Chapter 5 After the Festival

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On the last night of the festival, we made sure to go out with a bang, hosting a grand banquet.

Chefs like Shuna and Yoshida-san were going all out to provide us with some

breath-taking and extremely luxurious cuisine. All of this was to make a good

impression on everyone.

Perhaps some new relationships had sprouted over the past three days since I could see nobles having a great time together. Unlike the first night, the mood at the banquet was a lot more relaxed.

Right, except for Veldora, Ramiris, and Milim staying inside the labyrinth,

people like Karion, Frey, and Midley all came to attend. Everyone was enjoying the night cheerfully.

Treyni and the elves were also preparing dishes enthusiastically. I would have to show up with some dessert later on, as thanks.

And the townsfolk were not idle either. Visiting merchants, adventurers,

nearby farmers, and the town residents were all enjoying the food and drinks in

harmony. None of the stores were charging service fees tonight, it was a rowdy scene with people drinking and singing all evening. Everyone seemed to have lowered their guard, monsters and humans alike, all were happily enjoying the night.

We also had music at the scene, some people were singing along to the tune,

and some others were dancing to the rhythm.

It's a shame it's going to be over so soon…

Starting tomorrow, everyone would be back to work. The thought of it made

me sad yet excited at the same time. What a bewildering feeling. Even if I wasn't the only one thinking along those lines, everyone was enjoying the moment.

Maybe this is what happiness looks like.

Watching this joyous scene, I sincerely hoped that this peace could last a long,

long time.

And just like that, the night quickly passed—

***

After everything that happened, the festival was finally over.

In Gobta's absence, Rigur was kept busy taking care of security—the roads

could barely contain the flood of visitors returning to their own countries.

"Wouldn't you have wanted to sleep until noon on the day after the festival?"

"Hahaha, Rimuru-sama. Those foolish enough to lose themselves to things

such as alcohol can't manage the security force!"

Rigur was earnest. As expected from Rigurd's son.

If it was Gobta, I'm certain that he would have said something along the lines

of "I wanted to sleep until the afternoon for at least the day after the festival."

Although I myself felt the same way, which is why I often spoil the guy by accident, it's for the best if I just don't bring this up.

Unlike Gobta, Rigur swiftly ordered his subordinates to move without a single

complaint. Thanks to his efforts, we were able to move the guests without any big problems.

The road was wide enough so, as long as the road wasn't blocked by the

carriages, there wouldn't be cases where the line for humans would stop. I left the traffic control to Rigur and went back to do my own job.

That's right, today was the day I gave out gold coins as payments.

Over a hundred merchants gathered at the conference room.

Currently, Rigurd and Myourmiles were sent to do the explanation, but it

seemed about time for me to take the stage as well. I knew that what came next would be the main show, so I lightened myself up and went to the venue.

As I arrived at the conference room, there were noises of arguing coming out of there already.

"As I've said before, we will pay up the fee in time, so please calm down and

wait!"

"Are you saying so just to deceive us?"

"We've already waited until the festival ended. Pay us our money right now!"

"Hold on for just a moment, please! You all have a point, but is it possible for

you all just to sell me a favor?"

"Indeed. Are you planning to destroy our reputation after we have already

introduced you to our friend Myourmiles?"

"Let's not put it that way, my lord. After all, we only wish to be paid by the

amount promised by them―"

"That's why I'm asking you to wait for another moment. This country is not

going to run or disappear. They've already said that they have other means of paying than through dwarven gold coins. Can't you guys let this pass for our sake?"

"No way we'd believe that—!"

"Yes, that's right. Pay up already—"

It seemed like Myourmiles's friends—the big store merchants, were stepping

up to comfort the retailers.

Although they may have just been acting in accordance with the way of a

merchant, I still felt very happy about it. It showed that Myourmiles had keen eyes when examining a person's character16

.

"Now, now, everyone, how about we all calm down? I am Muze, the

representative for the kingdom of Guston. Even the people of the monster kingdom wouldn't dare repudiate the debts of those people. Am I correct, Myourmiles?"

Looks like there is some big shot here.

16 Therefore, who he befriends.

Representative of the kingdom of Guston―in other words, does it mean he's a noble from the trade nation Guston near Ingracia?

"Yes, Duke Muze-sama! That is correct. But―"

Hmm, although Guston was not a big nation, this was still the duke of the

kingdom. Noblemen were already of high social status, and to have the title of duke implied he was some big-shot nobleman.

"Then I hope that you will reassure these people quickly. Let us proceed

according to the international charter designed by the Western Nations and

conclude the payment as soon as possible."

Looked like Duke Muze was not only a powerful nobleman, but a gentleman in

negotiation.

While Myourmiles was a key figure in our country, as of now, he was not given

neither a title of nobility nor a status. He was someone who was serving as my

substitute and had only temporarily been given authority. In terms of his political stance here, he was probably the equivalent of "a guest that was invited for a meal."

While Rigurd was present as well, not only did he remember Myourmiles's

name, he even responded to him personally. Perhaps this might have been the highest degree of courtesy to him.

For a noble to remember a commoner's name―while most nobles would not

be able to remember, even those who did remember would probably just act

ignorant to abide by the noble way. This was something I heard from Myourmiles;

I could only imagine that he himself was the one most shocked at the scene.

"P-please hold up a second, Duke Muze-sama. We said from the start, when signing the contracts, that we will be paying according to the custom. And naturally

the custom is―"

"Myourmiles, I don't really care about those minor details. It's the same to

these merchants for whatever you were going to say. Trust is the most valued

aspect in an exchange between nations. And trust only seeds when both sides

follow through with their promises, isn't that the case?"

"What you said was correct. But—!!"

"Shut it! These people made a deal with your people because they trusted you.

Are you perhaps planning on insulting this trust?"

"Of course not. But we have our reasons as well—"

"Heh heh, I see how it is now. Myourmiles, luckily enough, I got a solution to your worries. Would you mind having a chat with me in private? Rigurd-san over there can come as well."

―Ahh, now we can confirm.

This had unfolded just as Elmesia predicted.

It was like looking at an exam question that you had studied for, a feeling of

relief that I couldn't put into words started to flow inside me.

Now we can win with ease.

"W-what do you mean?"

Myourmiles was acting in a meticulous way. As expected from an experienced

merchant, he was both bold and great at acting. Just like me, he had already realized the truth, yet he continued the conversation without a change in

expression.

I think the problem could have just been solved with our competent

Myourmiles alone. But if that were to be the case, I wouldn't be able to get over

my anger.

Well then, let's move out. There is no point in just listening here so let's just

quickly resolve this mess.

Diablo pushed the door open with great force.

"There will be no need for that," I announced while entering the room.

Benimaru and Shion followed. Diablo entered last and quietly closed the door.

"Have we kept you all waiting for too long? The arguing here just now sounded quite intense." Benimaru glared at the merchants as he finished.

Surprised by my appearance, the merchants turned blue upon hearing those words. They probably assumed that I would leave the matter entirely to Rigurd and Myourmiles to handle. But now that I had shown up with my executives like this, these people didn't know how to react.

