by Fuse
What Kaijin said seemed to make sense. Whatever could upgrade those creatures so dramatically must have been kept under tight secrecy. Even an ex-officer would’ve only heard half-told rumors.
So was this was what we had to deal with…?
“Kaijin, if what you say is true, do you think there’s a chance the dwarf king himself is among them?”
“Per…haps? King Gazel almost never leaves the royal palace these days, but he was lauded as a hero in his glory years. If he thought it necessary, it wouldn’t be outside the realm of possibility for him to personally lead a force like this.”
“Can you think of any reason why he would?”
“Well… Maybe because of the orc lord? But that’s all settled now.”
Hmm? The orc lord…?
“Hey, Rigurd, can I ask you a question?”
“Yes, my lord?”
“I told Kabal and his party to spread some rumors around their fellow adventurers, but did we ever tell them that it’s over?”
“Ah…?”
“Oh, man, I forgot… Better send a message to ’em.”
“I apologize for this oversight, Sir Rimuru…”
It wasn’t just Rigurd’s fault. I forgot, too, so we were even, pretty much. I could get the message across through Soei in a flash, so I didn’t see it as a fatal mistake. And while I wanted Soei to take care of that ASAP, I had to deal with our new visitors first.
“Do you think the dwarven king heard about this and came to help?”
Kaijin was awfully optimistic, but it didn’t seem that way to me. But there was no point speculating on what we didn’t know anyway, so I closed the subject. All we could do was wait for these uninvited guests, debating with one another about what to do should the worst happen.
A herd of winged horses was flying above town. They took sidelong glances at us as we watched them, looping around the city airspace a few times before landing in an open field just beyond its borders. We had some open space in town, too—the areas where we planned to build most of our central facilities, for one—but I suppose they didn’t immediately touch down in the city out of politeness. That’d be pretty much a declaration of war, wouldn’t it, if a nation did that to another? International law probably didn’t apply to monsters, though, and I wasn’t even sure such a thing existed in this world in the first place…
No point thinking about it.
More pertinently, we now had confirmation that the dwarven king was leading the pack. That was a tad more important, as was the reassurance that he didn’t want to attack us on first sight. He would have without hesitation if he saw us as foes.
Maybe Kaijin was right? Are these just reinforcements or something? Not if this is supposed to be an undercover force, though—and not if the king himself is on the field.
Leaving the evacuation efforts to Hakuro, Kurobe, and Gobta, I headed out of town to greet them. Accompanying me was Rigurd, who insisted that negotiations with the outside world were in his jurisdiction. Assuming we had any room to negotiate…
Obviously, Kaijin and the three dwarves were with me, too.
The knights were lined up in neat rows in the field beyond the city. In front was one whose force of presence dominated over all of them. He was flanked by four bodyguards, each obviously several times stronger than the rest of the force.
Counting King Gazel himself, that meant five incredibly powerful dwarves were before us. I couldn’t know exactly what kind of threat they were, but well into A territory, at least. Considering the aura of danger I felt when I was last placed in front of him—and considering that aura was still there now—his powers had to be on another dimension. If I had to guess, his four compatriots dated from his days on the road as Heroic King. No wonder their kingdom was so strong. If you ever bumped into these guys on the road, running was your best bet at survival, for sure.
We really have to avoid combat now. Otherwise, it’ll get ugly.
“Well, well, Your Majesty. It has been a long time—and quite an impressive showing, as well! May I ask what brings you here today?” Kaijin stepped forward and took a knee before Gazel.
Come to think of it, I’ve never directly conversed with Gazel before. I wasn’t allowed to back in his kingdom, in keeping with dwarf tradition. Instead, unable to defend myself, we were made into criminals (Kaijin did punch out the nobleman Vester, but still) and almost made into forced laborers. Their king was a fair and upright enough ruler that we managed to avoid that, so I imagined he wouldn’t spring war upon us without a fair explanation—but if he did, I was prepared to give him a piece of my mind.
