Ch 14: THREE DATES

---Rimuru POV---

This morning, Rimuru was excited about a day of leisurely roaming around the city. However, things didn't go as planned. Kotori stood in front of Rimuru's room this morning, catching him just as he was leaving. She brought him to Fraxinus for interrogation regarding Kurumi's case.

The interrogation lasted from 7 a.m. to after 9 a.m. Rimuru was constantly reminded not to act on his own during the questioning. When it was finally over, Rimuru thought he was free to go. But now, he finds himself being forced to stay at Fraxinus and assist the others in supporting Shidou during his date with the three girls. Rimuru couldn't escape because Kotori had given him a set of cameras to keep an eye on him.

"Can things get any worse?" Rimuru muttered to himself.

"Come on, Rimuru, let's cheer up a bit," said Kotori from the command seat.

Rimuru wore a bored expression and responded, "How joyful is it to be forced to come up here and witness these things?"

"It's an exaggeration to say 'caught.' This is asking for help," Kotori replied.

"It's the same..." Rimuru sighed.

At this point, Kotori gave up on Rimuru and turned to the main screen, addressing Shidou, "Haizz... okay, whatever, but don't try to hide. Shido-san is about to arrive. Let's start our date!"

Shidou's voice came from the screen, "Uh, um..."

On the screen, Shidou appeared, wearing a navy blue shirt and gray pants, standing in front of the Pachi statue at the entrance to Tengu station. Suddenly, a voice stood out from the surrounding crowd.

"Shido!" Tohka's voice came out as she approached Shidou with a bright smile.

Tohka was not wearing her usual uniform but instead a summer outfit with a thin top and short shorts.

"It's because I chose that one. Isn't it bad?" Reine commented.

Everyone in the cabin, including Rimuru, nodded in agreement. Rimuru was so captivated by Tohka's beauty that he momentarily forgot he was being forced to stay at Fraxinus. However, as Rimuru was mesmerized by Tohka's innocent beauty, Ciel interrupted.

<<Ahem!>> Ciel raised her voice to snap Rimuru out of his trance and asked, "<<What's wrong, Ciel?>>"

"<<I have completed the synthesis of the skill <Spirit of Spiritual Energy> master, my lord,>>" Ciel informed Rimuru.

"Oh, I thought you synthesized that skill the other day," Rimuru responded.

"No, my lord. You specifically requested it," Ciel clarified.

"Huh...?" Rimuru recalled that on the first day he met Kurumi, he had asked Ciel to create this skill, and she finished it within a few minutes. However, Rimuru never directly used it. Or perhaps Rimuru had forgotten about it, aiming for something real...

Ignoring that thought, Rimuru pretended he hadn't heard anything and asked, "<<Do you have something else to say?>>"

"No, master. I just wanted to inform you," Ciel replied calmly.

"That's all... thank you anyway... huh," Rimuru muttered to himself. He realized that no one on the ship had noticed his presence. They were all focused on watching Shidou and Tohka going to the Aquarium to have fun.

Seeing that no one was paying attention, Rimuru quickly erased his presence and stood up. But just as he was about to teleport to another location, he heard

Kotori's voice.

"Where are you going to hide, Rimuru?" Kotori asked without even looking at him.

Startled by Kotori's voice, Rimuru reappeared with a disappointed expression. "How can I still be found out..." he murmured to himself.

Reine stepped in front of Rimuru and spoke softly, "Every time the system can't find your picture, it reports it to the main screen. So don't try to run away. Everyone just wants the best for you. Kurumi is unpredictable, so don't be reckless like that again."

"I just wanted to hang out today..." Rimuru complained.

"No, the other day you directly confronted Kurumi. It would be dangerous to let you wander around now, not to mention having more than one Kurumi," Reine explained.

"Okay, okay, then I'll stay here," Rimuru said helplessly as he sat down.

At this moment, Rimuru couldn't display his full strength. He was under the supervision of the <Ratatoskr> organization, so he had to be managed like this.

"Reine, you're really good at handling these things. Anyway, it's almost time to meet Kurumi. Shido, hurry up to the designated place. <Fraxinus> will come pick you up," Kotori instructed.

While Shidou was enjoying his time with Tohka, he heard Kotori's instructions. He suddenly stopped, causing Tohka, who was in front of him, to turn around with a puzzled expression and ask, "[Shido, why don't you go?]"

Shidou hesitated for a moment, then bent down and hugged his stomach. "[Ah, it hurts sooooooooo much...]"

