Tensei Shitara Slime Datta Ken (LN) Volume 4 - Ch 5

THE SUMMONED CHILDREN

He gave his visitor a warm smile, deftly showing him to a seat.

Ay, what a pain! Our strategy ended in a complete failure. It might be a little while longer before Clayman awakens to beco the first true demon lord, sadly.

Laplace, the visitor in question, sat down and gave him the news. Failure, after years of effort. He didnt sound too broken up about it.

Hmm. And here I thought an orc lord on the rampage would guarantee us at least ten thousand or so deaths.

The master of the room seed to take the news pretty lightly.

But I suppose obtaining the power needed wont co that easily to us. There are other conditions to worry about.

Yeah. Hes strong enough, though, without having to dabble in any crazy stuff. Although I think he has it in for Leon, a bit

He still has much to learn, that Clayman. Sowas that all you ca here to say?

Laplace defiantly grinned at the rooms owner. Oh, of course not! That was just a side note. I bet you heard all about it from Clayman already, hmm? All I did was help out a bit, so I dont know the whole story myself. But enough about thatIve been going undercover to keep tabs on the paladins movents lately. Theyre really out to start sothing, yknow that? Now that theyre pretty sure Veldoras gone for good.

Hmm? You think so? Do you know what theyre after?

Itd be a hell of a lot easier for us if I did, huh? I tell you, the Western Holy Church is one an group to get involved with.

Laplace shrugged. The mask hid his expression, but despite his pessimism, his attitude was just as bold and invincible as ever.

You sure are right. Passing themselves off as righteous guardians of the weak or whatnot. I highly doubt theyre acting out of sheer goodwill. Theyre an enigma to .

Yeah, arent they? But if theyre starting to get more active, yknow, thats our chance to catch em by the tail, too, yeah? Theyve been around since ti immorial, so I cant wriggle my way into the upper managent. But in their current operations, I might have a way in, yknow?

He smiled once again.

So Im thinkin its ti for to get a bit more serious about infiltrating the operation. Thatll probably put out of contact for a while, but you okay with that?

No, fine by . Oh, but if you do find out whats behind the Holy Church, Ill be glad to grant you a wish.

Laplace greeted this news with a hearty laugh. Really?! Well, thats a nice little motivation!

Ill bet. But dont overdo it. I dont want you ssing this up.

No need to remind ! In that case Laplace stood up, preparing to leave.

Oh, one more thing, a relaxed voice said behind him. The main cause behind your most recent failures is traveling in the Western Nations right now. Things are about to beco rather interesting, Id say.

Wh-whaaaaa? What the heck for? That dopey-looking slis supposed to be the grand pooh-bah of the Forest of Jura! Whats it doing bumping around human lands?!

Ha-ha-ha-ha! It surprises you that much? You really are a unique little monster, arent youer, what was his na again?

Umm It was Rimuru, I believe.

Ah, right. Well, no doubt about it, then. He entered the Kingdom of Blumund several days ago.

This stunned Laplace into silence.

Well, fine. Aint got a thing to do with . I an, I havent seen a monster who posed less of a threat to in my life.

With that, Laplace left the room.

The master of the room gave a contented smile.

Given his strange behaviorhes no normal monster, that much is for sure. Which ansmaybe hes got mories of his past life? Perhaps I can take advantage of that. Itd be worth testing out a little, at least

The Forest of Jura was surrounded by a number of nations. There was the Kingdom of Blumund, which I just left. There was Farmus, the much larger kingdom adjacent to it. Then there was Englesia and a number of other smaller countries.

All these nations ca together to form what was known as the Council, which consisted of representatives elected by each country. Most important decisions affecting the region were managed by this Council. Each nation had its own thods for electing representatives, but for the most part, the seats were taken by lower-level nobility without much in the way of inheritance rights.

The Council of the West (as it was formally called) was originally founded as a sort of monster-fighting co-op, before growing into a force devised to keep the Eastern Empire in check. Not every nation in the area was part of itthe powerful Sorcerous Dynasty of Thalion was one of the exceptions, for examplebut this was rare. In a world this brutal to its inhabitants, you had to pool your resources for a chance at survival, I suppose.

The Kingdom of Englesia lay at the core of this Counciland for good reason. Geographically, Englesia was the easiest central point for Council mbers to assemble at. It naturally followed that the Free Guild would set up its headquarters here as well. You could say that the most powerful Council mber nation was the Kingdom of Farmus, but in order to prevent any one nation from having too much clout over the assembly, the nations agreed to set up in Englesia for logistical reasons.

Partly because of this, relations between Farmus and Englesia were apparently frosty at best. And there was another reason: Englesia was the only Council mber nation that didnt share a border with the Forest of Jura, giving it an extra asure of stability and protection from monsters. That was another factor that led to its selection as Council HQ.

But what does the Council do, exactly? To put it broadly, it acted as a diator between nations, weighing each mbers interests against the others and managing them to prevent conflict. It held power in both economic and political circles, making it a strikingly influential group in this regionsort of like the United Nations of my old world, with a lot more force to take action.

Much like the United Nations, the Council had no standing military force. It didnt need one. Thats because, in a way, the Council ford the higher bureaucracy of the Free Guild itself. The money paid to adventurers for slaying monsters ca from Council fundingand in exchange, the Council had the right to give orders to the guild.

This funding ca from contributions provided by each mber nation, which varied depending on how much speaking rights each one had. Refusing to pay these ant leaving the Council. It was a way for the Council to gain a louder voice in local affairs, using the shield of security it offered mbers. Many nations relied almost wholly upon the guild for monster managent, and that ant there was no choice for them but to support the Council.

Speaking of security, I heard another interesting story: The main thing that kept the Western Nations strongly connected to one another was religion.

In this world, where monsters were a real, tangible threat, religion provided more than just spiritual supportit was a sort of last bastion for survival. Thus, you had the Western Holy Church, the font of all regional religious activity, with Luminus as its sole and absolute deity. To put it another way, the Western Nations were the Churchs main sphere of influence, and the Holy Empire of Lubelius the holy land of the Church.

Confusingly, this didnt necessarily an the Western Holy Church ran Lubelius. It was an independent religious organization. However, the leader of Lubelius was called the Holy Emperor, defined to be the pope-like mortal spokesperson of divinity whose orders had to be followed without fail.

So was Lubelius a kind of puppet state for the Church? Yes and no. It was too complex for to really get from what Fuze told , and Im not sure he really knew, either. Its just, you know, that sort of thing, as he put it, and I guess hes right.

The Western Holy Church wasnt the only religion in this world. There were other indigenous ones that worshipped a variety of different gods and goddesses. But in terms of followers, Luminus had the overwhelming majority. And thats simply because this particular deity had the paladins, the most powerful knightly warriors on this planet.

These ford the so-called Crusader groups, armies of knights whose strength went beyond A rank, and their numbers totaled over three hundred. They were considered the saviors of mankind, monster-slaying experts tasked with eradicating them all from the landscape. I was told they were ford by virtuous inspiration to protect the Western Nations, although I dont know how true that is. So people even gave them enough respect to call them defenders of righteousness.

The thing was, though, this Luminus apparently didnt accept any other gods. The One God Luminus, as the full na went. As a result, practitioners of other religions were not qualified to receive his salvation. There were several Council nations that didnt designate Luminism as their national religion, and paladins were never deployed over there. I guess I cant bla themif you think soones unworthy of salvation, then of course you arent gonna risk your life for thembut that didnt sound too righteous to . Just my take, though.

The Sorcerous Dynasty of Thalion, by the way, had no state religion. Its imperial family claid to be the descendants of gods, so no other religion was officially designated. On the other hand, its people enjoyed full freedom of religion, making it a pretty unique nation in its approach. They also steadfastly refused to join the Council, making it a fully independent force in the region. Their borders werent entirely shut, but they had no interest in playing nice with others. It was really interesting; I wanted to check it out soti, especially since it sounded a little bit like the Japan of my old life.

That rounded out the new knowledge I had gained from my ti in Blumund. The Western Nations were propped up by the economy on one side, religion on the other, helping it form strong bonds from country to country. A pretty neat setup, I thought. In a world with so many things trying to kill you, I didnt think you saw too many wars between human nations, though.

Oh, and I learned sothing rather surprising about Hinata Sakaguchi. It turned out she was the chief of the paladins, the main officer running the Crusaders.

I think Veldora ntioned that otherworlders often tended to gain special abilities when they ca to this world. Maybe that power let her lead the greatest knight force known in the land? She was already a pretty tough cookie when she left ShizuI couldnt guess how strong she was now.

Thinking about it, I was a monster presently. If I just casually strode up to her, she might decide to target . Better not try anything too untoward. Ill just keep my distance, I think, until I gain a better grasp of who exactly this Hinata person is.

And to that end, I needed to gather so more information.

The journey to Englesia went smoothly. It was ti to bust out the wolf wagon again. There was a road set up, although it wasnt paved. Of course it wasnt. Itd take a huge amount of ti and money to pave every road around herevia normal ans, that is.

