The Next Morning
In a house laid out in a large circular bed, the Rodan you encountered yesterday just before meeting with the Demon Lord, Milim, was laid out asleep due to wasting a vast amount of its energy from its battle with you. Though with care and tending to from Mai, the Rodan had steadily made a healthy recovery, and was now just finishing up gathering the rest of its energy it needed to wake up. When the light of the sun shined down through the window near her bed, the Rodan scrunched its face and slowly opened its eyes as her vision was blurry.
"Where am...I?" The Rodan muttered in confusion as her vision finally cleared up and she saw she was in an unfamiliar place. "Huh? W-What is this?" She asked in confusion as she raised her head and looked around in wonder and caution before feeling the soft cushion of the circular bed that she laid on. "Hm? This is...a nest? It's strangely soft..." She muttered while shuffling around in it and accidentally finding a comfortable position.
"Excuse me." The Rodan heard a voice come from the other side of the door and turned with a cautious look as she readied her wings, and in came Mai who held a basket of food and noticed she was awake. "Oh, you're awake now! Thank goodness! I brought you some food to help you recover--!" Mai was cut off when the Rodan spread her wings.
"Don't come any closer!" The Rodan warned as she glared at Mai, making the floating moth monster stop where she hovered. "Where am I? How did I get here?" She asked as Mai calmed herself and set down the basket of food.
"Lord Y/N brought you back here." Mai answered as the Rodan grew a questionable look. "The one you engaged in battle with before losing consciousness." She said as the Rodan remembered now what happened between you and her.
"Why would he bring an enemy along with him? And what is this place? This looks like a human's home." The Rodan said before growing confused as Mai floated out of the way.
"You're in the land that is owned by Lord Y/N and Lord Rimuru. Here, we monsters can gather and live in peace without any danger of being attacked or killed by anyone else. If you come with me, I can show you that we mean no harm. But you are also free to leave as you wish, and fly off where we'll never see you again. The choice is yours." Mai said as she floated out of the room, leaving the Rodan to her own choices.
The room fell silent as the Rodan lowered her wings and stared at the basket of food, inspecting how different each piece of food and bread and fruit looked. After staring for so long, her stomach made itself known with a grumble as the Rodan walked off the cushion she was on and leaned down to grab the basket and bring it back over to her make-shift nest as she took a bite form one of the pieces of meat. The moment the cooked meat hit her palate, she froze in silence as tears slowly dripped down her face, savoring the incredible taste of food for the first time in so long. The Rodan whimpered as she continued to eat away at the food basket, making sure to savor and be thankful for every last bite she had. After waiting a few minutes outside of the house, Mai noticed the door open and the Rodan come out with a few crumbs of bread on her face.
"I suppose I should offer thanks to him for saving me..." The Rodan said as Mai seemed happy at the choice she made.
"I'll lead the way." Mai said as she floated into the air, and the Rodan followed suit.
While flying above the streets of the town, the Rodan was amazed by what she was seeing, as there were different races of monsters walking around and living such peaceful lives and leading such flourishing life styles. The vast complexity of the buildings, the architecture that everything was built on, it was so astonishing for one to take in. While admiring everything from above, the Rodan noticed Mai began to descend towards the ground, and when she looked to see what was below, the Rodan immediately recognized the sight of you as you were stood near a shop talking with a few of the citizens, and Milim was riding on top of your back as she sported her new white sailor outfit that Shuna had made for her. Slowly descending to the ground, Mai stopped herself just a few feet off the ground and floated to the side of you as the Rodan touched down on the paved walkway, catching your attention.
"Hm? Oh, you're awake..." You said in surprise as the Rodan bowed her head to you.
"Your moth friend here tells me you're one of the leaders of this place. I'm sorry for attacking you the other day. I was so starved of food, anything that was alive was a potential food source to me. I made the unfortunate decision of targeting such a powerful being, I hope you can forgive me." The Rodan said as you were surprised by all this.
"Y/N?" The Rodan raised her head from hearing the sound of a childish voice and her sights landed on Milim who was wearing new cute clothing that was prepared for her by Shuna. "Who is this little birdy?" Milim asked in wonder as the Rodan seemed irritated by this.
"Watch your mouth, human!" The Rodan yelled at Milim, shocking you and everyone else around you as you all lost your breaths for a moment.
