WORD FROM RAMIRIS

That wrapped up how we’d handle the battle. Next came the Walpurgis Council Ramiris had warned me about. The Three Lycanthropeers were already gone, relaying our strategy to their troops and convincing them my transport magic would work.

Mjurran left as well, since Walpurgis was my problem, and she wouldn’t have any feedback for that. Her job was to assist Yohm.

This meant it was just the usual Tempest gang and me, which put me quite a bit at ease. There was no need to hold anything back for politeness’ sake now.

“If we only knew where Clayman was, I could just teleport right on over and put an end to this pronto, but…”

If his military was in motion, that meant his headquarters had to be more lightly guarded. My leaders and I could’ve zoomed right over and finished him off without having to worry about a counterattack. Of course, I couldn’t afford to laze out on this town’s defenses while I was away, either. Better keep that in mind.

“I apologize,” Soei said. “There is an area in the region surrounded by a thick fog of magicules. I found it too dangerous to proceed inside.”

No need for him to be sorry. He needed to be careful in everything he does, even with a Replication of himself. It’d be a lot worse if he screwed up and the enemy found out what we were up to. Clayman’s HQ ought to be beyond that cloud—this was already enough of a lead to go on.

“Should several of us explore the area while it is unguarded?” Benimaru suggested.

“Isn’t Clayman holding Walpurgis shortly?” Shuna coldly countered. “I fear we may miss him entirely.”

“True, true,” added Hakuro as Benimaru winced. “It would reflect quite poorly on us if we underestimated the enemy force and tasted defeat. We need Sir Benimaru to keep our forces together.”

“All right. Any other suggestions?”

Shion’s hand shot up.

“Yes?”

“Why don’t we storm that Walpurgis thing and slash up both Clayman and any other demon lords who have a problem with us?”

Her eyes were gleaming as she said it. It was my fault for letting that idiot talk in the first place. I could feel the veins throbbing around my temples, but I held it all back. This wasn’t the first time I had to deal with something like this.

“Shion, how are you going to ‘slash them up’? Can you give me something more realistic to work with?”

Clayman solo was one thing, but picking a fight with yet more demon lords would never work. We needed to handle them one at a time, something Shion would have to learn sooner rather than later.

My scolding made her visibly depressed. Eesh. Let’s try to soften the blow a bit. I may not act it all the time, but I like being kind to her.

“But crashing their Council might be a good idea.”

Her face rose, full of expectant joy. She was never willing to let a bit of praise go unnoticed.

“Listen, Ramiris. You have experience with them. Do you think I could join in this thing, too?”

“Uweh?! You want to participate, Rimuru?”

“No, I just wanted to ask. Clayman’s gonna be there, so I thought it would be interesting if I paid a visit as well.”

If I’m being targeted, showing up somewhere Clayman didn’t expect me ought to rock him a little bit. Resorting to violence during a Council might not be too apropos, but I could consider my options once I’m there.

“Hmm… I think it’s probably okay. But you can only have two attendants along with you!”

Any more than that would lead to trouble that all the demon lords preferred to avoid. Once, one of the newer demon lords brought along a hundred or so warriors to the Council as a show of force. This stoked the ire of another demon lord whose nation had just been razed and was looking for someone—anyone—to serve as a little stress relief. That newer lord wound up killed, along with all the magic-born for dessert. Ever since, it was forbidden for relatively powerless magic-born to participate, and only two guests per demon lord were allowed.

In other words, Walpurgis Councils had ended in violence before. Which meant it wouldn’t be, you know, unprecedented if I did it. Maybe I should seriously consider trying to rile Clayman into a fight over there.

“Well, what do you think, guys? Think it’d be fun to join in?”

“Heh-heh-heh-heh. A wonderful suggestion. I would be happy to join you at—”

“Diablo, you fool! I will be by his side, and I refuse to allow anyone else!”

There they go. Shion and Diablo, back at it again. Bringing those two along would be suicide, so I crossed them off the list from the start…

“…But either way,” Diablo said, “if we go into battle with the demon lords, as long as we can defeat them, all is well. What need do we have for a demon lord besides yourself, Sir Rimuru?”

Shion briskly nodded her total agreement. “Exactly! I had thought you were an idiot, but for a new recruit, you seem to have much potential! You stated exactly what I was trying to say!”

