Walpurgis, The Day of the Birth of Octagram

"Heh. Very well. 'Octagram: The Eight-Star Demon Lords' it is." Guy approved of the name as he stood up and all the other Demon Lords followed suit.

You walked around and stood behind Rimuru since you weren't included in this official count as Rimuru took his stand and joined the Demon Lord circle in celebrating the new name for themselves. Rain walked forward to make things official as she would take role once again, using this new title for everyone.

"Then I shall once again introduce Octagram, the Eight-Star Demon Lords." Rain announced as she began with the red Demon Lord himself, Guy. "Demon, the Lord of Darkness: Guy Crimson." Rain said before gesturing to the pixie in the room. "Pixie, the Labyrinth: Ramiris." She announced Ramiris before turning the energetic Dragonoid who wore her toy gloves with pride. "Dragonoid, the Destroyer: Milim Nava." She introduced Milim before turning to the tallest man in the room. "Giant, the Earthquake: Daggrull." She introduced the burly man before turning to the lolita-dressed vampire in the room. "Vampire, the Queen of Nightmares: Luminus Valentine." She introduced the intimidating woman before turning to the sleepy head amongst everyone. "Fallen, the Sleeping Ruler: Deeno." She called on the lazy lad before looking to the stoic one of the group. "Demonoid, the Platinum Saber: Leon Cromwell." She announced as there was one last person to call on as you smiled and looked at Rimuru. "Slime, the Newbie: Rimuru Tempest." She announced as all Demon Lords were present and accounted for in this new group of powerful beings. "This concludes the introductions." Rain ended as you were the first to applaud all of them.

"To Octagram! The Eight-Star Demon Lords!" You proclaimed them all as all the subordinates of the Demon Lords broke out in applause as well.

"Congratulations, Octagram." Treyni congratulated them.

"Congratulations." Berretta praised them.

"Congratulations, Great Rimuru!" Shion congratulated him as Ranga howled in glory of such a celebration.

"Now then, to commemorate such a occasion, I invite you all to take your seats, for a feast has been prepared." Guy announced as a fine, high standard dinner was prepared for everyone to commemorate such an occasion, but Leon suddenly stood up and walked away to the portal behind him, confusing everyone.

"My business here is done. I'm leaving." Was all Leon had to say to everyone before he left this realm and returned to where he came from, and a few moments later, Valentine's butler whispered something into her ear that made her get up and leave the realm as well.

Now all that remained were Guy, Deeno, Milim, Daggrull, Ramiris, Rimuru and yourself, Malenia and Veldora who took the free seats near the Giant, and the former Demon Lords Carrion and Frey as they stood behind Milim. Iris was left unsure of what to do since she was also classified as an awakened Demon Lord, but not a member of Octagram, and chose to stand behind you while you sat in between Rimuru and Ramiris.

"You're welcome to join your master in this feast." Guy said as Iris looked over in confusion. "As an awakened one, it'd be rude of me to not serve you even if you don't intend on ruling as a Demon Lord." He told her as Ramiris floated up to Iris's face.

"That's right! That's right! Here, you can take my seat next to Y/N!" Ramiris offered her chair as she turned around to glare at Deeno in annoyance. "Hey, Deeno! Scoot over next to Guy so Iris-chan can sit next to Y/N!" The pixie waved her arms around as Deeno looked at her with a tired and annoyed gaze.

"Huh? Why do I have to--GAH!" Deeno gasped in shock as Ramiris suddenly flew into his face and began pulling on his nose to move him. "A-Alright! Alright! Let go!" Deeno yelled while Ramiris was tapping his face with kicks that didn't really hurt, but annoyed him.

Taking a seat next to you, Iris felt a bit uncomfortable in this setting, especially after obtaining a new body that she wasn't familiar with. Rain and Mizeri were going around the table presenting everyone with the main course that was prepared before filling everyone's glasses with the brandy that Rimuru had laying around in his body as he offered the delightful alcohol to the other Demon Lords. The two of you stared down at the plate of food in front of you in wonder as it was certainly seemed more Western themed than the usual Japanese theme food you were used to having back home.

"This is stewed black-furred tiger." Mizeri introduced the name of the dish to you were impressed by how clean and perfect it seemed.

"This is what Demon Lords eat, huh?" You muttered as you and Rimuru picked up a piece of the meat with your forks and picked up the pieces to stare at for a few moments before you both stuffed the meat into your mouths, and in an instant, sparkles filled your eyes.

"This is good!" You said in amazement as of the hearty and rich flavors the dish packed.

"The meat falls apart on your tongue, and the sauce cots it..." Rimuru said as you nodded in agreement. "Raphael-sensei!" He called to his inner voice.

