Upon Awakening
A new morning has come!
That nostalgic phrase appeared in my mind.
I mean, since I don’t need to sleep in this world, this is this body’s first experience at sleeping.
I behold the scene before me, and see busy preparations occurring in every corner of the city.
That, I believe, is the effect of my evolution.
「Ah! Rimuru-sama, you have awakened!」
I hear a nostalgic voice.
I was hugged from behind by two warm, soft hills.
If anything, my color became silver with streaks of gold.
The one that can move at the speed of light.
This me was sitting on top of Shion’s lap, her cheek rubbing against mine.
But, thank goodness! As planned, she seems to have resurrected.
Moreover, not just Shion, but every person felled by the Blood Shadows has successfully come back to life.
Well, I guess even『Great Sage』makes mistakes. Though I don’t mind if they make me happy.
A truly heavenly moment it was.
But as if intending to ruin this beautiful moment,
「Oh, Rimuru-sama, you have awakened?
You should remember our code, don’t you?
Now then, let me confirm.『How’s Shion’s cooking?』how will you respond!」
With an evil smile, Benimaru asks me.
The moment I thought to respond, I noticed the peril I was in.
If I say『It’s horrible』… what will happen I wonder…
Wouldn’t she squash me out of anger?
What should I say? What would be a good response?
I thought, and tried activating『Great Sage』but it did not respond.
What… does this mean…? Hey, Great Sage!!!
≪Announcement. Unique Skill『Great Sage』has evolved into Ultimate Skill『Raphael』
As a result, it has been erased and cannot be used.≫
Oh… so even my skills evolved.
That aside, what’s important is escaping this perilious situation.
Alright, Raphael, what’s the best phrase to deceive Shion with?
≪Solution. After some calculations, an adequate phrase was not found≫
Useless~!!!
Honestly, so did the evolution affect the name without changing any parameters!
Of course, this exchange happened within a single second.
「Eh? What about my cooking?」
That way you’ll be able to show the results of your efforts.
And just a side note, I don’t need any!」
Benimaru said such a wicked thing.
You know… just when I woke up in a good mood, to be sentenced to eternal sleep is…!
I felt an unbelievable fear overtake me.
「Hey, what are you doing! No way I could respond『It’s horrible』you know!
「Hahaha, I have no idea what you’re talking about. Well, shouldn’t you have a taste after so long? Thanks to the constant taste testing that I do, I’ve recently acquired『Poison Resistance』…」
Benimaru said with a distant gaze.
Didn’t you just equate her cooking to poison?!
Just after enduring one peril, to find myself in another?
The revived have come to greet me.
No lapses in memory, and their souls are properly attached to thier bodies.
However, each one has acquired the extra skill『Perfect Memory』
「This way, no matter how many times we die, we’ll resurrect!」
They said as a joke… or not?
What is normally impossible, but they have now acquired a skill reserved for spiritual lifeforms only.
Whether to celebrate their new-found power or what, they decided to hold a festival.
Well, it’s fine.
For a festival-loving Japanese that I am, any reason is good enough.
I had offered to help, but with grand reverence they rejected my offer.
Then, a person I have been seeing around here a lot ran up to me.
「Your awakening fills me with endless joy.
Allow me to congratulate you from the bottom of my heart for your rebirth as a demon lord」
He says, bowing deeply.
Who’s that? Seems like a very high ranked demon, but I don’t know…
「And please pardon the rudeness, but regarding my earlier request to become your humble servant…
How shall you respond? Have you made your decision?」
Becoming my servant… he says?
But no matter how I look at him, he’s clearly beyond them?
I was sleepy back then and couldn’t see very well, so could he be one of them…?
「Are you the one I summoned using the soldiers’ corpses?」
As a result, I was successfully able to materialize.」
「… Ah, is that so. Good for you」
What about the other two?
≪Solution. The〈Secret Revival Art〉was lacking the necessary energy.
Thus, and to fulfill their wish, they have been used and erased.≫
Wow.
It’s even more heartless than Great Sage, and just showing off that wicked personality. And though I thought it useless a little bit ago, it has been supporting me from the shadows this whole time.
However, to use up those demons that wanted only to be of use to me is just sad…
「Alright, got it. From now on you are one of my comrades.
