Dealing with those who fear you is a difficult thing.
Some were so terrified that you had to start by calming them down first.
It seemed that intimidating the Minotaurs and Horsemen into submission using my "Demon Lord's Aura" had ended up affecting the weaker tribes as well.
Those kinds of people were thrown off by the gap between my adorable appearance and that fearsome power, and it filled them with dread.
That gap. What a pain.
But even those tribes eventually agreed to guarantee the safety of their territories and to cooperate with trade and commerce, so in time they should be able to get over their fear and interact normally.
That was when the problem arose.
The very last visitor—the Elder Long-Ear tribe—filed a formal complaint against me.
What arrived was the Elder himself, along with a handful of attendants.
Not a single woman among them.
In fact, this species was famously long-lived. They were sometimes called the successor clan of the fairies, boasting lifespans of five hundred to eight hundred years.
Individual variation in lifespan was also a notable trait.
They reached adulthood in roughly twenty years, and from then on, they didn't appear to age at all. From the perspective of the human race, it was the stuff of dreams.
That was why the "Elder" of the Long-Ear tribe standing before me looked like a young man.
Apparently, they only began aging rapidly when death was imminent, succumbing to senescence over twenty to thirty years.
Because of this, their numbers were small, and children were slow to come—a consequence of their long lifespans suppressing the drive to reproduce.
At least, that was the knowledge I'd picked up from a barmaid in the Dwarf Kingdom, so take it with a grain of salt.
Anyway, these were the descendants of spirits who had mated with mutated fairies—the Long-Ear tribe.
Incidentally, dwarves were a similar species that also inherited fairy blood. Long ago, fairies had mated with other races, and the result became the progenitors of those races.
What exactly happened back then, I couldn't say. Maybe fairies couldn't reproduce with each other.
As far as I knew, the only existing fairy in the world was
Even if I asked Ramiris, she probably wouldn't remember. She seemed to have been reincarnated countless times.
While lost in these thoughts, I listened to the Elder's appeal.
The Elder bowed and said: "It is an honor to finally meet you. I have come today to offer congratulations, and also… to make a request."
After that preamble, he got into the meat of things.
According to the Elder, residents of their village had been kidnapped, and they wanted help rescuing them.
His desperate manner of speaking made it easy to believe he wasn't lying.
I asked for more details.
Apparently, the Long-Ear tribe had many members skilled in illusion-type barrier arts that disrupted directional senses.
Being a long-lived species, they had been protected by barriers set up by master-class practitioners for generations.
However, about three hundred years ago, one of those masters had married into a foreign country—and that was where the trouble began.
The Elder seemed to consider that person something of an anomaly even within their secluded village, but their abilities were outstanding. The hole left by their departure had been filled by younger members, but— About a hundred years ago, the Minotaurs and Horsemen in the neighboring territory had started fighting.
In short, a string of bad luck had piled up.
Because of this, merely disrupting directional senses was no longer sufficient to keep their hidden village concealed.
Reluctantly, they had begun considering a relocation, but even a forest as vast as the Great Forest of Jura didn't make it easy to find a new home.
While they were deliberating, demonic beast attacks had increased, and maintaining the barrier had become unsustainable…
So they had decided to move closer to human settlements.
And that, he said, was what led to the worst possible outcome.
In short, they had been discovered by slavers.
Enslaving monsters wasn't prohibited. The Long-Ear tribe was a type of demi-human, but in some cases they were treated as monsters.
It depended on the country—or rather, on the backroom dealings.
They had tried to resist fiercely, but the slavers—hunters who made their living from such shady enterprises—had abducted their young people.
"Is this recent? If too much time has passed, there may be nothing we can do," I asked, checking the most critical detail.
The Elder replied: "Y-Yes. Immediately after the large-scale attack, we received notice of your ascension as Demon Lord. We took this as a sign of heaven's will and decided to place our hopes in you, my lord.
We couldn't handle it on our own, so we humbly came to ask for your help…"
I see.
Right after the attack, my notice of Demon Lord ascension had arrived. They had been in total despair, thinking there was nothing they could do, and this had become their last hope.
But was this a challenge to my love for elves?
In other words, were they picking a fight with me? I'd been secretly scheming to open an elf shop in my own country! How dare they!
I absolutely would not forgive this.
I'd been looking forward to seeing if any of them might be willing to work for me…
"Very well. I accept your request.
If we succeed, I'll have some favors to ask of you in return. Let's execute a rescue operation immediately."
I made my promise and had the Long-Ear tribe members rest.
Their village was apparently no longer habitable—they had abandoned it and all come here together.
If they had split up, the remaining members could have been captured too.
There was a limit to how many the slavers could carry off at once, and the hunters had only retreated temporarily. Once the handover of captives was complete, they would attack again.
I called
"If the hunters show up, capture them alive. We'll use them to squeeze out information about their connections."
"Understood!"
Souei departed promptly.
That was that. Next, I'd ask Myourmile about anything he might know regarding monster slavery.
With the audiences having concluded thanks to that, I set out to conduct my own investigation.
If I wanted to become the owner of my dream "elf shop," I had no time to rest.
--- I headed straight to where Myourmile was working.
It felt rude to drag him away when he was busy, so I went to him instead.
Before I ended up as a decoration with a tangerine placed on my head for good luck, I'd better make a quick escape from the shrine.
All the greetings were done, and none of my executives had tried to hold me back.
Ideally, I would have wanted to head to the underground dungeon, but the elf shop was also an important matter.
Priority-wise, rescuing the captive elves came first.
So I went to visit the workplace I'd assigned Myourmile.
"R-Rimuru-sama! You seemed awfully busy—is it all right for you to be out and about?"
