Chapter 50

Clerk: Oh, *****-san! How are you doing?

Pierrot: Hmm? Oh, came to buy some groceries. What’s fresh today?

Clerk: Just had some salmon and cod delivered. Oh, but I would recommend the saury, you always liked that one, didn’t you?

Pierrot: Did I?

Clerk: Though I guess that was before that. Oh sorry, you must not want to remember it.

Pierrot: Ah, no, it’s no problem. That reminds me of a good joke, what did a father tomato say to the baby tomato whilst walking in a park?

Clerk: What?

Pierrot: Ketchup.

Clerk: Oh, haha! I guess you’ve become more humorous now. You’ve always been so serious; well, I guess such an incident would change anybody.

Pierrot: … now that I think about it though. Did the father tomato threaten to turn the baby tomato into ketchup? Or was a baby tomato hit by a car and turned into ketchup? … hit by a car?

Clerk: Did you say something? Another customer’s calling me. I hope everything’s going well. I’ll stop by to visit later. We’re friends, after all.

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Life in the Royal Capital

050. Frontier Garrison

The morning of the following day,

Started with great tribulations.

First thing in the morning I woke Milim up.

Her expression grumpy, I had her change to look presentable.

The new clothing she wore was the one she had requested yesterday, and it came out pretty well.

The Gothic Dress was probably difficult to move in, hence the reason for her request.

「Why does a demon lord need to wake up so early in the morning!」

She was grumbling haughtily, but her mood improved by breakfast.

Children really are simple.

While she was eating, I was busy thinking.

I don’t particularly mind becoming her supervisor, but I want to go to a human city. So, should I bring her along?

I kind of have a bad feeling about doing that. No, let me rephrase… it’s bound to lead to a disaster!

To bring such a dangerous child to a place she’s never been before… well, it’s not that I can’t, it’s that I won’t.

But even so, leaving her here is bad for my heart.

While Milim is visiting I should probably abstain from leaving for human cities.

After we finished breakfast, I took Milim to the smithy.

I took on my human form and wore a mask; since, as a slime, I wouldn’t be able to try out a weapon.

And once we reached it, I greeted Kurobee.

「Is the thing I asked for yesterday ready?」

「Oo! This one, right? Should be good for Milim-sama’s personal use!」

He said, showing me the finished product.

Yesterday, he had measured the size of Milim’s hands after being asked to make her something.

It’s Dragon Knuckles!

The point of such gloves would be to prevent injury when punching barehanded and to increase the force of the blow… normally. That’s not why we gave her the gloves.

No, our goal was the exact opposite. The light but dense “Demon Steel” is actually surrounded by a shock-absorbing material.

Right! When she equips this, her blow will be reduced to only 10% of its norm!

And we used Demon Steel in hopes of attaching a regenerative effect to them. The best part of it all will be the decrease in her destructive power.

「Milim, try this on!」

I pass the dragon knuckles to Milim, who, clearly excited, happily accepts them.

And she quickly puts them on.

She lightly throws some punches in the air.

「Oh! This is great! My hands feel really light!」

Alright, seems to be working. If her hands feel light, I guess her power should have decreased a bit.

And for myself, I took a newly developed sword.

The last one I had broke myself, so I had them repair it.

I had tried copying it myself, but even if it looked identical its performance was clearly different.

Seems copying an item is impossible when the creator’s skills are too high.

Even if it looks the same, even if my appraising ability claims they are the same, there are nonetheless small differences.

I draw the sword to check. Amazing. Kurobee’s ability is truly something.

I wish I could finally get a sword specialized for my use. Seems like they still need to work on that; I am not getting impatient, but I am looking forward to it.

Nodding, I put the sword back into the scabbard.

The moment Milim and I acquired our weapons, Rigurdo came running over.

How well he runs…

「Rimuru-sama, this is where You were! An unknown group has come!」

From what he told me, we have an armed squad near the city.

Among them are the three adventurers.

Somehow, the three idiots managed bringing an armed group over.

Why are so many problems occurring now? Those idiots… so I thought, but,

「Well, let’s go meet them.」

I said, and headed to the place where Rigurdo left them.

And as if it was the most natural thing in the world, Milim followed.

When I arrived I saw Rigur and the guards surrounding ten or so armed men.

They are all dressed similarly. However, their equipment seems rather poor, and their ability likewise.

Our equipment is worlds superior.

Nonetheless, among them are a man and a woman with clearly superior equipment.

And not just their equipment–their skills also seem pretty high.

And of course, the three idiots. When they saw me,

「Oh! Rimuru-danna, it’s been a while!」

「Howdy! We came to hang out!」

「It’s been ages! Things happened… so there’s more of us!」

They greeted me.

Things happened, huh. Seems like they are the cause of this “incident”,

「Yo. So, who might these people be?」

「About that…」

They explained the details.

During his introduction, the man named Youmu kept looking at us while on guard.

When the idiots finished,

「Pleased to make your acquaintance! Farmas Kingdom, Count’s Domain, Frontier Garrison Captain Youmu’s the name.