"Demon Lord Rimuru-sama has arrived. Salute at this instant," Rigurd said

while giving the merchants a hard glare.

Some of them immediately stood up and bowed in salute. But at least half of

the people instead looked at me with confusion, they simply sat in their chairs and observed the situation.

Well, for retailers that did not get proper education such as the nobles, this

was probably how they would react in such circumstances.

Even Duke Muze tried to stand up, but I spoke out to stop them.

"No need to abide by the formality, Rigurd."

After I said that with a smiling face, I glanced around the conference room.

Rigurd obeyed my order and fell quiet and observed the room.

I could see not only the merchants, but also disguised reporters. It seemed

like in the case of our nation doing anything inappropriate, they would go back to their respective country to report the matter.

Whether we were to cry and beg about how we couldn't pay or to shut the

merchants up with violence, no matter how we reacted, they would probably report something ridiculous regardless.

But we were already informed about that. They couldn't expect that some of

the more friendly reporters had already let Diablo in on the plot beforehand.

Kufufufufu, how very moving for them to have such a thought—Diablo

complimented the reporters with this line, but they only seemed to respond with a numb smile out of fear. They had probably experienced something horrible in the past and had sworn not to antagonize Diablo—that's the strong will that was giving off with their reaction. They may have received some form of threat, but that was between the reporters and Diablo.

I shouldn't really ask too much about the matter.

"I see it is Emperor Rimuru. A pleasure to meet you. I sincerely apologize for

only greeting you just now."

Duke Muze had quite the style of a nobleman as he bowed elegantly. He only panicked for a second upon seeing me before regaining his composure. A gentle expression emerged on his face as he greeted me in the place of everyone else at the scene.

"So you are Duke Muze of the Guston Kingdom. Why are you here? Shouldn't

you have no business here?"

I smiled and said the line that I prepared.

There was no need for me to be timid just because he was a nobleman, so I

responded quite smoothly. Practice and rehearsal sure are important.

"The thing was, a lot of these people were trading with your nation for the first time. They came complaining to me about how their legitimate rights were

despised upon. It is the duty of a nobleman to protect my citizens. So I came

despite knowing the rudeness of my intervention in order to have a verdict on the

matter."

How shameless. This guy's a wolf in sheep's clothing.

Although with that being said, I'm not any better than him, except that I'm a

slime, so I'm pretty transparent.

"I see, how tireless of you. But there's one strange thing I must say,

Myourmiles over there said that our nation has a big enough budget to afford the

payment, but there was a delay in the final transaction, how was that the case?"

"Well, about that, it's because these people would only accept dwarven gold

coins—"

Myourmiles was a good actor. He pretended to panic upon hearing my question

and tried to explain. But he was interrupted by Duke Muze.

"That is only natural. Myourmiles, if you were a licensed merchant in Blumund

Kingdom in the past, you should be well-versed in the international charter with

regards to trade! Unlike whatever rubbish that's been carried out in that Freedom

Association, these people only trust dwarven gold coins," Duke Muze explained

calmly to back up the merchants gathered here.

He was definitely acting like a neutral third party with good intentions on

purpose, trying to mend the matter for us and sell me a favor. That's why no

matter how you looked at his attitude now, it would appear justified.

But this is no different from forcing others to follow their rules.

I quickly glanced at Diablo.

Having understood, Diablo smiled and nodded back in response.

Now we have everything prepared.

"I see, so that's how it is. I was wondering what happened when I heard that

reporters from all the nations gathered here. So this is for something this minor."

"So Rimuru-sama, please just leave me to handle it…"

Seeing the pressure coming from Benimaru, some of the merchants were

terrified. Everything seemed to be going according to plan, they were taking the

bait that we were pressuring them into submission.

"Don't get so worked up, Benimaru. It is understandable why the merchants

were worried after hearing their explanation."

As I tried to calm Benimaru down, he seemed surprised. He almost looked

unpleasant as the ordeal got interrupted despite the smooth smiling before.

"But Rimuru-sama, I am confused. Even if we didn't have dwarven gold coins,

we still have ancient gold coins. If they won't take that either, we can always just

give them the equivalent value of our nation's specialties. Why won't they accept

these terms?"

"I believe that the merchants surely had their reasons as well."

I observed Duke Muze's reactions while making these conversations. It seemed

like he was looking for an opening to interrupt. He wanted to be the guy to convince

the merchants and lend us a favor.

"How about we do it like that? Would you first place your trust in our nation

and as Benimaru-sama suggested, to conclude the transaction with a certificate or

actual goods?"

To finish things once and for all, Myourmiles took the first shot.

If they agreed, then everything could be concluded peacefully.

But if they were to decline…

If they won't even step down now with my presence, we will be forced to act

with resolve.

"H-how can we entrust you with that!"

"T-that's right."

"It was precisely because this was the monster kingdom, that we wished to be

paid in a safe currency such as the dwarven gold coins. I do hope that your nation

will b-be considerate about it—"

It seemed not all of them were merchants who were not accustomed to such

situations, there were people who knew how to deal with the nobles. But what they

said was all incredibly selfish and didn't consider us at all.

Ahh, what a pity—I thought.

***

Muze believed that the time was now.

He was worried that after being intimidated by the demon lord, these

merchants would leave out of fear. But they were still listening to Muze's order.

But that was natural, to be honest. Muze was the duke of Guston. Even though

he was of the young age of thirty-five, he managed to be acquainted with the great

Rosso family.

They were one of the dominating forces of the Western Nations, with

extraordinary statuses. Only a few had this power.

Therefore, in reality, those who dared to oppose Muze's order were less than

few. The plan he was sent to enact this time came from the divine order of the

elder of the Rosso. He ordered Muze to "Give favors to Demon Lord Rimuru and

earn his trust". He also promised to promote him to one of the Five Great Elders

when his task was completed.

The Five Great Elders—the people who stood at the top of the world. Muze was

overjoyed. And he swore to carry out this order with all the power he had, no

matter what.

Muze promised those greedy merchants that he would help them rise to

affluence. He dragged the reporters of different nations down with him in order to

ensure his personal safety. Muze was going to confront Demon Lord Rimuru

himself. This was a job only he could accomplish.

It was said that Demon Lord Rimuru, not long after his birth (as demon lord),

butchered Demon Lord Clayman, who was known for his cruelty. He then

established himself as the new demon lord. Moreover, according to rumors, he was

also acquainted with the "Storm Dragon" that massacred twenty-thousand soldiers

in the past. He was a fearsome demon lord.

He was initially afraid to be in contact with Demon Lord Rimuru directly, but

when comparing his fear to the future glory that he would bear, he managed to

overcome his fear easily.

Muze was a man that only saw profit. And it was for this reason that he was

manipulated by people, which he himself had yet to notice.

All of this was exactly as predicted by Elmesia Elaure Sarion.

It was honestly surprising to Muze that the demon lord would personally come

to such an occasion with his executives. He was planning to take down the man

called Myourmiles before requesting to meet the demon lord.

Although it turned out differently from what Muze had planned, this in a sense

had saved him plenty of work. There were reporters at the scene right now, and

apparently more reporters were flooding in on the main lobby downstairs.

