[Unrevised]
This is still unrevised, so I apologize in advance for any mistakes. I will probably revise it tomorrow.
Anyway, enjoy~
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(Gazel Dwargo's Perspective)
I just received a report from Anrietta, who was busy spying on the humans who entered Dwargon yesterday. Apparently, the three individuals were a family—the blue-haired and silver-haired being husband and wife, and the red-haired girl being their daughter.
In addition, it appears that they got in trouble with Vesta, and at the moment were being escorted to the prison to be maintained there until the trial that will apparently take place tomorrow. From the report, I can easily notice that the individuals in question were not in the wrong; Anrietta was supposedly observing through the window, and saw how Vesta was the guy at fault, trying to hit on the silver-haired woman and getting mad at being rejected.
Now, that is quite important, but more important than that, is the fact that the humans in question are not really humans—or well, at least one of them is not a human. In the report Anrietta delivered to me, it says that the blue-haired individual turned into a slime—which is a monster—while claiming that the other two were also monsters. It might not sound too worrisome, however, in reality it is.
Slimes are supposed to be unintelligent and weak monsters, but this individual did not look that way at all. Furthermore, even though he is a monster, nobody could detect him as such; he was not showing any of the aura that characterizes monsters, to begin with. If that slime had not said he was a monster, we might have believed forever that he was human . That means that out there, there are monsters that could completely disguise themselves as humans and evade our magicule-detection barriers, like this slime. I had previous knowledge that intelligent monsters existed but this is a completely different situation.
A monster that perfectly disguises as a human has the probability of launching a surprise attack anywhere they'd like. The countries in this world fully believe that no monster will enter their territory unnoticed , but from what Anrietta told me through her report, it is obvious this is a heavy misconception.
The report did not mention anything about the risk of this slime, but if it is strong, then it should not be left unaddressed. An unnoticeable and strong monster is nothing to laugh at. What's more, Anrietta reported hearing that the slime is building a village in the Jura Forest and is searching for personnel to assist him. But, what are his intentions for doing that?
"The threat of the slime is still unmeasured, and yet Vesta goes and makes enemies with him. Depending on this slime's strength, Dwargon might fall due to Vesta's foolishness." I massaged my temple with my hand and sighed heavily. Of course, Vesta has no idea that this individual might be dangerous, but he is still at fault, because it is a fool's matter to go and pick a fight with everyone you see.
I sighed once again and began weighing my options. I could order their release, but the king intervening in what is supposed to be a trivial matter could alarm the people—even though it is not trivial at all. I continued thinking, but the only conclusion I could arrive at was to wait for the trial tomorrow and question the slime's intentions then.
Haaah, I wonder how everything will play out...
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(Rimuru's Perspective)
After spending the night in jail with Ciel, Reili, Kaijin, and the brothers, the next morning we were transported toward the room where our trial was going to take place. It was the same room as last time, with nobles to watch the trial unfold and soldiers to restrain us and protect the people present. I guess Vesta called these nobles here to showcase his political power, but well, it doesn't matter anyway.
We were lined up in front of a large table, facing an empty throne that was on a higher floor. From this, it was pretty easy to deduce that Gaze hadn't arrived. Beside us, on another table, was Vesta, who was currently speaking to the person who is supposed to be our lawyer. As in the previous timeline, Vesta was covered in bandages from head to toes, which was supposed to be the result of our "aggressions" against him. Maybe I should turn those fake wounds into real ones; he did commit the unforgivable sin of making Reili cry, after all.
I moved my hands unconsciously, and... ugh, I remembered we were all cuffed except Reili. Of course, I could break the cuffs with minimal effort, but that would send the room into chaos, and I didn't want that yet. Now, why is Reili uncuffed? Well, let me tell you it was not because of the guard's generosity. Rather, when they tried to cuff her, I kindly asked them to refrain from doing so—because she is a little girl, after all, and there is nothing she could possibly do to consider her a threat—and they easily accepted.
Of course not.
I did say that, but the guards completely ignored me. However, after that happened, Ciel started glaring at them with a smile on her face—a sca~ry smile, let me add—and all the guards started shivering and eventually backed down. Kaijin's brother was not there, for some reason, which was unlucky, because I am sure he would have accepted my request peacefully and without Ciel's threatening glare if he was there.
