Issei was chatting with Rimuru while Leon, Dulio, and Jaune were in the middle of their confrontation.
Wait—actually, they stopped right before the fight even began, so I guess that doesn't really count.
"Aren't you worried about your comrades who are staying with the other Demon Lords?" Rimuru asked. "Specifically Tobio-san, since he's over at Guy's place."
"Why worry about grown men like them?" Issei shrugged. "Now, if it were Rias in their shoes, then I'd be worried."
Rimuru rolled his eyes. Luminous let out a soft chuckle, quietly observing Issei from the sidelines.
"You really are honest with your desires," Rimuru teased.
Issei grinned. "Isn't it better than you, who can't even vent the desires left over from your previous life?"
"Ahem! Cough, cough! How on earth did you know about that?!"
"Just a lucky guess. Don't tell me I actually hit the mark?"
Rimuru instantly clamped his mouth shut, his eyes turning into blank, white circles.
"Hehehe, looks like I was right."
"Shut it! Stop bringing up my past life!" Rimuru cried out in mock despair, a few comedic tears of frustration pricking his eyes.
Issei laughed lightly before finally giving Rimuru a break. He then turned his gaze toward Luminous. Sensing his stare, Luminous glanced back with her strikingly beautiful eyes.
"What is it? Are you planning to make me one of your targets, too?"
"If I said yes, what would you do?" Issei replied with a fearless smile, completely unfazed by her haughty tone.
"Hoo, bold. I wouldn't do anything," she said coolly. "If you truly have the capability, then by all means—try to win my heart."
"A challenging invitation. Just don't regret it later when you find you can't live without me."
"Kukuku... how interesting. If such a day ever comes, I suppose I won't find life so boring anymore."
Issei and Luminous locked eyes, an intense aura of mutual attraction swirling between them. Rimuru, caught right in the middle, felt like he was watching a high-stakes adult romance drama from his previous world.
'Wait a minute... I have a bad feeling about this,' Rimuru thought. 'If Issei actually manages to conquer Luminous's heart, his ego is going to skyrocket. Should I stop them from falling for each other?'
A sudden urge to play spoiler flickered in Rimuru's mind for a second.
However, that feeling evaporated as quickly as water splashed on hot coals. Looking closer, it wasn't that Rimuru was worried about Issei's arrogance—he was just plain jealous of Issei's potential success. But since Rimuru was a "wise adult," he knew better than to get in the way of someone's love just because he was feeling envious.
BANG!
"Rimuru! How are the guests from the other world doing?!" Milim kicked the door open with such force it shattered into a thousand pieces.
Rimuru pressed a hand to his forehead, feeling a massive headache coming on. "Milim! Didn't I tell you to stop breaking the doors? Rigurd is always complaining about it!"
"It's not my fault! The door was just too flimsy!" As usual, Milim acted like a stubborn child who refused to take the blame.
Issei glanced at Milim. At the same time, Milim used her specialized vision to scan Issei's body, discovering something unusual.
"Why do you have an Ultimate Skill? You're not even from this world!"
"Eh? Issei has an Ultimate Skill?" Rimuru blinked. Luminous leaned in, listening intently.
"As expected of you, Milim," Issei praised.
"Hehehe! I am the strongest Demon Lord, after all! Hahaha!" Milim's laughter wasn't intimidating in the slightest—it was far from the image of a "true" Demon Lord. In fact, her voice was just incredibly cute and adorable.
"I guess there's no point in hiding it anymore," Issei said. "Like Milim said, I do have an Ultimate Skill."
Gulp!
Rimuru swallowed nervously. "What kind of skill is it?"
"Um, the name is a bit... awkward to say." Issei shifted uncomfortably, looking slightly embarrassed.
"Hmm?" Rimuru's curiosity piqued, as did Milim's and Luminous's. Under the collective gaze of three Octagram members, Issei was forced to explain.
"It's called Ultimate Skill: Lord of Harem."
"Ha-rem?" Rimuru was the first to catch on. "So, that skill manifested because you're determined to build a harem?"
"Yeah, pretty much." Issei wasn't lying; he was certain the skill's appearance was no coincidence.
"I'm curious about the effects," Rimuru continued. "Since it has 'harem' in the name, I assume it's related to your partners, right?"
Issei nodded. "It has several sub-skills, but the main one is Heroine Awakening Authority. With this, I can boost my partner's power by several levels, depending on how well I've mastered the Ultimate Skill."
"Wait, that means—"
"You're right. I used it on Rias, which is why she's grown as strong as she is now."
Rimuru went silent, slowly glancing toward Luminous.
'If Luminous gets a power boost from Issei's skill, would she be able to match a True Dragon? I can't even imagine the chaos if she decides to go settle the score with Veldora...'
"I don't know what you're thinking, but I'm not doing that!" Luminous snapped.
"Eh? Can you read my mind?"
"No, I'm just reading the look on your face."
Rimuru went back to being a silent slime.
"That's an interesting ability, though my Ultimate Skill is way stronger! Hahaha!" Milim laughed boastfully again.
Issei just offered a faint smile. He chose not to argue with her, instead simply enjoying the happy expression on her face.
Far in the distance, Rias sensed something. She paused for a moment to consider it, then broke into a mischievous grin. Whatever she was planning, it certainly wasn't going to be as simple as one might think.
Rias leaned in and whispered something to Shuna. Shuna looked stunned and replied hesitantly, only to be met by Rias's manipulative laughter.
To be continued...Anvanced Chapter p*tre*n.com/AgamYupi02