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75.19% Tensei Shitara Slime Datta Ken / Chapter 97: Tensei Shitara Slime Datta Ken Chapter 97

Chapter 97: Tensei Shitara Slime Datta Ken Chapter 97

Compensation and future relations!

Well, this and that happened, and now for some reason it's suddenly become a banquet.

There was a large quantity of various alcohols available. Well, it's probable that it's just various forms of diluted whisky and other beverages, but there was ample quantities of ice prepared. We spared no means to bring such a necessary item out for the festivities.

But, well, as expected, it was simply too much to ask for Japanese style sake, but since I had desired them, an abundant variety of drinks had been prepared.

As it would turn out, the drinks were rather popular amongst the Holy Knights.

In their semi-drunken state, I had hoped that talks of a regular " Tempest Martial Arts competition" would be forgotten, but it would seem that my hopes won't be fulfilled.

This chain of events will probably proceed steadily.

Thus, the next day came.

The discussion between Hinata's group and my own will finally be completed. Various discussions about the future relations between Tempest and the Church will probably ensue.

As it would stand, as we're the victim's side and the one that had received the most substantial level of heavy damage. A lenient response in light of the current situation is simply not possible for the sake of future face and general common sense.

However, a specific increase in the severity of the charges placed on the actual criminal sect known as the Blood Shadow was emphasized. It was certainly different from the desired intentions of the Church.

Because of a little thing known as management, the responsibility for recent events have not fallen completely from a certain party's responsibility.

Although the Holy Knights should end up paying a certain amount of war reparations for their subjugation war's failure this time around. Well, since the location of Tempest is too far away from the territory they control, even if territory was to be passed onto me, I wouldn't be able to use it that much.

Not to even think about mentioning the fact that this can simply be solved with money.

To be honest, I see establishing friendly relations abroad as a priority above the acquisition of gold and whatnot.

While thinking of such things, the meeting had finally begun in earnest.

The participants from Tempest would include Rigurdo, Benimaru and myself. Aside from that, we also have the Goblin Chiefs who were, for this purpose, promoted to Minister status.

From the Church's side would be Hinata and her 5 Captains.

At first, I had wanted both sides to acknowledge reciprocal recognition. As this was my main goal from the beginning, gaining any additional compensation can be brought up afterwards.

With that said, before we truly started the conference, both parties decided it would be beneficial to exchange general information. Such information generally consisted of each party's respective situations, such as their current exportable goods and so on.

After that, the main conference started.

While watching from a middle ground perspective, I watched for any changes in the balance of the negotiations.

If there were to be any misalignments or complications from either party, it would be best if they were corrected in the early stages of the negotiations.

After a few minutes, I began to gather how the negotiations are panning out.

Needless to say, from our side, the list of grievances began with the Church's sponsored invasion from the Farmas Kingdom.

The direction of the negotiations changes depending on the attitudes of the other party, yet the stances of each party remained unchanged.

As for the Church's position, Hinata mentioned that there was a problem with the current request from the Church's perspective.

Basically, the acknowledgement of the Monster Country is something that contradicts the very teachings of the Church. This is an important matter that could very well lead to the mistrust of the believers.

If there was nothing done, this matter could very well lead to the estrangement of the believers. Thus resulting in the loss of the Church's influence, or at the very least the diminishing of it.

This was apparently the reason why the annihilation of said Monster Country was of the utmost necessity.

That's why, according to Hinata, the Church needed a just cause and a cover story to deal with the situation.

Hence, they chose to utilize the fact that the Farmas Kingdom had openly showed their desire to secure their profit. Giving the Kingdom a suitable level of claim to act, they attacked Tempest along with the Farmas Kingdom.

Well…. they have admitted that they are completely at fault here but… the fact that they were manipulated into action was unexpected.

(Hinata)

"Fufufuf… I suppose it can't be helped. We're completely defeated, so I doubt we'll be able to make headway if I don't give you some acknowledgement.

Besides…

I, the representative of the Church, believe in the sole existence that protects the lands and people.

Those very people that convert to the Church find their salvation, and they cut off all other beliefs besides the Church.

There is a limit to the number of people I can save alone. I had believed that only saving those who followed the Church's teachings was true justice.

That's also how I think even now… but…

I think that I have been mistaken.

I should have lent my hand out to those who had striven to survive, to life and be happy. In such, I suppose my actions was not true justice at all.

I… no, if we had helped others for the simple reason of helping them, perhaps we would not have become so overpowered by this sense of arrogance.

For, if we are true believers, we should help all those in need, not merely those who follow our teachings. That is the blindness of our arrogance.

To even seek to accomplish this with every ounce of our power is probably the least we can do."

