The Meeting

After Rimuru returned home, she was just in time for doing what's next.

'Rimuru-sama, how did it go?' Benimaru asked her as she came back home. She had gone out to make sure the chief was sincere with Souei. If he was, he'd get a Name and Evolution. If not, well...no idea.

'Mm. The Chief is indeed, a sincere man with a good head on his shoulders.' said Rimuru. 'His character is such that I let him become an A-Class Monster like you guys.'

'I see...so what did you name him, young miss?' Hakurou inquired.

'I named him Aldrich.' said Rimuru, spelling the name in the air with glowing magic lights. 'He's now a Draconian. He's very powerful now but will need re-training while schooling his son at the same time so things won't be easy for him for now. It'll be tough on him. After dinner we'll have a meeting.'

And so...

Inside the log cabin that serves as their lounge room...

A Conference has begun with Rimuru as the head.

From the Hobgoblins: Rigurd, Rigur, Rugurd, Regurd, Rogurd, and Ririna.

Don't blame her for the names, she's not that good in naming men and er quality gets less the more she names. She was better at naming her fellow ladies!

King Gazel, getting wind of Myrd's intel came for a personal visit to their disbelief. He represents the Dwarves. Garm was present as he also represents Developmental, Construction and Manufacturing Progress.

The Kijin came except for Shuna who will make tonight's dinner fit for a royal visit. They ensured Shion is in the meeting thus cannot go near the kitchens for their safety, and to avoid antagonizing Dwargon who'd accuse them of assassinating a royal...with poisoned food. Bad thoughts there so yes, it's imperative Shion is in the meeting. Despite the no-meat ban being obeyed by everyone, Rimuru made a whole exception for the village to be fair.

'Only until while King Gazel's around! But when he leaves, back to being vegetarians!'

Department of Production is supervised by Ririna, the fourth chief.

Department of Governance has Rigurd at the top, and three chiefs making up the judicial, legislative, and executive branches.

However, this particular department is not completely established yet, but that's a problem for the future.

Department of War by Benimaru and Hakurou.

Department of Intelligence by Souei.

Department of Defense by Rigur.

At present, we have only six departments active in our city and still developing as they are still forming ideas on better governing process.

Currently, everyone is living with little worry about food.

The department of defense is also regulating hunting, ensuring NOBODY hunts meat until winter so that sector should be fine. If Rimuru thinks about it, Rigur is handling things well. As Hobgoblin Prince, he's doing a good job enforcing rules and discipline.

Frankly, about the department of war, Benimaru knows nothing except numbers of soldiers when it comes to the art of war.

So it's an appointment in name only. It was something that they had to do.

Ririna shows promise. After obtaining a potato-like plant, she succeeded in its cultivation that they opened another farmland plot for it and aim to produce 10000 as well per harvest. With short harvest cycles, and high nutritional value, it will improve their food supply.

The construction and manufacturing departments are completely left to the Dwarf Brothers with Kurobe joining them as the Weaponsmith as Armor was Garm's forte but wasn't good with weapons. Apparently, he likes designing armor and clothing more than weaponry that with Kurobe joining, their village has no more problems.

Rimuru tasked Kurobe with a secret project known only to them, though Souei had his own way of knowing. Rimuru taught him what ninja should REALLY be, not how most anime portrayed it as. And hot damn he took it to the next level, because he gained some of her skills that suited his talents.

Heck, what's not fair?

He can make clones appear from any direction. She could not do that.

While their abilities drop, they have no movement restrictions. Furthermore, he can deploy six clones without any restrictions.

And even if I say their abilities decrease, that's only about their vigor(HP) and magical energy(MP)–it becomes 1/10th of original. Their movement abilities and attack power are completely unchanged. Hers?! Grrrr...sooo not fair!

Maybe he took being a Ninja too damn seriously, when he once asked her about the culture of Japanese warriors...because he was interested with Japanese Culture that was the original world of Byakuya Araki and Rimuru knew through another Japanese: Shizu Izawa.

Rimuru has YET to tell them that she too, is Japanese!

She gave him a mix of history and how some anime realistically portrayed Ninja, but had to tweak it upon seeing how serious Souei was. Thus she removed the 'unsavory bits' for his own sake. The ninja world is too dark for ANYONE in this world.

Which is why how he found out what she tasked Kurobe to do in secret. Make swords with 100% Magisteel in them. One for her, one for Benimaru, Hakurou, Souei, and Shion. That way when they get stronger, their weapons will evolve alongside them the more it is exposed to their magicule strength. Once he's done making those, he is to hide them after creation as the swords glow for days upon being finished. Katana-styled of course but to make it deadlier, they are to be double-edged.

