Mud clung to their steps as they moved forward.
The path was narrow, soaked from recent rain, winding through dense jungle growth. Leaves brushed past shoulders. Branches bent and snapped softly underfoot. Rimuru led the group, advancing steadily, his magic perception locked firmly onto the target ahead.
The leader.
Behind him, the others followed without hesitation.
As they broke through the thick forest line, figures emerged into view.
Knights.
Their formation was tight and disciplined. Steel armor reflected the filtered light beneath the canopy. At the very front stood five figures, distinct even among the rest.
And among them, one presence stood out unmistakably.
The man at the center radiated something heavy.
An overbearing aura.
The kind that came from someone accustomed to command. A king's presence, undeniable and sharp.
On either side of him, four heavily armored guards stood alert, eyes fixed on the six approaching figures. Their vigilance was complete. Weapons ready. Stances firm.
Rimuru glanced at them, then quietly spoke through their thought communication network.
"All of them are A-rank or higher, aren't they? That's quite the lineup."
"What, scared?" came Emiya Shirou's calm reply.
"How could I be?" Rimuru answered immediately. "With you here, there's nothing to be afraid of."
"That's good."
Once they stepped fully into the clearing, the six stopped.
The two sides faced each other in silence.
After a brief pause, Kaijin stepped forward.
He lowered himself and knelt.
"So it's King Gazel. It has been a long time," Kaijin said respectfully. "Such an imposing presence... may I ask the purpose of your visit today?"
The man at the center looked at him, surprise flickering briefly across his face.
"Kaijin," he said. "Indeed. Long time no see."
Then his gaze shifted.
It landed on Rimuru.
"And you as well. It's been a while," the Dwarf King said with a faint smile. "Slime. I trust you remember me."
"Of course I do," Rimuru replied without hesitation. "After all, I was almost exiled back then."
He paused, then continued with mild irritation.
"But please don't call me a slime. While that is my race, things are different now. I am the allied leader of the Jura Forest Great Alliance. That position isn't the same as before."
Rimuru straightened.
"My name is Rimuru Tempest," he said calmly. "And I am the master of this forest."
He had not brought Benimaru or the others with him.
Yet his presence did not lose to the Dwarf King's in the slightest.
Because Emiya Shirou was standing behind him.
The moment Rimuru finished speaking, the atmosphere shifted.
From behind King Gazel, several dangerous auras surged forward. The knights bristled. Dissatisfaction was clear. Their hostility pressed outward like a wave.
Then-
Something crushed it.
A far greater pressure descended instantly.
Cold. Vast. Overwhelming.
It swallowed everything.
Knights stiffened. Guards faltered. Even King Gazel felt it wrap around him, heavy and unavoidable.
"This...!?"
King Gazel's pupils shrank.
His gaze snapped past Rimuru.
To the man standing quietly behind him.
Emiya Shirou.
Until now, under his presence concealment, Emiya Shirou had seemed unremarkable. There was nothing to single him out. No aura. No pressure. Nothing.
But that had been true for Rimuru as well.
And so, the assumption had been simple.
There was no way a subordinate could surpass the king.
That was the law of the monster world. Strength determined hierarchy. The strong ruled. The weak followed.
A monster stronger than its leader?
Impossible.
That belief had allowed Emiya Shirou to be ignored.
Until now.
As the pressure bore down on him, King Gazel's thoughts spiraled.
"Is this... Disaster-class?"
Even as he resisted, he assessed instinctively.
The danger classification of monsters was a standard measure, based on the scale of destruction they could cause.
Special S-rank-Calamity-class. Beings so dangerous that a single nation stood no chance. Demon Lords and Dragons resided here.
S-rank-Disaster-class. Typically Demon Lords. Small nations were helpless. Even great nations needed unity to survive.
Special A-rank-Catastrophe-class. High-ranking Majin capable of overturning a nation from the shadows.
A-rank-Calamity-level. Powerful enough to devastate a town.
It was a baseline.
A human system.
And King Gazel applied it without hesitation.
Because he believed Emiya Shirou to be a monster.
Just as he was calculating how to endure this pressure-
It vanished.
The oppressive aura withdrew as suddenly as it had appeared.
Silence returned to the clearing.
"No matter what you're thinking," Emiya Shirou said calmly, his voice faint, "or what plans you're making, basic respect and courtesy are still necessary."
He opened his eyes slightly.
"That was a warning."
King Gazel inhaled sharply.
His posture changed.
The tension in his shoulders eased, but his expression grew serious.
"May I ask," he said carefully, "who this powerful individual is?"
Emiya Shirou did not answer.
Rimuru stepped in smoothly.
"This is my close friend," he said with a smile. "And also the vice-allied leader of the Jura Forest Great Alliance. Emiya Shirou."
He added one more thing.
"And don't think of him as a monster."
"He's human."
King Gazel froze.
"Human?" he repeated. "Then why would he live among monsters?"
Rimuru stepped closer to Emiya Shirou and lightly nudged him with his elbow.
"Shirou is an Otherworlder," he said casually. "Since arriving in this world, he's been living with me here in the forest."
"An Otherworlder..."
King Gazel's expression turned cautious.
Rimuru felt a quiet sense of satisfaction.
By revealing Emiya Shirou's strength and identity, the balance had shifted. The pressure had reversed. Any lingering arrogance on the other side had been crushed completely.
From here on, they held the advantage.
After a brief pause, Rimuru spoke again.
"So, King Gazel," he asked, "what brings you here today?"
"To determine whether you are friend or foe," King Gazel replied honestly.
He did not hide it.
"Sir Rimuru commands several high-ranking Majin. You defeated two hundred thousand Orcs led by the Orc Disaster, then subjugated them."
He continued evenly.
"You abandoned the traditional way of monsters to build a city. Faced with such a ruler, I could not simply ignore it. I needed to see your intentions with my own eyes."
"I see," Rimuru said.
The pieces fell into place.
From a human perspective, his actions were logical. Cooperative. Constructive.
But to outsiders, especially humans, they were abnormal.
A monster ruler who behaved like this was unsettling.
"After meeting me," Rimuru asked calmly, "have you determined whether I am good or evil?"
King Gazel shook his head.
"No. I cannot."
His original plan had collapsed.
Standing here, with a Disaster-class existence watching him silently, he could not act freely. Even the full power of the Dwarf Kingdom might not be enough to oppose such a being.
And he was standing right in front of them.
If he died here, the Dwarf Kingdom would fall.
That was unacceptable.
"I intended to test your intentions with my sword," King Gazel admitted. "To confirm them through battle."
He glanced at Emiya Shirou.
"But now... that is unnecessary."
"Through the sword?" Rimuru echoed.
A familiar thought surfaced from his previous life.
He smiled.
"Then let's use our swords to understand each other's hearts."
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