The Second Dragonoid's Tale

Chapter 31: A Chat With Rimuru

I was washing the dishes after dinner with Milim and Shion. It had been quiet on my part, leaving them to steal food from each other and fight. Now with them gone to get ready to sleep, I cleaned the dishes in silence until it was time to speak with Rimuru. He left a note for me, asking for me to talk with him when I wanted to. I never gave him the time because there was nothing to talk about as far as I was concerned.

"F/N, are you mad?" A voice behind me asked, causing me to stop and look back at Milim in her nightdress.

"If it's about before, no," I continued cleaning, "I'm not mad at you."

"I'm not asking if you are mad at me. You don't seem okay," Milim's correction caused me to grip the plate in my hands.

I gazed back and then looked down at the sink, "When you told me I was holding back... you reminded me of Sofia. She said the same thing to me once... it was the same result. Because she was right." I turned around, "But against you, I wasn't holding back and if I was it wasn't because I meant to."

Milim whistled, "So you are mad."

"I didn't say that," I continued, "I just didn't want..."

She looked at me confused, "Didn't what?"

I wanted to hold my tongue, but I asked, "When I speak, do you believe me?"

"Of course," She answered quickly, "No one can lie to me after all."

"Alright, what about the people here?" I continued without waiting for her to answer. "I know people find it hard to believe a slime is as powerful as Rimuru is, but my case is the opposite. When I say I'm a Dragonoid, people call me a majin. When I say I'm the son of Veldora, people simply nod. When I fight a powerful foe, I die. When Rimuru does it... he becomes stronger. Excluding you, I might be the second strongest here, but that's the only reason people listen to me."

Milim looked at me confused, "That's not true. The people here listen because they like you. You watch over the crops and water them. You've introduced new foods and games. And you're-"

"That means nothing to this world. When it is survival of the fittest the only thing that matters is strength. Without strength I can't-" I stopped myself and calmed myself before taking a closer look at her. "Deactivate [Imaginary Friends]." Milim vanished. "Alright, me. I guess I should talk."

Putting the dishes to the side, I left the kitchen and walked to Milim's room. Standing in front of the door, I debated knocking on it. It was her fake that I was speaking with, but I didn't feel I had any words for her and that a serious conversation would not last for more than a moment. I considered speaking with Shion, knowing she wasn't the person I needed to speak with. There was Erebus, who would listen and try to understand, but he was still not who I felt I needed to speak with.

Quietly taking my leave, I left the house and walked the streets to Rimuru's home. The twilight wolves were out in the shadows, keeping an eye on the city, and did not bother me when I didn't bother knocking on Rimuru's door before I entered. Rimuru, being a slime, doesn't need sleep and heard me enter. Without a word, I gestured for him to follow me so that our conversation could take place at the hill outside the city, where the empty graves sat.

In front of them, under the cloudy night sky, I spoke softly. "Is there anyone or thing you from Earth?"

In slime form, Rimuru hopped forward, "Not really. I do hope that my junior Tamura is doing well, even if before my death he wanted to show off his girlfriend. But no, I lived alone into my late thirties and didn't keep in touch with family, outside of holidays."

"Well, I'm something of the opposite. I stayed with my parents after college," I continued, "We'd take turns cooking, cleaning, picking movies to watch. Both of them were creative types, my father an author and my mother a designer. At least on weekends, otherwise they would be working all sorts of jobs. Still, they always found time for us to be together..."