The Same Night, In The Hot Springs

After such a long meeting of what you would all be doing to move forward as a nation and establishing future relationships between countries, everyone took the time to relax and get cleaned up for dinner in the hot spring. You were walking in a bath robe with a change of clothes heading to the men's bath so you could get ready for dinner. Just before you could go in though, an arm wrapped around your neck as your mother pulled you in close while she wore a bath robe ready to clean up also.

"Ha! Where do ya think yer goin'?" Malenia asked with a mischievous grin as you turned to her with a deadpan face.

"To the men's bath..." You said to her.

"Haaa? That side's borin' and they'll probably just end up talkin' about some borin' stuff. C'mon, let your mama wash your back for the first time." Malenia said with her tongue playfully sticking out of her mouth as she tried dragging you by your tail.

"Ha?! What are you talking about?! I can wash my own back!" You argued while trying to pull your tail free.

"I'm tryin' to catch up on everything I couldn't do as a mother...! Washin' my kid for the first time is somethin' I'm not gonna let slide!" Malenia was playing tug of war with your tail before she groaned in annoyance and clenched her fist. "Ah, jeez! Just give up and let me bathe ya!!!" She screamed before suddenly punching you in the gut, knocking the air out of you as stars formed in your eyes and your body slumped into her arms. "Alrighty! Let's get squeaky clean, my boy!" Malenia marched funnily into the women's bath while you had tiny mothra's circling around your head from being knocked out.

Mai was sat at the washing station of the women's bath scrubbing her arms gently with soap as she happily hummed a tune to herself while enjoying the feeling of getting nice and clean for dinner. Treyni and her sister, Trya who had recently shown up due to the appearance of Ramiris, were having fun cleaning Ramiris who was being tickled while getting clean in the palm of Treyni's hand. Riza, Lilia, and Eren were all already in the bath taking a nice relaxing soak, when the door to the bath suddenly burst open and the girls yelled in shock from the noise as they turned to see Malenia standing in the doorway with her legs spread as her robe dropped the the ground.

"All right! I need a few hands to help wash this boy! Who's willin' to volunteer?" Malenia spoke in a brutish and slang like tone as she dropped your limp body on the wet floor.

"M-M-M-MY LORD?!?!?!" Mai screamed in a huge blush as the sudsy soap was the only thing covering all her most private parts of her body.

"Oh! Mai-chan? You wanna help~?" Malenia said with a mischievous giggle as she wriggled her fingers around creepily in the air and Mai was on the verge of tears from how embarrassing things were getting.

"N-Noooooo!!!!" Mai's embarrassed scream could be heard from the men's bath as Rimuru floated around in the bath in his slime form while looking up at the wall with a sad shape.

"Sounds like they're having fun over there..." Rimuru thought as he turned to see Gazel, Dorf, Erald, and Fuze in the bath, as he was surrounded by older men who were just biding time with drinks. "I should've gone over to that side." He thought with regret over his decision of choosing the men's bath for that night.

"Alright! Mai, you take his tail!" Malenia's voice echoed in the bath.

"Huh?!" Mai yelped in shock.

"Hey, Riza! You scrub his back and dorsal plates!" Malenia said with excitement.

"Leave me out of this." Riza demanded as she wanted no part in such tasks.

"Lilia-chan! You wash his arms!" Malenia ordered her.

"Uweh?! Y-Yes, ma'am!" Lilia yelped in confusion as she just followed along.

"Ehe..Hehehehe...and that leaves me with ahahaha..." Malenia trailed off with excitement as you could hear saliva dripping from her mouth and all the girls stared at her strangely as she raised her hand in the air as it was covered in soapy suds. "Y/N'S D***!!!!!!!!" She screamed out as multiple splashes could be heard from the bath.

"STOP!!!!!!!" All the girls in the bath yelled to her as you remained unconscious until they had finished washing you.

After everyone had freshened up and changed in more comfortable clothing, being fresh kimono's prepared by Shuna and Mai, everyone had gathered for dinner in a small outdoor setting a traditional Japanese dinner was prepared for everyone as you all sat across from one another on a tatami floor. Malenia sat with tears in her eyes as multiple bumps were formed on her head as the other girls had annoyed looks on their faces while she sniffled.

"I-I just wanted to fulfill m-my role as a mother...I just wanted to wash his d***..." Malenia sniffled sadly as you choked on a drink from hearing what she said while Mai blushed heavily and Rimuru had arrived and took his place next to you, staring at you strangely as you coughed and tried to catch your breath.

"Are we all here?" Rimuru asked with a nice and relaxed smile.

"Y-Yeah...All accounted for." You said a you finished wiping your face clean from the drink you choked on as Ramiris floated off of Treyni's hand and looked to Rimuru.

"Hey! What's the idea?! What the heck is this all about?!" Ramiris said in a whiny tone as you two looked at her strangely.

"What do you mean?" Rimuru asked her in confusion.

"These girls are fawning over me like crazy! What's the idea?!" Ramiris asked in reference to Treyni and Trya's behavior towards their former queen.

"Isn't that a good thing?" Rimuru said as the Dryad sisters shared a giggle with one another.

"It was good! It was incredible!" Ramiris said with a heartful and amazed tone before turning bubbly once more. "Which is why, Rimuru, I've decided to live here!" She decided while playfully dancing in the air.

"I told you not to make that decision on your own. Also, Treyni-san and her sisters are the Great Forest of Jura's caretakers. They don't live here, and they can't spend all their time coddling you." Rimuru said as Ramirirs didn't like this.

"Stingy! Stingy! Stingy! What's the problem? Whatever happens, the great Ramiris will help them!" Ramiris spoke in high regard to herself as you and Rimuru stared at her in awe of her behavior.

"Rimuru, is she always like this?" You asked him in wonder.

"Listen..." Rimuru exasperated as Treyni turned to you both.

"Grat Rimuru, Great Y/N, we will look after Lady Ramiris." Treyni offered as her sister supported the idea.

