"So then, what do you have to say about this?" asked Fritz.
"I-I-I don't have any word left! This is far beyond my expectations!" replied Karole.
"Call that Rimuru here. I wish to talk to him personally" ordered Edgar.
"Yes your majesty"
"P-papa are we really safe here?" asked Linda as a piece of shattered barrier came pretty close to where they were seated.
"Don't you worry dear. We have multiple S ranks here protecting us, not to mention the SS ranks like Allen are present as well" said Edgar.
"You may rest assured princess. No harm will come our way" repeated Allen.
"Still though, how is it that we have not even heard the name of such a talented student of the academy? I certainly need to talk to Velsa about this" said Edgar in a serious tone.
"Here he is, your majesty" said an attendant as he brought in Rimuru.
"So you are the no.1 student Rimuru. The spell you displayed was quite magnificent" said Edgar.
"Thanks for the compliment" replied Rimuru in a casual tone.
"So here is the deal. Seeing the immense potential you have, I have decided to bestow upon you the title of the 'Heavenly Knight'. That is the highest honorary title that comes with huge perks and benefits. Be honored and serve this nation to the best of your ability. As the youngest being ever to be holding that title, I expect great things from you" said the king while taking a sip of his drink.
"I am afraid I would have to decline your offer. I have made up my mind to become a free adventurer and I don't want to be tied down to one place" said Rimuru.
"Insolence! You dare decline the highest honor that his majesty has personally decided to bestow upon you even though you have barely even passed from the academy? Don't be so arrogant just because of one spell kid!" shouted Markov.
"Calm down Markov" said Karole trying to calm him down.
"I see. Seeing my incredible talent you wish to tie me down to this kingdom by offering me these bribes, but to be honest I have no intention of serving this kingdom and there is nothing you can give me to change my mind. So if that was all you had to say, I would kindly ask you permission to take my leave" said Rimuru politely.
"YOU! How dare you talk to papa in such a way! Don't you know disrespecting the king leads to severe consequences? We can have you 'executed' for such an offense!" shouted Linda trying to intimidate Rimuru.
"I am seriously surprised you have the courage to say that just after you witnessed my spell. A quick question for you. What do you think is going to happen if I were to use that spell right here, right now?" asked Rimuru with a smirk.
"What!" said Linda taken aback.
"That is rather unfortunate um, Rimuru was it?" said Allen while getting up from his seat.
"Ah Allen. I would appreciate if you are able to resolve this peacefully. I would hate to use 'other' means on a child" said Edgar.
"First of all I would like to make it clear to you that it was not our intention to force you to do anything against your will. We just made you an offer and it is your choice to accept or decline it.
Next is that what you said just now could be perceived as a death threat to the king and the princess weather you said that with that intent or not is a different matter" said Allen while walking towards Rimuru.
"Is that really so? The events that transpired after seem to suggest otherwise but anyway, I will be taking my leave now" said Rimuru while taking a step back.
"Not so fast. As I said you can't just get away after threatening the royal family. Even though we will be willing to overlook it if you were to accept his majesty's offer, otherwise you better be prepared to face the consequences" said Allen, now standing right next to Rimuru with a menacing look.
"Wahaha To think you would use the basic carrot and stick tactic. For some reason I expected better from Ryzen's father" said Rimuru with a laugh.
"Clearly this ignorant kid doesn't seem to know who he is talking to. Look carefully kid. You are standing next to four SS rank beings, including me, Allen, Karole and Markov. If you think you are too strong just because of that spell then you are just a frog in a well" said Fritz.
'So these are all SS ranks? Ciel quickly analyze them and give me an estimate of their standing'
/Hai master. The analysis is done. It could be estimated that the individuals Karole, Markov and Fritz are all on par with awakened demon lords. The individual Allen could be said to be even stronger than Lumimous when you first met her at walpurgis/
'That's actually very powerful. So the magicule density in the world has increased a lot. Still though I don't think Allen would be stronger than Benimaru'
/Yes master. Since his final evolution when Benimaru achieved divinity, he had been getting stronger and stronger everyday and it can be said that the Benimaru before getting sealed was much stronger than any of the beings present here/
'I see. Still though this is beyond impressive'
"I must say you all are really more impressive than I thought"
"Wait did you just analyze us?" asked Allen with surprise.
"Whatever do you mean?" said Rimuru with a smile.
"Aargh!"
/Notice: Appraisal attempt by the individual Karole successfully blocked and sealed/
"What happened Karole?"
"I can't access my unique skill of appraisal anymore! What in the hell did you do?" shouted Karole
"Oh its just that I happen to have a skill that blocks and seals anything that has an intent to harm me. Sorry but even I don't have control over it" said Rimuru with a smile.
"YOU!"
"Listen here kid. I really don't want this to take an ugly turn. You are a real talent and gem which can benefit out country a lot and in turn, you are going to benefit a lot as well. If possible I would like to be on friendly terms with you" said Allen while bringing his hand forward.
"Alright. I think I can accept at least agree to that" said Rimuru while shaking his hand.
'What in the hell is this? What is this feeling? Its as if... '
"Hey Allen what's the matter?" said Markov.
Allen immediately snapped out of it and took his hand back.
"Y-you can go back for now. We will summon you some other time to finish this" said Allen.
"What? You are letting him go just like this Allen?" asked Karole in confusion.
"Its fine. I will take responsibility"
"I am glad to hear that I can leave now" said Rimuru and left.
"Care to explain this to us Allen?" asked Edgar.
"Yes your majesty. I believe it was the right thing to let him go for now. If we would have pushed any further then it would have been bad"
"What the hell? Don't tell me you got scared of that little kid?" asked Fritz in an angry tone.
"Is that kid really that strong?" asked Edgar in a serious tone.
Allen took a deep breath.
"I will just say that if it would have come to a fight, there would certainly have been multiple casualties"