"Divine Dragons...Malenia the Gojira...? It can't be...!" The middle cleric said in shock as Iris turned in his direction. "The Thousand Year Old Dragon...King Ghidorah?!" He gasped as his breath fell short while baring witness to a divine monster.

"That name seems quite long and meticulous to say. I rather not be known for such a title. Instead then..." Iris trailed off as she thought for a few moments as she aimed her palm at the clerics and restrained them in similar gold rings that they used to restrain the Saints, but hers slowly burned them as they writhed in pain. "Lord Rimuru, can you come up with a title for me?" She asked as Rimuru was confused while holding a healing Hinata.

"Huh? Right now?" Rimuru said as she nodded insistingly. "Huhhh?! Jeez, I can't just come up with a title on the...spot...?" Rimuru's voice slowly fell silent as his eyes were drawn by the gold color shining off of her. "The Gold...?" He muttered as Iris' ears perked up and a small spark surged between her horns. "Iris The Gold?" He said to her as she smiled.

"I see...That is the title I shall carry with all my pride." Iris said as she turned back with an intense glare towards the clerics who looked terrified. "Remember this name for as long as you live, even if your lives won't much longer. That is who I am." She declared herself as flashes of lightning went off in the air as the surprise attack arranged by the Seven Days Clergy was quickly snuffed out by a divine monster not seen for a thousand years. "Iris The Gold." She declared as there was another crash of thunder in the air as everyone stared at her in amazement.

After restraining the Seven Days clerics that were attacking one of her master's and her friends, Iris landed on the ground and her wings changed back into her cape as the skies above cleared and returned to normal. Seeing that Hinata's Saints were still bound, the Ghidorah Demon Lord raised her hand to them as she manipulated the Holy Bindings and shattered them, freeing those who were restrained. Rimuru watched as Iris walked over towards him and Hinata as she crouched down next to them and checked on Hinata while supplying a steady stream of her holy energy.

"She seems to be out of the worst of it, but her body will still be exhausted even after I replenish all of her energy. She may not wake right away." Iris informed Rimuru as he smiled at the good news.

"That's good. Thank you, Iris." Rimuru thanked her with a very grateful tone as she smiled while Iris finished healing Hinata as the stream of her energy stopped after a few more moments. "Who would've guessed that you could use Holy Magic, though." He said in surprise.

"Malenia-san noticed it during our training that I was limiting myself to regular energy based techniques. She told me stories of how the Ghidorah were worshipped as guardians of the land and that they protected the living creatures that lived in the domains they resided in. She also mentioned that me and my younger sister are a special kind of Ghidorah. We're of the kind that are able to reproduce and birth a new pack of Ghidorahs. However, instead of 'King Ghidorah', like that fool said, I guess you could say I'm a 'Queen Ghidorah'." She said awkwardly as Rimuru smiled smugly at her.

"Oho? Are you plotting on eloping with Y/N and starting your own kingdom somewhere~?" Rimuru teased as Iris' face exploded into a red blush.

"L-L-L-L-L-Lord Rimuru! This isn't the time to be saying jokes!!!" Iris stammered in a bashful tone as a hand suddenly clamped itself onto Rimuru's shoulder.

"You seem to be having fun, Lord Rimuru..." Rimuru tensed up with a scared smile as he recognized that voice as Mai's and could feel an intense aura coming off of her as she smiled scarily behind him, but their attentions were caught when there was a shattering noise and everyone turned to see the Seven Days clerics had escaped their binds and were out of sight.

"They were able to free themselves? Did I not strengthen to bindings correctly? I thought I had drained them of their energy, but I must've been wrong about the amount they possessed." Iris thought in confusion.

"Time for you to die!" The group heard as they looked up to see the clerics charging an attack as all three of them had glowing orbs floating between their palms and a magic circle formed above them with a triangle symbol powering up. "Trinity Break!" They chanted as a barrage of deadly holy blasts rained down towards them.

"I won't let you do as you please!" Iris yelled as she was about to stop their attack, but Raphael had other plans as she alerted Rimuru to her plans.

"Notice. Reactivating ultimate skill Beelzebub." Raphael announced to her master.

"Huh?!" Rimuru gasped as a massive black shadow expanded from him and swirled up to swallow the cleric's attack whole.

"Impossible!" The clerics said in disbelief as everyone was stunned at how swiftly Rimuru dealt with it, even though he didn't mean to.

"Excuse me, Raphael-sensei? Wasn't Beelzebbub sacrificed to stop Hinata's attack earlier?" Rimuru asked in confusion.

"Yes. I had made a backup, so there was no problem." Raphael answered as this was baffling to Rimuru.

"What?! A backup?! You should've told me that in the first place! I thought I'd never be able to use it again!" Rimuru thought nervously as he assumed his Ultimate Skill was lost forever.

"Notice. Spirit energy response increasing. Their main attack is incoming." Raphael informed Rimuru as the clerics had enough of these games.

"Die, Demon Lords!" One of the clerics screamed as the skill, Disintegration, was cast in an instant as all of them were caught in the tower of magic circles and symbols that would atomize everyone once the spell was fired. "Trinity Disintegration!" They chanted as one as Rimuru, Iris, and Hinata all began floating in the air as they were the primary targets.

"Shit! No way Beelzebub can handle this!" Rimuru thought in shock.

"Not a problem. Activate ultimate skill Uriel's 'Absolute Guard'?" Raphael asked for permission to activate the skill that would negate the attack.

"Uriel?! Oh, yeah, the thing Raphael just quietly picked up when my skills were being reorganized. Actually, if Absolute Guard is a thing, was it even necessary to sacrifice Beelzebub?" Rimuru thought back to the moment he and Hinata's battle reached its climax, but pushed those thoughts aside to focus on what's happening right now. "Anyway, yes. But that aside, Raphael-sensei..." He spoke to her as she hummed in response. "We need to talk later." He said in a parent-like manner as the skill was about to fire.

"What do you think you're doing?" A voice asked as the Disintegration spell suddenly shattered and was cancelled out by an unknown force.

"Huh?" Rimuru hummed in confusion as he and Iris fell back onto their feet.

"I-It can't be!" The cleric on the left gasped in disbelief.

"What happened?!" The other on the right was baffled and shaken to his core before the cleric in the center suddenly had a cold shiver rush up his spine as he felt something had appeared behind him.

"I asked you a question..." An intimidating voice spoke as a massive amount of energy and aura suddenly spilled out behind.

Upon feeling the unimaginable amount of power being unleashed behind them, all three of the clerics suddenly felt like vomiting as they covered their mouths while slowly turning around. Once they found who was stood behind them, it was revealed to be you as you stood on your own magicules with your arms crossed as your eyes glowed a terrifying cold blue color and your dorsal plates had a misty blue aura emitting from them. Two of the clerics couldn't contain themselves any longer and threw up in shock while the one in the center had spit leaking from the corners of his mouth. Too frozen in fear of the monster that was in front of their eyes, they could only float there stunned as you opened your mouth to speak.

