Intermission 1 - Midnight Meeting - Info=Uang=Receh

After the pre-party ended, the time was twelve at midnight. We held an emergency meeting.

“Sorry to have to summon you all this late. Surely you are all very tired by now, but I hope you all can hold up for just a while,” saying so, I glanced around the people gathered. First, I wished to commemorate the biggest hero of today’s event, Shuna.

“Shuna, it’s all thanks to you today. The food was truly delicious, and you also helped convince that Midley who has been troubling Milim as well. You have my sincere thanks.”

After expressing my gratitude towards her, Shuna gave off a sweet smile.

“That was too kind of you, it’s all thanks to Yoshida-san’s help that the meals turned out to be such a success. Moreover, Rimuru-sama couldn’t stop complimenting Hakurou’s fresh sashimi. I was quite troubled and felt that my culinary skills weren't as good.”

Whether it be fillet, fancy-looking sashimi, and even hand-made sushi, Hakurou’s culinary skill far surpassed Shuna’s. It’s not that Shuna wasn’t trying hard enough, it was just his unique craftsmanship… Though Shuna still seemed rather troubled by it. With that being said, she candidly accepted my thanks, nonetheless.



Next, I turned to Myourmiles, who was quietly working behind the scenes.

“Myourmiles-kun, what’s the situation with the merchants? Were there any issues?”

In order to sell things during the event, we imported a variety of goods from different countries. It was being managed by Rigurd and Lilina-san. We entrusted Myourmiles with receiving visiting merchants to our kingdom.

“The merchants gave very positive feedback. They were all astounded by the majesty of our nation. The food provided by our residents tonight also made a great impression on them. Many farmers from neighboring countries also visited us. It was an unprecedented sight to behold. The goods provided by the merchants were mostly of high quality, so hopefully we can stay on good terms with them in the future—”

At this time, Myourmiles turned his eyes slightly to Rigurd. He nodded in response and continued the explanation.

“Indeed, as Myourmiles-san mentioned, there have been many goods, such as fresh vegetables, fruit, dried meat, dried fish as well as precious artifacts gathered here. Not to mention, some have even brought livestock, so the preparation for the celebration is water-proof at this point.”

Rigurd guaranteed that there was no need to worry about the adequacy of the products.

“We’re planning to start using these imported goods as food ingredients for the nightly gala from tomorrow onwards,” Lilina-san added, after nodding to Rigurd’s words.

“Right, so there doesn’t seem to be any problem.”

“Yes, there shouldn’t be any problem. It’s just that—no, there shouldn’t be a problem.”

Hmm? Myourmiles wanted to say something. This actually just made me more curious, hopefully he will explain clearly.

“Oi oi oi, don’t hold back and say it already! It’s really bugging me that you stopped mid-sentence.”

I tried to get Myourmiles to come clean. Benimaru and Souei seemed to approve of my view as well and nodded in agreement. Unable to withstand this pressure, Myourmiles scratched his head and opened up once more.

“Perhaps I’m just worrying too much, but the vendors that came with the well-known merchants were all unfamiliar faces. Despite the impression I may give to others, memorizing people’s faces is my specialty. So that really caught my attention. That’s why I had it look into—”

Even though he was concerned, there shouldn’t be an issue. That’s how Myourmiles put it. From shop-owners he was acquainted with, he learnt that they were indeed only trading with these people recently. But they hadn’t heard anything negative about them. These people were offering quality goods at low prices, and the shop-owners all jokingly commented that Myourmiles was worrying too much. Myourmiles tried talking to these people to probe their intentions and they also responded rather kindly.

“I’ve been too excited having taken this important responsibility that even I am a bit on the edge,” he finished with a wry smile.

Recently, Myourmiles’s workload had reached jaw-dropping levels. I was a bit worried and asked whether he could hold up.

“Oi oi oi, are you sure you’re gonna be able to hold yourself together? You’re not going to force yourself too much and fall into illness…?”

Yet this time Myourmiles did indeed dismiss my worries with a smile.

“Hahaha, please don’t worry. As opposed to this, there’s more important things to attend to! The Chosen Hero, Masayuki-sama himself, is going to partake in the martial tournament tomorrow! The news has hit the town like wildfire, I heard a betting pool was immediately set up in the bar.”

