Chapter 89 - Child

A/N: Today marks two years of this story! So here's an extra chapter.

The day after Rimuru introduced Kagali and her companions to the girls, they were asked to return to their territory with the promise from Rimuru that he would protect them from Jahil.

Sarion was part of Kagali's group, but his involvement was more complicated than the others. Now, he was on his way home to explain the situation to his wife, as Rimuru had instructed.

The weight of his dual role pressed on him; he couldn't simply wander around with his memories intact. Instead, he would need to adopt the role of Kagali's subordinate, a necessary deception. While Sarion understood the intricacies of the altered timeline and the urgency of their mission, Kagali and the others remained unaware.

"I plan on hiding out in the Forest or perhaps in the future Holy Empire until it's time for me to take action," Rimuru said, taking a casual bite of his breakfast, the aroma of cooked food wafting through the air.

They were gathered around a table for breakfast, surrounded by Luminas, Hinata, Chloe, and Velgrynd. Suddenly, they all jumped from their seats, a shared thought pulsing through their minds.

'Milim's awake!'

Without hesitation, Rimuru dashed towards the room where she was resting. "Milim, how are you feeling?" he asked, gently taking her hand, ensuring his grip was reassuring yet firm, hoping to prevent any potential rampage.

"U-uncle?" Milim, still dazed, squinted as her eyes focused on him. The moment she recognized his worried expression, her face lit up with joy.

"Uncle!" She leaped into his arms, her small frame colliding with him as she hugged him tightly, burying her face against his chest. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she cried, the weight of her emotions spilling over.

Rimuru's heart ached at the sight of his niece in distress. He gently caressed the back of her head, a soothing gesture meant to calm her.

As the others entered the room, their expressions softened, smiles creeping onto their faces. Seeing Rimuru cradle the small Milim, almost like a parent comforting a child, stirred something deep within them.

"...A child, huh?" a voice murmured, though it was unclear who had spoken. It seemed to echo in the air, resonating with the unspoken bond they all felt as they watched the tender moment unfold.

"...I also want to be caressed like that," Chloe said suddenly, drawing everyone's attention. All heads turned to her, eyebrows raised in surprise. A faint blush spread across her cheeks as she offered a sheepish smile, clearly embarrassed by her outburst.

After several minutes of sobbing, the Dragon Princess finally managed to speak. "Uncle, I was so scared." Her small hands gripped the fabric of his clothes, trembling as she recounted the harrowing events that had unfolded.

Rimuru and the others listened intently, their expressions a mix of pain and resolve as Milim described her capture and the anguish of witnessing her friend's injury. When she reached the most painful part, her voice broke. "Uncle, where is he? Where is my friend?!"

Rimuru took a deep breath, steeling himself. His serious expression reflected the weight of the moment. "Milim, calm down. Let me explain."

Anticipating the emotional storm that was about to erupt, the others quickly erected several barriers around the room, their movements swift and practiced. Rimuru braced himself, ready for the backlash he knew was coming.

"Your friend died. Jahil killed him."

As expected, the room erupted with a surge of raw magicules. The force was so intense that furniture and even the bed evaporated into nothingness. Rimuru struggled to maintain his position, exerting considerable effort to stay near Milim as her grief manifested in destructive energy.

He tightened his grip around her, holding her close. "Calm down, Milim. It's going to be okay. I'm here. We'll stay by your side." His voice was steady, each word a gentle anchor meant to soothe her rising anger. "Besides, he still needs your help right now."

Milim's eyes, wide with anguish, began to soften as she processed his words. The explosive magicules that had filled the air started to dissipate, their fury slowly fading into nothingness. The others, who had maintained the barriers, sensed the change and stepped closer, offering their presence as a comforting shield around her.

"Uncle..." Milim wiped away her tears, her eyes now filled with a mixture of worry and determination. "What can I do to help?"

......

