DID YOU KNOW? YOU CAN NOW READ THREE TO SIX CHAPTERS AHEAD. CHECK MY PROFILE FOR THE LINK.
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"We were gone for, like, six minutes." Rimuru groaned into his hand.
He, Luminous, and Kaede had only just returned from their private conversation, and while Rimuru had at least expected that some sort of altercation might have occurred in their absence, the scene waiting for them was ridiculous to say the least.
Other than Hinata herself, all of the Great Saints were currently wrapped tightly in thick green vines, their bodies bound from head to toe as they dangled helplessly from the ceiling like a collection of rather disgruntled cocoons.
Leonard looked thoroughly embarrassed.
Arnaud had his eyes closed, seemingly resigned to his current predicament.
Bacchus looked far too amused for someone hanging upside down.
Litus appeared to be contemplating the many decisions that had led her to this exact moment.
Fritz looked as though he was struggling not to laugh.
Garde was visibly furious.
Saare looked deeply offended.
And Grigori appeared to be testing the vines through sheer stubbornness, despite the fact that it was clearly getting him nowhere.
Hinata, meanwhile, remained seated with her arms folded, maintaining her usual cool and composed expression, although even she looked somewhat resigned to her subordinates' fate.
Rimuru stared at the scene for several seconds. Then he slowly lowered his hand from his face. "...What happened?"
He glanced upward at the dangling Saints. "Actually, let me rephrase that. Why are the Holy Knights dangling from the ceiling?"
The response was immediate.
"Lord Rimuru!"
"It wasn't our fault!"
"They attacked us first!"
"We were only defending ourselves!"
"Those monsters were being unreasonable!"
"They threatened us!"
"We were trying to protect Lady Hinata!"
"We did nothing wrong!"
The voices immediately began overlapping with one another, each Saint attempting to explain themselves while simultaneously placing the blame on someone else.
Rimuru's eyes slowly widened. He couldn't understand a single thing. "Wait, wait, wait!" He raised both hands. "One at a time!"
Nobody listened.
The explanations continued to pile on top of one another until they became nothing more than an incomprehensible wall of noise.
Rimuru stared blankly at them. "...I understood absolutely none of that."
The Saints finally fell silent.
Rimuru sighed.
He turned toward Benimaru, who was standing nearby with one hand covering his mouth and his shoulders trembling suspiciously.
"Benimaru."
Benimaru immediately straightened. "Yes, Lord Rimuru."
"What happened?"
Benimaru's lips twitched. "Would you like the short version or the detailed version?"
"The detailed version."
Benimaru glanced toward the Saints. "Very well... Once upon a time-"
"Benimaru!"
"...right." He took a breath, clearly trying to compose himself. "It began when Lady Hachi continued speaking about Lady Pito."
Hachi's expression softened slightly at the mention of her friend.
"She explained that Pito had actually been a member of her colony long before she ever met Lady Kaede, and that their relationship went back much further than anyone here had initially realized."
Kaede glanced toward Hachi.
Benimaru continued. "After hearing that, Lady Hinata apologized to Hachi once again."
Hinata nodded faintly.
"She acknowledged that Pito had been more than an enemy encountered during a battle. She understood that, to Hachi, Pito was family."
Hachi looked down quietly.
Benimaru's expression became slightly more serious. "Unfortunately, some of the Great Saints apparently felt the need to explain why Pito's death had been understandable."
The Saints hanging from the ceiling immediately became uncomfortable.
Rimuru's eyebrow twitched. "...They did what?"
Benimaru nodded. "One of them pointed out that Pito had been spying on them at the time, and therefore they had every reason to be suspicious of her."
A Saint hanging from the ceiling raised his head. "That is what happened!"
Benimaru ignored him. "Another argued that it had been the heat of battle, and that nobody could be expected to make perfectly rational decisions in the middle of a life-or-death confrontation."
Another Saint nodded vigorously. "Exactly!"
"Another," Benimaru continued, "argued that humans had every reason to fear monsters at the time. They believed they were acting in accordance with what they had been taught and what they understood about monsters."
Rimuru's expression became increasingly deadpan. "And this was supposed to make Hachi feel better?"
Benimaru shook his head. "No." He paused. "It made things considerably worse."
Hachi's expression had apparently changed at that point, Benimaru explained, and whatever sadness had initially accompanied her memories of Pito had gradually been replaced by anger.
"Lady Hachi apparently became quite upset."
"Quite upset?" Rimuru repeated.
Benimaru nodded. "That may have been an understatement."
Kaede covered her mouth, already anticipating where this was going.
"She told them that none of them understood what Pito meant to her. She explained that Pito wasn't merely a monster who had fought against them. She had been part of her colony, someone she had known and cared about long before Maple Tree ever existed."
Hachi's expression softened at that.
Benimaru continued. "She also reminded them that Pito had eventually become part of Maple Tree, and therefore part of Lady Kaede's family as well."
Kaede quietly nodded.
"From what I gathered," Benimaru continued, "Lady Hachi was particularly upset by the way they kept reducing Pito to an enemy combatant, as though her relationships and the people who cared about her meant nothing."
Hachi's eyes narrowed.
