"So this is..."
"...really a nation built by monsters?"
"Compared to a city in [Falmuth], it doesn't even seem that different..."
A reconnaissance party from [Falmuth], the great human kingdom bordering the Jura Great Forest.
As one of the major trade powers in the [Western Nations], rivaling the very top of the region, [Falmuth] had realized—just as [Dwargo] and [Blumund] had while keeping watch on the movements of the Orcs—that they too could fall within the range of an Orc invasion, and so they had sent an investigation team into the great forest.
"They said the Orcs had gone berserk, but instead of rampaging, they're just building houses."
"Well, aren't we used to those high-and-mighty fools barking up the wrong tree by now, Boss Youm?"
The problem was that the Orcs had already quieted down by then, and even this reconnaissance party consisted of mercenaries meant to be used as expendable pawns... but to the people in power, who believed only in bloodline supremacy and human supremacy, that hardly mattered.
To them, the only things that mattered were the destruction of the [Orc Lord] and their own safety.
"So? Pretty amazing, just like we told you, right?"
"And it hasn't even been a full year yet, but it's already developed this much."
"...Yeah, I can see why Miss Shizue and the others would stay here..."
And so, just like last time, Eren, Kabal, Gido, and the [Grand Master] Fuze—who had set out to investigate the strange disturbance in the great forest—were entering [Tempest] together with the reconnaissance party they had happened to join along the way.
"Grrr."
"We're here!"
They were accompanied by the Goblin Riders led by Gobta, the one who had saved them in a dangerous moment by taking down a [Night Spider].
"Hmm... some of you I've met before, but there are more people here I'm meeting for the first time, so... for now, nice to meet you. My name is Rimuru Tempest, and I'm the ruler of the [Jura Tempest Federation]."
A few minutes later, guided by Shuna and Shizue into the hall where the talks had just been held, Youm's group and Eren's party once again reacted with surprise and delight as they looked at Rimuru, who had returned to slime form.
"A-a slime?? Then the ruler of this country really is..."
"...A slime is the master here?"
As the effective leaders of the reconnaissance party and the adventurer party, Fuze and Youm—both of whom had dealt with countless monsters—reacted more strongly than the others, and among them, Youm...
"Other than the fact that it talks, it just looks like an ordinary slime, so why is a weakest-of-the-weak monster acting like the ruler—guh?!"
"How rude of a guest!"
...ended up getting smacked by Shion after puffing himself up for no reason, much like Phobio had.
...In any case,
"C-cough... so then, why exactly did you call us here...?"
Watching Youm collapse from a single blow from Shion and then get restored with a Full Potion, Fuze stiffly resolved never to underestimate a slime again and calmly asked his question.
"Ah, Adelio's going to explain that from here, right?"
"...Adelio...?"
When Rimuru called to Adelio, who had been standing quietly in the back, Youm—now sporting a huge lump on his head—murmured the name to himself, feeling like he had heard it somewhere before.
"..."
'...That name, Adelio... it sounds a lot like the name of that [Hero] I heard about a few times when I was a kid... or is it just my imagination?'
For a moment, a legend flashed through Youm's mind—of a certain human said to have lived from centuries ago all the way to the present—but he dismissed it as pointless fantasy.
No matter how great a hero might be, a hero was still only human, and to ordinary people, stories of a human outliving their natural lifespan could only sound made up.
Especially to someone like him, who had come out of the back alleys.
But—
"I'm Adelio. For you people... would it be easier if I introduced myself as the [Sword of Spirit]?"
—the things he dismissed as pointless fantasy had always been the truth.
"...What?"
[Sword of Spirit].
Unlike its owner, who dearly wished the name would quietly vanish and be forgotten, his epithet was one of the most famous in the West, on par with the strongest [Crusaders] and the [Grand Master]. It was exactly the same title Youm had once overheard in the back alleys.
"[Sword of Spirit]... that's the epithet of the [Hero], isn't it...?"
"...So you do know it. Not that it's a title I'm particularly fond of."
Looking at Youm and his companions, who had frozen in shock, Adelio gave a wry smile and began explaining things little by little, starting with how he had first met Shizue, trying not to startle them too much.
Of course, no matter how gently Adelio tried to explain it, there was no way that would do much good for a reconnaissance party made up of people who were, for all intents and purposes, ordinary folk.
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