.
.
.
After meeting the representatives of the monsters living in the Great Jura Forest,
the talk with the representing group from the Western Nations went smoothly as
well. There were many more details to discuss in the future, but the ideas brought
up in our discussion were a good start.
Last night we held a rare founding eve celebration. The event concluded
peacefully with the various attendances from guests all over the continent.
I was very satisfied. I seemed to only have to talk to people I'd been
acquainted with in the past yesterday. In terms of actual agreements and
demands, I ordered Rigurd and Myourmiles to document all of them. They even
stopped guests in secret to prevent them from chatting with me.
Very impressive. They're truly men I can count on.
To be honest, had someone directly negotiated with me, there was a good
chance that I'd screw up and end up getting myself lumped into something I
shouldn't have. If that were the case, we could have been held accountable for
something in the future. Their buffer-zone really helped me out.
That being said, if I am able to establish good relationships with other nations
in the future, I wouldn't really mind helping 'em out a bit… But for now, it's best
we act with caution until we can ascertain their true nature.
I couldn't just roll over and simply acquiesce to their requests.
Regardless, right now we were still lacking in manpower. We still had tons of
work left to do even after we concluded the festivities. There were a lot of pending
issues to attend to.
Practicality aside, even if we were to moderate and establish relevant
departments, we still wouldn't have had enough people to fit in administrative
roles. And I couldn't just pile on more work for the existing people either, or else
they truly would be busy forever.
Rigurd and Myourmiles far exceeded my expectations. Their due diligence on
all the work I assigned them had at times caused me to be a bit over-reliant on
them. I also invited them over last night, despite things being hectic as they were,
causing them to lose some sleep. I need to avoid becoming dependent on them—
this was my conclusion I reached following the emergency meeting we had last
night.
As such, I had decided to take on some responsibility as the ruler of this nation
and do my best to receive the guests.
The Founding Festival of Tempest would be held today, under a sky as clear as
crystal.
Even if it rains, I'll just blow the clouds away, I thought to myself.
This was the capital of the Monster Kingdom, Rimuru, a city crowned with my
own name. The location was the meeting hall in the center of the northern district,
where most political institutions resided.
I glanced down upon the people gathered below. The streets leading to the
meeting hall were packed to the brim. They were once unruly monsters, but they
were now my citizens and regarded as demi-humans.
The majins from all over the Jura Great Forest had congregated here before
me. With them were also merchants from neighboring nations as well as
adventurers bodyguarding them.
Moreover, there were also peasants that came for the festival. From what I
saw below, the total population here numbered over one hundred thousand, and
we had become a huge melting pot of races. A sense of fulfillment gradually filled
my heart as I realized that we had finally achieved a kingdom where humans and
monsters could peacefully coexist—feels good man.
Next, it was about time. I stood up and held the microphone in my hand.
"Everyone, I… I mean, I *royal sounding*…I am the Demon Lord Rimuru…"
Umm, whatever goes. This is too troublesome.
To me, delivering a serious speech was not only just a difficult task, but also a
burdensome responsibility. That's why I decided to just put forth my honest
emotions.
"I am Demon Lord Rimuru, and it's nice to meet you all. Well—thank you all
for coming to my kingdom upon invitation. I am very pleased. Although for some
of you guys it might be your first time visiting, please rest at ease. While it is
indeed a fact that I have become the new demon lord, I have no intention of
antagonizing humans. I simply wish to build a kingdom where everyone can live
in harmony. As opposed to fighting each other, I believe humans and monsters
should cooperate. I believe only in this way can we build a better future."
I observed everyone's reaction as I continued my speech. It seemed that
everyone was intently hanging onto my every word. This not only applied to
citizens of our kingdom, but also to the peasants that came for the celebration. I
continued:
"Some may be wary of the fact that I am a demon lord. While this sense of
caution is understandable, I hope everyone would put trust into your genuine
feelings. I won't force you to accept my views. It would certainly be pleasant if you
were to find me trust-worthy, but even if you are not willing to trust me, it is
something that cannot be helped. Trust is not built overnight, but rather through
persistent communication in the future, which is a conclusion that I shall not rush
towards—"
As the saying goes, "Rome wasn't built in a day." Things like trust need to be
nurtured over time. However, how the people interpreted my message was entirely
up to them. Next, I addressed the royal ruling classes:
"Fellow nobles gathered today, I hope that you will relay what you see and
hear here today honestly when you return to your respective nations. Some
kingdoms have already established diplomatic ties with us. Even if you can't put your faith in us, will you not find those nations trust-worthy? I hope that you will
not be prejudiced simply for the fact that I am a monster and a demon lord."
With that being said, this wasn't something they could determine by
themselves. It had to be a decision made by the nation as a whole. What everyone
thought here wasn't that big of a deal, but… I still wanted to believe that there was
some use to say these things.
But I'll need to give them a fair warning, so we don't end up with a Farmus
2.0.
"I won't wage war against you simply for the fact that you did not cooperate
with us, but if you treat us unfairly due to our monster status, or attack us with
the intention of invading: that is something we absolutely will not tolerate. I figure
that everyone here has an idea about what I'm talking about after seeing what
happened to the Farmus Kingdom."
These were my genuine thoughts as well. Perhaps some would consider me as
a threat for doing so, but those were just my honest opinions. I disliked war, but
if anyone dared to invade our kingdom, I would retaliate without hesitation. An
indecisive ruler will only bring about harm, especially for innocent civilians.
After all, ensuring the lives and properties of our citizens was the responsibility
of the state. It was my primary objective to protect, and that included friendly
monsters as well as future immigrants. A world without military conflict was
nothing but an idealistic dream. A citizen had every freedom and right to dream
about peace and prosperity, but that wasn't a luxury rulers could afford. They
needed to always be on their feet, ready to handle any situation that may arise.
This was the bare minimum for a nation to function. That was my justification for
the speech I just delivered to the higher-class guests.
And to wrap it all up—
"Whether you're a merchant, adventurer, or peasant, I swear not to lay my
hands on common civilians. But that does not apply to criminals. Our country is
lacking in manpower. As such, there are plenty of jobs available, so anyone who
wishes to fill an empty role can consider immigrating. Naturally, with more people
come more opportunities. Here, you will have freedom of speech and the ability to
choose the occupation that you desire. But even so, please speak and act
responsibly. If you are still interested in our nation after my speech, please
consider my proposition. There are all sorts of events planned for our nation in the
future as well. Today's Tempest Founding Festival is but the first debut project.
With that being said, I hope everyone will have fun!"
After that promotional message to the commoners, my speech concluded.
Was that a bit too on the nose?
Oh well, I didn't really mind. I was just a clerk working nine-to-five in my
previous life, which is why my speech was nowhere near as eloquent as those
delivered by kings and nobles despite my quick rise to fame.
But, even with that being the case—
The crowd exploded into deafening cheers. My citizens aside, even the visitors
were in an uproar. Although there must also be people who still had their suspicions, most people were willing to trust me and put their faith in this nation.
That would do for now. It would be odd to have complete trust from the get-go.
Our heartfelt thoughts had been delivered to everyone. All that's left was to see
their reactions.
And so, with my speech, the Tempest Nation Founding Festival was officially
commenced.
***
After the speech, I made my way to the main hall on the ground floor. The children
had finished dressing up and gathered there.
"Sensei turns out to be the king of this country?"
Hmm? Did I not mention it?
"So, you didn't know, Kenya? Since you are now aware of my greatness, it's
never too late to show me a tad bit more respect."
"What did I—"
"Yes—! I respect sensei a great deal!"
As I was teasing Kenya, Alice interrupted and hugged me. Chloe followed up
with a "Me too—!" and similarly sprung on me.
I smiled, patting both their heads before gently pushing them away. The two
seemed rather displeased since, after all, I only had one body. They'd just have to
suck it up for now before they started arguing amongst themselves.