"[!? What's wrong, Shidou!]" Tohka asked with concern.

"It's nothing. My stomach... Maybe I need to go to the toilet right away. You should go and have fun first," Shidou explained.

After saying that, Shidou ran away, holding his stomach, and Tohka followed him, looking worried.

"...Does that work!?" Rimuru was dumbfounded by how Shidou handled the situation.

Once Shidou found a hidden corner, he was teleported to Fraxinus and then to a place near the meeting place with Kurumi.

The large screen now focused on showing Kurumi waiting at the ticketing station and Shidou rushing to get there.

"Sorry I'm late," Shidou apologized.

"It's okay, I just arrived too. So, where should we go first?" Kurumi replied softly with a smile.

Shidou looked confused at Kurumi's question, unsure of what to choose.

"The fun has begun," Kotori commented. On the main screen, the options appeared:

1. Take a walk around the mall.

2. Watch a romantic movie.

3. Watch her try on clothes at the lingerie store.

"Everyone, make your choice," Kotori said.

The screen immediately showed the results:

50% - Option 1

50% - Option 2

0% - Option 3

Rimuru thought to himself, "<Oh... so this is how they work. Wait! Why is there option number 3? Luckily, no one chose it. At least you can still trust these people a little.>"

While Kotori was still undecided, the other members voiced their opinions.

"We should choose 1! What girl doesn't like shopping?" Hinako (The Crucifix) suggested.

"Both options are quite reasonable," Kotori said.

"However, both of those areas are within proximity to where Tohka is. Although the chance of them

meeting each other is quite low, there's no need to take such a risky option," Kannazuki added.

"The third option is too rude," Kotori said awkwardly.

"A few days ago, when asked to show her panties, she agreed, didn't she?" Reine mentioned.

After hearing Reine's words, Kotori smiled and said to Shidou, "Did you hear that? Take her to the lingerie store."

Rimuru thought to himself, "<Huh!? Wait, if you already decided, why vote!?>"

"Understood... Wait, what!?... LINGERIE SHOP!?" Shidou exclaimed in confusion, making his voice heard by Kurumi.

"Don't shout! You pervert," Kotori scolded.

Rimuru thought, "<I wonder who came up with those choices... It's better not to ask.>"

"If Shidou-san chooses for me..." Kurumi said with a smile.

"So... then... let's go," Shidou awkwardly nodded and led Kurumi to the lingerie store.

While Shidou was embarrassed and hesitant to move, Kurumi was choosing underwear, and two sets caught her eye. Both sets were decorated with delicate and cute motifs.

"Everyone, hurry up and choose!" Kotori urged.

Rimuru couldn't help but feel sorry for Shidou. He pointed at a set behind Kurumi and said, "Anything... but I prefer the other one."

Kurumi asked, "Shido-san, do you like this series?"

"Oh no! If you don't like it, that's fine!" Shidou panicked.

"Shido-san chose it for me, so I have to try it," Kurumi said as she took the outfit that Shidou had pointed to and went into the changing room.

Shidou stood still, his face as red as a tomato. After a while, the curtain suddenly opened, and Kurumi asked, "How about this...?" as she awkwardly rubbed her knees together.

(my eyes!!!) -james-

Seeing that image, the one who blushed was not only Shidou, but also Rimuru

While Rimuru was staring at Kurumi, suddenly from behind, an arm quickly covered Rimuru's eyes and then dragged him to the floor, causing a loud noise that attracted the attention of everyone on the train.

" Oh Ciel,... what are you doing? " Kotori asked when she saw Ciel pinning Rimuru to the floor

" It's nothing, don't worry " Ciel said while still Rimuru was struggling on the floor

"Sky!! TH....Ả.... Aaaa.... R...A...!!!" Rimuru

"Well..., if there's nothing else, I wish you both a good time," Kotori said, pretending not to see anything and turned around.

Rimuru seemed like he wanted to shout and criticize Kotori.

After a while, when Shido left the lingerie shop and the main screen focused on Origami, Ciel finally released Rimuru.

"Honestly... what happened to you, Ciel?" Rimuru asked.

"Yo Rimuru, still doing well, huh?" Kotori said with an awkward smile, as if asking Rimuru for forgiveness.

But Rimuru ignored it and continued to monitor the main screen. Not receiving a response from Rimuru, Kotori turned back and continued to monitor Shido.

After a long while, Shido had to run back and forth to date the three girls Tohka, Kurumi, and Origami. As for Rimuru, after a long period of doing nothing, he was currently sleeping on Ciel's lap.

