------Rimuru POV------

Wake up in the morning in a good mood.

The sunlight from the window outside shone into the room as Rimuru slowly opened her eyes and sat up.

Although she couldn't sleep or dream, letting her mind rest helped her a lot.

as she slowly left the room and walked downstairs while still wearing only a simple white shirt and black trousers.

Just as Rimuru had just come down to the house, a familiar voice rang out.

"Good morning, master."

Knowing that was Ciel's voice, and out of habit, Rimuru replied in her head.

<<Good Morning Cie--->>

Pausing just before finishing her sentence, she realized something was wrong.

Ciel's voice is coming from outside rather than inside Rimuru's head!?!?

Quickly realizing that she looked in the direction of the sound and saw... Ciel.

She is currently wearing a knee-length blue dress and a white apron. Her silver-blue hair is currently tied into a ponytail.

Rimuru immediately regretted not paying too much attention to her universal sense.

And now, Rimuru and Ciel...

The two look almost identical with just a few different details like outfits, expressions, and eye color.

"Ciel, I need an explanation."

"Report. I'm cooking breakfast for you and the other, master."

Ciel spoke in an expressionless voice.

After that, her voice rang out in Rimuru's head.

<<My existence was found out by Phantom when I was out scouting, so if I continue to hide my existence, she may cause some trouble for you, master>>

<<So that's how you got the information about Ratatotskr plan huh?>>

Rimuru and Ciel just stood there, unmoving, because they both know...

Just a few seconds later, Tohka's figure could be seen slowly walking out of her room.

Immediately, Tohka stopped and looked at Rimuru and Ciel with wide eyes.

Rimuru and Ciel also stopped looking at each other and turned to her.

Tohka rubbed her eyes a few times as if she were hallucinating, after a while, Tohka yell.

"Two Rimurus!?!?"

Rimuru's face was wry as she didn't know how to explain this to the others.

------Shidou POV------

Another morning.

Shidou woke up and started preparing to start a new day.

Today is Sunday so he doesn't have to go to school so he will spend his day at the spirit house.

As he went out into the living room, Kotori was already up and was sitting with her favorite lollipop.

"Oh! Good morning! Onii-chan!"

Kotori greeted him with a smile and when he noticed, he saw that her hair bow was now white.

Shidou unconsciously let out a sigh of relief.

Even though it was only yesterday, Shidou felt like he missed his little sister Kotori and Kotori in commander mode.

Just seeing her smile is enough to make him feel like he's ready for the whole day.

"Good morning, Kotori."

"Are you ready? We'll go to the spirit house today."

Kotori said while swinging her legs carelessly.

Today he would have to go to the spirit house with Kotori. Shidou will stay to watch over Yoshino and Tohka and Kotori will take Rimuru to check the condition of <Fraxinus>.

Rimuru has a very independent personality so Kotori says there's no need to keep an eye on her all the time since it will make her feel uncomfortable.

"Um, let's go," Shidou said and started to leave with Kotori following behind.

The two walked, talked, and joked with each other on the way.

As for the reason why Kotori didn't enter the command mode?

It seems that Rimuru feels more comfortable around Spirits and children so Kotori acts like this is better for Rimuru.

After a while, the two had arrived at the door of the spirit house.

Even though it looks like an ordinary apartment, the resistance of this house is a hundred times better than an ordinary house. Not only that, the house is equipped with a Realizer that makes it even more resistant.

But before Shidou could knock on the door, a loud sound was heard.

"Two Rimurus!?!?"

This sound... belongs to Tohka.

Although he didn't understand what those words meant, Tohka's voice sounded urgent so he immediately turned the doorknob.

The door wasn't locked, Shidou quickly push open the door and...

"Eh?"

At the top of the stairs, Tohka was still in her pajamas and was looking at...

Rimuru?

Not one but... TWO.

Both of them slowly looked at Shidou.

The movements of both were terrifyingly unison.

One Rimuru was wearing a white t-shirt with long black pants and her hair was flowing down her back, the same outfit that she was wearing last night.

The other was wearing a blue dress with a white apron and had her hair tied in a ponytail.

