A welcoming feast was made for the envoys, but I wasn't going to attend.
I mean, once I joined, it was gonna be all politics. I wasn't really suited for that.
I could probably pick up a few things in such an instance, but I had no reason to.
I mean, I'd rather have a person under me to do so in my place if that were the case.
I think I'll hire a professional worker one of these days.
It'd have to be a trustworthy partner that would represent my very will.
Finding someone like that wasn't gonna be easy, but hell, I'd rather have that than to be stuck with a bunch of ugly, old men discussing the weather.
It gets old real quick with those groups of nose-picking men.
I had no other option.
Once I have the time, I would gladly do so.
After staying on for several more days, the Lycanthropeers Sufia and Alvis headed back home.
Enrio, a magic-born serving them, remained in town with the other attendants.
Apparently, they had successfully made a deal with those guys, and from there, official trade relations between Tempest and Eurazania were established.
It's good to see it all turning well.
I had never once cared about owning a territory or ruling a nation—all those grand ideals weren't stuff that excited me.
A luxurious life was never really something I truly desired. As long as it all went well in life, I cared less.
A simple, enjoyable life, a life where I could live happily with those I cared for—that was the kind of dream I envisioned.
It wasn't really a grand conquest or anything, but as far as I knew, it was an enjoyable dream.
All I wanted was a cool and nice life, but as things developed, I found myself realizing something crucial.
This was a world where the strongest of wills dwell and ideals clash.
As long as there existed different ambitions, there would always be chaos.
Not to mention, there were always the assholes hoping to have the entire world to themselves.
If the world were to fall into the hands of a single rule or under one's control, it would only adhere to the single will of that person.
Either that, or it ended up falling into an abyss too deep to recover from.
That is why Veldanava never really took his place as the supreme being of it all.
The world was its own ruler, and he so wished to see how far it would go without his direct interference.
"Would a Godless world succeed?"—It was a question he couldn't even hope to answer.
Of course, this was just my own divine interpretation of his will, and not even he understood what he truly willed.
For all I knew, I could be wrong, but it didn't matter.
I realized that different ambitions could lead to conflicts.
The only way to win yourself out of one was by crushing the ideals of the enemy through power.
With just a few moments of weakness, I understood that for one's ideals to be realized, the individual had to wield power.
As long as the aforementioned power was enough to influence the people, you have won.
That was the reason why beings like Guy and Rudra were at the top of the world.
I didn't quite get it at the time, but now, I was enlightened.
I've come to see the levels of power this world held, and I've come to understand that I needed power to influence the world.
With all the many individuals having their own ambitions to entertain, I had to climb my way to the top.
This was a necessary step in seeing my dreams come true.
Once that was done, the world would take me seriously, and the foundation for true change would be established.
All that said, if I really wanted a life of pure bliss and sheer laziness, I had to wield power recognizable to the world.
When that was done, I would make my ideals known to all. That way, no one would dare oppose me, fully knowing what I truly wanted.
It was pretty much how things worked around here.
Power did not only mean overwhelming might.
It also meant charisma, willpower, connections, influence, and a few more not worth mentioning.
Power wasn't only meant for strength. It was a universal term that housed all of these.
I had the might and influence, and just a few more attributes would make me close to achieving my goal.
Along the way, I also carried the will of my good friend.
This meant I had the responsibility of ensuring that this world strived.
It was a part of his unrealized dreams, one I was willing to accommodate.
It was a heavy burden, but that was the least I could do for him.
It was also what I intended to do if my dreams needed realization.
After all, if the world was destroyed, how would my dreams come true?
I was willing to unite the world under my will need be it, but that would be a last resort.
The moment I began to desire, I had become a solid part of this reality.
It was the harsh reality, but I was now more than ever willing to accept and embrace it as it was.
◇◇◇
The day of the promised meeting with King Gazel drew near. Benimaru was finally back after his extended absence.
Rimuru would attend the meeting whilst I handled matters of the town.
Honestly, I very much wanted to attend the meeting myself, but Rimuru was against the idea.
Not that he doubted me or anything like that, but he knew my intentions.
He would've been the one to handle all the paperwork if I had gone, but he wasn't about to allow that.
