Just as Selene returned to her seat in high spirits, Alyssa continued stuffing herself with food, and Rimuru, leader of the Monster Federation, finally made up his mind and solemnly announced to all monsters the abolition of the rule forbidding harm to humans—
"Hey! Seriously, dragging us out in the middle of the night to this godforsaken wilderness—just who is it that your king wants us to kill?"
"Exactly! Staying up late is terrible for your skin. If mine gets worse, how are you going to compensate me?"
"Shougo Taguchi-san, Kirara Mizutani-chan, calm down. This is our responsibility as Heroes and adventurers. Let's at least hear the report first..."
Somewhere within the Jura Great Forest, bonfires blazed and torches stood like a forest of flames.
Amid the urgent symphony of mass troop mobilization—armor clashing, blades scraping, warhorses neighing, banners snapping in the wind—an incongruous burst of noisy complaints suddenly rang out from within the ranks, utterly at odds with the tense and solemn military atmosphere.
"Hmph! A slime? Are they screwing with us? Since when does a low-tier monster become the ruler of a nation? Leader of the forest? This damn forest must be full of trash!"
Someone rudely cut off the male voice attempting to calm them down, his tone sharp and hostile.
"I train for combat every single day—don't tell me it's just to beat up garbage like a slime?! What a joke. You're asking us to deal with some small fry? I want real battle. Real slaughter!"
Among the neatly dressed nobles, the gleaming armored knights, and the robed mages clutching their staffs, one group of young men and women stood out glaringly.
Two men and one woman.
They were precisely the source of the discordant clamor.
Strangely, everyone present seemed long accustomed to the trio's bizarre attire and crude behavior.
In a typical medieval feudal army, such insolence—disturbing morale, questioning orders, verging on insubordination—would have been a textbook example made to set a bloody precedent.
Yet nothing happened to them.
Considering that this fantasy world did indeed possess special individuals such as Otherworlders, reincarnators, and Summoners...
It was obvious that they were one such group.
They were "Heroes" summoned through a ritual conducted at great expense by the Kingdom of Falmuth—individuals suited for battle. In other words, weapons of war.
Because they were weapons destined to "die for the nation," and since they had not been raised in aristocratic etiquette in their original world, no one bothered to take offense at their behavior. Or rather, even if they were displeased, they could not be bothered to say so.
The armored general mounted on horseback clearly did not take the foul-mouthed, black-haired spiky-headed man seriously. He rode forward and dismounted.
Compared to these arrogant Otherworlders, ignorant of heaven and earth and bound by the domination spell [Key Word]—a command seal imposed upon the summoned—the true authority was the summoner and court archmage, Razen.
"Archmage Razen, all preparations are complete."
The general saluted respectfully as he approached Razen, who had arrived with the column.
"The advance scouts report that a few lone adventurers have already noticed our movements, but it matters little. An army of this scale cannot conceal itself. That slime set a rule forbidding proactive harm to humans, did he not?"
"Master, why not lead them as negotiators to contact the slime? We'll claim we are merely passing through, requesting to purchase and exchange some supplies... Once my legion is in position, await the signal and allow them to act freely."
Borrowing the road to attack the state of Guo. The meaning was obvious.
"Understood."
Holding a long staff glowing with magicules and clad in luxurious pale violet caster robes, Razen—his brownish-yellow hair flecked with gray—nodded. He summoned the three [Summoners] and departed from the main force, heading toward the brightly illuminated monster city in the night.
Rustle.
After separating from the army and walking along the broad, tamped-earth highway for some time, the narrow-eyed youth approached Razen, momentarily freed from the female Summoner's incessant complaints.
"Lord Razen. In our world, slimes are famously low-level monsters. Some games make them strong, but... could you tell us the specific intelligence on these monsters?"
"Oh, Kyoya, is it? There's no harm in telling you. It's merely essential pre-battle intelligence..." Razen focused on key points and gave a brief summary.
When he mentioned that within the monster city there existed a police outpost, a grand theater screening alchemical films and musical performances, department stores with open displays for self-selection, commercial shopping streets, taverns, and bathhouses providing hot baths for travelers—
"Hey, a police station? A grand theater, department stores, taverns, bathhouses—does that stuff even exist in another world?"
