After the battle we could finally rest.
I took some of my time to have a look at the new skills of the "Reader", and something that surprised me was the large amount of sub-skills now attached to it.
It was a lot, almost 20 in one Unique Skill.
I don't think the "Reader" has become an Ultimate Skill yet simply because my current self can't handle one, but I'm sure it will evolve without difficulty when I eventually become a Demon Lord.
Anyway, the skills acquired by the "Reader" were as follows: Predict the Future; Clairvoyance; Synthesis and Separation; Corrosion; Receive and Provide; Predation; Analysis; Stomach; Mimicry; Isolation.
Those are just the new ones, the old skills that were already possessed by the "Reader" were still there.
Unfortunately only the Reader gained new skills, the Divider and the Copier stayed the same, not that it bothers me, considering they are powerful skills.
And before the meeting, the Reader revised my memories of Tensura's history, now he gained the ability to use several spells that I didn't even remember existed, in short, the Reader developed a directory of spells in his own database.
So if I want I can summon another subordinate at that moment, in this case a demon or a spirit. But let's leave that part aside for now, after all the conference is about to start.
We gathered in a camp in the swamp field, after all the conference would take place right there.
Inside, Rimuru was in his slime form in Shion's arms, just like in the original story, and behind him were Benimaru, Souei and Hakurou, I was there too of course. Shiro was not present as she was with Shuna.
The lizardmen were in another corner, being them the village leader his chief guard and assistants, Gabiru was not there because he was imprisoned for treason to the lizardmen, something completely understandable and inevitable.
The goblins were represented by the chiefs of each village, and the Orcs were also there, being the only surviving Orc General and a few more present. The mood among them was somber because of what they had done when they were being mind-controlled by "Starved". But I hope this mood can be lightened by Rimuru as he did in the original story, when he took on all the sins of the Orcs.
"-Umm"
Rimuru began his speech, I was nervous just to hear him start talking, I was very anxious at that moment.
"This is my first time doing this kind of conference, so I may not be the best chairman."
"So I will speak only the things that are on my mind. So I want all of us to consider this together..."
"First of all, I would like to say that I don't think the Orcs have committed any crime"
'!!' The moment Rimuru said that a huge relief came over me, of course he didn't say that he took on the sins of the orcs, but him saying that they are not guilty is already a big step.
"-I'm sure that the lizard men, who have suffered great losses, would want to protest, but please listen to me."
"I will talk about the reason for the military rebellion and their current situation."
And again, Rimuru explained to those present in the room the reason for the orcs' attack. Briefly, their hunger due to the drought in their lands, and also their large population considering that the orcs reproduced very quickly, another major factor that influenced the orcs was the presence of Gelmudo. But anyway, for me that explanation was not of great importance.
After that explanation, Rimuru spoke what I most wanted to hear after that battle, the only thing I wanted him to speak.
"-I have taken over all the crimes committed by the orcs. And if any of you have a problem with that, I'd like to hear it!"
Of course that's just a summary, but I still couldn't help but smile after hearing that, that confirmed for me, he's still the same Rimuru I know.
I quickly left the place, as I was only there to make my presence known and I had no great reason to be there other than to confirm that the protagonist was still the same.
Fortunately no one tried to stop me and I was able to leave without a problem.
Now I didn't have much else to do in this time of peace, considering that the next big event will be the Charybdis arc.
Regardless, I talked to the Reader to get more details about the spells he had taken from my memories, and they were many, even high-level spells were there, and the Reader also recreated the Physical Magic that Rimuru made.
Now that's efficiency...
But... Now things are really going to slow down, huh?
Due to the Charybdis arc being something that happens much later in the story, now will be more of a time to relax than a time for me to worry about things happening in the future.
But still I can't help but remember the fact that the Orc Disaster was stronger than it should have been. That's probably a sign that the enemies are being affected by some kind of phenomenon, that most likely being me....
<
Hm?
So now you can answer me without me asking uh?
Not that that's a problem, since it'll be more practical this way.
'Hey Reader, do you have any idea why this strengthening happened?'
<
'Hm, so you have no idea either, huh...'