「Oh! You are too kind. But one such as I am a mere nameless demon.」
Hmm? A high ranked existence but nameless, huh.
But what name would be good?
There won’t be any copyright violations if I use it, right? But, since this is a different world, I probably won’t be sued…
Ah, whatever.
「Alright. In that case, you won’t mind if I give you a name, will you?」
「Will you truly? ‘Tis the greatest reward imaginable!!!」
His beautiful face curved in a delighted smile.
Time to get serious.
Was it…
「Your name shall be Diablo.
Receive that name, and become my guardian deity!」
The moment I named him a considerable amount of energy escaped me.
I mean, I was worried that being a high demon and all he’ll take all of it, but…
If I remember correctly, when I named the Greater Demon Beretta I was left with only a third of what I had; I guess a Greater Demon is also a high ranked existence.
≪Solution. Individual: Diablo was an Archdemon to begin with.
Compared to the original amount, it is now ten times as large≫
Y-yeah.
I mean, I’m happy that it is now ten times larger, but he took a half of that?!
Won’t he become some absurdly powerful fiend.
Yep, I’ve done it again.
Let’s just hope that should it decide to rampage, that I’ll be able to stop it.
From now on: let’s be careful about naming monsters!
I promised to myself but was confident that I wouldn’t keep this promise.
Having completely forgotten about Diablo, I spent the time watching the festival preparations.
And then, it came.
With a bright, happy smile she brought me the meal(?).
Beholding the steaming dish,
「W-waaaaaait~! What is this? What the hell is this?」
That’s not food.
A bunch of things flowing in the broth? Was she trying to make… Stew?
Listen girl, when someone questions your food, you’ve already lost.
「Hey, hey! Shion, wait. I have something I need to ask.
「Of course, Rimuru-sama! How does it look? Doesn’t it look delicious?」
Why are carrots, potatoes, peppers, onions, and the other ingredients floating whole in there?!
You have to peel and cut them first!」
I screamed.
And when I saw Benimaru walking by,
「What’s this all about? There’s clearly been no improvement?」
Dodging my words like holy water, Benimaru shrugged,
「Nope, this is impossible for me.
I had never thought that something could be impossible, but this time I tasted defeat」
He said, scooting away.
I have to eat it, huh…?
No choice, opening my heart to the unknown like a monk, I decided to take the first step towards nirvana…
「Got it, I’ll eat it.
「Umm, about that. I did try, but I end up cutting the building…」
「No, the “Hercules’ Edge” is plenty sharp, but it’s a little long…」
Pointing at the odachi on her back.
When I looked at Benimaru, he held up his arms as if giving up.
What an undependable guy. My opinion of him is quickly falling.
「A sword is not a tool for cooking. You get it?
「No, I am one with “Hercules’ Edge” so cheating on it is a bit…」
「I was wrong! “Hercules’ Edge” is perfectly fine with me cheating on it, it said!」
「I see… I’ll give you knife some time soon, so please use that to cook」
What a good person.
If I at this food… no, I refuse to recognize it as food!.. If I ate this thing, I should acquire『Poison Resistance』I guess.
No choice, I have evolved into a demon lord. I won’t die from eating some food.
Steeling myself, I “welcome” some unknown substance into my mouth.
It’s pretty damn delicious.
I open my eyes, and, with utmost care, eat another spoonful.
Benimaru was looking at me, as if praying. His eyes were asking me whether I was alright.
Shion has a triumphant smile on her face.
That did annoy me a bit.
「Shion, what is this…
Why, unlike how it looks, it tastes great?」
Fufufu, the thing is…
In short, in the middle of the evolution, when she needed to express her dearest wishes, she wished for her cooking to be delicious.
What was she thinking, seriously?
But, I guess that’s just like her; no, this is just who Shion is.
「Ehehe. Thus, I obtained this skill.
The name, unique skill『Cook』!」
I’m so amazed I have nothing to say.
When I asked about it, apparently no matter what she uses, it turns out delicious.
But Shion has completely went off course trying to improve.
Well, that is just like her, I guess.
The day was thus in preparations of the festival, and we partied deep into the night.
Youmu and Ellen also participated in the festival, and thoroughly enjoyed themselves.
There are a lot of loose ends to fix tomorrow, and we need to discuss the future.
Now, let’s enjoy our lives to the fullest.
That’s just our way of life.