As for Milim herself:
"Gehh!! F-Frey?! N-no, um, I can explain everything…!!"
The moment their eyes met, Milim grew intensely nervous.
Welp. Guess the party's over for her. And lemme just make it clear: We've got nothing to do with this. Okay?
"Ha, ha-ha-ha… Milim, if you had work to do, you should have let me know, all right? I really shouldn't keep you here then, huh? Better head on back and get that work done!"
"Mmm," rumbled Veldora, "Rimuru is right. Our apologies for occupying you so long with our research. You should have told us you had work to do. Sorry to drag you along with us!"
"Y-yeah, yeah, that's right! Boy, Milim, coulda said something before we took you across kingdom come!"
Ramiris got the picture for me, too. Great job. See? That's the teamwork we've been building.
Now we've hopefully demonstrated that we knew nothing and aren't involved in any way. There were tears in Milim's eyes as she looked at me, but…well, sorry. I don't think I can save you here. Also, please don't drag us into this.
"N-no! F-Frey, listen to me!"
Milim tried to protest one final time, but Frey's iron smile sunk the effort. Resistance was futile. Milim was now hers.
Picking her up by the scruff of her neck with her talons, Frey fully neutralized her. With that, she dragged her all the way back to her homeland.
Phew. That was scary. I thought we were all going downtown there, but we made it through scot-free.
But just as I breathed a sigh of relief:
"By the way, Sir Rimuru, what have you been doing all this time?" Shuna had appeared behind me without warning, and she had a sharp question ready for me.
Sweat that I knew I physically couldn't sweat seemed to bead up on my forehead. No. I'm fine. This is fine. I wasn't playing this whole time. It was research! Yes! Research!
My resolve firmed, I decided to make excuses. But before I could give it
a shot, Veldora spoke.
"Hmm, I think we might be getting in your way here. Allow me to continue my sorcery research back in my own chambers. There is much deep knowledge even I may still glean from it…"
He kept up his muttering as he took a volume of manga out and turned around.
He's running out on me?!
By the time that thought crossed my mind, it was already too late.
"Oh, yeah, um, I think I'll join him down there…"
Now even Ramiris was stabbing me in the back. They both walked briskly out of the room, leaving me to rot. I can't believe them! Only at times like these did they operate like a practiced team.
But I couldn't dwell on my heartless friends. I had to give a reason fast, or else Shuna's rage would scare me to death. A bad excuse would destroy me here—calling it studying or research seemed a little weak to me.
As I watched Veldora and Ramiris leave, my brain cells went into full operation, desperately seeking the best response. Dammit. I couldn't think of anything. But I didn't need to panic yet. If it'd come to this, I had one last resort.
It's time to shine, Raphael!!
Nope. No need to fear. I had Raphael, a font of wisdom, on my side. C'mon, I begged my friend. Give me a shining excuse that'll get me out of this.
And the result:
Understood. There is no need to make excuses. Just stand your ground, and the problem will be resolved.
Huh? No need to make excuses?! What do you mean, just stand my ground—?
"Oh, there you are, Sir Rimuru! I've been looking for you!"
Just as I had that thought, my beloved Mjöllmile burst inside, looking harried as usual. So that's what it meant. Talk about deus ex machina.
Mollie, you're a savior!
"Ah, hello, Mollie. I was expecting you here soon."
Following Raphael's advice, I stood my ground and acted like I planned for all this. Mjöllmile gave me an odd look, but then began nodding, seeing the wisdom of playing along.
"Ah, glad to hear, Sir Rimuru. We've received a letter from the Council, but have you had a chance to read it? It was in a very tightly sealed envelope, so I'm wondering if it's a request to visit them so they can deliberate over our admission…"
Huh? A letter from the Council? They wanted to hold a conference to decide whether to let Tempest join them or not?
So the moment had come at last. Really gotta hand it to Professor Raphael, though. Did it realize the Council would get to work right this moment for me? Ah, no way. Not even it could—
Understood. Green Fury was hired by the Kingdom of Englesia. Based on the timing involved, their primary goal was clearly to investigate matters inside Tempest. Also, according to a report from the subject Soei, agents from multiple intelligence organizations were sending reports back to their home nations at the same time. Putting this together, it is very likely that moves were made over the past several days.
Okay, maybe it could do it. It was just as the professor calculated! But I didn't remember hearing about any report from Soei…
Understood. It is believed that my lord was too preoccupied with his games to pay attention.
Don't call it a game!
They say there's no kidding yourself, but I guess there's no kidding Raphael, either. But it had a point. I was pretty serious about matters up until we defeated Team Green Fury, but after that, yeah, we were just having fun.
But Raphael definitely got me out of a jam there. Patting myself on the back for not trying to come up with some convoluted excuse, I tried to frame it like I knew everything all along.
"Yes, I definitely think you're right. Their investigation teams were in the labyrinth as well, so I played along with them for a bit. They all came hurrying back to their homelands after a while, though, so I figured we'd see some movements soon."
"Oh! Are you talking about Green Fury, perhaps?"
"You got it, Mollie. They were a little too strong in my mind, so I did some looking into them."
That was a huge lie. I was just riffing on what Raphael said. But that's all right.
"I see, I see. Some secret investigations, eh? Very impressive, Sir
Rimuru!"
Shuna gave me a broad smile and a nod. Thanks to standing my ground, I managed to pull the wool over everyone's eyes.
Now that the danger was past, I accepted the letter from Mjöllmile and looked through it. It definitely was an invitation from the Council. Raphael was proven right, and I had just saved a ton of face.
But…man, that was close. Getting too caught up in games always trips you up in the end. That was a valuable lesson for me, and I'll try to temper my Dungeon time going forward. I'll need to be more careful—all good things in moderation, and so on.
The Council of the West is a league of nations dotted around the Forest of Jura. Representatives from each of its member nations gathered in Englesia every month for a conference, the aim being to work things out for each other's mutual benefit in areas outside the jurisdiction of any single country.
Each member nation, no matter how small, had an equal say as they all deliberated together. The ideal here was to protect the greater good for all humankind—the greater good, in this case, meaning preservation of the human-populated parts of the world.
The Council's top priority was conducting anti-monster measures, but they also dealt with droughts, pandemics, typhoons, earthquakes, and other disasters. When it came to the distribution of extra food and other goods between nations, deliberations could often get mired in intergovernmental differences, so for essential goods and services, the Council stepped in to debate and organize things instead. If famine broke out, they worked to provide relief; if a large number of monsters appeared somewhere, they could send extra soldiers to deal with them. This, of course, was never easy —all sorts of problems cropped up on a constant basis.
Funding for the Council was provided by its member nations, each of which paid a different percentage of the budget. Even though each nation paid differing dues to the Council, they all had equal representation in the conference itself. This created some dissatisfaction among the members, so to address that, nations were allowed to send more selected representatives to the Council based on their share of the funding.
Of course, that opened up the possibility of throwing the Council offbalance, so regulations stipulated that member nations had to contribute a much larger percentage for each extra councillor they added. Despite that, a country sending more members inevitably meant they got to have a larger say in matters. With that in mind, the larger nations often paid several times the usual budget contribution so they could send several councillors over.
As discussed, the Council's activities had no direct bearing on the interests of its member governments. Despite that, it was still a good place for larger nations to show off to the world. The more of a say they had in the Council's agenda, the better chance they ran of getting favorable treatment when everything shook out. If danger came along, they could apply pressure to make sure their country was looked after first.
The funding received was used to conduct the Council's business, which was always decided by majority vote among its representatives. For example, let's say a dangerous monster appeared somewhere. The Free Guild, a lower branch of the Council, was tasked with dealing with it, so the Council would send a formal request to deploy adventurers to the area.