"H-H-Hey! Wait! This is--!" Mai was about to inform the Rodan of who Milim was, but the Demon Lord on your back just let out a cute laugh as she hopped down from your back.
"Ahahahaha! Interesting! You say that without realizing who you're up against. I like you're attitude!" Milim said with a grin.
"Hm? Are you challenging me?" The Rodan said as you were sweating bullets.
"HEY! NO ONE'S CHALLENGING ANYONE, RIGHT? MILIM?" You said to her as the Demon Lord turned to you.
"Don't worry, Y/N. I'll be gentle with her." Milim said as she was about to hop off your back, but you held her in place with your tail.
"Milim, remember what we told you? If you cause any trouble, you can kiss your meals for the day goodbye." You said as this instantly made the Demon Lord retract her intentions.
"Ah, that's right...F-Forget I said anything!" Milim said with a nervous look on her face.
"Hmph, how childish..." The Rodan with an unimpressed look on her face, but Mai floated over and began whispering into her ear. "Hm?" The Rodan hummed in wonder of what she was being told before her eyes shot open fully. "EH?! THE DEMON LORD MILIM?!" She yelled in complete shock as everyone around her just nodded in understanding of her reaction.
"Oh? Trembling in fear now, are we? Well, no need to worry, little birdie. Any friend of Y/N's is a friend of mine! Waahahahahaha!" Milim said with a cheerful laugh as the Rodan still couldn't believe what she was seeing before her eyes.
"To tame the Demon Lord Milim...Just how incredible are you?" The Rodan asked as you just nervously laughed while scratching the side of your head with your tail.
"Well, it's not like we tamed her, we just became besties is all..." You said as this amazed the Rodan to the point where a decision was made in her mind as she suddenly bowed her head before you. "Huh? What? What's going on?" You asked in surprise.
"Lord Y/N, one of the two rulers of monsters..." The Rodan suddenly spoke with great respect as she raised her head and looked to you with a hopeful and determined gaze. "Please, allow me to stand by your side for as long as I live!" She announced as this shocked everyone.
"Huh?" You said with a surprised look.
"Oh?" Milim said as she had a excited smile on her face.
"Ohhhhh!" The people around you were intrigued by this request.
"EHHHH!?!?!?!" Mai suddenly gasped in shock as her eyes turned into a flustered red color from her natural blue orbs as a pink hue spread across her face. "S-S-S-STAND BY HIS SIDE AS LONG AS YOU LIVE?!" Mai asked in shock.
"Yes! Not only for besting me in combat, but for saving my life...My heart and body belong to you and you alone!" The Rodan was determined to be one of your aids, but Mai was taking this all in the wrong way.
"Y-Y-YOU CAN'T!!!" Mai suddenly yelled as she flapped her wings in a flustered state and floated between you and the Rodan. "I-I'm already the one who will stand by my Lord's side for the rest of eternity! That position is already full!" Mai said as you wanted to speak up.
"U-Um, I don't think she means--!" Your words were suddenly cut off when the Rodan crossed one of her wings across her chest and interrupted you.
"Don't worry, Lady Mai..." The Rodan trailed off as Mai looked at her in confusion. "I'm sure that for someone like Lord Y/N, it's normal for him to have two loyal proxies by his side!" She proclaimed as made Mai's head explode hot steam.
"T-Two loyal...proxies?!" Mai repeated as her mind filled with steamy images of you being sandwiched between herself and the Rodan in a lustful way. "N-N-NO! I'M NOT SHARING MY LORD!!!" Mai yelled as before two bonks could be heard and it was revealed you gave both of them a brief strike on their heads with your tail.
"Jeez, could you be any more vague about the comments you two are saying?" You scolded them as they both sat on the floor, Mai looking sad as the Rodan seemed confused and a little embarrassed.
"Why did I get hit, too...?" The Rodan muttered in confusion.
"Mai, I think you're misunderstanding what she's trying to say." You said to the confused moth as she looked at you in wonder as you looked to the Rodan. "You want to be in the same position as Mai, working as my loyal underling, correct?" You asked as the Rodan instantly nodded her head.
"Yes. I promise to fulfill whatever your wishes are and perform my duties with all of strength and efforts!" The Rodan said as Mai was surprised to see how devoted she was towards you.
