(Rimuru's Perspective)
After walking for a while, Ciel and I were guided to a room with a soundproof barrier
In the middle of the room, there is a small round table, with three chairs around it
One of the chairs was at the head of the table, while the other two chairs were right next to each other
After guiding us here, the guards silently left the room leaving Ciel and me alone
We went and sat on the two chairs, waiting for King Gazel to arrive
Hey, Ciel. Quick question. Do I still have a True Dragon Core? I asked Ciel through our connected minds
The reason why I didn't speak out loud is because this room is most likely being monitored
<Technically, Rimuru-sama isn't a True Dragon, but something that surpasses True Dragons. If Rimuru-sama is worried about his familial connection to the other True Dragons, please rest assured, since I made sure to preserve Rimuru-sama's True Dragon Core>
I see. Thanks, Ciel. I really mean it
As we were having this mental conversation, the door to this room opened, revealing King Gazel
"It seems like I've kept you waiting, Rimuru, Ciel"
"No, it's fine, we haven't been waiting that long after all" I said
After that small exchange, King Gazel walked up to the empty chair at the head of the table, promptly sitting on it, before starting to speak again
"So, let's relax for now. We can discuss things after eating"
Ciel and I nod, as the door opened once again, with servants carrying plates of food storming in
They left a plate in front of King Gazel, Ciel and me, before quickly leaving the room
We immediately started eating, with an awkward silence permeating throughout the room
.
.
.
(A/N : Yes, I skipped the feast scene, because I have absolutely no idea on how to make a scene like that interesting. I mean, what do Dwarves even eat? Local specialties? No idea)
After we finished eating, the servants entered the room again, taking all of the plates and cleaning the table before swiftly leaving
An awkward silence was about to befall the room again, but before it could, I started speaking
"First things first, let me re-introduce myself, King Gazel. My name is Rimuru Tempest. I am the leader of a small village in the depths of the Great Forest of Jura, as well as the fifth True Dragon in existence"
As soon as I uttered those words, King Gazel's eyes opened wide
"...I see. That explains your overwhelming power. But what would a True Dragon want from my country?"
As expected from King Gazel. Even when a Special S Class being appears in front of him, he is able to rationally make decisions without his emotions clouding his judgment. Truly a masterful ruler
"Our village is in dire need of craftsmen. Since our people recently evolved, we don't have clothes, weapons, armor and houses for the people under our protection. Because of that, my partner and I decided to come to the Dwarven Kingdom in order to find some skilled craftsmen, who were willing to not only migrate to our village, but also share their knowledge with the people there"
After hearing my reply, King Gazel ponders something for a bit, before starting to talk again
"Humu. I understand. But let me ask you. Why would that concern a King like myself? What benefits could I possibly hope to gain from this?" He asked
"It would help you better our impression of you, therefore giving your country more leeway when it comes to dealing with matters concerning us...But I don't think that that is the answer you are looking for" I said as such
And after a moment of silence, I spoke up again
"What we wish to accomplish, is to build a country, in which all sorts of races can peacefully coexist with one another. A mighty country of monsters in the middle of the Great Forest of Jura. If you supply us with skilled dwarven craftsmen, we will be able to develop more quickly. Since our country will be in the center of the Magic Continent, there will be many new trade routes created with a lot of countries, except from the Eastern Empire, of course. And since you would be the first to support us, you would also be the first to reap the benefits. Our way of living is 'repay kindness with kindness and enmity with enmity'. We will give our best to support our allies, and we will make sure that our enemies will never see the light of day. So? What do you say?"
King Gazel looked shocked, as he probably wasn't expecting me to reveal our goal right in front of him
"Gahahahaha! Color me surprised! When you first made that request, I believed that you hadn't given it enough thought yet. But who would have thought that you are actually aware of what you wish to accomplish. However, peaceful coexistence is quite a naïve dream. You do realize that, right?"