"On your knees..." Your voice resonated as not only the clerics, but all the humans suddenly dropped to their knees from a sudden weight of gravity pushing them down, the clerics getting the worst of it as they yelled while plummeting to the ground.

The clerics crashed hard into the dirt below as you undid the plates of magicules you were standing on and fell towards the ground before landing on your feet as the earth below you caved in a little.

"Huh? How did he...?" Rimuru said in confusion of how you were manipulating them with only your voice.

"Notice. The subject Y/N is has erected a barrier that has flooded the entire area with his magicules. Within the barrier, he is able to freely manipulate the magicules within the confines of the barrier to his will and usurp control over all magic and skills. Y/N has manipulated the magicules around the clerics, inducing a massive change of gravity on the targets." Raphael explained as Rimuru noticed Arnaud and the other saints were struggling in pain from the weight of your magicules that was crushing them.

"Y/N! These guys with Hinata are good guys! It's just those clerics in front of you that you wanna focus on!" Rimuru called out as you glanced over at him before turning your head back down to the clerics at your feet.

In response to his words, you released the magicules that were crushing the saints as they were able to breath in relief and exhaustion from having the weight on them lifted. While the three clerics were left immobile at your feet, you waved your hand to Iris as she instantly changed positions to appear behind them as two golden dragon heads appeared from her shoulders and swooped in on the clerics who were pinned down on the left and right. The moment the golden dragon heads sank their teeth into the clerics, they yelled in pain as they felt their energy deplete at an astronomical rate. Iris raised one of her hands shot a gravity beam at the cleric in the center as he was enveloped in her energy once again and she began to absorb his energy. Not allowing them to escape this time, Iris held them still as you released your magicules from them and turned to an open space nearby as you sensed something coming.

"They're here..." You said as everyone was confused by what you meant as they followed your gaze.

In the small open space a few feet away, a massive white door was suddenly erected from the ground and the massive double doors opened with a blinding white light emitting from inside. With shock filling the tone of the clerics, you stared with a furrowed brow as the Demon Lord Valentine had appeared as one of her subordinates who looked exactly like her subordinate Roy, but was dressed in holy attire, assisted her out of the doorway.

"You...You are..." The cleric in the center gasped in shock as he couldn't believe who had arrived to this battlefield as Valentine walked over towards you, stopping about a foot away as you two stared at each other intensely.

"Demon Lord Rimuru. Demon Lord Y/N. I've caused much trouble for you two." The female Demon Lord said as she didn't pull her intense gaze away from you.

"Uh, yeah...Long time no see." Rimuru said as he smiled awkwardly. "You're telling me...Demon Lord Valentine was the god Luminus all along?" Rimuru thought in slight disbelief as he didn't think she would hold both positions of Demon Lord and God.

"Demon Lord Y/N..." You heard her subordinate speak up as you glanced over at him. "I am the cloistered emperor Louis. Forgive me if I'm overstepping my boundaries, but may I call off those who foolishly decided to enter your country?" He asked as you returned to glaring at Luminus for a few moments before relaxing yourself as your energy and barrier dissipated from the area.

"Do as you please." You said to him as you turned around and walked away from Luminus as Iris undid her energy sapping binds and followed you as the clerics struggled to prostrate themselves in front of their god.

"Thank you." Louis briefly bowed his head before turning to everyone, especially towards the Seven Days Clergy. "Stand down. I am the cloistered emperor Louis, and the one standing next to me is our goddess...Lady Luminus!" He announced as the lolita dressed Demon Lord walked forward as all the saints that were left standing were in shock.

"L-Lady Luminus?!" Bacchus said in shock.

"That...is God?!" Litus gasped before all of them got down on their knees in respect to her arrival as you walked over and stood next to Rimuru.

"A Demon Lord is God? What kind of joke is this?" Rimuru thought in confusion of the situation between Demon Lord Valentine and the humans of the Church.

"Yes. This would likely create the most efficient environment for gaining control over the human race." Raphael informed him as Luminus walked over to the unconscious Hinata while Iris stood by the captain of the saints.

"I've undone the damage they inflicted on her and she's no longer in danger. She seems to be just tired now from the battle." Iris said as Luminus nodded at her.

"Hinata... I told you to restrain yourself. How could you be so selfish?" Luminus said before turning to look back at Iris. "Thank you, Demon Lord Iris. You've saved me the trouble of using my skill, Resurrection, on this stubborn servant of mine." Luminus  said in a formal manner as Iris stood at attention.

"No. I was merely following my Lords orders to ensure her and everyone else's survival." Iris said while placing Hinata's cloak over her body to cover the area that was once wounded as Luminus looked over to you.

"You have my gratitude." Luminus said as she walked over and pass you as she was heading to discipline the Seven Days clerics.

"We can discuss formalities once we head back to town. I'm sure you have some form of punishment to dish out on those three, right?" You said to her.

"Yeah. It'll only be a moment." Was all Luminus said as she walked away from the group to deal with her foolish servants.

"My Lord..." Iris called as you looked over to her. "Lady Hinata seems to be coming to." She said as Rimuru was already knelt down next to her as you walked over and looked closely as Hinata's eyes slowly twitched behind their lids before she slowly opened them, and the first thing she saw was Rimuru as spoke up tiredly.

"S-Sensei?" Hinata muttered.

"Hey, try opening those eyes. Who're you calling 'Sensei'?" Rimuru said with a gentle smile on his face. "When I see her like this, she seems so innocent...maybe even childlike. Didn't she say it's been about ten years since she came here, and she was in high school then? So...that means..." Rimuru's thoughts were interrupted as Hinata had sat up while holding her cloak just under the hole in the center of her shirt.

"Hey." Hinata spoke up as Rimuru hummed from his attention being caught. "You were just thinking rude thoughts, weren't you?" She accused him as Rimuru bounced away and sat next to you nervously with his hands up and an awkward smile.

"No! Definitely not!" Rimuru defended himself.

"Then how long are you going to keep staring?" Hinata said as a small blush formed on her face while she covered herself a bit more while Rimuru was now embarrassed seeing that he was caught.

"I'm sorry! You were just too beautiful!" Rimuru apologized instantly.

"Oh?" Hinata hummed in a judging tone as Rimuru flinched from her assuming stare. "Has anyone ever told you that you are severely lacking in tact?" She asked as Rimuru felt an arrow pierce his pride as he had a shocked look on his face. "I bet you were never very popular with the ladies." Rimuru received another critical hit, but knew he couldn't take this slander laying down.

"Th-That is so not true! I was a reliable person who was very considerate of others!" Rimuru made a case for himself.

"Hm? But you still struck out every time you tried asking one of our female coworkers out on a date." You said with your arms crossed as the last critical hit to his pride was dealt and he fell on the floor in defeat while Hinata stood up with an amused smile.

"Well, all right, then." Hinata said as she glanced at you and gave you a respectful bow before turning around and joining her allies.

"Somehow I feel like I just lost..." Rimuru muttered as you picked him up by his shirt and put him back on his feet.

"No point in thinking about it too much, there's more important things to handle right now..." You said to him as he turned to see you walk away and towards Luminus as she stood in front of the clerics who were trembling in fear.

