She froze when she noticed movement at the bottom of the cliff. The goblins had scattered, but one figure stood out.
Small. Blue hair. That calm yet unreadable expression her heart skipped. No freaking way…
"Holy crap… Rimuru Tempest…" she muttered under her breath, almost fangirling, her knees going weak.
Down below, Rimuru looked up, his golden eyes narrowing just a little. He could feel the pressure radiating off her, way too much for a normal human. He kept his voice steady though, casual on the surface but guarded underneath.
"…Hey. You up there," Rimuru called out, hands resting at his sides, but every sense sharpened. "Mind telling me who you are and why you're watching my village?"
She blinked rapidly, her mind blanking. "Wait did he just… talk to me? Oh my god, this is actually happening." She laughed nervously, waving one hand. "Uh—hi! Don't freak out, I swear I'm not, like, a spy or anything. I was just… watching. That's all."
Rimuru tilted his head, studying her. Her aura didn't feel hostile, but it was intense like a storm waiting to break. "Watching?" he repeated, voice even. "From this close, you're not just 'watching.' You've got some serious power leaking off you. So I'll ask again who are you?"
Her mouth opened, then closed. She pressed her hand to her forehead, muttering to herself, "This is insane. I'm literally talking to Rimuru Tempest… okay, deep breaths." She took a big deep breath it almost made her caugh because her throat was a bit dry.
"…What?" Rimuru raised an eyebrow.
"Oh! Uh—sorry. My name's… uh—" She hesitated, realizing saying her real name in an anime world felt weird. "Let's just go with… Nia."
Rimuru's eyes stayed locked on her. "Nia, huh? Well, Nia… you don't exactly look like someone who wandered here by accident. Where did you come from?"
She hesitated again, chewing her lip. "That's… complicated. Let's just say… I'm not from around here. And honestly, I didn't think this place was even real until five minutes ago."
That made Rimuru's guard go up even higher. Not real? What was she talking about? He kept his expression polite, but his mind raced. She knows something. I need to be careful with this one.
"You don't think this place is real?" Rimuru said slowly, his tone light but probing. "That's a strange thing to say."
She winced, realizing she might've said too much. "Yeah, uh—look, it's a long story. But I promise I'm not here to hurt anyone I literally just got here and I'm still trying to wrap my head around it myself." She gave a awkward smile.
'This is embarrassing' she kinda wanted to run away at this point.
Rimuru didn't answer right away. The silence stretched, the wind whistling through the trees. Then finally he sighed and crossed his arms.
"…Fine. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. But you're coming down from there. We can talk properly face-to-face. Deal?"
She stared at him, her heart pounding. Oh my god. Rimuru Tempest just invited me down this is it I'm in the anime.
She nodded quickly. "Y-Yeah! Deal!" Her voice almost to loud.
And with shaky hands gripping the cliff edge, she started her way down her mind a whirlwind of what the hell is going on here.!?