Chapter 25

Rimuru named the five ogres and promptly proceeded to shut down again. It will be a few days before he gets back up I guess even with one less ogre to name he was already severely overextending his magicules. I also named the princess, which gathered a lot of attention from everyone present, except Rimuru since he was in sleep mode. 

We now have the gang together.

Army leader extradoniare, Benimaru. He looked more human after his evolution to Kijin and the red tint on his skin was gone. His horns got a little smaller and were a very shiny black color more than obsidian.

Espionage master, Souei. Also looking more human. He became a lean and young-looking man. He has that calm and collected air around him that spills out confidence. 

Moving on. We have swordsmanship trainer Hakurou. If you compare him to his old self, he probably got the biggest upgrade in the looks department. He looks like a middle-aged man and his horns have shrunk down a lot. His facial features became more defined than before and he is rocking that goatee. 

Then there is the future blacksmithing master Kurobe. He is a very normal-looking man with black hair and if it weren't for his short white horns he would be mistaken for a human. Not really much to say here, at least right now.

Then there is the future "Best and First Secretary of Rimuru."(self-proclaimed and is actually more of a bodyguard.) Shion. What do I say here? Her horn got narrower and she doesn't have the purple tint to her skin anymore. Her hair is longer. And of course, there are her generous "assests". 

And last but definitely nowhere close to the least is my lovely Shuna. Where do I even begin? She is no longer cute and adorable, but instead more refined and beautiful. Her white horns got narrower and the slight pink tint was gone as well as the markings on her face. 

/\\//\\//\

We were all still in the room after the naming and evolutions, but from my point of view, everything around me seemed to be moving in slow motion and appeared to be blurry. The only person I could focus on was Shuna.

Even with everyone here, she was the only one that stood out to me. Everyone else was there only so the background wasn't empty. She was staring back at me as well almost as if she was feeling the same thing. We both seemed to be lost in our own little world. 

I looked at her and I felt my face get hotter. My heart was beating faster and harder to the point that I could "hear" and "feel" it. I felt butterflies in my stomach and the more I looked at her the more attraction I felt.

'What is this?'

 I was feeling confused. I haven't felt anything like this before from the other times we were in contact with each other. The time when we were riding on Dun Stallion to the village, the time we fell asleep on each other's shoulders after the feast, when I carried her home when she was sleeping and wouldn't wake up.

There might not have been a lot of moments we've had so far, but I would've considered some of them intimate like when she was holding on to me during the time riding on Dun Stallion and when we fell asleep with our heads together. 

'I need to do something.' Much to my discomfort, I looked away and saw that everyone else was talking to each other about their new evolutions and how they were feeling. They didn't notice me and Shuna during our moment, they were more distracted by their new power and abilities. 

'How much time passed? It felt like time stopped for a bit. Was it only a few seconds or minutes? Did they really not notice? It feels like they should've definitely seen me and Shuna just standing still staring at eachother.'

I decided to get their attention to take my mind off of it. I'll think about this later. 

"Listen everyone. Rimuru here won't wake up for a few more days since he is in rest mode, but he'll be completely fine so don't worry too much. I'll be taking over, so come to me if you have any questions or concerns. In the meantime, get more familiar with your newfound strength while I come up with positions that suit your abilities best."

"What do we do with RImuru?" The ogre chief asked since we couldn't just leave him like this.

I picked him up as best as I could since he was more like a very viscous liquid right now and put him on his bed. "He'll be fine like that. Not really much we can do right now. Just wait until he gets back on his feet. If that is all, I'll be leaving."

I left the ogres and Kijin to their own devices while I went to do a little pondering and self-reflection about what I had just experienced. 

/\\//\\//\

'Come up with positions that suit your abilities best?! I already know what they're good at. I just needed an excuse to be by myself for a little bit.'

I was sitting on the hill that overlooked the village and it was truly a sight to behold. The ogres are really helping with the buildings. There were already foundations for multiple wooden buildings instead of the many tents we had. In a few more days the village will look like the beginnings of a small town. 

I felt such a sense of familiarity with her and more than just seeing her in a book or anime. This goes way beyond that. I know we had a sort of bond or closeness before, but this was dialed up to eleven after naming her. That feeling of intense attraction for her was something completely different that's hard to describe.

