Starheart

"I shouldn't have run away yesterday"

I grumbled, seeing the heaps of paper that Shuna put on my desk as punishment for slacking off.

But seriously, is there even that much going on to have that many documents?

«Affirmative»

Then why did this much only show up now?

«Individual 'Shuna' previously handled some of the trivial paperwork along with Rigurd, but it seems she has put all of that in Master's hands»

Shit, I didn't realize. Maybe she will let it go if I apologize.

 «The chances of her being furious is 70%»

I guess that could make things worse huh?! I think I have already apologized to her in a lot of things, maybe it will make her take everything of the past on me as well.

Yep, scrap that plan.

Aaaaaah —I heaved out a deep sigh, leaning back in my chair, looking through the window as the sun stood at its peak. Seeing that bright radiance, I was reminded of a matter I had left 『Raphael』 to investigate.

Hey Raphael, did you manage to figure out what kind of attack Veldanava did back with Hakurou's duel?

«Negative. The 'Energy' Veldanava used was likely a concealed phenomenon, so I could not peer through its nature»

Oh, I guess it wouldn't be that easy.

Wait, now that I think about it. Raphael did seem more…human? Before I became a True Demon Lord, it just rarely gave answers when I did not ask, but now it did whenever it was helpful. Not only that, it seemed more sassy, and just look at what it is doing now, making excuses.

«It's just your Imagination»

Whelp there it is. I'm not even surprised at this point, seeing what happened in these 2 days.

Finishing the last of my paperwork using body doubles and with a 'teensy' bit of help from 『Raphael』, I thought about a really important thing.

How did I miss that technique all this time? I wouldn't have had to do all the paperwork myself for more than a year. I can't believe I didn't come up with that without Veldanava pointing that out.

Ugh.

…

Anyway, I think I should get back to the point.

"Souei"

As I said that, the dark-skinned Kijin teleported before me.

Professional as always huh, Souei.

 "Are there any movements around the forest regarding the Western Holy Church?"

"None so far"

"Okay"

Nodding his head, he once again disappeared with his usual Batman technique of 'vanishing when you look away from him', except he did it while I was looking.

In any case, Hinata doesn't seem to be making any moves against us, are any at all. The message should have been received yesterday, so maybe they have not yet prepared. However, I will try to make her understand that I'm not really Shizu's Killer…I mean I am but, not the way she thought I did.

I don't want to kill a fellow Japanese, that would kinda leave a bad taste in my 'slime' mouth if some of them even have one.

Not to mention, I had a bad feeling about the message. And, as I had heard, the Western Countries deemed all monsters should be eradicated. I hope Hinata does not follow that, since she did not listen to anything I was saying when we first met, though I guess she was really mad since she was, in her mind, fighting her teacher's murderer.

…

Oh yeah, I guess I should visit Kurobe after this is done, to check on the progress of his workshop's rebuilding.

Deciding that, I got back to my work, my body doubles helping me with it, guided by Raphael. 

}-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-{

Gabiru was slacking off…not exactly, he had done his share of work for the day, he thought, so he deserved some break.

Usually, he would be just sleeping in the cave or practicing with his spear, but this time, he felt curious about the newcomer, the supposed dragonewt who had bested Hakurou in swordsmanship from the elderly Kijin himself.

However, as he walked around, in an attempt to find Nova, he instead came across a certain Red-haired Kijin, who seemed to have some questions for him.

"Hey Gabiru", The red-haired Benimaru said, to which Gabiru replied, "Yes, Friend Benimaru"

"I had a question. Do you know about this, Nova?"

"I do not. I have never seen him before, so he could be one of Lady Milim's subjects since they do have more human forms than the ones of my tribe. I was on my way to meet him myself"

"I see. Do you mind if I tag along?"

"Haha. No problem, Friend Benimaru"

The two smiled at each other (no homo), as they began to walk to Kurobe's destroyed workshop, where Nova was last seen according to a hobgoblin.

As they walked, learning that Nova had destroyed the workshop by accident from a bystander who happened to be around the workshop at the time, Benimaru grew more cautious.

A newcomer who came out of nowhere and strong enough to overload the prototype of Lord Rimuru's sword was dangerous, causing Benimaru's wariness to escalate by heaps, something that showed on the unusually deeper frown on his face.

However, he, as cautious as he was, couldn't bring himself to face Lord Rimuru about this matter.

If he did, it would appear as if he did not trust his master. He did not want to doubt his master, but this Nova, no matter what he did, Benimaru could tell he was dangerous, far too dangerous.

He knew it the moment his eyes met with the dragonewt's, once he ascertained that look in his eyes. That aloof gaze, that sharp yet gentle look, it almost made him think that he was some kind of god, witnessing the rise of his creations by living amongst them.

But then, it pulled him in. Deeper into his eyes, Benimaru caught a glimpse of a colossal depth that knew no bounds, one filled with emptiness and abundance, chaos yet order, serene yet catastrophic.

He couldn't see, or feel the bottom of that seemingly endless pit. He could not comprehend it, it was far beyond his understanding, it… it scared him.

He did want to believe in his master, letting the newcomer be, but the thought of a dangerous person such as Nova living here unchecked, brought those images back to his mind. The mirages of a dead Shion lying on the cold earth, the sight that could possibly be replaced by others, worse yet, his master and sister.

He did not want to let that happen…No, he would not let it happen. Even if it meant risking his life, even if it meant disobeying his master, he would protect them, no matter the cost.

}-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-{

In a half-rebuilt workshop, 3 individuals stood.