"Please consider the proposal in a favorable light." Trya said as the two of them lowered their heads to you both.

"We humbly ask this of you." The sisters asked as you two were taken by surprise of their behavior.

"Hm...Okay. I'll think about it." Rimuru couldn't help but cave in to their request since they asked so nicely as you sighed with an not-so-surprised face at his decision.

"Really?!" Ramiris said with excitement as she hugged Rimuru's head. "That's my Rimuru! I knew you'd understand!" She said while kicking her feet in the air as the food had finally arrived and you and Mai looked down in excitement with how good it looked.

"Well, go ahead and eat up. We'll talk while we eat." Rimuru signaled for everyone to begin eating.

Picking up the tempura dish first, you took a bite of with a nice sounding crunch before letting out a pleased hum from the deliciousness of the dish. Before you could continue eating though, a piece of the meat dish suddenly found its way in front of you and you turned to see Mai holding out her chopsticks to feed you as she had a blush on her face and avoided eye contact.

"M-My Lord...Please..." Mai muttered nervously as you grew a bashful blush on your face.

"Eh? U-Um...thanks..." You said as you opened your mouth and took the food in, clamping your lips around her chopsticks before pulling away and chewing nervously.

"Ah..." Mai hummed in nervousness as she stared at the chopsticks you had just eaten from.

"An indirect kiss? How perverted, Mai-chan..." Malenia chuckled with a cheeky grin as Mai's face exploded into a red color.

"Ah, delicious." Gazel said as he enjoyed the tempura as well.

"Truly exquisite." Erald commented on the food while holding up the small bowl of rice he had as everyone was enjoying the feast in front of them.

"With this meeting dragging on, I'm sure you're all tired, but try to beat with it." Rimuru said before turning to Shion who stood behind him on his right. "By the way, Shion, I heard you were interrogating the war prisoners. Did you get any information?" He asked as Shion began chuckling with a proud smile on her face.

"Of course, Great Rimuru." Shion said before pulling out a small notepad as everyone looked to her to hear the information she gathered, but Rimuru noticed strange looks on Youm and Mjurran's faces as they looked nervous about something.

"Uh...Interrogation? Questioning? Whatever it was, they did talk to us, yeah." Youm struggled to explain what happened.

"Yes...but it definitely wasn't an interrogation. I'd hesitate to even call it questioning." Mjurran admitted with an awkward smile.

"Just what the hell happened in there...?" You said as you and Rimuru had nervous looks on your faces for what you were about to hear from Shion.

"First, Ed... Ednight? Ed..." Shion seemed to struggled with a name as Shuna felt the need to aid her.

"Do you mean King Edmaris?" Shuna asked as she sat below Shion who struggled to read her own notes.

"Yes. Among them was a merchant who came in contact with King Edmaris. This merchant brought silk goods, and such from our country into his, which piqued the king's greed. He feared that the primary source of goods in circulation would shift from Falmuth to here, which seems to have led to this incident." Shion read the beginnings of her report for all to hear.

"Do you know who this merchant is? Were they chartered or something?" Rimuru asked her as Shion lowered her notepad, unknowingly revealing a little slime and lizard sketch with a heart on one page. 

"That, I don't know. I'm very sorry." Shion bowed her head apologetically for not being able to obtain such information.

"Okay. So, anyone connected to the Western Holy Church?" Rimuru asked as Shion got back some energy.

"Yes! I found out who the mastermind was! His name is..." Shion trailed off as she lifted her notepad to find the name, only to struggle to read what she wrote herself. "...uh, the ringleader is...Nickelspoo..." Shion muttered in confusion of the name she was trying to read.

"Huh? Poo?" You thought in confusion with a raised brow.

"According to what Archbishop Reyhiem told us, the ringleader is Cardinal Nikolaus Spertus." Mjurran spoke the name of the ringleader clearly.

"Exactly!" Shion said with a proud and bright smile on her face as if she said it herself.

"The cardinal plans to subjugate this nation as one hostile to their god." Mjurran continued the report.

"That's what he said!" Shion confirmed happily.

"I see. Archbishop Reyhiem hoped to earn a favorable reputation by claiming the glory of subjugating enemies of God." Fuze surmised as Rimuru crossed his arms in thought.

"If he 'plans' to do that, there might still be a way to negotiate with the Western Holy Church." Rimuru assumed as Fuze put his chopsticks down with an excited look in his eye.

"In that case, I will try to shake them up." Fuze said as he would begin stirring up commotion on their side once he was able.

"And Dwargon will make a grand declaration of our trade with Tempest." Gazel announced his course of action.

"And Thalion will officially announce its establishment of diplomatic relations with Tempest. If other countries start to show interest, the Western Holy Church will have to tread carefully." Erald spoke of the actions his nation would take as things were looking favorable for your side.

"Okay. We're counting on you guys." Rimuru said as you and him looked to the others with gratefulness.

"Leave it to us." Fuze reassured him as Rimuru turned back to the future king of Falmuth.

"So we're going to say Youm rescued those three war prisoners and give them what looks like triumphant return..." Rimuru trailed off before realizing something about the prisoners. "Wait...King Edmaris, Archbishop Reyhiem...Who's the third one?" He asked in confusion of how a third prisoner was apparent, as he didn't know of the capture of Razen.

"That man who was seized by terror." Shion refferred to his state when he was captured.

"The last man still alive? That would have to be Folgen, the captain of the knights." Gazel assumed who the last survivor was as Rimuru turned to Diablo who stood behind you on your left.

"You're the one who captured him, right? What kind of guy was he? Think it'd be safe to let him go free?" Rimuru asked Diablo.

"He was a weakling who will cause no problems. Though he did seem to be relatively skilled with magic, for a human." Diablo commented as Gazel was shocked by this information.

"He's a magic user? That probably isn't Folgen, then." Gazel retracted his assumption as you two turned to Shion.

"Huh? Then what's this prisoner's name, Shion?" You asked in wonder.

"Ramen." Shion answered while staring at her notepad.