"Then, as long as you value the lives of your fellow monsters here, and vow to protect everyone like they're your own family, you can stay. Mai can teach you about how things are run in the city and find a suitable place for you among the ranks." You said to her as the Rodan's eyes filled with gratefulness and happiness.
"I am forever in your debt, my Lord!" The Rodan bowed her head once more as you deeply pondered something about her, and on the side, a few goblin kids ran up to you and Milim.
"Milim! They're selling a new flavor ice cream over around the corner! Let's go try some!" One of the children asked as Milim's eyes lit up like stars.
"A new flavor?! I'm off, Y/N!" Milim said as she hopped off your back and ran along with the other children.
"Just remember not to cause anyone too much trouble!" You called to her as she waved her hand before disappearing around the corner as you turned your sights back to the Rodan in front of you. "Now that you're part of our family, you'll need a name..." You said in deep contemplation before one came to mind. "Alright, from this day forward, you'll be named Riza." You said as you felt a hefty chunk of your magicules leave your body and the newly named Riza glowed brightly as her magicules and strength increased dramatically.
"I will never forget nor betray this kindness you have shown me today, my Lord!" Riza said as before growing surprised when your tail suddenly found itself patting her on the top of her head.
"I admire you're drive, but we're also in a time of peace. You can be more relaxed and do whatever you wish to do here." You said to her with a kind voice as she let out a smile and turned to Mai.
"Then, maybe my superior could show me where I will be living from now on?" Riza asked as Mai seemed surprised at first, but also liked the sound of being called 'superior' by someone else.
"Ehehehe~ Well~ I guess I can show you the ropes of how things are run here~ Anything for my junior~" Mai said with a gleeful tone as you just enjoyed the sight of these two getting along.
Just as you were enjoying this interaction between Mai and Riza, something strange caught everyone's attention near the center of town when there was a massive explosion and smoke cloud that rose in the air. Riza and Mai were quick to take to the skies while you ran as fast as you could towards the location of the disturbance. Like usual, as you were arriving to the scene of the disturbance, near the city fountain was Rimuru who just landed and was heading over in his humanoid form. Seeing a massive crowd forming, you slowed your sprint down to a walk since there didn't seem to be any more trouble occurring as you walked up behind Rimuru.
"Hey, partner..." You spoke up as Rimuru turned around and saw you walk up next to him. "Enjoy checking on things outside of the town?" You asked.
"Yeah, things are looking good out there so far, but..." Rimuru trailed off as you two felt Soei's presence come up next to you in the shadows. "What's going on?" Rimuru asked as Soei rose up from the shadow he was moving in.
"A new guest arrived in town, and Lady Milim took exception to him." Soei explained the situation as you grew nervous at the mention of Milim.
"Ugh, I thought the build up of magicules felt familiar for a brief second..." You said with a nervous sweat drop on the side of your face as you three moved through the crowd.
"Let us through." Rimuru said as you all shuffled pass everyone who was watching, and arrived to see Benimaru and the other Kijin had arrived to investigate the commotion as well, but what concerned you was the fact that Rigurd was on his knees with his face to the ground, wincing in seemingly pain. "Rigurd, are you okay?" Rimuru asked in concern of his well being.
"G-Great Rimuru! Oh, and Great Y/N! It's you two!" Rigurd tried speaking with the same amount of joy he gets from your presence, but when he raised his head, there was something strange about his smile...
"EH?!" You and Rimuru gasped in shock from the brutal sight that was Rigurd's face.
"This is no cause for concern at all!" Rigurd tried to reassure you two, but there was zero buying it.
"No way! That's serious!" Rimuru said while splashing him with a healing potion as you two walked pass him and he stood up fully healed while you two looked to see what this 'Guest' looked like.
Looking over to the scene, there stood Milim over an unconscious male with beastlike body parts and a tail, and there were three more individuals who also had beastlike features and wore the same armor type as the knocked out assailant who was frothing at the mouth.
"This is who did that to your?" Rimuru asked as you and him stared at the unresponsive man that Milim stood over.
"Correct." Rigurd answered as Milim turned around and grew an excited face when she saw you two.
"Oh, Rimuru! Y/N!" Milim called out as she cutely jogged over to you two.
