The atmosphere is frozen because of the Last Remarks. Velzard didn't understand why Rimuru, who was flirting with her up until now, suddenly wanted to become her Nephew.
Crimson just thinks that the current situation is very interesting. Although she herself is confused about it too, she isn't too shocked. The moral codes of a Daemon are a lot different than normal people, and each and every one of them is a nutjob to deal with.
Velgrynd is slightly familiar with modern terms, because of the fact that the Eastern Empire is very friendly towards otherworlders. However, she isn't familiar with 'Sugar' titles.
She is just surprised that he wants her to adopt him. Since she can't have children, as True Dragons are forbidden from having them, she isn't against the idea of adopting one. But no one ever caught her eye. However, Rimuru looks and feels too grown up for her to consider. And she couldn't understand why a human wanted to be her son.
Veldora just simply remained silent, before bursting out laughing. He is surprised at first, but he knows Rimuru's situation better than the rest. He is just laughing imagining what Rimuru would do when he snaps back to normal.
The eerie atmosphere with no other sound except for Veldora laughing in his head snapped Rimuru back to his normal self, but he is too embarrassed to talk about anything in the current situation.
This situation lasted until Rimuru decided to break the atmosphere by saying, "W-Well, sorry for that. I wasn't thinking properly before blurting out something like that."
". . ."
This is followed by another silence, since Velgrynd is too embarrassed since she actually considered the proposal. Crimson took the lead in breaking the awkward silence by bringing back the topic they were discussing earlier.
"So~, What do you think? Whose side will you join considering all this?"
After she spoke, everyone's attention is again focused on Rimuru, bringing him great pressure. He wants to reject Velgrynd but doesn't know how to do it. He still wants to consider his options, and most importantly, he wants to get out of this situation and does not want to join any of the sides.
'What do you want to do, Rimuru?'
'What do you think I should do, Veldora?'
'. . . It's better for you to not join in their conflict yet. But even if you want to, I think they wouldn't allow you.'
'I know, but I have the perfect excuse ready for this situation.'
Rimuru looked at the three people and spoke, "I want some time"
'Seriously? That's the 'excuse' you thought of?'
'It will work like a charm. The more complicated the reason is, the more they will doubt it.'
'Fine, just do as you see fit. You're back to normal, so at least you wouldn't mess it up more than it is now'
'. . .'
The three women, well two women and one 'woman' looked deeply at Rimuru. They understood the underlying meaning. He doesn't want to join any side yet in their fight. He met the strongest of the two sides on the first day he went out of the cave, he doesn't even know how to describe this.
". . . How long will it take for Veldora to pick a side?"
Am I a Joke to you? . . . I probably am, huh . . .
Velzard's question is like a slap of reality for Rimuru. Yes, they are not here for him. Heck, he would have died a hundred times if not for Veldora inside him. They don't care anything about Rimuru, they want Veldora. He's getting full of himself talking back to these Dragons just because they are nice to him. . . Except for Crimson, she really is interested in him.
'Thank you, buddy'
'You finally got it, huh~'
'Yeah. Sorry but, I need to borrow your Name for a while'
'It's fine. Let's get this over with. Didn't we want to go on adventures? But you need to think carefully before answering. From my experience, they are very close to killing you, especially Velzard'
'I know'
"Until I am strong enough to release Veldora by myself."
Velzard looked deeply at Rimuru. She is now sure that Veldora is involved in taking this decision. "That will take a long time."
"Probably not. I mean, I have the guidance of one of the strongest existences there is in this world. I think I can do it pretty quickly"
Rimuru knew that if he really wanted to rush to become a Demon Lord, it would probably be easy, but he didn't want that. He wanted to grow stronger with his people beside him. Moreover, all his subordinates will receive gifts during his evolution. How could he not make the most of such a deal?
'Kuahahaha, that's right, Rimuru. You can trust me on that! I, the Great Master Veldora Tempest, will teach you my best skills.'
Velzard looked surprised at Rimuru's statement. She looked at Rimuru deeply before realizing something. She looked at him with pity and spoke,
"I see that you can think fine now. I don't think that's a good idea though. You don't know how many times I had to kill him because of his troubles. You don't need to be pressured because of him inside you."
