"......"
Creak...
Sigh... "Finally, that's over."
After the meeting—long in some ways, short in others—ended, Rimuru quietly listened to the footsteps of Phobio and the [Three Beastketeers] fade into the distance. Once all sound beyond the door had completely vanished, she let out a breath and returned to her human form.
"Judging by that envoy Phobio, I doubt this is going to lead to anything good. But for now, we got through it safely, right?"
"Yeah, for now, this is enough. Demon Lords can't move freely inside this great forest anyway... except for Milim."
Thud!
"Hm? Did someone call for me?"
While Rimuru and Adelio were talking, Milim—who had been waiting in the next room for the meeting to end—noticed that the magicules of Phobio's group had disappeared and violently shoved the door open as she came in.
"...Perfect timing. I actually had something I wanted to ask you."
Leaving behind the door now lightly cracked from Milim's strength, Rimuru beckoned her closer.
Milim tilted her head at Rimuru, then walked over with light steps and took the seat beside Adelio without a fuss.
"Something you want to ask me? What is it?"
"......Is there any other [Demon Lord] involved in this [Orc Lord] incident besides you and Clayman? For example... Carrion?"
Rimuru had judged that Milim's sudden appearance and the arrival of Phobio and the [Three Beastketeers] were connected somehow, and narrowed her eyes as if she were conducting an interrogation.
"U-um. Th-that... I can't tell you, even if it's you, Rimuru...! It's a promise!"
But Milim had made an agreement with the Demon Lords, and because of that, she couldn't easily speak about it.
The only promise the four Demon Lords had made was that none of them would interfere with the others.
...However—
"Come on, it's fine~ We're your best friends, aren't we?"
"...!"
—Milim, who was terribly weak when it came to personal bonds, crumbled instantly at the single phrase "best friends."
......
"Milim and Clayman, plus Carrion and Frey too... so four [Demon Lord]s in total..."
"...One alone would be a disaster, and there were four living disasters watching this place..."
"This has become something outrageous."
They might not have been old Demon Lords, but it was still nearly half of the [Ten Great Demon Lords].
After hearing the full story of the [Orc Lord] incident from Milim, Rimuru and the [Kijin] sank into thought.
"Hmm, to us it was just a little amusement. Was it really that big of a problem?"
"...Milim, I've told you this a few times before, but your standards are different from the monsters living here. Well, from monsters anywhere else too, really."
As Milim tilted her head again beside the deeply troubled Rimuru, Adelio stroked her hair, then looked at Rimuru and the [Kijin] and slowly continued.
"But Milim is right that it isn't actually such a huge problem, so there's no need to look so serious over it."
Rimuru looked at him as if asking what he meant, and Adelio shrugged while pointing back and forth between himself and Milim.
"Did you forget who the people standing in front of you are?"
One was humanity's strongest [Hero], and the other was the strongest [Demon Lord] among monsters.
Even if the remaining three Demon Lords attacked all at once right now, they were world-class monsters who would struggle just to put up a proper fight, let alone defeat either of these two.
That was Adelio and Milim.
"The worst-case scenario you're imagining is probably the other three [Demon Lord]s trying to force this place into submission through violence. But the moment they learn that Milim and I are protecting this place, the possibility of them solving things by force disappears completely."
Clayman might believe overwhelming power could be overcome through cunning alone, but Carrion and Frey—who understood the importance of strength as rulers—were not fools.
The two of them had already held their places among the [Ten Great Demon Lords] for three hundred years, and they had seen more than once Adelio passing judgment in Guy's place, as well as the danger in the magic Milim casually tossed around for fun. There was no way they hadn't ruled out force from the very beginning.
If they hadn't, they would never even have considered trying to claim a place targeted by [Catastrophe]-class monsters.
"So all you need to do is stay a little wary of Clayman as usual. Right now, it would be better to prepare to welcome some other guests."
"...Okay, if you're that sure... wait, other guests...?"
Rimuru had been about to nod along to Adelio's nearly persuasive explanation, but then she hesitated, realizing there was a strange phrase mixed into what he had just said.
"Prepare to welcome... other guests?"
Rimuru repeated his words in a puzzled voice, and Adelio raised a hand and pointed again.
"Yeah. We should get ready to welcome this village's new allies."
Outside the window, the shadows of several adventurers—and a giant crab—were just beginning to come into view.
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