"And then one of the Saints apparently made a comment about how monsters having families was an alien concept to them."
Rimuru's expression immediately fell. "Oh no."
Benimaru nodded solemnly. "That was approximately when things went downhill."
He continued, "The Saint apparently remarked that he wished things could simply return to normal. Before monsters became so involved with human society and before humans had to deal with the complications that came with it."
There was a brief silence. Benimaru looked toward Hachi. "Lady Hachi became furious."
Hachi folded her arms.
"She picked up a leaf."
Rimuru blinked. "...A leaf?"
Benimaru nodded. "Yes. A leaf." He paused, his expression becoming increasingly difficult to keep serious. "She then threw it at one of the Saints."
Rimuru stared.
"It was a very sharp leaf."
"Of course it was."
Benimaru's lips twitched. "According to what I saw, she aimed directly for his head."
Several of the Saints immediately protested.
"She was trying to kill him!"
"It came within an inch of his face!"
"She attacked without warning!"
Benimaru raised one hand. "But Lady Hinata intercepted it."
Hinata remained cool and calm.
"Then," Benimaru continued, "some of the other Saints began arguing with Lady Hachi."
Rimuru slowly closed his eyes. "Of course they did."
"They apparently took offense at being threatened by a monster and began insisting that they wouldn't be intimidated or cowed by one."
Garde immediately shouted from his cocoon. "We wouldn't!"
Benimaru continued as though he hadn't heard him. "One of them apparently remarked that Lady Hachi was no match for Lady Hinata."
Another Saint immediately added, "We were simply stating the obvious!"
"And then," Benimaru continued, "they began demanding that Lady Hachi fight them."
Rimuru opened his eyes. "You're kidding."
"I wish I were." Benimaru took a breath. "Lady Hanae apparently decided that she had heard enough."
Kaede raised an eyebrow.
"Before any of the Saints could even draw their weapons properly, Lady Hanae summoned those vines and wrapped every one of them up."
He gestured toward the ceiling. "And that is how they ended up there."
Rimuru stared upward. The Saints stared back.
Benimaru finally allowed himself a small smile.
Rimuru looked toward Hinata. "Why?"
Hinata shrugged. "They were being annoying."
Rimuru stared at her. There was another moment of silence.
Then Fritz sighed from his position in the vines. "Commander does have a point."
Garde glared at him. "Whose side are you on!?"
Fritz shrugged as much as the vines allowed. "At the moment? The side that isn't dangling from the ceiling."
Rimuru slowly covered his face again. "We were gone for six minutes."
Kaede finally broke into a quiet giggle. "Apparently, that's all the time they needed."
"I still think Lady Hinata can take her." Arnaud finally interjected, a smug look spreading across his face as he glanced toward Hachi. "Even if she is an Antari, she is no match for Lady Hinata in a proper fight."
The words had barely left his mouth when Luminous, who had remained remarkably quiet throughout the entire exchange, suddenly seemed to take an interest.
A small glint appeared in her heterochromatic eyes.
Kaede noticed it immediately.
She slowly turned toward the Vampire.
Luminous's expression was still composed, but there was something almost playful lurking beneath it, as though an amusing idea had just occurred to her.
"Then perhaps we should put that confidence to the test, shall we?"
Kaede stared at her skeptically. "...What are you thinking?"
Luminous turned fully toward Kaede, her posture becoming slightly more relaxed as a delicate smile formed across her lips. It was a beautiful smile, almost impossibly so, and for a moment, the sheer elegance of the ancient Vampire made it difficult to look away.
"I would like to propose a wager, Kaede." Her voice was smooth and almost sweet, carrying a faintly mischievous undertone. "Regarding the offer you made earlier."
Kaede's eyes narrowed.
Hinata, meanwhile, raised an eyebrow. She didn't like the direction this conversation was taking.
Luminous continued, her smile never wavering. "Should Hinata emerge victorious, then she will remain within my realm, and your request for her service will be considered forfeit."
Hinata's eyebrow twitched. "...Excuse me?"
Luminous ignored her. "And should she fail..." The Vampire's smile became just a little wider. "Then she will be yours to command for the duration of the year you requested."
"I'm what!?" Hinata immediately shot to her feet, her previously cool and composed persona evaporating in an instant.
The Saints hanging from the ceiling stared at her.
Rimuru stared at Luminous.
Kaede stared at Luminous.
Even Veldora looked mildly surprised.
Luminous merely smiled.
Hinata pointed at her. "Lady Luminous!"
"You heard me."
Kaede couldn't help but stare at the two of them.
There was something deeply amusing about watching Hinata, who had spent the entire summit maintaining an almost impenetrable composure, suddenly become genuinely flustered.
Luminous then turned her attention back toward Kaede.
"What do you say, Kaede?" Her smile remained sweet, almost inviting, although there was now something sharper hiding behind it. "A fighting chance is the least I deserve, don't you think?"
Her fangs subtly emerged from beneath her lips.
It wasn't quite a threat. Not yet. It was simply a reminder.
Luminous was still a Demon Lord.
And despite her elegant appearance and calm demeanor, she was very much her father's daughter.