When Testa saw Carrera accepting her offer, she was about to leave before she forgot one crucial thing. Knowing how her fellow demon normally acts, she wanted to make sure that they got this right and forgoing this would most certainly make whatever plan they could concoct fail.
"Carrera dear, why do you want to be together with Rimuru-sama?"
Carrera gave her a quizzical look and answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Because I want to beat Ultima?"
Her fears were immediately confirmed when the idiot answered. She knew that Rimuru already had plenty on his plate when it came to relationships, and while she was still new to this whole love thing, she knew enough about it to know that sincerity was paramount. She didn't doubt Carrera's love for him in the slightest, but much like how she used to be, and in some ways still is, it was much more devoted towards servitude and respect rather than any romantic interest.
Testa's face ever so slightly let her true feelings forth, which was how someone would look at another trying to explain a very basic concept that they should have known well by now. "You… do realize that you will have to share him with Ultima, correct?"
Carrera showed an apparent look. "Of course. I'm not stupid. But I'll be first, and that's what matters."
Testa couldn't hold back a sigh. "If you're only trying to get to Rimuru-sama just because of your little contest with Ultima, there's no way he will accept either of your half-hearted resolves."
Carrera gave a look like she was struck by lightning. "You mean… Rimuru-sama is… rejecting me?!"
She looked like she was in the absolute pits of despair and was about to cry, while Testa was seriously beginning to wonder just how many mood swings she could go through in such a short amount of time.
Seriously. Just how exhausting must it be to fluctuate between your emotions this much?
"Well, just hold on a second. I didn't say that he would be rejecting you. I said that if you only want to be with him just to one-up Ultima, he wouldn't accept such a reason. Look within yourself and find a reason to genuinely want to be with Rimuru-sama."
Again, as if her previous mood was just an illusion, she perked back up and started thinking. Unfortunately, at least to Testa, it looked like the poor demon was about to have smoke coming out of her ears from thinking too much. Knowing the little outburst she was bound to have after not being able to come up with a reason on the spot, she suggested something else to spare herself from trying to calm down a frustrated Carrera.
"You don't need to come up with a reason right now. Fortunately, you have all the time you need to find a genuine reason to be with Rimuru-sama. After that, the only thing that's left is a formality."
"That's what I'm trying to think of right now! I don't even know where to begin coming up with a reason to be intimate with him! It's not like I don't like where I am, nor was I wanting to get closer until you did!" A light bulb suddenly went off in her mind, and she stood up and proudly declared, "Actually, since you are the reason I want to get closer to him, you should be the one finding a genuine reason for me to join the harem!"
A moment of silence.
Then another one.
Then another.
Testa's brain finally comprehended what her ears heard, and even still, she struggled to believe what was coming out of Carrera's mouth. "Oh my god, you're actually retarded. I don't think I've ever felt such shame calling myself a primordial knowing you're one of us."
"Oi! Who the hell are you calling retarded?"
Though she could argue back and forth for however long she wanted, as there was no shortage of topics that she could choose to piss off Carrera, she decided that her time would be much better suited to doing other things. As she got up, she paid no mind to another exclamation from her as she approached the door.
Realizing that Testa was seriously going to just leave, and still wanting to find whatever a genuine reason was, she said, "Wait! At least point me to someone who can help me find a reason!"
Testa gave another sigh before saying, "Just about anyone can help you with that. Even Rimuru-sama himself can help you. If you're asking who I'd go to, it would be one of the harem members. Particularly Shuna, Shizue, or Chloe. Now if you don't mind, I want to go and pay a visit to the other idiot."
As the door opened and closed, Carrera was left with a frustrated look on her face. She wasn't sure where this whole thing would lead to when it came to being part of a harem. She actually did have an idea of love, as she was privy to many of the 'sacred texts' that Veldora and Ramiris often read, but she can't say that it's ever really made her heart flutter or anything like that. It was simply something that she enjoyed reading, not something that she resonated with. Deciding that it was time to take some drastic measures, she did something that added to the tally of times Testa would get surprised by her.
