Chapter 7: Chapter 7 – Calamity Approaches

A white-haired Demon with golden eyes gazes forward, hands behind her back as another demon, this one with black hair appears behind her.

 

The white haired demon sighs, mildly annoyed “What is it Noir?”

 

“I’m sure you’re well aware of what I’m here to talk to you about, Blanc”

 

The demon looks to him, sighing as she shakes her head, “I will have no part in it.”

 

“Are you certain? Are you aware of what this could imply?”

 

“I’m well aware, and I believe that it's just a coincidence, nothing more.”

 

“Surely you believe it's more than that?”

 

“We’ve existed since the dawn of time itself, and over a long time, even the rarest of events can become likelihoods if not outright inevitabilities. So no, Noir, I don’t believe there’s anything more to this.”

 

“And if you’re wrong?”

 

“Then I’ll do what is necessary, what about you?”

 

“I already have my eye on someone else. If this turns out to be true… I won’t change my true ambitions, not that it likely would require me to do so in the first place.”

 

“Ah so you’re letting me go first?”

 

“I wouldn’t say it like that. I’m saying I have no intention of it. I have already done my part and I will continue doing so until my time comes to fulfill my ambitions.”

 

“I see… Well I’ll admit one thing. Whether it's a coincidence or not, it’s intriguing nonetheless.”

Every minute that goes by with this small catastrophe child the more I see her as just a glorified glutton. I doubt considering her strength that it’ll add any weight, but it's still worth noting just how much she eats. It seems like that's about all she does. She’s entertained by other things here and there, but food excites her the most.

 

Luckily this means I can weaponize it. Anytime Milim misbehaves, despite the fact she could probably just brute force her way into getting it if she just threatened, I can easily just take away her snacks or lunch or something so that she doesn’t misbehave any longer. She’s basically a dog. Though I suppose that's a good thing for us. It means we can bind a friendship with this Demon Lord while making sure the Demon Lord doesn’t easily turn on us. Given her love of food, she’ll likely never go against us at all.

 

Currently Rimuru is checking out Vesta’s progress on the full potion and its production. Technically Vesta falls under Tempest’s command as a whole, mostly meaning me and Rimuru, however it seems even Rimuru realizes I’ll likely be the one making the majority of the ‘science projects.’ This project with the potions though is certainly Rimuru’s, hence why I’m stuck with the child known as ‘The Destroyer’

 

Eventually I detected an approaching ‘disturbance,’ I wasn’t sure what it was, however I’ve retained my ability to detect magical signatures. Meaning anyone I can detect with Magic Sense, I can identify through their magical signature. Each race also seemed to have a vaguely similar one, and while there were differences on individual levels, you could still tell who was an Orc and who was a Hobgoblin. Either way the people approaching had decent strength, nothing compared to mine, but still notable, and since I was able to easily recognize the magical signature of anyone in this town of that strength, I could tell it was an outsider.

 

After telling Milim to sit down and giving her something to eat in the meantime, I head over there quickly, eventually coming into what appeared to be three stereotypical animal people, though each with the same, yet high quality armor. The one on the right I couldn’t tell if it was a hairy guy or a monkey, the one on the left looked like a horned creature of some kind, the one behind them looking like a fox of some kind, and the one standing in the center, seemingly the strongest and likely leader of the group was a feline, though which kind I wasn’t sure.

 

“I am one of the Demon Lord Carrion's Three Beastketeers, Phobio the Black Leopard Fang. I am the strongest warrior of the Animal King's Beastketeers. Nice town you got here. Fit to be ruled by the Animal King, don't you think?”

 

“No. Fuck off.”

 

The ‘Leopard’ moved forward quickly, his fist glowing with flames and magical power, heading for me quickly. There wasn’t a direct intent to kill there, however it was clear he certainly wouldn’t mind if it did. If this is the Demon Lord Carrion’s strongest warrior, then I question how threatening this Demon Lord is. Whatever the case, I have my doubts that it's one of the two Demon Lords Milim was referring to. He won’t be a problem, and if this buffoon represents his views, then Tempest might have no choice but to attack him. However I can’t take things at face value, if Gabiru showed anything, it means subordinates don’t always represent their master’s views, so it's best if I keep him alive.

 

Its a shame really, I would’ve like to dispose of another incompetent moron who thought such a weak punch could even graze my barrier!