"Speaking of which, this is quite a surprising turn of events. Just yesterday I
was guessing whether sensei was a king or not…" Gale said as Ryota nodded in
agreement.
"Ahh, this whole king thing was after I parted ways with you all. By the way, I
have been really busy lately."
"R-right… Of course, you'd be really busy after becoming a king…"
Kenya still looked very pissed, but at least it seemed he was willing to forgive
me a little.
"Then, sensei, will we not have any more chances to see you again in the
future?"
"Hmm—I'll check on you guys when I have the time. Don't be fooled by my
appearance! My king status is only in name."
"Tsk, what's that supposed to mean? Are you great or not?? Make up your
mind!! Seriously…"
I attempted to comfort the complaining Kenya before giving all of them a
couple words of caution.
"Listen well now, you guys will undoubtedly be very excited to join in on the
festivities, and as a result you may easily go out of control. Don't get over your
heads and stay out of trouble!"
" " "Alright!" " "
They're quite the lively bunch today.
"Did you bring your handkerchief, napkin, and that necklace?"
" " "Of course we did!" "
These brats sure answer fast. It's probably better to find someone to
accompany them, but all my subordinates had their hands full. Diablo was busy
refereeing at the Colosseum. Hakurou had a date with Momiji, and Benimaru was
my bodyguard.
"Are you sure you want to give the chance to date Momiji to Hakurou?"
"Please give me a break, it's all too soon for me…"
Benimaru seemed to be dodging the question. Fine then. I guess only time can
tell.
Shuna should be running the cafe, Shion also seemed to be occupied with
something as well and has been missing all morning. While this fact alone brings
me great unease, I want to cling to the faint hope that everything will be fine.
Souei will be covertly keeping watch over the town. He'll inform me if something
happens. Souei's men will be keeping an eye on the kids, so I guess there's no
need to worry too much—
"What's the matter? Something troubling you?"
As I was in the midst of contemplating how it was never good to overthink
things, someone suddenly interrupted my train of thought.
It was Hinata. Hinata was standing there in casual attire with a saber sheathed
on her belt. She was wearing a navy-blue sleeveless dress which occasionally
allowed for glimpses of her armpits and chest, giving off an indescribably erotic
allure. Moreover, the saber strapped on her belt accentuated her slim waist
Ahhh, what a pleasant sight.
While I wanted to appreciate her body a little bit more, Hinata's icy gold glare
shut down my hopes. I gave a dry cough to get through with it.
"Eh, sensei!"
"Who is this?"
Alice and Chloe warily asked after seeing my expression.
"Her name is Hinata. She's the powerhouse that fought me to a draw."
"Huh—? This old hag managed to—"
Kenya was only halfway through his sentence before Hinata cut him off by
pressing her saber to his throat. It was only one centimeter away from his neck.
Any move and his throat would have been slit open.
"Now, what were you saying?"
"I-I was going to say… T-the beautiful big sister…"
Kenya's eyes were filled with tears as he squeaked out his words.
"K-Ken-chan…"
Ryota had tried to save Kenya but was now frozen in place. It seemed that
Hinata's glare had made him stiff with fear. Gale, who had been mesmerized by
Hinata, was also standing stock still. So shocked was he by Hinata's sudden
appearance, that his body was straight and rigid as a board.
I can't really blame them. Even I find Hinata a little bit frightening, so I guess
it's only natural for Ryota and Gale to have that type of reaction.
"Kenya, watch your manners! This person was also the disciple of Shizu-san
just like Yuuki. In other words, she's basically your senior."
Kenya looked at me with sad puppy eyes that seemed to say: Geez, couldn't
you have said that earlier! While I could definitely sympathize, it didn't change the
fact that it was Kenya's own fault this time. I warned them not to get in over their
heads just moments ago. Kenya ignored my warnings and had his just desserts
served to him.
"Shizu-sensei's disciple… Could it be?!"
"Could it be the person that allegedly surpassed Shizu-sensei in a month…"
"The Holy Knight commander of Ruberios, Hinata Sakaguchi-sama?"
"That's rad! But, is it really her…?"
"Hey… Shouldn't you mention something as important as that first…"
Hinata smacked her lips and then sheathed her sword at incredible speed.
Kenya slumped to the ground, exhausted. He probably lost all strength in his legs.
I'd wager he won't be getting back up anytime soon.
"I almost pissed my pants—" Kenya said, his face pale. Alice sneered at him,
calling him "Disgusting."
"You can't blame me! That was really horrifying."
"But it was Kenya's fault as well."
Kenya was silenced under the pressure of Chloe's facts and logic.
"By the way, Rimuru-sensei, did you really fight to a tie with Hinata-nee?"
Since Gale asked, I at the very least had to give him an honest answer.
"I guess. There was no decisive winner or loser since the losing one ran off
before the end of the fight."
"And the 'losing one who ran off' is referring to you, right sensei?"
And after all that trouble of avoiding specifying who… That roast was on point.
"Whatever you say."
But that was just me trying to play cool. I wasn't lying; I just wasn't revealing
the whole truth. Something which, by the way, shall just be kept as a lil' secret
between you and me.
The children wanted to ask more but Hinata interrupted them.
"So, what was it that was troubling you just now?"
Having been asked, I recalled worrying about who to entrust to accompany the
children.
"It's nothing really. It's just that these kids are gonna be going to town soon.
Even though there are safety patrols and such on duty, it's still gonna be really
crowded, and I'm a bit worried for their safety. Preferably I'd want someone to
accompany them…"
"Oh—in that case, I can take care of them."
"So, I was thinking about whether there are any suitable candidates… Eh?"
What did she just say? Hinata's gonna take care of the children? Wait wait
wait, that joke's not funny at all!
"What, do you think I'm not qualified?"
"No way, what are you talking about—"
She glared at me again. What a terrifying woman. Kenya managed to not pee
his pants. Good work on his part; I'll need to praise him a little.
"You guys won't turn me down now, will you?"
"No, of course not!"
"Ken-chan…"
"Please help us!"
"Even Gale has… Fine then, so be it."
The two boys—Gale and Kenya—had fallen. Seeing their reactions, Ryota caved
in as well.
"I can't believe I get to see Hinata-nee that I've always looked up to! I'm so
happy!"
Alice was practically an idol-chasing stan. I used to think she looked up to
Masayuki, but it seems that she looked up to Hinata like some idol. Unlike the two
boys who were complaining, she was more than happy to be close to her. And
there was also Chloe.
"Big sis is such a nice person! I feel like you are so similar to Shizu-sensei!"
She went on to hug Hinata with a smile. I guess Hinata really was a good
person if even Chloe was tagging alongside here. Even though her eyes were scary
as hell, Chloe didn't seem to mind.
Speaking of Hinata, if I wasn't mistaken, she had a small smile on her lips.
Hinata seemed to have grabbed the children's hearts in an instant.
"Let's go then!" Hinata announced. "They seem to be selling chow mein and
corn on the cob there, so let's go eat at the vendor stand."
" " "Okay!" " "
What amazing leadership. Impressive was the only thing I could say about her.
Now I could rest assured with the children entrusted to Hinata.
Having been relieved of a heavy burden, Hinata suddenly snuck next to me
and whispered.
"Now that I am helping to take care of the children, I'll leave Ruminas-sama
to you!"
Huh? I didn't see her last night, but could it be that Ruminas is here as well?
"Is Ruminas willing to join the ceremony?"
"Weren't you the one that invited her? She was overjoyed and even prepared
her maid outfit!"
I didn't expect Ruminas to disguise herself as a servant of the Holy Knights
Arno and Bacchus when coming to attend the event. She seemed to be operating
alongside the nobles on the first day under the guise of her maid outfit. Holy
Knights were, after all, of noble status. That being the case, it would be fine for
her to accompany the people that I'd be receiving today.
Should I call her astute or…
Apparently, she spent the night over at our newly constructed church. I didn't
realize it at all, meaning that she had hidden her real identity perfectly.