Velgrynd also looked at him with pity. She spoke, "I agree with Velzard on this . . . Rimuru. The Easter Empire has a lot of capable individuals who can teach you if necessary. I can even teach you for a while if you want. Don't waste your time and spoil your future."
Velgrynd looked at Rimuru with an understanding expression. She doesn't think that Rimuru could have the guts to speak to her in such a tone. Considering what she had seen of him from the moment they met, she is sure that all his misbehavior might be because of Veldora's influence.
". . . I agree with both of them on this, Rimuru. Veldora is strong only because he is a true dragon. He doesn't have any other qualities. You shouldn't learn from him if possible."
'. . .'
'Why don't you say something, great master?'
'. . . I have no comments'
'But seriously dude, how bad were you for them to have the same opinion on you?'
'. . . I don't know? I just did what was necessary.'
'And all of you know that it's a lie.'
'. . . But I am a great teacher, right? I taught you so many Magics and Arts!!'
'Most of them were basic!! And the rest were created with my help!! The only magic you originally had which is powerful is True Dragon Magic, and I can't use that.!!'
'. . . You can use it if you transform into me using your skill'
'That's not the point here!!!'
'. . . So what if I was bad, huh?!! That's not a reason for you to point your fingers at me!!!'
'. . . That's true, sorry, my bad. But that's not an excuse for you to skip this matter either.'
'. . . I'm sorry for my mistakes in the past. But, don't worry, Rimuru. I'll do my best to help you become the strongest!'
''Strongest' isn't my goal but, whatever man. I just need your help, that's it.'
'Don't worry, I got your back. Now! don't be afraid of talking back to my sisters. Even if they attack you, I'll avenge you . . . if I remember you'
'. . .'
Rimuru looked at the two dragons at first, and then fixed his eyes on Crimson. He knew that she was the breaker in this situation. It is not a confrontation between Guy and Rudra in this situation, it's a confrontation between Velzard and Velgrynd.
"How about this, I'll give you my answers in two years. In fact, I'll make it so clear that you wouldn't even need me to answer that question."
Crimson looked at the confident smile on Rimuru's face and considered her options. Although she wants to agree to this proposal, since she wants to see what kind of play Rimuru has in his store, she knew that this should be agreed by both sides. If Rudra didn't agree to this, then even if she doesn't want to, she has to make a move.
Crimson looked at Velgrynd, her meaning evident. She agrees to Rimuru's request, but she wants Rudra's answer for it. Velgrynd understood the meaning behind the look, she knew that it would be better for her to ask Rudra about this.
After conversing with Rudra, she told everyone present that Rudra had accepted the deal. He would wait for two years for Veldora's answer. But Rimuru knew that Michael won't, so he still needs to be on guard for their moves.
After the agreement is made, the three women bid their farewells and start going back to their regions. After Velgrynd left, Rimuru looked at Crimson and spoke "To be frank, I prefer being with you guys than going east."
"Oh~, why? Is it because of the kiss?"
"I don't want to die . . ."
I don't have time skill/magic resistance, and I don't think they even exist, so no
"Ahh~! Is it because you feel sad for Velzard? Do you want to kiss her so that she won't feel bad later on?"
"Yeah~! Look at the time! I need to go back. See you guys later!"
'You kinda shot yourself with that one.'
'I know.'
Rimuru teleported back to the inside of the Tavern he was in before. He made his way outside amid some stunned gazes and looked at the setting sun and smiled in relief.
'You know, even with all I've been through in the past couple hours, I don't feel so tired looking at the Setting Sun.'
'Well, you've indeed been through a LOT. I think we can take our time in your harvest festival'
'It's not a problem, indeed. I just need to make a very simple plan for all that. And since I know what's to expect in the near future, it will be easy, right?'
'Yeah. . .'
'Veldora?'
'Hmm . .? What is it?'
'Did I forget anything?'
'. . . Nothing much. Just a 3 hour agreement with your 'probably' wife.'
'. . .Shit!!'
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"It was supposed to be 3 hours, Slime-san? Did you drink too much so that you lost track of time?"
". . . I'm very sorry"
"Do you know how long I have waited, Slime-san? Do you think you should leave your 'partner' alone and let her wait for hours, Slime-san?"
