"There were two hundred thousand of them." That was the first thing Souei said once he began his report.
For a moment my mind didn't even register the number; it was so astronomically large that the mental image of that many heavily armed orcs marching side by side made my mind go blank for a full second. From the looks on the faces of everyone else present at the meeting, it seemed I wasn't the only one taken aback.
(T—two hundred... two hundred thousand...) I thought, sitting next to Rimuru at the front of the long wooden table.
The mental image was hard to picture, to say the least. (I was expecting there to be a lot... but that's way more than I was imagining...)
"It appears that their main army is marching north along the river," Souei explained as he went into more detail. "And my guess is that, based on their movements and the movements of a secondary detached force, they'll more than likely regroup here, in the marshlands."
"Considering the fact that they're gathering directly in their territory, it's not hard to assume that the orcs are preparing to attack the lizardmen next," Souei pointed out, gesturing towards the 3D layout on the table that had small figures representing the orc army.
Originally, Souei was just planning to draw a simple map as a reference, but I had offered to use my Earth Shaping skill to help out. The map itself was made of compressed rock and dirt and was relatively crude, all things considered. Despite this, the 3D layout made it easier for those present to visualise what Souei was explaining.
"Their numbers are so large that I can barely even imagine it..." Rimuru muttered under his breath before glancing at everyone present and asking, "What exactly is it that the orcs are after anyway? Why have they invaded in such numbers?"
"Who knows..." Kaijin muttered, the dwarf rubbing his beard in thought. "To be honest, orcs aren't known for being very intelligent monsters to begin with."
Kaijin then sighed, shaking his head as he continued. "If there's something driving this invasion other than their instincts, then it's also possible someone is backing them."
"But who would want to control orcs?" Kurobe asked in confusion, and it was Rimuru who offered a potential answer.
"Someone like a demon lord?"
"It could even be Gelmud; he did try to recruit you after all." Rimuru pointed out, glancing at Benimaru, who looked thoughtful in response to the suggestion.
"Who's Gelmud?" I asked, having no idea who that was.
"Ah right, you wouldn't know." Benimaru muttered before quickly explaining. "Some time ago, shortly before the attack on my village, a majin visited my people and offered to grant me a name. I refused, of course."
"Gelmud was also the one who named my brother," Rigurd said, speaking up as well.
(Rigurd's brother? Didn't he die back when the direwolves and goblins were enemies?) I thought, remembering that I had overheard someone talking about that before.
"Well, it's not like we have any proof he had something to do with it, but we also don't have anything that proves he didn't," Rimuru sighed, leaning back in his seat with a complicated look on his face.
"I agree that Gelmud is definitely a suspect; I can't say much on the demon lord front though, however if a demon lord were really involved it would definitely confirm my suspicions."
"Your suspicions?" I repeated questioningly, tilting my head.
He nodded slowly at that before then going on to clarify what exactly he meant by that. "An orc lord."
"An orc lord? What's that?" Yang asked curiously.
"Is it just a big orc?" Yin asked innocently.
"It's an incredibly rare evolution of the orc species, a powerful monster that is said to have the ability to devour the fear and pain of its underlings," Hakurou, who had been silent up until this point, was the one to answer. "And what's more, it would take a powerful catalyst to cause an orc to evolve into such a mighty beast."
"Like being named by a powerful entity, a demon lord for example?" I breathed, quickly piecing together what he was getting at.
"Yes, more than likely, my lady." Benimaru nodded.
(Well... that definitely isn't ominous at all...)
I didn't really understand exactly what a demon lord was, what their purpose was, and so on. However, from what I had heard so far, they were definitely not a force you wanted to trifle with under normal circumstances, a fact that left me wondering if they would retaliate if we ended up ruining whatever plans they had put in motion. Unfortunately, right now we didn't really have the luxury of worrying about that.