But of course, there might be more than one monster, and they could be threatening more than one country. The more powerful nations would likely act to procure stronger adventurers for their own country first—that was a given. Sending more funding to the Council indicated that you were a more valuable presence among the Western Nations. There was no point diverting limited resources to protecting something useless. Countries with excess capacity could help, but otherwise, they'd be shut out. That was the reality of it—the weak were given the cold shoulder on an equal basis from everyone, in a very cruel game of numbers.
This was why being late with your share of contributions was never allowed. The minimum contributions were always collected, and anyone who couldn't make the payments was booted out of the Council. To the weaker nations, that was a matter of life and death—it meant nobody would help them if things went south. It was the Council's job to make those decisions as well, so it was a given that countries with more councillors had a lot more power in the group.
These contributions, of course, weren't cheap. They piled up based on the number of representatives you sent, so even a superpower like Farmus could only send around five, at most. The fall of Farmus was thus a huge event, nothing the Council could afford to ignore. Between figuring out how to handle the new Kingdom of Farminus and addressing the rise of the troublesome Jura-Tempest Federation, tensions were understandably high around the Council right now.
After the Tempest Founder's Festival, the Council held a special session that quickly erupted into chaos, with representatives yelling at one another until they were hoarse. Hinata Sakaguchi attended as a guest of honor, given her close relationship with the demon lord Rimuru.
She could have turned down the invite—unlike the Free Guild, the Western Holy Church wasn't a subgroup of the Council. They were on friendly terms but existed as completely different structures. As a leading figure in that organization, Hinata had every right to ignore the summons. But when she heard the Council's subject matter, she decided to join in. They were set to discuss Tempest's admission into the Council, a resolution that could greatly affect the future direction of the Western Nations, and considering that, Hinata couldn't stay away.
The current chaotic disorder in the Council made her wince a little.
When you collect a bunch of fools together, it's not surprising how little work gets done…
Hinata led all of her own meetings, keeping decision-making as quick as possible without things falling too far out of hand. A serious enough disagreement, after all, could always be decided with battle—such was her philosophy. And in the conferences in Tempest she attended, they always managed to decide on vast, pondering matters, even with all the big names that constantly seemed to join in. It was hard for Hinata to comprehend—like something out of a fairy tale.
But even if that's a notable exception, she mused, couldn't this Council be a little more constructive?
To someone like Hinata, who mostly attended active, useful meetings, the debate unfolding before her seemed like nothing short of a farce.
"We can trust that nation! I feel we should exert all efforts to welcome them as our friends."
"You say that, but we are talking about a demon lord here. Allegedly, he can negotiate with the Storm Dragon, but if we anger him, what if he sets that menace on us?"
"No need to worry about that. I doubt this demon lord has much power himself. He's just leaning on his buddy to posture against his foes."
"Ridiculous! Then how do you explain the draw that he and Lady Hinata here fought to? Because I think we should appreciate this demon lord for the strength he's clearly shown!"
It was a never-ending torrent of unintelligent opinions thrown against one another.
This is so stupid. How can they even keep this going in my presence? Their thoughtlessness is astounding.
Hinata was right about that, and yet they were arguing over whether the demon lord was a juggernaut or a pushover. It certainly left an impression on her.
"Look. The demon lord Rimuru has declared that the lands of the Forest of Jura are his territory. At the same time, however, he stated at the Founder's Festival that he has no intention of sending monsters out to the forest's borders. This means a lot. Councillors, we need to consider that as we work toward a conclusion!"
"Indeed. Our nation is home to a people living in constant fear of monsters. The demon lord's statement provides salvation to them, and it is backed by fact as well. Ever since the founding of Tempest, monster-related incidents have been on a steady decline."
"Nonsense! Has the demon lord deceived you?!"
The Forest of Jura's monsters were managed by the demon lord Rimuru. The nations nestled along its vast border were already reaping the benefits. But whether a nation bordered Tempest, was exposed to other threats, or was located relatively safely inland, they all had different motives driving them.
The border nations here were the most welcoming to Rimuru's reign. They had all participated in the Founder's Festival, getting a taste of Tempest's prosperity for themselves. Whether it was a nation of monsters or not, they reasoned, if it could directly connect to their own national interests, then bring it on.
Countries facing other threats, meanwhile, had trouble deciding how to approach this. They had the Free Guild and the Crusaders to protect them and deal with monster damage; none of these nations were large in scale, and none could afford to act carelessly here. They were all in the same boat, largely, and they had their hands full staying afloat as it was. The more quickwitted among their leaders were already scheming to see how they could take advantage of Tempest, but some of them skipped the Founder's Festival entirely and had no inherent trust of monsters. The debate over Rimuru raged among these nations, and no matter which side they went with, their position was a pretty weak one.
Finally, the larger, safer nations (and the countries dependent on them) were, as a rule, approving. They, of course, had the luxury of tackling this question based on how they stood to profit from it—security was not a concern of theirs. They were countered by councillors who were more skeptical about Rimuru's policies. If something were to happen, the demon lord might decide to place the full brunt of his powers upon them—such was their blind belief, and they were thus virulently opposed to him. Some were already loudly accusing the Tempest border nations of turning traitor and letting Rimuru brainwash them.
With all these clashing interests, it was a given that the meeting would be a rowdy one. From the perspective of a higher power, it was all the work of fools—but most of the representatives were just looking out for number one. Hinata knew that, which was why she could stay silent.
"All right. Why don't we accept their argument? If they say Tempest will be our friend, then let's welcome them in. But they'll need to bring some gifts with them."
"I firmly agree. Try to fight them, and we'll just have another Farmus on our hands."
"They'll need to learn their place, though. Do we even know if they have any interest in respecting the international laws we've put in place?"
"I don't think we need to worry about that. You've heard the rumors about
Duke Meusé's folly, I trust?"
"How could anyone not have?"
The real bottleneck was due to the representatives from the rich nations. They were well-informed to start with, and they were deliberately trying to stir the pot here, encouraging the chaos. Their objective was clear—they already made their conclusion, and now they wanted to guide everyone else toward it without seeming too unnatural.
I feel for the smaller nations' representatives. They were oblivious when they came here, and now they're faced with a choice. They may as well throw their vote down the drain…
Ignorance really is a sin. Without the correct information, you stood to lose a vast amount. And now the weak were being hounded into letting their precious vote go to waste.
Still…
But I suppose this is all leading up to Tempest getting accepted. Which is fine by me, but…
The larger nations shared the same motives as Hinata. It was a pity about the citizens of the weaker countries, but as she saw it, better to keep her mouth shut about this. She did need to resist the urge to speak up, though.
"The demon lord Rimuru's motives here don't really matter. The question is whether we can make good use of him or not."
"Precisely. Given our present concern about the East's movements, there's no reason to turn down a demon lord's power if he allies with us."
Prince Johann Rostia, one of the senior representatives in the Council, was now bringing up the Eastern Empire.
"The East, you say? Meaning the Empire?!"
"There are movements? But Veldora is right next to us, in the Forest of Jura…"
Johann's statement caused a stir among the Council. Now, Hinata thought, we're getting down to business. The preamble went on far too long, but that's nobles for you. They were feeling one another out, gauging how much information each side had on them. Once they were sure their side had the upper hand, that's when they bared their fangs. That was their style, just as Johann showed when he so expertly seized the initiative.
"As I'm sure you're all aware, the military of the Eastern Empire— namely, the Nasca Namrium Ulmeria United Eastern Empire—has begun making certain maneuvers. According to reports from passing merchants, they've been conducting military exercises at a higher rate than before." The Council fell silent at Johann's words.
Hinata was aware of that, as were Gazel Dwargo and the heads of the other nations bordering the Empire. They probably kept tabs on the Empire through the sales of their healing potions and equipment. Since the Dwarven Kingdom was officially neutral, Gazel was no doubt following his obligations to keep what he knew confidential.