"Understood. Analyzing the recipe." Raphael responded as she noted down the ingredients and steps to recreate the dish for later at home, but while you were enjoying the food, the sound of silverware dropping caught your attention as you saw Iris struggling with a knife and fork.

"Oh, Iris. Here." You said as you stood up and took hold of her hands, surprising her as you began to help her cut the meat.

"M-My Lord, this is..." Iris muttered in slight embarrassment as you just turned your head and smiled at her. 

"You still need to learn the basic functions of that body. Don't worry. I'll teach you." You said to her as had a small bashful pink hue appear on her face as she turned away.

"Y-Yes, my Lord." Iris said as you pushed the fork into the cut piece of meat and placed the fork in her hand.

"There, try it." You said in excitement to see the reaction of hers.

Iris slowly lifted the tender piece of food to her mouth before gracefully placing it in her mouth without getting a single speck of sauce on her face or lips. The moment her taste buds came into contact with the meat, her eyes lit up in amazement as she chewed twice before swallowing with no struggle. 

"Well?" You asked her.

'It's delicious." Iris said as you grinned at her reaction.

"Oho~?" The two of you heard from across the table as you both looked to see your mother grinning at you. "Not bad, my son~" Malenia said as you and Iris both saw how close you two were before blushes covered both yours and Iris's cheeks and you scurried over to your mother.

"DON'T TELL MAI!!!" You yelled at your mother as you tried grabbing her, but she caught your hands as a battle of strength ensued. "SHE'LL GET THE WRONG IDEA!!!" You said as she began pushing you back.

"THAT'S EXACTLY WHY IT'S FUN!!! SEEING HER JEALOUS AND MAKE THOSE ADORABLE POUTS IS ONE OF THE THINGS I LIVE FOR IN THIS NEW LIFE OF MINE!!" Malenia argued back as you two growled at one another and your battle of strength went no where while Iris just silently continued to eat with a bashful blush as she instantly got the hang of using silverware the way you taught her.

"Homgh!!" Rimuru's awkward look while staring at you and your mother's shenanigans was diverted when he turned to see Milim devouring her plate and swallowing her food bite after bite with barely any chewing.

"Looks like we don't need to worry about manners here." Rimuru thought in reaction of how yours and Milim's behavior was going unchecked, but that would end when Milim picked up a glass of brandy with stars in her eyes and drool leaking from her lips. "Hey, Milim! That's alochol!" Rimuru scolded her as she raised the glass over her head.

"Uwahahahaha! What's the problem? It's my reward for pretending to be manipulated!" Milim exclaimed with excitement as she wanted to treat herself to something nice from your nation.

"Couldn't you have stopped pretending sooner, though?" Daggrull said while examining the glass bottle that the drink came in with wonder. "Clayman never did open up about who was pulling the strings." He pointed out as Veldora next to him drank happily at his glass.

"Indeed! But it was a welcome chance to battle against Rimuru!" Milim said as she was nuzzling up against her glass of brandy, rubber her cheek against the chilled cup as Rimuru was a bit vexxed at that last part. "Y/N! Next time let's battle, too!" Milim yelled to you from across the table as Malenia had began stretching your face with her thumbs pulling apart your lips.

"Huh? Shure...!" You said to her in a sloppy voice as you delivered a bonk on Malenia's head with your fist as she yelped and ducked down into her seat while holding her head with tears.

"You can't have this yet!" Rimuru said as he suddenly snatched the glass from the Dragonoid, shocking her.

"Uwah! Meanie!" Milim yelled as she tried reaching for the glass, falling out of her seat before trying once again as her height didn't allow her to reach the glass at the level Rimuru held it at. "I'm the oldest Demon Lord, despite how I look! It doesn't matter if it's alcohol or anything else! It's nothing to me!" Milim complained and whined while reaching and punching Rimuru a few times with no effect while her subordinates enjoyed the view.

"It really is good brandy." Guy spoke up as Rimuru looked over to him. "Is it made with grapes from Eurazania?" Guy asked about the source of flavor the brandy was concocted from.

"I'm impressed you could tell. We can finally make it consistently now, thanks to the fruit we import from them." Rimuru explained as you took your seat back next to him and had a quick drink before raising your glass to Carrion.

"Thanks again for that, Carrion!" You said to him as you two shared a manly thumbs up with one another.

"Well, then, I'll have one more!" Veldora said as he poured out another drink for himself while laughing.

"You need to learn restraint!" Rimuru scolded him before Veldora's laugh was cut off when Malenia suddenly snatched the glass bottle with her tail and began drinking straight from the bottle.