"Ramen, huh?" Rimuru muttered as you two were drooling from your mouths at the thought of the decadent and rich noodle dish. "Come to think of it, we haven't had ramen in years now..." Rimuru said with a dreamy look on his face.

"That rich chashu pork...it was the stuff of dreams...We have to bring it here some how..." You said in bliss as you licked your lips in remembering the taste of ramen bowls while the others were confused by the name.

"Was there a magic user in Falmuth named Ramen?" Fuze said in wonder of a magic caster existing with such a name.

"Falmuth did have a majin named Razen who used magic." Erald brought up the existence of someone named 'Razen' who was a magic user.

"Huh?" Shion looked at her notes in confusion.

"The champion Razen, eh? He is a man one must not forget." Gazel commented on the threat Raze could pose.

"Huh?" Shion hummed as she was beginning to get nervous and started worrying about her notes.

"He's the man known as the guardian of Falmuth and the Wise Majin." Albis spoke of the information she had on the man.

"Huh?" Shion stood with an awkward smile on her face from hearing all of this.

"The man who's mastered magic! I always wanted to fight him just once!" Suphia said while clenching her hand around her fist with excitement of the thought.

"Well, I'm sure I'd beat him in close combat, but he's definitely a human you can't let your guard down around." Phobio explained as you and Rimuru looked perplexed from hearing all this before you two closed your eyes to mentally brace for something.

"Shion, you're sure this guy's name is Ramen?" Rimuru asked her of her certainty.

"Um...I think so...But he was a young man." Shion said while trying to read her notes, but then spread her arms out as she remembered something. "That's right! He was one of the people who attacked this town! He's not the magic user they all say he is!" Shion said as there was a rift between the information between everyone on this person.

"U-Um..." Mjurran spoke up as you all looked to her. "It's Razen. That's the prisoner's name." Mjurran admitted with a nervous and embarrassed pink hue on her cheeks as Shion broke out nearly into tears over her failure to correctly write down a name.

"Kuhuhu..." Diablo chuckled at the embarrassment his senior secretary was going through.

"You captured the champion who carried the Kingdom of Falmuth for centuries?" Gazel said in shock of Diablo's feat.

"He was a human whose skill as a wizard rivaled my own, or was perhaps even more extraordinary..." Erald commented in awe as you and Rimuru turned to Diablo who stood with a calm smile.

"This guy really made light work of someone that amazing? Good thing he's on our side..." You thought as you sipped some of the soup you were served.

"Okay...Youm." Rimuru called out to the future king.

"Y-Yeah?" Youm said in wonder of what he was needed for now.

"You're going to be taking King Edmaris, Archbishop Reyhiem, and Razen back home to get our plan rolling...and you'll be taking Diablo, too." Rimuru gestured to the loyal servant next to you as the aforementioned servant was shocked.

"Eh?" Diablo gasped as Shion smirked in amusement with tears still wading in her eyes.

"We're going to start a war against Clayman. Since Veldora and Malenia are staying to protect the town for us, I wasn't sure who I could send to back up Youm's group, but you're perfect. I'm counting on you." Rimuru said as Diablo stood there with a shadow over his eyes as he felt sad he had to depart from the two of you, but quickly pushed his selfishness to the side.

"Yes...Understood, Great Rimuru." Diablo accepted it with a smile.

"This might take a few years. Don't rush things, okay?" Rimuru said to him in hopes that he doesn't overwork himself.

"Not a problem. I will take care of it and return here promptly." Diablo said with absolute certainty.

"That's some confidence in our ability to destroy a nation..." Rimuru said with an awkward smile.

"Well, now that we've got that handled, I think it's time for more pressing matters..." You said with a smile before your look in your eyes turned dark and serious. "Our war against Clayman." You said as everyone listened closely to what you both had to say.

"Ramiris-kun here has informed us that I'm his target and that he doesn't know Y/N is still alive." Rimuru said as Ramiris' attention came back once she heard she was mentioned and she floated up excitedly to show herself off once more.

"Ahem!" Ramiris floated proudly for all to see.

"Well done, Lady Ramiris!" Treyni and Trya applauded her as you stare at the Dryad sisters with a deadpan look on your face as Ramiris floated over to the side to read with Veldora who brought his manga with him to dinner.

"Souei." Rimuru called as the assassin kijin appeared with Souka on their knees in respect to the side of everyone.

"Yes?" Souei asked in wonder of his next instructions.

"Give us report on what Clayman's army is doing." Rimuru asked of him.

"At once. His army..." Souei trailed off as he closed his eyes, and everyone noticed what he was trying to do as they followed suit and you all had an established connection to his shadow that was monitoring the army they were investigating as your vision changed to outside a domain of sorts. "...numbers about 30,000. They are currently organizing within Demon Lord Milim's territory." Souei informed.

"Thirty thousand, huh? That's not more than than we can handle." Rimuru said as he was unshaken by their numbers.

"It appears the army is not being led by Clayman himself. The one in the army with the most magicules is..." Souei trailed off as the vision you all were seeing of the army zoomed in one individual.

"So that's their commander?" Rimuru said in assumption.

"The Middle Finger, Yamza." Mjurran informed you all of his name.

"Middle Finger?" Rimuru said as you looked at your middle finger in confusion.

"Yes. The strongest of Clayman's subordinates are known as the Five Fingers. The Middle Finger, Yamza; The Index Finger, Adalman; the Thumb, Nine Head; the Pinky Finger Pirone..." Mjurran listed them all off before turning her head away for the last one. "and I was the Ring Finger." She said as you two were glad that she was able to be freed from such a situation. "Yamza received a magic sword with hidden ice powers from Clayman. He's known as the Magic Swordsman of Ice." She explained Yamza's specialty.

"The Magic Swordsman of Ice, huh?" Rimuru repeated.

"He's cruel, and he plays dirty. He's practically a master of immorality, but his skills are the real deal. Since he swore loyalty to Clayman on his own, he and I didn't get along. He's the strongest majin among the Five Fingers." Mjurran explained with certainty.