At first, it wasn't like this. Rimuru was simply bored and fell asleep, but Ciel approached and raised Rimuru's head, providing a pillow with her lap.

While Rimuru was sound asleep, he heard a telepathic message from Ciel that immediately woke him up.

<<Report: Detected a strong release of spiritual power from Kurumi>> Ciel.

After hearing Ciel's announcement, Rimuru slowly opened his eyes.

What Rimuru saw at this moment was that all the members on Fraxinus were in a state of panic, continuously checking the signals. It seemed like the monitoring devices had been damaged.

<<It seems she has taken action... Ciel, calculate the position and move me closer>> Rimuru.

<<Yes, my lord>> Ciel.

As soon as Ciel finished speaking, Rimuru was instantly teleported to an area near Kurumi with the <concealment presence> activated, and Ciel turned into black smoke and merged into Rimuru.

Meanwhile, on <Fraxinus>, when Rimuru and Ciel disappeared, the system immediately displayed a notification on the main screen.

Upon reading the message, Kotori immediately gave the order.

"It's not good... send the new tracking device immediately," Kotori said with a tense expression.

After being teleported, as Rimuru approached to observe the situation, Shido also approached at the same time.

The scene Rimuru saw was Shido frozen in fear as he saw Kurumi holding a gun and pointing it straight at another guy. There were pools of blood scattered around Kurumi, indicating that there were more than one victim she had killed.

---Shido POV---

Following the instructions from <Fraxinus>, Shido entered a corner where Kurumi was said to be.

Upon arrival, Shido's vision was momentarily blinded. He stood there, feeling numbness in his legs, unable to move.

All he could see was a scene drenched in deep red blood. Shido felt nauseous and covered his mouth with his hand.

In front of him was Kurumi, wearing a dress that mixed black and red tones. In her left hand, she held an eye-catching antique gun.

Facing Kurumi was a trembling young boy. There were three circular holes drawn in blood on his stomach, resembling bullet wounds.

"H... help me!... She... she's a monster...!" The young boy turned his face towards Shido and cried out.

Shido stared in shock at Kurumi's face. Kurumi was now wearing a smile on her face. It wasn't a pure and innocent smile like before, but a terrifying one that could instill fear in anyone.

"Someone ready to kill others, but not ready to be killed themselves? Don't you find that strange?... When you point a gun at others, it's like this as well," Kurumi said.

After finishing her words, without any hesitation, Kurumi squeezed the trigger, ending the life of the young boy before Shido's horrified eyes.

Then, Kurumi turned her gaze towards Shido. At that moment, Shido also heard an urgent voice coming from his communication device.

<<Shido! Run now!>> Kotori

Shido struggled to stand up, his legs trembling, trying to escape.

However, a voice resounded, causing fear to surge within Shido.

"Don't be like that!" Kurumi exclaimed.

After those words, countless white arms emerged from Kurumi's shadow, stretching out and swiftly lunging towards Shido.

When the arms were right in front of his face, Shido, in fear, instinctively closed his eyes as if giving up on everything.

But at that moment, Shido felt a sharp pain on his side, and in the next moment, he realized he was thrown against a nearby tree trunk.

While still dazed, a familiar teasing voice rang out.

"Yo! Shido, that was a strong hit earlier, but with your recovery ability, I guess you're fine, right?" Rimuru.

When he opened his eyes, Shido saw Rimuru standing where he had been earlier. Rimuru had effortlessly blocked all the white arms from Kurumi's shadow with his bare hands and was now standing in a defensive stance.

---Rimuru POV---

"Oh... oh, Rimuru-san, I thought you wouldn't come," Kurumi said.

"Thanks to you, my day off turned into work," Rimuru replied.

"Well then, I sincerely apologize for ruining Shido-san and my date. It was quite rude... kihihi," Kurumi said, lifting her dress.

"But... interrupting Shido-san and me like this is very impolite... kihihi," Kurumi added.

After saying that, from under Kurumi's feet, her shadow began to expand, and countless white arms emerged, rushing towards Rimuru, but Rimuru caught them all with his bare hands.

Rimuru leaped to higher ground to avoid Kurumi's shadows. These arms were not like the gun-wielding arms Rimuru had encountered before.

These arms had a different color and were weaker, making them easy to deal with.

However, there were too many arms for Rimuru to handle. When he was about to summon a celestial spirit, Ciel stopped him.

<<Summoning a celestial spirit now would not be advisable, Master. A Mana entity is approaching this area, and it would be more trouble if she knew you are a Great Spirit>> Ciel.

