I think it's been around 3 hours since I fell asleep. My body didn't feel any refreshed, but the feeling of waking up from sleep was surely nostalgic. And because sleeping wasn't necessary, I could wake up immediately. Unlike some particular humans who find it difficult to wake up after sleeping.

When I woke up, I could feel a presence of a maid near the door. She might be didn't meant to monitor me, but it sure felt strange to find myself being waited by someone constantly like this. So I want to ease her up and invite her to my room. No, don't think of any inappropriate things. I just wanted her to relax. There's no ulterior motive at all!

I opened the door and immediately saw the maid. She's standing beside the door, and when our eyes meet, she's startling a bit. She apologized for no reason and asked me if I wanted to eat something. Hmmm… I was a bit curious, but I knew this city was actually on a tightrope of supply. Besides, I don't feel hungry at all. So I decline.

I ask her back if she feels sore from standing there for a long time, but she just shakes her head. Instead, she's asking me if I want to walk around the manor. She offered herself to become a guide. I gently decline because I think it's better to have a meeting with Constance right now. But it turns out she said I can't do that for now.

"Why? Is something happening?"

"No, His Highness is asleep right now. I think he needs a good rest."

"Oh… Yeah, he really needs it."

I feel like an idiot because I forgot that Constance was having no sleep last night. Oh well, so then I guess I have no choice other than to spend time relaxing. And heyyy… Isn't that my original purpose? All right, I decided. I'm going to have a stroll around the city.

But just as when I intended to say it to her, someone was suddenly arriving.

"Oh my, Rimuru-sama. Nice to see you again today."

"Ohh, Captain Alan, it's been a while, isn't it?"

"Hahaha! We just met yesterday, Rimuru-sama. And by the way, please just call me Alan."

"Eh? Ahh, right! Sorry, it feels like it's been a long time. So, you won't mind if I call you Alan-san?"

"Without honorific is okay, Rimuru sama. And don't worry about it, Rimuru-sama. Me too. It feels like it's been a while since yesterday."

"Hahaha… Glad to hear it. That means I'm not alone who felt it."

"Of course it is. I'm sure everyone involved in it also felt the same. By the way, Rimuru-sama, what are your plans today?"

"Well, I was intending to talk with Constance, but it seems he's still asleep. So I wanted to take a stroll around the city."

"Oh, is that so? Then let me accompany you!"

"Are you sure?"

"Of course! It would be my pleasure, Rimuru-sama!"

"Yosh! Then, I'll take that offer."

Then, without anything more to say, we started to walk outside the manor and head to the city. But then,

"I'm coming as well."

Suddenly, Hinata was already behind us with a plain expression. I was surely off guard until I didn't feel her presence, so I was a bit surprised. But not as surprised as Alan-san.

"Hinata-sama, I didn't notice you at all."

"I was here since a while ago."

"I-Is that so…."

"All right, I'm coming with you. Is that okay?"

"S-Sure! That would be my pleasure, Hinata-sama."

Without any further chatter, we walk ourselves out of the manor.

Alan-san guided us on our stroll. We went sightseeing around the city. Apart from the market, I didn't know the place at all. I was especially interested in residential areas and a hub system that connects to the other cities. The city was estimated to have 100,000 residences and has increased significantly since the conflict between Constance and Prince Terrace was started. There are many refugees who are staying here, which is estimated to be around 30,000 refugees in total. And this is one of the reasons why the supplies in this city are getting dwindling. For me, this is an important matter to be finished quickly. And I knew this was going to involve many factors.

Hinata, meanwhile, she's more interested in the city defense and manpower that gathered under Constance's banner. She and Alan-san immediately have a conversation on the same page as each other. At first, I can see a surprised expression on Alan-san's face. I guess he's surprised by the fact that Hinata can speak easily, unlike yesterday when she didn't let out a single word.

"Then, can I go to the barracks?"

Hinata suddenly asks.

"No problem at all, Hinata-sama."

Alan-san doesn't bother at all. In fact, he looks very pleased. I suspect he has some motive for it. Pretty much I can guess what is Hinata's intention, but I wonder if Alan-san also had the same intention as her.

We walked ourselves to the barracks that we already visited yesterday. And to my surprise, there seem to be a lot more soldiers here than yesterday.

[The remaining retinue from Constance has been placed here]

Oh, right, I almost forgot. These men-at-arms were already considered soldiers. It's no wonder that they were placed in barracks.

"Seems like this place has become livelier."

Hinata made a statement. Which spontaneously replied Alan-san.

"Yes, we've combined the remaining force from His Highness in Holgen into our 10th Knight Brigade."

"How many exactly?"

"Around 2000 strong, and from our knight brigade, we originally have 500 knights, but we were also recruiting right now, and we already have roughly 900 men."

"Honestly, that sounds very small. How much does the enemy have?"

"It's very hard to tell since Prince Terrace has another country's backing, but if it counted from Knight Brigade alone, he should have around 4500 knights."

