benimaru when Rigur approached me on the street. He went straight to the confession and told me that he liked me. I didn't really know what to say, but he said he knew already that I liked Benimaru. Right at that time, Benimaru came and Rigur told me to go to him. Benimaru asked what he said and how I replied, then he confessed. Then..."

Katsumi trailed off. Her face turning red again at the reminder.

"They kissed!" Shuna finished with a squeal. Shion made a high pitched sound of excitement as well. Katsumi rolled her eyes and buried her flushed face in her arms as she sat back down at the table. They really weren't going to let this go any time soon.

"Wait, but then what happened to Rigur? Did he just leave?" Shion asked after she and Shuna had calmed down.

"Rigur?" Katsumi tilted her head to the side as she tried to recall. "I don't remember hearing anything except right before we left. Benimaru said that he thought that it was Shuna."

Shuna shook her head.

"Not me. I was in bed right after the bath."

"Then who did Benimaru see? I didn't hear anyone approaching..." Katsumi's voice got quieter as her face filled with horror. "It was Rigur... He never left after I turned to Benimaru..."

Shion raised a hand to her mouth as Katsumi dropped her head into her hands.

"So that means Rigur saw the whole thing..." Shuna confirmed, her eyes wide.

~~~

Katsumi spent the rest of the day flipping between a state of excitement and a state of sadness. She was excited because she and Benimaru had finally officially confirmed their feelings, but she was sad because she hadn't meant for Rigur to watch the whole exchange right after she had rejected him. The townspeople watched on in confusion as she excitedly skipped down the street only to end in a corner trying to grow mushrooms with her tears.

While she was off moping and prancing around, Benimaru had gone to Souei to let him know of the development. There was nothing more to say about their exchange except that Benimaru got a threat on his life if Souei ever finds Katsumi crying because of the red-haired kijin. To Souei's delight, the red-haired kijin agreed to all his ridiculous yet terrifying threats.

Despite being a new couple, it was to Benimaru's dismay that he and Katsumi didn't spend all that much time together. Katsumi was called off for some healing tasks while Benimaru was dealing with the Goblin Riders and town security. He felt a bit bad seeing Rigur's disheveled appearance, but he knew better than to pity the hobgoblin. Instead, he tried to treat him the same as before, and Benimaru could tell that Rigur appreciated it.

When the two of them finally managed to meet up, it was the late evening already. Somehow, they had managed to miss each other every time for the entire day, including at lunch and dinner time. Shion had captured Benimaru for both meals since Rimuru had put him in charge of her cooking. It was a wonder that he didn't get food poisoning. On the other hand, Katsumi had apparently disappeared with Souei to look for food in the forest rather than suffer through Shion. Benimaru cursed Souei for not taking him along.

"Fancy seeing a goldfish here," Benimaru said with a smirk as he came up behind Katsumi. She whirled around, smiling brightly as her heterochromatic eyes landed on him and proceeded to wrap him in a hug. He shivered as the coldness of her body seeped into him, but nonetheless returned the hug. As she relaxed, her shoulders slumped slightly as the thought of Rigur crossed her mind again. She may love Benimaru, but that didn't mean that she wanted to rub salt in Rigur's wounds. "What's got you in this mood?"

"Rigur saw us last night, didn't he?" Katsumi asked as she nuzzled her head into his clothing. He flinched, staying silent, but the silence gave her her answer. She stopped rubbing her head against him and hung her head. "I'm such a bad friend..."

"I'm sure Rigur doesn't think like that, Katsumi," Benimaru tried to reassure. Katsumi let out a deep sigh. Smiling slightly, Benimaru gently grasped her chin and lifted her head. When she met his gaze, he let go of her, his hand gently finding it's way to the small of her back while his other hand brushed her hair back out of her face. "Rigur will be fine. He knows that you didn't do anything while knowing he would be standing there, so he'll definitely forgive you for that."

Katsumi stared at Benimaru, her eyes saying that he better be telling the truth or else. Recognizing the small glare, Benimaru smirked, leaning down so that one of his horns tapped lightly against hers. Immediately, her glare dropped as her face flushed.

"That aside, have you been thinking of Rigur all day?" Benimaru asked teasingly. "I can't help but be a bit hurt that my beloved little guppy was thinking of someone else all day."

"It wasn't like that!" Katsumi quickly denied while vigorously shaking her head. "I just felt bad and-"

"Don't worry, I'm just kidding," Benimaru said with a laugh, his red eyes glimmering in amusement. Katsumi glared and slapped his chest, but her mind was definitely less occupied with Rigur.

Benimaru's smirk turned into a smile as she turned her head sightly and placed a shy kiss on Benimaru's cheek. He said nothing but closed the distance between them, pressing his lips to hers in a quick kiss. Her lashes fluttered slightly and, as he started to pull back, she followed him so that their lips remained connected for just a few seconds longer before pulling back herself.

Without another word, Benimaru pulled Katsumi close and buried his head into the curve of her shoulder and neck. She shivered slightly at the feeling of his breath at her neck, leaning her head away to try to lessen the tickling feeling.

"Goodness... I've waited so long..." Benimaru breathed slightly. Katsumi gently lifted her hands, her left making it's way into his bright red hair and her right resting on her upper back.

"I'm sorry for making you wait..." she replied shyly. Benimaru pulled away, causing her hands to fall to his waist. He glanced over her before leaning in again for yet another kiss. It seemed that he just couldn't get enough.

Right as his lips brushed her's, someone pushed the two of them apart, pulling Katsumi back while pushing on Benimaru's forehead. With a glare, Benimaru glanced up to see Souei's glare.

"I may have approved, but I really don't want to see you and my cousin making out," Souei deadpanned. Benimaru's glare deepened as Katsumi stared down at her feet. With a stoic but accusing stare, Souei turned Katsumi around and started to guide her away. In confusion, she glanced back at Benimaru, smiling helplessly as her cousin pulled her away.