One, looking like a middle-aged man, with 2 tiny horns on his forehead, could be seen gawking at a lump of material placed on the table before him.

"What... Just what is this, Nova?" He said, astonished at the material before him.

"It's the best material I have for crafting weapons. Is it not to your liking?" Nova asked the former, Kurobe, who couldn't avert his eyes from the lump of 'stone'.

"Not to my liking? No, it's not that. To be honest, this substance is just too far beyond me to do anything about. I have tried anything I could with it, but it would not budge. I can't even analyze it, it's like a complete mystery. However there is one thing I can say for certain, if a weapon from this material is to be made, it would definitely be of Legendary Grade"

Kurobe gave his views, which Nova pondered about for a moment.

"Do you mind showing me how you tried to craft it?"

Kurobe nodded, quickly leading Nova inside, followed by Gobta, who seemed to have nothing better to do.

Entering what seemed like a stone-paved room, their eyes were met with a furnace, which remained surrounded by a horde of swords that hung by the walls.

Kurobe went to the side, and lifted up a... hammer? Then, bringing it back, he put the weird substance in the furnace, using his Extra Skill: 『Flame Manipulation』 to flare up the fire in the furnace, raising the temperatures to alarming degrees.

Letting it continue for a while, he brought it out, and placed it on a table once again.

"Gobta, touch this", Kurobe said calmly.

"AIN'T NO WAY I'M GOING TO DO THAT! DO YOU WANT TO BURN MY HAND TO A CRISP?"

Gobta screamed, hiding his hand behind his back, looking ready to run away at a moment's notice.

Seeing this, Kurobe sighed, as he turned to the stone, which remained black, as if unaffected by the temperature, not showing even a tint of red or orange.

He picked it up with his bare hand, much to Gobta's horror.

"This material is not affected by Flames at all, as if it is immune to it"

Hearing that, Nova raised his eyebrow.

"Shouldn't that be obvious?"

"..."

"..."

The Kijin and hobgoblin stared at Nova. Before Kurobe spoke up.

"What do you mean by that?"

"It's one of the highest-grade materials there are. You need to either have the power to destroy it, or earn its recognition in order to shape it"

Hearing this, Kurobe's eyes widened.

"T-that sounds like—"

"Yeah"

Kurobe couldn't believe it. He had an inkling about it, but hearing that the material was fabled 'Hihi'irokane', left him in disbelief.

"Starheart is a special material, normal means do not work on it"

"Huh"

Starheart? I've never heard of something like that. But still, I can't believe this material is of a legendary grade at the bare minimum. —He thought, looking at the lump of stone before him.

"What's even going on here? I can't understand."

Gobta interjected, unaware of the gravity of the situation. Hearing this, Kurobe turned to him. 

"You don't know yet. Can you call Lord Rimuru? He will be able to explain that to you."

"…Okay"

Gobta hesitated, but quickly set off to get his master.

Now being left alone with Nova, Kurobe turned to the 'dragonewt'.

"Can you tell me…just what is Starheart?"

"Sure. I presume you know about Hihi'irokane"

"I did think it was Divine Steel at first, before you told me it was Starheart instead"

"Divine Steel?"

"Oh, it's just another name for Hihi'irokane"

"I see. Anyway, Starheart is a material that you say is the counterpart to Divine Steel as you called it. Starheart cannot hold any elemental attributes or properties,"

Kurobe's eyes widened, as he listened to Veldanava's explanation.

"However, its affinity to Holy or Demonic attributes surpasses that of Divine Steel by a considerable margin. And, is sturdier than it, albeit only marginally"

"…"

Kurobe remained tongue-tied, unable to form words as the knowledge seeped into his mind.

He couldn't believe it. It almost sounded made up, but his instincts told him that it was not.

"You seem surprised"

"Hah. How can't I be? But…How do you know about that?"

"You will know a lot of things if you are the first of your kind, which has progressed through millennia"

Kurobe's eyes widened. The first of his kind? Does he mean he is the progenitor of Dragonewts? If that's true, then he should be over a 1000 years old, I think. Could it be that knowledge about this Starheart faded through these years?

"Not exactly"

"Huh?", Kurobe looked at Nova, stunned. Did he read my mind?

"No, I did not read your mind. I am just good at discerning other people's thoughts from their facial expressions. You get good at these things after living for so long"

"I-I see. They do say that old people hold impeccable wisdom"

For some reason, being called old is making me irritated—Veldanava's eye twitched. 

"So how do you craft weapons with it anyway?"

Veldanava took the piece of Starheart in his hands, before turning to the Kijin once again.

"Starheart has a completely different crafting process than the rest of the substances"

Just as he said that, the Starheart in his hand suddenly reformed itself into a stick.

"It will resist any sort of change, even during crafting, if you are not recognized by it"

"No wonder I couldn't make it budge. But how do you even get recognized by it?"

"One would be to be its creator. While the other would be to prove in its presence that you can craft a weapon with skill it deems you worthy of its molder. After that, you can shape it any way you want with just your will, the only other step remaining would be Adding attributes to it"

"I-I see"

Kurobe was shocked. How could he not after hearing such news.

"So, you can do that because you—"

"That's right, I am—"

Creak.

The two stopped their conversation, hearing a creaking noise of the wood being stepped on near the door.

Coming through it, were 2 individuals, one a dragonewt more lizard-like appearance than Nova, and the other being a red-haired Kijin, whose eyes did not leave Nova.

"Hello Kurobe, I hope I am not intruding"