Plus, Rimuru undoubtedly knew as well. The proof was in the tech announcements he made at the Founder's Festival. Rimuru insisted that "no, no, that was really all Gabil's and Vester's own work" and so on, but that was a barefaced lie. He had to be involved, too, and he meant his statement as a threat against Gazel… Not a threat exactly, perhaps, but it was Rimuru's way of saying Hey, Tempest is making the potions now.
You can never underestimate him. He knows what's going on in the East, and he's needling Gazel about keeping quiet. How far ahead is he looking?
It's just amazing to me…
Thus, whether he knew it or not, Rimuru was being vastly misunderstood by Hinata here in Englesia.
Now, while all of this might've been known information to Hinata, it was shocking news to the majority of councillors here. Everyone sat on the edge of their seats, waiting for more from Johann; they needed as much information as they could as they debated how to protect themselves. Nations rich enough to have regular armies were one thing, but the smaller ones didn't even have the free budget to retain one of those. Small-scale was the watchword with their militaries; they preferred to hire mercenaries at times of war, but if the whole region was building up their firepower, they'd be facing pretty slim pickings.
"Everyone," Johann said in a voice that carried well across the chamber, "calm down. I'm not saying the Empire will make their move at once. Let us keep our heads cool and debate how to respond!"
Just as Hinata thought, this was the real topic of the day.
"And what will we do?" one representative asked, followed by many others.
"How to respond?! What measures do we even have against them?!"
"The Kingdom of Farmus is gone! Even if we wanted to build a defensive line, we can't do that with just us smaller nations!"
"Order, please! The Empire isn't on the move because of you-know-who in the Forest of Jura. I wouldn't be as assured if he was still sealed away, but now he's alive and active for us!"
"Wait one moment! You want us to pin our hopes on that evil dragon…?"
"Please, I'm telling you, calm down! Right now, if the news is to be trusted, Veldora has been tamed by Sir Rimuru, the demon lord. The very same demon lord who seeks admission to our Council, am I right? Then I think the answer is clear."
The man calling for order was Count Gaban, a representative from Englesia.
"Councillor Gaban is right," Johann continued. "As we face this threat from the East, now is no time to wage a war of words against each other. If the demon lord Rimuru will join the Council, I am sure their military might will aid us."
"Ah…"
"Certainly, yes…"
Cheers of agreement rang out. Johann smiled approvingly.
"In my humble opinion, I think we should recognize Tempest as a fullfledged member."
His voice was solemn, as if gauging the reaction around him. That alone changed the atmosphere in the chamber. Even those who feared the demon lord as a complete unknown now recalled the very real and recognized threat from the East. Tempest was a land of monsters but also a nation that responded to common sense. The Empire, on the other hand, was a ravenous foe bent on gobbling up everything in its path. They were a human enemy, and as such, if they lost to the Empire, everyone could see that they'd be next at the dinner table.
The ruling class, all of them, would undoubtedly be killed.
The Empire was a massive military state, with a history of growth powered by the nations they swallowed up. They were always thorough with their enemy, and to the Western Nations, they were a presence to be feared.
"Hmm. I think Councillor Rostia is making a valid point. A point I agree with, I should add."
"I'm very glad you understand, Councillor Gaban! And I think you won't be alone in this chamber. I think it's time to take a vote on Tempest's admission first, but what do you think?"
"Seconded. The West needs to put up a united front before anything else."
"Quite true. Now's no time for infighting!"
Several representatives voiced their approval of Johann. It led to a general commotion that forced the chairman to shout for quiet once more.
At the chairman's lead, the vote began. First Johann fanned everyone's fears; then he put on the pressure to conform. A very impressive performance, indeed, in the classic style of nobility.
I suppose this is all part of the script, too? Even without the preamble, that took forever…
Clearly Johann and Gaban were colluding on this, with a supporting cast voicing their agreement in the audience. As a nonvoting attendee, Hinata could tell that much from her seat. It was all just a scripted performance, and the ending was coming up shortly, much to her relief. Eight hours had passed since the session was brought to order, and despite the regular breaks, the exhaustion was palpable. Not physical exhaustion, of course, but the mental kind, making it all the more painful to Hinata.
I can't believe all the stupid questions I got asked, though. They could've just asked me to watch Rimuru to make sure he doesn't go crazy, but no…
That was the main reason Hinata was there. Whether the Council knew him or not, they were about to ask a demon lord to join their ranks. They just wanted to cover their asses in case he decided to get violent—and considering she (reportedly) fought him to a draw, Hinata helped the councillors feel far safer. That's basically what the nobles wanted, although they asked her in the most roundabout way possible.
The talk about an Empire on the move was just an idle threat as well. Those military maneuvers probably were happening, but they were just an empty show of force. If they were really about to invade the West, they had mountains of obstacles to deal with first—the Forest of Jura and the Armed Nation of Dwargon, to name but two. And maybe things would've been different before Tempest and Dwargon forged an alliance, but now, the Empire didn't have much to work with.
They really should've made their move before Rimuru became a demon lord. Then Veldora wouldn't be back in the picture, and the Empire really could've had a chance at world domination…
Now the Empire was pinned down, too afraid of a vengeful, unmuzzled Veldora to act. They were too careful for their own good back when there was no sign of Veldora, and now they probably knew full well the golden opportunity they missed. Rimuru and Gazel were still on the lookout for them, of course, but the way Hinata saw it, any move the Empire could make was nothing for anyone to worry about.
She was pretty sure Johann and Gaban agreed with her on that point. Here they were, keeping the smaller nations' eyes fixated on outside threats while they firmed up their own footing. It was so noble-like of them. Hinata had had enough of it long ago.
And after the ballots were tabulated, the ayes had it—the majority of the counted had voted to admit Tempest.
"The Jura-Tempest Federation is now officially our ally. We will hereby send a formal invitation to the Jura-Tempest Federation, and after confirming the intentions of their leader, the demon lord Rimuru, to join the Council, we will reconvene to enact the relevant procedures. Adjourned!"
With the chairman's stentorian declaration, the meeting drew to a close. All in all, it was enough to make Hinata swear off dealing with the nobility again.
The exhausting Council session was over, and Hinata was on her way back to the Church. But her suffering wasn't over yet.
"Hinata, could I have a moment of your time?"
She was stopped by a young man guarded by a posse of nearly ten bodyguards. He had shiny blond hair and a refreshing smile; a handsome man, although not much Hinata's type. After eight hours of that torture session, her tolerance for anything else today was gone. She just wanted to get home, and the smile of a man she had no interest in was worthless to her.
Unfortunately, the man's social position posed some difficulties for
Hinata's escape. This was Elrick, the first prince of Englesia, where the Council's headquarters was located. Being rude to him could trigger an international incident, so Hinata was in no position to ignore him.
"Yes? Can I help you?"
She summoned as much social courtesy as she could muster for Prince Elrick. He smugly smiled back at her.
"Well, Hinata, I wanted to ask you a favor."
Elrick did not know Hinata well enough to address her this casually. Given her position, she knew his name and face, but little else. This was their first conversation, and Elrick's overfamiliarity annoyed her.
"And what would that be?" she asked as they moved over to a reception room.
"I'm thinking about testing the demon lord Rimuru at the next Council meeting. Only the upper echelons are aware of the news as of yet, but if a demon lord is joining the Council, I think that would greatly unnerve many of our people. We will need this demon lord to live up to his duties, and we need to see whether he will deign to listen to us. That's where you come in!"
He flashed her another gleaming smile. Hinata wanted to jump out a window.
"How do I come in?" she asked, dying for him to get to the point.
"…?!"
Elrick, perhaps expecting Hinata to be a bit more cooperative, seemed daunted by her lack of interest. Still, he tried to look unaffected as he continued.