"Hey! Mom! We're supposed to be sharing that!!" You scolded her as she downed a few more gulps before popping it out of her mouth and slamming it on the table.

"PWAH~!!!" Malenia exclaimed before glaring at you with a drunk blush. "Huuuh? Says who? Rimuru can whip out another bottle anyways, so I'm gonna get my drink on!! Especially since the only other Gojira I know doesn't wanna give me kids!!!" She cried out in a whiny voice before downing more from the bottle.

"THE ONLY OTHER GOJIRA YOU KNOW AND WANT KIDS WITH IS YOUR OWN SON!!! PLEASE, DROP THIS ALREADY!!" You said while smacking the table repeatedly as everyone around you was enjoying the entertainment that was you and your mother.

After having some nice conversations and just having some genuine fun that you didn't expect to have when you arrived at Walpurgis, you and Rimuru decided that it was time to return home. You and your friends gathered together around the portal Rimuru originally came through, and now you were two people extra as Iris and her sister, who she held in her arms while she slept, stood beside you two. The tiny three headed dragon girl in Iris's arms happily swayed her two tails while being so close to her sister for the first time in so long.

"We'll have to name her when we get home." You said to her as Iris smiled at the thought.

"Yes. Thank you so much, my Lord." Iris said as before you looked over in another direction with a slightly vexed face.

"Now if only she could just get up so we could go home..." You sighed in annoyance as all of you were just waiting on Ramiris to recover from drinking too much as Berretta and Treyni knelt by the drunk fairy who was plastered on the table.

"C'mon, brat~!" Malenia suddenly grabbed Ramiris with her hand as the two subordinates of the pixie looked in shock to see your mother was in no better state while stumbling around the table. "We gotta....hic! Get back already...I wanna get to readin' my next volume! Hic!" She said through hiccups while she stumbled over towards you all.

"Jeez... To think you'd meet my mother while she was in such a state." You facepalmed in embarrassment as Iris smiled awkwardly.

"Take care." Guy waved to you all from his seat while Mizeri and Rain were stood behind him as he enjoyed his last glass of brandy.

"Thanks!" Rimuru replied before turning to you all with an excited smile. "Ready to go?" He asked.

"Yeah!" You all replied while Malenia and Ramiris let out drunk chuckles.

"Okay, let's go home!" Rimuru exclaimed as you all walked through the portal behind you and left the dimension that was Walpurgis.

After you all clambered through the portal and traversed the limbo between the dimension of the outside world and Walpurgis, you finally made it to the light at the end where you were all brought back to the top of the hillside just outside your city. It was a bright and beautiful day by the time you had returned as you and Rimuru basked in the sunlight and reminisced in the warmth it brought as it felt like forever since you two had a nice and peaceful time with no worries of anything else. You and Rimuru glanced and nodded at one another as you two looked out to your city with excited smiles as you were ready to return to a peaceful life to bring happiness to those around you both. Iris had an amazed look on her face as she couldn't believe that this is the place she and her sister would call home from now on as the others seemed happy to finally be home as well. The Ghidorah warrior suddenly felt a hand placed on her shoulder as she turned her head to see it was Malenia who supported her and wore a genuine smile as he seemed to have gotten out of her drunk stupor to savor the moment with the girl. 

"It's over." Rimuru said in regards to the battle against Clayman.

"Yeah." You responded with a relieved sigh.

"Yes. You two did wonderfully." Shion said as she stood between you both with a happy smile.

"Whew, I'm so tired. So tired." Ramiris yawned in an exhausted tone while sitting slouched on Treyni's shoulder as the Dryad smiled at the pixie.

"You didn't even do anything." Rimuru reminded her as Ramiris  felt annoyed at that snark.

"Rimuru!!" Veldora suddenly called out as you two were surprised by how close he got and how angsty and anxious he looked while doing weird grabby motions with his fingers. "Quickly, the new....the newest...the..." He muttered strangely as Rimuru held a hand to him awkwardly.

"Yeah, the newest volume! I know, I know! Jeez, I can't believe how carefree you guys are." Rimuru said in with an exasperated smile as you chuckled in amusement.

"Great Rimuru!!!! Great Y/N!!!!" You two suddenly heard many voices coming from the bottom of the hill as you two walked over to see your people waiting eagerly for you two down below.

Your people were al cheering in joy and excitement while waving at you two from below. Staring down below, you were in awe from the sight of your people, but this was more than you had hoped to see when you got back home. The sight of their happiness and joy was one of the only things you wanted when you two decided to lead these people. When you saw their excitement over the return of you and Rimuru, it reaffirmed this feeling as you couldn't help but smile as you raised your head to look to the clear blue sky above as a gentle breeze blew through the area.

