While Rimuru was still rejoicing over his family’s revival and the fact that Diablo had become a new member of that family, Benimaru came to see him.
"Lord Rimuru. Have you awakened?"
"Benimaru! Thank goodness you made it back safely too!"
When Shuna had told him that Benimaru and the others had gone out to fight in his place, Rimuru had been deeply worried for his people. He had heard that everyone was safe thanks to Diablo, but it seemed he had not truly stopped worrying until he saw them with his own eyes.
"There is also something I must report to you, Lord Rimuru..."
Benimaru turned his gaze toward Diablo, who was standing beside Rimuru.
"Kuhuhuhu. I have just been granted the splendid name Diablo by Lord Rimuru himself. So from now on, I would ask that you call me Diablo."
They had only met briefly, but even before receiving a name, he had clearly been a very high-ranking demon. Now that he had been granted both a name and a physical body, Benimaru could easily guess just how powerful a demon Diablo truly was.
"Right. So, what about what I asked for?"
"There were no problems. The king remains completely motionless, like a puppet with its strings cut. However, we have captured a priest of the Western Holy Church named Reyheim, who appears to have been connected to the king."
"The others may already be interrogating him by now."
"I-Interrogating? What do you mean...?"
Listening to the two of them discuss something so unsettling, Rimuru found himself shivering without even realizing it.
"Wait, Diablo! Lord Rimuru is easily frightened, so don't say things like that in front of him!"
At Shion's rebuke, Diablo realized his mistake and immediately dropped to one knee in apology.
"My deepest apologies, Lord Rimuru!"
"I-It's fine..."
Rimuru forced a smile and said it was all right, but the truth was different.
There was Demon Lord Milim's involvement, and Demon Lord Carrion, who had become entangled in the matter. Then there was the cleanup involving the Kingdom of Falmuth, which would affect his future relationship with humanity, and on top of that, he needed to grasp the movements of the Western Holy Church as well.
Most of all, if he mishandled the Western Holy Church's response, something like this could happen all over again.
As someone who never wanted to go through the experience of losing his family a second time, Rimuru knew he had to make his position absolutely clear here and now.
But for Rimuru, who could be startled by even a single bug, that was not an easy thing to do. As he agonized over what to do, his evolved skill, Raphael, spoke up.
"[Notice]. I recommend that I handle the interrogation to obtain the necessary information."
'R-Raphael, you?!'
"Affirmative. There are also things I wish to confirm, so if you lend me your body, it is possible."
This was the first time Raphael had come forward like this, so Rimuru was startled. But Raphael had always helped him ever since he first opened his eyes in this world, so he gave a clean and immediate yes.
"Um... about that interrogation... would it be okay if I did it?"
"""...What?!..."""
At Rimuru's words, everyone spoke over each other at once as if they had been struck by shock.
"...Would that be a problem?"
Rimuru slightly raised his eyes and tilted his head.
Who in the world would ask to conduct an interrogation that adorably?
Everyone was left spellbound by how cute he looked, and Diablo, despite being a demon, looked ready to ascend on the spot.
As a result, it was decided unanimously that the interrogation of Archbishop Reyheim would be handled by Rimuru—or rather, Raphael.
After switching control of the body with Rimuru, Raphael immediately put its master to sleep.
It did not want Rimuru to see what an interrogation looked like.
"Notice. I will begin. To those who torment my master, I shall return pain beyond measure."
There was anger in Raphael's voice, even though it was supposed to be an emotionless skill.
And so the interrogation began. Without changing expression even once, Raphael subjected him to every form of pain it could conceive of, and as a result, Rimuru obtained the Unique Skill [Merciless].
After some time had passed, Rimuru declared that, for the sake of securing his city's standing, he would announce to the entire world that he was a demon lord. No one raised any objection to that decision.
To call himself a demon lord meant, in other words, throwing himself into the world's web of causality. Even knowing it was a dangerous choice, Rimuru did not waver, no matter how afraid he might be.
Because if it meant protecting his family, he was prepared to become either a hero or a demon lord.
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