(MC POV)

I use [Spatial Ruler] to teleport to the area where the huge lightning strike hit. A large crowd has already gathered by the time I arrived. Unfortunately said the crowd is blocking the way, so I subtly flare my aura causing the crowd to split, letting me through.

I don’t flare it to cause pressure or anything, I just did it to increase my presence. This way people will notice me quickly and after realising who I am, will let me pass through easier.

???- “Look over there…”

???- “It’s Rimuru-sama…”

Whispers from the crowd quickly spread as I continue walking.

Rimuru- “What happened?”

I speak into the air while walking through the crowd. A shadow flashes next to me, quickly revealing itself as Soei. This time, I was expecting this. I learned my lesson from last time.

Soei- “A guest has appeared. They were causing some trouble and Rigurd attempted to pacify them which didn’t sit well with our guest.”

Rimuru- “Ah, that. They’re here already, huh… Thank you, Soei. You can go back to your work now.”

Soei- “Understood.”

And with another shadowy flash, he disappeared. At this point, I arrive at the clearing in the middle of the crowd to find Phobio on the ground unconscious. I expected this a little. What I DIDN’T expect, however, was the residual lightning crackling around him.

It wasn’t Milim who hit him?

I look up from the body towards the figure standing to the side who I'm almost certain is the culprit.

Rimuru- “So? What happened?”

Mikoto- “Ehehe…”

Mikoto nervously laughs as she scratches the back of her head. I shift my attention to the pink twin tail haired girl standing to her left and raise an eyebrow at her.

Milim shifts her eyes towards the sky while whistling. She also happens to be bad at whistling. Like, she’s just blowing wind.

Milim- “Ffff.. Phhhh…”

… I’ll teach her how to whistle later…

I then turn to look at my only source of hope.

Illya notices my stare, smiles brightly, and runs up to me. I also involuntarily smile as I raise my hand and drop it on her head softly.

*Insert scene of Rimuru giving Illya headpats*

As soon as my hand makes contact, memories of what just happened flow into my head. I close my eyes to process the inflow of information.

Yes, giving Illya headpats lets her transfer information to me. Although she could do the same thing with [Thought Commuication], I wouldn’t have an excuse to pat her head if she did that, so we both conveniently ignored that option.

After a few seconds, I completely process the memories and open my eyes again. Looking down, I see Illya with her eyes closed wearing an expression of absolute bliss.

Illya- “Funyah~…”

… WHAT IS THIS ADORABLE CREATURE!?

In any case, I understand the situation now.

Basically, what happened was that our unconscious friend Phobio here punched Rigurd in the face, which angered Milim. Milim wanted to teach Phobio a lesson, but Mikoto held her back, reminding her that she shouldn’t interfere since this matter between Avalon and Phobio.

If Milim interferes, the situation could change. In all honesty, the situation could only change in a positive direction, but I agree with Mikoto. I said I’ll defend my people and Avalon by myself without Milim’s help, and I intend to keep my word.

Immediately after that, however, Mikoto said the following.

Mikoto- “Well, I’m a part of Avalon, so…”

And proceeded to drop a thunderbolt right on Phobio’s head, knocking him unconscious.

I remember thinking that if certain conditions were met, Mikoto would join Milim in making more chaos rather than stop her. It turns out I was right.

I love this woman.

Regardless, I turn towards Mikoto and Milim with a stern expression, my hand never once ceasing its petting.

Rimuru- “Now, as for the two of you… Why didn’t you wait for me?”

A bead of sweat rolls down the side of Milim’s head, fearing that I might revoke her lunch. Mikoto steps forward, wanting to explain her point of view.

Mikoto- “Rimuru, I can't just-“

However, I don’t want to hear it. I'm a little angry, you know? I'm also a bit annoyed. I'm mostly disappointed though. After all…

Rimuru- “I wanted to knock him unconscious!”

Mikoto- “Eh?”

Milim- “Eh?”

I clench my fist at the unfairness of the situation. It’s such a shame! I wanted to teach this guy a lesson myself!

Imagine! Phobio punches Rigurd when suddenly, a wild slime appears and RKO’s him from outta nowhere. Then, while he’s on the ground, I would proceed to dance the torture dance while teabagging him.

Such a wasted opportunity!

Rigurd- “Are you sure about this, Rimuru-sama?”

Rigurd walks up from behind me, fully recovered, and asks me a question. I turn my head to him with nothing but confusion on my face.

Rimuru- “I thought you of all people would be supportive of the torture dance?”

Rigurd- “N-No, not that… Phobio sounded like an important person, especially if he was willing to attack me without thinking about the repercussions.”

Ah, he’s worried about angering Carrion. True, Phobio being one of the Three Beastketeers serving directly under Demon Lord Carrion does give him some clout. Attacking him would most definitely anger Carrion… if we were just your average gathering of monsters.

Carrion, who has seen us beat down the Orc Lord, shouldn’t want to create conflict with us at least without some preparations.

From Illya’s memories, it’s more likely that Phobio, being the dumbass that he is, attacked Rigurd simply because he was stronger. He probably didn’t even think about us retaliating, nor the consequences his actions could have.

I mean, I could wage war with Carrion over this and no one can say anything.

… But in the end, I don’t care about politics that much.

Rimuru- “Don’t care. This guy could bring his entire sect and call on his family up to 13 generations back and I could still wipe the floor with him.”

Rigurd- “Sect…? What’s a sect…”

Rigurd mutters something, but I've already turned my attention to Phobio’s companions, who are tending to their unconscious leader.

Rimuru- “And you guys. You’d better behave yourself. I don’t care if you’re subordinates of a Demon Lord. You’re in Avalon now. This is my turf, so you’d better play by my rules.”

I flare my aura through [Lord’s Ambition] before immediately cutting it off again, causing Phobio’s companions to flinch before breaking out in a cold sweat. I'm not surprised, even if it was only for a split second, they felt the aura of someone on par with a True Dragon.

I would also t-pose at this moment to inflict even more fear into them, but I'm currently patting Illya, so I had to let that opportunity go.

In any case, this whole incident is over. I want to deal with the whole Charybdis issue, so I'll follow the plot a bit for now. I don’t know where Charybdis is currently sealed, after all.

Sure, I could just write some runes or make an item that would lead me to it, but where’s the fun in that?

*Sigh*

The problems that come with OPness…

Meanwhile, Illya is still melting under my headpats and Mikoto and Milim are unsure of what to do now.

-----

Name: Rimuru

Race: Origin Slime

Protection: Crest of Space

Title: Highest Tier Spirit, Leader of the Monsters, Onii-chan, King of Avalon

Manas: [Manas: Illyasviel]

Ultimate Skills: [Belzebuth, Lord of Gluttony] [Ahura Mazda, Lord of Creation] [Scathach, Lord of Runes]

Unique Skills: [Spatial Ruler]

Intrinsic Skills: [Infinite Regeneration] [Universal Shapeshift] [Universal Sense] [Enhanced Replication] [Universal Thread]

Extra Skills: [Lord's Ambition] [Thought Communication] [Control Particles] [Control Natural Elements]

Resistances: [Cancel Pain] [Resist Melee Attack] [Cancel Natural Elements] [Cancel Ailments] [Resist Spiritual Attack] [Resist Holy Attack]

Equipment: Yamato, Harpe, [Raphael] Skill Orb