"H-hey, Rigur," I greeted with an awkward wave.
"Hey there, Lady Suu. Your training's progressing smoothly, I hope?" he greeted, walking over with a smile.
Before I could respond, Ranga barked, his head rising as he spoke up. "Not just smoothly, it's been going amazing!"
"Good to hear." Rigur's smile grew, only for him to pause when he noticed me looking at the two with him. "Oh right, I should probably introduce these two." He coughed awkwardly before motioning to them.
"These are two of my fellow wolf riders, this is Gobta and Gob'emon. We just got back from patrol together a few minutes ago," he said as I fully took in their appearances.
Gobta was a very short hobgoblin, almost child-sized, if I'm being honest. He had an oval-shaped head with a similarly shaped nose. Additionally, he had messy greyish hair, said hair color seemed to be present for most, if not all, the hobgoblins in town. As for what he was wearing, he had on the usual clothes you'd see around here, mostly animal fur with some fabric mixed in.
Now, as for Gob'emon, simply put, his appearance was a little more "unique," to say the least. He was still your average hobgoblin, green skin and all, however, what truly made him stand out was his clothing. He wore a black, short-sleeved jumpsuit with what looked like a pink top underneath. A purple scarf was wrapped around his neck, and a hat with pointed rabbit like ears sat on his head. He also wore fingerless gloves and purple-and-green shoes.
"It is an honour to meet you. If I can ever be of service, please let me know," Gob'emon said, bowing his head politely.
"Hey, no one ever told me how pretty you wer-" Gobta started, only for Rigur to smack him on the back of the head.
"Show some respect, Gobta! You're speaking to the lord's adopted daughter," the tall hobgoblin hissed.
Gobta just chuckled sheepishly, earning glares from both his comrades. "R-right, sorry..."
(I can tell I'm going to have mixed feelings about that one,) I thought with a rather blank look on my face.
"Anyway, we also came to give you some great news," Rigur sighed, turning his attention back to us.
"News?" I asked, tilting my head in confusion.
"Lord Rimuru has finally awoken. Rigurd told us to inform you," Gob'emon answered, causing Ranga's ears to perk up in delight.
"That's fantastic news!" He barked happily.
(Rimuru is awake...)
We ended up chatting with the three hobgoblins for a bit before deciding to head over. The three still had work to do, so they didn't tag along. When we arrived, Rigurd could be seen walking out of the tent where Rimuru had been staying. He immediately waved at Ranga and me before heading off with a wide smile.
I paused at the entrance, hesitating for a second before calling out and asking if I could come in. Once I got confirmation, I stepped forward. Ranga decided to wait outside to give "father" and "daughter" some privacy, as he so elegantly put it. Coughing awkwardly at that, I entered fully a moment later. Rimuru, in his human form, was sitting on a chair and looking over at me.
"So, how have things been while I was out of it?" Rimuru asked once I sat down.
I paused for a second before answering. "Good... if a little overwhelming."
"That's great to hear, really great actually." He nodded, and for a moment, an awkward silence settled between us.
Eventually, he sighed, his next words filling me with anxiety. "By the way, we should probably talk about this whole 'everyone thinking I adopted you' thing."
"How... how do you... how do you know about that?" I stammered.
(Did Rigurd bring it up?) I thought, but I didn't have to wait long for my answer.
"I was still technically awake that whole time. I just couldn't move or speak, mind you, but I could still hear perfectly well," he explained, causing me to let out an 'ah' of understanding. "Also, Rigurd spent the last few minutes before you arrived congratulating me and telling me how amazing you are." He chuckled with clear amusement.
"Oh... I see..." I muttered, my face warming up.
(I could have done without hearing that part.) I sighed, trying to hide my embarrassment.
For a second, I didn't know what to say, but eventually, I settled on just apologizing. "I'm sorry."
"Sorry? For what? I was the one who caused this mess to begin with," he said with a puzzled look on his face.
"Yes, but I didn't clarify things..." I paused before continuing. "I could have said something, made it clear that this was a misunderstanding, but I was too afraid to."
"First off, you have nothing to feel sorry about. Second, you can't blame yourself for being afraid. You literally died and woke up in a world filled with monsters and magic; I'd be genuinely shocked if you weren't scared," Rimuru replied bluntly, his words surprising me.
