The news of the exchange sparked varied reactions. Benedict, the Master Baker, was designated to spend a season in Tempest. He was eager to show the Goblins that food could be a form of art and healing, bringing with him bags of alchemical yeast and his rigorous hygiene manuals. From Tempest's side, the dwarven smith Kaijin was chosen. He arrived at Avalon with eyes sparkling with technical curiosity, immediately received by Dietrich, who led him to the Iron District. Kaijin stood paralyzed as he watched how Sirzechs fused magicules directly into the marble structure to create thermal resistance—something that defied traditional dwarven metallurgy.
While Benedict tried, with infinite patience, to explain to Rigurd why one should not knead dough with hands soiled by earth, Kaijin in Avalon found himself under the constant supervision of Grayfia. She demanded he wear hairnets and boot covers before entering the smelting laboratories. The culture shock was evident: Rimuru's subjects found Avalon's rules suffocating, while Sirzechs' Homo-Hollows looked upon Tempest's lifestyle as chaotic and inefficient.
Nevertheless, the exchange quickly bore fruit; in Tempest, the aroma of European bread began to lift the workers' morale, and in Avalon, Kaijin helped improve the metallic alloys of the Praetorian Guard's weapons, making them lighter and better magic conductors.
By the end of the meeting, on the pavilion balcony, Sirzechs and Rimuru observed their respective subordinates exchanging information. The atmosphere was one of mutual respect, though Avalon's bureaucracy remained a point of comedic friction. Grayfia was already drafting "technical performance reports" for Kaijin, while Alistair prepared formal trade routes. Avalon and Tempest were no longer just unknown neighbors; they were now the two pillars of a new order in Jura—one that united the brute force and charisma of a Slime with the absolute elegance and rigor of a Demon King.
Benedict's arrival at Tempest was the cultural equivalent of thermal shock. The Master Baker, accustomed to marble asepsis and the millimetric precision of Avalon, nearly fainted upon entering the Goblins' communal kitchen. To him, it wasn't a food production center; it was a biological war zone. Following Grayfia's instructions to the letter, Benedict did not begin by teaching a bread recipe, but rather Hygiene Protocol Level 5.
The crisis erupted on the morning of the third day. Benedict had confiscated all the Goblins' iron pots, claiming the metal's porosity accumulated "spiritual and gastronomic impurities." He demanded all cooks wear caps, linen masks, and undergo an alchemical steam bath before touching the flour. Rigurd, trying to be diplomatic, explained that Goblins liked to feel the texture of the food and that the ritual of kneading was a moment of tribal unity, usually done with much rowdiness and bare hands.
"Tribal unity is not a seasoning, Mr. Rigurd," Benedict replied, his bone mark glowing under the morning light as he held a magical thermometer. "If the temperature of the dough fluctuates by two degrees because of the excessive body heat from these boys, the bread will lose its soul. And in Avalon, a bread without a soul is a crime against the Crown."
The rebellion began when Benedict tried to implement the "Snack Credit" system. He refused to hand over the first batches of crusty baguettes to Goblins who did not present a duly signed sanity form. The small monsters, drawn by a heavenly aroma they had never smelled before, began to protest noisily outside the kitchen. The situation escalated when Gobta tried to smuggle a piece of bread through a window and was intercepted by Benedict's icy gaze, who promptly banned him from the kitchen for "violation of the sanitary perimeter."
Rimuru, hearing of the commotion, had to intervene. He found Benedict in the center of the kitchen, surrounded by pouting Goblins wearing ridiculous white caps. The Baker was about to draft a report of "technical insubordination" to send to Grayfia via magical messenger. Rimuru laughed, feeling a pang of pity for his subordinates. He explained to Benedict that Tempest was a nation of freedom and that while hygiene was important, Avalon's bureaucracy was killing the joy of cooking.
After a long negotiation, a compromise was sealed: Benedict would have an exclusive wing of the kitchen, called the "Avalon Baking Laboratory," where Grayfia's rules were absolute law. In exchange, he had to allow the Goblins to make their own rustic breads in the common wing, provided they passed a basic visual inspection.
The "Bread Crisis" ended with the Goblins learning to respect Benedict's impeccable technique, while the Master Baker, for the first time in his life, had to admit that bread made with dirty hands and much laughter had a flavor no alchemical formula could fully replicate. Back in Avalon, Grayfia received the report and merely sighed, noting that Tempest would need at least three generations to understand the concept of a truly civilized kitchen.
Observing the interactions in Tempest and the accelerated growth of Avalon brought a new concern to Sirzechs Gremory. As he walked the silent, impeccable corridors of his palace, he realized that although Grayfia was perfection in the form of governance, the weight of sovereignty required a direct extension of his personal will—something that went beyond ministerial bureaucracy or Dietrich's guard.
He began to mentally draft the project of the "Ten Swords of Avalon," an elite group of individuals who would be the pinnacle of the Homo-Hollow race, each representing a pillar of Sirzechs' power. But before creating generals or executioners, the human within him felt the lack of something fundamental to the European aristocratic tradition he so emulated: a presence to balance Grayfia's icy severity with unwavering loyalty and absolute gallantry.
Author's Note:
While Benedict is busy fighting 'biological warfare' in the kitchen and Kaijin is having his mind blown by magical metallurgy, Sirzechs is looking toward the future. The 'Ten Swords' are coming. If Grayfia is the brain and Dietrich is the shield, who will be the first 'Blade' of Avalon?