Just then, a surprised gasp came from somewhere to my left, causing me to turn my head in that direction. Only to then see our resident blue haired kijin looking alarmed, his eyes wide in surprise.
"Souei? What's the matter?" I asked, noticing the sudden shift in his emotional state.
I wasn't the only one to ask either, as Rimuru spoke up as well. "Has something happened?"
"O-one of my body doubles that I had scouting the area has had an encounter," Souei breathed as he tried to regain his composure. "They are requesting an audience with the both of you." He muttered as he glanced over at the two of us. "How should I respond?"
"Who is it?" I mused. Rimuru grumbled and added, "Please don't tell me it's another weirdo like Gabiru."
For a moment Souei seemed to hesitate before answering with a rather unsure expression. "Well, I'm not sure I'd call them a 'weirdo'; however, it is most definitely a rather unusual encounter."
"You see... it's a dryad." These simple words caused a ripple of shock to spread through everyone present.
(A dryad?) I, of course, had no reference to go off of, so I had no idea what that was or why one appearing caused such a dramatic stir. (What's a dryad, Great Sage?)
[Answer. Dryads are powerful nature-type spirits that watch over the Great Forest of Jura; they are heavily respected by the forest's inhabitants. It is rare for them to reveal themselves, and when they do it is usually because of a grave disturbance threatening the stability of the entirety of the forest itself.]
(I see...)
It seemed that this was a bigger deal than I had expected, as I could feel the surprise from those around me. In fact, their facial expressions alone made it clear that something like this was definitely not an event to take lightly. Although, I couldn't help but feel the slightest bit annoyed by how eager Rimuru suddenly seemed to become.
"Okay, bring her in then," he hummed, leaning slightly forward in his seat.
"Really?" I muttered, giving him a blank stare.
"W-what? She might be a potential ally." He coughed awkwardly, causing me to roll my eyes at him.
"You know I can feel your emotions, right?"
He whistled and averted his gaze in response to that. "I... I don't know what you're talking about."
Our conversation was interrupted, however, when a bright green glow filled the room, something that of course immediately caught our attention. I turned just as various vines seemed to materialise out of the floorboards; they quickly grew, tightly wrapping together into a cocoon before bursting apart into glowing particles that resembled pink petals and emerald leaves.
(Okay, I'll admit it, she's pretty.) I blinked while looking at the new figure that now stood before us.
Our visitor stood out to say the least, her flowing green hair and beautifully smooth skin playing a major part in that. She wore a full-body dress that went all the way down to cover her feet, it was white and green at the top but turning to a light cyan colour past her waist. Additionally, she wore a necklace and had greenish markings under her eyes. The most notable thing, however, was that from under her dress several vines covered in leaves seemed to be defying gravity; they protruded out from beneath the fabric, spiralled upwards, and hovered around her form.
"Greetings to you, o Ruler of Monsters, and to all those who are loyal to him," she said; her voice was almost melodic as she spoke.
Her stunning emerald eyes then turned from Rimuru to me. "And greetings to you as well," she hummed, and I could swear there was a strange warmth in her eyes as she looked at me. "Princess of Monsters and Last of the Great Eternals."
(H-have we met before? No, I don't think we have...) I thought, rather perplexed as I felt what she was feeling. (Then why...? Why does she feel happy to see me?)
While I was deep in thought, she continued speaking, completely unaware of what was going through my head. "Please pardon my sudden and unannounced visit," she mused with a soft yet somewhat apologetic smile. "I am a dryad, an overseer and protector of this great forest. Please call me Treyni."
"It is a pleasure to meet you all."
"My name's Rimuru Tempest." The slime in human form smiled, nudging me to introduce myself as well.
Snapping out of my daze, I was quick to do just that, even if it came out a little awkwardly. "A-and I'm Suu Tempest, but you can call me Suu..."
"So then, what brings you to our village?" Rimuru asked, and the newly introduced Treyni answered simply.
"I have come to request a favour from you."
(A favour...?)