Vol 6 Chapter 1 - Info=Uang=Receh

Chapter 1
Meeting of Man and Mamono

Clayman didn’t overestimate his power.

He had taken over all the land owned by the Demon Lord Kazaream.

After the defeat of Kazaream at the hands of Demon Lord Leon, all of Kazaream’s previous subordinates went to submit themselves to Clayman’s reign.

Clayman merged Kazaream’s domain.

The other Demon Lords did not object to it and the processing afterward was made much faster. Everything has been according to Demon Lord Kazaream’s precautionary plan in case of times such as these.

Clayman gradually expanded his territory and become a force to be reckoned with as a new Demon Lord.
Among all the Demon Lords, Clayman holds the greatest amount of wealth.

To be more specific, Clayman is the only who knows how to exploit finance.

He’s been secretly trading with the Eastern Empire and has established a frequent trade relationship with Dwargon. Through these trading channels, he was able to import the newest models of weapons and armors from both major players from the east and west.

Clayman is able to use his predecessor’s legacy and magic to improve the combat capabilities of his subordinates, as well as recruit Majins who crave power. Clayman is good at luring Majins by using great wealth and then manipulating them..

Not only that, but he’s been scheming behind the scenes with all the profits gained through his relentless spending. This helped Clayman form a dark web of connections between different countries, while simultaneously keeping them all in the dark.

Everything was going according to Clayman’s plan, and he has all the information he needs to maintain control. Thus, his plan of world domination is already halfway complete…..

All he lacks now is power, and Clayman is very aware of that.

Victory in a war is determined by the number of combatants.

Clayman held such a view, and for that reason, he never put himself on a pedestal.

He knows all too well that no matter how much power one accumulate before a war, there’s still a possibility that they will suffer a complete defeat.

He thought that Kazaream underestimated his opponent too much. The defeat of that Demon Lord raised a giant red flag in Clayman’s heart.

That’s why he stood firmly in the center of all major powers and cautiously planned his expansion.

Nowadays, Clayman has finally gained a trump card in terms of strength.

Demon Lord Milim——Her ferocious techniques are second to none, and is able to surpass many of her peers within the Ten Great Demon Lords.

She went to destroy an entire country on her own without a single care, even though Demon Lord Karion is more powerful than Clayman.

Clayman is very delighted now that he’s obtained the strength he always lacked.

He wishes full-heartedly to eliminate Demon Lord Leon and believes that he would have his wish granted soon enough.

But, before that could happen….

Hehehe, That “Lord” is truly something. He reached the same conclusion as I did. To have the annoying Saints’ Church fend off Majin Rimuru. This is the most efficient way to reduce both parties’ strength.

He won’t have to worry once the enemies begin to kill each other——This was Clayman’s plot.

In order to execute the mission of investigating the hidden truths within the Saint’s Church, and to confirm their tie with Demon Lord Valentine…. All I need to do it’s coordinate with Laplace to give him an opening to sneak in once more during the Walpurgis Banquet, when their defense would definitely be slacking. What a perfect plan!

Clayman sips some wine with great joy and appreciates its taste with care.

The taste of the hundred-year wine is definitely worthy of someone of his stature. It’s as if he’s tasting the amount of work and hardship of making it that lace it.

It has been strictly maintained as the most classy merchandise, kept in great care until the day someone opens and tastes it——It has been cared for that much, just for Clayman alone to drink it.

This is only natural to Clayman.

He is a most graceful king. Thus, only the top quality goods are worthy of him. Clayman has no doubt about that.

「Now then, what should be the subject of discussion for the Walpurgis banquet——」

Clayman thinks as he continues to taste the wine.

The time would be set for the evening one week from now.
 
It would be the day of new moon, when vampires have the least amount of power.

Just to be cautious, he has particularly chosen the day when Demon Lord Valentine has the least strength.

The question now is under what name should he summon the demon lords.

Clayman squeezes his eyes and tilts his head up, then whispers:

「——I should take the chance and attack. Now would be a good time to take all of Karion’s territory.」

「But Clayman, didn’t boss tell you to stay put?」

Suddenly, the echoing sound of questioning spread across the empty room.

But Clayman didn’t seem to panic at all, he merely puts on a smile.

「So you are here, Laplace? You are as cunning as always.」

「No way, you didn’t realize that. Have you been thinking too hard lately?」

「Hohoho, that can’t be helped. I’ve had two chances to awake, yet I’ve missed them both due to my miscalculations.」

「Don’t be so harsh on yourself. The president has already made a prediction that the Eastern Empire would take a move soon!」

「Perhaps. But, Laplace, I’ve come up with a good idea. Now that the capital is gone, there are many weak races remaining around the territory of the Beast Kingdom. I want to take over Karion’s land before any other demon lords, gather all the survivors, and kill them all. In terms, I’ll get to awake at long last. So, wouldn’t you agree it is a great plan?」

Despite how Clayman phrased that, Laplace doesn’t think highly of it.

「That sounds rather inappropriate, isn’t it a bit too cruel? Wouldn’t you be overdoing it if you just kill all those weaklings without even knowing the condition of awakening?」
Clayman is isn’t pleased with Laplace disagreeing with him and gave him a face of displeasure:

「Laplace, that doesn’t sound like you at all. Are you sympathizing with them? Survival of the fittest, aren’t they lucky that they would die for me instead? 」
「But, you remember the time you killed thousand of human slaves and did not change a thing. What did that amount to? You can’t turn back time once you’ve done it, so you’d better think over things now and act cautiously.」

Laplace is right, Clayman once bought in and massacred thousands of slaves, yet Clayman failed to evolve into a 「True Demon Lord」.

However, Clayman is still not convinced even with Laplace pointing out the flaws.

「You are overthinking it, Laplace. I do whatever I please with my bought goods. If killing a thousand won’t do, I’ll just have to kill ten thousand. Since I already know it is necessary to have human souls for the awakening, there is no need to show mercy to the weak!」

Clayman expresses his arrogant point of view. He also attempts to change Laplace’s opinion and continued:

「Besides, this type of mission is also beneficial for that Lord. “A new force has risen in the Jura Great Forest. In addition, the Lord there dares to proclaim himself a Demon Lord.” I’ve decided to use that as a reason to invoke the Walpurgis Banquet.」

「Right, that should work as an excuse. But this proposal doesn’t constitute any reason to invade the Beast Kingdom still, right?」

「Of course, Laplace. During my investigation, my subordinate Myuran was murdered by that guy. That’s how we discovered that Demon Lord Karion has betrayed us——That’s the testimony I’d like to give. I’ve lost my subordinate, and in the course of collecting evidence I take over Karion’s territory. That would be my justification and I’d bet no one will complain about it.」

Laplace begins to assess Clayman’s claim.

Milim’s domain is connected to the Beast Kingdom Yuurazania, so no one would jump out and show any evidence against us. And the fact that Milim has beaten Karion would be the best justification for Clayman to  back up his action.

Apart from that, Clayman also demanded Milim to assist in the investigation.

By the time he marched his army through Milim’s territory to the Beast Kingdom, both sides will not have any objection.

With all of these, the fabrication of evidence would not be an issue.

The plan is almost perfect, yet Laplace still thinks he shouldn’t take action just yet.

Aren’t you rushing too much, Clayman?

Although he thinks so, it would be difficult to change Clayman’s mind.

Suddenly however, Laplace realizes in shock that he has ignored something important.

「That’s true, it would make sense if you do all these…… Eh, hold on a second! Myuran got killed?!」

He asks in panic.

Laplace knows Clayman has never treated Myuran well, but he still believes she was a reliable Majin. Among Clayman’s subordinate, she’s also an important lieutenant among the rank of 「Five Fingers」.

That Majin isn’t great at fighting, but it’s a conjurer who thinks fast and act fast. She acts as a perfect support role in her line of work. Apart from that, she always looked as if she’s unwilling to do her job, which is why Laplace and the others often talk to her in order to encourage her.
 
The most important part is that she has a normal set of values (Despite serving under someone like Clayman. Simply for that alone, Laplace would commemorate her highly.

However, Clayman’s expression remains unchanged and answers.
「Yeah, I don’t know what you are regretting over, but Myuran has been killed.」

「Really? I can’t believe she’s dead. Are you sure about your source?」

「Huh? I inserted “Dominating Heart” in her and that thing is long gone by now. The live heart I kept with me has turned into dust. So I’m sure about it. She did just happen to complete her mission before she died, so it was good timing. 」

「Come on now Clayman. You just lost such a capable subordinate. At least try to mourn her for a second, right?」

Laplace is rather sad seeing Clayman’s cold reaction and decided to persuade him.

This guy wasn’t so terrible before, his personality seems to have been twisted ever since he became a demon lord.

Not only Clayman...

All of Laplace’s companions within the Moderate Clown Troupe began to develop characters such as twisted personalities.

Laplace is the same case, so he can’t really lecture Clayman about it. Although Laplace knows that, he still thinks Clayman has changed a lot compared to before.

「Hahaha, you are such a nice person Laplace. Tear once told me as well that you should cherish your tools. Didn’t you teach her that, Laplace? That’s precisely the issue. My tool is broken, so I must punish the one who broke the tool. Wouldn’t that comfort the spirit of my tool in heaven?」
 
Laplace decides to give up on the issue after seeing Clayman’s harmless smile.

「........you’re right. At least don’t let her die in vain.」

「Right? I know you would do that.」

Clayman grins after saying that.

That’s not what I meant…….

Laplace has rather mixed feelings seeing that laughing face. But he decides to change his mood and examine whether there are flaws in Clayman’s plan or not.

「By the way, Clayman. About the Walpurgis Banquet, would anyone object the meeting?」

Laplace expresses his doubts, while Clayman’s smile also fades away.

「It’s possible, there will likely be voice of doubts. But right now I can manipulate Milim however I wish. I’ll send her to play with whoever dares to object.」

Clayman’s face twists with confidence and ugly greed as he says so.

Hearing this, Laplace’s face turns white.

「Wait, wait. That thought is way too dangerous! That guy also said that Milim may be out of leash anytime. Even though the president made that magical orb himself, you should not be so careless, should you?」
「It’s fine, Laplace. Milim is already following my every order.」

「I’ve heard of it, but didn’t she act on her own and declared war by herself? The ancient Demon Lords are not easy feat to manipulate with, their resistance against mental control is probably very strong. It will be suicidal if you are going to completely rely on Demon Lord Milim!」

Laplace tries his hardest to give Clayman advice,  but he wouldn’t listen to any reason.

「Are you being jealous that Milim is now in my palm, Laplace?」

「Not at all! But you should save your trump card for the end game, no?」

「Shut up. I don’t need you to worry for me. “That Lord” wishes me to awake to be a demon lord. That’s why I’ll destroy the Beast Kingdom. I’ll take care of anyone who dares to stop me!」

「Wait a second! Didn’t that guy order the president already to let you stay put? You just need to figure out how to make it through the Banquet now!」

Laplace again tries his hardest to convince Clayman, yet all of Laplace's words slipped through his mind like wind.

「Trust me, Laplace. If I only follow Kazaream-sama’s plan, I won’t complete that lord's wishes. Now it’s the time to strike.」

Clayman makes his guarantee and decides to end the quarrel with Laplace.

In the end, Laplace couldn’t stop Clayman.

Clayman’s view does hold some truth, and it didn’t deviate much from the order from above. However, Laplace still finds something wrong with Clayman’s plan.

So he says this:

「Eh, Clayman. I’ll ask you one more question. This operation, was it really decided by yourself?」
「What do you mean by that, Laplace? The only ones that can give me orders are Kazaream-sama and that lord. You should know that better than anyone, shouldn’t you?」

He’s right.

Since Clayman reassures there is no problem. Laplace won’t further intervene.

After all, he still has a lot of work to do on his own, such as the second attempt at infiltrating the Western Saints Church.

「Fine, that will do it. I’m leaving. Be careful Clayman! Don’t act reckless without thinking, and you’d better not get careless.」

After giving that advice, Laplace parts way with Clayman.

As for Clayman——

Did he think I was under anyone’s influence? What a boring idea. No, could it be…… that I’ve seized control over Milim’s power, and he’s afraid I would take his reward? But being jealous isn’t really Laplace’s style…..

Clayman hasn’t been over-confident with his ability.

Right now, he’s gained an additional set of ego to boost himself, having controlled over Demon Lord Milim.

That’s why he said those words to his most trusted friend, Laplace. That’s also why Clayman thought Laplace was jealous of himself.

While feeling somewhat disappointed towards his friend, Clayman sips another mouth of red wine. It tastes bitter and lacks the smooth sweetness just now.
——Annoying!

He suddenly throws the glass in his hand towards the wall. Due to a feeling he himself can’t describe, he just wants to express his anger through whatever objects happened to be near him.

The classy wine bottle stood on the table is shattered into pieces. Even so, Clayman doesn’t really mind. He decides to take something out of his pocket in order to make himself calm down.

It is a piece of mask.

A mask with a smiling face engraved on.

