"You need to let it cook for a while"
"Ok!"
"Taste it near the end. If you feel anything is missing or in excess, try to add something based on it"
"Ok!"
". . ."
Rimuru and his party continued to stay near the river after the evolution of the Goblin and the Wolf. Rimuru decided to teach the Goblin how to cook since he has a lot of time in his hands.
"I learned it, Rimuru-sama. But, what is the portion of food you are separately cooking on the side for?"
"Oh, that? That's my special dish. It's not for you, don't even think about it."
"Hmm~"
Rimuru and his group of friends sat around the bonfire on which the food is being cooked, a stew and a roast. The atmosphere got quieter because they didn't have many things to talk about. The only sounds left are the sound from the surrounding forest and the crackling fire.
Rimuru wanted to initiate a conversation to break this silent atmosphere and turned to look at Shizu, who was staring at the bonfire without moving and . . . He didn't speak, he kept staring.
'Kughm~!'
'Ah! Veldora. What's the matter?'
'Any more would have been rude, Rimuru. And she noticed long ago that you were staring at her.'
'Is that so? Thanks for the save.'
". . ."
The silence is killing me now. Keeping quiet is never my style to begin with.
.
.
.
"Ah! It's done! . . . It's done, right?"
"Yes. You can keep the smaller pot as it is. It still needs some time to complete."
"Ok"
Bob took the Large pot off the bonfire and started serving the stew in bowls. After serving the stew, the meat roast also finished, so they decided to eat all that's cooked and keep the small pot for later.
"Hmm~ It's much better than I thought it would be. It's actually 'almost' inedible"
"Thank you very much!!"
"Well, I wasn't exactly praising you but, whatever. You're doing great on your first time."
They quietly ate all the food before laying down on the grass to relax. After checking the stew that is still brewing, he looked at Bob and asked her to stir this for a while until it starts bubbling a lot.
"So, what is the plan for the trip to Dwargon? You only have told me that we want to hire someone over there, but you did not speak about anything else to me in specific"
Shizu looked at Rimuru and Bobetta who were discussing what to add next to the stew, well mostly Rimuru teaching her about what to do, and decided to ask about the matter that matters the most.
Rimuru looked at the boiling stew and found out that it will end in a couple of minutes, so he left it for Bob to handle and sat down beside Shizu before speaking to her,
"There isn't any plan. We get to Dwargon, we enquire about the current situation of the Dwarves we are looking for, we devise a method to break them out of there legally, we convince them to work for us, and we are done."
". . . I think it's better to convince them first before breaking-, I mean, getting them released from prison."
"I don't think it matters, since they won't have any option to leave with us if we break them out first, but we'll do your way."
". . ."
"It's nice, isn't it? I mean, for you, traveling isn't anything new but, now you don't have to worry about going out of control"
"It is nice. I want to meet the others."
". . . You want to leave"
"Only for a short while. I'll be back once I have cure the kids"
"Then let's go together, from Dwargon. After they are all fine, we can go to Sarion then."
"Are you sure? Aren't you in a hurry?"
". . . Kind of, yeah. I think I have something to do in the forest to be frank. How about we do it this way? We will come back here. My work might be just for a day, so we will go to the kids straight from there."
"Ok"
Both of them stayed in silence, one staring at the blazing fire and the other at the glittering stars. The silence is disturbed by Bob who calls out to Rimuru to inform him that the stew is almost done.
Rimuru picked up the stew and wanted to taste it slightly but thinking about something, he held back.
He took the pot off the fire and placed it beside Bob. He took out a bowl and filled it with the stew and wanted to give it to Shizu, but he wasn't really sure if it's alright so he gave it to Bobetta.
Of course, the main reason is that Shizu has an instinctive reaction to not drink the stew.
"Here, try it"
"For me?! But you said I won't have any of this stew."
"A-Ah, well, didn't you evolve today? Think of it as my treat for it."
"Thank You!!"
Bob took the stew and drank it quickly, burning her mouth. Rimuru looked at Bobetta and sighed, disappointed.
I guess it's a failure.