~~~

Over the past weeks, the production of the health potions with the contribution of Gabiru's cultivated hipokute herbs and Vesta's research had finally come to fruition. Vesta had devised a method to extract 99% of the hipokute herbs and therefore successfully managed to create a full potion without having to rely on Rimuru.

While Rimuru was checking up on Vesta and Gabiru in the caves, the Kijin, minus Kurobe, were gathered in Shuna's workshop. Katsumi sat in the chair to the left of Benimaru, cleaning the handle of her sheathed claymore. Benimaru was leaned back on the back two legs of his chair, his left hand on the back of Katsumi's chair and aimlessly playing with the tip of a strand of her hair. Souei was leaning against the wall on the opposite side of Benimaru and Katsumi behind Shuna and Shion. Shuna was slumped over the table, her pink hair splayed over the table while Shion sat with her legs crossed. Harkrou sat at another table nearby, drinking his tea peacefully. Kurobe had made an appearance earlier, but quickly disappeared when Kaijin called for him in the armory.

"It's hot..." Shuna complained as flailed her arms slightly without lifting her head off the table.

"It is heading toward summer," Katsumi shrugged, using the rag in her hand to polish the handle of her blade. Benimaru dropped Katsumi's hair and sat up straight in the chair, leaning forward to flick Shuna in the forehead.

"Don't tell me a kijin like you is afraid of a little heat," Benimaru teased his sister. She glared at him.

"I dare you to say that again. I'll make your clothes out of the warmest material in the world and burn everything else," Shuna threatened.

"You wouldn't," Benimaru retorted confidently. Shuna lifted her head off the table and glared at her brother.

"You want to test me?"

"Now, now, you two," Katsumi giggled. She placed a gentle arm on Benimaru's bicep, pushing him back slightly so he sat back in his chair and just a bit farther from Shuna who looked like she was about to choke her older brother. Shuna turned to Katsumi with crocodile tears.

"Katsumi! My dear sister-in-law," Shuna whined.

"Shuna! Not this again!" Katsumi flushed. "Benimaru! Tell her it's not like that yet!"

"It's not like what?" he questioned innocently as he placed his hands behind his head and leaned back onto the back two legs of his chair again. She turned and smacked him on the arm, her face flushed. He burst into laughter as she pouted and turned away from him.

The sudden chaotic chattering of the townspeople outside stole the kijin's attention away from the blushing Katsumi. Their heads snapped toward the door, waiting for another sound to alert them of any issue. Then, a voice none of them recognized rang through the air, in which the kijin quickly clamored out of the workshop and into the street. There, in the center of a circle the goblins had created, stood Rigurd and four beastmen.