"W-well, let me explain. I describe it as a test, but the one in question is still a demon lord. If he decides to cause a scene, we'll all be in trouble. So I'd like to ask you to provide security duties for us."
As prince, Elrick no doubt expected the entire world to serve him at all times. He knew he had good looks, and he was convinced no woman could ever turn him down. Hinata, he was sure, would be no different. Even his bodyguards looked on like this was common knowledge.
But Hinata had her doubts. For one thing, she had every right to turn him down.
Did he think I'd say yes with that attitude? "Why, if I may ask?"
"Why? Because I know you are a strong woman. The most powerful leader of the paladins, confidant to the Luminian god, the chief knight of the Imperial Guard itself! Among the Western Nations, you truly have no equal, and I even hear that you fought the demon lord Rimuru to a draw. With your support, I'm sure we can reveal the true nature of this demon lord!"
His sheer arrogance was clear for Hinata to see as he heaped extensive praise upon her.
What is he talking about?
Rimuru was generally kind to her, but he was a true-blue demon lord. Deliberately trying to rile him was beyond stupid. And that "fought to the draw" thing was a rumor they deliberately spread around; she couldn't beat him at all. If Rimuru ever got really angry, it'd take a fellow demon lord like Luminus to stop him.
"I think that idea may be ill-advised. He is truly a powerful demon lord. If we were to fight again, there is no guarantee I could beat him."
"Oh, come now! No need for modesty. Just because you're talking to me doesn't mean you have to act like a meek, gentle woman."
The smile was now gone from Hinata's face. Elrick's self-absorbed protest deeply peeved her.
The oblivious prince was interrupted by one of his bodyguards stepping in. This large, important-looking man was Reiner, head general of Englesia's royal knight corps—and Reiner was about to rankle Hinata even further.
"Ha-ha-ha! Lady Hinata, I can understand if you're smitten with Prince Elrick, but now is no time for such dalliances. There's no need to worry about matters if I'm around, but with your additional muscle, we will have that much extra insurance. So if you could—"
The chiding tone to his voice robbed Hinata of any desire to hear the rest.
"I'm afraid I cannot. The Western Holy Church and the Holy Empire of Lubelius have signed a nonaggression pact with Tempest. And a word of warning as well… Please refrain from angering the demon lord Rimuru."
"…Pardon me?"
"Are—are you ordering me around?!"
The bodyguard, along with Elrick, seemed flummoxed by the idea that she'd actually say no to them.
Hinata had absolutely no intention of playing along. If this was an official request made through the proper channels, not even Hinata would've had the right to refuse. If the Council was making the request themselves, after all, it'd only be logical to call for an anti-monster specialist like her. Given the Council's vital role in world affairs, there could very well have been an official request along those lines, once it passed through the local Western Holy Church post. And considering their future relationship with the Western Nations, Hinata wouldn't have had the final right to turn that down.
What a pain it would have been, though…
Still, if that happened, there would've been a lot of intricate conditions to decide on, and given how their nonaggression pact forbade clearly hostile acts, Hinata probably could've found a way out of it. Elrick and his goons must've tried approaching her directly to skip all that…and now they were paying for it.
"You will regret this, Lady Hinata! Do you wish to make an enemy out of
Sir Reiner, head general of the Englesia royal knight corps?"
"Exactly! The human race cannot allow a demon lord to do whatever he wants among us. Don't tell me the Western Holy Church is fine with someone like him going on a rampage inside the Council!"
The other bodyguards were starting to whine at her, too—but that actually relieved Hinata. From them, she could tell this was all just a few people stepping way out of line.
"Unfortunately for you, I'm afraid the demon lord Rimuru enjoys my full trust. Now if you'll excuse me…"
So she left, thanking her lucky stars that this entourage lacked intelligence. In her eyes, she had exhibited the barest minimum of decorum needed, so this shouldn't become any sort of diplomatic controversy. Making this unscheduled approach to a Council invitee was a much ruder thing to do anyway. Even if a prince was involved, Hinata handled it passably well, if not exactly with perfect poise.
But—
They're not really going to try to anger Rimuru, are they?
The anxiety bounced around her mind. The moment she swore off nobles forever, this had to happen.
Well, I turned down any involvement in it. Hopefully, cooler heads will prevail among them…
If you wanted to take on a demon lord, you'd better have had the national army backing you up. If a small group of them tried to pick a fight, it really would take a party of champions to save your ass—and they wouldn't have the time to prepare like that. A demon lord on the Council floor was probably an opportunity too good for them to pass up, but having an unexpected event to take advantage of didn't automatically up your success rate.
But what if this entire encounter was planned from the start?
That…seems pretty unlikely. But I better keep my guard up next time… The thought was depressing her already.
With the invite in hand, I was now here in Englesia.
I guess they were giving me the royal treatment, because I was lodged in the fanciest hotel they had. Once this meeting was over, I looked forward to checking out the capital for the first time in a while.
Benimaru was dauntlessly guarding me, with Soei receiving reports from his spies in the shadows. Speaking of shadows, I was starting to miss Ranga's presence in mine; he was out hanging with Gobta often these days. Gobta had fully rebounded from Milim's grueling training, but I guess he didn't have much time to rest. Milim had apparently declared that she was going to test him regularly from now on—with a string of real-battle competitions against Carillon. He came crying to Ranga, wailing about how he'd be killed at this rate, so I guess Ranga felt obliged to come join him… but judging by his wagging tail, I supposed he liked Gobta a fair bit. Nothing wrong with building a friendship.
So I officially brought Benimaru and Shuna along with me. A larger group would've presented lots of problems, so I decided to keep it small and simple. I was thinking about taking Shion as well, but I was still ever so slightly concerned about unleashing Shion in a big city. If she messed something up like she usually did, it could lead to all sorts of disasters, so I had her focus on educating her staff and keeping things orderly for me.
Geld was too busy directing the construction of Milim's new capital to get away from that. Diablo was still off on his epic journey wherever—he talked about the protégés he'd round up, but was he struggling with it? Because the production of his body vessels was proceeding along well—I wanted that wrapped up before he returned, so really, there was no need for him to hurry things along. I'm sure he'd zoom right back if I called for him, but I didn't have any pressing work for him, so no reason not to give him some free time.
Hakuro was off with Momiji to the land of the tengu. Gabil was out with Middray visiting the City of the Forgotten Dragon—it was home to a flock of wyverns, apparently, and he intended to capture some and attempt to domesticate them. Building Team Hiryu into a stronger fighting force had been on Gabil's mind for a while. As part of that effort, he decided to try building a flying squadron with wyverns as mounts. It was easy to forget given his newfound career as a scientist and researcher, but Gabil was still a powerful warrior beloved by his followers. I think he was on to something with that idea—if he made it work, I'd need to amply praise him for it.
Thus, the rest of my top-level staff were busy with other matters, so it was just two others and I who went to Englesia, meeting up with Soei there.
Our first visit was to some clothing stores, lined with the kind of show windows you'd find in modern Japan. In much the same way, a lot of passers-by liked looking at them, indicating just how much of a city the Englesian capital had become. The window in this particular shop also seemed astoundingly tall to me—glass was a fairly common thing to see around here, but panes this size could cost as much as a small house by themselves. If the shop was using these for display purposes, they must've been doing a damn good business. As Mjöllmile advised: Look at the flow of people, and you can see they made the right choices.
By the way, our town had show windows like this as well. When I told everyone what I saw in Englesia, Shuna and our other female staff demonstrated a keen interest in adopting that custom. I had no reason to turn them down, so after discussing it with Mildo, I had him work on manufacturing glass for me. We had a valued partner in Raphael, so it didn't take long at all to produce practical show windows.