Looming over a large city in the north of the continent, the area served as a home and territory for the dwarves. The loud intermingling of humans, dwarves, and elves filled the air as they made their way to fulfill their respective roles in society.

Above the unassuming civilians, a massive evil dragon prepared to unleash its breath, aimed directly at the bustling city of trade.

As it dove down toward the city, intending to spread its breath over a wider area and cause maximum damage, a powerful strike hit the dragon's side, sending it careening a full kilometer away from the city.

As its dragon eyes scanned for the assailant, they stopped on a pink-haired girl with a saddened expression. The chaos dragon roared loudly, causing panic to ripple through the city below. With its presence now known, chaos ensued, and screams echoed in the streets.

"Ga—"

Just as Milim was about to utter something, the chaos dragon charged toward her. It did not care who she was; it only saw her as an enemy, something it wanted to eliminate.

Milim's expression darkened as she felt pain at the sight of her friend in such a ferocious state. Then, she felt an arm on her shoulder. "It's fine, Milim. I'll help."

Rimuru's words sent a wave of comfort and confidence to the young Dragon Princess. Clenching her fists, she placed both hands in front of her, aiming at the dragon. "Goodbye for now, Drago-Nova."

A beam of energy erupted from her hands, striking the chaos dragon. The blinding light countered the miasma-like breath it had unleashed toward them, enveloping the beast in radiance before it evaporated into nothingness.

As the chaos dragon disappeared, Rimuru stepped forward. "Beelzebub." He absorbed all that was left in the surroundings, along with the residue of parts he had specifically asked not to be targeted.

Following these events, they returned to Night Rose. Rimuru kept to himself for more than half an hour before finally meeting up with Milim, a smile on his face.

"Milim, though this isn't much of an apology for not being there," he said, pulling out a large egg. Milim's eyes widened in surprise as she sensed what it was and who was inside. "A small part of its soul was still there. Unfortunately, it will take more than a thousand years before it can hatch." He offered a bitter smile, lying to her niece, knowing it wasn't even supposed to be revived yet; he had been forced to slow down its recovery.

Milim received the egg with both arms, cradling it gently. She leaned her head against it, listening to its heartbeat and feeling the warmth radiating from within. "Thank you! Thank you, Uncle!" Milim exclaimed, her bright smile melting the hearts of everyone around her.

Rimuru smiled, seeing the childlike joy return to her face.

More than a month had passed since that day, and Milim had been so attentive to the egg that she rarely left its side.

Rimuru and the others were chatting as they ate breakfast. "I think it would be better for Milim to have her own place."

"Hm," Chloe added, taking a bite of her meal. "In the original timeline, she did wander around after her friend's death. Something about helping others as a way to atone for her friend's destruction."

Hinata took a sip of her tea and turned to Rimuru. "I heard that too. The reason the Dragon Faithful worshipped Milim was that they were saved by her, which led them to begin worshipping Dragons in general. This resulted in their mingling, creating the Dragonewts Dragon Faithful."

"Hm..." Rimuru frowned, glancing at his plate. "But it feels cruel to just kick her out, and I don't want to leave her unsupervised. But if we don't let her roam, it will change the timeline again..." He grumbled as he took a sip of his tea.

Suddenly, they all turned toward a specific direction. "About time."

A few kilometers away, a small black-haired girl appeared out of thin air. "Alright, let's go meet Luminas-san!" She marched forward, a smile bright on her face.

As the child approached the entrance of the castle, she didn't even have a chance to speak to the guard. "Please enter; Luminas-sama has been expecting you." The vampire's words startled her, and she grew wary, walking in with a slower, less confident stride.

'Hinata-san, I'm getting worried! This has never happened before! What should I do? This is a first.'

'Calm down, Chloe. For now, let's be cautious and observe.'

Chloe darted her gaze down the hallway as she entered the throne room, where Luminas was sitting with a smile. "My, you look adorable as a child, Chloe." Hearing her name uttered without an introduction set off alarm bells in her head.

