After holding Rimuru's hand, Jean suddenly discovered she was no longer in the original place, but in a blank space.
In front of her was no longer Rimuru, but a long-haired beauty a size larger than him.
"Hello, I am Rimuru-sama's Manas — Teacher Ciel."
"Ah, hello Teacher Ciel. I am Jean. May I ask where this is?"
"This is the spiritual space, a place where the spirit, or rather, the mind, can exist independently when the power of the soul is strong enough."
It wasn't Teacher Ciel who provided the explanation, but Rimuru, who had appeared on the side.
"So that's how it is..." This was the second time Jean had come to such a place; the last time was when she talked to Cthugha.
"First of all, there is no one else here. Please allow me to express my apologies for what happened during the trial, not as the leader of the Tempest, but as a friend of Milim."
"Apologies? Why? That wasn't her fault."
"That's right. I don't think what Milim did was wrong either, but correct actions can still cause harm to others. One cannot ignore the damage caused just because the action itself was correct."
"..."
Hearing Rimuru's words, Jean fell silent.
Was Milim correct? She displayed her greatest power, fulfilling the final wish of a proud warrior.
Was Esdeath correct? She loathed her identity as a demon, which was her humiliation, so she chose to challenge the absolute powerhouse before her, meeting her end in the process of swinging her sword forward.
Perhaps for them, these were all correct, but their correctness was not Jean's correctness.
"Thank you, Rimuru, but I will not accept this apology. My correctness is to reverse all of this with my own hands. If I am not strong enough, I will become strong; if I have lost something, I will find a way to retrieve it. One day, I will reclaim all the pain and loss from the woman who froze me. So please, do not apologize, and do not worry about it."
"Hahaha, is that so? I see. It really is just as Milim said. I understand. Do your best, young lady! However, I still have a gift for you for our first meeting. I'll leave it to you, Teacher Ciel."
"Please rest assured, Rimuru-sama."
Then, Teacher Ciel stepped forward, light emitting from her hands. Next, her body became transparent, and Jean's own body became transparent as well.
"This is an observation method customized based on you. Please resonate with the fluctuations of my consciousness."
Although Teacher Ciel's words were very confusing, Jean seemed to do it instinctively. Then, three white dots of light appeared in her field of vision.
"Is this... the soul?"
"This is only the first step. As your perception improves, you will be able to distinguish the strength, color, and size of the soul, until finally, you can see the structure of the soul."
As Teacher Ciel spoke, the colors of the three souls in front of her changed. Her own soul remained pure white, Teacher Ciel turned transparent, and Rimuru was the same sky blue as his main body.
As she looked at Rimuru, the system appraisal automatically popped up.
[Target Evaluation]
Name: Rimuru Tempest
Race: Dragon Demon Slime
Rank: God-High Rank
Description: A Slime that transcends the world, possessing the energy equivalent of an entire universe within its body.
Jean hurriedly withdrew her gaze, but it seemed Rimuru didn't mind being appraised.
Next, Jean focused her attention on the fluctuation. Soon, her body became accustomed to this fluctuation, as if she could do it herself.
[New Trait Acquired: Observer.]
[Observer: Individual-exclusive trait. Can visualize concepts that have been understood, such as souls, space, energy, etc.]
[Trait: Observer and Trait: Synesthesia have complementary elements. Merging and upgrading... Complete.]
[New Trait Acquired: Changer]
[Changer: Synesthesia allows the Observer trait to take effect on all five senses: seeing its form, hearing its sound, smelling its scent, tasting its flavor, and touching its state. Therefore, it can interfere with all observable things.]
---
The soul observation that had troubled her for several days was solved in an instant. Not only that, but the whole world, including Synesthesia, became clear. At the same time, Jean could even clearly feel the energy entity called spiritual power.
Being able to truly observe meant she no longer needed to rely on vague feelings or feedback from influences to operate. The delay that felt like controlling a computer with a mobile phone, and the computer playing a game, disappeared.
More importantly, at this moment, with the assistance of Teacher Ciel, Jean could clearly see her own soul, and could even lightly touch the surface of her soul with the help of spiritual power.
"Please try to consciously move your soul," Teacher Ciel said, stating the next step.
But this was no longer something that could be described as abstract; it could be said that she had absolutely no clue.
Just as Jean was confused, the wavelength emitted by Teacher Ciel suddenly changed. In just an instant, her perspective changed to how it was when she first met 'D', but it immediately changed back.
Then that fluctuation disappeared, and Jean's vision returned to its original state.
"Congratulations, now you can clearly perceive the soul. However, to go further, you need to work harder."
Rimuru clapped with a smile, and then a white light flashed before Jean's eyes, ejecting her from this spiritual space.
---
After Jean left, Rimuru did not exit the spiritual space, but looked at Teacher Ciel. After all, they were partners who had been together from the beginning, so any changes could be noticed immediately.
"Teacher Ciel?"
"Apologies, Master. I originally intended to grant a skill, but it formed something akin to an instinct, and even merged and sublimated within her body. It is speculated that she may possess a learning-type ability similar to the Ultimate Skill: Prideful King."
"Will that cause any bad effects?"
"Not at all. On the contrary, she herself is very likely to head towards being an all-rounder, just like you, Master."
"That's good, that's good. As long as there are no bad effects, it's fine. Thank you for your hard work, Teacher Ciel."
"Satisfying Master's requirements is the meaning of my existence."
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