"I am one of Demon Lord Carrion's Three Beastketeers, Phobio the Black Leopard Fang," one of the beastmen introduced proudly. "I am the strongest warrior of the Beast King's Beastketeers."

Phobio glanced around, staring at all the goblins, orcs, kijin and lizardmen who had formed a circle around them.

"Nice town you've got here," he complimented, although the tone of his still wasn't very friendly. "Fit to be ruled by the Beast King, don't you think?"

"Surely you jest -" Rigurd was cut off as the beastman threw a flame covered hand forward, launching Rigurd back.

Katsumi flinched, reaching quickly for her claymore that she thankfully had remembered to grab before leaving the workshop. Right as she was about to draw her sword, Milim rushed forward, slamming her fist straight into Phobio's face and causing an explosion. Quickly, Benimaru pulled Katsumi back, using his red robe to shield her from the dust and heat of the flare Milim caused.

"What's going on here?" Rimuru asked as he arrived behind the goblins. Souei quickly used [Spacial Travel] to teleport to Rimuru's side.

"A new guest arrived in town and Milim-sama took exception to him," Souei explained quickly as Rimuru had the goblins part a path. He came into the clearing to see all the Kijin standing defensively by Rigurd. The goblin king was still on the ground.

"Rigurd, are you okay?" Rimuru asked a bit worried as his head remained hung low.

"Rimuru-sama," Rigurd recognized as he forced himself to raise his head. Rimuru flinched back in horror as he stared at Rigurd. Half the skin on his face had been burned off, revealing the pink muscle underneath. None of the Kijin flinched in the slightest, but only stared worriedly at the Goblin King.

"This is no cause for concern at all!" Rigurd played off.

"No way! That's serious!" Rimuru rebutted right away. He quickly threw a full potion onto Rigurd, healing the injured goblin king, before stepping forward to see what Milim had done. Shuna took this chance to guide Rigurd to safety behind the other kijin.

Rimuru walked up slowly, slightly confused as he saw Milim facing three beastmen while a fourth was passed out between them, foaming at the mouth. Clearly Milim had won whatever fight had happened.

"This is who did that to you?" Rimuru voiced loudly to Rigurd. Rigurd confirmed.

"Oh, Rimuru!" Milim came bounding over after hearing Rimuru's voice. "This guy thought he could mock us, so I taught him a lesson!" She smiled proudly at Rimuru, expecting praise. Rimuru only held his head and sighed.

"Didn't you promise not to cause any commotion without my permission?" Rimuru asked a bit exasperated. Milim flinched, trying to come up with an excuse for breaking her promise with Rimuru.

"He's not from this town, so it doesn't count!" she settled, gesturing her hands outwards trying to convince Rimuru.

"It does count," Rimuru firmed stated. "But since you did stand up for Rigurd, I'll just make you go without lunch today."

"That's cruel... That's too cruel!" Milim complained as tears formed in her eyes. She turned around and ran to the collapsed Phobio, swiftly delivering a kick to his unconscious body before picking him up by the collar. "This is all his fault! This scumbag! One hit wasn't enought! At least give me one more-"

"Wait! Wait! Wait!" Rimuru cried, rushing forward as Milim raised a flaming fist at Phobio. "You can eat, just don't punch him!"

Milim turned around, dropping Phobio unceremoniously to the ground as she smiled happily at Rimuru. Rimuru sighed and called for a goblin to bring her a sandwich while he stared down at Phobio.

"I suppose I have to heal him, don't I?" Rimuru asked rhetorically before he threw a full potion at the foaming beastman. Within a few short seconds, Phobio woke up, sputtering and flailing. His comrades quickly helped him to his feet.

"Let's talk in the conference room," Rimuru stated, motioning for them to follow. He proceeded to morph back into his slime form, hopping into Shion's arms. "Benimaru and Katsumi, follow me to the conference room. Take Rigurd and Milim along. Shuna, I'll leave you to calm down the goblins. Hakurou and Souei, make sure that nothing else happens in the village while we're in the meeting."

"Yes, Rimuru-sama," they all replied, bowing to the slime in response to their orders. Shion started walking toward the conference room with Rimuru in her arms while Shuna, Souei and Hakurou disappeared into the crowd. The four that Rimuru had called to follow trailed behind the purple-haired kijin.