Because it was so secret Rimuru had to give him a certain amount of Magisteel each sword he makes to hide it better. And thanks to a Kijin's strength and his Fire Manipulation powers as well as his Researcher skill, it would be easy for Kurobe to spam out swords every day like dwarves do, when for a human blacksmith, it takes weeks to months to create just one. Since Rimuru doesn't need a sword yet, she had him prioritize Benimaru's and Hakurou's first and next is Souei's before girls last.

The sword Rimuru has is merely an ornate cheap sword she bought to serve as a reminder that she would train next year once she masters her human form. Its not even her real weapon.

She squeaked when he mentioned he knows and asked him to KEEP IT QUIET and WHY...so he kept quiet on her request

After all, not even a King owns a sword that's 100% Magisteel dammit.

Now at the meeting...

'After village issues, let's move onto a pressing concern.' said Rimuru. 'Souei.'

'Yes.' Souei nodded. 'Upon becoming a Kijin and inheriting some convenient skills from Rimuru-sama, I was able to gather information in many places at once and grasp the situation of three things: the remaining Goblin Villages, the Marshes, and the Orc Army.' he began.

The Goblin Villages followed Gabiru, Chieftain Aldrich's...errant son. Considering their village has an interest in allying with the Lizardmen tribe, what happens, if the old chieftain steps down, with a prince like Gabiru?

So Rimuru went ahead to cement their alliance by Naming the old chieftain and skipped Dragonewt all the way to Draconian, an A-Rank Monster, and that evolution rejuvenated the elderly chieftain like her naming had done for Hakurou.

Gabiru respects those who had power.

When he got named by Gelmud, he was slightly stronger than the chieftain that he got quite the attitude. Justifiably, who wants an ally like that, especially with a mindset that dreams of being Ruler of Jura Forest yet hopes to serve someone else's pawn?

So Rimuru evolved the Chieftain, to school his son before he retires. That, or he names his daughter as Chieftess Successor! They refuse to ally with an idiot. Particularly an unwittingly-manipulated idiot who changes his tune based on who has power.

'Well, I agree with that one.' King Gazel agreed grimly with Rimuru's cold assessment. 'Not good for business, unless he's of use politically or economically, but dealing with such a person can drive you to drink.'

'Experience?' Hakurou asked Gazel with a raised eyebrow. King Gazel can only grumble as affirmative.

'There are also those that didn't join Gabiru.' Souei continued. 'They ran to other directions, only to be met with their demise as subjugation targets by Adventurers wandering about.' he said. 'Those that DID join Gabiru, are 7000 in number.'

'That's quite a lot...' Rigurd mused. 'As each tribe doesn't have much fighters, he must have gotten them from more than a hundred tribes to amass that number. Idiot he may be but one cannot deny Gabiru is charismatic.'

'Well realistically, those that died are higher than those who survived.' said Souei. 'There are those foolish enough to ally with the Orcs as they are now under an Orc Lord, they just ended up being slaughtered as provisions.' his listeners cringed at the notion. 'Then as for these tribes who joined the Lizardmen...their survival and reliability will depend on Chieftain Aldrich now, now that Gabiru's command is taken off.'

'That's the problem Souei.' said Rigurd. 'I know what we used to be like back when we were Goblins before we got lucky with Rimuru-sama.' he said with a pained grimace. The other goblin lords winced at his words. 'Even with a competent commander, given a goblin's intellect, surviving a conflict is just pipe dream. The most likely survivors are our village and our allies.'

'There's that.' said Garm, agreeing with Rigurd.

Goblins are not intelligent. At all. They learn by watching but otherwise, are ferals.

'If we allow the orcs to invade this far, the forest ecosystem would probably collapse. So much for my plans of letting prey species restore their numbers first for our sakes come winter.' Rimuru grumbled unhappily. 'Which is why we must stop them at the marshes. The Orcs' next stop is most likely there. But to feed a forever-hungry band, 10000 will only feed 10000 orcs. And the wetlands are rich with aquatic prey to boot.' she said. 'There are three paths with a wide path big enough for that marching army...'ne runs from the Canaat Mountain range. The other along Ameld river. These connect north forest and south forest.'

'But this is not a straight path, as the river runs east along the way. They could probably have the soldiers cross at the place where Ameld river meets the Eastern Empire's river. However, there is no route that could support a large army from the orcs' current position. Therefore, they probably decided to invade the marsh from the west. However, the forest will hamper their attempts to move beyond the river.'

