"Lord Rimuru! Lord Zhong Chen, be careful!"
Seeing the Dryad suddenly appear, Giyu Tomioka and Uzui Tengen quickly stepped in front of Rimuru, shielding him.
Meanwhile, Sakuya stood in front of Zhong Chen, protecting him with a throwing knife.
"You who command many monsters and visitors from afar, please forgive my sudden intrusion! I am the Dryad, Toreini! It's a pleasure to meet you all!"
The Dryad, who had appeared out of nowhere, gracefully introduced herself, her right hand gently caressing her chest, her eyes slightly narrowed.
"Rimuru Tempest, the one who commands monsters, I wish to entrust you with the subjugation of the Orc Lord!"
After stating her request to Rimuru, she turned and bowed slightly to the seated Zhong Chen, saying:
"This must be Lord Zhong Chen! I sincerely request your assistance as well!"
Toreini could sense the terrifying power contained within Zhong Chen. If this power were fully unleashed, it would likely endanger the entire Great Jura Forest, so she showed him great respect.
[Eye of Identification!]
Toreini
Loyalty: 0
Affection: 92
Abilities: Forest Prayer, Scattered Dancing Leaves, Atmospheric Compression Rupture Slash, Contract Spirit... Comprehensive Strength Rating: S-class
"Oh... why don't you go subjugate the Orc Lord yourself? With your strength, you should be able to kill the Orc Lord, right?"
Zhong Chen looked at her stats panel and asked the slightly bowing Toreini. One should know that the current Rimuru was only a special A-class.
It was only after devouring the Orc Lord that he reached the strength of a Demon Lord Seed, which was around S-class.
"This is mainly because we, the Dryad race, as guardians of the Great Jura Forest, cannot act freely. After all, the Orcs also belong to the Great Jura Forest!"
"Moreover, the Orcs are vast in number, and we alone cannot completely control such a large group of monsters, which is why I took the liberty of coming here!"
In fact, only half of what Toreini said was true. They indeed could not act freely, but not being able to act freely did not mean they could not act at all.
The fundamental reason was that as a guardian of the Great Jura Forest, Toreini was aware of every movement within the entire forest. She knew about Rimuru and Storm Dragon Veldora bestowing names upon each other.
As Veldora's close friend, Toreini actually wanted to elevate Rimuru to the position of ruler of the Great Jura Forest.
That is why she came to issue the request, precisely to allow Rimuru to gain immense prestige, so that he could integrate the Great Jura Forest.
Note: This is not something the author made up. When Rimuru unsealed Veldora and returned from the sealed cave together, Toreini was not surprised at all.
"Oh... is that so? Let's assume what you said is true. But if you entrust us with subjugating the Orc Lord, what is the reward?"
Zhong Chen heard Toreini's explanation and a playful smile appeared on his lips as he spoke.
Toreini felt as if Zhong Chen had seen through her intentions, but since Zhong Chen did not directly expose her, she simply pretended not to know. Then, with a slight smile, she said:
"Oh my! It seems, Lord Zhong Chen, that you intend to accept the request?"
Zhong Chen did not directly answer Toreini's words but instead spoke directly to Rimuru:
"Rimuru! What do you think?"
Hearing Zhong Chen's question, Rimuru put down his teacup, looked at the people seated on either side of the conference table, especially Benimaru and the others, and then, as if having made up his mind, said to Toreini:
"I accept this request, but only I accept it!"
"A Chen! This time, you don't need to intervene! We can't always rely on you for everything. We also need to grow, and we can protect our own home!"
Hearing Rimuru's spirited words, Zhong Chen extended his hands and clapped softly, the applause growing louder.
The people seated around them also began to clap. For a moment, thunderous applause filled the conference room, and everyone was filled with a strong fighting spirit.
"Lord Rimuru! Let us lead the charge for you! I guarantee we will not let you down!"
Village Chief Rigurd stood up excitedly and requested to fight for Rimuru.
"Lord Rimuru! You mercifully took us in and even bestowed names upon us. We have no way to repay you and are willing to die for you!"
Benimaru also stood up, not to be outdone, and requested to fight for Rimuru.
"Hehehe! My sword is still as sharp as ever, willing to be wielded for Lord Rimuru!"
"Hakurou, you speak as if we won't fight for Lord Rimuru!"
"Exactly, exactly! Our Garrison members have long been eager for a big fight. No one should try to steal our chance!"
"How can such a magnificent event not include me! Lord Rimuru, let me be the vanguard and eliminate all the Orcs for you!"
Looking at the people eagerly requesting to fight before him, Rimuru was deeply moved. He looked at Zhong Chen, who was smiling encouragingly at him, and said with a resolute expression:
"Then, I'll leave it to all of you!"
"Yes, Lord Rimuru! *n"
Zhong Chen was very satisfied with the current situation. Rimuru had always been very dependent on him.
Especially after he brought the Demon Slayer Corps back from the Demon Slayer World, this sense of dependence grew stronger.
Zhong Chen had originally wanted to find an opportunity to properly train Rimuru, but he didn't expect him to proactively train himself. He truly was worthy of being the future leader of the Monster Country Federation.
"Toreini, since we have accepted your request, let's discuss the reward!"
Rimuru said to the Dryad Toreini with a slightly serious expression.
"Alright, Lord Rimuru, the reward I offer is the dominion over the entire Great Jura Forest. How does that sound to you?"
"What? To hand over the dominion of the entire Great Jura Forest to Lord Rimuru!"
All the monsters present looked at Toreini in astonishment.
One must know that ever since Storm Dragon Veldora disappeared, all the races in the forest had been vying for control of the Great Jura Forest.
Now, the Dryad was actually going to hand over the dominion to Lord Rimuru, which surprised and excited the monsters present.
This was a dominion acknowledged by the Dryad. It was like conquering an entire empire, but without the Imperial Seal, many people would still not recognize you.
The Dryad race, as guardians of the forest, was equivalent to the Imperial Seal. If they recognized you, you would be the rightful ruler of the Great Jura Forest, and anyone who opposed it would be useless.
"Dominion?"
Rimuru, not fully understanding, asked with a hint of confusion.
"Lord Rimuru, Lady Toreini means that as long as you subjugate the Orc Lord, the entire Great Jura Forest will be your territory, and all monsters must obey your commands!"
Shuna, dressed in pink, leaned down and whispered softly into Rimuru's ear.
"Eh eh eh!!! Is that so? Σ(ﾟдﾟlll) But I don't want to be a ruler! A Chen, why don't you do it!"
Feeling that he couldn't be a ruler, Rimuru hurriedly shouted to Zhong Chen, who was watching the show.
As a member of the town's recognized duo of idlers, Zhong Chen declared that since one of them would eventually have to bear this heavy responsibility.
Then he, Zhong, would naturally be unhesitating in... refusing! (Translator's note: This is a play on words, as "Take the lead" (dāng rén bù ràng) means to not decline a responsibility, but he twists it to "reject" (jù jué) meaning to refuse.)
Isn't being idle good? Has Kanae lost her charm, or has Sakuya not been taking good care of him? Finding work for himself for no reason? Impossible!
Rimuru, from today onwards, you can only leave our duo of idlers.
"Oh dear! This is a request someone accepted himself, it has nothing to do with me. I'm not doing it! You'll have to handle it yourself!"