Rimuru and Iruma's Adventures in the Netherworld

A Taxing Time Relaxing

Rimuru POV

After the minor distraction that was ensuring that Orobas will stay out of mine and Iruma's hair for... well, forever, it was time for the after-party.

The Harvest Festival after-party is a crowded event where everyone is finally getting to chat and relax after days of isolation in the woods, but after what happened during the awards ceremony I'm sitting away from everyone else and brooding... I mean, chilling out!

[[You are definitely brooding.]]

Ngh... Well, can you blame me? That jerk ran my name through the mud in front of everyone, so now the whole school... no, the whole Netherworld's gonna have their eyes on me! And not even in a positive way!

I don't care that much about what others here say and think about me, but I can only imagine the trouble it'll cause me in the future. I was trying to leave the attention for Iruma, as far as he wanted it.

[[I did inform you about the overconsumption penalty while listing all the rules, Master.]]

I don't remember that...

Ciel listed so many obscure rules that I just kinda... stopped listening after a while. She even told me most weren't even enforced, or it had been a very long time since they had been.

If I had just horrifically lost the competition and nothing else, I'd be fine with it, but revoking my cafeteria privileges is an entirely different story. I'll be honest, I'm angry about it.

[[Even if predictable, that demon's slander of you was still unacceptable. We should beat him up.]]

Don't tempt me, or I actually might...

I shake my head, trying to clear away those dark troublesome thoughts instead of letting them fester. Beating up Kalego would just cause me more trouble.

I'm an adult and a Demon Lord, I can just roll with the punches instead of dishing them out myself.

Besides, this is a party! There's fun and food to be had here, I shouldn't let a foul mood ruin it.

Iruma looks busy since everyone wants to talk to him, so food it is!

Making my way over to the buffet tables, I grab myself a plate and some tongs, eagerly nabbing anything that looks tasty, letting my excitement take over my actions.

Ciel, Ciel! What's this? And what's that?

[[Decoratively-sliced gatormelon, and patched cow cutlets with an umami-rich sauce.]]

Oooh! And what about– Uh...

I can feel many eyes on me. I hear whispers too.

"She's still eating?"

"I can see why she lost so badly..."

"Heh, Behemolt's got nothing on Rimuru!"

Ah, I guess it was a little tactless of me to indulge myself right after everyone heard that I was a 'gluttonous abomination' during the Harvest Festival.

I'm not angry at all the comments, but I'm definitely annoyed by them. All this negative attention isn't something I want to deal with. Not only that, but it reminds me of the worst parts of life back home. Humans aren't as kind as they lead you to believe. Not that these kids are human, but they feel closer to that than to the demons of Hell I'm used to.

I decide to retreat with my only half-full plate, picking a discrete corner that nobody seems to be standing in. Best to avoid the spotlight in a situation like this. Yet, the staring and comments seem to continue, and I just make an effort to tune them out by adjusting my senses.