Are they friends, or foes, or what? Whatever they were, I used to think Shion was the only one who didn’t think. But no, they both agreed that killing all the other demon lords was a fine idea.

Why’d it turn out like this? Looking around the room, I could see a few other people nodding their agreement. A few were more conservative, but a lot of them seemed more interested in spilling blood than securing a victory. The flock of war hawks in my leadership seemed to be growing. But that was just way too reckless. Better hit the brakes on this conversation.

“Whoa, whoa. No need to go crazy. We haven’t decided on anything yet. Besides, Diablo, I put you in charge of Farmus, so I’m not bringing you along either way.”

“Ah, true. I understand.”

Diablo seemed to think of conquering Farmus as a children’s pastime. I liked that confidence, but hopefully it didn’t cause him to miss something and mess up the whole thing. His emotions appeared mixed to me—disappointed but glad to be assigned work.

“Isn’t that dangerous, though?” Shuna asked. There we go. That’s the kind of opinion I wanted to hear.

“It is,” replied Geld. “Besides, even if we don’t join the Council, wouldn’t it be more effective to seize Clayman’s headquarters while he is away?”

He was absolutely right. It was better to proceed with a battle we could win without exposing ourselves to danger. Geld was as much a hawk as any of them, but he wasn’t that impulsive. I was glad to hear that from him—but I had my reasons to contemplate attending Walpurgis, too. Something concerned me about it.

“No,” Benimaru said, “what Sir Rimuru is most concerned about is what move the demon lord Milim will make. It is hard to imagine Lady Milim betraying us, but we cannot deny the possibility that Clayman is controlling her. Perhaps she has her own motivations, but at the very least, we are sure she has defeated Lord Carillon. I think it is not a bad idea to pursue the truth of that matter at the Council.”

“Exactly,” agreed Soei. “I wonder why Lady Milim signed on to convene the event. Perhaps she has some kind of plot in mind?”

Great to see they were of the same mind—sharing both my ideas and the issues they presented.

“Yeah, it’d be crazy to think that Milim would just do whatever Clayman wants. I mean, Milim is so self-centered!”

Are you really one to talk, Ramiris? Maybe not, but I couldn’t help but agree with her.

“I find it impossible to believe that Lady Milim betrayed us,” Shion concluded. “I have no evidence to back it up, but that’s absolutely how I feel!”

Right. No evidence. And I didn’t think she stabbed me in the back, either, really. Raphael complained about a lack of data to work with, but even I thought that scenario unlikely, unless there was some vast change in the state of things. I’ve decided to believe in Milim—but that doesn’t mean I’m letting her do whatever she wants.

“I agree with all of you. Milim hasn’t betrayed us—which means something else must’ve happened to her. Like Ramiris suggested, I think it’s a good idea to consider Clayman the culprit—or at least the cause of this. That’s why I’d like to take up Benimaru’s suggestion. I’m thinking about joining the Walpurgis Council and seeing what I can find out in there…”

Something definitely must’ve happened. At the very worst, Milim might attack us the moment Walpurgis ended. That was the real cause of my anxieties, the reason why I couldn’t let her be. Clayman alone, I could handle. Him plus Milim, I really wanted to avoid. Well, at least I’ve steered this in the right direction, and we won’t resort to violence as our first—

“Right? Right, right! Looks like Detective Ramiris had the right hunch the whole time. So how about we just kick Clayman’s butt?”

Oops. Maybe not. Not as long as Ramiris was here.

“Besides, what the heck is with all you guys? You have this, like, treasure trove of powerful magic-born at your beck and call, Rimuru! If you had this many, what’s the big deal about just handing Beretta over to me for good, huh?!”

She was getting carried away. The strength she saw in us was giving her a swelled head—and she still hadn’t given up on Beretta. Which, as I noted, Beretta has a say in, too, so her selfishness isn’t gonna get her anywhere.

But she had her allies in the meeting hall.

“I see. She makes a very good point. Right—perhaps I could come over and do a little killing?”

“Whoa, chill out, Shion! And Benimaru and Soei, I see you guys packing up to leave town! You’re not going anywhere yet!”

Here we go again. Just when I was ready to RSVP for Walpurgis.

