Chapter 1: The Smile Before the Storm
The rain hadn't started yet, but the sky was already sulking.
Gray clouds stretched like bruises across the horizon, and the wind carried the scent of something impatient — like the world was holding its breath.
Rimuru Tempest leaned back in her chair, a half-empty cup of strawberry soda in hand, watching the city from her small shop window. Neon lights flickered across the glass, reflecting over her faint grin.
"Another normal day," she muttered. "Which probably means something weird's about to happen."
The shop, Code & Coffee, was a cozy mix of humming computers and the smell of burnt toast. Customers came for data repairs and stayed for her terrible jokes — or maybe her mysterious charm. Either way, Rimuru liked it that way. Ordinary enough to be overlooked.
A little bell chimed as a boy rushed in, holding a fried phone that was practically smoking.
"Miss Rimuru! It—it started glowing blue and talking!"
Rimuru blinked once. Then smiled.
"Talking, huh? Maybe it finally got tired of you ignoring its notifications."
The boy gawked. "I'm serious!"
She waved him toward the counter. "Relax, kid. Give it here."
As she took the phone, she felt it — that faint hum under her skin. A ripple. Magic. Not much, but enough to make her eyes glint a faint silver for a split second. The Veil was thinning again.
"Great," she whispered, plugging the phone into her analyzer. "Reality's leaking emotions again. Monday's really going for a high score."
Outside, thunder rolled — not loud, but deep enough to make the ground vibrate. People stopped. Looked up. The clouds were swirling, faint colors shimmering through them — blues, reds, and golds like someone had spilled paint into the sky.
Then it happened.
A burst of light exploded from the street corner, and a wave of warmth pulsed through the air. Everyone stumbled back, shielding their eyes. When Rimuru looked closer, she saw her — a girl, maybe her age, standing barefoot in the rain of colors. Her hair shimmered like sunlight on water, and her eyes were wide with confusion… and fear.
The energy coming off her wasn't normal magic. It wasn't even Veil energy.
It was emotion itself — pure, uncontrolled, and loud enough to make Rimuru's heart skip.
The boy beside her whispered, "Is… is she okay?"
Rimuru smiled softly, even as her power began to stir under her skin like fire behind glass.
"She's more than okay," Rimuru said. "She's the reason the weather's about to ruin my good hair day."
She stood up, stretching her fingers as faint blue light sparked around them.
"Stay here. I'll handle it."
As she stepped outside, rain finally began to fall — but it wasn't water. It was tiny, glowing droplets of color, each one humming with energy.
Rimuru walked straight into it, laughing quietly to herself.
> "Laugh first, question later," she murmured. "Let's see what kind of mess fate's cooked up this time."
And as she approached the trembling girl at the center of the storm,
the first real plot twist of her peaceful life began —
with a smile.