The Road to Hell

I don't sleep.

Not very often, at least. I don't need to. I mean, I'm not like, physically a human anymore. I haven't been for nearly two years now. I'm a slime.

And slimes don't sleep. Or think. Or do anything other than consume whatever they slip past.

I'm a bit out of the norm… Shuna might argue that I'm not that different from a regular slime, considering the "think" part.

Anyway!

I don't really sleep anymore. That's the point being made, let's stick with it. No more digression, please and thank you!

For a while, I didn't even try to sleep. I never felt tired, so I just… didn't. And no, dropping unconscious from Naming too many monsters at once doesn't count. I mean, I think technically being unconscious is sleeping, but I'm not one to argue semantics.

I could argue semantics, but again, I'm avoiding digression. And somehow still end up digressing, damn.

So, the gist. I'm repeating myself, but I don't need sleep. I don't need to, but I can. It's possible. A layover from my previous life, or perhaps slimes are always in a constant state of dream and I'm the exception there too.

You know, lately, I've been having the same dream…

They're like visions. Memories in vivid full color and full sound. Yet, they are not my memories.

I know they aren't, because I've never been to this place. I've never seen this city, this building, this field, these people...

These are memories obviously, but they aren't mine at all. They're…

A woman. Red marks under her eye, black hair. A white cloak, black pants, and a sheathed sword.

She smiled.

"…Ingrassia."

These are that woman's…

-=-

Rimuru blinked awake, flat on his back with his legs still nestled under his kotatsu.

Ingrassia…

"Ah. I lost consciousness."

Hey, Great Sage.

You have been unconscious for the past 2 minutes, 47 seconds.

Yeah, thanks much.

You are welcome.

Rimuru sat up.

Actually, that was more so- never mind. Say, Great Sage. Ingrassia is that huge city over in the west, right?

Correction: The Kingdom of Ingrassia is widely known as the most advanced human nation on the western half of the continent, boasting itself as the hub and leader of the western nations. It is much larger than a single city.

Yeah, that tracks. It's that important, huh? Hm…

Addition: It is also believed to be the last known residence of the human known as Shizue Izawa. Based on visionary images appearing during bouts of unconsciousness, it can be approximately surmised that Shizue Izawa operated as a teacher within Ingrassia itself.

That's does make sense. It did look like they had on uniforms. Shizu's students, huh?

Query: what does Rimuru Tempest wish to do, knowing this information?

There was no hesitation in his response.

I think I already know what I wish- to do. Actually, not even that. I know what I need to do. I made a promise, after all.

Understood.

-=-=-=-

Early Morning

Assembly Hall

Tempest, Jura Tempest Federation

"I've decided to travel to Ingrassia." Rimuru said, sitting at the head of the table, "But it isn't like Dwargon this time around. It sounds like a human nation through and through, so I'll have to sneak in using just my human form."

The room at large remained silent, each individual digesting the news in their own ways.

On the side of the table to his right, the Kijin group minus Shion and Kurobe sat. Shuna, Benimaru, Souei, Hakurou was the respective order. On the table side to Rimuru's left, Tanya, Rigurd, Kaijin, and the Goblina known as Haruna sat in order.

In chairs directly on either side and slightly behind him, Mary sat at Rimuru's back left, while Shion took the back right.

As the silence stretched on, Shuna sent a concerned glance across the table, to where Tanya sat with arms crossed and eyes closed.

Benimaru and Souei looked at one another, saying nothing. Mary shifted in her seat, slightly uncomfortable for a variety of reasons. Rigurd was frowning, a troubled expression on his face.

Certainly, Rimuru had explained well enough, but…

"My Lord." Rigurd began, "I understand your reasoning. But, for you to travel alone is…"

"He's right." Benimaru agreed with a firm nod. "It's a concern, at the very least, and not just for my Lord's safety."

Faint murmurs of agreement could be heard from others as well. Not one person spoke in support of Rimuru's plan. Not the best sign, but you couldn't exactly blame them.

Hakurou leaned forward slightly, looking towards Rimuru, "The Federation could crumble is anything untoward were to happen. My Lord's must be careful with such whims as these."

Well then, Rimuru's would just have to assuage their worries then.

"Nothing will happen to me." Rimuru spoke in a level tone, doing his best to reassure them, "Ranga will be in my shadow, always at hand. And, if it's any extra reassurance…"

He glanced to his left.

"Mary here has agreed to accompany me, along with a Body Double from Souei who will be resting within my shadow as well. And on top of that, I've got the perfect guide in mind."

The slime beamed, seemingly content with this explanation. The atmosphere of the room lightened somewhat, boosting his own mood just a tad.

He looked to Rigurd, "That should be reassurance enough, right? I'll basically be bringing three of my Executives with me, so there really shouldn't be any issue. Right?"

"You mentioned a guide, my Lord?" Rigurd was the one to ask, only partially convinced.

"Yeah." Rimuru slipped into slime form, bouncing up onto the table, "Eren's group, remember? I just sent Gobta to grab them for me."

