Selling It to You Makes Me a Puppy

"Another serving!"

Rimuru licked her lips, still wanting more. Compared to Tony's chef, the cooking of the maid at her home was downright heartbreaking.

Pepper had long known that Rimuru could eat a lot, so she had specifically instructed the chef to increase the portions.

But seeing the stack of plates piled high before Rimuru still left her dumbfounded.

She could really eat!

Whenever Pepper watched Rimuru devour an entire steak in no time, her eyelids twitched wildly.

She was genuinely afraid Rimuru might accidentally eat until her stomach burst!

"Tony, is this really okay?"

Pepper kept shooting Tony Stark meaningful looks, asking him for help.

It was also Tony Stark's first time seeing Rimuru truly let herself eat her fill, and he was rather surprised. But he knew Rimuru's background, so he was not overly shocked.

What interested him more was the fact that this Slime, Rimuru, seemed even more miraculous than he had imagined!

However, before Tony could speak, Rimuru spoke first.

"Pepper, don't worry. This amount of food doesn't even amount to one millionth of my appetite!"

Since Rimuru had already heard her, Pepper could not be bothered to hide it anymore. She poked Rimuru's forehead irritably.

"You little rascal, your ears sure are sharp. You know I'm worried, yet you still don't know when to stop. Overeating is bad for your stomach. If you really get stuffed, let's see whether you can sleep tonight!"

Rimuru did not waste any words and directly transformed into her Slime form.

"Pepper, I'm sorry for hiding the truth from you all this time. This is actually my true body!"

Telling Pepper the truth was a decision Rimuru had considered carefully.

First, as the woman behind Iron Man, Pepper was sensible, tactful, and excellent at keeping secrets.

Second, in this world, Pepper was one of only two close friends Rimuru had.

Telling her true identity would effectively dispel the distance between them and bring their relationship even closer.

And lastly, there was the food. If she did not tell Pepper, how could she eat to her heart's content in one go?!

When Pepper saw Rimuru turn from a beautiful young girl into a round little blue ball, her eyes widened, and her small mouth formed a huge O.

"Oh, my god! What is this? Tony, is it April Fool's Day?"

Tony Stark's eyes shone. Though it was not the first time he had seen Rimuru switch from human form to her true body, he was still intensely curious.

How exactly did she switch between forms?

This was completely unscientific!

"Relax, relax. As you can see, this is Rimuru's true body. She won't hurt you!"

Only then did Pepper catch the implication. She looked at Tony with resentment and said sourly, "So you knew all along!"

Pepper had every reason to feel hurt. She had always thought that she and Rimuru had the best relationship, that they were intimate "good sisters" and "besties."

Yet Tony knew more than she did!

Tony Stark found it rather amusing. Was Pepper jealous?

Honestly!

Women having a little temper was perfectly understandable. As a gentleman, of course he had to coax her!

So Tony told her about his first encounter with Rimuru in the cave...

The more Pepper listened, the brighter her beautiful eyes became, and the fonder she grew of Rimuru.

The instant Pepper held Rimuru's true body in her arms, her entire heart melted from cuteness, completely conquered.

And so Rimuru found herself in a bit of a tragedy. She even began to wonder whether telling Pepper the truth had been a mistake!

The laboratory.

"Gold-Titanium Alloy, fiberglass... and at this quantity, Rimuru, your Feng Shen Two armor is rather thick. Congratulations, you've finally escaped the trap of light armor!"

Tony Stark patted Rimuru on the shoulder and said with heartfelt satisfaction, "Rimuru, you've grown up. I'm very happy!"

Hearing Tony Stark's words, Rimuru's face darkened.

Taking advantage of her like this was way too childish!

Petty grudge-holder!

"No, this weight is a little too much. To maintain comparable mobility, the power output ratio would have to be greatly increased, and the energy consumption is too high!"

"And the weapons you've equipped don't look like they're for any ordinary battle... The system needed to control those weapons would consume far more energy than expected..."

Tony Stark looked seriously at Rimuru. "With your intelligence, you shouldn't make such a basic mistake. Did you improve the reactor?"