'There is a community of Treants in this forest, so avoiding them would leave the orcs' army less exhausted.' said Hakurou. 'The western route had our village, but its fate is common knowledge now.' he said grimly as the Kijin pursed their lips at the reminder.

They were a high class race, but too few in number. Thus, the orcs decided to avoid the route with the Treants, who were similarly high classed but many.

And, after eliminating the oni, they opened the invasion route to the marshes and were now planning their formation.

'However, with 200,000 soldiers, how are they keeping them fed? What are they doing about food?' Gazel asked Souei with a frown. 'Feeding on the inhabitants isn't realistic. People will fall down from hunger.'

To his question, Souei answered,

'I looked into it. A group of common foot soldiers escorts caravans of food. However, there is clearly not enough...'

With some hesitation, he quickly added,

'This is but my opinion, but I think they've had deaths from starvation and resorted to cannibalism of the dead...'

What an unpleasant thing he had said.

Uee... were orcs such a race?

'N-No matter how omni...' Rimuru squeaked out, blue-faced in disgust. Ririna looked ready to puke but held back. Shion had to heave to NOT feel nauseaous from the idea.

'They do indeed eat anything, but isn't this much expected?' Rigurd inquired shakily while looking ill.

To that question,

'No, I am not certain about this. However, there are no bodies after they leave. And our village has also been wiped clean, without anything remaining when I investigated before.' said Souei grimly. 'Its Orc Lord's Starved One's skill.'

Without waiting for Souei's response, Benimaru concluded.

'Yeah, with a skill like that, as long as it's alive, it's edible.' he shuddered.

'Oi oi, what about species with poison?!' Rimuru squawked out.

'It won't matter.' Benimaru shook his head. 'If Orc Lord ate someone with Poison Resistance, the whole army inherits it but as long as he's alive, they keep the power of anyone they ate. But if he dies...they lose all their gains, becoming D-Class Monsters again.'

'In the first place, not enough time had passed since the last one.' said Hakurou. 'I wasn't even born yet when the last one happened but he was dealt with swiftly back then unlike now.' he said. 'But now, he's already grown and prepared an army. If he lacks some intelligence, then there's a high chance that the demon lord had forcefully accelerated his growth and Gelmud is most likely dictating his actions as he's lost partly or his entire sanity thus needed direction.'

'Mm. Next destination is the Lizardmen. With an army of 10000 strong.' said Souei. 'They're a large community but most likely the non-fighters, women and children are already evacuated, leaving behind the fighters, the Ruling Family and the Village Elders.'

'I can already predict what Gabiru's thinking when he recruited the goblins given his personality.' said Rimuru curtly. 'It's mean, but its a valid strategy that will only buy not even a minute so it's pointlessly a waste of life that can't even fulfill a single purpose. But the 10000 numbers will for us to get there on our Tempest Wolf pack. With full speed, we'll get there in record time. We have to end it at the marshes. We can't battle anywhere else.' Rimuru decided. 'We'll let ourselves loose, and compensate Aldrich afterward if we make too much mess!'

'Yes!'

The wolves have a speed of 80 mph thus it'll take less than 3 days to get there. For a normal monster, it takes seven days from point A to point B. Rimuru at high speed takes just hours. But nobody here is like Rimuru. In reality, only twelve people can go! Rimuru, four Kijin, Rigur, Gobta and their other skilled Hobgoblin fighters.

'Chieftain Aldrich inherited Thought Communication from me as well and one of Souei's clones are keeping watch over the Orcs.' said Rimuru. 'Should the Orcs move for the marshes, we leave immediately to arrive on time. As for us as a precaution, the evacuation team will be led by the dwarf trio. They memorized the cave layout so when Shuna closes the gates with her magic, our people can rest easy as we stocked our food there and where Veldora's prison used to be, is a lake full of clean, clear water rich in magicules so they'll be OK for a few days.' she told Gazel.

'I have confidence in our win considering what we are, but as a precaution, I instructed the evacuation team that if we win, I will flare my aura three times. But if none happened after a week, they are to travel to Dwargon for safety.' she said. 'So I ask of his majesty to take in our village.' she requested as a guardian.

'Mm. Its unlikely for you and your team of A-Classes to lose, but preparing precautionary measures is also good.' said Gazel. 'Very well, if the impossible happens, I'll let the hobgoblins and two kijin be citizens of my country. Kurobe and Princess Shuna aren't fighting types after all.' he promised her.

'That settles things.'

'Mm.'

Those words ended the conference.

