A/N: This chapter is pretty lacking in comedy (although there is some) and is a serious one, please read it as such.

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She feels hurt whenever she thinks I feel hurt?

She doesn’t hate me?

How? I practically ruined her life, I gave her something that is not so easily taken away.

Sure, she was going through an evolution even without my help, but she wouldn’t have become a Demon Lord, nor would she have become so strong.

I'm the one that pushed her onto that path.

I could ask Illya to take everything away, should Mikoto wish for such a thing, but it doesn’t change the fact that I did it, and I most likely hurt her.

So if I hurt her…

Rimuru- “Why do you not hate me?”

As my words enter her ears, confusion passes through Mikoto’s eyes. In under a second, her mind begins working, wondering what the hell I'm talking about.

Seeing her confusion, I also become slightly confused.

Almost immediately, she finished thinking, formulating a response.

And she spoke.

Mikoto- “Why would I hate you?”

.

.

.

Rimuru- “Eh?”

Mikoto- “Eh?”

It seems we both have some explaining to do.

Rimuru- “So… you don’t hate me?”

I say, with slight hope in my voice.

Mikoto shakes her head in denial as relief washes over me.

That means our relationship isn't irreparable. I definitely don’t want to break the bond we have.

But then… the silence returned. I don’t know what to say past this.

Mikoto- “I… was scared. Fighting Bryce, I mean. I didn’t think I could win.”

I don’t say anything. I don’t THINK I should say anything either. So I just listen.

Mikoto- “I was scared of losing. I was scared of dying. I was mostly scared of someone else dying due to my weakness. In fact, someone DID die due to my weakness.”

I want to say something, to deny her self-deprecating claims, but I don’t.

It’s true. She was weak. Or rather, she wasn’t weak, she was just weaker than Bryce.

If she were stronger, she could’ve taken care of Bryce before he got to Shion, before he could hurt anyone else.

And that is why I gave her strength. I evolved her into an overpowered existence because I didn’t want her to be “weak” anymore.

More than anything, I was also afraid that something like this would happen again. If I didn’t give Avalon to Mikoto… she most likely would’ve died too.

Regardless of my powers, I don’t want her to go through something like that.

I mean, she’s main character material, you know? What if she gets isekai’d by some ROB before I could resurrect her?

Speaking of which, I could probably be considered a ROB myself, with my power levels. Although I can't compare to Meat Bun ROB though…

Mikoto- “… I was also scared that I would disappoint you…”

It was a whisper, but she purposely let me hear it.

Mikoto- “You sent me back to Avalon to take care of any threat, but I failed. I had to depend on you again… just like every other time…”

Now that at the end was a whisper I wasn’t meant to hear, but I felt some interference from Illya that enhanced my hearing for that small moment.

“Just like every other time”… is she frustrated with my help? But I only mean the best. Did she not want my help?

She would’ve died if I didn’t step in… maybe I'm misunderstanding something? I don’t think Mikoto is suicidal.

Ok, what are the facts?

Mikoto doesn’t hate me. It’s not like she hates the strength she has either, but she’s annoyed at the fact that she has it. Most importantly, she doesn’t want to depend on me.

I think. And I think. And I think some more. Using my sped up perception and enhanced mental capacity, I continue to create theories and throw them away. I mean, most of the theories are just absolutely wrong, but there are a few that stick around.

Taking into account her previous actions from the months I knew her, the one that sticks out to me the most is…

Rimuru- “You don’t want to be given everything on a silver platter.”

That’s the conclusion I came to. Judging by how Mikoto flinched ever so slightly, it seems I hit the mark… or at least, I got part of it right.

Rimuru- “Mikoto. I care for you. You care for me. I want to keep you safe, and as much as I would like to stay around you 24/7, I can't do that without depriving you of your personal space. That is why I gave you your strength. So please, Mikoto… open up to me. Tell me what to do.”

As much as the words “Tell me what to do” makes me look like a simp (I already am though), I said that for Mikoto to tell me what’s going on in her mind.

But… that might not have been the best words to choose.

Standing up spontaneously with tears threatening to spill from her eyes, she shouts.

Mikoto- “I don’t WANT you to do anything!”

That… wasn’t the response I was looking for.

Mikoto- “Again and again and again, you ALWAYS did what’s best for me! What’s best for everyone! Sure, sometimes you made a mistake, and we had to deal with the consequences…”

Images of the burnt down village of the Ogres come into mind. I got lazy and the families of my subordinates died as a consequence, their souls long having dissipated by now.

