.
.
.
Later that night, in the lobby of the extravagantly decorated parlor house, the
important figures of each country were gathered in once place. There was a large
number of nobles attending, each garbed in luxurious and flashy clothing.
Looking at the ratio between men and women, I felt like there were a couple
more men. It seemed like we were afforded a considerable amount of trust,
considering how many brought their wife and kids as well. Among them I saw a
cute blonde-haired girl, who looked like a doll. There were attendees of all different
ages, it seemed.
This time people could participate freely, leading me to put a lot of effort into
this being a fun party. It was arranged so that the people can enjoy meals while
standing, with various dishes placed on buffet tables for guests to enjoy as they
strolled around.
Additionally, we had set up curiosities that were unheard of in any other
country. Among them was a "tatami room," which covered half of the wide space,
and where it was prohibited to wear your shoes. In many countries it wasn't
customary to take off your shoes, therefore I only saw people enter from time to
time. But it wasn't like it remained deserted, I could occasionally witness people
sitting down and getting flustered by the unfamiliar sitting cushions—King Gazel
was one of them. It wasn't his first time experiencing this, so he seemed quite at
home, and we chatted for a brief moment.
I was told that he inspected the city's developmental situation this morning,
and things like the sewage system, as well as the work-in-progress rails, caught
his eye. Not only that, but I heard he was also staring at the facilities and
recreational equipment that I came up with on a whim, like he would gobble them
all up.
"That thing called a 'rail', with what purpose did you make it?"
"I have something to consult you about, regarding it. I plan to develop a thing
called a 'train'. I hope that I can count on your assistance."
"Oh-ho? Since it's a request from my adorable junior, gladly—how could I ever
refuse?" King Gazel announced his decision on the spot.
He probably weighed the benefits after laying eyes on the rails and saw the
potential. If he was this enthusiastic about it, he would likely have disregarded a
"no" and vehemently insisted on joining the project, leaving me little choice, other
than bringing him on board straight away.
During my discussion about it with Gazel, a man came up, saying, "Excuse
me," and sat down at the seat facing me. A familiar face—it was Youmu. He
confidently plopped down in front of King Gazel, who received him with a grin and
liberally poured Youmu a glass of wine.
A king of a developing nation confidently speaking with Gazel, king of a mighty
nation. Those who saw this, would, no doubt, reevaluate their stance on Youmu.
After Youmu cut in, we started shooting the breeze and eventually ended our
conversation. Gazel's goal was to show that we had a friendly relationship, and as
a result, profiteers would have no choice but to gauge me and Youmu as high
value. Those who carefully observe the Dwarf King Gazel—that assessment will
raise my worth in future dealings with them. This was, in a sense, King Gazel's
way of supporting us.
In all likelihood, it came down to him running the numbers on what I had told
him before, and ultimately concluding that Dwargon stood to gain a great deal, but
I was eminently thankful regardless.
Gazel sure is trustworthy. I saw a new side of him.
There were those who went ahead and experienced the large bathhouse before
the eve of the festival. Most deemed it favorable and had asked many questions
to the one in charge of the bathhouse. I heard there were large bathhouses in
other big countries, though many found the hot spring itself to be breathtaking.
The ingredients providing the medicinal effects were a tightly guarded secret,
severely hampering attempts to reproduce it.
I had received copious requests, asking us to introduce them to their countries
as well, but I decided to gather and file those guests' requests for later review.
That said, all I could tell them was to please visit us often.
Among the people who were satisfied after soaking in the bath, several were
now sitting in the tatami room with a Yukata we provided them. It painted a
dignified image, with them throwing glances at each other in admiration of the
outfits.
In the midst of this, there were people who wanted to speak to me one-onone, though talking with everyone would've stretched me too thinly, so I only met
those I encountered at a fortunate time, and proceeded to make my way across
to sit in the seat of honor.
Many people were seeing me for the first time, so, understandably, I could feel
a lot of curious looks being thrown at me. From those who turned pale, knowing I
was a demon lord, and on the other hand, those who observed me attentively, it
was a mixed bag. Their prickling gazes were unnerving, so I greeted them lightly
and immediately announced the start of the banquet.
"Ah, it is a pleasure for me to welcome you here today. I am Demon Lord
Rimuru. I would prefer for this night to be free of serious topics, and instead would
like to direct you towards our nation's dishes that I hope you will enjoy. Long
speeches are not my strength, so please excuse me for cutting it short. I wish you
all a grand time; let the party begin!"
The preparation was perfect. The way we served the dishes was the cherry on
top. I hoped our sincerity could be conveyed fully.
Each table had a waitress assigned and Vester strictly educated them to bring
dishes with every request. Everything was laid out to serve the guests—the results
of intense education and training were now on full display.
I called for a toast after I finished my greeting.
The eve of the festival had been set in motion.
Gasps swept through the crowds as they all drank a glass of cold beer.
Tempest's beer must have been surprising to those who had only tried poorly
carbonated drinks before. After all, they were kept freezing cold.
The method of preparing a cold glass cup, was something taught by the
meticulous style of Japanese service. Even for my own sake, it wasn't something
I could compromise on.
Not only that, but elven ladies were pouring alcohol. It wasn't forced, you
know? I only accepted those who voluntarily offered to help.
This was another huge success. Beautiful elven ladies were roaming around
the banquet hall carrying various kinds of alcoholic beverages. Those who were
accustomed to wearing formal dress seemed to be enraptured by the Yukata
adorned elves' voluptuous figures. In addition, the way the elves greeted the
guests by putting 3 fingers on the floor, shook the hearts of men equally among
all nations. I could see their faces turn red even when they weren't drunk. The
view of the elves' chests, laid bare behind the Yukata, must've been an alluring
sight.
Hehehe. Like I intended.
I would say that this was the pinnacle of merging western and Japanese
traditional culture. The heterogenous mixture of those clad in Yukatas among the
nobles wearing formal attire made for quite the scene—it was something you could
only see here.