“A pleasure to see you again, Kaijin…and you as well, slime. Do you remember me?”
The king was surprisingly casual with us as I sized up his approach.
Are we doing away with the obnoxious formalities? I blithely wondered as I felt something dark and ominous from behind.
In a flash, Benimaru’s smile vanished and he had a steady hand on his sword, apparently not a fan of the king calling me just “slime.”
Soei, on the other hand, kept it supremely cool—the faint smile on his face told us all how he felt. He was pissed. He normally had no expression at all, but get him mad, and he’d smile back at you. A dangerous man to trifle with, and it was pretty funny how the only way to make Soei smile was to basically bait him into killing you.
Benimaru might’ve had a short temper, but by ogre mage standards, he was showing remarkable restraint.
Meanwhile, the aura I felt from Shuna and Shion was nothing to sniff at, either. They were showing the opposite of restraint, actively exuding danger with every fiber of their being.
This was ugly. They still respected my orders enough to stick to them, I supposed, but if anything else happened, they’d be liable to blow their top at any moment. I needed to get this squared away before they went beyond my control.
As I fretted over this, I realized that Kaijin, himself, was deeply disturbed by the king’s greeting. “M-my liege?!” he stammered, eyes ready to pop out of their sockets.
Apparently this wasn’t the Gazel that Kaijin knew—but to me, this was a good sign. It meant the lord of a kingdom had taken the time to come here himself, do away with all the procedural BS, and get down to brass tacks with me. The fact he didn’t immediately sic his knights on us was, in itself, a victory. Regardless of how much it rankled the ogres, I had to take advantage of this chance.
“Ha-ha-ha-ha!” the king boomed. “I see your head is unbending as always, Kaijin. Can you not see? I have come here strictly as a private citizen. At least, on paper. Otherwise, I hardly would be allowed out of my own bedchamber.”
Kaijin, still flustered, exchanged looks with his king and me. Realizing that nobody on the scene had any further comment, he took that to mean Gazel was telling the truth. It was hard for him to swallow. He froze.
So. The dwarven king wasn’t paying us a state visit but just doing a little private tourism? So what were all those ominous-looking knights behind him for? Hmm. Thinking about it, they’d never allow a king to just walk around in the forest alone. They had to be guards sent with him to appease the elders and bureaucrats who formed the core of dwarven government.
Well, if we’re doing away with procedure, I don’t see any reason not to address him directly. Trusting in my hunch that Gazel meant no conflict, I decided to take a bullish approach.
“Which means, sir, that I’m free to speak as I wish?”
“By all means. This is no place to allow ourselves to be bound by formal ceremony.”
“Right. Well, lemme introduce myself first. My name is Rimuru. You’re right that I’m a slime, but I’d prefer if you didn’t call me that. I mean, I’m kind of the leader of the Great Forest of Jura Alliance, so you could say things have changed a bit since last time.” I took this moment to turn into my human shape. “This isn’t exactly who I really am, but it’s probably easier for you to talk to.”
I grinned, waiting for his reaction.
“It… It transformed?!”
“A magic-born…and such a high-level one.”
“Hmm. I sense magical force but no casting of magic itself. A skill-based status transformation, I would say. I sense no sudden burst of magicules, so it is likely as it said—simply a change of appearance, not of nature. But this could change its method of battle. At the least, being able to wield equipment like our own could boost its own offensive and defensive powers.”
“Sounds like trouble… I haven’t seen a rare variant like this in quite a while. And the monsters behind it are rather strange in themselves!”
“Hmm,” said an old woman among them. “Those, I can identify. They are ogre mages—a race just as rare as orc lords.”
“They are? That’s the evolved form of an ogre, is it not? Should we not dispatch them before they grow too strong to handle?”
“—You think it’d go that smoothly? Four of them bear horns. We would have to prepare for a bitter fight.”