I had Ranga pulling the wagon in slightly shrunken form. He didnt look much different from a regular old black wolf, so I figured it wouldnt be a problem. Having him sprint at full speed would break the wagon apart, so he was going at a light jog at the mont. Doing around twenty-five, maybe? We couldnt risk going much faster on these unfinished roads. As Kabal and his gang put it, though, it couldnt have been a more comfortable ride.

We encountered several mounted soldiers on patrol along the path. They all claid that I wouldnt expect to see much in the way of strong monsters around here. There were robbers and brigands to content with, but we never got involved with any. Which, I an, twenty-five didnt seem that fast to us, but its not like they could have caught up to us on foot. A horse could, but not for the long distances Ranga could pull off on a lark.

So things went well for the re three days it took to reach the capital of Englesia.

The gate had an even stricter entry process than the Dwarven Kingdoms. There were three levels of inspections, the first of which required identification. Anyone who couldnt produce papers on the spot was forced to the back of a ponderously long line for level two; ss that up and you were on to level three, where you were all but treated as a criminal. By that point, once they were done with you, youd seriously begin to wonder why you tried to enter in the first place. But a lot of people were willing to risk it. Thats how attractive this nation was.

Thanks to my guild papers, I didnt have to care about any of that. Good thing, too. If I didnt have them, Id be waiting in line longer than I did for the dwarves.

My only complaint:

Whoa, whoa, youre an adventurer, lil lady? This isnt so kind of joke youre playing on us, is it?

The guards treated like so spoiled girl.

Im not a lady, thanks. Just check the papers.

Heh. Guess youre about the age when you wanna act all grown-up, huh? You got that cute voice, but between that mask and the way you talk

The griping continued as they ran the papers through so kind of magical device. Then their attitude changed.

Oh, my apologies! Sir Rimuru, adventurer rank B? Welco to the Kingdom of Englesia!!

Well, that was easy. It sure didnt seem so from the way Kabals party bumbled around, but being ranked B earned you a lot of social status, I guess.

Dont let it bother you, Boss, comnted Kabal once he was through. The guards didnt an anything personal by it.

I wasnt angry in particular, but getting the lil lady treatnt struck as needlessly cruel. But My voice, huh? No wonder everybody mistook for a girl. I didnt expect that, given the mask covering my face and all, but my voice made out to be a child, huh? It didnt bother at all beforealthough, co to think of it, I got similar treatnt in Blumund, didnt I? Maybe I should try altering the pitch on it to sound more mature? A bit too late for that, I thought.

Lets just stick with the current one. My body was maybe four foot three anyway, so Id try passing myself off as kind of a stunted young man. I was innocent at heart, after all, so its fine. A Masked Boy of Mystery would work just fine in this world. Its already filled with demon lords and Heroes; why not toss in another fantasy trope while Im at it?

The first thing that surprised about the city was how advanced it was. It was fairly large in size, yes, but it was also surrounded by outer walls that seed to extend to the horizon, with entry provided by only two gates. I couldnt imagine how much ti and cash it took to build a wall covering this much terrain.

Going inside, however, the view was even more stunning. There werent skyscrapers lining the streets, exactly, but the buildings were much higher than anything Blumund had to offer. I spotted five-story stone buildings all over the place, along with a variety of brick and wood structures. But more impressive than anything was the chalky-white castle that lood in the center, easily visible from each of the citys well-planned neighborhoods. Basking in its majesty made it clear that the capital had a legion of talented architects. Thats how beautiful it was.

Another thing that caught my eye was the castles location. There was a large lake in the middle of the city, and the edifice was built right in the center, making it appear to rise straight up from the waters. It certainly wowed visitors. Four roads spread out from it in each direction, connecting it to the rest of town. During ergencies, these roads could have their bridges removed to prevent outside forces from invading. It was an impressive sight, an ostentatious display of Englesias power. I had to hand it to them; it was aweso.

Security around the capital was handled by knights stationed at important points. Youd have to be pretty desperate to attempt a cri around here. Id expect nothing less from the ho of the Council, really. Any issues involving representatives would spark an international incident, so they couldnt be lazy about that.

I had Ranga dive into my shadow before we approached the capital, sticking the wagon back into my Stomach. Sothing told the guards wouldnt like wolves running around the streetsI wasnt that crazy, so I didnt want to push it.

Thus, nobody bothered us as we walked around, taking in all the sights. It was our first leisurely stroll in a whileand as I discovered, the most amazing thing wasnt the city views, but its culture. We discovered a large sports arena, next to what looked like an outdoor amphitheater. There was artwork prominently displayed throughout townposters, apparently, for stage plays. Paper was relatively cheap around here, and I even saw people handing out flyers advertising this or that product or event.

The big city. I could taste it in the air, for the first ti in ages. But the thing that really made think Are you kidding ? were the glass-lined buildings I saw. rchandise was lined up inside, a bit like a departnt stores display windows. In fact, they were display windowsthe only difference being the weapons and armor on the shelves inside.

In a fancier city block near the castle, I found a shop featuring dresses and other clothing. It sure wasnt a place for the masses. Simply living inside the city walls probably ant you were at least sowhat well-off, but owning a house close to the castle was apparently a right reserved exclusively for the nobility. The disparity was like night and day. The more you paid in taxes, I suppose, the better treatnt you got. Plus, being nobility usually ant a job inside the castle, so it was probably a given that you could enjoy first-class housing within walking distance.

Once we made our initial rounds, we looked for an inn to spend the night. Broadly speaking, the city was divided into four sectionscomrcial, tourist, industrial, and residential quarters. The castle was at the nexus of all four, with the rest of the city radiating out from it, and the closer you were to the center, the more upscale it got. Pretty easy to figure out.

Following Kabals lead, we quickly made our way to the tourist quarter, finding a wealth of inns (and alleyways full of taverns in the rear) to serve us. I could feel my heart soar, but sadly, we werent there to drink that day. I frowned a bit at that as we worked out room arrangents.

We set out the next morning for the Free Guild headquarters.

The closer you got to the city walls in the tourist quarter, the more tiny shops and public performances you ran into. There was a wide selection of food stalls on offer, too. Toward the center, however, you saw more diplomatic residences, conference centers, schools, and other municipal buildings. It was the most well policed of the four quarters, and toward dead center, we found the Free Guild HQ.

Right this way, Boss.

Boy, there sure are a lot of people, huh? Its like a real city.

Hey, watch out for pickpockets, all right? This place is crawlin with guards, but thats how a lot of people get lulled into a false sense of security.

Gido had a point, but all my important stuff was in my Stomach, so I was fine. If anyone needed to worry, it was Elen.

Kabal guided us closer to the center. The ivory castles overbearing presence made it impossible to get lost.

The HQ building was a large, grand, modern-looking structure, a far cry from the dieval norm. The US had steel skyscrapers with a dozen or so floors in the nineteenth century, back when Japan was still mostly single-story wood structures. That was how powerful a nation it was by comparison, and the Kingdom of Englesia started looking similar to .

Adjacent to the guild was a tall building that had just as grandiose a presence, adorned with a statue of a goddess and a large holy cross on the roof.

Is that the Church?

Sure is, replied Gido. The Englesia branch of the Western Holy Churchwell, the headquarters of the whole thing, really.

Ah, the Churchthe one thing I had to be the most careful with around here.

The headquarters?

Well, its a bit of a story, actually

As Gido put it, the official Church headquarters were located over in the Holy Empire of Lubelius. However, it was chiefly used for religious ceremonies and the like, with most of the actual work taking place here in the Englesian capital. They dont allow regular folks in here, he said, and Im sure thats the way the Church wants it in this city.

I didnt have any business with the ChurchIm an atheist, if anythingso I sincerely hoped I wouldnt get involved with them during my life. They see monsters as the enemy, after all. And no matter how I wanted to approach Hinata, I couldnt risk any moves that would attract their attention.

Kind of funny to see them right next door to the Free Guild, though. The mask was hiding my aura; I didnt think Id get spotted. No point worrying about it. If I did, Id figure sothing out.

The guild HQ entrance was protected by a pair of glass doors that mustve cost a fortune to install. Now thats sothing I never expected to see in this world. The otherworlders around here must have been quite an influenceI bet they went out of their way to get these made, too. Where theres a will, theres a way, I guess. I still had a while to go. Instead of worrying about can, I should just do.

Sothing to learn from, I thought as I stood before the doors. As I did, I felt sothing searching about my body. At the sa ti, the doors opened. Holy crap, really? Theres so kind of sensor that automatically opens the doors? Talk about high tech being used for the most trivial things! Seeing this piece of Earth tech replicated here was a shock, especially compared to the wooden Church building next door with its plain old push handles. It felt like the architect just wanted sothing as different from the neighbors as possible.

It sure has changed in two years, Elen remarked. Well, I wasnt gonna lose out. If this is what Im batting against, I better start planning out a high-rise or two when I get ho.

Stepping inside, we felt several pairs of eyes upon us. They all appeared fairly high-level at a glance. It was only natural that the HQ would be full of the best people theyve got.

Welco! How can I help you today? said a woman stationed by the door. Her greeting, perfectly tid between breaths, made it feel like the lobby of a five-star hotel. Not to be rude, but it was a far cry from the Blumund capital branch.

Yeah, were here to see the grand master. Heres our letter of introduction.

I handed it to her.

Certainly. Please give one mont while we confirm.

