Chapter 123 - Explanation

A/N: Don't worry about the dynamics. Even if they don't get added or change, I'll still give them the dynamics in the description. Like the friendship, rivalry or even family dynamics. 

Yuuki visited the Forest after killing Mariabell. He wanted to tell Rimuru about what had happened and that he had taken care of her.

As he entered the forest, he raised his hands in a gesture of surrender as he sensed monsters surrounding him. He looked both fascinated and amused by the fact that he could sense monsters as strong as he was.

"I want to speak with Rimuru-san, I'm a friend!" he called out, hoping his words would reach them. At the very least, he was certain they wouldn't harm or attack him before confirming his intentions.

He smiled as the monsters remained where they were, neither approaching nor attacking. He sat down on the ground, waiting for them to confirm the truth of his words.

Less than a few minutes later, a Dryad appeared before him. He quickly stood, brushing the dirt off his pants.

"Our apologies," the Dryad bowed, gesturing for him to follow her deeper into the forest. "Please, follow me."

Yuuki nodded, following the Dryad through the forest. As they walked, he sensed the presence of the surrounding monsters fade, and for a moment, he wasn't sure whether they had left or simply hidden their presence. He made a mental note of this—he knew that this could be something to keep in mind for later.

"Wow, now that's amazing," Yuuki remarked, eyes wide with wonder, as he gazed upon the large castle in the capital city when they arrived. "I can't believe this place has only been around for a year or so."

He looked around, taking in his surroundings. The streets were bustling with monsters of various kinds: Hobgoblins, Orcs, Ogres, Kijins, Bovoid, Equinoid, Elves, Dwarves, and even Onis. Yuuki listed all the creatures he recognized, but as his gaze drifted, he realized he was already standing right in front of the castle.

"Yuuki-san!" A familiar voice called, and Yuuki looked up to see a group rushing toward him. As he recognized them, he smiled and opened his arms, embracing the kids.

"Yuuki-san, it's been a while!" Kenya grinned, his enthusiasm clear.

Gale, still the tallest of the group, watched as the others latched onto Yuuki. "Hello, Yuuki-san," he greeted with a small wave.

"Why haven't you visited us until now?" Alice asked, pouting with mock frustration.

Ryota, as always, remained silent but gave a quiet smile and a side hug.

"Yuuki." A familiar voice cut through the commotion. Yuuki turned to see Shizu approaching, with Chloe and Rimuru beside her.

"Hello, Shizu-sensei!" he said, his face lighting up with a bright smile. "I came to visit."

The group made their way into the castle's garden, where Rimuru and the others had gathered.

"It's good that you could come here," Shizu smiled as they settled down in the garden. Taking a sip from her tea, she tilted her head thoughtfully. "Are you sure it's fine for you to be away from your work? It seems like Rimuru-sama has been keeping the West busy."

She spoke with a hint of discomfort but still willing to engage in the topic. She knew about the invasion and the consequences of the battle that followed. Though she didn't fully agree with Rimuru's methods, she didn't have the right to argue, especially considering that if they hadn't taken action, it would have been the forest itself that might have been destroyed—or worse, enslaved.

Still, she chose to remain silent, keeping the memories of Ballachia and Falmuth sealed deep in the back of her mind. She focused instead on the children's recovery and their mastery over their spirits.

"Don't worry, Shizu-sensei, I made sure to leave some time for myself," Yuuki reassured her, scratching the back of his head. He glanced at Rimuru, who was chatting with Chloe.

"Rimuru-san, I actually had something I wanted to tell you as well." Yuuki said, his gaze lingering on Chloe. Chloe seems to be quite close with Rimuru. Does she like him? I doubt Rimuru-san is fond of children.

Chloe always seems to be the true hidden prodigy among the children, he thought as he observed them while continuing his conversation with Shizu. Kenya seems like a potential hero, but Chloe... she feels different. My instincts tell me that she's more important than anyone lets on.

Chloe... Chloe Aubert... Wait...? Chloe Aubert? Summoned Chloe, child Chloe Aubert? Demon Lord Leon!

The sudden realization froze his expression. He stared blankly into his cup, making sure not to make eye contact with anyone.

"Yuuki?" Shizu called out, her voice filled with confusion at his sudden stillness. "Is something wrong?"

Her concern was enough to draw the attention of Rimuru, Chloe, and the other children, who all turned to look at him.

Taking a deep breath, Yuuki quickly regained his composure. "Ahaha, nothing, Shizu-sensei, I just realized I might have left some work unfinished. I'll handle it when I get back; I'm sure my secretary can sort it out." He laughed it off.

"You shouldn't leave that sort of work to your secretary," Shizu reprimanded lightly, though there was a trace of concern in her voice. "Make sure to take care of your responsibilities."

"Right," Yuuki responded with a nod, unable to argue.

...

After informing Rimuru of Mariabell's death and spending a few days with Shizu and the children, Yuuki returned to Ingrassia. He sat alone, mulling over his next move. He wondered whether he should act on the information he had, or remain silent.