That meant that all his preparations were in place.

When the merchants rejected the demon lord's proposal, Muze's plan would be

a success. The rest would be for him to calm the merchants and take over the

situation. This alone should have Demon Lord Rimuru in his good grace already.

Muze was convinced of his success, and spoke with a calm expression—

***

"I am unsure about your view on the situation right now, your Majesty. But if you

are troubled, would you mind discussing the matter with me personally? One

should treasure every encounter, and I would love to offer my aid to your Grace—

"

Should I say that I've seen this coming, or should I call his acting too horrible.

This was the suggestion that Duke Muze came up with.

Every executive standing behind me was giving the duke a cold glare.

Observing their expressions, Duke Muze looked quite anxious. It seemed that he

had realized that something was not going as expected.

Now, time to wrap things up.

"How kind of you to have such a thought, but there is no such need. Come in."

Geld entered the room upon hearing my command. In his hands was a plate

with mountains of gold coins piling on each other.

"Uh?!"

"No way…"

"Are those all…?"

The room was riled up.

Duke Muze's expression changed drastically upon seeing the gold coins. It

seemed that he had realized the failure of his plan.

"Since you've asked us to pay. Very well, here are the dwarven gold coins as

requested."

Rigurd announced. At that moment, the room fell silent.

"P-please…hold on a moment, Emperor Rimuru!"

Duke Muze was panicking. But it was already too late.

"What is it?" I asked coldly as Duke Muze asked me with a desperate

expression, "A-are all of these dwarven gold coins? Y-you know it's illegal to make

counterfeit coins!"

Heh—and you dare talk to me in that way?

How very rude of you, Muze-kun.

"You dare say something so disrespectful towards Rimuru-sama—"

Diablo walked forward as he finished. Benimaru also gave a furious expression

while Shion who stood behind me had been giving off a dangerous aura from just

now. It was precisely because this was how things would turn out that I had hoped

Muze would mind his tone.

"M-my apologies for the intrusion. But, but are these really all—?"

"You may have them appraised if you have doubts."

As I said so with a smile, Duke Muze shivered.

"Then do indulge me and allow me to use my precious magic item to

investigate."

It was already rude enough for this person to interrupt my conversation

between Muze… Never mind, there's no need to penalize him. This merchant was

probably one of the co-conspirators under Duke Muze's command. Out of panic,

he might have forgotten the good manners he was raised to abide by.

This guy was all pretending to be courteous to begin with. Although I was no

better, I cut out to be a ruler either, so I couldn't really judge them.

Whatever the case, we should continue the conversation.

"Rimuru-sama, many reporters were asking if they could document the

negotiation as part of a news report. What do you think?"

Shuna asked from the other side of the door through 'Telepathy Net' after she

had acted in accordance with my plan.

The reporters had gathered outside according to the demand of Diablo. If I

gave the order, they would rush in as witnesses.

"If that's the case, isn't it perfect timing? We will have the reporters as

witnesses to your appraisal on the authenticity of these gold coins," Benimaru

announced, playing along with Shuna.

And as planned, the reporters entered the conference room.

"Th-these are authentic—!!"

Muze's henchman shouted in astonishment. It took us so much work to get

these, of course they are all real.

"There's no way these are fake. From appearance alone you can tell they pack

a punch. Some even looked quite dated, they must not have been flowing in the

market," a reporter who looked knowledgeable commented. Those were probably

the ones exchanged from Elmesia.

That gal seemed to have saved up as much as she could.

Now that even the reporters were analyzing the authenticity of the gold coins,

Muze's henchmen couldn't really do anything to aid his cause. The reporters were

useful in that they could prevent these people from switching the gold coins to

counterfeits. But even if they did, Souei, who had been observing in the shadows,

wouldn't allow it to transpire.

"Now, is that enough? Those merchants looked quite concerned about the

payment, hurry up and pay them already."

As I announced so arrogantly, Rigurd and Myourmiles nodded and said: "Yes

sir!"

They then began the process of verifying contracts and paying the merchants.

And—

There wasn't much slip up later. Under the watch of the reporters, the

transactions were completed smoothly.

"Looks like you were the last one."

With that, all payments were delivered. This concluded all transactions during

the festival.

"Ha, hahaha, as expected of Emperor Rimuru. How did you manage to gather

so many dwarven gold coins…" Duke Muze said with a stiff face.

As we finished counting, there was a mountain of gold coins before Muze's

eyes. A mountain of shining, almost uncountable amounts of gold coins. The

merchants looked confused. They probably didn't know what to do either as things

had deviated so greatly from their original plan.

It was then that the suspected henchman spoke again.

"Well, since your nation has done according to the international charter, we

have no more complaints. We will be in your care from now on as well—"

"Oh, that wouldn't be necessary," I answered.

The merchants looked shocked as they heard my words. So were my

executives.

"Wh-what would that mean…"

"Our business with you all ends here, from this instant onward. There won't be

a next time. That's what I meant," I announced casually.

The executives were all filled with surprise. Except Diablo, who had been

giggling at my answer. Only this guy saw through my thoughts. There's nothing I

could do with this lad.

"I don't quite understand what you are getting at…"

"Wh-what are you planning? Isn't it enough that you've earned our trust by

paying us?"

"Are you looking down on us because we are just retailers? But without us

wandering merchants, nations can't do much of any trade among each other!"

They finally seemed to come back to their senses as the merchants began to

shout and complain.

"You people, don't you think it was a bit too rude to speak to Rimuru-sama,

the ruler of this nation in that tone?"

Shion spoke with a hidden cluster of fury. Realizing this, the merchants all shut

their mouths.

Since they all went quiet, it was time to finish the whole ordeal.

"Since it'd be too much trouble to be subtle about things, I'll just put this out

there. Weren't you guys complaining about how our nation has no 'credibility'? This

so-called credibility should be established on the basis that both parties trust each

other, not for one party to force the other into accepting their own terms. That is

just how I see it. Didn't Myourmiles already requested many times for you guys to

trust us?"

"T-that's…"

"But…"

"Well, I can't say that we don't understand your sentiment. We are monsters

after all, even when we announced that our nation wished to communicate with

the Western Nations, you were still unsure as to whether we would really follow

through with regulations set up by humans—that must have been how you felt."

"Ye-yes that's it! So that's why—"

"However, we did make compromises as well. Didn't we offer you to exchange

goods as well as payment in forms of ancient gold coins? But none of you even

cared to consider these options once."

"—!!"

"Ugh…"

Myourmiles had already desperately tried to negotiate with these people

countless times, even humbling himself to begging for a solution. Yet all of his

efforts were rejected by the merchants here. That I cannot forgive.

"Just like you all wanted to trade with trust-worthy partners, we too would only

want to deal with trustworthy people. That's why all of you, from now on, are

forbidden from trading in our nation. We will not allow you to enter our kingdom,

nor will you dream of getting a trade license."

The merchants realized the severity of the situation upon hearing my

announcement. On this land filled with potential, they were no longer welcome.

Duke Muze looked pale as he seemed to have realized his plan had been foiled

completely.

