Without so much as a warning, hundreds upon hundreds of magical signatures suddenly appeared in the skies above the great forest.
Though they carried the magicules of monsters, those signatures were strangely mixed with divinity, and their true identity was—
"...[Pegasus Knights]."
—the [Pegasus], a race famed as the sacred beasts of [Dwargo].
Known for mobility great enough to dominate aerial combat even against dragons below A-rank, the [Pegasus] had become a major pillar of [Dwargo]'s military strength by compensating for the [Dwarf] race's chronic weakness. Because of that, they were monsters people always associated with [Dwarf]s.
'If so many of those precious sacred beasts showed up at once—not just one or two, but hundreds... then Gazel must have come after all.'
Sacred beasts living in the wild might travel alone or in pairs, like higher monsters of the same class, but they did not move in herds of hundreds like this.
Unlike races born with a king by nature, such as the [Vampires] with their divine progenitor or the [Orc]s with the [Orc Lord], they had no concept of a king.
That was why commanding sacred beasts like [Pegasus] all at once required an absolute figure acknowledged by every one of them.
Someone like the heroic king of the age, Gazel Dwargo.
"......"
"W-What...? The king of [Dwargo] and... Pegasuses?!"
Unlike Adelio, who already knew of the [Pegasus], Rimuru was seeing the [Pegasus] flying this way for the first time and blurted out her shock.
Sacred beasts were not flocks of birds. It was only natural to be stunned, since seeing that many rushing together was anything but common.
"Rimuru, let's head back to the village first. Those [Dwarf]s seem to be coming this way too."
**
A short while later, after racing down from the hill to the village in one go, Adelio and Rimuru found monsters hurrying toward them with the same stunned expressions Rimuru had worn moments before.
From the [Goblin]s of the Goblin Riders, including Gobta, to Kaijin and the [Kijin]—and unlike the monsters, Ria and Shizue, who had kept their usual composure.
Before long, Rigurdo stepped forward as their representative and reported to Rimuru in an urgent voice.
"Lady Rimuru! This is terrible! [Pegasus] and knights of [Dwargo] suddenly appeared in the sky...!!"
"Yeah, I know. I just saw them myself."
Doing her best to calm the panicked monsters while cooling her own thoughts, Rimuru gave her orders in a steady voice.
"Those knights are probably King Gazel and his guard. Adelio, Kaijin, and I will speak with them first, so Rigurdo, calm the residents with the Goblin Riders. Everyone else, wait a little farther back."
"U-Understood!"
Rimuru watched for a moment as Rigurdo swallowed dryly, answered, and led the Goblin Riders away. Then she lowered her head slightly and looked at Kaijin.
"Kaijin. What do you think King Gazel came here for?"
"...Hard to say. To begin with, His Majesty Gazel is not one to leave the kingdom for official matters very often, so even I can't guess for sure."
Perhaps because it concerned Gazel, whom he had followed with genuine loyalty, Kaijin looked more troubled than usual. Stroking his beard, he let out a deep sigh.
"...I just hope this passes without incident..."
......
Flap...!
At some point, [Dwargo]'s [Pegasus Knights] had arrived directly above the village.
Then, from among the [Pegasus] circling overhead in a ring while clad in silver armor, a single [Pegasus] wearing golden armor slowly descended toward the ground.
"......"
On the headpiece of that gold-armored [Pegasus] was the crest of the royal house of [Dwargo], the same emblem borne on [Dwargo]'s national flag.
In other words, it was the beloved mount of the current king, Gazel Dwargo.
"...It has been a long time, Your Majesty. I trust you have been well."
At last, as Gazel—standing atop the landed [Pegasus] with a stern expression—swept his gaze over the area, Kaijin met his eyes, dropped to one knee, and bowed his head.
Even if he now followed Rimuru more closely than Gazel, this was still the king of the homeland he had served for nearly his entire life. It was only natural.
"Mm. It has been a long time, Kaijin."
After briefly regarding him, Gazel turned his gaze to Adelio and Rimuru, who stood beside Kaijin.
"It seems I am seeing you again after some time as well, Lord Adelio. And then... so this is that slime from before."
Having only seen Rimuru in slime form during the trial, Gazel narrowed his eyes as he looked at Rimuru, whose appearance bore an uncanny resemblance to Shizue.
"That's right. My name is Rimuru, the new ruler of the Jura Great Forest."
And though Gazel's sharp stare bore down on her, Rimuru did not flinch. Declaring herself the ruler of the great forest with confidence, she forced down the tension inside her behind a calm smile.
Even if the other party was the king of a great nation, now that she had become the ruler of the great forest, she could not bow her head too easily before the leader of another power.
"So what did you come here for?"
When Rimuru tilted her head and asked, Gazel rested a hand on the sword at his waist and spoke.
"I will be direct. Master of the monsters who ended the war with the [Orc]s— I have come to measure your worth."
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