A day passed since the talk where he sent Rimuru off on a mission. Having chosen to take a day to prepare some materials, Mikaeru ended up spending the rest of the day getting things together to rule the village for the next week or so. Looking through the hierarchy, Mikaeru quickly locked in on the next moves for the future. Rigurd and Ransei were the respective leaders of the two monster groups but below that he solidified a few subordinates.
Rigur and Rigurt, the two sons of Rigurd, along with Ranga, son of Ransei, got official positions directly below their parents. Ranryo was placed next to Ranga on the totem pole thanks to being linked to himself and a few goblins she recognized got early versions of official positions. For example, Rogurd, who he locked in as an advisor of internal affairs for Rigurd. An early form of his later position in Tempest, which was Minister of Internal Government.
He sighed as he looked at the slabs he had written the orders on. "Should I introduce paper?"
That much would be an annoying side mission. As crazy to think about as it was, Jura didn't have very good wood for crafting paper. He could force it with [Great Sage]'s crafting ability, but it didn't fix the issue. He would have to collect some seeds from elsewhere or even someone like Kaijin would be unable to make higher quality paper. He cursed the Eastern Empire for its monopoly of such material.
He looked at the entrance to the hut just in time to catch Rimuru walking in. "You ready yet?"
Rimuru smiled, "Yup, I'm all set." He stopped as he caught sight of the slabs in front of Mikaeru. "Are you doing something?" He looked them over.
"I think it's about time we detail the system a bit more. You've been having trouble picking people, right? Figured I might as well do it for you."
Rimuru looked at the slabs, "How are you deciding?" He asked with a look of interest.
"A mix of people reading and some previous background knowledge." He showed Rimuru the slab detailing Rogurd's role, "Take Rogurd for example. He seems carefree and even thuggish for now, but he's got a passion for making general life as easy and fun as possible while knowing when to be serious. He's got good potential." He smirked as he explained, "Not to mention it's important we have some less serious personalities up there. Between Rigurd, Ransei and their sons, those in leadership right now are too serious. Too much of that and it'll end up creating a divide with the people later on."
"I see." Rimuru looked impressed. "You've really thought this through, haven't you."
"You were planning to eyeball it, weren't you?"
"I…well not everyone's as smart as you!" The two had discussed this before Rimuru had even given his first speech, yet he had procrastinated. Mikaeru knew at this point he would probably just make decisions off vibes and little else. A functional move for Rimuru, who was strong and charismatic enough to get away with it, not a very smart one.
Mikaeru put the slabs away. "I think it's about time I get some air. I'll call Rigurd to get these new positions set in stone later." He motioned Rimuru to come with him. "Where's Shizu, by the way?"
"She asked Kaijin to repair her equipment yesterday. I think she went to pick it up."
"I see." Mikaeru nodded along. "Makes sense." Who wouldn't make use of such a craftsman?
Heading over to the forge, they walked in on Shizue talking with Kaijin. Noticing the two slimes, both turned to greet them. The slimes did the same.
"You look to be in a good mood." Mikaeru commented upon seeing Kaijin's face.
He laughed, "Well, it's not every day I get to work with material as well crafted as Lady Shizu's."
"Is it that good?" Rimuru asked aloud.
Dord spoke from the side, explaining, "I don't come across clothes like hers too often. The fabric is lined with magical reinforcement top to bottom."
"Is that so?" To get a compliment like that from the clothing specialist. [Great Sage], analyze it.
{Notice- Analysis of Subject Shizue's clothing complete. The fabric used is most likely derived from magicule infused cotton. The presence of magical enchantments have also been detected}
It was likely one of them protected against fire, seeing as the clothes survived her transformation.
Kaijin nodded along. "I'd say they're on the same level as King Gazel's equipment." He turned to the girl, "Where did you find stuff like this? Are you some kind of hidden princess or something?"
Shizue flinched for a moment before smiling, "No. Nothing like that." She scratched at her face, "I guess it's just the fruits of my travels showing through."
"Well, I guess I'm not one to say what the Conqueror of Flames managed to come across."
Mikaeru absorbed his clothes into himself, catching everyone off guard, only to replace them with some identical looking clothing right after.
The air went quiet for a moment. "What was that?"
Mikaeru put his hands in his pocket. "Just upgrading my clothes is all. I analyzed Shizu's clothes. It's not a perfect match though. Some of those enchantments are really complex."