“I hate to sound timid, but yes… Best not underestimate them.”
The king looked on silently, but his personal companions seemed fairly unnerved. They even guessed what Benimaru and his kin were. That old crone must’ve used some kind of magic to prod us for data. I didn’t like being evaluated like that, but it was largely out of my hands. I needed to show off a little strength, or else they’d stomp all over me. Even if we survived, I sure as hell didn’t want to be subservient to these guys.
“Silence!” the king suddenly bellowed, never taking his eyes off me. “Enough of this racket. This slime and I are speaking right now. Excuse me—Rimuru, I mean. I will evaluate him for myself, and I would appreciate it if all of you held your tongues in the meantime.”
It was a pure show of force, and it stunned them all into silence.
“Yeah, uh, sorry if I scared you all. I just transformed because I thought this’d be more natural for you. Just like that lady said, this is the work of my skill, Universal Shapeshift. A form of mimicry, is all. So you don’t have to freak out about it.”
“I will be the judge of that. I would hardly believe the words of someone unless I was reasonably sure they were a friend…or foe.”
True enough. Friend or foe, though, huh? That might be why King Gazel’s here, then—to figure out exactly who the heck we are. If I had to guess, he knew about the orc lord’s defeat, and that compelled him to move. As long as I could gain his trust, there was no need to be hostile.
“Well,” I ventured, “you can doubt me all you want, but we can’t really sustain a conversation that way, can we?”
“No need to worry. Words are not what I need to judge your character. Instead, I will use my sword to divine your true nature. If you insist on such ribald boasting, calling yourself the ‘leader’ of this forest, it may be about time to show you your place. If that sword of yours isn’t mere decoration, I ask you to accept my request.”
With that, he handed the halberd he carried in his hands to an attending knight on his side. My katana-style sword must have set off his battle lust or something.
“Y-Your Majesty, surely…”
“Ha! What faster way to settle this than with a man-to-man duel?” The king laughed, ferocious.
Judging by the shocked looks on the knights and Gazel’s companions, their monarch was seriously looking for a fight. I had no reason to turn him down. We were still evacuating the town, so it’d be a helpful way to buy some time.
“I accept the request. And I’ll make you regret calling me a boaster,” I said, looking King Gazel in the eye.
We both took a step forward, the ogre mages keenly looking on. I’m sure they didn’t think I could lose. The king’s side seemed intent on letting him fight as well; nobody dared to dissuade him from the idea. The crowd had already formed a ring, with us facing each other down in the middle.
“Regarding the rules,” Gazel said, “if you can block a single string of my attacks, you may call yourself the victor. Not that it has to be said, but you are free to attack me at any time, too. But remember: I am Gazel Dwargo, Master of the Sword, and my blade shall not be taken lightly.”
He took his weapon in hand and aimed it in front of his eyes. It held a single edge, with a bit of a curve to it, and pretty patterns were etched up and down its length. It resembled a samurai sword but had its own unique design—certainly, a very well-made weapon for the Master of the Sword to carry.
Just when I was preparing to draw my own blade, a clear voice penetrated the ring.
“Allow me to watch over the match!”
As it did, I felt the presence of three more among us, hearts pure and bereft of evil. One had spoken—Treyni, a dryad I was familiar with. As always, she had a knack for appearing and disappearing whenever it suited her. The other two resembled Treyni, so I assumed they were among the “sisters” she spoke of.
“Dryads?!” exclaimed the elderly woman who scanned us earlier. I couldn’t blame her surprise. Anyone would be alarmed at a monster teleporting in from out of nowhere.
Treyni smiled as she gave both of us a quick glance. “Dwarven King, you are being terribly arrogant to our forest leader. Calling Sir Rimuru a boaster tells me you are willing to make every denizen of this wood your enemy. Is this right? However, if Sir Rimuru has accepted this challenge, it is my role as his subject to allow it. I will close my eyes to it this time. But relent on your promise, and do not expect mercy from us.”