"T-this is outrageous! These people were merely defending their rights based

on the international charter—" Muze, having lost his temper, protested.

It'd be the end of him if they can no longer trade with our nations. He must be

thinking so.

Indeed, this land was expected to develop into a town with significant economic

influence. It may be as powerful as the entire Western Nations combined.

That must have been why he tried to befriend us in the first place—if you have

already seen that far into the future, you shouldn't have played tricks like these.

Because I show no mercy to my enemies.

"Rights you say. You seemed to have been mistaken. Allow me to clarify, our

nation has yet to join the Western State Council. We did have the intention to join,

but it's really not that big a deal even if we don't'."

"What—?"

"Well you see, this land will no doubt grow to be an important economic hub.

This is an undeniable fact at this point, or at least that's what I am driving

towards."

"What nonsense!! By what? Your own will? How dare you say something this

arrogant—"

"It's not arrogance at all. Everyone here has united to head towards the same

goal. And in the end, there will only be one outcome. I'm simply part of our

momentum."

I tried to make it sound nice… But in reality, I did put what I personally wanted

on priority and to make them into reality. That's why I honestly couldn't deny it

when he called me arrogant. But nonetheless, I still managed to argue back

sounding all justified.

"I also wanted to build an equal relationship with the Western State Council.

But the deal's off if they try to suppress our nation in any way. We don't really

need to play along with them as long as we trade through the Freedom Association.

Is that understandable to you?"

Besides, even if we needed to, we could always just make an exclusive deal

with countries such as Blumund or Dwargon. We only had to make such deals with

countries we trusted.

We also had plenty of tricks up our sleeve, so there's no need to panic. We

could also just develop our country and raise our influence until countries willing

to trust us stepped forward. This thought had solidified in my heart.

"Uh, I understand. Then allow me to be the bridge to connect your nation and

the council. It seems that there has been a grave misunderstanding, but I still

hope to be at least of some use to you, Emperor Rimuru."

You sure tried your best, Duke Muze. Seriously though, had you decided to

stand down early on… I didn't plan to say what I have to say now.

"Huh—I can't really have Muze-san as my intermediary. Since you've lost the

power to do such a thing?"

"What?"

Duke Muze was shocked by my words and wasn't able to react for some time.

Since the whole ordeal has already concluded anyway, I didn't want to say this

to his face directly. But at this point, I suppose explaining things thoroughly to him

would be a form of mercy.

"Every reporter in this room will write about this incident in their respective

nation. The content will be that there was a secret power struggle behind the

nation founding festival of the Monster Kingdom, which has to do with the payment for the merchants. They will make sure of the facts and write what must be very

interesting articles."

"..."

Duke Muze was completely baffled at the moment, upon thinking what would

happen later, his expression looked dimmer and dimmer. This was precisely why I

didn't want to say those things.

"The merchants ignored our request and would only take dwarven gold coins.

The strange thing was, despite being completely unrelated to the whole ordeal,

some big-shot nobleman came forth all of a sudden and managed to calm all these

merchants down. I wonder what people would think when they see news like this."

"Th-that's…"

Well, this was Diablo's plan.

He gathered a bunch of reporters for them to observe all of the details. This

way our nation would be portrayed as the reasonable side while the merchants

would appear as though they were all working towards some sort of a conspiracy.

I agreed with his method.

Since information was only useful when used correctly. As opposed to allowing

people to fabricate stories about us, I'd hope that facts of the matter could be

reported word for word from the start.

That being said, it was thanks to Gazel and Elmesia's advice that we were able

to come up with such a strategy.

Even Diablo said that "I still have much to learn" before expressing gratitude

to them both. This time we were totally in their care. I'd have to thank them

properly when such opportunities arose.

"That's how it is. We have no need for you to do anything. Also, I have one

hundred percent trust in Myourmiles, who you have looked down upon. I'm even

willing to hand our nation's financial sector entirely to him to manage. He's a lot

more useful than you."

"Uhhh—"

Duke Muze's face twisted out of humiliation.

The merchants all looked desperate.

In comparison, the reporters looked happier than I expected. Since they were

not the victims here, instead, some of them were even writing down the details of

the negotiation with much vigor. Some have even brought expensive magic items

such as video recorders. Surely the story of this incident would quickly spread

among the nations.

These merchants brought the reporters here as insurance, yet now they had

become their doom.

"I'll leave the rest to you."

"I will take care of everything now, Emperor Rimuru."

Myourmiles acted with extreme courtesy. As I passed him, I gave him a pat on

the shoulder and whispered: "Be counting on you, Myourmiles-kun". After which,

I left the room with the executives.

I thought I saw Myourmiles-kun giving off a wry smile. Well, it wasn't really a

physical one. And next, he switched to his elite look, unique to a merchant, and

turned to Duke Muze, as well as glancing around the merchants.

Surely Myourmiles's prowess had also been observed at length by my

executives.

People shouldn't have any complaints now, even if I appointed Myourmiles as

the minister of finance.

"Then the transaction has been completed successfully, and our festival is

officially over. Please follow me to a different venue—"

Myourmiles's stately voice came out of the room.

Now we could finally say that everything had concluded.

***

Having chased away Duke Muze and his lackeys, there were still many problems

left for us to tackle.

We would hold our routine conference to reflect on ourselves.

We were not going to the guest lobby, but the usual large conference room.

We gathered there on the night following the end of the nation founding festival.

Gazel, Elmesia, Youmu's party, Fuze and even Yuuki, Hinata and Masayuki got

a seat as visitors. There were also a few rare guests that had come upon receiving

my invitation.

Since all of my executives had gathered as well, the room felt crowded.

I didn't invite Milim and the other demon lords. If there were too many people,

the conference could last for days. Especially considering the many incidents that

occurred during the festival, there were tons of motions for us to go through.

My only concern was Veldora. He was moping in the corner of the room, and

he was bound to interject at some point. Probably along the lines of "No challenger

came to fight me," etc. Ah, what a bunch of useless complaints.

It's best that we don't complicate things further. Let's get the reflection

conference going.

"Eh—first off, I want to say this to everyone, thank you all for the hard work

this time!"

I started by praising everyone and began the conference.

The first one to speak was, surprisingly, Benimaru.

"I was genuinely shocked just now. I didn't expect Rimuru-sama to punish

those merchants like that."

The executives nodded in agreement.

Most of them probably thought that I would conclude the matter after the

payment. But upon seeing my serious treatment towards them, everyone, without

exception, looked surprised.

"Right, I didn't expect you to give such a severe punishment," Rigurd agreed

with Benimaru.

Gazel, who had been listening to our conversation, intriguingly asked me: "So?

What was your verdict, Rimuru?"

Having been asked, I retold the whole story.

"To have severed ties with them while mustering such resolve…" Gazel said,

rather dumbfounded, after hearing the story. But he wasn't mad, quite the

opposite, as he actually agreed with my method.

"Heh heh heh, I think you did the right thing. An eye for an eye. That being

said, have you considered what to do afterwards?

I've really been outsmarted by Elmesia.

Her insight was to the point of being frightening. It seemed that she had seen

right through me.