"Is the Knight Brigade this nation's main army?"

"No, Hinata-sama. Knight Brigade is a special detachment. It's only serving the royal family, not the nation as a whole. As for the main army, there's an army order under the warlord."

"Who's the warlord?"

"Right now, the warlord is Marquis Hallinger. Only a king can choose the warlord. And the nation's army can only obey the warlord."

"How many armies that this nation have?"

"Hmm… That's a difficult question, so I cannot give you an exact number. But all I can say is we may use the term 'main army,' but the reality is every army were scattered around the fief, and the noble of the region were permitted by the warlord to use the army as the security forces in their region."

"So they would unite if the warlord were calling them?"

"Yes that's right, Hinata-sama."

"So why Marquis Hallinger didn't stop this conflict?"

"That's…"

Alan-san scratched his head. He also seems confused, but he wants to answer that question.

Hmmm… I tried to make a guess, but I don't know the whole system in this nation's government. So I kept quiet and waited for Alan-san's answer.

"I honestly didn't know about it either. I'm not very knowledgeable about this. I'm very sorry, Hinata.-sama."

Whoops, he chose to be honest and admit he didn't know.

"Okay, that's fine. I am still wondering about it, but I guess now is not a good time to seek it. So what do you plan for today, Alan-san?"

"Ummm… Honestly, I have a plan to train the new recruits. But,"

"Hm?"

"I'm very sorry for my rudeness, Hinata-sama. But may I ask you to train us? I have heard about your sword skill from His Highness, and I wonder if you might be able to teach us your combat skill?"

Alan-san was asking Hinata with a sudden formal and nervous tone. But Hinata was smiling and replied,

"Of course. That was my intention to come here."

"R-Really?!"

"Yes, but be prepared. My training won't be easy."

"Of course! We are willing to do anything to be better!"

"Hmph, that's good. Now, what are you waiting for?"

"E-Eh? How about Rimuru-sama?"

Alan-san suddenly gazed at me. Oh boy, he seemed to be thinking that I was going to join the training as well. I didn't mean that I didn't want to, but I don't see myself suited for teaching combat skills.

"Ahh, I think Hinata is better suited for training soldiers. I'm not suited for battle, hahaha…"

I let out an awkward laugh. Yeah, I know, it sounds lame. But really, I don't feel like I could train them to be a better soldier.

"If you don't want to, that's fine. I'll leave other matters to you then."

Hinata suddenly replied.

"Well, don't make me look like I don't want to, okay? I just think that I would be more suited in other things."

"Yeah, I understand. You better help Constance deal with the other problems."

"Mm-hmm, you can leave that to me. So I leave you to handle this one."

"Sounds good to me. Okay, Alan-san, let's go."

"E-Ah! My apologies! Rimuru-sama, are you all right about going back alone?"

"No problem at all. Good luck with the training, Alan-san."

"Thank you, Rimuru-sama!"

And so, I leave Hinata and Alan-san to train the soldiers.

While Rimuru heads back to the manor, Captain Alan immediately gathers the new recruits and some knights who are present. The man-at-arms who just arrived this morning didn't participate since they needed time to rest. Even so, many of them gathered in different places to watch.

Meanwhile, Hinata was thinking about what she should teach since there's no magicule in this world. And how about spirits?

Sadly, there is also none of them.

Without any magicule, she could not teach any of them elemental magic. Hence, she didn't even be able to cast any elemental magic since she was resisting the magicule itself. But what annoyed her more was she could not teach any mystic art.

She also couldn't teach holy magic since it's required to control spiritrons. Without making any pact with God, it's impossible to control spiritrons.

So, in the end, all she could teach was some basic swordsmanship and how to fight in groups. She knew that these knights were already trained to do a battle in good order, but she still wondered how good they were at it.

After thinking about all of this, Hinata let out a small sigh. She was thinking about how hard it would be. But at least she didn't have to deal with other problematic problems. That's right, Hinata let Rimuru handle more complex problems such as political intrigue, diplomacy, economy, etc.

"Hinata-sama?"

"Yes?"

Hinata spontaneously answers other questions. To her surprise, she was in deep thought before and realized that Captain Alan had been calling her several times.

"Umm, we're ready, Hinata-sama."

"Okay, good. Now, the first lesson. Captain Alan, let's have a spar."

"E-Eh? I mean, sure!"

Hinata and Captain Alan positioned themselves at a good distance. Both of them are readying their stance with their wooden sword.

"Come and attack me, Captain Alan."

"All right!"

Then, Captain Alan ran without any seconds to waste, charging forward with all his might. He raised his sword and intended to swing it from the upside.

Hinata was still standing in her place without moving an inch.