Reili was lovingly hugging my left leg while grabbing her teddy bear in one hand. Yes, her teddy bear that looked completely new. Well, that was because it actually was a new teddy bear. Last night, Reili had been crying endlessly at the sight of her teddy bear being grinded by Vesta. Ciel and I carried her, patted her head, tried to play with her, but the tears didn't stop flowing. It was a heartbreaking sight. I created her an exact copy of the teddy bear, and that finally calmed her down a bit, although she still cried all the way until she fell asleep in Ciel's arms.
I smiled wryly while recalling that, and patted Reili's head. She turned up to look at me with her eyes—that were red from crying so much—and smiled, although it was not her usual bright smile, but one that was a bit cloudy. I was a bit saddened by this, and tried to cheer her up with the brightest smile in my arsenal. Seeing that, she giggled a bit and hugged my leg tighter—she seemed to regain a bit of her bright smile. Let's go eat something tasty after this, okay? I said to myself in my mind. I continued patting her head, and at that moment, the door behind the throne room opened, and a majestic figure emerged from it—the king of this country himself.
"On your knees! King Gazel Dwargo is in presence!" One of the nobles shouted, and everyone in the room kneeled on the spot, even Vesta who was supposed to be wounded in such a way that he definitely shouldn't be able to kneel. I know he is a genius researcher, but isn't he, like, actually very stupid?
"AAAAAAAh?! What do you think you are doing, you commoners?! You are in the presence of King Gazel, you should be kneeling!" One of the nobles shouted. That was because, of course, I wasn't kneeling. No, not only me; Ciel wasn't kneeling as well. And... Well, Reili was so bewildered that she looked around as she didn't understand what was going on. Now, back on topic. Ciel and I were obviously not bowing or kneeling because we didn't have any obligation to do so.
Even though not currently, I was the king of Tempest, and she—as my wife—was the queen. Compared to Gazel, we were equal position-wise. Of course, we couldn't really say that, and so to calm down the nobles yelling at us and the soldiers approaching us while pointing their weapon's toward us, I released a bit of my aura. At that instant, everyone in the room except Ciel and Reili started shivering. The guards who a few seconds had their weapons pointed at us, were now backing slowly with fear while their hands trembled so much that the weapons were about to fall to the ground. Vesta, the lawyer, and all the other nobles broke into a cold sweat. I turned to look forward and found Gazel with sweat dripping from his forehead, and a figure clad in black right in front of him, as if to protect him—Anrietta.
I guess the moment I released my aura, Anrietta emerged from wherever she was hiding and placed herself in front of Gazel to protect him from me. However, I do have to say that it was as expected from Gazel, that he only got a bit of cold sweat from that aura. It was a tiny bit of it, but still. Now that everybody was calm—in my eyes—I hid my aura once again, and cleared my throat, to indicate that the trial should go on. Of course, everyone was completely shocked. They didn't even bother trying to tell Ciel, Reili, or me to kneel in front of Gazel.
The first to come to his senses was Vesta, who started launching accusations.
"L-Listen to this, y-your majesty! That c-commoner over there and Kaijin completely b-beated me up for no reason at all! I request s-severe punishment!" It was obvious he was trying to overcome his own fear from me, but well, that goes for everyone in the room, so I can not blame him.
Gazel seemed to regain his senses as well from Vesta's words, as he moved his hand to indicate Anrietta to move to a side, and then began speaking.
"I-Is that true, Mr. Lawyer?" Gazel turned a dubious gaze toward the guy who is supposed to be our defendant.
"Eh?! ...Y-Yes, it is completely true! M-My clients confessed to me in secret that they d-did what Minister Vesta claims they did." Just as Vesta, he was shaken—scared, if you'd prefer—to the core. He still managed to sell us out, though.
"...Is that so?" Gazel turned toward the lawyer with the same dubious gaze he had given to Vesta. He then carefully turned his view toward Reili. "Little girl, is what this man said true?" He asked. Reili looked up at me for a second, as if to ask what to do, and I simply patted her head and told her it was okay to tell the truth.
"....That meanie appeared and started shouting to Papa *sniff*. He said something bad to Papa and Mama, and then *sniff* he said something mean *sniff* about me too. After that, Papa and Mama looked at him badly because they love me *sniff*, but then the *sniff* meanie stepped *sniff* on my teddy bear *sniff* and broke it *sniff". And then Mr. Kaijin *sniff* hit him *sniff* in the face because he was being a *sniff* meanie."