"... heh?"

A small gasp sound came out as Yoshino just woke up due to Tohka yelling.

------Rimuru POV------

After everyone got down to the house, Kotori and Shidou arrived right after Tohka shouted. Yoshino woke up to Tohka's scream.

And now every stare is at Rimuru and Ciel.

<<.... how do you explain this...>>

<<Don't worry master, I got a plan for this.>>

While Rimuru was still unsure of what to do, Ciel quickly spoke up.

"Looks like everyone here. I'll introduce myself. I'm Ciel, an existence you call a Spirit and Rimuru-sama's partner."

....

...

..

.

"Eh!?"

Everyone present including Rimuru let out a surprised voice at Ciel's introduction.

In the back, Kotori quickly changed her ribbon to black.

Rimuru just watched Kotori with a confused expression but decided not to speak up.

On the other side, Ciel slowly took off her apron and let her hair down.

Ciel's blue dress was now able to show its full beauty when it was no longer restrained by the apron, and with her back-length silver-blue hair, She was so beautiful and cut to the point of it being scary.

But wait!

Both Rimuru and Ciel look the same...

everyone right now kept looking back and forth between Rimuru and Ciel.

Rimuru and Ciel are almost opposites, one has a manly look with many expressions. And one has a feminine look, but her face is expressionless.

"Okay, I need a better explanation for this."

Kotori said after changing the ribbon.

But before anyone else says anything more...

'grgrgr~'

Tohka's belly protesting sound could be heard amid this silence.

"I... I just woke up so I haven't eaten yet so..." Tohka quickly found an excuse to avoid embarrassment.

"I already made breakfast, shall we eat together and take care of the rest after."

Ciel said and then everyone gradually looked towards Rimuru as if waiting for her opinion.

<Wait... why are you looking at me!?>

Rimuru smiled wryly as she spoke up.

"Then... let's have breakfast first?" Rimuru said and hoped everyone would respond...

"Yeah! Breakfast!" Tohka shouted and quickly rushed into the kitchen first.

...

Sometimes Tohka's childishness is needed.

Rimuru and the others quickly followed after Tohka.

As soon as they entered the kitchen, everyone took turns surprised at the breakfast cooked by Ciel.

Although there weren't many dishes and the dishes were just everyday dishes. But the layout is very beautiful and eye-catching.

"I don't need to eat so I'll be waiting," Ciel said and then went to sit next to Rimuru.

And as soon as everyone settled into their seats, Tohka was still the first to eat first.

Rimuru smiled wryly as though they hadn't known each other for a long time, she was able to guess most of their personalities

"Wow! It's delicious Ciel-san!"

It started with Tohka's compliment and was followed by the others.

Even the puppet Yoshinon praised the food as delicious even though it couldn't eat.

But despite those compliments, Ciel still didn't react at all and just looked at Rimuru and expected her evaluation.

Rimuru slowly also enjoyed his share and spoke up.

"It's delicious..." Rimuru said with a somewhat surprised voice.

"I am grateful for your compliments, master."

Ciel said and as soon as the others heard the word 'master', Both Kotori and Shidou looked at Rimuru as if they didn't expect this.

Knowing that there would be more problems, Rimuru only smiled wryly and uttered.

"Ahaha... don't mind about this," Rimuru said and quickly averted the gazes from the two of them.

As she looked back at her breakfast, Rimuru noticed something strange.

Where did Ciel get the ingredients for cooking?

And the meat in the dishes doesn't look like it's from this world!?

Rimuru slowly looked over at Ciel, who still kept an 'innocent' face looking at Rimuru as she tilted her head slightly.

Sighing, she let gave up and continued with breakfast.

After everyone finished eating, Kotori quietly stood up and looked at Rimuru and Ciel.

"Okay, you two follow me to <Fraxinus>."

While Rimuru along with Ciel and Kotori will go up to <Fraxinus>, Shidou will stay at the spirit house with Tohka and Yoshino.

On the way, Rimuru looked at Kotori with a little wonder.

As for the other spirits, all of their memories were sealed, but for Kotori, only a small part of her memories were sealed.

