As always, they were kin, with no taboos in that regard.
But there was one thing Velzard didn't want Damien to do: produce offspring.
The example of Veldanava loomed large.
To create Milim, Veldanava expended most of his magicules, leading to his demise.
Such were the rules of the Cardinal World.
The stronger the monster, the greater the difficulty in producing offspring.
Often, it resulted in a one-for-one exchange.
"Got it. I'll be careful."
Damien had no immediate need for heirs, nor was he the type to be reckless with affection.
Any relationships he pursued would be with women he shared a genuine emotional bond with.
Shuna and Shion were early companions who had long declared their feelings.
With Darkness, their relationship had naturally progressed to that point.
It was simply a matter of course.
"You're such a playboy."
Rimuru pouted. "You already have Shuna and Shion."
"That's the perk of being the boss."
Damien grinned confidently. "I can openly build a harem!"
"Ugh!!"
"Such a scumbag statement!"
Rimuru shot Damien a look of disdain. "You're just saying it outright!"
But that was the extent of it.
As the employee, when the boss went out picking wildflowers, she not only couldn't gossip but had to keep his secrets.
At critical moments, she even had to cover for him.
Sigh…
Rimuru's value just kept rising.
With that thought, Rimuru glanced at Ogerpon, who was chasing butterflies in the courtyard.
For some reason, Rimuru began to envy her.
That kid's heart was pure to the extreme, always so carefree.
Damn it!
Rimuru thought, Why's there such a huge gap? We're both positioned as pets!
Pet slime was insanely jealous of pet Ogerpon.
She, too, wanted a life free of work, just lazing around and slacking off.
"Alright, starting today, I'm tackling new work~."
Damien said, "Rimuru, I want you to take Velzard-nee and Ogerpon to the resort city of Alcanretia for some fun."
"Huh?"
Rimuru was surprised. "Don't you need our help?"
She'd assumed Damien would join them on the trip, not send her off on a solo vacation.
This made Rimuru feel a twinge of guilt, wondering if she was being too selfish.
"Here's the deal."
Damien explained, "I plan to transform the sealed cave into a true Dungeon."
"You know why I connected the two worlds, right?"
"To acquire more laws!"
"Exactly."
Damien continued, "Simple law exchange is just too slow."
"So, I'm going to speed things up," he said. "The method's simple: attract this world's adventurers to explore it and fight the monsters inside."
"This will drive law interaction, drastically cutting down the time needed."
"Ah!"
Rimuru's eyes widened, exclaiming, "But, isn't that too dangerous?"
After yesterday's interactions, Rimuru had grown fond of the Konosubaverse's adventurers.
But that didn't change the fact that they were, frankly, weak.
"The adventurers here, especially in a beginner town like Axel... if they enter the sealed cave, they'll die, won't they?"
Rimuru tried to dissuade Damien, though she didn't believe he was that heartless.
After all, Damien got along well with the adventurers too.
"Of course not!"
Damien said, "I'll create new magical beasts and adjust their strength."
"Magical beasts?"
"Yeah, it's a term I coined to distinguish them from monsters and magical creatures."
Damien explained, "In the sealed cave I've created, these magical beasts are immortal. Even if defeated, they turn into magicules and return to the Dungeon's internal cycle."
"The same applies to the adventurers."
In other words, it was like a game.
Fighting monsters, defeating bosses, collecting materials, hunting for treasure chests, and so on.
"What about the source of equipment and items?"
"No worries."
Damien smiled. "I have an ability called Noble Phantasm Creation. Making enough items is a piece of cake."
Today, his task was to design the Dungeon, create magical beasts and treasures, and place them in suitable areas.
"Sounds kind of fun!!"
Hearing Damien's plan, Rimuru's interest was piqued.
Her excitement even surpassed her curiosity about the Konosubaverse, and she was eager to dive in.
"Go have fun first."
"Once I've got things mostly set up, come back and help me debug."
It was like a game developer inviting players to test the game.
Damien needed Rimuru as one of the first players to find flaws in the Dungeon and offer suggestions.
"Later, you can make tweaks based on my foundation."
"Got it."
Damien was giving her a vacation to enjoy for a while.
When she returned, she'd take over his prepared plans and exercise her initiative.
"You two as well."
Damien addressed Velzard and Ogerpon. "Don't cause trouble in this world, okay?"
The reason he had Rimuru lead the two was that Rimuru, with her human past, had her own moral and ethical framework. She wouldn't act recklessly without cause.
Velzard didn't say much.
Together with Ogerpon, she followed Rimuru to the city of the Axis Order.
Damien wasn't brushing Rimuru off this time.
Last night's banquet, followed by a trip to a resort with hot springs…
Wonder if she can handle the Axis Order's terrifying recruitment tactics…
Damien thought with a mischievous smirk. With Rimuru's soft personality, some interesting things are bound to happen.
Velzard?
Damien wasn't worried about her at all.
Knowing her, she wouldn't linger at some resort.
What truly intrigued her was the world itself.
So, Rimuru wouldn't be able to rein Velzard in.
"Is that okay?"
Velzard appeared beside Damien at some point.
"No problem."
Damien trusted Velzard to control herself. "Let her explore this world freely."
Whether wandering the planet or venturing beyond to explore the entire Konosubaverse…
Damien needed eyes to pierce the fog and light up the world map.
Since Velzard was interested, why stop her?
***
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