Of course, I refuted, but–
Treyni: 「But my daily reports…」
Apparently, she had been enjoying the usual habit of reporting whatever went on in the forest to me, and she wasn't willing to let it slip by just like that.
I mean, it's just me disappearing for a few days! What's with all the gloomy aura?!
You guys are way too clingy!
I sighed internally.
In the end, I was forced to stay as he was the favored person for the job.
Now, let's focus on our little nation.
◇◇◇
The day for his departure arrived, and everyone was prepared.
There were a little under ten people joining the dwarves and him on the trip.
First, Shion, his main assistant, and Shuna, his deputy secretary.
Shuna was more our personal cook than deputy, maybe, but I figured she could help introduce things like our fabric-making operation to the dwarves.
Treyni had gone out of her way to serve as my secretary.
I obviously rejected such a cruel proposal, but with people like Rimuru and Shuna, that wasn't possible.
Now, I was stuck with the scheming witch.
I swear, she always goes around doing whatever she pleases.
I managed to put up with her usual harassment, but I wasn't willing to sit by and watch it all unfold.
I would make sure a change in position occurred. That way, I would get to choose the secretary of my liking.
Things proceeded smoothly en route. Geld's efforts had paid off—we now had a beautifully laid road to travel on.
It had been widened to a comfortable size, making it easy for wagons to traverse.
Taking advantage of that, they were now traveling in style with two horse wagons in their party.
Rimuru had intended to drop Shion, but I refuted.
That brat knows no bounds. If she stayed, the headaches would only increase.
I put in a lot of effort to have that ogre mage sent along with them.
Ranga, along with Gobta and Gobzo, tagged along.
One of the hobgobs—the trainee named Gobzo—struck me as especially dim.
I came up with the name on a whim, and he just…I dunno, looked stupid.
Fubuki: 「You think that guy's okay?」
Gobta: 「Who, Gobzo? You bet, sir!」
Gobta swore the guy was all right, just a little lunkheaded.
A hobgoblin described as "a little lunkheaded" by Gobta, who's a little lunkheaded himself.
Oh boy. He had the tendency to stare blankly into space, mouth agape, which made me worry.
His potential terrified me, and I swore to keep away from him.
He didn't seem too "with it" to me, but he did seem handy enough atop a starwolf's back, so I figured it'd be stupid of me to lose any sleep over it.
I did seriously warn Rimuru about him, though. He was trouble.
After a few exchanges, they finally left.
Great, now, what to do…
Right, I have to manage the town.
During times like these, it was either I trained Shuna during her free time or simply slacked off in the woods.
I could climb up a tree and sleep for hours, or simply go to my personally designed house and do nothing.
Some may find it boring and plain, but it was actually pretty good.
Nothing but peace. That was enough for me.
I had to go around, doing a sort of patrol and making sure that all was well.
Now, I was currently in the room where Rimuru usually worked on all the papers.
Yeah, this was work.
Why do people create documents just because they are in need of land?!
I mean, most of these are just monsters seeking residence and other unnecessary things.
Really, it was worse than hell.
I think I'll have a few of my subordinates live here and do some actual work for me.
Treyni was standing behind me with a blooming smile.
Did she love to see me suffer? Sadism?
Benimaru: 「Sir Fubuki, may I come in?」
Rigur: 「We have prepared our reports.」
Great, another report to deal with.
Fubuki: 「Sure, settle down.」
Benimaru and Rigur briefed me on what they saw over in Eurazania—
Benimaru first.
Benimaru: 「Their warrior alliance is just as formidable as I expected. They are a thoroughly trained fighting team, down to the last soldier.
Without factoring Carrion or yourself into the equation, Sir Fubuki, I am unsure if we would
emerge victorious with our own troops alone.」
He had mostly focused on observing the domain's military situation, and judging by his assessment, they were a force to be reckoned with.
Fubuki: 「Yeah, their envoys had a lot of good things to say about our battle training, too.」
Benimaru: 「I am sure, my lord, and we have Hakuro to thank for that. In terms of battle readiness, we are fully in step with them, but they have the advantage in numbers and core ability.
To be frank, an army of two hundred thousand orcs would pose less of a threat than a lycanthrope force a quarter that size. Avoiding war with them is undoubtedly the right choice.」
I see… That's really tough to deal with.