"I know. But I prefer to aim for the ideal, rather than haphazardly trying to achieve something in-between, only to fail miserably. Besides, we will be underestimated a lot, which will be very helpful to us"
When I said that last part, it looked like a question mark appeared above King Gazel's head
"You will be underestimated? With that kind of power? How?" He asked
"That's simple. It's because we are slimes...sort of"
As soon as I said that, King Gazel stared at me with a look of confusion on his face
"Didn't you say that you are a True Dragon? Aren't you currently contradicting that?"
"The only reason you think like that is because you do not know enough about True Dragons. A True Dragon isn't really a 'Dragon' per se, but a being that has a True Dragon Core. Technically, any creature can evolve into a True Dragon, only if they have enough potential to form a True Dragon Core"
As I was saying that, I turned to my slime form, which was not adorning the new abyssal black color that it had obtained after my evolution. Instead, it had the same old light blue color, since I had used Universal Shapeshift to change it
Seeing that, King Gazel stares at the distance, seemingly unable to digest the information that he just heard
"Anyway, that is why we'll be underestimated often. Because everyone isn't like King Gazel. They will judge strength only from appearance"
King Gazel just nods at that, before beginning to speak again
"*Ahem*...We have derailed our conversation quite a bit. So, I take it that this is equivalent to a meeting of the leaders of two countries. Right?"
"Right. We wish to create a diplomatic relationship between our countries. For now, sharing our technologies with each other will do. Since if we have Kaijin and the others on our side, we will develop at an incredible pace. But since this is the first deal between our countries, I want to give you a gift"
As soon as I say that, I bring out a single item from my imaginary space
If it was anyone other than King Gazel, I would give them some kind of weapon and some full potions, but, I'm sure that King Gazel can figure out this item's potential
The item that I brought out of the imaginary space is, simply put, a camera
It was built by Kaijin's research squad in the previous timeline
Normally, a camera wouldn't really be a gift worthy enough to give on such an occasion
For a technologically advanced world that would be true, but with this world, it's completely different
"What is this?" King Gazel asked with a curious expression
"This little thing is called a camera. It is able to relay what one sees over a long distance. It is also able to string many images together to make it look like one is witnessing the events portrayed on it as if they were there themselves. Pretty handy, right?"
As soon as I finished my explanation, King Gazel looked at me with wide eyes. As if his whole worldview just shattered
"What!? Such a thing...It can completely change the way war works! Why can you just pull out such an outrageous thing like it's nothing!?"
Yup, just as expected
Normally, in this world, transferring high quality information is difficult, even with magic
That's why an invention like this camera is groundbreaking...to someone like King Gazel
Of course, the Argos that I (Ciel) created is an exception among exceptions
"Now now, this is only the beginning. When our country completely develops, not only devices such as this, but Myth Class equipment will be created on a massive scale as well. I could give you a Myth Class armament as a gift, but I believe that this camera will be of more use to someone like you" I said, stating my true thoughts
King Gazel seems to ponder something before speaking up again
"Indeed. Even if I had such a weapon with me, there's only so many things that I can do on my own. Meanwhile, this 'camera' as you called it can give my country the chance to expand its information network to new heights"
I mostly agree with what King Gazel just said, except the fact one is limited on their own
That is partly correct and partly wrong
Since, as it has been shown time and time again, enough might can make anything happen, no matter how difficult it is to accomplish
"Now that matter has been settled. I wish to ask something else. As you said before, you wish to build a country that allows for the peaceful coexistence of other races. I take it that races such as humans are factored into that as well, right?"
Now that's a bizarre question, isn't it?
"Yes, humans are also included in that too. Why do you ask?"
