The monsters in the cave had taken to scurrying away the moment they spotted me.
It must be my majestic aura at work.
Feeling pretty pleased with myself, I headed out of the cave.
But then— "G-who's there! Are you pursuers?!"
"Young master! We'll hold them off! Take the princess and escape!!!"
"What malevolent monsters! Everyone, don't be deceived by appearances!!!"
—people like this were scattered around the cave entrance, shouting overly dramatic things.
They were enormous—over two meters tall—dressed like ragged, down-on-their-luck warriors. Bodies like slabs of muscle crammed into hulking frames. Ogres.
Wait… aren't these the Ogre Tribe, the rulers of the forest? Their characteristics matched exactly what
And the Ogre Tribe was on guard against some malevolent monster? What the heck was that supposed to be? Terrifying!
I scrambled backward to get some distance.
I looked behind me, but there was nothing. No heat signatures, nothing at all.
The Ogre Tribe could see it but I couldn't?! This is bad…
I'd just gotten new powers, and already I was learning that there was always someone stronger out there.
"S-so, this malevolent monster—what does it look like? Sorry, but I can't see it… Where is it right now?"
I cautiously shuffled backward toward the ogres.
No response came.
Instead, they started edging away from me, keeping their distance.
What? Were they planning to use me as a sacrifice or something?
Just as that thought crossed my mind— "What are you talking about? The malevolent monster is *you*, slime! Don't be fooled by appearances!!!"
One of the ogres shouted that out.
Wh-what did he just say?
Calling *this* adorable slime body of mine a malevolent monster? The absolute nerve!
"Hey. Hey! Hold on a second. You're saying *I'm* the malevolent monster?"
"Are you trying to play dumb? That Demon Aura you're letting off—no slime should have that! Did you really think you could fool us?!"
Hm? Come to think of it, I'd been blasting my Demon Aura to mess with the cave monsters and just forgot to turn it off.
I retracted my Demon Aura. Then— "I wasn't putting any out! You're just imagining things, right?"
"…………"
I tried to smooth things over, but it was no good.
After that, I spent quite a while insisting it was all a misunderstanding before I finally managed to get the ogres to lower their guard.
Good grief.
But why were they here in the first place?
When I asked, they said they'd fled from something. On closer look, many of them were wounded, and several had serious injuries.
Any normal monster would have been dead. But the Ogre Tribe was a superior species with powerful vitality, so they'd barely managed to survive.
I pulled out Recovery Potions and started treating the injured.
True to their reputation for powerful vitality, the ogres healed remarkably quickly. I just diluted the potion a bit and sprinkled it on, and their wounds vanished clean.
The ogres were amazed and came over to thank me.
Even though their wounds were healed, they were clearly exhausted. I decided to let them rest at the village.
More importantly, I needed to hear about whatever force had managed to defeat the Ogre Tribe.
These were individually B-Rank monsters. And the veterans among them were said to be "B+" or even "A-" class.
Rulers of the forest. The apex beings of this forest, or so I'd heard…
Anyway, I'd guide them to the village.
I summoned
At my call, Ranga materialized from my shadow. I'd finally gotten the hang of summoning him.
I'd been furious that
There were six ogres in total.
I used Mimicry to take on the form of a black wolf and carried three of them myself. Ranga carried the other three, and we headed for the village.
It would've been a day's journey on foot, but we made it in about an hour.
The ogres were clearly impressed by the speed—unlike the dwarves, who had passed out from motion sickness.
And so I guided the ogres to the village and led them to my personal tent.
Where the tent had stood, there was now a log cabin.
It was exactly the shape I'd sketched on a wooden board and handed over.
While I'd been away from the village studying my skills, they'd built it in a rush.
I thanked the goblins and dwarves, then went inside.
Built exactly to my specifications. Impressive.
Since I could handle blueprint-level drawings, I'd sketched everything out in charcoal on a wooden plank—down to the finest dimensions—and handed it to Mild.
Mild had looked at the plans and nodded, saying they were easy to understand. Apparently my style of drawing conveyed information more efficiently.
We'd discussed everything beforehand, and the interior was done exactly as I'd ordered.
I led the ogres into the reception room.
I told them to wait inside for a moment, then stepped out.
I headed to Garum's place and picked up the clothes that were ready.
I promptly transformed into my child form and tried them on.
Underwear woven from Steel Thread, with a fur outfit made from a Tempest Star Wolf's pelt.
It was the hide I'd been stockpiling from the former boss monster. For some reason, it had turned jet-black.
I pulled on the pants and tunic. The fit was incredible.
Apparently, the fur had absorbed a rather large amount of Magicules.