I normally said overwhelming might beats overwhelming quantity.
But they have more power and numbers. That was troublesome.
Adding me into the equation was cool and all, but I wouldn't always be there to even out the big difference.
Fubuki: 「Well, speaking in smaller scales for the moment, d'you think we should develop some tactics for dealing with them that don't involve a full-frontal assault?」
Benimaru: 「Tactics, sir?」
Fubuki: 「Yeah. I mean, with a military battle, if you defeat the main guy in charge, you win, right?
Don't try to wipe out the entire force attacking you. Just take down their commander, and it's all good.
That'll mess up the chain of command and make it impossible for the force to communicate with one another, won't it?」
Benimaru: 「Strike the commander… I see… That's actually a really useful thing.」
Fubuki: 「It's nothing overly complicated, my dude. Remember the orc lord? We didn't kill all two hundred thousand of those guys, did we? We just decapitated 'em at the top.
I'm just saying, we can do that at the force level with other opponents, too. I think training ourselves to take down enemy commanders will let us enjoy a pretty big advantage in battle.」
Benimaru: 「Indeed. Without commanders to lead them, they will descend into a simple,
unruly mob. I get it now.」
Fubuki: 「Yeah. And it'd suck if the enemy did that to us, too, yeah? So before we have to deal with that, I'm saying let's grab an advantageous position for ourselves.
It's not easy to build up individual soldier skills, but what we can do is train 'em on that kind of teamwork. I have also developed a sort of love for magic, so it would only be natural to have my will passed down to my followers, right?
I understand Shuna is your sister, and you wouldn't be open to the idea of giving her a military position, so I'll find somebody else for the job.
We can use Thought Communication to confuse our enemy and make 'em lose track of who's commanding our own forces. That'd help us be a better army, wouldn't it?」
Benimaru: 「Very interesting, sir. And I think I have just the method to train for that.
Our fighters have been much better at keeping up with Hakuro's training as of late.
Now would be the perfect time to proceed to the next level.
And really, thank you for considering my feelings. I fully agree with this.」
Fubuki: 「Great! Let's see what we can do with that. I look forward to seeing our military growth.
Also, about the quantity of our force, you can leave that to me. I'll use the little connections that I have to make up for our shortcomings.
You can relax knowing that I have a hand in this.」
Benimaru grinned with excitement.
The sight of Carrion's proud forces unnerved him, but my suggestion seemed to ignite something within him that dispelled any uneasiness.
So he promised to work with Hakuro to train our monster soldiers while keeping watch over the city. Good on him.
Next was Rigur.
Same with Benimaru, he reported it all to me, every single detail, and I felt relieved knowing that they weren't slackers like me.
Honestly, how do these guys keep up with my antics?
According to him, the buildings in Eurazania were a measure cruder than ours.
However, the royal palace in the middle of the domain boasted the very heights of extravagance, striking a noticeable difference from the rest of the lands.
The domain's riches seem centered upon this palace, but not, perhaps, in an ill way—it seems to be what Carrion's people want for their leader.
The demon lord wields tremendous influence over his Warrior Alliance squadrons, and he seems
committed to making life safe and peaceful for all his citizens.
Though, I had to hand it to the guy.
His domain seemed an incredibly safe place to live.
Simply recalling the sheer ambition he showed during his visit made me shudder, so I expected Rigur's glowing report.
Rigur: 「Not just with the buildings, either. Their overall industrial craftsmanship demonstrates technical skill notably below our own.」
Fubuki: 「Oh? Yeah, I'll bet, given that we got Kaijin and his men, plus Kurobe and Shuna and all.
Guess we really do have it pretty good over here. I'm happy to hear that.」
Rigur: 「However, there was one rather impressive thing that
caught my attention.」
Oh?
Rigur: 「Their agriculture was truly unmatched. fields are spread farther and wider than any of ours could hope to, packed with a wide variety of bountiful crops.
The land is fertile indeed over there, sir, and they are highly skilled at managing their agricultural efforts.」
A fertile land, huh? I remember my time in Silverion, developing their agriculture and stuff.
The farming strategies I introduced might've become things of the past, so I don't know if that'll do for us.