"Then, if you were to be targeted by the Demon Lords or the Eastern Empire that the Great Forest of Jura borders on? What would you do?" He asked
Well, that's simple
"Crush them. Trample them. Bury them. Simple, really. Even if they attack at the same time, since there are two of us now, they won't be able to lay a finger on us. However, the damage to the surroundings would be immense. That's why our country needs to be completely self-sufficient and independent from us. What is the point of a country if the Emperor and Empress were the only ones on the front lines?" I said in a determined voice
"Hooo...Interesting" King Gazel reacted like that, while an amused grin sprouted on his face
Then, I slightly look to my left, and I see Ciel, blushing heavily
Oi...Don't tell me...You know what? Lets just not think about it
"*Ahem*, that settles that then" King Gazel said as such "I will gather a few dwarven researchers to send to your budding little country, since they can't do much here, after all"
As King Gazel said that, he sent a telepathic message to the leader of his country's engineer corps
I felt about twenty dwarven craftsmen swiftly gathering in the entrance of King Gazel's Palace
Along with them, stood Kaijin, Garm, Dord and Myrd
Then, King Gazel stood up from his chair while saying "Follow me"
Ciel and I promptly sit up as well, walking closely behind him
After a few minutes of walking, we were greeted with an impressive sight
The dwarven engineers had already packed up all of the gear they needed
Kiajin stood in front of them, his eyes quickly snapping to our direction
"""""My liege!""""" They shouted in unison
"Humu. I believe that everyone here has already been briefed on what they will have to do, but I shall explain once more. You have all been gathered here, in order to help Rimuru and Ciel here develop their humble village into a bustling country. I have judged that you can achieve many more results under Rimuru's and Ciel's guidance. With Kaijin leading you all, you will be able to elevate your techniques into new heights. From this moment on, your superiors shall be Rimuru and Ciel, so be sure to treat them with absolute respect. You have my utmost trust. That is all" He said, as his natural-born charisma gave all of the dwarven craftsmen newfound motivation
The moment after he said that, he turned to us
"Rimuru, Ciel. I believe that you would need more supplies to travel with this large group towards the Great Forest of Jura. Should we prepare them for you?" He asked
"No need. We will reach our village instantly anyways" I said, after which I lifted my hand upwards, while saying "[Legion Magic : Mass Teleport]"
(A/N : I totally made this name up. Like seriously, I was googling about legion magic for about 20 minutes before just giving up and improvising)
As soon as I said that, a cuboid barrier appeared, covering the dwarves, Ciel and me
"Be sure to visit us in about five to six months" I said, as the sight of the Dwarven Palace soon faded from our eyes
(A/N : This chronology is also made up)
In the next moment, the view around us cleared, revealing a small but well maintained village, with Hobgoblins, Goblinas and Tempest Wolves all roaming around, mingling with each other
"So, welcome to our little village. You can rest for today. Tomorrow is when we will start putting you to work"
"""""Yes, my lord and lady!"""""
"You can call us by name, you know?"
"Hai hai, Boss Rimuru, Miss Ciel. I know that you do not like all that formal stuff"
"Indeed. After a while it just gets tiring" I said as such, while Ciel looked uninterested
As soon as I finish saying that, I turn around, only to see a large and muscular Hobgoblin running towards me while shouting "Rimuru-sama! Ciel-sama!"
"Yo, Rigurd! We have returned" I said
"Hai! Are these the dwarven craftsmen that Rimuru-sama told us that he would bring?"
"Yes, they are. Let them rest and get used to the village for today. Tomorrow they will start working for real"
"I see. Now everyone, please follow me to the spare houses that we have. Feel free to take your time to get used to the changes in your environment" He said with a polite and dignified air
The dwarves, however, were looking around with awe and shock. Well, seeing Hobgoblins, Goblinas and Tempest Wolves casually getting along isn't a common sight, after all
I clapped my hands, to get their attention, before speaking up
"This is Rigurd. He is this village's Goblin King. He will introduce you to the Goblin Lords tomorrow. Just so you know, he is your superior, even though he may treat you like that. Be sure to get along"
""""Hai! Rimuru-sama"""" They said in unison once again
As I saw the dwarves being led by Rigurd, I suddenly got taken aback by the nostalgic sight
Things are about to become really chaotic from now on
Our country is going to develop at a record speed, which means that we may be targeted by those fools sooner, so we have to keep our guard up. We need to prepare accordingly.
But well, that isn't what I should worry about right now
What I'm worried about more, is that it's almost time
Yes, it's indeed almost time
Time to meet her, my destined one
Shizue Izawa, the Conqueror of Flames
(A/N : Words : 2456)