「Don’t worry, Laplace. I’ll awaken successfully. Then, I will dominate this world . Neh, Laplace. I won’t lose anything else! This time, we will be together. We will live out our life together——」

——In an empty room with only himself, Clayman mumbles his deepest desires that has been buried in his heart

He caresses the mask lightly as if it’s an important piece of treasure…...
   
⃟     ⃟⃟⃟     ⃟

We need to defeat the Demon Lord Clayman.

That objective is now settled.

That bastard is still hiding somewhere in the dark, we’ve got to take care of him sooner or later.

If I am to be a Demon Lord, it would be unavoidable to involve other Demon Lords in that process. With that being so, Clayman would be the best candidate for my flesh sacrifice.
   
RIght now I’ve got no idea why Milim provoked Karion, and there doesn’t seem to be a way to persuade her. I guess I’ll brag about my power in order to avoid future grievances.

Besides, Clayman has gone over the line this time.

Karma will bite back——I’ll make him pay for his evil deeds.
About our future plans.

Youmu has gained massive popularity in the Kingdom of Falmas with the title of hero. I’ve decided to exploit that and release our captive Falmas King to engage in post-war negotiation. This would facilitate us in gaining control of Falmas.
We also need to respond to the Western Saints Church, and declare our nation’s stance with every country we’ve encountered.
That would be a lot of business to discuss.

The meeting after this would likely start to get busy.

Let’s hear about Souei’s report first.

It would seem that Clayman has been on the move lately, I need to listen to it in detail again and hold a war conference.That’s why I’ve brought my subordinates from the Tempest Federation alongside the three Beastketeers to the big conference room.However….

My 「Universal Perception」has detected a party of around fifty people approaching our town.

Hmm? That would probably be the head of the Brumund branch of the Freedom Association, Fuze.

It didn’t take long before Fuze was taken to me by the guards. He was quite dramatic in trying to break through the soldiers’ defense line to talk to me about something.

「Long time no see, Rimuru-san. I’m glad I made it in time. According to the security pacts between Kingdom of Brumund and Tempest Federation, I’ve come in your aid. I was terrified that we would arrived late.」

Fuze smiles as he finishes.

However, he seems rather nervous, and the soldiers following him seem that way as well. Everyone’s eyes show the resolve to sacrifice themselves.

Seeing that they are all armed to the teeth, I can tell they’re prepared for war.

「What’s wrong, the head of Freedom Association brank himself comes forth to me, what do you plan——」
 
「Haha, now now. I’ve left the duties to Higis. And about the merchants——especially Myourmiles, has informed me about the situation in the town. I heard you guys’ been fighting against Kingdom of Falmas so…..」
   
Hmm? Hmmhmmhmm?
   
Now that I think about it, it’s been ten days since I sent back the guests from Kingdom of Brumund.
   
So did the Hard of Branch heard the report and decided to come to assist us in battle?
   
If that’s the case I’d appreciate it, but….

「——Even if it’s too late to start deploying the defense line, we should deploy soldiers around the town to fortify our defense. It seems that the main force of Falmas Military has yet to arrive, we also have no idea when the advanced forces would arrive. After all, we’ve long exceeded the deadline they declared——」
Fuze tries his hardest to explain.

Finally, with what I suspect is the firm look of someone that is ready to embrace death, he finishes his words in a go.

It’s no suspecting anymore, he really has made up his mind. And he mentioned he has left all his duties to Higis, it would seem he truly want to defend this town.

But, about that——
 
The war has ended already.

With Fuze’s expressing his views all enthusiastically, I couldn’t really say that in front of his face.

「Do you intend to breach through their frontline? That would be hard though. According to our intel, the enemy has roughly twenty thousand soldiers. You definitely can’t win by going heads to head with them. However, I contacted some of my old friends and have them arranged three hundred adventurers on hold. These men may be small in number, but we will fight with all everything we got. We’ve prepared to fight a protracted war and even conduct guerrilla warfare using the forest’s landscape——」

It is really right to come assist us like this? That would be unnecessary to ask considering how much Fuze indeed cares for us.
「——and being able to fight alongside the beastmen has really reassured me.」

Fuze continues to throw out his art of war by himself. Now I am in a difficult spot.
 
All of the my subordinates look shocked whereas the Beastketeers also have no idea how to respond.

That can’t be helped, though. Since everyone here knows the war is over.

I mean, I honestly didn’t think he would come at our aid.

Even though we’ve made a pact that aimed to avoid aiding us with military, he still came as fast as he could with as many soldiers he could gather.

That does please me a little bit.

Even so, we’ll put that aside for now——

「——This town is amazing. The street looks beautiful, accompanied by well constructed houses. You have got stone-paved roads and though I don’t want to admit, this is much more majestic than Brumund. I know you don’t want to lead it into a battlefield, but right now we must endure and wait for the reinforcements! The Brumund King has already decided to dispatch the Knight order, all we need is a little more time to prepare——」

「AH——Fuze-kun. Let’s pause right there.」

I decided to interrupt him there.

I’m really sorry for these circumstances, but I won’t be able to improve the situation if I don’t interrupt him.

「What’s wrong Rimuru-san? Have you come up with a battle plan?」

「Ah, hmm. N-not really a battle plan….」

「Do you mind sharing it with us? In your defense, I know it’s normal for you to suspect us, but right now I really hope you can trust——」

「NO, NOT LIKE THAT FUZE-KUN! I’m glad you are worried, but the war has already ended!」
 
「Eh? Ended? What thing? What do you mean?」

「Hmm——how should I put it…… In summary, I just eliminated them all!」

「——EHHHH? What did you eliminate? Eliminate? What do you mean by that?」

Fuze couldn’t process what he just heard and begins to question me back.

I can’t really blame him for having this sort of reaction.

「No, I mean-I mean the army of Falmas, I’ve defeated them all!」

「Eh...EHHHHHH——!?」

He utters a weird noise and freezes on the spot.

Youmu begins to pat on Fuze’s shoulder while Cabal comes forth to comfort hi.

Elen and Kido who stood by them starts to tell him along the line of「This whole thing is indeed quite unbelievable.」,「It’s really exaggerating」
That’s right.

Since it has been less than two weeks before the enemy has declared war on us,.

His prediction was——It will take roughly a week for the main force to arrive. So they will spend two to three days to clear out the enemies in the surrounding are of the battlefield to buy time and deploy a defense perimeter around the city and brace for the worst.

In his view the war has already broken out, and our lack of defense seems to have confused Fuze.

Now that he ran into everyone all gathered in the same place, he thought we were going to launch a attack altogether.

To think it was the battle has already ended instead of the Falmas army arriving late——Having been told something like that, anyone would have a hard time accepting it.

「I’ve sent my humble son Rigur as messenger to Brumund a few days ago. It would seem you have missed him. It’s just as what Rimuru-sama said, the war is over.」

Rigurdo comes forth to clarify with Cabal and Elen supplementing the details. Then Fuze finally accepted the fact.

Although he still continues to mumble 「How is that possible….」, it would take some time for him to dilute the information.

The fifty soldiers who came along him are also dumbfounded, so I told my guards to have them rest at our inn since they all seem extremely tired, even to the point where they almost faint.

. After all, they must have relaxed, having just been told the war is already over.

In order to avoid the army of Falmas, they’ve chosen to march in the paths for wild lives instead of the main roads. Marching with a full set of gear in the forest is surely a hard job.

The soldiers expressed their gratitudes and were led away by my guards.

The only one left is Fuze who has a tired expression.

「Fuze, how about you go get some rest as well?」

「Yeah…. You are right. I’m still confused at the moment, I should probably get some rest…..」

Fuze nods in response and decides to head towards the inn……. Yet the timing was unfortunate, as some new visitors just arrived.

「Ah, more visitors, and they are——」

「More visitors? What about them?」

Fuze stops out of curiosity at my words.

It is due to him stopping that he’s lost his chance to rest.

It was the Dwarf King himself.

Gazel Dwargo.

⃟     ⃟⃟⃟     ⃟

I just discovered something. My skill 「Magic Perception」has evolved to 「Universal Perception」. The radius of my detection has largely increased, and it has bonus accuracy as well.
 
I was able to detect the Legion of Pegasi that’s still quite some distance away from the town.

《Announcement. Thirty pegasus knights have been detected closing in on the perimeter. Confirmed Leading individual: Gazel Dwargo. 》

My ultimate skill 「Wisdom King Raphael」reports to me nonchalantly.

It would seem due to the bonus it received in accuracy, it can identify individuals we encountered in the past.

That’s a convenient skill indeed.
But that being said...

There is a bit too much information apart from the activities within the town.

Honestly——I was going to complain about it.
For that reason, I hope you could simplify the content of the report, 「Great Sage」..... No, I should call it 「Wisdom King Raphael」-san.
 
To be more specific, you can report whoever intends to approach me in harmful way.
   
《.....Understood——》

It seems to want to say something. But it’s fine, I just need to push all the trouble to it.

I have faith in it. That’s how 「Wisdom King Raphael」-san works.

I compressed my skill to minimum capacity and waited quietly for the guests to arrive.

Since they’ve already been identified by my skill, whoever has arrived can’t be imposters. They must be the real deal.

I didn’t have time to inform Fuze before the Knights of the Pegasus landed before us. Immediately after, Gazel got off the back of his pegasus, laughs and says to me:

「Long time no see, Rimuru. I heard rumor that you’ve become a demon lord, am I right?」

No wonder that the king himself comes here. Of course he is here to talk about this.
 
「I suppose, Gazel. A lot have happened, so I decided to become a demon lord. It is quite complicated, but I’ll be drafting a series of plans.」

I greet him with such words, giving him a wry smile and informing him of our meeting.
「Perfect timing. Then I’ll join in the conference too.」

Gazel proclaims so naturally.

Fuze still looks all battered up, but his expression suddenly change as he closes in on me.

「Demon lord…..? What in the world is going on?」

He happened to be around to hear our conversation. He probably thought this type of thing can’t just be ignored and questioned me.

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that to him...

Right now it would only make things messier, but if I remain silent now, Fuze won’t give up.

「Rimuru-san, I can’t just unhear what you just said! I did hear you say something about how you’ve become a Demon Lord, right……?」

Fuze shivers as he says so.

Is he holding his pee? Go ahead and do it, don’t be so polite with me.

「Do you need to pee? If so, our town’s public toilet is——」

「NO! Who said that I want to go to the toilet!? It’s not about that, it’s about you becoming a Demon Lord…. What in the world is going on——!」

I intended to use the toilet as an excuse, but failed to get through to Fuze.

Fuze also no longer acts all respectfully to me and showed his true colors.

「Hmm, Oh, you mean the thing about the Demon Lord? I am one, yeah,」

I answer with ease and pretend it’s not a big deal.

It’s clear he won’t let me go off the hook so easy, though.

「Hahaha, that’s such a bad joke. I do hope you can answer this seriously.」

Eh————Annoying.
Does he wish me to tell him from the start? Do we have to do it from the start? Well, King Gazel also seems intrigued to learn about it...
   
But talking while standing isn’t really convenient, so I should just make some explanation real quick.

I roughly retell the story to them.As a result, Fuze starts to talk to the air. It seems he’s trying to escape reality due to brain outage.
 
Oh well, At least it’s better than having him chanting doubts about my story all day.

I decide to leave Fuze alone and talk to King Gazel again.
「By the way, Gazel, is it really alright if a king of a nation just departs it like this.」

That actually does concern me.
I am equally guilty of the same crime, but King Gazel seems way to liberal with how he visits other countries.
   
Dwarven Kingdom——Armed Nation Dwargon is a powerful nation. Its national savings alone would be dozens times more than my country’s.

Would it really be okay if the King just moved out like this?
 
「Huh, no problem. I’ve got a body double!」

Eh? You seem to be using your body double in the wrong place…...

No, or is it?

Something doesn't feel right, but I suppose that’s how it is.

The Pegasus commander Deruf-san as well as the companions of the hero king have all arrived. That’s one strong group of people to bring.

「That’s not important, Rimuru, is it true what Vesta reported to me three days ago?」
Gazel switches his eyes to those unique to a nation’s ruler and questions me.

「It’s true, those twenty thousand——」

「Hold on a second, Rimuru. I’ve heard that the Falmas army has vanished for no reason. Do you know anything about this?」

「Hmm, vanished?」

Hmm? What is this now?

「Vesta reported to be that the twenty thousand men army closing in on this town suddenly disappeared. What actually happened?」

Gazel slowly says that.

A pair of eyes have been staring at Vesta in the corner, exerting unseen pressure on him.

I look towards Vesta and see him shaking his head in panic.

「Vesta, I was there during your report as well. You did mention that the Falmas army suddenly vanished. We were curious and thus decided to come investigate. Did you find the reason for that?」
Pan is the highest commander in chief of the Dwargon army as well as King Gazel’s close ally. He also uses a pressing tone to question Vesta.
Ah, I get what’s going on.

Gazel is trying to cover up the fact that I massacred the twenty thousand men army.