"Yikes..." Both you and Rimuru muttered as you were still unsure how to treat this situation and what she seemingly did.
"This guy thought he could mock us, so I taught him a lesson!" Milim said as she stood cutely in front of you two and recalled the memory of what happened for you both.
A Few Minutes Ago
Rigurd was stood in front of the group of newly arrived strangers as the unknown leader of this group stood cockily in front of the Goblin King. There was a large crowd watching to see what was going to happen as the leader of this newly arrived group spoke up.
"I am one of Demon Lord Carrion's Three Beastketeers, Phobio the Black Leopard Fang. I am the strongest warrior of the Animal King's Beastketeers." The newly arrived Phobio introduced himself to Rigurd and everyone around as he examined the surrounding buildings and environment. "Nice town you've got here. Fit to be ruled by the Animal King, don't you think?" Phobio spoke in a not-so-friendly way which Rigurd took jest towards.
"Surely you jest--GAAHH!!!" Rigurd's words were suddenly interrupted when Phobio delivered a blazing punch to his face, severely wounding him as the crowd was shocked and Phobio stood with a confident smirk.
Just as his confidence was at its all time high though, he couldn't have picked the worst time to mess with the people of this town as everyone could sense an angry aura emitting from the crowd. Looking ahead to see what it was, Phobio was shocked when people shuffled out of the way to reveal Milim who had dropped her ice cream from feeling a great amount of anger from what she just saw as a murderous aura and great amount of power could be felt building up inside of her.
"Wha?! The Demon Lord Milim?!" Phobio said in shock as he staggered back a few steps when Milim dashed towards him. "Kyh! Leopard Fang Flaming Palm!" Phobio let out one of his skills as he raised his palm to defend himself.
"What do you think you're doing to my two bestie's subordinate?!" Milim yelled at him as she reeled back her fist and the two clashed, resulting in a massive explosion for everyone in the area to see.
Back to the Present
There in front of you and Rimuru was Milim who wore the most innocent and cute smile on her face as she expected any moment now to receive words of praise from the two of you. Both you and Rimuru looked at each other with deadpan faces as the two of you thought the same thing.
"I think she expects us to praise her..." You both thought as she poked her head towards you, expecting a head pat and kind words especially from you as you and Rimuru looked pass her to see Phobio's comrades looking concerned over his limp body. "And, um...Should we really be praising her for this?" The two of your minds were in unison as Milim opened her eyes with the most adorable gaze.
"I doubt she'll get away with doing this to an underling of this Demon Lord Carrion." Rimuru spoke with you through Thought Communication as he grew a tired look on his face as you just slouched your posture with your tail scratching the top of your head in wonder of what to do.
"I just told her also not to cause anyone trouble, then somehow she gets herself wrapped up in this...?" You responded to his thoughts as you both knew what you two had to do as Rimuru was the first to speak after letting out a tired sigh.
"Didn't you promise us not to cause any commotion without our permission?" Rimuru spoke with a calm, but scolding tone as this shocked Milim.
"Huh?! Er, well..." Milim was thrown off by this as she tried to think quickly of what to say. "Y-Yeah! This is different! He's not from this town, so it doesn't count!" Milim laid out her defense while spreading her arms out repeatedly to solidify that this event is 'Safe' from those restrictions.
"It does count." You and Rimuru said in unison.
"Huh?!" Milim gasped in shock as her little ahoge wiggled in disbelief atop of her head.
"But since you did stand up for Rigurd, I'll just make you go without lunch today." Rimuru said to her as Milim suddenly clung onto you.
"Nooooo!!! It's not fair!!! Please, you have to believe me! You believe me, right, Y/N?!" Milim looked at you with tear stained eyes, but was not prepared when you turned your head away.
"I'm sorry, but you'll just have to tough this punishment out..." You said as this completely broke the Demon Lord and tears welled in her saddened eyes.
"That's cruel..." Milim said as she let go and backed away from you, and the sight of this tugged on your heart. "That's too cruel!" Milim cried out in sorrow as she took off, but what neither of you expected was for her to take off towards Phobio and kick his limp body as she grabbed hold of his collar. "This is all HIS fault! This scumbag! One hit wasn't enough! At least give me one more--!" Milim was letting out all her sorrow and despair on the unconscious Phobio and pinned all the blame on him, raising her fist that was charging up with magicules as you and Rimuru scrambled over each other to prevent Milim from killing one of Demon Lord Carrion's subordinates.
