Milim's actions left the clowns of the Moderate Clown Troupe utterly flabbergasted.
Milim's mind was too simple, making her almost an open book to the other Demon Lords.
Fighting was Milim's favorite game!
A big reason she became a Demon Lord was so she could flaunt her power in front of humans and Demon People, attracting many strong challengers.
This game kept Milim endlessly entertained!
But what the clowns never expected was that Milim could be bribed with a mouthful of honey.
They really shot themselves in the foot!
However, to deal with a boss like Rimuru, how could the Moderate Clown Troupe only have one plan?
If Milim and Rimuru fought fiercely and both were severely injured, that would be great. If not, they had backup plans.
Whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad!
What would become of the World if the Demon Lords and humans discovered they could not curb Rimuru's "ambition"?
External enemies are always the most powerful force in uniting a loose group!
Humans and Demon People can't set aside their prejudices and unite against the enemy?
That only indicates one problem: the threat from this external enemy is not great enough!
The stronger Rimuru became, the greater the possibility of cooperation between the Demon Lords and humans.
After all, in this World, who would be willing to be subservient when they could be the Master themselves?
Humans and Demon Lords might unite to jointly crusade against this unprecedented enemy!
Hehehe, how exciting!
Just as Tear, the Crying clown, was lost in thought, she received a message from Footman, the Angry clown.
Upon receiving the news, Tear, the Crying clown, immediately became excited.
"It's here, it's here! The show is about to begin again. I can't wait!"
Demon Country Federation.
Seeing the Shadow of Demon Lord Milim, many Demon People were instantly invigorated.
Although Milim's nickname was "Tyrant," for Demon People who revered the law of the strong, being fortunate enough to behold the Tyrant's face was an unparalleled honor.
Not to mention, Milim was now their ally!
Hearing the cheers in the square, Milim was very excited and kept greeting everyone.
She was like a child, overjoyed at being welcomed, carefree!
Meanwhile, Miss Shizue, who was quietly watching all of this, had mixed and complex feelings, even feeling a bit unsure of what to make of it.
She had been summoned by Demon Lord Leon, and a High Spirit resided within her body. Her childhood was basically spent in Demon Lord Leon's castle.
At that time, she couldn't suppress Ifrit's consciousness.
Her body was mostly controlled by Ifrit; she was like a bystander.
It was only after the Hero gave her her mask that she began to fully suppress Ifrit's consciousness and could act according to her own will.
But the influence Demon Lord Leon had on her was difficult to erase.
Before Leon fled, he actually gave her two paths: if possible, she could fully transform from a human into a High Demon Person at any time.
She didn't choose to become a Demon Person but instead held firm to her bottom line of being human.
Perhaps she disliked and resisted Demon People from the bottom of her heart!
Her greatest obsession used to be finding Demon Lord Leon, then confronting him face-to-face and making him acknowledge her existence.
Izawa Shizue was Izawa Shizue, and not the High Spirit Ifrit!
But at this moment, Miss Shizue suddenly felt as if all of that had lost its meaning!
Even though she grew up in a Demon Lord's castle, Shizue realized that she seemed to have never truly known what a Demon Person was, or what a Demon Lord was.
Rimuru, of course, was from another World; her soul was originally human.
And Demon Lord Milim, she was a native-born, one of the oldest Demon Lords.
But now it seemed Milim was just a simple-minded child.
The Demon People she had met—Benimaru, Shion, Shuna—were all very, very good Demon People, harmonious and friendly, never thinking of invading human nations.
This was all different from what she had encountered in the past.
Shizue suddenly realized that she seemed to no longer recognize this World.
That man who summoned her and then casually discarded her—perhaps she had never truly understood him!
Suddenly having eternal life and becoming young again, she should have had enough time to find that man, but now she suddenly felt it seemed meaningless.
But to give up like this, she inexplicably felt unwilling!
Shizue was lost.
Just then, Shizue suddenly felt her hand being held.
She looked up to see Rimuru's caring, smiling face.
"Any persistence has meaning, even if it seems very childish!"
Persistence has meaning?
Looking at Rimuru, she didn't seem to be joking, which caused a slight ripple in Shizue's heart.
Suddenly, Shizue realized something incredible and, with blushing cheeks, said, "You…you knew what I was just thinking?"
Rimuru feigned ease and directly gave Shizue a head pat, "Shizue, you are too pure; your thoughts are very easy to guess!"
Shizue shook her head, trying to shake off Rimuru's hand, but to her exasperation, she didn't succeed.
Shizue was speechless.
What was all this about? She was already so old, yet she was still getting head pats.
It felt too strange!
By the way, were her thoughts really that easy to guess?
The answer, of course, was: No!
Seeing Shizue's troubled expression, Rimuru had subtly used her telepathy ability!
A kind lie!
Rimuru patted Shizue's little head and said, "Don't worry. In a while, you'll meet Demon Lord Leon and the Hero you've been thinking of!"
My Lord Hero?!
Hearing Rimuru say that she would soon meet the Hero, Miss Shizue's beautiful eyes immediately lit up.
Is this true?
The Hero… she had searched for half her life and had never found a single trace of the Hero.
One must know, her student Yuuki was the General Commander of the Free Guild Association; almost all adventurers in the World could be used by him.
But still, not a single trace of the Hero had been found!
Rimuru spoke with such certainty; did she know something?
Seeing Shizue's bright, beautiful eyes, Rimuru smiled. Miss Shizue was truly adorable!
"It's a secret for now, but what I can tell you is that the Hero has never left you. You've done wonderfully!"
"???"
Shizue was completely bewildered. What did Rimuru mean by that?
What did "the Hero has never left" mean?
Shizue looked at Rimuru, her beautiful eyes filled with resentment.
She had piqued her interest, and then said it was a secret—how annoying!
However, just as Shizue was about to say something, a Shadow flashed by, forcing its way in.
Who else could it be but Milim?
Milim poked her little head out, looking like "pat me, pat me."
Seeing Rimuru didn't react, Milim poked her little head out again, releasing a skill for double the hint.
Seeing Rimuru still didn't react, she released the skill "Mad Hint" again.
Milim's eyes were bright, and her ahoge swayed, making her incredibly adorable.
If those people on the internet saw her, who knows how many would be calling for a "medic."
Rimuru smiled and reached out to give Milim a head pat.
Satisfied, Milim's little face immediately showed an expression of great contentment, brilliant and dazzling.
Benimaru, Souei, and the others broke into a sweat. Milim's thought process was indeed completely different from ordinary people!
They couldn't understand it; it was just a head pat, right?
Was it that big of a deal?
However, they were immediately startled by a huge wave of resentment.
Cat Girl Kawatani's eyes were red. Shizue was one thing, but now even Demon Lord Milim had arrived.
Was she no longer My Master's favorite cat?
My Master clearly said he liked petting cats the most—ugh!
Shion and Shuna were also full of fighting spirit; they were the ones who came first!
Meanwhile, William Adolf was hiding in a corner, gnawing on his hands and weeping.
Head pats, f*ck! Having Shizue wasn't enough, now he's flirting with Milim too.
Where is the God of the Harem?
Comparing oneself to others is truly infuriating!
William Adolf looked up at the sky and couldn't help but hum a tune:
If we could start over, would you still love me? The legendary river has already been drowned by my tears.