"Recovered!" Rimuru yelled as his gelatinous form came to life once more.
"You sure took your sweet time." Deva floated above him cross-legged and upside down. "You took three whole days to wake up. You left me alone to do things..." He recoiled at the words he spoke.
"Are you seriously that allergic to putting in effort?" Rimuru deadpanned.
"Yes, it's a serious health condition," Deva said dramatically fainting.
"Yeah, and its name is laziness." Rimuru responded, jumping off his pedestal.
Despite depleting his magic earlier, Rimuru felt stronger and more magic-rich than he had before his little accident. Magic was the power to exert force upon the world, and the particles around them were the energy driving it. That seemed to be about the extent of it.
'Is it one of those "that which does not kill me makes me stronger" types of things?' Rimuru pondered experimenting with it further but decided against it. There didn't seem to be much need, and if he died in the process, he'd look like an idiot. 'Yet another case of me going overboard too soon.'
The worker goblins, realizing Rimuru was awake, began congregating around them. They were joined by the Tempest and Lunar wolves, who were streaming in from their outside base.
"Um... Hey, guys? Have you all, like, gotten bigger?"
They had. Goblins averaged a little under five feet tall. Now they were all nearly a full foot taller. The guy next to him looked as if he was pushing six and a half, even. They also had different coloured markings on each of them.
'These... are goblins, right? And check out the wolves.' Rimuru analysed the wolves. 'I remember them being a lot browner.'
'I'm getting a serious case of déjà vu.' Deva commented, remembering his own reaction. He then introduced all the goblins and wolves to Rimuru, explaining their evolution and the reason for the coloured markings on the goblins.
'So you hacked into me and gave them Elements?' Rimuru questioned. "Not cool! You could have just waited for me to wake up!"
Deva scoffed and waved him away. 'Relax, it's not like I was hurting you or anything.'
Rimuru sighed exasperated. "You're unbelievable."
Deva gave a smug smile. 'Tell me something I don't know.' He got serious for a moment. "Anyway, I've sorted out the food situation, but we still need housing and clothing." He pointed toward the goblin homes he had built. "Those things are fine for now, but we need better housing than that. Also, these guys are walking around half naked."
He scanned the entire village. "Yeah, I see what you mean." For a moment Rimuru's mind strayed to certain physical aspects of the Goblinas. Deva noticed this and preemptively ended the ogling.
'Keep your mind out of the gutter, old man!'
'You can't prove anything! I'm innocent!'
Deva rolled his eyes. 'Ah ha? Keep telling yourself that.'
'Anyway. Let's call a village meeting to discuss a few things and future plans.'
'Sure, but you'll be doing the talking, not me.'
They held the meeting in the afternoon and gathered all the goblins and wolves.
"Everyone here? All right! I have some rules to give to you all! Three, to be exact. The bare minimum I want all of you to follow."
And so he laid out his standards:
1. Do not attack human beings.
2. Do not fight among your friends.
3. Do not look down upon other species.
Deva thought he didn't put much effort into the rules. 'He probably thought of basic rules they could follow for the meantime, however...'
The first rule bothered him and he questioned him about it.
'That first rule has problems.'
'What why?'
'Are you serious? We were both humans, so we know from experience humanity is a self-destructive and self-serving society. That's just our nature.'
'Yeesh, where did the cynicism come from? Plus, not all humans are bad. It's better to build a good relationship with them rather than be openly hostile.'
'If I die, I'll haunt you to the end of time.'
'Relax, it's not like we'll go to war with another kingdom or something.'
'Oh my stars, you've doomed us all. You just jinxed us with a whole war! Couldn't you at least choose something like a game or a small disagreement resolved by talking!'
'Okay, you're being dramatic. We are not going to war.'
'Cosmic forces have mercy on us all. He knows not the evils of the tongue he speaks.'
'You done?'
'Pretty much.'
"Could I ask a question?" Rigur shouted and raised his hand. He had gotten the fire element, giving him red markings all over his body and his eyes turned a ruby red. "Why are we not allowed to attack humans?"
Rigurd, with his orange markings and amber eyes from his earth element, gave his son the dirtiest look one could ever see from a hobgoblin.
'Was he afraid I was offended? I wish we could keep things a little more informal, but...'
'You're now the leader of the village. Get used to it.'
Rimuru sighed and addressed them. "Simple: Because I like humans! That is all."
"Ah! Very good! I understand!"
'You... do? Well, geez, that was easy.' But he couldn't read a single hint of dissent on any of their faces. 'I was expecting a little more debate on the issue. Talk about a letdown.'
'They blindly trust us and worship us. Did you think they would openly question our word?'
"Human beings live in groups," Rimuru continued, giving his full explanation whether they needed it or not. "If you lay hands on them, they may retaliate in force-and if they throw everything they have at you, I doubt you would be able to defend yourselves. That's why I prohibit interfering with them. It'd help you all if you were friendly with them, besides..."
'Really, though, it just came down to me liking humans, seeing as I used to be one.'
'Though I still think that's a bad idea.'
'You need more faith in humanity.'