"WAIT! WAIT! WAIT!" You two screamed in a panic as you and the others rushed to prevent another disaster.
A Few Minutes Later, City Hall
Some time had passed and you managed to calm Milim down by caving in and giving her lunch as she sat on the side with your head laying on her lap, which was one of her favorite things, and she happily ate the lunch sandwiches that Shuna prepared as a refreshing orange drink was set on the side for her as well. You let out a sigh of relief while allowing Milim to do as she pleased on the side towards the end where your friends were, while Rimuru handled to diplomatic side of things in the meeting room you were in as he, Benimaru, Shion, and Rigurd were on one side of a long table, while Phobio and his comrades were at the other.
"So, why did you come here?" Rimuru asked in a calm manner towards Phobio who sat with his arms crossed and had an unimpressed look on his face.
"Hmph. You expect me to answer to a lowly slime?" Phobio said with spite as the three around Rimuru didn't take that insult lightly.
"You may call me 'lowly', but I'm stronger than you." Rimuru said as Phobio looked at him with irritated and angered eyes that couldn't deny that fact. "I and my partner don't know this Demon Lord Carrion. Depending on how you behave, our people could become Carrion's enemies. Do you want to be solely responsible for antagonizing the entire Great Forest of Jura?" Rimuru asked as Phobio kept his same attitude.
"Hah! That's big talk! This whole town is loyal to lowly monsters like you and that lizard over there? Must be rough having nothing but weaklings around. Don't get a big head just because Lady Milim took a liking to you." Phobio insulted the entire town, leaving a nasty taste for you all towards him as Milim couldn't turn a blind eye to this comment.
"Hey! Are you talking trash about my friends?!" Milim spoke up as this scared Phobio, but Rimuru turned around towards her as you lifted your head to face her as well.
"Milim, stop. If you do anything else, you can kiss dinner goodbye." Rimuru warned her as you moved your tail in front of Milim's snacks to deny her anymore of it, instantly taming the Demon Lord.
"Ah. Okay. I'll be quiet." Milim said nervously as you pushed the sandwich in her hands towards her mouth and she quietly munched on it while you pat her on the head as Rimuru resumed the talks.
"Now, it's true that I'm a slime and he's a lizard. But it's also a fact that we rule 30% of this forest, and if you're really serious, we may have no choice but to declare war. So think carefully before you answer me." Rimuru gave him a strong warning as Phobio had no choice but to bite his tongue a bit more than he'd like.
"Agh. Lord Carrion ordered me to come here and scout some mysterious majin to serve him." Phobio explained his reasoning for his arrival here.
"Oh? He must mean us." Rimuru came to this realization as more concerning thoughts pondered in his mind. "Looks like Milim wasn't the only Demon Lord who had an eye on that battle." He thought as Milim also had some lingering thoughts on this.
"Damn that Carrion! He broke his promise!" Milim thought in annoyance, while outside of her mind, she was radiating a terrifying aura with an extremely angry face as she squeezed one of your dorsal plates too hard.
"AH! OUCH! M-MILIM! WHAT'S WRONG?! YOU'RE GONNA RIP IT OFF! OUCH! MILIM!" You yelling out in pain as she ground her teeth in annoyance, unaware of what she was doing.
"...Huh?" Rimuru turned around with an intense look as Milim instantly calmed down, returning to her calm demeanor with a smile as you finally relaxed from having your dorsal plate free from her grasp, slumping in her lap as she stroked your head and Rimuru turned back to Phobio. "Well, I get the picture. You can leave now." He said as this surprised and confused Phobio.
"Huh?" Phobio mumbled with a perplexed look.
"Great Rimuru..." Benimaru and the others were surprised at how easy their lord was letting him off.
"Are you sure about this?" Shion asked about how wise this decision was.
"Well, we can't kill him, can we?" Rimuru countered their unease about this decision as he turned back to speak with Phobio. "Tell the Demon Lord Carrion that if he wants to talk, he can choose a date and contact us." He said to them as Phobio stood up from his seat and they went to leave, but not before Phobio could take a long, hateful glare at Milim who happily sipped her juice while you relaxed on her lap.