When Captain Alan swung his sword, Hinata easily blocked it and immediately pushed it back. Captain Alan was pushed back a little but immediately regained his stance. Without any second to waste, he charges again at Hinata with a full swing. At first sight, he seems to be intending to swing vertically toward Hinata's head. And he did, which made Hinata feel disappointed by how straightforward the attack is. But she immediately saw Captain Alan's eyes, he didn't look at the end of the sword's trajectory end, instead, she was looking at her torso. For a split second, she almost thought that it was a lewd gaze from Captain Alan, but soon she realized that was not the right answer.

Captain Alan's sword clashed with Hinata's sword blocking his swing with her right hand, but then Captain Alan immediately kicked Hinata's stomach. He thrust his leg towards Hinata's stomach without hesitation.

But alas, Hinata already foresaw it and blocked the kick with her left hand. It's not just blocking, but she caught Captain Alan's leg.

Captain Alan's eyes winced, as he didn't expect his leg to be caught. He expects it to be blocked, but not to the point of being caught.

And before he could think of another move, Hinata pulled his leg and made him lose balance. Captain Alan immediately falls.

The match seems already over since Captain Alan already fell. But it turns out, it hasn't. He then kicked Hinata's right hand, trying to make her fall too. But again, it's futile.

When he kicked Hinata's right leg, he felt as if he kicked a statue. Hinata doesn't seem disturbed a bit and on the other hand, Captain Alan seems surprised.

But without any more seconds to waste, he immediately stands on his feet again. But this time, he didn't immediately attack. He keeps his distance from Hinata, thinking the other way to attack. Deep inside his heart, he already admitted he could not win against Hinata.

But only if I can hit her once, just once… is what he thinking. He wanted to be seen as someone who had potential, and he wanted to prove that he had the will to do everything to improve himself. Resist as long I still exist is what he thought.

Hinata didn't seem to want to attack and went on defense. So he thought that he could attack her as much as he wanted. And the thing is, he concluded that Hinata wanted the match over with him surrendering by himself saying it. She wanted to test how much capability he had, without dealing any blows to him. So as long as he still can continue, the match won't be over.

She proved it through her actions before. When I fell, she didn't point her sword at me, instead, she let me go by distancing myself from her Captain Alan said it to himself inside his heart.

He felt slightly annoyed since it meant he was being toyed with, but he still accepted it since he believed that what happened right now could make the future different.

Then, he decided to not go on hitting her with full power, instead, he was going to use minimal strength and compensate for it with speed. He intended to make a barrage of swings rather than one powerful move.

After deciding, he charges again at Hinata. This time he's aiming toward Hinata's torso by thrusting his sword. Although he knew his attack would be deflected, he still did it. Instead, that was his aim. By doing a continuous attack, he will try to make Hinata deflect his sword rather than block it. And with that, he hoped he could find an opening and use it.

And it worked.

After thrusting his sword, Hinata deflects his sword and the series of continuous attacks begins. Captain Alan tries every move he can. He swings his sword vertically, horizontally, and diagonally, even when he uses the hilt and kicks.

But after some time passed, he couldn't find any opening from Hinata. She's very fast. After deflecting his attack, she was immediately in a good position to defend against another attack. He tried some feints but never worked.

Captain Alan began to be frustrated but desperately tried to maintain his calm. He kept his mind calm, even though his feelings starting to boil with frustration.

"That's good. You have managed to exceed my expectations, Captain Alan."

Hinata suddenly spoke in the middle of the duel.

"Hah… Hahh… For you to never show an opening, you are truly amazing, Hinata-sama."

Captain Alan was almost out of breath, and he kept his distance from Hinata. Right now, he didn't attack her because he saw an opportunity to take a breath after Hinata spoke.

"No, you're more amazing Captain Alan. You kept on trying and you used your brain to attack. That's pretty rare to see."

"It's… such a… honor, to be complimented by you, Hinata-sama. Hah…"

Now Captain Alan realized, he's really been pushing himself too much. He's not just out of breath, but he almost collapsed. His vision starting to blur. It's gonna be impossible to continue the duel, nevertheless achieving his target to be able to hit her just once. And he realizes it.

Nevertheless, he still wants to continue. As his principles said, he will resist as long as he exists. So, until he really collapsed, he would continue to try to make a score at her.

And Hinata, realizing Captain Alan was nearly collapsed in the current state, was ready to conceive and end the duel. She regretted it a bit, thinking it was her fault for pushing him to this point. So she asks him, "How about we end this spar for today? You've done very well."

"No, please no, Hinata-sama. I can still continue."

"Don't push yourself too much, Captain."

"Don't worry about myself, Hinata-sama. I can still continue."

Captain Alan then readied his sword once again. Although his face is pale from exhaustion, his eyes show how determined he is. And Hinata sees it as well.

"All right then. But given your condition, I would only allow one more attack. How about it, captain?"

"Okay!"

Captain Alan agrees with that proposal. Right now, he has already given up on throwing feints or trying to launch a series of attacks. And for that, he thought that the only thing he could do right now was to hit her with everything he had.