She is puzzled by Phantom's abnormal actions, it is unclear why she does it.

While Rimuru was still thinking, they were teleported to <Fraxinus>.

Upon appearing on <Fraxinus>, Rimuru was greeted by the sleepless woman named Reine once again.

She slowly walked in front of Kotori as her head keep swinging back and forth as if she might fall at any moment.

Reine suddenly stopped and stared at Rimuru and Ciel without taking her eyes off her.

It seemed that Kotori had contacted Reine before so she didn't ask anything about Ciel, and Kotori went straight to the topic.

"Reine will run some tests on both of you and then we can talk---"

Kotori was speaking when she stopped as she saw Reine approaching and staring at Rimuru and Ciel.

She took a few more steps and focused all of her attention on Rimuru.

"Looks like the sealing is done, isn't it?" Reine suddenly spoke in a disinterested tone.

Reine's words immediately take Kotori by surprise.

It make Rimuru wonder why Kotori hadn't been warned about this.

"Wait, what do you mean Reine?" Kotori asked in surprise.

"Follow me, I'll show you the tape," Reine said and led everyone to the command center room.

Reine played a video recording last night on the spirit house.

Although the video is quite blurry due to being recorded from a distance, people can still see things to some extent.

The whole scene was Rimuru touching Shidou's lips and then her spiritual power stat was no longer detected by Fraxin.

"How..." Kotori muttered in disbelief.

Kotori looked surprised after watching the video while Ciel looked annoyed...

Kotori sighed and muttered, "Looks like there's a lot of work to do."

After realizing what needed to be done, Kotori quickly spoke to Reine.

"Reine, check their condition. Is that okay with you two?" Kotori said and consulted Ciel and Rimuru.

"Okay, no problem."

After a while, both Rimuru and Ciel went through the inspection process.

They used various scanning and measuring devices to make statistics about Rimuru and Ciel's physical, mental, and spiritual power.

If she has to say, lying for a long time in a giant machine is not a very comfortable experience.

That process also took a long time and after it was completed, Kotori started questioning Rimuru and Ciel.

With a deep breath and a lollipop in her mouth, Kotori spoke up.

"Okay, let's start. Ciel, can you explain your existence?"

"No, at least not now. There are things beyond your understanding." Ciel said with an expressionless voice.

Hearing Ciel's answer, Kotori showed a bit of disturbance but move on to other questions.

"What about the method of sealing your own spiritual energy into Shidou?" Kotori said and turned her face towards Rimuru as if expecting an answer.

Although Rimuru's expression didn't change, inside she was panicking.

Everything is analyzed and planned by Ciel. Rimuru couldn't even understand the true nature of Reiryoku and could only use it as an instinct.

But knowing her master's, Ciel quickly spoke up.

"It's one of Rimuru-sama abilities, only master can do it."

Without thinking much, Rimuru nodded along Ciel's words.

If it was planning or negotiating, Rimuru could handle on her own, but as for matters that were meant to be used to understand things like this, Rimuru had to leave it to Ciel.

Kotori, after hearing Ciel's explanation, just nodded.

She looked in Ciel's direction and spoke up.

"There's another important question. Ciel, why can't we detect any spiritual energy from you?"

"Very simple," Ciel said in an expressionless voice and then moved closer to Rimuru.

"Because I'm a part of my master," Ciel said and then dissolved into a cloud of black smoke, it then gradually absorbed into Rimuru's body.

Seeing this transformation, Kotori's eyes widen.

After that, Ciel reappears and the conversation goes on for a while.

Most of Kotori's questions were answered in such a way that Kotori could not add any information.

Knowing that she wouldn't get any more information from Rimuru and Ciel, Kotori ended the conversation here.

"It's done. But before we send you back, let me introduce you to the crew of the <Fraxinus> ship."

"...Okay." Rimuru accepted as there was no reason to refuse.

....

And that was a bad decision.

When the door to the control room opened...

The scene inside is extremely... CHAOS!

The crews, each of them doing their own thing... playing with figures, calling their lover, drinking wine, and nailing the voodoo doll.