". . . I ask for your forgiveness"
"Is that even thing?"
"I don't think so. But I think I conveyed the meaning"
". . ."
". . ."
"Hah~! So, why are you late?"
Well, I had to meet the two most powerful leaders in this world and was asked to make a choice on which side I should join before they start a World War.
"Oh! Nothing much. I'll explain it to you on the way."
"Ok."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rimuru woke up in the morning the next day after a refreshing sleep. Although he is not a fan of sleeping, and doesn't need to sleep in general, he wanted to refresh his mind after yesterday.
Rimuru made his way to Shizu's room and found out that it was locked from the outside. He used his skill to look for her and found out that she is having breakfast on the ground floor.
He went downstairs before greeting her, "Good Morning"
"Good Morning"
They didn't say anything else. Rimuru ordered some food for himself before sitting down in front of Shizu and waiting.
After the food arrives, he is surprised to find out that the taste of the food in this world is much better. But he realized that since there are a lot of otherworlders, it's normal for them to bring a lot of food culture with them.
*A/N: I'm just vexed about how novels from a 'certain' region always find food from any world which isn't based on their 'culture', just has bad food, so I wanted to add this sentence*
"What do you want to do next?"
Nearing the end of the meal, Shizu asked Rimuru a question. Rimuru took some time to consider the next events before he made his decisions.
"Well, you know how we only have a bit of time before I need to make my choice?"
"Yeah. Do you have any plans about that?"
"I do, but I don't want to say it for a while. I am not sure if it will work as I expect it to work."
"I see. So, what is the next step?"
"Dwargon. I want to recruit a few people over there. Although I don't know their current status, or whether they left the kingdom."
"Why do you think so?"
"Well, I learned of their news yesterday while strolling through the city. Apparently, these dwarves were pretty close to the Current King of Dwargon. So I am not sure if he had exiled them or just imprisoned them."
"Why would he imprison them? Are they criminals?"
"Well, apparently they weren't able to fulfill a government contract, and they were arrested for that. But they weren't 'cooperating' with the arrest and wanted to rebel. They even injured a 'kind hearted' minister named Vesta who was present at that time to 'help' control them."
"You want to hire criminals?"
". . . Did you not pick up the satire? What I mean is, the situation might not be what it is reported as. We will decide on what we need to do after we reach there and learn the truth."
"Fine, and then?"
"Well, I want to go to Sarion for something. It's an important task for me."
"Why, if you don't mind me asking?"
Rimuru looked around the people slowly to find out if anyone was listening to their conversation. Although he found no one, he decided not to speak of this in public
'There is a secret not many people know about the current empress of Sarion'
'Oh~, what is it?'
Shizu is very curious about this secret that will make Rimuru want to visit Sarion very specifically.
'The mother of the current empress, and the true ancestor of elves, Sylvia, is still alive'
'Wow~ . . . So?'
Shizu doesn't understand why this fact would make him so excited.
'You don't understand. Sarion is the home of elves. And they are also the best when it comes to magic. Sylvia is one of the best magicians in the entire world. And she is also a great teacher too.'
'I see, so you want to learn from her?'
'Yeah, obviously'
Rimuru just finished speaking when he heard a slightly depressed voice in his head,
'. . . You want to go there even when you have me, the great master, with you huh~ . . . You Cheater!!'
'Don't worry Veldora, I just want to learn about the magics that are currently used in this world. You can make the new ones. Moreover, do you still want me to point out your past?'
'. . . Fine.'
Rimuru is happy that Veldora understood his situation. He has a reason he wants to go to Sarion other than this.
'But if it's just for magic, do you not make your own magic? And you don't exactly need to meet her just for that right?'
Rimuru looked at Shizu who raised a fairly good point. He doesn't want to say the other reason, but since Shizu is his partner, he needs to be honest.
'Well, there is indeed another reason. Sylvia's husband, the hero Sarion, died fighting a very powerful foe, and the Current Empress, her daughter Elmesia, doesn't have any heirs.'
'. . . So?'
'Do I need to make it even simpler? They are currently not married. This has a very different and obvious meaning.'
'. . . What is it?'
'Oyakodon'