"So... he's not dead?" I breathed, my heart pounding with alarm as I looked over the puddle of goo that was Rimuru.
"Indeed, the lord is perfectly fine, young miss." A deep, gruff male voice answered back.
(Oh thank God...)
The idea of being found with the possibly dead puddle of the town's leader was a mental scenario that absolutely terrified me. For one, I was imagining the people outside finding out and calling for me to be executed or tortured to death, or whatever other horrible idea popped into my head. Thankfully, however, that particular situation had not happened, much to my relief.
It turned out that my not-so-little freak-out had actually caught the attention of those outside, which I suppose makes sense considering the fact that I wasn't exactly being quiet. Eventually someone came to investigate and I broke down, apologising over and over again. Fortunately, after explaining exactly what had happened I wasn't immediately sentenced to death or anything; instead, the person who had arrived was quick to try and calm me down.
The person was an incredibly muscular-looking man with grey hair and green skin, just like the lady from before. And when I say he was muscular, I mean it, he looked like his body had been chiseled from stone or something.
"The lord just used up all his magicules when he named you just now." he explained, as he crouched down in front of me so we were at eye level. "He'll be unconscious for a day or two, but he's completely fine. Now please, little miss, calm yourself."
"S-sorry..." I breathed, still feeling like I was having a panic attack.
(When was the last time I reacted so violently like this?) I thought, unused to this amount of emotional turmoil.
"W-what... what's your name? Also, why did... errm... why did n-naming me cause this to happen?" I asked, hoping that starting a conversation would help calm me down somewhat.
He seemed to pick up on what I was doing as he answered immediately. "You may call me Rigurd! I'm a hobgoblin, and I help Lord Rimuru manage things around here."
"As for why the lord is in this state, well, naming a monster causes them to evolve and grow stronger; however, the one doing the naming must use some of their magicules to achieve this feat." Rigurd explained it like a teacher breaking down a problem for a student. "The stronger a monster, the more magicules it takes to name them, and if a person uses up too many magicules it can lead to situations like this."
(So either Rimuru doesn't have a lot of these 'magicules' or phoenixes are just really powerful.) I thought, still slightly confused as I continued to try and steady myself.
"What is the name that our most gracious lord gave you, by the way?" the muscular hobgoblin asked with a curious look in his eyes.
"Suu..." I answered after a second of hesitation. "Suu Tempest, technically, I guess."
(It feels weird introducing myself for the first time.) I thought awkwardly, only to pause when I realised that Rigurd had gone completely still.
"Tempest, you say... he gave you his family name...?" he asked, and I slowly nodded.
For a moment he just stayed there unmoving. I honestly started to think I might have done something wrong; however, that assumption was proven false when he suddenly exclaimed, "So our lord has adopted you!"
"Wait... what?"
"This is excellent! Lord Rimuru now has a daughter; I'm sure everyone will be ecstatic when they find out!" Rigurd announced with a massive, joyous smile that stretched across his face.
"I don't... I don't think that's..." I tried to say but couldn't find the words to explain.
"This is a great day!" Rigurd said, tears welling up in his eyes as he became surprisingly emotional. "We should have a feast to celebrate!"
(You're misunderstanding the situation! He was just being nice to me; he wasn't trying to adopt me or anything.) I thought as my face began to turn red with embarrassment and things quickly spiralled out of my control.
"I'm so happy... I'm so happy for you, Lord Rimuru." He congratulated, looking at the somewhat misshapen form of Rimuru as he wiped the tears from his eyes.
(Oh god... how do I tell him that this is all just a mix-up?) I was not mentally prepared for this kind of situation in the slightest.
I was very conflicted about what to do, to say the least. On one hand I'd feel bad crushing Rigurd's clear excitement, and on the other hand I really didn't want this to get out of control, especially considering that Rimuru wasn't in a state to clear things up for me. And worst of all, I couldn't dismiss the idea either, for one main reason.
Simply put, for all I knew giving a monster your last name was actually a form of adoption in a sense. I don't think that was Rimuru's intention mind you, it's possible he didn't know since he's like me. And if these guys don't actually know that Rimuru was reborn, then explaining the misunderstanding might reveal his secret, which was something I really didn't want to do. In the end, I decided on my only course of action: say absolutely nothing and hope this clears itself up when Rimuru eventually awakens.
"If you're up for it, you should head outside and look around. A young lady like yourself shouldn't be cooped up in here all day, after all." The buff hobgoblin mused, bringing me back to the present moment.
Honestly I would be lying if I said I wasn't curious, however I still couldn't help but be hesitant, a fact he seemed to notice. "You don't have to worry, little miss. If the lord saw fit to adopt you into his family, then I swear that no one would dare harm you!" Rigurd laughed with a large grin while flexing his muscles proudly. "In fact, once I'm done getting someone to attend to Lord Rimuru, I'll come show you around myself."
(This guy... he's kind of weird.) I thought as I watched him flexing rather dramatically.
"I..." I went to say, but paused. It took me a second or two to finally speak up again. "I don't know... I wouldn't want to get in anyone's way."
"You won't be in the way, that I'm sure of. I'm sure everyone will be more than happy to meet you." He laughed while trying to reassure me.
(I guess... I might as well see what this world has in store.) I thought. I was still nervous, but at least now I had permission.
"Thanks for being nice to me..." I mumbled awkwardly as I walked past Rigurd and the still-melted, unconscious Rimuru.
"You don't have to say thank you for something like that, little miss. It's only natural, after all." Rigurd chuckled from behind me as I stepped out of the tent.
I was momentarily blinded by the light that poured into the somewhat dark space behind me. Shaking my head slightly, I partially covered my eyes with my arm until they finally adapted to the brightness, a fact that allowed me to take a look around.
