That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime

On the day of Rimuru's great escape, there were those who laughed out loud in the far depths of the labyrinth.

It was Veldora and Ramiris.

Veldora was in the shape of a human as he stood in front of the magic circle and laughed.

Ramiris flew happily around him.

"Kaaahh-ahahaha! Finally, it is finished. Now we can journey to other worlds ahead of Rimuru."

"Ohoho. Encounters with the unknown! Rimuru is always so cautious about everything, so this is our chance, master!"

"Yes! I was thinking that too, Ramiris. At the forum that is to take place in Ingracia, a thesis on the Different Gate is to be revealed. However, we shall be the first to succeed before that even happens!"

"Yes, yes! Rimuru is guaranteed to start saying, 'I'll go and play in that other world,' so we have to go first and see what it's like!"

"Exactly!"

As their conversation suggested, they had completed the procedure of opening a Different Gate.

Of course, they did.

This was because they had been helping with Mai Furuki's research, and were in a position to know what its contents.

But it wasn't that they wanted to steal the results of the research and take credit for it.

Their reasoning was simple. They were just looking for an opportunity to ignore Rimuru's warning that it was dangerous, and go on a journey to a different world.

And if circumstances permit it, they would learn all they can and then surprise Rimuru with it later on.

And so neither of them hesitated.

Now that Rimuru was gone, they would hurry up and activate this new method and take off for a different world—the two of them could think of nothing else.

Rimuru's warnings were like a distant wind, and they cared not at all about whether or not this other world would be safe.

They had no plans at all.

However, they were both full of confidence and did not care about the small details. As always, they would cry only when the trouble arose.

"Hehehe. Now that we've decided, we should go at once!"

"Yes! Let's go!!"

Ramiris held onto Veldora's shoulder, and once Veldora was sure she was secure, he began to send magic energy into the circle.

Beretta realized this and frantically ran towards them-

"Wait just a min-"

However, it was much too late!

Light flowed from the magic circle and filled the room in a flash, engulfing even Beretta.

And when the light disappeared, all three of them had vanished without a trace.

...…

...

…

Shinji had become worried that they hadn't come out for so long, and went to check on the room.

There was a cup of coffee on the desk that was half empty.

"Huh? Lord Ramiris is gone, and Mister Veldora… Where…no, they couldn't have!?"

He looked down at the magic circle on the ground with startled amazement.

"Oh, damn it. So they must have been waiting for a time when Lord Rimuru is absent… Really, those two are so selfish. Ahhhh. It will not be my fault if they get scolded later. Damn it."

He muttered in defeat. Then he worried over how he could prove that he was not involved in this.

But now that he thought about it, he had only helped in the research as Ramiris's assistant. And he was not an actual accomplice.

And he had evidence, including the schedule in the research journal, so there really was no need to worry.

"Well, it's fine then. And it will be good for them to be harshly reprimanded once in a while, or they will never learn."

Shinji thought as if it had nothing to do with him.

However—

Shinji would find himself in danger as well, in one weeks time.

This was because Irina, who he had not heard from for a long time, would be arriving as a new research member.

But Shinji could not predict the future, and so he hadn't the foggiest idea.

His master was not here, and so he started to think that he could take a few days off.

-As for the encounter with Irina that awaited him, it was a story that only God would know.

◆◆◆

To put it simply, the Different Gate had been opened.

And as the three of them had gone through it, they came out into the land of a different world.

Well, maybe they didn't quite land, to be precise.

"GAAAAHHH!! Have we been thrown out into the sky!?"

"Hey, master!! We're falling. We're falling!?"

"Kaaaa-hahaha! Well, I cannot fly well. But we won't die even if we fall. Now, hold on tight!"

"Huh? Whaaat!?"

The three of them had been thrown from a point that was three-hundred meters above ground.

Veldora, Ramiris and Beretta.

It wasn't as high as it could have been, and they hit the ground in less than ten seconds.

The ground approached them even as they talked, and they made contact with a thunderous crash.

"Wh-what a shock! Master, what do you mean you can't fly?!"

"Hmm. Well, energy seems to be very thin in this world. I couldn't move like I wanted."

"…Now that you mention it, the power of spirits is weaker here as well! Hey, what does this mean?"

Ramiris said in shock after hearing Veldora's explanation.

However, Veldora seemed confident.

The impact upon landing had done nothing to them, and he began to take stock of the situation with calm movements.

Ramiris also looked around with deep curiosity.

And then, right in front of them—Beretta slowly floated downwards.

"…Oh, dear. This is exactly why Lord Rimuru said we must be careful… Well, it's too late now. But don't blame me if he is furious about it."