"Now, Seven Days...What sort of excuse will you give me for what you've done this time?" Luminus asked them in a soft, yet terrifying tone as they had no way of answering while their heads were still lowered to the ground. "Death. I will, at least, grant you death by my own hand." She said as the clerics raised their heads in desperation.

"P-Please have mercy!" One of them pleaded.

"We did what we did for you!" The center one groveled.

"Please! Out of respect for our many years of loyalty--!" The last cleric begged, but Luminus already raised her hands to cast judgement upon them.

"Death Blessing!" Luminus unleashed her skill as a bright pair of hands formed behind her and extended out to the clerics as they screamed for mercy from their god, but were engulfed in the bright light of her ability as moments later their voices fell silent and they turned to dust while their clothes fell limp and landed on the ground as her skill was finished casting and disappeared.

"I was going to ask you for the honor of killing them, but then that would be me overstepping my boundaries, seeing that they were your servants." You said as Luminus turned to see you walk up to her. "I'd be lying if I said that I was over the qualms I had with your side, but seeing the way Hinata acted and realizing that even your forces were tricked into invading us, I think the logical thing to do is be civil and talk about moving forward pass this incident." You suggested as you extended a hand out to Luminus  as she glanced down at it before turning her eyes back to your face. "What say you, Lady Luminus?" You asked her as she contemplated for a single moment before slowly and firmly taking your hand with a single shake.

"I agree with that notion." Luminus said as you nodded and turned back to Rimuru who just smiled with relief.

While everything was going on from a safe distance away from Tempest, in the town square was Malenia who was playing around with Secily, carrying her in the air as the young Ghidorah girl laughed while pretending to fly, as her wings weren't fully developed yet to allow her to do so. The other children cheered as they wanted a turn to fly with the help of Malenia as your mother cheered and laughed heartily while enjoying her time with all the kids. Veldora on the other hand was sat on the fountain in the center of plaza reading manga as the two of them were very much laid back despite being the last line of defense. This changed though when they sensed you all coming towards their direction as Veldora put his manga away and stood up while Malenia instructed the children to move on somewhere else to play. All the other kids ran off, but Secily clung to Malenia's tail as she wanted to see her sister return, and not wanting to hear her make a tantrum, your mother allowed her to do so as she was confident in keeping her safe. The two guardians of your city stood side by side as they watched you and Rimuru lead yours and Luminus' group into town, and Veldora was fired up for some action as he walked up to you both.

"You're back, Rimuru! Y/N! So it's finally time for me and my last line of defense, is it?" Veldora said with his chest puffed out and an excited smile while Malenia sighed in annoyance and shook her head while face palming.

"Oh, sorry. We ended up not needing our last line of defense." Rimuru apologized as you noticed Luminus was glaring at Veldora intensely with her brow the most furrowed it's been this day as you grew a bit nervous.

"What?! Argh! And here I was all fired up and waiting for my turn." Veldora scratched his head in frustration, but stopped when he noticed Luminus was among the group as he stared at her for a few moments before regaining his boastful attitude while pointing directly at her. "Well, hey, Demon Lord Luminus!" He called to her as she flinched in anger from his tone while Hinata sighed with a slightly mortified and exhausted tone. "How was that? I remembered this time, Demon Lord Luminus!" He laughed as you and Rimuru realized that he just outed her as a Demon Lord to her human followers as the remaining Ten Great Saints were shocked.

"Lady Luminus..." Arnaud muttered with a stunned look on his face.

"...is Demon Lord Luminus Valentine?" Litus said in surprise as Luminus summoned a rose colored sword and nearly shoved it down Veldora's throat as he was shocked on the ground while she glared at him with her red and blue eye's glowing with hatred.

"You stupid lizard! Every single time I see you, you're getting in my way!!!!" Luminus yelled in a huge fit of rage while inching the sword further into his mouth as he yelled in terror.

After their second encounter with one another after Walpurgis, you and everyone else waited until the sun had began to set as Luminus was letting out all her anger and frustrations on Veldora himself, and he was not allowed to fight back due to the risk of him destroying the town. You were sat on the fountain with Mai and Iris on your sides as Secily sat in your lap laughing while enjoying the show. Everyone on the ground watched as Luminus continuously beat and beat on Veldora as the two flew around in the air frantically as the Demon Lord Lolita gave chase after the Storm Dragon.

"It's time I settled this grudge I've had against you!" Luminus yelled as she got around and behind Veldora as she wrapped her arms around his stomach while the Storm Dragon clenched his teeth in fear. "Embrace Drain!" In an instant, Veldora and Valentine were surrounded in a yellow light as the Storm Dragon flailed around in shock and pain as if being electrocuted while Valentine remained fine.

"Ohhhh?" Rimuru hummed in intrigue while he sat on the floor in front of you with his legs crossed.

"What do you think she's doing to him?" You asked in wonder.

"Answer. This attack absorbs the energy--that is, it absorbs the target's energy and simultaneously regurgitates it as extreme pain and discomfort." Raphael explained to Rimuru.

"So that's how it even works on a spiritual being like Veldora." Rimuru thought in enlightenment. "I guess you could say he's finally reaping what he sowed all those years ago when he visited her nation." He answered you, but he noticed that Malenia was stood to the side sweating bullets while avoiding getting in the view of Luminus . "Huh? What's wrong, Malenia-san?" He asked as she flinched.

"H-Huh? Nothing. Nothing at all, ahahaha..." Your mother laughed while scratching her head as you all stared at her skeptically as she avoided your gazes now. "Not good...I didn't think she still held a grudge against him for that all those years ago. I hope she didn't find out I looted some nice looking treasures while Veldora was going wild..." She thought as the vague memory of her swimming through a sea of gold and money flashed in her mind.

"L-Let's talk this over!!!" Veldora yelped with tears flying out of his eyes as he struggled to break free from Luminus's grasp.

"So that's Veldora?" Fritz asked in confusion of what he was seeing from the Storm Dragon.

"The Storm Dragon we were so afraid of?" Arnaud said in a baffled and estranged tone from what was happening.

"I don't believe it." Bacchus said with a look of being taken aback.

"I actually feel sorry for him." Litus felt pity for Veldora as she stared on without a wink.

"R-Rimuru! Y/N! Get this pigheaded woman off me!" Veldora begged as Luminus wasn't going to let that comment fly.

"Oh? It seems you're still lucid enough to complain." Luminus said as Veldora glanced at her in fear before she zapped him again, causing him to scream out in terror, but not enough to prevent him from seeing Malenia try to sneak away.

"AHHHHHH!! MASTER!! HELP!! DON'T TELL ME YOU'RE GOING TO ABANDON ME LIKE YOU DID THAT NIGHT WHEN THEY CAUGHT ME!!!" He yelled as Luminus's eye snapped to her and she saw Malenia trying to tiptoe into an alley.

"So you were there, too?" Luminus said in a loud enough voice as Malenia flinched and stopped on one of her tipped toes as she slowly turned her head to Valentine with a scared smile. "Then as this idiot's master, you'll take responsibility, right?" Luminus said in a fierce tone as the pair suddenly appeared behind Malenia and your mother was shocked when Valentine grabbed her tail.

