Chapter 22: The Adventurer Who Arrived
There were adventurers preparing to head into the forest for an investigation.
They were a trio: Kabal, Eren, and Gid, all B-rank adventurers.
Due to the increased activity of monsters, merchant caravans no longer set out toward the forest these days.
Hiring guards costs money, and it doesn't make financial sense.
Therefore, the only means of transportation to the forest is on foot.
Most importantly, carriages cannot enter the path leading to the "Sealed Cave," so they would have to walk from a certain point onward, regardless.
After their preparations were mostly complete and they were about to set off, a person approached them and spoke.
"Excuse me. If you're heading to the forest, could I accompany you part of the way?"
It was a voice that was hard to determine as male, female, old, or young.
His or her expression was invisible.
The reason was that the person was wearing a mask.
A mask with a beautiful, expressionless face.
The atmosphere it exuded was suspicious, but...
"Wait! You! I, the leader, haven't given permission... What the heck!"
"Oh dear, now that I've said it, there's no point in arguing, is there?"
With those words, the suspicious figure started walking silently behind the three.
Thus, with one more companion, Kabal and the others set off for the forest to conduct another investigation.
*Thud thud thud. Clang. Clang. Bang!*
In the forest, the sounds of chopping wood and hammering metal echoed.
They were clearing the land for a new village and building houses in sequence.
Initially, they installed water and sewage systems, so no houses had been built yet, leaving an open space.
The water system drew water directly from the river.
They planned to build a water management facility, where the water would be purified and distributed to each household.
For the sewage, they laid wooden pipes underground, treated the wood to prevent rotting, and solidified them with cement.
This was the current construction work. Fortunately, the nearby mountain provided limestone materials.
They planned to build a sewage treatment facility outside the village to produce fertilizer.
A temporary large building, like a gymnasium, had been constructed.
It was a temporary accommodation building, roughly made.
The land division was progressing smoothly.
They designated the area near the cave as the upper left and planned to build my residence there.
From there, the chiefs' residences would be built, surrounded by the residents' homes.
Since this was the initial land division, it felt neat and clean.
They created main roads in a cross shape, making it easy to take collective action in case of emergencies.
However, it could also be said that it made it easier to invade.
Initially, evolving the goblins into hop goblins was the right decision.
Their intelligence developed rapidly, and they had good memory.
Additionally, their physical strength improved, making them stronger.
According to the dwarves, goblins are F-rank monsters, but hop goblins are C to D rank.
Regardless, it felt more appropriate to count them as individuals rather than beasts.
In summary, from start to finish, their evaluation varied based on their equipment, weapons, classes (jobs), and skills (techniques).
Speaking of which, there were variations in size among individuals.
The four I appointed as lords seemed to have higher abilities than the others.
Especially, Rigld, whom I appointed as king...
"Ah! There you are! I've been looking for you!!"
To the point where I wanted to say, "What kind of monster are you?!"
He had a large, robust build.
According to Kaijin, he was so imposing that he could even overshadow an ogre!
It seemed that giving them names and jobs changed them.
The ecology of monsters is truly a mystery.
It might be good to appoint others and experiment.
"Hey! I caught some suspicious people, so I came to report."
"Suspicious? A group of monsters from somewhere?"
"No, humans. As ordered, we didn't touch them."
"Humans? Why would they be here?"
They came! If we don't get along, it's over!
Well, if they were like the foolish adventurers from before, I might secretly dispose of them and feed them to the monsters...
"They were fighting a group of giant ants, but Rigld's guard squad rescued and protected them...
There were signs that they had been investigating this area. I wanted your judgment..."
Could it be that a country is sending people to investigate this area?
I confirmed with the dwarves, and they said the Jura Forest is a neutral zone not belonging to any country.
It's possible that a country is sending a survey team to expand its territory.
If that's the case, it would be troublesome...
Let's see what happens when we meet them.
"Alright! Let's meet them. Show me the way!"