"I'll make you regret this." Phobio muttered under his breath as he left and the door behind him shut, leaving an uneasy feeling in you and Rimuru.
"Doesn't look like he'll relay any message for us..." Rimuru made an assumption based on Phobio's behavior as he hopped out of his seat and returned to him humanoid form in front of you and Milim. "Okay, I want to know all about this Demon Lord Carrion." Rimuru said as this piqued your interest.
"Oh, me too." You said as you raised your head, and Milim stood up with her one hand out towards each of you two.
"I can't tell you that. We've sworn not to interfere with each other." Milim just accidentally made a slip of the tongue, not that she was aware of what she just said.
"And there it is! She just confessed there's some secret!" You and Rimuru both thought the same thing with deadpan faces as you knew this would be a walk in the park to get info out of Milim as you nuzzled up on Milim's left side while Rimuru shuffled closer on her right, pinning her between you two. "Did you only make that promise with Carrion?" Rimuru asked with a smirk on his face.
"Or were there other Demon Lords involved in this as well?" You asked with a toothy grin on your face as Milim was feeling pressured.
"Uh, that's..." Milim was unsure of how to answer these questions as you two kept pushing.
"Hey, it okay! Carrion used his underling to interfere with you, didn't he?" Rimuru said as you nodded in agreement, the two of you pushing all the right buttons to make Milim spill the info she had. "And we're besties, so we help each other out, right? So I think it'd be a good idea for us to know about the other Demon Lords." Rimuru played the 'We're Besties!' card as Milim was folding faster than paper being folded in half, but it was time for the final push as you and Rimuru stepped away from her and stood next to each other. "If I don't know what kind of promise you made, I might end up interfering without realizing it." He said as you nodded in agreement and Milim was starting to feel bad.
"That's true...But...Besties..." Milim said with an uneasy look on her face as she was on the fence about whether or not to speak about the other Demon Lords with you two.
"I know!" Rimuru exclaimed as he hopped on top of your back and you turned around towards Milim as he held up one finger. "We'll make a weapon for you! We're concerned for you as our bestie, after all!" He said as you two gave her the most innocent looking faces you two could come up with.
"A new weapon?!" Milim said in shock as this was the true final straw. "Ahahaha! Yeah, that's right! Nothing's more important than your bestie!" Milim cheered as you two stared at her with your poker faced smiles.
"Too easy. She's way too easy." You two thought in unison as getting Milim to admit things was concerningly too easy.
After taking a listen to see what Milim and the other Demon Lords she was involved with were doing, it was revealed that she was in the works with three other Demon Lords, Clayman, Carrion, and Frey. The four of them were using Gelmud in a scheme to create a puppet Demon Lord, which to them was a way to just kill time, but since you and your forces intervened, it was inevitable that their sights would land on you two and your nation. Knowing now that you two had attracted the gaze of suspicious individuals, it only added to the ever growing worry that was building up inside of you. However, that worry was snuffed out momentarily when Milim began nuzzling up with you as her arms were wrapped around your head.
"Well, I've told you two the secret. Now give me my new weapon, like you two promised, besties! Fuwahahahaha!" Milim exclaimed with an excited laugh, but the door opened to reveal Shuna.
"Excuse me." Shuna announced herself as you all turned towards her.
"Oh, Shuna, something come up?" Rimuru, who returned to his slime form, asked as Shion picked him up in her arms.
"We have a few more guests that Gobta encountered while gathering dinner. It's Kaval-san's party, along with some other adventurers it seems." Shuna announced the arrival of more guests as you sighed in exhaustion.
"Jeez, people keep popping up unannounced, it gets tiring..." You whined as you pulled Milim off with your tail as she ran off to check out what was for dinner.
"We'll see them now, then." Rimuru said as Shuna nodded before leaving the room to go and fetch the newly arrived guests.
After waiting for your other guests to arrive, you were resting next to Rimuru who sat at the head of the table as your aids were sat on the sides towards you two, and in came the guests who sat on the opposite side of the table. Three of them you recognized as Kaval and his party who had arrived here previously with Shizu, but there was a man accompanying Kaval's party, Fuze, and a new group who arrived that you did not recognize, lead by a man named Youm.
