By the time I arrived, King Gazel and Rimuru were already facing off. Judging by the atmosphere among the kijin, it looked as if things could explode at any moment.
The dwarves tensed at the aura I was releasing, and the man who seemed to be the captain of the knights had already taken a stance, ready to fight at a moment’s notice.
“Who are you?”
Gazel asked, sword drawn, staring straight at me. He tried to pierce through me with his sharp gaze, releasing the pressure of a hero, but that level of intimidation didn’t even make me blink.
After roughly grasping the situation, I spoke to Gazel and Rimuru.
“Hmm... I see the gist of it. Gazel, did you come here to talk, or did you come here to wage war?”
This time, I infused my words with the pressure of a demon lord. At that overwhelming force, the knights behind Gazel were visibly shaken, and the Pegasus’s pupils quivered so violently it looked ready to flap its wings and flee.
Gazel’s eyes widened as well, but he quickly regained his usual composure and said, “I have no intention of going to war. My only purpose is to understand the true nature of that slime.”
“In that case... why not settle it cleanly with a duel?”
“A duel?”
“Yes. No magic, just swords. That should leave no room for complaint, right?”
At my words, Gazel laughed and accepted the proposal. With the atmosphere making refusal impossible, Rimuru accepted it too.
And so Rimuru and King Gazel dueled, with me serving as the referee to ensure fairness.
“Then, begin!”
Rimuru moved first. Using the sword Kurobe had made for him and the techniques Hakurou had taught him, he attacked King Gazel—but Gazel blocked every strike. The more Gazel defended, the more anxious Rimuru became.
...If magic were allowed, the outcome would be uncertain, but in pure swordsmanship, King Gazel is far above Rimuru. Now then, what will he do?
Considering Rimuru’s personality, it was impressive enough that he had attacked this much, but as the impartial referee, I had to remain objective.
Just then, King Gazel unleashed his hero's pressure to restrain Rimuru’s movements, but Rimuru broke free through sheer willpower.
“...He broke it.”
“...That’s more like it. Then I’ll attack next.”
This time, King Gazel went on the offensive. Using pure technique rather than magic or skills, he seemed to vanish for an instant, slipping past Rimuru’s magicule detection and striking at him directly.
Rimuru barely managed to evade the attack and successfully parried Gazel’s blow.
...If it hadn’t been for the Great Sage’s help and Kurobe’s sword, that could have been disastrous.
“...Hah, hahahaha! You blocked my sword! I admit defeat.”
“Then the winner is Rimuru Tempest!”
The kijin cheered at Rimuru’s victory, and I looked at Gazel and asked, “Why did you surrender?”
“....”
“If you had kept fighting, you would have won.”
“My purpose in coming here was not to kill him, but to understand the true nature of that slime.”
So that was it. Even during the earlier standoff, Gazel had spoken to Rimuru with deliberate dignity, but I had known there was no killing intent in him.
“Since this is our first meeting, shall we introduce ourselves? My name is Vertis.”
“Vertis? Don’t tell me... you mean Vertis, the fifth dragon species, the Thunder Dragon?!”
At the revelation of my identity, the dwarven soldiers and Gazel’s companions all stared at me in shock, and I gave a wry smile.
“Well, there was a time when I was called that.”
“Wait!! Dragon species? What do you mean by that?!”
Rimuru’s eyes widened at the news, and he immediately started protesting. If Vertis was of the draconic lineage, then that meant he was on the same level as Veldora, didn’t it?!
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“You never asked.”
At my brazen answer, Rimuru was left speechless, but then he remembered the first time he had met Veldora.
[Come to think of it, a long, long time ago, something unbelievable happened. The fifth dragon species, one that should never have existed, was born.]
So that was Vertis. Rimuru stared blankly at me.
I suggested to Gazel that we arrange a proper place to discuss the details later. King Gazel laughed heartily, nodded, and then slapped Rimuru on the back.
“That aside, Rimuru, you did splendidly to block my ‘Oboro Jiten Gōrai.’”
“Well... your movements were similar to my master’s.”
“Your master? Could it be...”
“Hohoho, that was excellent, Lord Rimuru. I’m delighted to see you have grown so splendidly.”
Hakurou, who had by then finished helping the residents evacuate, had also come to stand beside them.
“Could you be the Sword Demon?”
King Gazel addressed Hakurou with a respectful tone. It turned out Gazel had once learned swordsmanship from Hakurou in the past. That meant Rimuru had been able to block Gazel’s sword because Gazel’s style was derived from Hakurou’s.
Watching them, I thought that Gazel, who had once learned from Hakurou, meeting Rimuru, who was currently learning from him, might have been inevitable.
After that, we moved locations and the executives from both sides gathered in the central building to talk, but before long, the discussion had turned into a banquet. At first, Rimuru had found King Gazel difficult to deal with, but now the two were speaking with complete ease.