She stepped away as another man approached us.

Uh-oh

Hey, hey, whats a kid like you doin in here?

I knew it! Soone wanting to start trouble. First impressions were everything here. If I let them screw with , I was done. But just as I was set to fire back

Whoa! Hey, Grass! You reach rank B, too?

Kabal spoke up, tossing him a few kind words. It made Grass freeze in place.

Ahh! Well, look at you, Kabal! Sure havent seen you lately!

What a letdown. I was all ready to make him see how powerful I was, too. Of course, I had a tendency to screw that up anyway, so maybe its for the better.

A few other guild mbers were starting to notice my friends. Soon, they were all trading nostalgic banter with one another, which segued into retelling stories of past glories on the field, blah, blah, blah. I sat down on a sofa and waited. An attendant brought so tea. It was all just too perfect.

Enjoying the aroma, I decided to ask about sothing bothering .

Hey, Kabal, howd you know Grass was a B-ranked adventurer?

Whoa, whoa, Grass shot back, watch your manners! Thats Sir Kabal to you, lil lady! You must be a beginner if you dont know how things work around here, huh? How bout you show so respect to your elders?

Hey, I wouldnt mouth off at Sir Rimuru like that

You should really show so more discipline to that kid, Kabal. You know we dont allow any guild mbers under rank B in here, and look at the attitude shes giving off! If you keep spoiling her like that, whats she gonna do when she has to fend for herself?

Knock it off! This guys here on his own rits! Im sorry, Ill fill him in later, so

Kabal gave a regretful bow. I didnt mind as long as people stopped picking on , but this lil lady stuff was starting to get old. Ah well. This particular form of mine, magic-free and carried out strictly by my own body, was the most comfortable thing for anyway.

Im not a kid, all right? Or a lady. Try to rember that.

Still, Grass did answer a few questions for . Our IDs were all checked at the door to confirm our qualifications. Not good enough? Then you didnt get in. I suppose that was why the HQ didnt seem all that heavily guarded. As Elen explained, mbers below B rank used a branch office near the main entrance, which offered cheaper lodging and was more convenient for day-to-day activity. Good thing I went through all that effort to earn a B, then.

As all this unfolded in my mind, the woman from before returned. Thanks for waiting, she said with a smile. I was told that only you were allowed in, Sir Rimuru, so if you would follow , please

This sent a jolt of tension across the lobby.

The grand masters gonna see im?!

So that letter was real?

Real or not, how often does the grand master give an audience to so guy off the street?

Thats why Im telling you guys, Sir Rimurus not so guy off the street!

Kabal proudly boasted about to the suddenly interested audience. I wish hed stop that; its embarrassing.

Ill be back in a bit, I said as we walked off.

The woman directed down a deeper hallway before knocking on a certain door. There was no response, but she opened it and went in anyway, inviting to follow.

Going inside, I imdiately noticed a magic circle drawn on the floor, much like the one Vester had drawn. Probably from the sa family. Invited to step inside, I stood alongside the woman, feeling her activate the magic behind it for just a single mont. We must not have been teleported very far.

This new room, a sort of informal reception chamber, felt airtight to that circle might have taken us sowhere underground. These were probably all anti-spy asures, I figured, and the thoroughness of it all left with a lot to learn from.

The woman, well used to this procedure, gave a bow before teleporting herself back. Left alone, I sat on a chair and waited. After a couple minutes, a door opened, revealing a single young man. He was fairly handso, with black hair and black eyes, but there was still more than a trace of youth to his countenanceyoung enough that Id believe him if he said he was in high school.

Welco, he began, smiling. I am grand master Yuuki Kagurazaka. Its nice to et you, Rimuru. Ive heard quite a lot about you! Feel free to call Yuuki.

Its good to et you, too. My nas Rimuru Tempest, and I am the leader of the newly established nation of Tempest in the Forest of Jura. Just Rimuru is fine with , too.

Thus, I had my first encounter with Yuuki Kagurazaka.

After introducing ourselves, we settled down to a little Q&A session. It began with a bit of idle chitchat as we probed each others motivations and such, but it wasnt long before I was totally at ease with Yuuki.

He was just a kind, good-natured guy, supposedly in his late twenties but not even looking out of his late teens. I asked him why; he said it was a type of curse. He didnt obtain any special or unique skills on the way to this world, apparently, but the journey did grant him massively upgraded physical abilities.

It was really just, like He scratched his head. Like, what should I do? And really, it took about five years until I realized that sothing weird was going on with .

His eternally boyish looks, among other things, ant he had never been in a relationship. I couldnt help but laugh and cheer him up. I was starting to like the guy.

Wow, really? Ooh, thats too bad, ha-ha-ha! But, hey, youll get luck on your side eventually!

Thats really not helping

Yuuki sounded a little huffy about it, but Im sure I was just imagining it.

Either way, we quickly broke the ice.

Still, I have to hand it to you A monster building an entire city?

Oh? Its not that rare of a thing, is it?

Well, I an, I sure havent heard of itand I kinda doubt I will again, after you.

You think?

Yeah

We stared at each other for a bit. Whats the big deal with monsters building cities? Yuukis getting too bogged down in the little things. I let it slide as the topic turned to our current situations, and once that conversation ran its course, Yuuki brought up his main concern.

So, Rimuru Youre a monster, right? Thats how Fuze described you to , but Im pretty surprised that you went right through the barrier we have over the headquarters building. How did you transform yourself like that?

Mm? Oh. Yeah, Im a monster. A sli, to be exact. Keep this between us, but Ive got a skill called Universal Shapeshift that does this for . I can imitate any monster Ive consud. That, and this mask contributes a lot, too.

I removed the mask. I knew Id be dealing with the grand master for a while to co. If we ever got hostile, Id have a hell of a ti getting accepted by people in this nation. This was a do-or-die mont. I couldnt let him think my city was so house of horrors. Lets just go out with the whole truth, right now.

Imitate monsters youve Wait. Is that Miss Shizu?!

A murderous look crossed Yuukis face. A beatand then he disappeared from the opposite side of the table. We exchanged a pair of kicks. The resulting shock wave split the table in two. It was a trendous blowheavy, furious, like nothing a human could launch. I might not ever feel pain, but for just a mont, my leg felt too numb to move.

Calm down, kid I said, cool as a cucumber.

Looking back, Shizu managed to spot purely on the atmosphere I exuded around her. A pretty amazing feat, now that I think about it. It took a lot of imagination to picture an otherworlder who wound up turning into a sli.

The rage was gone from Yuukis eyes, but he was still on his feet, ready to continue. Could you explain this to in detail? he asked, his gaze fixed upon .

We sat across from each other once more, leaving the broken table where it was.

Well, all right. Look, to be honest with you, Im an alien from a faraway planet

What are you talking about? I want you to be serious with ! Honestly, Im impressed you think this is a great ti to goof off!

Yikes. Yuuki looked pretty pissed. I figured a little joke would help ease the tension, but maybe not

All right, all right. Ill be serious now, so just chill out a little

You co all the way here, and thats the joke you go for? Thats the first ti Ive heard that one. Are you by any chance?

Yuuki guessed it before I could even say it. I decided to start from the beginning.

SoI was attacked by this guy on the street

I spent the next while going into minute detail about what happened.

Ah So you are Japanese, huh, Rimuru?

Heh-heh. Just as planned. I make a joke that only soone with my background would understand, and he was instantly on my side. It made him angry at first, but, hey, it worked! The quickest way to make him realize who I really was! (Whether he believed that was my intention is another issue, but, um, it worked!)

Once we got through with that, we talked about all kinds of things. What wed been up to in this world. Our trials and tribulations. Shizus final monts.

Thats how she decided to go? I have to admit, she often told about how much she didnt like this world

Yuuki closed his eyes.

No point dwelling on dreary topics. I brought up other things from our old world. He demonstrated a particularly keen interest in how his favorite manga and ani wound up ending.

Aw, co on! You gotta tell what happened after that!

Hee-hee-hee! You wanna know? Well, guess what? Pretty much all the manga and ani you ntioned ended by the ti I left! And you know I kept up with all of it. A true gentleman always makes sure to cover all the bases!

Thats amazing! Please, sir! Please, give your knowledge!

He was starting to sound frantic. It made the woman from before almost drop her tray of tea and snacks when she teleported back in. Maybe I took it a little too far.

Well, here, Ill show you, then. Do you have a piece of paper?

Paper?

Yeah.

Yuuki gave a doubtful look as he provided with one. I swallowed it into my stomach

There, all set.

and took out my finished work, handing it to Yuuki.

Wh-whoaaaaaaa!! What kind of magic trick is this, sir?!

I couldnt bla him for his surprise. I had just handed him a neatly bound volu of manga.

This was the result of wringing everything I could out of the Great Sage. I basically took the paper and copied the images I replayed from my mory upon it. Talk about a waste of a great talent. Real effective, though.

Right! If you want to read more, Ill need so more paper to work with!

Without a word, Yuuki stood up and ordered another woman to bring so paper. His face was dead serious, so the woman quickly stepped up to bring a few reams down. I spent the next little bit burning all my mories upon them, making sure to keep the extra sheets for myself. Paper was still a high-end productwhat I took was worth a small fortune. Never hurts to have so. I had so actual, non-stupid uses for it, too.

