'...That person...'
Rimuru stared at Adelio, who had grabbed Vester's arm just as he was about to spill the drink.
His face was hidden by the thick cloak that covered him all the way up to his head, but the faintly visible ash-gray hair sticking out from beneath it gave her a strange sense of familiarity.
Hair that shone like that, in that shade of gray, wasn't common.
'...It looks kind of like the hair of the person who appeared in the orb just now...'
Just as that thought was about to fully form in Rimuru's mind—
"W-What are you, bastard? Are you one of Kaijin's people?!"
Startled stiff when his arm was suddenly seized, Vester glared at Adelio and shouted in anger.
"How dare you lay hands on a minister of the state? Do you want to be arrested for disrespect?!"
At the sight of him yelling for Adelio to let go while throwing around charges of disrespect, Adelio swallowed a dry laugh.
If he revealed who he really was here and now, not only could he turn that same charge back on Vester, he could have him executed if he wanted.
The status of a [Hero], hailed as the strongest of humanity, was not something a mere minister of a single nation could bear lightly.
'Well, it's not like I'd kill him over something this petty.'
Letting Vester's continued shouting go in one ear and out the other, Adelio murmured quietly enough for only Vester to hear.
"If you have time to shout that loudly, why not look at what's right in front of you?"
The wine had dulled his judgment a little, but he wasn't such a thoughtless demon that he would lose himself in blind rage.
"...What? What do you mea—"
Thud!
"—Ghk...!!"
As soon as Vester turned his head forward, just as Adelio had guided him to, Kaijin's fist smashed straight into his face.
He hadn't actually spilled the wine, but Kaijin had already been furious enough over the insult of being called a lowly monster that he stepped in personally.
"Vester! You acted high and mighty toward my guest, so I hope you're ready for what comes next!"
"Y-You bastard...! How dare a commoner speak to me like—!"
"Shut up!"
Cracking his knuckles, Kaijin slowly approached Vester.
At that, the [Dwarf] brothers Garm and Dord spoke up to him.
"Kaijin."
"Take it easy. Don't overdo it."
They were just as angry about Vester's behavior, so they had no intention of stopping Kaijin.
A fistfight breaking out in a tavern was hardly anything unusual.
Thud!!
"Guh...!!"
There was a reason he had once been the former captain of the knights. When Kaijin's fist landed squarely on Vester's face again, Vester lost his balance and toppled backward along with the attendant behind him.
"......"
Seeing that he didn't get back up and only let out faint groans, it looked like he had passed out.
"...Is this really okay? He said he was a minister..."
While the [Elf]s and the [Dwarf] brothers watched in silence, Rimuru asked in a flustered voice.
"We struck first, so won't this turn into something complicated...?"
Rimuru's concern was perfectly reasonable.
No matter how unpleasant he was, Vester was still a current minister from a marquis house.
"...Lord Rimuru."
But—
"You said you were looking for a skilled craftsman, didn't you?"
Kaijin didn't seem bothered in the slightest.
"Would I not do?"
Because he had just decided on the king he would now serve as his new master, in place of the Heroic King he had devoted his whole life to.
"Huh...? Really?"
Rimuru climbed down from the [Elf]'s lap and asked in surprise. Kaijin nodded with a gentle expression.
Thanks to that, Rimuru instantly forgot all about Vester and spoke in delight.
"I'd be thrilled! I'm looking forward to working with you, Kaijin!"
......
And then—
'...At least it worked out well.'
Watching the scene, Adelio gave a bitter smile and quietly waited.
Until the capital's guard unit, drawn by the commotion, finally arrived.
**
"...Brother. What exactly did you do this time?"
A [Dwarf] who resembled Kaijin, though with a slightly darker impression.
He was Kaido, captain of the guard in this capital, Central—and Kaijin's younger brother by blood.
"Hmph. That idiot lying over there insulted my guest, so I just gave him a little correction."
"...You call that a little? Doing that to a minister is dangerous."
As his brother, Kaido knew better than anyone that Kaijin wasn't the kind of [Dwarf] who threw punches for no reason, but that didn't mean he could simply let it slide.
"Don't take it the wrong way. Rules are rules. I'll have your group detained temporarily until the trial."
"We're just doing our job too."
At Kaido's signal, the guards beside him, wearing resigned expressions, led away the chained [Dwarf]s and Rimuru.
Clink...
Once they had moved far enough away that Rimuru could no longer hear—
"—You're not taking me in?"
—Adelio, still standing in front of [Selling Snake Oil], asked Kaido with an interested look.
"I may not be with them, but I still stood by and watched while a minister got punched."
He hadn't used violence directly, but stopping the minister's actions and guiding him into taking that punch was more than enough to deserve punishment.
To begin with, being punished wasn't such a bad outcome for Adelio anyway.
"No, you're fine. When my brother gave his statement earlier, he said you only stopped the minister from splashing wine."
"...Hmm."
"Besides, Lord Rimuru personally defended you and said you'd done nothing wrong. At that point, I ought to let it pass."
After saying that, Kaido cast a brief glare at Vester as he was carried away on a stretcher, checked on [Selling Snake Oil], then returned to his post with the guards.
"......"
And once he was left alone, Adelio looked toward where Rimuru and Kaijin's group had been taken and thought to himself.
'I didn't ask for it, but since she went out of her way to defend me... I should repay her a little.'
It felt like it had been a long time since he'd had a reason to make use of his status as a [Hero].
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