"YOU IDIOT STUDENT OF MINE!! WHY WOULD YOU REVEAL THAT TO HER--KKYYYAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!" Malenia and Veldora yelled as Luminus shocked them both with her Embrace Drain as you facepalmed at your mother's embarrassing moment as this would last all the way until dinner time.

Deciding that the it was a long day and that a meeting with each side right after would be to exhausting for everyone, it was decided that you would hold this meeting the next day, and around noon that time was when you two met with Luminus and her subordinates in the meeting hall. Iris and Shion were in attendance of this meeting as they stood at yours and Rimuru's side while you both sat next to one another at the end of the table. On your right were Luminus as Louis sat next to her, and then the remaining members of the ten Great Saints were sat along the right side of the large table. On Rimuru's left were those who you two chose would attend this meeting from your side, being Benimaru, Souei, Rigurd, Veldora, Malenia and Mai. Things were a bit quiet in the room as you and Rimuru wondered how to start this meeting, and your blue haired friend turned his head to glance over towards Luminus and her underlings.

"Louis, the cloistered emperor of Lubelius. Demon Lord Valentine was his younger brother, Roy, who was killed by Laplace of the Moderate Harlequin Alliance." Rimuru remembered the deceased twin who was playing the role of 'Demon Lord Valentine' when he met him in Walpurgis as Louis was the spitting image of him, though just clothed in Holy Dressings. "Hinata apologized to the Crusaders for not telling them who Luminus really was." He thought as he remembered the Saints reconciling and choosing to follow Hinata despite the secret she had hidden, and how Hinata became a bit more open and elated around them after seeing their resolve to stay by her side. "And now we're going to have a discussion about the future of Tempest and Lubelius." He thought as Hinata was the one to kickstart this meeting as she spoke first.

"The Western Holy Church could not recognize a nation of monsters. So Archbishop Reyhiem came forward with a proposal, which is why I approved the mobilization of the Temple Knights. I personally couldn't acknowledge you, either." Hinata ended on a personal note as you glanced over at her.

"Is it because of what happened between us and Shizu-san?" You asked her while your arms were crossed.

"Yes. Though, looking back now, it seems I was being used, too." Hinata said as something confused Rimuru about what she said.

"Used? By whom?" Rimuru asked her in wonder.

"Merchants from the Easter Empire." Hinata admitted as she felt like she took a hit to her pride.

"There were merchants who frequently visited Demon Lord Clayman, too. So they were the Eastern Merchants." Rimuru said as you all finally figured out who it was that set both sides up against one another.

"Yes. They had told me that you had killed Shizu-san...and that you happened to be staying in the Kingdom of Engrassia at the time." Hinata admitted the information she had when she first sought out to kill Rimuru.

"Yeah, that was the worst possible timing, all right. Just remembering it now pisses me off." Rimuru said as he interlaced his fingers together and leaned on his elbows against the table with his eyes closed as his Demon Lord aura leaked out in response to his feelings, unnerving the Saints, but not Luminus.

"Stop trying to intimidate us, rookie." Luminus scolded her junior Demon Lord as Rimuru snapped back to his usual personality in shock of realizing what he was doing.

"O-Oh, sorry." Rimuru apologized as the saints relaxed, but Luminus wasn't staring at the intense aura coming from Rimuru, but instead at you.

Luminus wasn't unnerved at all by the feelings and power that were coming off of him, but when she glanced over at you, it was a whole different thing. Luminus could sense the radiating anger that burned inside of you as your aura was different from Rimuru's, much more controlled, but greatly terrifying with how much power you possessed. Luminus assumed that if she wasn't a Demon Lord, she'd have been scared of the quiet rage that burned within you. Deciding that prying any further on this topic would accidentally set you off, Luminus hoped for this conversation to move on as Rimuru cleared his throat.

"Anyway, I guess it's safe to say these Eastern merchants are behind all this. They were probably the ones who egged Edmaris on, too." Rimuru said as Hinata agreed with that assumption.

"No doubt about it. Our interrogation of Reyhiem made that clear." Hinata confirmed that belief.

"Demon Lord Clayman was controlling the Kingdom of Falmuth from the shadows." Rimuru said.

"And the Eastern merchants were mediating?" Benimaru asked about the way's Clayman was able to do such acts.

"Yeah. Clayman was trying to awaken as a True Demon Lord." Rimuru said while raising one hand. "The Kingdom of Falmuth was trying to steal this nation." He said while raising another. "The Eastern merchants served as the mediators." He combined his hands to bring those two facts together. "And there was someone pulling all these strings behind the scenes." He connected these events together as Luminus knew who he was speaking of.

"Ah, you mean the one Clayman spoke of." Luminus said as the two of them remembered well what Clayman said in his desperate attack at Walpurgis.

"AHHHHHHHH!!!!" Rimuru, Luminus, Malenia and Veldora remembered the cries of disbelief and despair Clayman yelled back in the other dimension. "B-BUT I USED THE MIND-CONTROLLING STONE THAT HE GAVE ME! SH-SHE SHOULD HAVE BEEN COMPLETELY UNDER MY POWER! DID SHE NOT KILL CARRION AT MY ORDER?!" They remembered him referring to someone else who gave him aid in such a plot.

"It was quite impressive that a weakling like him managed to avoid speaking his name until the very end." Luminus admitted that the Pierrot was able to stay loyal to his friends in the end.

"Could he have been talking about the Seven Days?" Rimuru asked a heavy question carefully as Luminus looked a bit surprised and offended.

"What? Are you suggesting that the Seven Days were acting behind my back?" Luminus said in a more angered tone.

"They were the ones to appear here and along the border of Falmuth to engage in battle against our forces, were they not?" You shot back a retort as the two of you glared at one another and everyone in the room grew a bit nervous that your tensions rising.

"Lady Luminus..." Louis said in a advising tone for her to calm down as she remained silent and closed her eyes as to not stir any more trouble with you, and you did the same. "We can't deny the possibility." He said as Luminus looked at him with a furrowed brow.

"Louis, you're spouting this nonsense, too?" Luminus said in slight frustration of her servant as he looked to her.

"They coveted your favor, Lady Luminus." Louis said as the Lolita Demon Lord didn't understand what he was trying to get at.

"What are you talking about?" Luminus said as Louis knew exactly what they desired from her, which actually was...

"Your favor - in other words, your love energy. It has been over a century since the last ritual was held." Louis explained as this baffled you and Rimuru.

"Love energy?! The hell is that?!" Rimuru said in an elated and confused state.

"...Really?" You asked with a questioning stare as she glared at you.

"Shut up." Was all Luminus said to you before understand now what Louis was getting at as she turned to him. "They were originally humans. I suppose it's inevitable that they would age if I didn't give them energy." She muttered.

"They were desperate to stop you from taking any more favorites." Louis explained aloud.

"Then, are you saying that the Seven Days were trying to kill Hinata-san because she was being more and more liked by Lady Luminus?" Mai said in surprise as Hinata was also left stunned by this revelation as the Captain looked to Louis for confirmation.

