A Village of Ogres

AN: Sorry everyone for the lack of uploads recently but things have been chaotic recently. My lease is up soon and I'm going to be moving next month so I was scrambling to find another place to live (which doesn't raise the rent by $500 every year as my current place did), as well as putting in a lot more work which I confirmed will be earning me a promotion next quarter.

Yes yes, praise me, praise me.

Anyway, at that time the new Tensura volume came out and I got really pissed that the author Fuse totally stole my 'turned into a manas' idea, though he flipped it so that rather than Velzard becoming the Manas, (spoilers: Twilight became the Manas for Velzard).

I wish I didn't mark 'complete' on my previous work now, since there is a lot I'd like to re-write about it now, but oh well.

Anyway, let's move on to the next chapter of this story!

.~.~.~.

"This is the problem with you Japanese people! You worry too much about things like, 'remaining human' and stuff!" I complained as Rimuru, Shizu, and I walked through the forest.

"NO! NO! NO! NO! No way in hell can I use a sword made by Big G God as my normal weapon! Just holding onto the thing makes me feel like I'm becoming less human!" he explained.

"News flash, you're a slime!" I countered.

"With a human soul!" Rimuru shot back.

I clicked my tongue. "Stingy"

"Um, Lord Veldora, I don't think that's the right usage of that word," Shizu interjected.

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever... This guy just wants his Katana because he's an Otaku!" I accused.

Rimuru's eye twitched. "I don't care if it's a Katana or not, besides didn't you say that you wanted to learn how to forge swords anyway?"

I sighed. "I kinda doubt any mortal being is capable of teaching me how to solidify and crystallize a part of my essence into a workable material anyway, which is kinda the first step."

"Well until you get that first step done, it'll be good to get rid of the magisteel we'd separated and soaked in our auras specifically to make our weapons, right?" Rimuru replied.

I closed my eyes. "I guess..." My attention drifted from the conversation to the area around us.

I felt her presence and decided to open up a telepathic conversation. '*Whats up Treyni?*' I asked.

'*A group of the Orcs have split off and is headed in this direction. They will be in the Ogre Village by around midnight if they keep their current pace, which they will seeing as they are still under the effects of [Starved].*' She reported.

I nodded and sighed. '*Alright. I'll negotiate with the village then. I guess its time to enforce my mandate over the forest, huh? This is still my territory after all.*' I reply, more thinking to myself than actually wanting to respond to Treyni's report.

'*As you wish.*' Treyni replied respectfully before disconnecting.

"Veldora? Are you alright? You went quiet, which is strange for you." Rimuru asked.

"You make it sound like I like the sound of my own voice." I teased back.

"You don't?" He asked.

"Oh no, I do, but I just didn't think you'd noticed!" I stated confidently.

Shizu sighed and shook her head. "Men." She muttered but I ignored her.

"Stop right there!" a voice came from in front of us.

We all looked forward to seeing a rather busty purple-eyed and purple-haired Ogre with a Morningstar standing ahead of us. Her face, although a bit wild, was still rather attractive in that savage warrior sort of way. Even though Rimuru and Shizu weren't trying to hide their aura all that much, the woman either didn't seem to notice or care.

"This is the territory of the Ogre Clan! What business do you have with us?" She declared.

Rimuru looked like he wanted to speak but I took a step forward, glaring at the woman. "Bold of you to declare this as YOUR territory," I said, my eyes gleaming red as my aura began to leak out from my form. The air suddenly became denser, the wind picked up, and small streaks of electricity ran along the ground followed by a small rumbling.

The Purple Ogre flinched as she noticed and took up a stance, not looking away from me.

"What the heck is that!?!" I heard a yell from the village behind the Purple Ogre as footsteps rapidly approached our location.

"Sir Vel-" Shizu tried to reach out to me and calm me but she was cut off by her instincts which told her to withdraw her weapon and block a strike aimed directly at Rimuru.

"Hoh!?! That Majin's lackeys are quite formidable as well, huh?" A white old ogre mused to himself, refusing to budge and move his sword away from where it had caught Shizu's.

"I'll have you know I am not his lackey. Such assumptions won't be met with kindness in the future." Shizu said, glaring as her old battle instincts flared at the challenge the Ogre seemed to present.

"Hohoho, it seems I'll need to be careful then." The Ogre replied.

By now, half of the village was now armed and standing in front of me, seeming weary.

"Alright STOP!" Rimuru yelled as he ran up to me. "I don't think fighting is what we came here for, right!?!" He pleaded with me.

I looked down at the worried Rimuru with a blank face and sighed. "Rimuru, I like you. I really do. You are a good, no, you are my best friend, however, you are far too naive." I explained.

Rimuru looked confused so I continued. "We are monsters. Not humans, even if you still want to pretend that you are. there are certain things a monster cannot back down from, and territory is one of them." I explained.

"But we came here to get their help!" He pleaded.