"Boss, these are seriously high-defense gear! Way beyond ordinary fur!"
Garum, the one who'd crafted them, gave them his enthusiastic stamp of approval.
They weren't exactly armor—just everyday wear. But oh well. It wasn't something I'd be lost without, but it was definitely nice to have.
Even better— "Oh, and one more thing—that outfit has become a type of magical garment. It adjusts automatically to fit the wearer's size perfectly!"
So even when I shifted into my adult form, the clothes wouldn't tear!
Nice work, Garum.
This fur had probably been strengthened by prolonged exposure to my Magicules, but I made a mental note that it might be worth aging quality materials inside my stomach for a while.
I shouldn't keep them waiting too long.
I happened to run into
The ogres had been sitting patiently. They seemed fascinated by the place, looking around the room.
Of course, there wasn't any decoration yet—it was brand new and bare.
Haruna brought in the tea, then stepped out and left the room.
The moment of truth for testing human taste buds.
I took a quiet sip of tea. Delicious.
I'd never been one to fuss over subtle differences in flavor, but this was a taste unique to this world—more than enough to be genuinely moved.
It was similar to matcha—a slightly bitter taste. And I could feel the warmth, too. My body was immune to heat damage, but I could still register the warmth. Kind of interesting.
The ogres sipped their tea as well.
Once everyone had settled down, I decided to hear their story.
I interrupted partway through and called for Rigurd. Then I gathered the four former clan chiefs, along with anyone else who was free.
The others were busy, so the five of us sat down to listen.
Why had I called Rigurd and the others?
Because I'd judged this to be an extremely important matter.
To sum up the ogres' story: a war had broken out. And the Ogre Tribe had been defeated.
That was it, in a nutshell.
Apparently, around the time this village had been fighting the Fire Giant, the Ogre Tribe had also been dragged into a conflict.
The Ogre Tribe—the rulers of the forest. Who could possibly have defeated them? And actually *won*…
Even the goblin clan chiefs looked visibly shaken.
Their expressions hardened in an instant.
Who was the enemy?
"They attacked our village without warning. With overwhelming force… Those guys… the Orc Tribe!"
Monsters didn't follow human customs like formal declarations of war.
So a surprise attack couldn't really be held against them, but the Orc Tribe attacking the Ogre Tribe? That was completely abnormal.
Orcs were C to D Rank. Stronger than goblins, sure, but no match for seasoned adventurers.
And yet… the weaker side had declared war on the stronger—and actually *won*…
I pressed them for details.
The ogre village had been slightly larger than this one, home to roughly three hundred.
Three hundred B-Rank monsters.
That was the fighting force equivalent of an entire kingdom's knight corps. A force comparable to over three thousand knights individually trained to at least B- rank.
And the *Orc Tribe* had taken them on? Everyone wore expressions of utter disbelief.
The entire village had been massacred.
The warrior unit led by the village chief had held off the Orcs long enough for the young master and princess to escape, they said.
One of the ogres groaned bitterly: "If only I'd been stronger…!!!"
He must have been the young master.
The last thing he'd seen was the village chief being killed by an Orc.
There was one enormous Orc that radiated an especially bizarre Demon Aura.
And three more on par with it.
While the village's elite warriors were occupied dealing with those four, the Orc soldiers had poured in and begun their rampage…
Their number: ten thousand. It wasn't that they'd counted exactly, but that was the rough estimate they'd felt.
Even so, it was an absurd number.
Every single one had been clad in full-body armor—the kind humans would wear.
If that was true, this wasn't something the Orcs could have managed on their own.
They must have allied with some human nation.
"Or perhaps… they've joined one of the Demon Lord's factions," Kaijin murmured.
That was possible too…
I'd assumed the Demon Lords generally left the forest alone.
Beyond the forest lay the Demon Continent.
It was fertile land where massive numbers of war slaves and Magic Dolls handled production.
So the Demon nations had no shortage of food, and the Demon Lords had no particular interest in humans.
Which meant that if any of them did have territorial ambitions, it was more likely on the human side.
But apparently, some Demon Lords were prone to starting wars out of curiosity or sheer boredom.
The disappearance of "Storm Dragon Veldora," guardian of the Great Forest of Jura, also meant a reduction in the deterrent against such Demon Lords.
I see.
If I thought about it that way, I needed to give the forest's defense much more serious consideration.
What to do…
I asked everyone for their opinions.
"The Orc Tribe is clearly aiming to conquer this forest!" they said.
They'd exchanged glances, and Rigurd answered as the spokesperson, carefully watching my reaction.
Would I fight? Flee? Submit to someone's banner?
The ogres seemed to realize that their fate depended on my response.
