Ciel: <>
Voice of the World: <<>>
******
"And here we are," Rimuru said lightly as he and Testarossa stepped into what looked like a long-abandoned town. The place was crawling with demons and beasts. They clung to the cracked walls, lounged across rooftops, and wandered through the empty streets like scavengers that had claimed the ruins as their own. Their eerie, manic laughter carried through the air and echoed off the hollow buildings, giving the entire place an unsettling atmosphere.
Of course, their arrival did not go unnoticed. Dozens of demons snapped their heads in their direction the moment the two of them appeared, their eyes lighting up with hungry interest as they began closing in from every corner of the street. However, the instant their gazes landed on Testarossa, everything stopped. The aggressive grins vanished, replaced by wide-eyed shock. For a brief moment, they froze where they stood, like prey that had suddenly realized it had wandered into the territory of a far more terrifying predator. Then panic exploded through the group, and they scrambled back desperately, fleeing back toward whatever holes they had crawled out of.
Meanwhile, Testarossa stood there, stunned, unsure how to respond. Just a few minutes ago, when Rimuru had casually invited her out for a walk, she had assumed it was nothing more than one of his usual whims. Never, not even for a moment, had she imagined that he would bring her here, to a place she had not laid eyes on in years. Slowly, almost cautiously, she turned her head toward the blue-haired man standing beside her, her crimson eyes searching his face for an explanation.
"Ah... you must be confused, wondering why I brought you to this wonderful place," Rimuru said casually as he reached out and dragged his finger across a nearby wall, scraping away a thin layer of dust along with the dark stains of old, dried blood. He glanced at the mess on his fingertip for a moment before flicking it off. "You see, Testa, I have been thinking about you for a while now. Ever since I summoned you, my life has become a lot easier than it used to be." Turning toward her, he gave her an easy smile. "I can hand off pretty much any task to you, and you handle it perfectly, without asking questions or complaining even once. Honestly, the more I thought about it, the more it felt like I have been taking advantage of those loyal and hardworking traits of yours a little too much lately," he admitted, rubbing the back of his head with a sheepish grin.
"You do not need to worry about that, Rimuru-sama. I have never once minded being useful to you," Testarossa replied as she gently shook her head. "After all, the moment you named me, your name was engraved into my very soul. From that moment on, I belonged to you with every fiber of my being." Her crimson eyes softened slightly as she continued. "Serving you is not a burden. It is something I take pride in. So it is only natural that I follow your commands and carry them out to the very best of my ability."
"Well, that is nice to hear, but still, I kept wondering how I could reward you for everything you have done for me, and thinking about it for a while, I eventually came up with this idea," Rimuru said before lifting his hand and snapping his fingers. In the very next moment, the scenery around them shifted. The ruined, demon-infested town vanished, and in its place appeared a lively town full of movement and sound, with people walking through the streets, merchants calling out to customers, and the distant noise of everyday life filling the air.
"This..." Testarossa stood frozen in place, her crimson eyes slowly sweeping across the lively scene around her. It took a few seconds for her mind to process the sudden shift. "D-did we just travel back in time?" she asked, as she tried to make sense of what she was seeing.
"In a sense, yes, but not exactly," Rimuru replied as he looked around at the townspeople passing by, all of whom ignored their presence thanks to his magic quietly cloaking their presence. "Yes, I used my magic to bring us back to the past. However, the moment we arrived, the timeline split. A new branch separated from the original and created a parallel path where we interfered with events, while our original timeline continues on unchanged as if we never came here at all," he explained as he began walking down the street, with his hands resting behind his head, while Testarossa quickly stepped forward to follow beside him. "You see, Testa, even if someone completely masters time travel, they cannot rewrite the present by changing the past. All they can really do is create another branch on the massive cosmic tree of timelines."
"Hmm... that is quite interesting," Testarossa murmured thoughtfully, clearly intrigued by the explanation. Even for a Primordial Demon like her, the concept of time travel was something both novel and strangely captivating. "But still, why are we here, my lord?" she asked as a hint of anticipation crept into her voice.
"Right, getting back to the point," Rimuru said with a small chuckle, clearly amused by how quickly Testarossa had already started piecing things together. "Well, while I was trying to figure out what kind of reward I could give you, something you told me back when we visited Dwargon suddenly came to mind. You remember that story, right? The one about the kind girl who went through far more cruelty than anyone deserved and was taken away far too soon. And then it hit me. I thought to myself, what better reward could I possibly give you than letting you reunite with the one and only friend you have had in your millennia-long life?"
