Is it wrong for slimes to be in dungeons? (revised)

Chapter 42: Exceptionally Weak

So many things. Oh so many.

(Sophia POV)

I silently stared at the Sword Princess before our house...or familia hall I suppose. Exuding a certain atmosphere of confidence and self-assuredness in her ability her expression was stony but beyond that she held a certain level of girlishness in her.

I invite her in and Amaterasu quickly makes snacks for us before leaving to take a nap.

Allegedly she was here to meet with Rimuru but her timing was a little poor because Rimuru himself had gone out just a few moments prior to meet with and help Hestia familia with moving into the new mansion they won off the Apollo familia in the war game.

Speaking of that, the mansion was way too big for their familia size. Even if you consider the added members it was made to hold the mid-sized Apollo familia, so a familia as small as Hestia's is left with quite a lot of room.

But that was neither here nor there at the current moment. I took a sip of tea and let the tension slide off me as we silently sat together.

I told her Rimuru probably wouldn't be until the afternoon, but she offered to wait until then so now I was stuck here.

No, in the first place my relationship with Aiz was a rather strange one. We were mostly strangers, but due to my relationship with Rimuru I had been forced to run from her and view her as an enemy, at least for a little bit.

And it was thanks to that that I understood just how scary she was. I'm very used to running away, in fact when it comes to that I'd say I'm first rate. But with her, it was a relentless chase that took all my tricks and I still didn't manage to shake her off.

At least a part of it was probably her superior status, but even without it still would've been one of the hardest situations I've ever faced.

How terrifying.

And now here she was silently sitting before me. Quietly nibbling on snacks and drinking tea.

As much as I'd love to stay like this for quite a bit longer there was something slightly nagging at me. I could ignore it...It wasn't too important...

But on the other hand it's not as though I have any reason to avoid asking.

"So, what did you want to see Rimuru about?" I asked.

"..." she continued to nibble on the cracker before her, but I could see small signs of the gears turning behind her distant golden eyes as she thought up a response.

Her hands dropped in her lap holding the half-eaten cracker before she spoke in a calm, but direct manner.

"Rimuru has offered to take me into the lower levels of the dungeon," she said, "I am here to give my response." Her voice was quieter and had a mature air to it despite her age. No, in general she was acting very different from what one might expect from someone of her age. Not that I could talk. However, I got the feeling when it came to Aiz it wasn't so much that she was acting more mature than someone her age normally would, but more so that she wasn't very good at talking...

Hmmm. "You seem like you want to accept?" I offered.

"Hmm," she nodded in affirmation.

"If it's not too much mind if I ask why?"

She brought the cracker up to her lips again and began to chew on it for a moment before finishing it and opening her mouth again to respond.

"I...need to get stronger." she said with a firm voice and deep conviction in her gaze.