"Are you seeing this, Shizue?" You thought as you could envisioned the image of her up above and staring down at you all with the sweet smile you remembered her having.

"Come, Great Rimuru, Great Y/N, Lady Ramiris. Let us go." Berretta gestured as for you all to return home to everyone as you nodded in agreement while Ranga howled in excitement.

"Wait, my son!" Malenia suddenly grabbed your shoulder in dramatic fashion as you turned towards her to see Malenia posing striking a strange pose with her hand facing her face. "We can't just simply return to our people in such a normal way. WE ARE GOJIRA~!" She struck another dramatic pose with her arms spread and her tail swinging around. "We are the epitome of flashiness! So follow my lead, alright~?" She said as you suddenly received a Thought Communication link from your mother and after you heard her suggestion, a small smile formed on your lips.

"Ahaha..." You suddenly chuckled as Rimuru stared at you strangely. "Ahahaha! You know what...I like it! Let's do it!" You said as Malenia was surprised you actually agreed to her suggestion as stars appeared in her eyes.

"Huh? Really?" Malenia asked in a cute tone.

"Really. Let's do this, Mother" You said as your mother smiled and nodded in excitement.

Rimuru morphed into his slime form and hopped onto the back of Ranga as the wolf sped off down the hill. Veldora and the rest also went off down the hill in their own way as your people cheered everyone on. While everyone went on ahead of you two, you and your mother were stood a few meters away from one another as you two gave each other a nod before you both closed your eyes and focused as magic blue circles formed under you two. The circles grew in massive size as you both sank into them and bright lights began shining into the air on top of the hill. Everyone down below looked up in awe as they could feel the immense power coming from the top of the hill before two figures of light suddenly began to rise from the ground and grew in unbelievable size. Growing to almost double the sizes of most mountains, the light around the figures dissipated and revealed that you and your mother had entered your full Gojira forms as you were twenty meters taller than her, but other than that, you two were the same. Your people below looked up in awe as the two of you glanced down at them before letting out victorious roars.

Play Sound Effects (Your Roar)

https://youtu.be/7XoxJ8ZbL0s

Play Sound Effects (Malenia's Roar)

https://youtu.be/Vbq6ucAr02c

The crowd below cheered and jumped in joy as you two roared and fired off blue heat rays into the sky in celebration over the victory in this war. Rimuru just chuckled at the sight of you two having fun in your changed forms as he figured it was okay to allow it this one time. Iris and her sister, who had woken up from the sounds of you and Malenia, looked up in awe as the blue lights in the sky mesmerized them and they found the sight beautiful.  Instead of covering their ears from the loud roars, they listened happily as it was this sound that they would forever correlate with the one who would bring them true freedom and a place they could call home.

"You're Iris-san, am I correct?" Iris heard as she turned around to see Mai, Riza, Lilia, and Honda stood behind her.

"Huh? Y-Yes." Iris said as she was surprised someone knew who she was.

"Lord Rimuru informed me of the situation you and your sister were in. We're truly happy that our Lord was able to save you and bring you both happiness. I am Mai. Me and my friends here were all saved by Lord Y/N, and we serve him closely, just as you plan on doing also. Whatever you need or are unsure of, please rely not only on us, but everyone around you." Mai said as she gently placed a hand on Iris's armored gauntlet.

Just as Mai had done a supportive act as such, drops of water had suddenly fallen onto her skin, surprising them when they saw tears dripping from Iris's eyes. A few drops of tear also managed to land on her younger sister as the small Ghidorah opened her eyes from her slumber and stared up in confusion.

"Big Sister?" The little Ghidorah muttered in wonder as Iris turned her head down to her. "Why are you crying?" She asked as Iris hadn't even realized she was crying and reached to her face with one hand and pulled it away to see tears stain her fingers.

"Huh? Why?" Iris said in confusion as Mai took hold of her hand.

"Because you're finally home." Mai said as Iris was left stunned before looking around to see the other people around her smiling and cheering for her as well.

"We're home...?" Iris said in disbelief as a few goblin children ran up to her. "Huh?" She gasped in confusion.

"Hey! She called you her Big Sister, right? She's your little sister?" A small goblin boy asked in wonder.

"Why do you and her look different? What's her name?" A goblin girl asked in excitement.

"Hey! Hey! Do you wanna play with us?" Another goblin girl asked as The small Ghidorah stared at them individually with her three heads.

"Huh? Play? Really?" Iris's younger sister asked as the three kids nodded. "Yes! Can I go, Big Sister?" The small Ghidorah asked.

