'[Great Sage]! Why did Kai-chan and that person suddenly stop moving?'
Rimuru stared at the two motionless figures and turned her focus inward, confused.
'[Notification. Kaito is currently communicating with the Fire Spirit within the mental space of Shizue Izawa.]'
"Oh! So Kai-chan is in there trying to talk some sense into that Fire Spirit!"
Ifrit, from inside: Yes, yes, definitely 'talking sense.' The kind where you die if you don't cooperate.
Kaito's consciousness returned to his body. He looked over at Shizu, who was slowly opening her eyes, and spoke.
"How do you feel?"
Shizu reached up and pressed a hand to her chest. She could feel her heartbeat, strong and steady in a way it hadn't been in years. A genuine smile crossed her face.
"Thank you so much, Kaito-sama. I feel lighter than I ever have. And Ifrit... he isn't fighting me anymore."
"Good. Then it wasn't a waste of my breath, or Ifrit's."
Inside Shizu, Ifrit heard that and felt deeply aggrieved. You call that a conversation?
The moment the two started talking again, Rimuru and the others rushed over.
"Kai-chan! Is Shizu alright?"
"Shizu-nee, are you really better?"
"She really does look fine!"
Kaito raised a hand to cut through the noise.
"She's fine. All of you can relax."
That was all it took. The relief hit everyone at once and the group erupted into excited chatter about how to celebrate. Kaito didn't object, but he glanced over at Elyun.
"Weren't you planning to visit Mrs. Kamado?"
"Oh! I almost forgot! Shizu-nee, how about we visit Mrs. Kamado first and then celebrate after?"
Elyun was already hanging off Shizu's arm, swaying hopefully.
Shizu laughed softly.
"Whatever you'd like, Elyun."
"Yes! Shizu-nee is the best!"
"Then let's go!"
Mrs. Kamado was overjoyed to see them all arrive. She even had Nezuko go and call Tanjiro back from his training with the Garrison. They ate together until the evening, and only then did everyone finally head their separate ways.
Three days later, Kaito's house, morning
Kaito and Rimuru's house wasn't in the town hall. They had built a three-story European-style house beside a small lake, a twenty-minute walk from the town hall at an easy pace.
In Kaito's bedroom, the curtains were drawn tight. Not a sliver of sunlight made it through. Kaito slept on undisturbed, entirely unaware of any danger approaching.
"Rip..."
The curtains flew open. Morning light flooded the room and landed squarely on the bed. The cocoon buried under the blankets stirred slowly, then cracked open one eye.
"Ahhh! The sun! I'm dying, I'm dying!"
"Kaito-sama. It is morning. Please get up."
Sakuya stood at the window, expression unchanged, watching the lump on the bed pull the blanket back over its head.
"I can't. I have a rare condition where I die the moment I leave my blanket."
"No such condition exists. Get up before breakfast goes cold."
A series of theatrical snores rose from beneath the blanket.
Sakuya looked at the cocoon for a moment. Then she reached out, took hold of a corner of the blanket, and pulled.
It didn't move. Kaito had both fists locked around it from the inside.
She considered the situation briefly, then produced a throwing knife and sliced the blanket cleanly from top to bottom.
Kaito lay curled inside, wearing dinosaur pajamas, blinking at the ceiling.
"...Are you still planning to lie there?"
The cold morning air was already doing its work. Kaito gave up, sat up, and looked at her with great suffering.
"Sakuya. There's nothing important today. Couldn't you have let me sleep just a little longer?"
"There is something important, actually. Several ogres have arrived in town. Rimuru-sama has already gone to meet them."
Kaito sat bolt upright.
"Ogres? Are here?"
Could it be Benimaru and the others?
"Yes. Would you like to go?"
"Obviously. Let's go."
He swung his legs over the side of the bed while Sakuya moved to help him dress and get ready.
System: How enviable... Damn it!
(T/N: You are not the only one)
After breakfast, Kaito made his way to the town hall. He was just approaching the meeting room when he caught voices through the door.
"Rimuru-sama, thank you for taking us in."
"Don't worry about it. Stay here for now. I'll send people to find out who destroyed your village."
"Thank you so much." *6
Benimaru and the others. Just like the original story.
Kaito pushed the door open.
"Creak..."
Every head in the room turned toward him. From across the table, a blue-haired girl with golden eyes lit up and waved.
"Kai-chan! You're here! Come in, I want to introduce you to everyone!"
Rimuru. She had taken on a humanoid form after using [Great Sage] to analyze Shizu's body, giving her the mimicry she needed. The original Rimuru had looked like this, and since taking on someone else's appearance would have felt strange, Kaito had brought it up with Shizu, who had agreed without hesitation.
The first time Elyun had seen Rimuru in this form, she had almost called out to Shizu before spotting the real Shizu standing nearby and going red in the face.
The six ogres stood the moment Kaito entered. They had gathered quickly that if Rimuru-sama spoke of someone this way, that person must be the other leader.
Kaito looked around at the row of standing ogres, took in the tension in their posture, and smiled slightly.
"Sit down. I just heard ogres had arrived and wanted to see for myself. No need to be so stiff."
He settled into a seat and looked over at Rimuru.
"What have you two been talking about? Something about taking them in, and a destroyed village?"
"Kai-chan, so here's what happened..."
As Rimuru explained, Kaito pieced it together. The ogre village had still been destroyed by the orcs, just as in the original story. The difference was that this time, Benimaru and the others hadn't arrived at a small goblin village. They had walked into a prosperous town full of humans and monsters living side by side, so instead of a confrontation, they had come forward on their own.
"I see. Rest up here for now, all of you. By the way, what are your names?"
The ogres exchanged glances.
"We don't have names, Kaito-sama."
"No names makes things hard. Rimuru, why don't you give them names?"
Kaito kept his tone light and unhurried, but he knew exactly what he was doing. The moment they accepted Rimuru's naming, that was it for them.
Benimaru and the others are ours. Not even the heavens can take them back now.
"Eh?! You're really going to name us?"
"Rimuru-sama, is that true?"
Rimuru caught the small nod Kaito gave her and turned back to the ogres with a wide grin.
"Of course! Let me think about what to call you all."
She studied them for a moment, then her eyes landed on the red-haired ogre and she pointed.
"You shall be named..."