Seeing the child's expression, Luminas let out a small giggle. "Don't worry; I'll explain everything to you." As if on cue, Rimuru and the others stepped out from behind one of the pillars.

"Me!? Hinata-san?! And... Rimuru..san?" Chloe's eyes widened in shock, darting between the three of them, not even noticing the Scorch Dragon beside Rimuru. "Eh—ah? Wha—...?"

"Ah, she passed out."

Chloe looked at her child version with a mix feelings of pity and embarrassment for her reaction. "I think it was too much to show us all at the same time, Luminas-san should have given a brief explanation first."

Luminas stood from her throne and walked toward the unconscious Chloe. "But then I wouldn't have seen such an adorable reaction from you." She cradled the child in her arms, embracing her gently.

"Stop that!" Chloe blushed and rushed toward Luminas, trying to pull her younger self away from the older woman's grasp. Luminas grinned and darted away, holding the small unconscious Chloe tightly.

The playful chase continued for a few minutes until the Chloe in Luminas' arms began to stir, waking up from the movement. "Huh...?" She blinked, her eyes scanning the surroundings and quickly realizing her feet were not touching the ground.

"Oh, she's awake!" Luminas said cheerfully. She lowered Chloe gently to the ground, supporting her as the child regained her footing. "Let us calm down for now, shall we?" She smiled and bent down to meet the child's gaze.

Chloe could only nod in compliance, her eyes widening as she took in the sight of her adult self, who wore a tired expression with tears nearly spilling from the corners of her eyes. Then her gaze shifted to Hinata, Rimuru, and another blue-haired woman. "Scorch Dragon?!"

"Almost the exact same reaction," Hinata joked, sharing a knowing glance with Rimuru. They both turned to Chloe, who looked away, clearly embarrassed. "Calm down; she is on our side now."

"Let's change locations for now," Rimuru suggested, having watched the scene unfold with mild amusement. "I'll cook something special for the occasion. Velgrynd, could you call Milim to eat?" Velgrynd nodded and walked away to fetch her niece.

"Milim?!" Chloe exclaimed, her eyes wide.

Luminas placed a reassuring hand on the child's shoulder. "All right, that's enough about that. Let's all go now." She gently nudged Chloe to move toward the dining room. "Eh? Ah!"

As they all took their seats, Velgrynd and Milim entered, Milim carefully carrying a dragon egg in her arms. "Milim, place it here," Luminas instructed, pointing to a specially designed armchair that was covered on all sides with cushions and cloth, made at Milim's request.

Milim nodded eagerly and gently set the egg on the chair before sitting down, her eyes sparkling with excitement as she awaited the meal.

Meanwhile, child Chloe stared silently at Milim, dread creeping into her expression as she grappled with the enormity of the changes in the timeline. "It's fine," she heard her adult self reassure her, though the strength and abilities of her older version felt almost unrecognizable.

A few minutes later, Rimuru emerged from the kitchen, accompanied by several servants carrying steaming dishes, the delicious aromas wafting through the air. "Yay!" Milim exclaimed, diving into the food as soon as it was laid in front of her.

Rimuru chuckled at his niece's enthusiasm as he sat down, and soon everyone began to enjoy their meals together.

As they started eating, child Chloe felt increasingly awkward, surrounded by laughter and conversation while trying to process everything.

"Well then, can I call you Chloe?" Rimuru began, wiping his lips with a napkin. "I know you're very confused right now. For starters, everything is in shambles because I went to the past."

Child Chloe listened intently, taking notes while the others occasionally added facts or filled in parts that left her a bit confused. The most surprising revelation, aside from Rimuru's return to the past, was that her other self had traveled back to the very start of everything—before the Cardinal world and into a different universe—journeying for thousands of years.

The Hinata in her head was already on the brink of lashing out at the absurdity of Rimuru's manipulation of the timeline and how much he had ruined it. Everything had been sudden and overwhelming, and Rimuru only added more fuel to the fire.

