The peaceful routine of the Tempest Academy was shattered by an urgent report from the border guards: five powerful magical signatures, highly unstable and moving at reckless speed, were racing toward the Federation.
Arthur and Rimuru immediately recognized the signatures: the five children—Gale, Alice, Kenya, Ryota, and Chloe—had successfully run away from the Kingdom of Ingrassia and the Free Guild.
"They're coming here,"
Rimuru realized a mixture of fear and excitement in her voice.
"They're stable, but they're still powerful. Yuuki will know they're gone instantly!"
Arthur's expression darkened.
"This is not a simple visit. This is an immediate political crisis and an invitation for Yuuki to send his assassins directly to our doorstep. We need to secure them and prepare for a diplomatic showdown."
The children arrived exhausted but thrilled, rushing past the astonished Goblin guards.
They immediately sought out Rimuru and Arthur, embracing them as their true protectors.
"Rimuru-sensei! We want to stay here!"
Kenya, the natural leader, declared.
"The people at the Guild were nice, but we want to learn real magic from you and Dragon-sama!"
The children, now stable thanks to their spirit partners, represented immensely powerful, unpredictable magical assets—assets Yuuki Kagurazaka would not willingly relinquish.
As expected, the magical signature of the children's powerful pursuers followed shortly after.
Arthur immediately detected several highly trained, magically augmented individuals entering the forest—operatives from Yuuki's secret organization.
Arthur gathered his commanders, his voice low and urgent.
"The children are here, and so are the pursuers,"
Arthur announced.
"We will protect the children. Benimaru, deploy an invisible perimeter patrol. Shuna establishes a magical ward around the Academy. Shion, you are on point. Find the pursuers, but do not kill them. Subdue them and bring them back for questioning."
Shion, recognizing the immediate danger to Rimuru's beloved children, nodded, her loyalty and determination absolute.
"Consider it done, Arthur-sama. No harm will come to the little ones."
Arthur and Rimuru's Tension
While the Federation prepared its defense, the underlying political tension weighed heavily on Rimuru.
"Arthur, if we keep them, we break the agreement with the human kingdoms, and Yuuki will have a legitimate reason to attack us openly,"
Rimuru transmitted, pacing nervously.
"But I can't send them back to that rigid life."
"The children's lives are more important than human politics,"
Arthur assured her, placing a stabilizing hand on her shoulder.
"Yuuki has proven he is an enemy. He used Shizuka's life as a tool; he will use these children as tools as well. We will not allow it."
"But what about the global stage? The other kingdoms?"
"We will handle the politics,"
Arthur affirmed.
"We will send an envoy—a message of unwavering strength—to the surrounding kingdoms. We will declare the children under our protection and force Yuuki to confront us here, on our terms."
The conflict was swift and decisive. Shion, moving like a vengeful shadow, intercepted the highly trained pursuers.
She used her massive strength and finesse to disarm and subdue the agents without killing them, eager to prove her competence to Arthur.
The agents, revealed to be powerful, high-ranking members of Yuuki's secret forces, were brought back to the city bound in magical restraints.
The immediate crisis was solved, but the political fallout was instantaneous.
Tempest now held high-ranking agents of the Grandmaster of the Free Guild—the largest human organization in the world.
Arthur immediately recognized that the crisis was an invaluable opportunity.
The true strength of the Federation lay not in its weapons, but in the unwavering discipline and unified ideology of its citizens.
The captured agents of the Free Guild were now teaching tools.
Arthur and Rimuru converted a heavily warded area near the Tempest Academy into a temporary high-security prison.
Arthur personally oversaw the initial magical restraints, ensuring they were absolutely unbreakable.
Benimaru was put in charge of the external security, tasking him with designing a rotational defense schedule that allowed the Hobgoblin and High Orc guards to learn advanced security tactics from the Oni.
Shion was given the internal security detail—a task she executed with terrifying relish.
The captured human agents, arrogant and trained to escape, quickly realized they were under the watch of a being who considered failure unacceptable and who possessed staggering, raw power.
Shion's intense, unblinking focus was enough to deter even the slightest thought of resistance.
Arthur used the situation to give a private lesson to his two most powerful commanders.
"They are spies,"
Arthur explained to Shion and Benimaru, pointing to the restrained captives.
"Their strength is in chaos and deception. Your strength is in order and absolute conviction. Guard them flawlessly. Use this time to learn every trick of human espionage, so you can counter it when it truly matters."
Rimuru focused on integrating the five children into the core of the nation.
She officially declared them citizens of the Jura Tempest Federation and enrolled them in the Tempest Academy.
The children—Gale, Alice, Kenya, Ryota, and Chloe—were immediately placed under the direct protection of Shuna, who used her refined magic to shield their unstable magicule pathways from any external detection or manipulation.
This act solidified the national policy: the children were not refugees or hostages; they were sacred citizens whose safety was non-negotiable.
The presence of the powerful human children, now classmates with Goblins and Oni, provided the ultimate social lesson for the monster students, reinforcing the Academy's core mission of unity and cooperation across racial lines.
The situation also provided the ultimate deterrence against Yuuki Kagurazaka.
Arthur didn't need to send an envoy or make a speech. He simply allowed the captured agents to survive.
Arthur knew that their return to Yuuki—however it happened—would be accompanied by terrifying, first-hand accounts of the overwhelming power of the Oni, the unified structure of the Federation, and, most importantly, the absolute, immovable authority of the Dragon Guardian.
The silent message to Yuuki was clear: I know you are the enemy. Your agents failed because my students are too strong, and if you send anything more, you will directly face me.
By prioritizing internal discipline and projecting strength through his commanders, Arthur transformed a crisis into a crucial foundation block for the Federation's future stability.
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