Meeting the Chuunibyou Dragon

"Nothing much. I was just wondering—do you have any plans for what comes next?"

Hearing Mo Li's question, Rimuru fell into thought.

Ever since arriving in this world, all she had done was run around and eat. She hadn't really thought about the future at all.

"I guess not."

Rimuru looked completely lost.

Seeing Rimuru like this, Mo Li understood somewhat.

It seemed Rimuru hadn't yet set foot on her path.

But according to the original story, Rimuru would eventually walk her own path as a Demon Lord.

In this life, thanks to the butterfly effect, Rimuru's past life had already changed from male to female. Would she still found the Tempest Federation? Would she still become one of the Eight-Star Demon Lords?

Mo Li sank into deep thought.

He was keenly aware of how terrifying the butterfly effect could be. In many novels, a single small event led to massive changes. Even with Rimuru's Protagonist Halo, Mo Li didn't think she could remain untouched by its ripples. This was just the beginning, and her past life had already shifted from male to female. He couldn't even imagine what the future held. So while the original plot could serve as a reference, he couldn't rely on it completely.

Still, Rimuru should remain a solid ally. After all, she was the reincarnation of the Star King Dragon. The process might differ, but the major events probably wouldn't change.

So Mo Li's top priority now was to stay by Rimuru's side and ensure the plot developed as it should.

To be honest, Mo Li had considered building his own nation, like the Rock King. But thinking about his own lazy personality, he decided against it.

Just like in the original, he'd let Rimuru establish the Tempest Federation. He'd stay by her side, help guide her, and assist where needed. Mo Li genuinely admired the Cute King's character.

Among all the characters in the two-dimensional world, the Cute King's moral compass was top-tier. But precisely because she was too upright, she caused many tragedies from the start.

Since the Cute King was originally human, she naively held goodwill toward humans from the very beginning. But she underestimated human greed, which led to the attack on the Jura Tempest Federation Nation (commonly called the "Demon Country Federation") during her round trip to the Kingdom of Bluemont. The "Otherworlder" trio from the Kingdom of Farmus struck, killing Shion and a hundred others. It was Rimuru's naivety that caused these tragedies. When Mo Li read that part, he was almost furious.

Of course, it was precisely that lesson that awakened Rimuru. She single-handedly took on the Farmus army, sacrificed souls to "evolve," and declared at the Demon Lord's Feast: "Anyone who tries to hinder me—whether human, Demon Lord, or the Holy Church—is my enemy."

To be honest, Mo Li still thought Rimuru was too merciful. Take Myulan, for example. In the original plot, Myulan's anti-magic barrier turned the capital of Rimuru into a zone where magic couldn't be used. Combined with Hinata Sakaguchi's Four Directions Demon Sealing Barrier, the monsters' strength was drastically reduced. Shion was a case in point—if not for that, she wouldn't have died with her strength.

And how Rimuru handled the two of them afterward was, in Mo Li's view, extremely poor.

Even if Myulan was under the control of the Demon Lord Clayman, the fact remained that she caused the deaths of the Tempest monsters. If Mo Li had been the one to handle it, he would have killed her without hesitation, no matter who pleaded for mercy.

"Debts must be repaid; lives must be paid for with lives." That was an eternal, unchanging law.

But the Cute King let her off easily. If this were Earth instead of another world, the Cute King would have been torn apart by criticism.

And then there was Hinata Sakaguchi. If not for her ambush, the Cute King wouldn't have arrived so late at Tempest. On top of that, Hinata's Four Directions Demon Sealing Barrier made her responsible for a huge share of the harm done to Tempest.

Yet Rimuru forgave her just because she was being used and was Miss Shizue's disciple.

What she didn't realize was that if her own strength hadn't been so overwhelming, Hinata would have killed her long ago. There wouldn't have been any "later" to speak of.

That was practically attempted murder. And what did the Cute King do? She fought her once and called it even.

In Mo Li's eyes, that kind of move was just plain stupid.

Such hatred, such enmity—just wiped away like that.

That part really left Mo Li speechless.

So now that he was in this world, Mo Li felt that if he was going to do anything, he'd either do nothing or do it right.

At the very least, he had to prevent those tragedies.

"Dragon boss, Dragon boss! Snap out of it, snap out of it!"

A voice rang in Mo Li's ears.

He finally came back to his senses.

"Dragon boss, what were you thinking about?"

Rimuru looked at him curiously.

"Nothing much."

"I was just wondering if I should go on adventures with you from now on."

Mo Li said with a thoughtful expression.

"Really?" You'd take me along?

Rimuru's eyes lit up.

"Yeah. Meeting a familiar face in a strange land is rare. I look forward to working with you from now on."

Mo Li said gently.

Rimuru immediately started hopping around, overjoyed.

Ever since she'd been transported to this world, she'd been a little scared—unfamiliar place, no knowledge of anything.

But now, with Mo Li, she could latch onto a strong ally.

Little did she know, Mo Li was thinking the exact same thing.

So over the next few days, Rimuru and Mo Li settled into a lazy routine of eating, sleeping, and slacking off.

As usual, Mo Li carried Rimuru as they walked through the cave.

"Can you hear me, little ones?"

A strange voice echoed directly in Mo Li's mind.

"Little Slime, did you hear something?"

Mo Li looked around warily.

"Lord Dragon, you heard it too."

Rimuru said.

Little ones, can you hear me?

The voice rang out in both Mo Li and Rimuru's minds once more.

Mo Li glanced around the vast space. It was still just him and Rimuru, the only living beings.

"Who's there? Where are you? Hiding like that—what kind of hero are you?"

Mo Li shouted.

"Hiding? Why would I hide?"

The voice sounded somewhat annoyed.

"Thud... thud..."

Heavy footsteps echoed through the cave. Two bright orbs slowly emerged from the darkness beyond the air wall.

The faint glow of magicules only illuminated a tiny fraction of the massive figure before them. What came into Mo Li's view was a colossal creature.

"So this is the Storm Dragon?"

Mo Li murmured to himself.

It was a Western dragon, vastly different from Mo Li in size, its body covered in scales of blue and black.

Its muscles were sculpted to perfection, exuding a unique kind of beauty. The blue-black scales were neatly arranged across its dragon body. In the dark cave, its enormous frame radiated a pressure like a mountain.

Its massive dragon wings seemed capable of blotting out the sky and sun, overwhelmingly oppressive.

"Whoa, it's actually a dragon."

Rimuru, frightened, leaped into Mo Li's arms and buried his head deep into his chest.

Though Rimuru had already seen Mo Li, a creature that looked somewhat like a dragon, he was still terrified at the sight of a giant like the Storm Dragon.

Thanks to Mo Li, Rimuru had already learned the skill of perception—though most of the credit went to the Great Sage.

All it took was explaining the principle of magicule perception, and Rimuru had mastered it.

Truly enviable.