(He's not lying,) I thought, a small smile slowly forming across my lips. (He really is different...)
"Still, though, I have to admit, it's not exactly a bad idea," Rimuru suddenly said, pulling me from my thoughts.
"What is?" I asked, a bit confused, though I had a rough idea of what he was getting at.
"The whole me adopting you thing," he said, gesturing toward me. "I mean, it's not like you need to call me dad or anything, I just thought it'd be a good cover story if you ended up wanting to stick around."
"Then again, I don't want to force you or anything. Not that I'd mind having a cute daughter, but it's your decision."
His words made me freeze, not because they surprised me, but because they were genuine. "You... you want me to stay?"
"Yeah? Of course I do, why wouldn't I?"
(He didn't seem like the kind of person to just kick me out for no reason, but... I had assumed he might...) My mind raced. I had trained so hard partly because I feared overstaying my welcome.
"You alright?" he asked, probably noticing my uneasy breathing.
"Yeah... yeah, sorry... I'm just not used to people wanting me around..."
_ _ _ _Rimuru's POV_ _ _ _
(Well damn, what the heck am I supposed to say to that?) I thought, genuinely taken aback.
I had suspected something was up with her. From our previous conversation, and from what I'd overheard during my "sleep mode," she seemed far too cautious for someone her age. That being said, I didn't know her exact age, but from the way she talked, she didn't strike me as an adult. If I had to guess, she had probably been in her teens when she died. Either way, she was timid, and from what I could tell, she probably had social anxiety as well as some form of claustrophobia or PTSD, given how hyperaware of her surroundings, as if she is constantly looking for new escape routes.
"Look, I don't know what your life was like before this, and you don't have to tell me if you don't want to, but..." I trailed off, trying to find the right words.
(I've never been the best at this kind of thing, but I can't just say nothing.) I sighed, collecting my thoughts.
"Just... just know that you're welcome here, and that we're more than happy to have you," I said sincerely.
"That... that's the first time anyone's ever said they're happy to have me around..." she mumbled, shaking slightly.
(...Damn.) I exhaled slowly. (What exactly happened to her?)
(I can kind of guess, based on what she's said before…)
"Thank you," she muttered quietly.
"No problem," I replied, unsure what else to say.
"S-still... I don't know how I feel about the whole adoption thing... my last dad wasn't exactly the best, so... I feel like it'd kind of be an insult to you..."
(Yeah, I figured... what kind of bastard could hurt such a good kid?) I thought, anger flickering inside me, though I kept it hidden.
"Like I said, you can say no if you want, it's your choice. And hey, even if you do, you're still welcome to stay here as long as you need," I said after taking a moment to steady myself.
She didn't respond right away, and enough time passed that I started to worry something was wrong, but eventually she answered. "O-okay..."
"Okay?" I echoed, a little confused.
"I... erm... I a-agree... to the adoption thing, I mean..." she stammered, her face turning slightly red, which I honestly found adorable.
"You won't regret it, I swear."
After that, we just talked for a while. I asked how she'd been settling in, and she asked me about this world. I told her everything I could, though my knowledge was still limited in the grand scheme of things, however I did my best to answer her questions.
"Still, I'm surprised you warmed up to me so quickly," I admitted with a small chuckle.
To my surprise, Suu looked away awkwardly before admitting, "Ermm... I think I've been unintentionally using a skill on you... I don't know how to turn it off..."
"A skill?" I echoed, tilting my head slightly.
[Answer: The entity known as "Suu Tempest" is referring to the skill "Truth Seeker," a sub-skill of her unique skill "Eyes of the Abyss", which grants the user the ability to discern another's true intentions.] The voice of Great Sage echoed in my head.
[Inquiry: Would you like the skill "Great Sage" to block all future attempts by the entity "Suu Tempest" to target you with this sub-skill?]
(Nah, it's fine.) I responded with a shake of my head. (It'll probably help with both her trust issues and her anxiety.)
I turned back to Suu, only to see her glancing around with a confused expression. "Suu? What's wrong?"
"Ermm... well... there was this robotic-sounding voice... it just spoke inside my head. Was that Thought Communication?" she asked and it honestly took me a moment to process that.
"Huh... HUH?!"