A few hours after the meeting at Rigurdo's mansion ended, dawn crept in.
The lake, reflecting the moonlight and starlight that lit up the dark night sky, shimmered silver as it began preparing to greet the coming morning.
The dawn of the day when the full-scale war against the [Orc] would begin.
"...A subjugation personally requested by the forest's caretaker, and an alliance to go with it... A very interesting proposal."
"......"
At the center of Lake Sis lay the dwelling place of the [Lizardmen].
Souei's clone body, sent under Rimuru's orders to bring the [Lizardmen] into an alliance if possible, had come to their settlement.
"Judging by your magicules, you seem to be one of the [Ogre] who live in the southwest. Did the [Dryad] ask the [Ogre] village for aid?"
The chieftain's voice had been cold until now, but a note of expectation crept into it, perhaps because he thought there might be a chance to fight alongside the [Ogre].
But Souei shook his head as he looked at him.
Because—
"No. Not long ago, we came to serve a new master, the very one whom the [Goblin] and the wolf clan now follow. It was that person who received the [Dryad]'s request directly."
—the races that would fight the [Orc] were not limited to the [Ogre] alone.
"...!! The wolf clan and the [Ogre] have a new master...? How could that possibly..."
The wolf clan, who hated serving another race more than anything, and those [Ogre], who had always ranked among the five strongest in the great forest even counting the [Dryad] and the [Tengu]—for such beings to have taken a master was unbelievable.
The [Lizardmen] chieftain stared at Souei with a look that plainly said it was impossible, but the calm flicker in Souei's eyes spoke only the truth.
"......"
'...If what this Souei says is true... then this is an opportunity.'
Shock turned into anticipation, and a desperate corner became a chance.
He had sent Gabiru to form alliances with several [Goblin] villages, but because the enemy was a massive army of over two hundred thousand, the [Lizardmen] chieftain had spent the past few days consumed by anxiety. Now, color gradually returned to his face.
Because from this messenger, who had arrived without warning, he could see a new hope.
"If what you say is true, then the master you serve is a being greater than the wolf clan or the [Ogre]?"
"Of course. I swear it on the name of Souei."
"...Very well."
At this moment, with the [Orc Lord] having appeared for the first time in centuries, a powerful new faction had come offering an alliance.
For the [Lizardmen], whose options had been painfully limited, a new path had opened. There was no reason to refuse.
No matter how great the pride of the [Lizardmen] might be, he believed it would be absolutely impossible for his people alone to face an army more than twenty times their size.
"Souei. In exchange for accepting your alliance, we have one condition."
"Speak."
The chieftain rose from his seat and met Souei at eye level as he spoke.
"I wish to meet your master, Rimuru Tempest."
The chieftain wanted to judge for himself whether that [Slime], the rising power of the great forest, was truly someone worthy of trust. Souei nodded, saying he understood.
"Then both sides will make their preparations, and one week from now we will rendezvous here with Lord Rimuru. Until then, do not start the war ahead of time under any circumstances."
"Mm. So be it."
Slide...
"......"
The moment he heard the [Lizardmen] chieftain's answer, Souei gave a short bow and vanished back into the shadows.
The chieftain stared blankly at the spot where Souei had disappeared, then let out a long sigh of relief and sank back into his seat as if collapsing.
"Gather all the soldiers. For the next week, we must become part of a long silence."
*
Meanwhile,
in the last stretch of forest connected to the marshlands—
"...Ugh... mmh, where is this..."
Gabiru, who had been knocked unconscious by Adelio's one-sided beating earlier that day, did not wake again until dawn.
"L-Lord Gabiru~!!"
"You're awake?"
The ones welcoming Gabiru after he finally rose a few hours later were his close aides who had carried him away while he was unconscious, the [Lizardmen] under his command, and—
"Hey... Gabiru. Sorry to spring this on you the moment you wake up, but you have a visitor."
"......A visitor...?"
"Yup~ That'd be me, the one who's been waiting here all this time~"
—a laughing-mask [clown] who looked like a ridiculous jester, but was in truth a [Deathmen] stronger than anyone there, and the vice leader of the Moderate Harlequin Alliance.
"My name is Laplace. I'm here as Lord Gelmud's messenger, to give you a warning."
He was a forgotten hero who boasted top-class level and skill.
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