"Kagaya, you're finally back! If you hadn't returned, I would have sent someone to look for you!"
The muscular Rigurd excitedly said to Kagaya Ubuyashiki as he walked in.
Ever since Kagaya Ubuyashiki had left the town for the Dwarf Kingdom to discuss road construction, all of the town's administrative affairs had fallen squarely on his shoulders.
His two bosses above him were running around every day, completely unreliable, leaving him to worry about everything himself.
On top of that, the town's population had recently surged to 170,000, and the number of tasks was simply countless.
Rigurd felt he had lost at least thirty pounds during this period, and if Kagaya Ubuyashiki didn't return soon, he feared he would eventually revert to his pre-naming appearance.
Now that his savior had finally returned, he was incredibly excited!
"Haha! Rigurd, you worry too much. With Giyu and the others protecting me, what could possibly happen?"
Kagaya Ubuyashiki said with a smile, glancing over at Rimuru and Gazel, who were chatting happily together.
"It seems you and Rimuru-sama had a good chat, Your Excellency Gazel!"
"Hahaha! Mr. Kagaya, Rimuru is indeed a trustworthy person, just as you said!"
"Of course! Although Rimuru-sama is unreliable and causes trouble with Kaito-sama every day, and even secretly tried to steal the statue in the square with Kaito-sama in the middle of the night before, but…"
'What the heck! How did he know about Rimuru and me trying to steal the square statue in the middle of the night?!'
'Also, you're exposing your leader's shortcomings like this. Be careful, Rimuru and I might make things difficult for you!'
Not to mention Rimuru and Kaito, whose faces were turning as red as a monkey's backside from embarrassment, Kagaya Ubuyashiki continued with a smile:
"But even such Rimuru-sama and Kaito-sama are still the best leaders in our hearts. We all sincerely support both of them."
"This entire town is the fruit of their labor. Every one of us has been saved by both of them, so…"
"Even if both of them do nothing, we will accomplish everything they wish to accomplish, and we will do so at all costs!"
Looking at the eloquent Kagaya Ubuyashiki, everyone present was struck by his words, while Benimaru and the others nodded firmly in agreement.
"Kagaya! You…"
Kaito looked at Kagaya Ubuyashiki and the Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps, whom he had brought over from the Demon Slayer world, and his heart was filled with complex emotions.
At first, Kaito had only wanted to gather some capable individuals for Rimuru and hadn't felt much attachment toward the Demon Slayer Corps members.
But as time passed and they spent more time together, Kaito gradually came to regard them all as family, just as he did Rimuru.
That was why he had considered marching straight to the Dwarf Kingdom and tearing it down if anything had happened to Kagaya Ubuyashiki.
As for Rimuru, she had never treated anyone as a subordinate from the very beginning, always interacting with everyone as friends.
That was why Rimuru became the undisputed darling of the entire town.
"Ahem… Kagaya, please sit down. Sakuya, bring Kagaya some food!"
"Yes, Kaito-sama!"
"Heh heh, I'm a little hungry from the journey, so I'll trouble Miss Sakuya!"
Sakuya stood up beside Kaito, nodded to Kagaya, and left the banquet hall to prepare food.
"Then let's continue!"
Gazel nodded to Kagaya Ubuyashiki, who had taken his seat, and resumed speaking.
"Hmm, let's continue. Regarding the details of the alliance…"
As the discussions continued, time passed bit by bit.
Eventually, the two sides reached an alliance treaty that was beneficial to both parties.
"Then… let us toast to the success of the alliance! ~(￣▽￣)~*"
As Rimuru raised her glass and addressed everyone present, the whole room raised their glasses and shouted together:
"Cheers! *n"
Night - Kaito's Bedroom
[Ding, Dimensional Gate charged. Host, do you want to activate the Dimensional Gate to begin anchoring world coordinates?]
Kaito, who had just finished washing up and was lying in bed about to sleep, suddenly heard the system notification that the Dimensional Gate was fully charged.
He instantly became alert.
'Activate! Start anchoring world coordinates!'
[Ding, Dimensional Gate is anchoring world coordinates…]
[…]
[Ding, Dimensional Gate has successfully anchored world coordinates. Based on Host's memory comparison, this world is confirmed to be the anime world 'Black Bullet'! Do you want to activate the Dimensional Gate to travel?]
'Not yet!'
The moment Kaito heard the name of this world, the smile on his face instantly vanished, and a cold killing intent began to rise in his eyes.
'Good, good, good! I actually anchored to this world. It seems Rimuru and the others' ascended souls have a destination this time!'
'Don't you agree, my beloved Conqueror's Banner? Hehehe!'
Kaito looked at the Myriad… the Conqueror's Banner he had summoned from his dimensional space and smiled to himself.
The Black Bullet world is a typical apocalyptic world.
The entire world is overrun by monsters called Gastrea, and humanity can only huddle within various safe zones, barely surviving.
If it were only that, Kaito's killing intent would not have run so deep.
The true reason was the children of that world, children infected with the Gastrea virus, known as the "Cursed Children."
The humans of that world did not treat the Cursed Children as people. They would abuse and mistreat these children, all under the age of twelve, at the slightest provocation. The remaining government turned a blind eye, even actively enabling the cruelty.
In short, this was a world where, with the exception of a small handful of people, everyone else deserved to die.
'It seems I need to have a good talk with Rimuru tomorrow. I could wipe out that world myself, but I can't handle so many lolis on my own!'
(T/N: Should I keep loli or change it?)
'The Security Force now has over 10,000 people. This is a good time to put them to use!'
'I also need to think about where to place all the lolis once we bring them here. There are millions of them, this is not a small matter!'
'If I just take them all in at once, I have a feeling Rigurd and Kagaya will collapse on the spot!'
Next Day · Town Entrance
"Rimuru, Kaito, I will take my leave now. I will visit again when I have the chance!"
Gazel, astride his pegasus, bid farewell to Rimuru, Kaito, and the others.
"Of course. You're always welcome. Travel safely!"
"Then… farewell, everyone!"
With that, Gazel led the Pegasus Knights slowly into the sky, and before long they had disappeared from sight entirely.
"Alright… everyone, let's head back!"
Watching Gazel depart, Rimuru said to those around her.
"Hold on, Rimuru, don't let everyone scatter just yet. I have something to say. Everyone, follow me to the conference room!"
"Yes, Kaito-sama!"
Though no one knew what Kaito was about to say, they all followed him to the conference room without hesitation.
"The main reason I called this meeting is because…"