That was what we planned, but, nonetheless, it ended up being a wildly chaotic
party. From a commonsense standpoint, this really looked like a mess. But if this
bothered you, then you had already lost.
I acted as if this was the norm and observed the condition of the guests.
The extravagant dishes on the tables were made by Shuna and Yoshida, who
went through a lot of effort to create delectable meals, and I could confidently say
that the guests would all be satisfied with them. Smoked chicken-duck meat and
sandwiches filled with vegetables, cow-deer steak, fried vegetables marinated in
sauce, karaage fried chicken, roast beef salad.
We also prepared a sherbet made with an assortment of fruits as refreshments,
and going so far as to recreate dishes like the black tiger meat stew and grilled
fairy-leather bird from the Walpurgis banquet. Although we had quite a hard time
looking for the monsters we could use as ingredients, we were somehow able to
track them down within three days, using the information we had gathered before.
We were able to satisfy the aristocrats, who were accustomed to luxury, with
the dishes made from precious ingredients that were the pride of our country.
That wasn't all. In the banquet hall, at the dividing line between the Japanese
traditional space and the western space, a large fish was being carted in. It was a
fish with an extremely hard exoskeleton and a sharp, spear-like horn. This
abominable ocean monster was called a "spear tuna", and, excluding the horn, had
grown to four meters in length of heinous-looking fish.
Now, the reason why we brought this fish. It had, in fact, a delicious, savory
taste to all of that blubber, which was unthinkable, based solely on its appearance.
Under the armor-like exoskeleton, red meat that looked similar to tuna was hidden.
I actually caught the fish by coincidence during the course of a competitive
fishing match, which Gobta and I had placed bets on, and, fortunately, I thought
to use 'Analysis' before tossing it away. It was found to have non-toxic and highly nutritious meat. I dipped it in our commercially available soy sauce before giving
it a try, and…it was exceptionally delicious.
I remembered this savory treat and decided to unveil it before everyone at the
banquet, so I went out by myself and caught one. I was used to traveling under
water, so it was a great experience. But we'd have someone else catch it next
time.
So anyway, the fish was a recent catch and still fresh.
Hakurou was responsible for cutting the fish, and using the long kitchen knife
Kurobee had forged, he made us sashimi previously. But this time, as a
performance to entertain the guests, the process of preparing the dish was slowly
shown in front of everyone.
Hakurou's kitchen knife was flying to and fro, avoiding the hard exoskeleton
armor. The spear tuna was dismembered in a beautiful display of artistic skill. It
was something even Shuna would be astonished with. Holding that kitchen knife,
he made the impression of a dignified master.
Behind me, Shion was holding the kitchen knife I had gifted her, looking like
she wanted to help out, but I calmed her down, telling her to bear it this time.
We had invited numerous prominent figures from foreign countries, so
naturally, we absolutely could not present a dish prepared by unskilled hands. This
wasn't something we could play off as a joke. I just hoped Shion could properly
fulfill her role as my secretary and guard.
As for the reactions coming from the guests, at first, they were frightened and
scared by the grotesque sight, but, as Hakurou's excellent performance of carving
up the fish progressed, their faces started to shine with admiration.
The head was discarded, and the body was divided into four pieces, then sliced
up as the plates were loaded with sashimi. In the middle laid the marbled belly
meat, enveloped by red meat. The mouthwatering sight alone had me drooling,
but the majority of people present hadn't tried it before and remained hesitant,
waiting for someone to make the first move.
Hakurou looked at those crowds and made sushi as well.
It was a specialty that I had not expected him to have.
White rice, alcohol, vinegar, cooking wine, and soy sauce—these alone opened
the door to a vast assortment of sophisticated dishes. That said, I had never
seriously expected that I would be able to eat authentic sushi in this world. As it
turned out, back when Hakurou was young, he often heard his grandfather
mention…he had fond memories of sushi, its taste forever eluding him since his
arrival in this world. He must've been deeply embittered by that.
Thinking of it this way, I sure was a lucky guy. Hinata said this as well, claiming
that reproducing Japanese dishes in this world would normally be a highly
ambitious endeavor.
Well, that's that, but getting back to Hakurou's grandfather.
I clearly heard that he was an "Otherworlder" named "Byakuya Araki"; perhaps
he could've been someone from the Edo era? I don't think he was a chef; I wonder
just what era he was from.
Well, alright. It doesn't really matter. For now, let's just enjoy the night.
There were a lot of people gathered around the buffet tables of the standing
party section. The dishes were well received, and people were singing their praises.
After all, Shuna and Yoshida pulled out all of the stops, so I just nodded, thinking
that kind of reception was to be expected. In stark contrast, no one seemed to
want to even touch the fish sashimi and sushi Hakurou had prepared. They might
have been intimidated after laying eyes upon the horrid sight of the spear tuna.
But It seems like anywhere you go, there will always be those who want to appear
knowledgeable, despite not knowing anything. You could hear people saying "Ah,
could that fish be the Rank A…"
There's no way that raw fish being served right after getting sliced would taste
any good—I would like it if they stopped saying things they didn't know and tried
a bite instead.
It was possible to check for poison in this world, so it surely didn't come down
to a fear of getting poisoned. They had jumped to the conclusion that it would be
a lousy dish, due to the appearance.
No one was willing to take the first step, leading me to seize the initiative.
"I shall try it."
"Ohh, then please try this."
Hakurou made the effort to make me a new piece of sushi with the belly meat.
I dipped it in soy sauce and took a bite. The strong scent of the wasabi and the
buttery belly meat that melts in your mouth complemented each other
spectacularly, exploding in a heavenly taste.
Delicious—!!
It's so delicious. I doubt the places in Ginza6 could even keep up with this!?
"It's the best, Hakurou!!"
6 One of Tokyo's top shopping districts, Ginza is packed with upmarket boutiques and ritzy cocktail
and sushi bars.
"Of course. The fish that came in was so delightful, it had me worried that we
wouldn't have any left, however, it's a pity that it hasn't been well received. But
I'm looking forward to the post-dinner drinks."