As if making a mental breakthrough, and as a result finding some level of fulfillment, Hinata's face showed a bright smile as she spoke.

For the old Hinata, to only save believers was the logical choice. To abandon those who do not believe in the Church's teachings.

She didn't have the strength to save every last person who needed help, who looked into the sky begging for a savior. It was a wish she probably thought was something that could never be realized.

That's why she decided that those who followed the teachings of god should be given priority to be saved.

Her logical and calculative personality had cut off the non-believers cold-heartedly.

While she stayed true to her personal dogma, in her heart, she was only lying to herself up until now.

In the end, the number of people she saved was quite limited. The very lines she drew limited the life that could have been sustained. She could never be everywhere at once, but limiting the choice of who to save ended up leading to making incorrect decisions.

In the end, while it is impossible to save everyone, there were far more lives that could have been saved.

The line that Hinata had drawn before her own heart was whether a person was a believer or not. To not acknowledge someone as a true person unless they were a believer to forget the pain of not saving them.

That's why Hinata greatly feared a decrease in the number of believers. If the number of people who believed decreased, it was like saying the number of people she could protect was reduced.

Well, she's was little hardheaded in the beginning. Her train of thought is also a bit skewed, though I can understand her reasoning more or less. I too came from the same world as her after all.

Those who place all of their trust in god, leaving their decisions to those who interpret said god's teachings often end up narrowminded. Those who lack the capacity to make their own decisions will often make the wrong ones, leading to a spiral of decay.

I'm only treated like an enemy because of the current interpretation of the Church's doctrine. With that alone, I don't mind their actions, though religion in general becomes suspicious.

If people were just more flexible and tried to see other points of view, the number of conflicts would be reduced severely.

Well, there's always the other reason for conflicts. Human nature. Often war ends up being waged over profits, authority, and the like. Leading to them beating each other until they're black and blue.

In the end, there are those who seek to enrich themselves to obtain an advantage, whereas those who are devout adherents to their faith will often be left crying in defeat.

Well, it is story that's quite easy to gauge really, I simply need to be the one who doesn't cry in the end… Or rather, I should say the one who strives to not fall behind.

In short I need to consider my own intentions.

Rather than complaining to others, if they use their heads, they will be able to come up with better solutions. Well, most people are quite formidable in turning a viewpoint around to place themselves in an advantageous position. It's almost second to human nature if one thinks about it.

Well, it might just be an idea, but it's a good idea to not just believe in a partner blindly.

In this regard, I think Hinata may be a bit too serious.

From now on I recommend that she should live more freely. Get some proper life experience besides her narrow minded upbringing.

At any rate, thanks to Hinata being so candid and admitting to her own faults, the talks were able to proceed smoothly.

It seems that there were no objections from the Captains either.

It's probable that they have a strong belief in Hinata, so they wouldn't voice any objections to what Hinata says.

A large part of the discussion was examining both the situation, as well as both parties' recognition that the conflicts between both sides are now over with the Church admitting to their faults.

Now comes to the point of discussion compensation, but before that happened…

(Hinata)

"My apologies, but there are certain things that I want to say in that regard."

With that, Hinata began to share her thoughts.

After listening to what she said, it seems that her higher-ups in the Church within the Holy Kingdom, Ruberius, had no involvement with her attack.

It seems that the hierarchy of the Church, or at the very least the positions relating to it are rather complex.

The Pope, the Sage King, or whomever, it seems that there are multiple individuals who stand at the 'top' of the Chruch's hierarchy.

However, the true person that reigns at the top is the Holy Knight leader, Nicolas Cardinal.

The rampage that had been unleashed this time, as well as the subjugation war had nothing to do with the Kingdom where the Church is located.

Therefore, in the end, the involvement of the Holy Kingdom Ruberius is limited to only Hinata.

So even if I had demanded some form of compensation, Hinata's confession ended any hopes of me pursuing that direction.

From her viewpoint, it's because she held the post as the head of the Pope's personal knight that things had become rather complicated.

To note, Personal Knights and Holy Knights are two entirely different groups.

Taking action solely from the Pope's demands, the so called "Personal Knights" never leave the vicinity of the Pope without his command.

Only the head of the Personal Knights, Hinata herself, was given permission to act freely to act and protect the growth of the Church. That basically included overseeing the growth of the Holy Knight branch.

It's because of her position that the Holy Kingdom isn't completely unrelated to the current incident.

While it wasn't said openly, the responsibility of this incident falls completely on Hinata. It was in order to prevent any blame to the Holy Kingdom that Hinata had withdrawn from her position as the Head of the Personal Knights.

