— — — — — —
Inside the guild hall, Rimuru looked utterly devastated.
The reason? He was wearing a girl's school uniform.
The skirt was ridiculously short, barely covering his thighs. His pale, slender legs were completely exposed, and to top it off, someone had stuck a cute little hairpin in his hair. At this point, he just wanted to crawl into a hole and die.
He never thought he'd see the day. 'Tomorrow,' he swore, 'he was going to burn down Whitebeard's ship and beat every single bastard on board!'
At first, when the Whitebeard Pirates joked about him cross-dressing, Rimuru hadn't taken it seriously. But then they went and announced it in the guild. That was when the whole place exploded with excitement—including his own subordinates, who suddenly looked way too eager.
He'd fought back with everything he had, but in the end, those maniacs had forced him into the outfit anyway.
"Rimuru-sama looks so cute dressed like this!" Shion's eyes sparkled like stars. She wanted nothing more than to hug and squeeze him forever.
"I think I'm in love," Marco muttered, drooling.
"Who knew Rimuru had this kind of hidden talent?" Garp grinned wickedly.
"Gurarararara!" Whitebeard laughed so hard his stomach hurt.
Rimuru's eyes brimmed with tears, his face full of grievance. These people were the worst. Every last one of them.
Just then, ding-dong…
A special chime echoed from the guild's main doors. Everyone stopped their fooling around and turned curiously toward the entrance.
The doors creaked open, and a small head peeked through. A little girl stepped inside, only to freeze under the weight of everyone's stares. The atmosphere instantly grew awkward.
"Um… excuse me, but what is this place?" the little girl finally asked timidly.
And the guild went wild.
"A newbie—and she's a loli! And that voice, so cute!"
"This is my chance to finally find a girlfriend."
"Are you crazy? She's clearly underage. Don't tell me you're a pervert."
"You don't get it. It's called raising her right."
"This loli is mine. Hands off, everyone else."
As the chatter escalated, the poor girl shrank back, looking like she was about to cry. Rimuru sighed.
"Quiet!" His voice thundered with Demon Lord authority, silencing the hall at once.
"Seriously, can't you guys make a decent first impression on a new member?" He shot them all a glare, then added, "And as for you creeps—if you so much as think about making a move on her, I'll break your third leg."
With a huff, he strode over to the girl and softened his tone. "Hi there. What's your name?"
"M-my name's Hermione Granger," she said, staring at Rimuru—who, thanks to the skirt, was actually shorter than her. "Um… little sister, could you tell me what this place is?"
"Little sister?!" Rimuru felt like his soul had been crushed. His whole world turned gray. Still sulking, he answered, "This is the Dimensional Guild."
"The… Dimensional Guild?" Hermione tilted her head, clearly not following.
"In simple terms, this place connects a bunch of different worlds. People from all sorts of worlds gather here to help each other grow stronger," Rimuru explained. "And by the way, I'm not your little sister. I'm way older than you—and I'm not even a girl." To prove his point, he rose on tiptoe and ruffled Hermione's hair.
Nice texture.
"Nani?!" Hermione's eyes went wide.
She swallowed hard. If what he said was true, then this guild was far beyond anything she'd ever imagined.
Soon after, Shion took Hermione on a tour of the guild, patiently introducing its functions and members one by one.
"Oh my goodness!" Hermione gasped, covering her mouth with both hands. She couldn't hide her astonishment as she took in the bustling, vibrant city beyond the hall.
"Mr. Rimuru," she said cautiously, "you're the guild master, aren't you?"
"No need to be so formal." Rimuru smiled warmly at her nervous expression. "We're guildmates now. Just call me Rimuru, and don't be afraid."
"Thank you," Hermione said sincerely.
"Bestie!"
A blur shot in from the sky, slamming straight into Rimuru. It was Milim.
"I heard there's a new member! Where? Where? Where?" Her eyes sparkled with excitement. A new member meant a new world, and a new world meant new food. Just thinking about it had her buzzing.
"Um… who are you?" Hermione asked hesitantly.
"Oh! You must be the newbie!" Milim grabbed her hand with no hesitation. "I'm Milim Nava, Rimuru's bestie—and also a Demon Lord!"
"Demon Lord?! The Dark Lord?" Hermione yelped, nearly jumping out of her skin. Weren't Dark Lords supposed to be terrifying monsters who killed without blinking?
"Don't worry, Milim's not a bad person," Rimuru said quickly, seeing the panic on her face. "She may be a Demon Lord, but she hasn't done anything evil. Oh, and just so you know, I'm a Demon Lord too."
"For real?" Hermione relaxed a little, though she was still uneasy. But Milim quickly swept her up in endless questions, and soon the two of them were chatting happily. Before long, Milim was dragging Hermione off to explore the city.
Rimuru, worried she'd be overwhelmed, followed along.
At first, Hermione was terrified of the monsters roaming the streets. But after talking with them, she realized they were only scary on the outside. They were actually incredibly friendly—some even gave her free snacks.
Watching the two girls walking ahead, Rimuru smiled to himself. Conquering the world or whatever never really suited him. Just spending time with his friends like this—that was more than enough.
And so, Rimuru, Milim, and Hermione spent the whole night exploring together, laying the foundation for a brand-new friendship.
.
.
.