Hearing her question, Rimuru froze slightly, then said with some hesitation, "If I could, I'd like to say I am... but honestly, I'm not sure whether I still count as human anymore..."
For himself, clinging steadfastly to the concept of humanity seemed to be one of his soul's obsessions. But the problem was... no matter how tightly his soul held onto that tiny fragment of human identity, he now looked more like a noble Void Slime...
"I see." The Machine Clan member named Luo lowered her eyes. After giving a faint nod, she shifted aside and made way for them.
Seeing that she had permitted them to pass, the Black Merchant's people hurriedly called for everyone to get ready to leave—
Rimuru curiously glanced at the now-silent Luo, then stepped forward and led the group toward the world-transmission passage.
But after only a few steps, everyone began to feel that something was off.
As they walked, the Machine Clan member named Luo also began moving. At first, no one found that strange; after all, she had come from this direction. But gradually... Rimuru was the first to notice that her speed remained perfectly synchronized with theirs in his perception. In particular, the distance between her and him had not changed by even a centimeter. At that point, things started to seem wrong.
So they paused, slowly coming to a stop. They silently waited for the Machine Clan girl behind them, who for some reason seemed to be following them, to pass them and go ahead first. Yet she stopped as well, without even trying to hide it.
"...The distance is exactly the same as before." Rimuru's attention was, as always, completely misplaced. Lilith immediately turned around with an exasperated look and pointed at Luo. "That isn't important... The important thing