It's not like this was the end of the story either. Hinata had already been informed by her teachers that she could have been disposed of at any time.

These teachers are known as the "Seven Celestial Sages" as it were.

Though it's not necessary to be too suspicious about this matter, i'd wager a guess that these first-class sages are rather brave and powerful.

Since the Holy Kingdom of Ruberius had already made thorough preparations to cut ties with Hinata should she fail or cause trouble with her current actions, it's impossible to hold them accountable anymore.

In this case at least, we will have to consider this as a separate issue from the Western Church as it were.

I suppose it will be necessary to consent with the Western Church this time.

Hah… then what's going to be done about the compensation?

As I had previously mentioned, i'm not aiming for money for this situation.

The aim was for the Church's side to acknowledge our existence, so after they give their acknowledgement, I want to press for a non aggression pact.

Well, my thoughts were interrupted by the Holy Knight named Arnaud.

(Arnaud)

"I don't really see any problems with this. If you or your people were truly evil, there's no reason for us to still exist right now."

With those words, he showed his approval.

In contrast to the Holy Knight Arnaud's opinion was the Vice Captain, the Holy Knight called Leonard.

(Leonard)

"However, there's still a problem. How are we supposed to deal with the current teachings of the Church? Especially when the entire authority of the Church depends on it…"

When he said this, his brow furrowed, conveying he is rather unconvinced.

With both this, and Hinata's worries being conveyed, they seem to be the same.

In the worst case scenario, there's even the chance of the Church's dissolution.

The important issue is to protect the people during the resolution of current hostilities. I don't care what happens to the Church in all honesty, with that i'll be focusing on the protection of the people first.

Unlike the rational pragmatic Hinata, the believers of the Church will likely focus all of their contempt towards the Church.

If the Church itself vanishes, the Holy Knight order that defends the people from monsters will likely scatter.

As if to break my train of thought, the deeply troubled Leonard spoke gain.

(Leonard)

"Even so, the inhabitants of this country are certainly not 'Wicked beings' like we had previously thought. Why not simply let this information be announced instead?

In fact, even the Goblins and Orcs, which makes up a majority of the population, have figures quite similar to that of human beings. As for the Lizardmen, well, they were already considered to be demi-humans anyways. There's no need to think about the Dragonewt class' position.

Even in the case of the Onis, rather than be considered a low class monster, there are many humans who even view them to be within the ranks of land Gods and Deities.

In short, there's no teachings that state that Demi-humans and Demigods are 'Wicked' right?"

In short, the monsters aren't monsters, and thus aren't "Wicked" as the Church's doctrines teach. Basically what he's saying is to admit my entire population into Demi-human status, allowing us the same treatment as the Dwarves.

This can probably lead to, at the very least, some level of mutual understanding.

This is similar to points that Arnaud had mentioned before in the discussion, but he wasn't able to really drive the point home.

Basically, this is a point of compromise that is entirely political.

We decided to adopt this opinion and were then able to rapidly carry out a negotiation examining every possible detail.

In this fashion, we managed to create a basic draft for the compromise.

By the way, it seems that the Hierarchy of the Church accepted and recognize the current status of our citizens. This was accompanied by us being informed that the Holy Knights would preforming a regular cultural in place of a regular compensation.

Above everything else, as an additional compensation, we were given a failed experiment of theirs. Basically a set of experimental equipment that they weren't able to complete.

As for Hinata's broken sword, we were given that as well, and the few pieces of spirit armor that weren't completely destroyed. Analyzing them was fairly simple. At any rate, I passed over a duplicated sword to Hinata to replace her sword since she was pretty much defenseless currently.

To note, the analysis of the Spirit Armor was actually a major development. I also had the chance to analyze the Spirit Equipment the Holy Knights used.

My current attributes are Darkness and Magic. Basically I wouldn't be able to use the Holy attribute affiliated equipment as is, but I think there's a possibility to modify them.

It would seem that these are State-Secret class weapons, yet we're sitting here, perfectly fine to just analyze them. If I were to take this as a compensation, I suppose there's no problem with this much.

With this country of ours, things will gradually grow more advanced and sophisticated. Not to mention, more well armed.

After we received our 'compensation', we began to chat and I ended up gathering some ridiculous information as a result.

I mean, to most others, this would just be common sense, but this is the first time I've ever heard of it.

Basically, it was information on the Great Tenma wars that occur roughly every 500 years or so.

This came about when I was discussing future policies.

To begin with,

(Hinata)

"Well… Tempura, a bowl of white rice… even sashimi… Rimuru, you are, without a doubt, a fellow Japanese. There's no longer any doubt in my mind about it.