With that, I climbed onto Rigld's shoulder.
Due to sending Ranga on patrol, moving around had become a hassle.
Walking normally was no different, but the slime's low perspective was bothersome.
To maintain my authority, I couldn't let them look down on me.
It doesn't really matter, though!
Rigld carried me on his shoulder and headed toward the captured adventurers.
While I was thinking about that, a loud commotion reached my ears.
"Wait! You! That was my target!!"
"Isn't that a bit much? That was the meat I was after!"
"Everyone, I can't give up on this meal!"
It was a very noisy disturbance.
In response to my silent question,
"I'm sorry. It seems they lost their belongings to the ants..., so we prepared a meal for them..."
Rigld seems to have a kind side.
"No, it's fine. You did a good job! Being kind to those in trouble is a good thing!"
Gradually, I'm encouraging good judgment and leadership.
I think that's a good thing.
"Yes!! I'll be more careful not to cause trouble for you, Rimuru-sama!"
Well, he's still as stiff as ever.
Understanding, I entered the tent.
The guard at the entrance opened the door for me.
The adventurers were focused on stuffing their mouths with vegetables and meat.
Their eyes widened as they looked at me. They had strange expressions, but they probably didn't realize it...
Hmm? I've seen them somewhere...
Ah! They're the trio I passed in the cave!
One of them is new, though...
I wonder how he eats with that mask on.
He's eating aggressively.
But, it's grilled meat!!! *Sigh*... If I had a sense of taste...
I miss meat-chan. Ah..., I wonder if my sense of taste is lying around somewhere...
Oops, my thoughts were heading in the wrong direction.
Rigld set me down at the upper seat.
"Guests, I can't offer much, but are you resting well?
This is our lord, Rimuru!"
He introduced me and sat beside me.
*Swallow* The sound of swallowing food was heard.
One of them had an unusual reaction, but whatever.
"Nice to meet you. I'm slime Rimuru. I'm not a bad slime!"
In response to my greeting, the masked person sprayed out what they were drinking.
However, it didn't spill because of the mask.
They seemed quite surprised that a slime could speak.
The trio was equally shocked, but fortunately, they weren't eating anything.
If they're proper humans, it should be fine...
"Excuse me! I didn't expect to be saved by a demon, but thank you!"
"Ah! We're human adventurers! This meat is delicious!
For the past three days, we've been running and couldn't have a proper meal... Thank you so much!"
"Wow! Thank you. I didn't expect to find a hop goblin village here."
*Cough cough, sniffle. Nod nod*
There's no need to be flustered.
"Take your time with the meal, and then tell me your story when you're done!"
With that, I waited for them to finish eating.
Ideally, they should have called me after finishing, but it seems they lack consideration.
Well, they were flustered, so it's understandable. They need more training.
Having human guests (or captives?) was unexpected, so I couldn't help it.
Considering their discomfort, I left the tent.
After they finished eating, I instructed the guard to guide them to my personal tent near the cave.
"Don't worry about it. It's a task for the future!"
They are growing in their own ways.
Nothing is perfect from the start.
I entered my tent and waited leisurely.
Rigld had one of his goblin subordinates prepare tea.
It seemed to be better than the previous one, but unfortunately, I couldn't taste it.
It's interesting to see the influence of evolution even in such a place.
Cultural life is definitely taking root. I'm confident about this change.
Saying, "Excuse me for the interruption!" four people entered.
The tent felt a bit small.
As the goblin who guided them left, another goblin brought in the tea.
Look? They've grown in this aspect as well.
I know that at night, the dwarves and I talk about culture and life over drinks.
"Then, let's start again. I'm Rimuru, the lord of this place. What brings you here?"
They probably anticipated my question.
I gave them time to prepare, so they seemed to have decided how to respond.
"I'm Kabal. I'm the leader of this party.
This is Eren, and this is Gid.
Do you understand? We're B-rank adventurers."