"Huh?" Iris was in shock at how ready her younger sister was ready to interact with others, but once she got a glimpse of the pleading look the other children had, she had no choice as she wiped her tears and smiled. "Okay."  She said as set her younger sister down on the grass, and the young Ghidorah was in awe from the feeling.

"Whoa!! What is this? It feels super soft!!" The small Ghidorah, who stood a bit taller than the other children, said in amazement as she stomped her feet on the ground and made the kids laugh.

"Let's go!" The kids yelled as Iris watched her younger sister run off with a smile for the first time in a long time.

Finally feeling everything catch up to her, Iris turned her head up to the sky for a nice long look as she finally felt relief for the first time in years. Smiling with tears welling in her eyes, Iris let out a small breath while her hands unconsciously came to her chest as she placed her hand on her armor and felt a warm and cozy feeling overcoming her. Mai and the others smiled as another one of yours and Malenia's roars were let out before you two began shining white before turning smaller and smaller before you appeared in the air in your humanoid forms. The crowd below cheered as you two fell towards them and landed in super hero poses where Iris was able to see you two. 

"This is home, and..." Iris's thoughts trailed off as she saw you stand up and raise a fist in victory with a huge smile on your face as you were lifted off your feet by your people and tossed in the air repeatedly. "...you are forever my savior, my Lord." She thought as she finally accepted her new place in this world, and that was by your side as one of your close retainers and dearest friends.

After making such a ruckus and being welcomed home by your people, you and Rimuru quickly dispersed the crowd as to not disrupt any important business or way of living for others. The citizens quickly returned to what they were previously doing as you and Rimuru decided it was a good time to take a nice stroll through town to see how things were going. The two of you were accompanied by Shion, Veldora, Malenia, Mai, and Ranga as everyone in the street you were walking in caught the sight of you all and stared at you in amazement. What you two thought was going to be a normal stroll through town suddenly became a little more awkward when you saw everyone in the street suddenly stop what they were doing and kneel down before you two in two lines on either sides of the road.

"What's this all about? When did you guys practice for this?" Rimuru said as a bashful smile formed on his face.

"T-This is dangerous...I could get used to this..." You muttered as Mai giggled in your reaction while you bashfully grinned.

"Great Rimuru!!!! Great Y/N!!! Haaaggh!!" Rigurd suddenly came up running to you both before getting down on one knee with a shortness of breath from how fast he was running. "Welcome home, Great Rimuru! Great Y/N!" Rigurd announced once again as Diablo suddenly appeared next to Rigurd in a similar position with his head down to you both.

"My most sincere congratulations on your succession to Octagram. And my most genuine congratulations on obtaining the recognition you are most deserved from the other Demon Lords!" Diablo congratulated you both on your achievements as you and Rimuru felt awkward from receiving so much praise in so little time.

"Oh...Thanks." Rimuru said as you awkwardly chuckled behind him.

"Above all, I am so glad that you two have returned safely." Diablo said as things finally caught up to you both as you looked at Diablo in shock as he smiled at you two fondly.

"Huh? Why are you here, Diablo? Weren't you supposed to be in Falmuth?" You said in confusion as Rimuru nodded in agreement.

"Now, now. You two must be exhausted. For now, just take your time recovering your energy." Rigurd suggested as Diablo stood up in agreement to that notion as they escorted you both back to the meeting hall.

After being taken back for some tea and snacks, you were all lounging around in the office you and Rimuru shared as you and Rimuru sat on a couch with Shion as you three enjoyed cups of nice tea. On the couch across from you was Malenia and Veldora as they had their feet kicked up on the small coffee table in between the couches reading manga with no care in the world while Diablo stood by behind you two. A knock came from the door as you turned towards it excitedly and Rimuru spoke up.

"Come in." Rimuru called to the person outside the room.

"Pardon us." The door opened as Mai and Haruna both walked in while carrying trays with small desserts that were prepared for you all, and once they placed them on the small coffee table, you were able to admire the snack in all its greatness.

"Oh, is this matcha pudding?" Rimuru asked in excitement as Mai took your empty tea cup and traded you for a serving of pudding.

"Oho! One of my favorites! I love the way it resembles Rimuru's jiggly notions! It's the only other dessert I'd die for besides the ice cream you guys designed after me!" You said with excitement while gently poking at the putting with your spoon, making it jiggle as Rimuru glared at you with a pink hue on his cheeks in reaction to your comparison.

"Yes! I'm not as good as Princess Shuna or Miss Mai yet, but I have gotten better at cooking." Haruna said humbly as Mai looked over at her.