 

“Huh?” His punch seemed to do nothing at all to my bare skin as it impacted my cheek. While I’m sure even without the barrier I would’ve gotten away with minimal damage, it was best to be cautious.

 

“Cute. Let me show you how to really throw a punch.”

 

In the span of a second, I brought my arm back and funneled magical energy into it, causing it to glow a crimson red as I quickly launched it forward, moving it so quickly it was nearly impossible to keep track of it as I impacted him in an area that (probably) wouldn’t kill him.

 

As the punch connected, the leopard went flying backwards instantly breaking the sound barrier as he did, creating a crater in the road as he landed, the other two looking back in shock as I released the magical energy from my hand which was now sizzling.

 

Rimuru, likely having noticed the commotion on his way back, flew down next to me, looking between me and the shocked and unconscious beastmen in front of me, facepalming silently, sighing, “What did they do, Tanya.”

 

“Well a few things. First of all, he’s from the Demon Lord Carrion. Secondly, as soon as he got to this town he basically threatened that it should be ruled by said Demon Lord Carrion. I determined that since this is supposedly his strongest warrior, then Carrion is no threat to us.”

 

“You cant just beat up the subordinate of a Demon Lord! What do you mean ‘no threat?!’ A Demon Lord is a pretty big threat!”

 

“Milim told me that there’s only about two Demon Lords who could survive a full nuclear blast to the face. If this is Carrion’s strongest subordinate, then he’s not one of them. Besides, that was an act of self defense. As soon as I told him we weren’t to be subjugated, he retaliated with a pathetic punch, so I retaliated myself with a weak punch.”

 

“That was weak?”

 

“Not entirely, however my form was definitely nonoptimal. Frankly, while it did utilize a lot of magical energy to enhance the punch, if I wanted to and I had done a good form instead of the lazy punch I made, I probably would’ve been about twice as powerful considering the flow of magical power would’ve been more optimized. However, that may have likely killed the moron. I’m smart enough to know not to do that. There’s still a chance peaceful arrangements with the Demon Lord Carrion are possible, you should know well after Gabiru.”

 

“Alright… I see… Where was Milim during all of this?”

 

“Oh she’s eating on a bench down the road. She did come to watch near the end though. She was a bit angrier but she calmed down after his punch did nothing and I sent him away at mach speeds.”

 

“At least you didn’t nuke him this time…”

 

“Considering my luck since I joined you, there’s a solid 25% chance I’m going to end up nuking him anyways.”

 

“You’re… Probably right. If a war starts with Carrion, you’re probably going to have to resort to the nuke. Try to avoid civilian damage.”

 

“Will do, now let's organize a proper meeting now that he’s been taught a lesson.”

 

“Y-Yeah… Lets…”

Tanya is… frankly terrifying. Even if you ignore her magical capacity which exceeds my own, her ability to make attacks which cost minimal magical power puts her on par with Demon Lords in terms of sheer offensive capability. Where she lacks in defensive capabilities she makes up for in her agility and flexibility, capable of flying like a fairy in the sky, nearly impossible to hit, and her child-like size only aids it further.

 

Her personality is also interesting. There’s no doubt she’s a significantly better leader than me, in my past life all I did was General Contracting, whereas Tanya was both a decently high ranked Salaryman and in her second life the leader of an entire ‘Kampfrugge’ whatever that is. Either way her experience in leading and in maneuvering a political and economic climate is far surpassed mine, and I’m only able to keep up with Great Sage. Despite all this she seems reluctant to take a direct leadership role, rather she seems to have ambitions of a luxurious and peaceful life, despite how much carnage she could bring or how many nations she could subjugate.

 

She strives for peace just as much as I do, if not more, however she’s not one to be pushed around either. Her means of getting peace, while similar to mine teter on the edge of intimidation of force and political/emotional manipulation more so than mine does. She dislikes war, but she’s also more than willing to fight one if someone attempted to push us around. She’s far less soft and far less trusting than I am, which is a good advisor to have as a leader. 

