(The next day.)
It had been an entire day since Artoria finally proposed to Shuna, and the entire town was just as lively as they were the minute they found out, which might as well have been instant. As soon as Artoria and Shuna left the cathedral, a dragonewt spotted them, and the sun shone in just the right spot for him to see a sparkle on Shuna's finger. From there, the news spread like wildfire. Fortunately for Arotria and Shuna, everyone was respectful enough to give them space and privacy.
Especially during their engagement night.
Right now it was the afternoon. Rimuru was in an office looking over everything that he learned from the Walpurgis and how it would affect the entire empire now that news would spread across the world that he was officially a demon lord. That and also some things that might happen in the future. He was surprised when Diablo showed up a few days after Artoria left for the Lubellious Kingdom. He appeared in front of him out of nowhere and dropped two dead bodies. An old guy and a girl. Diablo had said that the girl was no one interesting to fight, but that the old-looking guy was "a bit better"...whatever that meant. And he also learned some stuff about the Eastern Empire.
He was waiting for Artoria to come, but she had been unusually absent today. He tried looking for her in many places. The shooting range, her restaurant, the cathedral, and some other government buildings, but he hadn't found her anywhere. The place he could think where she might was her house. But she didn't usually stay in her house for so long. She would normally be doing…something, instead of being stuck in there.
'Where could she be?' Rimuru thought to himself as he went over some papers.
[She's in her house.] Raphael was quick to answer in a tone that suggested that it should be obvious.
'I don't think so. She wouldn't stay there so long.'
[Trust me. She's in her house.]
'Well, why would she be in there for long?' Rimuru was genuinely curious.
[Because she got engaged.]
'What? I know, but what does that have to do with her being in her house for so long?'
[Once again, she's engaged.] Raphael was really trying to get the message to Rimuru's head, but he couldn't quite grasp the idea.
'Can you elaborate?'
[What might people do when they are officially engaged?]
'I don't know.' Rimuru shrugged his shoulders as he responded.
[That was on me. Of course, you won't know the answer. I should've known not to ask you a question like that.]
'What? What's that supposed to mean?! Are you trying to say something to me?' Rimuru wasn't sure why, but he had a face of disbelief and shock.
[I'm not. It's just your imagination.]
'There you go saying it again. I'm positive you seem more emotional or something.'
[It's just your mind. Merely a misunderstanding in your thought process.]
'If you say so.'
As Rimuru finished speaking to Raphael, Artoria walked in. But she seemed a little…off. Normally she would have her hair done in a braided ponytail or bun, but this time she had her hair down, and though it looked at least combed, it was clear it was done in a rush. Not only that, she had a slightly red blush on her face and she also seemed to be breathing a little heavily.
"Artoria, I've been waiting for you for what feels like forever! What were you doing?" Rimuru exclaimed, feeling relieved that he could finally tell Artoria the information she needed to know.
Artoria cleared her throat as she went and sat down in a chair. But the way she walked seemed a bit off, and she was a bit quick to want to go sit down. "I was busy doing some…things. Anyway, I'm only here to hear what you need to tell me. After that, I need to go back to do some more…important things. So hurry it up." Artoria was really in a rush. She sat down and appeared to be listening fully. Keyword: appeared.
"Alright, so the demon lords gave us the territory of the Kingdom of Falmuth and Claymna's Domain. We also got the rest of the forest's territory. There are also going to be some messengers to let all the other nations know. That's basically what happened at the Walapurgis. Oh and I also met the Leon Cromwell guy adn there was this scary dude called Guy Crimson…" As Rimuru recalled the events of the Wlapurgis, Artoria just sat there, distracted. But Rimuru didn't realize it as he kept on telling his story. Her mind was on something…or someone else entirely.
"Oh, and I also need to tell you something Diablo did. He dropped off two bodies. Some old guy and a girl. And apprantly-"
"Hold on, Rimuru. Where are the bodies now?" Artoria interrupted him in the middle of his sentence.
"Huh? Well, I didn't know what to do with them, so I just buried them."
Artoria just stayed silent in shock and disbelief. She facepalmed at what he said. "You didn't absorb them? Don't tell me you didn't absorb them. Didn't Diablo tell you who they were?"
"About that. He said they were those Rosso people you talked about. And he also gave a bunch of information about the Eastern Empire and how we're like in a big web of plans or something. And Yuuki is apparently the bad guy or something? "
Arotira rubbed her head as she tried to control herself "Wait. Just wait. So you didn't absorb their bodies?"
"Why would I?"
"What did Diablo tell you when he showed you the bodies?"
"He said it was an interesting fight."
"And Diablo saying that didn't raise any flags in your head? An 'interesting fight' to Diablo might as well be a fight for your life. And you didn't absorb the bodies? I am astonished. I don't care about the Eastern Empire or that Yuuki is 'the bad guy'. You should've absorbed their bodies and now it's too late. This is possibly the greatest blunder you've made. This is worse than the refs giving a penalty kick to the Netherlands that gave them the win over Mexico in the 2014 World Cup."
Rimuru was a bit confused. "Uh...is it really that bad?"
Artoria moved her head as she thought about it "I guess it depends on who you ask, but I'll be honest and blunt, Rimuru, you are very dumb at this moment. You wouldn't be able to pour water out of a boot even if the instructions were on the heel." Artoria groaned in frustration. She felt it might have been her fault for not telling him, but oh well, it doesn't matter. She got up from her chair and started to leave.
Rimuru was left a bit speechless as he heard Artoria and he tried to change the subject. "Wait, what about the Eastern Empire or Yuuki?"
"They are of no concern. Especially Yuuki. Whatever plans he has has been ruined and whatever power he is supposed to have, he won't have it. Not like it would matter if he did. As for the Eastern Empire, if you read up on them for a few minutes, you'll know war with them is inevitable. You don't focus so much on your military just to use it for nothing. The warning signs are all there. Anyway, I'm leaving. I have some…thing to do." Artoria started leaving, but Rimuru noticed that she was limping, although it was a slight limp, like she was holding it back.
"Hey, are you okay? Don't you have like a healing skill or something?"
Artoria stood still as she heard Rimuru's words. "Well, my healing skill is acting funny and having a mind of its own, refusing to heal me."
"A mind of its own? How can a skill have a mind of its own or have some self-awareness or something?"
[...]
Artoria gave Rimuru a side eye. She just kept moving not answering his question. "Just forget what I said, Rimuru. I meant it metaphorically. It's ust your imagination."
"I guess…Hey, wait! What did you say!?" Rimuru got up from his desk and ran after Artoria only to see her gone. As if she vanished. "How did she disappear like that?"
[She moved through the wall after transforming into a spirit.]
'She can do that?' Rimuru was surprised as he didn't know she could do that.
[It's how she snuck up on you many times before.]
'So that's her spirit part. If I remember, she's a mix of divine spirit and dragon. Would that make her a dragon goddess or something? Or could that be an evolution?'
[Most likely an evolution. How strong she would be is unknown, but her becoming a true dragon is not impossible or too unlikely.]
"What!?" Veldora was already kind of insane, but potentially having another True Dragon sounded super overkill.
[It's just a theory. Don't go too far into it. It might not be too possible or realistic.]
'We'll just have to see.'
/\\//\\//\
You know. I've heard people say to "watch out for the quiet and shy ones" and while I've always just seen it as a joke and people trying to be funny…I now know that there is some truth to it. I think I could've told Rimuru some more things, but I wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. I can worry about other things later.