Regardless, we were clothes shopping at Shuna's request. She was curiously peering at all the new fashions in those windows right now, and I have to say, it was all pretty gaudy. In the stores we passed, there were lots of outfits with novel designs we never saw back home. The clothes Shuna and her team sewed, after all, were mostly ensembles gleaned from my own memory, but these shops were full of original pieces from entrepreneurial designers. They all seemed to compete with one another on the racks, and the sight was more than enough to capture Shuna's heart.
"I certainly don't want to lose out to all this," she whispered, resolute. "I must redouble my efforts…!"
"Yeah, keep up the good work! And, everyone, go ahead and select whatever you like. I'll cover the cost."
"What?! Are—are you sure?"
"Me too?"
"…I'll keep this on, thank you."
"It's fine, it's fine! I don't pay you a salary anyway, so at least let me be generous with this."
As thanks for their usual hard work, I decided to give all three of them new clothes. I had a suit along with me for tomorrow's conference, but Benimaru and Soei were still in full battle gear. They fit in with the adventurers milling around town, so nobody brought it up, but on the streets, they were too imposing for my tastes. Shuna was in her usual shrine-maiden garb as well, and I think some fashionable casual wear would do her some good.
So I had them pick out their favorites.
Benimaru and Soei went with tailored jackets, shirts, and skinny jeans— Huh? All right. It looked good on them. And Shuna went with—Whoa! A fluffy white gaucho skirt and an ice-blue knit vest? Cute! That really worked on her!
"That looks good. I like it, Shuna!"
"Thank you very much! I'm glad to hear that, Sir Rimuru."
Yep. The shrine outfit is fine and all, but something casual wouldn't hurt her, either. It's also novel on her—fresh, if you will.
Since we were there and all, I decided to purchase several outfits. We'd no doubt use these as models to sew our own, starting next time. I also purchased a thin, dark-blue dress for Shion as a souvenir. She's got kind of a cool demeanor—in terms of looks anyway—so I figured she'd stand out in that.
"I'm sure she'll love it!"
"You think so?"
Glad to hear that.
"Yes, I'm positive." If Shuna said so, it was probably true.
"And you guys look okay in that, too, so go ahead and take it."
"Not as much guidance for us, huh?"
"…No."
Benimaru and Soei sounded like they had complaints, but who knows? And why were they still trying on outfits? They acted like they didn't care, but now they were diving deep into the racks. A handsome man looks good in anything, so I really didn't think they needed to agonize over their decisions that much…
Meanwhile, all my decisions were snap judgments. It wasn't like I could describe the difference between one ensemble or the other, so I had the store clerks pick for me. Couldn't go wrong with that, I figured.
Finally, we made our selections. We were fitted for them on-site, which let us change right into them.
Shuna was now lovingly clutching the box of clothes I got for her, smiling broadly. Unlike my disappointing secretary Shion, Shuna pretty much always had it together—the gap between them was charming like that. Benimaru and Soei looked happy about their own clothes, too, so I'd call this outing a success. They pretty much worked day and night, so I really wanted to thank them somehow. If this excited them that much, I thought as I settled the bill, I should've taken them here sooner.
After changing into new clothes, we headed for the café our old friend Yoshida used to run. A trainee of his had taken it over, and it was doing a pretty decent business—and since we were one of their suppliers, we were allowed to make purchases at a discount. We were scheduled to meet Hinata there, whom we heard had arrived in Englesia before us; I figured we could enjoy my first Englesian lunch in a while as we talked over tomorrow's conference.
As we waited for her, I let Soei give me a briefing. He had his feelers all over the Western Nations, so I figured he'd know why they chose this timing for the invite.
"All right, Soei, your report?"
"Certainly. First, I'd like to start with some of the feedback from the Founder's Festival…"
He gave me a rundown of the more important rumors and discussions he had picked up from across the land, in an easy-to-grasp fashion. I appreciated that.
The response to the Founder's Festival was pretty positive. From the royalty up top to the farmers at the bottom, people talked about it all over the place. The Dungeon was also generating tons of buzz—our ad pitch to the nobility must've worked, because a few of them were forming teams of challengers to conquer the Dungeon. Even people from faraway lands, not just the border nations, were reportedly curious. At this rate, I thought we could expect even more customers soon.
After that pleasant news, we got down to business.
"So did you investigate the merchants—and who's behind Duke Meusé?"
"I did not neglect that, Sir Rimuru. From the merchants' families to their business relations, I conducted a thorough investigation. Based on that, I did not find any connections to particularly suspicious figures. However, these merchants did go through several government intermediaries in order to obtain business licenses in the nations they work in, and when I traced these
officials, I found they all had connections to Duke Meusé." So…what'd that mean?
Understood. The merchants were likely doing the bidding of the subject Meusé.
All right. So there's probably not much point investigating those guys further.
What about Meusé, then? I guess there really is some kind of secret cabal running the Western Nations, and they might be scheming something new right now, as we speak. Meusé seems like a competent enough noble. We better keep him under surveillance.
"So Meusé did a good job covering his tracks, huh? What's that potential threat up to now?"
As competent as he might be, though, there was no escaping Soei's eyes. No matter what kind of seedy group he tried to buddy up with, it'd only serve us in catching him red-handed. But Soei quickly banished that thought from my mind.
"He's dead, Sir Rimuru."
"Huh?"
"We believe he was felled by some manner of long-range attack."
As the duke of Ghastone, Meusé was something of a big shot. If someone like him was murdered, I really was starting to wonder about this mystery cabal. And if this was that cabal's way of escaping capture, they must have a lot of power to work with.
Report. There is the possibility that they have noticed the subject Soei's investigations.
So they shut him up, huh? Maybe we should give this adversary the respect they deserved. They weren't playing around.
"And you didn't see who did it?" Benimaru asked.
"No," Soei flatly replied. "I didn't detect any presence at all until Meusé fell to the ground in front of me."
He only heard the sound of Meusé collapsing, so there wasn't a whole lot he could do to stop anything. He sounded despondent about it, and I couldn't do much apart from console him.
"That's pretty unbelievable. If not even you could spot them, they must've been attacking from thousands of feet away. You would've detected the magic if they used any, and if it was some flying projectile, you would've picked up the lingering aura from that, right?"
It really couldn't be that easy to hoodwink him. I've got Raphael with me, of course, so Magic Sense lets me detect pretty much anything. But this…?
"Maybe it was a sniper, huh?"
"A sniper?"
"What is that?"
Ah. Not a concept Benimaru or Soei were aware of. Shuna gave me a curious look as well, and I suppose I could see why. This world didn't have guns…but then, would it be so unusual for an otherworlder to have one? "You said a gun? I'm pretty sure Yuuki has a handgun."
"Wha?!"
The sudden voice from behind almost made me fall out of my chair. It was Hinata, sneaking up in an attempt to startle me. Benimaru laughed in my face. Even Soei was stifling a chuckle, a hand covering his mouth. I looked so dumb.
"Come on, my brother! And you too, Soei!"
Shuna, thankfully, yelled at them on my behalf, so I resisted the urge to speak up. And, I mean, if Raphael would've been kind enough to say something to me—
Report. No malicious intent was detected.
…Yeah, I bet. So it's my fault for acting all haughty, like always. I sighed at myself and played it off with a chuckle.
With Hinata at the table, we all ordered lunch. For one silver coin a pop, we got a pretty fancy spread, and we avoided any serious conversation as we enjoyed it.
Full and satisfied, I decided to order some coffee—a little mature bitterness to round things out. And with enough sugar and milk, I had the perfect harmony between bitter and sweet—
"That's pretty much a café au lait, now, isn't it? I'd call you mature if you took it black, but that's liquid candy you're drinking." Hinata hit me back hard. I guess my inside voice had leaked out again.
"Will you shut up? This is fine! It's all part of the atmosphere!"
"Oh? Because between that and your outfit, there's nothing 'mature' about what I'm seeing at all."
