(Rimuru POV)
"Yeah, you can't be a demon lord. I've met a real demon lord, and you're like… way too weak."
'Report. According to Milim, Demon Lord Ramiris goes through an eternal cycle of rebirth. Currently, she is in her juvenile stage. At full mature stage, Milim said that Ramiris wielded power comparable to her own.'
"Stupid. Stupid, stupid, stuuuuuupid! You met Milim! You know what they call Milim? They call her the Demon Lord of Absurdity, because she just deals with everything with her laughably overwhelming power! She's like the strongest Demon Lord out there, you know, except maybe Guy! How dare you compare a monster like her to a sweet, delicate flower like myself!" Ramiris shouted, still trying in vain to get out of Risa's grip.
Yeah, that made sense. Lots of sense.
"Wait, are you two the slimes that just started ruling the Great Forest of Jura? Milim did stop by a little while ago, bragging about her 'girlfriend' or something, but I figured she was just blowing hot air, so I laughed her right out of this place." Girlfriend? Umm… No. Umm… Whaaat? No. Ummm… Wait, since when…?
'Reminder. Though your consideration of Individual Risa as a female has affected the way she sees herself, as a slime, Risa has no technical gender. That fact extends to master, as well. Using skills, the two of you can technically embody aspects of either gender, though it is impossible for either of you to have a child with another without magical assistance.' Yeah, Wise One… Not a fact I wanted to remember.
'My point is that most all attraction Risa feels is due to her natural curiosity. As such, it's normal for her to be drawn to an individual like Lady Milim, and therefore interested in one day creating a child with her. However, this attraction is not strictly sexual in nature. Lady Milim likely meant 'female friend' when she told Ramiris that Risa was her 'girlfriend.' Furthermore, if master gains skill allowing for regulation of skills given during offspring creation, chances are high that Risa will eventually attempt to bear master's child one day.'
Nope. Let's shelve that line of thinking right there. Risa will never grow up, never feel any sort of attraction to other people, and never ever have a child. Nope. Never even think about it. Milim meant 'female friend.' Nothing more will ever come from Risa with another person. Ever. Nope. Not gonna happen.
"Big Bro?"
Yeah, I refuse. I'll just… ensure it never happens. Risa will always stay the innocent girl in front of me. Never grow up, ever.
"Big Bro!"
"What?!"
"While you were zoning out, I explained everything to Lady Ramiris. She's the Spirit Queen, apparently."
"Huh?!"
"So, she's gonna help us try to summon high-level elementals to possess the children and save them."
"Wait, seriously? You can actually do that, Ramiris?"
"Lady Ramiris! And it's my job… I feel bad for these kids, too. I can't just sit here and do nothing, with my position." Ramiris explained, biting into a cookie literally bigger than her entire body.
When did Risa pull an entire picnic out? And where is that cookie going? There's no physical way that a cookie that big can fit into a stomach that's literally smaller than a pea! Wise One, answer me!
'...'
Yeah, I kinda figured. Great Mysteries of the Universe.
Apparently, Ramiris actually did have some legit skills as befitting a demon lord, despite her lack of personal power. She told us that she'd actually taken the shell for the Elemental Colossus from the Dwarven Magisoldier project, which I remembered that Vester had blamed Kaijin for its failure. Apparently, after that failure, Gazel had basically been forced to kick Kaijin completely out of the military, which was why he was working as a blacksmith back when we found him. His real passion was actually research, and I was having him oversee Vester's work as a result of that.
Anyways, she took this empty shell from the failed project, and found a way to stuff it full of spirits, fixing all of the problems that had caused the original project to fail. It really was art.
On top of that, she was also the overseer of this whole place. Apparently, the entire labyrinth was a part of her Intrinsic Skill, Small World, making her the literal 'god' of the labyrinth. The Dwelling of Spirits was the very center of the labyrinth, and it was directly connected to the Elemental realm that was the birthplace of all spirits. Even the Salamander that had evolved into Izzy had been born there. Ramiris could actually tell that Risa had taken on parts of Izzy's composition.
Ramiris also told us something else interesting. Apparently, Demon Lord Leon Cromwell had once come here in search for a spirit to help him with something. Fulfilling her duty as the Queen of Spirits, Ramiris had allowed him to try and contact a spirit, and he'd actually managed to contract with a superior light spirit, which forced Ramiris to grant him her blessing, making him a Hero.
But even though he managed to almost instantly awaken his True Hero Seed, which is the equivalent of a Demon Lord Seed, he didn't exactly act like a True Hero. Apparently, he'd chosen a different path, trying to summon a specific person from another world. Later, he'd come back in a state of wrath, having failed in his plans, stealing Ifrit by force. Shortly thereafter was when he fell from grace. Now, the Voice of the World doesn't even recognize him as human, but as 'demonoid.' Which he seemed to accept, since he just announced himself as a Demon Lord and slaughtered Kazalim to earn himself a seat on the Demon Lord Council.