Chloe raised her hand timidly, wanting to speak to Rimuru. "Uhm... Rimuru-san, so basically, what you want us to do is absorb our other selves here?" She pointed at both her older version and Hinata, who was only occasionally listening as she focused on her food.

Rimuru nodded. "Not really absorb; you won't disappear. More like assimilate or merge. You and her will become one and the same, combining your essences. It's hard to explain, but it's basically how my parallel existence works." He stood, and another Rimuru appeared beside him.

"Ohh! Cool! Another Uncle!" Milim exclaimed, her eyes sparkling with excitement, while Velgrynd playfully rolled her eyes.

Child Chloe's eyes widened at the sudden appearance of the clone. "Wait... it's not a clone? Huh?" She turned to the others, feeling momentarily disoriented.

"Both of us here are real," one Rimuru said, returning to his seat while the other walked toward her. "It's a skill that creates a genuine split; both are the same person at the same time, and both are original." He stopped behind her chair.

The seated Rimuru continued explaining. "Let's say... the me sitting here represents that Chloe, and the other me is you. Both are real, and neither is a copy; they are their own independent selves." The Rimuru behind her then returned to the other Rimuru and slowly merged with him.

"You'll just become one again like this." He shrugged casually.

"I feel like you're complicating this more than it needs to be," Hinata said, massaging her temple as she watched Rimuru and the child version of Chloe. "Just don't mind him, Chloe. All you need to know is that if you assimilate with her here..." She pointed at the older Chloe, who was silently watching the interaction and slightly jumped at being put on the spot. "You and Rimuru will eventually come together."

The child Chloe leaped from her chair, her expression radiating pure joy as if stars were about to burst from her eyes. She ran up to her older version and hugged her tightly. "Let's do it!"

"Wha—Hinata!" Chloe exclaimed, watching her younger self get giddy and pressure her to quickly absorb her. She glared at Hinata, feeling embarrassed, but Hinata just shrugged and continued with her meal.

"Guess that works too," Luminas giggled, observing the child shaking Chloe, who wore a complex expression, torn between amusement and exasperation.

Chloe turning her head to the others at the table, who were watching the two versions of Chloe Aubert, she opened her mouth. "Am I always like—"  this.

"Yes."

A blush spread across Chloe's face, turning her skin a crimson shade that extended to her neck. "Let's just—let's just get this over with." She sighed, glancing at Hinata, who stood up and moved closer to the two Chloes.

Both of them held on to the child as the Hinata in her mind passed through to Hinata, and the child Chloe began to merge with her older version.

As the process finished, Chloe looked at herself, then at Rimuru. "It feels weird, like I've regained a part of my innocence? Not really sure, but I do know some parts of me are more like that Chloe's." She then turned to Hinata.

"Yeah, same here. Though for some reason, I have a headache." She frowned, cradling her head with one hand. "Oh, seems you're asking too much for me in the future again." She glared at him.

Rimuru tilted his head by his comment. 'But we aren't there yet? What do you mean by future? The slime me?'

"Ohh! Hinata, you got your icy glares back," Chloe joked, a teasing grin on her face. "You slowly lost it when you got your body—good for you."

"Amazing," Rimuru said, amusement dancing in his eyes. "Maybe it's because I have majority of my soul. Even though I don't fear you, I felt something jump inside me when you glared. The old me was a bit scared of your glares." He laughed lightly.

Hinata popped a vein, her irritation clear as she stood to return to her seat, asking for a second serving.

"Jokes aside, you two are safe now. I doubt the world will even notice anything wrong with you as long as you don't do anything major." He smiled as they finished their food,

A/N: I don't know how I feel about the second part of the chapter. I kinda slumped and went through several writer's block there.

I feel like we don't really get any embarrassed Chloe in the novel. Also Milim is probably gonna be staying in the background from time to time in the chapters since I doubt Rimuru would let her be all the time.