Hakurou's colleagues would have their meal after the guests left, so it seemed
like they planned on saving some sashimi to go along with sake. It was unfortunate
that the guests didn't take too well to it, but if they were going to be picky about
their food, that would be fine as well. Rather, it might've actually been what
Hakurou and co. wanted and couldn't be thankful enough for.
However, Hakurou's plan went up in smoke.
"Could you make sushi with that belly meat and without the wasabi?"
Someone turned up, making a comment that left me dumbfounded. Not only
did she ask for the belly meat from the start, but she even asked to remove the
wasabi?
"What are you, a kid?"
"Shut up, I don't like the burning sensation in my nose," Was the arrogant
retort coming from none other than Hinata.
Hinata, wearing a simple evening dress meant to be worn outside, ordered the
sushi like it was natural.
"I would also like it if there was a wider variety of fish."
As if that wasn't enough, she stepped it up with such a cocky request. Not only
did she want the wasabi to be removed, but also more kinds of fish? Surely, the
wasabi part could be a difference in preference, granted, it could be hard to handle
for people trying it for the first time. I, too, asked to remove the wasabi when
ordering, that is, until I was in middle school. But now as an adult, I believed that
you could only say that you were eating it properly, if you knew how to relish the
taste of wasabi.
"What nonsense. That's neither here nor there, all that matters, is that it's
delicious," she smirked at me.
…But she did have a point. That damn Hinata, she fired back a logical response
without a flinch.
Although Hinata was like that, she received the plate Hakurou was handing her
with a broad smile on her face. She closed her eyes as she slowly placed the sushi
in her mouth.
"It's really great. The sashimi, and the sushi as well… I'm a tad angry, but I
respect you, Rimuru."
She seemed satisfied, savoring the belly meat to her heart's content.
"Then I would like one as well. Ah, I'm not a child, so you can include the
wasabi."
Yuuki came by, following Hinata. Seeing how he was dropping light, sarcastic
remarks, he had likely been watching us from the start. Despite already having
loaded up in the buffet area, his appetite remained unwavering. As he was
receiving the plate from Hakurou, he immediately shoved the sushi into his mouth
and started chewing, as if he had been waiting for it.
"Wow, it melts on your tongue! To think that I would be able to have sushi this
delicious in this world, I'm slightly moved," he said as he moved his hand towards
the sashimi as well, beaming with glee.
Seeing Yuuki like that, Hinata also shot a sarcastic remark, "It sure tastes
differently from freshwater fish. I had made a request to the Freedom Association,
but they denied it and even said that it cannot be sent through magic, so I had
given up, but it seems like my joy in life will increase a bit from now on."
Hinata had said that she wanted to eat seafood dishes and had previously
requested Yuuki to transport it. But it proved to be too difficult, and facing far too
many problems, so in the end, the request went unfulfilled.
To get him back for the wasabi incident, Hinata brought up that topic.
"There was nothing I could do? The sea to the north is inhabited by large
beasts, so it's too dangerous, and the south is unviable because of the distance.
And transporting the fish from the inland sea is prohibitively expensive," Yuuki
bitterly replied, with a troubled face and a wry smile.
Yes. The market of this world was still fragile. Sure enough, as I expected,
people who lived inland usually didn't get the chance to eat freshly caught fish. It
was because of the innate hurdles that made the transportation of seafood a
laborious task. You could only transport small amounts with carriages and keeping
them frozen was tricky. The only options were hiring a mage exclusively for this
task or preparing large quantities of ice in each city. Even with all of that, it
remained uncertain whether or not the freshness of the fish could be preserved
throughout the journey from the coast to the inland cities.
If you weren't among the fairly rich, the luxury of eating fresh fish would
remain beyond your grasp. It was something entirely unthinkable to most.
Taking into account that dishes with steamed fish could be had, you could say
that the problem came down to distribution. That issue was being improved upon
like I had hoped. Seizing this opportunity, we could make the existence of luxury
dishes exclusive to our country's public knowledge. When the time would come,
we planned to organize a logistics network, but until then, our country would
monopolize it.
Perhaps it was the appearance of the spear tuna that made the guests
reluctant, or maybe they were hesitating because of the disparity in food culture,
but either way, there was still no one daring to touch the sushi and fish sashimi.
However, Yuuki and Hinata were doing their part in flipping the public
sentiment by showering the sushi with praise.
"Rimuru-sama, may we try that as well?" asked the man sitting to the side of
Gazel, as he stood up and came towards me. This person was the head of the
Pegasus Knights Dolf.
"Yes, alright. I shall bring it to you."
In reaction to my words, Hakurou's hands sprang into rapid action. Freshly
made sushi, sashimi, and soups were lined up and served by the elven ladies. The dishes were placed one by one in front of Gazel and Youmu's party, who were
sitting in the tatami room.
Now, let's see how they react?
"—Hmm, this definitely is outstanding."
"Kua, this is delicious!!"
Gazel ate sashimi while enjoying the cold, Japanese alcohol. And the feelings
they expressed were those of amazement.
Youmu did as Youmu does, dropping all semblance of royalty as he was
enraptured by his first time eating sushi. And the reaction of everyone at the table
was the same.
"To think that that infernal fish could be this delicious!"
"Speaking of fish, I thought that frying it was the way to go…"
"Well, what does it matter as long as it's scrumptious."
"Every dish Rimuru-sama provides is spectacular, without fail!"
That's a relief. I was elated to find that everyone seemed satisfied.
And then—a lot of heads had turned to watch Gazel's company and saw their
reactions.
"I, I too want to try that!" one person shouted, followed by a stampede of
others, scrambling to order from Hakurou in a frenzy.
It became all the rage. Hakurou made a very slight happy expression, at the
same time it was tainted with wistfulness.
I got where he was coming from. In this situation, he wouldn't have any left
to eat with sake later. Actually, I have another spear tuna that I caught, so I should
hand it to him later in secret.
After Hinata and Yuuki had a light quarrel, they voiced their opinions on things
and argued while having a drink.