"Eren's group. You mean…"

"Kabal, Eren, and Gido." Benimaru muttered, hand on his chin. "That's the trio that accompanied Shizue Izawa, correct?"

"Mm mm!" Rimuru inflated and deflated slightly in a facsimile of a nod, "I need to travel through Blumund after all, and they already know all about me. They're human adventurers with plenty of free time, and that makes them perfect."

A polite way of calling them lazy and conveniently placed, it needn't be said. Still, they were effective and trustworthy, which was all they really needed to be right now.

"It's smart to make use of a familiar human adventurer group." Hakurou noted, his own tension relaxed somewhat, "Waltzing through the front gates of a human nation with a group of monsters is far from the best of ideas."

The first praise so far. A welcome addition.

"Right, right?" Rimuru said with a happy bounce, "I've thought about this quite a bit, I promise. Trust me like always, yeah? I know what I'm doing, I'd like to think."

More murmurs around the table, generally assenting and much more positive than earlier.

"Even so…" Shuna brought her hand up, her kimono's sleeve covering the bottommost part of her worried expression, "My Lord, I don't think I agree with this."

"Hm?"

"No, I'm sorry, that's not quite right. I'm afraid can't agree with this idea at all."

"Shuna?" Benimaru stared at her incredulously. As did Rimuru, though to a much lesser extent. "Even if we may have concerns, our Lord's decision is their own to make."

"I understand it is Lord Rimuru's decision, and I will not attempt to stop it. Such is not my place to disrespect the one who has done so much for us." She lowered her sleeved arm, her frown coming into full view, "However, I don't believe this is the correct choice at this time. We are at peace, for now, but it was not long ago that a threat on the level of a Demon Lord arose near our borders. And with Lady Milim's departure, we must protect ourselves alone for the time being. Knowing this, I cannot condone our Lord's own departure."

Especially not for selfish reasons, she neglected to say aloud.

"I- but, Shuna, this-" Rimuru was in shock, just a bit. "This is something I need to do, you know? We've planned this out more than well enough, right?" It was unclear who he was trying to convince more at the moment, "And with all of you still here, Tempest is in more than good enough hands. There shouldn't be any problems, as long as everyone is careful."

"I'm not one for superstition, but regardless, I'd ask you not to raise flags like that." The one who had said nothing since her arrival finally spoke.

"Tanya?"

"There shouldn't be any problems." She continued, as the room at large turned her way, "Going by your descriptions and your ability, along with the company being brought along, I can't say it's a faulty arrangement. Any concerns over your entry into Ingrassia itself are addressed well enough. There's no real concern to be had over Rimuru's safety."

"Oh. Oh!" Rimuru would have blinked in surprise were they in human form. Given previous conversations, the slime had expected Tanya's retort to be the most scathing of all. "You see, Shuna? If Tanya thinks so, then-"

"However." Tanya interrupted, opening her eyes and leveling him with a cool stare, "I must make it clear to everyone that I absolutely, unequivocally object to this. I cannot in good trust condone your decision. I already made my objections to you known the first time you informed me of this, and my mind has not changed in the slightest. You should not be doing this."

Rimuru deflated noticeably at that.

"But, I can see that your mind has not changed either." Tanya sighed, glancing at Mary once before closing her eyes once more. "In fact, your resolve has only strengthened, despite everything. I cannot stop you from making this decision, so I won't waste unnecessary time nor effort on anything other than mitigating potential damage. Go on, Rimuru Tempest. Do what you believe needs to be done. Make good use of those good intentions of yours. Just remember what that road you're taking is paved with."

No one spoke for a good while after that, the meaning behind Tanya's words not lost on anyone. And, with the air filled with enough tension that it could be cut with a knife, the meeting soon reached its conclusion.

-=-=-=-

Later

Gravity Field

Tempest, Jura Tempest Federation

"Did you have to be so harsh back there? Not that I disagree with you, but…"

"Mary." Tanya crossed her arms, leaning back against the trunk of a nearby tree. Above them, the leaves swayed in the breeze, this isolated field completely bereft of anyone other than the two of them. "I assure you, I held my tongue. If you believe those words to be harsh, then you would no doubt have truly berated me for my words a week prior."

"A week prior?" Mary blinked, then decided she really didn't want to know, "You know what, you're right. That was incredible self-control you showed; I'm honestly impressed."

"That sounded sarcastic. But I'll take your compliment anyway." A half smile ghosted across Tanya's face, "You know, it's-"

"Yes yes, 'it's strange to hear compliments from me', or 'who could have imagined we'd ever be friends', or 'to think you and I could converse so peacefully'." Mary rolled her eyes, "I get it. It's been long enough, don't you think? I know you're the type to beat a dead horse, then just keeping beating the hell out of that dead horse until you've gotten every possible ounce of use out of its fly-ridden corpse, but don't you think it's time to find new material?"