'But an unknown force uh?'
'I have no idea what it is either, but maybe even Rimuru can be affected by it...'
<
'... But it's not zero, right?'
<<...>>
<
'...'
'The pi?'
'That number seems to follow him wherever he is huh?'
Just the thought of having Rimuru as my enemy in the future was something that scared me to death. Not just because he's so powerful, but because I've grown attached to him after reading the whole story, so even if I am able to defeat him, the thought of killing him is something that makes me uneasy.
But maybe I don't need to worry about it so much, the probability is close to zero, it's quite small, so I won't break my head about it at the moment.
I think I'll go back to the village and see if I can convince Kurobe to make me a sword of my own.... I'm tired of fighting with my fists....
<
'So... Do we have the materials Reader-san?'
<<...>>
<
'Oh true...'
'Then make me a double-bladed sword 90 centimeters long, the blade occupying 80 centimeters and the other 10 centimeters are for the handle----'
And so I continued my explanation to the Reader, who used my imagination to create the sword.
Although it's a good thing that I can "copy" things from my imagination using the "Copier", it feels more like I'm creating something....
Anyway, I'm glad I can do something like this, the opportunities it will deliver to me are absurd.
After my explanation to the Reader about the appearance of the sword and what material I wanted it to be made of, the time of recreating the sword would be about 3 hours, pretty fast actually.
"-Mika-sama!"
Someone came up behind me while shouting my name, that was Shiro, she was walking towards me while smiling.
"Shiro... Weren't you busy helping Shuna?" I asked her as I stood up.
"Yes I was Mika-sama, but things have calmed down now" She said as she walked closer to me, until she was about only two meters away from me, the same distance we were when we first met. "And I wanted to thank you again for helping me when we first met..." she said, as she placed her right hand on her chest.
... What's with this development??????
Reader activate thought acceleration NOW!!!!
<
'Okay... She just came to thank me right? So why am I starting to get nervous? Calm down... It's all right.'
<<...>>
<
'I know that!!!'
'But besides being a person without any kind of social connection for 8 years in my past life, I also haven't had any interaction with any woman other than nurse Julia and my mother! In short, I'm a virgin like Mikami Satoru!!!'
<<...>>
<
'Hey, what was that? Looks like you're feeling sorry for me now!'
<
'Don't go acting like Raphael'
<<...>>
'...'
'Okay, I'll deal with it, turn off the thought acceleration and let me hear what she has to say...'
<
"-You helped me when I was on the edge of death.... Just as you granted me a name so that I could complete a revenge that I no longer even seek!"
Hearing those words from Shiro, I realized that I was overreacting, the Reader was right, Shiro just wanted to express his gratitude to me.
"...There is no need to thank me Shiro..."
"I want you to know that when I named you it was for a selfish reason-"
The moment I went to say that, Shiro cut me off and started talking again.
"I know Mika-sama, but even so, I also know that you genuinely helped me, I know that even if your goals were selfish at first, now they are no longer the same."
Shiro was right, in the beginning I only appointed her so that I wouldn't show up alone in Rimuru's village, but now that was no longer necessary, after all after having spent time with her, and after having fought alongside her against the Orc Disaster I saw her as my companion, and not as a subordinate.
Now I understand... For some reason after having this conversation with her I feel more relieved, it's like I've understood something I needed to understand before, but only now it's been understood.
"... Yeah... You are right Shiro, you are now my companion, thank you for joining me." I say to her, while looking her in the eyes with a genuine smile. I had forgotten how it feels to have a friend by your side, after all it's been more than 8 years since I felt something like that.
"No need to thank me Mika-sama!" Shiro answered me, as she put her hands together behind her back and smiled at me with her eyes closed. "It's me who needs to thank you!"
And so she turned around and went back to where Shuna was, ending our conversation.
'...'
'Thank you for making me feel that feeling again Shiro...'
<
'You're being too open today, aren't you?!?!?!'
((Great Erudite' Notes: And so we end the Orc Disaster arc! Thanks for following the story this far!!! The chapter was a bit shorter than the others, but I promise to make up for it in the next arc!!!))