6 Chapter 4

**Hinata POV**

A few days had passed since Vandalieu's official arrival in Tempest. Hinata had finished preparing her captains to enter Tempest's labyrinth a few hours prior.

"I expect that they should have at least finished the 51st floor by now."

She had seen the live feed of the first labyrinth attempts during the past few days and had found that it would be a good training ground for her knights to practice their skills against actual opponents; especially since the revival bracelet ensured no casualties.

Eventually, she would soon enter the dungeon as well however she still needed to finish her obligations with Rimuru. Specifically, she had promised to watch over Shizue's last batch of pupils until noon. The children who were originally supposed to die due to their failed summoning were saved by Rimuru through an unknown intervention involving spirits.

The children themselves were excited to meet with her again since she was known as a hero and one of Shizue's pupils. Unfortunately, they were also overzealous and confident in their own skills and had repeatedly challenged her to duels which did not end well for them. Though she was happy to beat down their overconfidence and strengthen their drive; she was also worried that she herself doing it was ineffectual since she was much older than them and was viewed as hero. This was problematic since the children might use Hinata's age and status as an excuse to why they lost. This led to her current situation in overseeing sparring matches between the children and a being who was also a child but much stronger than herself.

"Your stance is very open, there is no practical use to it" Vandalieu commented on Kenya's problematic fighting stance.

"Shutup! The hero Mayasuki himself uses this stance." Kenya shouted back as he ran forward slashing at Vandalieu.

"I do not know who this Mayasuki is, but this stance leaves you open in many areas. You cannot justify using it for your personal use" Vandalieu says with a straight face as he proceeds to effortlessly dodge Kenya's attack and knock him to the ground.

"DAMMIT! How is this elf kid stronger than me" Kenya grumbles as he gets up defeated.

Hinata was relieved that the children had automatically accepted that Vandalieu was an half-elf child when they saw his ears and did not question his red and violet eyes. She was also glad that they were getting humbled by a child around their own age instead of someone like her, Rimuru, or Shizue. Though using Vandalieu as an example of someone their age did feel like cheating.

The sparring then proceeded with Gale against Vandalieu. Gale immediately tried to back-away and fire a large magic bullet at Vandalieu seeing he was at a disadvantage at close range, however the distance he created was immediately closed and he was pushed down.

"It was a good decision to try to create distance after you had seen what happened to your classmate. However, your casting is not efficient and fast enough. Your opponents will not wait for you to cast spells." Vandalieu again provided he's analysis on Gale's tactics.

Hinata was pleasantly impressed by Vandalieu's current performance, she had already known that he could easily defeat the other children, but she had worried that he may have trouble holding back and she was ready to step in case another dangerous situation occurred. Surprisingly, not only was he able to properly control his strength, but he was also able to give tips and advice on where the children could improve.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Rimuru says in slime form as he suddenly appears beside her.

"He seems to be a good teacher; he could even teach the knights with his strength and demeanor" Hinata says while nodding.

Vandalieu was currently facing Ryouta who had immediately transformed into his berserk form and began attacking after noticing Rimuru's presence.

"Hmm it looks like Ryouta's getting better at using his skill, last time he was just a wild animal fighting on instinct, now it looks like he can control his movements somewhat" Rimuru comments.

Nevertheless, Vandalieu still easily countered Ryouta's wild attacks and knocked him to the ground.

"Focus on who you're fighting, even though your ability to think is already limited by that form, you still keep looking behind me at Auntie Hinata and Rimuru" Vandalieu pointed out.

"Auntie Hinata?" Rimuru asked.

Hinata glared at him to signal him to stop asking questions. Truthfully, she was lucky to be only called auntie. Originally, Ruminas had suggested that she be called mother as well to tease Hinata, luckily Vandalieu declined stating that he would rather not call too many people his mother.

Next to fight Vandalieu was Alice who immediately ordered her 3 stuffed toys to attack him.

"Uhh, Vandalieu be careful not to damage her dolls!" Rimuru shouts nervously.

Hinata hoped Vandalieu would follow Rimuru's advice, she had seen that the girl became overly emotional when her stuffed animals were damaged.

"Hmm...?" Vandalieu said as three dolls proceeded to hug him instead of attack.

"Eh?" Hinata thought as she looked over at Rimuru who seemed to have the same confused reaction.

"What are you doing you guys!?" Alice shouts at her levitating dolls who are hugging Vandalieu.

"These dolls seem strong, but they don't feel sturdy, you should toughen them, so they do not break in the future" say Vandalieu nonchalantly as he pokes and prods the teddy bear hugging the side of his head.

"Grr... You traitors" Alice grumbled as Vandalieu walked over to her and returned her dolls.

Hinata thought that it was strange how Alice's dolls disregarded her orders and reacted postively to Vandalieu, but she could find no immediate reason why this was the case.

The final person to spar with Vandalieu was Chloe who seemed to have the most potential out of all the students. She put had putdown the book she was reading and had summoned large amounts of water to trap Vandalieu.

"Her control over water has improved, she became more efficient and increased the amount of water she could summon."

Chloe tried her best to keep Vandalieu at a distance by trying to force him back with water however it was impossible with his speed and agility. He had appeared in front of her so suddenly that she yelped in surprise and fell on her bottom.

She immediately rolled backwards while drawing the sword at her side then tried to immediately lunge and stab Vandalieu with movement similar to a fencer. Unfortunately, Vandalieu parried her lunge while with moving forward with his claws then swept her legs as he got close. Chloe tried one last swing while she was getting swept but her desperate sword swing was knocked away.

"You seem to be very proficient at long range with your magic and have talent in swordsmanship. However, you seem to not be used to fighting when someone closes the distance suddenly. You were unable to transition properly from magic to melee. " Vandalieu surmised from their sparring match.

Chloe nodded and thanked him for his advice but looked strangely cold with her eyes looking determined. Hinata guessed correctly that the normally timid Chloe had found someone who could be her rival. Hinata was glad since this would push Chloe's drive and work ethic.

Afterwards, they had lunch provided by Rimuru. He had mentioned to Hinata that one of his executives, Shuna, would cook for them. Everyone was enjoying the food, even the usually stoic Hinata and Vandalieu seemed to be eating happily despite the lack of facial expressions.

After lunch, Rimuru led the children back to inn where they were staying leaving Hinata and Vandalieu alone. Hinata had finished packing what she needed for her labyrinth run the previous night and was ready to go directly to the dungeon. Rigur had also arrived with a carriage ready to escort Vandalieu.

"I will be going to the dungeon, Rigur can escort you back or can help you tour around the city."

"It is alright Auntie Hinata, we can ride the carriage to the dungeon together" replies Vandalieu.

"Huh?"

"Did Mother Ruminas not inform you? She told me to go accompany you today" says Vandalieu noticing Hinata's confusion.

"What? what did she say specifically?"

"... She told me to go play in the dungeon" Vandalieu says expressionless.