NOVEL NEXT Chapter 33:
Rimuru was stuck in thought wondering where the lost girl came from when the slime heard Gobuta scream off in the distance, it did not sound good. Said scream was shortly followed by a communication from Ranga.
"I gotta go, are you coming?" Rimuru asks the girl, noticing she's holding what appears to be a dragon plushie.
Both of them start running through the forest, eager to catch up to the goblin hunting party.
Rimuru remains disguised with the mask.
As they arrive in a clearing, Safi mutters, "A samurai?" but her voice carries.
"I'm gonna die!" Gobuta exclaims, his fear palpable.
"Quiet down, it's not that deep of a cut," Rimuru reassures, healing him and the other goblins.
Glancing briefly at Safi, Rimuru's senses pick up on a sudden surge of hostile intent behind them. Without hesitation, they pivot, just in time to witness the clash between Ranga and two more ogres, their weapons meeting Ranga mid air.
Rimuru ran forwards to help when a barrier of blazing blue flames erupts around the ogres, encasing them in a protective shield.
"Hi?" Safi says, having snuck up on the one wearing a pink kimono.
The girl jumps in fright and the barrier falls.
"Master, sorry this happened while I was here," Ranga says to Rimuru.
Meanwhile, the sound of metal creaking and clanking is heard, causing Safi to shudder.
They look over to see a purple-haired ogre wielding her mace against Rigur, whose sword snaps under the assault.
"That's actually scary," Safi remarks.
"Rimuru-sama, I'm sorry," Rigur says as he collapses, about to be finished off by the mace.
"Don't worry, leave it to me," Rimuru says, swiftly binding the purple-haired Ogre in wires and administering some healing potion to Rigur.
"So, why are you all fighting?" Safi asks, while the pink-haired girl stares her down.
"Oi, I'm sorry, I don't know what my people did," Rimuru says, while the two girls continue their standoff.
Safi just smiles at the pink-haired one.
"Would you be willing to talk this out?" Rimuru asks.
"Show us who you really are, evil Majin!" the soon-to-be Benimaru shouts out.
"Hey, what did you just call me?" Rimuru asks, genuinely confused.
"Enslaving monsters is not a feat any human can accomplish," the redhead asserts.
"B-brother!" the pink-haired one shouts.
He turns around to see Safi standing right behind him.
"Hi," Safi says.
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"Where the hell is Safi!" Yuki shouts, her concern evident.
"Did we ever teach her stranger danger, nya?" Nekra asks.
Yuki pales slightly.
"Safi was kidnapped!" Yuki shouts, immediately assuming the worst.
"I got it, I will teleport myself to her, nya," Nekra says, charging magical power in a panic.
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Safi was standing besides Rimuru
"Hey, listen, guys..." Rimuru begins, attempting to diffuse the tension.
"We have no intention of listening to you. That mask tells us everything we need to know," the redheaded ogre retorts.
"The mask? Wait a minute! Aren't you making some kind of mistake?" Rimuru asks, puzzled by the accusation.
Suddenly, a sword is drawn and pointed at them, while one of them tries to take Safi hostage. However, Safi surprises everyone by transforming into particles of what seems to be dust in her captor's hands, only to reform elsewhere with her dragon plushie by her side.
"Eh?" Future Shione shouts in shock.
'Is she also a slime with a human form? No, that doesn't make sense,' Rimuru ponders.
"Ranga, take care of the pink one, but don't kill her," Rimuru whispers to the ogre.
"Right," Ranga acknowledges.
Suddenly, there's a burst of magic power in the ground in front of them.
"Oh no, mom's coming," Safi says, realizing she snuck out.
A cat girl appears, wearing a white dress, her two tails swaying behind her.
"Nya, Safi, what are you doing here?" Nekra asks, sweeping the girl up in her arms.
"I was exploring and ran into Auntie Rimuru," Safi says with a smile.
"sigh You go out, you need to tell me or Yuki, okay?" Nekra scolds gently, before the two of them disappear from their spot.
"She was strong..." the redheaded ogre remarks.
"It was her again?" Rimuru questions, having seen that cat girl too many times for it to be a coincidence.
"Are we calmed down?" Rimuru inquires.
The redheaded ogre nods, having lost all intent to fight when Nekra showed up and then disappeared.
'Why did she call me Auntie Rimuru?' Rimuru wonders.
(Great Sage: Answer, I cannot tell you. Never mind.)
'Wait, why?' Rimuru asks.
(Great Sage: I was specifically told not to, I was even bribed, would you believe it?) The Great Sage says, with a voice that sounds similar to abridged Alucard.
"Don't you ever go wandering off again," Yuki says, hugging Safi tightly the moment Nekra brings her home.