Thankfully, the group made it to the conference room without any more ruckus. Sure, Katsumi had half a mind to pummel Phobio for attacking Rigurd like that, but she kept her rage in check. Shion placed Rimuru down at the head of the table as she stood to his left. Rigurd stood behind her. To Rimuru's right, Benimaru took his spot there with Katsumi not far behind him. Milim was told to sit obediently on the couch and Rimuru had used a sandwich to bribe her to stay still there. Phobio had sat down at the opposite end of the table with his three companions behind him.

"So, why did you come here?" Rimuru asked Phobio politely.

"Hmph, you expect me to answer a lowly slime?" Phobio crossed his arms as he sat, looking too proud of himself. At his words, all the Kijin's expressions immediately darkened as they barely reigned themselves in. An overwhelmingly terrifying aura spread around the room as all the Kijin held themselves back from smacking this beastman like Milim did.

"You may call me 'lowly,' but I am stronger than you," Rimuru replied, not all that happy with his insult either. Phobio looked up and glared harshly at Rimuru after hearing his words. "I don't know this Demon Lord Carrion. Depending on how you behave, my people could become Carrion's enemies. Do you want to be solely responsible for antagonizing the entire Great Forest of Jura?"

"Hah! That's big talk," Phobio rebutted, his arms still crossed defiantly as he smirked. "This whole town is loyal to a lowly monster like you? Must be rough having nothing but weaklings around. Don't get a big head just because Milim-sama took a liking to you." Benimaru, Katsumi and Shion tensed at his words, their glares piercing through him as they wish he'd just burn in hell.

"Hey! Are you talking trash about my friend?" Milim asked angrily as she held up the second half of her sandwich. Phobio flinched in fear as she directed her attention at the beastman.

"Milim, stop. If you do anything else, you can kiss dinner goodbye," Rimuru threatened, knowing that it would do him no good to have Milim aggravating the situation. Milim quickly agreed.

"Now," Rimuru turned back to face Phobio, "it's true that I'm a slime. But it's also a fact that I rule 30% of this forest, and if you're really serious, we may have no choice but to declare war. So think carefully before you answer me."

Phobio clicked his tongue in annoyance, sighing as he chose to reply properly this time.

"Carrion-sama ordered me to come here and scout some mysterious majin to serve him."

"Oh? He must mean us," Rimuru said easily. On the other hand, Milim seemed to rage at the fact that Demon Lord Carrion had sent them. She was releasing an increasing about of killing intent towards the beastmen at the other side of the room. As Rimuru looked back to Milim, she quickly suppressed it and gave him an innocent smile.

"Well, I get the picture," Rimuru stated after Milim had calmed herself. "You can leave now."

"Rimuru-sama..." Benimaru said in surprise.

"Are you sure about this?" Shion asked seriously.

"Well, I can't kill him, can I?" Rimuru asked.

"I mean, you could..." Katsumi mumbled. Benimaru reached back discreetly and pinched her hand, causing her to jump slightly.

"Tell the Demon Lord Carrion that if he wants to talk, he can choose a date and contact us again." With that, Rimuru motioned to the door, not making any effort to show them out. Right before Phobio exited, he turned around and growled at Milim, threatening to make her regret before he and his following left.

Rimuru stared at the closed door for a couple of seconds before he hopped over to Milim, morphing into his human form as he stopped in front of her.

"Okay, I want to know all about this Demon Lord Carrion," Rimuru said to Milim. Milim stood up, holding a hand out in front of her.

"I can't tell you that," she said, abnormally serious. "We've sworn not to interfere with each other."

"Did you only make that promise with Carrion?" Rimuru said as he slid up next to Milim. "Or does it involve the other Demon Lords, too?"

"Uh, that's..." Milim shied away, not knowing what to say.

"Hey, it's okay!" Rimuru continued prodding with a sly smile, whispering like the devil on her shoulder. "Carrion used his underling to interfere with you, didn't he? And we're besties, so we help each other out, right? So I think it'd be a good idea for me to know about the other Demon Lords." Milim hesitated, but kept her mouth shut.

"If I don't know what kind of promise you made, I might end up interfering without realizing it," Rimuru stated as he turned away from her and crossed his arms. "I know! I'll make a weapon for you! I'm concerned for you as your bestie, after all!"

The Kijin in the room stared at Rimuru with a deadpan look at his underhanded tactics. He sure knew how to use Milim's childishness and their friendship in his favor.

