A brief silence.
The moment the footsteps of the [Orc]s stopped, a very short silence fell over the battlefield.
Then, before long... that silence turned into a stir.
"...Did we... win...?"
"The [Orc]s..."
"They retreated..."
"...We won...!"
An army of two hundred thousand had been defeated by the might of a single person.
The [Orc]s had judged that they had no chance against Shizu, restrained their own greed, and withdrawn of their own accord.
Waaaaah—!!!!
Once the enemies had completely disappeared, the white flames that had been burning them also began to die down.
The [Ogre]s who had been watching the scene kept shouting in triumph.
However...
Not even a few minutes later, the [Ogre]s fell silent and turned their eyes toward Shizu, Ria, and me, standing at the center of the battlefield. Their gazes held both gratitude and doubt.
There was no sign of hostility, but neither were they wholly welcoming. They were neutral, cautious.
We had helped them, yes, but we were still outsiders whose identities they did not know. It was only natural.
"......"
'...Maybe I should have brought the chieftain or Benimaru with me.'
Tap...
Just as I was wondering whether this might somehow lead to an odd misunderstanding, one old [Ogre], who had been staring after the departing [Orc]s until the very end, approached us with an old sword used as a cane.
A white-haired old swordsman with a long white beard and eyes as sharp as drawn steel.
He was Hakurou, the only [Ogre] here who had any connection to me.
"...I thought I sensed a familiar sword aura... but goodness, I never imagined you had come in person."
"...It's been a long time, old man."
"Hohoho, indeed it has. Lord [Sword Emperor]."
Fortunately, it looked like there would be no misunderstanding after all.
**
"So it really was you... that Hero."
After returning to the manor with Hakurou, Ria, Shizu, and I explained the situation to roughly ten [Ogre] elders, the chieftain, and his two children.
In short, a faction of high-ranking majin, the [Moderate Harlequin Alliance], had been secretly manipulating the [Orc]s from the shadows in order to seize control of the great forest.
"On behalf of the [Ogre], I offer my thanks for restraining the majin and saving us from the [Orc]s."
Having heard the full story, the chieftain bowed his head deeply, speaking in a somewhat awkwardly casual tone.
Originally, like Hakurou, he had intended to speak to me politely, but I had personally asked him to be more at ease.
'Maybe it's because he looks older than me at a glance... but for some reason, I feel awkward letting him speak too formally.'
It was partly his appearance, but also his authority as chieftain. And considering that the [Ogre]s would later become some of Rimuru's closest subordinates, I thought it would be better if we spoke more comfortably with each other from the start.
"Is there anything you want as compensation? If it's within our power, we'll grant whatever you ask."
The chieftain's red eyes gleamed like rubies, making it clear that he was not offering empty words.
'Whatever I ask...'
After a brief moment of thought, I voiced the first idea that came to mind.
"If anything is possible... then would I be right to assume you'd even accept the entire [Ogre] race entering someone else's service?"
"?!"
"That's—"
A few of the elders stirred at my question, as if to say that was impossible, but—
"Be silent. I don't recall asking for your opinions."
The moment Benimaru, seated beside the chieftain, barked that out, they immediately lowered their heads.
'Oh...?'
As one of the great forest's higher races, the [Ogre]s were bound to resent being suddenly told to submit to someone else. I had already known that.
Even with only three hundred members, they were treated as a powerful force among monsters, so they naturally had a fair amount of pride.
And yet, unexpectedly, neither the chieftain nor Benimaru showed any sign of that resentment.
If anything—
"Do you mean for us to enter your service?"
—it felt closer to them welcoming the suggestion.
I had been certain they would object at first, so I fell silent for a moment. In that gap, the chieftain slowly looked over us and continued.
"It shames me to say it myself... but this incident has convinced me. If we are to survive in this great forest, where new powers have begun to move, then the safest path is to place ourselves under someone else."
He chose the survival of the [Ogre]s over the pride of being a higher monster.
Most likely, he had become certain of that after seeing the battle between Footman and me.
Now that [Storm Dragon] Veldora had vanished, the great forest was clearly entering a period of preparation to welcome a "new master."
"So if it means entering your service... I am willing to accept it. I've already heard several times from [Sword Demon] that you are not a Hero who is hostile to monsters."
When the chieftain finished and quietly looked at me, the eyes of his two children, the elders, and Hakurou all gathered on me.
"...I appreciate you saying that, but the compensation I want isn't for you to enter my service. It's for you to enter the service of the monster who will become the master of this great forest."
"...??"
"...The monster who will become its master...? What do you mean by that?"
...Time to explain again.
I wasn't entirely sure where to begin, but I had to do it.
If I suddenly told them, without any lead-up, to serve a slime as their lord... then no matter how favorably they viewed me, they'd think I was insane.
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