Attendance… plz…)
….
"Griffins?!"
Rimuru blinked, genuinely floored. "Wait, there are actually Griffins on the surface side of the world?"
"There are."
The answer came from a deep, resonant voice. The Dean stepped forward, a smirk playing on his shadowed face.
"Why else do you think Aoko brought the brat here? They were trying to swipe eggs."
"Eh?!"
Rimuru and May froze in unison.
Aoko, suddenly finding the cloudy London sky incredibly fascinating, started whistling a tune. She aggressively avoided eye contact, but she couldn't hide the tips of her ears, which were turning a violent shade of red.
Oh, so you do know shame?
"It isn't exactly a secret," the Dean chuckled, shaking his head. "The Griffin is the symbol of the Royal Family and the Knight Orders. London is currently the only city in the world with the authority and the means to form contracts with the Griffin race. Eighty percent of the world's Griffin-based materials come from here. If you had blown that up…"
He didn't finish the sentence. Instead, he reached out and patted Erol's silver head.
"Not bad, kid. You've got some serious firepower."
"…Uh."
Rimuru didn't know whether to laugh or cry. The Dean was praising the arsonist.
Feeling the awkwardness, Rimuru pivoted, fixing his gaze on Aoko. "So, why were you trying to steal Griffin eggs for Erol? A gift? A pet?"
"Urgh."
Aoko opened her mouth to explain, but before she could spin a lie, the little traitor in Rimuru's arms raised her head.
Erol threw her hands up excitedly. "Big Sis Aoko said Griffin eggs are super yummy!"
"…"
"…"
"…"
Silence descended like a guillotine.
"Okay. I'm done. I'm so done," May groaned, clutching her forehead.
"Aoko…" Rimuru dragged out her name, his voice dripping with disappointment. He looked at her like a father discovering his son eating glue. "As a Magician… why does everything you do feel so incredibly low-rent?"
"Aaaah! Shut up!"
Aoko, now being stared at by three Lords and a Dean, turned the color of a tomato. Snapping under the pressure, she poked Erol hard on the forehead.
"I refuse to accept this! That little traitor is the one who caused the explosion, okay?! I didn't use a single spell other than Concealment! She's the one who chucked a raw Mana Burst at a Shadow Panther! I only stepped in after the fire started!"
"That's because Erol doesn't know any spells yet," Rimuru retorted, exasperated. "All she knows how to do is vomit raw mana."
He sighed and looked down.
"But it's true. You were in the wrong this time, Erol."
Rimuru set the silver-haired girl down on the scorched earth. He crouched so his golden eyes were level with her bright blue ones.
"Eh…"
Erol shuffled her feet. Now that she was on the ground, she felt the weight of everyone's stare. Realizing the 'Cute Defense' had failed and the trial was proceeding to sentencing, she dropped her head.
"Uu… I know I was wrong."
"Knowing isn't enough," Rimuru said softly. "People have to take responsibility for their actions. And they have to pay the price."
Whoosh.
Before the girl could react, black mist erupted from Rimuru's back. It swirled into the shape of a massive, jagged maw.
Chomp.
In the blink of an eye, the mist swallowed the stunned Erol whole. She vanished without a scream.
The group stared at him in horrified silence.
"No… surely not?" Aoko stammered, her face pale. "Did… did you just eat her?"
"Eat your head!" Rimuru jumped up and smacked the back of Aoko's head. "Do I look that evil to you?"
"Is it a spatial Bounded Field? Like your stomach?" May forced herself to stay calm, recalling Rimuru's unique physiology.
"Yeah."
"There's no light in there. No sound. Just endless nothingness and dark."
"A perfect place for solitary confinement."
"Oh?" Lord Gaiusling raised an eyebrow. "If that's the case, isn't it a bit cruel?"
"It… it is a bit much, isn't it?" May bit her lip, looking at Rimuru's stomach area with concern. "For a child? Ten minutes in a sensory deprivation tank is enough to cause a breakdown."
"She hasn't started crying yet."
Rimuru blinked, checking his internal sensors. He paused, then laughed. "Honestly? I expected her to start wailing 'Teacher, help me!' the second she went in."
He patted May's shoulder reassuringly. "Relax. I'm monitoring her constantly. I won't let her get traumatized."
"But…"
"It's fine."
To everyone's surprise, Aoko reached out and took May's hand. The Magician offered a wry smile.
"Since you entrusted the kid to Rimuru, you have to trust his methods. Believe me, being around him is annoying enough to cause brain damage, but I have to admit… he's like Alice. What he does is usually correct, and it's always calculated."
Rimuru nodded at her, staying silent.
He had set the timer for three hours. The Great Sage was monitoring Erol's mental state in real-time. If her stress levels spiked too high, he'd spit her out instantly.
He wanted to teach Erol a lesson she would feel in her bones. She needed to learn to consider consequences before acting. He didn't want his precious disciple to die one day because she thought she could power through a mistake.
But he wasn't a monster. He wanted pressure, not PTSD.
That was why he had also tossed his Mystic Code, Boundless, into the stomach with her. The sentient weapon would keep her company in the void.
What surprised Rimuru, however, was Erol's reaction.
Inside the infinite darkness, she didn't panic. She didn't scream. Instead, she hugged Boundless like a teddy bear and started running. She sprinted through the nothingness, fueled by curiosity, until she finally tired herself out.
Only when she stopped, when the silence settled and she realized this was the "price" he spoke of, did she slump down. She curled up, hugging the weapon, and began to whisper grievances to it with a pouty face.
Kids really do hate being lonely.
Seeing that she was safe, Rimuru steeled his heart and cut the visual feed.
"Alright," he said, turning back to the mess of broken trees and magic residues. "Let's go wipe their asses."
….
+10 chapters on my p@tr3on: Kazuma_trash
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