A Bond Through Worlds

21. A Reason to Be

(A/n: This certainly isn't my best writing performance. I struggled with this chapter's direction a lot and I wanted to scrap the entire thing and just start over, but I figured that I should at least get something out. Anyways, hope you enjoy!)

When Testa saw Carrera accepting her offer, she was about to leave before she forgot one crucial thing. Knowing how her fellow demon normally acts, she wanted to make sure that they got this right and forgoing this would most certainly make whatever plan they could concoct fail.

"Carrera dear, why do you want to be together with Rimuru-sama?"

Carrera gave her a quizzical look and answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Because I want to beat Ultima?"

Her fears were immediately confirmed when the idiot answered. She knew that Rimuru already had plenty on his plate when it came to relationships, and while she was still new to this whole love thing, she knew enough about it to know that sincerity was paramount. She didn't doubt Carrera's love for him in the slightest, but much like how she used to be, and in some ways still is, it was much more devoted towards servitude and respect rather than any romantic interest.

Testa's face ever so slightly let her true feelings forth, which was how someone would look at another trying to explain a very basic concept that they should have known well by now. "You... do realize that you will have to share him with Ultima, correct?"

Carrera showed an apparent look. "Of course. I'm not stupid. But I'll be first, and that's what matters."

Testa couldn't hold back a sigh. "If you're only trying to get to Rimuru-sama just because of your little contest with Ultima, there's no way he will accept either of your half-hearted resolves."

Carrera gave a look like she was struck by lightning. "You mean... Rimuru-sama is... rejecting me?!"

She looked like she was in the absolute pits of despair and was about to cry, while Testa was seriously beginning to wonder just how many mood swings she could go through in such a short amount of time.

Seriously. Just how exhausting must it be to fluctuate between your emotions this much?

"Well, just hold on a second. I didn't say that he would be rejecting you. I said that if you only want to be with him just to one-up Ultima, he wouldn't accept such a reason. Look within yourself and find a reason to genuinely want to be with Rimuru-sama."

Again, as if her previous mood was just an illusion, she perked back up and started thinking. Unfortunately, at least to Testa, it looked like the poor demon was about to have smoke coming out of her ears from thinking too much. Knowing the little outburst she was bound to have after not being able to come up with a reason on the spot, she suggested something else to spare herself from trying to calm down a frustrated Carrera.

"You don't need to come up with a reason right now. Fortunately, you have all the time you need to find a genuine reason to be with Rimuru-sama. After that, the only thing that's left is a formality."

"That's what I'm trying to think of right now! I don't even know where to begin coming up with a reason to be intimate with him! It's not like I don't like where I am, nor was I wanting to get closer until you did!" A light bulb suddenly went off in her mind, and she stood up and proudly declared, "Actually, since you are the reason I want to get closer to him, you should be the one finding a genuine reason for me to join the harem!"

A moment of silence.

Then another one.

Then another.