Chapter 24

The night seemed to pass by very fast and eventually the mood started to die down with some falling asleep and others starting to clean up. I was still feeling fine, but after so much food, I decided just to sleep the rest of the night away. 

I don't know when I woke up, but I do know that I feel very comfortable right now. I felt like I was leaning on something.

I opened my eyes and saw that I somehow fell asleep while sitting down, which isn't unusual for me since I've done something like that before. I was still at the fire from last night, but it already died down.

I lifted my head and felt something hit my shoulder. I looked to my right and saw a head of soft and pink hair. And then I finally realized what I was feeling before.

'I see.'

The question now is, how many people saw us, and how many people know already? The answer to the first part is most likely RImuru and some goblins and ogres. 

As for how many people already know? Well, It's safe to assume the whole village already knows. Something like this spreads like wildfire. 

'Hold on, let me check something.' I focus my senses and I feel some very focused gazes on me and the princess. I looked at where I felt the gazes coming from and I saw some bushes that had some spots of, red, pink, and blue.

'They are not doing as good a job as they think they are. Also, how long have they been there? It would be kind of creepy if they stayed there the whole night or something.'

I looked at the princess sleeping on my shoulder and tried to wake her up. "Princess. Princess." I was whispering while shaking her a little bit, but it seemed she might be a bit of a heavy sleeper after last night. 

'Looks like she won't be waking up soon. I guess I'll have to carry her home.' I got up carefully so she wouldn't just fall. I bent down a little and picked her up in a...princess carry.

She was very light when I was carrying her either that or I'm strong. Yeah, it's cause I'm strong, no other reason. 

I eventually got to her house, which wasn't very hard to find, since it was a little fancier and better looking than the others around. Normally, I wouldn't just enter like this, but since there are some people "stealthily" following me, I'll just do it.

I entered her home and since I didn't want to be nosy I quickly found what I thought was her room and laid her on the bed that was there and covered her up.

Since that was done, I decided to confront the people who were watching me the whole time I was carrying my princess.

/\\//\\//\

Even though Artoria had good senses, for some reason she didn't notice the princess was already awake the whole time she was carrying her and putting her to bed. 

After Artoria left, the princess brought the blankets over her head to hide her face.

/\\//\\//\

"So, I don't wanna say anything, but I think we can all agree that they one hundred percent have something going on now for sure at this point." Rimuru gave his thoughts to the people around him which included, the ogre chief, his wife, and their son.

"Why are we even doing this? This is their private matter, it shouldn't concern us at this moment." The chief's son spoke up trying to be a good brother and not be too intrusive on his sister's love life.

"Son, I know what you're saying, but I just wanted to be absolutely sure about this. I already had my suspicions, but now I'm sure there is something going on between them." The chief said to his son in a quiet voice not knowing they were already being listened in on without noticing anything. 

"Maybe we'll have some grandchildren in the future." The chief's wife said while smiling and holding her hand to her face while thinking about the future.

"You are thinking way too far into the future. Also, I don't want to ruin your fun, but how would they even have children? They are both women." Rimuru spoke up trying to bring up more conventional logic from his previous world.

"What are you guys talking about?" They all froze like a deer in headlights hearing the voice that came out of nowhere.

"Artoria! When did you show up? I didn't even feel your presence!" Rimuru was the most shocked out of all of them since he still didn't know how she sneaked up all the time without him noticing.

"Simple Rimuru. Magic. Many things can be done with magic. Many things." Artoria stressed the "many things" part to him and Rimiru realized that she was there for basically their entire conversation.

"So, what were you talking about?"

"I was just explaining the things with the names and stuff with the ogres. That's all."

"The 'names and stuff'. Why are you explaining something important like that in some bushes with them then?"

"Uh…because like…you know…you get the idea." 

"Did he really explain the offer about naming all of y'all?" Artoria asked the ogres that were present here instead of trusting the current bumbling mess that was Rimuru.

"Yes, he did and we have considered it, but we would like to talk more about it to get more details." The chief spoke up and got more serious given the nature of the topic they were talking about.

"We can discuss more later, but not here. This is a less-than-ideal place to talk about this." Artoria then walked away heading on over to Kaijin's workshop.

/\\//\\//\

I went over to Kaijin's workshop and I saw Dun Stallion there as well. I have to say, he is looking very decked out and shiny. He was not only wearing the armor, he was rocking it as well. He even had the saddle as well. 

"Wow Dun Stallion, dressed to the nines ain't ya" I went up to them and got their attention.

"Of course master, this Kaijin fellow is a great blacksmith. This armor feels so natural to me, like a second skin. I feel like I can fight forever with this on. I wish to be ridden into battle with this new armor." 