He readied his stance once again, put both of his hands on the sword, and took a long deep breath. When he took a deep breath, he closed his eyes. He wanted to have a moment to clear his mind. He wants to make peace with it, with the purpose of ignoring the fatigue. If he succeeds, he can focus on his last attack and channel every ounce of strength he has to his hand.

But, when he finished taking a deep breath, he felt something strange.

He felt some surge of power, flowing all over his body. His body becomes lighter, and his blurry vision becomes clear.

He didn't understand what it was. So, he brushed it off as adrenaline that kicks up and makes him imagining himself that he has strength more than before.

Heh, at least I can finish my duel with a satisfied feeling, he thought. He didn't believe he become more powerful right now, but he was delighted to be able to think that he become more stronger in the last moment.

All right, here we go! He shouted to himself.

"Here I come, Hinata-sama!"

As he finished his shout to Hinata, he ran forward with all his last remaining strength. He felt that his step became lighter, and every step became more powerful, giving him more momentum to give a deadly hit.

He smirked, thinking he was crazy to imagining things at the final blow he could give.

He continues his action by jumping with both hands holding a sword above his head.

"Hyahhhh!"

*clang

*whoosh

He felt a bump on his sword and felt that the wind had passed by.

He opens his eyes and sees Hinata has blocked his sword. When he saw it, he immediately thought Hah! Again, I failed to achieve my goal.

Then, he felt that all of the parts of the body had lost their strength. He has lost all of his stamina, and he cannot move an inch in any part of his body.

He felt he was going to pass out, as his vision had gone darker and darker. But the moment he's gonna fell, he saw something that make him confused.

For a very brief moment, he looks at Hinata's eyes. And at that moment, he saw Hinata's eyes were widened. From the eyes alone, he can conclude that Hinata was surprised.

But why?

He asks himself. But before he can get the answer, he collapsed. He falls to the ground, with his consciousness gone.

Hinata grabs his body, preventing him to fall before he touches the ground. It was a spontaneous move, as her mind was still preoccupied with an event that had happened before.

What she saw, was a sudden emergence of power from Captain Alan.

She saw that Captain Alan suddenly ran faster, jumped higher, and gave her a more powerful blow. No, even before that, she had already seen something strange.

The moment Captain Alan finished taking a breath, she sensed that something had gotten inside of Captain Alan's body. And to make it more confusing, that something wasn't a spiritual creature like spirit or demons who can possess a human. It's like, some sort of particle.

She didn't know what it was, but she had already seen what it could do to a human.

She saw that the last attack from Captain Alan was much more powerful than before. If she kept holding back like before, she would get hit by that attack.

What is that? She asks herself.

Maybe, there is some sort of unknown power in this world. But if so, why I didn't feel it?

She's trying to understand more of it. She didn't deny the existence of this unknown power, since she already saw it directly from Captain Alan just a second ago. But she didn't know what is this power.

I'll have to discuss it with Rimuru. Meanwhile, I will try to see if anyone other than Alan-san can do it too.

She decided to gain more data by testing if other people in there could also put that mysterious particle inside of their body, and then she'd discuss it with Rimuru.

And after she decided that, she looked around and saw that many of the spectators were in awe watching their duel.

"All right! We'll begin our training! Anyone who wants to train, come here and get your weapons!"

Hinata shouted an order to the knights and other soldiers who were present.

Her first intention to do a spar with Captain Alan was to assess the knight's ability in fighting. But instead, she found something more interesting.

And so, the training has changed, into an experiment. Hinata readied herself, to push every single person who was training with her.

I left Hinata to train with the soldiers while I was heading back to the manor. I can trust her with the military power issue to her, meanwhile, I was handling other things. Well, I can't say that I felt relieved to handle the other parts, but in this way, I can minimize my involvement.

I walked my way to the manor, and at that time I realized that the sun had nearly set from the sky. Perhaps, it's already around 5 p.m. In that case, I guess Constance is already awake.

When I arrived at the manor, I saw a small crowd at the front gate. There were many well-equipped soldiers, around 20 of them, guarding one man with a noble attire. I stop my move before reaching the gate, to see who actually is.

But after some seconds, what I saw was Constance greeting that man with a warm shake hand. He seems rather cheerful seeing that man and the man also treats Constance with high respect. I wonder who that man is.

But more importantly, what should I do now? Should I come there now? Or wait for both of them to enter the manor?

Well, I didn't want to disturb anything, so I decided to wait. But because I was very curious, I also decided to enhance my hearing and overheard what they talking about.

"…good to see you well, Your Highness." the man said.

"Likewise, Count Billard. And please don't lower yourself that low, I am indebted a lot to you. I wouldn't survive this far if it were not for your help."

"Oh please you're flattering me, Your Highness. I was merely doing what I should have done as this kingdom aristocrat. You've done this far because of your own deeds, Your Highness."

Oh? So this man is a nobleman? I heard once about Count Billard from Constance, and it seems he also has a high regard for him. Whoever Constance put someone in high regard, I guess I can trust that man too.