「Well, about that, we couldn’t get to the bottom of it...」

Vesta also seems to understand what they mean and answered carefully. He’s been looking at Gazel and the rest’s expressions and cleverly coordinate the conversation alongside them.

I suppose that’s how smart people do things. Vesta’s reflex is super fast. Now the mess I left has been successfully covered up.
   
Gazel instead lowers his voice and whispers to me: 「Idiot! If you tell the truth now, you are making yourself an enemy of the humans!」 and similarly as such along the line of “don’t bother yourself to make an enemy with the humans even though they will definitely fear you.”

It does make sense when I think about it.

Someone powerful enough to single-handedly wipe out army of more than ten-thousand people. That’s more deadly and horrifying than nuclear weapons.

The less people who know the truth the better. There really isn’t any need for unrelated countries and citizens to be informed about this.

The army of Falmas Kingdom attempted to invade the Mamono Kingdom, yet encountered unknown accident, leading to their disappearance as a whole——We will package this as the truth and inform the rest of the countries of it.

Now I see that sasuga King Gazel possesses the ability to deal with crises, a skill that I lack

So the only problem remaining is just what I’ve said.

It would be too late to hide it from the people in the town. But the truth doesn’t really matter to them. Everyone probably knows about it but no one would go around and run their mouth about the news.

Fuze happens to be the center of my concern.

I glance towards him. He has regained consciousness and our eyes happen to meet.

「Ah, ah——Fuze-kun.」

「Rimuru-san…..」

Right, what should I do now?

Just now I broke the breaking news that all of the Falmas army has been killed by my hand.

Should I tell him all of these are just nonsense?

While I was still worrying, Fuze takes in a breath and sighs.

Then he raises both of his hands and respond:

「I didn’t hear anything. Of course, my men are all resting at the ink now, and they definitely won’t remember when they wake up tomorrow morning. We are so tired that they probably hallucinated everything.」

It would seem he decided to pretend he hasn’t heard anything.

Fuze seems to have suddenly aged a lot, to the point that his entire body seems to be devoid of strength. There is a certain tragedy to this.
After all, he was being so nice to have resorted to this in order to resolve the issue.
「Gufufufufu, if that’s the case, just to be cautious, allow me to confirm it.」

The man who’s interrupted suddenly out of nowhere is Diablo, who now stands behind me.
This Diablo is an amazing guy, too. He’s like doraemon,2 and answers to your every needs.

He also seems interested in doing chores.
I also recall hearing him whisper that he’s “good at rewriting memory”. I’ll pretend I never heard that.

Fuze still seems troubled, but he gave in at last. He won’t intervene as long as his subordinates are kept safe and uninformed of the knowledge. He must have also agreed to King Gazel’s view that the less people who know, the better.

As soon as national interest is involved, he may dispose of whoever leaks out the information in the worst case scenario. That’s why he believes it is better to just let things slide this time with an eye closed.

However——

「I won’t look further in about your subordinate, but do include me in the meeting. 」

Fuze also suggests his own view, and says there's no negotiation with his term.

He probably thinks whatever is in the meeting cannot be simply ignored. You can tell from the determination in his eyes.

「Alright then. But I hope you all will trust me as well. I don’t have any intention to antagonize humanity. So I won’t stop you from attending the meeting.」
I shrug after finishing the sentence and agreed to let Fuze join the meeting.
   
⃟     ⃟⃟⃟     ⃟

With the guide of Rigurdo, Fuze enters the lounge.
Since Gazel’s party also wishes to join the meeting, we have to tide up the meeting hall. Because of that, I want to have Fuze rest now as much as possible.
 
Seeing all these, Gazel questions me.

「Huh, are you sure that man is trustworthy, Rimuru?」

「He is, it’s all good here.」

Fuze is indeed a trustworthy man. I answer with confidence.

「Hmm. If that’s the case, those people would be the only issue now.」

With that being said, Gazel gazes menacingly behind us.
   
Eh, are there people there?

I turn my back in surprise and discover a group of strangers in front of me.
A gentleman in expensive clothings who is quite handsome. He must have been really popular in his prime.

The man has a rather unique pair of long and narrow eyes.

There are five other people who look like highly ranked military general that stand by the two sides of this gentleman.
You can tell they have received good trainings.

But I didn’t even notice with them being so close….

How could this be, my 「Universal Perception」didn’t react at all——!

I’m rather panicked when this thought raises over me.

《Answer. There is no hostility detected from this group of people.》

Raphael-sama rather unpleasantly informs me .

Ah, right, I see.

…….Ugh, this one is really on me. Just now I was complaining about receiving too much information.

In other words, my rather vague request of letting Raphael distinguish those who wish harm on me was quite unreasonable.
   
I can’t blame「Wisdom King Raphael」for being mad.
 
Sorry! In the future I hope you’ll just report everything as it is——I apologize in heart.
   
It is rather embarrassing to apologize to my own skill, but it is the intent that matters.
 
Not noticing what I’ve been doing, Gazel continued to converse with the mysterious group.
 
「Where did you all come from?」

「What a coincidence! Aren’t you the king that likes to hide and live underground? What a surprise. I never expected chicken like you would come in aid of a “Demon Lord”....」
 
That man is rather at ease with his attitude even with Gazel’s imposing haki.

He’s clearly trying to provoke Gazel, and the generals around him also look quite irritating as if they are saying 「I really can’t stand this.」

「The coward would be you. You idiot elven offspring who likes to stay on high ground. Have you finally decided to visit the mortal realm from the City of God tree? 」
Gazel seems to have seen through the act and hence disarmed his alert. Instead, he laughed smugly and teased the man back.
 
From the looks of it, Gazel and the man knew each other.

So Raphael’s reaction was right in that he holds no hostility. Maybe it’s just that Gazel and the man can’t get along with other. However, that may be too much considering the two just seem like friends who love bad-mouthing each other.

「Rimuru-sama, they seem to be the messengers from Sorcery Dynasty Sarion.」
 
The one who reported to me is Souei’s subordinate Souka.

I heard he is responsible for leading these guests here. After that guy found out Gazel was present, he then decided to come and spice things up.

「You just never change, Elalude.」
The two both give one another an awkward looks and greet each other.

That seems to be their special way of greeting.

「Right, so who is this young lady——」
   
「Ah, nice to meet you, I am the leader of this forest Rimuru. I look forward to our future encounter! 」
 
This narrow eye man——Elalude has laid his eyes on me, so I decided to greet him a bit.

I should have welcomed him with more proper ceremony considering he’s a messenger from Sorcery Dynasty Sarion. Despite that, I’ve got no clue about the customs and elegancy of the such a ceremony.

Even though I’ve become a demon lord, I still can’t find experts in that field.

I guess it’s fine, I’ll just have to find an expert to enlighten me another time.

As I greet him, Elalude suddenly became fidgety.

He started to shout with his eyes opened wide.

「So it is you! You are the demon lord that kidnapped my daughter! I hope you’ve prepared yourself for what’s coming!」

As soon as he finished, he began to conjure a EX: Greater Explosive Flame spell and starts the chanting.
 
Oi oi oi, could you be any less reckless, mister!

According to my knowledge, EX: Greater Explosive Flame spell is one of the most difficult type of magic to conjure.

Fire is one of elemental-based magic and its spells range from Fireball all the way to Giant Magic Fireball. It becomes more difficult to control as the spell becomes more powerful. There are then more powerful spells such as Giant Magic Flame Barrier or Giant Magic Flame Storm that are very difficult to conjure. All in all, the difficulty of casting increases naturally with the power and scale of the spell.3

So, let’s just analyze the name of spell casted by this Mister Elalude…..

EX: Greater Explosive Flame spell, to put it simply, is a synthesized magic spell.

It contains Fire spell that can burn and the Explosive spell that could blow away the target——By combining the two branches of spell, one can sublimate the two into a higher level of Explosive Flame Magic.

Speaking of that, it happens to be the type of magic wielded by Shizu-san.
 
The difference is that Shizu-san relied also on the power of spirit. It’s quite difficult to control the spirit if you aren’t a conjuring expert such as Shizu-san. But, as long as you establish a trusting relationship with the spirit, it will help out in times of need and help control the power.

So in contrast, when we talk about EX: Greater Explosive Flame——
 
It is a very dangerous spell when one relies on himself to control the magic.
   
Even so, this type of magic is not limited by the magic system itself, so there is a lot of freedom in its usage.

The casting speed, accuracy, power, scale, area of effect, duration of effect; one can freely distribute the spell’s magnitude in all of these major elements. If he chooses to pursue purely power, it would be a piece of cake for him to cause havoc on the town.

But of course, this also increases the risks.

Conjuring spells require magicules, as well as sufficient concentration of mental abilities in order to gather the required amount. If the conjurer is incapable of doing that, the magic would not be cast. In addition, once the casting failed, the remained magicules could go of control and turn the nearby area to a scortchland.

So it makes sense that why very few people actively practice such dangerous spells. Usually, only those who’s obtained a rank higher than a magician could use these high level spells for military purpose.

And you definitely shouldn’t cast it in a town like this.

Yet that’s exactly what Elalude is planning to do.

What the hell is he doing. Acting like this out of nowhere.

He accused me of kidnapping his daughter, but what in the world is that suppose to mean?
 
Although I still haven’t been able to react, there isn’t much need to be nervous.

There is a loud tearing sound that goes Siiiii~~~~on the scene.

What came at the same time was Elen’s shouts.

「Waiiit, Dad! What are you doing here!?」

She came here angrily and realized the situation immediately. She then gave Elalude a chop on the head without saying a thing to him.

Elen’s arrival finally got Elalude’s senses back.

So, it would seem this Elalude is actually Elen’s father. He is finally settling down after he got scolded by an angry Elen.

These short tempered type of people sure are troublesome having such short temper. The image  of a reasonable gentleman he built when he was talking to Gazel was completely toppled with his later actions.
 
「Ehh——Ahaha. Sorry, someone told me my daughter has been kidnapped by a demon lord. So I kinda panicked just now.」

He says so while laughing out delightfully.

But you can’t just cast an EX: Greater Explosive Flame spell on the town just like that! You are one daddy-gone-berserk.

「No, sir. I’ve told you the facts as they are. It was your own misunderstanding.」
「Of course! It’s all dad’s fault!」
 
A secretary-looking person corrects Elalude calmly and Elen thus continues to blame him harshly, causing him look horrible.

He do look rather pitiful like that but I can’t sympathize with him. It’s his own doing. I hope Elen will blame him more so he can reflect a little bit.
「——You still spoil your daughter like always, Elalude.」

Gazel comments at Elalude as the situation got slightly calmer.
But Elalude doesn’t seem to have any regrets and argues back:

「I’m not spoiling her. It’s all because Elen-chan is too cute and I can’t help myself….」

「That is the dictionary definition of spoiling……..Never mind, it won’t help even if I say more.」
 
Gazel is dumbfounded. It seems that’s how Elalude acted before.

There’s probably no cure for him.

Seeing that Gazel and Elalude have finished their conversation, Elen decided to slip in and greet Gazel.

「Long time no see, King Gazel.」

Elen said as such. She seems to give off the attitude of a noble despite her adventurer outfit.

「Is it really Elen-chan? I didn’t recognize you at first. Hope you are doing fine. It’s really been a long time, you’ve become prettier.」

Gazel greeted back, then Elalude starts to get all noisy and complains: 「Are you a pedophile? You better watch your back, Gazel!」Thankfully, Elen immediately gave him a savage slap on the head, accompanied by the secretary-looking guy shutting his mouth up with hand in order to prevent him from further bad mouthing.

Gazel seemed rather used to it and simply shrugged it off without comment.

This guy seems to get very heated in the head whenever the topic was related to Elen. He usually acts gentle and cultured, but has a large dichotomy at times. I’d note that for precaution.
   
「Rimuru-san, this here is my father, Duke of Sorcery Dynasty Sarion, Elalude Grimwald.」

「Leader of Jura Great Forest, ruler of mamono, my daughter Elen has introduced us. My name is Elalude Grimwald. Please call me Elalude.」

After that, Elen introduced her father Elalude to me.

I didn’t expect this man to be the head of the Sarion Duke’s family. It seems the messenger from Sarion is not an insignificant man. I’ve heard rumors that he is a relative of the Emperor, and is in fact, the emperor’s uncle. No wonder he got to chat with Gazel so casually, since he is indeed qualified.

To be perfectly clear, he is one of the top three most powerful persons in the Sorcery Dynasty Sarion.

That gave me quite the shock.

If that’s the case——
T-then Elen would be a super prominent daughter of a noble.
   
I’ve heard of her noble origin, but such prominent origin is really something else….

It won’t be too much to address her as Mademoiselle4. A noble with such prominence deciding to become an adventurer… she may have been too liberal.

I shouldn't be the only one thinking so, but she doesn’t seem to mind at all.
Perhaps there are people secretly protecting her. She seemed to already know when she told me about the Demon Lord awakening that her leaking that information would have been exposed.

Cabal and Kido, these two followers must have a hard time accompanying her. I gotta find a chance to compensate them…...
 
But, right now——

「So, did you come here just for Elen-san?」

It’s probably not that simple.