He was full of passion towards this job, so this was no time for him to quit. Myourmiles declared himself. He also pointed out the more important business, which was Masayuki’s decision to join the tournament tonight.

“Right, that’s why I’ve gathered everyone here.”

The people who went to receive Milim and the others weren’t aware of this ordeal yet. Benimaru even eyed Souei, asking “What is going on here?” hoping to hear an explanation from him. Yet Shion was a step ahead of Souei and took the chance to explain.

“That guy was a pain in the ass! All talks and no cider, he went on about dealing with Rimuru-sama. I wish I could teach him a lesson myself…”

“It was me who intervened. Since there was an audience, we couldn’t have Shion be that reckless. It may affect the ceremony tomorrow.”

I see, no wonder Shion was behaving that well. And I thought she had become more restrained lately, it seems it was too early for me to be relieved of that. Thankfully Souei was there.

“It was fortunate that you stopped her. My friend Yuuki was there at the time, if the news that she’s been looking to brawl with the chosen hero at the town gate started spreading, people would definitely be needlessly wary of us,” I said with a sigh, and saw Benimaru nodding.

“Well said. Shion, you need to keep your head cool.”

“Hmph, there’s no need for you to lecture me so. I was just a bit triggered, not that I actually wanted to crash the scene. That being said—”

“Kufufufufu, I can understand Shion-san. You meant that you couldn’t sit still as your master was being looked down on, didn’t you? Had Benimaru-san been there to witness the scene, surely you would have had a similar response?”

“—No way. I’m always very calm,” Benimaru responded with a slight pause, while shifting his eyes.

Uhh—that doesn’t sound all that convincing.

“By the way, Rimuru-sama. You mentioned that you have something to discuss, could it be that you intend to eliminate that hero? If you leave it to me, I’ll make sure to take care of him tonight without a single trace.”

Diablo gave this horrifying proposal without a flinch of an eye. This guy was one-hundred percent serious. He would really do it without hesitation, how terrifying.

“Not at all; don’t you act reckless now,” I repeatedly warned him.

Then I proceeded to discuss what I was actually planning.



“The thing I wanted to discuss is the martial tournament tomorrow. Which ones of my lieutenants would like to participate in it?

My words riled up the crowd—

“Ho?” Benimaru’s eyes lit up.

“I see how it is.”

Shion was smiling maniacally. I thought she secretly prepared something behind my back. Is she just going to abandon it now? Perhaps she has forgotten about it now that her mind was focused on the combat.

“Kufufufufu, intriguing, that’s truly intriguing.”

Even Diablo was giving off an unusually bright smile.

“Then please allow me to demonstrate my martial prowess for the people to see,” Geld was very motivated as well.

“Heh,” Souei followed and gave off a thin laugh. He looked ready to participate. There was also Hakurou. He didn’t say anything, yet he started to look distressed. Gabil said that he had some activities to attend to, and now regrets were written all over his face.

—And so on, these reactions were as I expected.

The only one who did not respond was Ranga, who had been slumbering in my shadow. I won’t allow him to participate anyway, so there shouldn’t be an issue.

Seeing that my lieutenants were about to start arguing about who were to attend the tournament, I brought them to my attention with a dry cough.

“Hold up, there will be many foreign spies at the scene, surely you guys wouldn’t need to show your true strength?”

“Kufufufufu, even if I don’t fight seriously, I will absolutely crush—”

“STOP! Let me make one thing clear. Benimaru, Shion, Diablo and Souei, you guys are banned from participating.”

“WHAT!”

“What do you mean—”

I held up my hand to quiet the shocked crowd as I explained to them the rationale.

“First of all, Souei, aren’t you the “Covert Spy”? How can you attend a tournament in front of an audience?”

Souei was brought back to his senses with my words. He seemed to agree and said no more. He no longer insisted on participating. Thankfully he wasn’t stubborn and asked to participate in disguise. But just to be safe, I had another bit of leverage.

“As a result, I want to give you a new role title.”

“A role title?”

“Indeed. Since you have been in charge of the espionage activities of the nation, I now officially appoint you as the leader of the royal spies. I also give your troops the title “Shadow Squad”. People such as Souka under your command are eligible to join, but not those who still can’t handle themselves!”

