Rimuru didn't start eating immediately. He looked at the bowl Ludwig placed in front of him as if evaluating a new species.
"So…" Rimuru stared as he picked up his spoon. "How do you actually live right now?"
Aoki blinked. "Live?"
"Food. Water. Supplies." Rimuru clarified. "It's just the four of you, isn't it?"
Ludwig moved into the kitchen behind his usual station because more orders were coming, but his senses were all over the bar.
Aoki nodded slowly. "If I have to put it into words, we were fortunate. There are no extreme changes in our neighborhood except for the overgrown nature. Electricity also still works. But groceries… that will be a problem soon. Though, I've started small-scale gardening to supplement our diet."
"Houses with electricity still worked even after being transported." Rimuru repeated. "Weird, but not the first time I heard that. How's the farm going?"
Aoki chucked at the question. "I tried. Nature grows aggressively now. Some plants thrive. Others don't. Without supply chains, we have to adapt."
Tsumugi leaned forward. "Dad also learned how to repair things."
Aoki coughed lightly. "I learned how to try."
Rimuru smiled.
"Have you explored yet?" He asked.
"Just to nearby city," Aoki said. "We don't go far since it might be dangerous. Also gas is a problem to travel far. Forests reclaiming suburbs are… manageable."
Momo tilted her head. "There are deer in shopping malls."
Rimuru paused mid-bite.
"That's kind of amazing."
"It's weird." Momo corrected.
Rin nodded solemnly.
Rimuru rested his chin on his hand. "And no other people at all?"
"None at all." Aoki said quietly.
Rimuru's gaze lingered for a second before he shifted tone deliberately.
"Well…" He said, "if you ever get tired of empty highways, Tempest has traffic."
Ludwig let a smile appear on his face as he heard what Rimuru said. Yes, this restaurant offered food for those who seek it. But curing boredom? Yeah, that's something it couldn't do.
Fortunately, just across the door, there were some cities that were ready for visitors. Cities that were ready to become a whole new supply chain as well as source of entertainment.
Tsumugi's eyes brightened. "You really govern a nation?"
"Unfortunately." Rimuru chuckled.
"A nation of what?" She asked.
Rimuru looked at the young girl before smirking. Then, he spun on his seat before pointing at some Tempest's denizen that was still in the restaurant.
"Nation of them."
Tsumugi's face and the face of her family stiffened as they saw what Rimuru pointed at.
They had seen them today, and had even asked Ludwig about them. But it seemed like they never thought the governor of the nation had casually sat beside them. Or maybe, they had pictured a monster as the one who governed a city of monsters. A fair train of thoughts.
"W-what… Aren't you human, so how…" Momo voiced her opinion on the matter.
Ludwig couldn't help but chuckle since now he knew which point surprised the family.
Rimuru scratched his cheek with a sheepish smile.
"Well… I'm not human." He admitted. "I just choose to look like one."
The girls stared.
"…What are you, then?" Tsumugi asked carefully.
Rimuru glanced at Ludwig.
Ludwig looked past his shoulder to meet his eyes before giving a small nod. Inside the restaurant, there was no threat in demonstration. The children had already seen far stranger things.
"Don't panic." Rimuru said lightly.
He let his human shape dissolve. It was not violent at all, There was no burst of light, no distortion, no magic circle appearing on the floor. His body simply softened and collapsed inward, clothes folding neatly as his form reduced to a translucent blue sphere about the size of a large cushion.
A slime.
A little translucent, faintly luminous, and gently wobbling slime.
Rin gasped.
Meanwhile, Momo leaned forward instead of back. "That's… cute."
Tsumugi blinked several times. "You're… jelly."
"I prefer 'Slime.'" Rimuru's voice echoed from the gelatinous body, unchanged.
Aoki stared in open disbelief.
"You're governing a nation as that?"
The slime bounced once. "Yes."
There was a brief pause. Then Rimuru's slime form shimmered and rose, reforming smoothly into his human appearance. Clothes returned with it, as if reality had politely restored the arrangement.
"Transformation magic?" Tsumugi asked immediately.