"What did she mean by that, Rimuru-sama?"

Since Benimaru asked, I had to express my view.

"It's like what I said before, I'm not gonna play to the Council's score. If

possible, I wish to be on equal and friendly terms with them."

"I understand that. That's why, in my humble opinion, we need to make a

certain level of compromise."

I nodded to Rigurd and continued: "Listen well now! As Elmesia-san has said,

that Duke Muze was just someone else's lackey. We followed their rule and

rejected Muze. That's why, next time it will be his boss taking the lead in person."

"That is most likely the case."

"—In other words, will we be able to negotiate with them once more?"

"That's right. Since it was them that first failed in negotiating with us, when

the opportunity arises, we can utilize our advantages in that regard to have better

terms in negotiation!"

"I see…"

"In my opinion, they didn't want to antagonize us directly. That's why they

wanted to put a collar on our neck by first befriending us. Now that they've failed,

surely, they will have to consider us an opponent to be reckoned with. In that

case—"

"Surely they will come across us again if they intend to launch economic

warfare. Neither of us is prepared well enough to be able to do that. Therefore,

both can form their own self-sustaining economic circle even without the opponent.

That's most likely the case."

Gazel continued to further elaborate. For now, things had concluded with our

negotiation. And it would seem that we had the upper hand in the long run.

"In that case, we don't need to be restrained by the international charter set

by the Western State Council, and will be able to take over different nations by

ourselves. But this will not be a militaristic invasion, but rather an invasive act via

economy."

"Kufufufufu, leave it to me. I shall put all of the Western Nations on a platter

for Rimuru-sama!"

You don't have to. That's not what I wanted anyway…

Diablo's comment was giving me a headache again.

"Diablo, if you do something like that, you will only make our life more

difficult!"

Rejected, R E J E C T E D!

"A-apologies for my offense."

"Cut the crap, errand boy, go fetch Rimuru-sama more tea, now!"

Shion gave a finishing blow to the frustrated Diablo.

She also made me upset to be honest, but I'd give her a pass for now.

"I think what Diablo has just suggested may still be achievable given time. But

right now, doing that serves no purpose. We may give it a try if conflict breaks

out, but it will, nonetheless, be a lot of hard work. We just need to build a friendly

relationship. Honestly, I don't want any more trouble to deal with."

As I explained matters like that, everyone seemed to agree.

We just had to try our best at making our own nation better. To create a firm

economic circle on this land—that was our priority.

"Indeed, there's not really any other option than to negotiate with your

opponent. But I'm actually pretty sympathetic towards them. They can't really

restrain you with economic sanctions nor through military suppression. It'll really

be hard for them to give any condition."

Elmesia shed a crocodile tear for our opponent.

But doesn't that logic apply to Sorcerer's Kingdom Sarion as well…

However, she had a point. Now our opponents were limited in their methods

of comeback.

"I see. I am aware of these already. But, did Rimuru-sama have other plans

as well to have treated those merchants so harshly—?" Geld asked.

He thought that I was being too harsh. Not every merchant was Muze's lackey,

some were probably just pressured into doing it, having been blackmailed by Duke

Muze. The fact that I punished them regardless of that was truly surprising to

everyone.

Naturally, I had my reasons.

I smirked and was about to explain before Myourmiles, who was all smiles,

interjected first, "Fufufu, that's very simple, everyone. Just as Emperor Elmesia

said, we were simply giving them an eye for an eye."

"What does that mean, Myourmiles?"

"An eye for an eye?"

"I still don't get it…"

Whether it was Benimaru, Rigurd or Geld. All of them were still confused by

this explanation.

Diablo seemed to have understood, but he was still quietly making tea. It would

seem that he hadn't recovered from his frustrated defeat just now. Seemed a bit

beaten.

Aren't you a demon and all, are you really that weak-minded…

"Rimuru-sama said that I would handle the rest of the matter. In other words,

I was to do a favor for those merchants that now had nowhere to go, and convert

them to our side instead."

Myourmiles sure was amazing. I thought that he might have known what I

meant, but I didn't expect him to understand this so clearly. I was going to confirm

with him later, but that doesn't seem necessary now.

—If you want to make these people behave, rather than resorting to threats

or intimidation, it is better to do them a favor. It is much simpler and has a higher

rate of success—

It was what Elmesia said, and I'm putting it into practice. Sticks and carrots

all at the same time. That's pretty much our tactic.

"I see, as expected of Rimuru-sama."

"So that's the case. You have my approval."

"So, Myourmiles-san, did we really manage to convert those merchants?"

"Fufufu, we are guaranteed not to fail. I said that I would personally plead for

them, and that was already a favor for those merchants. Thanks to Rimuru-sama's

threat back then, this whole thing was surprisingly simple!" Myourmiles, with the

expression of a scheming merchant, reported joyfully.

It's great that we have succeeded, but this seemed to make me look like some

sort of a villain. I'm somewhat offended by it, but I'll give it a pass.

And as such, everyone was on the same page and we proceeded to the next

motion.

***

Rather than calling it the next motion, I should have called it the main issue of the

day.

"As I've just said, the matters regarding those merchants will be handled by

Myourmiles-kun. The problem that has been troubling us for days has finally been

resolved, I want to have everyone comment about how they felt during the nation

founding festival. Any thoughts are welcome, don't reserve any of your opinions!"

As soon as I finished, Gazel let out a few dry coughs before quickly interjecting,

"Rimuru, as the leader of your ally nation, there's something I want to bring to

your attention. I've already commented on your out of line actions last night, this

time my question is the same. What were you thinking when you did it?"

"Eh, what do you mean?"

I didn't quite get what he said, but considering how pissed Gazel looked, I may

have messed things up again.

However, I still have no clue. If I have to decide, it would be with regards to

the handling of the merchants mentioned just now, but it didn't seem to be the

case…

"Are you really that self-aware? That's why I have to keep an eye on you this

entire time! Vesta, weren't you and Gabil-san the ones that developed the

projector machine? Wasn't it also your idea to give it some advanced application

so that even long-distance images could be replayed in real-time?"

"King Gazel, a-about that…"

Vesta's face had "Oh shit" written all over it.

Did Mr. Vesta get so into researching that he forgot to report back to King

Gazel?

Kaijin also muttered rather perplexedly: "This guy is still as careless as

always." It looked like he was right.

"King Gazel, it's not like that. Vesta-san and I indeed developed what you just

described and proposed to keep Demon Lord Clayman's legacy. However, the one

who wanted to combine video recording magic items and the projector, was

Rimuru-sama!"

Gabil was famous for his frankness. He revealed the whole ordeal without

hesitation.

His words made Vesta look awkward while I looked troubled.

"—It's just as I thought. Next time before you go public, could you at least give

me a heads up and discuss it with me a bit," Gazel, looking worn out, gave me this

rather straight-forward bit of advice.

To us, the projector's value was that it was a convenient and irreplaceable

invention for entertainment. But to the eyes of the kings and nobles of the Western

Nations, it was an entirely different case.

"This thing has way too many applications, to the point that they're

uncountable. At least to the crowd at the scene, everyone could tell its value,"

Gazel said unpleasantly.