"I see." Rimuru said as you raised your hand to Mjurran.

"What about Iris? Wouldn't she be considered one of the top brass in Clayman's army?" You said in wonder of your attacker's situation.

"Iris is not considered one of the five because she is the only one capable of possibly breaking free from his control. With the only thing keeping Iris at bay being her little sister, Clayman only brings her out when needed and treats her like a pet used for tricks. Iris is a trump card he will rarely ever want to use." Mjurran said as this angered you.

"...It's not like I wanted to do this..." Iris muttered as you looked up at her in wonder. "This isn't the life I wanted...But it's the one I have to follow if I wanna live." You remembered the pain the was apparent in her voice as you clenched your fists tightly on your lap.

"Clayman really does stoop to the lowest depths to control others...he'll pay for it all." You said as your desire to beat Iris changed to the desire to save her.

"But it doesn't seem like we have too much to fear. Clayman is the prudent type. I'm sure he knows that the Animal Kingdom's Warrior Brigade is here in our city. Given that, an army of 30,000 is too weak." Rimuru commented on how weak Clayman's forces seemed.

"It does seem strange." Albis agreed with that statement.

"Yeah, it is." Phobio said as you were all left to wonder what he could possibly be trying to accomplish with such a small fighting force.

"Perhaps Clayman's target is not this city?" Benimaru surmised as you all turned to him with uneasy looks. 

"I see. That's possible. I was convinced he was coming after Tempest, but if he's not..." Rimuru trailed off as you came to a realization as you suddenly stood up.

"My Lord?" Mai spoke with surprise as everyone looked to see you had a shocked face.

"He can't be... Is he aiming for the Animal Kingdom instead?" You said with worry as you realized how close the two kingdoms were to one another, and that it was closer to Clayman's forces.

"Are you saying it's Eurazania he's after?! But the capital's been destroyed, and only the refugees remain in the surrounding towns and villages..." Suphia said in confusion of why Clayman would come after their kingdom.

"Why would he do that?" Phobio said in wonder and unease.

"Most likely..." Rimuru spoke up as you all turned towards him. "...he plans to massacre the remaining refugees so he can awaken as a True Demon Lord." Rimuru said as this was shocking and disgusting news for everyone to take in, as the Three Beastketeers were enraged by such tactic.

"Clayman must know that the Three Beastketeers and Carrion's main army are taking refuge here." Albis assumed.

"That gives him the perfect opportunity to overrun the Animal Kingdom." Benimaru speculated.

"Clayman's army will likely reach Eurazania within two days." Souei estimated as this wasn't enough time for them to return to their kingdom.

"Damn it! We can't get back there in time!" Suphia slammed her fist down in anger.

"He got a step ahead of us...Damn that Clayman." Rimuru said as you sat back down with a furrowed brow as your eyes pulsed red with anger.

While everyone sat in unease and silence, Malenia shuffled over to Veldora and Ramiris to join their conversation on their favorite characters from the manga they were reading. Mai could feel the anger radiating off of you as your eyes changed red and one fang from your teeth was sticking out from your lips.

"No matter what, we must stop him." You said with urgency in your voice.

"I don't know the names or faces of the surviving citizens of Eurazania, but our ties with them are friendly. And that's why we won't hesitate to intervene for them." Rimuru said and you nodded in agreement as this brought relief to the Beastketeers.

"Great Rimuru, Great Y/N..." Albis muttered in awe as the three of them bowed their heads in gratefulness.

"Benimaru." Rimuru called to the fiery kijin.

"Yes?" Benimaru was quick to respond.

"Stop him." Rimuru said to him as Benimaru had an excited grin on his face.

"Hell yeah! Leave it to me!" Benimaru said with confidence before realizing how brutish he sounded. "Uh, I mean...You can count on me." Benimaru said in a more respectable tone.

"Shion, call the servers to clear our food away. Bring a map also." You ordered her.

"Yes." Shion said as she rushed off to do so.

After finishing a quick dinner and clearing the way for everyone to gather around a map and assess the rescue strategy, now was the time to begin the counter attack against Clayman and his forces. However, there were still a lot of obstacles in your way preventing higher chances of success.

"Looks like there's no way to get there in time. If only we could send everyone there with transport magic..." Rimuru said with desire of an easier way of transport.

"Great Rimuru, using transport magic to move an army is much too dangerous." Shuna warned of the dangers doing such action would cause.

"Yeah, I know. I just thought I'd--!" Rimuru was interrupted when Raphael suddenly informed him of something.

"Answer. Transport magic can be used to send supplies at a low cost. The coordinates of the destination are linked through another dimension, but the item sent is bathed in a massive amount of magicules, so it is not recommended for transporting organic matter. However, if one can be protected with a barrier, they will not be affected by the transport. This is the principle of transport magic." Raphael informed him of such theory.

"So, uh...what does that mean?" Rimuru thought in confusion.

"Basically, if one is a majin or a monster, they will have a resistance to magicules, so if they can put up their own barrier, they will have no problems. Alternatively, using a Perfect Transport technique to protect the target also makes it possible." Raphael informed him.

"Just so I know, can you make this technique?" Rimuru asked his inner voice.

"Answer. I have already developed it." Raphael responded.

"Huh?!" Rimuru thought in shock.

"By using it in combination with the extra skill 'Control Space', the magicule cost has been greatly reduced." Raphael announced as Rimuru was beyond amazed by his inner voice.

"You develop skills and techniques for me, and I don't even have to ask! You're awesome, Raphael-san!" Rimuru praised her.

"Thank you." Raphael responded as you all stared at him in confusion of his smile.

"Great Rimuru?" Shuna spoke up to snap him out of his trance.

"Oh. Shuna's right. Moving an army with transport magic is too dangerous. But..." Rimuru trailed off.

"But?" Benimaru repeated in wonder as Rimuru grinned.