The black-haired, rebellious-looking spiky-headed man, Shougo Taguchi, scoffed mockingly.
"Department stores? Shopping streets?!" The only woman among the three, the rather attractive Kirara Mizutani, exclaimed in delight, as if those words alone captivated her.
"I knew it," said the narrow-eyed youth called Kyoya. "There's no way a low-tier slime could achieve something like that. In that absurdly long-named monster nation, perhaps there's someone like us—an Otherworld visitor."
He concluded, "That hidden individual is probably the true founder and master behind the monster kingdom!"
Razen fell into thought.
An Otherworld visitor? It was plausible. That explanation made sense. Why else would this monster kingdom be so anomalous? Those alchemical creations might well be foreign technology.
Unfortunately, there was no time for further deliberation.
If they possessed foreign technology—if there truly was an Otherworlder—then they must strike first. Given time to develop and consolidate their foundation, the Kingdom of Falmuth would have even less of a chance.
"Wow—!"
Kirara Mizutani suddenly cried out as they reached the crest of a hill. The view opened before them, revealing the monster kingdom's city in full.
"Are those neon lights? Are these monsters holding a festival or something? It's so beautiful!" She bounced excitedly, eyes sparkling like stars.
"No city walls... This layout feels familiar. Tch... Figures. Just like us," the spiky-headed man spat dismissively.
"I've decided! We're going to protect humanity! We absolutely won't acknowledge a monster nation! This city belongs to us! But first—hurry, I can't wait... I've been pent up for three years."
She raised her arms and shouted.
"..."
Only the previously narrow-eyed youth suddenly widened his eyes, frozen in place.
"Kyoya."
"Kyoya?"
"Kyoya!"
"Huh?" He snapped back to reality at his companions' calls.
Descending the hillside onto the stone-paved avenue leading into the outskirts of the city, Shougo Taguchi sneered, "Tachibana Kyoya, if you're scared, stay outside. I alone am enough for this fight!"
"N-No, that's not it! Something's wrong—!"
As a Hero possessing the two Unique Skills [Severer] and [Heavenly Eye], Tachibana Kyoya's perception and visual specialization far surpassed his brainless and princess-syndrome companions.
And so he clearly saw the steel behemoth parked in the cleared area at the northern edge of the monster city.
That thing... was it a military aircraft?! And the technology of his original world absolutely had not reached that level!
"Tch, what could possibly be wrong? Just some coward good at construction, hiding in the shadows. I'm the Berserker—"
Boom!
Squelch.
Flesh burst outward like scattered feathers.
Everyone froze.
"Ahhhhhhh—!!"
The girl who had just vowed to go shopping felt warmth splatter across her face and body. Through the red haze veiling her vision, she looked down at the bloody chunks clinging to her hands and collapsed to the ground, screaming hysterically.
Relying on the tenacious vitality granted by his Unique Skill [Berserker], Shougo Taguchi had not yet died. He stared blankly at the scene before him—his lower half torn away and flung aside, dark viscous blood mixing with intestines and shredded organs, spreading into a grotesque stain across the stone pavement.
Click.
Atop a stone building within the city, beneath the glow of neon lights, a golden double-headed aquila emblem shimmered enticingly. A towering figure in black heavy armor slowly rose, resting a massive gauss bolt sniper rifle over his shoulder while casually tossing the thick spent casing of a hyper-explosive round in his free hand.
"Hit confirmed."
"[Berserker], hm? Decent physical durability in normal state. Shame about the abysmal vigilance. Completely untrained fledglings."
A sniper rifle?! No—even an anti-materiel rifle from his previous world couldn't achieve this!
As the sole witness, Tachibana Kyoya lost all composure. He staggered back—only to find he could no longer move.
"Who—?!"
He spun around with a short blade in hand, only to realize he stood enveloped by a colossal shadow.
"Mortal."
A deep metallic voice echoed.
"You—this isn't possible, Warham—"
Before he could finish, a massive hammer crackling with electricity filled his vision.