Well, he seems very enthusiastic about all this so that's good.

"If you really want to, you won't have to wait for long."

I saw Kaijin getting closer to me carrying a wooden case. "Ah, Miss Pendragon, the horse armor is finished as you can see and it's all made from magisteel. Also, this wooden case has the other weapons you asked for. Also made from magisteel." 

He handed the case to me and as I opened I noticed a nice red interior that was soft to the touch. There were three weapons and they were laid out neatly and one of them was noticeably larger than the other two. 

"This is good Kaijin. Very good work."

"Your thanks are much appreciated. Making those was interesting. I'd like to make more if possible, so if you have more ideas or need anything more made just come to me."

"Don't worry Kaijin, I'll come up with something eventually."

I went up to Dun Stallion and hung the wooden case on the saddle so I didn't have to carry it around. 

"Are you going to be wearing the armor all the time Dun Stallion?"

"Yes, something this great should be known by everyone in this village."

"Ok, just know that if you want to take it off come to me or Kaijin. Just hang around the village while I discuss some stuff with the ogres."

"Alright. I will wait for you to take me into battle. I grow excited thinking about it."

"Yeah, I know. See you later." 

/\\//\\//\

It was time for the little meeting to discuss some names and honestly, I don't know why they want a discussion. If I were in their place, I would take it immediately, but I guess the chief has to account for the three hundred ogres under his command.

They'll follow his orders to the end even if it's to go under the command of another person. 

The people present were the ogre chief, his son, his daughter, and his wife. Me and Rimuru were in front of them sitting down. It wasn't a tense atmosphere, it was more friendly than anything else. 

I think I'm putting too much thought into this. They clearly look like they'll accept Rimuru's offer for names.

There was tea on the table in front of us. I tasted it and I had one tiny thought about it. 'This tea needs a lot more sugar and then it would be perfect. There's nothing like a nice glass of cold sweet iced tea on a hot day.'

Rimuru spoke first to the ogres. "So what do you want to talk about? There's not much more to discuss form last night during the feast."

"Oh, I've already decided to accept your offer. We just wanted to know how long this will take and if you really know the risks involved with naming monsters." The ogre chief was taking the lead for them in this conversation.

"Risks? What risks are there in naming monsters?"

"If you name too many monsters at once or an already strong monster without recovering enough, you might not recover the magicules you use." 

It's a good thing Rimuru is not normal and this problem won't concern him for long.

"It's fine. You guys are basically full-on residents at this point. There'll be no problems. All of the other villagers have a good impression of you." I wouldn't just completely brush off what the ogre chief said, but it's his choice. "With that being said though, I can't name all of you in one sitting. This will take a few weeks at best. So we can start off with just a few. Are there some ogres that you want named first?"

"I'll stop you there Rimuru. Give me a few minutes and I'll pick out some ogres that would be very good candidates to name." 

"Are you able to pick out the strong ones Artoria?"

"Yes, and also the talented ones. Some of the ogres have more to them than just pure strength. We shouldn't focus on just strength, there's many talents that will help everyone in the village." 

I left the meeting place and went out to look for some ogres. The future-named Shion, Souei, Hakurou, and Kurobe. Benimaru was already with RImuru so that's one done and I will be the one to name Shuna.

It wasn't hard to find them and convince them to come with me. A few minutes later, we were back at the meeting.

"Are they the ones Artoria?" RImuru asked me once he saw them.

"Yes. You can name them all right now and go into rest mode or space them out throughout a few days. Whatever you choose, these will be the best ogres to name at first."

The ogres I brought over were calm on the outside, but I could tell they were surprised that all of them were getting names. They looked at their chief and he just nodded back at them.

"Chief do you have a problem not being first?" Rimuru asked the chief and I assume he thinks that he should go first just because he's the leader. 

"It doesn't matter to me. I just need to be patient and wait for my turn. I know it will come eventually so there's no need to feel any sort of negative feelings."

"You heard him RImuru and since you want to name many at first then name his son as well. I'll name his daughter."

They would normally get all excited, but everyone in the room suddenly looked at me and the princess. She was trying to cover her face from all the stares, but it only made it worse, especially since her blush could clearly be seen all over her face. 

I then remembered what happened earlier in the day and this basically confirmed for me that everyone in the village knows what happened and has some thoughts already. And now with me saying I was going to name her, it just solidified whatever they thought about me and her. 

'I said I was going to try to take it slow, but I just had to say that I'm going to name her while her parents are right here. They're going to be treating us as if we're already together now.'

I saw her mom just lost in her thoughts while having a dreamy look on her face. 

'She's thinking way too far ahead again.'

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

(Note)

Question: Breakfast Burrito or a Regular Burrito?

Personally, I choose breakfast burrito.