Half-dragged along by Rigurdo, Adelio and Eryun's group were split into separate men's and women's teams and assigned huts right beside Rimuru's dwelling. After that, they headed straight to the open square at the center of the [Goblin] village.
It was because Rigurdo had insisted on treating them to dinner, seeing as it was just about mealtime.
"Monster food... and food eaten by [Goblin]s at that. Can we even eat something like that...?"
"...You're not about to serve us rotten monster meat or something, right?"
Whether that was just like [Magius], or just like adventurers, who could say.
At least until they reached the square being used as a temporary mess hall, Kabal and Gido never let their guard down around the monsters.
Considering they had entered a monster nest with their power as [Magius] sealed away, their caution was only natural, but to Adelio, they looked like children refusing to believe a truth an adult had told them.
Like bringing a retriever in front of a little kid who couldn't tell the difference between a wolf and a big dog.
"Why not worry about that after we get there? You'd be surprised. The food monsters eat isn't all that different from what we usually eat."
As Kabal and Gido had said, weak monsters like [Goblin]s usually did live on things humans couldn't eat, but there were quite a few exceptions.
And one of the best examples of that exception was the [Goblin]s living here.
"Who knows? The monsters' cooking might even taste better than those adventurer lunchboxes you two usually eat."
"......"
At that point, Kabal and Gido were clearly wearing the kind of expressions that said there was no way that would happen.
...But then—
*
"Hey, wait, Eren!! That's the meat I was about to eat!"
"Says who? You've been snatching everything for yourself this whole time! If I grilled it, I get to eat it~!"
"My lady, miss—there's no mercy when it comes to food!"
—once they stood in front of the meat, they had somehow become one with the monsters.
"Thank goodness. It looks like Gobuichi's cooking suits human tastes too. Here, have some more."
Eryun, Kabal, and Gido quickly started chattering away with the [Hobgoblin]s seated beside them, happily welcoming the [Goblina] Haruna, who had brought over more meat and told them to eat as much as they liked.
Watching the group from a short distance away, Adelio and Shizue exchanged wry smiles.
"...I had a feeling they'd end up like that from the start."
"Ahaha... still, I'm glad they got close so quickly. If things go the way you planned, they'll be seeing each other often from now on."
Holding her cup with both hands, Shizue spoke in a soft, cheerful tone. Maybe because she was as weak to alcohol as Adelio, she sipped much more slowly than Kaijin and the three [Dwarf] brothers sitting in front of them.
"Hoh. This plan of yours that Miss Shizue mentioned... are you talking about the harmony Lord Rimuru is aiming for?"
Kaijin, who had quickly grown comfortable speaking with Adelio's group thanks to Adelio helping him during the trial in Dwargo before, posed the question.
"That's right. If humans and monsters are going to coexist, then first we need a human force willing to stand on the monsters' side."
Answering Kaijin in Shizue's place, Adelio glanced between Shizue and Ria seated on either side of him before continuing.
"Shizue, Ria, and I are backing Rimuru, but we're still hopelessly short on numbers. At the very least, we'd need cooperation on the scale of a nation."
"Hmm. And what about getting Dwargo's cooperation?"
"That's impossible for now. Even among humans, there are still extremists who think [Dwarf]s should be treated like monsters."
"......Certainly. Even with someone like you around, getting rid of that kind of prejudice wouldn't be easy."
Muttering that he had brought up an unpleasant subject, Kaijin made a bitter face and raised a drinking cup several times larger than Shizue's to his lips.
He wasn't a [Hydwarf], but he had lived long enough, and as someone who had personally suffered racial discrimination outside his homeland, he knew very well that Dwargo had nothing to gain by moving rashly.
"Whew... putting that aside, are you sure it's fine not going to where Lord Rimuru is, Adelio? From what I saw earlier, you seemed pretty close with the [Ogre]s."
After draining his cup in one go, Kaijin smoothly changed the subject.
"If you'd wanted to, you could've named the [Ogre]s yourself instead of Lord Rimuru and brought them under your command. So I was wondering why you went out of your way to yield them to her."
"...There's no grand reason. It's just that... I think I'm suited to teaching people, maybe, but not to ruling them."
Adelio believed he could serve as a general or a strategist, but that the role of [King] did not suit him.
That was because there were already two rulers near him who were far more complete as [King]s than he could ever compare to.
One was his master, the Demon Lord Guy Crimson.
And the other was—
"Hehe."
—his lover, who had even grown used to blending into little feasts like this.
'...Come to think of it, Ria should start building some rapport with Rimuru soon too.'
Looking at Ria, who still retained her cruel side but had grown gentler in equal measure, Adelio recalled Rimuru saying before the meal began that she would step away for a while with the [Ogre]s.
It was easy enough to guess that she was probably in the middle of a negotiation that was barely a negotiation at all, offering them names in exchange for entering her service.
'Ria won't become Rimuru's subordinate like the [Ogre]s, but for the future, it would be better if she received a "name" too.'
In the novel, the name Rimuru had given Ria was Testarossa.
Hoping that, even if only in the distant future, Ria would receive that name once more, Adelio quietly made his way toward the hut where Rimuru and the [Ogre]s were.
Carrying a certain [gift] he had prepared for her, who for now possessed only the body of a slime.
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