Evolution

And I'm pretty sure it would happen very soon, with a big emphasis on the "very." It was my intuition, per se.

Hikari then knelt in front of me with the most elegant and graceful movements.

"Lord Rimuru, I can never thank you enough for this opportunity you have granted someone like me. Truly."

She spoke in the most thankful way I had ever heard from her.

"After all, I am expecting quite a lot from you, Hikari."

To be honest, this was never my goal.

Hell, I wasn't even expecting this.

I was just thinking of helping her get out of her slump so that she would be okay till Hiiro wakes up, but I never intended for her to become nearly as strong as me by consuming most of my magicules.

I was truly careless.

But, Hey, I couldn't say that to one of the individuals under my rule now, could I?

So, what does a true adult do in these unexpected and truly out-of-a-fantasy-scene moments?

He improvises and makes it look like he already knew what was going to happen.

Ahem!

I cleared my nonexistent throat before speaking to her again.

"Do your best to perform your duties from now on as well, Hikari."

Seemingly impressed by "my foresight", she looked at me with pure awe, respect, and admiration and answered.

"Hah! I shall not let you down again."

Sparkle~~Sparkle

Uwaaahhh!

Please, don't look at me with those eyes.

Even I didn't know this would happen, so those eyes are wasted on me, please.

Sniffle~~

I cried in pain, from the guilt because her expectations of me had truly risen above the roof.

<.... >

Yeah, Yeah, I know!

As I was discussing a few things with the Great Sage, Ranga called out to Hikari from behind.

"Ms. Hikari, I congratulate you for your success in evolving."

"Thank you, Ranga."

Hikari answered Ranga with a soft and awkward smile. Her worry hadn't increased by a single ounce, but she was much more at ease than when Hiiro had collapsed.

"May I ask what you have evolved into?"

Oh! Nice, Ranga. I was curious about that as well. Good job.

"From what I heard from World Voice, I have evolved into a Demon."

Hohhhh! So, that was indeed possible.

During her evolution, she must have chosen to become a demon herself because from what I knew from the Great Sage, there was another species she could've turned into called Kijin, a Spiritual Being evolved from Demi-Humans such as goblins, her original species.

Or she just skipped it because what her magicule indicated was extraordinarily amazing. But to be sure, Great Sage, what's her ranking in the system I came up with?

<Answer: In your ranking, her magicule level indicates that she would be at the Peak of Arch Demon.>

Damn!!

She might as well be on the same level as me because her control is only second to her master, Hiiro, which says a lot about her control.

But still, I was quite happy with the results because with this, I didn't have to worry about anything happening to Hiiro.

As I warmly listened to Ranga and Hikari chatting, I looked at Hiiro, who was soundly asleep. I was looking forward to the day he finally wakes up and sees the drastic changes around him.

I couldn't help but chuckle at his reaction that I imagined in my mind.

"Truly, wake up already, Hiiro. We miss you."

***

Author/n:

Finally, this volume has ended as well. It has been more than a month, since I uploaded my first chapter. There will be a special chapter (Intermission) next and after that, this work will be on Hiatus for a week or so. I will try to schedule some chapters in-between but don't expect too much.

Thank you for your continuous support till now and your patience. Please leave your comments, reviews and ideas below.

Have fun reading!

I'll see you soon.