'...Who in the world is that person...?'
Bound in chains, the slime Rimuru stared at Adelio as he drew closer, swallowing down her questions.
Maybe it was because the person she had just been told was her fated one was now standing right in front of her, but none of it felt real, and the words would not come easily.
If he had been a complete stranger, she could have spoken to him casually without a problem. But the moment she thought of him as her fated one, for some reason her head felt hot.
"...Uh... um, well...?"
Tap.
While Rimuru was still flustered, Adelio had already stopped in front of her.
He gazed at Rimuru with sapphire-blue eyes, then gave a small wave.
"It's not exactly our first time meeting... but still, it's nice to meet you, Rimuru Tempest."
"...Huh? Y-you know me...?"
When Rimuru tilted her head awkwardly under his gaze, Adelio quietly nodded.
"I do. Because of the presence of that guy you've consumed."
"...!"
The only living being left inside Rimuru's [Predator], her [Unique Skill], was Veldora.
The only person Adelio could possibly mean by "that guy" was Veldora.
"I'd like to talk for a bit. Could you spare me some time?"
Faced with Adelio's smile as he said that, Rimuru could not bring herself to refuse.
**
After leaving the courtroom with Adelio, Rimuru slipped into a back alley where no one would notice them and set up a barrier.
There was no benefit in letting ordinary people see her talking with a slime, and it would also be troublesome if anyone overheard what they were about to discuss.
"...How did you know? That I consumed Veldora, I mean."
Veldora, known as the [Storm Dragon], was treated as a living natural disaster. His existence was not something she could reveal lightly to others.
After all, beings said to be even more dangerous than the [Demon Lords], humanity's most famous threat, were the three [True Dragons], including Veldora.
Even Rimuru, who had not yet fully grasped just how terrifying monsters could be, understood how influential Veldora was. That was why she had kept quiet about him being inside her.
'...[Great Sage]. Can you analyze that person?'
Growing wary of Adelio, Rimuru called on [Great Sage], the other half of herself, but—
<Answer. Analysis is impossible due to the [Skills] possessed by the target.>
"......"
There was no way [Great Sage], still only a [Unique Skill], could see through Adelio, who possessed an [Ultimate Skill].
No matter how absurdly powerful a [Unique Skill] might be, if its user lacked mastery, it could never stand on equal footing with an [Ultimate Skill].
'......'
<Report. Interference from a [Skill] possessed by individual Rimuru has been detected. Would you like to respond?>
'No, it's fine. Just leave it alone.'
On the other hand, Adelio, who possessed [Odin], instantly saw through Rimuru's attempt to analyze him. But he did not bother pointing it out—
"You don't have to be so formal with me. You can just speak normally."
—and instead answered the question Rimuru had asked.
"Didn't that guy tell you at the beginning? That he ended up trapped in the Sealed Cave because of two [Heroes]?"
Originally, Chronoa had sealed Veldora by herself, but Adelio had assumed Veldora would definitely make excuses and say he lost after fighting two [Heroes], so that was how he asked Rimuru.
And Adelio's guess had been exactly right.
"...Ah! Come to think of it, Veldora did say something like, 'I was defeated because I let my guard down while fighting two [Heroes].' Then... could it be that one of those [Heroes] was..."
"That's right. It was me, three hundred years ago."
Adelio nodded, then simply laughed off the look on Rimuru's face that clearly asked, "Just how old are you...?" before continuing.
"My relationship with Veldora is a little complicated, but we're friends, at least. So I wanted to see what kind of monster you were, since you consumed him. If you were planning to use Veldora's power recklessly, that would cause trouble in more ways than one."
"...Ah, so that's why Veldora..."
Hearing Adelio's explanation, Rimuru finally understood why Veldora had not hated the [Heroes], even though they were the reason he had been trapped alone in that cave for three hundred years.
- Well, I can't say I particularly liked this cave... but it is an undeniable fact that I was defeated by those two, and one of them became my very first true friend... so I have no complaint about being sealed itself.
- ...Even though your freedom was taken away for three hundred years?
- Mm, of course. I am a [True Dragon] who knows how to consider a friend's circumstances. Kwahahaha!!!
- ......
'...So it was because of this person.'
Thinking of her friend, who was probably laughing heartily inside her subspace even now, Rimuru lowered her guard toward Adelio.
'I thought [Heroes] were supposed to hate monsters, but just like back at Night Butterfly, this person doesn't seem to hate them at all...'
With her wariness gone, curiosity quickly rose in its place, and Rimuru's expression brightened.
Because if this person, who had appeared as her fated one, was really like that... then maybe he might help her and her companions, even though they were monsters.
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