 

The most valuable trait Tanya brings is her lack of unconditional loyalty. There’s no doubt Tanya is committed and loyal to Tempest and myself, however she views everything with even the slightest skepticism. It's unlikely she’ll ever go against me directly, however all of my subordinates are conditionally loyal to me, and act as effectively just yesmen. Tanya however is willing to question my moves, and be critical of every action I take. She’s loyal, sure, but she’s critical too, and that's not something the others are quick to be about me. Every action I take has to be my own around them, and they’re not likely to criticize it. If they believe there’s a better way it's often that they believe my way is better regardless. It’s like I’m their supreme overlord who always does what is best at all times. Tanya is not like them, and I’m not sure if its the fact that she’s more confident considering her strength or if its just her personality in general, but she’s quick to judge every move I make, and as we begin to delve into the world of Politics and Diplomacy, every slightest move could completely change our course. Tanya is easily one of my most valuable subordinates because of that alone.

 

Of course, her unwillingness to be pushed around gets us into situations like this… I’ll grant her one thing, she’s far from unjustified, however regardless of the context, we now have to deal with this Demon Lord Carrion and whether or not he’s a threat. To Tanya, he doesn’t seem like a threat, but that's just because Tanya is a one-woman army who could supposedly fight on par with most Demon Lords. It makes me wonder if declaring her a Demon Lord is a viable option to guarantee Tempest’s security, however knowing her, she’ll likely refuse unless she has valid reason or ambition to do otherwise.

 

Now in a meeting room with Tanya taking a seat at the side of the table next to me at the end, with this ‘Phobio’ guy sitting at the opposite end, Milim also having forced her way into the meeting, eating lunch in the back corner, with Phobio staring both intimidated and confused by her presence.

 

“So, why did you come here?”

 

“Hmph. You expect me to answer to a lowly slime?”

 

“You may call me ‘lowly,’ but I’m stronger than you.”

 

Tanya interrupted, mildly annoyed now as it seemed she had a vendetta against incompetent subordinates, “You’re not doing a very good job as a diplomatic envoy. First you demand subjugation both without justification and without any offer, then you immediately insult the nation’s leader? Where I’m from, that used to be justification enough for war, so you’d best shut up before I make you the first casualty.”

 

Tanya really likes to go hard on intimidation… Or maybe she just doesn’t like him. She used to be far more restrained with her personal opinions, at least her negative ones, though she’s been a bit more vocal about it recently. With Tanya now done with her short rant, I continue; “I don’t know this Demon Lord Carrion, however what Tanya said is right, depending on how you behave my people could become Carrion’s enemies. Do you want to be solely responsible for antagonizing the entire Great Forest of Jura?”

 

“That’s big talk. This whole town is loyal to a lowly monster like you? Must be rough having nothing but weaklings around. Don’t get a big head just because this Demon took a liking to you.”

 

Tanya seemed just about fed up, in fact I believe I could see her eye twitching. Turning to me her face turned practically into that of a cheery little girl as she cutely asked, “Can I kill him?”

 

“No! We’re not going back to that!”

 

Benimaru froze slightly, seemingly about to join in with Tanya as Shion just looked disappointed… Why is violence always the answer?! Though I’m pretty sure Tanya didn’t see it as an answer to the diplomatic situation, rather just the answer to getting this moron out of this country.

 

“Now it’s true that I’m a slime. But it’s also a fact that I rule 30% of this forest and have an alliance with the Kingdom of Dwargon. If you’re really serious, we may have no choice but to declare war. So think carefully before you answer me.

 

“Lord Carrion ordered me to come here and scout some mysterious majin to serve him.”

 

“Oh? He must mean us.”

 

It seems there were other Demon Lords besides Milim who were watching the battle with Geld. I need to be careful then, there could be any number of Demon Lords eyeing up this territory now.

 

Milim however, seemed to take that personally, emitting an aura of sheer rage and anger until Tanya looked back at her, prompting her to go back to normal.

 

“Well, I get the picture. You can leave now.”

 

“Huh?”

 

“Tell the Demon Lord Carrion that if he wants to talk, he can choose a date and contact us again.”

 

Phobio and his group quickly left, muttering something about making us regret this however I stopped caring enough to listen. Now getting into human form I decided to try and get Milim to tell me information.

 

“Okay, I want to know all about this Demon Lord Carrion.

 

“I can’t tell you that. We’ve sworn not to interfere with each other.”

 

And there it is! There is a secret!

 

Tanya put a hand on my shoulder, grinning to me, “Don’t worry Rimuru, I’ll handle this… hey Milim, I’m your bestie right? Why don’t we have a chat.”