Oof. First the coffee and now my clothing? And… Boy, is that really how I look? The clerk at that shop arranged what I thought was a neat poncho-type thing. I thought it was…yeah, maybe a little on the young 'n' springy side, but I trusted the staff there. And now look… I regretted ever trusting in a store employee's fashion sense.
"Dammit! This does seem like kids' wear, doesn't it?"
"No, no, Sir Rimuru, it's lovely on you!"
"R-right. Yeah. Looks great."
"I thought you liked it."
It's "lovely" on me? So I look like a kid to them?! Man. What a shock.
My clothes were comfortable, at least. I didn't dislike them. But that's not the issue. I'm supposed to be high society, you know? I had even grown a bit lately, enough that I could probably pass for a middle schooler.
"It makes you look cute. Those are the facts. Give it up."
My shoulders slumped at Hinata's verdict. I guess I'd have to. I don't have the slightest amount of adult charm. I already am grown-up! Why do I have to be obsessed with my height at this point in life? Maybe I'm just gonna have to face reality soon…
Hinata, meanwhile, wasn't as brightly dressed as she was at the festival. She was looking smart in her paladin uniform, a dignified beauty in an outfit usually meant as menswear. Maybe she and I should swap looks? I resisted the urge to verbalize that thought, still a bit peeved as I went back to our first subject.
With all due respect to the late Duke Meusé, we needed to discuss the method of his murder.
"So if there are handguns around, do you think a sniper did it?"
"I don't know much about guns, but a handgun's range doesn't go beyond fifty yards or so, does it?" said Hinata.
Hmm. Maybe. So we'd need something like a rifle.
"Are there sniper rifles in this world or anything?"
"I couldn't tell you. I've certainly never seen one, but I can't guarantee there aren't."
Right. But maybe it's better, for now, to assume there were and act based on that. I decided to send a Thought Communication to Benimaru and the others to describe the kind of rifle I was envisioning.
"Hmm… Interesting weapon."
"Yes, if someone used that, I can understand why I didn't detect it."
"I think I could handle this weapon well enough. We can mix up the required gunpowder, and I imagine Dold would be able to make the unit itself for us."
The three of them had a variety of feedback. Benimaru didn't seem too impressed, but to Soei, it was a threat that he clearly didn't have a countermeasure against as a bodyguard. It was a different sort of mission— and a different sort of challenge.
Shuna, meanwhile, was eager to make one of her own, the scariest reaction of all. I'm sure it was possible, yes, but should we? The development of guns changed the entire nature of wars—although the nature of war in this world was more about the quality of your offense than the quantity, which often made traditional Earth strategy obsolete. Bringing guns into the mix seemed dangerous to me; I figured we should hit the brakes on that for the time being.
"In the other world, this is a brutal weapon, something that can make even a powerless person the strongest out there. I can't say how effective it'd be over here, but maybe you could defend yourself against a magic beast or the like."
"Well, you can run out of bullets, but you will never run out of magic. But you could always make higher-caliber weapons for extra punch, and with enough of them, you could be a serious threat. But I hope you won't start mass-producing them just because you can, all right?"
Yes, it certainly wasn't impossible. In fact, it was very possible. That was why Hinata put her foot down so fast.
"Ah, we'll see. I think magic's gonna win out in a fight, but arming the general populace with guns would still be dangerous."
The lack of widespread gun ownership in Japan made me feel that particularly keenly. Looking at the news from overseas, you had situations where guns helped protect someone, but there were a lot more cases where nothing would've happened if guns hadn't been added to the mix in the first place. With that in mind, giving everyone access to such a lethal weapon out of nowhere seemed hazardous.
"All right. We'll keep this strictly confidential and stick to research only, then."
That seemed to placate Shuna, so we decided to go with that. And besides, threat or not, they didn't work on us, so it wasn't that big of an issue, was it?
Report. Someone without the relevant knowledge would not understand what happened if they witnessed someone being shot to death. There is a potentially high chance someone near the victim is suspected as the killer.
Hmm? That word of caution from Raphael sure came out of nowhere. What did it mean? Someone near the victim…
…Oh, right! If someone right by me got assassinated, I'd be a prime suspect, wouldn't I? That did make sense. And since Hinata was so closely involved with me, she probably wouldn't be allowed to testify on my behalf. If the killer got away, and the weapon was never found, there was every chance I could be framed for murder.
That was close! I could've fallen right into that trap if we didn't have this little chat. Not that I knew whether a trap was in place at all, but if Raphael was on the lookout, I'd better assume there was.
"Either way, we'll all have to be real careful at tomorrow's Council meeting."
"I don't think non-magical lead bullets would do much more than sting if they hit us, though. I don't see cause for too much alarm," said Shuna.
"No, I wouldn't underestimate it like that. Like Hinata said, highercaliber weapons are more of a threat, and for all we know, there may be magic-infused bullets out there. Plus, if anyone got shot in the middle of the conference, I think people would point their fingers at me first."
"I worry about that as well. I will station Replications around the Council and stay on enhanced guard," said Soei.
That's Soei for you. He must've reached the same conclusion without me pointing it out.
"Right. Thank you."
"Of course."
I trusted he could handle any suspects he stumbled upon. With that concern addressed, I went back to the main topic. "So, Hinata, why are they calling me here anyway?"
I still hadn't heard exactly what would be discussed tomorrow, although I had my hunches. Ramiris and Veldora thought it was about a dragon causing trouble, or a mystery demon lord rearing his ugly head, or some other nonsense. It wasn't any fairy-tale junk like that—they wanted to see if they could accept me as one of them. And based on the four-star treatment I was receiving, I expected some good news.
"Well, the resolution to let Tempest into the Council passed at the last special session. At the regular session tomorrow, you'll be asked to sit for a
Q&A before they officially enact it."
Bingo! Those fools could spout off all that nonsense because they were oblivious to the truth. I was smart to ignore them.
"Oh, really? I was expecting as much."
I nodded, as if I knew everything in advance, as Hinata gave me a doubtful look.
Report. Based on the current situation, there is no other potential possibility. The subject Hinata Sakaguchi is believed to be thinking "Why that act?" at the moment.
Huhhhh?!
So sneering at her just made me look stupid, huh? And sure, I didn't have any doubts about this, but even I had my guesses about what they wanted. Like, what if they asked about my magitrain ideas or the requests to sell the weaponry Kurobe showed off? Or what if they interrogated me about which countries were asking us to reveal our research results? There was a pretty broad range I could picture, which gave me a headache.
But Raphael was confident this was about Tempest's admission. I wish it could've clued me in earlier. With a nervous cough, I took a sip of coffee. Hopefully, I covered myself well enough…
"Regardless, it's still not official yet, so try not to do anything dumb, all right? And I think, during the Q&A, they'll probably ask you some tough questions and try to get under your skin as a demon lord. Don't fall for their tricks, okay?"
I wasn't sure I covered for myself at all, but Hinata didn't seem to care either way. I guess it'd be trouble for her if I screwed up the meetings—since the Holy Empire of Lubelius was supporting us and all, it'd make them look terrible. Thus, she was focused on giving me warnings, first and foremost. How unsettling! I have the patience of a saint! Nobody could anger me that easily.
"Oh, you're worrying way too much. Unlike you, I know how to deal with adult social situations."
"Huh? If you're picking a fight, you know I'm game anytime."
"Uh, no, um, not like that…"
See? There's the difference between Hinata and me—the way she so readily flips the switch. But getting her any angrier would be bad news for me. I closed my mouth, a little fearful.
"But you do have a point. They're giving me all the bombast of a royal guest, so I am worried that they'll want something from me in exchange. You've been looking into that, too, right, Soei?"
"Yes, and I do have some information along those lines. Beyond that, it'll come down to the motives of the royalty involved in this affair, as well as what their subordinates think…"
"Right. I'd appreciate it if we could talk that over later."