'Well, let's have dinner now that we've decided on our actions.' said Rimuru. 'The rest is now up to us.'

xxx

'Your village is still barely a step into actual civilization by the looks of things.' Gazel commented as he walked around with Rimuru. She was floating alongside him like a ghost, having been informed that she was still adjusting to sensations and walking on legs. That she would take up the sword training next year.

'Land clearing was the hard part that took us months since we left Dwargon, along with building a sewage system and making a useful farmland. Those three things will take up most of our time.' Rimuru shrugged. 'A lot of digging and installing had to be done, before we can build a good house over it with pipes from bathrooms and kitchen sinks leading to the drains. Until the sewage network is finished, we can't even build a single permanent house yet, so we're all in Temporary Housing. Food and Water as well as clothing is at least, covered for real. It helps that Shuna brought in a new type of fabric that's plentiful when a particular season happens. That way, we can stop relying on animal hide as clothes in the near future as shopping in Dwargon is our alternative...but self-sustaining is the goal here as monsters don't own money.'

'Mm. Anyways, do you still have some Magisteel?' Gazel asked her.

'I do.' said Rimuru. 'Do you wanna outfit your elites?'

'I plan to do more business in the future based on Magisteel acquisition.' said Gazel. 'But resources are finite, especially as your father isn't around anymore to make your 20% ore happen any more. So until then, I hope to monopolize what is within my reach, and for my own retinue to catch up with another country in terms of strength.'

The current strongest country, is Ruberios according to the brothers, in terms of Military Strength.

Their strongest members are all Saints. The Clerics of the Seven Luminaries who are all Hero-Class Warriors who train generations of the Ten Great Saints.

Nevermind the Crusaders and Paladins under them, but those two groups, one can say, are Ruberios' true military force. Being an Enlightened, is Minimum Requirement to be in that group.

It seems that to compete with that...she'll have to employ Anime Tactics for survival long before their town gains notoriety for being a village of Named Monsters. Her Hunter Unit of 50 members only, her actual fighting force before the Kijin joined them, will have to be trained to be able to compete with those Paladin guys. Hakurou will be busy. Very busy in the coming months...

'Very well. A couple thousand is left. How will you lug all that home?'

'I'm sure Garm can come up with a large sack for that, even if it'll look weird flying on my pegasus while carrying all that.' Rimuru laughed at that.

It's indeed, good that she gave enough magisteel to Kurobe to secretly make them treasure swords...

xxx

'It seems this village is off to a rough start.' Gazel mused to the dwarf brothers.

'Well, indeed it'll take time as Rimuru-sama wants a solid plumbing foundation.' said Myrd. 'So incase of an earthquake or some magic-induced disaster, our systems won't be destroyed so easily. Each pipes are lined with Engraving Magic when she took an interest. Considering her formula, nothing short of a magical-induced explosion can destroy these pipes.'

'She's a fast learner and a creative genius.' said Garm. 'I bet those smarmy mages haven't even considered the possibilities she thought of for making a durable town and life conveniences we can bring anywhere anytime we want. No more firewood or charcoal for cooking, water will be pulled from somewhere automatically for dishwashing, laundry and bathing, temperature control in summer and winter...the formulas are for a literal comfortable lifestyle. Even the farms have a regulatory formula she's working on without killing plants in winter.'

'Is that right? I look forward to see how this develops.' said Gazel in interest. 'If its sustainable in the long term given our lifespans, I will talk business with Rimuru for our Dwargon City.'

xxx

Souei watched over the Orc Army.

By the movements, he made the dreaded conclusion as he memorized the paths and how long it would take to reach the marshes.

Rimuru-sama, it's begun! he said urgently. We have to go to the marshes!

Oh hell, I'll contact Chieftain! How much time?

Five days before the Battle of the Marshes.

OK. Keep an eye on the Orcs!

And in the Labyrinthin Caves of the Lizardmen...

'I have received word from Lady Rimuru. They will be here in three days because in these five days...the Orcs will be here!' Aldrich swore. 'To arms, men! Sharpen and polish your spears and check your armor! You have four days to prepare!'

'Yes, chief!' and everyone rushed out to prepare.

'It's time.' said the daughter grimly. 'As of yesterday, our people have completely evacuated, heading for our tunnels.'

'Is he still in there?'

'Yes.'

'Once we survive this mess with our allies, I will resume his re-training.' said Aldrich gruffly. 'Until then, I trust you with my office as my substitute and maintain good relations. Hopefully Rimuru-dono will name you too after this, so do well, my daughter. Gabiru will have to work hard for a Name considering what they think of him after seeing his attitude, making our alliance shaky if I ever retire and we have much to lose. Now, we move out!'