"Rimuru-sama..." Testarossa said softly, her voice almost a whisper as a warm, unfamiliar feeling spread through her chest. "I do not know how I can possibly..."
"It's alright, Testa. I know," Rimuru replied gently as he reached over and slipped his hand into hers, intertwining his fingers with her own as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "If I am not willing to do something like this for the people I care about, then who will?" he added with a small, easy smile.
"Hmm..." Testarossa gave a quiet nod in response, though she was suddenly very aware of the warmth of Rimuru's hand wrapped around hers, as well as the way his fingers rested comfortably between her own.
"Now come, let's go meet this little friend of yours," Rimuru said as the two of them began strolling toward the castle in the distance, her hand still held firmly in his.
******
In the royal castle of the Silberia family, it looked as if the festive season had arrived early. Most of the people were excitedly preparing to celebrate the sixteenth birthday of their princess, Blanche Nam Silberia. A joyful atmosphere had spread throughout the entire nation, and aside from a small group, such as the family and supporters of Blanche's stepsister, nearly everyone was eagerly looking forward to Blanche's coming-of-age ceremony.
Meanwhile, the reason for all this excitement, the birthday girl herself, Blanche, sat quietly in her room. She wore an elegant, opulent black dress that immediately drew the eye, with a ruby-red necklace resting against her neck. At the moment, she was seated in front of a mirror, carefully fixing her hair.
"And it's done," Blanche said softly as she set the hairbrush down on the table in front of the mirror. She paused for a moment to study her reflection, and a small, hopeful smile formed on her lips. "I am sure Guinias-sama will love this," she added quietly, clearly pleased with the effort she had put into her appearance.
"Of course you would want to doll yourself up for that pig," another voice suddenly echoed inside her mind, sharp and dripping with disdain. "No matter how many times I tell you, that man is only using you to push his own ambitions forward. The moment he no longer needs you, he will throw you away like worthless trash without a second thought."
"Thank you for your concern, Blanc, but I still want to believe in Guinias-sama," Blanche replied gently, placing a hand over her heart. "After all, aside from my mother and you, he is the only person who has ever truly cared about me... the only one who has ever loved me."
"Do not fool yourself, little girl," Blanc scoffed dismissively, her voice laced with irritation. "I only care because I do not want to see my future vessel being tainted by some disgusting human like him. That is the only reason I bother warning you."
"Of course, I would never think that," Blanche said with a soft chuckle, fully aware that her friend did not truly mean what she said. At least not the part about not caring for her. By now, she had grown used to Blanc's sharp tongue and blunt way of speaking. Beneath the insults and harsh tone, Blanche could always feel the concern that the proud Primordial tried so hard to hide. She was about to continue the conversation when something suddenly caught her attention.
"Wow, Testa, you really did get along with this little princess."
The moment the unfamiliar male voice echoed through the room, Blanche quickly spun around. Her eyes widened in shock as she spotted a blue-haired man standing casually inside her chambers. Yet what startled her even more was the woman standing beside him. The woman wore a strange and somewhat provocative outfit (secretary's attire), and to Blanche's utter astonishment, the woman looked exactly like how her older sister might have looked if she had ever had one.
"Who are-" Blanche began to ask, her voice uncertain as she tried to understand how two complete strangers had suddenly appeared inside the royal castle, let alone her private room. However, before she could finish her sentence, the voice inside her mind abruptly cut her off.
"Blanche, you need to get out of here! Run away from that man as fast as you can!" Blanc shouted in a panicked voice that Blanche had never heard from her before. The sheer terror in her tone sent a chill down Blanche's spine, frightening her far more than the sudden appearance of the two strangers ever could. This was the first time she had ever heard the proud and arrogant White Primordial sound genuinely afraid. Meanwhile, Blanc herself was desperately trying to make sense of the blue-haired man standing before them. The overwhelming presence radiating from him filled her with dread, and to her horror, he gave off an even worse feeling than the red-haired Demon Lord himself.
"Again, why is everyone so scared of me? Am I really that frightening?" Rimuru said with a sigh, and in the very next moment, he appeared directly in front of her, close enough that she barely had time to react before his hand pressed firmly against her chest.
"What are you doing!?" Blanche cried out as the sudden invasion of her personal space, combined with the shock of his touch, left her completely flustered, instantly turning her face bright red with a mix of fear and embarrassment.
