Note: In this fic, the worlds of That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime & Rising of the Shield Hero are linked in a general sense, though most details will be revealed throughout the story.

12/1/19: I made some minor changes, and you can read the details of them at the end notes.

Chapter 1: Shield & Slime Meeting

About one week after the Second Wave was successfully repelled by the Four Legendary Heroes, the leader of the Jura Tempest Federation arrives in the capital city of Melromarc in hopes of fostering peaceful trade relations, though also to determine why all four of those heroes were summoned to that city at the same time…

Rimuru Tempest was currently riding in a carriage through the capital city, joined by his subordinates Benimaru, Shion, Shuna, and Rigur, though Ranga remained in his shadow like always. And while they traveled down the road, Rimuru peeked out while saying "Well this is an impressive city… Do any of you know much about the legendary heroes they seem to summon regularly?"

Benimaru scratches his slightly unkempt red hair, before saying "All I've heard are rumors from merchants to Rimuru City. And all they really say is that those heroes often get really strong, so if all four heroes were summoned in Melromarc at the same time, they might get deployed to increase their kingdom's strength while dealing with the waves…"

Rimuru nods in response and says "I've heard similar things from King Dwargo and from Demon Lord Carrion. The nations near us typically ignore this whole system, but states near Melromarc have typically summoned those heroes in the past, probably in a rotating fashion. Let's try to gather some information while we're here, especially about why the heroes were summoned here and if the waves could be a threat to us. They only seem to affect Melromarc and not much farther outside their borders, at least according to what I've heard, but I could always be incorrect about that…"

While his carriage was continuing down the road, Naofumi, The Shield Hero, had just left a general store with Raphtalia…

When Naofumi sees the carriage, he turns to Raphtalia and says "Looks like that king will be receiving a guest today. It may even be a foreign politician. I'm sure he'll show off the other heroes, so why don't we join them as well?"

Raphtalia nods and says "As the Shield Hero, you should be present for a foreign guest. Excellent thinking, Master Naofumi!"

Later, in the castle throne room…

Suddenly, a castle trumpeter plays a boisterous tune, before yelling out "Behold, His Majesty King Aultcray Melromarc XXXII!"

King Aultcray then walks out toward his throne, noticing Rimuru and his subordinates present in the room, as well as all four heroes off to the side. He wasn't thrilled about seeing the Shield Hero, but he held his tongue and sat down, before saying "You must be Rimuru Tempest of the Jura Tempest Federation…"

Rimuru respectfully nods before smiling and saying "It is an honor to meet you, Your Majesty…"

King Aultcray however, grumbles when he sees Rimuru's gesture, causing him to say "You are in my throne room, so I expect you to bow or kneel before me…" His demand caused Rimuru's subordinates to flash with anger for a moment, though Rimuru motioned them to remain calm. Naofumi, standing with Raphtalia and Folo while watching from the sidelines, thought the king was being a complete fool, since it was obvious to him that this foreign leader was powerful.

In response to that, Rimuru closes his eyes while saying "I must apologize King Aultcray, but it is against my code to bow before an equal, as we are both leaders of our respective kingdoms. I was taught that by a fellow ruler whom I have great respect for."

King Aultcray starts to tap his finger on his throne, while glaring and saying "If you wish to negotiate with the Kingdom of Melromarc, then you must show reverence to its ruler. I will not accept anything less…"

When Rimuru hears that, he nods and says "I understand…"

King Aultcray proceeds to smile, feeling proud of himself, before saying "There, now do you understand how the human way of doing things, monster?"

Rimuru nods again, before smiling and saying "That I do… I shall take my leave, King Aultcray. I have no need to associate myself with a king with such a great amount of vanity and stupidity. Farewell…"

King Aultcray begins to sputter to himself, amusing Naofumi thoroughly, before the king finally says "How… h-how dare you? Heroes! Do not allow that monster to leave!"

Ren, the Sword Hero, and Itsuki, the Bow Hero, proceed to ready themselves for combat, while Naofumi watched without moving, noticing that Motoyasu, the Spear Hero, wasn't yet acting either. To Naofumi, it made perfect sense for Ren and Itsuki to listen to the king's selfish command without question, but he had no idea why Motoyasu was ignoring an order right now. Either way, things were not going well, and this situation could easily spark a war with this foreign nation, which Naofumi would rather avoid.

However, to Naofumi's surprise, Rimuru summons a dark flame from one of his fingertips while saying "I will warn you only once, King Aultcray. Have your heroes stand down before we go down an irreversible path. Though I do wonder why all four were summoned here specifically. Is it not standard for you and your neighboring kingdoms to discuss where each hero should be summoned before hand?"

This was a strange point, one that Naofumi found disturbing, especially how the king acted like it was tradition for them all to be summoned in Melromarc. Though knowing how underhanded he was, it would not shock him if the king specifically summoned the heroes to disrupt the balance of power between Melromarc's neighbors.

When King Aultcray hears that, his face grows pale for a moment as he mutters "What was that…?" He quickly composes himself and slams his fist against his throne, before yelling "A filthy monster dares to level an accusation against me? Heroes! Silence this demonic creature at once!"

