All the department heads had gathered in the main conference room.
I'd almost forgotten—
In a state of low activity, with consciousness but unable to move, apparently.
I couldn't measure his abilities, but it seemed some kind of evolution had taken place.
Well, he'd probably come out if I ended up in danger.
He didn't seem interested in the meeting, but he was listening all the same.
Now then, shall we begin?
Just as I was about to declare the meeting in session— "Forgive the intrusion! Everyone, you have a visitor.
He insists he must be let through, saying it's an urgent matter…"
A lookout soldier burst in and delivered the message.
We hadn't started yet, so it was fine for now. Though going forward, it was definitely a problem that people could just walk in like this.
"Rigurd, that's something we'll need to address going forward."
"Y-Yes. I am terribly ashamed."
"No, no, the fact that you're even thinking in those terms shows everyone's been working hard."
I patted him on the shoulder to console him.
In truth, even if there were still gaps in our security, things had been gradually improving.
We just needed to look at the bigger picture and think things through.
Now then, have that guest brought in.
"It's been a while, Lord Rimuru.
I came as soon as I heard reinforcements were needed. I'm glad I wasn't too late."
As he spoke, Fuse, the head of the Free Guild Blumund branch, stepped inside.
He was wearing full equipment—a complete combat outfit.
Hm? Wait a minute?
If I thought about it, it had been about ten days since we'd evacuated some fifty adventurers and merchants?
And upon receiving the report, he must have rushed here immediately to provide support.
We appreciated the sentiment, but had he made the right call throwing in with us?
"I'm sorry for interrupting when you must be busy preparing for battle.
But your security is terribly thin. Has the Falmuth main force not arrived yet?
Our intelligence puts their army at fifteen thousand strong.
They're probably celebrating to boost morale, but this is no time for revelry.
I know my strength is modest, but I intend to offer whatever help I can."
He rattled off the whole speech in one breath, with the blazing eyes of a man who'd prepared himself for death.
Yeah. The war was already over, but how was I supposed to say that?
He continued without pause.
"This is a fine town.
Beautifully planned streets, houses built with care.
Cobblestone-paved roads and construction that rivals the royal capital.
I was genuinely impressed.
I don't want this place turned into a battlefield. I strongly recommend a preemptive strike to take out the enemy's head in one blow.
We've heard that the Holy Church is behind them.
That's why I've only brought fifty B-rank or higher adventurers.
My nation can't officially support you. I hope you understand…
But those fifty of us will cut straight into Falmuth's main camp, and while they're thrown into chaos, you…"
He was speaking with fiery passion, but the Tempest department heads just stared blankly at him.
Well, yeah. The war was already over from our perspective.
Still, I'd half expected Blumund to cut us loose, so the fact that they'd actually sent reinforcements was a surprise.
They had a treaty, sure, but they could've found a way to weasel out of it…
I felt a little touched.
But that was that, and this was this.
"Mm. I appreciate the sentiment, but that's all already been handled."
"Handled? What do you mean?"
"How should I put this…?
In short—one sentence: I wiped them all out!"
"Hah?" Fuse let out a soundless noise and stood there, utterly speechless.
Youm patted him on the shoulder, and Kabal offered a few words of comfort.
Elen and
Of course it was hard to believe.
It hadn't even been two weeks since the declaration of war.
They'd been expecting the main force to arrive in another week, followed by two or three days of field battles to buy time and set up defensive positions for a worst-case siege.
They'd assumed the war had already started, but because we'd been taking things so leisurely, they'd mistaken it for a delay in the main army's arrival.
Even so, we'd been way too relaxed, and apparently that had raised their suspicions…
At any rate, Kabal and Elen's explanations seemed to have brought everyone up to speed.
I ordered the soldiers to guide the fifty waiting outside to an inn where they could rest and make themselves comfortable.
While I was at it, I decided to have Fuse join the meeting too.
It wouldn't be an official opinion from the Kingdom of Blumund, but a human perspective would be valuable.
All right, this time I'd really declare the meeting started! Just as I was about to— "Um, would this be all right?"
Fuse raised his hand and spoke up.
Was something the matter?
"What is it? Is there a problem?"
He replied: "Yes. Actually, we've completed a new product—a long-distance communication orb, a magical item.
And with it, it's now possible to have conversations with people far away via video transmission."
Hmm.
A remarkable invention, but why was he bringing this up now?
That was what I was thinking, but— "The King of the Dwarves insisted that I give him a status report in person, and said there was something he absolutely had to discuss…
He asked if we could seize this opportunity, with all the department heads present, to do so."