Plus, Yuuki sure wasnt complaining. I bet not being able to catch up on his favorite series was a big disappointnt for him. Getting that chance in this world, he had nothing to complain about.

Thank you so much, sir!

Of course, so of the series he requested hadnt gone much of anywhere plot-wise, much less wrapped up publication. It sucks how those are often the most engaging series. I wanted to know how so of those turned out, too. Hopefully another Japanese otherworlder will show up in, like, ten years or so to fill in.

You know, Rimuru, I wanted to ask you

Oh? Whats that?

When you signed on for the guild, how did you fill out the entry form? You didnt have any ti to learn the language in this world, did you?

Oof. Talk about hitting you where it hurts.

Hee-hee-hee! Well, about that. Its because I studied this language, of course! After days of unbending effort, I should add!

The Sage was deciphering and copying everything I needed for , actually. But Kabal and the gang did teach the basic alphabet, and the rest ca quickly after that.

Really? You didnt use so magic cheat or anything? Because learning the language was one of the toughest things I dealt with, coming here.

Oh, um, ummm, dont be silly! No matter how old you get, studying never stops being important!

I wavered a bit, but I think I managed to keep the facade going. It hurt a little, seeing Yuuki show such respect, but I wasnt strictly lying, so its all good. The Sage was what let read and understand things, but, heythats my ability. Just because I omitted that fact didnt make it any less true.

Over dinner, our conversation drifted back toward more serious topicsin particular, about what wed both do next.

So you risked your life to travel here, Rimuru, because Miss Shizu said were both from Japan? I an, Id love to keep helping you going forward, but was that your only motive?

How do you an?

Oh, I just thought you might have so other reason. Like, maybe youre trying to find a way back ho or sothing?

Back ho.

Yes, I had thought about it. But I gave up on it. I was already dead over there; I was sure theyd cremated my body long ago. There wasnt really anyplace for to return to. Id just make everyones lives chaotic. If they thought about now and then, reflecting on the good old days, I was okay with that. To younger otherworlders, however, Im sure getting back ho was their number-one priority.

Do you think its possible? I asked. I was greeted with silence. Not that easy, I guess. He wouldve done it already if it was. Thats about what I figured.

Well, Yuuki said, it kinda looks like a one-way street. Thats because this world isI guess you could call it semi-physical.

He went into detail on what he knew so far. Essentially, our old planet was a purely physical worlda world free of magicules. The opposite of that is a purely spiritual worldone teeming with spirits, demons, angels, and other mystic life-forms; one full of mysterious and astonishing energy. The two were polar opposites but still retained so deep, important connections.

Which led to this worlda world of chaos. An extrely unique entityone that shared properties from both the physical and spiritual worlds. Its atmosphere was packed with magicules, allowing fairies, ghouls, and other spiritual life-forms to manifest themselvessothing Yuuki figured out via his own experintation.

Traveling from a physical world to this one ant that our own bodies had to be broken down once, then rebuilt in semi-physical form. That, he explained, was likely why we couldnt go back to a purely physical world again.

However, he added, I dont think its a zero-chance possibility. Japans full of stories about demons and monsters and things, and you see the sa kinds of tales and myths all over the world. So if were able to get the conditions just right, Im thinking that maybe we can, you know?

He sounded right to . I had my own thoughts about it, too. It all felt like a vague fever dream at this point, but I definitely rembered hearing the World Language from pretty much the mont I was stabbed. There was definitely so kind of connection between Earth and this world it had to ride on.

Plus You can cast magic, cant you, Rimuru?

Yeah, I replied to the sudden topic change, I had a spell or two taught to .

Yuuki squinted at , jealous. That sure is nice I was really excited about magic, too, at first

As he put it, when he first ca to this world, he both lanted his plight and fostered a deep fascination for the unknown force of magic. I was the sa way. Anyone whos a fan of manga and ani must have wished they could toss around magic at least once in their lives.

I wanted to learn so, but for so reason, I just couldnt do it. I think its because of the way my body changed. It felt so, like, romantic, too, but no

Yep. Sothing adventurous to it, isnt there? If sothings right there at your fingertips, of course youll wanna try it out. But Yuuki just didnt have the right characteristics for it. Reality sucks sotis.

Still, I can perform research into it. And what I found was that in this world, magic is the power to interfere with the laws of nature. Theres a mysterious set of laws to this worldpeople call them the World Languageand when you earn a new power, or the value of your life rises in so way, like when you evolve, then thats how nature tells you about it. Magic runs under the sa rules as this World Language; when you cast the spell, it turns that nonphysical phenonon into real life. And if you look at it the other way

Yuuki paused. I tried to guess where this was going. Look at it the other way

Everything has a cause and an effect, and if you figure out the laws behind all that, you might even be able to find a way hois what youre saying?

I was familiar with the World Language. My skill, the Great Sage, used the term when talking to . It was my familiarity with it that led to that conclusion.

Right. Thats very good, Rimuru. Im surprised You understood a concept that I had to spend years researching.

Take the concept of returning ho, render it into a set of laws, and translate it into the World Language. Easy for to say, but trying to discover those laws would take a lifeti of research. Even with that much effort, it may not be possible at all.

But if you were able to interfere with the World Language on a deeper level

The Sage was silent. No, a skill like thats just a fairy tale. Guess wed just have to keep plugging away on that research.

Yuuki gave a wry grin. Of course, Id never have enough ti to uncover all of it, I guess. Id have to decipher and evaluate each of the laws, one by one.

And thats probably his main goal. Im sure hell keep up his research.

Well, Ill definitely help you with whatever I can, and Ill try doing a little research on my side, too.

I had to volunteer to pitch in. I just had to give a shout-out to his spirit.

But anyway, if you arent trying to return ho, what brought you here, Rimuru?

Now he was getting back on topic. I figured he deserved a full answer.

Well, if I can kick back and chill out a little in this life, thats all I really want. Ive got a town pretty well built up, and basically, Im just in this to have fun with my friends. But theres sothing thats been bothering lately

My other mission. I needed to purchase magic stones and check out the cities, figuring out how advanced their civilization wasthat was important. But I hadnt forgotten the biggest one. The children I saw in my dreams.

I see. Miss Shizu must have been really worried for them. But those kids are Well, if thats what she wants you to do, then I trust you are up to it.

He then dived into a long story, telling about the children I saw in detail.

After the end of our long conversation, I walked out of the guild headquarters, offering to treat my friends to dinner for making them wait so long. Oh, dont worry about it, they all said, but it was already early eveningYuuki and I had been talking practically from dawn till dusk. I wasnt expecting the eting to go on for so long, so I felt bad for them.

We went to a restaurant with a fad reputation across the city, a far cry from our lodging. As we greedily tucked into the gourt dishes ferried to us, I went over everything Yuuki and I had agreed to.

So yeah, starting a week from now, Ive agreed to beco a schoolteacher.

Huh?

Where did that co from?

You sure are a joker, Boss!

Neither Kabal nor his cohorts were ready to believe it at first. Sheesh. Better start from the beginning.

Basically, Im gonna be living in an empty room in the school dorm starting tomorrow. I told you about the dreams Ive been having, right? Yuuki thinks he knows them, so hes setting up to work as their teacher.

They responded with several questions, which I answered in order. I had succeeded in convincing them by the ti we finished dinner, although they still couldnt hide their exasperation.

Wow, Boss. A teacher, though, huh?

Pretty hard to imagine

Im worried for those kids.

Whatre you looking at like that for, Gido?

Yeah, so as far as it goes for you guys, today marks the end of you guiding around on this journey.

Kinda sudden, Boss.

I thought we were contracted to stick with you until we were back?

Oh, Ill be fine! Thats why I set up that teleportation circle, right? Because I figured sothing like this might happen. This way, I can go back to Tempest or Blumund in the blink of an eye. Gonna be a bit harder for you guys, though, huh? Good luck out there!

Whoa, whoa, are you serious? I thought wed be taking that wolf wagon back, man

Yeah, really! Ugh, just thinking about the journey now makes so depressed!

Aw, cmon, Kabal, chided Gido. And you, too, Elen. You guys are getting too used to life on easy street, arentcha? Not that Im lookin forward to getting battered and bruised on a regular wagon again, but

These guys One mont, theyre going on about how theyll take responsibility and keep guarded till the bitter end; the next, theyre whining about losing their luxury travel. It was certainly in character for them all, but still.

So the four of us proceeded to drink away the loneliness and regret until late that night. The next morning, just outside the city gates, I said my final good-byes to the extrely hungover trio.

Drop us a line if anything happens, Boss!

Are you sure youll be fine without us?

Well miss havin you around, but take care! Let us know when youre back in town!

Sure thing, I said. Ill let you know if sothing cos up.

I whipped our wagon out of my Stomach. A rchant was already approaching us, two horses in tow.

Uh, Boss Aw, man, why?

Youyou arent?

Are you serious?!

Ignoring their pleas, I ordered the seller to hitch his horses to the wagon. All right, thanks for delivering em, I said as I signed his paynt form. Kabal and company had finally accepted the bitter truth by then.

