That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime - If Route: Rimuru and Shizu's Never-Returning Days - The Female Teacher Inside the Stomach

" I don't want to die—I don't want to die yet...!" The voice echoed straight into the center of his skull. Rimuru Tempest opened his eyes. Or more precisely, was forced to open them. His long silver hair lay tangled across the pillow, and his golden eyes stared blankly at the ceiling. Morning light crept thinly across the white stone above him. "...You're loud. Give it a rest." He mumbled it half-asleep, and the voice in his head only grew louder. " You're the one who ate me, aren't you!? Then you'd better hear me out to the end!" Rimuru pushed himself upright, straightening the collar of his white robe, and let out a deep sigh. The silver piercing on his left ear caught the morning sun and glinted. "...You're full of energy for this early, aren't you." After muttering that, he turned his awareness inward. "Great Sage, analyze the source of this voice." The reply came at once. Cold, emotionless. 『—Individual name: Izawa Shizue. Commonly known as Shizu. The remnants of the devoured target's soul persist within the master's mental domain. Normally, the annihilation of a soul through Predation is irreversible, but this case is an exception. Cause: unanalyzable.』 Rimuru narrowed his eyes. "...Unanalyzable, huh." The Great Sage's voice was calm as always—which was exactly why the weight of the situation sank in whether he liked it or not. Rimuru exhaled slowly and looked out the window. This was the Central City of Rimuru. The capital of the Jura Tempest Federation, a city of multiracial coexistence that Rimuru himself had built. Through the castle window, the streets were alive with dwarves, lizardmen, and ogres going about their business, and the faint bustle of the morning market drifted up from afar. Population: roughly eighteen thousand. A place where everyone lived shoulder to shoulder, beyond the walls of race. Rimuru was genuinely proud of that city. In his previous life, he'd been a thirty-seven-year-old salaryman working for a Japanese general contractor. He'd been stabbed by a random attacker and died—and when he came to, he'd been reincarnated as a slime. After many twists and turns, he now stood as the ruler of this nation. He would use any means necessary to protect his comrades, and he showed no mercy to anyone who harmed them. But at heart, he was just a man who wanted to live in peace. "...Hey, Shizu. Do you understand what state you're in right now?" When Rimuru asked quietly, the voice in his head sank a little. " ...I know. You ate me, but I couldn't disappear, so I'm trapped inside your body. Even I understand that much." Her voice was trembling. It was obvious she was putting up a front. Rimuru got out of bed and changed into light clothes—a white shirt and black trousers—while murmuring softly in his heart. (So I've gotta take responsibility from inside my own stomach, huh...) A wry smile slipped out. But it faded quickly. A memory from his previous life flickered through his mind. He'd shielded a junior colleague and taken the attacker's blade. He didn't remember the pain anymore. But that coldness he'd felt in his final moments—that alone still lingered at the core of his body. I don't want to die. Back then, he'd thought that from the bottom of his heart, too. "...All right." Rimuru gave a small nod. "That wish of yours—'I don't want to die'—I won't treat it lightly. I'll take responsibility." Inside his head went dead silent. " ...Huh?" The dumbfounded reply came back, and Rimuru couldn't help but laugh. "I'm saying I'll find a way to save you. Were you even listening?" " B-Because... you just said something like that out of nowhere." Shizu's voice had taken on a softness different from before. Rimuru opened the window and drew the morning air deep into his lungs. Down in the castle town, the coexistence market should be open again today. The plaza of the Central City of Rimuru was buzzing with energy from the morning on. The coexistence market, where every race mingled. A lizardman merchant laid out river fish, a dwarven smith sold sickles and pots, and a young ogre hauled a mountain of firewood as if it weighed nothing. Voices shouting prices flew back and forth, and copper and silver coins jingled. One loaf of bread for a copper coin. In front of the inn "The Sleeping Spirit," three silver coins a night, the proprietress Barbara was grilling thick cuts of meat on an iron plate, and the savory smell drifted across the whole plaza. Rimuru walked through the crowd and looked up at the red-haired man beside him. Benimaru. Son of the former chief of the ogre tribe, now serving as the Jura Tempest Federation's general of the guard. Over a hundred and eighty centimeters tall, with crimson hair and eyes and two jet-black horns. In battle he wielded a flame-wreathed katana—one of the subordinates Rimuru trusted most. "Benimaru, Souei. I've got something to tell you two." As Rimuru spoke, a man with blue-black hair appeared soundlessly from behind Benimaru. Souei. Dark-skinned with deep blue eyes, nearly a hundred and ninety centimeters tall. Head of the Inner Palace Guard who commanded the Federation's intelligence unit, he usually erased his presence almost entirely. Since Rimuru had named him and he'd evolved into an ogre, his stealth abilities had only sharpened further. " My lord, to speak of matters in a crowd like this—this cannot be trivial." Benimaru said it with a serious face. Rimuru gave a small nod and led the two to a corner of the plaza. He stepped into the shadow of a stall, confirmed no one was nearby, and then spoke. "The truth is, Shizu's consciousness is still inside my body." Benimaru's brow twitched. "...What?" "I'm saying the soul of Shizu—who I should have devoured—hasn't disappeared. Even the Great Sage can't analyze