Code S.L.I.M.E.

Chapter 14: Smiles

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mu1622

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Kokobu's POV

I found myself trailing the princess for the third time this week, keeping an eye on her as much as I could. I did hold a lot of respect for Lord Rimuru, but I was still frustrated he had given Aoki permission to walk to the labyrinth on her own.

Mind you, this was with a cloak that disguised her presence and appearance, but it was still frustrating.

Now I had a pause while watching the princess, it appeared she was curious what other children were doing. To me it looked like they had been playing hammerhorns, a game popular among ogre children.

Aoki did not approach, and even when they noticed and attempted to speak to her, her responses were sparse and reluctant.

In a way, I was disappointed in the outcome, as even if I would have needed to pull Aoki away from the game soon after. She did need to better learn what being a child is like, in my opinion.

Having a big family myself, seeing a child that is so alone is rather disheartening. There is a lot she is missing, yet I'm not sure if those thoughts are genuine... Or even my own. I'd been struggling with that since I was renamed by the princess.

While my devotion to Lord Rimuru was still stronger and I could be sure I was still loyal to our Lord, I was unsure of how to regard the princess... Or what my position would be if given an order.

Being deferential to her in many situations may create problems for Lord Rimuru, as a result it would be unwise... And yet I wanted to listen to the young slime.

She had named me after all, and appeared quite protective of me. It was a familiar feeling from a long time ago. One I had gotten from Lord Rimuru himself. As a result, it conflicted deeply.

My conclusion was simply that I would defer to the princess when possible, but would prioritize acting in a way I believe Lord Rimuru would see best. It was the best compromise I could settle on while watching her.

She moved on quickly after that, and keeping up with her without being noticed became somewhat difficult.

I didn't even know for certain that she hadn't noticed me, it was entirely possible she was still observing me, after all.

...

While waiting for the princess' combat lessons to finish, I went shopping for her. Placing everything in the [Personal Space] I'd acquired from my new unique skill. I could not go inside and it was very small, but it was still incredibly useful for situations such as this.

If I were to guess it was the size of a small room, and while I could not see inside, I intuitively knew where things were and how they were stored. I could not isolate them or control much about the space, so it was not good for cold storage like my father's skill.

Therefore, dry and stable goods only.

I returned to the entrance of the Labyrinth right as I suspected the lesson would conclude, however I ended up waiting for thirty minutes longer before the princess exited the portal.

Alongside Lady Hinata, as expected... But also alongside Lord Zegion. I'd only seen him once or twice before, but not in his current form. Of this I'd only seen pictures.

He truly was an imposing one.

Aoki herself appeared to be smiling unconsciously, while speaking with Lord Zegion, it was a habit I rather liked seeing her pick up. Though I did wonder why she'd taken to doing it.