[Milune's POV]
Warmth. That was the first thing she knew—gentle, endless warmth that wrapped around her like a lullaby.
There was no up, no down, just the pulse of something vast surrounding her. Then a voice—not a person's, more like the system inside a dream.
> Analyzing… stabilizing… adaptative phase commencing…
Her half-formed mind drifted through flashes: city lights, computer glow, a paused anime. The memory of a voice saying "That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime."
A smile ghosted across her lips.
> "Rimuru…"
The cocoon answered. Light rippled outward, the pulse syncing with her heartbeat. Another voice, precise and mechanical, hummed inside her mind.
> "Soul synchronization: 63%. Identity matrix forming."
"What… is this place?"
> "Primary Core linked to external source. Host energy detected. You may awaken."
She couldn't see, but she felt him—a tide of gentle power brushing her existence. Calm. Warm. Infinite.
Her chest tightened with an emotion she didn't have words for. She wanted to reach that warmth, to be enveloped in it.
> "Connection stabilized. Designate external presence."
She hesitated. Her mind whispered Rimuru, but her heart murmured something softer.
"Papa."
The cocoon shivered, as though the world itself had heard her declaration.
---
[Rimuru's POV]
Okay, so… this was weird. Even for me.
A giant glowing cocoon sat in the middle of my lab, radiating magicules like a Veldora-sized beacon. I'd seen plenty of strange things—accidentally eating a dragon, becoming a slime-god, the usual—but this one was new.
I rubbed the back of my neck. "Raphael, you're seeing this, right?"
> "Affirmative. The phenomenon originated from excess magicules released during your Demon Lord evolution."
"So… basically, I sneezed and created an egg?"
> "Incorrect. The structure is a crystallization of your magicules around a foreign soul fragment. Spontaneous creation probability: 0.00004 percent."
"…So, a miracle sneeze. Got it."
The cocoon's glow pulsed faster. My slime instincts tingled—life inside. "Uh, Raphael? Is this thing… alive?"
> "Confirmed. Consciousness detected. Wavelength matches yours."
"Wait, matches mine? Don't tell me I cloned myself again. I can barely handle one me."
> "Correction. Entity is distinct. Emotional signature: dependent."
"Dependent?" I frowned. "Like a familiar?"
> "Closer to offspring."
I froze. "...Excuse me what?"
> "Offspring: a being born from your magicules containing a unique soul."
I just stared. "You're telling me I—without permission or experience—became a parent?"
> "Affirmative. Congratulations."
"Raphael, that wasn't congratulations, that was a death sentence."
Still, I couldn't stop staring. The magicules surrounding the cocoon felt gentle—like a heartbeat. There was no malice, no instability, just… warmth.
"I don't know what you are," I murmured, "but you feel… warm. A family."
---
[Milune's POV]
Her fingers—small, glowing—brushed the inside of the shell. The barrier rippled like liquid glass. Beyond it, she sensed him: calm and worried, strength wrapped in kindness.
Her body trembled as light gathered at her fingertips. The voice within returned.
> "Identity designation required."
Her memories flickered—her old name, her quiet world, the wish to start again.
> "Milune," she whispered.
> "Designation accepted. Soul pattern stabilized."
The light inside her heart blazed brighter. She could hear his voice now, faint but real, calling out to her through layers of magicules.
---
[Rimuru's POV]
Cracks formed across the cocoon. "Uh, Raphael, that looks bad."
> "Negative. Manifestation imminent. 30 seconds remaining."
"Thirty seconds?! I don't even have towels or clothes ready!"
> "Entity does not require towels."
"That's not the point!"
I paced in circles. Demon Lord of Tempest, negotiator of nations—reduced to a panicking slime dad in record time.
The cocoon burst like shattered glass. Light spilled out, coating everything in pale blue radiance.
And then… she appeared.
---
[Milune's POV]
Air. Cool, sharp, real. It touched her skin, carrying scents she'd never known.
Her eyelids fluttered open—one crimson, one gold, both glowing faintly like twin stars. Her hair drifted around her shoulders, blue fading into violet, glimmering as if dusk and dawn had met halfway.
The first thing she saw was him.
Blue hair, golden eyes, that impossible calm that felt both divine and human.
> "So," he said slowly, almost sheepishly, "you're the cause of all this chaos, huh?"
She blinked up at him, lips trembling into a tiny smile.
> "Papa."
He froze like a statue.
"W-Wait—what did you just—?"
But she was already fading, exhaustion washing over her new body.
> "Papa," she whispered.
Her eyes closed as the light around her softened, and Rimuru caught her before she could fall.
---
[Rimuru's POV]
I stared at the sleeping girl in my arms. Her body radiated faint waves of my own energy, perfectly attuned.
> "Raphael," I muttered, keeping my voice low, "please tell me this isn't what I think it is."
> "Analysis complete. The entity is a lifeform born from your magicules combined with an external soul. Designation: Milune."
"...She even has a name already?"
> "It was self-assigned prior to emergence."
"So she's smart and adorable. Great. I'm doomed."
I sighed, brushing a stray lock of violet hair from her face. "Welcome to the world, Milune. I guess… I'm your papa now."
The forest around them shimmered quietly, the magic settling into a calm hum. For once, Rimuru Tempest—Demon Lord, nation builder, chaos incarnate—had no idea what to do next.
> "Raphael," he whispered, "schedule a parenting crash course. Immediately."
> "Affirmative. Compiling tutorial: 'Raising a Magicule-Based Offspring for Beginners.'"
"…Please don't actually name it that."