Interlude II Pt 1

I'm almost disappointed. Charybdis was a great example of terrifying power. Magic Jamming, massive AOE attacks, giant lasers… Demon Lord Carrion was almost boring by comparison.

Almost, because his power was palpable, even as he smiled and joked around. Just that brief knock he gave to Phobio's head was enough for me to tell.

Demon Lords are no joke. Milim taught me that well enough, and Carrion's only furthered my opinion. Still, the disparity between the two makes me wonder. How strong is Milim, exactly? It seems like there's different tiers. Are there others near Milim's level?

What about Carrion? He's incredibly powerful. Is he the lower end of the spectrum? That's troublesome, if so, though not entirely unexpected.

If the other Demon Lords decide to target Tempest, it'd be trouble.

...

That being said, comparing power isn't one to one. It's not as simple as measuring magicules and spiritual pressure. Carrion is powerful, it's obvious. And, given his status, it's safe to assume he has something stored for desperation.

However...

However, with that being said and out in the open, and even while considering potential hidden abilities... if it ever came to pass that I had to fight him one on one...

…

...I'd definitely win.

-=-=-=-

>Everyone Loves Tanya<

Late Evening

Treyni's Bar

Tempest, Jura Tempest Federation

"CHEERS!"

The bar was a bustle of activity, the celebration of Charybdis' defeat in full swing throughout the city of Tempest. Monsters danced in the streets, plates and skewers of Megalodon meat in hand and drinks of all kinds flowing through every able-bodied and able-aged individual.

Tanya was no exception to this, her seat at the innermost end of the bar practically bouncing with energy as she downed another mouthful of drink.

Her cheeks were cherry red, a bottle of sake Treyni had provided her two-thirds the way empty. Behind the bar across from her, Treyni was in a similar state, a bottle of her own having gone down just as quickly.

"And then- right, then I tell my Vice Commander, 'You weren't exactly a hit with the ladies, before your injury'." Tanya was smiling widely, the first taste of alcohol since her first lifetime having taken a full hold of her sensibilities and inhibitions, "And he gives me- he just sort of stares. He knows I'm right. Only a few members of my 203rd regularly got any… but not him. Not him for sure."

Her words slurred slightly, though not as much as you might expect. Even so, her healthy constitution – and liver – was fighting a losing battle.

Treyni giggled, twirling a stand of hair between her fingers.

"Really now? But, say, who was," She leaned forward, crimson face contrasting the green everywhere else, "Who was, you said, 'getting any'? Who was the ladies' man, huh?"

Tanya chuckled, a painful hiccup escaping her.

"Definitely Neumann. The man was a real lady killer, I'll say. A huge manwhore, in truth, but he always did his job, and hit shots reliably…" She trailed off, shrugging, "So, I couldn't complain. Always performed better after a good night out anyhow, so I might as well have encouraged it."

"Is that so? Just this Neumann fellow?" Treyni tilted her head. "Not you?"

"Me?" Tanya blinked, "Well, I never really… once? I don't know if that counts…"

"Would you like it to count?"

Tanya stared at her.

"Excuse me?"

Treyni leaned forward, stretching over the bar. Tanya leaned in as well.

Her lips brushed against the edge of Tanya's ear, her lips moving silently as she whispered.

Tanya's flush spread across the rest of her face.

-=-

"Oh, this is good!" Mary quickly devoured the rest of her meat skewer, before grabbing another immediately after, "We should fight sharks all the time if they taste like this."

"Right?" Rimuru nodded, taking one for himself, "Maybe we'll send the Goblin Riders on a fishing expedition some time. We could have genuine sushi!"

"Sushi?" Mary said through a mouthful of shark. She swallowed, letting out a content sigh, "Well, if it tastes anything like this, I'm game. Sign me up for that trip."

"I'll run it by the Executives, and we can make couple days of it." Rimuru took his and Mary's empty skewers, tossing them in a nearby bin made for the express purpose of recycling wooden skewers. "Though, you'll have to convince Tanya."

"Me?" Mary raised an eyebrow, "She doesn't listen to me. Why would she? Tell that to Shuna instead. The moment she hears about potential days off, she'll put Degurechaff on the trip before you can say 'Argent'."

"Really? Shuna?" Rimuru thought for a moment, as the two made their way across the Central Plaza. "Yeah, I can see it. Shuna's scary when she wants to be."

"Lord Rimuru! Mary!"

"Speak of the devil." Mary muttered under her breath. Rimuru elbowed her in the side.

"Shuna! Hey, what's up?" He made a show of looking around, "Enjoying yourself? The shark meat skewers are divine. You and Gob'ichi really outdid yourselves."

"Oh- well, thank you very much my lord. But, um," Shuna fidgeted, her gaze not staying in one place for too long, "Well it's just, have you seen Tanya anywhere?"