Gazel was paying a lot of attention to Reili's testimony as she started to break into tears from remembering that event.
"And *sniff* Papa gave me that teddy bear *sniff* so I was *sniff* very sad because *sniff* the meanie broke it *sniff*" She seemed to be done, as she covered her eyes with my leg and hugged it tightly as she continued sobbing. Ciel and I looked at her with proud faces and smiles. That's my girl, good job... I whispered to her and kneeled down to give her a hug.
"T-T-That's a lie! Don't listen to her, my liege! That's nothing more than a dirty lie from a dirty com—" commoner, I guess he was going to say, but I had no real reason to continue listening. On the main timeline, what Vesta mainly did was insult me, so it was not such a big deal, but this time it is completely different, as he had wronged my little girl. Furthermore, she made her cry and called her a liar. And so...
I easily broke off my cuffs and moved besides Vesta at an incredibly fast speed. I could make it so that nobody in the room other than Ciel noticed, but I wanted to show off my strength, so I kept it to a speed which was still visible for everyone, although just barely. I activated thought acceleration, and started turning his fake wounds into real ones. One punch here... one kick there... I lost count of how many times I hit him, but by the time that my anger had been quelled, Vesta was on the ground twitching. It was not because I had left him half-death and unconscious, but because every muscle in his body was in so much pain that he couldn't move an inch. He was still conscious, by the way, so he was feeling pain.
Everyone was looking shocked at me except Ciel and Reili. The former because she had a satisfactory smile on her face, and the latter because she couldn't see anything of what happened because the former covered her eyes. Even Gazel was dumbfounded, and Anrietta had returned to her position covering him.
I turned my view from the suffering Vesta to Gazel, and began speaking.
"My name is Rimuru Tempest. I am a slime. Although, well, you already know that, don't you?" Gazel, who was already dumbfounded, widened his eyes even more in shock. I think he understood the implications of what I said. I was basically saying, 'Yeah, I completely noticed someone was spying on us.' Anrietta paled as she understood that as well and started shaking. I can guess that it was her first time being discovered in her long career in espionage.
"... So you noticed her." Gazel said after he regained his composure.
"Of course I did—from the beginning, too. I didn't do anything about it, though, because I couldn't sense any hostility."
"... I see... Then, what do you want from us?" Gazel eyed me warily.
"Well, as Anrietta probably informed you, I am building a country of monsters in the Jura Forest, and I came here looking for people to help us. But, well, I guess you are asking a different thing. The answer to your question is that I want to build friendly ties with your country." At the moment her name was revealed, Anrietta grew even paler. It looked like she was thinking, "Oh, no, I have caught the devil's eye..." or something like that. Gazel also looked even more surprised at that. I intentionally mentioned her name to make the fact that they shouldn't look down on us even clearer.
"...You say you want to build friendly ties with us... but you just beated up our Minister right in front of us. You don't expect us to believe you, right?" Gazel turned to look at Vesta—who was still on the ground—for a second.
"No, no. That was that, and this is this. I beated him up because he made my daughter cry, for nothing more. I do want to form friendly ties with your country." I declared firmly, looking down at Vesta. I think he sensed my gaze, because he immediately began shaking.
"...I see.You are quite a father, aren't you? Anyway, before giving you my answer, I want to confirm one thing."
"That being?"
"You are building a country in the Jura Forest, right? Then you should be aware of the risk that represents." Gazel was looking at me while implying something. I thought a bit about what he was saying. Perhaps our position is a threat? The empire? Demon Lords? Ah.
"Oh! You're talking about Veldora!" I slammed my fist on the top of my hand and replied energetically. Yeah, I guess Veldora should be a threat, although not in my case.
"?! Yes, I am talking about the Storm Dragon Veldora." Gazel sounded a bit bewildered. Perhaps he is surprised that I referred to Veldora in such a friendly manner.
"Yeah, no problem with him." I turned to look at ciel, who had already broken her handcuffs as well and was carrying Reili. She nodded and snapped her fingers. right beside me, space distorted, and from there, a blond-haired man fell while yelling, "Aaaaaa!"
He slammed to the ground and slowly turned to face me.