However, in the very next moment, Blanche felt something surge through her body. A powerful shockwave rippled outward from the point where Rimuru's hand touched her, spreading through her chest and racing across her entire body. It was followed by a sharp, overwhelming burning sensation, as if something important had just been torn away from her. Her legs gave out beneath her, and she collapsed to her knees, gasping desperately as she struggled to catch her breath. When she finally managed to look up, she noticed another figure kneeling beside her. The woman looked exactly like the one who had accompanied the dangerous man.
Blanc, on the other hand, looked around in a daze as the realization slowly sank in that she was no longer inside Blanche's body. Then she lifted her gaze toward the blue-haired man standing before them, and the moment their eyes met, irritation and rage twitched across her face as she noticed the blue-haired man looking down at her and Blanche with amused curiosity.
Acting purely on instinct, Blanc lunged at him without hesitation, her long fingernails extending as she aimed straight for his face, hoping to catch him off guard and tear it open before he could react. However, she never got the chance. Just as she was about to reach him, another hand suddenly appeared from the side, but before Blanc could even register what was happening, that hand grabbed her wrist and squeezed down with crushing force.
"Ugg~" Blanc grunted as pain shot through her arm. She immediately snapped her head toward the woman who had stopped her, glaring at her with open hostility. However, the moment she truly looked at the woman's face, her expression froze, and her eyes widened in pure shock. Only then did she realize that the woman standing beside the dangerous, blue-haired man was none other than herself, with the same face, the same hair, and the same crimson eyes.
"Keep it down, girl, and behave," Testarossa said coldly as she glared down at her counterpart with clear killing intent, tightening her grip on Blanc's wrist even further. At that moment, however, Blanc barely even registered the pain shooting through her arm. Her mind had latched onto a single thought.
"You are me," Blanc said flatly. It was not a question. She simply stated the fact while staring at the woman in front of her with cautious, wary eyes.
"No, no, darling. I am the upgrade," Testarossa replied with a sweet, almost mocking smile before tossing Blanc aside. Her body flew across the room and slammed straight into the hairdresser behind her, destroying it completely on impact.
"What is going on here?" Blanche asked as she looked around in a daze, no longer sure what was even real anymore. From the fragments of conversation she had overheard, she had realized that the woman kneeling beside her was indeed Blanc, the friend who had lived inside her mind for so long. Yet the woman who had arrived with the strange blue-haired man was also somehow Blanc.
"Well then, now that both of you have calmed down, let us introduce ourselves," the blue-haired man suddenly said, his calm voice cutting through the confusion and immediately drawing the attention of both Blanche and Blanc, who had just finished pulling herself out of the shattered remains of the hairdresser. "My name is Rimuru Tempest, and this here is Testarossa, one of my most trusted partners and also my secretary. And we have brought a gift for you from the future," he said as he produced a crystal ball in his hand and held it out in front of the two girls.
******
A few minutes later, the atmosphere in the room had changed completely once again for Blanche and Blanc. What had begun as a pleasant and carefree morning had spiraled into confusion and fear after the sudden arrival of two mysterious strangers in Blanche's private chamber. Now the mood had shifted yet again, settling into a heavy and suffocating silence after what they had just witnessed inside the crystal ball Rimuru had produced for them.
"This... why?" Blanche whispered weakly before collapsing backward onto her bed. Tears streamed down the sides of her face as the reality of what she had seen finally began to sink in. Blanc had warned her again and again about Guinias, telling her countless times that the man was only using her for his own ambitions. Even so, Blanche had refused to accept it. She had clung desperately to the hope that Blanc was wrong. In her heart, she had convinced herself that it was all some terrible misunderstanding. She had dreamed that one day she would build a happy family with that man and stand beside him as they worked together to improve the lives of the people of Silberia. But after seeing the truth with her own eyes, that fragile dream shattered completely. Every piece of hope she had clung to crumbled into dust. A crushing despair settled deep inside her chest as she realized that not only had Guinias betrayed her, but his ambition and greed had also set into motion the chain of events that eventually led to the destruction of her homeland.
Of course, Blanche also understood another painful truth. It had been Blanc who ultimately carried out the final act, turning her once peaceful homeland into a demon-infested wasteland and staining the famous lake of Silberia forever red with the blood of its own citizens. The thought alone should have filled her with anger or hatred. Yet no matter how hard she tried, she simply could not bring herself to blame the ancient demoness. Deep down, Blanche understood why it had happened. Blanc had done everything out of rage and grief for her sake. And in a strange and painful way, that realization stirred a small warmth in Blanche's chest even as tears continued to fall from her eyes.