Rimuru deadpanned, "Why here though?"
After talking for a few more minutes, the slimes left with Shizue in tow. As they did, Mikaeru watched as Rimuru summoned Ranga. Mikaeru asked the dog, "You're their transportation then?"
"It is only natural." Ranga calmly said aloud. "It is my duty to support my master in such tasks."
"Fair enough." Mikaeru felt a tug from his shadow. It looked like Ranryo was agreeing on that.
Later that day, Mikaeru watched from nearby as Rimuru and Shizue jumped on top of Ranga and waved Rigurd goodbye. Did he have to cry?
Mikaeru sighed. "Let's see." Mikaeru closed his eyes and used [Body Double] to make a perfect mimic of himself. Assuming he had the magicules, this copy would last forever. "[Great Sage], keep it stable. It'll be what leads the village for me."
{Answer- Understood. Registering Body Double 1 under [Parallel Processing] power}
As long as the double was around, some of [Parallel Processing]'s total calculation power would be sapped, but that much he could handle. It was worth it to avoid getting locked to the village for days, although he would still have to check periodically.
Side by side with the double, he met with Rigurd, explaining the purpose of the double. It seemed like Rigurd understood, saying he would treat the double as if it was his main body. That was good.
After that was dealt with, he looked out into the forest. It was about time he checked something.
Judging off of Byakuya's wording during their first meetup, the Orc Lord was still well on his way to manifesting. It was just this timeline featured Gelmud completely avoiding an interaction with the ogres.
However, seeing as the timeline didn't exactly seem stable. He had to make sure nothing else was different. He chuckled, "You have it hard, Chronoa."
He jumped off, manifesting phoenix wings on his back before taking off into the air. To begin an investigation, he would start at the source. The Fallen Kingdom of Orbic. After a 5 hour flight, give or take, he arrived. Landing in the relatively recently abandoned castle, he took a moment to look around.
A kingdom of orcs was bound to be less advanced than a human kingdom, but even then. "This place looks like it's about to fall apart."
Based on the original story, Orbic was doomed the day its fate was entrusted to Clayman by Rain. Eurazania was a border country to Orbic, which is how he assumed it managed to last as long as it did given Carrion's open nature, but there were limits to how much help he'd give. By the time the prince Gelmud named Geld would be born, Orbic was as good as dead. "It seems that it stayed consistent."
He walked into the relatively small castle, before long reaching the center of the structure. It was made of simple materials—mostly brick—but it was clear he had walked into a royal chamber.
"Well…that's depressing." He turned away from the crumbling throne he had stumbled upon and made his way out. As he did, he looked at the ground. It was dry and crumbling, resembling a salt flat more than anything. This kingdom was poor and had no way to grow food. Famine was inevitable.
Flying up, he quickly spotted what looked to be a large group of tracks leading outwards. Geld developed his [Starved] Unique Skill by eating his own father, evolving into an orc lord in the process which he then took advantage of to feed his people his own constantly regenerating flesh and blood until he ran dry of magicules. It was a horrific fate to think about. However, it wasn't his job to bring justice to that. He was only here to ensure his own fate.
Following the tracks into the northern side of the Jura Forest, he finally found them. The orc army.
Using [Great Sage], he confirmed the activation and active use of [Death-March Dance]. Using their walk, he calculated where they were heading. It seemed they still weren't moving towards the lizardman territory, but as for where they were heading instead. That much he didn't know. As he looked at them, his eyes widened. Wait. "Is that…"
He dived down, landing in front of Geld. "Sorry." He locked eyes on the group of people he spotted. "Can't let you have them. See ya later!"
Using [Sticky Thread] he tied up the people of interest and jumped off, flying away just in time to avoid being seen by Gelmud nearby.
He laughed. "Who would have thought I'd meet you four here!? Were you trying to get killed?"
"Wha…Who are you!?" The voice of a young man yelled out from below. One that he didn't recognize from anywhere that was canon.
However, he did know it. In Japanese, he spoke up. "Hotokawa Rito of Japan! Hello! My name is Mikaeru Tempest, future leader of the growing nation of monsters and your savior! Sorry if this might come off as rude, but getting close to the orc lord would have gotten you and your friends killed! I had to help! It was a matter of principles, you know!"