But to reproduce our world's food here, I have to say i'm both surprised and amazed. What you've said is true, you've managed to achieve your desired environment in just two years….

If I hadn't already seen all of this with my own eyes, I would never believe it for my entire life!"

Hinata had begun with these casual segments, but….

(Rimuru)

"No, there's still far more to do.

Logistics are still far too slow, communication is still out of the question.

Since there's magic, casual life and food preservation are possible for the time being.

The worst part right now is definitely culture. There's still just far too little depth in our environment.

It will take some time, but one day it will be worked into the society.

My aims currently are the main developments of our highway network and its maintenance. I want to get a safe and secure passage to be developed. We're currently working on it, and it's progressively taking shape.

Following that I want to work on information transfer. I gave up on wireless communication a while ago since I just have no knowledge on the subject.

However, though transmission is greatly enhanceable via the incorporation of Magic Steel, so I plan on taking advantage of this for the short and mid term.

When the magic steel is connected intercity through a space through the use of shadow step, it's possible to communicate with them without the use of an excessive quantity of magic.

What do you think? Convenient isn't it?"

Well… I boasted a little.

In reality, not only between our cities, but a network that will connect even the villages is planned.

Bester's been developing a long range telecommunication technology he's calling Comm-Gems.

It's too magic intensive if a visual image is also being conveyed during the communication, so it's currently impossible to include each village. It's something to look into for the future.

If the steel wires were to be processed and finally stretched out, it's possible to handle it with manpower alone.

If the Shadow Step space were to be used instead, then this process could be done effortlessly without any obstacles.

After that, we'll have to just wait for the development and refinement of the receiver point.

As expected, from a person who lived in the Era of Information, the speed of transferring information takes a special place in my desires.

Hinata was obviously amazed by my plans.

(Hinata)

"Uh… um… well… er, that's all well and fine…

Be careful not to go too far… you'll be attacked by an angel…"

Hinata said this with a casual tone.

Angel!? What the heck was that? What about an Angel?

Hinata seemed to notice my puzzlement and continued.

(Hinata)

"Ara? You didn't know?

Every five hundred years, the gates of heaven will open, allowing the Angels to commence their invasion.

Based on fundamentals, they don't attack human settlements all that often, but overly developed towns end up destroyed.

Research indicates that the Angels despise civilization as yang to their ying if you will.

The only one's that have managed to escape from their onslaught is the Dwarven Kingdom.

Their domain only has two entrances. Large scale invasions don't work either because dragons inhabit the mountain ranges.

Therefore, they've managed to defend themselves somehow.

That's more or less the reason why civilization is stagnate to a certain level.

The only exception is the Ingrasia kingdom. It's also the reason why the council is there in the first place. It's in order to perform research and try to mitigate the damage of each invasion.

Every five hundred years, the Imperial Capital is redesigned based on how much damage is caused after an invasion. It's basically trial and error.

This is something that each country has unanimously agreed on and something that all residents understand completely.

It's also because their research hasn't been over the top that the destruction and devastation has been kept to a minimal.

Each nation gives out support and carries out their research in total secret. Any discoveries are generally concealed and only the Kings of each country can utilize the latest in technological development.

If they were to spread the results to the people, the angels would certainly unleash their full wrath upon them.

This system was carefully determined and agreed upon. Only discoveries that are determined to not cause incident are released to the masses.

The purpose of the angels are to eliminate monsters as well.

I suppose it's something that you really shouldn't be overlooking."

Is this something that everyone knows about?

This is always the kind of feeling I get when I get explanations like this… Arg…

But what was that about Angels? How have I never heard about them….

(Rimuru)

"Oi, did you know anything about this?"

Well, at least it's not everyone. When I questioned Rigurdo and the others present, they didn't know anything about this at all.

I don't know anything about the Angel's invasion, but I do know that when the Angels do come to attack, it could only mean a war between the Demon Lords and the Angels.

Well, I did wonder about that war that occurred five hundred years ago. I was curious if it was a war between the Demon Lords or a war against Humankind.

No… when you think about it, if it were merely a fight with humans, it would have been a joke and a half if any form of truce were ever really made or honored.

Although I never really thought deeply about it, now I'm starting to get an idea based on everything i've been told. I suppose it makes sense now.

However… every five hundred years the Angels invade huh… and only the technologically advanced…

They don't make a move on humans, but what's with this hatred for civilization?

Is it just that they want to interfere with humankind, or are they afraid of something?

Honestly, I couldn't make heads or tails of the meaning behind their actions.

(Rimuru)

"So? Do they leave some countries alone? What happens if someone defeats an Angel?"

Well, the answer to my question was rather obvious.

