I did it. I got my trade deal. It was easy, kind of. When Gazel tasted the different types of alcohol I showed as well as a variety of different cocktails, he was hooked. I also showed him the different tools and technology developed by Kaijin for this.
The easy part was that this deal was guaranteed to happen. The hard part was the negotiation. It was tough, but I got it done. I can safely say that the alcohol exports and sales to Dwargon would give us more money than the potions we sell to them. Potions are not always consumed since people save them for a bad day, but alcohol(?)...now that is something that will always get consumed. We probably would need to ramp up production. It's a nation consisting mainly of dwarves after all.
With the negotiation ended, it was the last of the important things we needed to do in Dwargon. The remainder of our time was spent just checking out the city. I spent almost all of my time with Shuna and Rimuru probably spent his with those elves. To each their own, I guess.
/\\//\\//\
A few days had passed since then and now it was time for Rimuru to release his best friend Veldora. Me and him were in the cave where he met him for the first time. I don't really know why I'm here though. To be honest, I don't think this is worth my attention. I could just meet him later when got back to town, but I guess Rimuru wants me here just in case. For some reason.
"So you're going to release Veldora now? You're 'best friend'?"
Rimuru rolled his eyes and said, "Oh come on, that's getting old now."
"If you say so."
Rimuru just sighed as he got to work on releasing Veldora. It was all the same. He just made a clone of himself and Veldora inhabited it.
"HAHAHA. The great storm dragon Veldora has returned!"
And of course, he spoke loudly just as I knew he would. I think I'll just leave now. "Alright, Rimuru, you can take it from here. I'll be leaving."
"Huh? Wait. Why are you leaving so soon?"
"I'll give you some room for your 'friend'. You haven't seen him for some time after all. Just make sure he takes care of his magicule prolem. You know, when he has to release them and whatnot.", I told him as I was leaving. Veldora hasn't even registered my presence yet...somehow. He was still gloating about his release and return.
"Stop saying it like that!", Rimuru shouted. Why does he get so worked up about it? He just said it was getting old, but he still has such strong reactions. I guess this will be a mystery I'll never find out. I have something more important to do anyway.
/\\//\\//\
"You're going to Lubellious? By yourself? What about the other stuff here?"
"You can handle all of that Rimuru. And I'm not going alone. Diablo will also be a part of this. He'll be on his mission to 'prove his worth' to you, which when he finishes what he needs to do, will coincide with what I'm planning to do a little bit. It'll help to take any suspicion off of me."
I was in Rimuru's office when I told Rimuru about my plans to go to Lubellious. No sending that priest or whatever over there. That caused a whole 'nother misunderstanding of epic proportions. I would go personally. It will get the message across about wanting to solve this peacefully and for no hard feelings between us. And maybe get rid of one or two or seven little rats. And possibly expose one of their saints for colluding with a "merchant".
"What do you mean?"
"That's for me to worry about. I'll be going as a sort of envoy or diplomat. Will I succeed? If I was doing it normally, then no, but I'm not doing this normally."
"So you're going as an envoy by yourself. No guards or anything like that. Please think about this. You can't possible think going by yourself is a good idea."
"You're right, but remember, Rimuru, this is the Holy Empire of Lubellious. Emphasis on holy. You know how hard it would be to fight against people who have an advantage over our army? It's safer this way, and I may know a thing or two about holy magic."
Rimuru knew there was no changing my mind. Going by myself was risky, but there was no one there that would pose a significant threat. Not even holy magic would be effective against me. Even if I did count as a monster, I could use holy magic and have resistance to it.
Rimuru just sighed. "Please stay safe then. I'll take care of Falmuth and the other stuff."
"Don't forget about the Walpurgis. If I'm not there, take Shion and Diablo with you if he's back. If he's not, then take Veldora. Actually, don't do that. Take Benimaru instead.", I almost forgot that he can just Veldora wherever he is.
"Do I have to be worried about that?"
"Not really. It's mostly just a gathering where there'll be free food served and stuff…on second thought, I'll try to be back for the Walpurgis."
/\\//\\//\
It was nighttime and I was at home with Shuna. I was going to tell her about my planned trip to Lubellious. She needed to know. We were getting ready to go to sleep when I decided to tell her.
"I'll be leaving for the Lubellious Empire soon, probably tomorrow. I just wanted to let you know about it.", It was direct, but I wanted to be clear with her. She stayed quiet for a bit, thinking about what I said.
"How long will you be away?"
"I don't know. It's a very far place, so the trip alone might take a few days. A few days for me at least. I can travel during the day and night, so it'll be much faster."
"I assume I won't be able to go with you?"
"You're right, Shuna. It's not because I don't want to take you, but it's just that I'm going into dangerous territory. They're very aggressive towards monsters. It's a bit ironic considering who their 'goddess' is supposed to be, but I'll be fine."
"Okay. But please take care of yourself. I don't want you returning hurt."
"I promise, Shuna. I'll return to you even if I have to blaze a path of fire on the way back."
I hugged and kissed her. It would be a while before I would see her again so I would be sure to get my fill of her. When we slept that night, I made sure to hug her tighter than normal, but not to the point of her being uncomfortable.