"I'll leave the rest to you."
And with that, Hinata left with the children. By the looks of it, I'll be the one
putting in the work now, won't I… Hinata seemed to be pretty smug about it. I felt
like she had checkmated me yet again.
Just as Hinata left, someone came up to pat me on the shoulder.
"Ah, how surprising, Rimuru-san. That's the first time I've seen Hinata
smiling."
It was Yuuki. He wasn't wearing his usual suit this time, but rather a formal
outfit that was modeled after his old school uniform. He was standing there with a
welcoming smile on his face. It seemed that he'd been looking for me to go to the
gathering location. Since that's the case, guess I'll have to lead the way.
"Right, I didn't expect Hinata to offer to take care of the children. I was thinking
that she would say something along the lines of 'How annoying' while looking
disgusted."
"She's not like that at all. Hinata is actually a great caretaker. That being said,
I'm still surprised. By the way, her casual clothes suit her super well, don't they?
It gave me quite a shock indeed! That piece seems to have been purchased in this
town, and now she's like a charming, fashionable university student. Ain't that
right?"
I see, so they were indeed our domestically produced clothes. And I had
thought that I was mistaken, but I guess not.
"That girl turns out to be pretty wealthy. Perhaps it's rather impolite for me to
say, but that dress is pretty expensive.
That dress was made from hell-moth silk, which not only provided comfort, but
also had the effect of 'Thermal Fluctuation Nullification'. It even had defensive
capabilities that exceeded your run-of-the-mill leather armor.
With all those features, it was no wonder why the dress would be pricey. Even
with the production of silk stabilized, the supply was still scarce. And of that scarce
supply, even fewer were finished products. Given that to be the case, we could
only sell them at an incredibly high price. It was a product tailored for nobles and
not meant for the commoners.
I heard that Hinata bought it without hesitation upon seeing it yesterday. She
even had someone custom tailor it. I figured that she must have spent a good load
of money on it. Well, if that was the case, I couldn't complain about such a good
customer.
"I guess it's possible that her spending mood is related to the festivity? She
was also quite eager to explore things around here yesterday as well."
Are you serious!? And I thought that I was just seeing things… It seemed that
peoples' expectations towards the nation founding festival of Tempest had gone
beyond my imagination.
Ah, I guess that's why she said those things. Based on these considerations,
Hinata decided to take a break herself and pushed the duty to receive Ruminas to
me.
"What was she investigating yesterday by the way?"
"The food stands. Wasn't she just animatedly talking about chow mein and
corn on the cob?"
"Oh, so she did…"
That means Hinata has indeed done her thorough research.
She seemed to take enjoying the festival very seriously. Any wariness she may
have had was gone with the wind, fully immersing herself in the festivities.
Indeed, we had lots of fast food stands on display outside the Colosseum, and
among them was one that I had personally planned. Everything went very
smoothly with the help of Myourmiles's arrangements.
We offered hamburgers, hot dogs, french fries, and a panoply of juices. There
were many other shops as well. We had stands that offered chow mein, corn on
the cob, cow-deer BBQ, and snacks. Even though it might have been off season,
we even had shaved ice for sale. It would definitely become a best seller during
the summer. Shaved ice was thin, delicate, and it melted in your mouth. Now just
add some sweet syrup on top of that… I had tried it before, and I could definitely
vouch for its fantastic taste. The aromatic smell of soy sauce combined with the
sweetness of fruit sugar was mouthwatering.
This was all possible thanks to everyone's careful preparations for this day. I
communicated my memories of the dishes through 'Telepathy Net', and as a result,
Shuna and the others were able to successfully recreate them. With Myourmiles
doing the planning, my projects were able to come to fruition. Even more
surprising was the fact that we made it so that Veldora could open a teppanyaki
shop.
Hinata seemed to have checked out stores beforehand and had made her plan
to tour around the town.
"By the way, she seems pretty different compared to how she normally
interacts with people. Does she really like eating junk food that much?"
"I mean, who doesn't? It tastes good. I'm a fan of junk food too, so you can't
really just judge her like that…" Yuuki agreed as I was mumbling to myself.
I had stumbled upon a rather surprising side of Hinata, and I wasn't sure
whether I could call that a blessing or a curse. At least she wasn't stingy with her
money, so she should be a good client.
Although I feel like she may be a negative influence on the children…
***
Accompanied by Benimaru and Yuuki, I arrived at the guest hotel. Rigurd was
already explaining the planned schedule to the large group of nobles gathered
there.
"Oh, Rimuru-sama! Your speech just now was truly wonderful!"
Eh, really?
Rigurd's joyful expression was contagious. He provided me reassurance that
my speech just now was perfectly fine. I exchanged smiles with Rigurd all the while
thinking to myself, nice, nice!
"Then, we will be leading everyone to attend the first event of the day!"
Rigurd began walking as he finished. He moved towards a building near the
hotel. It was the opera house. We managed to redecorate the interior on a crunch,
and the end result was more majestic than what we had hoped for. We only
arranged these high-quality chairs in this particular manner after considering the
acoustic effect in the theatre.
The guests were seated properly.
The standard of culture in this world was a bit lower when compared to Japan.
This was…umm, a genuine observation even from other people's point of view.
While there was a relatively high artistic and musical achievement, that was limited
to royalty and nobility. They were entertainment for the upper echelon that had
both an abundance of money and time. The angels would assault any city that
developed past a certain threshold. As a result, most aspects of advanced culture
were tucked away in the realms of the privileged. To the nobles, these forms of
culture were merely considered as minor entertainment. But to me, culture was
something that required a collective effort to build together.
Geniuses had been buried in this world. It was not only difficult to discover the
genius in these fields in a world with such a narrow view, but they may also even
be buried and eventually not be developed for their entire lives. Art is the product
of entertainment spawned from extra vitality of life, and the same goes for any
innovation.
In this world, the search for such things is a luxury, but I'm not giving up
because of it. I will, however, search the world to discover the geniuses that were overshadowed by the average people. In order to achieve this, first I need to foster
a culture appreciation trend within my nation.
And the first step is—today's appreciation concert. There were plenty of
musical instruments in this world that were similar to my original world. To my
surprise, there was even something like a piano.
And these were all discovered at Clayman's base. He seemed to have been
living life no worse than court royals. In one of the countless luxuriously decorated
rooms of his, he had stored a large number of instruments. Some monsters already
understood music. They seemed to play beats to the performance of flute and
taigo8
. They also had a culture of holding festivals every year. I loaned instruments
to these people and, with time, their talents here and there blossomed.
We prepared instruments for those conscious of learning, and gave them basic
instructions such as teaching them how to read music notes.
My knowledge alone was hardly enough, and it was a time like this that Wisdom
King Raphael would shine. With the music schoolbook from Japan combined with
the knowledge related to instruments within the library of this world, we produced
a paper book. How amazing(-ly terrifying) it was for Raphael to recreate such longforgotten knowledge of mine.
The personal effort of the monsters came next. As the saying goes, "Interest
is the best teacher," soon enough, the monsters started to master their favorite
instruments.
By the way, I also had someone faithfully recreate the music notes. I wasn't
someone qualified with traits such as "pitch perfect hearing," but it was no problem
for Raphael-san. Not only did it recreate the sheet music, it even re-composed the
songs. Although I was worried about copyright issues, there was no JASRAC9
in
this world. Moreover, the rights holders were not here either. So please give me
some leeway for wanting to further foster the culture.
Our powerhouse was comprised of violinists, but there were also instruments
such as the trumpet and kettledrum. While it was surprising to see that there were
pianos, how easily the monsters played them moved me quite a bit.
The opinion on whether to add a piano into the orchestra was split. But this
alone was not enough to concern me too much. If we wanted to further dramatize
the performance with the addition of a piano, we should just add it in. I wasn't
musically talented, so the decision was handed to the monsters. The result of the
performance was guaranteed by Myourmiles.