I see.
If that was the case, there was no problem, but— "Fuse, that's fine, but is this private? We've got Youm and the Blumund Guild Master right here—is that okay?
If it's a personal matter, I can make time later."
"Oh, no. According to the Dwarven King, he also wants to discuss future inter-state relations…
When I told him we were holding a meeting today, he said he'd have his ministers assembled on his end as well."
"So you're saying they're waiting over there right now?"
"Yes. That's right."
So the Kingdom of Dwargon hadn't officially declared diplomatic relations with us publicly.
What we'd signed was a mutual non-aggression pact and a mutual technology-sharing agreement.
If our nation ceased to exist, those would become meaningless. But this time, we'd won.
Based on this outcome, I could deduce that they now viewed us as a matter they couldn't simply ignore.
After all, we'd proven ourselves capable of defeating an army of fifteen thousand single-handedly.
They had to decide whether to formally establish diplomatic relations—or recognize us as enemies of humanity and crush us.
"Fuse, let me ask—did you tell them I'd become a Demon Lord?"
"Oh, yes. I reported everything."
Ah, so that was it.
He'd only confirmed it with them this morning, and the fact that they'd moved to assemble ministers so quickly meant they'd taken the situation very seriously.
Well, of course. If you heard that a new Demon Lord-class monster had built a town and then announced they were becoming a Demon Lord, panicking was the normal response.
But well, they'd find out soon enough anyway. In a way, this was convenient.
Since things had come to this, there was no reason not to turn this into a formal summit.
After all, we'd been planning to settle our own policy first and then hear everyone's opinions anyway.
"Got it. Then bring in that communication device and set it up. We'll use it to hold an emergency summit."
I made the declaration.
It was sudden, but it worked in our favor.
This would be a critical meeting to decide our future direction.
And so, the meeting was transformed into a summit, scheduled to begin in one hour.
The moment we broke for a brief recess, Fuse came at me with a terrifying expression.
Then— "Just now… did you just say something that was absolutely not okay to say?
It sure sounded to me like you said something about becoming a Demon Lord!"
He was trembling as he questioned me.
Was he holding in a bathroom break? He could've just gone without being so polite about it.
"Hm? Oh, the Demon Lord thing.
Yeah, I did.
But more importantly, shouldn't you go to the toilet before you have an accident?"
"Are you an idiot?! That's not the point!
A Demon Lord, you! What exactly is going on here?!"
Ugh. What a hassle.
Starting from scratch? Did I really have to explain everything from the beginning?
Well, I'd only told him about wiping out the enemy, so expecting him to figure out the rest on his own was too much.
I decided to give him a condensed explanation.
And while I was filling Fuse in on the gist of what had happened— "Excuse me! Lord Rimuru, you have another visitor.
What shall we do?"
The same soldier from earlier asked me.
What now? It was turning out to be quite the busy day.
I left Fuse talking to thin air, muttering away, and went to meet the visitor.
I headed to the room where the guest was being kept waiting.
When I entered, I found about five people waiting—men who looked like wealthy gentlemen and high-ranking military officers.
Only the gentleman in the expensive attire was seated on one of the sofas we'd made for the town, while the five officers stood guard behind and to either side.
Their training was evident.
The gentleman on the sofa had refined features and looked like he'd been quite the heartthrob in his youth.
His narrow, slit-like eyes were his most distinctive trait.
"Ah, hello there. Sorry to keep you waiting.
I'm Rimuru—the one who plays king around this town.
Nice to meet you!"
I threw out a casual greeting.
I'd become a Demon Lord and all, but I was clueless when it comes to manners, formalities, and all that.
Nobody around me knew the details either…
Well, I was planning to learn from someone eventually.
In response to my greeting, the narrow-eyed man stood up.
Then he threw his eyes wide open with a look that could only be described as— "You… are the demon who seduced my daughter.
I trust you've made your peace!"
With that, he activated an ultra-high-tier explosive flame spell and began chanting.
Whoa! This old man was out of his mind!
In my knowledge, the ultra-high-tier explosive flame spell was the most difficult spell to cast.
Its destructive power, even in a simplified version, was predicted to cause massive damage to an entire town.
It was a military-grade spell, after all.
Had he lost his mind? This made no sense.
What was this about seducing his daughter? What was he even talking about?
Just as I was starting to get confused— "Papa! What are you doing here?!"
Elen came flying in.
Then, in an instant, she seemed to grasp the entire situation, and without a word, she smacked the narrow-eyed gentleman on the head.