 

“Okay!”

 

Does she seriously not… You know what nevermind I’m going to go handle other affairs, I’ll leave this to Tanya.

After bribing Milim to give me information on the Demon Lords I had other things to do, though most of it was menial tasks. Luckily many of the Kijin like Shuna were good at keeping Milim entertained. It's been nearly two years since I’ve been here and frankly I’ve grown quite a lot in terms of strength, let alone influence. Tempest itself has grown rapidly in the last year alone and the Orcs are certainly helping with construction. 

 

Business-wise my own business has also been running well. I’ve already expanded it rapidly and I have many deals with many businesses. Of all the nations, Ingrasia has been widely successful. This seems to be because out of all the nations, Ingrassia is by far the most modernized economically. Primarily it seems from the Free Union, which I’ve already made a number of deals with. Considering they’re basically the centralized ‘adventurer's guild’ they’re a pretty important political and economic player, though their influence is strongest in Ingrassia which stands as the most technological nation I’ve seen yet. Its leader, Yuuki, is almost certainly an otherworlder, judging by the technology, or rather magic, used in the Headquarters. Automatic doors, alternative elevators, it's all directly reflective of modern technology, though I haven’t met with him directly to confirm this.

 

Overall economically my company has risen to high influence across a number of nations, primarily Ingrassia, Falmuth, Blumund, and to a lesser degree Dwargon. In the case of Dwargon, most of its efforts have been spent aiding Tempest in any way it can without attracting attention. This primarily means providing generous funding or aid to companies or groups trading or involved with trade with Tempest. In other regions it's primarily about increasing our economic influence. While there have been attempts to stop my growth by any means, all have failed. There have even been assassination attempts, however the strongest assassin would easily be beaten by even one of the weakest of Tempest’s soldiers. It's quite depressing honestly.

 

Humanity just seems to be centuries behind in technology to my world, and the direct power of humans is far below that of Tempest alone. Adventurers show promise, some even holding significant power, however the only adventurers that are of high quality strength are usually kept as tools of Kingdoms, nobles, high ranking merchants, organizations, or at times Demon Lords. Most notable inclusions are summons such as those in Falmuth, or otherworlders in general like Hinata with the Luminous Church. The church itself is… questionable. There’s no doubt in my mind knowing of the True Dragons that there is really a god at the head of this, and even without that knowledge I would’ve assumed it was fake entirely. However considering followers of it do obtain holy magic through faith, there has to be some kind of source behind it. Some powerful entity, one I can only narrow down to a few things:

 

Firstly is a High ranking Demon or Spirit. Angels are almost entirely out of the question considering the fact they’re in an entire other plane of existence and only come down to destroy humanity. Demons aren’t necessarily one for being worshiped, and the only ones who could probably do something like this are one of the Primordials, of which I myself doubt are involved.

 

Secondly are True Dragons, beings who are strong enough to have the sheer magical force to proclaim themselves as gods without anyone really contesting them. However again I have my reasons to doubt that, especially with how Veldora seemed to describe them.

 

This just leaves the likelihood that it's either some powerful race I’ve yet to hear of or is kept secret or, the more likely answer being that some Demon Lord is running the show. I don’t know much about any other Demon Lords, and as far as I know the only ones that definitely exist are Milim who herself is a calamity, Frey who is supposedly Milim’s friend, Carrion who sent that Phobio moron, Clayman who aided in the creation of the Orc Disaster, Leon who summoned Shizu, and Guy who is the ‘Red’ Primordial. None of those seem to fit the bill, especially considering I know for a fact Milim, Carrion, Clayman, Frey, and likely Guy all have territories of their own. This leaves 4 other Demon Lords which could potentially be in charge, or perhaps none of them are. It's entirely possible it's just some strong Majin capable of granting others Holy Magic. The possibility of the leader of the Church being a normal human is slim to nothing, and if it is, well then it certainly puts into question how Holy Magic truly works.

You are reading story The Saga of Slime and Devil at novel35.com

 

No matter, my corporation has been thriving, and I’ve even incorporated a number of other corporations whose former leaders decided it would be great to break our contract. Due to my skills, I’m able to take the soul of any who decides to break my contracts. This means I’m easily able to incorporate their businesses into my own and it's been how I’ve primarily been expanding it. Most of the funds simply go into expanding the business further, making investments and purchasing more companies without stealing souls so as to not bring suspicion into my other attainments.

