Don't underestimate Damien's abilities.
With his Thought Manifestation, no matter the ingredients, a mere thought could turn them into delectable dishes.
And so, Damien introduced Cecily to Darkness and the other two girls.
Plus, there was Rimuru.
"Yo!"
Rimuru grinned. "Hey, everyone, I'm Rimuru."
"Mmph mmph~~"
Megumin was busy devouring a delicious emperor crab.
Gulp gulp gulp.
Aqua was drinking.
"I..."
Darkness glanced around and, to spare Rimuru from embarrassment, said, "Welcome back, Rimuru-senpai."
"Come on, Darkness, don't do that."
"You're the only one responding, making me look pitiful."
Rimuru sat back down helplessly, already growing accustomed to the quirks of this world.
On the other side, Damien had no immediate plans to make Megumin, Aqua, or Cecily his subordinates.
For one, only Aqua met his standards.
Plus, he was worried that giving Megumin and Cecily immense power would turn Axel into some kind of chaotic nightmare.
Let's keep things as they are for now.
Damien planned the next adventure and brought up the Dungeon outside the city. "You all know about the Dungeon outside town, right?"
"Dungeon?"
"Is there such a place outside Axel?"
Megumin, clueless about the truth, saw Damien as just a rich sucker.
As for Aqua, she was basking in Cecily's endless flattery and praise.
Yes, the two had already confirmed each other's identities.
Though Aqua remained utterly unreliable, Cecily ate it up, still viewing her as the lofty, perfect Goddess of Water.
"Rimuru and I discovered it not long ago."
"No one else knows about it yet."
Damien made up an excuse on the spot. "So, how about we go explore it tomorrow?"
"Count me in!"
Megumin agreed without hesitation, loving challenging adventures like this.
"What about you, Rimuru?"
"Will you join us, or..."
"Can we split up?"
Rimuru wasn't keen on tackling the Dungeon with Damien.
They'd built it together, but after Celine's refinements, everything might have changed.
Like a beta version versus the official release, past experience wouldn't apply to the new mechanics.
"Oh?"
Damien caught Rimuru's intent. "You mean you want to compete with me?"
"Yep."
Rimuru grinned. "Even as an employee, when it comes to games, I won't lose to anyone... not even you, Damien!"
"Fine."
Damien said, "Then let's explore the Dungeon as adventurer parties. First to defeat the first floor's final boss wins. How's that?"
"Adventurer parties, huh..."
Admittedly, this was a bit tricky for Rimuru.
She was currently a lone wolf, and finding reliable teammates quickly...
Reliable teammates?
Rimuru glanced at Megumin and Aqua.
Then she smirked.
"No problem!"
Rimuru figured that with Damien stuck with deadweights like Aqua and Megumin, if she still lost, she deserved to work for him forever.
With her abilities, as long as her teammates weren't too useless, Rimuru was confident she wouldn't lose!
"Adventure?"
Just as Rimuru was feeling smug, Cecily raised her hand. "Can I join?"
Cough cough cough!
Rimuru suddenly had a bad feeling and looked at Damien.
"Sure, you can join."
As expected, the boss agreed to Cecily's request. "But my party already has Aqua as a high priestess, so Cecily, you..."
"Oh, right!"
Damien flashed a wicked grin. "Rimuru, your party doesn't have a high priestess yet, does it?"
You! You jerk!!
Don't dump her on me, you bastard!!!
Rimuru desperately wanted to refuse Cecily, but her soft nature made it impossible to say no.
And so, with Rimuru's reluctant expression, Cecily smoothly joined her team.
Rimuru's party: +1 deadweight!
"Then no cheating!"
Rimuru and Damien set ground rules for the challenge.
Both sides were forbidden from using powers beyond the scope of this world, including Darkness.
While the two planned how to conquer the Dungeon's first floor tomorrow, somewhere in this world, Velzard sent the elderly Demon King flying with a single kick.
"This is the Demon King?"
"Seriously?"
Velzard sat on the throne, looking down at the Demon King rubbing his aching back and his daughter, who was seething with indignation but could only rage helplessly.
"You!"
"Get off my father's throne!"
The girl named Serena wanted nothing more than to beat Velzard up.
But she couldn't. She really couldn't!
"It's fine, it's fine."
"I'm okay."
Kyoichi Yasaka, the Demon King.
His ancestors were suspected to be reincarnators from another world, but he knew nothing of such origins.
To clarify, this world's Demon King was very old, long past his prime, and his abilities leaned toward rear-line support.
In terms of direct combat, Kyoichi Yasaka had already been surpassed by his daughter.
As for the other Demon King castle cadres...
Every single one was sprawled on the ground.
"Haa..."
From the throne, Velzard surveyed the Demon King's hall, looking at the cadres playing dead. She sighed, holding her forehead. "This world is just too absurd."
She hadn't even used much strength, and the cadres had collapsed.
As for Serena...
The girl had boldly challenged Velzard.
Only to be taken down with a single finger, followed by a thorough spanking.
"From now on, I'm the new Demon King."
Velzard declared, "Who's in favor? Who's against?"
"I'm against!"
No surprise, the only one to object was Serena.
"Hm?"
But with a single glance from Velzard, the girl instinctively covered her backside, stammering, "I-I mean, I'm against anyone opposing!"
"Two negatives make a positive, so..."
Serena bit her lip, tears of humiliation welling in her eyes. "I-I'm in favor, waaah..."
So pitiful~~
Princess~~
But there was no helping it.
Velzard's power was far beyond their comprehension, not even in the same dimension.
***
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