Today was also the first day I would be hearing their performance. With
mounted expectations, I nervously awaited the moment.
After confirming that the guests had been seated, the lights were gradually
turned down. The curtain on the stage was pulled up. Members of the orchestra in
uniforms emerged. The ensemble was made up of people from different races as
they held their preferred instruments. Some looked like humans, others looked
8
Japanese drum instrument
9
Japanese Society for Rights of Authors
like beasts. There was a lot of variety. Everyone's face was filled with confidence
and pride in their instruments.
A halfling came to the front, likely the conductor, and bowed deeply to the
audience—I recalled this young man sighing that he couldn't do anything. I told
him as comfort that "There's no such thing." Even though he wasn't good at
accounting, his weak physique made him unsuited for construction work and he
wasn't cut out for farming either. When out of options, he went to be enlisted, but
he couldn't win in a fight either.
While this was the case, he was good at raising morale. His singing voice was
most beautiful and united the people. That's when I recommended him to the army
band. I had even given him the name "Taktstock"—
Taktstock then raised his face. Unlike his expression from before, his face was
now filled with enthusiasm. As he graciously subjected himself to the judging eyes
of the high nobles, he turned his little back to everyone. A small and fragile body,
but his back was full of strength.
Everything happened so quickly. These people were lucky that their talents
were developed.
He raised his taktstock (conductor baton), and the next second—they began
to perform. A steady tone started, and soon was followed by a change into a
solemn reprise.
Under the conduction of Taktstock, the performers were acting in unison. They
had also found things to be proud of. The music they were performing seemed to
be announcing: "This is the best moment of my life." It was mesmerizing.
Classical music, these are famous songs that can be recognized in any era no
matter where. There are songs that heal, that inspire joy and determination. These
are songs crafted by many geniuses.
These people, who could barely read, studied these notes day and night—and
today at this hall, their effort blossomed, and they performed music with their
heart and soul. Nowadays, they would no longer be mocked and called useless
trash. If someone actually does that, I'll beat the shit out of them. That's how good
their performance is. I had been to classical concerts a couple of times when I was
in Japan, and you guys are not doing bad at all.
I didn't expect to hear such high-quality music here.
Yuuki closed his eyes and listened while reminiscent about the past, he seemed
mesmerized by it. How about that, aren't they amazing—I couldn't help but feel
smug.
But just as I thought so, the music stopped abruptly. They then continued to
play some very familiar anime songs.
No way, hold up… That was an almost natural transition from classical music
to an anime song! And then it somehow transitioned to pop music.
Yuuki opened his eyes and stared at me with a deadpan look. Quit it already,
I'm not the one responsible here.
And the culprit that used my memory to compose songs—
< evoked relatively high satisfaction.>> —This answer filled with confidence came from Wisdom King Raphael-san. Now I'm gonna carry this for the rest of my life. The good atmosphere we just managed to create had been destroyed completely. I did like these songs, but it was too drastic of a contrast when it was played right after some serious music. Yuuki seemed to agree. A small, wry smile emerged on his face. With that being said… It seemed only Yuuki and I felt that way. I guess this was to be expected. The audience were all hearing these songs for the first time. They had no clue where they were from. Moreover, with the clever tweak of Raphael-san, the songs were composed perfectly. Naturally, people wouldn't suspect a thing. Whether it was people who were used to listening to famous songs or not, they all probably heard these songs for the first time, and some were really into them. The orchestra's music surrounded and dominated the music theatre, the people in the audience didn't even risk making a sound by blinking; they were fully concentrated. Beethoven, Mozart, Chopin, Tchaikovsky, Wagner, as well as music composed by unknown geniuses had mesmerized the nobles and royalty alike in this world. The concert today was quite the success. The monsters were able to perform beautiful music—today, anyone who listened to the concert, would have to acknowledge that. That included the anime songs. After hearing the version they performed, they were just as great as the famous historical pieces. Even the pop songs did too, they were truly mind-blowing, and the rock songs were morale boosting. The enthusiasm in the theatre was still very high—and soon, the performance ended. *** It was over now. The past hour sure was something else. It was almost like the moment had been immortalized. As planned, the performance would come to an end. According to Myourmiles's explanation, there would be one hour of public performance each day in the morning and afternoon. Some people who were not familiar with music may find listening for too long to be insufferable. Based on these considerations, we shortened the duration. There was no intermission. This was our first attempt at it, in order to proceed things quickly, we simplified some steps. And the concert just now was the result of it. I only needed to listen to the reports. The people in front of me were the ones that figured out all of this. I felt honored as I stood up, hoping to give them my congratulations to their success. As I was about to clap— Taktstock bowed to us and swung his baton. All the lights suddenly went off. The theatre hall became dim, some people seemed to be panicking. But that was only for a second. Someone was standing on the stage, as a slim film of light shone down. She was a petite young girl with light pink hair—Shuna. She had an unusual charm today as she was dressed in a white open shoulder dress. I had only seen her in her kimono, which even made me doubt "Is this really her?" Surprisingly, under the thin light stood a purple-haired beauty as well. Is that Shion? She wasn't in her usual suit, but an off-shoulder dress. As if she were bathed under the moonlight, Shion's silhouette was dream-like. The lighting change made her dress, looming in the dark, give off a rare sensation of sexiness. Without speaking up, she was a beauty with an incredible body. Such a presentation had made Shion especially seductive. Under the light, the two stood at the front of the stage as they bowed deeply. This alone was like a painting, drawing the eyes of the audience—but, speaking of which, what were Shuna and Shion going to do? Could it be… The light started moving as Shuna walked along to the piano that no one had played until now. Shion, on the other hand, picked up a violin. There was no doubt that they were planning to perform. I could see Shuna playing the piano, but Shion playing violin? Is it really okay for Shion to play in front of so many guests? I suddenly recalled the travesty that was Shion's cooking. What if Shion's performance is so horrible that it makes things difficult for us later—no, it shouldn't come to that. If it was that bad, there was no way Shuna would bring her up. Moreover, Myourmiles was very confident about it. That man seemed to have bet his life on this project, there's no way he would let Shion do whatever she wanted. I needed this confidence. Upon thinking so, I closed my eyes. Although there were still worries within me, I awaited the performance to begin. The sound of the piano was calm and smooth. It was accompanied by the passionate play of the violin like flame. The nature of the song suddenly changed. Rather than a duet, it was more like a duel. —But, beautiful, nonetheless. It's as if the tone reflecting the bad temper of Shion was being surrounded gently by the piano notes that reflect Shuna's temperament. Tender yet exciting, the two characters intertwine and support each other. Their incorporation was just right. Ah ah, this was amazing. It's as if my soul was being shaken as I was overwhelmed by the rich music. That was something else. There's no way they could have reached that level of mastery by practicing on the spot. It must've been skills practiced since childhood. Speaking of which, Shuna was a miko-hime (witch princess)—I heard that Shion was responsible for protecting her. During religious celebrations, music was a necessary component. It must have been for this reason that the music Shion and Shuna performed was so strikingly impactful— There was silence. As if a momentary stay in a fantasy land had just finished. I felt as though I'd been there for an eternity, yet it had barely been five minutes. Upon coming back to my senses, I wanted to clap amidst panic, but I was overtaken. There was a sprinkle of soft applause that broke the silence. Someone did it before me. I was gonna clap first, but someone got ahead of me. I clapped alongside to confirm who it was—I didn't expect it to be Ruminas. That gave me a spook. She had disguised herself as the maid of the two Holy Knights and was clapping with utmost satisfaction. I followed up with some intense applause, joined by many others. There was applause like thunder. Emperor Elmesia of the Sorcerers' Dynasty Sarion, Dwarf King Gazel and the aristocrats of the Western Nations joined along. Even Frey and Hermes, as well as Midley, who seemed remotely unconcerned with any culture. Everyone stood up and gave them their applause. For some reason, the habit of applauding seemed to be the same as my original world. Is it that there are so many "Otherworlders" from the start, or is it that this is just how this world is? I'm not really sure