Ren and Itsuki prepared themselves to a difficult fight, though Motoyasu acts first, walking forward to stand between the other heroes and Rimuru's envoy, before smiling and saying "Why don't we all take a step back…? As we are guests of this world, it wouldn't be right to cause a war for the kingdom that we are meant to save…"

He then nodded at Naofumi, an act which confused the jaded Shield Hero more than anything else, but this was a good opportunity, so he goes to stand next to Motoyasu before glaring and saying "None is getting killed while I'm here. Grow a brain for once and stand down. You may beat me in terms of offense, but none of you can get through my shield…"

Now that the heroes were effectively split on this issue, King Aultcray begins to grit his teeth in anger, before finally saying "Fine! You will leave my presence immediately, you band of lying monsters!"

Rimuru merely shrugs and says "That's what I planned from the start…" Then he turns to the heroes who supported him before smiling and saying "Thanks for helping with the situation. Good luck with your heroic duties..." Following that, he turns around to walk away, before telepathically saying to them both "I'll be in town for the rest of the day. Come find me at the inn near the north gate before I leave, okay?"

With Rimuru and his subordinates gone, King Aultcray groans to himself, before turning to Naofumi and saying "Shield Demon… I should have known that you'd undermine me…" Then he turns to Motoyasu and says "But you… You've been our kingdom's most loyal hero, so I will let you off with a warning."

Motoyasu nods and bows, before saying "Thank you, Your Majesty…"

However, King Aultcray then folds his arms and says "But while I have you here, why did you suddenly remove my daughter from your party. She is quite distraught… Did she do something to displease you, Spear Hero?"

Naofumi's eyes widened when he hears that, never expecting that the annoyingly gullible and doting Motoyasu would ever go against that deceitful princess. But in response to that, Motoyasu just smiles and says "Oh, I'm afraid I've recently had a change of heart, for I can no longer stand to fight alongside a liar…"

King Aultcray's eyes slowly flared in anger, as the other heroes looked at Motoyasu with both confusion and shock, as the king said "How dare you? What can you possibly accuse my daughter of lying about?!"

Motoyasu merely shrugs and says "The better question is, what can't I...?" And then, he turns around and begins to walk away while saying "Farewell everyone! After that experience, I could use some rest…"

Naofumi had no idea what was going through Motoyasu's head right now, but he was much more interested in meeting with that Rimuru guy, since he heard so many rumors of how powerful his kingdom was.

With that being decided, Naofumi and his party leave the castle and head toward the inn that Rimuru was staying at, wondering what awaited them there…

In the North Gate Inn…

Currently, Rimuru and his group were sitting in a back corner, feeling a bit disappointed that their trip to Melromarc ended in this way. Despite that, Rimuru felt somewhat confident that the two summoned heroes who attempted to break up the potential fight would come to visit him. And it would be highly useful to have one of those heroes on the side of Jura Tempest.

A little while later, Naofumi and his party entered the inn, where Rimuru motions them to come to their area. And once Naofumi got there, Rimuru smiles and says "So you're the infamous Shield Hero… I've heard a lot about you. But first of all, thanks for talking some sense into your fellow heroes."

Naofumi quietly nods, not exactly trusting this foreign leader, before saying "Oh… thanks. Well, I just wanted to stop by to make sure you guys were okay. Though what did you mean by Melromarc summoning all four heroes? Isn't that normal? "

Rimuru shakes his head in response, and says "Unfortunately from what I've read and heard, the way you were all summoned this time was entirely unheard of, so your king likely fed you a totally false narrative. Because you heroes have far more growing potential than other summoned otherworlders, the nations neighboring Melromarc have established a pact dictating where each hero should be summoned and at which point in time. Normally, all four would be summoned in separate nations, where each one would be responsible for preparing them for the waves. Those waves affect Melromarc and the neighboring nations, though Jura Tempest seems to be outside of that radius; well at least for now. Are you following me so far?"

Naofumi quietly nods, wanting to learn more about the truth of the hero summoning system, leading Rimuru to continue by saying "It didn't take long for the neighboring nations to learn of what your king did, and that word eventually spread to me and the nations allied with Jura Tempest. Honestly, it's a giant mess… But at least they summoned a few reasonable heroes when they pulled this scheme, so watch out for any suspicious deployment orders!"

Now that Naofumi felt better informed, he turns around and says "This was good to know, but I should get going. See ya…" Raphtalia soon followed behind him, lecturing the young hero about his manners, which Rimuru had no trouble hearing, leading him to quietly chuckle knowing that his retainers would have scolded him in the same way.

But after Naofumi took a single step, Rimuru sits up straight and says "From what I've gathered, this kingdom doesn't do much to support you, Shield Hero. How can you expect to do your duties without help from your kingdom?"