*Smack!* A crisp sound rang out, and it seemed to bring the gentleman back to his senses.
It turned out this gentleman was Elen's father.
After enduring Elen's lecture for a while, he finally calmed down.
What a handful.
"Ahahaha! My apologies!
I received a report that my daughter had been snatched up by a Demon Lord, and I panicked!"
He declared this with a bright, cheerful smile.
Even so, launching an ultra-high-tier explosive flame spell in the middle of a town was absolutely unacceptable. What an absurd father.
"No, Your Excellency. The report was delivered properly—you simply jumped to conclusions."
"See, Papa? It really is your fault!"
A secretary-looking person and Elen both berated the flustered father.
I felt a little sorry for him, but I shouldn't feel sympathy. If anything, he'd brought it on himself.
Once things had settled, I reintroduced myself.
The narrow-eyed gentleman, Elen's father, introduced himself as Duke Erald of the Magic Nation Sarion.
He was apparently a relative of the Emperor—his uncle, if I understood correctly.
Put simply, he was one of the top three most powerful figures in the Magic Nation Sarion.
I couldn't hide my shock.
W-Wait… Elen was an absurdly high-born lady?!
She was someone who could be called a princess. Going around adventuring in that position was way too free-spirited.
I wasn't the only one who thought someone should've tried to stop her.
Of course, she didn't seem to care at all. There was probably someone watching over her from the shadows, protecting Elen without her knowledge.
They'd been confident that their cover would be blown eventually.
Kabal and Gido—those two attendants had been through the wringer. I'd have to treat them next time…
But that was for later.
"So, is your only business here about Elen?"
That couldn't be all.
When I looked at Duke Erald— "Heh heh heh. Of course not.
In considering how to deal with your nation going forward, I wanted to see things with my own eyes.
You needn't worry about security—this body of mine is an automaton , after all."
His words made me realize something.
Despite calling themselves the Magic Nation, he carried surprisingly little magic within him.
The officers seemed to be the real deal, but had this gentleman come in a proxy body?
As expected of a top noble. Cautious.
But more importantly— Next time, I'd have to ask him to teach me how to make automatons .
Since this had come up, might as well take advantage of the opportunity.
I decided to include Duke Erald and his party in the summit as well.
The hour was nearly up.
It was time for the summit to begin.
When I returned to the main conference room, everyone was already seated and waiting for me.
I guided the Duke and his group to empty seats.
Perhaps I should start with introductions first. After all, not a few of the participants were representatives of major nations.
And so, the summit kicked off with self-introductions.
First, those who weren't from Tempest.
The Kingdom of Dwargon—the Armed Nation Dwargon.
Their representative was the King himself,
The small Kingdom of Blumund.
Unfortunately, no official government representatives had come in person.
However, Fuse was the head of the Free Guild Blumund branch.
He was also apparently on close terms with Bariyon, one of Blumund's ministers.
He wasn't a full proxy, but I'd probably hear some valuable opinions from him.
Then there was the unexpected addition—the Magic Nation Sarion's top noble.
Duke Erald was a doting father who spoiled his daughter, but he also wore the cold, calculating face of an aristocrat.
And he was a heavyweight of the Magic Nation Sarion, someone who could stand against the Council on equal footing.
He couldn't be taken lightly.
Surveying all the guests, it was quite the impressive lineup.
A meeting composed of only monsters might have led to runaway thinking. Looking at it that way, having the human contingent present was a blessing.
Next, I should introduce the Tempest side.
Oh wait, before that— "Ah, right, right.
There's someone I'd like to introduce to everyone.
I think at least some of you have heard the name.
Please, try not to be too shocked.
Now then—I'll be summoning him!"
I gave that preamble.
Sensing the shift in atmosphere, the room fell silent.
And then— "KUAHAHAHAHA! Summoned and arriving—here I am!!"
I called Veldora forth using "Storm Dragon Release."
A handsome man manifested, based on my own doppelganger form.
Glancing at him, I introduced him.
"This is my friend, Veldora. Everyone, get along with him!"
Veldora greeted them too.
"I'm Veldora, also known as the 'Storm Dragon.' Pleasure to meet you!"
The room remained frozen in silence.
Nobody moved.
And then—*thud!* Fuse and Elen collapsed on the spot, while Rigurd and the Hobgoblins prostrated themselves with a resounding— The room descended into absolute chaos.
Needless to say, the summit was temporarily suspended.
…Though it hadn't even technically started yet, but worrying about that wouldn't change anything.