about it, but I'm sure there's no culture of "Encore" in this world. After all, cultural activities were a rare occurrence in this world, and the reason was very obvious. And so I thought that everything was over, but it didn't seem this way. The stage turned dark once more before the light shone again. The last song was performed by Shuna on the piano, Shion with her violin, as well as the rest of the orchestra. This concluded the public performance. Music—and art—can break through any barrier. After witnessing it all, I would like to believe that there were indeed good things in this world, their beauty being something anybody could appreciate. *** The performance was a great success. At noon, we dined at the hall of the guest hotel. As the guests were eating snacks prepared by us, they were passionately discussing the performance from before. "That was amazing." "Aye, you're right about that—" "I was even mesmerized with my eyes closed—" "Me too. There's still an echo of the music around. It didn't matter if it were humans or monsters that performed, there's no difference between the two at all!" "Indeed. Good things are intrinsically good, nothing else really matters." And so on, as I eavesdropped nearby, hearing everyone's praise. "E-excuse me…Lord Rimuru, I wanted to attend that music concert again, how could I have the chance to do that?" someone decided to just ask me directly. "Throughout the three days of celebration, it will be held at fixed times every day." That's the answer I gave at least, but I may consider arranging regular concerts after the celebration. There still weren't many songs that they could play, but we would add on to the list in the future. "They did a wonderful performance. I had a lot more fun than I had imagined," when I crossed paths with Ruminas, she said so in a volume that only I could hear. I felt that Ruminas seldom gave praise, so her praising them directly this time could probably be interpreted as praise of the highest order. Seeing the reactions of the crowd, Benimaru also looked very proud. "Speaking of which, Shion was really surprising." "That's right. But—despite her look—she has always been good with rhythms. That instrument called violin was a great fit for Shion. Even though Shuna gave me a surprise with that instrument as well, she already enjoys singing, so it's not that big a surprise after all." In Benimaru's view, these seemed to be facts that could easily be accepted. He knew that the two had good singing voices. Having been reminded by him, I did recall hearing them singing joyfully. Although I seemed to have understood, I wasn't actually sure about what everyone was truly capable of. The lunch gathering concluded, followed by the tech presentation in the afternoon. I followed Rigurd to guide the guests who had yet to calm themselves from the exciting experience in the morning. Just passing by the opera house, we moved towards the museum this time. It felt as if we had gotten to the wrong place, but the historical records room was our destination this time. Gabil and Vesta were welcoming us at the entrance of the building. Some of the guests seemed to be aware that Vesta used to be a subject of the Dwarven Kingdom. A wave of noise came through, sounded like a commotion of surprise. But Vesta didn't seem to mind as he laughed alongside the crowd. Under the two's guidance, we entered the building. "What's in the box here are the healing potions first produced by Rimuru-sama. It was a liquid refined from Hippocout grass. The refinement rate was up to 99%. It is not as good as a resurrection potion, though it is almost as authentic as one— " Vesta explained as we walked further into the building. It was at this point that I discovered a misstep. While Vesta's explanation was in detail, it was probably pretty boring to the people without the relevant knowledge. It was possibly for this reason that some had begun to feel bored. The arrangement of the event was not ideal either. Had the tech presentation been arranged in the morning, the crowd would probably still attend out of curiosity. And it would appear less tedious. But arranging it right after the amazing concert in the morning, the presentation in comparison would, therefore, be dull. Moreover, considering that most of the guests are aristocrats, they may have been interested in the outcomes, but the production process would appear less significant. This must've been on their minds. Vesta seemed to have noticed this as well, as a wry smile emerged on his face. "My, my, it must be tedious for everyone to listen to these abstruse topics. Let us switch things up and take a look at our experiments." He turned to signal Gabil. Gabil nodded in response. "This experiment is—to ask the rudimentary question of 'What exactly is the healing potion'. When we dilute the full healing potion to one-fifth of its concentration, we will have the higher healing potion for treating severe wounds. A little more dilution and we will be able to produce twenty bottles of lower healing potion. In other words, that's just how incredible the full healing potion is." As Vesta was explaining, Gabil laid out all three types of healing potions in a line. "If there's any wounded person, we can invite him to test the effect of the potion. But deliberate self-harm would be too barbaric. So we've come up with an interesting experiment as an alternative." Accompanying Gabil's presentation, Vesta took something out—a broken sword. "Next, will the healing potion be able to fix this sword, can anyone answer this question?" As soon as Gabil asked, someone snickered at his question. "Impossible! Hippocout grass only works on creatures!" The respondent seemed to be a sorcerer, likely a court mage of some kingdom. He seemed to be well acquainted with relevant knowledge to determine that a healing potion had no effect on a broken sword. "Kukuku, indeed you are right. That is at least the case for the higher and lower healing potions—on the sword, they would have no effect," Gabil nodded in response. That was only natural. You didn't need an experiment to know the answer. I can see Gabil asking it, but why did Vesta continue with the question—? "Then, what is the range of its effective targets? What would be the answer to this question?" To this question, the audience started arguing along the lines of "Do you think we are stupid?" and started making a fuss to Gabil and Vesta. While such a reaction was expected, they were really being noisy. But I could understand their sentiments. However, regarding the application range of the healing potion… Of course it was not limited to humans, it was effective for animals, plants and monsters. Then, what really is the difference? Upon thinking so, that did make me ponder. Is it a difference between being organic and inorganic? No, my guess was that it had to do with having will or not. < that the difference has to do with the spirit particle that makes up for magicule, i.e. the presence of "Soul" or not.>> Yeah, that. Plants have wills as well. Although they have no clear concept of self, they still desire to live. But a sword does not have "Soul", in other words, possesses no will. A sword is purely just an object, and of course—uh, hold up? Something strange just crossed my mind. I recalled that Kaijin mentioned that a sword had its own will— Could it be! "Kukuku, that's the question I hope to explore as well. We've come to discover something new out of curiosity on the matter." "Indeed. I was laughing to myself at how stupid Gabil-san was and told him not to do such a silly experiment, trying to stop him. But I was the ignorant one. I was too accustomed to common sense that I forgot my purpose as a researcher." Vesta, with a smile, poured the full healing potion on the broken sword. And soon, while only just a bit, the sword was reacting. " " "—!" " " "This is the answer. While it is not complete regeneration, the broken sword does show signs of restoration." "H-how could this be…" "Unbelievable. So, healing potion can be applied in this way—" The guests couldn't hide their shock, as was to be expected. Their common sense had just been devastated. It was hard not to feel surprised—I was shocked as well. I didn't expect them to conduct such an experiment. Neither of the two persons responsible reported it to me, leading to my unexpected and unnecessary shock right now. "However, this only applies to gear that has grown to a certain extent. The basic requirement for the weapon is that it is made of 'Magisteel'. In addition, if the owner has not used the weapon for a long time, there will be no reaction." I see, in other words, it does not work if it does not possess will. "—What prompted your interest in the matter?" Gazel opened up quite seriously and asked Gabil. "It's not anything special, to be honest. I used to think that wild plants and grass had no will, but after experimentation, I discovered that healing potion works on them as well." Since full healing potions were already being mass-produced, there was a surplus in terms of production. That's why they were able to spray plenty of it on different materials as an experiment. Indeed, curiosity is the first step to new discoveries. I recalled a similar experiment done at a science lab when I was in primary school. I also wanted to challenge myself a bit due to boredom. Gabil was the same, anything would come after the action. The potion was effective towards plants. It was said that it could revive an almost dead tree and grow new branches over the broken ones. "This reminds me of the dryads in this world. Could the seemingly weak plants before us not grow to powerful monsters in the future? On second thought, I believe there must be some other conditions." As the explanation reached this point, at least half of the crowd became intrigued. Normally speaking, such research results should have been kept secret. That fact must've been in the back of everyone's