Prologue: Rough Start (One-Shot)

Disclaimer: Many Spoilers.

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The panic is evident in the air. A humanoid-like figure has been walking around in a circle, just like a panther locked in its cage, for a considerable amount of time. The sun has just started to shine but it does not calm our troubled friend. The chirping of the birds is not of much help here either, instead the man began to walk faster and faster until he anchored his left foot to his right leg and fell on his face due to his stupid walking error. However, he simply got up again as if it wasn't his first time and the walking continued. Like a madman, there was no clear goal to his march. He ran and ran like a maniac while his hand pressed against his pale cheeks and the other hand scratched his silver hair as if there was no tomorrow.

Haha, that's right, I'm that crazy humanoid-like figure. I am-, no, my name is "Clayman".

"Clay" from "Clayman",

and "man" from "Clayman".

...

You can tell I'm really starting to lose my mind, and besides, I'm not really that Clayman!

I'm just your regular Joe from the neighborhood! I had average grades, average looks, average height, average friends. 

How could this happen to me... That I, a model citizen, plummeted to the failure of the failures of the Tensura world!!

I knelt down in dismay and tears ran from my eyes.

A few minutes ago I had already made sure that this wasn't a dream, but I wished it was. And finding out that I was Clayman wasn't particularly hard either. This wannabe Narcissus has countless mirrors in his room and with that pale skin, ugly face, crimson red pupils and elf-no, devil-pointed ears, you can't be fooled.

I sighed and sat down on the royal, bright red-decorated couch I'd recently woken up on.

I crossed my two hands together and then dropped my head onto them.

For those of you not in the loop, Clayman is a joke character in the Tensura world. He was the first real main antagonist in the series "That time I got reincarnated as a Slime". At first glance, that would seem to be perfectly okay, wouldn't it? 

NO!

Because this rascal... This creep is considered one of the weakest and ugliest characters in anime. Maybe you could also add the dumbest, because this jerk basically murdered himself. His stupidity killed him.

His only enemy was a slime and Clayman had missed many opportunities to kill his nemesis towards the end of his life. 

He could easily defeat him at the very beginning. But no, he didn't want to get his hands dirty and let his incompetent underlings get the job done.

Nah, we're not talking about getting the job done, because the exact opposite happened again and again. The Orclord with his 100 thousand strong army? Has made Rimuru stronger. The mighty flying figure born from the remnants of the Magicules of the Storm Dragon Veldora, Charybdis? Has made Rimuru stronger. The strong kingdom of Falmuth with the Western Holy Church and the power of the otherworlders? I don't think I need to add that it made our slime boy stronger...

"Hahaha...", A soft chuckle escaped my mouth, but not out of joy.

This fool, his plan was doomed to fail from the start, even if Rimuru hadn't shown up. The other demon lords already had their suspicions about Clayman and his attempt to become a true demon lord.

To become one you only need three things, a name, a Demon Lord Seed and 10,000 human souls.

So far, so good. He already had a name and the Demon Lord Seed too, but this nut wasn't able to collect all the souls because he was too weak to fight his own battles.

But Walpurgis was the nail that sealed it. He made Milim, MILIM! The one and only Milim his foe.

A cold shiver went down my spine. I wonder if Veldanava has a problem with me because I had punched his daughter. But he should understand that I'm not the real Clayman, right...? 

...

Wait a minute... had punched? This is the perfect tense and describes a completed action in the past. PAST!

Have I punched Milim or not? Has this already happened? No, that's impossible, the day I punched Milim, that night in Walpuris, I died too... And I live right now.

I'm just reborn as a Clayman, but I don't know what time period I'm in, everything could still be salvageable. Yes, all coul-

*knock*

*knock*

"Clayman-sama the guests from the Eastern Empire have arrived", A voice rang from outside the door. It was a gentle pitch with a tender and endearing manner.

The angelic voice calmed me a little, but when I heard the Eastern Empire, my heart stopped for a moment, if I had one at all. 

"Ye-s!", Oh you shoot. A voice crack? Here and now? My luck today is really unsurpassable... Will she realize I'm not the real Clayman?

*Clack*

The door opened to reveal a young dark-skinned elven woman with violet eyes. She is also wearing a long maid's dress with stockings attached to suspenders. The strands of hair framing her face were tied into two plaits.

That's Eva! I recognize her immediately. A maid who has accompanied Clayman for ages. Well, that's what it said in the Tensura spin-off. In reality I have no memory of her. In general I have no memories before my current awakening. I only have the memories from my previous life.

When she saw my wild strands of hair standing on end, she looked at me worriedly and bent down at a rough angle, "Is everything alright Clayman-sama?"

"Erm yes!" I replied half-serious and unassured. " Lead me to the guests!"

She nodded and I followed her.

As I trailed after her, I gazed in wonder at the interior of the castle, distracted for a short while by its splendor, until I regained my senses. 

...

We're about to... Talk to people from the Eastern Empire. For those who only watched the anime, this nation might sound unfamiliar. But behind the scenes, it was this nation that led to Clayman's downfall. Ironically, it turned out that the supposed master manipulator, Clayman, was himself being manipulated by someone else named Tatsuya Kondou, an Otherworlder.