"No, not really." Tanya shrugged, "It's still odd to me. This horse isn't quite dead enough yet. Let's give it until our 1-year anniversary and then maybe I'll be used to it enough to put down the flog."

Mary almost choked. "Ann- anniversary?!"

Tanya raised an eyebrow.

"Yes?"

Somehow, the matter-of-fact response only seemed to fluster Mary further, and funnily enough, neither of the two knew why this was. Or why it was something to be flustered about at all.

"Since we arrived in this world." Tanya clarified, shrugging, "We'll have been here an entire year soon enough. As a gift, I'll let the joke die then. You may thank me in advance, if you wish."

"Right. Right, okay." Mary honestly had no idea why she'd reacted like that. For some reason, Treyni's words came to mind. Odd. "A- anyway. Let's get back on track. You wanted to talk to me, right?"

"Are we not talking right now?"

"Tanya."

"Hmph." Tanya huffed amusedly, "Shuna pulls that off far better than you. But, you're correct. Let's talk business, shall we?"

A blob of space magic appeared near shoulder height. Tanya held out her hand, a leather pouch of some sort falling from her pocket space and landing perfectly in her palm with a soft clinck.

"Here." Tanya tossed the pouch her way.

Mary caught it, nearly fumbling a once or twice thanks to its unexpected heft.

"These are," She opened it without delay, glancing inside, "Coins?"

"That's you first official, ah, paycheck as an Executive. I expedited the process a bit; it's not like you'll be able just pick it up at the end of the month like usual."

"This is a month's worth?" Mary said disbelievingly. She looked up, "There's way too much in here!"

"That's because I added my month's coinage as well. Along with last month's."

"Oh okay. That's pretty- huh!"

Her double take would have given a normal human whiplash.

"Oh, don't look so baffled." Tanya said with an eyeroll, "It's not that surprising, is it? If you want, consider it a back payment for all your hard work all those months prior. Or, if you want a more truthful answer, it's obvious that the one who needs disposable currency right now isn't me."

"That… does make sense." Mary managed to shove her shock down somewhat successfully. She nodded after a moment, tying the pouch shut once more and securing it along her belt, "What about Rimuru?"

"Rimuru doesn't need to eat or sleep. Of the two of you, it's more than obvious which of you would be considered lacking in the survivability department. And given that he's technically the owner of all of Tempest's money, well, he'll be fine." Tanya tilted her head, making a thoughtful sort of hum, "Though his decision making makes me question that at times, it's clear you're the one who needs such assistance. That's not an insult or a knock, by the way. Just hard fact."

"I- right. Right, okay." Mary shook her head, "Really though, you think I'll be worse off in this situation than Rimuru?"

"That's a trick question. It's true that you've never shown any intent to jump out of a three-story building just because the snow looked like a particularly fluffy landing pad. And you're not the one who came up with this idiotic expedition either, which is another point in your favor. However,"

Tanya held out her arms slightly, as if weighing something in both hands.

"Rimuru, at least, can read Japanese fluently. And as naïve as he can be sometimes, he's not half as socially reticent as you are." One hand went up. The other, down. "Then again, you're about equally well traveled by this point…"

Her hands evened out once more. She shrugged.

"It's a tough choice. I'm not sure which horse I'd bet on here. Perhaps a smaller, safer bet. Less chance to lose my month's salary that way- ah, but it seems I've already lost it, haven't I?" Tanya gestured to Mary's belt with one hand, letting her other drop back down to her waist, "I'll throw just a bit behind your success. That'd be my bet. Does that satisfy you?"

Did it satisfy her?

Mary had no idea. It was difficult at the best of times to parse the exact intent behind Tanya's words, and this rapid back and forth series of back-handed compliments and criticisms was making her head spin.

Then again, that was nothing new. If such a thing were possible, Mary would almost claim to be getting used to it. Enjoying it, even.

What a novel concept that was. And, even she didn't know her proper feelings on the matter, it was no trouble at all to find the proper response.

"Satisfied? Hardly." Mary scoffed, though her slight smile betrayed the true intent, "Having your bet means a much to me as not having it. I wouldn't be surprised if you were planning to take a side bet on Rimuru at the same time, just to cover all your bases."

Tanya inclined her head, not admitting nor denying Mary's words.

"If you want to talk of covering bases," She said instead, "Then how about this? There's something I'd like you to take care of while wandering Ingrassia."

Ah, there it is.

The real reason Tanya had pulled her out here. It could have been just to say farewell and give just regards for the upcoming lengthy time apart, but neither of them at this point in their lives and relationship were much for that sort of thing. Not yet.

It was just a matter of getting through the banter and the groundwork of the conversation that the true purpose of meeting in this way came to light.

Mary could discern that much, familiar enough with hers and Tanya's own habits and thought processes for an educated guess on such a thing. Such was the connection between fated enemies turned familiar allies and friends.

"What is it? If you want a souvenir, I could grab one pretty easily. But I'm sure that's not what you're referring to."

"You'd be correct."

Mary opened her mouth to respond.