"I'm afraid so. They probably intended to make Clayman awaken, then send him to fight you." Louis assumed their childish and selfish intentions.

"And when Clayman died, they threw Rimuru at me to get rid of me?" Hinata connected the dots as this was surprising to your slime friend.

"You're sure about that?" Rimuru asked.

"It was the Seven Days Clergy who introduced us to the Eastern merchants." Renard explained, but something didn't add up to Rimuru.

"Hang on...If they're called 'Seven Days'...There's one more out there somewhere?" Rimuru did a head count and realized one was missing among the members that attacked your forces.

"That's not a concern. A cardinal from my homeland just notified me that the last one, Gran the Sunday Priest, was eliminated." Hinata explained as this was enough to catch the attention of Luminus who peaked pass Louis to look at Hinata.

"A cardinal? Oh, you mean Nicolaus, the one who's so taken with you? How in the world did he manage to defeat Granville?" Luminus asked in wonder.

"I'm not sure it's worth of praise. He caught him off-guard with a triggered Disintegration." Hinata explained as this certainly lowered Luminus's standard of the cleric.

"Granville certainly has aged. Imagine falling for such a trap." Luminus said.

"When you say 'Granville', are you referring to Gran, the Sunday Priest?" Hinata asked as Luminus recounted a memory of her doing battle with him.

"It's his real name. As he was once the Hero of Light, he and I once fought. But fate always comes back for those who proclaim themselves heroes. Perhaps, deep down, he harbored a grudge against me for that reason." Luminus threw around a few thoughts in her head as to why he'd take part in such a scheme, but decided not to think too much about it.

"Anyway, I guess we can enjoy some peace of mind for now." Rimuru said as he received nods from your friends on the other side of the table. "If we hadn't realized those merchants were around, I would've actually suspected Yuuki of being the mastermind." Rimuru said with relief as you turned to him.

"Yuuki? Who's that?" You asked as Renard remembered such a name.

"Yuuki? You mean Grandmaster Yuuki Kagurazaka?" Renard asked him.

"Yeah. All things considered, he seemed like the top suspect, but he wouldn't have any reason to make me and Hinata fight." Rimuru explained, but Hinata began to contemplate on that notion.

"Yuuki as the mastermind, eh? I can't say with full confidence that he isn't." Hinata said as this bewildered Rimuru.

"Wait, you're suspecting a guy who comes from the same world we do?" Rimuru asked her.

"Oh, I'm just keeping all possibilities in mind." Hinata said as you nodded.

"It wouldn't be hard to believe someone from our world would want to stir things up between two nations here for their own benefit. He may have ulterior motives to take control over the surrounding lands around him over time, but our arrival and sudden boom of a nation put a hitch in his plan. Seeing us as a possible threat, he may have cooked up a scheme to pit us against one another." You explained as Rimuru didn't have an argument about that.

"Also, I think it's premature to assume the mastermind has been defeated." Hinata said as this put Rimuru back into a serious tone.

"You're right. We can't be too optimistic." Rimuru said as Benimaru wanted to speak up.

"We should notify the others." Benimaru suggested.

"Yeah. We should remain on high alert as far as this whole mess goes." Rimuru said as the door to the meeting room opened and in came Shuna with snacks for everyone to enjoy.

"Today's snack is scones and fried potatoes. Enjoy." Shuna announced with a respectful bow as the members from the Holy Church bowed in respect while your side quickly got to eating.

"The plating is so cute! Thank you, Shuna-san!" Mai praised Shuna as the two smiled and giggled together.

"Now, as for our two nations' relationship going forward..." Rimuru started to shift the topic towards the relationship between Tempest and Lubelius, but Hinata wanted to speak first.

"There's one thing I'd like to be very clear of first. You accepted our apology on this matter, correct?" Hinata wanted to make sure that there were no ill feelings over what happened earlier.

"Yeah. Our people have no intention of dragging this out any longer." Rimuru answered, but Luminus set down her cup of tea in reaction to hearing that.

"That won't do. Part of the blame in this matter clearly lies with us. We will come up with a way to compensate you." Luminus said before shooting a piercing and angry glare at Veldora and Malenia. "Reconciliation will come after." She said as Veldora choked down his foot and used his manga as a shield with magic to protect him, while Malenia moved around weirdly while her hands raised and a nervous look in her eyes.

"I also can't just end this knowing how much trouble I've caused. I want to demonstrate my good faith in any way I can." Hinata said as she also felt she couldn't just let things go by without paying back Tempest for the trouble she caused.

"Compensation, eh?" Rimuru said in wonder as he glanced at you for thought, but you just shrugged and nodded your head for him to give his own answer as an idea came to mind. "How about you formally recognize us as a nation and enter diplomatic relations with us?" He asked as Luminus was not opposed to this as she even had a small smile of pleasure.

"Very well. But I have no intention of being friendly, and I will punish those lizards one day." Luminus said as Veldora and Malenia growled at her in defensive manners.

"I mean, worst case, offering up Veldora might not be a bad idea." Rimuru thought with a devious grin on his face, but this didn't go unnoticed by Veldora.

"Wait just a minute, Rimuru! You were just thinking something really mean, weren't you?!" Veldora said while maintaining his defensive posture.

"Hahaha! You're just imagining things, Veldora-kun!" Rimuru gave a hearty laugh with his best smile, but Veldora couldn't be deceived.

"No, wait! When you add 'kun' to my name, it means you have some nefarious idea in mind!" Veldora yelled, but Luminous was fed up from his annoying voice.

"Stop shouting! Watch yourself!" Luminus scolded him as Veldora's manga barrier shattered and he covered himself with it while putting his face to the table.

"I-It's not my fault..." Veldora muttered into the wood.

"One of those lizards happens to be my mother, you know?" You said while giving Luminus a side glare as Malenia looked at you with hope.

"Are you willing to go to war for your mother?" Luminus said as this unnerved everyone at the table.

"...Nah, if it comes down to it, I'll hand her over myself." You said while sipping your cup of tea as Malenia's face turned from a hopeful look to one of shock and despair.

"HEY!!! YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO DEFEND YOUR MOTHER AND HER ACTIONS!!" Malenia yelled at you in disbelief.

"Not when her actions cause the destruction of a kingdom or loot them for a large percentage of their wealth." You said as your mother was shocked and slumped back into her chair.

"No way..." Malenia muttered as her eyes turned white and she grew mentally exhausted as Luminus smiled at the thought of you actually handing them over.

"Let us call a temporary truce for now. We will enter diplomatic relations in a hundred years. Consider this a symbol of my apology." Luminus answered with a well-mannered smile as this was surprising for Rimuru.

"Huh? Really?" Rimuru said in surprise of this offer.

"I would have understood mutual indifference, but you proclaim you'll establish relations?" Hinata said as she was also shocked by this offer from leader.

"Diplomatic relations, eh? But that would be..." Renard was about to list some of the set backs this decision would face, but Luminus didn't want to be lectured.