"No no, you're the one who flattering me, Lord Billard. I almost did nothing important. But please, I do not think this is a good place to talk. How about we come inside and continue our talks inside this manor?"

"Understood. I accept your offer, Your Highness."

Both of them walked inside the manor together, side by side. I saw that Vlan, Aidan, and other bodyguards were also coming in.

While I was still standing here, still hesitant to come inside as well.

Moments later, I saw Captain Claune walking outside with several knights with fully equipped armor. They take a stand at the front gate. It seems they tightening the security from the moment Count Billard was coming.

And so, I decided to walk up to him. Perhaps having a little chat with him would give me some better insight on what should I do as a guest in this manor.

"Good evening, Captain Claune." I greeted him.

"Ohh, good evening Rimuru-sama. I heard you've been sightseeing with Hinata-sama and Sir Alan. How is it, Rimuru-sama?"

"It's a good moment, I enjoy it a lot. By the way, is that Count Billard who has just arrived?"

"Yes it is, Rimuru-sama. His Highness seems very delighted about his visit. Ah! I just remembered, His Highness Constance has been asking about you since he woke up. I'm sorry, but I think you should meet him immediately, Rimuru-sama."

"Eh? Really? But he seems busy right now with Cound Billard."

"No problem, Rimuru-sama. You're His Highness's guest. Every guest from royalties was always put in high regard."

"Really? But are you sure I won't be a bother?"

"Of course not, Rimuru-sama. His Highness has been waiting for you."

"O-Okay, I'll come inside right away."

"Yes please!"

I walked my way inside the manor. I found two maids guarding the entrance, and they immediately bowed themselves upon my arrival. Then, one of them spoke to me.

"Rimuru-sama, I have been entrusted to relay a message for you from His Highness."

"Hou, please tell me."

"Yes, His Highness said to ask you if you're back to please immediately come to the guest room."

"Got it, can you lead me there please?"

"Understood, I shall escort you, Rimuru-sama."

She lead me to the guest room near the backyard. It's full of decorative plants, and honestly, it looks very beautiful.

I entering myself to the room and found Constance was in a pretty serious talk with Count Billard. They both sit on a nice red sofa, facing each other. But once I open the door to enter, Constance automatically glances at me and stands up to walk towards me.

"Ah, Rimuru! I've been waiting. Where's Hinata?"

"Sorry to make you wait. Hinata is with Alan-san, doing some training."

"I see… That's good to hear. Oh, I'm sorry to ask you to come here. Did I bother you?"

"Not at all! I was curious about what happened since I saw Count Billard at the front entrance."

"Oh yes! Let me introduce you, Rimuru. This is Count Billard Greetham, Lord of Nevwel fiefdom. Count Billard, this is my guest and savior that I've mentioned before, Rimuru Tempest."

After being introduced, Count Billard stood up and bowed to me.

"Greetings, Rimuru Tempest-sama. As His Highness introduced, my name is Billard Greetham, Lord of Nevwel. It's a pleasure to meet you."

He has a very gentle demeanor, his movement is refined, and his voice is low. He looks rather old, but not in his 50s, he's the same height as me but with a wider body and thick moustache. He reminds me of King Drum from Blumund.

"Nice to meet you too, Count Billard. It's a pleasure to meet Constance's friendly counterparts."

"Hoho… Please just call me by my name, Rimuru-sama. His Highness is putting you in high regard, it is my stand to treat you as my superior as well."

"O-Oh… If that is so, may I call you Billard-san?"

"That's sufficient, Rimuru-sama. Now, forgive me, but since you've already arrived, shall we continue our discussion, Your Highness?"

"Yes of course. Rimuru, I hope you don't mind joining our discussion."

"No problem. I'll help as long it's in my capability."

We all sat down on the sofa, and I sat beside Constance. For a moment, I kept quiet while Constance talked about the current situation and last night's incident to Billard-san. Billard-san was listening in great interest. This is a good opportunity to listen to the whole situation, although it's still not a complete explanation.

From what I understand from this talk, Billard-san has been accepting refugees from Holgen Principality, which is Constance's territory. There are actually other nobles who accept the refugees, but they only accept the civilians and refuse to give protection to Constance alone. Billard-san was the only noble who gave support to Constance, while other nobles tried to stay neutral and didn't pick any side from either Constance or Terrace.

But I want to understand more about the whole situation. The very first thing that I wanted to know, is what was the reason that caused this conflict?

But I guess I have to keep it for myself until the opportunity arises.

"And with Rimuru's power, we manage to arrive in this city safely."

"Hou…"

Constance ended his part with those remarks. Billard-san seems to think about this whole event. I guess he's trying to accept it, rather than to understand it. Well, somehow I felt that it was something usual if someone is in a difficult situation to understand my doings.

"So Rimuru-sama has a legendary power of magic?"