'What did you think I missed, Veldora? It isn't working'
'What isn't working?'
'You know, kind of like 'Food Wars'. The clothes aren't bursting'
'. . . Wtf? Why would you- But why?!'
'I just wanted to try it out, you know. Since I am free and have a lot of time.'
'Rimuru, whatever you want to do, consult ME about it first. You are a Sick Bastard, figuratively and quite Literally.'
'Ok. Yeah, I think I get why you are pissed out about it. It just didn't hit me that something like that would have happened. More importantly, how she would feel'
Rimuru reflected on his actions and started to subconsciously influence himself to ask Veldora about his next actions. And also, to not be too dependent on him, he only made it so that he would consider his opinion, not follow it blindly.
"Here, Shizu. Take it, I promise you, it's very good."
Shizu's intuition tells her that there is a problem in this situation. The dish itself seems fine, since Bob drank it. But Rimuru's expressions during all the process are . . . questionable.
She had observed him when he was cooking, or talking, or serving, and his disappointment when Bobetta drank it raised a lot of flags. But it would be rude to not drink it since Rimuru said in the beginning that the stew was for her. And it was the reason she observed him, nothing else, she is sure of it.
"Hmm~. It's delicious. I never had anything like this before"
Well, duh. It's a modern recipe. You came to this world probably even before the ones who invented this recipe were even born, grandma.
"That's offensive"
". . . I didn't say anything"
"You were thinking something bad about me, right?"
"Hah~, you're right, sorry about that"
"Your face expresses your thoughts quite clearly, Rimuru-san. You need to learn how not to show your thoughts on your face"
Obviously, I don't have either the memories or the experiences of my past life. And it's easy to control your face if you are over 70, right?
"Once more and I'll leave, Slime-san"
"I am very Sorry about it!!!"
------------------------------------------------------------------------
"So, that's Dwargon, huh"
Rimuru and his group stepped out of the forest and saw the country of Dwargon from afar. It is truly an amazing sight for Rimuru, to experience something unknown to himself. Watching something in person gives a very different feeling.
"The queue is quite small compared to the last time I came here."
Shizu has been to Dwargon in her travels around the world, though she wasn't very well known at that time.
(A/N: I'm making things up if they are not mentioned)
"How was Dwargon when you visited it last time?"
"I don't remember it quite well, it has been a long time after all"
. . . No comments
"Well, let's get inside and rent a room. I think I need to rest in a better place first. Sleeping in forest sucks"
"Two rooms"
"Obviously! I didn't know you had such thoughts, Shizu. Of course-"
"And you can always turn into your original form when you need to sleep. You don't have any sleeping posture for slimes, right?"
". . . I'm just used to being the way I was"
"Ehh?! Rimuru-sama is a slime?!"
Ah, I forgot.
"Yes I am. Putting that aside, you two will stay outside. Shizu and I will go in. Don't disturb anyone who is passing by, and try to avoid everything. If they do fight you, you need to make it clean. Do you understand?"
"What should I clean?"
Rimuru looked at Bobetta thinking about Why she asked such a stupid question. Remembering the fact that she used to be a goblin living in a village in a medieval world, he decided to explain her clearly.
"Hmm~. To put it clearly, if someone disturbs you even when you avoid them, run into the forest for a bit. If they still follow you, look at their face. If they look serious and are looking at you warily then speak with them, tell them that you have a master who is a human and he is inside the city.
They would probably leave after that. If they didn't, kill them. No skills, and don't make a lot of noise. It's better if no one knows what you did. If they laugh at you and attack you, kill them directly. Remember one thing, the only people who can know that you killed humans should be the ones we are friendly with, or those who are dead."
Rimuru wanted to explain it even more clearly, but on second thought, he decided to not care much about it. He is not like in the original, he doesn't have much emotional impact on considering 'murder', since he doesn't even have his memories in order.
"Ok then! We will try to be back within a week. It won't be any more than that."
"What if you didn't come in a week? Should we come in to find you?"
"If you didn't see me after a week, then stop dreaming and try to wake up."