 

This doesn’t mean my company as a whole is exempt from suspicion, considering how quickly it rose in just a bit over a year, however as far as anyone knows it's just because it's led by a brilliant and innovative merchant who happened to have a good bit of luck. To everyone, Tanya Degurechaff is just a youthful yet tactful business owner, though of course it's a fake identity. While in such a form my hair is blonde and I wear more normal, yet formal, clothing. Basically I look like my former self from back when I was in the Empire, albeit older. The only worry I have is someone recognizing my name since that could complicate things, however most Otherworlders seem to be from Japan or at least Earth, so I seem to be an exception or outlier. Perhaps it's because I was from Japan as well?

 

Frankly, the amount of meetings I have to deal with is tiring. I have to manage both a company and Tempest at the same time. While I could easily abandon the company, it's both a backup plan as well as a potentially valuable tool for Tempest. Giving it up is not a practical option currently. The main question is why Tempest needs to have so many diplomatic meetings in such a short span of time?! I get it's a new nation appearing here, however it's not even common knowledge that we exist yet, so why the sudden appearances? At least Carrion knew about the powerful Majin, these guys are just adventurers from Falmuth and Blumind. If I had to guess it was just that same three adventurers from before that happened to tell the Guild, though there's no way they could know that we’re a nation yet.

 

Whether I like it or not we now have a meeting with some adventurers from Falmuth and representatives of the Blumund Free Guild. The Falmuth adventurers in particular not really looking like they want to be here either.

 

With everyone now seated and Rimuru in slime form, though I feel like it’d simplify a lot of meetings if he just went into human form for once, Rimuru began, “I’m the representative of this town… or nation… Called the Jura Tempest Kingdom. My name’s Rimuru Tempest.”

 

The guildmaster, who I picked up was named Fuze, seemed shocked at this information, “You really are a slime!”

 

Did they not tell you? Why is everyone shocked about this even after being told several times? I get it's hard to believe, but seriously, you shouldn’t be shocked that the adventurers you sent weren’t lying to you.

 

The blue-armored adventurer who I believe was named ‘Kaval’ was also slightly curious, “By the way, Rimuru, there are some folks here we didn’t see last time.”

 

“Oh yeah. This is Benimaru, Shion, Souei, and Shuna. Tanya also decided to stay, too.”

 

Milim, not seeming to care whether it's an important diplomatic meeting or not barged into the room and sat down silently next to Rigurd, all while eating something though knowing Milim that could be just about anything.

 

“And that’s Milim.”

 

Fuze seemed shocked at this reveal, however at this point who wasn’t? I suppose the world probably sees Milim in a similar light as everyone sees Veldora, with the exception that Milim supposedly doesn't rampage at random like Veldora did.

 

“So, the Kingdoms of Blumund and Falmuth have both come to investigate this place?”

 

“We are-”

 

Fuze was promptly interrupted by Mr.Edgelord here who was putting his feet up on the table for some fucking reason despite being surrounded by individuals who could kick his ass in seconds. “Wait a minute. Why is a slime acting like such a bigshot? It makes no sense! What's the deal here? Why are all of you okay with this?”

 

Why does this happen every time? Is nobody able to comprehend that this slime is easily stronger than everyone in here (besides me)? Even if he wasn’t, he’s still the leader, why the fuck should he care? Either way he’s pissed off Shion.

 

“You are insulting Great Rimuru.”

 

“Shut your mouth, Tits!”

 

He’s dead.

 

Out of nowhere he was promptly bonked in the head by Shion’s hercules edge, albeit still sheathed. I’m not even sure where she pulled that from, let alone so quickly, considering the fact she wasn’t holding anything just a second ago.

 

“H-Hey…”

 

“I’m sorry!”

 

Rimuru threw a potion at his head, although I would’ve let him keep the injury personally.

 

“Sorry about what Shion did.”

 

Why? I feel like Shion was fully justified here.

 

“She has trouble restraining herself sometimes. Cut her some slack.”

 

I don’t disagree with that statement, but once again, I feel like she’s justified here.

 

“That’s mean! I’m actually known for my patience!”

 

Aren’t you guys the ones that jump immediately into combat every time there’s a mild threat? Whatever.