"I just now succeeded in developing a new technique that makes it possible!" Rimuru announced as you were all surprised and amazed by this. "Ehe." He chuckled with confidence as you leaned in closer.

"That was your inner voice's doing, wasn't it?" You muttered to him with a skeptical look as he turned into a nervous sweat while avoiding eye contact. 

"If our whole army can get there in time, victory is ours!" Rimuru quickly continued to avoid your gaze. "All that's left is to determine how ready you guys are. I can send our entire army there at once using this technique, but I haven't confirmed that it's safe. Do you still trust me?" Rimuru asked them.

"I don't even need to think it over. My loyalty is to you both, my Lords. As your faithful retainer, if you ordered me to die, I would die." Benimaru said as you smacked your tail on the ground, making him flinch.

"Don't joke around like that, Benimaru." You said in seriousness as you turned your head down. "If you die, I'll bring you back to life myself to beat you to death. That goes for all of you." You scolded them as they felt relieved at how much you cared for their well being.

"I apologize, Great Y/N." Benimaru bowed his head as you quickly moved past the thought.

"I trust. Like hell we could ever doubt you two, Great Rimuru, Great Y/N." Suphia said with confidence.

"They saved me once. I won't tolerate any complaints from my men." Phobio said in agreement to this technique.

"Goodness. It sounds as if I have no choice but to agree, as well. I will put my trust in your strength, Great Rimuru." Albis also caved in due to her fellow companions words.

"Okay! Your lives are safe in my hands! Now we'll get up above Clayman's plan!" Rimuru said as he and you stood up. "The rest is up to all of you! Make sure you win!" Rimuru said as your subordinates rose to their feet.

"Yes,sir!" They responded with determination as the battle meeting ended with high hopes.

After dinner and the brief strategy meeting came to an end, all other parties left for a good night's rest while you and Rimuru remained with your subordinates to take a load off of things. You were laid on the floor with Mai gently stroking her fingers through your hair while Shuna gently held Rimuru in her lap and Shion was waiting her turn in between the girls for either one of you. The Dryad sisters sat with Ramiris and Berretta while Veldora and Malenia continued reading manga, and the Kijin were gathered around you two while Ranga sat to the side.

"Thanks for sticking out that long meeting, everyone. Things will start getting rough again tomorrow, though. We'll be counting on you." Rimuru thanked all your subordinates.

"Of course. Leave it all to us." Shuna said with a reassuring tone.

"If I could pinpoint Clayman's location, me and Y/N could raid him with Spatial Movement and end all this." Rimuru spoke of a strategy that was out of reach.

"But won't Clayman be attending Walpurgis? You might miss him." Shuna commented on the chance of not intercepting Clayman.

"True..." Rimuru admitted.

 "I know!" Shion suddenly threw her hand in the air excitedly.

"Shion!" Rimuru copied her to turn his attention towards Shion as she got close to you both with sparkles in her eyes.

"Why don't we crash Walpurgis and cut down Clayman along with any Demon Lords who take issue with us?!" Shion suggested.

"Just going after Clayman would be one thing, but we don't want to start fights with other Demon Lords." Rimuru advised her as Shion seemed saddened at her plan not being well thought out.

"I...I see... " Shion said with a saddened expression as Rimuru didn't want her to feel bad.

"Uh, but crashing the party might be a good idea!" Rimuru approved of her first notion as Shion grew excited once more as you turned your head to Ramiris as the Dryad sisters were feeding her dessert.

"Hey, Ramiris, are either of us able to attend this tea party, also?" You asked her in wonder as she turned to you both with a crumb on her face.

"What? Attend Walpurgis?" Ramiris asked in confusion of you two.

"We just thought it might be interesting to go see Clayman ourselves. It'd really throw him for a loop, right?" Rimuru suggested as Ramiris thought while chewing.

"Hmm...I think it'd probably be fine, but you can only take two others with you. They made that rule because of some problems that came up in the past. Only one of you can probably go, also." Ramiris said before she was muffled by a napkin as Treyni began cleaning her face of the crumbs.

"Only one of us, huh? Well, that's a bit of a bummer...Looks like it's only going to be you, buddy." You said to Rimuru as you relaxed further into Mai's hands and lap.

"What do you think?" Rimuru asked the others.

"Kuhuhuhu..." Diablo suddenly began chuckling as you all looked towards him. "A splendid idea. When the time comes, I shall accompany--!" Diablo was swiftly interrupted as Shion chimed in.

"Diablo, you fool! I shall be accompanying him! I will not budge on this!" Shion firmly stood on this notion.

"Although, if it comes to a fight, either one of he need only mow them down. Great Rimuru could surely handle it alone." Diablo praised the power he held.

"Exactly!" Shion said with a proud smile as she roughly smacked Diablo on the back. "I thought you were a fool, but for a newcomer, you do show promise!" Shion praised him as the two shared an understand and prideful stare with one another as they both began chuckling in unison.

"They seem to be hitting it off..." Rimuru commented with an awkward sweat drop.

"They say friendships can bloom from rivalry..." You muttered while watching them awkwardly.

"Hang on, now. Don't rush things." Rimuru said as he bounced over to them and plopped himself on Shion's head. "Nothing's decided yet. Also, I asked you to help with the Kingdom of Falmuth, so I can't take you with me anyway." Rimuru reminded Diablo of his other responsibility.

"True. Understood." Diablo said as he would remain responsible and stick to his first task.

"But... it will still be dangerous, won't it?" Shuna said with some worry.

"No." Benimaru said as Shuna looked to her older brother. "I doubt Lady Milim betrayed us, but if nothing else, it's true that she sold out Demon Lord Carrion. I don't think it would be a bad idea to look into that at Walpurgis." Benimaru suggested that they proceed with this plan as Ramiris floated over with a snack.

"That's right! There's no way Milim would ever take orders from Clayman. I mean, Milim only looks out for herself!" Ramiris spoke of Milim's nature while biting down on her late night snack.

"Should we really hear that from you?" You asked skeptically of Ramiris' behavior so far.