"Eh?! Rimuru?! What am I doing here?! Did we in any chance get send to another world?!" Velda was looking around bewildered. No, other than that...
"I haven't even given you manga yet! How the hell do you know about isekai, huh?!"
"'Manga,' 'isekai,'? What are you talking about, Rimuru?" Veldora started looking at me, even more confused than before. That was when, suddenly, an excited voice echoed through the room.
"Uncle Velora!!!" Reili had noticed Veldora was here, and was now looking at him with her smile in full blossom and waving her hand at him. Ciel, Veldora and I smiled at her, but... the rest of the room had fallen in complete silence. Before, there had been murmurs among the nobles, but right now everybody was silent. So silent that a pin drop could be heard. I looked around, and noticed everybody was sweating coldly, even more than when I released a bit of my aura—Gazel included.
"Oh! Reili, my dear niece! How have you been?" Veldora came close to Reili, bent his knees a bit—to be at eye-level with her—and started patting her head.
"I'm okay~!" She smiled, but then she started patting Veldora's head.I think it is the first time I have seen anybody pet Veldora's head.
After their initial shock passed, the nobles' murmurs reappeared in the room.
"V-V-Velora?! She is not referring to the S-Storm D-Dragon Veldora, i-is she?"
"N-No, it's impossible, the Storm Dragon Veldora is a d-dragon is he not?! Then it can't be this human!"
"B-B-But what's more, if he is Storm Dragon V-Veldora, then the most s-surprising thing is that that c-commoner called him 'U-Uncle.' W-What does that m-mean?!"
The nobles were panicking as they tried to understand the situation. I left Veldora to Reili and turned toward Gazel once again. Gazel was sweating heavily, while Anrietta was so pale that she looked like a corpse. Still, Gazel managed to speak up once again. As expected of the Hero King.
"...Rimuru Tempest, w-who is this man?" His voice was shaking a bit, but I decided to ignore it.
"Hmm? Oh, that's right—you wouldn't recognize him. Allow me to introduce him, then. He is my brother, the Storm Dragon Veldora Tempest!" Just as those words left my mouth, several nobles fainted, Gazel turned pale, Anrietta looked on the complete verge of collapse, and Vesta stopped twitching, perhaps he stopped working. Everyone was in chaos. Well, except for one person who didn't seem to be able to read the room.
"Kuahahaha! Well said, Rimuru! I am the Storm Dragon, Veldora Tempest! Kuahahahaha!" Veldora started laughing, not noticing that all he was doing was sinking everyone in the room even more into despair. Well, almost everyone.
"Wooow! Uncle Velora is so cool!" Reili was looking at him with sparkling eyes.
"Indeed! Kuahahaha! Uncle Veldora is very cool indeed! Kuahahaha!'' Veldora continued laughing as he patted Reili's head. After a few seconds passed, everyone returned to their senses—well, everyone except those who fainted.
"Impossible! Veldora is a dragon! There is no way he would be a puny human—and a commoner—as yourself" One noble shouted.
"Yeah, that's right!" Another noble spoke up to voice their agreement.
"You should be executed right now along with that little girl for the crime of playing a bad joke against your majesty!" Oh, that noble went a little too far, and the room's temperature began to drop due to Ciel's stare. The noble, who received the full brutality of that stare directly, fainted nearly instantly. Sheeesh, she is so overprotective sometimes...
"Silence!" The one who said so was Gazel, as he started glaring at the nobles to shut them up. I guess he now understood the danger of making an enemy out of me—who had a good relationship with the Storm Dragon.
"No being in this world would be foolish enough to introduce themselves with the name of the Storm Dragon!" Gazel declared, and all the murmurs quieted down. What he said was true. I don't think there is anybody in this world with the guts that are needed to use the Storm Dragon's identity in their favor.
"Now, I received reports that the Storm Dragon had disappeared...so this is the reason behind that."
"Yeah. I freed Veldora from his seal, and then taught him how to hide his aura so that he could pass off undetected by everyone." I spoke in a proud way.
"You freed him? That seal which even he couldn't break? Who are you, really?" Gazel once again turned a dubious gaze toward me.
"Me? I am just a slime."
"...I see. Now, I would like to know the reason why you called the Storm Dragon Veldora your brother." Ugh, is this going to turn into an interrogation...?