The tension rose rapidly.
"Well then, I think I'll have another cup of tea!"
I had them prepare me a fresh cup.
Everyone sipped their tea and loosened up a little.
Now then.
"So, what are you all going to do from here?" I asked the ogres.
"Obviously. We'll bide our time and strike again!"
"Precisely. We must avenge our lord!"
"I will too! I'm still powerless, but those pig scum can't be left alive!"
"We will follow the young master and princess!!!"
Hmm. They had to know they'd die, didn't they?
"Would any of you be willing to become my subordinates?"
"Wh-what did you say?"
Heh. The goblins' fighting force alone wasn't going to cut it anyway.
If the Orcs were going to attack, the more combat power the better.
"If you swear your loyalty to me, I think I can grant your wish."
"What do you mean?"
"It's simple. I'm saying I'll help you. Well, we'll probably end up fighting them anyway, so it's not like it's a big favor."
"I see… So the goblins help us, and in return, we also serve as defenders of this place?"
"That's the gist of it. And for the record, you'd only need to be my subordinates until the Orcs are dealt with. After that, you're completely free to go.
Help the goblins build a kingdom if you want. Set off on a journey. Whatever you like. So—what'll it be?"
The "young master"—the ogre the others called by that title—considered my proposal for a moment.
As expected of B-Rank. This one appeared to have "B+" class strength. There was intelligence shining in his eyes.
He closed his eyes briefly, then opened them wide.
"We accept! We will join your service!"
To increase their chances of victory even slightly, he'd chosen to become my subordinate.
Good.
This helped me out too.
At the time, I didn't know this, but apparently some ogres worked as mercenaries.
There were families that had distinguished themselves throughout the ages by leading the vanguard in wars started by Demon Lords, and this group may well have been one of those.
They felt no aversion whatsoever to serving under someone.
Hearing that later, I finally understood why they'd agreed so easily.
"All right! Then let me give you all names!"
"Huh? What do you mean…?"
The usual naming ceremony.
The ogres looked confused, but I wasn't about to let that slow me down.
I went through and named them one by one!
This time, I put my own spin on it.
I captured each ogre's aura and expressed it through color.
The young master:
The princess:
The retainers: Kurobei, Hakuro,
And just like that, I dropped into my usual state of low activity…
Or rather, having just six people drain my Magicules like that—how was that even possible…?
The next day, when I woke up (I'd been conscious, but still…), the answer became clear.
Benimaru—a stunningly handsome young man with hair the color of burning crimson flame.
He'd been massive before, but now he stood about 180 cm tall, his body lean and toned.
Yet the Magicule count hidden within him was a completely different story from yesterday…
Wait… he'd evolved *that* much?
That was my honest reaction.
Clearly A-Rank or above. A true demon.
Two obsidian horns jutted from his crimson hair, gleaming more beautifully than polished black stone.
Being that perfectly gorgeous was almost obnoxious.
Next.
Shuna and Shion were female. If the princess had been male, I'd have had complaints.
Female ogres had turned out to be surprisingly attractive, but after evolving, they were something else entirely.
What is this? Which idol group did these come from?
No, no—they were *beyond* that level!
Shuna had long hair in a soft pink hue, two white porcelain horns, pale skin, and cherry-blossom lips.
What an incredible beauty! She was petite, standing about 155 cm.
Her crimson eyes glistened with a dewy luster as she gazed at me.
And then there was Shion.
Long hair in a deep purple-black shade, a single violet horn, pale skin, and vivid crimson lips.
Her violet eyes stared straight at me. She stood about 170 cm tall…
A willowy, model-like beauty.
I wanted her to be my secretary.
I meant that with every fiber of my being.
Kurobei was middle-aged—a dashing older gentleman.
Hakuro was an elder. But his bearing was not to be underestimated.
Souei was the same age as Benimaru.
He had a slightly tanned complexion and dark blue-black hair. A handsome man with a distinctly different aura, he stood 190 cm tall.
His blue eyes suited him perfectly.
Every single one of them was A-Rank or above!
Let me say that again. Every. Single. One. Was A-Rank or above!!!
No wonder they'd drained my Magicules dry in one go!
I'd heard they were the strongest of their clan who'd managed to escape…
Even if I'd known beforehand, I still would've named them, of course.
But if these guys turned on me, that would *not* be funny!
As if to mock my very concerns— "Lord Rimuru! We have discussed the matter among ourselves and have a request! Please, accept our loyalty!!!"
—every single one of them knelt before me in unison!
There was no reason to refuse.
And so, I gained a new set of companions!
…I'll keep it a secret that I was slightly terrified by how powerful they all were!
I've made some powerful allies!