"A new weapon?!" Milim said, suddenly interested. "Yeah, that's right! Nothing's more important than your bestie!" With that, she spilled the beans to everyone in the room.

Rimuru sat on Milim's lap in his slime form while the Kijin and Rigurd stood in front of the couch where Milim was sitting. Rimuru sighed as he tried to recap all the information into once sentence.

"Demon Lords Clayman, Carrion, Frey and you, Milim, used Gelmud in a scheme to create a puppet Demon Lord."

"It was just a way to kill time," Milim said with a bright smile.

"Being a Demon Lord sure sounds boring..." Katsumi deadpanned. Did they really have that much time on their hands?

"Maybe that's all it was to you, but since we butted in, I guess it's inevitable that they'd target us." Rimuru deflated in Milim's lap.

"It seems likely that other Demon Lords will become involved, as well," Benimaru stated, the idea of it weighing heavily on the group.

"What a predicament..." Rigurd agreed. "We must consult with Treyni-sama."

"It'll be fine!" Shion insisted with a bright smile, cutting through the tension. "Rimuru-sama has nothing to fear from any of those Demon Lords!"

"Well, now I've told you the secret!" Milim said as she rubbed Rimuru's head. "Now give me my new weapon like you promised, bestie!"

~~~

Despite Souei's protest and initial annoyance, Gobta managed to cause another issue while Rimuru was in the meeting. While he and the Goblin Riders were out hunting for a knight spider to bring back for dinner, he ran into some human adventurers. For some odd reason, he invited them all back to the village. Souei almost wanted to smack Gobta upside the head as he sent him and the goblins out again to find a bit more food to feed the extra mouths. It wasn't like they were short on food, but more like Souei didn't want to get scolded by Rimuru or Katsumi for not making sure there was an overabundance of food after the feast.

With an inaudible sigh, Souei led them into the new meeting room that Rimuru was waiting in. Rimuru was still at the head of the table, but the Kijin had changed positions. Shion now stood to his right and Shuna, who had seen them moving to the new meeting room and followed, to his left. Benimaru sat in the first chair to Rimuru's left with Katsumi right next to him. Beside her was Rigur. Once Souei led the human adventurers to the right side of the table, he made his way to the left corner of the room behind Rimuru where he stood attentively.

"I'm the representative of this town... or nation called the Jura Tempest Federation," Rimuru started out. "My name is Rimuru Tempest."

"You really are a slime!" One of the older adventurers stated in surprise.

"By the way, Rimuru, there are some folks here we didn't see last time," one of the adventurers voiced.

"Oh, yeah. This is Benimaru, Kastumi, Shion, Souei and Shuna." As Rimuru said their names, the kijin each bowed their head slightly in introduction. "And these are the human adventurers that came into our village a little while ago. Their names are Kaval, Gido and Eren. The dual-color-haired man is their leader, Fuze. The grey haired one is Youm." As Rimuru finished the quick introductions, Milim opened the door slightly, scurrying into her seat by Rigurd with her mouth stuffed with food.

"Oh, and that's Milim," Rimuru added on. "So, the Kingdoms of Blumund and Falmuth have both come to investigate this place?"

"We are-" Fuze started, only to be interrupted by Youm.

"Wait a minute," Youm said with discontent as he crossed his feet onto the table and leaned back in his chair slightly. "Why is a slime acting like such a bigshot? It makes no sense! What's the deal here? Why are all of you okay with this?"

"You are insulting Rimuru-sama," Shion said with a glare down at the man.

"Shut your mouth, Tits!" Before anyone could stop her, Shion had taken her sheathed sword and dropped it heavily onto Youm's head. Shion gasped after the fact, as if just realizing what she did before she quickly bowed to Rimuru and apologized. Rimuru sighed and healed the guy with one of the potions.

"Sorry about what Shion did," Rimuru apologized for her, knowing that Shion would never willingly apologize to anyone who had insulted him. "She has trouble restraining herself sometimes. Cut her some slack."

"That's mean!" Shion argued. "I'm actually known for my patience!"

"You've got a long way to go if you're that impatient, Shion," Milim laughed from her seat. "You're so short-tempered because you don't have an open mind like I do." Rimuru sighed and chose to ignore the two, who everyone could agree were both short-tempered.

"I want to be on good terms with Humans," he said as he turned to face the adventurers. "I hope we can trade and network with you all someday, too."