As Testa was leaving Carrera's office, she heard the door loudly open and close, followed by the demon quickly catching up with her. She was wondering what she was thinking by going to Ultima's office, and knowing how the two normally act, it couldn't be anything good. She would much rather not play mediator between them, so to squash anything happening, she immediately confronted the demon behind her.
"Why are you coming with me? If it's to visit Ultima, please do so on your own time. I didn't want to come back just to clean up your mess."
Though she was mildly annoyed at the insinuation, as Testa rarely ever stepped in between them outside of when they were acting up in front of Rimuru, she managed to keep her cool and said, "No, it isn't that. I was just thinking that, if we are going to be with Rimuru-sama, I want all the help I can get."
Testa was a bit confused at her words. "Meaning…?"
"It means that Ultima would also want all the help that she can get."
"Meaning…?"
Carrera ruffled her own head. "Gosh! It means that I want her help in this! I can't imagine how much shit I'll get if I get to join, and she doesn't! I'd rather not have to deal with that, so this is the best option to kill two birds with one stone!"
Testa's eyes widened. "You… mean you want to work with her?"
"Yes."
"Of your own volition?"
"Yes!"
"And not because Rimuru-sama ordered you?"
"Yes!"
Testa was completely thrown for a loop with her actions. Carrera and Ultima have had an extremely long-standing rivalry that spanned well before they ever even met Rimuru. While it has been curbed since serving under him, that didn't really ever hit at the core of their behavior much. The simple fact of the matter is that, while they never really hated each other, they each simply had a very competitive nature, and while this spilled over into other parts of their life, it was mainly targeted towards the other. Even on the verge of death, they would still find the energy to throw a few quick verbal barbs towards one another.
To say that Testa was surprised at Carrera wanting to help may very well have been the understatement of the century. Either something drastic had happened between the two of them causing them to set aside their differences, or much more likely, it was that Rimuru simply meant that much to them. That reason, along with another that Testa surmised, had to be why Carrera was willing to go to such lengths. The other reason she was thinking was much more in line with the Carrera she knew, which was that she didn't really want the status quo between them to change much.
Ask anyone in Tempest, and they will tell you that Carrera and Ultima have what many would call a sibling relationship between each other. They will gladly pick fights over practically nothing, call each other all sorts of names under the sun, and bicker until the last star in the universe burnt out, but at the end of the day, they will always lend a hand to the other when needed, and will complain the entire way.
Of course, the two themselves would shout your ear off if you ever said that to them.
Testa pinched the bridge of her nose. "Okay… Okay… I think I can see where you're coming from. The question is whether or not Ultima will see it."
"Don't you worry about that. I have something that will guarantee her help with this."
"Oh? Care to share?"
Carrera sported a devious smile and beckoned Testa to lean down enough so that she could whisper in her ear. Once she heard what the secret was, she couldn't help but smile. It was certainly a petty reason, but one that she could definitely agree with. With her impromptu plan hatched, they set off for Ultima's office.
Once they got to her office, they saw a short, petite, purple haired woman who looked much closer to a girl entering her teenage years. It made the military attire she was wearing all the more jarring on someone who looks like they are in middle school.
The second the duo went into her office, she knew that something was up. It was hard not to, especially considering Carrera's giddy grin when she walked in with Testa. She did her best to suppress a vein that threatened to bulge on her temple and said, "Welcome. Is there anything I can-."
"Oh, you can stop with the formal shit. Apparently, Rimuru-sama only wanted us to reflect on our actions, not on who we are."
While she would normally immediately rebut with a quip of her own, she wasn't sure if her eternal rival was serious. To them, Rimuru was essentially their god, and she surely knew that using his name to facilitate anything that he himself didn't directly order was paramount to sacrilege. Though if Testa was there with her and didn't say anything on the matter, then she was probably serious. Testa, and all of his subordinates for that matter, would never stand for anyone using his name in such a way. While there were plenty of them who would gladly tell him off, those primarily being his wives, they would never talk for him unless he allowed it.
Unfortunately, this rarely mattered when it came to interpretation, and this was one such case. Still, deciding to believe in the demon, she dropped her fake demeanor for a far more natural, yet annoyed one, and said, "What do you want?"