 

Milim just laughed, “You’ve got a long way to go if you’re that impatient, Shion! You’re so short-tempered because you don’t have an open mind like I do!”

 

I’m just… not going to argue with the Demon Lord child.

 

“I want to be on good terms with Humans. I hope we can trade and network with you all someday, too.”

 

“Trade?”

 

“Yeah. We’ve actually entered diplomatic relations with the Dwarven Kingdom already.”

 

“With Dwargon?!”

 

“I think passing through this land would be more convenient for your merchants. What do you think?”

 

“Now, wait a minute! You’re saying that Dwargon acknowledges this nation of monsters as legitimate?”

 

Vesta, seemingly out of nowhere, also intrudes into the meeting because you know, why not? Privacy isn’t a thing in Tempest apparently. “I can vouch for that.”

 

“Minister Vesta!”

 

“Former minister.”

 

“What is a man of your standing doing here?”

 

Didn’t he just say that he was a former minister?

 

“It’s good to see you again, Fuze. What Great Rimuru says is true, King Gazel and Rimuru have entered into a treaty.”

 

“Are you convinced now?”

 

“W-Well… If that is the case, we aren’t opposed to cooperating with you. But I’ll need to see undeniable proof that you are, in fact, an ally of Humans. I assume that’s all right?”

 

“Oh, sure. That’s to be expected. I’m just fine with that. I’ll permit you to stay here. I want you to understand that we aren’t a threat. By the way, Fuze-san,-”

 

Why are you calling him that?

 

“-has the news that the Orc Lord was defeated already gotten around?”

 

“No, only our King and a select handful of people know that.”

 

“I see. In that case… Youm-kun, want to make a contract with me?”

 

Why are you calling him that?

 

“Huh? What are you even talki-”

 

Shion’s staring seemed to intimidate him enough to stop talking.

 

“What… might you be suggesting?”

 

“You said the Kingdom of Falmuth hired you with money, right? So you’d just be switching employers. To put it in simple terms… I want you guys to be the champions who defeated the Orc Lord.”

 

“What?!”

 

“Just say that we simply helped you out, and start a rumor that you were the one who defeated the Orc Lord. I figure, that way, I can be known as the trustworthy monster who assisted the champion. I think it’ll be easier to befriend people that way than if they think I’m some mysterious, threatening monster. What do you think?”

 

“I’ll… Think about it.”

 

With that the meeting practically ended with no actual deals made and frankly I’m not sure why I, Rigurd, or really anyone besides Rimuru, Shion, and maybe Souei were there. Regardless, Rimuru later made contracts with both Fuze and Youm. Youm happened more individually whereas Fuze’s deal was made in the hotspring for some reason. Either way I’m not a male in this body so I’m not going in there. I’m only barely comfortable going into the female one with people in there, but either way I much prefer being in there alone.

 

Now with diplomatic relations likely established with Blumund and a front for the Orc Lord’s defeat set up with Youm, we were basically well set and everything was handled…

 

But nothing is ever that easy.

 

A few days later, in town square a Dryad appeared, however this one was not Treyni, rather some other Dryad with shorter hair.

 

“I am the Dryad Trya, younger sister of Treyni.”

 

“She has a younger sister?! Uh, anyways, whats with that form and the murderous aura?”

 

Rimuru for fucks sake stop lusting over the Dryads every time they appear during an emergency!

 

“There is an emergency. Calamity is approaching.”

 

Of course it is.

 

“Calamity?”

 

“A calamity-class monster, Charybdis, has been revived.”

 

Can we go just a few months without being attacked BY SOME NEW ALL-POWERFUL MONSTROSITY?!

“Charybdis?”

 

Yes, that's its name, Rimuru.

 

“It’s violence equals that of a Demon Lord. My sisters, including Treyni, have set out to slow its progress, but they are no match for it. And it appears Charybdis is heading for this land… Against Charybdis, the Ruler of the Skies, waging war on land is futile. I have come to advise you to bolster your defenses and prepare an airborne combat force as soon as possible.”

 

Well isn’t this just phenomenal, alright then, I suppose we have another Calamity to handle. No matter. I’ll handle it one way or another. I’m no big fan of video games, but what was it that Ghandi said in that one game? Oh right,

 

Our words are backed with Nuclear Weapons.