"Huh? Please give yourself more credit, Haruna-san. I like your cooking a lot." Mai said while placing a serving of pudding on Malenia's expecting tail before it was snatched away as she left Haruna with a feeling of butterflies in her stomach.

"Thank you!" Haruna thanked Mai as Veldora lowered his manga a bit in expectancy and angst.

"Oh? I assume you brought some for me, too?" Veldora asked as he put down his manga and sat forward with a grin.

"Of course, Lord Veldora." Haruna said as she placed his serving in front of him on the coffee table before Diablo walked over and took the last portion on Haruna's tray before offering it to Veldora suddenly.

"Lord Veldora. This is your promise portion, the first." Diablo said as he placed his serving in front of Veldora as it jiggled in front of the Storm Dragon.

"Kaaaahahahaha! Diablo, you seem to be a man with a strong sense of duty." Veldora commended Diablo for his traits as you two stared at your other secretary in wonder.

"Diablo, aren't you going to eat some?" Rimuru asked as you nodded with your spoon in your mouth.

"This is my payment to him in return for information. You need not worry about me." Diablo said in reassurance.

"Huh? No way. Everyone eats together, that's a rule. I'll go get you one myself." You said as you were about to put your pudding down, but Mai stopped you.

"No. I'll go fetch him one. I'll only be a moment." Mai said as she had already bolted out of the door while leaving her pudding in your protection.

"Information?" Rimuru said in confusion before he realized what he meant. "Ohh!" Your slime buddy suddenly glared at Veldora who tensed up and avoided eye contact while failing to whistle and only blowing out strange noises and air. "I wondered how Diablo knew about what was decided at Walpurgis. How many desserts did you sell it for? One? Two? Three?" Rimuru asked as Veldora flinched and grew even more nervous upon the last guess. "Yep, three." Rimuru said as you sighed in disappointment at your Storm Dragon friend. "But, Veldora, you don't even need to eat, do you?" Rimuru said as this was a statement of blasphemy to Veldora.

"D-Don't be ridiculous, Rimuru! It's not a matter of whether I need to eat or not! I eat because I want to eat!" Veldora exclaimed as Shion enjoyed her dessert with a cute smile on her face, meanwhile you smacked your mother on the head with your tail as she had tried to snatch Mai's portion of pudding. "Besides, you don't need to eat, either, do you?!" Veldora countered as Rimuru didn't think he'd reverse it on him as the Storm Dragon smiled in victory before happily eating a spoonful of pudding.

"Hahh..." Rimuru sighed in exasperation while he slumped back in his seat.

"You did escort Great Rimuru properly, I presume?" Diablo asked his senior secretary as Shion had a proud look on her face.

"Of course I did. I proved that he doesn't need you as long as he has me. The same goes for Great Y/N." Shion said as you all stared at her while she smiled brightly. "But that aside, what became of the task Great Rimuru and Great Y/N assigned to you?" Shion asked as she thought she could haze her junior a bit in front of you two.

"Kuhuhuhu...Completed to perfection." Diablo stood with a confident grin on his face, shooting down her attempts as you and Rimuru were surprised.

"It's pretty amazing how you timed coming back here so perfectly." You said while pointing your spoon at Diablo before eating another piece of your pudding.

"I was taking care of other matters, but Lord Veldora contact me and advised me to return." Diablo revealed with a carefree smile as Veldora almost choked on his pudding while the spoon was still in his mouth.

"I-I just remembered something I need to do..." Veldora said as he tried to escape, but two hands suddenly and firmly planted themselves on his shoulders as he turned in nervousness and fear to see Rimuru had stopped him.

"Now, just sit tight, Veldora-kun." Rimuru said with a scary smile on his face as he aggressively massaged Veldora's shoulder, striking fear into the Storm Dragon.

"W-Wait...You'll understand when I explain..." Veldora tried weaseling out of this, but Rimuru wasn't having it.

"LIKE HELL I WILL! DON'T BUTT INTO OTHER PEOPLE'S WORK!!!" Rimuru yelled in Veldora's ear before snatching away his other plate of pudding. "NO PUDDING FOR YOU!!" He punished Veldora as the Storm Dragon was in shock and you suddenly opened the door and poked your head out of the room.

"MAI!! FORGET THE PUDDING!! WE GOT DIABLO'S PORTION BACK!! ALSO, NO COOKING ANYTHING FOR VELDORA!!" You screamed out through the hallway outside in an attempt to relay this punishment of Veldora's to Mai, meanwhile Haruna stood awkwardly by the door with as best a smile she could keep.

"Haruna-san, don't give Veldora any snacks for a while." Rimuru said to Haruna as she remained awkwardly silent from the situation in front of her.