That question is surprisingly directed at Constance. And he seems to be quite hesitant to answer it. But what makes me a bit surprised is they both seem to know the terms of magic. All right, this is interesting. So I decided to wait for Constance's answer.

"Y-Yes, it seems Rimuru has the legendary power of magic."

"Hmm… Rimuru-sama, may I ask you to confirm it?"

Now he's directing his question toward me.

"Well, it's actually more than just magic. But essentially, yes it's magic."

"This is very interesting, yet very troublesome Your Highness." Billard-san immediately said to Constance after hearing my answer.

"Yes, I knew that already, Count Billard."

"Umm, excuse me? May I know the trouble?"

I ask both of them. I knew that my existence here could make a ruckus, but I didn't know the details. Now I came to know that this world might know magic, but from the looks of it, it seems magic is some kind of prohibited power.

Billard-san glanced at Constance, expressing his confusion.

"Your Highness, I'm sorry to be rude but hasn't you told Rimuru-sama about it?"

"…Last night I was very desperate to face the situation, so it didn't cross my mind even for a moment. This morning I already talked about it with Captain Alan and Captain Claune, but I was exhausted and decided to have a rest. Unbeknownst to me, I slept longer than I planned. I'm very sorry for this."

"I understand. I'm sorry for asking a rude question as well, Your Highness. May I explain it?"

"By your will, Count Billard."

"All right. Rimuru-sama, I hope you don't mind being lectured by me."

"Sure, please enlighten me, Billard-san."

Then, Billard-san started his explanation. From the beginning of the appearance of magic.

Billard-san started with the condition of the Kingdom Of Casland several hundred years ago. At that time, the kingdom was a very poor country. After some disastrous natural event, the land has no fertile soil to grow a plant, nor to grow a crop. So it's very difficult to procure food for its people. With no specialty product, it's difficult to trade with other countries. It's no wonder that the Kingdom of Casland is on the verge of collapsing. But then, just as when the king at that time tried to make a deal with more powerful countries to become their vassal, someone with unbelievable power appeared out of nowhere. That someone was an adult female, with long blue hair and with exotic dress. She likes holding a fan in her hands, and what's surprising is she's in deep love with the king. And her name is…

"Velgrynd-sama."

"EH?!"

I couldn't keep my composure after hearing that name.

I mean, Velgrynd-san?! What is she doing here? And what's that? Several hundred years ago?

[Velgrynd has been on a journey to find Rudra's soul. This world must be one of the worlds she visited, Master.]

Ahhh, I almost forgot. Yeah, that's right. Velgrynd-san has been traveling to another world, beyond time and space to search Rudra's soul. I see… For Velgrynd-san, it's been a hundred or even thousands of years she's been on her journey. But she eventually came back to cardinal world just a moment after I defeated her.

And that's exactly what I'm doing right now.

"Rimuru-sama, is everything all right?"

Both Billard-san and Constance looked in surprise after my "eh?!". It seems they find it intriguing.

"A-Ah… It's all right. So Velgrynd-san eh… All right, I think I can understand the rest of it. But why does everyone become wary of magic power?"

"Um… Well, after Velgrynd-sama is gone, nobody has been able to do the same. The power of magic is just gone, without any trace. Many people tried to search for it, some kingdoms even did massive research to recreate magic. But none of them succeed. Rather, there's a horrible accident because of that." This time Constance was the one who explained it to me.

"Horrible accident?" I ask back to him.

"Yes, it's around 300 years ago. There's someone unknown from the Kingdom of Magna, who reported as almost succeeding in recreating magic. But then, it took to a horrible accident. The kingdom immediately asked that man to share his findings and immediately applied it to the military. But this unknown person refused, and in return, he obliterated anyone who stood in his way. The king is obviously mad, and he rallied every man he has to capture this unknown man. But none of them succeed. Instead, a series of mass murders were coming. It's still vague whether the perpetrator is the kingdom's army or that unknown man. But it's already obvious that the greed for magic has turned into something terrible. After the series of mass murders happened, many nobles from the Kingdom of Magna fled to other countries. The fleeing nobles manage to convince some of the countries they staying to declare war on the Kingdom of Magna for various reasons. Some of the reasons are to stop the mass killing of its people just because of the search for the unknown man, some of it is because they were persuaded by the lies of nobles who claim to know where is this unknown man and promise to give them this unknown man, and some are just wanting to take control of the kingdom after seeing the kingdom has been weakened by one unknown man.

