(Vol.7 Light Novel) That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime

Chapter 3: The Saint's Anticipation

On that day, the world knew true terror once more. Veldora, the Storm Dragon, was reborn.

It had been formally revealed by the Western Holy Church, not long after the Guild announced the most recent missive from the demon lords. They had gone from ten to eight, forming an Octagram, and this alone was enough to spread chaos worldwide. It wasn't long before the kings of all nations were faced with vast, headache-inducing changes in the world situation—changes that would continue for days on end.

The Western Holy Church itself was experiencing unrest like none in recent memory.

Several days after Hinata Sakaguchi's battle with Rimuru, contact with Archbishop Reyhiem was cut off as he accompanied his kingdom's military deployment. He was required to submit regular reports, and if those reports were missing, something must have been going wrong with the Tempest invasion.

When informed of this, Hinata immediately decided that a personal visit to Tempest was in order. But just as she did, she received a divine missive to guard the cathedral instead. Veldora, the Storm Dragon, was the reason.

Thus, despite expecting her Crusader forces to assemble before her shortly, she was prevented from deploying when she wanted to.

Exactly who this proved to benefit the most was a question worthy of debate. An unprepared Hinata challenging Veldora to a duel would surely result in defeat. If she was aware of the dragon's presence, however, and could devise a lucid strategy for invading Tempest, that nation could very well be taken while Rimuru was still absent.

Tempest was Hinata's ultimate goal, not Veldora, and with the powers she had on tap, she could have made simple work of it. The ball was in her court—but only if she gave due consideration to Veldora's subsequent moves and Rimuru's own reactions to them. Either way, though, both sides managed to avoid the worst for themselves.

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It was a city enveloped in a calming light, a holy metropolis protected by a divine barrier.

This barrier had been the subject of research over many years, adjusted and perfected until it boasted the highest level of protection in the land. It prevented all outside enemies from invading, dutifully fulfilling that obligation for the past thousand years. It was, in a way, the personification of the prayers of everyone who lived inside it. It could even block out the sun itself, automatically adjusting the light levels inside the bubble as needed— brighter by day, dimmer by night. The temperature inside was kept at a near constant all year, producing cooler summers and warmer winters, while the compartmentalized farmlands inside could produce seasonal crops at almost any time.

It was a utopia, one whose residents never had to worry about starvation. Every child received a level of compulsory education, and every adult was provided with a job. Its society had achieved complete harmony, its paradise monitored by the law and order that ruled over it.

This was Lune, the Holy City, capital of the Holy Empire of Lubelius. The day after the last Walpurgis, Hinata was walking the path toward its main cathedral. The surrounding air was pleasantly warm, tempered by the solemnity of the atmosphere. This land was a bountiful one. No one starved; there were no beggars at the side of the streets. Everyone was provided a suitable role, carrying it out to the fullest. They all awoke to the same bells and slept at the same time. The more capable laborers assisted the less able. And all was managed in perfect harmony, guaranteeing the happiness of every citizen that lived and breathed inside.

It was an ideal, equal society, one granted under the name of their god, and the city spread out before her eyes was the completed, physical form of that ideal.