I thought to myself and look towards Elalude.

「Hehehe, of course not. I came here to discuss diplomatic relations with your country, as well as  to confirm things with my own eyes. To check out who the mythical Slime really is and why my daughter took such a liking to you. It’s quite unbelievable to witness your menacing aura as a leader despite the fact that you are actually a slime. But still, I wanted to test your ability. 」

Elalude gives off an evil smile after saying so.

That’s why he casted that spell, to intentionally test us as it would seem.

Benimaru, Shuna and Shion are all on hold next to me. My officers all did not fringe while facing off the danger. But that is only natural as they’ve all predicted he won’t cast the spell. They’ve grown a lot since they would likely have lost their tempers if it was the old them.

「I’ve analyzed the spell you were going to cast, but it was obvious that your magicule count did not meet the basic requirement.」

Shuna says so.
It seems his bluff has been seen through, Elalude also throws a wry smile to tease.

「My my, now I’ve been exposed of my incompetency.」

「No, it’s really something how you’ve controlled the speed of your casting to mislead others in believing the magic is going to be casted. It’s very admirable how you are able to utilize that homunculus body of yours so thoroughly. 」
   
Seeing Elalude mocking himself, Shuna responds gently.

「Oh? That’s surprising. Have you found out that this body is artificial?」
「Yes. It would seem you’ve inserted your astral body into it. The famous technology of the Sorcerer Dynasty Sarion surely lives up to its fame as the nation with endeavour of magic. Very impressive.」
Hearing Shuna’s wods, I also try to run an 「Appraisal」. Indeed, out of the entire group, only Elalude is using a homunculus body. It would seem that it is part of the effort to protect such a famous noble.
 
That’s why I thought he didn’t bring enough guards when he came to meet someone who claims to be Demon Lord. If I think that way, dwarf king Gazel is the exception.


But anyway, the homunculus is so skillfully crafted that it looks realistic enough to be indistinguishable from real people.
 
Once we’ve settled our business here, I need to ask him to teach me the techniques.
   
Elalude mentioned that his intent is to assess the diplomacy between our countries. But that doesn’t seem to be the only thing on his mind. I suppose we will figure out later, o there’s no need to rush out an answer.
Perhaps I should invite Elalude to the meeting as well for him to make further judgements.
   
I also wish to hear what’s his opinion on the future policies our country may adapt, it will be a great opportunity. But it depends on the result of the meeting. It is possible that even Sarion may become hostile to us. However, if things really go down that path, I’ll have to deal with it then.
Gobta came to inform us that the meeting is ready.

I was planning to discuss things with my own subordinates but I don’t seem to have the opportunity right now.
Not only so, we are heading straight to the official meeting.
I was planning to prepare information on the countries beforehand to better inquire them. That’s how a diplomat would often do to engage first, observe each others’ interests and conflicts so as to reach a common ground.
 
Since we’ve not done any rehearsal beforehand, everyone will just have to express their genuine views.
Our future would be dependent on this meeting. If we fail to reach an agreement, it is no exaggeration that it will lead to war.

I boost my own spirit and head towards the meeting room.
 
As such, the essential meeting that would decide the future of Tempest Federation now begins.

——This meeting would be bestowed with a legendary status, and historically known as the Meeting between Human and Mamono.

⃟     ⃟⃟⃟     ⃟

I enter the meeting room and see everyone standing, awaiting my arrival.

There are the three Beastketeers, Fuze, King Gazel and Duke Elalude. The VIPs of each country are directed to their special seats and seated.

After they sat, I walked towards the most inner seat  while everyone sat down rather unanimously.

The meeting is commenced in a solemn environment.

First off, we need to introduce all the participants of the meeting. After all, there are many members here who came from strong nations.
Some of us know them, but in order to avoid any disrespect, it’s best to introduce everyone.
As such, we begin to introduce the guests
 
「Well then, we shall introduce the guests.」
 
Following my look, Shuna understood my order and begins to announce the names.
   
Beast Kingdom Yuurazania.

The spokespersons consist of the three Beastketeers who represent the Beast King’s army.

Thinking about it, Phobio and Sophia are rather——let’s just say——single-minded. So we should probably prioritize Anubis’ opinions.

Dwarven Kingdom——Armed Nation Dwargon.

Spokesperson is the King himself——Gazel Dwargon.

He was just trying to hide the fact that I wiped out a twenty thousand-men army.
He may be planning something else though. So I’d better factor that in to accommodate his words.

He’s may be doing me a lot of favor this time as well.

Kingdom of Brumund.
 
Unfortunately, this nation did not send an official representative.

Since Fuze is the head of the Freedom Association Branch in Brumund, plus he’s closely related to Baron Bayette who is a minister of Brumund Kingdom, he should have the same rank of authority to him.
 
He’s undoubtedly the best representative they can choose. I should really listen to his precious opinions.

The next one is Sorcery Dynasty Sarion.

They suddenly came to participate, yet the head of the group is the famous noble Duke Elalude.
 
Elalude is the dumb father who spoils his daughter, but who nonetheless possesses the cruel outlook of a noble.

The goal of their trip is to assess my country. He probably wouldn’t make misjudgement and do anything stupid due to the love he has for his daughter .

That guy is something else, and I definitely can’t overlook him.
   
Apart from that…..

Sorcery Dynasty Sarion has the national power to stand against the council states by itself, and it’s a superpower to rival against Armed Nation Dwargon.
   
If everything goes smoothly, we may even get to forge an alliance with them.
 
One shouldn’t be too greedy, that’s how the saying goes. That’s why I need to treat it carefully anyway.
   
Glancing at the surrounding guests, everyone is a prominent character.
 
If it is only me that is holding the meeting, I may not be able to think sufficiently objectively. Considering that point, it is truly lucky for me to have the human members participating the meeting.
   
What follows is the introduction of the members of the Mamono Federations.

These are some familiar figures, but I should still do an introduction for the officers.

I look at Rigurdo and the Goblin elders. Nowadays, they all look the part with luxurious clothings that can compete against any other nations’ representative.
 
They even look more imposed than me, it makes me feel like I’m able to depend on them.

The ministers of different department greets everyone. The moderator of the forest, Dryad Treyni-san, also came to greet them.
Elalude looks rather surprised at the presence of the highest ranking species to show up here, but he still pretends to be calm and greets back.

Gazel’s initial reaction to the scene was also interesting, they were all quite surprised by that before. Anyway, I shouldn’t be going around and exposing them like this.

At last I introduce the relevant personals from Falmas Kingdom.

Especially Youmu’s party, alongside Myuran and Grucius.

I was planning to let these people to build up a new nation there.

However, I don’t know whether they will accept if I raise the proposals during the meeting...

This proposal may be the determining factor to the success of the meeting.
I nod to notify Shion and Diablo who were waiting for orders behind me. Thus, I was able to roughly conclude the round of self-introduction from our side.
 
Oh, right, I almost forgot.

「Shuna, what’s the progress on Veldora’s clothes?」

「Yes, Veldora-sama is——」
 
Shuna couldn’t even finish before the delightful laughter of 「GA——HAHAHA」arrives. I was worried that his original outfit would seem unfit for such occasion so I requested Shuna to help him make a random set of clothings. It would seem I was able to catch up.

As the meeting room door is opened, Veldora enters the meeting room as if he’s visiting a tourist’s site. I rise up to introduce Veldora and direct him to rest of the participants.

I hope this one can go smoothly, I pray to myself——
   
「Allow me to introduce him to my fellow guests. Some of you may have heard of his name, so please remain calm——」
   
I decide to make a forecast.
 
My subordinates are all now aware of his identity, and they all looks nervous while swallowing down their saliva. The legendary evil dragon is right before him, and even they are afraid.
I found that the atmosphere has changed, there was silent at the scene.

And next——

「This is my ally Veldora.」
   
「I’m Veldora! Some people seem to call me 「Storm Dragon」.Hmm, not a lot of people get to talk to me in equal term so count yourselves lucky. And you should feel honored!」

As soon as I called his name, Veldora immediately proceeded with this introduction. He’s still arrogant as always, but it does suit him
 
I thought I told him to stay quietly during the meeting… He probably got bored immediately and came to stir things up…..

「I hope you can act as the consultant of our meeting today. I’ll be happy if you just stand aside and play nice. So could you leave now?」

「Gahahaha, Rimuru, you are so ruthless! Stop bullying me.」

「Listen now, we are talking business here, so could you stop causing a scene here, okay? 」
 
「Trust me! How could I cause a scene now?」

Veldora gave me his word, so I’ll have to comply… If that doesn’t work I’ll then give him his bible (manga). I must prevent him from giving me trouble.

Up until now, the room is completely silent.

Everyone is frozen.

And…..Eh?!

“Pong-dong”! Fuze, Elen and a couple few others just fainted on the spot while Gazel starts shouting:「Pause, pause! I need to talk to you NOW, Rimuru!」

Rigurdo and the rest decide to start kneeling and bowing their heads like last time——The situation has gone wild beyond repair.
 
You could figure out why the meeting has been interrupted with your knees.

……...Or rather, the meeting hasn’t even started yet. But it’s no use saying that now…...
⃟     ⃟⃟⃟     ⃟
   
The meeting room is in a mess.
 
The chaos was greater than I expected. It’s armageddon in here.
 
Veldora sure is a mean character.
 
People are truly afraid of this 「Storm Dragon」.
 
Well, that is to be expected.

The sudden appearance of the Catastrophe Rank Mamono would undoubtedly cause such a commotion. To the world, he is more horrifying than Demon Lords.
Thankfully, not everyone thinks that way.
   
Since there will inevitably be chaos, it’s best if I just introduce him to everyone first.
 
It would seem I need to take Veldora into consideration for my future planning.

The guests from each nations looks ill with their strength all gone.
   
Even though Veldora has already suppressed his aura, it may still have affected the crowds.
 
My companions such as Benimaru or Shion would usually contain there aura, while the weaker mamono and humans who visit this town have also gotten used to it.
The new addition to the crew, Diablo, has the ability to suppress his aura even better than me. He is very talented in that aspect and should be considered as a model for everyone.

The issue lies on Veldora who is supposed to have special training with me to learn about the techniques to control his aura.
But he said all confidently that this is nothing. I think it’s likely due to his evolved Ultimate Skill 「Investigation King Faust」.

So I thought everything would be fine….. Was I being too naive?
 
After all, his aura was still leaking out even with the seal applied, preventing Mamono below Rank B from approaching.
 
To be safe, I tried to use 「Appraisal」 to determine the magicules in the room, but I found nothing out of place.
 
If that’s the case, the reason would be——
   
「Rimuru, I’ve got something to talk to you about. Let’s pause the meeting and so I can borrow some of your time.」

Gazel pats my shoulder and proposes, with a charming smile on his face.

He was just shouting … he must be really serious. My instinct tells me to not resist him.
 
I tell everyone that the meeting would be put on hold for a moment and start to move out from my seat.

No one seems to object.

It’s no wonder, since someone has already fainted.

After leaving the rest of the matters to the others, we head towards the reception room.

I followed Gazel’s order to get Veldora away from the rest of the meeting so that shouldn’t be an issue any longer.
Including the three Beastketeers, a lot of people wish to learn about Veldora’s current status. That may buy us some time.
   ………………

    …………

    ……
 
The ones entered in the room are Gazel and Elalude.

I requested that Shuna go make tea for the rest of the people at the meeting and told Benimaru and Shion to take care of the meeting room.
 
「Just to be clear, his majesty the Emperor has granted me full authority on this issue. So I will speak of my stance in the name of the Sorcery Dynasty Sarion. Now that you are informed of that, please explain the situation. 」
   
Elalude is the first to talk.

He is no longer a dumb father at the moment, but a politician, the prominent nobleman of Sorcery Dynasty Sarion.
 
He is very imposing.

Does Sarion want to sit and watch quietly how this event develops?

They don’t seem to hold any hostility, and by what he proposed, they would be observing my every move before determining their relationship with our country.

But Elalude would probably still need to clean up the mess that Elen did...
 
At least I know they are not enemies, so it shouldn’t be a problem to look to them for help.
 
「I understand. Then I’ll swear to tell you the whole truth.」
Since the other side has laid out their cards, I also need to be more serious about the issue.
   
With our agreement made, a secret meeting is thus unfolded.
 
Let’s hear what Gazel has to say first.

「Alright, what do you wish to talk about?」

「Spare me the act. What the hell is it with the revival of the “Storm Dragon”?」
 
Even man like Gazel couldn’t conceal his surprise. His shout sounds rather agitated.
   
It’s a rare sight for someone as calm as Gazel. He must have really been shocked.

I could have figured out a way to play dumb, but it would be meaningless.

So I decide to roughly explain the entire story.
   
With that being said however, I only mentioned about meeting Veldora in the cave and assisting him in breaking the seal.
   
As soon as I finished the short account, Gazel begins to have headache and starts to groan.