<<I see... Thank you, Ciel>> Rimuru.

Unable to summon a celestial spirit or use Spirit Equipment, Rimuru tried to hold his ground until Mana, Shido's sister, arrived.

Unable to counterattack and only able to defend, Rimuru found it increasingly difficult to deal with Kurumi's increasing number of arms.

After evading for a while, suddenly, Kurumi, who was standing still and continuously summoning arms, was thrown back and kicked into nearby trees. She fell to the ground, along with the disappearance of her shadows and arms.

"Are you both okay?" Mana.

Mana arrived just in time and created a Territory barrier around everyone here, driving Kurumi away.

"Rimuru! Are you okay?" Shido hurried back to Rimuru with trembling legs.

"I'm fine, at least better than someone who can't walk properly," Rimuru.

"... And Mana...?" Shido.

"I'm sure you both are surprised, but I'll explain later. For now, let's quickly deal with her <Nightmare>," Mana.

After saying that, the device on Mana's shoulder was activated and expanded. Then, the part on her shoulder emitted beams of light straight towards Kurumi.

But Kurumi turned and quickly avoided the beams of light.

Then, Mana gently moved her finger, and the beams of light that Kurumi had just dodged changed their trajectory, turning back towards Kurumi.

Kurumi was pierced by the beams of light, showing a painful expression as she fell to the ground. A pool of red blood slowly spread.

"Kurumi!" Shido shouted with a pale and terrified face.

"Don't! Don't kill her!" Shido.

"Shido-san, she's not a human, but a Spirit, and I'm used to this already," Mana.

"What do you mean used to this! You're just trying to justify yourself," Shido.

" Only you can do these things, Rimuru, take your brother, I'll explain this to the two of you later, please forget about this " Mana

"No way! I have to..." Shidou was about to say something to Mana, but before he could finish, Rimuru dragged him away.

"Get out of here quickly! Now is not the time to hear you whining," Rimuru said with strength. No matter how hard Shidou tried, he couldn't escape Rimuru's pull. Shidou could only turn to look at Mana.

After going far enough, Shidou said to Rimuru, "Okay, I can go by myself."

"Hmm? That's good," Rimuru said and let go of Shidou. Shidou wearily sat down on the bench with both hands on his head. It looked like he still hadn't forgotten what happened just now. Rimuru sat beside Shidou, leaned back on the bench, and relaxed.

With a relaxed tone, Rimuru said to Shidou, "You really are kind."

Shidou suddenly looked at Rimuru and said, "What do you mean?"

"You seem like you still want to 'save' Kurumi even after seeing her kill people," Rimuru explained. After hearing Rimuru's words, Shidou looked down at the ground for a bit and then gently nodded.

"It's like I said, you're a kind person, that's too good," Rimuru replied. Hearing Rimuru's words, Shidou raised his head and looked at Rimuru with a puzzled expression.

Rimuru stood up from the bench and turned to look at Shidou. "Your kindness can be a blessing, but it can also be a curse..."

After hearing Rimuru's words, Shidou remained silent and tried to think about them. After a while, Shidou only smiled faintly and said to Rimuru, "...Sometimes you sound like someone who's been through a lot."

"Who knows," Rimuru said in a joking tone. A light cool breeze blew between the two, making Rimuru's hair flutter in the wind. Shidou just looked at Rimuru with a thoughtful expression.

After a while, Shidou spoke up. "By the way, Rimuru, how can you not panic over something like that?"

"Why... maybe it's because I know it's just a clone, maybe it's because I'm used to it," said Rimuru.

"You too?" Shidou suddenly raised his voice to Rimuru.

"Huh!?" Rimuru was surprised.

"What is 'used to'?" Shidou asked.

After a while, Rimuru understood what Shidou meant. "Oh, so you're scared."

"No, it's not..." Shidou tried to respond, but Rimuru interrupted.

"Understood. You live here in peacetime, so it's okay to be afraid when you see such things," Rimuru said. "Also... yes. But wait a minute, you said you were..." Shidou was about to say something, but from afar, two figures spoke up.

"Shido!" Tohka and Origami called in unison.

"Eh? Rimuru?" Tohka wondered.

"What are you doing here?" Origami asked.

"Oh, it's okay. Shidou has a bit of a problem, so just stay and help. Goodbye," Rimuru said, then quickly left the three of them, found a hidden corner, and teleported back to his room.

"I'm so tired today..." Rimuru sighed.

---End Chapter 14---