“Understood! Thank you for the title, Rimuru-sama!”

Souei’s gratitude exceeded my expectations a bit. That was really just an excuse for him to not participate, although it was good that he also felt so happy about it. Nowadays his troops had reached around a hundred members. He only needed to pick out the elites to form the “Shadow Squad”. Souei was able to accept that kind of arrangement. The problem now lay with the other three.

Among my subordinates, these three were the strongest. If I allowed these folks to participate, there would no doubt be problems everywhere. I was aware of the consequences, so I’d already come up with a solution.

“Heed me now. In order to match the political needs of the Western Nations, I will be adding the roles of the ‘Four Heavenly Kings’.”

“The Four Heavenly Kings…”

“So that’s—”

“I see how it is now.”

The expressions of the three changed drastically. Obviously they all fell for it.

“You three are especially strong among my subordinates. Benimaru will be appointed as the leader of the ‘Four Heavenly Kings’. Another two seats will be taken by Shion and Diablo.”

Among the three, Benimaru was most suited to lead. Since he was my representative after all, the man to fill in the role of commanding general. That was why Benimaru was the most suitable for the secretive role of the “Four Heavenly Kings”. I made it sound all mysterious to mask the fact that it was just the title of a made-up role. It was mainly an excuse to prevent them from participating in the tournament.

“Appointing me as the leader… I shall obey your divine command!”

Alright, Benimaru had accepted it.

“Although I can’t agree to the point that Benimaru took charge as the leader, I hope you may reconsider it after seeing my performance in the future. I am most glad to be among the ‘Four Heavenly Kings’, Rimuru-sama!”

Shion also accepted it. Not sure where she got her confidence though, but since she had accepted it, this’ll do.

“‘The Four Heavenly Kings’, I see? Although I would like to be Rimuru-sama’s choice of top subordinate, I’m still just a green-horn for now. I can’t be too greedy. Right now my goal is to try my best to draw my strength closer to Rimuru-sama’s!”

Hmm—does that mean he accepted it too? Diablo’s personality was really troublesome, seriously.

Anyhow, from now on these three would be the “Four Heavenly Kings”.

“Thank you for your frank approval. Next, as for why I’ve barred you from participating, it has to do with this ‘Four Heavenly Kings’.”

“What do you mean?”

“Yes, it is because the last Heavenly King is difficult to choose. I meant to appoint Souei, but since he is a “Secret Spy” and cannot show up in public easily, he wasn’t suited for the role.”

I quietly observed everyone’s reaction as I finished. They seemed to nod in agreement.

“That’s why I will have the remaining folks join the tournament. I think whoever wins will deserve the title of the ‘Four Heavenly Kings’, what do you guys think?”

I fired my words in quick succession. In the conference room, folks began to look at each other to see their reactions. A most unexpected voice was suddenly raised.

“Uh, hmm… I would like to attend, but from tomorrow onwards, I’ll be having dates with Momiji—I mean, I promised her to show her around the town… But, since Rimuru-sama has given the order—”

Hakurou, who I’d put most expectations in, wanted to decline the request. Someone as skillful as Hakurou was most suitable for such an important role, but the timing seemed off. Although I could indeed order him to attend, it just didn’t seem appropriate. Hakurou was the best man to test out Masayuki’s true strength, or so I thought—but since he had the rare opportunity to have some memory with his daughter, he’d hold a grudge against me if I intervened.

“That’s quite a big deal, Hakurou. If you back out, Momiji may not talk to you again, EVER.”

“T-that’s…”

My senior from my last life didn’t go through with his promise to his daughter. He later came to work and lamented about having been ignored over a week or so. These two just got reunited, if he were to break his promise so soon…

“Besides, as opposed to appointing Hakurou as “The Four Heavenly Kings”, he is more suitable as Benimaru’s military consultant. You seem to be quite satisfied being an adjutant already, so you don’t have to join.”

Hakurou nodded gratefully in response. For his sake, I decided not to have Hakurou participate. In that case, the available participants would be—

“I still have my technology conference to attend… Geld-san is stronger than me, so I’ll give him the opportunity!”

It seemed that Geld was the only one left. Due to his own scheduled activity, Gabil would not be able to participate. He had placed his hope in someone else and decided to cheer for Geld instead.