「I could not have anticipated things to turn out like this. It’s already a mess now that you’ve become a Demon Lord, but you’ve made an even bigger mess…..」

Ehhe, no need to praise me like that——I wanted to say that to ease the mood but chose not to. It may be my misjudgement but I think it would piss Gazel off.

「So, Rimuru-dono. That lord is really——」
   
Since Elalude asked, I nod towards him.

Veldora could actually properly conceal his aura like that, which is rather hard for him to believe in such short time.

「——I suppose it’s true, it must have been the real deal. No man or mamono would be stupid enough to try and  fool people with the name of that evil dragon.」

It actually makes a lot of sense with how he phrases it.

That’s probably why Elen and Fuze believed the case immediately after hearing it.
 
Not only mamono, who are aware of the importance of names, but even humans know they stand to gain no benefit by pretending to be the evil dragon.

Essentially, Gazel has not doubted his identity from the start. I asked him why afterward and only got the response that 「I couldn’t see him through.」. In other words, Gazel has indirectly admitted that he can read mind. That’s really impressive! But that really isn’t the focus of the issue.
 
「But, what should we do….」
   
「Right, I’m already in a terrible spot trying to clean up the mess left by my daughter….」

Gazel and Elalude look at each other.

The two seem to be unable to get along, but they are probably very close friends.
 
「The real issue would be whether to go public with this, or to conceal it.」

「It should be fine to do so in the western nations. As for Sorcery Dynasty Sarion, I’ll just tell the Emperor what I’ve heard. The problem is——」
   
「It’s Western Saints Church, right? You can never fool them. Among all the “True Dragons:”, the Church hates the “Storm Dragon” the most. They would definitely be on to him as soon as he had been revived.」
   
「If we are to hide the truth, we have to act together as if we have no clue. But that likely won’t work and render us all “Nemeses of God”.」

Just like that, the two exchanged their opinions and attempted to figure a solution for my situation.

What about me? My job is simple. I just need to nod and say “Hmm hmm” to them.
「Are you even listening, Rimuru?」

「Yeah, your problem is causing us two headaches. If you don’t take it seriously, we would really be troubled!」

Eh, I got scolded.
   
I suppose I should give in and reflect, and then talk about my own views.
 
「Since there is no way we can keep hiding about Veldora, I’ve planned to make it public. There’s no way around Western Saints Church but whatever, so we would eventually need find a solution.」
「Hmm, since you’ve decided, I have no objection.」
Gazal agreed without any argument.
 
「A alliance between Demon Lord and True Dragon is no joking matter. Honestly, the problem at hand is surprisingly difficult to deal with. But on second thought, I’m lucky to be here. Since right now I get to participate in this meeting and was fortunate enough to gain such useful information to determine my nation’s stance——」
   
Elalude smirks and expresses his view from a powerful nation’s point of view. That is——If both the Disaster-Rank Demon Lord and the Catastrophe-Rank True Dragon somehow coexists in the same nation, it would be foolish to try and mess with them. Gazel agrees to his view as he nods heavily.

In terms of scale, Tempest Federation is far from more powerful nations such as Dwargon and Sarion. But if it’s only in terms of military, not only would these two nations be on the same playfield as ours, they may even be unable to surpass us. They say so because this has been acknowledged by both Gazel and Elalude in private.

「If according to your words, you will both stand on the same frontline with us if we become an enemy with the Western Saints Church, am I on the right track?」

As soon as I ask, Gazel replies dismally:

「Do you have to ask this? Rimuru, you’ve got to practice on how to maintain your composure——」
   
Then he shows an annoyed look and says 「Thank god this is a private meeting….」and begins to explain to me in details.

They both have no need to antagonize my nation but at the same time, they can’t let their own nations be in danger. Plus, they won’t be responsible for dealing with the Western Saints Church.

Gazel promises that he will maintain a neutral relationship while forging a diplomatic tie.

As such, there’s only Elalude left…...

We basically don’t even have any diplomatic tie with Sorcery Dynasty Sarion. Even under such condition, this man still decide to greatly back us up.

「I’ll be reassured with Gazel’s help. And speaking of which, Elalude-san——sama, why have you been so proactive…..?」

As I ask, Elalude responds with an annoyed look and answers:

「——There’s no need for “san” or “sama” when you talk to me. But Rimuru-dono, please remember to refer to others with their appropriate titles and occupations in public. You are after all a king, so you shouldn’t act all groveling towards foreign guests in public. If you wished to be vassalized, that would be a different matter. Anyhow, allow me to answer your question—— 」
 
He gave me a special instruction in fear of me embarrassing myself, I suppose he has a empathetic side too.
 
This thought made me express my appreciation, before I find Elalude is staring at me with long sighs. Then he switches up his mood and explain his reasons.

It all started with his daughter Elen.

It was rumored that Elen has been held responsible due to her sharing of the Demon Lord awakening information to me.

In other words, she was an accomplice in catalysing the birth of a new Demon Lord. That’s why there is no way the nation would leave it like this.

But, Grand Duke Elalude was able to show his ways during this time.
He was able to cover up the inquisition and made it so that the emperor was the only one aware of the situation.

Afterward he spent the time predicting his future moves and wait for the right opportunity to strike.

Magical surveillance seems to be a difficult task to execute, yet through it Elalude was able to find out about my evolution to Demon Lord.

He can just pretend he knows nothing had I not become one, but there would be no way around but to intervene if the transformation was successful. When he came to visit me, he has already planned for the worst and recognized there may even be a need to dispatch invasive forces.
   」
「Based on all these reasons, I went out myself in hope of less people finding out about this.」

Elalude concludes like that.

In other words, if he was to confirms I am an evil individual, he would destroy everything as soon as possible to cover up the truth.

「Then, what would be your judgement?」
   
「As I’ve said, I don’t plan to become your enemy, rather we should build up a friendly relationship.」

I see, he has accepted me. I’m quite happy that I’ve been judged as someone who’s not evil.
   
「Hmm, that would be the natural choice.」
「Of course. Our country practices freedom of religion, which includes more than just the Ruminas sect. Rather dying for one religion, I’d put our national interests in the priority.」
   
「Huh. I thought that I couldn’t see you eye to eye, but somehow we’ve reached some common ground now. Elalude, my nation is also not in line with the ideology of Western Saints Church. I’ve planned to support building ties with the Tempest Federation from the start.」

Upon saying so, Gazel and Elalude smiles at each other.

「No, there are still too many questions left. Regarding the Falmas army eliminated by Rimuru-dono, even if we spread out the claim that they’ve all died from the war, the death count is still too high. And with just that point, my daughter has suggested——」
 
Elalude looks rather confused while saying so.
 
Could this be his real intent?
   
It wasn’t the focus whether I am evil or not, he is afraid of the real casualty numbers of the war being spread in the Western Nations.

There is no way anyone would think otherwise that a demon lord who murdered twenty-thousand people is not evil. The Western Saints Church definitely would have a more justified testimony, and I would be treated as a「Nemesis of God」.

Right, having diplomatic tie with such an evil person——me, would indeed implicate badly on these nations.
What to do then? Ehh——I begin to worry.
 
Just as I was thinking, Gazel gives off a grin and says:
 
「Don’t worry, I’ve got a solution.」

Ah, no way!
If according to what Gazel just said, the king of Falmas suddenly vanished from the world!
 
「All of the corpses have disappeared without trace. Wouldn't they suspect that there was no survivor?」

If that’s the case, you get to alter the story however you want——Gazel smiles and respond.

——The truth matters very little to the people and the other countries. As long as the story is pleasant to the ear, it would suffice the crowds.

「Oh——That is a wonderful idea. Gazel, surely you would want me to co-write the script with you, right?」

Elalude also switches to his politician eyes.

They probably arrange narrative in their interests to maintain their innocence. For Elalude it is probably for both national interest and for Elen…...

Then I should make my resolve as well.
After all, I decided to save everyone at the cost of massacring twenty-thousand people. My faith won’t shake even if I had to bear more sin than that.
 
「It seems you’ve decided to walk the grey area, Rimuru. That’s right, that’s how it should be. It’s not easy being a king.  」

There’s no use regretting things now.
 
It is a necessary process.
   
「I’ve long made up my mind. Then, how do you plan to explain to the world, Gazel?」

「Hehe, let’s see now.」

Gazel’s gaze became a bit more gentle.
 
Afterward we spent an hour to discuss and layout the plan carefully.
    ………………

    …………

    ………

When we returned to the meeting room, peace has been restored.
They were finally able to get back to the peaceful atmosphere before and took care of the ones fainted.

The unexpected reaction plunged the meeting in chaos, but it really couldn’t be helped.

Let’s just let the past stay in the past and focus on dealing with the future. Thankfully I was able to discuss a solution with Gazel and Elalude. Now that I think back carefully, that period of time was really precious.
 
Fuze, Elen and some others are still exhausted and collapsed in the chair.

「Are you guys alright? How do you feel now?」
   
I ask out of care. But instead they all look at me with resentment.

「...........Even I’ve not heard of it. Such an IMPORTANT THING——」
 
「Are you kidding me, you big meanie! You even kept me out of the scene….. His name is Veldora….-san? And he is your good friend?! Have you even mentioned that to me?」
And all sorts of complaint flew straight at me.

Would it really help by complaining about it to me?
 
He’s been swallowed by me into my「Stomach」——How could I even say something like that. Plus, would anyone even believe that?
「Ehh? I didn’t mention? Did I now……? Never mind, let’s just forget about the past, pretty please (〃´∀｀)? There’s more important things to do, so let’s have a meeting now! (´∀`)」

I responded with a delight smile, but it obviously didn’t work.

「「「DON’T PLAY DUMB——!!!」」」

They all shouted at me.

「Ha….hahaha~ yes-yes——」

I try to calm everyone day with a laugh.

It’s really because these people are too carefree. After all, they didn’t change their attitudes at all, even after I became a Demon Lord...

I don’t mind them being so closed to me, and I’m even happy for that……..But I do hope they can be more polite——
 
「Are you even listening? Gosh, I hope you would genuinely reflect yourself!」

「Please stop doing this, master.」
 
「That’s right, I’m getting heart failure from it…...」
But they don’t seem to follow basic courtesy.
   
But that’s how Elen and her party act.

Fuze is also the same.
 
「Ah, but——I need to report this to my superior….. Eh, but I am the head of the branch!」
   
That’s how he acts, always so carefree. He has accepted the reality of the situation.

His reaction before of fearing Veldora seems to be fake.  But if I hadn’t told him to visit the restroom, he would probably have already pissed himself.
 
Nice save! I pat his shoulder and got stared at  instead.
「You now, don’t act like it’s none of your business…...I’m gonna have to report this to my superior first. I’ll come back later to take the compensation for my mental damage. 」
 
My advice saved him and I’d expected him to thank me. But somehow he argued back and scolded me.

Never mind, I will be the bigger man here. I was joking with him anyway. And Fuze got back on his normal feet quick enough.

——That’s how everyone accepted Veldora.

It is an hour later by the time the meeting restart
⃟     ⃟⃟⃟     ⃟
Now the meeting can be officially commenced.

We will discuss Clayman’s declaration of war later.
 
Souei has briefed me on this and he hasn’t been able to find their base yet. I, on the other hand, was more concerned about whether Clayman was on the move. So I had Souei keep an eye on that as well.

Since you can’t exactly rush this, I’ve decided to finish the meeting with the heads of each nation.

Although it’s rather troublesome, let us revisit the story once more.

There were many things that took place in between, so I decided to spare everyone the details. In order to get everyone on the same page, I started to explain the situation.
 
It started from my encounter with Veldora.

I also told them my identity as a 「Otherworlder」.

Since there’s no need to keeping hiding it.
Since all of my subordinates know of my story, it would make little difference to inform Gazel and Elalude.
   
So what that a Demon Lord was once a 「Otherworlder」? Demon Lord Leon was also a 「Otherworlder」......

I also briefly explained my battle against the orc lord as well the construction of the town here.
 
It is very important to share the information with others.
 
Given their interpretation from a different point of view, they may have a different reaction than mine.
   
There were more things that happened after the construction of the town..... And I proceeded to talk about my journey to Ingracia Kingdom to fulfill Shizue’s will.
   
I did skip the details of the life at the town and Yuuki’s request, but I also mentioned about my duel with Hinata
   
She was really strong.
   
If her opponent hasn’t been me, they would have been killed.
   
Not even Benimaru plus Souei would survive that.
 
She may have been as strong as Hakurou, perhaps even stronger. She was also able to cast many unknown magics.
   
Especially 「Holy Purification Barrier」, that one is extremely dangerous.
   
There may even be a mini-scale one for battle against single enemy. I share my memories and knowledges to everyone using 「Telepathy Net」.
   
Although I’m unsure whether we would be able to deal with it, we are better off knowing our opponents’ abilities when we encounter them.
I need to try my best to let everyone realize how terrifying Hinata really is.
 
At least it will give them a better chance to escape.
   