I'm not sure whether they get along or not.
But at the end of the day, you could thank their quarrel for acting as a
successful promotion. I didn't want to bother them now and decided it would be
better to thank them later.
The banquet proceeded with minor incidents here and there. So far, it was a
great success. Western and Japanese dishes, both were very popular.
Attendance of tonight's party was voluntary, but, despite this, many people
had participated.
I didn't forget to imply that the food's ingredients were in store for those willing
to trade with us in the future.
In short, that was also part of the plan. My job was to subtly promote things
this way. The purpose wasn't merely to wallow in luxury. I wasn't burning money
to satiate my greed; it was just a thorough preparation for times like this!
—That was my excuse at least.
Anyway, that's that. Even if I was to think of it that way, the banquet was
proceeding as smoothly as planned, except…
"Bi-big trouble!!" a soldier rushed into the parlor house, shouting.
It seemed like a problem was afoot.
Naturally, we had soldiers stationed around the parlor house. There were even the
escorts of the prominent figures that came, all together it was very crowded
outside the building.
Under those circumstances, the likelihood of the problem being a massive
headache to solve was high.
"Why, what's wrong?" I slowly asked to calm the soldier down.
I wanted to run out and check the situation, but I couldn't show myself
panicking as well—I spoke with that thought in mind. But before the soldier could
even reply, the escorts from each of the countries came running in a panic.
What is happening here?! The security should have been airtight; if something
were to happen, it would be very disgraceful.
I didn't feel a big aura approaching us, and it wasn't like a monster had
appeared either. If something like that had happened, we would've noticed it
sooner. Milim and Karion's group seemed to be a bit late, but even if they did
arrive, the soldiers wouldn't have panicked. Then what exactly…
"A large flying object came flying outside the city!!" the soldier looking at me
reported, soon to be drowned out by the escorts from other countries informing
each of their masters.
"Reporting! The Sorcerer's Dynasty's Guardian Dragon King has appeared!!"
"B-big problem here! E-Elmesia Elaure Sarion, the Emperor herself is coming
down here right now!!"
"Her Imperial Majesty Elmesia and her entourage are approaching this location
right now—!!"
They all shouted in disarray, so I was stunned for a bit, but without having to
put together all of the pieces I heard, it seemed like Sarion's empress was just
arriving late.
"Ah, don't scare me like that. I was wondering what happened."
I mumbled absentmindedly, which prompted Gazel to rise from his seat and
move beside me, with a dumbfounded expression.
"You're the same as ever, carefree and without a clue how the world works. If
the Divine Emperor Elmesia came out of her country, then it's natural for this
commotion to happen. The humans from each country and even I have to be
careful and watch her complexion, if that divine empress is the opponent, then it
would be hard to handle. Even the people who aren't here right now must be
panicking and sending messengers to their countries."
"What do you mean?"
As I asked for a more detailed explanation, Gazel dove into it as if he had been
waiting for the opportunity. This guy, even if he talks a lot, I get the impression
that he just wants to show off to me by expounding his proud knowledge. Either
way, it was honestly a big help nonetheless, so I don't really have any complaints,
I thought while listening to the breakdown.
According to Gazel, the Sorcerer's Dynasty Sarion was a superpower. It was
one that held national power on the order of magnitude comparable to the Armored
Nation Dwargon, without even participating in the Western States Council. And
just like the name "Dynasty" implied, it was a federation formed by 13 royal
families.
If you were to compare the levels of influence, the Western States Council was
undoubtedly the most powerful. However, as long as they upheld the council
system they adopted, they lacked the efficacy to take immediate action.
Leveraging that flaw, Dwargon was, in contrast, an absolute monarchy under the
rule of Gazel, allowing it to exert more influence than the Western States Council,
despite falling behind in total strength. Likewise, the same was true for Sarion.
"The empress of the Sorcerer's Dynasty Sarion, Elmesia, holds absolute power.
She calls herself a descendant of god and declared herself the divine empress. I
don't know the truth, but it is an undisputed fact that the high elf with the name
Elmesia revived the country. So, that girl lived longer than Sarion's history."
They were on fundamentally different levels. The Armored Nation Dwargon
spanned 1000 years of history. Compared to that, the history of Sorcerer's Dynasty
Sarion was known to go back at least 2000 years.
"And so, Rimuru, before Elmesia, even I can't raise my head. Much more, to
humans with their short lifespans, it's impossible to even think of meeting her."
Seeing how Gazel made a bitter expression, the person called Empress Elmesia
must've been a very troublesome person to deal with.
Uh-um, I was planning to invite only Duke Elalude… I ended up calling the
absurd bigwig as well.
"Ah, I see. I should have written proper names in the invitation."
"…I don't think that's the problem here."
Gazel stared at me through narrow eyes; she had already arrived, it would be
a fool's errand to make her leave. I had no choice but to do my best to receive
her.
During our conversation, a commotion had been brewing at the entrance.
"Looks like they arrived."
"Do not get careless, Rimuru. Just think of her as a beast who's been through
all sorts of hardships."
I took Gazel's insistent words to heart and prepared myself for an abnormal
encounter. I looked at Gazel and nodded firmly to show that I understood.
A great commotion broke loose inside the parlor house. Someone who you
normally could never meet, no, not only that, the empress of a superpower, who
had not shown herself for tens of years, appeared. I should say it was natural for
others to be causing a ruckus.
Empress Elmesia Elaure Sarion. Someone who called herself a divine empress,
was confidently walking into the venue. An incarnation of beauty, was the thought
passing through everyone's head as they gawked, bereft of words, at Empress
Elmesia.
I thought that as well. Because that appearance, no matter from which angle
you looked, she was a beautiful girl. She had skin as white as freshly fallen snow,
and soft, silver hair. Sharp, pointy ears and jade green eyes that seemed to see
through everything.
Gazel said she was a girl, so she definitely had to be female.