Mikoto- “… But the things you did for me, for ALL of us, far outweigh those mistakes! That’s why! That’s why… why I can’t catch up to you…”

Mikoto’s intensity slowly sank. She grits her teeth and could do nothing but look towards the carpeted floor as tears dropped from her eyes at a slow pace, her knuckles whitened from her clenched hand.

Those words were vague, yet it seemed as if everything became clear to me now.

Mikoto is just looking to prove herself.

She doesn’t want to be GIVEN power, she wants to earn it.

Earn it for herself, with her own strength.

That way she can prove that she can catch up to me, that she is an equal and not someone to be coddled.

Mikoto- “You asked me to protect Avalon, but I failed. If you didn’t arrive when you did, we all would have died. Even my first evolution was only triggered through [Raphael]… nothing came from myself…”

Her words are nothing more than a strained whisper at this point.

Mikoto- “I don’t deserve any of this.”

Those were her quietest words yet, but I felt the sharpest pain flash through my chest at those words.

But she’s wrong.

Rimuru- “… I gave you a book a long time ago. A grimoire, you could say. Inside it contained training methods you could use to grow stronger.”

Mikoto’s head sunk even lower.

Rimuru- “I also gave you that broken [Raphael] core. From what Illya told me, it’s true you wouldn’t have evolved without it.”

I take a deep breath and look straight at her.

Rimuru- “Did you know? Every day since I gave you that grimoire, I always dropped by the experiment site to look at you practice your esper ability. Every day, for at least a few seconds each time. Every time, I always had the same thought… ‘You are magnificent. So fascinating… So hardworking.’”

Mikoto’s clenched fist slowly loosens.

Rimuru- “I saw you train every day. You never once stopped. You always sought to get stronger. You also sparred with everyone once or twice to measure yourself against them. At first, you were on par with Shion. But recently, I saw you win without a scratch.”

Her tears stopped.

Rimuru- “That broken [Raphael] core too. It’s literally just that, a broken core. Something useless to me. Yet… you made it work. You used it to grow stronger. I, nor anyone else, told you what to do. With nothing but pure emotions and willpower, you pushed into the mythical Level 6. YOU did all that, not anyone else.”

Mikoto just stood there loosely, staring at the ground in disbelief.

*Jingle*

Hearing that familiar sound, she looks up.

Held gently in my open hand is her gekota bracelet.

It broke during the fight against Bryce, but I picked up its fragments and fixed it.

Although I could’ve used my skills to easily repair it, I sought to fix it manually, if only for the sentimental value. So I created the necessary tools and restored the bracelet in the mirror dimension before everyone woke up.

Rimuru- “The power you hold now may not be something you earned by yourself. BUT… You took the first step yourself. Don’t say you don’t deserve it.”

I stand up and walk towards her as I continue talking.

Rimuru- “You don’t need to use that power for yourself if you insist on being stubborn. Just… keep it as insurance in case another Bryce incident occurs. Continue your path until you can truly call that power your own. I know you’ll reach it.”

I hold out the bracelet towards her. Her brown eyes that crackle with the faintest hint of electricity glance towards the bracelet before staring into my golden eyes.

Rimuru- “After all… you are my equal! My other half!”

I grab her wrist and slide the bracelet onto her, the gekota accessory shining ever so slightly.

Immediately after, however, I feel a tug from my collar.

After that, I feel pressure on my lips, Mikoto’s face infinitesimally close to my own, her own eyes closed with a healthy blush in her cheeks.

I close my own eyes and just savour the moment.

My first kiss… tastes sweet.

Like cookies.

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Name: Rimuru

Race: Origin Slime

Protection: Crest of Space

Title: Highest Tier Spirit, Leader of the Monsters, Onii-chan, King of Avalon, Master of Headpats, Procrastinator King, The Nutcracker, socially awkward cringe slightly chuuni slime, True Dragon Slayer, Sensei, World's Strongest, Overpowered to a stupid degree, Mikoto’s Equal

???: [Codex: Illyasviel]

Ultimate Skills: [Yahweh, God of Creation], [Odin, God of Runes], [Azathoth, God of Void (Alternative)]

Equipment: Yamato – Genesis

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Name: Mikoto

Title: Level 6, Number Three, Tokiwadai's Ace, Strongest Electromaster, Electric Princess, Oneesama (for Shirai Kuroko), Biri-Biri, Tsundere, Waifu, Limitless, Rimuru's Equal

Equipment: Gekota Bracelet (Repaired)