mind. Should I let Gabil and Vesta continue the presentation? This thought quickly went through my mind before I dismissed it and continued to listen to the explanation with the rest. "Any entity that reacts to healing potion possesses magicule. And items without magicule do not react at all… This means that will is something that exists in magicule—or the two are closely connected." "Yes. I've changed my mind since Gabil-san showed me the files. It was then that a question came to mind—'What is magicule?'" Magicule—one of the unique substances of this world that, like oxygen, existed in every corner of this world. It was the source of all amazing powers in this world, and to some extent it could control free will… "Here's a sample of a certain plant. Let's switch to a different location and have a close-up image." After being hurried by Vesta, we moved on to a different venue. This was a large room with lines of chairs set up. This seemed more like a multimedia room. An experimental projector was set up there in front of a wall with a white cloth as a screen. Gazel was observing the projector excitedly, but he seemed to know that it wasn't the focus at hand, so he kept his mouth shut. As expected of Gazel, a mature adult that read the room. After confirming that all guests had been seated, Gabil began operating the projector. The device possessed light-magic engravings. It was a treasure that could project colored images. The room turned dim as images emerged on the white cloth. Some people were very surprised to see this, but Vesta ignored them and continued the explanation. "Then, please take a look at this image. This is the dissection of the aforementioned plant, and there is another dissection graph of a random grass—" The two enlarged dissection graphs were displayed next to each other. He didn't mention what type of plant it is on purpose, what is Vesta's goal here? "—Aren't these two the same thing? I couldn't tell the difference…" "Uh—same here, I can't tell the difference." Many people agreed. While some pointed out that "Here's something different," "No, over there," but I guessed none of them were right. "Alright, so what's the correct answer?" "Then let us enhance the image further." "How about now, does it still look the same?" Vesta and Gabil gave off a rather devious smile. It was then that they began to reveal their ace in the hole. "The first image is the plant known as Hippocout herb. The second is a random grass we picked by the road. How about it then, do they look the same?" As Vesta finished, people with pertinent knowledge began to disagree with him. "They do look different. You can see the difference if you pay attention!" "How devious of you Vesta-san. It's so hard to see the difference between the images like this!" The audience began to express their views. The Hippocout herb was rare. It was the grass that I ate inside the sealed cave of Veldora. It was also the famous ingredient that produced healing potion. The dissection graph looked very similar to that of the grass. How could that be possible—that's probably the average persons' reaction. Including me, some had become shaken by the words of Vesta. Gazel was among them, his face looked quite shocked. The dissection graphs of the Hippocout herb and grass were the same—this suggested that both were the same thing. Then, what even was a rare herb? The common sense of this world had been completely subverted… While the devious smile still hung on Vesta's face, he spread his arms to have everyone's attention. "Please, everyone, calm down, calm down." Vesta and Gabil comforted the guests and quieted them down. As the room was back to silent, they continued to play the images. "The liquid extracted from Hippocout herb mixed with magicule will become healing potion. The nature of the refined liquid determines the rate of the fusion, that is a fact that everyone knows. Regarding the point, while I can't give you the details, we've managed to extract liquid with purity up to 99%. The medicine made from it is the full healing potion." They were displaying a series of images while hiding the key technology. Vesta also explained the production process of healing potions. "Then there's the leaves of the Hippocout herbs. When you grind them up and mix in magicule, you can produce ointment that can be applied on wounds. However, its effect is not as obvious. Because it is considered the remains of the refined extraction. You will obviously get such a conclusion from a certain point of view." A picture of the leaf was projected on the screen. When you ground up these leaves and mixed them with the refined extract, you could make ointment. When he showed the steps of production, there wasn't anything odd, I wasn't sure what Vesta was up to now. "Next, I'll direct everyone to look at this image." The screen showed some ordinary grass that looked like the Hippocout herb grown in the cave. Its appearance looked completely different, so how come the picture of its dissection was the same… But after switching to a few different pictures, the image of Hippocout herb began to change. "Has anyone noticed yet? I found it purely by accident. While I was growing Hippocout herbs under Rimuru-sama's order, I came by some leftovers of the herb's refinement waste. Even if we make them into herbs, as soon as our preservation method is not good enough, its effect would disappear. Moreover, compared to the juice of the healing potion, its effect is very low. Since these leftovers have always been prepared in one way, I've not paid any attention to it in the past. But back then, I thought carefully and realized that there's really no need to specifically make it into ointment. I kept on pondering as I observed the leftovers—" It was then that Gabil discovered something. That was the shape of the leftovers' leaves. They were different from the Hippocout herb they grew. Gabil was shocked and decided to keep a detailed record of it, which were the images he showcased. "—First, in terms of theory, technically speaking, there is no such plant as Hippocout herb. It was the high concentration of 'magicule' near its surrounding that caused this particular plant to mutate—" "Indeed! It was not that Hippocout herb grows in areas with high magicule concentration, but that only in areas with high enough magicule concentration can its mutation take place. That is the true identity of the Hippocout herb!" As Gabil concluded his explanation, Vesta continued excitedly. No wonder he was so thrilled. The audience was riled up as well after hearing their speech. "T-this is a major discovery!" "Something like that, how can you publish that in a p-place like this, Vesta! Yyou need to find a more appropriate venue… You need to contact the universities and publish something like this by formal procedure!" Noises abrupted at the scene and the situation was almost chaotic. Even those who were lacking in interest could not keep silent. As for the people who were intrigued from the start, the impact on them was even greater. The content of this showcase was beyond their imagination. From their exclamation that "You shouldn't have published it in a place like this—" alone could you deduce just how shocked they felt. Even Gazel's eyes were popping out in awe. Emperor Elmesia was also whispering with Duke Elalude. I was scared as well. I hadn't paid much attention to it until now, and was immediately brought to speed by their presentation. Now that I thought about it, this made a lot of sense. I didn't think that there was all that Hippocout herb in Veldora's sealed cave from the start. If it was mutation—the plant itself evolved— then it would have made sense. These plants returned to their original state as ordinary grass when all of its magicule was extracted through the refinement process. When it is completely depleted of magicule, its dissection graph naturally looks just like your garden variety grass. I see, that's why Gabil thought of using a healing potion to fix the sword. Just as any ordinary grass could be turned into Hippocout herb, minerals could be turned into magisteel ore. These ores could then be refined into "magisteel" and could be used to craft weapons. Therefore, he would naturally question whether healing potions could be effective on swords or not. The result of which was the demonstration at the start of the presentation. "As for my question 'What is magicule?', there has not been any clear answer. Monsters and majins are also affected by magicule. That is a known fact. But what about demi-humans? Is it possible to make them human by extracting all the magicule from their body? Questions similar to these started pouring into our heads, but proving any of these would prove to be extremely difficult." "With that said, we will carry on with our research. There are many researchers gathered on this land, we promise to continue our search for the answer. And with that, our tech presentation today is concluded." "Thank you—" " "—for listening, everyone." " Gabil and Vesta concluded the presentation together. It seemed that they had prepared the presentation very discreetly. They acted very natural as if they'd done this many times. Moreover, the content of their presentation was fascinating. Even though there was no clear conclusion, the content was worth pondering over. They managed to announce something so important without revealing any of the core information on the matter. The most important point was that through a presentation, you couldn't really steal any of our technology. Magicule could cause changes to plants—that was some wonderful information, but other nations may not have been easily able to research the matter. Perhaps they could run experiments, but even with the knowledge at hand, they couldn't produce Hippocout herbs in mass. Our nation would still take the lead. Moreover, experiments conducted in our nation would be continued. There would be many researchers and intellectuals