Raphtalia looks at Naofumi with concern, as he grumbles to himself before saying "I'll figure things out, like I always do. I don't need the kingdom to do my job properly…"

He then continues to walk toward the front door, causing Rimuru to say "Well, I've also heard about a highly damning accusation that was leveled against you, Shield Hero…"

When Naofumi hears that, he turns back at Rimuru and furiously glares at him, before saying with a growl-like tone "That's none of your concern!" Once he realizes that he lost his composure, he turns back around and shakes his head, before sourly saying "I'm leaving…"

After that, Rimuru hums to himself, before saying "Did you do it, Shield Hero…?"

Naofumi's eyes widen when he hears that, causing Raphtalia to immediately turn around and yell "Master Naofumi is a good person! Don't you dare insult him!"

Rimuru shakes his head and says "While I respect your devotion to him, I'd like the Shield Hero to answer for himself. Well, did you, Shield Hero…?"

Naofumi then turns around and says "Fine, if it'll get you out of our hair!" He then quietly exhales, before dejectedly saying "No, I didn't… Happy?"

In response to that, Rimuru jumps up and clasps his hands together, before grinning and saying "Yep! I guess you really were falsely accused then… Talk about a bad first experience after getting summoned to this world…"

Naofumi was entirely confused by what he just heard, since no one ever believed him when he tried to deny the accusations leveled against him. Rimuru seemed to notice his confusion, so he says "I'll bet you want to know why I believe you, right? Well, my telepathy is pretty powerful, where I can even read the inner thoughts and emotions of people, to the point where I can notice when someone tells a lie. So if you were lying to me, I'd know."

With that explained, Naofumi asks "So why'd you want to meet with me then?"

Rimuru nods and explains, saying "Well, I wanted to figure out if Melromarc really did summon the heroes all at once this time, and if they might be a threat to my kingdom. You probably don't know this, but they're not the only ones who can summon otherworlders, though the legendary heroes of this land are particularly notable and powerful. Just having two of them serving that king could spell disaster for the other nearby kingdoms, though having one to keep that king in check just might be enough..."

When Naofumi hears that, he glares and says "So you just want to use me? Is that it?"

Rimuru proceeds to laugh and say "Use is a bit of a strong word… I prefer the term 'hire'. Or maybe sponsor? Or support? I've got plenty of citizens to worry about, and this is a pretty worrying situation. How about it, Shield Hero?"

He proceeds to scratch at his hair, before saying "The name's Naofumi…And I guess I could use some help for a change… After learning all this, that king is sounding even more fishy than he already was."

When Rimuru hears that, he grins and says "Alright then, Naofumi, it's a deal! From one otherworlder to another, I'll keep you employed and help ya out!"

That last statement threw Naofumi off guard, causing him to back away and say "What was that…? Does that mean you were summoned here too?"

Rimuru taps his chin in response, before saying "Sorta…" Then, his body proceeds to melt into a bright blue liquid, before finally settling into a rounded shape with a simple looking face. And after that, Rimuru smiles again and says "I used to be a regular old Japanese guy, but then I died and was reincarnated into a slime. A whole lotta of stuff happened after that, but now I'm in charge of this gang…"

Benimaru proceeds to nod, before giving a friendly wave and saying "Good to meet you, Naofumi. If Lord Rimuru can trust you, then so can the rest of us."

Shion then grins at Naofumi, before proudly stating "If you didn't stop your hero friends, then I would've cut your king in two for daring to insult Lord Rimuru!"

Shuna then shakes her head at Shion while saying "You should learn to hold back more. We cannot do anything to insult Lord Rimuru's honor while on diplomatic trips…" After that, she picks Rimuru up and holds him tightly, prompting a pout from Shion, before adding "I look forward to our partnership with you, Sir Naofumi…"

Rigur then moves to shake Naofumi's hand while saying "Great to meet you, Shield Hero!"

With that all taken care of, Rimuru lead Naofumi and his party out of the inn, though to their surprise, Motoyasu was running toward them, leaving Naofumi to wonder what was going on with that guy's head…

Notes:

12/1/19: I made some minor changes/revisions, since I got a few details wrong. The big things I changed was that the story takes place after the 2nd wave. I was thinking of it as the first wave Naofumi dealt with, which was why I originally said it took place after the 1st wave. I also made some changes with how the legendary hero summoning occured, so it should be more accurate. I also gave Rimuru an additional reason for visiting Melromarc, mainly due to the correction I made for the hero summoning. Hopefully things are better for accuracy!

As you can see, this story is starting in a middle point for both Slime & Shield Hero.

For Slime, everything up to Season 1 of the Anime had occurred for my story. I'll be a bit looser with Shield Hero, but basically things are set after the conclusion of the first wave Naofumi and the other heroes dealt with, which is technically the 2nd wave chronologically.

And because this happens a few months after the 2nd wave, a few things will have already happened, like Filo hatching and growing into her human-like form. Since I'm not certain about how the events of Shield Hero are spaced out time-wise, I think I will make it so the next big wave hadn't occurred yet but they finished a few of the smaller event arcs in-between.

Something else that was probably unexpected was how Motoyasu acted during this story. I can assure you that his behavior will make a lot more sense in the next chapter.

I hope you enjoyed this first chapter!