If she was a high elf, then did that mean she was a pure-blooded fairy? Or she
might've had blood that was infinitely close to pure. Calling her a fairy addresses
too broad of a category, but they were said to be a race that evolved from great
spirits, so this Elmesia standing before me seemed to be one of those ancient
beasts from a time long gone. She was a big enough deal to warrant a warning
from Gazel.
I also needed to remain vigilant of the guardians protecting the Empress. From
each and every one, I felt extreme power, despite them wearing formal garments.
It must've been magic armor, and this was just my guess, but they were
legendary-grade. The power I felt emanating from those formal clothes was
equivalent to the feeling I got from the Moonlight rapier Hinata wielded. Their skills
would, naturally, be on equal footing with Arno and the Holy Knights. No, thinking
about the quality of their weapons and armor, the Empress's guards might've been
superior.
The world sure is big—that thought passed through my mind.
Holding back one of her guardians from stepping forward, the Empress herself
approached.
"I am thankful for the invitation. I am happy about it."
A mellow voice—I almost mistook it for charm magic, but it wasn't magic at
all. It was simply her voice being that charming.
"I, too, am honored to meet you," I answered in front of her, at which point I
could see my own reflection in Elmesia's jade green eyes.
< attack, just an effect of 'Heroic Spirit' that seeped out.>> This was dangerous. This person seemed to have a higher level of 'Heroic Spirit' than even Gazel. In other words, her strength was not only equal to Gazel, but there was a chance that she was able to top it. Maybe she's a demon lord class? It would be good not to be hostile towards this person. This was a peaceful invitation; I would try my best to appease her in the hopes of friendly relations in the future. "Then, though it may not be up to standard, we have prepared meals as well. I hope you will enjoy yourself tonight." "Hmm, I am happy to receive such consideration from Rimuru-sama. I expect a lot from the festival that will take place tomorrow, so please make me happy. And—" she said with a leisurely smile, then brought her face near mine, and whispered in a hushed voice only I could hear, "It doesn't have to be today, but I hope you can make time for me. There's something I'd like to discuss with an open heart, in a less formal setting." That informal way of speaking must've been Elmesia's true self. As someone who was still not used to being a stern and dangerous demon lord, but had to play the part nonetheless, this made me feel a bit more intimate with her. And so I answered: "Alright. I'll contact you when the date is decided." Elmesia nodded with a look of satisfaction, then retreated to her guards' protective circle. And just like that, Elmesia gave a cute, entertaining smile to the people who were preparing to meet her for the first time, while walking towards the table laden with food. On a side note, I was wondering why Duke Elalude, the person I initially invited, was nowhere to be seen, when I landed eye-contact with one of the Empress's escorts. No, wait a minute. That person is Duke Elalude?! He had such a gallant expression that I almost went past him, but anyway, he apparently had come along. We only caught a passing greeting by sight, but I thought that I should say hello to him later. *** It was a short conversation, yet a very tiring one. I was so exhausted that, while all eyes were on Elmesia, I snagged the opportunity to go and sit down in the tatami room. I thought tonight would be easy-going, because participation was optional, but a bigwig just had to show up. "Yeah, I'm really tired." "I felt like I was gonna fall over the moment I met her. If I don't keep my mind straight, that grand—" Gazel swallowed his words and shut his mouth. Then he mumbled a bit and ended up just drinking the cold alcohol. Seeing as how I could feel a terrible chill coming from Elmesia, that was probably the reason. I wonder what Gazel was about to say? If it's something that starts with "grand"—then it must be that. They say elven ears are sharp, so I'm glad I didn't say it out loud. Loose lips sink ships; I should be careful as well. Ah, whatever, I'll just drink for now. I talked with Gazel and Youmu about how the world goes around, and this and that, over some drinks. But our leisure time didn't last long. Noticing how the entrance was starting to get noisy again, I could sense that another bigshot had showed up. "Our guests have finally arrived." "Yes, it seems like they're here. I was worried because they were running late," I answered Shion with a nod, then tried to stand up after excusing myself from Gazel. Maybe it was because Youmu was familiar with all of this, that he figured out who it was. "Ah, it's Milim-san. Seems like she'll spruce up the evening." After having experienced it once before, Youmu seemed to be a little in over his head when it came to Milim. On the other hand, since it was only by a bit, then maybe that meant Youmu really was that much stronger now? To use "san" with a demon lord was something normal people would never imagine doing, even in their wildest dreams. I thought to myself that Youmu really was an awesome guy. "—I see, the demon lords have arrived." Gazel was also observing Milim and her group with a sharp eye, but Youmu's words seemed to have tipped him off. Well, many others had also recognized them. No wonder, since Benimaru, Diablo, Geld, and even Gabil, four of our country's executives were there as guides. Even Gazel was tense when seeing the group, because the ones who stepped into the parlor house, with the executives guiding them, were ten powerful people, including Milim. She was in the lead, flanked by two subordinates. A bald man wearing a priest's gown—a warrior called Midley who was strong enough to be acknowledged by Benimaru. There was another man wearing a priest's gown, but with a less serious demeanor—this was the guy known as Hermes, who fought with Gabil. The ones following the three of them were two former demon lords. 