And that's not the end of the story. Those kingdoms who declared war on the Kingdom of Magna didn't actually form an alliance. So when they entered the kingdom, they started a war with each other because their interest was colliding with each other. This conflict has been going on for 12 years, with no winner at all and that unknown man is never to be found. There are so many rumors about this conflict, but none of them has a valid confirmation. The conflict has made many kingdoms suffer, and most of it is food problems. But at least, this conflict has made people wary of the magic power. Not for the power of magic itself, but the effect of greed that comes from it. To this day, many people still believe that the mass murders were caused by that unknown man who is said to have almost found magic. Many kingdoms prohibit the research for magic, including Casland. The trust between nations was the most fragile thing in this world. That's why, we need to behave ourselves and not do anything suspicious. But well, our kingdom has been put back to life by Velgrynd-sama with the very first magic that exists in this world. Some suspicious neighboring countries might think that we hide something from Velgrynd-sama and always try to meddle with our internal affairs. And the current conflict with my brother is by far the worst problem they have caused."

"I see…"

My my my, this is so much of a hassle. I got so many questions about this story. One of the most intriguing parts is this unknown man. If this unknown man can almost reproduce magic without magicule, I cannot imagine how he did it. Ciel, do you have any idea about this?

[By my understanding alone, it's impossible to do magic without magicules, Master. Even holy magic and spiritual magic have magicule in their essence. And although holy magic consists of spiritrons, without a pact with God or at least a complete devout to someone, their will would never be strong enough to control the spiritrons. And about spirit magic, it's impossible because of the simple fact, that there are also no spirits in this world. At least, that's what can I conclude, Master.]

I see. Velgrynd can revive the soil in this kingdom and do everything to make this kingdom prosper. Without any other thing on my mind, it's actually not that hard to achieve it by elemental magic alone. Velgrynd has a huge pool of magicule, it's no wonder she can do anything with that.

But without magicule, then how can this unknown person almost recreate magic? Wait, before I can get into that, what does this guy actually have already done until he considered has almost recreated magic?

"Can I ask a question?"

"Sure, Rimuru."

"This unknown person, you said he almost recreated magic. What does that mean exactly? Is he able to do what I did last night?"

"It's… It's actually difficult to answer that since all we heard about it was only a rumor. The rumors said he could move very fast, create an invisible blade, see people from far away, stop the flow of water in the river, destroy a huge rock just by touching it, and some other small things like he has no limit on stamina, he doesn't need to eat, and no need to sleep. It has many more various rumors, but what I can conclude is he can enhance his body in every aspect."

"Interesting…"

[I found it interesting too, Master.]

Say, Ciel, is this probably an awakening of skill instead?

[It's possible, but the possibility is low. The souls in this world weren't strong enough to contain a skill. Unless someone like Constance could probably gain a skill because the part of his soul has good compatibility with skills.]

Hmm… Constance's soul has a part of Shizu-san's soul, and that part of Shizu-san's soul is the reason why he could be awakening a skill, is that what you mean, Ciel?

[Yes it is, Master.]

Then it could be another people from our world, or any other world who can awaken a skill was died and reincarnated here. That's also a possibility, right?

[Yes, Master. But the probability is very low, due to not every human can awaken a skill. Not even a common one.]

All right, but that's already a good hypothesis. But if those rumors are true, this has to be not an ordinary skill. Perhaps, it should be a Unique Skill level. It's hard to say since it's almost impossible to awaken Common Skill, let alone Unique Skill. If there's something else other than awakening skill, I cannot imagine anything else more possible about how this unknown person can do those things. Am I right, Ciel?

[…]

Oy! Why you're keeping quiet?

"Rimuru?"

"E-Eh? Yes?"

I was startled by Constance's call. I guess I have been keeping quiet for some time there.

"I didn't mean to be rude, Rimuru. But from what we explain about magic, could you understand the problem?"

Oh crap I was too absorbed with this unknown person tale, I almost didn't think about anything else. Okay, okay, I'll try to remember it by myself since Ciel doesn't seem to be in the mood to talk suddenly. So after remembering a part of their explanation, I tried to jump the gun.

"Hmm… Do you mean, now because of what I've done last night, every other country is possibly trying to use this incident to pick a fight against us?"

Both Constance and Billard-san nodded. And then, followed by Billard-san's statement.

"Rimuru-sama, this kingdom has been the most prosperous country in the whole continent. Our agriculture is far above any other country, and we have a lot of precious metals for trade. This is because of none other than Velgrynd-sama's miracle through her magic power. And when Velgrynd-sama went missing, nobody other than ourselves believed that she left us with nothing. The prosperous land, and the mysterious power of magic, for many years this kingdom has been attracting other countries to be taken for their own merit. Wars have raged out many times, but we were able to fend them off. But for this time, we've been on the edge."

"You mean, this time they used Constance and Prince Terrace to fight each other and weakened this nation's power?"

"Exactly, Rimuru-sama."

"So that's why Marquis Hallinger didn't interfere in this conflict to preserve the remaining force?"

Both Constance and Billard-san looked surprised.

"You know already about Marquis Hallinger, Rimuru?"

"Yes, I've been talking about this with Alan-san this afternoon."

"I see, that's good then. If you already understand that, I guess you already knew why most of the noble house choose to stay neutral?"

"Because they don't want to spend their force to do something that could prolong this conflict?"