Mary and Rimuru exchanged a glance.

"She said something about drinking, and I'm worried that-"

"She's at Treyni's bar." Mary interjected.

"Yeah, she was already a quarter of the way through a bottle when I left." Rimuru added.

"Really, a quarter? And that was, what, 15, 20 minutes ago?" Mary raised an eyebrow, mildly impressed.

"Closer to 30."

"Oh no." Shuna's cheeks turned pink, and she hurried off, though not before shouting back a quick, "Thank you!"

Rimuru and Mary watched her go.

"You know…" Rimuru gave the other girl an odd look, "From what I know about your past, I'd almost expected you to be denouncing Tanya. Or like, accusing her of sinning or something."

"Maybe a year ago."

"I guess. What changed?"

Mary frowned, looking thoughtful.

"Who else? I believed in a good God and that she was Devil incarnate. When God throws you to the side... well, you know." She looked away with a shrug, "Right now, I'm only worried about if I'll be woken up in the middle of the night from the sound of vomiting."

"Assuming she makes it back home at all." Rimuru chuckled.

A few seconds passed, the only sound being the bustle of the crowd around them.

"…Do you think she'll pass out in the street or something?" Mary shot him a confused look.

"…Sure, let's go with that."

-=-

The door to the bar burst open, Shuna stepping inside and looking around with a frantic sort of energy she was rarely known for.

It was a calm riot of activity that met her, enough that not a single patron inside even spared her a glance. Most were too drunk to bother, and the rest were halfway there.

Shuna paid them no mind just the same, her mind completely focused on one thing, which had nothing to do with drunk monsters.

Drunk humans, on the other hand...

Not there... or there.

Shuna stepped towards the bar, her head on a swivel. The bar was packed full, as were the tables. But there wasn't a familiar head of blonde in sight.

Is she not here?

"Shuna?" Trya gave her a wave from behind the bar. An ale topped off under a tap, and she slid it down the bar to the incredibly muscular Goblina that had ordered it without a second glance. As Shuna stepped closer though, her expression grew a bit... concerned?

"You've never seemed like the type to drink. What's wrong?"

"Have you seen Tanya?" Shuna cut to the chase, putting both hands on the bar and staring at the Dryad with a piercing look. Her expression darkened at Trya's unsubtle wince.

"Lord Rimuru said she was here." The Kijin continued.

"Well, he's right. Tanya was here." Trya handed another mug off to the other person manning the bar, her sister Doreth, all the while studiously avoiding Shuna's gaze.

"And?"

Neither spoke for a moment. After a few more seconds of Shuna's glare, Trya folded.

"She's still here, technically. Just… not at the bar. As you may have noticed."

"I have indeed."

"Treyni, that lazy older sister of mine, and Tanya have been drinking together for the past half hour. And, uh," Trya coughed into her fist, "They both went upstairs just minutes ago. To drink even more, I assume."

Trya and Shuna both knew she was lying about said assumption.

"I see." Shuna's face went carefully blank. "Would you mind showing me the way upstairs?"

"Of- of course."

"Actually…" Shuna gestured for one of the taps. "Give me a drink first."

Trya shivered.

-=-

Tanya had never thought herself particularly fond of nature. Likewise, Shuna had never found herself disliking nature for any real reason.

Not until recently, that is. Extremely recently.

Treyni was... an incredibly creative woman. And passionate. And loud. And... a whole host of things that were praiseworthy and notable, whether they were experienced personally or vicariously by way of an ear pressed against the door.

Let's leave it there.

-=-=-=-

>A Teaching Moment<

A Few Days Later

Tanya's Home

Tempest, Jura Tempest Federation

"Oi, wake up."

This is oddly familiar. Mary couldn't help but think, as she slowly rose from her futon.

She rubbed her eyes, glaring with no real emotion behind it at her alarm clock. Her alarm clock today being Tanya von Degurechaff, it seemed.

"What is it?" Mary yawned.

"We're going on an expedition today, so get up and get ready."

"Do I have a choice?"

"Well, I already cleared you from training with Hakurou."

Degurechaff smirked. She had a purple mark along her collarbone, Mary absentmindedly noted. Her sleep-deprived eyes kept her from seeing it very well.

"But," Degurechaff continued, "I can always tell him you had a change of heart."

Mary blinked blearily, "I'll be out soon."

"I thought so."

-=-

Mary covered her mouth as she yawned, her other hand reaching up in a stretch. The dew-strewn grass crunched quietly under her boots, and the canopy leaves just above rustled on the early morning breeze, as her footsteps followed in line with those of the woman just ahead of her.

"So," She began, dropping her arms and looking around. "Is there a reason you got me up and out in the forest so disgustingly early? I'd barely have started training with Hakurou Sensei by now."