'Faith is for losers.'
Ranga and Chang'e nodded deeply at this. It seemed to make sense to them. They must have had their own reasons to think challenging mankind was a bad idea. The goblins, meanwhile, appeared even more convinced than before, so they didn't bother thinking about them much.
"Is there anything else?"
"What do you mean by 'Do not look down upon other species'?"
"Well, all you guys are freshly evolved, right? I'm just saying, don't let that get to your head and start lording it over all the weaker species! Just because you're all a little sturdier doesn't mean you're some high-and-mighty race now. Sooner or later, your rivals will get just as strong-or even stronger-and they'll want to get back at you. That'd suck, wouldn't it?"
He had the ears of everyone in the audience. 'Looks like that worked well enough. I was sure some of them wouldn't listen to reason, but it's best to try to nip these things in the bud, anyway.'
"That's pretty much it. Stick to those rules as much as you can, all right?"
The first rules the village ever had were set in stone. Everyone nodded their approval, and with that, the curtain rose on a new life for them all.
With local laws out of the way, it was time to start dividing up roles. The village watch, made of two groups: night watch and day watch.
Night watch goblins were mostly made of goblins with wind and water elements. They were given night vision and taught basic wind and water spells by Deva.
The day watch consisted of goblins with earth and fire elements. They were given advanced hearing and taught basic fire and earth spells by Deva.
The second team was food provisions, which were divided into hunters, foragers, and preservation.
The hunter and forager groups were a mix of elements. Deva taught each their respective spells and a few sensory enhancing skills.
The preservation team was Rimuru's idea-to try and cultivate their own crops and husbandry. Although there wasn't much to cultivate in the first place, they were ordered to find plants and animals that could be used for food and learn about them.
Then there was the construction team. They collected materials for the village to make things with, the ones building homes and tools and such.
Rimuru decided to assign police duty to the extra Thought Communication-wielding wolves. There were seven left after all the goblins were paired off, and with Ranga and Chang'e practically glued to their sides, that made five they could send on patrol.
Beyond that, Rimuru figured he'd leave the assignment details to Rigurd.
"Rigurd, I hereby appoint you 'goblin lord'! It will be your job to keep this village well run and well governed."
Deva floated beside him, arms crossed. 'You realize what you just did, right?'
'What?'
'You just gave him a title and then all your work.'
'I'm not qualified to be a ruler!'
'Neither was I. I still did it for three days.'
'Yes, but you had to. You didn't have a choice.'
'I always have a choice, old man. I just chose not to run.'
Rimuru opened his mouth to retort but was cut off.
"Y-yes, Sir Rimuru!! I promise you that I, Rigurd, will devote myself body and soul to this vital post!!"
Rigurd was sobbing tears of joy again. Rimuru blinked, momentarily thrown off.
'Fair enough. Let the king reign, not govern. Or at least let him bark out orders now and then, and leave him alone otherwise.'
'That's a surprisingly wise attitude from you.'
'I have my moments.'
Rimuru studied Rigurd more closely. He remembered this hobgoblin being a doddering, wrinkled mess of a goblin when they first met. Now he was a hobgoblin in the prime of his life-fit, muscular, and bursting with energy. He might even be stronger than Rigur. How did that happen? The more he messed with this magic stuff, the crazier it all seemed to him.
"Very well," Rimuru crowed. "It is in your hands now, Rigurd! Now, I was watching the construction work. It's terrible, isn't it?"
One could barely call the structures houses. These were stronger, smarter goblins now, but asking them to suddenly develop technical skills was asking a bit much.
"It pains me to admit so, Sir Rimuru. We never had a need for very large buildings in the past..."
"Yeah. You guys are bigger now, after all." Rimuru glanced at Deva. "Though I have to say, someone's mud huts weren't half bad for a first attempt."
Deva tilted his head, a faint smirk on his face. 'Was that a compliment? From you? I'm touched. Truly.'
'Don't let it go to your head.'
'Too late. It's already there. I'm sublime, after all.'
Rimuru rolled his eyes-or would have, if he had any-and turned back to Rigurd. "As for clothing... You guys are all exposing way too much flesh. Could you maybe pass some clothes around?"
"Ah! Yes! There are some people I know that we've had dealings with several times. Perhaps they could supply clothing that could fit our needs. In fact, with their skills, they might know how to build homes as well!"
Deva perked up at this. 'People who can actually build? Properly?'
'That's what he said.'
'Finally. I was getting tired of being the only one who knew how to do anything around here.'
'You built mud huts, Deva. Mud huts.'
'Mud huts that are currently housing your entire village. You're welcome.'
Hmm. Having worked for a contractor back on Earth, Rimuru had an eye for decent building quality. In terms of what he could actually construct, however, his skill was limited to basic Sunday afternoon DIY projects. Not enough to serve as a building foreman. If these businessmen could help with that, perhaps it'd be worth paying them a visit.
"I see," Rimuru replied. "It wouldn't hurt to talk to them. What did you pay them with, though? Money?"
"No, Sir Rimuru. We do have some currency that we confiscated from adventurers, but that remains in storage. Instead, we have obtained the materials we need via either barter or short-term work."
