.
.
.
Duke Muze stumbled as he left.
He felt fear. He got a taste of desperation.
Demon Lord Rimuru. A rival that Muze had no way of defeating.
I'll cleverly do him a favor and let him dance to my score—that was Muze's
original plan, but as he recalled the events that had transpired, he had bitten off
more than he could chew.
Muze even found himself laughable. He thought he had played them like
fiddles, yet it turned out that he was the one that was played.
He had the urge to laugh out loud, but he had already lost the strength to even
do that.
Now that I think about it, those guys had it worse than me… Muze thought to
himself as he was thinking about the merchants he'd hired. A handsome man had
emerged from the shadow of Demon Lord Rimuru, announcing the countries,
names, and the trade records of those merchants, one by one.
Those words were curses wrapping around Muze's heart.
Just how much research did those people do…
Since they wouldn't be able to do business under the demon lord, they were
forced back to their home nations. But that was probably within the demon lord's
predictions. They said that as a result of the event, the home nations of the
merchants were posing a threat to them as well, and that they would be applying
pressure on the nations.
Surely the territory of the demon lord would expand in the future, alongside
their allied kingdoms. This would form a huge economic circle. And as for the
countries excluded from it, it would mean that they would fall behind in the
competition with other nations.
How could a nation choose to ignore a newly prospering economic circle over
protecting some merchant? As for the reason why, having seen the prosperity of
this nation during the festival, Muze knew it would only be natural.
These people had beautiful music and innovative technology. Delicious
delicacies that were rare among the Western Nations also surprised Muze.
The Monster Kingdom, in the middle of bumfuck nowhere… That was Muze's
impression at first, and he didn't really think anything of them prior to his visit.
But now he was the one that was embarrassed.
Having experienced cultures that he'd never seen before, his heart was beating
at an alarming rate.
Severing ties with a demon lord like that was a devastating loss that he should
have tried to prevent at all cost. Yet Muze had been too overconfident with his own
strategy and engaged the demon lord in the wrong way.
Those merchants have nowhere to go now, and neither do I…
Muze sighed.
His road to more affluence and power had ended.
The Five Great Elders were no merciful lords that tolerated failure.
All of his fortune would be taken from him and he would probably end up dead
as well. But even if this were the case, right now, Muze's only option was to report
how things had turned out.
In this vast land, no matter where you were, there was no way to escape from
the grasp of the Rosso…
***
"They have indeed failed, grandpa."
"Yes, Mariabell, I should have sent you to handle the matter from the start.
It's all because I felt that it'd be a shame to destroy this kingdom after hearing all
the reports of it…"
"That's only natural. I've seen, heard, and experienced it all myself. Indeed, it
was an all too familiar culture that I reminisced, but that's precisely why we must
destroy them before the rest of the world finds out."
Mariabell hinted at the fact that Granbell's order was too soft. He felt so himself
as well. That's why Granbell Rosso, the head of the Five Great Elders and the Rosso
Family, agreed with Mariabell unwillingly.
The Monster Kingdom had sent invitations to nobles and royals alike, all around
the world, to attend their nation founding festival. It was Granbell who didn't listen
to Mariabell's advice and decided to see things for himself. If he could do Demon
Lord Rimuru a favor, they could use this in their advantage to invite them to join
the council—or so he thought.
The pawns at his disposal were drastically reduced. Granbell had suffered great
losses prior to the festival. That's why he didn't have Mariabell handle the matter
and instead sent out his own lackeys to test the enemies' motive.
And the result was the shameful defeat of Duke Muze.
With Mariabell, the Rosso were invincible. This was an idea that Granbell
believed deeply. This was also why he was hesitant to let Mariabell, the childish
looking girl in front of him, handle the matter.
"Grandpa, you should let me go after all."
"—Have we come to this at last?"
"Don't worry so much. I am Mariabell. I am 'Greed'. I desire all and will take
all. This world belongs to the Rosso!"
"Very well. I will grant you full authority on the matter."
As he finished, Granbell gently patted Mariabell on the head.
—And so, Mariabell of "Greed" was on the move.
Tempest Federation would then receive a letter from the Council of Western
Nations, but that would be a month later.