It's a really bad idea. If you really wanted to make an enemy of a race that's higher than most monsters or demons, well, you can figure out the rest yourself.

Indeed, demons are troublesome enough, I probably don't want to go out and make another enemy.

As it stands, there's no need to conduct any interference with undeveloped humans. However, what's the cut-off line for technology that will be destroyed?

Do they hate the otherworlder's tastes perhaps? Maybe gunpowder isn't any good then.

It seems that the Angels are individually close to a B+ rank, so they always come in armies of roughly… 1,000,000 strong or more…

In addition, there are leaders of Captain/ Commander classes that are stronger and organize the invasion.

It seems like there are General level classes as well, but the combat capabilities of these individuals are unknown.

A Demon Lord's Body is probably stronger though.

They're also under the Holy attribute, so any real attacks or intervention from the Church will probably be useless.

Though, even if nothing is done, the helpless monsters will generally be slaughtered under the Angelic invasion.

However, they don't seem to be allies of humanity either, not even Hinata knows that much about them.

Well, it's to be expected since no humans currently have seen an Angel for over five hundred years. The only reason they are known is through the recordings of history and rumors.

Given that, there's a good reason as to why the Church considers monsters as the enemies, and also why demons exist.

Amongst the monsters, there seems to be an organization that is exceptionally hostile towards humans. There's even a Demon Lord in their midst that clearly hates humans as well. Well, was of course…

Clayman was the representative of that faction, but he's beyond dead now.

With Clayman dead, there aren't any Demon Lords amongst the Eight-Star Demon Lords that have a clear cut hostility towards humankind.

(Hinata)

"HUH?! Clayman's dead?!"

Oh, it surprised Hinata.

(Rimuru)

"Yep, he's dead. I killed him and destroyed his soul."

While I went for a nice, salty and oily potato chip, I offered my carefree reply.

Ah, potato chips are the perfect snack..

Rather than talking about that small fry, I much rather talk about the Angels that were coming. But it was clear that she was conflicted on whether or not she should give up on this matter.

That kind of small fry… what happened to him doesn't matter at all if i'm perfectly honest. Well, that's what I thought, but….

From what Hinata told me about him, Clayman had always been acting secretively and they were never able to get any leads on him.

However, his extreme hostility towards humanity was clear, and if there weren't an internal balance check between the Demon Lords, and the necessary agreement of several other Demon Lords, he would have probably went to war with them ages ago.

Then I remembered.

(Rimuru)

"Oh right, I just remembered that Clayman mentioned his lord being the Demon Lord Kazaream or something of the nature. Ah, he's likely to have some connection with Yuuki, so best to be cautious.

The Holy Knights who hadn't heard this yet were thusly told.

(Anon Holy Knight 1)

'Hah? The Leader of the Freedom Association might be the Demon Lord Kazaream?"

(Anon Holy Knight 2)

"However… we can't just openly examine him on this… If handled wrong, this could lead to an all out war between the Church and the Freedom Association…"

(Rimuru)

"Well, Kazaream is alive and we assume he managed to manipulate Clayman…

That would mean the boss of the hostile demons is Kazaream. Even if he isn't the de-facto leader, the chance that he's monitoring them is possibly very high."

I said that while eating a few potato chips.

But, contrary to their serious facial expressions, their hands continued to bring new potato chips to their mouths.

These guys… aren't you acting a bit too familiar?

Heck, even Hinata was reaching her hands out and nibbling on various items.

Wait, what's this about?! Is this really a topic that you can so casually discuss?

So on and so forth, but I ended up just muttering rashly, especially since it doesn't really have anything to do with me anymore anyways.

(Rimuru)

"Oh well. It's just a possibility anyway. It's best that we don't act careless though.

However, I do admit that there are plenty of people going after the "Otherworldly" children, so I don't want to alert them if I don't have to."

(Hinata)

"Regarding that, I think I might know of a place. I'd like to go and examine further, but do you mind if I do so?"

(Rimuru)

"Eh? Uh… Ah.. Did you need to ask so carefully? Is there some professional informant in the Freedom Association?"

Hinata probably had a similar idea.

I could probably figure out what she was planning, and if it's what I think it is, it isn't a bad idea to entrust it to her.

Thinking this, I tentatively nodded in my agreement.

Indeed, even though there is no tangible evidence, this isn't something that can be just left alone as is.

This matter will all be determined by the information that we manage to gather. Hinata's eyes showed me that she was also aware of the importance of the situation at hand and we nodded at each other.

Thusly, our future relations with the Church have been successfully laid out. We were able to complete a friendly meeting and spent our time meaningfully.

I was even able to obtain some unexpected information, but it's best I leave 'that' person to examine it.