I just thought that it would be great to have a large screen to watch the

expanded footage of the martial tournament and the labyrinth interior. And the

people loved it too…

But the device had given the officials of different nations quite a cultural shock,

it seemed.

"With something like that, it would change the whole concept of war," Gazel's

friend Pann said, Dorf-san also nodded in agreement.

They said that an immediate application would be in the military. One huge

advantage was that they could now command the army from a safe distance. The

officials of the army no longer had to risk themselves in any dangerous situation.

Instead they could send out scout troops to check on the enemy status and quickly

gain feedback to apply to their own army.

As opposed to the one-to-one "Magic Communication", this method would

enable many times more volume of intelligence transfer. Everyone could share the

same batch of information, and the accuracy of command would be greatly

improved.

We published the technology at random, and it could already be called ultrafuturistic. It seemed to be a revolutionary technology.

I was only thinking "It'll be good to have something like this" and ordered

people to construct the device. Yet it turned out that we made something

incredible.

I muttered unconsciously that "You should have told me this earlier," but I was

met with Gazel's stare and scolding "That was my line!"

I am reflecting now, but that's not the point of this meeting. Not everything in

this world will go according to our heart's content.

"B-but, you must require a high level of magicule to operate the machine. If

the mana of the user isn't high enough, it won't work. The distance and quantity

of the intelligence transfer also depends on the user's ability. It's not that simple

to apply it universally!"

I managed to cover my tail with this explanation. I had actually made

improvements regarding these drawbacks by developing a system to store

magicule. But it would be wise to save these words for later discussions with Gazel

in private.

"Anyhow, just don't publish something that can be suspected to be of military

usage so casually. You're the only one who wants to use it for entertainment…"

Gazel told me, baffled.

And when I thought it was over, it was Elmesia's turn to cut in.

"I can actually purchase similar inventions in the future. I heard that there's

something called a 'patent' in your world, right? I'm willing to pay the necessary

price to purchase the rights for your invention, and grant me the privilege to use

it first."

"Ah, then El-chan, please get this nation's bathing technology as well!"

"I got it, Elen. My negotiation with Yoshida-san has also gone well, you have

to drop by my place more often in the future!"

"That's for sure!"

I didn't even get the chance to respond before Elen cut in to add to the mess.

Elmesia also agreed happily. The two were sitting together like close siblings. This

was the emperor, who Elen was facing, so at the end of the day, even if they were

related by blood, this attitude was still way too casual.

On the other hand, I saw Elalude, her father's expression changed drastically

as he began to shout in panic, "Elen, what are you doing!"

"Y-your Majesty! Even though she's my daughter, please don't spoil Elen! Also,

Elen, you can't just call her Majesty the emperor 'El-chan'."

"Elalude, why do you talk so much?"

"Seriously, dad's always so dramatic."

I had a feeling that when these two got mixed together, things may get

dangerous. I suddenly felt bad for Elalude. Elen and Elmesia also shared a

surprisingly good chemistry. You can't fake a friendship like that, they were really

close to each other, going so far as to give high-fives. I couldn't feel their difference

in status at all.

Even the aristocrats of the Western Nations couldn't approach her—to most,

Emperor Elmesia Elaure Sarion was indeed such an elusive top figure. Yet the sight

in front of my eyes was really hard to imagine. Even the members of the Emperor's

Imperial Knights standing behind Elmesia looked surprised at the scene.

"Members of the Magus! What you saw is the equivalent of a national secret,

you must not leak this information!"

Although Elalude came out to give closure, there's no saying as to how effective

it was.

Elmesia, on the other hand, paid no mind to what Elalude or anyone else said,

she was gonna speak her mind regardless.

"Given this to be the case, I hope that you will send researchers to our

kingdom. Of course, it will be considered an official employment. We will be paying

the proper fee for instructing tech research."

"In other words, will you be in charge of finding the labor as well?"

"About that~I do want to do that. But if you are afraid of a possible leak of

your core technology, we can also export the necessary instruments to address

the issue."

"Um um, in that way, there will be a need to transport components made in

our nation."

To respond to Elmesia's request, many conditions had to be satisfied first. For

instance, the plumbing required for facilities relying on water, such as a kitchen,

bathroom, or toilet, were all the product of dwarven technology contributed by

Kaijin and the other dwarves. I wasn't sure whether technicians from Sarion could

recreate them or not, but it would also take too much time for them to learn the

technology from scratch.

With that being the case, it would be faster for us to export the domestically

produced machine parts directly to Sarion.

"Since you are sending the parts, I hope you will be using that thing called a

train. I will be providing funds for that as well; can you finish developing it faster?"

Elmesia said, seemingly having seen through my thoughts already.

Gazel has a Skill that can read minds, but does Elmesia have one as well? So

far there's no sign of that, but I better not get careless. Regardless of that, her

proposal is still worth considering.

"We still have yet to develop the train itself. That's why, if any scientists or

experts in magic from your nation are willing to offer assistance, it will certainly

help speed things up."

"Of course we will! Elalude—?"

"Yes ma'am! I'm on it right now."

Elalude was as loyal to Elmesia as it gets. He didn't look like a nobleman of

high authority, instead he seemed more like a conveniently placed errand boy.

Seeing how Elalude was behaving, Gazel turned to him with a sympathetic look.

Gazel had also previously mentioned that he couldn't raise his head before Elmesia

either, surely, he related a lot to Elalude.

And as such, Emperor Elmesia of the Sorcerer's Dynasty Sarion was willing to

personally provide assistance to us.

Sooner or later we would be signing a research agreement and begin research

cooperation officially. On one hand, we had Sarion with its pride of magic science,

and on the other hand, we have the spirit engineering developed in Dwargon. It

wouldn't be long before the dream of uniting the land was accomplished.

As for the "Surmounters" sent by Ruminas, we considered also letting them

join based on the circumstances. We would have to wait to see what kind of people they were. However, they may actually come up with some interesting ideas,

nonetheless.

"That's truly reassuring, Elmesia-san. Now that our research program has been

settled, surely our 'Magic Train' will be on its way soon."

"Ho? Is its name 'Magic Train'?"

"Yes, it is installed with a motor using spirits—the 'Spirit Magic Core'—and

manipulated using magic spells that would be implemented by magic science. Isn't

it perfect?"

"Hmph, as if it's that easy."

"How interesting! How very interesting. I really hope you make it real soon."

Gazel was calling me overly optimistic, but he said so with a smile on his face,

confident in my future success. It seems that he won't be giving me life advice

anytime soon.

Elmesia's reaction on the other hand was like a child discovering a new toy.

Her eyes were sparkling. It left a big impression on me, as it drew a very deep

contrast with the gloomy face on Elalude.

Anyhow, there's bound to be a lot of progress from now on.

"Let's lay down the tracks to Sarion first. We can build it alongside the road

construction. It will save us time as well."

Since our country was leading the charge, it was easy to standardize things.

Laying down the tracks wouldn't be throwing up any issues.

I responded based on these considerations.