"Yes! Exactly, Rimuru. For many noble houses, this conflict should have stayed away from their territory. It's understandable since their interest is to maintain their own territory."

"But I heard you're loved by the people?"

"That's actually an exaggeration. Only the people in my principality are willing to follow me, not the entire populace of Casland Kingdom. That's why, I treasured them a lot."

"Then why Billard-san is willing to take Constance's side?"

Constance was almost tried to answer my question but halted by the tap on his shoulders by Billard-san.

"It's very simple, Rimuru-sama. It's because I have indebted to His Highness."

"It's only a small thing, Count Billard." Constance tries to interrupt, but Billard-san doesn't seem disturbed by it.

"Hou, may I inquire more about it?"

I didn't mean to suspect Billard-san, but if I have to work together with him, I need to know the reason why he's taking on Constance's side.

"Sure, Rimuru-sama. His Highness is underestimating his contribution to my life, that's why he thinks it's only a small thing."

Then he continued with the story of when Billard-san is still in the status of Baron. Billard-san was able to ascend the status into a Count because of Constance's help. During the times when he was still a Baron, he got himself involved in an argument against another Baron. They were arguing about the border of their fief, and it became very heated until Billard-san and the other Baron were summoned to the capital by the King. The King tried to mediate, but Billard-san was pressed by his rival. At that moment, it was Constance who calmed the situation. Constance immediately brought a newer map, negotiated about the disputed border, and made Billard-san win the arbitrary. And not just that, because of Billard-san's attitude during the arbitrary, the King has taken a liking to him and decided to raise his status into a Count on the spot, skipping the Viscount status. With the higher status, Billard-san has higher authority and secures his territory better. And with that, Billard-san put Constance in high regard.

"I see… I understand. That's a very sweet story if I have to say, Billard-san."

"Hohoho, it is right? By the way, Rimuru-sama, I have been wondering about something for a while."

"What is it, Billard-san?"

"I may heard it wrong, but before, Rimuru-sama has called Velgrynd-sama with Velgrynd-san. Am I not hearing it wrong?"

Oopsie… This question also made Constance widen his eyes in surprise. It seems like he's not aware of it before.

"Yes, you heard it right, Billard-san."

*crack

My answer made both of them lean forward in their seat in seconds.

"I-Is that mean, you know her personally, Rimuru?!"

"Right! I'm sorry for my rudeness, but I really want to know it, Rimuru-sama!"

They shouted.

I was surprised by their reaction, but I just sighed and scratched the back of my head.

Yare yare, I really cannot hide anything in this world right now.

"Well, as a matter of fact, yes I am. I knew Velgrynd-san very well."

"W-What is that mean, Rimuru? Please explain!"

"Okay okay… Calm down… Umm, from the start I already knew her personally since we're living in the same world."

"Same world?"

"Yes, we call it Cardinal World. It's a world where magic is common, and many creatures live there."

"Please explain more, Rimuru-sama."

*sigh

So that's it. I explain to them everything I can share. Fortunately, Ciel is back on the server and helped me by providing a list of necessary points that I could talk about. I didn't tell them that I'm a King and Demon Lord, a sibling of Velgrynd especially the truth that I've fought her, and some other pivotal remarks about me in Cardinal World. I wanted to be known just as an ordinary person who came into this world for a certain purpose.

After I finished, Constance's face was still in surprise while Billard-san regained his composure but still leaned forward on his seat.

"Unbelievable, so the legend is true…" Constance let out a low murmur.

"Well, that's Velgrynd-san I know. We're not close, but I'm befriended by some of her compatriots."

"I see… Rimuru, you wouldn't believe that I have been struggling to accept this legend."

"W-Well… But hey! We've been straying from the important point! We should discuss the aftermath of the last night incident."

I tried to avert the subject of our talks from Velgrynd-san.

"Yes, Rimuru-sama is right, Your Highness. We can talk about it more after we finish with the main topic today."

"Right, forgive for my attitude, everyone."

"Don't sweat it, Constance. And now, let's back to our discussion."

To Be Continued

Hello everyone, Bisel13 here. I'm the author of this story.
How are you? I hope you guys are fine, and may you have a good day.

In this opportunity, I just wanted to say, thank you very much for reading my story. Every review, favorite, and follow is important to me. It gives me the courage to write more and more because I always felt some inferior complex whenever I read other fanfiction, hahaha. But seriously, there's a lot of other fanfiction which better than mine so I am really thankful for everyone who spares their precious time to read mine.

Anyway, I'm sorry too if my writing doesn't seem pretty comfortable to read since English wasn't my mother language. I used a spellchecker to help me write, but sometimes I find it suggesting weird stuff so I ignored it with some hesitation whether it is me who's wrong, or the spellchecker. And with that, I hope you understand. So for now, please enjoy this new chapter. Forgive me if the action part is lame, I didn't have any experience writing a fighting scene :D.

See you in the next chapter.
Sampai Jumpa :)