"Trade?" Fuze echoed

"Yeah. We've actually entered diplomatic relations with the Dwarven Kingdom already," Rimuru explained without skipping a beat.

"With Dwargon?" the same guy repeated again as they flinched in shock.

"I think passing through this land would be more convenient for your merchants," Rimuru offered. "What do you think?"

"Now, wait a minute! You're saying that Dwargon acknowledges this nation of monsters as legitimate?" Before Rimuru could answer, the door opened again to reveal Vesta.

"I can vouch for that," he said as he entered.

"Minister Vesta! What is a man of your standing doing here?"

"Former minister," Vesta corrected. "It's good to see you again, Fuze." The leader from Blumund only stared at Vesta in shock.

"What Rimuru-sama says is true," Vesta continued as he bowed to Rimuru. "King Gazel and Rimuru-sama have entered into a treaty."

"Are you convinced now?" Rimuru asked the humans.

"W-Well... If that is the case, we aren't opposed to cooperating with you," Fuze quickly fairly quickly. "But I'll need to see undeniable proof that you are, in fact, an ally of Humans. I assume that's all right?" The silver-haired leader from Falmuth had his head supported lazily in his hand as he stared at the slime.

"Oh, sure. That's to be expected. I'm just fine with that." Rimuru replied to Fuze. "I'll permit you to stay here. I want you to understand that we aren't a threat. By the way, Fuze-san, has the news that the Orc Lord was defeated already gotten around?"

"No, only our king and a select handful of people know that," Fuze said as he raised a curious eyebrow.

"I see. In that case..." Rimuru faced the silver haired man. "Youm-kun, want to make a contract with me?" Youm turned away, almost as if uninterested.

"Huh? What are you even talki-" He cut himself off as he looked up and flinched at Shion's glare.

"What... might you be suggesting," he quickly changed his sentence. Rimuru easily ignored the fact that he only considered it because of Shion's unsaid threat.

"You said the Kingdom of Falmuth hired you with money right? So you'd just be switching employers," Rimuru explained to Youm. "To put it in simple terms... I want you guys to be the champions who defeated the Orc Lord."

The table stared at Rimuru in silence for a few moments before Youm and two of his subordinates flinched and made a sound of confusion.

"Just say that we simply helped you out, and start a rumor that you were the one who defeated the Orc Lord." Rimuru suggested. "I figure, that way, I can be known as the trustworthy monster who assisted the champion. I think it'll be easier to befriend people that way than if they think I'm some mysterious, threatening monster. What do you say?"

"Let me gather my thoughts," Youm said, not offering a direct answer. Rimuru nodded.

"Well then, this should do for the meeting for now. Why don't we go join the rest of them outside for dinner? I heard that they caught a knight spider today," Rimuru cheered. The kijin all nodded excitedly, quickly starting to make their way out of the room.

"Hey wait a moment, are you saying that the knight spider is actually edible?" Youm complained. As a human adventurer, he had never once even thought about eating that monster.

"It may look scary, but as long as you don't rupture the venom glands, the meat is perfectly safe to eat," Katsumi answered with a smile.

At the sight of the beautiful blue-haired, heterochromatic kijin, the two adventurers that came with Youm blushed when she turned toward them with her blinding smile. Seeing that right away, a small flare of jealously flickered through Benimaru and he reached for Katsumi, quickly pushing her toward the door. She glanced up at him in confusion, but he only smiled and made an excuse about how hungry he was. With one last unnoticed glare at the human adventurers, the kijin and Rigurd quickly made their way out before the rest of the dinner was finished.

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Hey everyone!!

How are y'all doing? College started so I'm sending everyone in school well wishes this quarter/semester and I'm cheering y'all on. Despite this year being different and possibly more stressful, I know y'all can do it! For y'all first year college students, I feel so bad that this is your first college experience because I know it could be so much more than this, but we'll get through it! 

As always, let me know what you thought of this chapter! 

I'd also love to hear about your college experiences so far and if anything interesting has happened. I think the most interesting, yet stupid thing I've heard since I moved to my apartment is that someone in my school was throwing a mansion party... sigh.. I swear...

Anyways, stay safe and healthy!
ThePurpleDragon