"Hold on! I have a question about the 'tunnel' proposed by Benimaru-sama in

the past, is it really needed in the future?"

An unexpected question from an unexpected person. It was Momiji.

She asked us "Whether the tunnel was necessary," does it mean that she's

willing to let us dig through their mountain?

"If it's possible, I hope to dig tunnels in the future. First, we will set up a

checkpoint in Blumund, and then go through Farmenas until we reach the west

gate of Armored Kingdom Dwargon. Based on that, in order for people to be able

to move south from Blumund, we are expected to lay tracks to the streets of the

Sorcerer's Dynasty Sarion. It is hard enough to get the rights to use the land in

western kingdoms already, we will also run a lot of losses by taking the long route

around the mountains. But if this is something you dislike, then I wouldn't pursue

the project any further."

"I see. Then I will trust Rimuru-sama's words. If you guarantee not to cause

any harm to the holy mountain, I may consider giving you permission to dig this

'tunnel'."

"Really?"

"Yes, however, I have one condition. I hope that you can send Benimaru-sama

as the person in charge—" Momiji said while blushing. It went without saying that

I was an understanding man.

"Benimaru-kun!"

"Hold on! Rimuru-sama, are you selling me out?"

"Don't put it that way. Geld is handling some major cases now. If anyone's

better at leadership than him, it would be you."

Geld nodded in agreement to my words. In contrast, Benimaru looked shocked.

"There's no way I can handle it. To begin with, I don't even have any relevant

knowledge about construction work!"

Oh yeah, I guess he has a point.

"I see, so it really can't be…"

I was thinking about sacrificing Benimaru to get this thing over with. It would

seem that life just doesn't always go my way. I wasn't planning for Benimaru to

stay out for too long to begin with, this deal couldn't be done from the get-go.

"It is unfortunate, but Benimaru is my right-hand man. I suppose we still can

go together to inspect the construction at times—"

"Ah, that would do just fine. Please come and rest at our village when you do,"

Momiji said with a smile all over her face. Seeing Hakurou on the side, smirking

like his plot had come to fruition, it seemed that both of them had figured that this

matter would quickly solidify Benimaru and Momiji's relationship.

"Benimaru-kun, why don't you just give in to this?"

"I'm not doing that. But I suppose I can be Rimuru-sama's guard during

inspection," shrugging, Benimaru replied.

This was perhaps as much as Benimaru could back down for. I guess I'll take

what's on the table, Momiji was happy as well. If I pushed now, it would be abuse

of power. How their relationship would play out from here would be their own

doing.

And so, I managed to profit from it.

"Please just call me Momiji, Rimuru-sama."

Hakurou acknowledged as well, apparently, I didn't have to be that respectful

after all.

"Then, Momiji-san, is it okay for me to run an investigation to see whether the

locale is convenient for tunnel drilling?"

"It's fine. We don't have a problem with it, though I hope that you will run your

investigation carefully."

In other words, if the investigations showed that there was no issue, we could

begin the tunnel drilling.

The attitude of the Tengu clan had softened on the matter. The project could

finally proceed smoothly. How wonderful.

Next time I should also visit Momiji's mother Kaede-san.

I'd go with Hakurou when the opportunity arose.

"As you can see, Elmesia-san, we still hope that you can grant us the

permission to cross the border into Sarion and run the investigation—"

"Everything has been approved. Elalude, do as you see fit."

This was my ideal model of a ruler—Elmesia's attitude of pushing everything

to someone else to handle was giving me a lot of ideas.

"Yes ma'am. Emperor Rimuru, I will print out the necessary permits. However,

regarding the construction within our nation, please allow us to prepare civil

engineers."

Elalude seemed to have grown more and more wary. There's no way he wasn't

an excellent minister, having worked under such a free-spirited emperor. But

Elalude was still unwilling to comply with our terms without his own additional

condition.

If we were to handle all of the construction, it would probably cause much

inconvenience to them. I personally didn't object and agreed. Since both sides had

agreed to help each other, the deal was sealed.

We were going to open a reflection meeting, yet the important topic suddenly

got settled.

Since all of the big heads were gathered here, we skipped all the complicated

procedures and went straight to the deal-making. Everything progressed

surprisingly fast.

Well, most of this was thanks to Elmesia.

Under these circumstances, Youmu, who had been listening to us quietly, had

something to say.

"Young master—no, Emperor Rimuru. I have a question to ask, if it is

convenient?"

With all these powerful figures gathered at the meeting, raising his own opinion

already took a lot of courage. Youmu seemed to have grown considerably since

the last time we met.

"What is it, Youmu-san?"

"I was going to explain it personally, unfortunately, I'm not as educated, so is

it okay for my wife to explain?"

Wife? Does he mean Myuran? It'd be surprising if Youmu got some concubine,

surely that wouldn't happen to Youmu.

Although it turned out that my worries were unnecessary, the one who stood

up next was indeed Myuran.

"You look just as great as always, Emperor Rimuru."

"You too. Myuran-san, you look good, how wonderful."

"With the great debt I owe towards Emperor Rimuru, it is fine for you to call

my name directly."

No way. The meeting has been foiled by Elmesia with a bunch of casual

nonsense, we can't have ourselves stray from formality, though it seems it's too

late to say such things.

Then we will leave that for future discussion. Let's just talk casually now.

"Then, Myuran, what's on your mind?"

"Yes, your Majesty, the question is about the proposal Rimuru-sama just

mentioned—the route starting from the Blumund Kingdom, crossing through our

nation, and reaching Dwargon. I believe you used to have a goal—to strive for the

common prosperity of man and monsters—could you consider the project as part

of this goal?"

Man and monsters… Circle of common prosperity17?

17 This section's translation slightly deviates from the source, as in Japanese, the "Circle of common

prosperity for men and monsters" was a short phrase as opposed to this very long sentence in That sounds good to me.

"I suppose you can see it that way. By the way, great choice of words. You get

the idea immediately upon hearing the phrase."

To work towards a state where humans and monsters could prosper together.

Monsters as a whole came in a lot of different varieties too, though many of them

should actually be called demi-human. But putting that aside, the phrase common

prosperity really reflected my ideal.

With Tempest Federation at the center, there was Dwargon in the east,

Blumund in the west, and the huge monster circle led by Milim in the south.

There was also a large area of human residences further past Blumund

Kingdom. It was connected to the Farmenas Kingdom in the north, as well as the

grand domain of the Sorcerer's Dynasty Sarion in the south.

In addition—Blumund Kingdom was the window to the Western Nations.

If we had these kingdoms cooperating as well, the circle for human-monster

prosperity was gonna live up to its name.

"Thank you for your response. Then my question is this: our kingdom will do

what we can to help Rimuru-sama achieve this goal. Fortunately, our nations'

nobles were all very initimi—persuaded by Diablo-sama there, they have become

very obedient—I mean willing to help, well, mostly to the two of our opinions.

That's why we plan to start a national business as the first step of a newly-rising

nation. Based on these considerations—"

What should we do as business? That was Myuran's question.

"S-surely you should operate just as we planned before, running agriculture—

"

"It shouldn't be an issue. Everything has been proceeding as planned, we've

ordered people to handle specific crops."