On the other hand, Blanc was absolutely fuming with rage. She was so royally pissed that a dark and oppressive aura had begun leaking from her body, filling the room with an overwhelming pressure. Fortunately, that presence remained trapped inside the chamber thanks to a barrier Rimuru had silently placed around them earlier. Even so, the anger radiating from her was impossible to ignore. Strangely enough, Blanc was not even angry at Guinias. As far as she was concerned, that vile and worthless piece of trash was not even worth her attention. What truly enraged her was Blanche herself. She had warned this stupid girl over and over again, yet Blanche had ignored every single warning she gave. And in the end, after everything Blanc had done for her and after all the time she had spent watching over her like a friend, Blanche had still thrown her life away and died like a coward. The thought alone made Blanc's blood boil. At that moment, she genuinely wanted to strangle this idiotic girl with her own hands. However, before she could act on that urge, Rimuru stopped her.
"Now, now, Blanc, there is no need for violence among friends," Rimuru said with an easy smile. "After all, none of that tragedy will ever happen, because I am here," he added, flashing a wide, toothy grin as he placed his hands on his hips, and a glittering golden light suddenly flashed behind him.
"Indeed, as long as Lord Rimuru is here, everything will unfold according to his wishes," Testarossa said in a voice filled with absolute trust and unwavering faith, without even the slightest hint of doubt in her tone.
"Are you really me, or did this man drug you or something?" Blanc asked flatly with a hint of disgust in her voice, even though she knew perfectly well that there was not a drug in existence capable of affecting a Primordial Demon like her. Still, for an ancient demoness like her, who had carried herself like an empress for all her existence, seeing her future self dressed in those clothes and devoting herself to someone so eagerly was almost nauseating.
"Well, from a certain point of view, serving Rimuru-sama is indeed quite an addictive experience," Testarossa replied with a soft, dreamy sigh, while Blanc visibly recoiled and nearly gagged at her words.
"Anyway, as I was saying, I do have the power to change that future, but it depends on you, Blanc," Rimuru said as he turned his attention toward the white-haired demoness of the past.
"What do you mean?" Blanc asked cautiously, her eyes narrowing slightly as she studied him. Even after everything she had seen so far, she refused to lower her guard around this man.
"What I am asking you, Blanc, is whether you would like to receive a name and a body or not," Rimuru said with a wide smile as he spread out his hands.
"Name and a body..." Blanc repeated slowly as she stared at him for a long moment before finally asking, "... and what is the catch?"
"Why would there be a catch?" Rimuru asked, lightly shaking his head. "I am not from this timeline, and I have no intention of staying here. I only came to retrieve Blanche's soul data so that I can replicate her soul and revive her in my own timeline. The reason I am even offering you this opportunity is so that you will not have to go through the same ordeal my Testa experienced in our timeline," he explained calmly. Beside him, Testarossa smiled sweetly, clearly pleased to hear him refer to her that way.
"Wait a minute. Why do you need her soul data?" Blanc asked immediately, her suspicion growing stronger as she looked between the two of them.
"Because in our timeline, when Guinias betrayed her, Blanche completely broke down both emotionally and mentally," Testarossa explained, her voice turning solemn as the memory surfaced. "So when she eventually fulfilled our contract and offered up her soul, it was erased entirely. And as you saw earlier, even her physical body was destroyed by the knights of the Empire." Her crimson eyes darkened slightly before she continued. "Now the choice is yours. You can accept Rimuru-sama's generosity, or you can walk the same tragic path that I once did."
Blanc remained silent for a long moment, thinking carefully about everything she had just heard. Her gaze drifted between Rimuru and Testarossa as she weighed the offer in her mind. Finally she looked up at Rimuru again. "I agree to your proposal, but..." she said slowly before narrowing her eyes at Testarossa, "... I do not want the same name as her."
"Oh please. As if I would ever want to share the name specially gifted to me by Rimuru-sama with you," Testarossa replied haughtily, lifting her chin slightly as she looked down at her counterpart. The two women continued glaring at each other, their identical crimson eyes locked together while sparks of pure hostility filled the space between them.