"No, YOU came here for their help. I tagged along because it's been a long time since I inspected my territory and I knew these people just so happened to have a similar cultural aesthetic to Japanese and the kind of equipment you'd like, however, because it had been so long it seems others require a lesson in who really owns this forest." I said, the last part glaring at the Ogres who seemed reluctant and afraid but still willing to fight.

"But you can't just kill them! It's not right or fair!" Rimuru pleaded.

I sighed. Rimuru was still under the mindset of what was 'fair' and what wasn't. He hadn't adopted the 'Might Makes Right' philosophy that governed this new world, still clinging to the imaginary structure and rigidity of the civilized society that Japan has become on modern earth. This would be something that I'd have to beat out of him in the future but right now was not that time.

"Rimuru, do you remember what I told you about the Goblins?" I asked

Rimuru flinched but nodded.

"If you want to help them, then they will become your responsibility, but monsters only respect strength," I said.

Rimuru nodded and looked at me seriously. "I understand and will handle it." he said before turning around.

I calmed my aura and allowed Rimuru to continue walking forward.

"Um... people of the Ogre Village-" Rimuru began.

"Silence! You have disgraced and trespassed upon the territory of the Ogre Clan! Prepare yourselves!" A Red-haired ogre yelled as he and a number of other warrior-looking ogres reached out their hands as a stream of fire poured out!

"""{Ogre Flame}}}!""" They yelled in unison as a circle of fire engulfed Rimuru.

"Rimuru!" Shizu shouted, momentarily loosing her focus.

"Naive!" The Old White Ogre said as he attempted to take off Shizu's head, only for him to receive a devastating {Wind Blade} from me, saving her life. I didn't hold back much but it surprised me that he didn't die, though with the gapping gash in his gut, I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't live much longer.

Shizu, didn't even stop to look at me and say thanks or even acknowledge me at all, only running towards Rimuru before being stopped.

"I'm alright!" Rimuru replied to Shizu's worry, walking out of the tower of fire that encircled him. "Sorry, but I am immune to fire." He explained to everyone.

I rolled my eyes. 'If he just became a Demon Lord, he'd be immune to much more than just fire.'

Tension hung in the air before Rimuru took a step forward.

A blur of blue suddenly lept out towards Rimuru and attempted to stab him in his left eye, only for that part of Rimuru's face to suddenly be covered in a thick armored surface, which broke the blade of the Blue ninja-like Ogre on impact. Rimuru's having taken no obvious damage while he waved his hand, copying my {Wind Blade} but dulling the edge into just a powerful gust with threw the attacker back.

The whole battlefield remained silent, the Ogres staring at Rimuru wondering what his next move would be. Rimuru himself had closed his eyes and seemed to be thinking.

The moment Rimuru opened his eyes, he raised his hand to the sky and immediately created a massive ball of [Black Flame]... no it was [Black Flame-Thunder].

I smirked when I saw it. This attack would kill most True Demon Lords if it hit them, though no one worth mentioning would be hit by it. I was still surprised that Rimuru had synthesized this Skill though. It was quite powerful, bordering on the Ultimate Level of Skills in terms of potency of attack.

"Well then? Shall we continue? Or maybe we can talk like normal people." Rimuru offered.

"Tsk! What should we do?" The Red-haired ogre from before thought aloud. While the fire in his eyes had dimmed due to the obvious hopelessness of continuing the fight, I had to hand it to him, he was still determined to go down swinging. I smirked.

"Do we pass?" A pink-haired older woman ogre asked as she walked up to me, showing no fear or hesitation. Slightly behind her, a smaller version of herself, most likely her daughter.

I nodded again. "It seems you Ogres haven't lost your tenacity," I stated as my mood visibly improved.

"Mother!" The Red Ogre yelled in concern, only for an older and stronger-looking Red Ogre to place his hand on the young one's shoulder to reassure him.

The older red ogre nodded at his probable son for a moment as the Ogres stood down. Rimuru, seeing this, smiled. "I don't need this anymore, right?" He asked the older ogre, who shook his head and Rimuru deactivated his Skill.

Rimuru walked over to the old white ogre and splashed a healing full potion on him to heal him up, now that hostilities had ceased.

I turned to the pink milf ogre who bowed and greeted me. "To what do we owe the pleasure, Lord Veldora?" She asked.

"""...EEEEEEHHHHHHHHHH!?!?!?!?!?!""" All the Ogres screamed in shock.

...

In a meeting room in the Chieftain's residence, Milf Pink was currently pouring me a cup of tea as her husband bowed his head. "I apologize for the earlier disturbance, Lord Veldora." Old Red Ogre apologized loudly.

I waved my hand dismissively. "Nah, don't worry about it too much. I was testing you guys anyway, also, I haven't exactly made myself known in any of your lifetimes." I stated.

"Hohoho. I believe we'd met previously, Lord Veldora." Old White Ogre mentioned.

I looked at him and nodded. "I think you were a young man back then, weren't you? What happened to that angel girlfriend of yours?" I asked.

"Angel?" Rimuru asked.