Yeah, so consider this wagon a parting gift for you guys, okay? Give it back to Rigurd if you dont need it.

Uh, I think were gonna need it a lot, Boss!

Youre so nice to us, Sir Rimuru!

Whew! What a man. I wish Fuze could learn to be this nice to his people.

They were all touched by the gift. Im glad the surprise was a success. One more thing

Your paynts inside the wagon, too. Check it out later

later, if you like, is what I ant to say, but they were already scrambling to climb in before I could finish.

Whoooaaa! Lookit this shield!!

Aaaaahhhh! This staff is incredible!!

Well, look at this! Thats one damn sharp-looking dagger. Wait, is this a magic weapon?!

Man, theyre like hyenas. I was hoping theyd open up the boxes while I wasnt around, but that idea sure went to waste.

Sheesh, you guys Ah well. Thats your paynt. One Scale Shield for Kabal, one Dryads Staff for Elen, and one Tempest Dagger for Gido. Take care of em for , okay?

Of course, Boss!

Wed be crazy not to! How did you know I was in the market for a new staff? Thank you so much, Sir Rimuru!

But, umthese are all Uniques, arent they?! I dont think Ive ever seen a weapon as amazing as this one. Are you sure about this, Boss?

Sure, Im sure. We didnt pay anything for the materials. The staffs a gift that Treyni was nice enough to supply, so treat it with care, got it?

Oh, yes, yes!

Elen lovingly rubbed the side of her face against the staff. I was sure shed treat it just fine without harping on it. Kabals and Gidos weapons were manufactured goods, but the Dryads Staff really was one of a kind, so. If she lost or broke it, Treyni would probably have my head for itand I told her it was for Elen, too, so I was more worried than I should be, probably.

Kabals Scale Shield was another product from the mind of Garm, crafted from scales taken from the Charybdisthe sa scales forged by Kurobe to make Gidos Tempest Dagger, which was infused with wind magic to boost the holders physical speed. We still retained a rather large cache of those scales from the battleI had given several hundred to King Gazel as a thank-you gift. The ones I had personally consud were still in practically mint condition. We had researched putting them to use in battle equipnt, and these two items were the first complete test samples. As Gido said, they were Unique-caliber weapons.

Thanks to the three of them ripping open their presents early, this was no longer any kind of loneso, depressing good-bye for us. They were all in high spirits as I saw them offwhich is fine. Nobody likes sad farewells. Besides, all the excitent seed to cure their hangovers. And this is Kabals gang were talking abouttheyd no doubt co groveling to for help with so other crisis soon.

Thus, it was with an odd sense of satisfaction that I sent them on their way.

Once they were gone, it was ti to kick off my big move.

All it really entailed, of course, was heading to the dorm and picking up my key. Once I filled out all the paperwork, I told the manager that Id be moving in that night. As Yuuki excitedly put it to , Id get to enjoy a dedicated staff dormitory, plus three als and ten silver coins per day! The manager confird that with , stating theyd get the place cleaned up before the day was through.

The average salary in the capital, by the way, was seven silver a day. Educators were treated a lot better around here than I wouldve guessed. A night at our inn cost four silver, not including als, and while it was nice inside, it still felt pricey compared to that joint in the farming village. Itd be much more economical to move into the dorm Yuuki had for .

I also took a quick peek inside while I was there. It wasnt a major step down from last nights inn. I was happy with it.

Like I told Kabal and the gang, Id begin teaching in seven days, although Id need to report to school in six to manage the handover. Thus, I had five days to use however I wanted, although this particular day was mostly spent purchasing assorted household goods. I had the budget to purchase most of what I wanted and have it carted back to the dorm, touring around the city a little more as I shopped the day away.

I occupied most of the next day unpacking and organizing all the stuff I purchased. I knew I shouldnt have sent those guys off so early. I regretted that now.

On day three, I decided to hit the library. I still hadnt heard anything about, like, what Id be teaching at school. Yuuki was working that out for right now, but in the anti, I figured I should brush up a bit on my core knowledge.

That and fulfill one of my other important goalslearning magic. I wanted to take this opportunity to read through as many magic tos as I could in there. Access to the room with said tos was restricted, but you could get in if you showed ID proving you were a B-ranked adventurer or higher. You couldnt take any of the books out, either, and I wanted to read em all while I was in the capital, so that was job one for .

This was the largest library in the city, but it wasnt affiliated with the governnt. The full-on Royal Library was inside the castle, available only to nobility and court-appointed magicians. A-ranked adventurers who were official guests of the state could request access, perhaps, but that didnt apply to right now. Certain magic was treated as classified information by particular nations, so it wasnt just a matter of walking up and asking for a library card.

For now, Id have to be happy with this regular library. Besides, there were a lot of valuable books in there, filled with tales of forbidden skills and techniques collected by adventurers worldwide. So of the more ancient tos discovered during Free Guild work were gathered here, too. The collection is easily as valuable as anything the Royal Library might have, I thought.

It was wonderful. I felt lucky to be blessed with such fortune, so soon after arriving. Im sure it was karmic repaynt for all my good deeds.

I quickly began browsing through the magic tos. There were so many here, you could never finish them in a lifeti if you read them any normal way. So, um, apologies to the diligent scholars out there putting in all that ti in reading rooms, but Im using the Great Sage to read these suckers.

If soone watched in there, itd probably look like I was just running a hand over a book, then ekly returning it to the shelf. But my hand was taking in the entirety of each book, recording it fully and accurately. Running the Sage and Glutton skills in parallel, I copied each magic to into my mind at breakneck speed. I could take the ti to pore over the contents lateror really, I could let the Sage do that. All I had to do here was pluck a book from the shelves, then put it back.

Would that be enough to let harness the magic inside, though?

Received. It is possible to thoroughly examine the contents with Analyze and Assess, then comprehend it with the All of Creation skill. Once comprehended and stored within mory space, the magic may be executed with Cast Cancel.

Really? Whoa. So all I gotta do is think about what kinda magic I want? What a crazy set of skills. Theres just no end to the wonders the Sage brings .

In that case, its settled. Im not even gonna bother reading the titles of these books. Just in and out, shelve and unshelve, over and over. Each volu converts itself into knowledge for . The re thought made want to do this more than ever.

So over the next two days, I read those books until I was blue in the face, successfully morizing every one in the magic-to stacks. That was how I rounded out my little vacation. The other librarians and visitors gave passing stares, like I was so kind of wacko, but I had no regrets. Before my lofty goal of learning more magic, that was just a trivial detail.

It was now my first day of work. After a few greetings, I was given a word or two of advice from the academys vice principal.

Yuuki had already warned it would be hard workin addition to being guild master, he was also chairman of this schools board of directors. He called it more of an honorary title than anything, but I was still impressed. In the ten or so years he had been there, he not only built up the entire Free Guild but even set up an affiliated school for the outfit. In a way, he was the ideal all adventurers should aspire to.

This school was, indeed, a sort of training ground for would-be guild mbers. Like the guild itself, you decided on a departnt to specialize inbeyond the common courses shared by all students, there were also classroom-based lectures in magical and monster sciences, as well as on-the-field training in battle and survival. You were free to devise your own curriculum, not unlike the universities of my previous life.

My job, however, would be running a special class that was a tad different from what most students had access to. The S-Class, as they put it, was a group of students deed to be problematic in one way or another. Ever since their previous adviser, the notoriously hard-line Shizue Izawa, left her post due to personal issues, the class had been left teacherless and free to wreak havoc however it liked. She was a Hero, the Conqueror of Flas, and I definitely had so big shoes to fill. I suppose I should get used to being compared to her all the ti around here.

It seems this class was wild enough that it had already driven off several would-be teachers in the anti, including a few B-ranked adventurers. The administrators were at their wits end trying to figure out what to do with them. The vice principal told all this, much as Yuuki did before. It was composed of five students, as he put it a few days back

All five of these students are otherworlders, he began, people just like us. Let ask you, though, Rimuru Do you know soone nad Hinata Sakaguchi?

Whys her na coming up now? I an, I wanted to ask about her, but

I know the na, at least. Shes an otherworlder and one of Shizus old apprentices, right? Also that shes stronger than Shizu and has a really great mory and stuff.

Stronger than Miss Shizu at her peak, to be exact, yes. And do you have much idea of just how strong Miss Shizu was?

How strong she was? Well, strong enough to summon a high-level spirit like Ifrit and beco one with it. The sheer temperatures involved were brutal. Without Cancel Temperature, I wouldve been a goner, for sure.

Well, she wielded Ifrit, a monster who goes past A level, so

Right. At her peak, Miss Shizu could bring Ifrit fully under her control. In terms of the scale I implented for the guild, shed be in the upper echelon of what wed call A-plus, even. She was sothing specialbut Hinata, at the age of fifteen, gained strength that even went beyond that. That should give you so idea of what Im talking about.

I nodded. Hmm. I didnt have any idea at all, but I kept listening.

You might be wondering why Im bringing this upbut first and foremost, I wanted you to know what makes us otherworlders different from the people in this world. So of us are gifted with incredibly powerful battle skills, like Hinata, but so of us, like , dont have any skills at all. You cant put all otherworlders into the sa category; it really runs the gamut. My favorite caf in town is run by an otherworlder, and hes powerless, so to speak. Most otherworlders have so kind of special ability, usually, but thats not an ironclad rule.

