The World's Ego

The Feast

Rimuru POV

With the relaxing bath time over, I headed into the banquet hall to have a look at the setup. Today, we are using the new banquet hall with tatami mats. It has a lot of space, giving the freedom of movement without others bumping into long tables since everyone will have individual ones. This also acts as a refugee shelter for emergencies, being able to house many individuals.

Sakura came from Japanese roots after all, so some of her suggestions for dining halls came in handy! The tatami mats are so comfortable~

I had the head seat at the end of the hall, where I could overlook everyone from there. Beside me would be Veldora and Luminas's seats.

"Is it okay to walk barefoot here too?" A voice behind me asks

I turned to the entrance, seeing the Holy Knights entering the hall with the goblinas leading them.

Everyone looks wonderful too!

Hinata and Luminas especially look absolutely stunning in their yukatas.

"Shall we take our seats first?" Sakura suggested after entering

"Yeah."

I walked to the head seat and waited as the rest of the Holy Knights that had been fighting the Yomigaeri also entered the hall, sitting on their chosen individual seats, along with my subordinates who participated in today's battle.

"Since everyone is now here, let's all have a toast!" I announced, holding up my wine glass

"Rimuru, before that, may I?" Hinata cuts in, stands up, and walks over to me, kneeling in front of me to give a bow, "I've caused you a great deal of trouble. I am very grateful for your hospitality, but I can't very well accept it so easily. I apologize from the bottom of my heart. For all the actions I did of my own volition, both last time and this time. They were not under Luminas-sama's command, and neither were my subordinates to blame. I'm not expecting you to forgive me for what I've done, but-"

I clapped my hands together to cut her off, getting her attention as she lifted her head from the bow.

"Alright, Hinata. You don't have to apologize. Our misunderstanding has already been cleared up and that's more than enough for me. I just hope that most of your prejudice against monsters will be gone after today."

There was a look of hesitation in her eyes and I understand why. Some monsters are still monsters by nature and are still threats to mankind. The Herrschers that I couldn't save in Mei's era are good examples.

"I understand that it's hard to believe. It's true that there are monsters out there that are still threats to humans. The protectors of mankind could not possibly agree with the words of a monster so easily."

Hinata nods slightly, "It's a risky business. Words can be lethal. There can be a risk of having our souls bound due to a vow being made. But... I do understand. It's not easy to change one's view that quickly, but I shall disallow condemning monsters simply because they are monsters. Is that alright, Luminas-sama?"

"I couldn't care less about trivial matters. So long as the citizens don't lose their faith in me." Luminas shrugs off the topic, looking at me with anticipation, a wine glass in hand, "Enough of that. Here, Rimuru. Why don't we get on with it? I can't wait to drink."

"She's right, Rimuru! The tempura will get cold!" Veldora chimes in

I giggle and allowed Hinata to return to her seat before raising my glass again.

"Okay, okay! Then let's just proceed with the feast! Putting all formalities aside, we raise our cups to the hard-fought battle... Cheers!" I announced to the hall