gathered on this land—just as Gabil said, we will have many scholars gathered here to study. Because of our abundance of magicule, we could do however many experiments as we pleased. This tech presentation had landed quite the impact on our audience. In the morning they were enjoying amusing sensations through music, and in the afternoon, the tech presentation excited their desire for exploration. As for which of the two was more memorable, that would be up to each person's own judgement. But with both events stirring up such attention, it meant that we were very successful in holding them both. And I was thinking that people may find it boring and the arrangement was all wrong… Looks like it was for nothing. This was the way to keep our guests' attention on our nation—this goal was successfully reached. I really wanted to praise those two without reservation. *** After the presentation, it was free-roaming time. Some went to the salon for a rest, some snuck out to the market district. Some went to enjoy the hot spring or visit one of our entertainment facilities. We did send receptionists alongside guests so they could move at will. As for what the guests were discussing, it was all about the concert and the tech presentation. Their praise was spreading around the town. I went around and checked on the nobles for fun. It was then that Arno and Bacchus caught up to me nervously. They whispered to me "We have something to discuss with you." I suspected it was something urgent, so I returned to the guest hotel alongside Benimaru, Shion and them to one of the rooms. The one waiting there was Ruminas. I had half guessed that it was her, having seen how nervous Arno and the others looked. Looks like my guess was right. She was crossing her leg while sitting on a chair in her maid suit. The black stockings on her pale legs looked very sexy. Arno and Bacchus stood up straight behind Ruminas without a flinch. This scene of master and servants looked very strange, but I suppose it was acceptable. It probably had to do with how majestic Ruminas looked. "Well, though I did make a nonaggression pact with you…that was far from sufficient," Ruminas immediately said as she saw me. I didn't even get the chance to respond—or rather, I didn't get the chance to even sit down. I knew that she was an acute person, I didn't know just how acute she was. While somewhat dumbfounded, I sat down without asking. And I immediately questioned Ruminas back. "Far from sufficient of what exactly?" "Do I really have to spell it out? Exchange! Don't you see that we can't have much exchange at all now with the nonaggression pact?" "No, I don't think that's really a problem…?" I tried to figure out what Ruminas was actually trying to say while trying to clear the situation. Holy Nation Ruberios and Tempest Federation had indeed signed a nonaggression pact just as Ruminas pointed out. The Western Saints Church that served under Ruberios would also help with our status among the Western Nations. This had given us much convenience, but in terms of exchanges, we were indeed not in any alliance. Since the two nations were too distant from each other anyway, there was no trade between our nations. The flow of goods was left to the opportunities in the market, determined by the merchants and the strength of the nations. However, it's not that we were not making any deals at all. I had actually requested Myourmiles to send travelling merchants to them. Not to wait for their attempt, instead, we were going to strike first. Basically, we had to do some investigation of the market there. Right now, I had gotten the investigation report for the specialties of Holy Nation Ruberios. I learnt that Ruberios was a huge agricultural nation. They mainly produced wheatbased crops. They seemed to also be exported to the Western Nations. I also ran investigations of the products themselves; the quality was good and the taste was delicious. That was our current situation. I hoped to have some deeper exchange with them, but if you asked me what to do now, I really couldn't come up with anything. "Are you seriously that stupid or are you trying to bait me?" "No no no, that's not what I meant." I immediately denied it. Ruminas sighed rather anxiously. "Speaking of exchange, how about we try culture first? Seriously, I have really underestimated you guys. The people under the protection in Ruberios lacked artistic talent, so I didn't have much expectation at first, but the concert just now was truly wonderful. With the whole day's tour, I've changed my view on you guys." Haha, and she gave us a five-star review. She did also praise us when passing by me just now, it looked like she really liked the things we had. Moreover, I had gotten an idea of what Ruminas was going for. She recognized our ability after hearing the concert today. There also seemed to be a band under Ruminas's rule, perhaps she wanted the two bands to have some exchange to encourage each other. "Some vampires also possess artistic values. They've inherited music from ancient times and have been working to innovate on new songs. Lately they've been stagnant in that regard, so I think it would give them some good stimuli in the form of an exchange with your people." As expected, her proposal was actually hugely beneficial to us as well. Experience can fulfill one's mind. If we wanted to host even better cultural events, the best way for us to grow and learn was through exchange with others with the same profession. "That sounds good! Exactly what we want in fact." I had no reason to refuse and agreed without hesitation. Considering the future relations between our nations, there was more boon than bane. "Um, let's discuss more in that direction." Ruminas nodded with satisfaction. It so happened that an old butler came forth to serve Ruminas and me some red tea. His name seemed to be Gunther. He was just as strong as Louis, but also an experienced butler. Although our Diablo certainly wasn't any inferior, I did have to say that the butlers in this world seriously couldn't be underestimated. Servants also began to prepare drinks for Benimaru and Shion behind me. But they were moving too slowly, and Ruminas anxiously opened on the topic before they could serve anything. Ruminas's eyes turned coldly at the servants; and just when I thought to myself "Talk about an absolute master-servant relationship"— "How wonderful, now you guys can have some fun too," She told her servants arrogantly. The servants responded with "All thanks to your grace," "I am looking forward to it!" They seemed genuinely joyful about the fact. I sensed that they were not afraid of Ruminas, but holding great respect towards her. Confused, I checked more carefully and discovered that these were all vampires. Every one of them suppressed their strength and youki to appear no different than humans. They were no doubt highly evolved vampires, almost at Ruminas's level. Surely by the few people at the scene now alone, they could take down a nation with ease. And to think that these people were her servants, this was enough proof as to how unfair power came into play in this world. "Then Gunther, help me with the procedure back at Night Garden." "Yes ma'am." Ruminas nodded as she sipped on her red tea. She elegantly did so without making any sound, her beauty and elegance could be a model for royalty. "By the way, that tech presentation was very interesting as well. What an intriguing thought to analyze the effects of magicule on things. I've got some weirdos who enjoy researching as well, is it okay to send them your way?" As I was mesmerized by her elegance, Ruminas suddenly said so pleasantly. I further inquired about the matter. According to Ruminas, the civilizations dwelling on the surface had a relatively low level of technology, while their nation dwelling underground seemed to have some high tech. "How surprising, I thought you guys would have a higher profile with those…" "I want to stay away from trouble. We may be found by that annoying lizard if we were too eye-catching. Moreover, I didn't want the angels to interfere with us. Before we can exterminate those things, all important research would be conducted underground," she said proudly. I didn't expect that the strongest nation ruled by a demon lord would be Ruminas's. Vampires were different from humans, and they possessed undead characteristics that allow them to live even longer the elves. The more highly evolved individuals didn't even need to feed, instead, they could maintain their life force by taking small doses of human spiritual vitality… Vampires were no doubt at the top of the ecosystem. However, they also had weaknesses. The reason why vampires were called the rulers of the nights was not only due to their immense power wielded during nighttime. It also was due to the fact that they could be eliminated by sunlight. This was the type of race that the vampires were, to have such a huge weakness while still maintaining high levels of lethality. And among the highly evolved, individuals with great power, these vampires were subjects of Ruminas and were considered noble within their nation. Some of these seemed to have overcome their weakness against sunlight. These people were called the "Surmounters". It seemed that they were able to operate wherever they went. Although they were few in number, vampires without weakness were still nightmares to humans. Even though these people were not as strong as Louis and Gunther, they were already at the gates of Calamity-class. By the way, all these servants next to us were "Surmounters". Apparently, they only became Ruminas's servants out of personal interest. But you could easily figure out that there was more to their intention than just ensuring Ruminas's safety. "Surmounters" were a bunch of idlers without any weaknesses. And given how idle they were, they developed interests in designing all kinds of things. Some of them even started