"Because we decided to treat each other as such. That's why he also adopted my last name—Tempest."
"I see. Then, now tell—"
"Look, we are not here to do any evil, okay? We just look to live happily in our little country without anybody bothering us. Believe me, even without factoring Veldora in, I alone am strong enough to one-sidedly destroy this kingdom if I wanted to. Yet, I won't do that, because I want to have a good friendship with your nation. That's why, there is no need to be so wary of us. If I wanted to harm your country in any way, I would've done so long ago, don't you think?" It sounded a bit like a threat, but I am really getting tired of his questions.
"You are aware that sounds like a threat, right?" I could listen to Gazel gulping nervously as he stared at me.
"Yeah, but that wasn't my intention. Just as I said, I just want our countries to be friends, that's it. So, let's just be friendly with each other, okay?" I showed him a friendly smile, but that probably only placed him even more on guard. Seeing his uneasiness, I decided to give him one of Tempest's famous full potions to show that I was not intending to be hostile in any way.
"What 's this?" He titled his head suspiciously at the potion I suddenly took out from my [Imaginary Space].
"It is a full potion." I could see how his eyes were widening. "Why don't we try it out on poor little Vesta here?" I approached Vesta and gave him the potion. In the blink of an eye, Vesta was once again on his feet standing as if nothing had ever happened to him. I thought about cutting off his arm or something like that to prove that it could also heal missing limbs, but... yeah, that's a bit too ruthless. They would examine it and confirm it is a full potion later anyway, so... Ciel, please stop looking at Vesta as if he was a test dummy, okay?
"It can heal up to lost limbs, but that's something you can confirm later on, okay? It is going to be our country's specialty product." I handed the full potion to one of the soldiers to take it to Gazel. Once he received it, Gazel eyed it with a serious face, before giving it to Anrietta.
"Al right, Rimuru Tempest. Dwargon is interested in forming an alliance with your country that will be built in the future. If you don't mind, I would like to visit your village in the future to discuss the specifics."
"Yeah, sure that's okay with me. Now... about this trial..." I said as I looked around at the people in the room. The nobles were staring directly at me with fear; Kaijin and the brothers were looking at me with surprise, but they didn't seem to hold anything against me; Anrietta was looking at me dubiously; Reili was keeping Veldora entertained; Vesta was looking confused, while Ciel stared coldly at him—I guess she is still kind of mad at him. I turned back to look at Gazel, and he simply sighed in response.
"I declare all of you innocent of any crime you might have been accused of!" Gazel declared while standing from his throne and thrusting his right arm forward. Great, this is over now... I thought so, but things never go according to one's desires.
"W-Wait, your majesty! These commoners wronged me!" It looks like Vesta would like another beating. Oh... Ciel is leaving Reili down... She slowly walked toward Vesta, and said, "The adults are talking right now, so let's stay quiet, okay~?" She had that scary smile on her face while having her eyes closed shut. In less than a second, Vesta was lying down limply on the floor. Well, a fool is always a fool, I guess. I felt a bit of pity for him, but he truly deserved it. If Ciel hadn't done it, I would have done it myself. I gave Ciel a not-so-subtle thumbs up, and she smiled satisfactorily back at me.
Seeing this, Gazel simply sighed while telling us that we were free to go. We discussed a bit more about Kaijin and the brother's circumstances, and we all ended up in the agreement that they would come help us build our village. Then, I invited Gazel to come visit us in our country soon, and then departed with Ciel, Reili, and Veldora in tow.
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(Gazel Dwargo's Perspective)
I sighed as the figure of the slime and the others left the room. Just as I thought, that slime is a dangerous individual. Now I am convinced of that. Just as he said, I am pretty sure that if he wanted to, he could destroy this kingdom one-sidedly.
He detected Anrietta, who had never been detected ever before in any mission, very easily. No, not only that, he also figured out her identity. His perception is completely out of this world.
His aura is nothing to laugh at as well. I am pretty sure he released just part of it, but that was strong enough to place pressure on all of us that were in the room. That, and he also didn't seem affected at all by my [Champion's Aura] that I had been releasing ever since I entered the room. Furthermore, he completely beat up Vesta in the blink of an eye. Vesta is not the combatant type, but the fact that he was beaten up without even me noticing when it happened is proof enough that his combat strength is not to be undermined.