"Yes, Sir Rimuru…"
Not him and me, but him and Raphael, really.
"…But there is one thing I'd like to ask Lady Hinata."
"What's that?"
Hmm? I thought we were done here, but Soei had concerns of his own. He had deployed his team to the four corners of the globe, looking into matters. As they investigated the shadowy committee running the Western Nations, they were also gathering information on each nation they visited. I was used to relying on them by now, whenever there was something I wanted to know —and knowing Soei, he must've heard some relevant rumor by now.
"It seems that several ministerial-level government officials from around the region are attempting to take advantage of our nation. Their aim—"
"…is to have Tempest serve as a defensive wall against the Eastern
Empire?"
"Yes. Exactly, Lady Hinata."
She had guessed it before Soei could finish. She must've had her finger on the pulse of it, too.
"So if a war breaks out, they want us to help them? Because right now, the only obligation we have along those lines is to Blumund. Is that correct?" Benimaru, for his part, concluded from his own analysis that Soei was worrying too much. He smiled at him—and I'd say he was right.
But the real issue lay elsewhere. Hinata probably realized that as well, and judging by how worry-free she seemed, she must've reached the same conclusion I did. Plus, in my case, I had Raphael predicting the future for me, so I could trust in that. If Hinata agreed with me, that just sealed the deal. So let's check on that.
"Benimaru's right. Our only treaty along those lines is with the Kingdom of Blumund. But even apart from that, I don't think we need to worry about the Empire."
"Could I ask why you think so?" Soei questioned, apparently quite worried. He always was serious-minded like that. To calm his mind, I decided to lay out the conclusion Raphael led me to.
"Well, first off, it's important to think about things from the Empire's standpoint. If the Empire tried to attack the Western Nations, what kind of strategy could they devise for that?"
Their goals for the attack were also key, but let's put that aside for the moment. If they wanted to wage war, they'd need to select an invasion route. There was a path straight through the Forest of Jura, a harsher one over the Canaat Mountains, and a potential sea route, the old trade passage dating from before our highway system. And while it depended on how large a force the Empire sent, there were issues with every option.
The sea route was a challenging one. It was the most direct path to the Kingdom of Farmus, but once you left the shores and went into coastal waters, you left yourself open to the large sea creatures that called them home. You'd be sailing right into a nest of over-A monsters, and even a large fleet wasn't guaranteed to make it through safely.
Even the spear tuna that was such a delight at our dinner banquet was a tough foe to face in open water. If one rammed your ship at sixty knots, or nearly seventy miles an hour, it would easily tear a huge hole in the vessel. But even a steel-sided ship couldn't breathe easy, because among the creatures in the ocean, a spear tuna was still on the small side. These creatures lacked intelligence but brutally attacked anyone who dared intrude into their territory. There wasn't a military vessel on this world that could take a ramming from their thirty-foot-long bodies and stay afloat.
Thus, only merchants with an intricate knowledge of safe sea routes dared to cross the ocean.
So what about the Canaat Mountains option? Well, that'd involve traversing a hellscape known as the Dragon's Nest.
Dragons are willing to let a merchant caravan go by unharmed, but something bigger—say, a large army—was a great way to invite their wrath upon you. They weren't human, so negotiation was out of the question. If they mistakenly decided you were hostile, it was all over. These dragons were led by a powerful Dragon Lord, and if they had you in their sights, they'd pare down your army well before you had a chance to fight your war. If you won, then fine; if you lost, the whole world would laugh at you. And even if you did beat those dragons, you had the Western Nations' forces waiting for you on the other side. The feature presentation, in other words.
Besides, a military march through rugged mountains was an ordeal in itself. The path only opened up in the middle of the summer anyway. When the snow and ice settled onto those frigid peaks, all the magic in the world wouldn't get you through.
No, any strategist who hadn't lost his marbles would avoid this route at all costs.
Thus, your only choice left was through the Forest of Jura. But:
"The forest is the territory of a demon lord, and that's me. And there's
Veldora, too, right?"
"Yeah. And now that the whole world knows of the Storm Dragon's awakening, the Empire can't afford to make any funny moves. They feared him even when he was still banished, so right now, they're essentially frozen in place."
Exactly.
We had spread the news that Veldora destroyed the Farmus army, and the Empire heard about that quite some time ago, I'm sure. Any ambitions they had along those lines must've been shelved by now. The Empire had feared Veldora for ages, and that fear made them too careful for their own good. If they had acted sooner, they might just have wiped us out, for all I know.
But now Veldora's here, and Veldora was chiefly why Raphael assured me we were golden.
Report. That was a prediction, not a conclusion. The situation is constantly changing. If I obtain new information, I will need to factor that into my assumptions.
Wow. What a worrywart. But that was fair. Working on bad assumptions can lead to some serious pitfalls later.
"It is true that the Empire is making some ominous moves. The Shadows I tried as familiars have proven pretty useless, so I was thinking we had better
conduct a more thorough investigation soon. However…"
Soei's time was already occupied with exploring the Western Nations' underground, and members from Team Kurayami were carrying out their own missions as well. About all he could do was send out Shadows, low-level apparition creatures that ranked a D but could use Shadow Motion and Thought Communication, making them perfect spies. On paper, at least. Unfortunately, they were too weak to penetrate the barrier that protected the Empire.
It was hard, however, to send over anyone stronger than them. If I was deploying people to places with unknown security situations, that limited my applicant list to those Soei could vouch for. And if I detached any of those people from their current missions, that would hinder my orders.
Soei was talented but not omnipotent. Even after his evolution, he could only deploy up to six Replications of himself at once. Those were the trump cards he used to carry out the dangerous work I always sent him off to. He needed to leave some on tap in case a battle broke out, so if I sent any of those to the Empire, I'm sure he'd worry over who would be left to guard me.
"The Empire's moves really aren't being looked at that seriously, though. It's more of a cover story, an excuse for letting Tempest into the Council, that's being spread around by a few of the louder representatives. But if you're that concerned, Sir Soei, I could conduct some investigations myself."
Oooh. I see that Hinata, like Raphael, doesn't like trusting her own thoughts too much. I always knew how wary she was, but seeing that in action, I kinda had to admire it. I could learn from it, in fact.
But now she's volunteering to help investigate, huh? I might as well take her up on that—
Report. Please ask her to look into the Armed Nation of Dwargon as well and see whether military activity is possible within its underground cities.
…Raphael never wavers, does it? Now it's trying to work Hinata to the ground, too. But that made sense to me. The Canaat Mountains had some paths that led into the Dwarven Kingdom, the territory of Gazel. I couldn't imagine the Empire can do much with those roads, but it'd be worth looking into, just in case.
"Could I ask a favor when you do, Hinata?"
"What's that?"
"I'd kinda like you to investigate the structure of the Dwarven Kingdom, I think."
"Right, the Dwarven Kingdom's a city crafted from a cave underneath the Canaat Mountains. Hmm… That could be a possibility, too. You act so
careless, but I really can't let my guard down around you, can I?"
"Ha—ha-ha-ha… Right?"
"All right. I'll look into the Dwarven Kingdom as well."
I wasn't sure what prompted Hinata's admiration, but fine. I thought Raphael was carrying on about nothing, but there's no sure thing in this world. I was just thinking about how I needed to be more careful. If there's a weed bothering me, better to uproot it now rather than later—and if Hinata was volunteering, no reason to hold back.
So we carefully went through the rest of our discussions, talking about closely held state secrets and other vital affairs in the early-afternoon café space. We had a magical Soundproof Barrier over us, so nobody was going to eavesdrop on our conversation anyway. Skills can be so useful like that.