We heard that monsters built a city here so we came to check.

I heard the chief of the city is a slime, could I meet it?」

He greeted us thus.

「Ah, please pardon the belated introduction. I am the head of this city and its representative.

I am known as Rimuru Tempest.

Though I currently appear thus, I am, in fact, a slime!」

I responded.

「Is that how it was, pardon my rudeness.

Cabal had mentioned that “Rimuru” is the name of the head, but I was misled by you being called a slime, you see.

Your human transformation is simply marvelous!」

Whether flattery or not I don’t know, but he seems intent on praising me.

I wonder if monsters capable of human transformation are rare? Not that it matters right now.

「Be that as it may. Are monsters capable of transforming into humans rare?

Actually, forget that question; what would be your business today?」

「Ah, about that…

Our goal was to confirm the report. There has never been a case of monsters building a city before, you see…

Moreover, should that report prove true, there’s the possibility that you will pose a threat to our country.

Thus, considering that the city truly exists, we must confirm whether or not you could pose a threat to us.

Could we possibly impose upon you our presence?」

「I see. However, if we were intending on becoming your enemies and were such a terrifying city, how could we let you stay here?」

Upon hearing my retort, the man named Youmu scratched his head.

「Ah, damn it. I’ll just tell you the truth.

Frankly, I didn’t believe there was a city of monsters here. Now I know I was wrong.

And, according to these three adventurers, you’ve got really good living conditions around here.

Please allow our stay and the stationing of troops here!」

He said in one breath.

And to the three idiots,

「I apologize for doubting you!」

He deeply bowed his head in apology.

I had planned to observe him for a while, but maybe it’s alright to consider him an honest guy.

「Fufuuun! Didn’t we tell you!

Well, as long as you understand! It doesn’t do to always suspect people!」

For some reason, Ellen proudly responded.

The other two were expressing their approval of her words or happiness at finally arriving.

Well, he doesn’t seem like a bad guy, but approving their presence is a different matter.

「Regarding stationing your troops here: for what purpose? 」

Youmu faced me and began explaining their situation.

Their unit was established by Farmas Kingdom’s Count to protect the villages against monsters; they are composed of thirty members in three divisions.

From where we stood, they could easily access the highway and nearby villages.

「Moreover, if we lay roads to the highway, we’d be saving time and establishing a trade route.

Of course, we will offer our labor towards that end!」

He ended with a proposal.

Even if it’s possible to get here on horseback, the same is not true for carriages.

We hadn’t cleared any trees in the direction of the highway.

We didn’t want to stand out at the time; but that was before the earlier orc incident.

Now that the forest has begun to calm down we should think about opening a trade route.

So perhaps it might be a good idea to accept his proposal.

Since it’s bad taste to continue such discussion on our feet, I guided everyone to the cafeteria.

Though our menu selection is still limited, it is nonetheless delicious.

Since we unfortunately are low on salt, pepper, and other seasoning, we can’t offer any subtle spicing.

Or so I’d say if not for Shuna’s godly cooking skills. That is, hers and that of her apprentice chefs Goblinas.

The number of Goblinas has been steadily increasing.

The security and order of the city is maintained by men while women take care of household matters and cooking.

Since they have their individual talents, they spread themselves among Cooking, Cleaning, Education, Sewing, Assistance, and other professions.

Their efficiency can be primarily attributed to Rigurdo’s skill at governing.

After switching to the cafeteria we continued our discussion.

Amusingly, Milim sat next to me.

It’s kind of cute how carefully she handles her dragon knuckles.

「By the way, Rimuru-danna, whose daughter would she be?」

Cabal went and asked.

Milim reacted to being called a daughter, but exercised self-restraint. Good word choice, Cabal.

Can’t forget that this cafeteria has the bomb named Milim.

「Oh, a guest. A really important person, so treat her with utmost respect, okay?」

I warned them ahead of time.

If they ignore my warning, they’ll have only themselves to blame. Not my problem then.

「I’m Milim. Please to meet you!」

Though Milim so simply introduced herself, let’s not forget she is a cruel demon lord.

She is so adorable, however, that she certainly deceived them all…

But a man and a woman, whose equipment was much better than the rest, had a worried expression on their faces.

Actually, rather than expression, it’s the air around them–it changed slightly.

They looked at Milim with complete disbelief.

Did they find her out? No, there’s no way that would be true. So I thought until I looked closer at the two…

Huh? Why are two devils disguising themselves as humans among them? Yes, the two of them are devils.

A simple human transformation could not fool my 『Magic Perception』.

From what Youmu said, they joined them half way. Infiltration, is that it?

(Hey, two devils infiltrated the city, be on your guard!)

I announced using 『Thought Transmission』.

Well, it’s fine as long as they don’t do anything funny.

(Rimuru-sama, considering that they showed up at the same time as Demon Lord Milim, could they be connected somehow?)

(I am of the same opinion, Rimuru-sama. A ploy to make us lower our guard?)

