(Attendances… plz…)
….
Rigurd, after telling the adventurers to wait, disappeared into the largest and most complete-looking hut in the village.
"I thought he was the leader," Kaval whispered, the moment the hobgoblin was out of earshot. "You know, seeing how big he is and how deep his voice is."
"Same here," Gido agreed.
"Me too," Ellen added.
Shizue said nothing, her masked face unreadable as she watched the hut's entrance. Reinhard, equally silent, simply waited with a calm patience that seemed completely out of place.
After what felt like a long minute, Rigurd emerged from the hut. He stood to the side of the entrance, his chest puffed out with a deep, reverent pride. "Our great master will see you now," he announced, his voice booming.
The party exchanged nervous glances. This was it. They steeled themselves and entered the hut one by one, their eyes adjusting to the dim light inside.
The interior was surprisingly spacious and clean, nothing like the filthy monster dens they were used to. The air smelled of dried herbs and woodsmoke, not damp earth and blood. At the far end of the hut, a simple wooden platform had been raised, like a small stage where a chieftain would sit.
They expected to see another, even larger hobgoblin sitting there, a chieftain adorned with bones and crude jewelry.
Instead, sitting on a simple cushion in the center of the platform, was a small, blue slime. It wobbled slightly.
Rimuru, wanting to make a good first impression, began his practiced, formal greeting as soon as they entered. A clear, confident voice in the hit to the adventurers.
"Welcome, adventurers, to my village. I hope…"
He stopped mid-sentence. His voice cut off as his slime body seemed to jiggle in surprise. He had just gotten a clear look at the last person to enter the hut.
"…huh? Reinhard?!" the voice blurted out, all formality gone, replaced by pure, bewildered surprise. "What are you doing here?! Don't tell me you actually came to check up on me already!"
Reinhard just smiled, scratching the back of his head with a casual, almost embarrassed gesture. "Hahaha, well… first of all what a surprise… and second of all no. This is just a coincidence." He looked around the well-kept hut, then back at the slime. "I didn't expect you to start a whole village in such a short time. And develop it this much, too."
The rest of the party just stood there, completely and utterly confused. They looked from the talking slime on the platform, to the friendly, red-haired knight, and then back again, their minds struggling to process what was happening. How in the world did Reinhard know this monster?
….
…
..
.
The silence in the hut stretched for a few awkward seconds after Reinhard spoke to the goblin leader, this village leader aka the slime monster.
Kaval, Gido, and Ellen were scrambling for an explanation. How could Reinhard even know this creature? He was a Summon, someone who had appeared in their world only a few weeks ago.
They had been with him almost every single day since his arrival.
The only logical, if completely wild, conclusion they could come to was that this monster must have been summoned from Reinhard's world, too.
That had to be it. It was the only explanation that made any sense. The memory of the little slime from Veldora's cave was completely gone, a tiny, insignificant detail that had been immediately buried under the excitement of finding rare herbs and the shock of seeing Reinhard obliterate an Armorsaurus and then other monsters. To them, that dumb little slime was a non-event, forgotten as soon as it was gone.
Kaval, as the nominal leader, was the first to break the heavy silence. "Reinhard," he started, his voice laced with pure, unadulterated confusion. "You… know this thing?"
On his platform, Rimuru's entire slime body jiggled with indignation. Thing? Did he just call me a "thing"?! he fumed internally. Really, man? I'm right here. Hello. Can you see me?! I have thoughts too. I have feelings. At least have the decency to call me "thing" behind my back, not right to my face!
Reinhard turned from the slime to face Kaval, a calm, slightly amused smile on his face. "Ah, yes. I suppose you could say that." He looked at their baffled expressions. "And I know it must look strange. But you guys know him, too."
The statement only deepened their confusion. Kaval, Gido, and Ellen looked at each other, then back at the slime. How could they possibly know a monster slime? If they had met one before, they would have either killed it without a second thought, or more likely, wouldn't have even batted an eye at it.
Reinhard, sensing their complete and total memory loss, decided to help them out. He spoke slowly and clearly, as if explaining something to very young, very forgetful children. "Remember when we went to Veldora's Cave?"
The three of them nodded slowly, their eyes still wide.
"Remember when we first entered the cave?" Reinhard continued patiently.
They nodded again, a little faster this time.
"And do you remember," he said, pausing for effect, "that I found a little slime that was peeking at us from behind a rock?"
They all went completely still. There was a long, silent moment as three brains furiously dug through their recent memories, past the stress of the mission and the awe of Reinhard's power.
Really? Rimuru thought, feeling a fresh wave of irritation. Did they really forget me that easily? After saying all those mean things and practically deciding to murder me right then and there? He could still hear their voices in his head: "dumb," "worthless monster," "just kill it and be done with it."
Finally, a flicker of recognition appeared in Ellen's eyes. "Oh!" she gasped, her hand flying to her mouth. "That dumb slime!"
Reinhard nodded, not at her choice of words, but at the memory itself.
"The one you dropped off somewhere safe," Kaval added, the final piece of the puzzle clicking into place with an audible mental thud.
"Yes," Reinhard confirmed. "Though, I didn't know he was going to build an entire village. I just knew he was acting at the time, pretending to be a normal slime."
"And now that slime is building an army of goblins?!" Ellen asked, her mind immediately jumping to the most dramatic conclusion as she looked from the small blue creature to the powerful hobgoblin chief standing stoically by the door.
"I'm right here, you know," Rimuru's voice echoed in the hut, sounding a bit annoyed. "And it's not an army. It's just a village." He paused, then continued, his tone a little more subdued. "I can't really explain how it all happened. But… I helped them with some other monsters, and they just accepted me as their leader. And now, here I am."
As he "spoke," his attention drifted past the trio to the silent woman standing with them. The one with the long black hair and the strange, antique mask. There was something about her that felt… familiar. A faint tug of a memory, not from this world, but from his old one.
I think I've seen her somewhere before… he thought, the feeling of a strange feeling of familiarity and distant or maybe just yesterday thing in his mind.
….
A/N: So, How was it?! First of all send power stones if you like this fic. And second of all, how was the reaction. I think it was good and all. I didn't wanna over exaggerate it. So it went it this way hoped you liked it.
Shizue countdown has begun.
Next two chapters are already on my discord.
Melatonin, spawn and many more on my discord … thanks for beta reading this fic and not to mention suggestions too.
Hoped you all liked the chapter and all.
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