"Huh?!" Ramiris whined at you.

"It's unthinkable that Lady Milim would betray Great Rimuru and Great Y/N! It's only a baseless hunch, but I'm convinced there can be no doubt!" Shoin spoke up on Milim's behalf.

"Baseless, huh? Well, to be honest, I don't feel like we've been betrayed, either. I'm going to have faith in Milim. What about you, Y/N?" Rimuru asked as you waved your hand.

"I'm pretty sure Milim is up to something on her end also. With the way she works, she's probably trying to pull off something dramatic to look cool, so I'm just waiting for her to do so." You said with belief in Milim.

"But that doesn't mean I think we should do nothing. What Ramiris said about the mastermind...or at least, the cause of this being Clayman, was good insight." Rimuru said as Ramiris felt pleased with herself.

"Right? Right, right?! Of course great Detective Ramiris's judgement was correct!" Ramiris praised herself as Treyni and Trya applauded her.

"Naturally." Treyni praised her.

"Wonderful work, Lady Ramiris." Trya spoiled her as Ramiris was high of their compliments as Rimuru drooped off of Shion and onto the floor while looking up at her.

"So that's why I want to attend Walpurgis and try to get some answers..." Rimuru muttered as he hopped onto your chest and used a small slime hand to cup one side of his mouth while you looked down at him. "Who should I take...?" He whispered to you as you both looked around the room in wonder of who would accompany him to Walpurgis.

While analyzing everyone to try and make a decision on who to take, Shion suddenly placed herself very close in front of you both, obstructing the view as she really wanted to join Rimuru at this banquet of Demon Lords. Shion had a pleading pout on her face as she seemed like she was about to have a breakdown once more if she wasn't picked.

"If I don't take her, she'll probably go bananas. Well, it might give her a chance to get revenge on Clayman for killing her." Rimuru thought as you both looked at each other and nodded before he turned around to everyone. "Okay. I'll take Shion and Ranga with me." Rimuru made his decision.

"Thank you so much!" Shion gratefully thanked Rimuru as she hoisted him up above her.

"You can count on me, Master!" Ranga said with strong resolve.

"Kuaaahahahahahahahaha!" Veldora suddenly let out a hearty laugh as you all turned to see him shut the manga he was reading. "So you're up to it now, eh? Rimuru! Don't leave me out like that! I'm going with you, as well! Demon Lords don't scare me!" Veldora decided to include himself in that party.

"Hmm, I guess it's been a while since I've seen the Demon Lords, so I wonder how they're doin. Alright, I'll come also." Malenia decided that she would go to the banquet as well, without discussing her joining with any of you as she flipped to the next page of her manga.

"Just hang on a sec, you two. I want you both to stay here and protect this city." Rimuru said to them, shocking both.

"What?!" The two of them said in confusion.

"But I could destroy a Demon Lord with one little squeeze!" Veldora argued with his fist raised in the air.

"I could stomp on three of them without even trying!" Malenia complained while stomping the ground before the two were confused when Rimuru hopped over to them.

"Protecting this city is an important job, too. Actually, it's the most important job of all." Rimuru reinforced the importance of keeping Tempest safe.

"Hm? The most important?" Malenia and Veldora looked at each other with grins at the sound of how important it was.

"Yeah, so we need you to stay here. Okay?" Rimuru said to the two of the.

"Hey, Rimuru!" Ramiris floated over as he looked at her in confusion. "Master and Big Sis can come along as my subordinates! Then I'll be safe, too!" Ramiris offered.

"No, I have no interest in going along to protect you." Veldora said outright, shocking Ramiris.

"Right? You're old enough to fight your battles now, Rami-chan. Good luck." Malenia said while checking out her nails that she had designed earlier.

"WHAT?! Come on! Don't be mean, you two!" Ramiris complained and whined to the both of them.

"Ah..." You made a noise as Ramiris looked at you and you pointed in another direction. "You made her cry." You blamed Ramiris as she turned to see Berretta emotionally hiding in a corner.

"Ahhhh! B-Berretta! It's not what you think!" Ramiris said as she rushed over to try and console the emotionally damaged golemn.

"Ahem!" Rimuru cleared his throat to get the attention of Veldora and Malenia. "You two, spreading the word about you both is actually part of the plan. We talked about that at the meeting so you know about it, right?" He asked as the two of them grew nervous, but put on the best smiles they could while avoiding eye contact.

"Yes! Of course I do!" Veldora lied nervously.

"I-I know all about this plan! Yup! All 'bout it!" Malenia giggled out a false truth while trying to whistle, but only made a strange noise with her air.

"Uh-oh...We can't tell him we weren't listening!" The two of them thought the same thing. 

"And this is what Clayman will probably think: 'This majin called Rimuru is merely a small fry borrowing the authorities of Veldora and Malenia.' is what he'll say." Rimuru said as this infuriated Veldora.

"What?! Damn that Clayman! I'll make him pay!" Veldora roared to the sky as Shion also bought into this assumption while she cracked her knuckles with a rageful fire behind her eyes.

"Hmph! That insect ought to learn his place! It seems I need to go there and kill him after all!" Shion said as she was fired up.

"Hah. Sheesh...Calm down, Shion." Benimaru spoke up to calm the two of them as he walked up to the duo. "Great Rimuru was only speaking hypothetically." He informed them as they ceased their shenanigans.

"If you brought my Mother or Veldora, it'd defeat the entire purpose of what we were trying to do." You said while gently poking at Mai's antenna's as she giggled from the ticklish sensation.

"Oh? So that's what you meant." Veldora said with an impressed look.

"That's our Great Rimuru!" Shion praised her master.

"Kuhuhu. The mere fact that he could belittle Great Rimuru is unforgivable. I would like to purge him with my own hands, but this time..." Diablo spoke with hate to Clayman before turning to Shion with a smile. "I will support my senior secretary." He said with support of his superior in the hierarchy.

"Oh, so you do get it!" Shion said as the two of them shared a strange bond while giving each other a thumbs up.