Besides, there might be newer, better methods introduced by this generation.
I was fresh from agreeing to accept some of those crops in exchange for finished goods…but could we wrest some farming know-how from them as well?
Fubuki: 「I see. Back in the days, I remember whipping up some agricultural skills for a certain nation.
I don't know if that'll change a thing, but that's not my true game.
So, entertain me, Rigur. Do you think these skills are obtainable for us?」
He took a deep breath, and the tension was sky-high.
Rigur: 「Yes, milord.」
Fubuki: 「Great!」
The tension was easily dealt with.
Fubuki: 「In that case, I'd like to have Lilina recommend a few members from our land managers for our next envoy trip.
I want them to study the system they have over here in-depth and see if we can adapt any of it for our own lands.
I'll also be teaching Shuna a few of my skills to introduce to our ranks during one of our regular practices.
That way, we may not only match them in terms of agriculture, we may as well surpass them!」
Rigur: 「A fine idea, milord! Our food situation has improved greatly, but we are still taking a trial-and-error approach with many of our issues. Perhaps that
would help us speed things along.」
Leaving Rigurd and the other elders to work out the details, I left our meeting hall.
They could handle the rest, I was out.
It was a fruitful discussion, but I guess I was just not fit for these kinds of things.
It was better to make it out while I was still alive and kickin'.
◇◇◇
Several weeks passed, and Rimuru finally returned.
He briefed me on the events and the things they discussed during the meeting.
I honestly didn't care as long as he didn't do anything dumb.
I came to realize that with or without my presence, this small nation could still strive without a hitch, and I .ade sure to tell Rimuru that.
Yohm and his men were getting along well with the hobgoblins, high orcs, and other
local monsters.
It was more than my presence that kept Yohm from starting street fights.
The monsters, abiding by my rules, were quite a bit friendlier toward them than I thought they'd be—and nobody in Yohm's crew was bigoted enough to look down on them.
It was really chill.
A few more days passed, and it was currently night. With the slime around, I was free from the paperworks.
He immediately took over (unwillingly), and I was free to have it easy.
I was currently at my place, doing nothing.
I really don't get it though. Many would get immediately bored by just lying around and doing nothing.
I, on the other hand, never had a problem with it.
I could stay like this forever without getting brain rot or whatever.
It was a really nice feeling.
As I thought things over, a knock on the door interrupted my thought train.
Fubuki: 「Hm? Who's there?」
I know, I could easily find it out on my own with 『Universal Perception』, but that gets old real quick.
Rimuru: 「Oh, it's me. Can I come in?」
Fubuki: 「Sure.」
It turns out to be Rimuru of all people.
I wonder what his deal is.
He came in and took a sit beside me with a thoughtful expression.
Fubuki: 「Want to talk things over?」
Rimuru: 「Yeah.」
He kept quiet for a few seconds before speaking up.
Rimuru: 「Have you… ever had a dream after your reincarnation into this world?」
Hmm? As far as I know, I haven't actually attempted sleeping.
And the most times that I passed out, I never experienced dreams.
Fubuki: 「No, not really. What brought this up?」
If he was gonna complain about a recent nightmare he had, I'd make sure to laugh my ass off.
Rimuru: 「Well, I had a dream. And it was about Shizu…」
Oh? Was he thinking naughty stuff about her?
Did she come to haunt him for it?
Another thing to laugh my ass off about if that were the case.
Rimuru: 「More specifically, her kids.」
..... Damn it.
Fubuki: 「The bunch of otherworlder kids? The ones you spoke to me about?」
Rimuru: 「Yeah.」
Fubuki: 「So, what about them?」
Rimuru: 「She wanted me to save them? It was her last, untold wish.」
Wait, really? Is it just me, or isn't she just being selfish?
Fubuki: 「Doesn't she already owe us one after the havoc she reaked?」
Rimuru: 「Well, yeah, kinda, but that's different.」
Fubuki: 「You're just soft is all. And really, while I have nothing against her, doesn't that only add more headaches to the body?
I mean, we have no reason to go out of our way and continue helping her out when all she did was rampage in our territory. Am I wrong?」
Rimuru: 「It's not a matter of being wrong, but…」
Fubuki: 「You gotta keep your priorities straight, man. I always say that. You can't help everyone and burden yourself.