Bang!
"These are the three Otherworlders the Investigator requested, correct?"
"Using a power hammer—wasn't that a bit excessive?"
"As long as they're not dead yet. His perception is excellent. We had to pull back quite a distance because of him..."
From the darkness emerged a Dark Angels squad that had been lying in ambush. One lifted Tachibana Kyoya by the blood-soaked head, another hoisted the barely breathing, bisected Shougo Taguchi.
The only woman, Kirara Mizutani—formerly an ordinary high school girl—had fainted from terror.
Everything had happened in an instant. By the time the other spellcasters reacted, they could only stare in horror at the towering black-armored giant before shouting and unleashing spells.
"Who are you?!"
Seeing the three Summoners so effortlessly neutralized, Razen was equally shocked. He raised a magical barrier with his staff, guarding against attacks beyond his line of sight.
"They're yours."
With no intention of speaking to the native humans, the Dark Angels simply retrieved their objectives and addressed another group hidden in the darkness.
Tap. Tap.
"Our thanks."
Led by Hakurou, ogres, goblins, orcs, and lizardmen stepped forward in full armament. They glared with hatred and disgust at the spellcasters from the Kingdom of Falmuth.
Thanks to Lord Rimuru, they had witnessed the Falmuthians' vile intentions in real-time broadcast.
You thought us fools? Planning internal sabotage and external assault? Borrowing the road to strike at us?
Lord Rimuru granted you countless preferential policies, and you mistook us for weak prey, even dreaming of seizing everything by force!
"From this moment onward, by decree of Lord Rimuru, the Jura-Tempest Federation abolishes its rule forbidding attacks on humans! We declare war upon the Kingdom of Falmuth, upon the Moderate Clown Troupe, upon the puppet state of Jistav, and upon one of the Ten Demon Lords—the [Marionette Master] Demon Lord Clayman!"
Shing.
Slowly drawing his katana, a blood-red glint flashed in Hakurou's single eye. "War!"
"War!" ×N
...
Yes, yes.
That's more like it.
In the banquet hall of the reception district, seated at the head, Selene snapped her folding fan shut with force.
Now that's proper.
What nonsense about hiding their strength, avoiding panic in the human world by blaming everything on the Storm Dragon, and crediting the so-called "Hero" Youm.
Under Selene's pressure, Rimuru had clearly abandoned that idea.
Instead, he chose—fight fight fight fight fight—
To be invaded by the Kingdom of Falmuth and not fight back?
If word got out, Rimuru could forget about any chance at formal investiture.
With the Holy Selene Empire at his side and Selene herself present as Imperial Investigator, Rimuru clearly understood: to gain the support of a martial empire, his Federation had to fight.
Fight brilliantly. Fight decisively. Openly crush a few nations.
The Kingdom of Falmuth and the puppet state of Jistav became the targets chosen to establish authority.
They had schemed against the Federation first. If he struck back, no one could blame him. Even a Demon Lord must be fought! As for whether it would provoke hostility from the human world—he could not afford to worry about that now.
And no, Selene was not coercing him.
On her honor, she could swear that she had not interfered in Rimuru's subsequent decisions—not a single word.
Knock knock.
"Imperial Investigator. The prisoners have been delivered!"
"Mm."
Ignoring Youm and Myulan, who were forced to kneel below under guard, Selene sensed the three unusual human presences restrained by the Dark Angels and discarded in the courtyard outside the banquet hall. She tapped the table thoughtfully and beckoned to Alyssa, who was teasing a wild slime.
"Your—cough—Imperial Investigator."
"Consider it homework."
Retracting her glare, Selene calmly picked up a piece of pastry.
"Go. The three [Summoners] who arrived through the ritual are not quite dead yet. By tracing the residual spacetime signatures clinging to them, Alyssa, before we depart, attempt to locate their original world and fix a coordinate anchor."
"Mmm... then what about your homework, Imperial Investigator?"
"Hmm—?"
"Uh. I'll go right away."
Watching Alyssa flee as if escaping, Selene smiled faintly, reclining against the couch as she began contemplating her next destination after departure.
"Leiva..."
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