★97
A few hours later, someone did something foolish and angered the giant ants. They came out in numbers, chasing us.
"This is your fault, Kaval! You just had to stab a giant ant nest with your sword!"
"Shut up. Don't complain about your leader!"
"You're way too reckless for a leader. If I die, I swear I'll come back and haunt you!"
He laughed nervously.
"That's not even possible. Because I'll be dying with you!"
'Lightless, Shinn, you made me shred my pride in front of these lowlifes. I'm done listening to you.'
I turned, flames flickering on my palm as I prepared to incinerate these damn insects.
Shizu also stopped, drawing her sword as flames ignited immediately. In less than a second, she let it loose, burning the giant ants. She leapt forward, finishing off the remaining ones in a flash.
I can say for sure, she's a good swordsman. The three watched her move in awe.
Unbeknownst to her, one of them stood up, aiming to strike her down from behind.
"Shizu, that's one still—"
Eren called out, but Shizu was on guard. She raised her sword to defend, but instead fell to the ground due to her magicule disturbance. I could tell just by looking.
"Out already?"
I teased, spreading my palm as black lightning descended from the sky, incinerating the giant ant before it could even process that it had been hit. That wasn't me.
'I can use all elements, but lightning isn't my style.'
I turned towards the familiar signature radiating behind us.
"I guess Black Lightning really is too strong. Better not use it either."
From the debris it spoke, but I was able to see it clearly. Such limits are nothing before my supreme eyes.
Its figure came into view, round and squishy, Shizu's mask resting on its body.
"A—a slime?"
They asked in unison, surprised.
Naturally, slimes are considered the weakest in the monster verse, but this was no ordinary slime.
"Yeah, got a problem with slimes?"
It asked, approaching us. I could never forget that magical energy. It was undoubtedly that slime from the cave. Not to mention, the voice perfectly matched what I'd saved.
"Un—no. I just never knew slimes could talk."
"I can't believe it."
Kaval and Gido muttered.
"Here, miss. This is yours, isn't it? Sorry about that. You weren't hurt, were you?"
It asked, handing over the mask.
"No, I'm alright,"
Shizu answered, retrieving it.
"Rimuru. Rimuru Tempest,"
I greeted.
"Heh? H—how do you know me?"
He played dumb, but I simply smiled, ignoring its playful nature.
From the looks of it, this slime had been building a village. A small village trying its best to support itself. Fragile, yet with crazy potential.
A few huts and small farms could be seen within the small space, with one larger building still in progress.
The village consisted of mixed species, goblins, direwolves, and dwarves. Observing the frequency of their magical energy, I'd say he had named them, pretty much all of them. One way or another, he was almost like Asteri.
Fortunately, the slime was kind enough to treat us to a meal. The four of us sat around a table, eating. Eren and Kaval fought over meat on the table, Shizu still eating with her mask on. To blend in, I took my first meal. And for a review, it was…
'Good.'
'I think 'delicious' is the right word.'
Shinn suggested, but I paid him no mind.
Rimuru and one of his goblins walked in.
"Guests, I fear we have little to offer, but are you comfortable here?"
The goblin didn't pause before continuing.
"Allow me to make an introduction. This is our master, the Great Rimuru!"
"Master?"
The party asked again in unison.
'Hmm, I get that Majo vibe coming from him. She's not much of a glazer like Scarlet, so I'll rank him lower.'
"Got a problem with that?"
The slime asked. For a lowly monster with such a vibe, we did.
"Un—no."
"We knew you were no ordinary slime, but we had no idea…"
"Nice to meet you! I'm Rimuru the slime! I'm not a bad slime!"
It said, bouncing up and down. It was probably trying to appear harmless, but it was just cute. That wasn't me—that was Asteri.
Everyone was dumbfounded, but one person couldn't contain herself and let out a chuckle. It was Shizu.
"We apologise. We never expected to be saved by a monster, but we do appreciate it,"
Kaval bowed, expressing his gratitude.
"Oh, that's for the meat! It is delicious!"
"Th—thanks for the help. I didn't expect to find goblins building a village here."
After a few seconds of silence, he asked,
"So, what brings you all the way out here?"
"I'm Kaval. For what it's worth, I'm the leader of this party. This is—"
"I'm Eren!"
"Hello. I'm Gido. Nice to meet you."
They introduced themselves, so I followed the trend.
"Yami."
"And this is a temporary member who happened to be going the same way as us."
"Shizu."
And with that, everyone was introduced. Kaval then took the lead, explaining our plans.
"I see. As you can see, we're in the middle of building our village, but—well—does the Guild have a problem with that?"
"I don't think so, right?"
"Yeah. It's nothing the Guild has a say in. What about the country?"
"I have no idea myself."
"I see. Well, I get it now. You should stay here tonight and get some good rest."
"So generous."
"Thank you."
"Treat them well."
"Yes, sir,"
The two goblins beside him responded.
To be continued...