'Yes!' and they left the throne room.

xxx

'It seems we don't need to do much, sisters.' said Doreth to her other Dryad sisters after eavesdropping on the meeting through their log cabin and meeting back in Treant Forest, in a grove. As long as it's wood...they can use anything as their eyes and ears.

'Yes. It seems the young lord of monsters already thought of everything.' said Drya.

'Mm. Rimuru Tempest, the last magicule-offspring of Veldora-sama...she's become an interesting person.' Treyni chuckled. 'I hope everything goes well as they planned.'

xxx

Elsewhere...

A wide conference room.

Made from fragrant wood, a table that must have cost a fortune. A true round table, capable of sitting more than 10 people. The number of chairs currently set: 12. Surpassing the most extravagant designs, even royalty would have a hard time acquiring it.

A rug that textile workers took more than ten years to weave covered the floor.

One wall was decorated by a painting of some wondrous landscape by a heavenly artist.

Any article in the room would cost ten years worth of an aristocrat's income.

And by the entrance of the room, a single man, dressed like a clown, refrained from entering.

And seemingly to an empty room, 'For gathering despite your busy schedules, I offer my gratitude!' he spoke, respectfully offered his greetings. Carefully, as if to avoid losing the interest of the beings inside.

Today's guests. They were those whom you must never anger, supreme beings.

As if out of thin air, a shadow of a man appeared in one of the chairs.

Lacking details, a hazy shadow.

'What plot are you intending to humor us with today? We tire of this, how about starting already?'

A woman replied.

A room that was previously empty was now occupied by a number of auras.

'Guhahahaha. Fret not, it shall be soon, no? The tragic birth of a new Demon Lord?'

'Fufufu. A Demon Lord? We have plenty of those already! Any more won't be amusing in the slightest, no?'

'Hey, don't say that. The ruler of Jura Forest has disappeared. A new one is needed, right?'

'In that case, shouldn't we just claim it for ourselves?'

'Hmph. It's because of people like you that the Nonaggression pact may be annulled!'

'Shut up! I know.'

And other similar egoistic conversations were held among them.

The clown by the entrance felt as if covered by sweat from their very presence, and yet couldn't wipe it off.

Because he is a demon. He doesn't sweat.

He, the demon Gelmud, simply wished to explain the stage he had prepared for them.

'Now then, ladies and gentlemen! I wish to explain the play, if you may permit?'

Fearfully he called out.

The noisy conversation suddenly stopped and all eyes focused on Gelmud.

Intimidating him without having said a word.

Were they insulted to be interrupted by a lower rank Gelmud?

Worry spread in his heart. Were he to earn their displeasure, someone like Gelmud would be erased in a blink of an eye...

Contrary to his fears,

'Begin already! Didn't I already say I was bored of boredom?'

They permitted it.

Relieved, he began the explanation.

He had planted the seeds of conflict in the forest. There were some that failed to bloom, but there were plenty fruitful ones.

He had also intended to plant some seeds among the Ogres and the Treants, but those seems were refused.

The ones he manipulated were still powerless.

However, on the ones who rejected being named by him–the ogres, he had passed his judgment.

So overall he was satisfied with the results.

'Now then, let us open the curtain on this tragedy! The threat of the orc lord met with an alliance of the races! The one left standing shall be proclaimed the new Demon Lord!'

Right.

This was all planned to create a new Demon Lord. That task was left to Gelmud.

He was overjoyed with this order. If he handled this well, he could obtain a Demon Lord for his personal use.

He worked hard towards that end.

Until now, for 300 years, he had been planning a species war.

However, Veldora's disappearance caused the plans to spiral out of control.

So he gave up on having a war between the named monsters born from the goblins, lizardmen, and other such races.

Instead, he sent out the Orc Lord. This was a not in the plan, but it was something he could use well.

An orc lord loyal to his order.

The game's rigged, but there's nothing he could do about it now.

After crushing the goblins and the lizardmen, the Orc Lord will become the new Demon Lord.

He also got rid of those annoying ogres.

Now, there was nothing to worry about. As long as the orcs avoided invading the treants territory, that is.

All according to plan!

He had feared the many Demon Lords that had been manipulating him until now, but he finally had the chance to return the favor.

He would soon be able to manipulate a Demon Lord! A birth of one loyal to his command.

Hiding his excitement, Gelmud continued the explanation...

He could already see the Orc Lord that would bow before him.

The day his ambitions would be fulfilled would come soon.

He honestly believed that.