「Hinata Sakaguchi, right? That woman does look very cruel and gives off the impression of a ruthless murderer. But according to our intel, the reality does not check out. For instance, she will give aid to whoever seek help from her as well as those who are willing to accept her aid. But if the people are not willing to listen to her, she would just stop helping. A very rational woman—— 」

Does Fuze secretly know Hinata? He’s been defending her all the time during my explanation.
I don’t want to be hostile against Hinata either, but she simply won’t listen to me…..

It does sound like something she would do to exclude those who refuses to listen to her from the aid list.
After all there are probably a lot of people seeking refuge, you can’t blame her for letting go of those idiots.
A true rationalist.
   
Yuuki did mention that Hinata is a realist, so Fuze’s report was not wrong.
 
With that said, Fuze’s source is surprisingly accurate.
   
Gazel also nods along as my thought continues to this point.
「Hmm, as expected of the Brunmund branch head, you are good at manipulating the information network. The precision of the intelligences you’ve collected can match up against those obtained by our nation's’ secret service. I can vouch for the accuracy of the intelligences. 」

Gazel speaks as if he’s playing along with Fuze.
   
But Hinata won’t even hear my explanation…..
   
「But that woman won’t even give me a chance to explain.」
 
Indeed, she has treated me as an eyesore from the start. But it seemed that she had been fed with the wrong information, but the part of not listening to reason is just…..
「Well, that may be because of the doctrine of Ruminas sect “No negotiation with mamonos”.」

Elaldu surprisingly answered my confusion. Hinata seems to be rather famous even in Sorcery Dynasty Sarion. You can tell then her reputation is widely spread, which surprises me.
 
——No, perhaps it is the natural things from a nation’s perspective to gather intelligences on the strongest knight in the Western Saints Church.

Maybe she became a celebrity because of her beauty——Such a though flew over me a couple of times, but I should probably not say it out loud.
After hearing the explanation by Fuze and the rest, I now begin to understand who Hinata really is.
 
She is known for her cruelty in actions and words, and it’s said to have never broken the doctrines of her religion.
 
She is the most ideal model for the Knights.

In other words, Hinata is the guardian of law and order.
 
But if that’s the case, why hasn’t she stopped the summoning ritual by all the nations?
 
It’s a simple summoning ritual and would usually summon children. No matter how you look at it, these all seem to be reckless actions of individual countries.
   
「Regarding that, there is no way we could know whether she has interfered with the summoning ritual of the nations, right?」

Fuze speaks up.
 
I suppose that’s right as well….
 
「The summoning magic that would bring “Otherworlder” are not knowledge to the public and are secret techniques strictly prohibited by the laws of the Western Council States. So, these nations won’t easily admit their actions. No investigation can be led as long as they insist they’ve not used the summoinig magic. The Western Saints Church may have access to a wide range of authorities, but they can’t interfere with domestic policies. 」

For instance, the Falmas Kingdom has been using 「Otherworlder」 as weapons. They would probably argue that these are just 「Otherworlder」 they discovered and took in by chance in order to avoid regulations.

In this way, there’s indeed no definitive evidence to support any claims. The Western Saints Church wouldn’t be able to intervene.
   
If that’s true, it would be unfair to blame Hinata for not being more proactive on the issue.
 
Right, Yuuki also said something else about her.

——He said 「I can’t figure her out.」

Perhaps Hinata has acted in her own way in order to stop the summoning rituals.

Even if it is, it won’t solve anything by worrying myself with this any longer.
 
「Anyway, Hinata is probably gonna be hard to deal with. If she is willing to listen, I may find a chance to talk to her and resolve our misunderstanding......」
   
But if the Western Saints Church consider us the 「Nemesis of God」, our confrontation with Hinata would then be inevitable.

I wouldn’t want to fight her if possible, but we’ll see how things develop.
「Kufufufufu. Should I personally set out to end her life for you? Shouldn't we get rid of the dangerous individuals to prevent further grievances?」

Hearing my own mumblings, Diablo, who’s been waiting for order behind me, makes such proposal.
 
This guy is surprisingly confident. He’s a newbie, so he seems to be very eager towards every possible opportunity.

「Oi oi oi, even I lost to Hinata——no, even I fought to a draw with her! How could you be so confident in handling her?」

Seriously, please go through your brain before you speak, okay?
 
「That’s right, Diablo. Instead of sending cheap shot like you, I shall go kill that woman. So Rimuru-sama, please give me the order now~! 」
You see. Now Diablo’s nonsense has drawn out Shion as well!
「Ho ho, so it’s Shion-san. I am grateful that you’ve taught me the techniques of being a secretary so I’ll put it lightly….. It’s a shame that you are no match for Hinata. 」
 
「Oh? So according to what you just said, do you think you are stronger than me? Interesting, how about we find out about that right here right now——」
「SILENCE!」

I shout out to stop the sudden confrontation between Diablo and Shion.
 

I didn’t expect him to be so aggressive despite his calm look. He’s so polite to me yet has no respect for his seniors. How arrogant is he for a newbie5?
 
Getting into conflict by provoking the opponent without themselves noticing, this type of people has such a straightforward personality like Shion…..
   
「Gahahahaha! Does that mean you wish to send me out? Very well, I shall return triumph in no time——」

「You don’t have to go! Unless they decide to take the initiative in offense, we don’t have to be the aggressor. I’ll say this again, I don’t want to antagonize the Western Saints Church.」
   
Having been excited by the two, Veldora who’s been sitting next to me suddenly decides to stand up. I give off a long sigh after stopping him immediately after.
 
Horrible, these three are all maladjusted children.

No no no, everyone still has space to grow. I just have to focus on educating them in the future.
 
Now that I think about it carefully, Benimaru and Souei are a lot more composed. Geld is still very trustworthy since he’s always been sensible. Gabil could get cocky at times, but he has learned to watch the mood, so it’s a lot of weight off my shoulders.

Ranga instead is still staying quietly as a listener in my shadow, and he’s more lovable than the rest of the crew.

The problem lies on these three, Shion, Diablo and Veldora.
The situation is always dangerous with these three around. I feel like I’m getting more and more mental stress.
 
I’ve got to be more cautious dealing with them.
   
「Anyhow, the topic regarding Hinata and the Western Saints Church ends here. We’ll see how they react and act based on that. Since this may lead to a war, we will have to observe carefully every step.」
   
I proclaim so and concluded the whole thing.

However, there’s one more thing I shouldn’t forget. There are people secretly maneuvering behind the scene.
 
Hinata knew of me.
   
She said someone snitched to her, but luckily I can count on two hands the people who knew about me killing Shizu-san.

It won’t be easy to find the culprit, but the ones who know me are the most suspicious.
 
There is the trio of Cabal, Elen and Kido, alongside Fuze and a couple more people from Brumund Kingdom. Then it is Yuuki. The rest would be my own people from the town.

If that’s the case…..

「Wisdom King Raphael」 has filtered out the list of the suspects.
 
Yeah, this is about right.
 
But with that being said, it may have also been to the involvement of unknown parties…..

I don’t want to act on a single instinct or suspect other people without evidence.
 
I’ll just have to remember to keep reminding myself to be extra cautious.
 
Why would the person want me to confront Hinata?
   
Does he wish me to take out Hinata?
 
To prevent me from returning home perhaps?
Or perhaps to draw out Hinata?
 
《——Perhaps all of the above.》
 
No way, that’s way too greedy.
   
I have no idea of the opponent’s intent. But I’ve got to endure if though it feels bad getting manipulated like this.

Anyway, I’ll stand by on this matter.
 
I continue to recount the events.

I told them that I discovered that our town has been attacked after I returned to the nation from the fight against Hinata.
   
They were 「Otherworlder」 sent by Falmas Kingdom.
   
In order to save those who sacrificed themselves during this invasion, I decided to walk the path of Demon Lord.

But before I could inform them of what followed, Elen decide to break some news herself.
 
「Shouldn’t daddy know about that already? Aren’t you here because of that?」

She looks up to Elalude and asks.
 
Honestly, doing this kind of thing is just cheating. Too cute.
   
With that, her poor dumb dad Elalude would probably be charmed instantly.
   
「Elen…..It’s alright if I know about it, but you don’t need to tell that to the rest of the country representatives…..」

Elalude sighs helplessly.

I understand how you feel completely.
Elen does not care for the overall situation and that’s her fault. But luckily, Elalude seemed to have predicted how things would be.
   
「My daughter Elen would definitely announce that she taught other people to become Demon Lords. I’ll have to force her to come back home. But if I do so, just to have her dislike me in the end, it would be the worst strategy.」

As such, he said a bunch of things that makes one question whether he is a genius or an idiot.

As it turns out his prediction was on point, so I suppose he’s a genius then…..
   
I have been feeling something to be amiss, so I exchange looks with Gazel.

I found him nodding in agreement, so we decide to move on according to the plan we just settled.

「——And that’s how it was. I used the army of Falmas Kingdom as sacrifice and became a Demon Lord.」
 
Just like that, I proclaim the truth of my evolution to Demon Lord to everyone.

⃟     ⃟⃟⃟     ⃟

Alright, so that concluded the explanation.

Now we will get to the main topic.
「That’s it. Everything I just said was true, but we will have to modify its narrative when we go public with it.」

My words baffled everyone.
 
Going public means we would be telling  the story to the outside world——To Majins, who consider power to be everything, such an act seems to be meaningless. No wonder why everyone seems confused.
But, deception and disguise are important elements in politics.
   
「Then, what reasons would you find and how would you modify it?」
Benimaru asks for the crowds. I condensed the content of our secret meeting into simple terms before explaining to everyone.
 
I would proclaim to have become Demon Lord, but will hide the fact that I’ve awakened.

This is based on the the fact that the nations are oblivious of the full story.
 
Because none of them sent anyone to investigate.
   
Since all the witnesses have been killed, the only who know the truth are us the and the remaining three survivors.
   
The Falmas King is known to be a greedy man in nature, so our defense would be justified.

That’s because to the people, the saying that the army lost in a war is more acceptable than the army has been wiped out by a single Demon Lord.

Furthermore, the large amount of corpses also unlocked the most evil seal.
Indeed, the large amount of flesh blood sinked into this land and awakened the slumbering evil dragon——It led to the revival of Veldora.

The hero Youmu and the leader of Jura Great Forest (me), who wanted to become a Demon Lord, came to aid and convinced Veldora through the sacrifice of many mamonos. In this way we were able to quench the anger of Veldora and starts to worship him as a guardian.
 
If we are to alter the truth like this, my ascension to Demon Lord would make sense. Not only that, we are able to be justified as the victims while blaming everything else on the Falmas Kingdom.
 
「Everyone, think about it. Humans always fear that which they don’t understand, and they are often too ignorant to admit it. When someone who can single-handedly wipe out an army of two thousand men emerges, even if he shows signs of peace, the humans would still not believe him.」

These words come from Gazel.

Fuze and Youmu ponder out loud and expresses their agreements.
   
Since even the ones close to me have made such reaction, I am sure that those who don’t know me would just make the same reaction described by Gazel. If I don’t handle it well, I may become an enemy of the western nations.
 
「However, if we blame the disappearance of the army onto the “Storm Dragon”, people would be much likely to accept it. Since the “Storm Dragon” has already been deemed as a “Catastrophe” (天災 Tensai) 」
 
Everyone understands once Gazel made such conclusion.

Except for Veldora who seemed to have got the wrong idea, he begins to say delightfully:「Kukuku, this man has good eyes (man of culture) to have called me a genius (天才 Tensai)」6

「I agree to that change too. My daughter slipped off and said that she helped Rimuru-sama become a Demon Lord. Rather than suffer the hatred and fear of men, we should change it so Rimuru-sama became a Demon Lord to create an opportunity to negotiate with the “Storm Dragon” and allow the people to celebrate the emergence of a new power.」
There is no need to balance that now, is there? Elalude finishes his words with a small smile. He stares down viciously at the surrounding crowd to see if anyone dares to oppose the proposition.

This man would do anything for his daughter Elen.
   
「Daddy…… As expected from the sly and cunning nobleman, so cunning….」
 
Elen expresses her opinions that seem to be both praise and criticism….. Anyhow, I feel pity for Elalude.

The room fell quiet again before we continue our explanation:

「Additionally, it would benefit me in other ways as well. It is, of course, important to avoid causing panic among the humans, but it may also mislead the Demon Lords who have been
on guard against me that the only threat here is Veldora!」
   
In that way, my operations would no longer be restrained.
 
When I achieved complete victory against Falmas Kingdom, Demon Lord Clayman must have raised high alert against me. Once I’ve released the news that states all of those things were works of Veldora, Clayman’s guard against me would definitely lower.

Gazel also hopes to build the image of my nation as a friendly kingdom.
I, on the other hand, wish to give a good impression to the Western Nations. In addition, I hope to lower the guard of whoever stands to antagonize us by letting them underestimate our abilities.

Right now our conclusion is to have others, rather than raise their guard, it’s better to make them look down on me. It will only work in our favour.
   
