Now that the train was in the process of being built, it was time to tackle the idea of making a massive sports event. This would also cost a lot of money, but unlike the cargo trains that could pay for themselves easily and are easily justifiable for economic purposes, a sporting event is different, especially one on this scale. A lot of new infrastructure would need to be built. Arenas, complexes, coliseums, specialized training grounds, housing, hospitality, things for upkeep, and operating costs.
Now, this will attract a lot of people, and that is an opportunity to make money from ticket sales, merchandise, hotels, and a lot of stuff. But that's not the point. Eventually, it will pay for itself, but this wasn't about the money. What mattered here was the prestige of such an event, the unity it would bring, and perhaps a bit of pride as well.
But to make such a thing happen, it would need to build up. Start small, let hype build up, and eventually make it international. It would take a few years to reach that point, but domestically, it would be faster. There was a lot of set-up to be done, but it could be done. Just need to set up a bunch of local stuff, and then regional, and then national, set up a governing body for various organized sports, hash out some initial rules, go through a trial by fire phase to loosen any loopholes or oversights, and a lot more, but fortunately, a lot the work was already done by people on Earth, all that is required is to add a magic twist to it, and that would be that. Oh, and come up with names. Coming up with names might be the hardest part in all of this. Well, you can just default to something generic.
So, how to solve all this? Well, just delegate it to someone else. Appoint a sports minister or something similar and leave it to them. But she was nice enough to make it easier. So, she got to work.
At her desk, she took out a map of the empire and started using a pen with red ink to separate it into certain regions. Mostly into the former borders of Falmuth, Clayman's domain, and the new territory from the Eastern Empire, and left everything else alone. It was four regions. These four regions would oversee local sporting events, hold their own regional events before sending their best to national events that would be held in the capital. Of course, people would be appointed to these kinds of positions who all uphold standards for certain sports as set by the specific governing body. It seemed simple enough to Artoria, so it probably meant it was one of the better solutions.
Now, it was time to come up with names for the governing body. She would go for generic. For the horse/equestrian sports, she went with "Imperial Equestrian Authority" as it seemed not too boring, or too flashy. They would set the rules and standards that trainers, riders, jockeys, and anyone else involved in equestrian sports would have to follow. She basically went with something similar for shooting sports and the artistic disciplines. If something needed a new name, they would just need to follow the precedent set there.
Now that that was done, and with some initial rules and standards set that covered magic as well, it was now time to plan for all the different infrastructure that would need to be built for all this. She could leave this to Geld and his orcs after they finish the train. All that mattered was that the initial setup was there.
Of course, with so many sporting events and all the regions, she would set up a new ministry of sports and disciplines, and appoint a minister to it. But that was all for the future. The train network hasn't even started construction, and that would take months, even with Geld's orcs, and Kaijin's and Vesta's assistance. Setting up this massive sports scene would take even longer. Especially considering that you can't just host a massive sporting event equivalent to the Olympics without any kind of buildup and buzz to accompany it. Just sending out random invites to other countries unexpectedly wasn't going to be that effective. She needed to let the scene play out.
For Artoria, once everyone saw the money potential involved, that would be the main motivator. Sure, the more ideal motivations like promoting unity, pride, friendly competition, and whatnot are there, money was still a bigger motivator.
But that was all for later. Now that she was done, she would go home and wait to hear the results of what happened at the Walpurgis.
/\\//\\//\
(A few hours later)
"Oh man, oh man, oh man, oh man!" As soon as Rimuru returned, he immediately ran to Artoria's house.
'Artoria, you there!!'
As he rushed over, he sent a thought communication so she wouldn't be surprised.
'What is it?'
As Rimiru heard her response, a bit of relief overcame him.
'Okay, you're there! Look, I just got back from the Walpurgis, and, uh, we're lucky Ramiris and Milim like you a lot.'
'Okay? Oh, did you make sure to tell Guy what I told you to tell him?'
'No, I value my new life. But, uh, he was, uh…kind of mad? Irritated? Look, basically, he didn't like you not showing up.'
'Okay. And?'
Rimuru couldn't understand Artoria right now. Why was she being so dismissive about this? Luckily, he'd be able to see for himself as he finally arrived at her house.
'Wait, I'm outside your house, let me in.'
Only a few moments later, Artoria opened the door.
"Why are you hunched over like you just ran a mile? Did you forget you're a slime?"
"Huh?" Rimuru looked and relayed that he was actually hunched over with his hands on his knees. He was even breathing hard. He immediately straightened up, realizing how dumb he probably looked in that moment.
"Right, uh, can I come in?"
"No, just get to the point."
"Okay, so, the Walpurgis was about you. Specifically, about whatever you did to Feldway and Michael. And to be more specific, about the method you used. Guy, uh, he, uh…isn't a fan, so to speak, about what you did. Anyway, he's going to come here soon to confront you. He's actually the only that made much of a fuss. Ramiris didn't oppose you because whatever you did shook her. Milim wants to fight you again. Leon is…I don't know…cautious? Dino seemed mortified and stunned into silence. Dagruel didn't want to seem to get involved, since he just sat there with like no emotion. It was mainly Guy who was the most irritated."
Artoria nodded as she heard what Rimuru was telling her.
"I see. Well, that's good. I can finally tell him what you didn't want to. It seems he's upset because his role as Veldanava's little watchdog and his tiny game with Rudra have been disturbed because of me. So… basically a tantrum. Alright, I'll wait for him."
Rimuru couldn't fathom how Artoria was acting as she went inside and closed the door. Where did such hostility toward Guy come from? Why so much anger? It can't be because he's a demon. She treats Carrera, Ultima, Testarossa, and Diablo normally. And Carrera seems to be her favorite, basically friends. There was no hostility there either.
Nothing good could come of this. Is it because Artoria has developed some sort of protective instincts after Shuna? It made the most sense to Rimuru. Artoria saw Guy as a threat, and if her words were anything to go by, she wouldn't hesitate to get violent if something ticked her off. Would she really wipe the Frozen Continent off the map?
Did she have the power to do that?