With a wry smile, he decided to test the waters. He sent a letter to Damrada, who was still in contact with him and Granbell. "Let's see how things play out."

With that decision made, Yuuki steeled himself for the gamble he had just placed. He would either be dead by the end of the week or he would live to see how everything unfolded.

"I guess this stupid Unique Skill really does push the holder to take risky moves," he muttered to himself, recalling the Greedy One skill he had stolen from Mariabell. He shrugged it off before returning to his work.

In El Dorado, within the throne room, Leon sat silently, his gaze fixed on the Eastern Merchant before him. The merchant was discussing the latest batch of children summoned and their transfer to his territory.

"Also," Damrada spoke cautiously, as if anticipating any sudden movements from Leon, "I heard that the Primordial Demon Rimuru has taken five children from Ingrassia, children who were supposed to be transferred here."

Leon's frown deepened at the mention of Rimuru. He had never been fond of Rimuru's whims, nor was he pleased whenever his name came up.

"Five children, is it?" Leon leaned on the armrest of his throne, his tone cold.

"Yes," Damrada replied with a respectful bow. "Gale Gibson, Kenya Misaki, Ryota Sekiguchi, Chloe Aubert, and Alice Rondo, I believe were the names."

Leon was taken aback. He couldn't believe what he had just heard. "Can you repeat that?" His voice was unsteady, barely above a whisper.

Damrada, equally surprised that his tip had been accurate, nodded. "Yes, Kenya Misaki—"

"No, the last part," Leon interjected sharply.

"Alice Rondo?" Damrada tilted his head in confusion, unsure of what Leon was referring to.

Leon's posture stiffened as he fixed his tone. He cleared his throat, trying to compose himself. "Just repeat them."

"Of course," Damrada responded with a smile, unbothered by Leon's request. "Gale Gibson, Kenya Misaki, Ryota Sekiguchi, Chloe Aubert, and Alice Rondo."

"I see," Leon muttered, taking a slow, deliberate breath. "That will be all. You can leave now."

Damrada stepped back, his gaze lingering on Leon, amused by the hidden reaction, though it was mostly concealed beneath Leon's passive expression.

"Chloe Aubert... Chloe," Leon whispered to himself, his thoughts drifting back to the image of the young girl who had been separated from him two hundred years ago.

He stood up and opened the gates of his kingdom. Seeing the clear sky in his kingdom, he flew out directly to the Forest. Needing confirmation if it was true, and if Rimuru had been hiding and keeping Chloe from him.

Rimuru was finishing up with work for the day, seeing as everything was progressing properly. He had deployed some Onis and Ultima to Falmuth to control the population in an 'efficient' way, without a rebellion boiling over and losing more human lives.

Then, he felt the sharp flight of Leon toward him. He found it quite interesting that Leon was making a sudden visit, but seeing this as an opportunity, he was willing to accept the situation as the perfect reveal time.

(Chloe,) he contacted through thought communication. (Leon is coming over.)

Chloe, who was finishing up her meal with the other children for the night, took a sip of her juice. (Got it!)

She stood from her seat. "I need to go somewhere." Without waiting for them to reply, she was already walking away.

The others had seen her do this several times and did not bother to react. They initially thought she was just going to the restroom, but the duration she was gone was almost an hour minimum.

From what Shizu had explained to them, she was sneaking around to try and look for Rimuru. They had already noticed Chloe's crush on the Demon, so it wasn't hard for them to believe it.

Shizu, however, was different. While it took time for both Chloe and Rimuru, they managed to slowly reveal the truth to Shizu about Chloe's past.

Recalling it, Shizu sighed to herself on how everything became complicated.

"Shizu, I know you are having a hard time understanding this," Rimuru started as the three of them sat in his office. "Are you sure you can handle everything right now?"

Chloe looked at her worriedly. She was prepared to tell Shizu everything but was still uneasy. "Sensei, we can do this another time."

Shizu smiled sweetly at Chloe's worried tone. "I'm fine, Chloe, you can tell me everything."

With that, they began to explain what needed to be said. Nothing more, nothing less. They explained the usual pattern of Chloe's time loop, not adding Rimuru's interference, as that would complicate the explanation.

The story about Chloe's time loop, Hinata's death, as well as Shizu's role in being both the student and teacher of Hinata.

"Sensei, I think you should come too." Hearing Chloe's voice, she turned to see her lightly pulling on her sleeves.

"Sure," Shizu smiled, standing up to follow her. "Make sure to finish up, then rest before sleeping."

The children all nodded as the two left.

"Where will we go, Chloe?" Shizu asked, tilting her head.

"Ah, I think we are going to meet Leon-oniichan!" Chloe said excitedly.

Shizu froze, halting her movement. "Leon-sama...?"

Chloe looked at her slightly confused before recalling their former relationship. Leon had been Shizu's Master and savior when she was summoned.

As they managed to reach the place, somewhere a bit distant from the city as Rimuru had directed, they could see a one-sided confrontation in the sky.

Leon, with his sword drawn, was aiming it at Rimuru, who was just moving and dodging in the sky.