"These two," Rimuru muttered with an amused chuckle as he watched the pair continue glaring at each other like a pair of feral cats. "Blanche, what do you-" he began, turning toward the other girl to ask for her opinion. However, the moment he looked at her, his words trailed off when he saw the poor girl sitting on the edge of the bed, sulking, dejected, and heartbroken inside her own gloomy bubble.
Rimuru let out a quiet sigh before walking over to her. "Blanche, look at me," he said gently and waited patiently until the white-haired girl slowly lifted her head and met his gaze with red, tear-filled eyes. "Listen carefully. I am not going to lie to you and pretend that what happened to you in my timeline was not terrible, or that that moron playing with your heart was not cruel. I am not going to tell you to just forget everything and act like none of it ever happened. I know it was heartbreaking. I know how much it must hurt. And I also know that moving on from something like that is not easy," he said while looking straight into her eyes.
"But I do want you to think about something," Rimuru continued after a moment of silence. "Is that man really more important to you than your friend, the one who was ready to throw away her newly gained body because she could not bring herself to continue existing in this world without you?" He paused briefly before continuing. "Is he more important than this kingdom, which will go straight to hell if your half-sister Ashera ever ends up sitting on the throne?" His voice softened slightly as he spoke his final point. "And is that man really more important than the future I am offering you right now?"
"So think about it carefully and give me your answer," Rimuru said at last, extending his hand toward her. "Are you willing to stand up for yourself and lead this kingdom in a new direction?"
Blanche stared at his outstretched hand for a long moment. Then she turned her head slightly and saw that Testarossa and Blanc had both stopped arguing and were now watching her, waiting for her answer. After a brief pause, Blanche finally took a breath and made up her mind. She reached forward and placed her hand into Rimuru's. "I... I, Blanche Nam Silberia, take a vow to do everything necessary to lead this kingdom and find my own happiness along the way."
"That's the spirit," Rimuru said with a satisfied smile as he gently ruffled the white-haired girl's hair, clearly pleased with her answer. Then he turned and walked over to Blanc, and without hesitation, he placed his hand on top of her head. "Primordial White of this timeline, I bestow upon you the power to protect and guide Blanche Nam Silberia toward a prosperous future," he declared, and in the very next moment, Blanc's body began to glow brilliantly as an overwhelming surge of power flooded through her existence. Her evolution began immediately. The Arch Demon standing there transformed into a Demon Peer, and before the process could even settle, her power continued to rise until she ascended directly into a Demon Lord. "And from this day forward, you shall be known as Aperta!"
As Rimuru's words echoed through her mind and his power surged through every part of her being, Blanc, now Aperta, finally understood something she had previously thought impossible. She understood exactly why Testarossa worshiped this man so fervently. The sheer magnitude of the power he had just given her was beyond anything she had ever imagined. To be honest, at that very moment, she felt a strong urge to kneel before him and pledge the same devotion. However, when the brilliant glow surrounding her body slowly faded, and she opened her eyes again, she immediately noticed something strange. The two figures who had brought all of this change with them were gone. Only she and an awestruck Blanche remained inside the chamber.
Just then, as if noticing the question written clearly across Aperta's face, Blanche stepped forward and spoke. "Rimuru-sama and Testarossa went home," she said softly. "But before they left, Rimuru-sama told me that their work here was finished. From this point forward, everything that happens will be our own story... that this is our life and our adventure."
"Our life, our adventure..." Aperta repeated quietly, before slowly, a smile began to form on her face as a spark of excitement replaced the anger and bitterness from before. "Indeed. Blanche, indeed. Now come on, let us celebrate your birthday by claiming your rightful place!" she declared with renewed enthusiasm before her form dissolved into light and merged back into Blanche's body.
"Yes, I will do my best," Blanche said with determination as she walked toward the door, stepping out with a newfound confidence that had never been seen in her before.
******
Later that very same day, when Guinias finally revealed his true colors for all to see, Blanche Nam Silberia, the crown princess of the Kingdom of Silberia, delivered such a spectacular performance that it would be remembered for generations. What unfolded within the royal court was so dramatic and decisive that it quickly found its way not only into the history books of Silberia but also into renowned historical records across the entire world. The day that was meant to celebrate the princess's sixteenth birthday instead became the day the kingdom witnessed the true strength and resolve of its future ruler.
Of course, that was only the beginning. The even greater chapter in Silberia's history would come later, when the Empire eventually came knocking on the kingdom's door, but that... well, that is a story for another time.
To be continued...
******
Bonus Image: Testarossa in Secretary's clothes.