Manipulator behind manipulator, just hearing that makes me think of Naruto!

But wait, when I think about it, it's very strange, the whole story itself... I know Clayman was brainwashed by him, but not exactly to what extent. It could range from words to magic spells, the spectrum is huge, especially in this world where anything is possible.

Eva opened the door for me and bent down, "Clayman-sama, we have arrived to the guest room"

Nodding, I entered and observed the people and the many barrels next to them. When I sat down opposite of them, I quickly realized that they were just ordinary merchants.

A slightly overweight, black-haired, middle-aged man with an uncombed beard and iron armor that was obviously much too small for him. Plus a young tall blond skinny wimp who I don't even trust to hold the sword on his belt without shaking because he looked so weak.

I leaned back, crossed my legs and rested my arms arrogantly against the armrest of the couch, "Name your business, and quickly, because I don't have all this time to waste here!"

Huh?! What just came out of my mouth? I swear those are not the words I painstakingly prepared for this conversation.

They were looking at me just as dumbfounded as I was right now, but in the corner of my eye I could see Eva's neutral expression, as if this wasn't an unnatural thing to do. Damn you Clayman! Not only have I inherited your ugly body, but also your hideous vocabulary, voice and speech.

The older of them trembled a little but began to speak, "E-Erm Dear Sir Clayman, we traveled to you today because we heard about your predicament regarding mana potions a few months ago"

"Yes, exactly!", Added the younger one. "According to one man, one of your subjects was supposed to have bought some low rank potions in a human village, we think-"

"Stop", I ordered and they both started to swallow.

Skeptically, I tilted my head at Eva and looked at her as if waiting for a confirmation from her. 

She shrugged her arms, "I'll check the filling of the mana barrels immediately."

As she left the room in a flash, I turned my gaze to the merchant and his guardian. It might be good to establish a human relationship with them. I mean, the fact that they came all this way to do business with me is remarkable. I should ask their names.

"You two humans, haven't you been taught to introduce your names? Don't you think it's cheeky that you know my beautiful and grand name, but I don't know your pathetic human names? Tsk. you can't top this kind of shamelessness."

Pause. What the fuck, that's not what I meant to say.

It's like Clayman himself occupied my body for a short time, creepy.

The two looked at each other uneasily before nodding and the older one began. "In my country they call me Sir Bidye Toylelt"

"And my name is Sigckmamahle oh great and vernerable Sir Demon Lord Clayman-sama"

...

I looked dejectedly at the floor. Are they really called...

Skibidi Toilet and... Sigma male?! No that can't be, I must be stuck in a bad dream, first Clayman, and then this!

Sir Bidye Toylelt and Sgckmamahle looked at each other worriedly, wondering if they had said something wrong. 

But just as they were about to apologize, Eva entered the room. "Clayman-sama, the merchants were right, we've almost run out of mana barrels for reasons I can't fathom!"

I wanted to cry.

Oh my God! Are you a spy for the merchants or why do you have to release this information so loudly to the whole world?

I don't know exactly why the mana potions are so necessary for in this world, but now that the merchants have found out about our resource shortage, it can only work out well for them in the negotiations...! Thank you Eva, thank you very much.

When Eva realized her silly mistake, she looked down at the ground in embarrassment...

...

...

Sir Bidye Toylelt and Sgckmamahle quickly left my castle. I looked at their backs with a proud expression. 

Somehow I reduced the price to a few gold coins below the average value of mana potion barrels. I didn't even know what the price was.

I fought against them with sheer willpower until Eva congratulated me for this favorable sale.

I don't know if it was because of Clayman, but somehow I was able to analyze their current situation very well. I was able to track down their physical fatigue very quickly and factored in the distance from their point to here. It would simply be impossible for them to carry the barrels back.

I held my hand to my chin and kept thinking.

When they offered us a break in the negotiations, I went to visit the courtyard. But I didn't find a transportation carriage far and wide. It is possible that they were attacked by wild monsters on the way and lost their carriage, which is why they finally arrived here so exhausted with the goods... 

...

Wait a minute!

I do not know how, but my eyes have found a track on the forest floor...

!

I stopped walking and immediately ran to the barrels. Instinctively, I knew roughly where the cellar was.

"I... I knew it!" I shouted loudly. 

Eva, who was chasing after me, was puzzled by my discovery. "What do you mean Clayman-sama...?"

I took a barrel out of the cellar. And opened it. "What do you see here Eva?"

"Nothing Clayman-sama", She said, "it's empty"

I soaked my hand in the magical substance and then splashed it on her face. 

"But how...?!" When she felt the liquid on her cheek, she knew something was wrong...

"We were scammed Eva... Weren't you suspicious before, how two measly weak humans made it to us? Does it make more sense now?"

"What do you mean?" asked Eva.

I looked her in the eyes with a cold stare. "The hideous little old man really was a merchant, but skinny blonde wasn't what he meant. The sword symbolized the class of a warrior, do you finally understand now, woman?"

