After half a month of leaving the Demon Country Federation, Rimuru and Shizue finally arrived at the large mountain range bordering the Falmus Kingdom and the Kingdom of Ingrassia.
Although the purpose was to question Yuuki, Shizue did not rush at full speed.
Along the way, she was very leisurely, finding an excuse to linger for half a day whenever she saw something delicious.
And there was even less to say when she saw something fun.
In any case, as long as she could delay, Shizue would try every possible means to do so.
Rimuru did not urge her, as it was all for fun anyway, so he just considered it accompanying a beautiful woman on a trip.
Rimuru actually understood Shizue's psychology very well.
The closer to home, the more timid she became, not daring to ask the coming person.
Shizue must be very, very conflicted right now!
On one hand, she urgently wanted to ask Yuuki, but on the other hand, she was afraid of discovering the truth of the matter.
After all, Yuuki was her most outstanding student, almost like someone she had watched grow up.
From an ignorant summoner from another World, he slowly grew to become the leader of the Freedom Association, and he was also very caring towards his juniors.
By all appearances, he wasn't the kind of two-faced, smiling tiger, was he?
But...
The testimony of Hero Chronoa was so undeniable!
The great mountain range, stretching as far as the eye could see.
Ancient trees were lush and gnarled, comparable to those in the Jura Great Forest.
However, what was different was that most of the trees here were red maples, and since it was autumn, everything was a fiery red, like burning flames, exceptionally beautiful.
Seeing this scene, Shizue couldn't help but widen her eyes, and a lively aura flickered in her beautiful eyes, as if she had forgotten her recent melancholy.
Shizue immediately ran towards the red maple forest, her footsteps crunching on the fallen maple leaves, making a rustling sound, as joyful as a dancing butterfly.
Seeing this, Rimuru's heart also couldn't help but lighten.
After some thought, Rimuru directly used the Reality Stone to conjure a camera and quickly took several photos of Shizue.
Soon, Shizue saw the camera in Rimuru's hand and immediately became curious.
"What is this?"
Then, Rimuru simply explained cameras and photos to Shizue.
Seeing her photos with the mountains of red leaves as a backdrop, Shizue's beautiful eyes immediately lit up.
After all, it was her first time seeing something like a photo, and the shock she felt was unimaginable.
"Quick, strike a pose, I'll take your picture!"
"Strike a pose?"
Shizue was a little shy, her cheeks flushed.
But for the longing for beautiful photos, she still followed Rimuru's instructions.
Although Shizue had never taken photos, she had seen noble paintings.
The so-called pose should be to show her best side, right!
Shizue thought for a moment, drew the long sword hanging at her waist, and then a raging flame ignited on the sword, making her look handsome and serious.
She was just too serious, and with the rendering of the flames, her facial expression even had a slight touch of exaggerated emotion.
Click!
After successfully snapping the picture, Rimuru burst out laughing.
Shizue's face turned red, and she stomped her foot, saying, "What are you laughing at?"
Rimuru waved his hand, "Nothing, nothing."
Shizue pouted, looking sulky, "Your expression has betrayed everything, there must be something, quickly confess."
When she saw her own exaggerated photo, Shizue's face immediately turned crimson, instantly becoming a blushing maiden.
"Delete it, quickly delete it!"
How could Rimuru delete such a precious photo?
For a moment, the entire red maple forest was filled with sounds of playful bickering.
It must be said that girls are very talented when it comes to photography.
In a very short time, Shizue became very proficient with the camera, which she had never touched before.
As for posing, Shizue even self-taught herself the peace sign, and even mastered free-spirited poses like jumping into the air.
It made Rimuru full of praise!
"There's a village in the deep mountains!"
Stepping into the depths of the mountain range, the two unexpectedly discovered a village.
Even from a distance, they could smell a peculiar fragrance wafting from the village, which made Rimuru's appetite stir.
Shizue's beautiful eyes lit up, "Rimuru, there's a festival in the village, let's stay and join in!"
Rimuru shook his head.
Shizue pleaded, "Just stay for one night, okay?"
Alright!
Rimuru rubbed his forehead.
Shizue was truly going to great lengths to delay!
She even resorted to pleading!
However, it was unexpectedly a bit cute!