I see. So most, but not all, people gain a skill or two when they make the journey.

However, Yuuki continued, the real key here is the difference between naturally traveling over to this world and being called over.

Hmm. Veldora discussed that a little, too, didnt he? Yeah, he did

(Many otherworlders co here bearing special powers. Powers that are chiseled into their souls in the midst of their journey. The summoned will always bear one such skilla unique skill, one exclusive to them and them alone. Unlike the otherworlders who co here by sheer accident, these people bear a soul strong enough to withstand the stress of the summoning process. The fact that said summoning process so rarely succeeds in this world otherwise proves as such.)

I think thats what it was.

In other words, you need a soul strong enough to handle the summon process, or else it wont work. I relayed all this to Yuuki. Im impressed you know that, he replied, eyes wide. Thats exactly what Ive learned in my research. Wasnt really research for ; Im just parroting what Veldora said, but oh well.

As you say, Rimuru, the summons that are called over here for so purpose are always granted powers suited for this purposefor example, so they can beco a Hero to give mankind a decisive edge in battle. During this journey, your body is disassembled and put back together in semi-physical formin other words, its rebuilt. Without a strong enough will, I imagine youd get swallowed up in all that energy and disappear into the black.

Even Hinata, who ca here quite by accident, was granted otherworldly powers. If she had been called here for so specific goal, I couldnt imagine how strong shed be then. I imagine thats what Yuuki was trying to saybut what he said next sent shivers down my spine.

Now, what do you think would happen if you are summoned while still in incomplete form?

Incomplete form?

Exactly

What he then explained to almost made my skin crawl. Normally, performing a summon under a given set of conditions required thirty or more summoners to work as a team. The ceremony took seven whole days to completeand even then, the success rate was less than 1 percent. Even worse, once a ceremony was complete, the sa summoners would need to wait for a certain interval before performing it againan interval that took sothing like thirty-three or sixty-six years. The longer you waited, the more youd be able to narrow down the conditions you wanted.

So what happens if you perform a summon without stipulating any particular conditions? That certainly loosened things up quickthere wouldnt be anywhere near as much of an interval required between summonings. The sa summoners could try it again and againbut the success rate didnt get any better, and even if you pulled it off, you often wound up summoning children and the like.

Despite these disadvantages, there were still apparently good reasons for choosing this approach. But what about the children who were summoned? Their wills were quite strong, of course, their bodies now infused with energy in the form of magicules. But they did not obtain any skills to go with that willpowerand all that energy was a severe mismatch for an immature body. So much so, in fact, that given enough ti, the energy would literally burn the body away, having no other outlet to release itself with.

Huh? Wait, so are those five children?

Yes. As Im sure youre imagining, they were summoned.

Whoa. Is that, like, okay, or?

Yuuki didnt answer. But his silence provided enough of one.

Those children, he continued, were the ones not fully summoned. Attempts at crafting a Hero that failed.

A Hero? What do you an?

Rember what I said? A Hero can provide a decisive advantage for the human race in battle. In this world, the monsters are much stronger than usoverwhelmingly so. Its safe to say were under constant threat. The power of mankind around here is pitifully weak. Theyre all seeking a Hero they can pin their hopes upon.

What, so theyre summoning people willy-nilly to find Heroes to fight em off?

Exactly, Rimuru. What this world has decided is that its worth sacrificing thousands if it ans the birth of a Hero for themselves.

Yuukis voice rang cold in the underground room. It was the worlds choice. I had a hard ti coming up with a response to that. Did I have a right to criticize them all for putting their own beloved family above a bunch of alien strangers? If youre presented with two people in danger and you could only save one, what would you do? If I was friends with one, of course Id reach out to that guy first.

These children are the results of failed summonings, conducted by multiple nations under strict secrecy. They were picked up by Miss Shizu, and she wanted to do whatever she could to save them.

Multiple nations? Therere governnts involved in this?

Yes. Its what the world has decided to do, like I said. In their eyes, instead of gradually investing in armies to fend off the monsters, its more efficient to stake it all on one otherworlder who can stand far above everyone else. And if you know how strong Miss Shizu was, you can see why.

I suppose I could. A force in the tens of thousands would an nothing against sothing like Ifrit. If an Orc Disaster stepped into town, they could pool Kabal and all the other B-ranked adventurers in the world together, and theyd never land anything close to a serious blow. If those were the odds, then having an otherworlder like Shizu or Hinata could make all the difference, once the people knew about them.

The other thing is that its not like a Hero is born every day in this world. How I understand it is that it involves being willing to take on the cris and sins of all mankind, in a way. Otherwise, you wont be able to overco the trials placed upon you by the spirits that rule over the land. Of course, there are so Heroes out there who are anything but. Theyre willing to invite divine wrath upon themselves

Huh. The idea of just leaving everything to these Heroes sounded pretty irresponsible to , but that assus you had so Heroes to start with. So real ones, with official World Language approval. And thats why all these nations are willing to dabble in the dark magic of summoning, damn the consequences. Any successful ones were lauded as Heroes, and as Yuuki put it, each nation had a few on hand.

The demon lords held so much power in this world that, if you were foolish enough to take one on, you couldnt afford to be picky with your thods. All these human nations scrambling to procure Heroes didnt seem strange at all to anymore.

Theres that many around, though? I havent seen any in the smaller towns and villages

Thats because these summoned otherworlders are usually ordered to serve as bodyguards for the nobility or people associated with them.

Oh, right. Veldora ntioned that, too.

So summons that have combat potential are branded with a magical curse in their soul, I blurted out, preventing them from defying their summoners?

You know about that, Rimuru?!

I did know, yes. I knew, but I just kinda forgot. Yeahhh No wonder Shizu wasnt so crazy about this world.

So whats gonna happen to these kids?

As far as I know, Yuuki grimly reported, the longest any has survived is five years. Those are the facts, when it cos to incomplete summons. We havent found any magic spells that can stave off the bodily collapse. If soone is summoned under the age of ten, theyre almost certain to die, being unable to obtain any unique skills.

Then he gave a self-effacing smile.

But at least each nation was kind enough to hand the children over to us.

Ill bet. No need to take care of children whore useless in their minds, Im sure.

But the Western Holy Church doesnt have a problem with that? Theyve got those crazy strong paladins and stuff, right?

You could say the Church gives it their tacit consent. To them, the total annihilation of this planets monsters is the major goal.

For real? And theyre the defenders of righteousness or whatever? Gim a break. And does Hinata think that way? She really doesnt care about all these children from her holand dying as long as she can beat the monsters?

Hinata, I suppose, is a realist. She takes the most rational of approaches to her problems. If sothing seems the most effective way to her, shell do it, I guess you could say, butbut it makes no sense to , no.

He knew for sure, at least, that Hinata wasnt applying pressure internationally to put an end to these summonings.

All right. So would anyone mind if I did sothing about these kids?

What are you thinking about doing?

I looked Yuuki in the eye. If its what Shizu wants, I declared, I think Im ready to take them on.

This mustve been the work Shizu left behind. Sothing she regretted so much, she infiltrated my dreams to beg for it. I saw no reason not to answer that. Too bad I couldnt tell her I got this in real life.

Yuuki nodded. By all ans, he whispered as he bowed his head. I hope youll save them, if you can.

Yes. I always do what I can. Always have, always will.

And so, I agreed to take care of these children in the school.

My role was more of an adviser than a traditional teacher. Instead of just teaching coursework to my students, Id be living with them, enlightening them. In other words, Id be taking all the sa courses they were, in all subjects. Id be eating with them, toogood thing food was included in the deal. If I could teach them about a subject, I would; if not, Id help other teachersbut either way, my job was to watch over these special guys.

Id love to put my trust in you, the vice principal comnted. Its not every day that the chairman makes a personal recomndation like this. But those kids were too much even for B-ranked adventurers. Plus, youre practically a child yourself, arent you? Nobodys going to hold it against you if you decide to turn the offer down.

Thanks, but Ill be fine.

Are you sure? If you find youre in over your head, be sure to tell as soon as possible, all right?

I appreciated the concern, but co onthese are children were dealing with.

Such were my thoughts as I kicked off the first day of class.

Hey, guys! Im in charge of you all starting today

My friendly greeting was imdiately countered with the slash of a flaming sword.

Sweet! Nice one, Ken!

Is that your finisher? Its all done now?!

Kinda weak in the end. It didnt even land!

Without a shred of concern for , the children carried on, clearly seeing as the enemy.

Um, I thought these kids had, like, barely any ti left to live? Cause theyre looking crazy healthy right now! A little too healthy! The blackboard behind was now in flas, cut into two pieces. Hoo boy. Kids these dayswhats gotten into them? Why, back in my day

Already, these kids were making sound like a crotchety old man. I thought about throwing in the towel right there. We arent on Earth, right? Nobodys gonna complain if I toss out a little corporal punishnt, will they?

Before were five children, the summons Yuuki had gathered from assorted nations. They were:

Kenya Misaki: male, age ten

Ryota Sekiguchi: male, age ten

Gail Gibson: male, age eleven

Alice Rondo: female, age nine

Chloe Aubert: female, age ten

They were still grade-school age, but I guess they packed a punch. With Shizu building them up, I was liable to get hurt if I went easy on them.