"I'm one of the representatives of this town...or nation...called the Jura Tempest Federation. My name's Rimuru Tempest, and the one behind me is the other representative and my partner, Y/N Tempest." Rimuru introduced him and yourself to the new faces in the room as Fuze leaned from his seat with shock as you poked your head up above the table to give them a friendly bow.
"You really are a slime and lizard!" Fuze said in shock.
"By the way, Rimuru and Y/N, there are some folks here we didn't see last time." Kaval brought up the presence of the Kijin.
"Oh, yeah. This is Benimaru, Shion, Soei, and Shuna." Rimuru introduced the Kijin as they gave respectful acknowledgement to everyone in the room, but all your attentions were caught when the door to the meeting room opened and walked in Milim with her cheeks full of food as she took her seat next to Rigurd. "And that's Milim." He pointed her out as Fuze was stunned, while Youm kept a straight, unshaken face as they watched Milim happily eat her food. "So, the Kingdoms of Blumund and Falmuth have both come to investigate this place?" Rimuru asked as Fuze turned towards him.
"We are---!" Fuze was about to speak on the reason for his trip here, but Youm interrupted him.
"Wait a minute. Why is a slime and lizard acting like such bigshots? It makes no sense here! What's the deal here? Why are you all okay with this?" Youm demanded to know why things were being run like this, which Shion didn't take a liking to.
"You are insulting Great Rimuru and Y/N." Shion warned the man of his actions.
"Shut your mouth, Tits!" Youm spat back towards Shion as this sentence made you and Rimuru panic and tremble in shock as Shion brought down her sheathed Great Sword right on top of the Falmuth man's head, giving him a massive welt and knocking him out for a moment in an awkward position as his feet were on the table while he sat in his chair.
"H-Hey..." Rimuru turned to Shion who instantly bowed her head in regret for letting her emotions run rampant for that moment.
"I'm sorry!" Shion apologized and bowed her head in regret as Rimuru splashed Youm with a healing potion as he sat back up.
"Sorry about what Shion did. She has trouble restrating herself sometimes. Cut her some slack." Rimuru apologized on behalf of Shion as the busty kijin turned towards him in shock.
"That's mean! I'm actually known for my patience!" Shion whined as Milim laughed in amusement.
"Ahahaha! You've got a long way to go if you're that impatient, Shion! You're so short tempered because you don't have an open mind like I do." Milim said as you and Rimuru looked at her with questionable stares, before shaking it off, deciding to not further pry into that topic.
"I want to be on good terms with Humans. I hope we can trade and network with you all someday, too." Rimuru said as the Falmuth representative looked to the man in Kaval's party.
"Trade?" Fuze said in confusion.
"Yeah. We've actually entered diplomatic relations with the Dwarven Kingdom already." Rimuru revealed as this was a shock to both men.
"With Dwargon?!" Fuze said in shock as Youm couldn't help but show some sign of surprise in his face as well.
"I think passing through this land would be more convenient for your merchants. What do you think?" Rimuru asked them.
"Now, wait a minute! You're saying that Dwargon acknowledges this nation of monsters as legitimiate?" Fuze asked in disbelief, and as if on queue, the door opened and walked in Vesta.
"I can vouch for that." Vesta said as Kaval's new party member was shocked to see him.
"Minister Vesta!" Fuze was in awe of who had just arrived.
"Former minister." Vesta corrected him.
"What is a man of your standing doing here?" Fuze asked as everyone, even your guests, were confused as to how these two knew each other.
"It's good to see you again, Fuze. What Great Rimuru says is true." Vesta spoke the name of the man who was with Kaval as he turned towards you two to deliver a respectful bow, which you both returned the gesture. "King Gazel, Rimuru, and Y/N have entered into a treaty." He confirmed the alliance as Fuze was left speechless.
"Are you convinced now?" Rimuru asked the guests.
"W-Well...If that is the case, we aren't opposed to cooperating with you. But I'll need to see undeniable proof that you are, in fact, an ally of Humans. I assume that's all right?" Fuze requested as you two felt things begin to move along in these talks.
"Oh, sure. That's to be expected. We're just fine with that. We permit you to stay here." Rimuru said as you felt like it was time for you to take a turn in speaking.