Rimuru was astonished. Tony truly was Tony. His mind was simply incredible.

Based solely on the materials she had ordered, he had deduced most of the details regarding her Wind God armor and its energy consumption. He had even guessed that she might have modified the reactor.

He had not hit the mark, but he was not far off!

A cheater's life needed no explanation!

But before Rimuru could speak, Tony rejected his own guess first.

"Still not right! Using Palladium as fuel, there's very little room left to improve Arc Reactor technology. Even if the rotation speed is pushed to the limit, the energy still can't meet the demand. Could you have used Hybrid Energy?"

"I considered that too. But the energy conversion efficiency is too low. At most, it can serve as a tiny supplement. It's a drop in the bucket and not particularly meaningful..."

Hearing Tony mutter endlessly, Rimuru was speechless. Had Tony been infected by Spidey or something?

"Stop! No more guessing. I'll tell you plainly: I discovered a new element that isn't on the Periodic Table. Its energy conversion efficiency far surpasses Palladium's, providing more ample power and more stable output. I can sell you the patent. Want to buy it?"

Pfft!

Tony, who had been drinking water because his throat was dry, sprayed out a mouthful and nearly choked to death.

Sell him Arc Reactor technology???

Were you out of your mind?!

"Wait, what did you just say? You discovered a new element that isn't on the... Periodic Table?"

Rimuru nodded.

"Impossible. Absolutely impossible!"

Rimuru asked curiously, "Why?"

Tony Stark said, "You might not know this, but although the Palladium reactor has kept me alive, Palladium is toxic. As long as I keep using the Iron Man armor, the toxins in my blood will only grow worse. You're not the only one who's thought of replacing Palladium with a new element."

Rimuru sighed. How could she not know that?

If not for her, this little butterfly, Tony—whose toxicity had seeped into his bones—might have already given himself up to despair.

She just did not know whether her interference, especially the powerful effects of the Recovery Potion, allowing Tony to directly escape his life-or-death crisis, was good or bad.

Though countless thoughts raced through her heart, Rimuru showed none of it on her face. "So what?"

"So what? I've tried every known, unknown, and even theoretically possible new element on Earth. But I found nothing!"

Though Tony did not say the rest, how could Rimuru not understand?

The meaning could not have been clearer: if I, Tony Stark, couldn't discover a new element, how could you?

Although the discovery of the new element ultimately did owe itself to Tony Stark, his arrogant, obstinate attitude of looking down on others was seriously irritating!

Rimuru said indignantly, "I've changed my mind. If I sell you this reactor, I'm a puppy!"

Tony Stark did not care at all and casually said, "Even if my energy runs dry and I'm drifting through space, I'll never come to you to buy the patent!"

Who was afraid of whom when it came to brains?

If there really was a new element and Rimuru could discover it, then he could do it too!

When it came to intelligence, Tony Stark had never been inferior to anyone in his life!

Half an hour later.

Tony Stark's heart itched as though a hundred claws were scratching at it, and he could no longer hold back.

A new element—for Tony, it was like the smell of fish to a cat.

Tony moved close to Rimuru and coaxed, "Did you really discover a new element?"

Rimuru kept a straight face. "No."

Tony said, "One hundred million Dollars!"

Rimuru said, "I really don't have it!"

Tony said, "You can have it. One billion Dollars!"

Holy crap!

Was he raising the price tenfold just like that?

That damned rich bastard—did having money make him so great?!

Was Rimuru the kind of person who would bow for a mere five pecks of rice?

Tony waved the Dollars around and said loftily, "And I'll throw in the latest particle collider, a 3D printer, and waive half the installation fee for the Supercomputer!"

Cough, cough, cough, cough, cough!

A violent fit of coughing broke out, and Rimuru's face even turned a little red.

"Ahem, since you've taken on such a vicious curse as having your energy run dry and drifting through space, there's nothing I can do about it. If I still refuse to sell it, I'd seem too heartless. I'll take pity on you... and sell it to you!"

Tony: "Puppy."

Rimuru: "Woof!"

Tony Stark: "..."

Fine, you win!

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