'Beast Master' Karion and 'Sky Queen' Frey. Karion had a solemn appearance as always, and Frey-san wore a lascivious dress and radiated extreme sexiness. I could feel great dignity from both of them. My, my, I saw Phobio-kun, who I hadn't seen for a long time. He seemed a bit thinner, but I am glad he looked healthy. Looking at the people following Frey, there were two beautiful twin girls. One had silver hair while the other had gold hair, which fit well together. I heard that they were attendants of Frey, called the Twin Wings. I didn't know they were twins, but they seemed like strong ladies as well. These were rulers of extreme power who accepted Milim as their new queen. It was hard for people to hide their nervousness, and I honestly couldn't blame them. "Sorry. I'll have to excuse myself for a minute," I said before leaving to meet Milim's group. Milim's face lit up with a big smile as soon as she saw me. "Huhuhu, this day finally came! I'll expect dishes good enough to make Midley shout from the rooftops today!" she announced for everyone to hear. "Ah, leave that to me," I answered, then in a subdued voice: "But first of all, didn't you get scolded?" Milim often snuck into the dungeon whenever she managed to slip out of Frey's sight. She was here until yesterday, so her arrival today was also later than planned. I was a little worried about whether she'd been found out and was being scolded by Frey. "It, it's okay. I became self-aware that I am a ruler, so I made Frey believe me by emphasizing that I was protecting my borders," Milim replied in a small voice, claiming she had made Frey accept it. Seeing how she was sweating bullets and her eyes kept darting back and forth, it didn't seem like she fully convinced her… Frey had a keen intuition. What Milim was protecting wasn't her territory, but the floors of the labyrinth I assigned to her. If that was found out, I, who was wholly unrelated, might get scolded as well. I had no choice but to believe in Milim for now. But— Even if Milim ended up folding, I could just cling to saying that I had nothing to do with it. "Thank you for inviting us today. I sincerely apologize for being later than the scheduled time," Frey came towards me with a greeting, after waiting for my conversation with Milim to end. Then she looked me in the eyes and asked as if it were an interrogation: "Our Lord, Milim, had gone missing until this morning. So it took time to get her changed into formal dress—" "Ah, hahaha, so that's it. Ah, I don't mind, so please enjoy the next few days free of hassle." I got the feeling that she could see right through me, so I looked away and politely brushed it aside. Had I been in my slime form, there would be no signs of agitation. But right now I was in my human form, causing me concern over my line of sight betraying my real intentions. I must not meet eyes with an opponent that had such sharp senses. "—I will do so. To be invited, despite being indebted to Rimuru-sama for building our new city. I am very grateful," she answered with a smile, which melted my anxiety away. Then, naturally, I ended up saying something potentially inflammatory. "No, No. I would hope that the dishes are to your liking. Right, are there any ingredients that you don't eat? There is a dish made with a bird, if that is a problem—" Those words slipped past my tongue, before their meaning had caught up to me. "A, bird…" A freezing tension suddenly paralyzed me. I'm in big trouble—but it was already too late. "Ah—" "Did Rimuru-sama want to say that I am on the same level as a bird?" "That, wasn't my intention—" Frey was still smiling, and the Twin Wings were seething with bloodlust. I screwed up big time. The saying, "The mouth is the source of trouble," fits me perfectly right now. This was unbearable. That moment of suspense filled with worry. "Pfft. Hahahaha! Amazing, truly amazing, Rimuru. You really are an amazing guy. To actually treat Frey like a bird, this is a masterpiece," Karion had burst out in laughter, looking like he couldn't read the atmosphere. "Hmm, it's something even I can't copy," Milim said in admiration. Don't do that, please don't look at me with those sparkling eyes. "What's so funny, Karion? And Milim," Frey huffed angrily. No matter how you look at it, this was my fault. "No, it was just my bad manners. What I just said was a slip of the tongue. I brought up a pointless concern, worrying that you might dislike bird dishes." It's best to apologize truthfully in these situations. Stubbornly insisting on some irrelevant point could lead to a bigger argument. Based on this notion, I bowed my head and apologized in order to appease Frey, despite being in front of everyone. And I was met with surprise from Frey. "Huhu, how befitting for Rimuru-sama. You're just as I expected. I knew that you didn't mean to insult me, though I wanted to test, for a moment, how you would react. But this was very telling. That Milim will grow by your example," Frey finished, this time showing a gentle smile from the heart. Milim being a tyrant was a thing of the past. In spite of her current appearance, her tendency to listen to others had markedly increased. Thinking that the reason for that was me, she used my slip of the tongue to test me. And probably intended to let Milim learn from my attitude. Bowing immediately was the correct answer. As long as Milim followed my example, then from Frey's perspective, of course she'd want to test me. If I had been a bad influence on Milim, then she would no doubt be limiting playtime with me. This really made me see Frey in a new light. I thought she was just a scary lady, but she seemed to be looking after Milim well. Then, if we were to talk about bad examples… "Well, what about you, Ka-ri-on? What's so funny? Could you explain it clearly for me to understand?" An incredible pressure seized Karion's head, strong enough to make cracking sounds. Frey turned to Karion in a flash and grabbed his head with her soft hands. In brute force alone, Karion was far stronger, but looking at grip strength on its own, Frey had the upper hand. "Wa-wait! Ow, ow-ow-ow, that hurts, really!!" Frey hardened her arm from the fingertips to her elbows. Her fingernails started to transform into knife blades that were stronger than steel, then continued to grow bigger and embedded themselves in Karion's head. It looked awfully painful. "Dangerous, if this gets any worse, it will really be dangerous! I was wrong, I'm sorry, so please forgive me, Frey!!" Their master was screaming, but the three Beastketeers did not try to move. Only Phobio was worried and didn't know what to do, and the other two just stared at them looking baffled. Well, Karion still had the strength left to scream. And unlike me, he didn't seem to be reflecting, so it was a natural consequence of his actions. "Did you see, Milim? You need to apologize when you make a mistake. That is the right choice, alright?" "Hmm, okay. Before that, I will try to avoid doing things that will make Frey angry." Milim seemed to understand what I was saying. Playing in the dungeon was fun, but you must do it in moderation. First you finish the things you need to do, after that, leisurely playing around could be more fun. If you did that, you won't have any trouble, so if you didn't want to get punished like Karion, you needed to be careful. "Wait, hey! Wait! Stop the idle talk and help me!!" Seeing Karion desperately struggling to break free from the claws as an example to learn from, Milim and I looked at each other and nodded. "Hey, don't ignore me. Ouch, ow-ow-ow-ow—" Karion's voice was slowly fading away. Pledging not to forget his sacrifice, Milim and I waited for Frey's anger to subside. *** Next, making use of the extra time afforded by the commotion, Shuna was still finishing her work at hand. "There, the extra orders are complete!" She said with a smile, and brought various dishes, all the while met with cheers from the guests. Ignoring Karion's sacrifice, we moved places. "That was too mean, Milim and Rimuru. Even though I pleaded for dear life," came the immediate complaints from