"…What!? Beretta. Why are you pretending to be some goody two shoes that has nothing to do with this! You're our accomplice in crime!"

Ramiris frantically tried to implicate Beretta, but it would be hard to say that she succeeded.

Beretta stayed calm and ignored her words.

And just like Veldora, he began to look around and inspect this world they had come to.

He understood that trying to argue with Ramiris seriously would only result in her putting the blame on him. And so Beretta decided to end it immediately.

'Oh, fine. We'll talk about this later, when there's time,' Ramiris said, temporarily delaying her victory over Beretta.

And it would indeed be temporary, for she had every intention of having Beretta take responsibility.

It was done in the spirit of wanting to lessen the degree of anger directed towards her.

Veldora was in total agreement concerning this, and so Beretta's position here was very dangerous.

Honest people are not always rewarded for being honest.

And as someone who had known Ramiris for a long time, Beretta had experienced this first-hand.

Not only that, but the embodiment of irresponsible, Veldora, was also present.

While Beretta's position was bad, he was able to buy some time.

After that, he would just have to tell Rimuru what really happened and prove that he was not involved—but then he realized that the situation was much more serious than he had thought.

"This is bad. We have lost any connection with our world. The Different Gate has closed…"

"Yes. After all, we used the ample energy available deep within the labyrinth, and that's what kept the magic circle working. So it only makes sense that it could not continue to stay up in this world, where there is no energy."

"Hey, master!? You sound very calm, but we will be able to get back, right?"

"Hmm…"

"What, are you serious? Beretta. What's going on here!?"

"Didn't I tell you? This is because you ignored Lord Rimuru's warning and acted on your own…"

Beretta said with an exasperated shake of his head.

Veldora looked away and whistled unconcernedly.

He had actually expected the other world's energy to be enough in maintaining the gate.

He had not expected this at all. That it would require energy on the other side as well.

"Wait! What! What! That makes it sound like it's all my fault!!"

It was Ramiris and Veldora's fault no matter what way you looked at it. And so it was a little horrifying that they weren't conscious of it.

Or so Beretta thought, but he didn't waste his time voicing it.

There were more important matters to deal with now.

"Hmm. What a predicament. Not only is there no energy, but the oxygen is also very thin. And there are places with some very serious pollution too?"

"Are you serious? Now that I think of it, it is quite cold. And dark…"

Ramiris now noticed it as well.

The sky was covered in thick clouds, covering the sunlight.

Because of this, the temperature on the ground was near freezing point.

While they did not require oxygen and had a resistance to toxins, it still did not feel very nice.

Besides—

"…Hey? What if there are no people here, or life of any kind? I was looking forward to communicating with different cultures, but it doesn't look likely."

Ramiris muttered with disappointment.

There was no point in coming to other worlds if there was no life there.

Still, it was possible they had just landed in a bad location, and she had not abandoned all hope just yet.

"This is really bad. This world is a miss."

"There are 'hits' and 'misses' with worlds?"

Beretta asked.

"Hmm. Why wouldn't there be?"

"Exactly. I told you. We came to look at other world cultures and try to search for something interesting!"

I see. Beretta was satisfied.

This place was polluted and the temperature was near the freezing point.

There wasn't much hope of there being intelligent life here, and so Veldora and Ramiris's wish was not likely to come true.

(I understand what they mean by 'miss.' However, to run such an operation alone and in secret…perhaps they just wanted to discover a new civilization first and brag about it to Lord Rimuru… )

Even as Beretta thought about this with exasperation, Veldora and Ramiris were having a conversation.

"Oh, I hate this. The cold aside, there isn't much spirit power here, which is weakening me. Besides, it's dark and all you can see in the distance is wild flatlands… It's, you know… Like those planets Rimuru knew about. Like Mars."

"Ohh…you know a lot, Ramiris. I was actually thinking the same thing."

"Right! Right!"

"Judging from how polluted this place is, maybe there was a nuclear war here!"

"Ohhh! Very impressive master! You sure know a lot!"

"Kaaaha—ahahahaha! Oh, you are exactly right about that!"

Veldora and Ramiris continued their carefree conversation.

As he listened to them, Beretta started to feel like it was stupid for him to think about this problem alone.

Still, there were certain things he needed to ask them. And so he waited for them to calm down before asking Veldora.

"So, Lord Veldora. Do you think it is possible for us to return?"

"Hmmm…"

Veldora took a long pause and closed his eyes to think.

Ramiris was also very interested in his answer, and so she waited quietly.