The most noticeable was a tall young man with long blond hair, wearing a white suit with black trim, and was... rubbing his cheek against the commander's chair...

And the rest... she wasn't sure how to describe.

Before Rimuru could say anything, Kotori slowly approached and knocked the guy who was hugging the commander's seat.

"This is Kannazuki, the vice commander of Fraxinus, who has more intelligence than a dog." 

Kotori said after kicking Kannazuki and sitting in the commander chair like she didn't care.

Kannazuki fell backward but quickly sat up and suddenly look strangely serious.

<Need someone to explain what's going on... OR GET ME OUT OF HERE!> Rimuru yelled in her mind.

As if nothing happened, Kotori spoke up.

"Let me introduce. The trusted crewmen in <Fraxinus>."

"T-is that so?" Rimuru said with an uncertain voice.

Kotori threw her coat with a majestic look and spoke up.

"Such as."

And then with a strong voice, Kotori pointed at one of the crew members and spoke up.

"Having marriage five times, Romance Master <Bad Marriage> Kawagoe!"

<...Huh?... what's the point of that?>

"Boasting great popularity with the Filipina in the stores at night, <President> Mikimoto!"

"Her love rivals encounter misfortune one by one. <Nail Knocker> Shiizaki!"

"Man With One Hundred Brides <Dimension Breaker> Nakatsugawa!"

"Due to her love, the law won't let her within 500 meters of her loved one <Deep Love> Minowa!"

...

...

...

"Why are these people here!"

Rimuru mumbled and felt like she had made a bad decision when being involved with this 'organization'.

Ciel looked completely uninterested in what was going on while Rimuru looked like she wanted to leave this place.

The door behind Rimuru slowly opened, but Rimuru and Ciel both ignored it because, with universal sense, they already knew it was Reine.

She slowly walked behind Rimuru and... placed her hand on Rimuru's shoulder.

Usually, this is just a casual act to get other people's attention.

However... there was a feeling from Rimuru's Sephira.

It felt like someone was trying to analyze Rimuru's Sephira

And more than that...

<Spirit Power!?>

But before Rimuru could do anything---.

Ciel took Reine's arm and removed it from Rimuru's shoulder.

Ciel just now was still quite a distance away from Rimuru and she moved almost instantly and grabbed Reine's hand.

It all happened in less than a second and everyone on the <Fraxinus> ship immediately looked at Rimuru, Ciel, and Reine in surprise.

<<Master, I have identified that the individual Reine is a spirit. However...>>

<<However?>> Rimuru wondered as Ciel appeared uncertain about something.

<<I can't find any recorded information about her.>>

<<So no one knows of her existence!?>>

<< Yes, that's right. master.>>

<<Can you learn more about her ability through spiritual energy?>>

<< That's not possible. Sephira were all derived from the Primordial Spirit, there was no difference in spiritual power. They differ only in the emotions that make them, and that alone is not enough to analyze their abilities.>>

Spirits... need more research.

Back to the present, Rimuru and Ciel were standing completely still in front of the others.

Reine stopped her actions. The inside of her tired eyes seemed to have expressed some sort of surprised expression.

The atmosphere in the control room became tense and only stopped when Kotori spoke up.

"...Reine do you have something to say?"

Kotori broke the silence.

"Oh, I just came to ask Rimuru and Ciel to go home and rest," Reine spoke up as if nothing had just happened.

"Is that so... thank. I'll take the two of them home by myself." 

Kotori said then slowly walked out, signaling Rimuru and Ciel to follow.

From the way she moved, it looked like she was still tense about Ciel's actions just now.

Rimuru simply sighed and along with Ciel followed Kotori back to the spirit house.

Kotori brought Rimuru to the front door and left in a hurry. it seems like there is going to be a lot of work to be done...

With a sigh, Rimuru step into the house

And inside...

"Ah Rimuru-san, Ciel-san! you two are finally back! Let's know more about each other!"

Tohka said in an excited voice, it looked like she, along with Yoshino and Shidou, had been waiting for Rimuru to return.

The spirits and the others have treated Rimuru quite well, so it would be better to get along with them.