The village was called Fire Maple Village, a primitive settlement where many farming tools and decorations made from polished animal bones could still be seen.
The festival held in the evening was a tradition passed down through generations, called the "Harvest Festival."
The classic delicacy of the festival was Fire Chicken.
The village was quite wary of outsiders.
However, seeing that Rimuru and Shizue did not look like bad people, they were allowed to enter the village.
When Rimuru offered many candies and snacks to the children in the village, the elders of the village finally smiled brightly, accepting the arrival of Rimuru and Shizue.
As for Shizue, she quickly blended in with the children.
It must be said that Shizue was truly experienced in interacting with children.
When Rimuru showed a little skill and healed several old hunters who were injured from hunting, Rimuru also became very popular.
Soon, Rimuru and Shizue became the most popular guests in the village.
"This is..."
When Rimuru and Shizue unexpectedly saw a stone Carving of Yuuki in the village, both of them were a little stunned.
Was Yuuki so respected in this village?
As if knowing Rimuru and Shizue's confusion, Rosa, the village chief's daughter, admiringly recounted Yuuki's heroic deeds to them.
It turned out that ten years ago, an extremely ferocious Fire Beast appeared in the mountains, which not only injured people but also extensively set fires, destroying countless houses and crops.
Fire Maple Village suffered greatly, and the entire village almost sold everything they could to gather enough money to commission adventurers.
But unfortunately, the Fire Beast was too fierce, and the adventurers who took the commission to hunt it down actually died in battle.
The guild directly informed them that the level of the Fire Beast had completely exceeded the limit that ordinary adventurers could handle.
The mission level had to be raised, but the commission required had to be doubled.
Fire Maple Village was just a small village, how could they gather so many gold coins?
Fire Maple Village was desperate, and at the critical moment, the hero Yuuki stood up.
Not only did he not charge extra commission, but he also left the Fire Beast's most valuable horn to the village.
Now, with the Fire Beast's horn, ordinary monsters dared not invade the village.
It could be said that Yuuki was the greatest benefactor of Fire Maple Village; he brought hope and new life to Fire Maple Village.
Seeing Rosa's admiring expression, Shizue's beautiful eyes also sparkled.
Rimuru remained silent, completely understanding Shizue's thoughts.
With the heroic deeds from Fire Maple Village, Shizue had another reason to convince herself.
Shizue always believed that Yuuki was not a bad person!
However, Rimuru did not dislike Shizue like this.
Kindness, no matter in which World, is a valuable quality.
To still uphold kindness after being hurt is even more rare and precious.
Although Rimuru would never become such a person, it did not prevent her from liking such people.
After dusk fell, the Fire Maple Village festival also began.
In the center of the village, a bonfire burned brightly.
The men beat animal skin drums and played primitive instruments made from polished animal bones, their sounds desolate and wild, with an exceptionally unique style.
The children, on the other hand, ate delicious food and played around, creating quite a ruckus.
"Shizue, the festival has already started, how much longer are you going to delay?"
"Coming out, I'm coming out now."
Shizue, who emerged from the house, had changed into the village's traditional clothes according to the customs of Fire Maple Village.
How to describe it?
Due to the lack of fabric, many of the clothes in the village were made from tanned animal hides.
Decorations were mostly sourced locally, such as animal bones, horns, and beautiful stones.
But precisely because of this, the village's clothes were truly unique, possessing a wild and unrestrained beauty.
Seeing Shizue dressed as a "village beauty," Rimuru's beautiful eyes lit up; she truly possessed a unique kind of beauty!
Seeing Rimuru's gaze, Shizue glared fiercely at Rimuru; to actually make fun of her, he was truly too wicked!
She wondered who encouraged her to change into the festival attire!
However, Rimuru was now immune to Shizue's glaring technique.
As soon as Rimuru and Shizue arrived at the festival grounds, many young girls immediately ran over, pulling them to dance together.
Shizue had no idea how to do this; she was utterly flustered.
Rimuru was greatly amused!
Rimuru was also invited, of course, but he had his own clever plan.
After Rimuru conjured a Xun (a Chinese wind instrument), she played a tune of "Hometown Scenery," immediately winning a thunderous applause.
With Rimuru's help, the atmosphere of the entire festival undoubtedly soared to a new level.