designing some out of fashion a.k.a. hipster objects in an attempt to earn Ruminas's favor. "Seriously, they are really annoying. I ordered them to develop something more presentable, but they may be too tightly bound by established ideas. These people have no clue what progress is. I hope that you will at least educate them a bit when they come here." That was Ruminas's request. "Um—well, we can do that…" But I was worried as to whether they would cause any trouble or not. These so-called "Surmounters" were the ruling elites. To have them do research in our nation, who knew what type of problem may emerge. Noticing my hesitation, Ruminas further suggested: "But of course, I'll give you a reward! I'll grant you a Skill for your troubles." "A Skill?" "Yes. I shall grant you the "Ultimate Secret of faith and grace"." What is that, it sounds super strong! As opposed to a technique for getting drunk, this actually sounded very powerful. She seemed to be for real. "What would that be then?" "To put it simply, it's a Skill that allows your believers to carry part of your strength," Ruminas said so to me with an evil smile. Oi oi oi, are you seriously announcing a Skill so powerful in front of everyone's faces— < Raphael-sensei's instruction reassured me. With it pointed out, I finally realized that except me, no one else seemed able to hear Ruminas's voice. As expected from one of the strongest demon lords, her execution of such a Skill was so natural. "You'll teach me that Skill, and we are supposed to take in researchers from your nation to return the favor. Is that so?" "Yep. Even with only the musical exchange alone, I would already be satisfied. If I have to be honest, consider this my appreciation gift for you." Ruminas seemed to be genuine. "Fine, I'll accept your proposal." "Heh heh, then we have a deal." And so, I accepted Ruminas's proposal, followed by her teaching me the "Ultimate Secret of faith and grace". This Skill, to put it simply, was the principle of "Holy Magic". This secret technique allowed me to use my "name" as a medium to help people cast magic. Hinata and the Holy Knight therefore could cast "Holy Magic" in the name of Ruminas. In other words, they were using part of Ruminas's power. Now that she had taught me the principle of it, the people under me who would be able to use "Holy Magic" would, surely, increase. This was a reward greater than I had expected. I couldn't help but feel shocked. But then again, Ruminas was not born yesterday either. She had planned things very carefully before negotiating with me. "I'm grateful for this opportunity, but is it really okay?" "No worries. You probably would figure out the truth of the Skill with your own strength in a couple years or so. One should always utilize information like that more when it still retains some value." <<...>> —I see. Based on the upset look of Raphael-sensei, I could probably learn the Skill myself within a few years' time. Indeed, with research to discover the true nature of magicule as well as the information I learned about "Spirit-particles" during my battle with Hinata, if I was to put this information together to dig to the root, the truth of the matter would have been revealed in no time. While I personally was unable to do it, Raphael-sensei was still capable of it. Ruminas merely realized this and gave me the information as a favor. "I still need to thank you regardless, Ruminas." "Well, as long as you do what you promised." I am still too naive to strike deals with Ruminas. Although the content of our deal this time posed no big issue, I needed to be more cautious. As I thought so to myself, I shook hands with Ruminas. And with that, our orchestra was invited to the Night Garden. On the other hand, the "Surmounters" under Ruminas's rule—in other words, high-ranking noble—would be doing research in our nation. As Ruminas disabled "Dimensional Severance", it was as if nothing had happened. Peace fell again at the scene. I tasted the red tea casually while I listened to Ruminas accounting for her experience during the concert. As opposed to the exchange of technology, the musical exchange amused Ruminas more. She had mostly talked about when our nation's orchestra should set off. Near the end of our conversation— "By the way, Rimuru. Among the guests that were invited, someone was giving off an unpleasant aura, did you notice it?" Ruminas asked casually, without the slightest change in tone. I wasn't able to respond for a second before I realized that this was a warning from her. This would mean that I wasn't just overthinking things… "Hmm, you mean 'those two'?" "Indeed. I'm glad you didn't lower your guard. Be very cautious. Do not disgrace the reputation of the Eight Star Demon Lords." With these words spoken, the meeting concluded. I nodded towards Ruminas before leaving the place. *** Something interesting took place later on—after my talk with Ruminas, it was dinner time. For some reason, circling around a round table, it was Yuuki and Hinata who dined with me. Those two were very friendly to each other as they were eating the set meal and chatting about the interesting things they'd been through in the day. I also listened to their thoughts during the meal. The set meal was divided into two kinds, Japanese and western. You could eat either one. Yuuki and I were eating the western meal while Hinata chose the Japanese. "Ahh, that concert was really amazing. If Hinata hadn't gone shopping, then we could have enjoyed it together." "Shut up already, I'm always free-spirited, so what if I didn't go?" Moreover, that takoyaki place was surprisingly delicious—Hinata muttered as she tried to find excuses. But when Hinata mentioned someone was using an alias—I couldn't help but turn my eyes away. "With that being said, the music concert was really worth a shot. I knew the songs they played, but the composition was really top-notch." Nice job, Yuuki. Thanks to him praising Taktstock and the band's performance, Hinata's attention was drawn elsewhere. "Fine, since you've put it that way, I guess I'll bring the kids to watch it tomorrow," she replied half-heartedly. Hinata seemed to have had plenty of fun during the festival, also spending a lot of money. I heard that she bought a ton of exclusive clothes, gear and magic items sold at the festival. She was also eating the whole time as she went to the shops. I was starting to suspect that her taking care of the children was just an excuse. But they did seem to get along fine and had a lot of fun. I couldn't be happier about that outcome. She also seemed to be continuing her babysitting tomorrow as well, so I shouldn't complain. "As opposed to that, I'm more interested in the research to discover the truth about magicule. Because healing potion doesn't work on me, my body would instantly dissolve any magicule substances. As a matter of fact, the effectiveness of 'healing magic' also depends on the user…" Hinata said, while lowering her volume. I heard that she'd done much research to see whether there was a healing potion that could help heal her. Magic Nullification sounded useful in name, but if you gave it any closer thought, it would reveal its many inconveniences. "To my recollection, I've not really thought carefully about those things until now, after all, I do get affected by magicule as well—" "When we travelled to this world, we absorbed a huge amount of magicule. This will be reflected in terms of Skill on some people immediately, but to someone like you, you may also not have any Skills. But you must have been affected to some extent. Like seriously, you didn't seem to have aged one day—" "Uh, can you not make comments about me like that? My body did stop growing, but I've done plenty of work by myself nonetheless!" "I know, I know. You're still the same, so easy to get pissed. I was just joking around." Ehh, perhaps Hinata thought she was joking…but her look wasn't joking around at all. It was all because of how serious Hinata looked when she spoke. There was no trace of a smile on her face. And her tone didn't sound like a joke either. "Never mind, I won't quarrel further with you. By the way, I heard that Rimurusan has had someone to research the matter, what an interesting focus." Even though Yuuki praised me like this, he had overestimated my ability. "There's no such thing! They did that research by themselves. Even I only heard about the matter today." "Eh?" "Weren't you who ordered them to conduct the research? So you just let them publish information like that in front of all the nations' figureheads without even knowing the content of their presentation?" Yuuki and Hinata looked at me, dumbfounded. AH, this soup tastes so nice—apart from escaping from reality, I could only try to find an excuse. "You can't blame me for that! I always encourage independence!" Since I couldn't find anything more suitable, I decided to just make up an argument. But neither were fooled by me, and both were giving me the eyes. "—I have reflected a bit now. Even though I was busy, I should have learnt what the content was…" But these were afterthoughts. "Rimuru-san, why are you so good at your job?" "Truly, you really have the impressive attitude of a great man at times." They were definitely not praising me, yet I couldn't do anything about it. I did, in fact, also feel that I was acting too casually. The content of the presentation was indeed nice, but halfway through it did kind of make me worry. Gazel also had things to say about it, so it was best that I be careful about it. I didn't expect to get nitpicked by Yuuki and Hinata… The night gathering proceeded with us finally changing the topic and beginning some random chatter. As such, the first day of the nation founding festival concluded with much praise. It was so good that I had garnered a lot of confidence that this festival would turn out to be very successful. However— I would quickly be proven to be too naive to have such a thought.