"Enough! This is my decision!" Luminus stood firm in her choice and was not going to let anyone make her change it.

"It sounds fine to me. If Rimuru and Y/N were really some evil beings, we'd all be dead already." Fritz said as Litus and Bacchus nodded in agreement.

"You're right. We can trust these two and their people. We should discard our biased views of them as monsters." Arnaud suggested a change to their way of thinking towards your nation of monsters.

"I agree." Litus said before a small pink hue spread on her cheeks as she seemed elated by something. "Sir Souei was quite the gentleman." She said as you, Benimaru, and Rigurd all looked to the quiet Kijin who calmly sipped his tea in peace.

"There is a problem, however. What should we do about our creed? Trust in the Western Holy Church may be shaken if we take the wrong approach." Renard allured to potential problems among those who worship their faith.

"How senseless. Even if the creed wasn't strictly adhered to, I don't consider it a betrayal. It's no more than a rule the leader at the time came up with, anyway." Luminus admitted her not-so-attached feelings towards those who do and don't follow the ways of the Church, which shocked the saints at how lax she was if someone were to leave the faith.

"What? I wasn't aware of this..." Hinata admitted as she was also hidden in the dark on this reveal as Luminus smiled nonchalantly.

"Through our protection of our innocent populace, they are able to live blessed lives." Luminus said as she gave them a wink which surprised her subordinates. "What matters most to me is not some creed, but devotion itself. That is what forms our contract, and it is the one absolute rule. All of you are able to use holy magic because you believe in me, no?" She asked as they nodded in confirmation.

"But the problem is that we've lived by that creed all this time. If we were to discard it so easily..." Renard was unsure about this decision, but Hinata wanted to make sure he saw reality for what it was in their scenario.

"We have to. If a hundred Crusaders were to mobilize, other nations would find out. And those reporters witnessed the Three Battlesages' defeat, right?" Hinata said as Louis wished to add on to this.

"If they found out that Hinata and the Crusaders lost, as well, there would be chaos." Louis explained one of the outcomes as Rimuru had a solution to that problem.

"Then why don't we just say the duel between Hinata and me ended in a draw?" Rimuru suggested as you and Hinata were surprised by this proposal.

"You're all right with that?" Hinata asked.

"I don't like it. The newly announced Demon Lord having a draw against the human Hinata might make the other Demon Lords and rulers of the lands look down even more on you." You said in opposition while you crossed your arms in an upset mood at the thought of your friend being belittled.

"Don't worry. Things will work out just fine." Rimuru patted your shoulder as you stared at him with a questioning look before sighing and nodding at him to do as he pleases as he turned to Hinata. "Sure, it's fine with me." He answered as Hinata smiled awkwardly at his response.

"You know, there are only a handful of cases in all of history in which a human defeated a Demon Lord." Hinata revealed as she was still unsure about Rimuru's decision.

"Sh-She's right! You only just became a Demon Lord like Lord Y/N said. If you give other powers a reason to look down on you now..." Renard wanted to reaffirm your worries as Rimuru gave it some more thought.

"Oh..." Rimuru hummed before turning to Benimaru for some input. "Benimaru, can you think of any powers who'd try to intervene in this country?" He asked while Benimaru held a scone in his hand.

"There are none. And if someone so foolish does exist, I'll crush them for both of you." Benimaru answered with a confident smile before taking a bite out of his scone.

"That's some confidence." Hinata commended Benimaru's charm before turning back to Rimuru. "In that case, I have no objections. I gratefully accept your suggestion." Hinata agreed to this proposal as Rimuru nodded with pleasure.

"While we're at it, we might as well announce to everyone that the people of this country aren't evil!" Fritz suggested with a hearty and cheerful look on his face.

"Indeed. They really are good-natured folks." Arnaud was in agreement to that suggestion.

"There were debates before about whether demihumans counted as monsters, but that seems to be discrimination born from prejudice..." Litus' words trailed off as she caught a glance back at Souei and smiled bashfully with a pink hue on her face. "At least, that's what I think." She muttered cutely as you shot weird glances between her and Souei.

"Demihumans who are hostile toward humans are a problem, but I'd say dwarves should undeniably be counted as humans." Bacchus stated his opinion as an idea came to Rimuru's mind off of hearing this.

"Then why don't we bring King Gazel into this and commit to a hundred years of friendship? If they have a guarantee that we won't attack humans, they should trust us at least a little, right?" Rimuru suggested.

"True. And the existence of trust would make them easier to convince." Hinata said.

"To facilitate relations going forward, we'll have Arnaud and Bacchus stay here in Tempest." Louis spoke as the two aforementioned saints nodded their heads in agreement to their orders.

"If we're going to be moving forward with this, then a church should be constructed for those who follow your beliefs. This should put some ease to the minds of those in the Western Holy Church." You suggested as Rimuru and Hinata smiled at the thought in agreement as things were beginning to look bright for your relationship with Lubelius.

After discussing a few more things that would happen between your two nations, the day had already begun to end as the sun began setting and Luminus was stood in front of you all outside the meeting hall with her subordinates behind her, ready to depart home. Before they could leave, Rimuru wanted to bring something up to Hinata.

"By the way, Hinata..." Rimuru stepped forward as the Captain of the Saints tilted her head at him in wonder before Rimuru lifted his hand up a little and from his palm, procured a brand new sword from his body.

"What is that?" Hinata asked in surprise as Rimuru caught the sword by its sheath and held it out to her with a smile.

"Your rapier. The one I swallowed last time. I repaired and improved it." Rimuru said as he handed it to her as Hinata admired the weapon she once lost, and even Luminus took note of its new capabilities.

"It's sure to be better than the everyday use of a Legend-grade weapon like the Moonlight I gave you." Luminus admitted as Hinata looked to Rimuru with gratefulness.

"Thank you, Rimuru." Hinata said as everyone began to prepare to teleport back home, with Luminus instantly disappearing as Hinata walked back towards her friends that were departing with the help of Louis.

"Wait." You spoke up as Hinata turned towards you. "It's already gotten pretty late, and I think it'd be a bit rude to send you all off without a proper last meal. What's one more night here gonna risk?" You asked as Hinata smiled with a cool expression at you.

"Incidentally, what's on the menu tonight?" Hinata asked with a small hint of wonderous excitement at the thought of trying more food from Tempest.

"Um, sukiyaki?" Rimuru remembered as Luminus suddenly reappeared next to her closest human subject.

"Well, the hot spring did feel quite nice." Luminus brought up another argument to stay at Tempest for one more night as Louis canceled the teleportation magic as it seemed they were due one last night in your home.

"I look forward to some sukiyaki." Hinata said as Rimuru was surprised at their quick change in decision.

"Huh? So it's settled? Wha..." Rimuru hummed in awe of their quick change of pace.

"Then, I have to go set up." You said while walking away as they were surprised that you were going to be working on dinner, and Mai chased after you.

"W-Wait, my Lord! Please, we can take care of--!" Mai was cut off when you raised your hand to stop her from speaking.

"I have special preparations to make. I'll catch up with you guys later." Was all you finished with before walking away as Mai's antennas drooped down a bit from not being able to go with you.