I needed Benimaru and Soei to fight Clayman’s forces. We’d be carrying out these plans at the same time, so I had to select the two attendants joining me carefully.

Who should it be…? I could physically feel the pressure from behind my back. It was from Shion, of course. She might go nuts if I didn’t take her. It was getting harder for Benimaru to keep her calm, so maybe I should babysit her instead. Besides, Clayman’s schemes almost killed Shion—they did kill her, in fact. She might have a chance to take revenge for that, which was another reason to take her along.

All right. She’s in.

I wavered a bit on the second choice before settling on Ranga. I thought about having him stand by in my shadow, but that’d put us in trouble if a Holy Field or other special barrier was thrown over us. I could feel him perking his ears up toward me. Let’s go with him. He’d make a great bodyguard.

So that was the two. They both knew Spatial Motion, so it’d also be easy for them to flee if it came to that. If I tried deploying the new barrier I devised based on Holy Field, I was pretty sure that’d get us out of there safe, at worst. That was something we could rely on as we joined the Council, at least.

But what if Milim really was being controlled? In that case, it was likely that our town was next on the list for destruction. I had to do everything I could to prevent that. I had no interest in seeing this town be scarred again.

“All right. I’m gonna join in. I’m taking Shion and Ranga with me. Ramiris, can you send word that I’ll be at the Council?”

“Sure thing!” she casually replied, before immediately opening up some kind of special demon lord–only line and informing the others about my presence. It was powered by this ridiculously complex-looking spell, using spatial interference to allow for synchronous communication. I looked at it, curious about how it worked—and then I heard loud, haughty laughter coming my way.

“Gwah-ha-ha-ha-ha! So! Finally thirsty for some action, are you? No need to hold back now, Rimuru! Why don’t you and I come along together? I will tag along with you! Those demon lords aren’t worth fearing for a single moment!”

Come to think of it, I had totally forgotten I had this guy, too. I appreciated his confidence, but Veldora wouldn’t work, no.

“Well, hear me out, Veldora. I want you to stay here in town so you can defend it.”

“What?!” He looked genuinely shocked. “I said I will tag along with you. With me, you will stand taller than all the demon lords combined!”

Hey, defending this town’s really important work, too. Like, the most important work. We’d have all available forces tackling Clayman’s armies. That just left a few of Rigur’s security platoons and Shion’s team. Defending the town only worked with Veldora’s presence. With him around, even if the Western Holy Church stopped by to attack, we’d have nothing to worry about.

I tried explaining all this to him.

“…So you see? You need to hold down the fort.”

“Mmgh…”

He seemed less than convinced. Right. Maybe I should give him the real reason. But just as I was about to open my mouth, Ramiris started shouting again.

“Hey! Rimuru! I just got off the line! They said it was okay, but aren’t you being really mean to Master Veldora? He could just be one of my guests, then. That’d make me feel a lot safer, too!”

That seemed reasonable, at first glance. But I could tell Ramiris just wanted Beretta and Veldora by her side so she could look supercool around her colleagues. Veldora probably thought along the same lines, too.

“…Hmm? No, I wasn’t interested in coming so I could serve as your guardian, no.”

“Uwehh?! Oh, you’re so cold, wise teacher!”

What’s with that teacher stuff? Ramiris and Veldora had become manga buddies in record time, I guess. They definitely got along, but in terms of the power balance between them, I’d say this was all Ramiris trying to curry Veldora’s favor.

…Well, fine. The most important thing was that my presence at Walpurgis had been recognized. That was helpful for me, although it probably had more to do with how the other demon lords didn’t want to venture near human lands just to deal with me.

“We’re actually planning to start spreading rumors about you, Veldora. We discussed that at the summit earlier, but you knew that, right?”

Having him be Ramiris’s attendant was an idea. Personally, though, I wanted the other lords to think he wasn’t coming, since it’d put them off guard for me.

“Mm. Yes. Of course.”

Nope. Sounds like he wasn’t paying attention. He was way too enthralled in his manga to notice any of our proceedings. In that case, it’d be easy to trick him.

“Well, it’s like this: If I brought you along, it’d probably make Clayman think, like, ‘Oh, that Rimuru, he’s a wimp just bringing Veldora along as a ringer.’”