Karion, who was just released by Frey. "You're fine, so stop complaining!" "Yeah, Frey wasn't super serious about it. That much was nothing, right?" Because Karion was still so lively, I didn't worry too much and told him that. But it was more dangerous than I thought. "That's not true? From the moment my head was caught in Frey's claws, I lost access to my Skills. It's probably her special Skill. To think that she would use that on me, this is no doubt an expression of her love." You've got it all wrong—but I kept that to myself. That aside, right now Shuna's cooking was more important. Countless dishes were stacked on top of a round table. The people who were waiting to serve, handed out the dishes according to the number of people in Milim's group. "I'm counting on you today. Midley is really stubborn, he expects dishes straight out of heaven." "Fufufu, I understand, Milim-sama. Please enjoy the meal," Shuna assuaged Milim with a smile. Maybe it was because Milim was good with Shuna, but she seemed more relieved than when I told her. But— "—That's highly disagreeable, Demon Lord Rimuru-sama. To teach our Milimsama such blasphemy…" The thing that came out of Midley's mouth, who followed as Milim's attendant, as soon as the dishes were placed in front of him, was criticism. According to this Midley, he was the representative of "the people who want to follow Milim," in the letter Milim sent. Hermes, who was sitting off to the side, was making either apologetic or prayer gestures directed at me. Maybe he was doing it because he was worried that I might get angry at what Midley said. He seemed like the type that didn't neglect to worry about the small things, a pleasant guy. The nobles were watching us from afar, they had already filled their bellies and were enthusiastically talking about the ways of the world. Even if they were talking about the current affairs, their sphere was the world of aristocrats, and the goal was information collection. Right now, they seemed to be more interested in our conversation, than their own stories. In other words, Demon Lord Milim and her associate's reactions, and the dishes they felt were good, that was what they were curious about. Especially since there were people like Midley, who didn't understand the luxurious life of humans in the first place… There was nothing to talk about when traditional values were vastly different, but if we gave up that easily, then getting humans and monsters closer together would be hard—there were likely people coming to that conclusion. There was nothing we could do about that, but it would probably be okay this time. Hermes, another one of Milim's attendants, said that he wanted to spread the concept of cooking to the Worshippers of Dragon, therefore, I responded to Midley with confidence. "Blasphemy, you say?" First, I countered with another question to figure out what Midley was thinking. "Hmph! To be thankful and enjoy the taste of nature at its purest, that is the proper way, the rule we had set in stone long ago. To do this to them…" There was dressing on the salad. The potato salad was mashed and devoid of round shapes. "And what exactly are you doing? Cooking the meat, that's fine. But to then tarnish the meat by pouring an unknown liquid on it? Pathetic. This deed is truly pathetic!!" he bellowed while glaring at me with throbbing veins on his forehead, he must've been furious. Seemingly irritated after hearing that, Shuna, who had prepared the meal, stared at Midley with an eerie smile. Hermes, noticing the intimidating atmosphere, went pale as a sheet and bowed to Shuna in apology without end. But Midley paid him no mind and kept ranting. "To show such insolence to the gifts of nature! It doesn't matter if you do as you like in your territory, but it is nonsense to rope our Milim-sama into this as well!" While jabbing a finger at the soup filled with ingredients and the bite size cream croquette, among others, Midley was persisting on his views of it being an insult to the natural ingredients. This was ridiculous, it's no wonder Milim asked me for help. These kinds of people were always tiresome to deal with, talking sense into him would be hard. He seemed like the type of guy that thought himself to be infallible and disregarded anything other people said. However, that would come to an end today. It would be a problem if their tongue structure was different, but this was solely a conflict with Midley's values. And he simply believed it to be true, there was no legitimacy behind his ideas. In the first place, Milim herself, who Midley served, wanted to eat delicious dishes. Even now, she looked like a dog that had been told "wait," while there was food in front of her, so let's settle this quickly. This time it would be an easy victory. If the word "delicious" came out of Midley, then it would be our victory. If he even has a bite of Shuna's food, then our victory will be assured—I had that kind of an optimistic outlook. But I was being too simplistic. "I can never accept something like this!!" Midley was furious and didn't want to touch the meal. Victory's prerequisite was making him eat at least one bite, but if Midley didn't even want to lay his hand on it, then we lost the battle before the fight even began. Milim was eyeing me anxiously. Hermes looked to the skies with a crestfallen expression. The dispute had gotten slightly out of hand and seemed to have drawn a lot of eyes. Even the low-ranked people who were too lowly to deal with Elmesia, started to watch how things were turning out. Were I to falter before Midley's opinion, in front of so many people, then this wouldn't just end with me losing face. "Rimuru, I didn't know Midley would be this stubborn. Do you think it would be better to tell him to stand by in a separate room?" Milim proposed, worrying about me. "My apologies. Our High Priest has been rude. He does have a bit of a temper on the regular, but he isn't a bad person… I didn't expect him to get this bent out of shape over food." "Uh-um. I naively thought that he would understand once he tried the food. It's not good to force it either, so there's nothing we can do…" Well, it wasn't like today was our only shot at this. The festival started in full swing tomorrow, so there was no need to rush. Let's rethink and finalize our plan of attack against Midley by using today's failure as an example; right now we have to prioritize taking care of the current situation—I decided to put this problem off for later. But there was someone who could not accept that in this situation. BAAANG!! A loud noise echoed throughout the parlor house. Shuna had suddenly slammed the table hard in front of Midley, with a smile quite unlike the one from a while ago. Midley's eyes went wide. The expression he made was not because it hurt, but because he could not understand what was going on. That's how it happened. Shuna was surprisingly fast, so much so, that, even though he was caught off-guard, not many could've reacted to it. "What, what are you doing?" "Shut your mouth!!" Shuna shouted loudly, without losing her smile as she glared at Midley. Then she