"Are these two actually good friends?" Rimuru thought as he looked at them awkwardly.

"So you plan to gain an advantage in negotiation by making him let his guard down?" Shion surmised the plan Rimuru who for Clayman at Walpurgis.

"Won't that be dangerous, too?" Shuna said with concern.

"It'll be fine. I can actually call Veldora and Malenia with my Summon Storm Dragon and Summon Gojira skill." Rimuru revealed.

"What?! You can?!" Veldora said with glittering excitement in his eyes.

"Eh? Really? It'd be annoying if you summoned me and I was taking a s***." Malenia said as you chopped her on the head with your tail for making such a comment.

"If things get too dicey, I'll ask for your help. I just want you two to quietly protect this city until then." Rimuru said to them.

"Kuaaahahahaha! I get it! I'm the hero who arrives on a delay!" Veldora dramatized his role in that skill.

"That's so unfair." Ramiris commented on the ability.

"I'd rather hear you call it clever. Besides, that frees up one slot of your two attendant slots, doesn't it? Since you are taking Berretta." Rimuru said as Ramiris flinched as she just made things up with Berretta.

"Y-You do get it, Rimuru! So who are you sending with me, then?" Ramiris asked as she floated over to Rimuru's side.

"Well, I think Hakurou--!" Rimuru was about suggest Hakurou, but was interrupted when Treyni came forward with a pleading tone.

"Wait a moment! Great Rimuru, please appoint me for this task." Treyni begged as she and her sister bowed their heads to him.

"Treyni... I can't believe you would..." Ramiris had tears of happiness in her eyes from how committed the Dryad was to being by her side.

"I wish to ask the same of you. Please allow my sister to accompany Lady Ramiris." Trya pleaded as Rimuru looked at their faces to see how serious they were, and he made his decision. 

"Okay, Treyni-san, if you would." Rimuru said as Treyni raised her head to see him nod in approval before a joyous smile spread on her lips.

"Of course!" Treyni said with gratefulness.

"Treyni!" Ramiris cheered as she floated over and pet Treyni on the head.

"I will take Shion and Ranga to Walpurgis, and Ramiris will take Berretta and Treyni-san. And the ace up our sleeve will be the Veldora and Malenia summon!" Rimuru said, and in that moment, Raphael informed Rimuru of something.

"Notice. With Y/N being of the same lineage and under the same name, it is possible for either of you to open Spatial Magic and travel to the location of the other person." Raphael informed as Rimuru was surprised as he turned to you and you noticed Rimuru staring.

"What? Something on my face?" You asked him in confusion as he hopped over to your head and you leaned down to hear what he had to say.

"Apparently we can use Spatial Magic with one another to find each other and go to one another's location." Rimuru whispered as you were surprised.

"You don't say..." You said in shock of this reveal.

"We'll keep that to ourselves." Rimuru said as you nodded in agreement.

"All right. Everyone got the plan?" Rimuru said as everyone nodded in agreement and with that, the night came to an end as it was time to prepare for war.

Once all the meetings had wrapped up, you and everyone else went to bed to rest up and get ready to head to Eurazania. It was the middle of the night and you were snoring loudly in your new bed while a snot bubble inflated and deflated repeatedly with each breath. It had been an hour since you fell asleep, but while you were resting, the door to your home slammed open and revealed Rimuru who was dressed in his humanoid form.

"Y/N!" Rimuru yelled out as your eyes shot open and your snot bubble popped.

"W-W-W-W-W-What?! An enemy attack!? Were we actually the targets?!" You asked while shaking your head back and forth in shock.

"Get up! I just had a crazy idea." Rimuru said as you stared at him with one eye open.

"...You mean your inner voice?" You said in annoyance.

"Just get up!" Rimuru yelled in irritation as he threw pants in your face.

After getting you up and dressed for whatever plan he had, Rimuru informed you of the genius idea of instead of transporting the army to Eurazania, you would be transporting the citizens of Eurazania to safety in Tempest. Everyone was awakened in the night to begin preparations to receive a huge amount of refugees as Geld headed the work force to create shelter for them, while everyone who was able to fast, were all teleported to Eurazania thanks to Rimuru's new technique. Phobio joined Rimuru and Albis and Suphia joined you in spreading word across all of the citizens of Eurazania to gain their trust in yourselves before time after time again in one night, multiple transportation trips were made as the civilization of Eurazania quickly migrated to the safety of your nation. Albis and Suphia supported you the best they could as you were barely running off any sleep and by the time morning came around, all the citizens of Eurazania had successfully been evacuated and relocated to Tempest where they would take refuge for the time being. Rimuru, Albis, and Suphia looked at the refugee camp with proud looks on their faces before turning to their left.

"You two doing okay?" Rimuru asked as you and Phobio were barely standing with baggy, tired eyes.

"I wanna go to bed..." You said in an irritated and tired voice while wiping your eye.

"I'm pretty tired...How are you not, after using transport magic continuously on such a huge scale?" Phobio asked in confusion of how energetic Rimuru was.

"Hm? Well, that's because..." Rimuru trailed off as Phobio listened closely.

"Because?" Phobio said in wonder.

"I'm one of the leaders of Tempest!" Rimuru said energetically as Phobio just stared at him with a tired smile.

"That's not an answer at all." Phobio complained in humor before turning forward. "But I suppose that must be why." He just accepted that answer.

"Anyway! We don't have time to take breaks!" Rimuru said as he smacked you two firmly on the back, shocking you both awake. "There's still more I need you guys to do!" He said as Phobio was game for more work to save his people.

"Right!" Phobio said as he got his second wind.

"My Lord." You heard as you all turned around to see Mai walk up to you. "I've finished preparing what you asked for." She said as you were surprised for a moment, but then grew a serious look on your face. 

"Good." You said as you walked over and joined Mai as she was accompanying you back to someplace else. "Rimuru, go ahead and proceed as planned. I'll be back before we depart." You said as he was confused by what you meant.