"What?! That's cruel! That's too cruel, you two!" Veldora whined in despair as you two began lecturing him, meanwhile Malenia was hiding herself further in her manga with a nervous look on her face.

"Yikes...I can't let them know it was me who thought up the idea of taking Diablo's snacks in return for info on these two...I'll need to lay low and get snacks from my other sources..." Malenia thought nervously as she did her best to remain cool and unsuspicious while you and Rimuru continued to scold and bonk Veldora on the head.

"I can't be bothered anymore." Veldora muttered as he took over the couch for himself and was curled up in sadness facing the cushions as Malenia was forced to sit in yours and Rimuru's chair as she kicked her feet up on the desk.

"Tch, I thought your sisters beat the crybaby out of you..." Malenia muttered as Veldora flinched from the mention of his sisters while she continued to read her manga.

"Anyway, should you be wasting time here? Is everything okay with Falmuth?" Rimuru asked in regards to the plans left with Diablo.

"Hmph! A tea server is better off serving tea. Allow me to take care of this matter." Shion huffed with confidence that she could do a better job than Diablo, making you and Rimuru a little nervous at the thought of her having more responsibility than she already can handle.

"There will be no need for that. With my informant on the job, all is proceeding as planned." Diablo said with sureness of his plans.

"Is that so?" You asked in wonder while you leaned back into the couch and threw your arms on the top of the couch, one wrapping around over Rimuru, as you two listened closely to Diablo.

"Yes. For starters, I restored all of them to their original forms. It was inconvenient to leave them as lumps of flesh." Diablo explained as you and Rimuru glanced at one another in confusion.

"Lumps of flesh?" Rimuru repeated in wonder before remembering what Shion had done to Reyhiem, Razen, and Edmaris during her interrogations. "Oh, I get it." He said in slight discomfort as he remembered how grotesque they were when they left Tempest.

After retelling the entirey of what transpired during his trip to Falmuth, you two learned about how Diablo made Razen and Reyhiem his servants and Edmaris submit, how he handed over a 'choice' to the nobles that were currently in charge there and setting Edmaris up to hand over the throne and how little the Kingdom of Falmuth had in terms of ways of opposing your nation and that there were only three options they could afford. The first would be to have Edmaris abdicate the throne and relinquish his position as king and also pay reparations to Tempest. The second would be to surrender and become a vassal state under the nation of Tempest. The final option being the worst considering the destruction that would befall them, which would be to continue the war. Diablo informed you both that the Kingdom of Falmuth would only have one week to respond to these demands, and if that there was no reply within that time frame, the war would resume with a counterattack of devastating magnitude from your forces, eluding to the destructive power you and your mother possessed. Hearing about what Diablo and those who accompanied him to Falmuth was able to accomplish, you and Rimuru were amazed by the efficiency he was able to work at.

"And that is what I did to throw them off-balance." Diablo said as there was an unsettling part of the story he retold.

"You showed them that?" Rimuru asked him in surprise of Diablo showing off a dismembered, mutilated King Edmaris to his subordinates and rank-and-file nobles.

"Yes. I determined that it was the best way to strike fear into them." Diablo said with a bright smile as Shion smirked and hummed proudly at her work of dismembering people but keeping them alive.

"He wasn't complimenting you, Shion." Rimuru muttered as she just took it as praise while Rimuru took a sip of his tea.

"You said you asked them to pay reparations for what they did, right? What are we expecting in terms of the amount?" You asked in wonder while twirling around some of Rimuru's hair in your fingers as he lightly slapped your hand away while setting down his cup of tea.

"Now, as for the peace terms...I demanded ten thousand stellar gold coins as reparations." Diablo revealed as Rimuru spat out his tea in shock and your tail flopped onto the floor at the same time your jaw dropped.

"Ten thousand stellar gold coins?! That's uh..." Rimuru muttered in shock as he tried doing conversion math in his head while you struggled to count with your fingers as steam began emitting from your head.

"Expressed in terms of Japanese yen, the approximate value is one trillion." Raphael finished the conversion for Rimuru as he looked at Diablo in shock.

"Huh?! Don't you think that was a bit unreasonable?" Rimuru said as Mai was fanning you with her wings to cool you down as you became dazed from attempting all that math.

"Not a problem. I gave them three options, but there is only one correct answer. The continuation of the war is impossible, with their army destroyed. And it's obvious that their nobles will oppose becoming a vassal state. Which means they'll choose option one--reparations--and they will make every effort to negotiate." Diablo explained how their choice was really just an ultimatum.

"Like, to lower the amount or let them pay in installments for ten years?" Rimuru asked Diablo.