"Don't be sad. I'm sure he has his reasons." Iris spoke up as she walked over next to Mai who looked at her. "Come, let's go help prepare, shall we?" She suggested as Mai nodded and everyone was off to prepare for sukiyaki tonight.

After everyone had gotten cleaned up and changed into more comfortable attire provided by your people, which was fresh and breathable yukata's for everyone with blue checkered patterns for men and pink cute designs for women, everyone from both sides gathered in an open air dining hall. Shuna and Mai were quick to distribute the main courses of the night and after everyone had their food in front of them, all those in the room marveled at he beautiful sight of the sukiyaki dish.

"So as you can see, the featured dish in today's banquet is sukiyaki!" Shuna announced.

"Enjoy yourselves!" Mai finished as everyone in the banquet dining room let out cheers of joy while raising their drinks in the air.

"A toast to our favorable relations going forward!" Rimuru raised a toast.

"Cheers!" Everyone cheered while clanging their wooden mugs of alcohol together in unity and excitement for a brighter future as allies.

In an instant, everyone from both sides were quick to enjoy the food and throw down some drinks while Rimuru took down a few big swigs from his alcohol before lowering his mug with a small pink hue spreading across his face.

"Man, it's so great to be able to get drunk!" Rimuru said with joy as he remembered something from yesterday's dinner while talking with Luminus.

Flashback, Last Night's Dinner

During yesterday's dinner, things were calm and lax while everyone to their time to savor their food, but Rimuru noticed to his left that Luminus was actually enjoying the liquor and other hard drinks as she took down a glass in just a few gulps. A pink hue was slowly forming on her cheeks as she smiled from the taste and feeling the alcohol gave her.

"You wanna go easy on that stuff. It'll wreck your health." Rimuru suggested with an awkward smile as Luminus wiped some left over drink off of her lip with a smile and lick as she looked at Rimuru with a smirk.

"Fool. Even poisons have no effect on me. I will not be bested by a little booze." Luminus said as she took another sip from her glass, nearly finishing its contents. "In fact, I've put my heart and soul into weakening my Poison Nullification so that I can get drunk." She paraded her ability to get more drunk as she wish, and Rimuru clambered over to her upon hearing this information.

"Y-Your Poison Nullification? You can do that?" Rimuru asked in shock.

"Of course." Luminus answered him.

"T-Teach me how! I mean...Please teach me!" Rimuru begged as he put his head to the floor in a dogeza style, wishing to master the ways of getting drunk in this world from his teacher, Luminus.

Flashback Over

Rimuru was throwing down three more heavy gulps of booze before he pulled it away from his face and let out a loud and hearty gasp of air with a huge smile on his face, indicating the level of drunkenness was rising within him. While Rimuru was getting absolutely hammered though, Hinata on the other hand had tears welling in her eyes as she stared down at a bowl of rice, something that she never thought she'd be able to ever have again in this world, but then she realized how crazy this was as she turned to Rimuru.

"Wait, white rice? Don't you think you're going a bit crazy here?" Hinata questioned how far you two would be willing to go to recreate your favorite things from the other world to here.

"If you gotta problem with it, just gimme back the rice." Rimuru teased while gesturing for Hinata to return the rice to his hand, but she instantly reeled it away in a protective manner.

"That's now what I'm saying at all!" Hinata said in a protective tone as Rimuru exchanged his mug for another glass of alcohol. "But to see the food of our old world so perfectly recreated...I'm less surprised than exasperated." She said as she stared down at the sukiyaki plate that was boiling with flavor. "I can't believe you two have built such a comfortable place to live in just two years." She said in amazement, and Rimuru was eating all these compliments up with how drunk he was now.

"Go ahead, keep the praise comin'." Rimuru said as Malenia who was nearby noticed how foolish he as acting.

"Hey, Rimuru. I see you're startin' to pick up on my drinkin' habits..." Malenia trailed off like she was disappointed, but suddenly raised her booze towards him with an approved look in her eyes and a huge smile on her face as she gave him a thumbs up. "Good job!" She praised him as Veldora and your Kaiju squad looked at her with judging eyes, wondering if she was still a good influence for people.

"Don't joke around. I'd heard the rumors from Yuuki, but I took them with a grain of salt." Hinata said as Rimuru took that to heart.

"Nah, we're not there yet. Distribution of goods is slow, and we won't even talk about information transfer. There's not enough recreation. I want to lay the groundwork for making stuff like manga." Rimuru admitted some of the ambitions he wanted to come true.

"Recreation? In a harsh world like this? When most people are doing all they can just to survive?" Hinata asked in wonder of how there could be such a lack of recreation for your people to do, despite the environment they're in.

"Well, we'll get rid of the threat of monsters and stuff." Rimuru said before taking down a few more gulps of his alcohol and exhaling with pleasure as he smiled a bit mischievously. "There's no point in hidin' this, so I'll just say it. We plan to install Youm as king, found a new nation, and make it influential among the Western Provinces." Rimuru admitted to yours and his plans as everyone from the Western Holy Church looked at him in wonder.

"Just what are you two going to do?" Hinata asked in wonder.

"First of all, We're gonna get us recognized in human society. We're halfway to that goal already, though. A bunch of bigwigs from different countries know about us now, and merchants and adventurers spread rumors about us. Next there's road construction. We're in the middle of buildin' a safe, stable trade route. And finally, information transfer. Communication crystals can only be used by people who can use magic. So we're focusing on Stick Steel Thread and magisteel! We did an experiment, and...My Sticky Steel Thread transferred my thoughts at an incredible rate!" Rimuru explained as he remembered the experiment of transferring information through a thread with the help of Vesta, Gabiru and his buddies. "Since magicules are involved, it'll be possible to have really clear communication. It worked out about the same way with magisteel. If we use these, it might be possible to build a network connecting lots of countries and towns!" Rimuru admitted to a great amount of things as those who weren't from your nation were beyond stunned with how many ambitions you two shared. "Whaddya think? That's gonna be super handy when it's all done, huh?" He asked cockily with a drunk smile on his face as Hinata was surprised he revealed any of this.

"You know...things like that are usually treated as state secrets..." Hinata explained awkwardly as it finally made sense to Rimuru.

"Oh, yeah, you're right. Guess I got carried away and talked too much, huh? Must've been the booze." Rimuru said in humor, but would later regret those choice of words when...

"Notice. Reactivating Status Ailment Nullification. Also, requests to meddle with this resistance will not be honored again for some time." Raphael shut down Rimuru's drunk adventure as he felt his buzz disappearing and was shocked.

"Huh?!" Rimuru gasped in shock as his drunk blush completely disappeared and he was once again, completely sober. "Aw, there goes my buzz..." He thought with a sad smile on his face.

"Besides, if you go too far, you'll be attacked by the angels." Hinata warned as this was news to Rimuru and the rest of your friends.

"Angels?" Rimuru said in wonder.

"Who are they?" Mai asked from the side.

"They're beings that attack a city when it develops beyond a certain point." Louis answered as even Luminus was annoyed at the mention of them.