I turned to him briefly. "Yeah, this guy's had a girlfriend who was an angel possessing a beastman's body to create a new kind of monster. I think it was called a tengu or something." I explained.

The Old Ogre seemed a bit down now. "Unfortunately Kaede left us a long time ago. I believe she now runs the Tengu settlement in the mountains to the South." He said.

I nodded in understanding. "I'm sorry for your loss then... I think." I stated which got a chuckle from the old ogre before I turned back to the Chief Ogre.

He waited a moment to ensure I wasn't going to say anything before asking what he wanted to ask all this time. "Lord Veldora, if I may, may I inquire as to your reason for visiting our village this day?" He asked, trying to sound polite.

I nodded. "A couple of things. The first and most important is that my son here, Rimuru is looking for a good weapon... well a weapon he can use for day-to-day training and whatnot since the weapon I gave him is too powerful to use for everyday things." I explained.

"I'm not your son..." Rimuru muttered but was lightly smacked by Shizu to shut him up, earning a light chuckle from everyone.

While that was going on, the Milf Ogre finished serving tea and bowed, leaving the room. I followed her with my [Magic Sense] skill and noticed she was approaching a gray-looking ogre among the crowd of Ogres that was outside the home, waiting nervously. She asked for him to come inside and I inferred that he was probably the blacksmith. As Chief Ogre explained that he would have the finest blacksmith in the village make the weapon, I tuned him out and watched their approach.

"This is him now!" Chief Ogre said as he introduced Blacksmith Ogre.

"H-hello, Lord Veldora, Lord Rimuru, Lady Shizu." Blacksmith Ogre said, bowing lightly.

I nodded as I looked at him. "Great. How long will it take you to make Rimuru here the best quality Katana you can using 'this' as your material?" I asked as Rimuru pulled out his chunk of Magisteel which looked like it was on the verge of evolving into Adamantite it was so saturated with energy.

Blacksmith Ogre's eyes lit up. "Amazing! I've never seen a piece of Magisteel of such amazing purity and overwhelming energy!!!" He exclaimed, falling into a trance as he stared at it in awe.

The Chief Ogre cleared his throat, getting Blacksmith Ogre to flinch and suddenly regain his awareness. "Oh! yes! Right! Um..." He looked at it. "If it is to be the personal weapon of Lord Veldora's Son then I would need time to craft it... Three Days should suffice!"

I sighed. "Well, that's disappointing," I stated.

Rimuru looked at me weirdly and so did Shizu. "Why is that weird? My weapon took 5 days to make and it isn't made of anything nearly as good as that?" Shizu stated.

"Well, considering this Village probably won't be here by tomorrow, three days is way too long," I stated.

The Ogres in the room all tensed up, as did Rimuru while Shizu narrowed her eyes. "W-what do you mean, Lord Veldora!?!" Chief Ogre asked.

"About five thousand Orcs are marching towards this village about now. I doubt they are going to be peaceful given their mindless rampaging state." I explained.

"WHAT!?!" The Chief Ogre yelled as he stood up, ready to rush and defend his village.

"Relax. I'm here and will take care of it." I stated, calming him down, though the worry never left the Ogre or Blacksmith's face.

The Chief nodded but lowered his head, still uncertain. "I-I understand. Thank you, Lord Veldora!"

I shook my head casually. "Don't mention it, it's probably just some Majin trying to take over the Forest since I've been 'missing' since my release. I've got the Dryads keeping an eye on them."

The Ogre Chieftain sighed in relief. "That's good. I suppose anyone who wishes to claim dominion over this forest must go through you in order to do so, huh? I can't imagine that even any Demon Lords would be capable of such a thing!" The Chieftain stated.

I know he was just trying to butter me up, but his words gave me an idea... a battle for control over the forest with the winner becoming a Demon Lord.

'Scylla, the Orc Lord, Rimuru, this Ogre Chieftain, maybe even the Lizardmen or the other races... yeah let's do it!' I thought as I began to laugh menacingly, scaring the others.

"V-Veldora, what's wrong?" Rimuru asked.

I turned to him with an evil look on my face. "Rimuru my friend! I just had a great idea!" I stated.

"Yeah?" Rimuru asked, looking uncertain, which only made me grin more viciously.

"A contest!" I declared.

"A contest?" Shizu asked, curiously.

I nodded. "The Forest needs an administrator, I'm not going to stay here forever, nor always be in the forest, but that person will basically be the one running the day-to-day of it all!" I explained.

"Yeah? And?" RImuru asked with uncertainty, dread crawling up his back.

"To the humans, this person will essentially be the 'Ruler of Monsters!' a Demon Lord in all but name! But that's where I come in!" I explained.

Rimuru's eyes went wide. "You don't mean!?!"

I smirked. "Oh yeah, baby! The winner of this test is going to become the new Demon Lord!" I said excitedly.

'This way you'll be forced to accept becoming a Demon Lord or you'll be forced to work under someone else!' I thought.

"""Eeeeehhhhhhh!?!?!?!""" Everyone yelled in surprise!