"Oh. So who are these guys?"
"They are known as dwarves."
'Dwarves!' Rimuru's mind raced with excitement. 'The infamous smithing race! I gotta check 'em out!' And while the loincloth crisis had captured most of his attention, something had to be done about their defensive capabilities. Their armor provided no more protection than tatters-and they couldn't even use it, because it didn't fit anymore. It was certainly an issue, and tackling it right now would be killing two birds with one stone.
Just one problem. Almost nothing they had seized from passing adventurers was of much use any longer, and whatever money they had stored up couldn't be very much. What could they trade? Another problem to shelve for later, perhaps.
'Dwarves, huh?' Deva's voice cut through his thoughts. 'That's actually not a bad idea. They're known for their craftsmanship. If we can establish a relationship with them, we could solve a lot of our problems.'
'I was just thinking that.'
'Great minds think alike. Or at least, the one great mind and the one that follows it.'
'I hate you.'
'You'd miss me if I was gone.'
Rimuru sighed but couldn't deny it. "I'll try visiting them. Can you make the arrangements for me, Rigurd?"
"Ah! Ah, of course, Sir Rimuru! I'll have everything for your journey by tomorrow afternoon!"
He sounded enthusiastic enough about it that Rimuru felt safe in his hands. He'd probably give him whatever money was left, too, not that he should expect much.
Currency, though, huh? It'd be funny if it was paper. Thinking about it, though, Rimuru didn't have much money to his name, either. The fact that currency existed at all in this world was a nice surprise, at least. He'd figured it did, but he'd had no idea how it was circulated at all.
'Once I reach a human town, I'll have to go around and check out prices. But that can wait until after the dwarves.' He glanced at Deva. 'You coming?'
Deva was quiet for a moment. Then he shook his head. "No."
"No? I thought you'd want to see the dwarves."
"I don't like long trips. And someone needs to stay here in case something goes wrong."
Rimuru blinked. "You're, volunteering to stay?"
"Don't sound so surprised. I'm capable of responsibility."
"I know you are. I'm just... surprised you're admitting it."
Deva shrugged, looking away. "The village needs someone here. The goblins trust us. If we both leave, something could happen." He paused. "Plus, I'm not exactly built for long journeys. This magic body is stable, but I'm still an elemental. I'm tied to this place now."
Rimuru studied him for a moment. 'You're lying.'
'I'm not.'
'You are. You're making excuses.'
Deva met his gaze. "Maybe. But that doesn't make them wrong. Someone should stay."
Rimuru was silent for a long moment. Then he said, "Alright. I'll go. But you're in charge while I'm gone."
"Obviously. Who else would be?"
"I hate you."
"You'd miss me if I was gone."
Rimuru laughed. "Yeah. I probably would."
After all the hard work getting this town in shape, a leisurely visit would do wonders for him. Rimuru would be with humankind soon enough-checking out one of the other races could help him learn a little more about this wacky world.
Although technically a subrace of people, the dwarves apparently lived in large towns of their own. They had a king as well, although no goblin was ever permitted even a glance. Just being allowed into their towns was considered an all-time achievement for goblinkind.
Rimuru started to wonder about the state of goblin discrimination around here. He was a slime, after all. Would he be treated fairly? There were lots of anxieties to entertain, but he still couldn't wait to meet some of those little guys. The excitement remained fresh in his mind all throughout the rest of the night.
Deva floated beside him as the village settled into evening. The fires were lit, the goblins were laughing, and the wolves were curled up in the shadows. It was peaceful. Almost domestic.
"You know," Deva said quietly, "I didn't think I'd ever care about a place like this. When I first woke up in that cave, I thought I'd just observe. Watch. Stay outside the frame."
"What changed?"
"I'm not sure. Maybe it was seeing Rigurd cry. Maybe it was watching the wolves evolve. Maybe it was building those stupid mud huts. But somewhere along the way, I started caring. And I hate it."
Rimuru laughed. "That's the most honest thing you've ever said."
"Don't get used to it. I have a reputation to maintain."
"Of being a grumpy, sarcastic elemental?"
"Exactly. What would people think if they now was secret softie? It would ruin my iron clad credibility."
"You sound like a Tsundere."
Deva stomped on Rimuru's slime body with a look of contempt painted on his face, "Shut up and let me enjoy my moonlight, old man."
After a few minutes of apologizing Rimuru was finally released from Deva's oppressive stomp. An hour or so passed and they had calmed down. They just sat there, a slime on a pedestal, an elemental beside him, watching the village they'd built-the village they were learning to love.
"Hey, Rimuru?"
"Yeah?"
"Be careful out there."
"I will."
"And if anyone gives you trouble..."
"You'll haunt me?"
"No." Deva's voice was quiet. "I'll come find you. And I'll make them regret it."
Rimuru laughed again, but there was something warm in it. "I know you will. That's why I trust you to stay here."
"Trust, huh?"
"Yeah. Trust."
Deva said nothing. But he floated a little closer, and for a long time, they watched the stars together.