Who Let This Spider Cook?! Ch.41 (Patreon)

— Aura —

Even though the slime was calling off its friends, Aura didn’t trust the foreign monster. The Supreme Beings rarely, if ever, interacted with other monsters and guilds, from what she heard of them, and she knew the Supreme Beings always have a reason for what they do, even if mundane creatures can’t fathom what exactly that reason is. 

However, now she didn’t have an option. Her goal was merely to watch them, but now that she’s been found out, she doesn’t know what to do going forward without the word of the Supreme Ones. 

“You’re a kid, aren’t you? An elf at that! Can you tell us what your name is?” The slime asked, acting a bit too friendly for Aura’s liking. It could all be an act, and even if it wasn’t, the slime could have ulterior motives that she couldn’t yet decipher.

But for the sake of biding time and not going against any potential plans the Supreme Beings may have, Aura decided to play along. 

“I’m not a kid, I’m 76 years old!” Aura crossed her arms and pouted. She was old enough to be these goblins' grandmother…however that works. 

“That’s rather young for an elf.” The old, yet powerful-looking goblin tilted his head. 

“Then she’s a kid?” The slime asked once more. 

“In elf terms, she is.” Another younger goblin wearing a red bandana, provided.

“Again, I’m not a kid!” Aura shouted. The last thing she’d do is let other monsters that lacked any of the Supreme Beings’ influence look down on her!

“I see…I’m sorry for calling you a kid.” The slime apologized, and Aura stared at her for a minute before nodding and giving the blue slime a grin. “As long as you realize you were mistaken, we’re good.”

“Thank you.” The slime jiggled in approval. “Do you think you can give us your name?”

Ah right, she did ask for that earlier. 

“Aura Bella Fiore.” Aura introduced herself, while forcing herself not to add her title as one of the Sixth Floor Guardians of Nazarick. Exposing Nazarick when the Supreme Beings may not want that yet would be treachery in the eyes of all, including her.

“It’s nice to meet you, Aura! I’m Rimuru Tempest, your friendly neighborhood slime and the leader of this town!” The slime, Rimuru, introduced itself. 

Aura marked that name in her mind. The Supreme Beings had a plan for this slime, which means it…she was important. 

“Would you like to come into my town, we have plenty of food and other luxuries for our guests?” Rimuru offered and again Aura became suspicious. 

“I have a choice?” Aura asked, earning a jiggle from the slime. 

“Umu.” 

“So I could leave right now and you wouldn’t stop me?”

“Umu.” 

Aura’s eyes widened. So…she hadn’t been captured? Or at the very least, she had a choice of being released. 

A large part of her told her to run away now while she had the chance and report all she had learned to the Supreme Beings on the way back to Nazarick…but a smaller part of her wanted to see this through. 

Her duty was to learn all she could from the Town of Monsters without getting too close, but now that she was already compromised, wouldn't it be better to get a look at what they had to offer while they were willingly letting her. 

It could be a trap, and that thought weighed heavily in her mind. 

Which is why she decided not to make the choice. 

She activated the Skill, Thought Communication, and contacted the Lord of Nazarick.

A link was formed between her mind almost immediately. He had been expecting her? 

‘[Aura, how goes the reconnaissance?]’

‘They found me, Lord Kakuei.’

A moment of silence passed before Kakuei practically growled out ‘[I’m on my way.]’ 

Aura winced. She couldn’t quite understand Lord Kakuei and Lady Buku’s love and affection for her and her little brother, even if she openly, and happily accepted it. However she could tell Lord Kakuei was worried about her and the last thing she wanted to do was make him worry needlessly. 

‘I am not in danger, Lord Kakuei.’ Aura quickly explained. ‘They found me, but they’re giving me the chance to leave if I want. However they also gave me an option to enter their town if I want.’

Another silence.

“You’re talking to someone.” The slime said, and Aura’s heart sank as she looked at the slime in pure surprise. 

“How…”

“Don’t worry!” Rimuru attempted to calm her down. “I don’t mind if you do, I was just making an observation!” 

…The sheer fact that the slime knew she was communicating with someone was worrisome enough. Could the slime hear their talk? More than that, could the slime read minds?! 

Those thoughts began to weigh heavily on her mind. 

‘[I’m sending Touch Me over. Retreat for now and wait for his arrival, then learn as much as you can. Stay close to him at all times.]’

‘Yes, Lord Kakuei.’

‘[Stay safe, Aura.]’

With that, the link ended. 

“I’m going to leave for now, but I will return with one of my Lords to…inspect your settlement of monsters.” 

“That’s fine with me!” The slime jiggled. “We’ll prepare a feast for your arrival!” 

The mention of food, and a lot of it, stalled Aura for a moment before she nodded and bolted away toward the forest. She didn’t stop for several miles, all the while ensuring that she wasn’t followed. 