"Those damned bugs. I'd like to get rid of them myself, but if I did that, my identity would be exposed. Of course, it's already been exposed to the Crusaders, thanks to that lizard." Luminus pointed the blame of that topic to Veldora as he flinched and turned away while still eating.

"Not my fault..." Veldora muttered as he ate cautiously.

"Angels, huh? Well, if they come after us, we'll just fight back." Rimuru said with confidence as Mai nodded in agreement.

"Right! My Lord will protect our home with everything he has, and always come out on top!" Mai said in praise of your capabilities.

"Heh...I figured you'd say that. We may fight alongside you two when you do." Hinata said in support of your nation.

"And I will not allow them to destroy my city again. Not the bugs or those lizards there." Luminus said as Malenia and Veldora muttered once more amongst themselves about how nothing was their fault.

"Hey, c'mon! We can talk about all that hard stuff later!" Fritz said as he was stood in drunk manner with his chopsticks in hand as he hovered over Hinata's plate. "Lady Hinata, if you don't want this meat, I'm takin' it!" He said as he swooped a piece of meat from her tray, enraging her as he dipped it in his sauce and ate it happily.

"Fritz, do you have a death wish?" Hinata asked in a scary tone as she glared at him intensely with power lurking behind her eyes.

"Ahhh! U-Uh, Lady Hinata, your eyes look serious..." Fritz said in fear as he completely sobered up from the threat that was his Captain.

Within moments, the room filled with the sounds of flesh being bashed and hit as everyone continued to enjoy themselves with the food, or be entertained by the sight of Hinata putting her subordinate in his place. Whilst all that was going on, Mai couldn't help but frown as Iris caught notice of this and turned to her.

"What's wrong?" Iris asked.

"Lord Y/N hasn't arrived yet..." Mai said as Iris noticed the empty spot next to Rimuru, which you usually occupied.

Just at the mention of your name though, the door to the room slid open and everyone turned to see you arrived, wearing a similar yukata to the men as you couldn't help but notice Hinata was stood over Fritz with her foot on his head. You stared straight at Hinata as she came to realize your gaze was fixed on her and stared at you in wonder before you turned back to the hall and gave her a side glance.

"Come with me." You said to her before walking away as Hinata was confused and looked to Rimuru as he also shrugged in wonder.

Feeling that you were serious with her and not wanting to upset you, the Captain of the Great Saints took her foot off of Fritz and headed out the door, following behind you as you led her away. The entire walk was silent as you led her out of the banquet hall and the two of you walked through the night until you reached the outer perimeter of the town and began climbing up a hill. Hinata couldn't figure out what you were doing as she kept trying to contemplate what you'd want to talk with her about, and the wood sandals that was provided to her didn't help with the climb as her foot slipped out and she was going to fall. Before her yukata could be dirtied though, your tail swooped under her and she managed to catch onto it as she was surprised by your reaction speed and you pulled her up to your side, offering your arm for her to hold and she took it respectfully. Leading her the rest of the way up the hill, Hinata was brought to the sight of three sukiyaki trays that were prepared and sat on a large sheet to keep things clean. In the middle of the trays was a large gourd and three very small cups that you could hold with just your index finger and thumb. What caught her attention the most was the small pile of neatly stacked stones at the edge of the cliff with a small censer pot in front of the stones. You led her the rest of the way as you took off your sandals and stepped onto the sheet, sitting down on your knees while Hinata stopped in her tracks, frozen in awe as a gentle breeze blew by and she was introduced to the beautiful night lights of your town below.

Play Song (Also Located In The Header)
Title: Another Colony (Tender Remix) - That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime
Link:

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

"...Beautiful." Hinata muttered at the sight of the town below as the lights shined in her eyes like stars.

"She thought so too..." You said as Hinata turned around to you and saw you pouring some sake into the small cups. "She had the same look in your eyes when she first visited here. This was where we truly became friends." You said as Hinata finally realized you were talking about Shizu.

"Then this is..." Hinata trailed off while staring at the small pile of stones as you nodded in confirmation.

"Yeah. I know she didn't want to be absorbed by this world, but I couldn't think of any other way to preserve the memories I have of our time together other than this." You said as Hinata removed her sandals and stepped onto the sheet, sitting on her knees next to you as you both had sukiyaki tray in front of you as you both stared at Shizu's headstone that you made. "To be honest, I didn't want to forgive you. You attacked the most important person in my new life and almost killed him. When I learned about that, I hated you..." You trailed admitted to her.

"It's only natural that you feel that. I don't expect any forgiveness for my actions either." Hinata said as she was prepared to shoulder that burden.

"However..." You trailed off as Hinata looked to you in intrigue of this shift. "...You threw yourself in harms way to protect him. During your fight, I could sense the good intentions you had when coming here, and instead of hating you, I was just confused. After seeing what you did and now that we know you were tricked and set up, I realize I was too quick to judge you." You said as you turned towards her with a regretful look in your eye as you bowed your head down to the ground to her. "Thank you for saving my best friend, Hinata. I'm sorry for misunderstanding and judging you without hearing your side of the story." You said as she was surprised by your actions.

"P-Please, you don't have to go so far like that...It was my full intention to repair things between me and Rimuru. If I had to be put in that situation again, I wouldn't make any other choice." Hinata said as you raised your head from the ground and reached into your yukata to fish something out of it.

"Here." You said as she turned to see you holding out three incense sticks. "As her student, I felt that you deserve closure." You said as she stared at you in awe before taking the sticks into her hands softly.

You pressed the tips of the incense candles and generated heat so that they could be lit and slowly burn down to the ends as Hinata shuffled over to Shizu's headstone and placed the incense sticks into the incense pot as the ash from previous offerings held them firm before she moved the third sukiyaki tray and small cup of Sake in front of the headstone as well. Hinata pressed her palms together and closed her eyes as she remembered the days of her training with Shizu and her true feelings of admiration for the Legendary Hero. A single tear escaped from her eye and fell to the grass below her as she smiled and opened her eyes.

"Goodbye, Sensei..." Hinata said as a gentle breeze blew through the area one last time, almost as if Shizu was saying goodbye as well. "Thank you, Y/N." Hinata said as she turned to you with a kind smile on her face. "I hope we can be good friends just like you and Sensei were." She said as you smiled and nodded to her while offering her a cup of Sake.

"Yeah. I'd love nothing more than to do that, Hinata." You said in agreement as the two of you shared a toast with one another.

During the rest of that night, you and Hinata exchanged stories with one another about your times with Shizu and the impact that the Conqueror of Flames had on your lives. You two laughed and conversed non-stop while enjoying a few drinks and sukiyaki together. While you two reminisced about Shizu, neither of you were aware of the glowing figure that was hidden in the trees behind you two, as the spectral image of Shizu herself watched you both with a gentle smile on her face.

"Y/N..." Shizu's voice blended in with the wind as her image slowly disappeared. "Thank you." She said with gratitude as the two of you raised a toast to Shizu one last time, and you two had reconciled with one another, ready to move on as friends just as Shizu would've wanted you two to be.