There are times when you'll have to make a tough decision, so you shouldn't always let your heart lead the way.
It never worked like that with me. That's why I'm never always too busy. If you wanted to help somebody out, it had to be from your heart, but your mind has to make the final decision.
Are you really sure you want to do this? It could cause some trouble for us in the future, so there you have it.」
After my brief speech, it seemed he began to rethink his decision.
The only reason why I kept carrying on Velda's will till this day was because he had also done quite a lot for me, even if I liked to deny it.
He always gave me information others would never get to know of in their entire lifespan.
Some would see it as nothing, but he had no reason to do such things.
Not only that, but there is also the fact that the information he always gave off were things that could be considered top secret.
Once again, he had absolutely no reason to give those off to me, but he did.
Why?
He trusted me. That level of trust was something I could not repay.
Even if he knew about me and how I was, I didn't mind.
He was my best friend, too, so I had the right to justify myself.
Rimuru, on the other hand, owed her nothing.
I don't really see it.
We saved her ass twice now, so it was not really fair for her to request help even after all that.
It wasn't me being an ass, but I was simply weighing the benefits.
I had nothing against blindly helping her out, but we were rulers now.
We can't afford to make decisions that would affect our people.
It didn't take too long as he turned to look at me with a determined gaze.
I guess he's found his answer.
Clenching his fist, he finally spoke up.
Rimuru: 「It wasn't only once, but several times. The dreams kept on appearing, and if I truly had nothing to do with it, I would've gotten pretty mad with the constant greetings.
I think deep within me, I really want to help those bastards. It's not a matter of 'want', I need to save them.」
Well, there you have it.
Fubuki: 「Great! You've made up your mind. That settles it all. I wish you all the best, if that's the case.」
Rimuru: 「Yeah, about that, I also want you to help me out.」
Fubuki: 「Fuck off!!」
This fool, this big fool, was he serious? Why would I spoil the flow of it all just because he was worried for a woman?
I wasn't about to agree to that selfish deal.
Rimuru: 「C'mon~, I thought we were smooth sailing back there.」
Fubuki: 「Don't rope me in with your stupid feelings!」
Rimuru: 「The kids will love you.」
Fubuki: 「I'm not a pedophile!」
Rimuru: 「I'll stop using Trenyi to harass you.」
Wait, that's actually really convincing, but pass.
Rimuru: 「And you'll never have to deal with paperwork again.」
..... Fuck.
Fubuki: 「Th-That's unfair, man… You can't just pull out that card like that.」
Rimuru: 「Heh-heh-heh, I always play nasty bargains, my dude.」
Well, let's weigh the benefits.
If I go, I'll probably only have minor issues to deal with.
My appearance, my identity, and various other small stuff.
Now, we're talking about Treyni here.
That woman was a menace.
She's sweet at times, but honestly, I'd rather have to deal with Rose than with her constant annoying daily reports.
Like—I don't even need any of those.
How is the problem of male monsters eating up their wives and children due to starvation my business?
Okay, that's pretty messed up, but if it's such a pain, then deal with it!
Don't report every single detail to me!
She even goes to the extra length of reporting their usual mating habits and how it is done in perfect details.
Fuck no! I'm done with that shit.
Then we have the paperworks to talk about.
I had introduced them to the method of paper production, but I never knew it would backfire so badly.
Those monstrosities could give any powerful spiritual life-form a headache.
That shouldn't even be possible.
With those two out of the way, I am definitely sure my life would return to the way it was—a life of sheer laziness and serenity.
I was willing to suffer for a few months and enjoy myself for years.
Fubuki: 「*Sigh,* Fine, I'll help only because you asked nicely.」
Rimuru: 「That's not even close.」
He looked at me with a deadpan expression.
Rimuru: 「Thanks though. I don't really know how it'll start, but with you around, I'm sure it's gonna be a breeze.」
Fubuki: 「For starters, how about we tell our friends.」
He nodded and proceeded to send out a thought communication message to all our subordinates.
◇◇◇
That night, he gathered together all our officials and talked things over in the meeting room.
Rimuru: 「…So I would like to spend some time traveling around human towns and nations. I want to keep it under wraps, too. No need to make a big deal about
it.」
He told them about the dream and all that stuff. I wasn't really listening.