"Marcus Aurelius once said that we humans were born to be active in the morning, and to do the work we were meant for." Tanya said, amusement clear.

"Ew. You're in such a good mood and I have no idea why. Stop it." Mary grimaced. There was another mark just barely peaking out of the back of Tanya's collar.

She's been training hard, I guess.

"And who the fuck is Marcus Aureliez?"

"Aurelius." Tanya glanced back with an eyebrow raised, half-smile fixed in place. "He was a Roman emperor. How far did your education go, exactly?"

"My mother taught me, when we weren't fleeing the country because of a war. When did you go to school? You were like a toddler the first time we met."

"I went to college, I'll have you know. The Imperial War College, where they teach you the efficient way to fight wars. But rarely how to live past them. A lecture over Marcus Aurelius was one of those rare times they focused on a period out of war rather than in."

"Well, whatever. What if sleeping is what I'm meant for?" Mary yawned, "He sounds like an idiot."

"Then you two have much in common."

"Very funny." Mary rolled her eyes. "Who let you wake up on the right side of the bed? You must have slept amazing; I'm almost jealous."

"Slept?" Tanya turned back ahead, "Right. Don't worry, you'll understand when you're older."

"I literally am older."

"Sure you are." Tanya shot back without hesitation. "In any case, it's not much further to the first location. I hope you're ready for some detective work, Watson."

"Who's Watson?"

Tanya couldn't hold back her sigh.

"Kidding." Mary said after a second, "Who doesn't know Sherlock Holmes? I'm not that sheltered."

"Could've fooled me." Tanya said under her breath. "Anyway, we're here."

She stepped through the tree line, emerging into a wide clearing. Mary stopped beside her.

"So, you never answered my question." Mary put a hand on her hip, running her fingers along the sheathe of her still-being-borrowed magisteel katana. "Why are we out here? And why today? Did you want to fight again?"

"That implies I have ever wanted to fight you in the first place. And no, we're not."

"Fair."

"We're going to be investigating a series of magical anomalies that have been cropping up recently." Tanya pulled a neatly folded square of paper from her back pocket, unfolding it to reveal the marked map Souei had given her nearly a week prior.

"And we're doing it today, because the envoy from Demon Lord Carrion's Eurazania is arriving today."

"Uh." Mary raised an eyebrow. "Doesn't that mean… we should be there, instead of Middle of Nowhere, Great Jura Forest?"

Tanya snorted.

"Hell no. Not unless we want to be a part of some absurd pissing contest."

Mary blinked, "Excuse me?"

"I've done a little research on beastmen over the last few days. That, plus my first interaction with Phobio, leaves me no doubt that this envoy will end in yet another idiotic 'test of strength' as with King Gazel's first visit." Tanya rolled her eyes. "I have no intention of getting caught up such a ridiculous waste of time."

"Okay." Mary didn't mean to point out the obvious, but, "I mean, it didn't take us that long to get here. We'll probably be back soon enough for it anyway."

"Oh, you must have misunderstood me." Tanya held up the map so Mary could see it better, "We're investigating all of them. Not just this one."

"Oh." Mary stared at the numerous marks with something akin to sorrow in her eyes. "I'm not getting back to sleep anytime soon."

"No, you're not." Tanya agreed. "Now, let's go."

She started walking again, Mary following with a sigh.

The clearing was exactly how Tanya remembered it, she couldn't help but think. Trees lined the area in a wavy oval, flowers, weeds, and wild grass dotting the ground intermittently. Any scorch marks and gashes from giant sword strikes seemed to have righted themselves over the past several months. For all intents and purpose, it appeared liked your typical forest clearing. Except for…

There you are. Tanya stopped.

The small crater from her arrival was even still here, slightly off center and vaguely the size of a human a couple centimeters shorter than she was currently. Grass had overgrown the exposed dirt, leaving just the indent as an indicator of her first moments in this world.

"Right, so this is where you actually make use of yourself for once."

"For once?" Mary stepped forward, faux indignance in her voice. "I did kill one of those Megalodon, you know."

"And I killed six of them. Your point?"

"Just saying." Mary stood at her shoulder. "So, what should I do? Fill the crater with water?"

"We're not here for the crater. Ignore it."

"What is this place, anyway?" Mary ignored her instead, taking the chance to glance around.

"This is where I landed when I arrived in this world. The crater, specifically." Tanya stepped back, crossing her arms, "And it is here that one of earliest magical anomalies was identified. You are going to investigate it."

"Investigate what? There's nothing here." Mary pointed down, "Want me to comb through the dirt? Examine the grass?"

"I think I liked you better when you weren't so fucking chatty." Tanya pinched the bridge of her nose. "It's a magical anomaly, genius. Use Magic Sense and tell me what you feel."

"Fine, fine." Mary waved her off. "Shoving your work onto me, I get it."