The day after leaving the [Ogre] village in the great forest.
The Armed Nation [Dwargon].
Also called the "Nation of Iron," it was one of the West's great powers, located beside the Jura Great Forest.
In military strength, it fell short of [Sarion] and [Ruberios], with their magitech and [Crusaders], but in sheer influence, it stood on equal footing with them and the Kingdom of [Ingrassia].
You only had to consider the fact that the gold coin recognized across the continent as the unified currency was the [Dwarf] gold coin minted in [Dwargo].
'Considering there are still plenty of humans who classify [Elf]s and [Dwarf]s as monsters and discriminate against them, that's an impressive level of influence.'
After transferring to [Dwargon], Adelio concealed his presence and looked down at the checkpoint from high in the sky, far beyond the range the [Dwarf]s could detect.
After sending Shizu and Ria to the Kingdom of [Blumund] by transfer, he had come here alone.
Following the information provided by Moss's clone and the trace of Veldora's presence that Rimuru had absorbed.
'He should have arrived by now...'
Just as Gazel Dwargo could sense hidden auras, Adelio used the unique instinct granted by [the body of a saint] to detect the faint stir of Veldora's presence.
'...Found him.'
His gaze soon turned toward a single [Goblin] and a blue slime waiting near the end of the checkpoint.
A tiny two-headed-tall [Goblin], laboring under a wooden club and a bundle, and an ordinary-looking(?) slime a little bigger than a human head.
They were figures he had only watched through an orb until now.
"......"
'...This is the first time I've seen them with my own eyes.'
The strongest joker card he had waited three hundred years for.
For a moment, Adelio was tempted to descend at once and confirm it for himself, but he pushed the thought aside.
'...If I interfere now, things will probably get tangled up when he meets the other [Dwarf]s too.'
In [Dwargon], Rimuru needed to recruit four [Dwarf]s.
That was why he had come here in the first place: to seek help from skilled craftsmen.
Worried that meddling would distort the flow of events, Adelio turned his head toward [Dwargon]'s royal castle, gleaming like forged steel.
'First, I should go see King Gazel.'
Having decided on his destination, he wrapped himself in golden magic power and rose into the air once more.
**
The royal castle of [Dwargon] was not a place visitors could simply enter at will, because it was lined with magical devices that made use of spirit engineering, considered second only to [Sarion]'s magitech.
Except for the most extreme of exceptions—
"......"
—those powerful enough to step beyond the realm of perception.
"...Good grief..."
Naturally, Adelio belonged to that excluded category.
Not only had he visited this place several times already, he also possessed Gran Dwargo's [Overlord Black Star], and because of that, he was acknowledged by the faint "egos of the spirits" left within the magical devices.
That was why the senior figures of [Dwargon] who knew this fact could only treat him as though they were seeing a ghost.
"To think you came all the way into the royal castle because you're worried about a single slime... You're still impossible to read."
The stern expression usually fixed on the face of the [Dwarf] emperor, Gazel Dwargo, crumbled into sheer disbelief.
Even for a seasoned king, it was only natural. A [Hero] regarded as the strongest of humanity had come all the way to the royal castle because he was concerned about nothing more than the weakest kind of monster.
"...It couldn't be helped. I can't explain in detail yet, but that slime is going to become an important pillar of the Jura Great Forest in the future."
Adelio answered with a shrug, meeting Gazel's incredulous stare.
Even he knew it sounded strange, but he still couldn't simply let it pass.
This was a country he had visited many times before, and its king was an old friend of his.
There was no better opportunity than this.
Gazel, too, knew there had to be a good reason for Adelio to involve himself this much, so instead of pressing further, he gave his tacit permission.
"Haa... I'm starting to worry that you're taking after your fiancée more and more."
Fiancée.
The fiancée Gazel meant was Ermesia, the current [Heavenly Emperor] of [Sarion].
Hundreds of years ago, Adelio had received proposals from both Ermesia and her mother, Sylvia, asking for an engagement and remarriage respectively, and with the permission and active encouragement of his lover Ria, he had ended up becoming their "public" fiancé.
"...Since the subject came up, let me offer a bit of advice. The elders of the Grimwald family seem to have started making noise again lately, so it would be best if you paid a visit to [Sarion] soon."
"Ah... I know about that. I've just been trying very hard to leave it at knowing."
Most of the reason the Grimwald elders had become noisy again was, in fact, because of Adelio.
The first reason was that despite the engagement having been made centuries ago, he still hadn't held a wedding or properly finalized it.
The second was that even though he had reserved places to receive the [Heavenly Emperor] and her mother, he had declared that they would not be his first and second wives.
'...Really, those stiff-necked [Elf]s never change...'
It was true that Adelio bore much of the blame, but he had every right to protest.
The wedding kept being delayed because Ermesia and Sylvia insisted they still wanted to enjoy their freedom, and the reason he refused to accept them as first and second wives was because Ria, Rain, and Misery insisted on it.
"...I'm not thrilled about it, but... once this matter and the business in the great forest are settled, I guess I'll have to visit [Sarion] at least once..."
"Mm. A wise decision."
Thinking things would be fine for a while as long as he kept an eye on Rimuru, Adelio sank into deep thought until the sun shining over the royal castle finally began to set.
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