Is it wrong for slimes to be in dungeons? (revised)

Chapter 24: Unknown Allies

(Rimuru POV)

I stared down at Bell and his friends as Sophia led them down the path I had cleared. They looked around in apparent shock at the scores of unconscious adventurers that I hadn't had the time to move.

With that done I suppose I should return to the house. Just as I was going to leave however I saw Bell's gaze whip around in my direction...I quickly teleported away before I could be seen.

That was close, I thought to myself as I found myself back in the guest room of Amaterasu familia's house. We had talked a bit about the situation already and decided to hide them for a bit before allowing them to decide what they wanted to do. According to Amaterasu, we shouldn't get too involved because with how things were panning out we would be shoved right back into the spotlight if we weren't careful. After that whole incident with my sleep mode, we wanted nothing more than to avoid that as much as possible, even if it was to pay back a favor.

Not too many people knew who had caused the stir. Luckily, Sophia was good at hiding from and eluding the people tracking her, but still, Amaterasu was nervous about her safety.

I still lacked a reputation, and thanks to the guild covering up the incident on the 18th floor with the monster rex, not many people knew about who I was. Conveniently enough. At most a few rumors about a mysterious blue-haired girl seen hanging around the Loki familia from time to time seemed to circulate a bit.

I got up off my bed and changed my appearance slightly. Using <Universal shapeshift> My hair shrunk down to around shoulder length and changed color from blue to a dirty blond, my body grew a few inches and I softened my features slightly to give a sort of kind-hearted Onee-san vibes.

It wasn't exactly important what I looked like, just that it was different enough from what I usually did. As far as I was concerned Bell and his party only knew me from the events that occurred on the 18th floor, and that hadn't exactly left the best impression aside from maybe me saving them from the Goliath. Honestly, I'm just happy they were hush-hush about the events on the 18th floor. I hadn't known at the time but apparently that Goliath's appearance was caused by the gods going into the dungeon which was not supposed to occur. Gods were actually banned from the dungeon so Hermes and Hestia had actually broken the rules by doing so and as a result that massive behemoth of a monster was summoned. In the end, the guild got involved and kept people quiet about the whole incident. Which was nice.

I changed into a white dress shirt and a pair of black trousers before making my way next to Amaterasu on the couch waiting for Sophia to return with the Hestia familia and their allies.

Amaterasu had gone ahead and taken it upon herself to prepare refreshments for the group.

"Hey," I said as I sat across from her on the couch.

"Hello," she nodded. "Feel free to take a snack," she offered, waving a hand in the direction of the food.

"...about that actually how did you prepare this all so fast?"

"Never underestimate a goddess with too much free time on her hands, Rimuru," she said with a smirk.

"...right," I simply responded, unsure what to make of the statement. I grab a chocolate cookie and pop one into my mouth.

A sweet and warm sensation spread through my mouth as I did so. It was good.

I took a sip of water before my lips parted to ask a question to the small Goddess who was now simply twiddling her thumbs waiting for Sophia to return.

"So...what kind of favor do you owe Hestia to do this sort of thing?" I asked curiously, turning towards her.

"Hmm? You curious?" she asked.