“That’s the spirit. Good girl.”
So Milim returned to her homework, Frey and Carillon successfully surviving the crisis. But both of them still had a drive to evolve burning within their hearts. Would that ambition ever be fulfilled? That remained to be seen.
CHAPTER 2
FUTURE DIRECTIONS
Before I forgot, I decided to go thank Veldora and Ramiris.
For Veldora, I had some new clothing. He always went around topless with a cape, and I saw that as kind of a problem. He didn’t seem to mind it much— maybe he thought it was a good look for him—but I thought now was a good time to offer him an alternative in gift form.
“Ohhh, Rimuru! My heartfelt friend and ally! At long last, you have finally grasped how I feel, yes? I’ve always wanted to wear cooler clothes!”
“Uh, you know you could’ve asked Shuna anytime, and she would’ve set you up, right? Like, just go in the wardrobe room, and there’s a few outfits you can magically adjust the sizes of.”
“Fool! Only a custom-made outfit would be worthy of my time. And if my most trustworthy ally prepared it for me, I’m sure it would be the finest outfit in all the land, would it not?”
Um, I have, like, zero fashion sense, just so you know…
Veldora seemed to be giving way too much credit. I mean, I’m only wearing what the people around here tell me to wear. Looking back, I was horrible with my clothing choices in my previous life as well. I basically got by with business suits outdoors and sweats indoors. Lots of sweats. Comfy, no biggie if you get a stain on them… Perfect.
That was what I based my choices on with Veldora, and surprisingly, it was a bigger hit with him than I had guessed. He was rapidly throwing on every piece of the outfit, right in front of me.
“…Well, I’m glad you’re happy with it. Keep up the good work now, all right?”
“Mmm, yes, leave it all to me! Kwah-ha-ha-ha!”
Considering everything I get from him, this was ridiculously cheap compensation. I mean, yes, it’s a custom job made from top-of-the-line fabric, but still, you know… Next time I’m free, I’ll try thinking of some other way to thank him. But that can wait.
Next up was Ramiris.
“Ramiris, you really saved our necks. Thank you for that.”
“Aw, quit actin’ like we’re strangers or something! I owe you a whole heck of a lot, too, so you scratch my back, I scratch yours, y’know?”
Ramiris looked a little bashful. I wasn’t much good at expressing gratitude, either, but it’s important to do it when you need to.
“Right, so I thought I’d give you a reward as well.”
“Oh, what’s that? Did you make me a dress or something, like with my master?”
“If you want something like that, go ask Shuna. She’ll set you up. But as for me…”
There was no way I’d ever be caught designing women’s clothing. Shuna can tackle that for me. Myself, I had things to name.
“Oh, um, so you’re gonna name my cute li’l Dragon Lords?”
“Pretty much, yeah.”
“And I’ll basically be their mom?”
“Exactly.”
“Wow! That’s really incredible!”
I was kinda surprised by that, too, actually, but it really did work.
“At the event yesterday, I gave Adalmann’s pet the name of Venti. Once I did, she evolved, and now she can turn into a human anytime she wants and speak to us fluently. So I thought maybe you’d like the same for your own Dragon Lords, y’know?”
Those transformation skills threw me for a loop—but if you think about it, dragons taking human form is a pretty common trope in fantasy fiction, isn’t it? It’s not completely unexpected. Thus, I figured there was a chance Ramiris’s four Dragon Lords could pull that same trick. Then we’d have more staff on hand, and maybe life wouldn’t be so stressful for Beretta.