“What?! Curse that Clayman! I’ll make him pay for that!” Shion cried.

“Heh. That insect doesn’t know what he’s waded into,” added Diablo. “Perhaps I should come over and kill him after all.”

“Shion, Diablo, calm down already,” Benimaru chided, looking a little angered himself. “That was just an example.”

Man, it’s so easy to tick those two guys off.

“Yeah, like Benimaru said, that’s just what I’m picturing him saying. So I mean, if we bring Veldora to the Council, people will be so wary of us that it’d mess up the whole point of us being there, right?”

Veldora blinked. “Hohh? Ah, I see.”

Shion beamed, though I wasn’t sure she had thought about my words at all. “A fine idea! Well said, Sir Rimuru!”

“Heh-heh-heh-heh-heh… Still, he will pay for making light of you. I’d love to make him atone with my own two hands, but perhaps I should let Shion do the honors?”

“So you’ll throw the enemy off their guard in order to make your negotiations easier?”

Benimaru, at least, had the right idea.

“But shouldn’t we be avoiding danger as much as possible?” asked Shuna. She had a point, and Geld and Gabil nodded their agreement.

“If the enemy is going to be wary of us anyway,” added Hakuro, “would it not be best to focus more on our own safety?”

Soei gave this a silent nod of his own.

I could understand everyone’s worries, sure. But I could cover for that.

“It’s all right. I can actually call for Veldora anytime I want with the Summon Storm Dragon skill. That doesn’t count as an attendant, right? So if things go bad, I can ask for his help then. Until that happens, if it does, I want him protecting this town.”

I smiled triumphantly at the audience, asking them to defy me.

My leadership seemed impressed, at least, as did Veldora: “Gwaaaaahhhh-ha-ha-ha! I see! I’ll be the great hero who swoops in to the rescue at the last moment!”

Great. If you’re fine with that, so am I.

“Isn’t that kinda unfair…?”

“Don’t be stupid, Ramiris. I was hoping you’d call it smart.”

Ramiris may not have liked it much, but Veldora was already murmuring his agreement. Just one more push…

“Besides, that gives you one more slot to fill for Walpurgis, doesn’t it?”

This visibly excited her, as it did the rest of my government.

“Oh, that totally makes sense, Rimuru! So who’re you gonna match me with?”

I guess she had no complaints. Really, I think all she wanted was a chance to show off to the other demon lords. But at least she was on my side.

Now for that last one. I could feel all the unpicked holding their breath, but sadly for them, I needed someone strong in that position. Benimaru would’ve been great, but he’d kinda be handling a war in my absence, so I went with someone else:

“Sorry to disappoint you all, but I’d like Haku—”

“A moment, please!”

I was stopped by the woman standing behind Ramiris—Treyni.

“Sir Rimuru, I hope you will give me this assignment!”

“Oh, Treyni! Just look at you!”

Ramiris was already tearfully accepting the offer. Well, so be it.

“All right. I’ll let you go along, Treyni.”

Now we had our member assignments for the Walpurgis Council. Me, with Shion and Ranga as my attendants, and Ramiris, with Beretta and Treyni under her. Then, if we needed it, Veldora was a quick summon away.

Lucky thing, indeed, that I was accepted.

Me and Leon Cromwell also kind of had some issues to tackle, but I’d settle with just meeting him in person this time. I had Shizu’s request to fulfill, and I didn’t want to ignore that forever, but my target right now was Clayman. I hadn’t forgotten about the orc lord chaos or about Mjurran.

But most of all, I was concerned about Milim. One slipup, and I might be forced to fight her next. I was prepared to face down Clayman, but the idea of a life-and-death struggle with Milim made me singularly unenthusiastic. It’d be great if I could get all that worked out at Walpurgis. If not, I’ll think of something then.

Clayman, you’ve made an enemy out of me. And I’m not lenient enough to easily forgive someone I’ve identified as such. You better be ready for me. And if you lay a hand on any of my people, you can expect to pay for everything you dish out.

Dahh… Now I’m starting to adopt Shion’s way of thinking. Still, I couldn’t help but feel a little happy about it. The time for fretting in darkened rooms was over. Now we had a clear, concrete goal to reach out to.

Siti Dara

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