A City’s Specialty
Devil Grucius is a wolfman.
He was remembering his words,
「Observe them but take care to go unnoticed; if you see any other devils, extend the invitation to the oni before them!」
Devils other than himself? When he asked about that, Karion added,
「Clayman and Milim will be sending one of their subordinates there.
Working together with them gives me the creeps, so do as I asked!」
He said, averting his gaze.
「Ah! Karion-sama! Why have you averted your gaze?
Could they be such troublesome opponents?」
Upon hearing this question, Karion was confused for a second, but his confusion quickly turned into a broad grin.
「I see! You haven’t heard of Milim, have you! Is that how it is… I see, I see!
As long as she stays happy, all is good! But I have complete trust in you!」
So he said.
“Milim” most likely refers to Demon Lord Milim Nava. A famous demon lord that even Grucius has heard of.
Her personality can be described with four words: short tempered, haughty, cruel, and egoistic. Nothing good is ever said about her.
It has been only 100 years since Grucius became a devil. So, he naturally did not know.
Soon – when he reached the meeting place, to be precise – he quickly regretted his ignorance.
Devil Myulan was lamenting her misfortune.
Working with other Demon Lord’s subordinates was bad enough. However, among them was Demon Lord Milim herself.
「I bear responsibility for that outcome…」
Demon Lord Clayman said,
「But I don’t have any disposable pawns other than yourself.
Nothing we can do about that, right? He went and died!」
No further discussion would be held on this topic.
Nicknamed Marionette Master. Someone who manipulates friends and subordinates like dolls.
And though Myulan was just called a disposable pawn, she lacked the willpower to retort.
The demon lord named Milim she knew all too well.
So Demon Lord Clayman gave her one order.
Stall the other demon lords and find about their weaknesses!
Just that much.
Myulan agreed.
Moreover, she possesses an abnormal perception, so fooling her would prove difficult.
But Myulan had no reason to be vigilant towards Milim’s subordinate.
She understood why she should stay vigilant, Demon Lord Clayman had conveyed it to her a little while ago.
The reason was,
「Oh, so you would be my comrades, huh? I am Demon Lord Karion’s subordinate Grucius!」
「I’m Milim!」
Milim’s subordinate was nowhere to be found.
And thus, the three gathered at the rendezvous point.
The treaty between the Dwarf Kingdom and the Monsters’ Country essentially testified bilateral cooperation.
Could a treaty between two countries be established this easily? Since that exceeds my knowledge, I asked,
「Hmm? That’s not a problem. Since I swear by the gods, spirits, and sacred ancestors, I cannot falsely sign.
Through the contract’s authority, should you lie, you’d be erased, you know?」
and received such a nonsensical response. So, I asked『Great Sage』for an explanation.
We cannot convey what we believe to be a lie. However, that does not mean we can’t fool people.
However, in case of contracts, lying through the aforementioned methods becomes essentially impossible.
It’s a rule pertaining to every monster.
Goblins can lie freely. On the other hand, high monsters and demons exemplify this rule, and are famous for being bound by contracts.
And when people come to believe this they grow negligent, and a demon comes to snatch away their soul…
「Even though you’re a monster, you didn’t know this? Rimuru, aren’t you strange…」
「Is that so… well, whatever. Please don’t accidentally erase your entire country after I went to the trouble of recognizing it!
「Well, we’ve just finished building this city, and we don’t intend to lose it; so, we’ll do our best!」
And thus, we signed the treaty into effect.
The moment I wrote my name, the document began to glow and split into two.
However, as long as the other party is living, destroying the document is impossible. It would merely restore itself to how it was before.
Thus the contract was complete. This contract should be kept between the two countries. And while openly declaring it is not a problem per se, it kind of defeats its purpose.
The Dwarf King accepts his copy, pleased.
「I’ll also leave this to you!」
He said, and took out a crystal as large as a fist.
When I accepted it,
「That’s a communication crystal. Ask Bester about its installation.
Use it in case of an emergency. And stay in good health!」
He explained, and saddled the Pegasus.
And, looking at Bester,
「Bester, you should research to your heart’s content here!」
「King! This time, I will live up to your expectations!!!」
He said and nodded at the response.
「Farewell!」
He added, and flew off.
Just like a storm.
「Hey, Kaijin, is it okay for your country to have such a… free willed individual as a king?」
But never in my time in the court have I seen him move around so selfishly…」
「Oh well! I’m the last person who can criticize him!」
Right, I too am planning to run off to some human village.
Leaving the conversation at that, we left the clearing.
Since our defenses aren’t perfect as of yet, having it stolen would make for a poor story.
And thus, we successfully established a treaty with the Dwarf Kingdom.
Now then, it’s about time I consider the lesson Gazelle taught me yesterday–
「Rimuru-dono, Kaijin-dono, I humbly beg your forgiveness! Would it be possible for me to work here?」
Bester interrupted my thoughts.
Now that he mentions it, he did almost entrap us… I had completely forgotten.
「I’ll be frank, can you follow my orders?
「Of course. I have reflected on my mistakes. In the first place, it has lead me to feel envious of Kaijin-dono…
I want to do continue my beloved research with all my strength; I would never betray that wish!」
If anything were to happen, I’ll take responsibility for him.
So, Rimuru-danna, please forgive him!」
Kaijin said so.