"You!" Leon raised his weapon high, releasing vast killing intent at Rimuru. "You've been hiding her here all along..!"

"I did say you'd see her in the future," Rimuru pointed out as he took a sitting posture mid-air. "She's over there."

Leon, following the direction where Rimuru was pointing, saw Chloe with Shizu, watching from below.

With his outburst and rage at Rimuru, he failed to notice their arrival.

"Chloe," he darted down, dropping to the ground in front of her. "It's me, Leon."

"Hello, Leon-oniichan." Chloe waved awkwardly at how frantic Leon's actions were. "It's been a while, hehehe."

"How long have you been here? Are you okay?" He observed her, still the young child she was when she disappeared right before his eyes. "Rimuru didn't do anything bad, did he?"

He then turned to Rimuru, glaring as he also landed and moved near Shizu. "Worst," Rimuru teased, winking at Leon.

"You..." Leon gripped his sword again.

"Wait!" Chloe stopped him, moving in front of him just as Leon was about to attack Rimuru again. "I can explain. It isn't like that."

Chloe and Leon then had a long discussion while Rimuru and Shizu watched from the sidelines. Rimuru took out some seats and offered them to Shizu while gesturing for her to sit beside him, watching everything play out.

Chloe narrated everything carefully in a way that Leon would take it the least... vengeful toward Rimuru. She planned to tell him about the marriage and their relationship status the next time they talked, preferably before he found out on his own.

Shizu looked a bit miffed, seeing her previous master acting all caring and full of expression toward a child. "So Leon-sama has a side like this too?"

"Oh yeah," Rimuru grinned as he was silently watching, sending live footage to Elmesia as he sat there. "This is a rare moment, and probably a common one every time the two meet or interact."

Leon frowned at Rimuru's words. As he was about to argue, he looked to the person beside him. "Mh, Shizu."

Shizu laughed lightly as her presence was finally acknowledged by Leon. "Hello, Leon-sama, it has been a long time."

"It is good that you are well," he said, and for some reason, Rimuru felt proud seeing him say those words. "Pirino and Pizu miss you."

Even for a demon like him, it almost brought him to tears. Elmesia, on the other end of the thought communication, was feeling genuine disbelief and happiness seeing Leon say things that were not misunderstood negatively.

"Ah," Shizu simply nodded. She and her best friend Pirino met once every few months, normally in Ingrassia or in the border countries nearest to El Dorado. Their meet-ups had been so far apart due to Pirino now having her own responsibilities and only being able to make time every so often.

In truth, though, if she had only asked either Claude or Alrose instead of sneaking around and making excuses, they would have more than happily approved. But that was something they would only know later.

"This is such a monumental moment," Rimuru said with a genuine tone, though it sounded mocking to Leon. "It seems my words and lessons were not in vain."

Leon glared. "We're not done. How dare you keep this information from me before?"

Rimuru shrugged. "Hey, if you just looked around the Cardinal world instead of looking to other worlds, you would have found her. Ironically, you also left when she was closest to you."

Leon clicked his tongue. He couldn't believe that he was closer to Chloe than he ever had been for his entire life. "And you didn't tell me to not ruin the timeline, is that it?"

"Yes," Chloe confirmed. "Sorry for not telling you, Leon-oniichan."

He sighed. He couldn't stay angry with her. In fact, he was more angry with Rimuru, though it wasn't for any other reason than his personal irritation with the demon.

"Are you sure you want to stay here?" Leon asked Chloe. "In El Dorado, I can keep you safe there."

Chloe shook her head. "My friends are here. Besides, it's fun here with everyone."

Leon looked slightly pained, but he took her word. "I understand. If you want to visit, just tell me, okay?" He stood up, seeing as his arrival was unannounced, and his knights might be in minor confusion.

As he was about to leave, he turned to Shizu. "You are more than welcome to visit too. Pirino doesn't have to sneak around for you two to meet. I'll tell her that too."

"Thank you, Leon-sama," she said.

As he left, Shizu smiled. While she barely talked to him, it was very comforting that the two did not have any negative interactions. Her leaving his side was something that had been necessary.

She never held a grudge for it, especially knowing it was orchestrated by Rimuru from the very beginning. She was just glad that he did not forget her, and that her name was still remembered, even if she was no longer serving him.

"So he kept quiet, knowing Pirino has been sneaking out?" Rimuru muttered from a distance away. "I guess some parts remain the same."

Chloe giggled at that. "I think it is fine. That's what makes him, Leon-oniisan."

"Onii-san?" Rimuru looked at her before grinning. "I'm sure he'll get very sad if he heard that."

"I'm not a child, Rimuru-san," she pouted

A/N: Leon isn't as Chloe obsessed much to the delights of many. Frankly, seeing Leon be obsessed... just feels weird for me. A protective brother is fine but siscon is a no for me in this fic.

So Leon here is just a worried older brother. Also, he isn't the "Chloe is the cutest" and "Chloe is the best" or whatever that is called.  He is more of a "I don't like Chloe getting mixed up with Rimuru." and "He better not be a bad influence!"