chapter 6

Mamoru didn't get much sleep that night. In fact, he didn't sleep at all.

What he relies on isn't sleep, at least not entirely, but blood.

While it's still nice to sleep, the reason he abstained from it was to watch over the goblins and, more importantly, keep an eye on the direwolf.

Was it worry ? Maybe.

It's understandable, as hungry wolves got a free ticket to enter the same village they tried to break into the night before.

Everyone will be more at ease once the direwolf will be named, that what Mamoru was sure about..

...

The sun was already up, and the inhabitants were more active than usual.

They were attempting to construct something that resembled a house.

Mamoru was well aware that they would not succeed, but that was precisely what he desired:

Failure.

Their inability to accomplish the task would serve as evidence that they required external assistance.

In his previous life, Mamoru had worked on house construction, albeit without any architectural knowledge. His role was limited to handling heavy loads.

Even with the proper materials, a house without a solid foundation could vanish with a mere breeze.

His eyes scanned the construction site until he spotted the direwolf. They seemed idle, not engaged in any activities.

Sitting calmly in a corner, they kept their distance from the goblins, and the goblins reciprocated by not approaching them either.

A meeting should be held with everyone, including the goblins and the direwolf.

Before that, Mamoru needed to go and talk to them.

"Hey, you're the son of the boss, right? Can you gather your clan? I have something to give you."

"Yes master!"

*Awooo* he howled, but the meaning of his howl was transmitted through thought communication.

"Thanks but you can call me Mamoru, I'm Mamoru Tempest."

Some time passed..

"Now that all the direwolves are gathered here, I have something to announce," Mamoru began, addressing the group. They all turned their attention to him.

"As you can see, I have given names to all the goblins," Mamoru said, gesturing towards the goblin group, who nodded in acknowledgment.

"Since you have already submitted to me, as your master, I would like to offer each of you a name. Would you like to have a n-"

Before Mamoru could finish his sentence, all the direwolves started wagging their tails vigorously, creating a powerful gust of wind.

"There goes the 'house'" Mamoru commented, watching as the four walls and what appeared to be a roof flew away, never to be found again.

"Well, I suppose I should take that as a yes... Your name will be... Ranga!"

He announced before being hit by a sudden headache. Unconsciously, he transformed into his bat form, which consumed fewer magicules, and sat down on a tree trunk.

'What's happening?' he thought, before receiving an answer from Shrewd One.

{Answer. You're experiencing the drawbacks of spending a significant amount of magicules for the first time.}

"Mamoru-sama!" shouted Rigurd, his voice filled with concern.

"Mamoru-sama, do you need to take some of my blood?" asked Haruna.

"Don't worry, I'm fine. Rigurd, gather everyone. I have something important to say."

Ten minutes later, everyone was assembled in the center of the village, facing Mamoru.

Well, almost everyone.

'Gobta and his friends are missing. These kids like playing too much,' Mamoru thought before spotting Rigur running towards him with all his strength.

*Huff huff* Rigur tried to catch his breath.

"Mamoru-sama! Gobta, Gobchi, and Gobzo are facing a strong monster that is heading our way!"

"Now that you mention it, I sense it too. Stay here; I'll go help them," he said before pointing at Ranga. "Ranga, you protect the village while I'm gone."

"I'll do my best, Master!" Ranga replied.

Still in his bat form, Mamoru took flight towards the direction where the monster was.

...

Away from the village, in the forest, Gobta and his friends found themselves face-to-face with a formidable monster.

"We shouldn't have ventured this far..." murmured Gobzo.

"Our duty is to protect the village!" proclaimed Gobchi.

"Gobchi is right, and even without the direwolf by our side, we are strong!" added Gobta. Before asking the monster, "Do you have any business ahead?"

The monster was about to reply when it was suddenly interrupted by one of its skills:

{Warning. Strong individual approaching rapidly.}

...

Mamoru finally arrived at the scene and transformed back into his humanoid form. He landed between the goblins and the monster.

Contrary to Mamoru's initial expectation, the monster wasn't a ferocious one.

He had been waiting for this encounter.

Mamoru approached the monster with a friendly smile and lowered himself to the monster's height.

He poked his gelatinous body and greeted, "Hello there, I hope the goblins didn't frighten you too much."

{Recommendation. Adopt a friendly approach.} advised great sage.

"I WASN'T SCARED. I'M A SLIME AND MY NAME IS RIMURU."

Ouch, that was quite loud. Everyone present instinctively covered their ears.

"Nice to meet you, Rimuru. I'm Mamoru, the master of the goblins over there," he said, pointing at the goblins hiding behind him. "And I happen to be a vampire," he concluded.

"Mamoru... a vampire... and this appearance..." Rimuru mumbled, lost in thought.

{Answer. The individual known as Mamoru fits with the description provided by the True Dragon Veldora. His full name is Mamoru T-} Great Sage attempted to explain before being interrupted.

'He is Mamoru Tempest!' thought Rimuru.

{Yes.}

"You are Mamoru Tempest, right? You're also an other-" Rimuru attempted to say, but Mamoru stopped him before he could finish the word.

Mamoru turned to the goblins and instructed, "Go back to the village. I have things to discuss with Rimuru."

"Mamoru-sama, can we eat him?" Gobta asked.

*Slap*

"Haha, you can't eat him. Now, go," Mamoru chuckled, dismissing the idea.

He waited until the goblins were far enough to continue the discussion, and Rimuru did the same, intrigued by why Mamoru had stopped him.

Great Sage provided some reasons for Mamoru's action, but Rimuru wanted to be certain.

Mamoru, seeing that the goblins were a safe distance away, said to Rimuru, "Indeed, I am Mamoru Tempest. I will ask how you came to know that, but as for the matter of being an otherworlder..." He paused, picking up Rimuru and walking toward the village. "I am an otherworlder, but the monsters in the village don't know that, for now."

"So that's how it is. I apologize for not thinking before speaking," Rimuru apologized to Mamoru. However, upon seeing Mamoru's smile, indicating that he wasn't upset, Rimuru continued, "I, too, am an otherworlder.."

Mamoru stopped in his tracks but didn't say anything feeling that Rimuru hadn't finish.

"And like you, I have been named by Veldora. My name is Rimuru Tempest."

...

Rimuru was aware, thanks to Veldora, of the existence of another otherworlder named Mamoru Tempest, and his excitement to meet him grew.

Uncertain about the details of their encounter, Rimuru couldn't contain his happiness and held the hope that Mamoru would share the same sentiment when they finally met.

And Mamoru did just as he hoped.

...

Mamoru excitedly threw the little slime in the air while cheering, "You really are an otherworlder! We share the same name!"

"Yes! Now put me down, I'm going to puke!" pleaded Rimuru.

"Oops, sorry," Mamoru apologized, quickly placing Rimuru back on the ground.

"Wait, if we both have the same name, does that mean we're like brothers?" asked Mamoru, his curiosity piqued. "Well, let's discuss that later. For now, come with me. I'll introduce you to the goblins and direwolves."

AN: I guess the story is slow paced at the moment.. I know that Rimuru is genderless but for the sake of convenience, they may be referred to as "brother" if necessary.