「Moreover, once we’ve released the rumor that we’ve established ties with Veldora, the number of counties who would dare mess with us would also decrease. Even if the Western Saints Church came out to say something about it, the other countries would unlikely to follow through its order.」

That is probably the biggest benefit.
If I don’t accept Gazel’s proposal now, there will eventually be a day that we make public of Veldora’s existence. Since it’s going to happen one way or the other, we’d rather go public with it at the best timing possible.
   
We plan to deal with Clayman next, so we wouldn’t be stupid enough to actively make an enemy of the Western Saints Church.
   
It would also distract our own attention if we split our forces into two, so we must avoid it.

We have to try to lower outsiders’ guard against me as low as possible while having them raise it high against the Tempest Federation itself.
 
This is the perfect draft of plan made by 「Wisdom King Raphael」 on the basis of Gazel’s rough sketch.

Gazel, Elalude and me.
This is a situation that unite us three with common interests and that which can be utilized in the future.

Sasuga 「Wisdom King Raphael」’s, its strategizing skill also seems to have improved after evolving to ultimate skill.
   
「I see. That would mean you found a reasonable explanation for taking care of me.」
   
Veldora looks all satisfied while nodding his head towards me.

Oi oi oi, this guy only seems to interprets things in terms of benefiting himself…..(Hypocrisy?)
 
——I don’t exactly mean that, but never mind.
   
After all, he’s assisting us in this act.
   
Putting Veldora aside, my subordinates also give some positive responses.
   
「That makes a lot of sense. In that way, we may continue to communicate with others just like before.」

Rigurdo nods hard and speaks as if he’s reassured. He's very worried about the economy of the country being affected in the future, and now he looks relieved. It would seem he would be focusing on development of economy for the future of the Tempest Federation.

「Sasuga Rimuru-sama! That is such a unique way of thinking!」

「No, it was King Gazel who started it. I only contributed some ideas.」

I took Shion’s praise lightly and responded. As long as they are willing to accept my proposal, I would be satisfied.
 
「Thanks for the help, King Gazel. If we do things in that direction, we can start operating soon using Rimuru-sama’s reinforcements.」

Sophia gives off her brave smile and gives her thanks to Gazel.
   
Phobio and Anubis also agree. It seems the three Beastketeers have approved the proposal.
 
「Hehehe, I see. That means we would be able to focus everything we’ve got on Clayman. If I still can’t win, even with all this,, it would be because of my incompetence.」

Benimaru laughs, the future military confrontation with Clayman is supplying him with a lot of fighting spirit.
   
What a reliable lad, hopefully he will get his stage on the battlefield soon.
Souei and Geld also express the same sentiments of wanting to begin the attack right now.
I hope they could wait just a little longer. As soon as we finish the meeting, you guys can go ahead and ravage the place.
I respond in my heart while looking at my subordinates with an ardent look.
⃟     ⃟⃟⃟     ⃟

The statements for going public has been approved.

Now we will plan on the future policies based on the second trade meeting.
   
First, I mention that both the King of Falmas and the Archbishop of the Western Saints Church are in our hand. We’ll discuss about what to do about them in the future, as well as initiating our plan to support Youmu as the new king and found a new kingdom.

Fuze begins to ponder after hearing my plan.
He remains silent. He is compiling his thoughts in his heart.

Gazel is also not making a sound and he has his eyes closed. His companions, however, are in midst of a intense argument regarding the topic. But they are in a stalemate, with no one having reached a conclusion.
Elalude won’t say a thing either. He’s probably calmly calculating what’s best for Sorcery Dynasty Sarion.
   
I glance around to see everyone’s reaction as I continue explaining.
   
First, we will release the current king to have him to compensate for the invasion of our nation.
But that is only in name, our real goal is to lead Falmas Kingdom into civil war through the issue of compensation.
 
If the King attempts to reunite the nobles to rebel, we can take his life then. After all, he’s the king of that country and I don’t intend to let him go free.
   
If he decides to pay the reparations obediently, we won’t have  to support Youmu in getting the throne . However, 「Wisdom King Raphael」 doesn’t think he would go for the compensation.
   
It will still be very difficult to execute even if he wishes to compensate.

Falmas Kingdom has lost twenty thousand men’s worth of labor. In order to restore his nation’s power, money would be a necessity. That would require taxation from the nobles, whose greedy nobility would never give it up without a fight.

He would probably find a bunch of excuses to try to sneak his way through the issue of reparations. By that time, Youmu would start the protest and lead an armed revolution.

The King may also force the nobles to give in, but once he does that, there most definitely will be civil unrest.

Whoever survives a failed war would naturally be held responsible. By the time the surviving King decides that he won’t carry out the his responsibilities and forces the nobles to give in….

The King would lose reputation completely.
   
The issue of reparations is the key.

That way, the relationship between King and Nobles would break down.
One the King loses his influence, his factions would most definitely split as well. I’ve heard that all of King’s heirs are underage, which makes it easy to imagine them being manipulated by the nobles. By that time, there will be a struggle for the throne.
   
Youmu could try to rise up during their in-fight, and the people who’s tired of the politics would definitely stand by the hero’s side.
   
——At the end of the day, Falmas Kingdom cannot avoid its road to demise.

Naturally, the Tempest Federation would support the Hero Youmu, who has been on good terms with Tempest for some time..

If Youmu announces the founding of a new kingdom, we would send forth our acknowledgement and form an official diplomatic tie with them.

The nobles, who would then become the power holders, would probably unite and vote against this new rising regime. But we’ve predicted that as well.

We’ll retain the people who supported us from the start and exile the rest. If they intend to continue their disruption, unfortunately, we will have to “assist” them in disappearing.

We will be the force that contains the nobles’ influence in order to prevent a direct confrontation between the two parties. During this process, we will determine who is friend, or foe.
The plan is as followed——It will take sometime before passing of policies that are trusted by the citizens, so Youmu’s party should attempt to take down the opposition when their popularity is still high.
   
It will be impossible to restore the nation in short term.
 
At least two to three years are needed to buffer it out of the effects past events.
   
The only difference being that Youmu would get to shine earlier if the King decides to take the wrong move.

The outline of our plan is as such.

The time to support Youmu to the crown would have to depend on the situation. But he’s most likely gonna be king.
「I don’t plan to torture the people of Falmas Kingdom. But since they’ve let their rulers do whatever they’ve desired, I don’t exactly see them as innocent either. So I will weaken them to a certain extent before restoring the nation.」
   
I finish the explanation for my plan with these words.
   
Everyone’s been silently pondering, while King Gazel is the first to respond.

「Pretty good. I don’t object this plan. But Rimuru, it’s another thing to have this man——Youmu—— crowned.」
   
Gazel stands up as he finishes and begins to observe Youmu more closely.
What an overwhelming pressure! I could even sense that at some distance. I’ve taken that skill head-on before, so I understand how Youmu may feel.
 
「——Wuuuu!」
Youmu bites his teeth hard and groans, but he continues to look back at Gazel.

「Huh, he’s got quite the spine. But what about his nature? Does he love his people and has he prepared himself with the resolve to carry his people’s burdens?」
   
That line made the room quiet.
   
「Hmph, how the hell should I know? It’s not as if I wanted to become king. But, since I’ve been given a task from someone I trust, I won’t be worthy to be called a man if I just turn it down!」
   
「Ho?」

「I just don’t want to come to the conclusion that I think I’m incompetent and want to give up before even trying. Also, I’ve got to play cool before the woman I love, so I have to give it everything I’ve got.」

Youmu replies without any hesitation. It sounds pretty moronic but it’s surprisingly convincing.

「——Baka...」
 
Myuran made a noise.

「That sure sounds like Youmu. Dwarf King, I would personally vouch for him. This guy may be an idiot, but he’s not an irresponsible idiot. He will see his job to the end once he takes it. I, Grucius, swear to look over him well.」

Beastman Grucius responds with a wry smile. Myuran also nods to him after hearing and stands by Youmu. The three stand shoulder to shoulder while facing Gazel.
 
「——Is that so? Alright then. If you run into anything bad, just come find me for help.」
Gazel then begins to nod his head dramatically and takes back his imposing attitude.

It seems Youmu has passed Gazel’s trial and now they’ve got the powerful Armed Nation Dwargon to back them up.
   
And after that——

Gazal laughs and says: 「Now I’ve encountered another interesting man」; 「He wants to be King for his woman, hahaha——」 Elalude laughs on his stomach. What followed was 「You’ve got some balls Gracious! You dare to say those things before us? Are you betraying Karion-sama? 」as teased by Phobio to Grucius.
It’s a rather entertaining commotion.
After some laugh, Gazel begins to tell Youmu in a serious tone:

「Youmu, I hope your country would produce more agricultural products. I won’t talk too much before this turns into an interference to your national policies but hear me out. Countries like Falmas gets plenty of profit from just importing goods from Dwargon, but it has been proven to be unsustainable——」
 
Indeed, Falmas Kingdom has very high tariffs for imported goods before retailing in order to rip off the middleman countries. These are not the ideal types of customers for Dwargon.7
   
Nowadays there are people innovating and forming new trade routes, making Falmas less advantageous in their exploits.

If things turn out like this, the country must develop new types of specialized industries in order to survive. They should avoid competing with other countries’ trade industry and instead explore the undeveloped lands near its domain in order to better coexist with other nations.
   
I’ve heard that there is a issue with the low supply of food in Dwargon so I understand his intent. We are in fact the same, we hope to not rely on the goods from the forest, but instead import more grain from other venues.

Gazel’s proposal seems logical.
 
「I want to request that as well. Importing grain should be an important subject of discussion.」
 
I didn’t forget to push my luck as well to get a cut out of it for myself.

「Master, you sure are impressive…. Please leave it to me! Falmas Kingdom has been developing its agriculture, so hopefully we can meet the demands from both of you.」
Now Gazel and I have a common interest. Youmu also promises us both that he will be assisting us in terms of agriculture by the time he becomes the king.
   
Shuna begins to serve tea and dessert to everyone for a change of pace.
 
We switch up the mood and continue the meeting.
 
Youmu is recognized and everyone has approved the plan to establishing a new nation.
That was the biggest challenge of the meeting, now we get to enjoy the rest of the meeting more casually.

「Then, I shall speak while representing the Brumund Kingdom. After hearing Gazel-tonosama and Rimuru-san’s proposals, I think we may be able to assist the plan. Falmas nobles Marquis Miola and Count Herman have very close ties to our nation. If we were to negotiate and convince them in joining us, won’t it bring much convenience? When Youmu-san revolts, I plan to have them to back up the revolution.」

Fuze expresses his opinion.
   
But isn’t he just a head of the Branch? Does he really have that much authority? Fuze gives off a wry smile, seemingly sensing my doubts and explain:
   
「As I’ve said, I am the representative of Brumund Kingdom. So please consider me as an appointed personnel by the nation. Those speech I just made was not delivered as the head of the Freedom Association branch, but as a civil servant of Brumund.」

After getting to know more, I found out that the Brumund Kingdom has already left a seat in the intelligences department for Fuze. Not just as a simple intelligences personnel, but an assistant to the allocation and deployment of all the intelligences units.

But even if that’s the case, the important decision you just casually made…...
I was going to speak up my mind, but instead Fuze explained some unexpected facts.
 
When we were doing the secret meeting, he has already reported back directly to the King of Brumund and requested a letter of appointment with complete authority over the issue. Smaller countries are able to issue those fast, and Fuze is a trustworthy guy to many.
 
According to himself, he knows several secrets that would ruin the Brumund Kingdom if leaked.
 
How about I just threaten this guy and take these intelligences….. I’d better not mention the thought just popped into my head.
 
Fuze seems to be able to actively utilize his circumstances and collect all sorts of information.
He has extracted all possible information before we had announced any of our plans.
 
This man is very smart and extremely capable.
   
As for having Marquis Miola and Count Herman, they seem to be backed by the King of Brumund.
   
Marquis Miola is a prominent noble from Falmas Kingdom, and while he seems distant from the King of Brumund, the two are very close in terms of their private friendship. In fact, he is the distant relative of the King of Brumund. The two have very good relationship. Count Herman is in great debt to Marquis Miola, so it is unlikely for Count Herman to betray him.

「Oi oi oi, is it okay to break this type of news?」
 
「Hahah, no problem. Even if I don’t, Gazel-tonosama already knows as well. The secret service of Armed Nation Dwargon could easily rival the Brumund Ministry of Intelligences.」

At least they would be able to keep track of intelligences from neighbouring countries——That’s what Fuze said.
   
Gazel didn’t give much reaction, but he did give off a wink however. The one reacting is not Gazel, but the beauty behind him.
   
She’s the head of the secret service Alieda. She’s a powerhouse that even Souei would approve of, so she’s indeed got a few tricks up her sleeve..
 
「Hehehe, you are being too modest. Brumund Kingdom is very good intelligences collection. Your country specializes in the trade of intelligences, and as a vital constituent, the Ministry of Intelligences must have more capable men than us.」
   
But no matter how it seems, that doesn’t look at what her face is trying to say.
   
Alieda is being polite.
   