And one more thing... Rimuru looked over at Ciel.

In the first place, she didn't think that Ciel would show up openly like this.

But the fact that the people around accepted her without being wary was another surprise.

Rimuru didn't understand how everyone could accept things so quickly.

Is this normal? Or is it because they are too friendly?

But anyways...

"Um, let's get along shall we?."

Tohka's eyes lit up, she grabbed Rimuru and Ciel's hands and led them both to the sofa.

Even though Rimuru has found out that Reine is a spirit now, since she doesn't want to bother RImuru much, let's just leave things alone and find out more information about her.

But now...

Phantom is still as annoying as ever.

------Phantom-----

Floating in the sky above Tenguu City, Phantom silently observed the two individuals she was interested in.

The existence of both of them was unexplainable.

Rimuru is somehow able to move between worlds, Ciel is a strange existence of unknown origin and cannot be destroyed.

...And there's that energy source.

The energy is released while Phantom fights Rimuru in the neighboring world.

An energy full of chaos but with properties surprisingly similar to Phantom's Angel...

<Ain> Angel of nothingness.

Combined with her spiritual energy, the two energies somehow fused to form a very chaotic Sephira.

Every second that passed, the Sephira tried to erase itself from existence but never succeeded.

But there is one more thing worth noting.

Every time a new spirit was created, two main things were needed: spiritual power and emotions.

However... In the process of creating that special Sephira... not a single emotion was transmitted.

An emotionless Sephira.

Plus to that, when the Sephiras were created, they were very harmful to humans.

Yet Rimuru, a girl of unknown origin was able to safely absorb this new spirit's power causing Phantom to constantly watch carefully.

Her destructive power and intelligence are both impressive.

"What a troublesome child." The phantom's distorted voice echoed in the sky that no one could hear.

That cautiousness, combat experience, magic, and strange energy...

All of which makes Rimuru and Ciel a threat to Phantom's plans.

However...

That would help Shinji... A lot.

------JGSDF base, Tenguu city------

The battle against <Destroyer> was a crushing defeat.

Although all the members present were unconscious, fortunately, no one lost their lives.

The JGSDF and Origami members, despite their normal appearance and silence, were holding back their displeasure.

Origami, she was staring at her hand on the table.

At that moment, the door to the room opened, and Ryouko, the AST captain appeared.

All the members in the room stood up and saluted in unison.

"Ah, it's okay. Sit down, sit down." Ryouko finished and walked to the center of the room.

She stood solemnly and began to speak.

"...Since the appearance of Spirits in Tenguu city is large, we are in the position of needing to provide more results. Additional personnel has been assigned to join us."

"A very energetic top ace. In terms of using the Realizer, it is not surprising that she is in the top 5 in the world. —In fact, it would seem that she has killed a Spirit alone."

".........!?"

From Ryouko's words, everyone started making noise.

"come in."

"Yes." In response to Ryouko's voice, a cute sound was heard.

The door opened again

---and a girl entered the room.

"...........!?"

Immediately, all the AST members in the room fell silent.

But, that was normal. That was because the person that entered, was a girl that no matter how you look at her, she was a middle-school student.

She had an intelligent face, and a ponytail tied at the back of her head. She was a characteristic girl with a black mole right under her left eye.

"I am second lieutenant Takamiya Mana, please to make your acquaintance from now on."

Mana turned around with a JGSDF uniform that looks like a cosplay item and then saluted.

All of the members frowned together all at once.

Mana tilted her head wondering what was up with everyone's reaction.

"Is there anything wrong?"

She said that, with normal respect for everyone.

"What do mean by what's wrong?.......Y-You...aren't you still a kid—!?"

---End chap 11---

---authors note---

there is a lot of debate in our group about this chapter, about whether or not we should let Ciel out, should we introduce Rimuru to the Fraxinus crew or not.

And also.

Phantom is not some dumb character, she's really smart and none of us wanted to decrease her IQ for the sake of the story...
So... from now on.
EVERYTHING WILL BE A BIG MESS.

Hope there won't be 'too many' plot holes and CRINGE... HOPE