Black Shadow | Souei

Chapter 4: In the Kingdom of the Dwarves

The group of goblins, wolves, slime and kijin raced alongside the Ameld River, heading toward Dwargon, the city of Dwarves. Rimuru, Gobta, Rigur and two other goblins sat, clinging onto the Tempest Wolves, leaning forward and slightly down to ensure they don't fall off. That is, everyone but Gobta was doing that. Gobta was hanging on for dear life, his head thrown back as the wind battered him. Gobta was assigned as their guide since he had claimed to have gone to Dwargon before. Kumiko ran with ease alongside the group. Every so often, she'd take a quick glance at Gobta to make sure he was still hanging onto his wolf. It would be a shame if the poor thing were to fall off.

They were making their way into the city with the goal to find artisans for clothing and housing in the goblin village. As both Kumiko and Rimuru had seen, the goblins had no skills for either.

The wolves seemed to increase their speed slowly, shortening the time it would take for the to reach the city. Rimuru, being the kind leader that he was, worried.

"Hey," Rimuru stated, calling out to Ranga. "No need to push yourself too hard. Plus, if you go too fast, Kumiko might not be able to keep up."

"No need to worry about me, Rimuru-sama. I can keep up with the Tempest Wolves just fine. If they wish to go faster, then I will oblige," came Kumiko's monotone, yet melodic voice.

Ranga glanced over at her, nodding his big head before replying to Rimuru.

"Sir," was all he said, but right after, he and the rest of the Tempest Wolves sped up. Kumiko accordingly adjusted her speed to keep up.

"Yahhhhhhh!" Rimuru screamed out. "Why are you going even faster?"

Within a few hours, the wolves slowed down, stopping by the river to rest and recovered their stamina. Gobta leaped off the wolves and promptly collapsed onto the ground, breathing heavily to recover from his not-so-comfortable ride on the wolves. Rigur and Rimuru sat towards the forest edge, facing the river. The rest of the goblins were by the river drinking water and relaxing. Kumiko was up a tree, keeping a look out from her perch.

"Rigur-kun, who gave your brother his name?" Rimuru asked off-handedly. Rigur immediately assumed a position of respect and faced the small slime.

"Sir! I'm told he received his name from a passing Demon called Lord Gelmud."

Demon he says. Interesting. I wonder which demon made time to name a goblin from a small village such as this. Kumiko couldn't help but overhear from her perch, not that they were discussing anything sensitive.

"He said he saw promise in him," Rigur continued. Kumiko glanced down at them when she heard that.

As much as I am happy for Rigur, the older brother, to have receive his name, it couldn't have been that easy. Demons usually want something out of it. Kumiko couldn't help but be suspicious of this 'Lord Gelmud' demon that Rigur spoke of. Though, I suppose it isn't my place to get involved in at the moment. Kumiko focused most of her attention back on the surrounding forest.

"Gel...?" Rimuru seemed confused.

"Gelmud," Rigur clarified. "He's an officer in the Demon Lord's army."

With that, Rimuru went silent. Kumiko glanced down when he was silent for an extended period of time, just checking on his well-being. He looked deep in thought, staring at Ranga. Rimuru wasn't sharing his thoughts with the girl, but knowing Rimuru, she could guess that he was thinking about Ranga's loyalty to the slime. As Ranga looked over after finishing drinking some water from the stream, Rimuru motioned for him to follow him as they walked some ways down the stream. Kumiko, knowing it was a conversation Rimuru needed to have, maintained her position in the tree and continued her lookout. She already knew that Ranga was no danger to Rimuru. He was fiercely loyal to the small slime, despite their initial encounter.