Rigurd: 「I understand, but the idea of you two setting off alone at the same time is not one we can accept very easily.」
Hakuro: 「Indeed, if something were to happen to you two, it could very well upset the very foundation of the Jura alliance, and just when it's beginning to take form.」
Benimaru: 「Well, if we don't want them to go alone, perhaps we could provide them with protection?」
It was Benimaru who extended that lifeline out to is.
As long as we could be kept safe, in other words, he wasn't going to chide us too much.
Honestly, having guys weaker than me protect me sounds like a joke, but I guess it was my fault to begin with.
Shion: 「How about you all let me handle the job!」
Fubuki: 「You weren't listening to a single thing he said, were you?」
Shion: 「Eehhh… 」
Her brain died. That was her limit, unfortunately (or fortunately???).
Rimuru: 「About that, to avoid suspicion, I'm going to be traveling in my human form.
Soei tells me there are assorted
magical barriers covering many of the towns, so if a bunch of super-A ranks like you come with me, we're gonna get spotted immediately.
Plus… I mean, look at you. You've all got horns on your heads.」
Shion: 「B-But our horns, they're just decorations. I'll work to hold my aura back; I promise you!」
Fubuki: 「Do it. Try it out.」
I laid down the gauntlet, having had enough of Shion's selfishness.
If she really could dispel her aura, then sure, that'd work. We could conceal her horns some other way.
All I heard was a—"Haaaaaahhh!!"—and it was all chaos from there.
I swear—I thought she was gonna drop a dump on us.
Instead, her aura just expanded. Wrong way, dumbass!
She was preparing to enter the realm of super saiyans.
Rimuru: 「Stop, stop! You're gonna take this building down!」
Fubuki: 「You fool! You foolish fool!!」
Shion gave us a glum look of disappointment as I scolded her. I needed to.
If I went easy here, I'd wind up bringing nothing but trouble along with me.
Rimuru gave her a few words of encouragement, and she was back to her usual gung ho self.
Shuna: 「I suppose it'll come down to me as my aura isn't nearly as fierce as that of my friends.」
Rimuru: 「Actually, I've got a job for you, Shuna.
While we're gone, I want you to keep watch over the town gates to make sure we don't have anyone suspicious coming or going.」
If I were there, I'd immediately know if any shady characters showed up; same with Rimuru.
But that's not the case now, is it?
Ranga: 「Do not worry. I will always be alongside my masters. You may all have peace of mind as you carry out your tasks.」
Ranga seemed a little too eager to say this, with his tail wagging so hard I thought it'd propel him into the air.
As if he had been waiting to say that line all his life.
Soei: 「Plus, I can use Replication to send a body double to maintain contact with Sir Rimuru and Sir Fubuki, informing them immediately if anything should happen. I do not think we need to be that wary.」
This whole thing could be solved with magic, but we had to select the individuals coming with us carefully.
Rigurd: 「It's decided, then. I have no qualms left about this. Sir Ranga, Sir Soei, I leave our lords in your hands.」
With Rigurd's concerns apparently addressed, he gave me his formal
permission to head off.
Good, everything's settled. Now, all we need is those idiot trio to lead the way.
We'll be heading to Blumund first, so I guess their help would be needed.
I just hope they manage to do their jobs well.
—————————————————————————————————
「Note: Well, well, well, what do we have here…? Another chapter…
Sorry for the edgy introduction. It is I, your author, introducing your dose of daily load of dump.
I intended to finish this particular piece two days ago, but with the summoning of lost writers, I found myself lost too.
I swear—those bastards must've been planning in secret, the time they'll all run away from their responsibilities.
Just keep disappearing and making appearances whenever they please—they are the real scammers.
Well, let's forget all that. I'm still up and kickin', and it seems life can't bring me down. I hope ya'll are doing just as well.
If you're having any type of emotional stress or madness, just let me know in the comments.
I'm a licensed therapist (who'll probably cure madness with insanity).
Also, if you enjoyed the stupid jokes in my chapters, please make sure to vote for them. It's your right (do you have any???)!
Thanks for reading my work. Love y'all!」
Word Count: 「5220」.