"How do you know my name!?" He yelled.
"Details, details~." He smiled, "How about we get out of here first? Let's speak when we land."
Using [Hive Mind] on them, he put the group to sleep to ensure a smooth ride back to the village.
In the non-canon game, Isekai Chronicles, Rito and his friends were introduced helping Kataki, a rogue hobgoblin in search of revenge against the wolves. However, in this timeline, Kataki was no longer following that path thanks to the two slimes stepping in before blood could be spilt.
He was planning on looking for the otherworlder soon, seeing as he had a decently useful Unique Skill on the battlefield. However, it seemed that wouldn't be an issue.
Landing back in the village, Rigurd ran over, seeing Mikaeru carrying something. "My lord!"
He burned away the threads with [Phoenix Fire]. "Oh, hey Rigurd. I found these guys being attacked by monsters. I figured I would help them out." He looked around, "Do we have any extra beds for them?"
"Of course! I shall prepare an area at once!"
He nodded as he turned back to them. Rito was interesting. He had a Unique Skill that granted a large area buff to his allies. It was something he himself could do by using [Hive Mind], although it was not to the same extent this human could.
As for the others, they wouldn't be as useful, however, he could at least train them to be stronger. After all, there was no way to tell what they could potentially become upon evolution or training.
Preparing a chamber for them, Mikaeru sat down next to them, before urging Rigurd to stand guard outside. He needed to speak privately.
[Intimidating Hiss]—a more quiet intimidation ability than [Menace] but still decently potent—rang through the air, waking up the group of four.
They all immediately jumped up, with Rito taking the initiative of jumping out of bed and preparing for a fight. Mikaeru put his hands up, "Now, now~. There's no need to get all jumpy with me. I saved you."
Rito asked, "Saved?" He seemed confused.
"You were about to be attacked by the orc lord. Had he gotten his hands on you all, he would have devoured you. By all means, I saved you all."
Rito seemed to get it after Mikaeru said that, but he still turned to his companions for reassurance. He sighed in relief before turning back, "That doesn't answer why you saved us. You didn't need to."
Mikaeru smirked, "Well, that much is true, but do you think I need a reason to save people? It's not like something like that would be hard for me." He shrugged, "Although, I will admit. Part of the reason why I saved you was to satisfy my curiosity."
"What curiosity?" Rito questioned.
Mikaeru leaned forward, "What was a human doing in the middle of the most dangerous forest this world has to offer? And an unarmed one as well." He looked at Rito's clothing. It was clear the boy was fresh off the summoning with no armor or weapons.
As for the group behind him. They were just as ill prepared, wearing ragged, damaged clothing.
Rito seemed taken aback, "I was…well…"
"You're an otherworlder. Is that correct?"
That made him freeze. "Wait, how did you…"
"It's not unheard of. In fact, my village actually has one residing in it." He pretended to look him over, "I assume you were just brought here. By the looks of it, you're a stray. Someone that just slipped into this world through a rift in space-time. Is that true?"
At the bombardment of information, Rito could only really nod. "I see, I see~." He called Rigurd over, prompting the huge hobgoblin to walk in. All four guests jumped at the sight. "No need to be nervous. Rigurd here is a kind one." Leaning back, he explained, "Right, so seeing as you four just woke up, I think it would be best if we take this a bit slow."
"Judging off your looks, it doesn't seem like you have anywhere to go. You can stay here if you want, assuming you're willing to work…or you can go. It's your choice. We're open to some extra hands on deck for this village's construction though. You can take your time with the decision. No pressure."
He gave them a kind smile, "Just…take some time to heal up. It didn't look like you were having a good time back then." He produced four full potions and handed them to them. "Here. Healing potions. On the house. It's not like we're short on them."
He got up. "Rigurd, I'll leave the rest to you. I suggest you get them some food alright."
"Understood, my lord! I shall do my best!"
"Right. If your schedule gets too busy, Rigur might be a good idea to watch over them as well." He waved as he walked away. "See ya for now!" He turned to look at the four, "Consider my offer, okay!?"
He turned away. They would stay. After all, they really did have absolutely nowhere to go. So, instead of preparing a way to convince them, he got to work on preparing for when they would stay. [Great Sage], did you catch their exact measurements?
{Answer- Yes}
"Thanks." A quick trip to the forge and their weapon and equipment issue would be solved.