「Haha, that’s sharp. Our combat capabilities are far from your secret agents. But, we are no small frys if we are talking about intelligence gathering alone.」

Fuze wouldn’t back down easily either.
Since Brumund is a small nation, it tries its best to collect intelligence on all the nations. These are the most favourable weapons to protect their own nation.
   
Since according to what Fuze said, the intelligence can’t be fake. We shall pull those two guys into our camp.
 
「Youmu, did you catch all that?」
   
「Yep, leave the rest to me.」
   
Youmu’s packaging plan is thus complete.
   
He would put on a magnificent show as a hero returning home with glory.
 
The details of the matter couldn’t be decided within the time of the meeting, so I’ll leave the rest of the matter to Youmu.

Moving on to the next topic.

⃟     ⃟⃟⃟     ⃟

「Right! So we will do that with hero Youmu’s kingdom occupation plan.」

With that said, everyone nods in agreement. Youmu alone is trying to hide his face in embarrassment, but I’ll just pretend to have seen nothing.
 
With that being settled, the next topic would be——
 
When we are just about to enter the next topic of discussion, Elalude who’s been listening to our conversation begins to laugh hysterically.

「Fu-FUHAHAHAHA! Interesting! You guys are so straightforward. All these people with their national interests on the line gather around here, yet they speak so openly, without any suspicion……. It would seem that I’ve been looking like a fool for having kept my guards up all the way through.」
   
He laughed and says 「How stupid am I?」, yet his eyes are giving off sharp glows.

That’s not the dumb dad Elalude, but the real-deal nobleman. The one that can’t speak his heart in front of others, Grand Duke of Sorcery Dynasty Sarion.

He suddenly changes his attitudes and caused immense stress to the crowds.
 
Switching his mood like flipping pages of a book and it caused everyone to quiet down.

Elalude seems to want to say something, and everyone also eagerly awaits his words.

——The wide meeting room fell in silent with only the noise of pages turning  from Veldora reading his manga,.

Eh, Oi! What are you doing, mister? I haven’t give it to you, so where did you get it from…...?

…….Never mind.

I thought that he wouldn’t comply in the first place.
 
As long as he agrees to remain quiet, I’m fine with it.
   
Veldora helped me to relieve some of my nervousness, so now I just need to wait for Elalude’s speech with a more relaxed mood.
 
Elalude clears his throat to get everyone’s attention back onto him and begins to speak very seriously. This man sure becomes braver the more frustrated he gets.
   
「——I’m going to ask a question. You there, Fuze right? Rimuru is a Mamono, do you really trust him?」
 
「What…..do you mean?」

「What’s with this whole ordeal of mamonos founding a country by themselves, shouldn’t they at least get an official recognition? Besides, shouldn’t you refrain from forming diplomatic ties with them? Considering your position, you should have been much more careful.」
「Ehhh, about that…...」

Elalude’s intent isn’t to point out his flows, but it’s simply asking questions. In that way, Fuze became speechless, not knowing how to answer.
   
「In other words, my dear friend here, if I am you, I would only trade with them, meanwhile observe the reaction from the Western Saints Church. I’ll also inform the church secretly to supply them with full authority to run an investigation on the nature of this country. I would enjoy the benefits of it and try to avoid future conflicts. Never would I stand up for them. Isn’t that how a small country should operate diplomatically?」
Elalude’s words are sharper than swords, and it hit home with Fuze.

Apart from that, not only Elalude, Fuze finds that everyone else is staring at him too.
「Damnit, why do you have to pick me——」
He mumbled to himself.
   
Afterward——
 
「Alright, I get it! If that’s the case, I’ll just be open with you!」

With some resolve, Fuze scratches his head and shouts.
   
He’s become the usual arrogant Fuze. He’s not even speaking like a politician even if the opponent is Grand Duke Elalude.

「Duke Elalude, I hold the same view as you. I’ve also tried to persuade my superiors, as well as the nobles I know, but they all rejected that——」
 
With that, he begins to explain his exchange with his superiors.
That’s what Fuze said.

It sounds like what he told his superior is about the same as what Elalude just said, but the other side responded:「What would happen if there is a war between Brumund Kingdom and Tempest Federation?」, then rejected his opinion.
   
This happened before I visited Brumund Kingdom, around the time we finished the battle against Charybdis.
   
With several Greater Majins’ aid, our country was able to defeat the orc lord and Charybdis. The superior believed that if they were to fight a country like this, their demise would be imminent.

Brumund Kingdom doesn’t believe in the Ruminas sect, so the Western Saints Church won’t possibly come in the aid of them. In other words, if the relationship is not handled carefully, their country may be destroyed.

In conclusion, there is no use trying to resist us.
   
Alright, then what’s next?
   
「We must obtain the trust of the mamonos. We need build up a trusting relationship and have common interests and merits. That’s why we’ll do whatever we can to assist them——this was the conclusion of my nation’s higher-ups. Since both your country and Dwargon are powerful nations, there is no room for choice…… If my country is to make one misstep, it may be our end. We gambled our future by not begging for help from the Western Saints Church since we have faith in the Mamono leader. That is how it is in general.」
 
Fuze sighs while saying so.
   
The man is really pitiful, having his inner thoughts being exposed by others. It is like saying Brumund is such a weak country that it doesn’t have the right to choose in circumstance such as this.
 
But, that is a reality to be honest….
   
Whether it is good or bad, right or wrong——
 
It doesn’t matter. They made their grand gambit to bet on everything by choosing to trust me.
 
——No, that’s not right.
Brumund Kingdom came to this conclusion, and there is no other way to go once they miscalculated and caused their kingdom’s destruction.
 
Upon pondering on it, it’s only natural that I’m considered a threat by people since I took care of a large army just by myself.
   
It’s better off allying with me than to antagonize me.
 
Perfectly reasonable.
 
The small nation holds information and lives under the shadow of big nations That is the strategy they use.
 
That’s why they believed it was the right choice and went on with all they had.

It’s really reckless, but it might be an effective policy.
   
Very effective to me at least.
   
Because I now believe that Brumund Kingdom can be trusted.

Elalude seemed to have reached the same conclusion as me.
   
「——By the way, your resolve is indeed quite firm. Just another thing, you seemed to have come here in Rimuru’s aid. Is that also your superior’s command?」
「You are right. He ordered me to follow through the promise of the security pact. But, even if my nation decides to break the promise one-sidedly, I would still come anyway. That’s because I am also a member of the Freedom Association. As part of the Association, I do not belong to any country, yet I ended up becoming the head of branch at such as place. It’s honestly quite funny. Anyway, Brumund Kingdom has left its seat in the intelligence department for me, so I guess my luck is running out….」
   
Why did I take on this mess——Fuze starts to complain.
   
You are way too honest, but that reminder is too late.

The King of Brumund seems to be more reasonable than I expected. He even followed through with the pact to stand with us against Falmas Kingdom…..
   
I thought that the pact has no benefit for us, but it’s quite an honor to have witnessed such generosity from them.
   
Carrying out the promise of a pact should be common knowledge for socializing, and it should be the same for countries breaking of promise——Just like how people who can’t follow through with a promise cannot be trusted.
   
This event happens to prove that Brumund Kingdom is worthy of trusting.
   
They seemed to have believed in our side’s victory and betted the nation’s prospect on us. But-——They probably didn’t expect I would eliminate all the enemies single-handedly.
「What a gambler, could the superior you mentioned be referring to this person?」
 
「——Indeed. It is the King his majesty of our nation.」
   
I asked while Fuze nodded in response, looking rather awkward.
As a matter of fact, their king may seem like a yes man, but he’s instead a tough guy in his heart, through and through. Those are the decisions you have to force yourself to make as a king of a nation.

「——That is rough how the story went, we did make the right choice. We didn’t expect Rimuru-sama to have wiped out the Falmas army alone. In addition, with the revival of “Storm Dragon”, our confidence in you is no longer relevant. Because of that, the speed of approval from my superior for my letter of appointment has broken the record——」

Fuze says so looking exhausted. After all, he’s been forced to decide on the fate of his nation, so I suppose we’ll let him complain a bit.

「——I see, so that’s how things went. I apologize, Fuze-san. But thanks to you, I got to get in the mind of the King of Brumund.」

Elalude took a step back and apologize to Fuze with his head lowered while saying so.
   
Seeing Elalude doing so, Gazel speaks up.
「You are still as cunning as ever, Elalude. You don’t have to go to that extent to probe other nations. Shouldn't you be alright knowing that I alone has faith in Rimuru?」
   
「You are right, but Gazel, it’s no easy decision to make when it comes to creating diplomatic ties with a country full of mamonos. But now, I’ve had a lot of respect for the King of Brumund.」

「Huh, drop the act. You guys have already made the decision before they sent you out, right? So, what’s your conclusion, counselor Elalude?」

Gazel’s comeback is rather imposing, but Elalude simply went through it.
 
It’s not due to Elalude having no concern for personal safety for his homunculus body, but because Elalude is bold enough.
   
「I suppose. But I’ve also come to my own conclusion. Before I would answer, could I ask another question?」
 
This time Elalude directed the question to me——

「Come on, Dad! Stop beating around the bush and answer!」

「Hold on, missy! You shouldn’t say that!」
 
「That’s right! Duke-sama wants to play cool before his daughter. He’s trying you know!」
   
Now the nervous atmosphere is completely thrown out of the window by the Elen trio.
   
「The image of the wise counselor is completely decimated…..」

That’s how Gazel describes it.
I feel a bit pity for Elalude, so I decide to be a little more serious.
   
Meaning——Releasing 「Demon Lord Haki」8

「——Go ahead and ask, Elalude.」
   
My subordinates started a commotion seeing this with sounds like 「OHOH!」
 
Gazel and his companions instead are surprised at the sight and begin to groan with sounds like 「Wuu!」. Moreover, Youmu’s party, Fuze and even the three Beasteekeers begin to have cold sweat, surprised at the scene..

I’ve suppressed its intensity to the lowest level, yet it is still surprisingly effective.

That’s because 「Demon Lord Haki」 has many other skills woven in it, such as 「Menace」 and 「Magic Aura」. It can be used as an attack, so misusing would lead to public hazards.
   
With that being said, I believe my acting skill as a king has gotten improved.
 
Remaining emotionless while talking is my secret technique.
   
Hiding my emotion and talking lightly alone would intimidate my opponent.
   
In addition with Shizu-san’s beautiful appearance and my shining cells of slime, I give off a rather mysterious aura.
   
And along with 「Demon Lord Haki」, it is almost perfect.
No need to show anymore. In fact, as soon as I show any emotions from my real self, the mysterious style would be downgraded.
 
It is probably a standard for me who was once human to uphold such a manner in doing things.
 
Just like that, Elalude also got tricked by me.
「——Ehh, impressive. So——Demon Lord Rimuru, I shall ask you. As a Demon Lord, how do you plan to use your power?」
   
Eh, so it is about this after all.
Simple question.
   
I wish to create a new world according to my heart and allow everyone to have a meaningful life.
   
If I could, I wish to create a prosperous world where people’s days are filled with joyful laughter.
   
I truly hope so.
I express my true feeling to Elalude without hesitation.
 
「——That’s about it. But, no way things would always be so smooth-sailing, having failure would be inevitable.」

「Th-that type of spectacle utopia, do you really wish to make it a reality?」

Oh, he really got spooked by it.

A prominent nobleman who doesn’t show emotion, now I’ve got him panicked,
   
「Yeah, this power is gained for that purpose. There is no use talking about ideals when you don’t have power, and won’t you feel empty to only have power but no ideal? I’m a rather greedy individual, but I’m not interested in something along the line of a one-way pursuit of power.」
 
I tried to paraphrase some quotes I remembered before and used them as my message.

But, shouldn’t it be natural to think this way?

You work hard when you have a goal.
   
That’s human nature, to my understanding.
   
「Ha, hahaha, HAHAHAHA! Nice, very nice, Demon Lord Rimuru! What a greedy Demon Lord! Now I finally understand why you’ve awakened!」
Elalude begins to laugh out loud. I waited until he finished.
   
After he finishes laughing, Elalude kneels before me as a messenger.
 
「Many apologies if i offended you. Demon Lord Rimuru, I, as the messenger of Sorcery Dynasty Sarion, wish to form a diplomatic tie with your nation——the Jura Tempest Alliance Federation. Do grant me the honor——」
   
The scene falls silent once more.
   
Except for noise of book flipping.
 
I’ll lose if I care. If I turn my head around now it may ruin the atmosphere.
 
Certain loser of a man (Veldora) is lying down on the resting bench, drinking some iced red tea that god know when he requested while reading his bible (manga). It will only ruin my pace to have him in my sight.
   
「——I wish to build a friendly relation with you as well. Do form a diplomatic tie with us.」

WOOHOO——! There is a lot celebration at the scene.
Everyone gets up from their seat to celebrate this newfound relationship.

Now, there is a new nation that is willing to accept us.

The third human country——Sorcery Dynasty Sarion, has formed an official diplomatic tie with us.

The fall of Falmas kingdom is imminent, and new a new country shall rise under Youmu’s leadership.

The map of this continent shall be reprinted.
But things would escalate sooner than I expected.9