Honestly, I wasnt expecting this. I thought theyd be a little more obedient. Watching the children as they returned my gaze with looks of sheer hostility, I felt my first pangs of depression in a long ti.

They were all young, around ten years old. Gail was built enough to pass for middle-school age, but he was still only eleven.

I called each by na, looking over the files I picked up in the staff room. No reply. Um, I really needed so kind of response from these guys if I was gonna do this

Ah well. Ti to call upon my trusty assistant.

Please give a reply when I call your na, I gently advised. Kenya was the first to voice his tearful complaints.

Hey! Whats that dogis that a wolf?! Get it out of here!

K-Ken, are you okay?

G-get away from ! This is crazy!

Ahhh! Ill behave, Ill behave!!

I am Ranganeither dog nor wolf. My master demands a reply, child. Will you follow the order, or?

Whoa, Rangas a big hit. Look at him play around with those kids! It really warms the heart, doesnt it?

All right! Okay! Kenya shouted, eyes tearing up at Rangas threat. Theres a good boy. He may not have liked it, but I needed so good behavior in here.

There you go! Children must do as theyre told!

I smiled and conducted my roll call.

Apparently, these kids had hit it off pretty well with Shizu. Apart from her, though, Yuuki was the only person theyd listen to. Given their circumstances, I should have expected that, but that didnt an Id let them steamroll over . I had agreed to be their teacher, and I had better drill that much into their heads real quick.

My nas Rimuru, and Ive been appointed to be your adviser starting today. I aint gonna coddle you the way Shizu did, so you better be sure you understand that before anything else!

I started things off by drilling into them the importance of polite greetings.

Right, then. They were no longer in a state of outright rebellion, but they were hostile as ever. The classroom was bathed in silence; I could literally hear one of them gulp nervously. Ranga loped back up to , tail wagging.

All right, I said with a refreshing smile. Take your seats, everybody. Nobody moved. That sucked. The deep hatred they obviously had for anyone outside their group would make earning their trust a trial. If I were them, my thought process would probably be along the lines of Ill kill that asshole, but I wasnt. This world was all about survival of the fittest. If they couldnt beat Ranga, their selfishness ended now. If you wanna hate soone for it, hate yourself for being so weak.

So

Okay, then! I suppose youve all got sothing youd like to say to . So how about we have a little test?

Hey! Alice exclaid first. Whys it gotta be that?!

A test? Ryota asked the boy next to him.

Blehhhh!! replied Kenya.

I hate tests was the more direct assessnt from Chloe.

This is all too sudden, the more intellectual-sounding Gail added. I demand an explanation!

Quite the protest. Children have such a wealth of personalities, dont they? And no matter what world youre in, nobody likes a test.

Enough back talk. I know what youre all thinking, but listen. What were about to do is sothing thats necessary for each of you!

Why?! Were all gonna die pretty soon anyway! Whats the point of studying n taking tests and stuff?!

Y-yeah Our last teacher just brought in a bunch of toys and books n said we could do whatever we wanted

We havent done any real classwork since we ca here

I wanna read more books!

And who do you think you are? Just because youve got a big dog doesnt an you can lord it over us!

Ah, theyre bursting with energy. Thats great. But I wasnt lying. This was necessary. And sadly, I wasnt willing to compromise.

All right, all right, just calm down. I called it a test, but really, its more of a fun ga for you all to play. And if you dont like it, you can complain about it as much as you want. So what youll do is take turns taking on in mock combat. The rules are simple. Attack with everything youve got. If you can beat , its over. But if I can dodge your attacks for ten minutes, I win. Easy, right?

Thats it?

Yep. Easy, right?

Ten minutes?

Hey, Ill spot you guys an hour each if you want.

Ha-ha-ha! If you dont sic that dog on , I dont even need ten!

Great! I promise I wont do that, okay? But its one at a ti for you guys, too! No helping out your classmates, all right?

Okay!

Sure.

Heh-heh! Ill totally win if that dog aint in it!

I just want to read so books

So wherere we doing this?

Hmm, the gymnasium ought to work, I suppose. Do you all understand the rules? You can figure out the turn order on the way there.

With that, I took the kidsmy studentsover to the gym. A few passersby gave us looks of horror on the way, which I ignored.

This was a simple sparring session. I wasnt going to lay a hand on themI just wanted to see what abilities they had. None possessed unique skills, making them unable to expend the magicules that threatened to destroy them from the inside. Would all-out battle be enough to consu them instead? I didnt know, but I wanted to try. I doubted Shizu and Yuuki hadnt thought of that, but with Analyze and Assess, at least I could observe them in closer detail than either of those people.

By the way, monsters were generally assigned strength ratings based on the amount of magicules within them. Adventurer ranks, on the other hand, were based on proven strength, aning a C-ranked adventurer could bear more magical energy than a B rank. I found that kind of weird, but that testing I went through proved it to be the case.

Monsters, anwhile, mostly fight based on instinct; there wasnt much difference between individuals of a species in terms of technical level. This ant that magicule count was the handiest way to rank them. (So individual monsters did have special giftsa lot lived in Tempestbut whatever.)

One other thing I noticed was that, compared to adventurers, monsters often held a ton more magicules. That fact made it all the clearer how frail the human race was against them. A human could raise their technical skills only so far, after all. And again, that was the reason why nations were going through with these forbidden summonings. It enraged ; I couldnt believe it was allowed to go onbut I could see the logic to it.

Getting back to these kidsone surprise I got from Analyze and Assess was its magic asurents. In monster terms, each of their magicule counts would rank them as A or higher. Chloe, in particular, had enough energy to put her up there with so high-level elentals.

This was weird. Theyd be fearso foes, if they only had a way to harness that force. But wed see soon enough.

They had worked out the order of taking turns. Kenya stepped up first, all but bursting to go. He was only ten, but he was the most defiant of the groupkind of the boss, maybe?

Hey, is it cool if I use this sword?

Impudent little brat.

Dont you rember? I said to gim everything you got. But if you lose, you better start calling Professor Rimuru!

Pfft! No grown-up can beat us. Weve never lost to anyone except Miss Shizu!

Oh, really? Why dont you save your bragging for after you win?

And so, the test began. I let the kids decide on a signal, providing them with an hourglass Id bought the previous day and telling them how to use it.

Shall we, then?

Umm, begin!

With Ryotas signal, Kenya began to run. For a grade-schooler, he moved wellhed put most grown-ups to sha, really. But it was no sweat for .

You can do it, Ken!!

Dont let im beat ya!

Kenya strained his body, attempting to live up to the cheers. He tried his hardest to land an attack on , but I didnt even need to predict his moves. He was an open book.

He looked about ready to cry by the ti the five-minute mark passed. He began shooting fire from his sword, but Hmm. This fires pretty weak. The way he launched it without any chanting ti was impressive, but it was simple to guess where itd land. I didnt bother taking any shots on my body, but the heat waves from the explosions didnt feel very toasty to . A notch below, say, the Fireballs a B-ranked adventurer like Elen could conjure. And considering Kenya bore A-level magic energy, his energy was being wasted on a massive scale. He wasnt going easy on , but it was probably just a trick he picked up by watching others. He wasnt taking advantage of his power at all.

Hey! Quit worrying about shooting fire. Just focus all your energy and try to hit like normal.

My advice fell on deaf ears.

Shut up! Miss Shizus skills were aweso! I dont need to listen to your crap!

He really was an impertinent little bastard. And it cost himhe didnt take my hint for the rest of the ten minutes. I won.

And its over! Rember, Professor Rimuru from now on. Next up!

Kenyas shoulders slumped as he shuffled back to the other children, dejected. Though, really, Id be far more shocked if I lost to a grade-schooler.

Chloe Aubert ca out nexta ten-year-old with an uncommon hair color. Kind of black with silver mixed init gave her a bit of an enigmatic feel. Maybe she had so Japanese blood in her.

Off we go, then. If I lost to a girl as clearly srizing as this, I would look so la. Gotta keep my guard up.

Dont push yourself, Clo!

Yeah, dont get hurt!

The children were more focused on Chloe getting injured than winning. She didnt look all that strong, no. In another mont, the hourglass was turned. What kind of attack would she spring on ? I could guess she liked books; she always had one or two in her hands. Was she gonna try to conk in the head with one or give a paper cut? Use them as blunt weapons? Seed like decent grade-school logic to . Or maybe not.

But as my mind wandered, I heard her chant Flowing water, confine my enemy! Water Jail! Instantly, a torrent of water pinned my legs to the floor. Sense Heat Source told it was the real thing.

First Kenya, then this girlthey both had magic-controlled skills. Pretty neat. They might be natural prodigies. But now was no ti to marvel.

The water current grew more violent, forming a large sphere that enveloped . I tapped the outer edge with my finger, only to feel a cutting sensation. Much like my Water Blades, she circulated the water at high speed to make the ball retain its shape. Impressivebut what was she gonna do with it?

Ive transford that magic to have it rain down constantly upon whover it captures! Admit your defeat, and Ill release it, but if you dont, youre gonna die!