The two demons looked at each other before explaining their circumstances to Ultima. Once she heard what each of them had to say, she felt extremely stupid for putting on this charade for almost two months. More so was the fact that she continued to uphold their little competition still by trying to outdo the yellow demon in becoming a woman suited for Rimuru.
However, when she heard Carrera's proposal for working together, that's when she started to question what was actually going on. "What… is your goal here?"
Carrera leaned forward in her chair. "Well, if we want to get to be with Rimuru-sama, we need to look for a reason to be with him."
She retorted, "And what makes you think that I'd want to work with you on that?"
"Are you saying that you're okay with the status quo as it is right now?"
Ultima wanted to respond to her, but found the words caught in her throat as she thought about what she wanted. Similar to Carrera, she was genuinely at a loss as to why she wanted to be with him. The only reason they confessed in the first place was not to lose to each other, and because they didn't want Testa to have all the fun. Now, all three of them were here, and she struggled to find a reason to want to be with him outside of, 'well Testa is with you, so why not us?'
As she was thinking about the reason, Carrera let her in on her little incentive. "You know, if we were to find a good reason to be with him, we'd finally be able to get one over on Diablo."
Ultima's eyes widened, and she started growing a giddy smile at the prospect. Of course, she knew that this didn't count as a genuine reason, but it sure as hell was a nice addition. Diablo, for his part, was almost glued to Rimuru ever since he was summoned, with the exception of when he was put on missions. Additionally, due to him scouting out the three of them, he put himself in a position as their superior, which he would sometimes use for his own benefit, such as during the conflict with Velgrynd. Rather than fight like the rest of them, he proudly, and shamelessly, declared that his job was to watch their master fight.
To be fair, though, it wasn't like Diablo didn't have his own problems to deal with. One of the biggest, by far and away, was the fact that he didn't have the foresight to be summoned as a woman. To demons, gender was a simple construct, and they could choose being a man or a woman at will. They simply go with whatever they feel comfortable with at the time, and at the time Diablo was summoned, he was most comfortable in the form of a man.
Unfortunately for him, Rimuru didn't really share the same viewpoint. Because he was formerly a human male, he never really felt attraction to the same sex. Though he would certainly admire them from an objective standpoint, there was never really any romantic feelings. Normally, there would be an easy fix to this, which was to turn into a woman. But Diablo could vividly remember the first time he 'surprised' Rimuru in his female form.
Rimuru was waking up for the morning and headed off to his office, only to find a beautiful woman with long black hair, a knee-length white skirt, and a black suit. When the figure turned around, he immediately recognized the eyes, but was still taken aback. Not necessarily by the beauty, although he would admit that the form was pleasant on the eyes, but by how jarring the change was. After wondering what was going on, and eventually giving voice to his thoughts, the demon simply thought that he was of better use to Rimuru as a woman.
Though he would continue to do so on multiple occasions, nothing really ever came of it. To Diablo, simply serving under Rimuru was more than enough for him. If anything resembling a relationship ever did come out, he would certainly be more than willing to accommodate, but he couldn't really ask for anything more.
Back in the room with the three demons, with Ultima now on board, Testa left the other two demons to their own devices. While they certainly didn't have to come up with a reason anytime soon, to them, time was paramount, and they wanted to find their reason sooner than later. While they wanted to start immediately, and go directly to Rimuru, they figured they should start asking some of the other harem members before going right to him.
As the two set off, two other people, who looked almost identical, were enjoying their time sitting under a large sakura tree that was planted a while before. It was an idyllic moment, as the sun was weaving its way through the leaves and branches of the tree to shine freckles on the couple who were on the grass. After lying there for almost half an hour, one of them started to speak.
"Rimuru-san."
"Hmm?"
"Don't you have things to do right now?"
"I'm on vacation."
Shizue sighed at his blatantly obvious attempt to get out of doing work. While he was caught up for the most part, he didn't make a copy of himself to continue doing work today, meaning that the only Rimuru present was currently resting on her shoulder.
"Well, it's not that I'm not happy, but I can't help but wonder why you're with me right now."
"What? I can't be with one of my favorite women?"
"Well, I wouldn't be questioning it if you didn't spend all of last night pampering me."