When night fell, Shuna brought out the food. As I felt once again, this city had been richly blessed by Rimuru’s influence; the food was abundant and the taste was excellent.
As the banquet deepened into the night, everyone could be seen chatting happily, and I was left speaking only with King Gazel and Rimuru—just the three of us.
“Rimuru, would you consider forming a pact with me?”
At Gazel’s sudden words, Rimuru stopped drinking and widened his eyes, wearing a look that clearly said, What are you talking about, old man?
“This town is impressive. It will one day become a center of trade. It would be convenient to have a country backing you, wouldn’t it?”
I see. So it was the same reason as mine.
“You already have an unofficial pact with Vertis’s country. Is that really all right? That means recognizing us—a group of monsters—as a nation.”
“I know exactly what I’m saying.”
King Gazel looked at Rimuru with a serious expression. For me, the pact had been made while my country was still unknown, but if Dwargon formed an alliance with Tempest, it was certain to cause a huge stir.
“I’m speaking as a king. Of course, this isn’t something I’m offering out of kindness. It’s a matter that benefits both nations.”
“Really? Are you trying to trick me?”
“Hah hahah, I would never do something so foolish in front of a dragon species.”
“Ah, and I’d appreciate it if you didn’t mention that I’m here. I don’t want to cause any unnecessary confusion.”
“Understood. Well, I’m not asking you to decide right away, so think it over slowly.”
“No, I’ll accept the proposal.”
Rimuru accepted the pact Gazel had proposed, and there was no objection from Rigurd, Benimaru, Treyni, or anyone else.
I had never imagined the recognition of a monster city as a nation would happen this quickly, Rimuru thought to himself, but then another idea suddenly came to mind.
“By the way, Rimuru, did your country have a name?”
At my words, Rimuru’s face stiffened.
A country’s name? Right, it definitely needs one...
“You didn’t have one yet? At this size, it’s already larger than most small nations.”
“Besides, you already seem to be the king of these monsters.”
I smiled and looked at Rimuru’s companions. None of them seemed to have any objection to Rimuru becoming king, and Treyni also had no issue with it.
“Well, a nation’s name carries important meaning as its symbol, so think carefully about it.”
“Wait, where do you think you’re going?!”
Rimuru looked at me with a tearful expression as I heartlessly began to leave.
And so the banquet with the dwarves continued until dawn. The next day, Rimuru’s nation and Dwargon decided to sign a treaty as a symbol of their agreement.
By the way, after Rimuru agonized over it with his hands on his head, the country’s name became the “Jura Tempest Federation,” or Tempest for short.
The reason it was a federation was because there were races with their own territories, such as the lizardmen and treants.
As for the suggestion to name the capital “Rimuru,” everyone except Rimuru voted in favor of it, and I felt a pang of pity for him.
Being loved too much by your subordinates isn’t always a good thing.
The next day, the dwarves classified Rimuru’s nation as Disaster-class. When someone raised objections about the criteria, Dolph, one of Gazel’s companions, explained.
“More precisely, there is a rank above that called Catastrophe. As the name suggests, it is a natural disaster-level threat. If you make such a being angry, you must be prepared for the collapse of the world. For reference, Vertis, who was beside Lord Rimuru, is Catastrophe-class.”
Hearing that, Rimuru looked at me with an expression of utter disbelief. Why? Was it really so surprising that I was Catastrophe-class?
For the record, Guy and Milim are also Catastrophe-class.
After that, as a token of the agreement between the Jura Tempest Federation and Dwargon, the two kings signed the documents. As the magic took effect, the existence of Rimuru’s nation was revealed to the entire world.
***
In the capital, Rimuru, all sorts of different races came to visit every day. I also regularly supplied fresh seafood to Rimuru in accordance with the pact I had formed with him, and in return, I received fine silk made in his nation.
I had returned to my own country for a while to handle its administration, but I remained ready to move immediately if any problem arose.
“Hmm, the more I touch this silk, the softer it feels.”
“Yes. There are hardly any monsters among us who are skilled at weaving.”
At my words, Yumi nodded. In Rimuru’s nation, there were skilled hands like Shuna and the dwarves, so the quality of armor and clothing was excellent. On the other hand, in my country, while there were blacksmiths capable of making armor, there was almost no one who could make clothes. If I had to name one exception, there was Rak, one of Yumi’s subordinates, who could knit, despite his appearance.
Maybe I should just have them build a machine for producing clothes?
I had considered it, but eventually gave up and decided to send an envoy to learn some of Tempest’s techniques instead.
“Should I pick out a few people to study under Shuna?”
“That sounds like a good idea.”
“Then, preferably some quiet ones...”
Just as I was selecting a few people to send,
“??....!!”
I felt a fierce aura approaching from far away. I sprang to my feet, staring in the direction it was coming from.
This aura was... definitely... someone I knew.
“What on earth are you thinking, Milim?”
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