I think it's best if I just let things take their course for now. I feel like my emotions are disrupting my better judgment and thoughts right now and it's not making me think clearly. 

I'll sit here for a little bit to calm down.

/\\//\\//\\/

A few days passed since then and not much has happened. I was just going around and pretty much making sure things were running smoothly and receiving updates about things happening around the village.

It was only small things right now, but when we eventually get a more "proper" structure, that will be the time to make decisions that will really start to influence the entire town and the people living in it. 

I've already assigned the new Kijin to their new respective roles. Kurobe to blacksmithing where he immediately found a kindred spirit in Kaijin. Benimaru as a general, but it's not much for now, at least numbers-wise, since our army is still growing, Hakurou as our trainer who gave some of the hobgoblins a "light" training session so he can get more familiar with them, Souei as a ninja which he seemed to take a little too seriously. Then there was Shion. She stubbornly decided to stay close to Rimuru until he got back up, which should be today.

Then of course there was Shuna. Right now she was in charge of making clothes as well as teaching and passing on her skills to some of the goblinas and others who wanted to learn. 

Kaijin and Kurobe were like machines these last few days. They were churning out a lot more "stuff". Our technology made a significant leap in some areas like making clothes and weaving, which explains almost everyone in the village getting some sort of new outfit.

I know Kaijin and Kurobe were likely enjoying the work, but if I didn't know better I'd be stopping by to make sure they were doing ok.

Overall, things were looking pretty good, as long as the massive orc army rampaging throughout the forest was ignored. But that can be said for anything.

If you ignore all the bad things humanity has done, they've only done good things. 

I was in a building that was serving as temporary government building, mainly since it's the biggest one we have, but it's fine for now.

I was just relaxing since there wasn't much work to do right now, but that was interrupted by the sound of Shion parading Rimuru around the small town to announce to everyone that he's woken up. 

RIgurd was following her around in a frantic rush to make her calm down. I wish him luck.

/\\//\\//\

I should have expected this, but Shion made her way to where I was by loudly opening the door. She seemed to have attracted the other Kijin as well.

Rimuru noticed me and asked me for help. "Artoria, help me! She has me in a death grip here!" 

"I don't know Rimuru, knowing you, you probably like it. Her hugging you very closely makes it worth it for you."

"At first it was, but then she went a bit too far with it!" Rimuru paused after hearing what he just said. "No wait, hold on. That's not what I meant!"

"A bit too late for that Rimuru. Just accept it and move on. Also Shion, would you kindly let Rimuru down?" I asked "nicely" and she quickly put him down. As soon as she did, Rimuru quickly switched to his human form.

"Alright, so when do I name more ogres?"

"Rimuru no. Bad idea. With the upcoming orc army, you can't afford to just be spending time in rest mode. I recommend naming them after we deal with the orc army. For now we need to make some kind of plan."

Benimaru spoke up expressing his concerns for the orc army. "The orc army massively outnumbers us. They can just easily surround us with the advantage they have with their sheer numbers."

"You're right Benimaru and normally with a conventional army it would be equivalent to feeding an army to a meatgrinder, but that doesn't matter when we have forces on our side that can easily kill a few hundred orcs at a time. Also make sure to remember that they're being led by an orc lord. Kill the orc lord and the rest will fall."

I got up and addressed the other Kijin here. "Alright, we will meet in some days to have a more proper discussion. For now, take a moment to break the ice with Rimuru, so y'all can get to know each other better." 

I left the room and left Rimuru with the Kijin. I don't think Benimaru needed it, but it never hurts to get to know someone more. 

Speaking of getting to know someone more. There's Shuna. She wasn't there in the room with other Kijin, but I think it's for the better since I definitely would've been distracted.

'How do I bring this up? If I was feeling all that after naming her, then she must have felt something very similar. Is she trying to do what I did by doing something else to calm herself down and collect her thoughts?'

I'll talk to her about this after the orc army is dealt with. 

For now, the lizardmen should be sending Gabiru around trying to recruit as many people as possible to fight against the orcs. Things will really kick off after that.

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

(A/N)

She's gonna "holy" on my "lance" till I "Rhongomyniad".

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