Damn! Scary little kid! She was all about keeping in check, unlike Kenyabut sadly, it wouldnt be enough.

Pretty impressive, but it wont work on . Youre using it really well, though. I hope you keep up practicing!

Stepping out of the watery dungeon, I patted Chloe on the head. So dungeon that was. I could just use Control Magic to rework it any way I wanted. Seriously, even among my extra skills, it was wicked powerful. You could even get away with calling it a unique. Magic was all about controlling magicules to create phenona. Interfere with those magicules with a stronger force, and it couldnt be easier to break it.

Chloe sat on the floor, surprised. Her face reddened as tears ca to her eyes. Sorry, girl. This is trying to go easy, too. I need to show just how much more powerful I am. You would never listen to if I didnt lay down the law.

No longer interested in fighting, Chloe ceded victory. She rubbed her head where I patted her, looking oddly content as she smiled.

Lets keep it going!

My next opponent was Gail Gibson, the oldest of the gang at age eleven. He was a large boy with brown hair and handso, chiseled features. Give him a few years, and Im sure his looks would put Hollywood actors to sha. I had no interest in crushing his spirit; I just wanted to show him that the world can be cruel sotis.

Dont hate if this kills you, all right?

Gail imdiately greeted with an unhesitant, full-force blow. Seeing the previous two rounds mustve changed his views about . It was a fairly fearso ball of magic, potentially lethal even for a B-ranked adventurer. Hey, I had a lot of trouble learning that one, too

He probably put every ounce of his energy into that blast. It was the right thing to dobut he chose the wrong adversary. Projectile-based moves didnt work on . I used Glutton to scarf it right down.

Wh-what was that?! Thats dirty!

Yeah, it sure is. I think so, too.

Listen: Grown-ups are dirty people, all right? Theyll do anything and everything to beatcha! Thats how they work.

Kind of an immature way to put it to a child, I guess, but I didnt want to leave anything off the table. There were other tactics I couldve taken, but I wanted to both win this and make it look easy. It was actually kind of hard.

Gail bit his lip in frustration, then focused his energy upon his fists to strike out at . I was impressed he didnt give up, but there was no path to victory left for him. The rest of the battle went just as it did with Kenya.

Ryota seed like a wimpy kid to . He was always by Kenyas side, ever cheering him on. Opposites attract, maybe. Beyond that, he seed like just a regular child.

His ability, though

Get im for , Ryota!

His eyes lit up the mont Kenya started egging him on, and he attacked with Magic? No. It was closer to Shions Strengthen Body skill. With zero spell casting, he instantly doubled his strength and speedmaybe even more than doubled. His magicules briskly converted themselves into fighting force as he protected himself.

A very impressive power-up move, though I had to take points off since he couldnt activate it by himself. Losing your cool in combat was, nine tis out of ten, a net negative. It ant tossing away your intelligence, the one advantage you could rely on over a monster.

Ryotas skill wasnt Strengthen Body so much as a Berserker-style transform. It was useless as is. Id better help him hone that. He did move well, though. If he werent fighting , he couldve fended for himself rather well.

Butoops, too bad! I effortlessly dodged him for the entire ten minutes.

That just left Alice Rondo. Youngest of the group at nine, she had shiny, straight blond hair that ran down her back and made her look just like a doll. Very fetchingbut unlike the reserved Chloe, she had a an tomboyish streak.

About ti my turn ca up, she boastfully declared. You worthless idiots better take a lesson or two from !

And here I thought Kenya was the boss of the group. It mightve been the youngest one, after all. Or maybe she was the secret boss? Whatever she was, I needed to show her who was in charge, or else this whole effort was a failure. Better brace myself for anything. Plus, I couldnt help but notice that wed been attracting an audience of students and teachers. As much ruckus as we were causing in this gym, it wasnt weird that we were building interest. Well, bring em on! Itd be a good chance to show the school that I had this. That I was treating these kids as real students.

But whats Alice got in store for ? The girl gave a bold smile, then tossed the assorted plush toys she carried behind her back up in the air.

Okay, guys! Take that freak down!!

I looked up, confused, only to find a small army of living, breathing toys closing in on dogs, cats, birds, even bears. They packed a surprisingly heavy punch.

Alice, it turns out, was a Golem Master, sothing she mustve stumbled upon as she saw Shizu and her spirit skills. It was astonishingly creative, especially for a child. If fur and foam produced this level of attack, shed be packing so serious heat if soone gave her so steel robots or sothing. She might be the strongest of the five, even.

But if all I had to do was avoid them for ten minutes, that seed doable.

Hey! Quit running away from them, you wimp!!

I heard her complaint loud and clear but ignored it. I had a passing thought of incinerating them all as I danced around

Report. Chances of the individual Alice Rondo bursting into tearsone hundred percent.

but resisted. Not with those kinds of odds. Itd be even harder to placate her after that, and Im sure the crowd would think I was a bully. So I kept running and running until the clock ran out.

Well, at least I managed to save face. I had now shown what I could do to all five of my students.

Wow, that adviser in the mask is amazing! He doesnt look older than ten or so, and he just dominated those little hellions!

That was a B-ranked adventurer? No way. Strength like that has Shizu written all over it!

With that kind of comntary from the crowd, I felt safe assuming my reputation around school was now secure.

These kids were powerful, but their skill sets had a sort of patchwork feel. If I had to guess, it wasnt because those were skills they were aiming forthey just tripped over them as they imitated Shizu.

Plus, I had made a vital observation. I theorized that letting them fight all-out would sap their magicule count a bitbut all it did was skim a bit off the top. The energy at the root of their bodies didnt drop at all. That much was clear from the generally weak performance of all their magics.

I guess there was no fixing the imbalance that way. Beyond that, I thought about using my Deviant unique skill to separate the energy from them, then Gluttony to either consu or isolate it. But if I had to guess

Received. Energy fused with an entitys soul cannot be separated from it.

Nope, guess not. I had noticed as much as I observed them in-depth during combat. So Id have to make them obtain a unique skillor figure out sothing else.

There wasnt much ti left. If five years was the maximum Yuuki knew about, these children would be lucky to have twelve more months. I had to find a wayany wayto drain the magicules from them before the power destroyed them from the inside.

But while it didnt exactly co by the gentlest of thods, I now had a full grasp of their situation. I weighed my options as we cleaned up the gym and returned to our classroom. Physically exercising their skills didnt solve anything, but helping them release so magic would help delay the inevitable, at least a little. Wed need to hold these treatnt sessions regularly as I worked out a way to address the main issue.

Back in class, I sat the kids down and addressed them.

Now. As youve all just experienced, I am, um, kind of strong. But I promise you: I am going to help all of you out. I swear it by my mask here.

They sat quietly. I felt like they were paying much closer attention now. Theres one victory for the ti being, then. We needed to connect this way, heart-to-heart, or else theyd just tune outbut now, as much as I had to force it, we had that connection.

Umis that Miss Shizus mask?

Thats right, Alice. Shizu gave it to and when I accepted it, I guess I agreed to take you guys on, too.

Not until I started dreaming about it recently, technically. But that didnt matter.

All right, Alice said, nodding her satisfaction. I believe you.

Um, m- too

I believed in you from the beginning, ya know!

Alice, Ryota, and Chloe were willing to open their hearts to , at least.

Oh, co on, guys In that case, I guess

Yeah, Kenya. I think we can trust in this guy, too.

Kenyas and Gails consent sealed the deal. I had their trust. They recognized as a teacher now.

Speaking of that mask, though I feel like sothing just jogged my mory. Shizu had tasked with the missionof striking the demon lord Leon. Not kill or defeat, but strike. Did she not really want revenge on him, after all? Maybe not. If she did, she wouldve attacked him back when she was at the pinnacle of her strength.

Buthang on. She said she ca here before she was even ten years old, I think. So how did she survive? I needed to think. We didnt talk for very long, but I felt like she mightve hidden a hint or two in there. I always found it weird that shed abandon these children for her own mission. Why did she suddenly see fit to take action on them now, of all tis?

Hurry!

Ah, I see She headed for Leon because she wanted to help them out. Striking Leon and saving the childrenthese both connected to the sa goal.

The demon lord Leon knows how to rescue the children. I know, because he rescued .

Was that her line of thinking? Buthow?

I hooked myself up to the Great Sage, pondering over this with everything I had. As always, it didnt let down. Whether Leon deliberately saved Shizus life didnt matter. The only question was how.

Received. Inferring the demon lord Leon Cromwells thod for saving Shizue Izawa Complete. This is an inference based on collected circumstantial evidence, but

The Sages answer rang in my head. It would be a gruelingly difficult road for these childrenthe long bet to end all long bets. To , though, it was an easy ordeal to accept.

The only issue was

Listen. I promise Ill save all of you, but to do that, I need you to trust and act like good boys and girls. All right? Shizus entrusted with you, and Im not going to abandon any of you!

Confidence spread within as I spoke. I couldnt show any anxiety in front of these kids. They rewarded with their calm, resolute stares.

Thank you, Mr. Rimuru!!

Mr. Rimuru. I liked the sound of that. Well, youre on. I was Mr. Rimuru to them, and that ant they were as good as saved. I swore it in my heart now.