Hinata also stayed around for another two or three days before she returned.

For the sake of an emergency contact, allowing either party to instantly contact the other, several people were left behind. However, monitoring us is no longer their purpose here.

Since we've already ceased all open hostility, it's best to just establish friendly connections in the future.

If possible, i'd like to maintain relations as is.

Like this, the series of Conflicts with the Church, has officially reached a tentative completion.

———–


Chapter 98: Tensei Shitara Slime Datta Ken Chapter 98

Letter of Invitation

Templars, defeated!

Every country bordering the Jura Forest soon heard these news.

It was preposterous to think that they could have secretly invaded without being seen.

Moreover, countries that had relations with Tempest could hardly believe that their intelligence gathering teams were negligent.

Of course, Rimuru was aware that these countries were sending spies.

Which is why he had ordered a victory that produced the fewest casualties.

And country executives realized this fact.

After all, the fact that none of the knights were killed only proved their hypotheses.

For example, in the Dwarf Kingdom–military nation Dwargon.

The ministers gathered upon the Dwarf King's request.

They were analyzing a recorded image, while scrutinizing every bit of data they could acquire. With every minister having access to the said information.

The data they had acquired disclosed the matters of the battle.

The results were rather surprising.

One hundred Knights Templar, believed to be the strongest among humans, planned an invasion of the country.

However, Demon Lord Rimuru had intercepted this plan, and his response left the knights completely defeated.

How truly terrifying the Demon Lord Rimuru's information gathering skills are!

Certainly no less terrifying than his ability to strategize!

So murmured the Ministers.

However, was it as they said? The Dwarf King looked over the data, and his sight fell upon a bizarre pattern of movements displayed by the combatants.

Was this not supposed to devolve into a haphazard encounter between the forces?

Such a thought came to his mind. Actually, that's the only possibility he could have imagined.

No matter how much anyone claimed that the altered terrain caused the knights to dance in the palm of Rimuru's hand, it should have had no bearing on the actual combat.

If so, he was actually constantly staying aware of Hinata's plans while modifying the strategy to sway the battle in his favor.

And as a result, by controlling every aspect of the battle, the knights were completely defeated.

Unfortunately, since the recording magic is rather limited, the dwarfs could only lament the lack of a comprehensive report.

That is, it could only produce a soundless spectacle of the battlefield.

Nor could it analyze the skills used; at most, it helped identify the winner.

Even so, the data they gathered is certainly of grave importance.

Thus he scrutinized it again.

Captain-class knights were seen moving in various directions with some plan in mind. The Tempest department heads intercepted resulting in combat.

The result was a total war across all fronts and a complete victory for Tempest.

Among these battles, it was noted that a single monster could overwhelm eight knights–much to the dwarfs' surprise.

Considering that these knights were at least of captain class, it is best to assume that Monster Country Tempest easily surpasses the military might of Dwargon.

The ministers noisily grumbled about this, while King Gazelle Dwargo sighed in relief.

He was truly glad that Demon Lord Rimuru was an idealistic monster who sought friendship with the humans.

Had he been a monster who sought to destroy humanity, humans would have faced an unprecedented calamity.

(Besides, he's growing too fast!)

Was Gazelle's true thoughts.

He had thought Rimuru to be full of potential when they had first met, but he had never considered that he could progress this far.

Should he have destroyed him then? He could not come up with an answer.

For better or worse, this demon lord was interesting.

And, they currently have a cooperation pact and will be proceeding on friendly terms in the future.

Moreover, thanks to his "World Traveler" ideals, he has been developing some interesting contraptions.

Sparing no time nor effort, and aligning himself with no other "World Traveler", perhaps such is the true strength of this demon lord.

His movements have thus produced some interesting results.

And the many skills and technologies developed thus the dwarfs are able to obtain without lifting a finger.

So Gazelle decided.

Even if the angels destroy him, the dwarfs will not allow the technology to be lost.

Of course, they will probably become more and more militaristic in the future… but Oh well!

How much joy the dwarfs felt from all the inventions that came from that country.

(At this point, we have no choice but to trust Demon Lord Rimuru!)

Besides, he had released all the knights unharmed this time.

This could be interpreted as seeking to coexist with the humans.

Had he intended to fight them, he could have massacred the knights. After all, who can complain that an invading force was destroyed?

And yet he had let them live. Completely unharmed.

This could also be interpreted to mean that he had the confidence that Knight Templar class soldiers are of no threat to him.

This is causing quite a division among the ministers: some calling him a danger, others rejecting that notion.

Both are probably correct.

But there's only one decision.

Gazelle cleared his throat and thus got everyone's attention.