it. It's an anomaly with an unknown cause." Benimaru crossed his arms and looked down at Rimuru with a troubled expression. "My lord, have you considered the possibility that woman is an enemy? That she was left behind deliberately, as a means to attack us?" It was a sharp question. As expected of the general of the guard—his first priority was always Rimuru's safety. Rimuru shook his head. "It's not that. She was crying for real. Saying she didn't want to die. ...Besides, I don't want to hurt anyone anymore. I'm going on a journey to find a way to save Shizu." Benimaru's eyes went wide. "My lord, are you serious? You would leave the country for that woman's sake?" "I'm serious. I want you to hold down the fort." Benimaru was silent for a while, but at last he heaved a deep sigh. "...Understood. But let me ask just one thing. Why go this far?" Rimuru turned his gaze to the bustle of the market. An ogre child was being handed a candy by a dwarven elder, and the mother was smiling and bowing her head. People of different races laughing together as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "Me, I died in my previous life. Stabbed by some random attacker. Back then, I thought from the bottom of my heart that I didn't want to die. So I can't just ignore someone saying the same thing. That's all." Benimaru's red eyes wavered, just slightly. "...A very you answer, my lord." A faint smile rose to the corner of his mouth. Souei said nothing—he had already begun scanning the surroundings and gathering information. His indigo eyes swept swiftly from one end of the market to the other, searching for any suspicious presence. In his own way, he was supporting his master's decision. Watching Souei's back, Rimuru murmured softly in his heart. (Thanks, Souei.) Just then, Shizu's voice came from inside his head. " ...You died in your previous life?" "Yeah. That's why I understand how you feel." " ...I see. So it wasn't just me." Her voice felt just a little warmer than before. Benimaru uncrossed his arms and looked at Rimuru with a serious expression. "My lord, allow me one piece of counsel. The Jura Tempest Federation's military strength is roughly one-third that of the Demon Empire led by Leon. The current situation is that we barely maintain the balance through multiracial cooperation. If you should come into conflict with Leon during your journey, you would put the entire nation in danger." Rimuru listened in silence. "To make up for it with individual combat strength alone is far too precarious. The moment you leave this country, my lord, our deterrent is halved." He was right. Rimuru himself was painfully aware of it. The Demon Empire. The nation of the Demon Lord Leon, reigning at the far north. A military state where thirty percent of its hundred and twenty thousand people were soldiers, and second to none on the continent in the production of magical weapons. Leon himself was among the strongest of the Demon Lords. And above all, he was the one who had summoned Shizu and sealed Ifrit within her. For Rimuru to seek a way to save Shizu meant that, eventually, the possibility of facing Leon would arise. "Even so, I can't just abandon Shizu." Rimuru looked straight up at Benimaru with his golden eyes. "Your concern is completely justified. But abandoning her is wrong. The reason I built this country was because I wanted to make a place where anyone, regardless of race, could live in peace. And that goes the same for the one woman inside my body, doesn't it?" Benimaru held Rimuru's gaze for a while, then finally let out a breath. "...Having been told that much, it would be boorish of me to object. Reluctantly, I will respect your will, my lord." "Sorry, Benimaru. Look after the country while I'm gone." "Leave it to me. Until you return, my lord, I won't let a single finger be laid on it." Benimaru placed a hand over his chest and bowed deeply. In that gesture, Rimuru felt a trust that came from the heart. Inside his head, Shizu gave a small sniffle. " ...Idiot. Why would you go that far?" "You're loud. Don't cry. It puts me in a weird mood too." " I'm not crying! This is, um, that thing!" "Yeah, yeah." When Rimuru brushed her off, Shizu flared up—"What's with that attitude!"—even though she'd been crying moments ago. Her mood swings were fast. Benimaru gave Rimuru a puzzled look. "My lord, is something the matter?" "No, it's nothing. Don't worry about it." Rimuru waved his hand—and that was when it happened. Souei slipped quietly to Rimuru's back. "...Lord Rimuru." His voice was low and sharp. "I've detected a magical signature unique to the Demon Empire's intelligence bureau in the northern sky." Rimuru's golden eyes turned cold in an instant. "...They've already caught the scent, huh. That was fast." Souei nodded silently and turned his indigo eyes to the north. The bustle of the market went on. Children's laughter, merchants' calls, the clink of copper coins. Peaceful everyday life was right there. But behind it, the presence of intelligence agents dispatched from the far-off Demon Empire's territory was steadily drawing closer. Glaring at the northern sky, Rimuru murmured quietly. "Come if you want. But I won't hand over Shizu." Inside his head, he sensed Shizu catch her breath. " ...Rimuru." Her voice felt much closer than before. With the bustle of the market at his back, Rimuru slowly began to walk. The hem of his white robe swayed in the wind. His silver hair caught the late-morning light. The peaceful air of the market, and the ominous presence closing in from the north. Where those two collided, Rimuru Tempest's long day was quietly beginning to move.

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Episode 1

Name: That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime - If Route: Rimuru and Shizu's Never-Returning Days
Author: Novelia

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