"In order to return, We will have to reopen the Different Gate that is three-hundred meters above our heads, or create a new one. If we do make a new come, we should have no trouble setting the coordinates due to being connected to Rimuru's Soul Corridor…"

Then Veldora stopped as if he wanted them to ponder this.

In spite of appearances, Ramiris was a quick thinker, and she realized what it was Veldora was saying.

"I see! Even if we make a new gate, we can't get it to open without energy?"

"Yes, exactly. Regardless of what we do, we need energy. And so I think the quickest method would be to release my aura and fill the ground with energy. What do you think?"

Ramiris nodded as if in agreement.

Veldora was suggesting that he release his own aura. He had judged that with the immense amount of energy stored in his body, he could fill this world up with energy.

"Ohh! Good thinking, master. I know that you have a shocking amount of energy inside of you!"

"I see… It may be possible if you do it, Lord Veldora. However, won't it be a problem if you just go around changing the laws of this world like that?"

And it was this point exactly, that had caused Veldora to hesitate.

If Veldora released his energy, there was a high possibility that it could mess up the ecological system of this world-this would be a breach of the rules that Rimuru had set in place when going to other worlds.

That being said, it would also be impossible for them to return without using a gate.

Veldora's 'Space Transfer' would not let him travel to other worlds.

"Well, if it's just me, I could just use Rimuru's 'Simultaneous Existence' and return by being born again over there! So it's no problem if I die here…"

"What!? But doesn't that mean only you can return?"

"Is that so bad?"

"Of course it is!!"

Ramiris was furious.

Veldora wasn't actually serious, but this suggestion was quickly dismissed.

Well, of course, it was.

"However, creating a new Different Gate will take a long time. I can prepare the necessary minerals, but I don't have enough of the other magic materials I would need. And if I had to start from scratch, well, who knows how long it would take…"

"Yes… It took years just to make the prototype…"

Beretta said nonchalantly, which caused Ramiris to hold her head in frustration.

In fact, there had been quite a few mishaps back when they were still testing it.

And as they had no facility here, it was not very realistic for them to create an entirely new gate.

It wasn't impossible, but it was exhausting just thinking about it.

"Right? And that's why I think it would be the quickest to just reactivate that thing."

"Yes… If that's the case, we should have used a system that required you to infuse it with energy directly, and not have it gathered from the air…"

"Not only that, the storage type required extra magic circuits, which was a huge bother."

"Yes. That's true…"

Then Beretta said as if suddenly remembering something.

"Wait a minute. We don't need to panic. As the 'Soul Corridor' is still connected, won't Lord Rimuru notice our absence and call us back?"

However, Veldora and Ramiris's reaction upon hearing those words—

"Hahh. Oh, Beretta, you really don't understand anything. We don't want that to happen. That's why we are trying so hard to think of a solution!"

"So true. Don't you see? Rimuru will be angry if he finds out about what we've been doing! And you are just as guilty. Rimuru won't return until a week at the earliest, and so we have to return and destroy the evidence before then!"

And so they completely rejected Beretta's suggestion.

Still, it was incredibly simple and easy for him to understand.

Basically, they were frantic because they did not want to be scolded.

Once he knew this, Beretta did not argue back. And so he quietly tried to think of what would be the best way to return.

At this point, Beretta was fully implicated.

Perhaps he was just too softhearted.

And so quite some time passed after that.

And then finally, all three of them looked into each others' faces, but none of them had had a good idea.

"Well then, does that mean we can go with my idea? Then we can just move along…"

There were no signs of intelligent life in this world. So there was no point in staying long. And it wasn't just Veldora who thought this, as Ramiris agreed with him.

As for Beretta, he was just following orders now, and so had no reason to complain.

He was a little worried that they might continue their experiments once they returned, but he would worry about that when the time came.

Ramiris and Beretta showed their agreement, and so Veldora nodded.

And then, just as he was about to release the aura he had been holding in—

-The thunderous sound of an immense explosion overwhelmed the ground's surface, and they saw a mushroom-shaped cloud in the distance.

"Hmm!?"

"Ohh!!"

"That…is a sign of life…and it seems like they are fighting. Yes."

Veldora and Ramiris looked at each other. They grinned and nodded.

"Our plan to return is temporarily on hold! Let's go and see what's happening!"

"Understood, master! I can't wait to see what they are like!"

The two of them laughed over their shared interest in spectating.

Ramiris jumped onto Veldora's shoulders.

And then the two of them, as if forgetting how depressed they had been a moment ago, began to move in the direction of the explosion.

This master and apprentice were of one mind.

And-

The abandoned Beretta sighed deeply before he started to run after them at full speed.