"Nice to meet you! I'm Eren!"
"I'm Gid. Nice to meet you!"
Indeed, they were a party.
B-rank means they're quite strong, but the cave seems challenging...
What about the remaining one?
"And this is Shizu, who joined us temporarily because we were on the same path."
A voice that was hard to determine as male, female, old, or young.
But for me, determining gender is simple. Even goblins can be distinguished, so it was easy for me.
She was a woman. And one prediction.
This girl... Could she be Japanese?
I can't help but feel that way.
The way she drinks tea and sits.
I'm not familiar enough with this world to be certain, but seiza (sitting on the knees) is probably rare, right?
Indeed, the other three are not sitting in seiza.
They are sitting on wolf fur rugs with their legs crossed. Eren, the woman, is resting with her legs to the side.
(Thinking about it, these guys are too relaxed... Is the sense of danger low in this world?)
No, no. Let's get back to the topic.
"That's quite formal. So?"
I decided to move the conversation forward.
I listened to their story.
These guys, do they not realize? They explained why they came.
They said they were investigating the area for the guild to see if anything suspicious was happening.
The conversation didn't flow well,
"So, when you say something suspicious, what exactly is suspicious to you?"
"Right, right! They should have been more specific about what to investigate!"
"Even if we're good at investigating, there are limits!"
They started badmouthing the guild master.
I can't let this go... I felt sympathy for the guild master.
Moreover, they thought a large rock with a hole in it was it! So they stuck a sword in it...
It turned out to be a giant ant's nest. I was speechless.
Why did they choose to stick a sword in it? I want to question and interrogate them!
They managed to survive until now.
For three days, they fled desperately, lost their belongings, and ended up here.
I couldn't help but say, "Good job!"
"Wasn't there anything suspicious around here? If anything, the cave?"
"No, no, there was nothing there!
Did you know? They said a dragon was sealed there!
We stayed for two weeks and investigated, but there was nothing inside, not even a bath!"
"Hey, idiot! That's a secret, you know?"
"I don't know? It was the lady who blabbed! It's not my fault!"
The men were very flustered.
Well, I knew about it because I passed by at that time.
More importantly, they have a bathing culture... I want to build a bath in this village.
"You were asked to investigate the cave, so why did you go there?"
It doesn't seem like they came for treasure hunting.
"It's already been said, so there's no helping it.
Actually, as Eren said, there was a rumor that the dragon's reaction had disappeared..."
I didn't know, but it seems that the disappearance of Veldora caused a big commotion among humans.
A big commotion just because the sealed dragon disappeared.
Well, it was a great dragon. A talkative and kind-hearted guy...
But the impact was too great.
They even came to investigate...
Was building a village near the cave a mistake?
"Moreover, the magic concentration inside is high, so we brought a reaction stone, but the concentration had decreased.
We couldn't detect any significant changes.
Now, the cave is just a regular cave with a higher concentration of magic than usual."
"Well, it's definitely better not to enter because there are many strong monsters inside!
There was no treasure, and no minerals either!
There's no merit in defeating dangerous monsters and entering!"
"You might find some thieves' equipment if you look, but it doesn't seem to be anything significant."
The minerals inside... The culprit who collected everything in sight is me!
Well, it's fine. No one will know if I don't say anything!!!
The conversation continued.
Slipping up, they provided various information, as if it was no longer a secret.
Surprisingly, they were kind-hearted.
The value of the cave has decreased, and it seems that investigations in this area will decrease.
In the worst case, we might have to relocate the village, but it should be fine.
Initially, no country seemed to have ownership of this area, so there's no reason to complain.
"However, as you can see, we're in the process of building a village here. Do you think there's a problem from the guild's perspective?"
"No... It should be fine?"
"That's true... It's not a problem for the guild. What about the country?"
Indeed, the guild members wouldn't know if a country was involved.
Just as I was thinking about that, the masked woman, Shizu, who had been listening quietly, let out a moan!!!