Rimuru exhaled a large sigh. It was true that last night was normally the turn of Shizue and Hinata, but since the latter was currently enjoying herself quite a bit, Shizue had Rimuru all to herself. As he can't help but cater to the people he loves, and since he felt that Shizue is someone he is indebted to, he spent the entire night and into the early morning hours basically spoiling her. Which also meant that his behavior today most likely meant something else.
When Rimuru didn't respond, she was able to guess what happened. "You let Hinata-chan deal with Luminous-san all alone, didn't you?"
"…"
Her eyes turned judgmental as she continued, "…Rimuru-san, I feel that you should fight your own battles this time."
Rimuru started panicking. "Wait! It's not my fault this time! I didn't fully know what was going on until I gathered my memories!"
Essentially, after he absorbed himself, otherworld Rimuru found out what Tempest Rimuru had been up to regarding why Luminous was soon to be engaged with him. After he got the full story, both from his memories and from Ciel, he suddenly hated his lack of foresight when Tempest Rimuru found it funny to not share the information with otherworld Rimuru. This created the problem that he was in now, and he was dreading whatever Hinata would have in store for him.
While Rimuru was technically telling the truth, Shizue refused to toss him a lifesaver. "But it was still your actions which caused this, right? You should be held responsible."
Seeing that Shizue was not going to budge on this, he let out a defeated groan. Shizue was one of the only people that Hinata would acquiesce to, and if she wasn't willing to help him, that meant that he was on his own. Deciding to change subjects, he asked her how the students are doing after the sudden change in teachers. This time, it was Shizue's turn to be nervous, and Rimuru pressed on that.
"Shizuuuu?"
The woman quickly looked away.
"Are you going full demon instructor on them?"
She turned right around and hurriedly said, "They need that training! They need to understand that there are still serious dangers in the world, and if they want to go into the labyrinth, they shouldn't just treat death like some joke! I swear, I'm preparing them for anything that can happen!"
Extremely contrary to Shizue's normally motherly nature, when she is doing battle training, she works people to their absolute limit, then continues to press on. While she certainly isn't wrong in training people in this way, as knowing your limit before battle is paramount to determining whether or not you should pick a fight or run, Rimuru's actions, and most of the world as a whole, has drastically reduced the necessity for such training. It was always still nice to know your limits, but said training was currently reserved for those in the defense force and other military branches, rather than the battle training course at the school she was currently overseeing.
Though he's shared this with her on numerous occasions, she still insists that if people can't take this level of training, they should hang up their swords and choose a different profession. Her days as an adventure, of seeing people die left and right thanks to either their overconfidence, lack of preparation, or a combination of factors that could ultimately be summed up with bad luck, has made sure if she ever taught, she would make sure that her students would always be prepared for whatever was thrown at them.
They continued talking about various things, eventually landing on the topic of the world of Io and about Souma. When Rimuru first said his name, Shizue asked if he was from Earth, and when he affirmed her beliefs, she winced. She, much like Rimuru, hated summoning others between worlds with a passion. Though her fury was somewhat assuaged when Rimuru told her his family circumstances and his feelings for being summoned, she still lamented about how ridiculous and unfair it was.
"Rimuru-san?"
"Hmm?"
"Is there any possible way I could meet him?"
Rimuru thought about this long and hard. If they were to meet, it would basically force his hand into admitting that he was able to, at the very least, traverse worlds without a problem. This would inevitably lead to a plethora of other problems that he would like to avoid, so he was very hesitant on agreeing.
"I… don't know. If the option comes around, I certainly would, but for the time being, it doesn't look like it."
Shizue took on a melancholic yet understanding face and rested on it before slapping herself out of it. She felt that, while lamentable, not meeting him shouldn't infringe on the lovely day ahead of her, nor the moment the two were sharing. Besides, even though Rimuru said he was only there to watch, he was still giving counsel and making sure that he wasn't doing anything incredibly stupid.
With nothing else really going on for the rest of the day, the two continued chatting before eventually leaving. As he expected, Hinata wasn't in the best of moods when he ditched her to deal with Luminous, but he surprisingly got off quite easy, only having one sword shoved through his chest. Tonight was meant for Milim, but surprisingly, she was willing to share, so he brought Ciel in to indulge as well, and had one of many amazing nights with the two of them.