Rimuru didn't continue to say anything else, turned around and walked towards the queue outside the gate slowly.
'That was a good one, Rimuru. I am very surprised you can say something like that~.'
'I feel satire'
'It's kind of Cheesy, to be frank.'
Rimuru didn't speak to Veldora and looked at Shizu. Seeing her being oblivious to his previous words, he realized that he needs to teach her some culture, or else it's going to be harder for him to show off since his brain is filled with only 'culture'.
"Okay. Here we go. Dwargon. Dwarfs. And most importantly, Elves"
"Elves?"
"W-Well, y-yeah. Elves"
"Why?"
"W-Well, according to what I heard of about the Dwarves, they are frequent visitors of an Elf bar"
"I see"
'Well played.'
'I know right. That was really close'
"Who is this 'merchant' that you met who knew all these things? He must be someone quite influential, right?"
"A-Ah? Y-Yeah, he is. W-Well his name is, what was it, I can't remember it properly . . ."
"Don't worry, Slime-san. We will wait until you remember. Anyway, we spent days traveling through the forest. Waiting for another day wouldn't be a problem, right, Slime-san~?"
"No, No, No. We don't need to wait for long. Its just on the tip of my tongue. Hmm~, . . . He is a considerably powerful merchant, too . . . Ah! Yeah! His name is Mjolmire!!"
"Is that so? I think I heard of him. You pass. But I want to meet in person."
Sorry in advance, Mjolmire . . .
"Well, with that out of the way, let's go. To Dwargon."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Hah~. Beds are nice. But the cost is high too."
Rimuru and Shizu safely entered Dwargon. They were not bullied or mugged along the way, Credits to Shizu's immense magicules radiation. It will cause a sense of fear deep within them even though they are unable to sense it.
So they subconsciously avoided Rimuru and Shizu. After they got in, they searched for a place to stay overnight. The inns which provide comfy beds with good quality mattresses cost a lot.
And for Rimuru, he doesn't have any money with him, at all. He was even planning on pushing the bill to the two girls he hooked up with on the first time he visited the town.
So all his expenses are taken care of by his temporary Sugar Mommy, Shizu. As much as he hates being taken care of by others, he also loves it very much. A contradictory feeling.
Rimuru and Shizu toured around the city for a while. They arrived at Dwargon in the morning, and roamed around the city until the sun started to set. They then decided to check in for the day and enquire about the dwarves the next day.
Rimuru suggested that they split up and meet at the booked hotel in an hour. He wanted to start searching for the dwarves as early as possible, not wasting any more time.
However, Shizu was adamant about not letting him go alone again. She knew what he was up to, so she denied his request to lend him some money, and pulled his previous encounter with Guy as a reason to keep an eye on him to support him.
Since she also used a legitimate reason to decline his 'honest' excuse, Rimuru could only regret internally about not being able to visit the famed 'Butterflies of the Night'. He had already seen 'Elf' but he has never seen a true 'Erofu' yet.
Since they decided to rest for the day and start searching with a fresh start, they went to their rooms to rest. Of course, Rimuru wasn't going to let it go so easily.
As it reached Midnight, he used Magic Sense to check on her if she was asleep and snuck outside, which he shouldn't have since he disturbed her sleep and she decided to covertly follow him.
Veldora, who knew of this, decided to let Rimuru accept his fate. Rimuru, not knowing that he is already exposed to the one he should least be exposed to, sneaked around the patrolling guards and reached his destination.
He went inside the bar, and was surprised to find the very group of people he was looking for arguing with someone. Out of curiosity, he ignored the elves, no, the Erofus, surrounding him and walked straight to the group of dwarves.
"You got a problem?"
Seeing a human walking aggressively towards them, the Dwarf sitting at the center who was the first to notice Rimuru, asked him what he wanted.
Rimuru wanted to ask the question indirectly, by asking if they had seen Kaijin, or why they were Outside, and many others, didn't know what to choose and subconsciously asked, "Have you seen any Dwarves?"
". . ."
Shit.