"Huh? What are you going to do?" Rimuru asked as you stopped and turned back to him with a smirk.

"Well, since I can't be there to join you at Walpurgis, I figured I could make myself useful and be there at the front lines when we face his army. I'm not doubting our forces, but if an important decision needs to be made, I think it best that one of us is there. I'll be back soon, so rally the troops." You said as you walked off with Mai to prepare for your departure.

With that and the evacuation of the citizens of Eurazania finished, it was time to band together and prepare to head out to the front lines. All your forces and the fighting force of Eurazania that wished to head back out and face Clayman's forces were all gathered in a open area in the forest. Rimuru and the other leaders stood atop of a small mound to look out over your army as everyone waited for the last person they needed for this fighting force, the commander who would bravely join them in this war. Just then, Mai flew over head and swiftly landed in front of Rimuru and below the mound as she knelt down on one knee and lowered her head next to Riza, Lilia, and Honda as they were their own squad for the attack. Meanwhile, somewhere among the troops, firm footsteps could be heard as the troops in the back were all making strange noises while they moved around before suddenly creating a path in the middle of the army. Rimuru stared down the path with a smirk as the sound of boots firmly planting themselves on the ground with each step could be heard by those around the path. The person walking down the path finally made it to the front where they stood in front of Rimuru, and he watched as this person's tail waved around behind them.

"My Lord, Y/N Tempest, has arrived." Mai announced as the troops all broke out into cheers of your arrival.

You arrived wearing a new set of clothes that you had Mai prepare for you before the eve of battle. You changed into grey pants with black combat boots, wearing a black belt and a grey button up shirt and a black overcoat that had blue stripes on the sides of your sleeves and the collar popped up. Your dorsal plates stuck out the back of your coat and flashed white as your eyes glowed blue and a menacing aura seeped out of you.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, partner." You said while staring up at Rimuru.

"No, you came at the right time." Rimuru said as you stood front and center representing the army that would meeting against Clayman's forces.

Your forces were vast and well spread in terms of fighting types and styles. There were 10,000 Lycanthropes led by Eurazani's Three Beastketeers, Albis, Suphia, and Phobio. The Goblin Riders, led by Gobta, and a team of Ogres who serve as Benimaru's personal guard, the Kurenai team. There were also a total of 4,000 Hobgoblins, called the 'Green Numbers', 5,000 High Orcs led by Geld, called the 'Yellow Numbers', and the Dragonewts led by Gabiru, known as the 'Hiryu'. The total number of your fighting force accounted to 20,000 high quality soldiers. Then to ensure the safety of Tempest, Shion's personal guard that numbered to 100, were left to that task. They were called the 'Yomigaeri', since they were the ones who were all brought back to life with Shion. The last squad, but most certainly one of the most powerful of all in Tempest, was your personal squad, consisting of Honda, Riza, Lilia, and Mai. Your squad was named the 'Kaiju Squad' since all of you were your own powerful monsters in your own ways. You walked along the front of the line with your hands behind you back as you closely examined the faces of the men you'd be commanding, and smirked with an impressed look as none of them seemed scared or nervous.

"Are you prepared to charge straight into hell for the good of those you care for?!" You screamed out to the soldiers.

"Sir! Yes, sir!" Their voices echoed through the forest as you nodded and walked over to Benimaru as he stood at attention. "Benimaru, I'm trusting the battle strategy with you. I have faith you won't let me down, my General." You said to him with pride.

"Yes, sir." Benimaru said with determination as you nodded and pat him on the shoulder before turning around to Rimuru.

"Preparations are complete. We're ready." You announced to him.

"Okay. Then, let's get you all transported." Rimuru said as he raised his hand to use his ability, but someone spoke up.

"Great Rimuru. Great Y/N." You two heard as you turned to see Albis speak up from where she and her forces stood. "We will never forget your kindness." Albis said with deep gratitude.

"Now we'll be able to beat up Clayman's henchmen without worrying about a thing. We'll leave Clayman himself to you. Make sure you pummel him on our behalf, too!" Suphia said with her fist raised in the air before noticing her comrades bowing their heads respectfully to you both, and she swiftly corrected herself and followed their lead as Rimuru nodded to them before turning back to you.

"I'm counting on you." Rimuru said to you as you stood next to Benimaru and nodded.

"There's no need to show them any mercy, Benimaru!" Shion's voice called out as you two and Rimuru turned to see her staring at Benimaru with a confident grin.

"Trash must be disposed of quickly, before it starts to stink." Diablo said as he couldn't await the outcome of this war.

"Be careful!" Shuna pleaded with you all as Benimaru and you grinned with excitement.

"We'll give him a taste of Hell so he won't ever defy you again." Benimaru said with confidence as this was all Rimuru needed to hear.

"Good." Rimuru muttered as he pumped his fist to everyone. "Now, win!" He yelled out to them.

"Yes, sir! We will bring you victory!" Your army responded with certainty as Rimuru spread his hands out and activated his transportation skill.

You raised closed your eyes and released your powerful aura as it spread across your army rapidly. At the same time, a massive series of magic circles appeared below everyone before a giant symbol glowed and expanded over the entire army. Your aura surrounded your army with the barriers they needed for the transport, and a bright blue light shined through the area as the transportation skill was almost complete and a pillar of circles rose into the sky as the light in the forest was briefly absorbed into the skill. Rimuru opened his eyes and you opened yours to look at each other one last time with confident looks.

"I'll find you once this is all over. I promise, brother." You said to him as Rimuru's spell surged with magicules around you as he smiled.

"Yeah, I know. See you soon." Rimuru said as you two shared a smile with one another before you and everyone were engulfed in light and you suddenly shot up into the air, being the first to be transported as everyone else followed suit moments after, and once the field was empty, Rimuru stared down at it with a serious look on his face.

"Please win this battle safely." Rimuru sent his prayers your way as the two of you split up for the first time in battle, heading to your own battlefields to teach Clayman that he messed with the wrong set of monsters.