And what a sight it was: dozens of tents similar to the one I had just come out of lined a large dirt clearing. What looked like trench-like paths had been neatly dug out, paths that I assumed would eventually become roads. I also finally understood what Rimuru had meant when he mentioned that he found me in the middle of a forest, because the whole area around the town was surrounded by trees and greenery that stretched farther than I could see.
What truly caught my attention, though, were the inhabitants: hundreds of green people, or hobgoblins as I had learned they were called. Additionally, there was another species here that seemed to be relatively plentiful, one that made me freeze in my tracks. Before this point, even with the hobgoblins, there was still a part of me in denial about this whole reincarnation thing. That denial was shattered, however, when I noticed the wolves scattered around, wolves that were roughly as long as a basketball net is tall.
(I don't think wolves are supposed to get that big.) I muttered internally. Honestly, I was tempted to just turn around and go back where I had come from, but I stopped in my tracks.
"I can't keep hiding away," I told myself, and honestly, I was surprised by my own words.
(I really have changed...) I was more courageous, more talkative, more expressive. I still didn't know why, but I was starting to think it didn't matter. (But... maybe that's not such a bad thing...)
Steadying myself, I walked forward. I didn't really have a destination; I was exploring my new surroundings somewhat aimlessly. I did get some curious looks from the town's inhabitants, but none of them had approached me yet, which I was somewhat thankful for as I wasn't ready for another conversation just yet.
I also made sure to keep my distance from the wolves. I was feeling far more confident in myself, but I wasn't confident enough to interact with them just yet. Though I was definitely curious as to what it would be like to ride one, as I had seen some of the hobgoblins doing. Oddly, I found that I was strangely aware of my surroundings; in fact, at one point I closed my eyes and could still see my environment. It was different compared to normal sight, it was like I could feel everything in a three‑sixty degree area around me. I could sense the particles of light in the air, the sound of my feet hitting the ground as I walked. Honestly, it was hard to describe in a way that made much sense.
(What is this? Is it one of those skills Rimuru mentioned before? Do I have more than one?) I thought curiously, but just then I stopped in my tracks.
My eyes were still closed, but I could feel it, a shift in the air so to speak. (Left? There's someone walking towards me. No, there are two, and one of them...)
The first was a hobgoblin, a male wearing a similar outfit to what Rigurd had been wearing, except for a bright red bandana wrapped around his head. In fact, the comparison to Rigurd was relevant, mostly because the two looked similar. They had the same hair color and the same eye color; the main difference was that this hobgoblin was clearly far younger.
As for the second one, well, they were the one who had gotten my attention: it was one of the wolves, although this one was way bigger than the others and had a horn growing out of its forehead. However, what really intrigued me was the aura of multicolored particles that radiated off of them; it was calm yet wild in a way.
The hobgoblin had one of these aura-like things as well, just weaker in comparison to the wolf next to him. In fact, the particles that made up the auras were everywhere, actually, it would be more accurate to say that they were everything, from what I could tell. Simply put, they made up the air all around me; they made up the rock and dirt beneath my feet, and they seemed to pour out of every living thing I could sense. If I had to guess, these were the "magicules" Rigurd had spoken about, or at least something along those lines.
Anyway, I opened my eyes just as they stopped a few feet away, the hobgoblin opening his mouth to speak. "Hey there, you're that girl who Lord Rimuru found, right?"
"Errm... hey..." I mumbled awkwardly.
(And here I thought the other wolves were big.) I thought nervously, taking a step backward, an action the hobgoblin immediately picked up on.
"Oh, don't worry about this big guy. He won't hurt you," he said with a smile. However, what happened next was not what I would have expected at all.
<
"Huh?" I yelped, startled as I glanced around, confused as to where the voice had come from. It took a second before realization hit me and my eyes fell on the horned wolf before me. "Did... did you just talk inside my head?"
<
I blinked for a second, processing that information, but unbeknownst to me the explanation wasn't done. "I can also speak verbally like this with the use of my Wind Manipulation skills; however, I prefer to use Thought Communication." This time the voice had come from Ranga himself instead of from within my head. "Although, if you would prefer, I can refrain from talking telepathically to you if it makes you uncomfortable."
"Yeah... I'd rather you didn't do that, at least until I can get used to it anyway," I said and he nodded respectfully.
"I should probably introduce myself as well. I am Rigur." The hobgoblin said while extending a hand toward me in greeting.
(Rigur? Is he related to Rigurd? I guess that makes sense; they do look somewhat similar.) I thought as I awkwardly shook his hand.
(I should be polite and introduce myself as well... but what if it causes another misunderstanding?) Before I could come to a decision, however, I felt the approach of a familiar figure.
"Ah, so this is where you wandered off to." Rigurd laughed with a wide smile as he approached.
"Father, you two have met already?" Rigur asked as he turned to the muscular hobgoblin.
"Indeed, I met the young Suu Tempest here a few moments ago." Rigurd nodded and smiled; however, the reveal of my name caused the other two to pause in surprise.
"Tempest?"
(Oh no...) I thought; I could already tell where this was going.
"Yes, you see Lord Rimuru has adopted her!" I wanted to stop him, but before I could muster the words it was already too late. "Isn't it great?"
"Truly?" Ranga asked, shocked.
"That's fantastic news!" Rigur announced, causing Rigurd and Ranga to nod in agreement.
"Wait..." I tried to say, but in their excitement I don't think they heard me at all.
"We should get everyone together and have a welcoming celebration!" Ranga barked, his tail was wagging so quickly that it had become a complete and utter blur.
(Please noooo...) I thought, as I suddenly felt an urge to bury myself in a hole somewhere.