"I hope you are able to realize by the end of your stay that we are of no threat to any of you or your kingdoms, or a threat to Human kind. If we can become friends by the end of your time here, that would make this meeting all the better." You said to them as Rimuru spoke up again.
"By the way, Fuze-san, has the news that the Orc Lord was defeated already gotten around?" Rimuru asked as this made Fuze raise a brow.
"No, only our king and select handful of people know that." Fuze answered as this was intriguing to you and Rimuru.
"I see. In that case...Youm-kun, want to make a contract with us?" Rimuru said with a suggestive tone as Youm turned his head away.
"Huh? What are you even talki--!" Youm's face suddenly filled wth nervousness and worry as he turned to see Shion glaring at him. "What...might you be suggesting?" He asked as he was more willing to listen to this offer.
"You said the Kingdom of Falmuth hired you with money, right? So you'd just be switching employers. To put it in simple terms...I want you guys to be the champions who defeated the Orc Lord." Rimuru said as an awkward silence fell upon the room for a few moments before Youm realized what he was just asked to do.
"What?!" Youm and his party members asked in shock.
"Just say that we simply helped you out, and start a rumor that you were the one who defeated the Orc Lord. I figure, that way, I can be known as a trustworthy monster who assissted the champion." Rimuru said as you stood up off the ground and stood right next to your slime buddy.
"With things like that, befrieding other people from other parts of the world should be easier and make us more approachable. It's also better than them thinking we're some mysterious, threatening monsters. It's not a bad deal, right?" You asked them as Youm contemplated this contract deeply. "Feel free to make your decision later. I suggest that you all take your time to get familiar with the new surroundings we have to offer, and find some time to settle in for the night." You suggested as Rimuru also agreed to this choice.
"Then, we can reconvene at another time. Shuna, Rigurd, can you show them to where they'll all be staying?" Rimuru asked as Shuna turned and bowed towards him while Rigurd stood up with his fist on his chest.
"Of course." Shuna responded to the orders.
"Leave it to us!" Rigurd said heartily as they escorted everyone out for the time being to relax and enjoy themselves.
After the meeting was ojourned for the time being, you and Rimuru took it easy and decided to join the others to show them how to have fun here in town. The day consisted of a massive feast from Gobta and the Goblin Riders' earlier catch of dinner, fun activities like dancing and a LOT of drinking. For almost the entire day, you spent it with all your friends and your guests having fun and showing them the kind and genuine side of your people. ONce things were beginning to die down, Youm found a chance to slip away from the crowd and climb up a hill where he could be alone to contemplate the thoughts he had about this place after spending a whole day here with its people. Whilst he was pondering his thoughts as he gazed over the town below, you and Rimuru were approaching from behind as your slime friend rode on top of your head and you stopped a few steps away from Youm.
"I hope we're not intruding." You spoke up to let Youm know of your presence.
"No, not at all." Youm answered with reassurance.
"Have you gathered your thoughts?" Rimuru askd as Youm had a face that seemed like he had made up his mind.
"Rimuru, Y/N....No, Mr. Rimuru and Mr. Y/N. This town really is something. After seeing all of them, I know you're not some evil being. We are people of guilty conscience. We always longed to be free men. We accepted the mission to come here because we planned to make everyone think we'd died on the way and then head for some safe nation." Youm revealed the true intentions of his party's arrival here as he turned towards you two with a resolved smile. "I've decided. I'll trust you two." He said as he walked in front of you and knelt down before you both. "Allow me to call you 'Master Rimuru' and 'Master Y/N' from now on. I am at your command." Youm said as you two were happy about how genuine he sounded about this decision.
"Sure, we'll be counting on you." Rimuru said as this contract between you two and Youm was set in place, and a new friend was added to the long list of friends you two were still building.
"However, you'll need to look more like a champion if we wanna convince people that you were the sole victor in the battle against the Orc Lord. Ah, I think a visit with Hakurou would do you good." You suggested to him as Rimuru quivered from the idea.
"Hm? Sure, I guess I'll do it." Youm said as you just had a wicked simle on your face.
"Yeah, no need to sweat it. Hakurou will just fine tune your physical capabilities is all so you can look the part even better. Good luck, champion." You said with a little chuckle in your voice as the day came to an end and new relations between different kingdsom were established to your ever growing nation.