Jura Great Forest – One Week Later
"Thump, thump, thump!"
A familiar knocking sound startled Zhong Chen, who was still asleep, but he had no intention of getting up.
"Click…"
As the door opened, Sakuya walked in. Seeing Zhong Chen still pretending to be asleep under the covers, Sakuya felt a genuine headache. Waking Zhong Chen up was always a struggle.
However, this time she wasn't alone; another person followed her in. The newcomer saw Zhong Chen on the bed, gently walked over, and reached out to nudge his body.
"Brother Chen! It's morning, time to get up!"
The girl's soft, sweet voice reached Zhong Chen's ears, causing him to involuntarily poke his head out and open his eyes to look at the person.
"Uh… Nezuko, why are you here?!"
"I came with Sister Shizue! She went to find Lord Rimuru, so I came to play with Brother Chen!"
"Shizue? What does she need Rimuru for?"
A somewhat puzzled Zhong Chen asked Nezuko in front of him.
"Miss Shizue is here to discuss the construction of a school with Lord Rimuru!"
Sakuya, standing by, spoke up when she heard Zhong Chen's confusion.
"A school? Uh… why would she go to Rimuru? Wouldn't she usually go directly to Kagaya for something like this?"
Although Rimuru had become the leader of the Jura Forest Great Alliance, it actually wasn't much different from before.
Normally, besides causing trouble with Zhong Chen, she was just a mascot, fought over by many girls. It was unscientific for her to be approached for something like building a school!
"Mr. Kagaya has gone to the Dwarf Kingdom to discuss road construction and is not in town!"
Sakuya handed Zhong Chen a damp towel as she spoke.
Zhong Chen took the towel, wiped his face, and continued to ask:
"What about Rigurd? Couldn't he handle it?"
"Lord Rigurd has gone with Kurobe and others to search for iron ore. Recently, due to the rapid increase in the town's population, there has been a severe shortage of pig iron!"
"By the way, Lord Benimaru, Miss Kanae, and others all have their own work to do and are not free to deal with this matter!"
Seeing the clear hint of amusement in Sakuya's eyes, Zhong Chen understood what she meant. So, it boiled down to just him and Rimuru, the two idlers, being able to make decisions now, huh?
"Then why didn't Shizue come to me? Instead, she went to Rimu… uh."
Mid-sentence, Zhong Chen suddenly fell silent as if he had thought of something. As one of the daily wanderers in town, he often heard strange rumors.
It was said that the greatest difficulty in the daily work of Lord Zhong Chen's head maid, Lady Sakuya, was waking her master up. Therefore, when people truly had something important, they would first go to Rimuru.
Although both were idlers, Rimuru, compared to the veteran idler Zhong Chen, could still handle some matters.
"Ahem… well… Nezuko, you and Sakuya go out first! I'll get dressed and then take you out to play!"
"Okay!"
After saying that, Nezuko obediently stood up and left the room with Sakuya.
Soon, Zhong Chen, dressed, walked out of his room and into the living room. He saw Rimuru and Shizue enjoying pastries with Nezuko, which were clearly homemade by Sakuya.
"A-Chen! You're up!"
Rimuru noticed Zhong Chen coming downstairs and waved hello.
"Yeah, how is it? Have you settled the school matter?"
Zhong Chen sat down on the living room sofa and asked Rimuru.
"Yes, I've discussed it with Sister Shizue. We've decided to designate an open space on the west side of town specifically for building the school!"
"Oh, what will the school teach? It won't be math, science, and chemistry, will it? And where will the teachers come from?"
Hearing Zhong Chen's barrage of questions, Rimuru indicated, "You're asking me? I'm doing well just to approve a plot of land. Do you expect me to solve these problems?"
Zhong Chen looked at the silent Rimuru and couldn't help but cover his forehead.
[In the original work, Rimuru seemed to be able to handle everything a bit, but now she can't even handle these small problems. Who caused Rimuru to become like this?]
[Host! Who? Don't you know who?]
[Uh… it's me, then it's fine!]
Actually, it wasn't Rimuru's fault that she couldn't figure out how to handle things. In the original work, Rimuru had no one to rely on, so she had to forcefully step up herself.
But now, with the large number of talents Zhong Chen brought back from the Demon Slayer world, and with Zhong Chen to rely on if there was anything she couldn't handle, she became increasingly laid-back.
"A-Chen! I've actually discussed this problem with others! Since the school will teach both human and monster children, it will mostly focus on combat courses."
"For swordsmanship, I discussed it with Hakuro, and he can spare one day a week to teach the children at the school."
"For the rest of the time, the Hashira from the Demon Slayer Corps will also take turns teaching at the school."
"For magic, I've entrusted Shuna to teach the children. Also, Treyni heard about this and said she would send her sisters to be teachers at the school!"
Shizue, sitting nearby, spoke with a smile, looking at Zhong Chen and Rimuru, who had fallen silent.
"Eh eh eh!!! Sister Shizue, you've already prepared everything?!"
"Hehe! What else? Did you actually expect you two to help me solve it?!"
Hearing Shizue's teasing words, Rimuru and Zhong Chen both blushed. "Please, stop talking! We're going to be too embarrassed to show our faces!"
"Alright! Since you've thought of everything, Shizue, let's do it this way. If there's anything else you need, just tell us two!"
Zhong Chen said, adopting the attitude of a dead pig not fearing boiling water.
"Okay, if I need anything, I'll definitely come to A-Chen for help, and Rimuru too!"
"Bang!"
Just as they were chatting, a violent slamming sound came from the door. Gobta ran in, shouting as he ran:
"Lord Rimuru, Lord Zhong Chen, please come to the town entrance quickly! Many knights riding pegasi have arrived at the town entrance! Big Brother Benimaru and the others have already gone over!"
"What?!"
Hearing that many knights riding pegasi had arrived, Rimuru immediately stood up. Zhong Chen immediately understood who had come.
[So they still came? The Dwarf King Gazel Dwargo! By the way, wasn't Kagaya Ubuyashiki in the Dwarf Kingdom? Why is this happening?]
"A-Chen! Let's go take a look!"
"Alright, let's go see which deity has descended this time!"
With that, Zhong Chen stood up and walked towards the town entrance with Rimuru. As for Nezuko and Shizue, they stayed behind; there was no point in them going.
Although Shizue's combat power was still very strong, if a fight actually broke out, she wouldn't be needed. Zhong Chen could handle everything himself.
At the town entrance,
Gazel Dwargo, riding on a pegasus in the sky, looked at the bustling town below and slowly said:
"Is this the town where monsters and humans coexist, as Mr. Kagaya mentioned?"