The last few words came out automatically like a reflex and I wanted to cry internally. This is not what I wanted to say.

She shook her head, "I still don't quite understand Clayman-sama"

I sighed and pointed at the barrels. "It was Illusion magic, and it was the spell [Deception]. The blond was a mage, that's why he didn't have such a toned body. Such a merchant carrying tons of mana potions and only one weak fighter? You should have figured it out sooner!

Eva, he altered your perception so that you wouldn't see any magical substance... They were trying to create a false sense of interest..."

...

Besides, when they offered me a break in the negotiations, he used the exact same spell on me. That's why I came to the wrong conclusion. At first I thought that they had lost the carriage on the way here as they had made their carriage invisible with [Deception]. They wanted me to think that this would give me a more dominant position in negotiations. That's why I got greedy so quickly and thought about the coins instead of the goods... They tricked us.

We rushed back to the guest room and opened the barrels, there was normal water inside. 

Shit, already scammed on the first day!

"Shall we go after them?", She asked as she took out a small sword from a sheath tied to her stocking.

...

When we both got to the edge of the forest, I crouched down and analyzed the print on the soil. Then I looked where they were going. It was a nearly endless line that went through the entire mud forest.

I shook my head. "With a mage like that, they're probably already over all the mountains."

Adalmann himself probably wouldn't be able to get to them either, "It looks like you'll have to admit defeat..."

...

Damn! Damn! Damn!

I should have realized it sooner. I was only able to realize this Illusory magic so quickly because Clayman himself knew two forms of Illusory magic, namely [Channeling] & [Magic Sensor]. I don't have Clayman's memories, but for some inexplicable reason, his skills and magic have come kind of familiarity. I wonder if the real Clayman would have fallen for such tricks.

"Hey hey Clayman, why are you pulling such a grumpy face?", An unfamiliar, yet equally familiar childish voice came from the bushes of the forest.

And when the bushes were cleared away from the person, I immediately realized who this child was.

It was Tear. A small, young girl with magenta-colored hair tied into a short braid. She was wearing a harlequin costume and a mask with a tear pattern and two red horns.

She threw me a brownish bag. When I picked it up and looked inside, there was the money I had given to the traders, as well as her own money. 

It was their wallet! But how did Tear get the money? "Clayman, it was just like you said. They were really planning to scam you, but you saw through them beforehand. Kazalim was right to crown you as his successor."

"Erm yes of course, who wouldn't be able to see through these miserable humans!" I answered her, confused.

Ok, now I'm confused myself. Had Clayman planned this meeting and already seen through everything...?

"And as a side note, I took this fox from them too", She took it from under her big sleeve and showed it to me. "She has blonde fur with three tails, it seems she's a cryptid."

Ninehead!

I recognized her immediately, it was the fox Clayman had been petting in Walpurgis all along and one of the Five Fingers.

According to Tensura, she should have once lived in a village called spectre village, which was between the Eastern Empire and my Puppet Nation Jistav. Well, until Kanzis and the soldiers from the Eastern Empire invaded the village and wiped out all but Ninehead.

Despite her survival, she was captured by Kanzis and then sold as a slave to Clayman...

Wait a minute, this all happened about 300 years before canon. No wonder I couldn't find Yamza and the others of the Five Fingers here in the castle, the Five Fingers don't exist yet!

"Is there a problem?", Tear asked me when she noticed how intensely I had been staring at the fox for a long time.

I shook my head.

After some thought, I decided to release this fox girl. Don't think I'm a good guy but... If I don't act evil, I won't get the Slime as my enemy either, right? 

"Get rid of her!", I said in a harsh tone. 

Wait wait I didn't mean to say it like that!

Tear looked at me for a second, then nodded and took the dagger from Eva's hand.

"Stop!", I shouted loudly. "Just let her go. I don't want her blood staining my land."

Ok that sounded a little better.

"All right Clayman!", She said to me happily and instead of the fox she stabbed an old brown paper, which I could identify as a slave contract's document.

"Get lost you vermin", I said strongly to her.

Seeing its chance, the fox freed itself from Tear's grasp and ran as fast as it could into the forest.

...

...

Eva Pov:

It's been a month since Sir Clayman freed the fox. 

I looked sadly at the ground. Last month, Clayman tested me and I failed, ruining Clayman's expectations of me. Master himself may not have said it outright but I'm sure it was a test, this occasion with the merchants

How could I not realize that the barrels were not empty?

Claymans himself offered to teach me a bit of illusion magic. Since that day, I've been diligently practicing [Magic Sensor] so that something like this won't happen again...

I don't know what, but since that specific day, Clayman has changed a bit. Just teaching me magic is something he's never done in all my time under him.

He started giving me a lot of tests. Questions about our geographical location or finances...

Later, he also started to spend the beautiful summer days in the library and in his room, isolated from every soul...

I wonder what happened to him?

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That's it with this One-shot! Please tell me if you liked this idea and if I should continue!

You are also welcome to point out the mistakes in the timeline!

And one more thing, I'm back :D

Word Count: 3.1k