"I see, what about—"

Huh—what about what?

I tried asking her about all the ideas I had, but it seemed that she had arranged

everything in order. Diablo had obviously tamed the noblemen, Youmu also gained

massive support among his people. In terms of the military might of different

factions within the nation, a consensus had also been reached.

The old Farmus had fallen, and the new nation of Farmenas had risen in its

place. The first step was to end the unrest within the nation, which seemed to have

been accomplished. In addition, they needed to comfort the citizens and gradually

move the nation's industrial focus to agriculture…

Diablo must have been behind the scenes to help, but Myuran also seemed to

have executed the long-term plan extraordinarily.

"Then could you gather those who are currently unemployed?"

English. Rimuru's inner monologue praises that it "sounded good to him", it was actually referring to

that the phrase Myuran used was smooth on the mouth. The phrase was used a couple more times

(as a name) later but would not be reflected in the English translation.

"We shall obey Rimuru-sama's order. If possible, we were actually thinking

about using our own manpower to lay down the railway tracks. Since it will become

a method of transportation for our agricultural products, surely, the transportation

network will be a major lifeline for our nation."

"Hmm, it would indeed. If you are not just growing the amount for your own

nation's consumption, you are going to get a lot of surplus in the future. You will

need to ship them to other nations in need, before they go bad. I think it will be

an important industry for your nation."

In the past, Farmus Kingdom would resell goods from Dwargon, those were

mostly handcrafts and gear, there was no concern over any items going bad. The

merchants were responsible for transporting these items, and the country could

easily profit via taxing tariffs.

This would no longer apply. The merchants would no longer be the sole

responsible party for the goods, the nation itself would be forced to raise its own

credibility. In store for them was the era of nations ensuring the legality of the

flow of goods.

"I look forward to the day when the 'Magic Train' runs through the great plains.

Surely the merchants in the future will change their trade model as well. We will

need to continue to learn in order to catch up with the trend."

"It will be faster than horse carriages. Goods that are expected to be delivered

in a week, it will only take three hours in the future. The storage space required

will probably be a hundred times more than before."

" " "WHAT!" " "

Gazel and Elmesia had seen this coming, so they didn't seem surprised, but

the same couldn't be said about the rest of the people at the scene. The news was

probably too shocking, making everyone go numb. As for Yuuki, Hinata and

Masayuki, they gave off a slightly different dry smile respectively.

"Anyhow, we need to purchase the land for laying tracks early, I want to plan

out a straight and effective transportation route. Geld's men, as well as the

beastmen studying at our town, have already learnt how to survey land. I will still

do the final confirmation, but the rest of the work will be left to them. Myuran, you

can find labor for them to command. Please bring someone who's literate to lead

them and also divide them into different platoons."

"Understood. It's truly making me look forward to it," Myuran accepted my

proposal.

Apparently, they were planning to offer us aid in the first place, the matter had

been resolved smoothly.

Then it was Fuze's turn to raise his hand.

"Because of all the important figures gathered here, I waited until now to say

anything," he ended his sentence with a wry smile.

Fuze was there since the pre-festival night. But he was timid, seeing all of the

people gathered around, and didn't come up to talk to me.

I noticed that as well, but I couldn't find the appropriate time to talk with him.

Although he seemed to have enjoyed himself during the festival, I planned to greet

him later and just forgot about it.

"Ah, sorry. I was going to greet you back then."

"Rimuru-sama seemed busy then as well, it's alright. By the way, my friend

wanted to talk to you too, this is great timing. What he has to say relates to what

has just been discussed."

Fuze then introduced me to Baron Veryard, who I also knew well. I recalled

him to be an experienced man who should not be underestimated.

"I am Veryard. I kind of forced my way to the meeting today. First of all, I

want to thank Emperor Rimuru. And to everyone here, it is a pleasure to meet

you."

He stood with great gesture and bowed elegantly. He clearly knew how to

deliver a good greeting, nothing like some lowly noble from a small kingdom.

"Then, allow me to ask a question in the stead of the ruler of Blumund

Kingdom, King Dolam."

Veryard suddenly squinted his eyes at the seats next to him.

The aforementioned royal couple were sitting there. So, you guys actually

came? I'm really not sure, considering how little presence you've shown

throughout the meeting.

I told King Dolam that we would have a proper conference planned after this

meeting, now it would be unnecessary. This was the equivalent of the later

conference.

Although Dolam was smiling like a nice guy, I couldn't help but ask, "Is this

really okay." Let's put that aside for now, Veryard began to speak.

"As Fuze has mentioned, what Rimuru-sama has said is highly relevant to the

future development of Blumund. King Dolam also predicted that our nation will

become an important hub for the flow of goods. I've also had my theory before

finally understanding after hearing your speech. In other words, your Majesty

wishes to make our country a gathering point of all exports, is that right? Your

Majesty mentioned that once this 'Magic Train' appears, the concept of logistics

would change forever. If you are making our nation into a hub of sorts, surely

goods from all over the continent would come through. In that case, we will need

people managing these goods. In addition, if your Majesty wishes us to investigate

what each nation is lacking in supply, that should also be properly arranged.

Rimuru-sama, is this the role that you wish our nation to play?"

As expected from Veryard, being nothing like Fuze, he was quick on his feet.

He had spelt out everything in my head.

"That's the role indeed, will you be willing to do it? While it goes without saying,

you can also just provide us with the venue to operate. I shall promise to pay up

the fee for using the land with the amount of tariff we earned each year."

"Surely you jest. You shouldn't underestimate our people as folks who are

satisfied with a lazy life of making profits from margins, and exclude us from the

system. We will be training our people from now on, so as to prepare for the

future!"

Oh snap. Just how far ahead is this guy planning?

I at least had the very competent Raphael-sensei with me, but how could this

guy catch up with me, using just a human brain? This was beyond being a

visionary, this man was very intelligent.

Surely Blumund Kingdom would have dramatic change that completely altered

their past values. That was not just limited to Blumund, but surely there would be

some major reformations.

Veryard had seen that clearly from the start, and so he had announced that

they were already preparing for it. This man was something else. No wonder he

managed to get his way with me. I was right to not underestimate this type of

person.

It's a relief that he's not an enemy, seriously.

"Then there is a favor that I must ask. I'll need to trouble you guys with

investigating the export items to each nation and build a system that delivers what

is needed to where they are needed. Since your kingdom has a good intelligence

network, won't you be great at the job?"

"Aha, I see Rimuru-sama is not one to be underestimated. Very well, I shall

reflect in detail regarding the matter when I return."

You can say that about yourself, I thought to myself as I nodded.

I was only planning to open a reflection meeting about the festival, yet it turned

out to be something so troublesome that it had worn me out. But it had a lot of

value nonetheless, since our negotiation with Blumund was successful. I thought

it would take a lot more time to finish this difficult negotiation. Thankfully Baron

Veryard was there.

I'm unsure as to whether that was a blessing or a curse, but since we've

reached this point, let's just ask them nicely for cooperation.

Upon thinking so, I began to worry over what to ask of Veryard.

***