She was willing to accept no back talk against this. My companions nodded at one another—it was like Treyni said what they all were thinking.
The dwarves, on the other hand, didn’t look well at all.
“The loftiest presence in the forest,” one whispered, “siding with a single force?”
“They are as powerful as high-level elementals. And three of them! I hope you are all ready for this, my friends…”
The mood was grim among them.
This was exactly why I wanted to avoid combat…
“Ha! Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha! So ‘leader of the forest’ was no boast, after all. I apologize for branding you a liar, Rimuru. And I think I have a vague understanding of the situation here. But I still seek to gauge your true nature. And if we have a referee for this contest, all that remains is to cross swords!” Gazel seemed completely unmoved.
He had been watching me the whole time, without wavering.
“Yeah, you’re right. We’ll have a quick match, and then we can talk about what has brought you here.”
“Heh-heh-heh… And if you can beat me, I will do what I can to answer.”
There was no longer a peep from our audience.
Treyni, face tensed, stood between the two of us as we confronted each other. The match was on.
“Begin!” came the dryad’s shrill voice over the still field.
And with that, Gazel and I instantly took action.
My Magic Sense skill allowed me to read all available information within the local range and replay it in my mind. Using it, I had a full grasp of the ring, as if I were looking down at ourselves from overhead. Speeding up my thought process by a thousandfold, I began to consider my tactics.
It had been a long while since I had given my all in battle. Since my fight with Geld, the Orc Disaster, I hadn’t skipped a day of practice with Hakuro—but the fact that none of it was “for keeps” had prevented me from really treating it seriously, in some corner of my mind. I honed every sense in my body as I sized up my foe.
At the moment, my height was around four and a quarter feet. Consuming the Orc Disaster had expanded my own magicule storage, so I had more all-purpose slime tissue to work with. King Gazel, meanwhile, was around five and a half feet, a bit larger than the dwarven average. Over a head taller than me—and in my mind, he loomed like a mountain. His role as king undoubtedly contributed to that.
Still, I kept my heartbeat calm as I observed him. He had his beautiful sword up to his eyes, taking a full-frontal approach and not moving an inch. He was read
y to deflect anything I could dish up for him—and really, I couldn’t find any gap to exploit at all.
I was stricken by a sense that I was facing Hakuro. Master of the Sword was right. Or maybe I should be more amazed at Hakuro, given how he was the first person who sprang to mind when as a comparison to Gazel.
Regardless, this wasn’t training. I couldn’t afford to call time-out. Let’s test him, then. Gazel only talked about “a single string of attacks,” and I was free to try attacking all I wanted in the meantime. Or defeat him, even.
The more masterful the fighter, the better a gauge they had of the space around them. In that case…
Using Strengthen Body to boost my leg muscles, I zoomed forward and slashed at the king. He was free to take the blow; if he tried to respond to it, he was right in my trap.
I was sure I’d given him enough data to work with before I sprang into action, and I was sure he read it all accurately and factored it into his own approach. Which meant that, if I could just stretch my arms out four inches or so more as I slashed, that’d be enough for him to misjudge everything. Not too much—just enough.
Maybe this strategy sounds petty, but it definitely works. One of the most important rules of close-quarters combat is not to let your foe gain a solid sense of distance. I used the same trick to land a blow on Hakuro once. It never worked again, and Hakuro truly lived up to his ogre name as he showed me hell the rest of the day, but there it was. One point for me. And if it deceived a master like him, would it work on this one?
But betraying my total confidence, Gazel executed a precision move to deflect my hand away, as if expecting it the whole time.
Dude! You’ve gotta be kidding me! I thought as I readied my sword again. Gazel showed no interest in countering, still just watching me quietly. I tried a few other attacks, switching out my tactics each time, but he breezily shrugged away each one. I should mention that I wasn’t going easy on him. I had potions on me, so I could heal him as long as he survived.