Rimuru and Iruma's Adventures in the Netherworld

Practice Your Scales, Rimuru!

Iruma POV

"Hmmm... Nnnnh..."

Usually, on a night like this where I'm tossing and turning in bed from having too many things to think about, Alikred would pop out to talk things over with me.

But he hasn't shown himself in over a week. So I'm just stuck stewing alone in my problems, when I normally would have fallen asleep an hour ago.

I know Rimuru isn't happy, and now I'm upset about it. All I'm doing is thinking and yet I still can't come to a conclusion. Instead, I'm stuck in a loop, thinking about my own frustration with it.

I can't just involve myself in Rimuru's problems. They are always so big, every time Rimuru has a real one. Somehow though, Rimuru seems to just let it all flow over her.

But not now, for some reason. Instead I saw Rimuru get upset, frustrated... Sad? I couldn't be sure about that last one. Sadness almost seems foreign to Rimuru, at least when not talking about some of the subjects she'd forbidden.

The simpler way to put it to words is that Rimuru isn't being confident. She's not been loud and in charge, or doing over-the-top reactions to those who wrong her. Instead, she just grumbles and walks away.

She's being a little like me, somehow. Yet our reputations couldn't be any more different.

Everyone likes me, or seems to, for some reason. But most Netherworld demons don't seem to like Rimuru. They're scared of Rimuru, see her as a joke, or even hate her. They don't know her the way I do, they just see a girl that goes around punching all her problems into the mud.

So any moment of weakness meant they had to attack, to have any chance against her at all.

When everyone does that, I can't confidently intervene. It's easy to stand at Rimuru's side when it's just one person throwing a pile of food...

It's harder when it's the whole school.

Maybe Rimuru is still being over-the-top?

Really, the last time I'd stood up for Rimuru was during my 'evil cycle,' at least in this kind of big situation.

I can't do that now though, at least not as well as I did then. That'd need Ali's help, and I don't know why the little guy's been so quiet.

Staring at my hands, I feel the need to do something... Anything. I harmlessly grab onto my pillow and swing it around, hitting anything I can fruitlessly.

I swing and the pillow flies out of my hand, into my nightstand.

Everything on it scatters across the ground, and I wince as I hear my alarm clock hit the floor with a loud crunch.

I sigh deeply... I shouldn't have done that. I'm just acting out and hurting myself. Also, I'm making a mess for Opera to clean up.

Plus, I'm sure the alarm clock was expensive.

I don't want to ask Grandpa to buy a new one... Ciel could probably fix it. If Rimuru broke her alarm clock, I know Ciel would fix it for her.

Ciel...

She's helped me a few times before so she might be able to help me here. Not just with the alarm clock, but my other problem too. It's at least worth asking, right?

{{Hey... Ciel?}}

[[Yes?]]

{{I was thinking... The only time I really stood up for Rimuru was back when we were pretending to have an evil cycle. Or... I guess it was an actual evil cycle for me... sorta...}}