"...You're saying that, in exchange for us entering your service, you'll give every one of us a name...?"
"Naming is supposed to be an act that carries enormous risk..."
In a hut set a little apart from the center of the [Goblin] village,
the [Ogre]s, including [Sword Demon], had gathered to negotiate(?) with Rimuru.
This hut had originally stood where the chief Rigurdo's house used to be, but after Rimuru appeared, it had naturally been rebuilt as her home instead.
"I'm fine with it. It's inconvenient not having names, so I try to give names to all my companions whenever I can."
Rimuru said that while doing her best to keep a smile on her face.
Only a few hours earlier, she had been badly shaken after hearing some unintended information from Adelio, and for now, she was barely holding herself together by focusing on dealing with the guests in front of her first.
It was a dangerously fragile calm, the kind she never could have maintained without the experience of her previous life.
"So? What'll it be? Will you accept names?"
"......"
Rimuru, who had no idea just how precious a name was to monsters, asked as if it were no big deal.
Startled by that attitude, the [Ogre]s all turned toward the next chief, the one with authority to decide here—
"...Of course."
—and after only a brief moment of hard deliberation, he gave a firm nod.
There was no reason to refuse an offer of power.
They needed strength immediately if they were going to defeat the [Orc]s who had attacked without knowing their place, along with the clown majin behind them.
"We have no intention of rejecting the grace you offer us. We will simply repay that grace someday—"
Clank!
As the next chief dropped to one knee with the rattle of armor, his close retainers lined up behind him, [Sword Demon], and the blood relatives of the other elders all began kneeling as well.
"—and offer our loyalty to you."
At last,
Rimuru watched every one of the [Ogre]s kneel before her, set aside the tangled emotions Adelio had stirred up in her for the moment, and smiled with pure delight.
"Yeah! I'm looking forward to working with you."
It was the moment when the proud upper race of the great forest entered the service of a mere slime for the first time.
**
Meanwhile,
"Looks like things worked out well again this time."
Standing outside the hut and secretly listening in on the conversation between the [Ogre]s and Rimuru, Adelio quietly watched as Rimuru began giving names to the [Ogre]s, starting with the next chief, Benimaru.
He had to wait until the [sleep mode (low activity state)] that would come after she finished naming all the [Ogre]s.
'Rimuru still doesn't want the monsters to know she used to be human in her previous life, so it'll probably be easier to talk when we're alone.'
Adelio himself had no particular intention of hiding the fact that he was a [Regressor], but Rimuru was still afraid to reveal that truth to her subordinates, so he was deliberately being considerate.
'[Odin]. Even if Rimuru enters [sleep mode (low activity state)], I can still connect to [Great Sage], right?'
[Yes. It is possible. In addition, if Master injects magicules, it is also judged possible to forcibly nullify [sleep mode (low activity state)].]
'Okay, got it. I'll try it once.'
......
"...Ugh..."
"Lady Rimuru?!"
While Adelio was speaking with [Odin], Rimuru finished naming all of the [Ogre]s and entered [sleep mode (low activity state)], making Shion cry out in alarm.
"S-she suddenly melted... what happened?"
The other [Ogre]s were just as flustered. When Benimaru, standing at the front, turned back to Hakurou and asked, the old swordsman answered as calmly as he could.
"Hmm... it seems that while naming everyone, she consumed more magicules than usual, and because of that, she has temporarily collapsed."
"Then what should we—"
"—Just leave her alone. She'll recover on her own automatically."
Slide...
Thanks to the noise the [Ogre]s were making, Adelio realized Rimuru had entered [sleep mode (low activity state)] and stepped into the hut, answering Benimaru's question.
"Lord Adelio!"
The [Ogre]s—no, the [Kijin]—had all evolved the moment they received their names. Their bodies had compressed, and the skin tones that had once varied as wildly as their hair colors had become humanlike.
As all their gazes gathered on him, Adelio gave a small nod.
"Go to Rigurdo and tell him Rimuru fell asleep because she ran out of magicules. I'll look after Rimuru in the meantime."
No one objected to Adelio's words.
The ones who had received his help knew better than anyone that he was not someone who would harm Rimuru.
"Understood. Then we'll take our leave first."
Benimaru answered on behalf of the others, then led the newly evolved [Kijin] away toward the temporary distribution site where Rigurdo was.
......
"All right, then... shall we try this?"
After waiting until he could no longer hear the [Kijin]'s footsteps, Adelio confirmed that a quiet stillness had settled around the hut and reached out toward Rimuru, who was lying in a limp, melted heap on the bed.
Just as [Odin] had said earlier, he was trying to inject his own magic power into Rimuru and release her from [sleep mode (low activity state)].
Fwoosh!
Soon, ash-gray magicules flickering like embers began to flow through his palm and into Rimuru.
"......"
He wasn't on the level of Guy Crimson or Milim, whose magicule reserves were bizarre enough to rival a [True Dragon], but Adelio still possessed a considerable amount of magicules himself, so replenishing Rimuru's supply wasn't particularly difficult—
[Request. Do not inject any more magicules into Master.]
—or rather, it wasn't.
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