The conference room was completely silent, with every gaze focused on the king.

「That demon lord seeks to coexist with humans, so, as much as possible, we will support him. That is the official position of military nation Dwargon!」

The dwarf king's declaration reverberated through the hall.

The ministers bowed their heads and accepted their lord's will.

Thus the policy was decided. The specific measures would now be drafted by excellent individuals.

Whether this was a right or wrong decision, he could not have known.

But, the Dwarf King had no regrets.

And then another report was brought to the king.

「Your Majesty, Rigurdo-dono has sent an announcement.

It seems that they are planning on holding an event to make known the ascension of a new demon lord and seek our presence.

Well, this might be a political farce, however. They are simply trying to appeal to countries they are friendly with.

Doesn't seem like they actually expect our presence, so how should we respond?」

「Oh, about that! Bester also mentioned something!

Tempest, it seems, is planning on holding a tournament…

Probably a show to go along with the announcement.」

「What will we do? If we plan to attend, they have requested that we notify them in advance.

Speaking of,

There is limited number of seats, and the city is bound to be crowded that day, so they have asked to promptly answer them.」

Bester's question was brought up along with this report.

The Dwarf King pondered for a second.

(Actually, what the hell is that stupid demon lord planning hosting a tournament now of all time…)

Completely unpredictable.

Hence amusing.

The Dwarf King struggled to keep a smile from surfacing.

He could not break his facade before the ministers.

(You bastard… making me suffer so… I like it!)

Stifling the joy with a hint of anger, he announced his decision.

「We will attend the ceremony and the tournament」

He said.

The Ministers had not at all expected such a response, but this was the decision of their king.

With the meeting decided, they quickly started to prepare for the journey.

* * *

Sorcerer Dynasty Sarion, the Emperor's Castle.

A beautiful garden full of rare life spread behind it.

Keeping up the garden provided numerous benefits for the dynasty to say nothing of income made from it.

In other words, it was the source of the dynasty's pocket money.

The entire garden was maintained without a penny from the taxes.

Two beings relaxed inside this garden.

One was Duke Elalude.

Father of Adventurer Ellen, and one of the three leaders of this country.

And a being who was sitting across from him.

This being is the only one with a higher standing than Duke Elalude in the entire kingdom.

Empress Elumeshia Elure Sarion herself.

With a beautiful feminine face–well, she is a woman, after all–she has elf blood flowing through her veins and thus doesn't age.

Asking the empress how old she is, is considered a taboo.

She has the body of a girl who has just reached adulthood. With skin as white as fresh snow.

Long pointed ears easily distinguish her from anyone else. The glance of her slanted, jade eyes pierce into the very soul of the person before her.

And, long pale blue silver hair falls gently over her cheeks.

Duke Elalude was once entranced by the beauty she embodied, but was able to regain his mind after considering his wife's and daughter's wrath.

And with a short prayer, he faced the Empress.

The one so gracefully sitting upon the cushion across from him,

「Your Majesty, regarding the monster country I have reported on previously, we have received an announcement.」

He said and taking out a letter from his breast pocket handed it to the Empress.

He checked that it was safe. As for its contents, he would rather not say them himself.

He knew all to well that the Empress hated to have people learn things before her.

But…

(Having become a demon lord is great and all, but why announce it?)

And here is the question.

The letter was addressed to Duke Elalude. Normally, there was no need to let the Empress know about it.

But… it read "Please let us know how many people will participate!"

And that means that any number of guests are invited.

So if he doesn't let the Empress know and goes by himself, she'll just get mad at him again. And he would rather that not happen.

After all…

When he left on a mission to free his daughter from the clutches of an evil demon lord, he received a stern scolding.

Here's what she said.

「You bastard, how dare you leave your lord's side! I can't believe that such an interesting slime exists until I see it personally. Moreover, to witness a birth of a demon lord, which even I have never seen? I'm so jeal… Ummm, it's ridiculous! To have missed such a wonderf… I mean, you don't even know the danger you were facing! What a fool!」

And she became depressed.

Oh, and only Elalude ever saw Empress act like this.

She appears as a cold hearted individual to the other ministers, and is even feared as the Doll Empress.

Like a sheep in wolf's clothing! Elalude always wants to retort.

So he perfectly understood how angry she would have been had he gone off by himself this time.

Moreover.

They even claimed to conduct a Tournament at this occasion.

If he left her behind, her anger would be unimaginable.

Currently, due to her sulking, he has yet to establish technological cooperation with that country.

So if her mood improves, maybe they'll finally be able to finalize those details.

There's another important point.

He had confirmed that Tempest had fought against the Templars recently.