More than that, he also has a very good relationship with the Storm Dragon Veldora, one of the strongest beings in this world. Veldora does not seem to be being controlled, but rather he looks to be really enjoying spending time with his 'brother.' That is the worst case possible, as that means it is nearly impossible to bring him to any other side.
There is no way for any country in this world to fight these people. They would have a tough time fighting with the slime, but even if they did manage to defeat him, they would also have the Storm Dragon waiting for them, and that woman—Rimuru Tempest's wife—that looked to be equally as dangerous. The only beings I believe should be able to give a decent fight against them would be the Demon Lords, but even then, there is no way to know if they would win against Veldora.
It is truly a good thing that the slime wanted to forge good relations with this kingdom. It might have been the end of us if that wasn't the case, due to the actions of a foolish individual. While thinking that, I turned to look at the fool who was close to causing the destruction of this kingdom because of his stupidity.
"Vesta. I already had no expectations for you, but this has definitely shown me that your foolishness knows no limits."
"Y-Your majesty? W-What are you talking about?" Vesta looked at me with his eyes twitching. No, his entire body was twitching on the floor, as he had been beaten up by the silver-haired woman just a few minutes ago.
"You fool! Nearly ruining our relationship with such a person only to protect your useless, 'noble pride,' even though it was your fault from the beginning."
"Y-Your majesty! Y-You can not believe what those commoners said! That dirty common girl was lyin—" Vesta was desperately trying to defend himself, but I interrupted him.
"Oh, so you are saying that that little girl was lying?" Vesta nodded. "Oh, so then you are calling me a liar as well. You see, ever since those individuals entered the city, I sent Anrietta to spy on them, so I know exactly what happened at Kaijin's shop." Vesta's face turned pale. While that was going on, I noticed how there was a person who was trying to hide himself in between the other people present, as if to not catch my attention.
"You there." I pointed at him. "You were supposed to be the one to defend the people being accused—as their lawyer—and yet you completely sold them off. I hope you will enjoy the bribe's money directly from your cell in prison." The lawyer who was supposed to defend the slime and the others started sweating profusely.
"But, my liege—!"
"Silence, you fool!" Vesta seemed to want to speak again, so I immediately shut him up.
"That slime that you picked a fight with is a complete monster. You noticed that too, didn't you? He is probably the strongest monster we have ever encountered, and not only that, but he is also being backed up by the Storm Dragon Veldora. This country might be in ashes right now if that slime didn't want to hold appropriate relations with us. You picked a fight with such a person." Vesta's face was falling even more into despair as he realized the consequences of his actions.
"M-My liege, I-I am terribly sorry!" He was on the floor due to his injuries, so he could not bow or kneel, but I am pretty sure that if that wasn't the case, he would be prostrating himself before me at this moment. However, that doesn't mean anything to me.
"I don't want your apology! From today onward, you are relieved from your charge in the government. I want you out of my sight!" I abruptly stood up, ignoring his despairing face, and addressed the nobles in the room. "You all, don't even think of looking for a fight with that slime! Those who do will be punished with death, I swear." I left the room—Anrietta following behind me—leaving behind the murmurs of the nobles and Vesta, who was saying, "I only wanted to be useful to you..."
Once we were out of sight, I ordered Anrietta to follow the slime into his village. She would probably be detected instantly once again, so I gave her the option to join them in person if she desired to do so.
After that, I went to my chamber and tried to relax my fatigue.
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That's the end of the Dwargon Trip arc! I know this chapter was shorter than usual (about 5200 words total), boring, and the family moments were minimal, but please bear with it. I will increase those moments in the future chapters, okay? I felt this chapter was important, so I gave it a bit of a more serious atmosphere.
Now, in the next chapter I think Shizu will be finally making her appearance. How will Reili react to her? It is exciting to think about it, right?
Also, I am already planning the first extra arc, which will be the family vacations to Earth. You should expect the first chapter from that arc maybe two or three chapters from now?
I am also excited to write about the trip to the main timeline, but I want to plan that more carefully, so it will probably still be a little while before that extra arc begins. Or well, that's what I think, but if I suddenly get on a writting spree and end up writing part of that arc as well, I might be able to upload it sooner than expected.
Well, that's all for this afterword.
I hope we meet again in the next chapter!