The Reincarnations of Veldanava

The Eight-Pointed Star; Octagram

Ciel felt something she had never felt before when she was Great Sage and Raphael, this was the first time she had experienced true fear. 'Out of everything I hide in this room, why does it have to be a 'motivation album' where I keep all the explicit photos?'

That book in particular was difficult to explain, too. 'I hope he doesn't see me as a weirdo... I don't want him to feel uncomfortable, but I can't stop myself from doing what I did...'

Ciel had an uncontrollable urge to know more about Rimuru, to understand everything there was to learn. She had been like this since she was still the Wisdom King Raphael.

In fact, the whole reason for her acquiring Extra skill Perfect Memory was because she wanted to make sure that nothing about her Master would be forgotten. Every thought, every moment and every posture of Rimuru had been recorded and researched by Ciel.

It was a true calling for a skill turned manas like her. "Master, I'm just... It's my..." What she did was inexcusable, if she didn't find it weird then she wouldn't hide it in the first place. Any excuse she came up with fell flat.

Even a fight with Guy, one of the strongest people in the world, didn't get her this nervous. 'As I thought, Master is a whole different beast completely.' She had an unexplainable urge to kneel down and beg for forgiveness, but that would be very unprofessional of her.

Her dear Master walked past her to the plush sofa. She couldn't read his thoughts and emotions at all, and this sense of disconnection only raised concerns. "We should talk about this. Come here, Ciel. Sit down with me."

She carried herself closer, walking as if she was in a trance, lacking confidence. Ciel sat down when she reached the sofa.

"Oi, Ciel! Why are you sitting on the floor?"

"It's my first instinct..."

"First instinct?! You do know that you're not my servant, right? You're my partner, you don't have to sit lower than me."

Rimuru slightly misunderstood her message, but maybe that was for the best, knowing her real intention would only weird him even more. Ciel sat there silently next to his leg like some sorts of devoted servant.

He wasn't going to judge her, honestly, he had seen people in worse positions when talking to him, especially during his time as Veldanava. As long as it made her comfortable around him, Rimuru was fine with it. 'Ciel-san is a little strange, but she's really adorable when she's nervous.'

Ciel was one of the most confident women he knew, so it was rare to see her being this vulnerable. 'Getting caught red-handed is a big deal for her, huh?' She was like a dog that got caught gnawing on a couch. 'It's true that what she did was wrong, but I don't think I have enough strength to be mad at her when she makes that adorable face.'

Her ruby-red eyes kept casting downward, it showed no emotion, but Ciel wasn't an expressive type of person to begin with. Meanwhile, the way she sat radiated submissiveness.

"Ciel."

"Y-Yes!"

"Did you take these pictures yourself?" Rimuru asked as he flipped through pages. He paid attention to every picture, counting suggestive and explicit photos as he went. To his surprise, there were a dozen of them.

Ciel hesitated to tell the truth at first, but at this point, it was too far gone for any excuse to work. "Yes, Master. I can't help myself," she said shamefully, though it was a shame of getting caught instead of committing this act in the first place.

She was prepared to be scolded, but instead of doing just that, he chuckled. "You're such a pervert, Ciel-san." He didn't sound like he was mad, his tone was playful and non-threatening.