grabbed the bowl with the soup and handed it to him. "Look at this soup. There are a lot of ingredients in it, right? This is Rimurusama's ideal." Huh? What does that mean? Disregarding my confusion, Shuna continued, "Under Milim-sama, beastmen, harpies, the monsters who served Clayman, and your dragonites are gathered. You could say that any one of them possesses tremendous power. But if you combine your strength—you'll be able to act with far greater strength in unity. Please try this." Showing unexpected power, Shuna handed Midley the spoon, and likely cowed by her demeanor, he tried the soup as he was told. I had almost given up, but Shuna pulled it off this easily… Since we got this far, it would follow as planned. "—!!" Midley's face was overcome with astonishment. "Thi-this is—?!" "How is it? It's delicious, right? This is what we call 'harmony'. Just like each and every one of the ingredients in the soup limiting their self-assertiveness can bring an overall complete taste, this soup contains that desire." Aha, so that's it. Heck, I only thought of it as a tasty soup… "It…it's delicious. More than any vegetable I have eaten… This one spoon of soup has a deeper taste…" No, that's obvious. Compared to totally raw vegetables, Shuna's cooking being far better was obvious. But to Midley it seemed to be a groundbreaking discovery. "Hey, if you could stop looking at us with those pitiful eyes, that would be great…" Hermes said with a bright red face. His attitude clearly portrayed that he was asking not to be treated at the same level. Certainly, I understood why he wanted to say that. After all, there are superiors who refuse to listen to their subordinates, even when they make a good point. Nevertheless, when something happens, then they have joint responsibility, making things tricky. He looked rather pitiful, so I gave him a nod to show that I understood. That was that, during my time with Hermes, Midley had eaten all of the soup, down to the final drop. Shuna told Midley after finishing the soup: "As long as you understood, that's all I ask of you. But please remember the following at the very least. Cooking goes beyond just one dish." With a calmer expression, Shuna was teaching Midley. With the wonderful taste of the soup in mind, Midley now seemed to be willing to take in those words. "What do you mean?" he asked Shuna in an earnest fashion. "If this soup is the new country that Milim-sama rules," she replied, "then this bread here is the Blumund Kingdom, and this steak is the rising nation Famenas. If this Terrine made with Foie gras7 is the Dwarf Kingdom, you could say this seafood dish is Sorcerer's Dynasty Sarion. The variety of combinations is diverse. Cooking isn't something that could be complete with just one style. It's the same with nations. Forming wide and deep relations and being entangled can give you a more plentiful satisfaction. That is the world Rimuru-sama wishes for." Shuna smiled from the heart. Midley seemed to be moved by those words, lowering his eyes to take in the spread out dishes, he silently descended into deep thought. It wasn't just him, but the people stealing glances from afar reacted similarly. "Is, is that so…" "The relationship between countries, that's definitely important." "That's correct. However, to think that his Majesty Demon Lord Rimuru had thought that far ahead…" "It's really an amazing idea! Even if we were to talk about just one dish, it's true. If you don't get the right amount of salt, it won't taste good. On this basis, you're saying you made various dishes that harmonize with each other and complete a full course. Truly, I could truly say that this is a fascinating idea!!" We reached a situation where people started to talk about it with excitement. Uh-um, you see, I hadn't thought of it to that extent. Shuna's powerful persuasion seemed to have beautifully touched the hearts of others. They were apparently spinning glorious narratives about the haphazard selection of dishes that were available during the party as well. I admired Shuna, with an honest heart, I thought that she was amazing. Transcending the strength of words alone, the spectacular taste of her dishes made it all the more convincing— The difference in values—even the people who were afraid of that, after listening to the word "harmony" derived from the cooking metaphor, probably saw a future where humans and monsters could join hands. "Also, not everything that mixes is good, so please keep that point in mind," Shuna mentioned that caveat, and for a split second, she shot a glance at Shion standing behind me, but I'd just ignore that. "Well then, I think you understood. Shall we move on then, food is best eaten warm. Milim-sama, Karion-sama, Frey-sama, and accompanying people, please eat before it gets cold." On Shuna's mark, Milim dug into her food like a starving dog. "It's so delicious!!" A face full of smiles. A reply like that was obvious. You didn't need fancy words, her face said it all. "I see… I had the wrong idea… Does that mean Milim-sama had waited for me to realize my mistake all this time…" 7 A terrine is a dish of ground meat, organs, seafood, vegetables, boiled eggs, herbs and/or other seasonings packed into a loaf shape, then boiled; Foie gras is the liver of a duck or goose fattened by force-feeding corn through a tube. Midley became aware of it as well. After a long period of time, he was finally able to realize his mistake. "Now, now, Midley-sama, being disheartened will only make the people around you uncomfortable. Let's eat before it gets cold!" He was not able to read the mood—no, because Hermes said that, purposely acting oblivious, veins started to show again on Midley's forehead. "You, you fool…" "Wha-what's wrong? Making your head stripy like a melon—" "Wahahahaha! You don't have to get angry like that, Midley. Let's eat like Hermes said, or I might end up eating it all." "Tch, you escaped death, Hermes. I will forgive your disrespect today in consideration of Milim-sama and this excellent dish!" And the place was filled with laughter. Regardless of human or monster, it was like all became one in heart. "Your little sister is really amazing." "Right? She's my proud little sis." As I complimented Shuna while meeting eyes with Benimaru, he nodded saying that it's only natural. Maybe because she heard our conversation, Shuna dashed to the corner of the parlor house with a bright red face. After that, the eve that was planned to go from six to nine in the evening, was extended for two more hours. One of the reasons being that key figures who were hesitating to participate, attended with the news of Elmesia turning up. Midley's and Karion's group were quite the heavy eaters, so satiating their hunger took a while, that being another reason. Well, whatever the reason was, it didn't matter. Judging by the unprecedented results, it was a huge success. And with this, the eve together with multiple promotional efforts aimed at prominent figures from other countries, despite some diversion that brought us off course a few times, but, nonetheless, had exceeded expectations, finally came to an end.