"......"
"Is this really going to be okay...?"
Two days after the nation and village were officially named the [Jura Tempest Federation], [Tempest], and the central city, "Rimuruber," respectively—
Adelio, who had been half-forcibly saddled with having his family name attached to the village that would one day become the capital, had been begging Rimuru ever since the talks with [Dwargo] were winding down to please, at the very least, leave his surname out of it, but—
"C-Come on, this much is fine! I got pushed halfway by force into becoming the alliance leader too!"
There was no way she was going to grant a request from Adelio, considering he had a prior record of putting her in the leader's seat without even consulting her.
"...If it had been anything else, that would have been better, but why did it have to be this...?"
To be honest, for Adelio himself, all he had to do was endure a little embarrassment over having his surname in the capital's name. The real problem was Ria.
"..."
"Hehehe."
Without saying a word, she merely smiled as usual and looked at Rimuru with her flickering crimson eyes, but an indescribably heavy atmosphere hung around her.
Fortunately, she was away for the moment, saying she had something to discuss with Shizue, but that would only last a little while.
"I really might die this time..."
"...Hm? What's dying?"
When Adelio, who still found his lover terrifying even after nearly three hundred years, muttered that under his breath, Rimuru—who had kept refusing his requests to change the capital's name all the way until this morning—tilted her head as if asking what he meant.
"......No, it's nothing."
After saying that to Rimuru, Adelio turned his gaze forward again and looked at the mustached man collapsed on the ground, wrapped up in a heap like a burlap sack: Vester.
"H-hiiik...!"
"...So, what are we going to do with this guy?"
The reason Vester, who should have been receiving punishment in [Dwargo], was here was because Gazel had suddenly shown up again two days later with the [Pegasus Knights], just like before, and had tossed him here as a so-called gift to celebrate their alliance before leaving.
"Personally, I think sending him back to [Dwargo] would be fine too, but..."
Adelio trailed off mid-sentence and turned toward Kaijin, who had been staring at Vester with troubled eyes for a while now.
Then—
"Kaijin knows Vester better than anyone here, so how about giving Kaijin the chance to decide?"
"...!"
He shrugged as he handed the choice over to him.
It had irritated Adelio that Vester had shoved the failure onto Kaijin and played tricks during the trial, but since Adelio had not experienced that matter firsthand, he chose to leave the decision to the person directly involved.
Whatever the reason, it did not change the fact that Vester could contribute to the development of Hipokte herbs.
"Oh, that's a good idea. What do you think, Kaijin?"
"......"
As Rimuru's gaze followed Adelio's and settled on Kaijin, he remained silent for a moment before giving a heavy nod.
"Vester is an outstanding researcher. If anything happens, I will take responsibility. So please trust me here and forgive him."
"......Ka-Kaijin..."
Even though Vester had been the very cause of Kaijin losing his position as captain of the knight order, Kaijin still spoke highly of his talent. Seeing that, Adelio and Rimuru accepted his decision as well.
"Yeah, if you're satisfied with that, Kaijin, then that's enough for me. I'll be counting on you from here on out, Vester."
"Y-Yes, ma'am! I may be lacking, but I'll do everything I can and work as hard as possible...!"
The moment Rimuru gave her permission, Vester wriggled free of the sack and dropped to his knees before Adelio and Rimuru.
And when the monsters saw that, they praised and applauded Rimuru as they always did—
"Ooh... as expected of one so merciful! Such mercy befits the ruler of this great forest!"
"Ah, it's not that big a—...huh?"
—and mixed in among them were [Lizardmen], who should have been back in the marshlands.
"...Gabiru? Why are you here?"
Rimuru, who had met Gabiru twice in total—once during the subjugation of the [Orc Disaster], and once while deciding his punishment afterward—stared at him and his followers, who had appeared just as suddenly as Gazel, and voiced her confusion.
"Well now, I, Gabiru, have naturally come here in order to lend my strength to Lord Adelio and Lady Rimuru—"
"—Please stop lying, brother."
The instant it looked like Gabiru was about to get carried away again, his younger sister, the chieftain's guard, cut him off at the root and let out a short sigh before explaining.
"After being disowned by our father, my brother came here to atone to Lord Adelio and Lady Rimuru. As for me, I came with his attendants under our father's orders, to broaden our horizons."
"Oh? To broaden your horizons, huh..."
"Would you please take us in?"
"I-I swear we'll prove useful somehow, so please...!"
Soon, the guard and Gabiru bowed their heads together with the attendants. Rimuru, now wearing a troubled expression, looked over at Adelio.
"Mm... you decide this time. You and Ria were the ones who saved them first, after all."
Saying she was not sure herself, Rimuru shoved the answer onto him, and Adelio found himself receiving the full weight of the [Lizardmen]'s expectant gazes. Turning his head away from those burdensome eyes as much as he could, he answered.
"...[Lizardmen] were one of the races that joined the grand alliance from the beginning, so it wouldn't be a bad idea to accept them as your subordinates."
Putting emphasis on the words "your subordinates," Adelio made the decision to accept them, and at once, applause rang out yet again.
From that moment on, Vester, Gabiru, and the [Lizardmen] officially became Rimuru's subordinates.
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