(Nooooope! I wouldn’t do something that annoying!!!)

Milim made her way into my『Thought Transmission』network. She seems to have figured out our frequency and forced her way in.

What an absurd thing to do.

Even if I make it sound so simple, make no mistake–it requires an absurdly high level of skill

(Hey you, did you just break into our network?!)

(Fufun! That kind of thing is easy for me!

But let bygones be bygones. Those two have no relation to me!!)

(But you know them?)

(… Eh? I.. I don’t?)

(…)

(…)

(Well, whatever. Just stay on your guard, everyone!)

Though they aren’t related, they are acquainted it seems.

No need to force her to say it if she doesn’t want to. It’s enough to know what we need to stay vigilant against.

While I was conversing thus, everyone was busy with self-introductions.

And that seems to have ended a second ago.

「Now that everyone introduced themselves, let’s get to the heart of the matter!」

The main question was whether to allow them to establish a base here; but, before that, they need to clarify something.

「I should be considering this a personal request of Youmu-san, shouldn’t I?」

「Yes, that would be accurate. In fact, the country will not know of this.」

「Why?」

「Hmph. Though there’s a bunch of reasons, frankly, I hate the feudal lord.

Our employer, Count Nidole Maidam, is no decent man.

The kind of guy who prioritizes personal benefit over that of the people.

He’s greedy, and rough with his men.

Though he levies a heavy tax on the people in return for protection, the garrison sees none of it.

The worst kind of man.

Well, as someone who badmouths his employer, I am no decent man either.

In any case, as a result, we are severely understaffed.

If we set up a base here we could easily access the surrounding villages.

But, if we report this, he’s bound to meddle with your city.

The clothing you produce is your specialty, right? It’s worlds better than what his city produces, you know?

Well, this is considered neutral zone, so I can’t imagine him moving independently, but…」

I see.

A greedy feudal lord. A common setting.

Yes, I wouldn’t want to have to deal with such a gloomy character.

But considering how frankly Youmu explains all this, he must be serious.

He seriously wants to set up a base here. To earn my trust, he’s speaking only the truth.

Our conversation continued.

After Rigurdo and the oni voiced their opinions, we passed our decision.

We decided to let them use a single empty house.

Of course, should they cause problems, we will immediately evict them. Moreover, we’ll be collecting money for their meals.

That we decided to include after hearing Kaijin’s opinion.

A single night for a single person costs three silver coins. The average rate at a city for a sunny room is between 5~8 coins.

A single room at an inn could be as low as 3 coins. That includes a single simple meal.

Staying without a meal will cost between 1~2 coins.

The imperial capital would easily be five times as expensive.

By the way, a hundred silver coins is equal to a single gold one. I still have the twenty gold pieces I got from Kaidou.

By our standards, a single silver coin equals a thousand yen, and a single gold coin is a hundred thousand yen.

Though monetary value also depends on item costs and such; well, in any case, Kaidou seems to have spent a lot.

That’s only expected considering the value of the medicine, however.

Well, it should be enough to kick-start our economy.

「Three coins is too high, please lower it slightly!」

Youmu began negotiating the cost.

「Hmph! Listen up, the room includes three meals a day, and a bath!

If you have a problem, we’ll lend you a storage house instead, how about it?

There we’ll charge a single silver coin, but no meals!」

Youmu pondered Kaijin’s words, but gave up in the end.

He probably remembered the meal he just ate.

And thus, we lent out lodging to Farmas Kingdom’s Count’s Domain Garrison Guard led by Youmu.

We also let them use the first floor of the guard house as their office.

Youmu’s group brought in their equipment there.

Seems like they use a Magic Communicator type of thing that allows them to contact individual units.

However, unfortunately, they can only speak for three minutes every hour. The magic cost is simply so high that so they can’t supply enough.

Thus it’s mostly used to rely unit orders or for emergency situations.

An expensive piece of equipment, they seem to only have six of those.

That’s also due to how cheap their employer is.

Including the two “newcomers”, the human squad is composed of 32 people.

From where they are located – well, here as of now – they can reach every village within a day. They’ve gotten much more efficient as a result, it seems.

They’ve also gotten used to life here.

After Youmu contacted them via the magic communicator, they all assembled here. A merry bunch they are.

「「「Please take care of us from now on!」」」

They all shouted.

「Our pleasure! However, should you cause any trouble, I can’t guarantee your lives. So be careful, okay?」

I threw in a light threat in there.

Though we’re clearly monsters, they were on their guard only for the first few minutes.

But let’s not allow them to let their guard down so much that they cause a ruckus here.

Though they seem like a bunch of good guys, so maybe I’m worrying too much.

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As planned, I then introduced Youmu to Rigur.

After we explained how far our defense network spans, the frontier garrison decided to fill in the holes between us and the villages.

Since there’s a lot of room to spare, a single unit can work on building a road.

And the free high orc construction division will be sent to help them with that.

Thus, albeit very unexpectedly, Youmu’s group became familiar with our city.