The bar suddenly became quiet as all the people in the bar looked at Rimuru in shock. Even Vesta, who came here just to mess with Kaijin and his group, was confused for a second by the question.
The silence was broken by Kaijin who said, "Do you also want to fight?"
It was then Rimuru noticed Vesta sitting opposite Kaijin. He looked at Kaijin and said, "Sorry about that. I wanted to ask a different question."
"Huh~. If you are not here to pick a fight, then it's fine."
"Is that so? But I know you, and I know all about your current situation. So tell me, Why are you not in Jail now?"
"Didn't you say you know everything about my current situation?"
"Well, most of it, . . . Almost all, I guess. At Least I know the reason why you were arrested."
Kaijin looked at the man in front of him and slowly turned to look at a dwarf who looked similar to him and said, "My brother got me out, but now he lost his job because of it."
Kaidou looked at his brother and said, "It's fine. You helped me a lot when I was young. And we're family, right?"
The emotional scene touched the hearts of all the spectators, but Rimuru was having slightly . . . Different thoughts So which one is Vin Diesel?
Vesta looked at the situation getting out of hand and immediately interrupted, "That's all fine, but you lost, Kaijin."
". . . You're right about that."
Rimuru looked at the depressed Kaijin and thought of recruiting him as soon as possible. But before he could do that, he spotted something, or rather a few, whom he had been neglecting.
Hmm~ They are really good!!
Rimuru spoke to Kaijin, "Do you guys have some extra space for another person"
Kaijin looked at Rimuru with the 'good taste' look and said, "Well, we were planning to get wasted today, and think about what to do next tomorrow. If you want to add in, you're welcome"
"Thanks"
Rimuru looked around the table and found a perfect spot to sit. He went near two elves sitting next to each other and sat in between.
All of them had a great time talking with each other. Kaijin and the others even ignored Vesta completely, which enraged him even more. In rage, he started to drink a lot, and soon got drunk and joined in the group forgetting about his previous rage.
Rimuru, however, started to feel uneasy the more he spent time with the group. He doesn't know where this feeling came from, but he feels like he needs to hurry it up.
Just at this moment, an Elf walks towards them with a crystal ball claiming to find their right partner. Rimuru knows the effectiveness of this magic and stops her before she could perform the magic.
"I trust the accuracy of your magic, but I have a few questions that I want to ask you first."
"It's fine. Please do ask"
"Suppose someone is fated to have multiple partners, then will they see multiple images at the same time or will they appear one by one?"
'I admire your confidence in your capability to have a harem for yourself, Rimuru'
'Not now, Veldora'
'Well, I hope you survive what's to come next'
'. . . What do you mean by that?'
'. . .'
"Well, I never tried it on someone who had multiple fated partners, so I don't know"
Rimuru ignored the ominous warning for the moment and smirked, slowly speaking, "Then it might not work for me. However, I also know a way for you to find my fated partner without this specific magic. But only you can watch it"
This piqued the Elf's interest and she slowly asked, "Oh~. What is it?"
"It's quite simple, actually. Just look at the ball without casting any magic"
Curiously, she decided to do just that, only to see her reflection. Realizing what was happening, she closed her mouth with one hand and said "Oh my~"
Rimuru suddenly felt that he would die if he continued to flirt with the Elf, so he decided to focus on the matter he came for, other than the Club.
"Kaijin, you have no plans, right? Do you want to come with me, together with your group of friends of course?"
Fully wasted, Kaijin didn't properly think about it and said "Yeah, I'll think about it seriously. Maybe we'll go together tomorrow, who knows"
Vesta decided to butt in and anger Kaijin by saying, "Trying to run away after losing, huh?"
Kaijin, angry at Vesta, and not as controlled as he usually is, wanted to punch him, but still held back. He then looked at Rimuru and said, "If you beat him up, I'll come with you"
"Easy"
Smack~
"ArghHHH!"
Vesta was punched towards the door, and flew outside and crashed, breaking the door in the process.
"So, You in, now?"
Kaijin, now slightly sober, looked at the scene in shock before replying, "I'll answer that after you get out of Jail."