"Skill." Rimuru corrected. "But yes."
Momo tilted her head. "Then why walk around as human?"
"Because it's convenient," Rimuru said simply. "Eating is easier. Sitting in chairs is easier. Talking to new visitors is easier. People don't freeze up as much."
He gestured loosely around the room.
"If I walk into a place as a slime, first impressions are… variable."
"That's true." Ludwig said from the stove.
Rimuru grinned. "Also, it helps diplomacy. Humanoid shapes make negotiations smoother."
"And clothes." Momo said bluntly. "Slimes don't wear clothes."
"Exactly." Rimuru replied. "Clothes is nice."
Tsumugi studied him closely. "So the monsters in your nation… do they all look like that?"
"Some can transform." Rimuru said. "Some can't. Goblins and ogres are already humanoid. Lizardmen too. Wolves remain wolves. Dragons remain dragons."
Raon puffed slightly at that but did not interrupt.
"And you don't have humans ruling over you?" Aoki asked.
"No." Rimuru said. "We rule ourselves."
Momo frowned thoughtfully. "If monsters are strong, why don't they just fight each other all the time?"
Rimuru rested his chin on his hand again.
"Because fighting all the time wastes resources." He said. "And because if everyone fights, nobody builds anything."
"That sounds like politics." Tsumugi muttered.
"It is." Rimuru agreed.
Rin finally found her voice.
"So… you're a blob king?"
Rimuru stared at her before he broke into a fit of laughter.
"No one called me that yet. But I prefer 'slime chancellor.'" He said.
Ludwig laughed quietly under his breath as he plated another dish.
After that, the conversation drifted again. Gardens, infrastructure, what kinds of monsters could cook, whether slimes could taste food properly.
The two different inhabitants of worlds continue to exchange information, naturally at that. Ludwig had to thank the slime later because new he had a more vivid picture about the Earth the family lived in as well as the characters of the four.
Well… Rimuru might be asking just from pure curiosity rather than planning for political moves. But sometimes, that was the most dangerous move.
As if sensing the conversation around the restaurant had wind down, the bell on top of the door chimed again.
The door chimed again.
Ludwig glanced up briefly. The signature told him who it was before the hinges finished moving.
A beat later, Claire stepped in first, casual as ever. Cless followed behind her, bag slung over one shoulder.
When Claire's eyes landed on the bar, a flash of recognition appeared on her eyes. In the meantime, Cless' eyes looked straight to Rin. If the ever changing colours of Hedwig in her head was an indicator, she seemed to be quite excited and surprised to see another kid here in the restaurant.
"You guys back again?" Claire asked the family as he walked closer to Rimuru.
Tsumugi, Momo, and Rin waved at Claire while Aoki just nodded slightly at her. "We don't have anything to do in our world, so I think it's better to bring the kids here."
Claire smiled and nodded. "A good decision."
At that moment, Rimuru who had been looking at Claire finally opened his mouth. "You enter from Tempest?"
Claire slid onto a stool without ceremony. "Yeah. I talked with Shuna while waiting for Cless to get hungry enough so it would be easier to coax her to come here."
Cless frowned faintly. "I don't need coaxing."
Claire tilted her head. "You require motivation."
Rimuru looked genuinely puzzled.
"Huh?" He mused. "I didn't see you."
"I was around the town centre." Claire replied. "Near the textile district."
"Ah." Rimuru said slowly. "That explains it. Shuna's territory. Did you buy anything, or did Shuna finally convince you to take some home?"
Claire took the glass of cold tea that Ludwig handed to her before answering. "Nope. Don't get me wrong, those so-called Kimono are good. But, it's just not my style. Too airy for my liking."
"Fair." Rimuru nodded.
At that moment, Aoki's head turned into Rimuru again. "Your nation have Kimono?"
Rimuru looked back at Aoki. Then, his face turned into a realization face of his. "Ah… I haven't told you, have I?"
"You might know from before that I came from Earth also. But to tell you the details, I came from Japan just like you guys."
Aoki's brows rose. "Japan?"
"Yeah. Different timeline, obviously. But the same country name. Same language." Rimuru answered.