Well, rather than me, it would be you, Kaijin, who would be troubled…
「Well, if you’re fine with it Kaijin, I have no complaints.
Pleased to have you, Bester!」
Thus, Bester became our new comrade.
And because he became our new comrade, we made a discovery which came to be our city’s specialty.
Worst day ever.
Remembering Demon Lord Karion’s broad grin only evoked anger.
Worst day ever.
Worst day ever.
The moment they met,
「Hey, shorty. How dare you call yourself with a demon lord’s name?
I won’t tell your master, so name yourself at once!」
He had said.
Grucius lamented his misfortune.
Having beautiful, glossy blond hair tied in twin tails, and a short stature, anyone would mistake her for some random kid.
Though she was making a really cute face, the moment he called her a shorty, her expression changed.
Then, his consciousness faded.
The other devil Myulan ignored him.
Grucius was reflecting. Not to judge a devil by their looks is common sense, so why did he commit such a grave error…
Right before Grucius was hit he saw her eyes open wide, as if screaming: what the hell you saying, idiot?!
Worst day ever.
However, he was told not to go against whoever would call herself as Milim’s subordinate.
Is Milim honest to a fault? No, it was too late to have such thoughts.
Since then, Grucius made sure to never judge a devil by their cover!
And, now.
Thanks to his regenerative abilities, he somehow endured.
Myulan is running by his side.
And thus, the three came upon a certain city.
We’ve been busy continuing developing our restorative medicine.
Could we dilute a single restorative pill (98% purity) with ten times the amount of water to create a high class (60%) medicine?
If you used a high quality pill, the purity would only go up by 10%.
He had wanted to see our hipokte grass farm, so I guided him to the Cave of the Seal.
And thus, we entered the cave. Gabil welcomed us at the entrance and showed us in.
After observing our cultivation, Bester went to look at the underground lake.
「Rimuru-dono, hipokte grass can be cultivated due to the high magic energy density of this lake, right?
So what if we tried diluting the restorative pill not with normal water, but with this water?」
I see, we should test his theory at once!
Of course, with a high quality pill, the purity rose to 50%.
We also tested just how much we could dilute it; from a single pill we could create 20 medium grade medicines.
We succeeded.
And that’s how we made it.
Bester seemed like he was having a lot of fun handling the grass with Gabil.
Perhaps they are rather compatible.
「Huh, aren’t you chummy. Bester, how about we make you a room here?」
I had meant it as a joke, but
「Would you really?! To think that I would also be permitted to reside in this cave.
It has the perfect atmosphere for (mad) science experiments!」
He said, his eyes sparkling.
「Are you sure? There are B+ rank Centipedes around here, you know?」
I may not look it, but I’ve indulged in sorcery, and am rather good at it!」
I looked at Kaijin, and he was shaking his head. A lie?
「As long as you don’t regret it. We’ll be preparing a room for you!」
「No problem, I said! Gabil-dono is here, after all!」
I see, if Gabil is here, Bester won’t be attacked, huh.
Satisfied,
「Gabil, can I leave Bester to you?」
「Please do! I am here, and I will also assign two of my subordinates!」
How reliable he has gotten.
But he seems to have calmed down recently, and gets along with Bester pretty well, so I should just leave it to him.
Gabil had two of his subordinates guard the room in the cave, and the result was actually rather pleasant.
But, we do need to figure out how he will be making the trip to the cave all the time.
While I was thinking these things,
「Rimuru-dono, can I set up a magic circle here?
Should I set it up?」
I had mentioned before that I want to have a magic circle at the place where I defeated the black snake.
Well, I guess it wouldn’t be inaccurate to say that I’m coming to like sorcery. Kaijin was also surprised, hearing Bester explain this.
Bester then drew a circle inside his house and another inside the cave. And thus, he solved the transportation problem.
Of course, I had him immediately teach me.
Bester is an unexpectedly useful dwarf.
Since I left some restorative pills and demon steel with him, he can continue researching those on his own.
Rather than politics, this guy is made for science.
I guess it corrupts you.
But truly, people should be doing whatever they enjoy. As long as that doesn’t cause trouble for others!
And so, after spending some time with Bester, he naturally became one of our comrades.
Ending his meditation, he opened his eyes.
One that the Espionage Department’s leader stayed at–using an alias, of course.
The King laughed. It’s been a long time since he’s had such an interesting experience.
「King, are you in good health?」
Suddenly, a shadow appeared nearby.
The fact that he slipped out of the palace and was now here probably caused a great commotion at the palace.
They needed to be retrained, so the King thought.
「No problem!」
He answered briefly.
And, let the Espionage Leader know,
(You will return to the Royal Capital, taking the Pegasus with you! Disappear into the shadows as you always do after that)
(Ay! As you command!)
A typical exchange.
With a same face and the same body. A clone created by the Ghost Researchers.
Unlike towards a stranger, the King could perfectly use『Spirit Possession』on this spy.
The Dwarf King Gazelle Dwargo was remembering yesterday’s match with the slime.
That slime will become very strong…
Just with reaction speed alone he was able to receive my sword.
And that hit, whether he fell behind with the attack or not, Rimuru was able to react to.
What will become of this treaty, he did not know.
However…
Don’t disappoint me, Slime Rimuru!
Gazelle felt the approaching end of the era of peace.