And the winner is...!

A / N: Sincerely, I didn't really like this chapter, I think I could have done better, so possibly I'll edit it later.

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In the center of the crowd, Gobuta and Rirgurd continued their competition without noticing Rimuru, who just watched from the side.

"Ora! Look at my muscles, Miss Tia! Impressive, no?" Gobuta said with a confident smile as he made a pose, trying to show off his non-existent muscles.

Rigurd snorted at Gobuta and said, "Hmph! Insolent brat! Even a wooden stick has more muscles than you! Pay attention to how it's done! Ora!!" Rigurd did a Side Chest, and his muscles exploded with vigor.

Rigurd looked at Gobuta with a sneer, and Gobuta clicked his tongue in annoyance.

The two were trying to show off to Tiamat, but unfortunately for them, all of her attention is on Rimuru, who was looking at her with a bit of suspicion.

'He is so cute and small! He reminds me of Milim in some ways! Alright, I've already decided, I'm going to adopt him, one way or another!' Tiamat thought with a passionate smile and bright eyes; she could barely keep her inner otaku and motherly instinct in check at that moment. If it weren't for her self-control, she would have already jumped on Rimuru to pet him.

Don't be fooled by Tiamat's Primordial Goddess status. She may have the looks and powers of Tiamat from the Fate series as well as having lived for eons alongside Veldanava, but deep down, she was just a super caring and loving mother who wants cute children so that she can bathe them in her love.

That's right, she was a Familycon to the core.

Rimuru feel Tiamat's intense gaze and shivered. He didn't know why, but his instincts told him she was dangerous, but in a different way.

'Great Sage, can you tell me if there is anything strange about this woman?' Rimuru thought, suspicious of Tiamat.

[Analyzing...]

[Analyze completed. The individual possesses the parameters of an average human.]

Rimuru raised an eyebrow upon hearing the result of the analysis.

'Are you sure about that, Great Sage? I mean, her eyes are kind of weird, and she's suspiciously pretty.'

Rimuru waited for another answer, but [Great Sage] did not reply and remained silent.

'Don't tell me...Are you upset because I'm doubting you?'

[Great Sage] didn't respond again, and Rimuru sighed, thinking that [Great Sage] was too dramatic for a skill.

On the other side, Tiamat smiled as she felt the [Great Sage] skill analyzing her. No type of analysis or skill could take effect on her as long as she doesn't want to, as her Origin skill, [Queen of Life Genesis], allowed her to have full control over any existing skill. It might not be as broken as Veldanava's Origin skill, which allowed him to create any skill he wanted, but it was just as powerful.

[Queen of Life Genesis] can nullify, increase potency, control, and even evolve skills.

Wanting to go back to his room to continue his rest, Rimuru decides to put an end to this pointless competition. He walks to the middle, where Gobuta, Rigurd, and Tiamat were, and claps his hands, getting everyone's attention.

Gobuta and Rigurd finally noticed Rimuru, and they gasped in shock.

"R-R-Rimuru-sama?!" Rigurd exclaimed babbling as he broke out in cold sweat.

Gobuta, on the other hand, started whistling with his hands relaxed on the back of his head, ignoring Rimuru's accusing gaze.

"Alright everyone, let's put an end to this competition, okay? We still have a lot of work to do," said Rimuru, using a skill to amplify his voice for everyone to hear.

Gobuta turned to Rimuru with disbelieving eyes, as if Rimuru had betrayed him. "Wait what?! We can't end the competition until we have a winner!"

Rimuru placed his hands on his hips and sighed, already used to Gobuta's personality. "Listen, Gobuta! We have a lot of projects to do. We can have festivities on another date!"

Gobuta fell to the ground on his knees with desperate eyes, and replied, "You don't understand, Rimuru-sama! This is a competition with my love at stake!"

Rimuru started massaging his forehead, wondering what he should do with Gobuta. Maybe a light spanking will do, right?

"Ehem!"

Rimuru heard a cough on the side and looked at Rigurd, who had a slight blush on his face.

"I also ask that you allow us to continue, Rimuru-sama."

The crowd also began to ask Rimuru to let them continue as they wanted to see the result of the competition.

Losing patience, a vein popped on Rimuru's forehead, and he yelled, "Argh! Mou! All right then! All we need is a winner, right?!"

Gobuta, Rigurd, and the crowd around them nodded.

Rimuru looked at Tiamat, and asked, "Ehem...! I'm sorry for the confusion caused by my subordinates, but could you please, say which one of them won?"

Rimuru was feeling very embarrassed about having shown this kind of scene in front of a visit, and he was already thinking about how to compensate her for it. He didn't want her to spread the word that they are a bunch of barbaric monsters, as it would give his village a bad image.

In response, Tiamat nodded and placed her finger on her cheek, looking thoughtful. A few seconds later, her expression lit up with a smile as if she had made up her mind. She gets up and slowly walks toward Gobuta and Rigurd, who have started to get extremely anxious.

'She will choose me, right? After all, I'm super handsome!' Gobuta thought, his hands trembling with anticipation.

'No way she's going to choose this skinny brat! Come to me, my sweet honey flower!' Rigurd thought with a confident smile.

However, betraying everyone's expectations, Tiamat passes between the two, and continues walking, leaving Gobuta, Rigurd, and the crowd confused.

Tiamat stops in front of Rimuru, takes his hand, and raises it, announcing him as the winner.

"Eh?" Rimuru exclaimed, not expecting that outcome.

" "EHHHHHHHH?! " "

"W-What?! Why is Rimuru-sama the winner?! He wasn't even in the competition!" Gobuta yelled in outrage.

Rigurd stood still like a statue with a shocked expression, his heart was completely shattered.

Tiamat replied to Gobuta without hesitation, "Very...Cute...Child."

Gobuta falls to the ground on his knees with dead eyes, and thought, 'I-Is she insinuating that I'm ugly...?'

Rimuru scratched the back of his head and sighed, thinking about what he should do.

'Well, I guess I'd better accompany her than those two idiots. They would probably try to flirt with her all the time, and that would definitely make her uncomfortable,' he thought, coming to a decision.

Rimuru cleared his throat and looked at Tiamat with a sympathetic smile. "I apologize again for the inappropriate behavior of my subordinates. My name is Rimuru Tempest. I am the leader of the Tempest Village, and I will escort you around our village."

Tiamat smiled, feeling happy, and introduced herself, "Call me...Tia..."

"Tia, huh? It's a cute name. Nice to meet you, Tia-san!" Rimuru replied with a bright smile.

Tiamat blushed slightly and clutched her chest. That smile was like an arrow going through Tiamat's heart, and she had to control herself from crushing Rimuru in a hug.

"Well, let's go then. I'm sure you will like our village!" Rimuru said confidently as he started to walk; unexpectedly Tiamat held his hand from behind. Rimuru turned around with a confused expression, but Tiamat just smiled.

Rimuru shrugged, not caring much for the gesture, and continued walking while holding hands with her. Looking from a distance, anyone would mistake Tiamat and Rimuru for a mother and child as their hair color are pretty similar.

In the distance, Shion watched everything with jealous tears in her eyes as she nibbled on a handkerchief.

"Who is this bitch! How dare she hold Rimuru-sama's hands! Does she think that just because her boobs are bigger than mine she can be that bold?!"

Beside her, Shuna patted her back to calm her down.

'This is going to be troublesome,' Shuna thought with a sigh.