Momo leaned forward. "So you know about convenience stores?"
Rimuru stared at her.
"I miss convenience stores," he said gravely.
That earned a small laugh from Aoki.
"So Tempest has kimonos because…" Aoki prompted.
"Because I brought the idea," Rimuru replied. "Cultural imports. Food, clothing, architecture. Though, adapted to local materials."
Through the conversation, Ludwig just stood behind the bar, attentive. But what took his attention more than the talk was Cless.
The little Claire but with some personality of Ilea was glancing at Rin at every time she could. If that was not suspicious, then the fact she didn't even greeted Valerie was enough of an indicator that the little girl had become quite tunnel vision because of excitement.
"So monsters wear kimonos?" Momo asked.
"Some do." Rimuru said. "Mostly during festivals. Shuna's in charge of textile production. She's… enthusiastic."
"Enthusiastic is a polite way to put it." Claire muttered into her tea.
Rimuru grinned. "She's very proud of it."
Tsumugi tilted her head. "So monsters really just… wear normal clothes?"
"Mostly." Rimuru replied. "Armor when needed. Work clothes in workshops. Formal wear during negotiations. Kimono during festivals. It's a functioning society, not a dungeon."
"That's kind of cool." Momo admitted.
"It's normal." Rimuru corrected lightly. "That's the goal."
Aoki looked thoughtful. "You said adapted. You didn't copy Japan exactly."
"No." Rimuru said. "We have different resources and different people. Because of that, we have to build with what we have. Timber from Jura Forest, stone from nearby mountains, fabrics we produce ourselves. You can't transplant a culture whole."
"Like gardening." Aoki said quietly.
Rimuru nodded once. "Exactly."
Just as the adult talked about adult thing, Cless had fully stopped pretending she wasn't staring at Rin.
Hedwig peeked out from inside Cless' sleeve, her small nose twitching.
Of course Rin noticed immediately.
"…Fox." She whispered.
Cless straightened too quickly. "She has a name."
Hedwig climbed onto Cless' forearm, fur currently a pale blue.
"This is Hedwig." Cless said, trying very hard to sound composed.
Rin leaned closer but didn't touch. "She changes color?"
"Yes." Cless answered, then immediately added, "Depending on her feelings... It's not random."
Ludwig scoffed. The little Claire was lying. The fox indeed changed colours based on its mood. But it also changed colours depending on what Cless felt.
Then, Hedwig's fur shifted from pale blue to a soft yellow.
"That means curious." Cless explained.
Momo leaned in. "About what?"
"About you." Cless said, and then flushed faintly at how eager that sounded.
Hedwig's fur turned pink.
Claire glanced sideways before saying in teasing tone. "Embarrassed."
"It's not embarrassed." Cless muttered. "It's warm."
The fox flicked her tail and shifted to a deeper gold.
Rin giggled softly.
"Can I touch it?" she asked.
Cless hesitated for a heartbeat, then nodded. "Slowly."
Rin reached out carefully. Hedwig leaned forward, pressing her head lightly into the girl's fingers.
The fur shimmered gold again.
"She likes you." Cless said, and this time she didn't try to hide the pleased note in her voice.
At that moment, Ludwig stepped forward fill Claire's tea. The light outside had softened, turning warmer. Afternoon edging toward evening without anyone formally acknowledging it.
The family no longer sat stiffly at the bar. Momo now argued lightly with Claire about which was harder, climbing abandoned buildings or sparring properly. Tsumugi asked Cless what subjects she liked. Rin continued petting Hedwig, who had settled into a steady, contented gold.
For a moment, the Restaurant felt like it existed for this alone.
Then the bell above the door chimed again.
Ludwig looked up.
Three signatures.
Bright. Blazing, and malicious but restrained.
Then, the door opened.
Kushina stepped in first, red hair catching the fading light, energy entering the room a heartbeat before she fully did.
Minato followed behind her, calm as ever, blue eyes taking in the scene in a single sweep.
Kushina stopped mid-step when she saw the cluster at the bar.
"Kushina?" Claire said.
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