When she finally came to a stop, she took a deep breath and realized just how scary that slime may actually be. The sheer fact that Rimuru was able to find her in the first place was already worrisome enough because that means her sensory abilities must be high enough to rival that of the Floor Guardians. But even that was nothing when taking into account the slime’s potential ability to read minds and listen in on conversations through Thought Communication. 

Truly, a terrifying slime. 

Either Rimuru needed to be made an ally for the sake of Nazarick, or the slime needed to be destroyed as soon as possible. 

The call wasn’t Aura’s, and she was glad for it. 

This entire situation was way above a young dark elf like her. 

…But the food sounded nice.

— Touch Me —

‘All right, I’m on my way.’ Touch Me nodded, ending his call with Kakuei and standing up from his place in Nazarick’s Dining Hall. 

“Are you going out, Dear?” His wife asked, making Touch Me pause and nod. He really didn’t want to leave them behind without his watchful eye, but he could understand Kakuei’s reasoning. Touch Me was the only one of the Supreme Beings, with the exceptions of his wife and daughter, that was within Nazarick and doing nothing of importance. 

Even in his absence, Nazarick would hold strong, especially with Kakuei being able to keep an eye on it from afar with his Skill. 

“I am.” Touch Me frowned underneath his helmet. “I shouldn’t take too long. A day at most.” 

“Can we come, Papa?” Sayuri asked, and his heart melted for a moment. His daughter in a single day, had grown from a young child into a teenager. The World Change had affected his family more than he’d like to admit, but he was still thankful for Kakuei’s invitation.

“Unfortunately not, my little detective.” He patted her head, trying to soothe her newfound sadness. “The world seems to hold much more power than we had initially believed, so you and your mother will have to stay here, in the safety of Nazarick.”

Sayuri pouted, but Touch Me knew it was the right choice. Especially after he heard about how powerful the slime, Rimuru, may be. 

If a slime held such power that Aura speculated it had…then how strong was a dragon? 

He simply wouldn’t take the risk until he knew all there was to know, and even then he may never let them wander outside, at least not outside of his sight. 

“Be safe, dear.” Saeko walked forward and laid a soft hand on his helmet. He frowned underneath his mask. His wife looked quite similar to how she looked in the real world, which was one of the things he was thankful for, her beauty was amplified thanks to the sheer nature of Yggdrasil’s character design-

Yet his own was not. 

Now he was trapped in the body of an Insectoid. He wanted nothing more than to kiss his wife and daughter goodbye, but when they had seen his face for the first time, he didn’t blame them for being…a bit put off.  

Of course there were ways to change his race, but he didn’t know how it would affect the racial/intrinsic Skills he gained in this world, and didn’t want to risk it, at least not yet. 

“Of course.” Touch Me pulled the two into a tight, long hug before teleporting to the entrance/exit of The Great Tomb of Nazarick. 

He could think of his problems later, for now, he had a dark elf to meet, and a town to inspect.

— Later —

“I’m sorry, Lord Touch Me.” Aura dropped to a knee and apologized the moment he touched down on the forest floor. 

“There’s no reason to apologize, Aura. You did your best to hide yourself and you were compromised anyway. This is not your fault.” Touch Me placed his hand on her head and gave it a gentle pat. The girl looked down at the ground, and it was clear she still blamed herself. “Look at the bright side, Aura.” 

Aura looked up at him, confusion lacing her childish face. “Bright side my lord?”

“The slime allowed us to return to its settlement and get a closer look without being opposed. In actuality, you went above and beyond and surpassed our expectations!” 

Aura’s eyes widened before a bright smile tugged at her lips. “Really?”

“Of course! Would I lie to you, Aura?” 

“No! I’m sorry for asking!” Aura quickly shook her head and Touch Me let out bellowing laughter. 

“Once again, do not apologize! Relish in your victorious job well done! Come Aura, touch me! Let us explore this wondrous town of monsters and see if they embody the glorious concept of justice!” Touch Me offered his hand to the dark elf and she took it without a moment of hesitation.

“Yes, Lord Touch Me!” 

Touch Me pulled the girl onto his back in a piggy-back ride before planting his feet firmly into the dirt.

“Onward, my dear guardian! Let us explore!” 

“For justice!” Aura shouted, pointing in the direction of the town and with a powerful step, they were on their way. 

— Chapter End —

Author’s Note: I wanted to make this chapter longer, but ultimately decided to cut it off here. Mainly because I wanted to include a bunch of separate POVs in the next chapter so the story can run more smoothly. 

I’ll be dropping another chapter of Vegeta tomorrow and a chapter of Enlightened One on Thursday.

Beta reader: @Dragonboy1