True God In Another World (Tensura x Tbate)

Chapter 82 - Guilt

Rimuru POV

"That absolute idiot. I specifically told him not to be reckless." I ran my fingers through my hair in frustration, slouching deeper into my chair until I was practically melting into it. The The sunset light streaming through the window did nothing to improve my mood, and the scattered papers across my desk only reminded me of all the other work I was neglecting.

"Did something happen, Master?" Julia asked, continuing her methodical cleaning of my perpetually messy bookshelves. She somehow managed to make even dusting look elegant, moving with practiced grace between the towering stacks of books and scrolls.

"Sylvie just talk me. Apparently, Art got himself caught in a beast explosion and ended up falling into another dungeon." I pinched the bridge of my nose, feeling the start of what promised to be an impressive headache. "Just another normal day for him, I suppose."

"An explosion? Another cell?" Julia paused her cleaning, cloth still in hand as she processed this information. "Could it be related to...?"

"Yeah, probably those Alacryans idiots messing around again." I waved my hand dismissively, though the implications weren't lost on me. "They never could leave well enough alone. Always poking at things they don't understand."

"Is he okay?" The concern in Julia's voice was genuine - she'd grown quite fond of Art over the years.

"He'll live. Big Sister Alea was there to catch him, thankfully." I stretched in my chair, trying to work out the tension building in my shoulders. The wood creaked in protest at my movement. "And Sylvie's heading his way now, so he's covered. Still doesn't excuse him being so reckless though."

"I don't mean to be disrespectful, Master," Julia's lips twitched into that knowing smile of hers, "but are you really in any position to criticize others for being reckless? Especially after what happened a few days ago?"

"That... that was completely different," I protested, though I could feel heat creeping up my neck. The memory of that particular experiment was still embarrassingly fresh. "I was conducting important research."

"Research that left you unconscious for an entire day?" Her voice carried that special blend of polite criticism that only Julia had mastered.

".........You're never going to let me live that down, are you?"

"Not as long as you keep lecturing others about being reckless, Master." Her smile grew slightly more pronounced as she moved to organize another shelf.

"Still, there's a chance they'll encounter the Alacryans," Julia said, her expression turning serious. The shift in her tone made me sit up straighter.

"I doubt it. They seem to have pulled back from the dungeons lately," I replied, pulling out a worn map from my desk drawer. "They've gotten more cautious since we started interfering with their operations. See these markers? They've abandoned at least three major research sites in the past month."

"Do you think they know about us?" Julia set down her cleaning supplies, moving closer to examine the map. Her eyes traced the patterns of red markers I'd been tracking.

"Maybe. Agrona probably has his suspicions, but I doubt he really believes it." I smirked, pointing to several locations where we'd deliberately left traces. "Someone that arrogant wouldn't be able to accept that a mere 'lesser' could have figured out his plan, let alone systematically dismantled it. He's more likely to write off our interference as natural dungeon phenomena, especially given how little is known about these places."

"I suppose that arrogance works in our favor," Julia observed, moving to organize some scattered papers on my desk. Her hands moved with practiced efficiency, somehow knowing exactly which documents belonged together. "Though it's rather ironic that someone claiming superiority can't see what's right in front of them."