He had worried about how they will fare against them, but, surprisingly, they didn't just completely defeat them all, they also released every knight.

Basically claiming to have overwhelming confidence in themselves.

They could perhaps be countries that try to appear weak with only the leaders aware of the true strength.

But even so, to hold a tournament now of all times can only be interpreted as an event to flaunt their strength.

Well, since this allows Sarion to measure their strength, it is crucial that they participate.

But to bring the Empress to such an event would create a myriad problems…

And he was certain that he himself would have to solve all of them.

Empress Elumeshia returned the letter.

Elalude gulped in anticipation.

「Your Majesty, how shall we respond?」

He hesitantly asked.

With a wide smile on her face,

「How indeed…」

She was just putting on airs.

He could easily predict her next words but still waited for them.

And hearing an expected response, Duke Elalude would spend the next days without any sleep, busy with preparations.

* * *

In the small country Brumund's trading house, Myormiles was getting tired of the person talking to him.

As a merchant, he could tell a person's personality with a single glance.

Those coming for money, those coming with a new business opportunity.

There's also fallen nobles who come proposing dubious deals.

Among all these fools there maybe someone with a legitimate proposal.

So he can't leave this job to anyone else.

While thinking this, he dismissed the swindler before him and called forth the new guest.

A handsome man entered.

But Myormiles would not be deceived.

This man too was a fallen noble who had once tried to sell some junk at high price using his name.

He probably came with another idea and is seeking money.

But, if anything, he is a noble. Myormiles verified this himself.

So rudeness towards a true noble could be fatal. Which makes this job all the harder.

"Another stupid idea is it," he thought, and inquired the guest.

And he was right.

It really was rubbish.

In short, I'll open a new store using my slaves, so give me money! He said.

Frankly, he can't see this idea succeeding. A store needs a lot more than cute girls to be successful.

Research the market and the buyers, consider the location, and pay for the girls' children.

Just because they are slaves does not mean they will work for free–they need food and shelter after all. There's also initial costs to consider.

Opening a brothel also requires one to consider the chance for disease to spread.

If it does, not only the noble, but Myormiles himself would be indicted.

So this is not something he could accept.

「My, what a discerning eye you have, Kazak-sama.

But, regarding these female slaves, that would prove impossible, wouldn't it.

Human slave trade has been forbidden and opening a store with illegal slaves would be…」

「Oh, about that… here's the thing. All is solved when a noble pays the right people some money.

So, you know? Oh and this is a secret… but those slaves are elves」

He said in a haughty manner.

Myormiles got a heartburn just listening to Count Kazak, but stifled his displeasure.

As a merchant, he can't show a customer displeasure. Even a novice merchant knows that.

So how should he refuse him…

And the moment he began to say something,

「Yo! How have you been, Myormiles-kun!」

The door burst open and in walked a person while greeting him.

A beautiful girl (boy?) with silver hair, golden eyes walked in.

Who can't possible be here…

「Eh? Could it be, Rimuru-danna?」

A profoundly surprised voice escaped his lips.

Huh? Didn't Rimuru-dana become a demon lord? So Fuze-sama had said…

And he is not wearing a mask? So he was this cute without it?!

These thoughts filling his head, he had completely forgot about Count Kazak.

And then he heard,

「Please wait! Master is currently with a guest!」

A panicking attendant attempted to stop him.

Chances are, he had missed Rimuru coming in and was too late in stopping him.

What a failure. But chances are, he wouldn't have been able to stop him anyways.

So Myormiles could hardly get angry at the attendant.

「Ah, sorry. You were with a guest, huh. Well then, I'll wait in your store!」

And flashing an insincere smile, Rimuru added『Pardon my rudeness… nah, my bad!』

And leaving everyone dumbfounded he left.

Afterwards, Myormiles ended the discussion with Count Kazak, and cleared his schedule for the rest of the day.

A great wave was beginning to move the world.

What was more important?

Myormiles was not a fool who could not understand that much.

He was certainly a person who could find ore within a stone.

But! There was something he could create even if he were to abandon everything.

A short acquaintanceship but large profit? That didn't matter.

Most important was his obligation to consider the long term benefit of his business partners–fellow merchants.

He had intended to visit himself when things calmed down.

That is, he has heard that after becoming a demon lord Rimuru has gone off to attend Walpurgis Banquet.

So he could hardly take any action until he was sure of the changes.

And yet the person himself had visited as if nothing had changed.

So meeting with this person was by far the most important thing he had to do.

Remembering every strategy he knows, and hiding the pure joy that was filling his heart, Myormiles rushed to his store.

What wicked plan would he propose today?

And thus, Myormiles tedious days would come to an end.


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