“I see. I’ll do my best to defeat that brat called Masayuki!”

Geld nodded his head firmly in response to Gabil’s expectations. Geld was an incredible talent in terms of strength, but to be frank, “The Four Heavenly Kings” were set just for show; it’d be somewhat inappropriate to have Geld join…

I only appointed Benimaru so he would restrain the other two troubled kiddos, so it doesn’t really seem fair to Geld. Never mind, I’ll think about this later. First I’ll have Geld test out the strength of Masayuki.

And just as I was about to make up my mind—

“I would like to recommend a man that is suitable as a Heavenly King!” Rigur suddenly stood up and said to me. There may be some complications due to issues with the grouping during the tournament. In order to prevent such a thing, it was best not to send just one participant. Since the person in question was someone worthy of Rigur’s, who is Rank A, recommendation, I was pretty reassured.

“O-okay. Although I figure it’d be fine with Geld alone participating, who would that be?” as I thought to myself, I hurried Rigur to explain.

“Unfortunately, I am unable to participate due to security duty, but there’s a man whose strength is only next to me, that is—”

Someone strong enough to stand next to Rigur—could it be!

“Gobta!”

Oh… Saw it coming. As I expected, Rigur had given his highest approval.

“Gobta would be most suited to join in representing us,” he said.

“Hehe, that guy is among the best of my disciples. He’s got a quick mind as well as good techniques. Although he hasn’t evolved in terms of raw power, it’d be interesting to have him grow with this tournament.”

Even Hakurou was saying so. None of the lieutenants seemed to object. I would like to confirm his willingness in person, however…

“Zzz—Zzz—”

Uhh. It seemed that the participant was eager to fight as well. No problemo. So it shall be, I decided to send Gobta into the tournament.



And just as I was about to end the meeting, someone had a word to say.

“Master, I would like to join in the martial tournament!”

Ranga woke up at some point without my notice and stretched his neck out of my shadow. He had commented while wagging his tail.

“No no no, Ranga, surely you're not suitable. The theme this time is martial combat, after all…”

“Y-you have a point, the Summoner is joining the battle, so there should also be summoned beasts… But it would be pretty odd to have Ranga-san join the tournament…”

The tournament was a battle of strength and technique. Ranga was indeed strong, but he didn’t fit in accordance with the rules of the tournament. Based on these views, I rejected his proposal. Myourmiles also expressed approval.

Ranga looked at Gobta hatefully. He seemed upset, but that was a point I couldn’t compromise on. I steeled my heart and refused Ranga from participating.

“Then we should arrange Geld-san and Gobta-san as the seeded participants. The number of participants has exceeded two hundred, we will have them group in six teams to partake in elimination matches. Then we will decide on the official participant.”

Over two hundred! There were quite a lot of people participating. The preliminary rounds tomorrow were originally supposed to select eight final official participants of the tournament. But we couldn’t spend too much time in the preliminary matches, so we planned to split them into eight teams to fight in elimination rounds. Now that we considered the two joining the tournament, it became a match of six.

“I’ll be receiving guests from other nations tomorrow, so I’ll leave the commanding post to Myourmiles-kun, sorry for the trouble!

“Just count on me!”

Hearing Myourmiles’s reliable voice, I nodded reassured. And next in line is—

“Diablo, are you acquainted with all the foreign journalists?”

“Yes, I’ve invited them to participate in the founding festival. I have made preparations for them to promote us positively.”

Diablo sure was comprehensive in preparing things. Now that we had been covered by the media, there was no need to hide our strength. In other words, perhaps having a fearsome demon as referee—such contrast may more or less change people’s impression of him.

“Sorry about it, I didn’t want to trouble you with the referee role. But since the Chosen Hero Masayuki, Geld and Gobta are joining, it doesn’t feel safe to have a hobgoblin as referee.”

“Kufufufufu, please leave it to me!”

And so it was done. If anything happened, Diablo would definitely help.

“That’s it for now, sorry for taking up your time. It’s a bit late, but everyone can relax for the day!”

“ “ “Yes sir!” ” ”

Now the meeting was finally over. And so, we went to bed before the official start of the actual ceremony tomorrow.