"We will not agree to lower the amount. The Kingdom of Falmuth will have no choice but to accept our terms. They will most likely go about it by forcing all responsibility upon a third party." Diablo explained the thought process their nobles would most likely take.

"Then what happens once that's done?" You asked him in wonder.

"Exactly what I've planned. We should be able to collect ten thousand stellar gold coins, at least." Diablo said with sheer confidence.

"How do you know?" Rimuru asked him.

"Simple. Stellar gold coins are so valuable, they're difficult to use. It's unlikely anyone would accept them as payment." Diablo said as Shion, who once stood with a proud face, now smiled awkwardly as she had no clue what was going on or being said.

"I get it. We'd have no way to use them, so we'dd have to save them up." Rimuru said in understanding as you scratched the back of your head.

"Jeez, we could've used a guy like you in our department back in our previous lives." You said in amazement of Diablo's negotiation and manipulation skills as he bowed in gratefulness of your praise.

"And what else are you plotting?" Rimuru asked Diablo.

"Kuhuhuhu...Choosing the first option means they pay reparations and their king abdicates. After abdicating, Edmaris will lose the basis of his influence, and he will be coerced into assuming responsibility." Diablo explained the fate that would fall upon Edmaris soon.

"So he's the third party that the nobles will force the responsibility on." Rimuru reached that realization.

"Now that their royal knights are gone, opposing the nobles would mean death for King Edmaris. He'll have no choice but to do as they say. But that would only be on the surface. Behind the scenes..." Diablo trailed off as it was your turn to reach a realization in Diablo's plan.

"Now that their military's been annihilated, the king's faction loses to the nobles' faction. In order for them to avoid that...they'd have to side with Youm's faction. Meaning that Edmaris would have to ally with Youm, and in turn, ally with all of us." You said as this was the outcome Diablo had reached in order to carry out your plans.

"Precisely. Most impressive." Diablo said with a bow as Shion just nodded her head enthusiastically.

"So we'd just need to lend Youm so of our forces, right?" Rimuru asked for clarification on this part of the plan.

"Yes. I expect Razen to contact me soon." Diablo said with expectancy.

"Would that be enough for us to win? Their next king won't form an alliance with the surrounding nations?" Rimuru asked in wonder of the actions of Falmuth's next King.

"Sir Fuze and King Gazel, their neighbors, are using their influence to put pressure on their other neighbors." Diablo was explaining as Rimuru felt Veldora had enough punishment and brought back his pudding and floated it over to the Storm Dragon as Veldora noticed and smiled with tears and a runny nose. "So the chances of that are very low, but if that does happen, I will handle it personally. You need not worry." Diablo said with confidence.

"Okay, we'll leave it to you. Contact either or both of us if anything comes up." Rimuru reminded Diablo to depend on you two.

"Of course. Please leave everything to me, my kings." Diablo said as he bowed and smiled with sheer confidence.

"Well, I guess that settles that matter. I think it's time to kick back and relax." You said while stretching out your limps and slouching back into the couch.

"Hold it right there, my son." Malenia's hand suddenly planed itself firmly on your shoulder as you were surprised by her grip strength and stared up in confusion while she hovered her head over yours. "Just because you're a full blown Demon Lord and Gojira, that doesn't mean you're gonna slack on your training. There's still some tricks I can show ya, so we're gonna get to work!" She said with grin as you shifted into a cold sweat.

"Huh? B-But don't you have manga to read?" You asked in confusion and nervousness.

"I just finished the latest volume and feel like getting some fresh air. Let's go get the others..." Malenia said with a scary low tone as Mai's eyes popped open in reaction to hearing what she said as she tried to sneakily shuffle out of the room, but yelped when she felt her wing get pinched. "Where do you think you're going?" Malenia asked with a scary smile as a dark aura emitted from her and Mai was sweating bullets from how scared she was.

"W-Wait! Rimuru! Help! Help us!!" You were screaming as your mother dragged you by the tail and threw Mai over her shoulder while she headed for the door, but you grabbed onto its frame. "HELP ME!! SOMEONE HELP ME!!" You cried out in terror.

"UWAAAAAAHHHHHHAHAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!" Mai cried with tears gushing from her eyes as she flailed around in Malenia's arm and tried to get away, but to no avail as Malenia gave one more yank on your tail as you ripped off a piece of the door and it shut the rest of the way. 

"I'll be borrowing them and the others, Rimuru-chan!!!!" Malenia's voice echoed from the hall.

"NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Yours and Mai's screams echoed louder as Rimuru watched with a nervous smile on his face as things were finally back to normal in Tempest.