/\\//\\//\
It was the next day. It was early morning and it was just me, Shuna, and Rimuru. I didn't want to make a big deal out of this. The last thing I want is for the whole town to do something. I wanted to keep it on the done low as much as I could. Rimuru can handle all that stuff later.
"I'll be off then. I'll try to make it quick, but I highly doubt it'll be quick.", I started to ride off on Dun Stallion, but I made him turn around for one last thing. I rode up to Shuna and had Dun Stallion lower himself so I could get closer to her. I grabbed her and placed her in front of me. It was a soft and sweet moment. It was a moment where I could just forget about the world. "I'll be back, Shuna. Just know that I'll be thinking of you.", I told her and then gave her a final kiss before I left.
"Come on, Artoria. You're acting like you're going off to war and won't return for a long time.", I heard Rimuru say off to the side.
"Maybe I am overreacting, but that just how I feel.", I told him after my small intimate moment with Shuna. I wouldn't see her for some time so I made sure to make the most of it. I helped Shuna get off.
"Make sure to stay safe. I'll be waiting for you.", Shuna told me with a radiant and lovely smile one her face.
"Don't worry. When I return, I'll give you moment you won't forget.". After I said that, I rode off.
It was a long trip. I moved through the forest and took a tiny rest in Blumond. It was nothing major, just a small stop. I didn't meet Fuze or anyone else. After that, I made my through the various western states. I took no stops there. I didn't want to be delayed on my trip. Through day and night, I kept on traveling. I wasn't going at my max speed as I didn't see it as necessary, but I was still going very fast. It only took me a few days to finally get to Lubellious.
When I finally got closer, I slowed down and calmly walked through. I had my face showing and nothing else. This place hates monsters, but I can pass as a human very easily. I walked through the city and I had to give it to them, it was a very advanced medieval-looking city. The city had a wall surrounding it and the whole place was very well planned and organized. As I made my way through, they didn't even try to stop me. All I needed to do now was get their attention.
And getting their attention was going to be very easy. I looked at the place where Luminous was supposed to be. I forgot what it's called, but it's basically a mountain with a shrine or something like that on top of it. It's the place only the "important" people can go. Basically all the high-ranking religious leaders. Which is only like a handful if I remember right.
I got off Dun Stallion since I didn't need to ride him anymore. I don't need to worry about him. He'll follow me wherever I go and he'll respond to any of my commands. I know it's a mountain and I'm in a city, but if I get closer, I will definitely come across some kind of religious place off limits to normal civilians.
As I got closer, I could feel some eyes on me. I wouldn't describe it as hostile, but they were careful or wary. This was good. It meant I was making progress.
/\\//\\//\
It didn't take too long for me to make contact. In front of me were a couple of holy knights. They stopped after I was getting too close to the mountain.
"Stop right there. No one is allowed is allowed past this point."
How considerate of them of them, but I need to make first contact with someone important. A bit of arrogance will be helpful here.
"My name is Artoria Pendragon. I come from the Tempest Empire. I want a meeting with Hinata and the ten great saints.", I got straight to the point. No beating around the bush. When they heard my name they got more cautious.
"You think you can just demand a meeting with them?! You're one of the rulers of that monster town!", that ticked him off big time. It can be so easy to use hatred to your advantage if you use it right. I'm going to use their hatred for monsters for my goal.
"Yes. I thought I made that quite obvious. Also, that's an ad hominem.", man I know I probably sound annoying saying stuff like that.
"Enough wit your arrogance! I'll take you down right now and do this world a favor by getting rid of you!", the knight quickly reached for hte sword on his waist, but before he could even pull it out, I was already in front of him with my sword pointed at his neck.
"I would stop right there before you do anything…irrational. We wouldn't want things to get out of hand would we?", I said calmly, but the weight of the words carried through to the other knights. I could feel how tense and hesitant they became. I could understand them. In their eyes, I looked like I just appeared in front of this guy.
"Are you threatening us?", he was trying to put up a front, but I could tell he scared.
"Threat? I'm the leader of an empire filled with some of the strongest monsters and possess the most powerful weapons in this world. I don't make threats.", I would've gone further, but the person I was waiting for arrived and made her presence known.
"Everyone calm down. Now.", her voice was sharp. The other knights were immediately relieved after seeing her. I also unsummoned my sword and stepped back from the knights as I engaged in conversation with Hinata.
"Hello there, Hinata. Nice to meet you. You and I need to have a little talk."
"What brings you here?"
"Contrary to the scene you walked in on, I come here to discuss some issues between my empire and your kingdom. In peace mind you."
"Peace? What you did isn't exactly the most peaceful way to introduce yourself."
"And attacking a slime based on very misleading claims while not listening to any sort of reasoning or explanation because of blind rage is?"
I saw Hinata clench her fist at what I said. She's probably salty like the fries I eat. She knows I'm right, and the fact that she hasn't attacked me yet probably means she did some reflection on her actions.
"Everyone, leave this area. I'll take care of things from here on out." All the knights left despite some protest, but they had confidence in Hinata's strength. "Follow me. And you better not act out of line."
"I'd say the same thing about you."
And that's how easy it is. Some arrogance and the strength to back it up can take you where you need. Most of the time.