Hinata was kind enough to brief me on a few other things, too. It seemed like a lot of people wanted to take advantage of us—and not just for military purposes. Humans, after all, were suspicious folk—I should know; I used to be one. That's why what Hinata told me made so much sense.
"I just want you to know, all right? There are people out there trying to use and abuse you, so don't let them shoehorn you into anything."
I had to accept that as correct. Whether I would listen to that advice was another question.
"What do you mean, use and abuse me?"
"Well, in terms of your military, at the very least. That's something I'd want from you, too, and that's what you want to see, right?"
As she put it, one condition for joining the Council was that we'd be responsible for management of the entire Forest of Jura. The member nations were unanimous on that, since we'd function as a bulwark against the Empire.
"I got no problem with that. With fewer monsters out there, I'm sure we'll see more people challenge the labyrinth. We do want that, yeah."
"Better not freely admit it so much. I've had to deal with a lot of heads of state in my time, and let me tell you, they're clever. They might even ask you to station troops in their countries to keep monster damage down."
Normally, allowing foreign troops to stay in your nation wasn't the kind of thing governments liked to see. But as Hinata put it, in a world where monsters were a universal threat, leaders wanted to retain as much war power as they could. Many of them weren't afraid to use other nations' troops for that, including the Western Nations' Temple Knights.
Proposal. You could deploy troops to their nations to create an obligation to you.
If we were recognized as a nation, it made sense that we could deploy our army to foreign lands as a peacetime maneuver. If something came up, that'd make it easier to exercise our military authority. My home country back in my previous world took that strategy a lot.
"Hohh. I see, I see. That's not a bad idea, actually. Why don't I let them use us?"
"I can't say I like letting them think they're taking advantage of us, but… yes."
"It's essentially giving influence to our nation, isn't it?"
I grinned as Benimaru and Soei voiced their agreement. Shuna kept up her own smile, and I suppose her lack of complaint meant she agreed. And if we were all on the same page, that meant I could do what I wanted tomorrow.
"Why're you looking all sinister?" an exasperated Hinata asked. Guess she's reading my mind again. But she didn't say anything else, which I took as her tacit approval.
That marked the end of our lunchtime discussion, but before she left, Hinata brought up something else, as if she had just thought of it.
"Oh, right. I think there's also a group planning to do something stupid at the event tomorrow, so be on the lookout for it, okay?"
Once again, she warned me not to lose my temper or lash out at anyone. What she meant, I suppose, is that the Council wasn't a monolith, and I should treat everybody there as one and the same. Eesh. Why was she so concerned about a pacifist like me? She didn't need to say it; I understood just fine. So I told her she was worrying too much, and we left it at that.
The next day came.
We were heading over to the Council's meeting hall—Benimaru, Soei, Shuna, and me, all in suits and lookin' sharp. It goes without saying that all our weapons were in my Stomach, so at a glance, it would've looked like we were unarmed.
Hinata had given me her full briefing, so I didn't have an iota of anxiety. Maybe a few councillors wanted to take advantage of us, but on the question of my admission to the Council, all my worries were behind me. If I was recognized as a friend to humankind here, that'd be one step closer to the ideal society I had in mind—a world where man and monster coexisted and shared in one another's prosperity. To borrow a phrase from Mjurran, a Monster-and-Man Cooperative Alliance.
On the monster side, we already had magic-born, dwarves, elves, and more living with one another. That alone already resulted in a massive new economic sphere, but as an ex-human, I really wanted to reach out to them as well. But humans, you know—they're greedy. It's all What do I get out of this? with them, and they're willing to shut out their own countrymen just for thinking the wrong thing. But that greed helps them improve their lives, too, and it's the engine driving all sorts of new and expanding entertainment.
They weren't simple to deal with. Not like monsters. Better avoid expecting too much here. I couldn't assume this would go great from the very beginning.
When I reached the Council hall, several councillors were there to greet me. They were from our border nations, and based on what they heard from the Founder's Festival participants, they wanted to forge friendlier relations with me. I sure appreciated all the compliments, and I responded in kind, figuring it best for the future. They started smiling at me, the ice now firmly broken.
"Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha! I heard you were a demon lord, Sir Rimuru, but what I didn't hear about was how much of a sociable leader you are!"
"I would certainly like to maintain a friendly relationship with you, going forward."
"No, no, the pleasure's all mine. I've got a slate of events in mind going forward, so if you're interested, please feel free to attend!"
I got the idea they were still a bit too leery to attend the Founder's Festival. Now, though, they were being downright familial with me. All that effort from Rigurd, Mjöllmile, and the others must have been paying off.
Now I was feeling really good. Hinata gave me all sorts of doom and gloom yesterday, but I guess I really didn't need to worry. But the next person to greet me sent me straight into a depression.
"A-hem! People, people, quit bothering Sir Rimuru. Councillors from tiny dots on the map with hardly anything to them shouldn't be occupying his time all day!"
"Indeed, indeed. All this rudeness may give Sir Rimuru the wrong idea about our Council. So please, remember your place and leave him alone."
My little entourage was promptly chased off by a group of representatives who acted like they owned the place. I wanted to ask who was being rude here, but I held back. Soei told me via Thought Communication that these people were from nations with some clout in this Council—every representative was allegedly equal, but that wasn't really the practice. That was shown perfectly well by these people who took it as their prerogative to lord it over their peers. There was definitely a pecking order here, based on your social standing.
"Right, Sir Rimuru. I tell you, you'll never have any constructive conversation with people like that."
"Yeah, thanks. And what would you call constructive?"
I really didn't want to deal with these guys, but I decided to play along.
"Heavens be! I suppose you may not be picking up on the hints, Sir Rimuru?"
"Ha-ha-ha! It stands to reason, I think. Sir Rimuru has never had to deal in noble etiquette before. But don't worry. We'll teach you everything you need to know!"
A simple question, and already they were answering me with stuck-up laughter. They made it seem so natural that I couldn't even tell if they were being deliberately malicious. A bit overly familiar perhaps, but it beat being feared…I think?
"By the way, Sir Rimuru, I hear you've been busy crafting a great deal of interesting things?"
"Yes! They say you're considering a magitrain system, for example, and let me tell you, my nation would be more than happy to be part of that effort."
"Ah yes, precisely. And the same is true with mine. We'd be happy to pitch in! Of course, we'd like a little, ah…well, you know…in return." Um, sure.
So this is what jaw-dropping means. Rude ain't the half of it! I went lightly because these are presumably nobility, but that was a mistake. I must've really given them the wrong first impression. But I was on their turf. I needed to hold back, or things could easily spiral out of control. Broad mind, broad mind. Given all my grandstanding to Hinata, I couldn't get riled up here.
"Well, we need to put rails in place before we can run any magitrains. We've already created an order for our layout construction, so I'm afraid I can't take any more requests right now."
"Ah, no need to worry yourself over such details. I will gladly arrange matters with my government, so if you could give us some priority with your delivery, that would be quite fine."
Something told me he had no idea what a magitrain was. He'd never seen the real thing, after all. As if that weren't bad enough, he was also completely ignoring my own priorities and throwing thoughtless, one-way demands at my feet.
But…again. Patience.
"No, no! As I said, there's an order to this—"
But as I tried to bottle up my anger and turn him down, the demands just kept piling up.
"Then perhaps some other product, then? If you could arrange for some weapons or armor, we will be happy to buy it. Of course, don't forget to compensate us later!"
The bearded man in front of me, representing the duchy of Laquia, was a particular eyesore. He was not-so-stealthily demanding a bribe. I wondered if he had somehow forgotten I was a demon lord.
The nations adjoining the Forest of Jura were exposed to monster threats, but these more inland nations enjoyed total peace and security from them. That's why they prospered so much, I suppose, and maybe they just didn't see a demon lord as that big of a deal…but this was still an awful way to approach me. I felt like an idiot for even giving him the time of day.