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"Um, do you really want to be my friend?"
Milim looked up at Kaito with a surprisingly serious expression.
"Of course! Who wouldn't want to be friends with a girl as cute as Milim!"
Kaito smiled at her the way you'd smile at a child you were trying to win over.
[Hmph! What a cunning adult!]
"Th-then, I agree to be your friend!"
"Wahahahaha! Then take me to your city right away! My friend!"
Milim grabbed his arm excitedly, practically bouncing on her feet.
"Alright, alright. Right this way, my friend Milim. But first, there's someone I want you to meet. I have a feeling you two will get along really well."
Kaito led her toward his villa.
"Wow! Is this your home? It's so beautiful!"
Milim's eyes went wide as she took in the detached villa, nestled against the mountain with water nearby.
"That's right, this is my home. Nice spot, isn't it?"
"Mhm mhm mhm! Way better than the stone house I live in!"
Then, as if a thought had just struck her, a glint of mischief flashed in her eyes.
"Hehe! Since we're already friends, I want to live here too!"
"Of course you can! Stay as long as you like!"
"Wahahahaha! As expected of my close friend!"
Kaito shook his head with a quiet laugh, watching Milim upgrade him from friend to close friend in the span of about five seconds.
Some might wonder why a Demon Lord as powerful as Milim would so easily trust Kaito and want to be his friend.
There were actually two reasons. The first was that Milim's strength was beyond compare, so she simply had nothing to be afraid of.
The second, and more important, reason was that Milim had the ability to sense the good and evil in a person's heart. She could feel that Kaito held nothing but goodwill toward her, and that was why she opened up to him.
So don't mistake her for someone naive and easy to fool. The real fool is whoever thinks that.
"Alright, stop smiling like that and come inside."
"Hehe! Coming!"
The moment Kaito stepped into the hall, he found Kagaya and the others already gathered there. Everyone let out a visible breath of relief at the sight of him.
It turned out that Kanae had eventually gone ahead and informed Kagaya.
The moment Kagaya heard that Kaito had left the house with a serious expression on his face, he assumed the worst. He had immediately gathered the former Hashira and brought them together to work out how to respond if something went wrong.
They were still mid-discussion when Kaito walked in with Milim at his side.
"Kaito-sama! Are you alright?"
"Kaito-sama!"
"It's such a relief to see you safe!"
Everyone stood up at once, voices overlapping with concern.
"Hahahaha! How could someone as peerless as me run into trouble? I am invincible!"
Kaito struck a pose that very clearly announced he was the strongest person in the room.
"That's a relief..."
Kagaya finally let his shoulders drop, seeing Kaito joke around as if nothing had happened at all.
It wasn't hard to understand why he had been so alarmed. The Jura-Tempest Federation was at its lowest point in terms of fighting strength right now. Not only were high-level combatants like Benimaru all deep in slumber, but most of the lower-tier forces were asleep as well.
The people still on their feet had to guard the entire city and spare enough manpower to watch over five million children at the same time.
And with Kaito gone and Rimuru unconscious, the safety of everything rested entirely on Kagaya's shoulders. An enemy attack at a moment like this would have been very bad.
"Kaito-sama, who is this young lady you've brought back?"
Before Kaito could answer, Milim had already bounced forward.
She planted her hands on her hips and declared proudly:
"I am Milim the Destroyer! A terrifying Demon Lord! Wahahahaha!"
"A Demon Lord?!"
"She's... really a Demon Lord?"
Every pair of eyes in the room went wide. None of them had expected this cheerful, adorable little girl to be the legendary Demon Lord.
Kagaya looked over at Kaito, who gave a simple nod. Yes, this was really her.
"So Demon Lord-sama has honored us with a visit. Please forgive us for not being there to welcome you properly."
Kagaya bowed slightly, his tone warm and respectful.
"Hehe! It's fine! Kai-chan and I are close friends, so we don't need to stand on ceremony! Wahahahaha!"
Watching Milim laugh like a delighted child, Kagaya felt a deep wave of quiet admiration wash over him.
How long had it even been, and Kaito had already brought a Demon Lord into the fold? Truly, as expected of Kaito-sama.
"Alright! The situation is under control. Everyone get back to your posts. I'll take care of entertaining Milim."
"Understood! Then we'll take our leave, Kaito-sama!"
"We take our leave!"
As Kagaya led everyone out, Kaito brought Milim upstairs to the bedroom door.
Click.
The door swung open. The women inside turned toward the doorway.
"Kai-chan! You're back! Thank goodness!"
"So glad you're safe!"
Kanae and Shizue, seeing him at the door, finally broke into relieved smiles.
"Yes, I'm back! See, I told you there was nothing to worry about. I'm invincible!"
"Yes, yes, yes! Kai-chan is the strongest!"
Kaito looked at Kanae praising him like she was humoring a small child and let out a wry laugh.
"Alright, let me introduce everyone. This is Milim Nava. Don't let her appearance fool you. She is one of the great Demon Lords of this world."
Shizue's expression changed the moment she heard the name.
"Is she the Milim? One of the oldest Demon Lords, the Destroyer?"
"That's right. The Destroyer herself."
"It's really her..."
Shizue fell quiet. Kaito glanced at her.
"Relax, Shizue. Milim means no harm." He turned his head. "Sakuya, could you bring some pudding?"
Sakuya gave a small bow and left the room.
"Mmm... how long was I asleep?"
Just as the others were about to continue talking, a voice came from the bed.
Rimuru lay there, eyes open, staring up at the familiar ceiling.
"Rimuru-sama, you're awake! Are you feeling alright? Does anything hurt?"
Kanae was immediately at her side, fussing over her like a worried nurse.
"Kanae, Rimuru was evolving, not sick."
Kaito pressed a hand to his forehead.
"You don't need to hover like that."
"Uh..."
Milim, meanwhile, was staring at Rimuru with open curiosity.
"From the look of you, you just evolved into a Demon Lord. But why do I sense something dangerous coming from you?"
Rimuru turned toward the voice. She saw a very cute little girl practically attached to Kaito's side.
Her expression immediately soured.
"Hmph! I was just about to ask. Who are you, and why are you clinging to Kai-chan like that?"
"I'm Kai-chan's close friend!"
"What! I'm Kai-chan's close friend!"
"I am!"
"I am!"
Kaito watched the two of them go at it and felt, deep in his chest, that his days ahead were about to get very interesting.