"Man, it's been rough, Myourmile. Greeting rounds are part of the job when you're the ruler of a town. Well, it's basically my only job, really."
"Hahaha, indeed. So what brings you here today?"
Busy as he was, he dropped everything to attend to me. What a capable fellow.
We moved to another location, and I asked him to give me some time. Over cups of tea, I had Myourmile tell me everything he knew about monster slavery.
Most of it was stuff I already knew.
What I didn't know was about the underground organization called the "Three Big Heads."
If the Free Guild was the legitimate front, then naturally there was an underworld counterpart.
The Free Guild deducted taxes when paying out rewards. The underground organization, on the other hand, had no tax obligations.
That was only natural, since their line of work was illegal.
But just as the world needed its "necessary evils," there were times when you needed jobs that couldn't be handled through legitimate channels.
For nobles—those who despised getting their own hands dirty—the underground organization "Three Big Heads" was probably quite useful.
That was why, by tacit agreement, the underworld organization was permitted to exist.
The three heads symbolized "Gold," "Women," and "Power." The organization was controlled by three individuals called Bosses.
According to Myourmile, an organization that captured and trafficked monster slaves would likely be none other than the Three Big Heads.
This was not the kind of operation that petty underworld figures in the town could handle.
In other words, you needed a massive organization that lorded over the underworld operators themselves to pull off this sort of work.
The underworld had its own rules, which were surprisingly detailed.
"However, sir, the Three Big Heads aren't on the level of the Free Guild, but they're a considerably large organization. Their scale is such that dealing with them as a single country would be difficult.
As part of my business, I've had dealings with them a few times, and as long as you follow the rules, they treat you politely. They take on all kinds of work, from legal to illegal. Some people find them very convenient because they don't pick and choose their jobs."
As he explained.
Even so-called slaves—if they were human, it was completely illegal. This time they were monsters, but also demi-humans. It fell into the gray area between legal and illegal.
"I see. Buying and selling elves—you'd need that kind of organization to pull it off. Without some serious capability, you couldn't capture the Long-Ear tribe either…"
As I grumbled, Myourmile suddenly spoke up: "Hm? The monsters—were they the Long-Ear tribe?
Come to think of it… recently, I was approached with a deal involving Long-Ear tribe slaves."
The Long-Ear tribe was a minority species. Their total number was probably around a hundred? There was no way people like that would just casually show up as slaves.
This had to be connected.
"You'll tell me all about it, right, Myourmile?"
A lead I hadn't expected—it looked like I might get the information I needed to solve this case.
Apparently, a man named Baron Kazak had approached him with a proposal to sell Long-Ear tribe members as slaves. There seemed to be something shady about it, and Myourmile had been about to decline because it felt suspicious.
"Oh yes, that was the person I was dealing with right around the time you came into my shop, Rimuru-sama."
Ah, so it was that guy.
My memory of him was completely blank, but Wisdom King promptly showed me an image.
Now that it was pointed out, he did look like a shifty character.
Well, what to do about this?
"So this is the guy, huh? Stealing people from my territory—that's asking for a fight, right?
Normally, if you abduct citizens from another country, that's an act of war, isn't it?"
Just to be sure, I asked Myourmile.
"Hm? Ah, yes. Quite right. Under international treaties, if abductions and imprisonment are carried out against the will of the inhabitants, it would not be unusual for it to lead to war.
To prevent such situations, the slave trade for the purpose of securing labor was prohibited. However…
Claiming that the Long-Ear tribe are inhabitants of the Monster Nation might be difficult, don't you think?"
"Huh?"
"…Huh?"
"Why?"
"Well, why, you ask… They weren't living in this town, were they? You can't really claim rights over the Jura Forest on their behalf, can you?"
Hmm. There seemed to be a disconnect in our conversation.
Now that the Great Forest of Jura was my territory, the people living there were undeniably my subjects, weren't they?
Even if the Long-Ear tribe had declared non-interference, I could still lodge a complaint over actions taken against my own people.
I had merely allowed them to live in my territory and accepted their policy of non-interference. Non-interference didn't mean I recognized other nations' right to intervene.
This was something I absolutely could not allow, as a matter of the Demon Lord's prestige.
"Myourmile, the Great Forest of Jura is my territory, so if someone lays a hand on the people living there, I have every right to complain, right?"
"…Excuse me?"
"I mean, I sent announcement letters to every nation notifying them, didn't I? Along with the invitation for the unveiling?"
"Y-Yes? That announcement was for the purpose of getting nations to formally recognize the Monster Nation as a state, wasn't it? It included the news that a Demon Lord had taken the throne to govern that nation, and the proposal for a martial arts tournament."
It seemed there was a fundamental misunderstanding.
Wait—could it be he didn't know? About the territory I'd been given to govern?
"Myourmile… I just want to confirm this, but could it be that you don't know?
The territory I became Demon Lord and was assigned to govern…
My dominion encompasses the entirety of the Great Forest of Jura?"
Upon learning the full extent of my territory, Myourmile was rendered speechless.
His mind went completely blank, and he couldn't seem to process what he'd been told.
Huh? No, but…? He couldn't even form words.
The shock must have been tremendous. I'd assumed he already knew.
My mistake for assuming he knew.
Now that I thought about it, I'd never actually explained that I'd been granted dominion over the entire Great Forest of Jura.
"Hah?! The entirety? The entirety of the Great Forest of Jura?!
Wait—Rimuru, the boss? You—you were granted territory that vast?!"
He was in complete chaos.
Poor guy… He must have been swindled in a terrible way.
There really were some awful people out there. Well, me included.
But hold on. If the territory were small, they wouldn't have gone out of their way to recruit me, would they?
It was precisely because I was busy—and because I wanted their help (and to take it easy myself)—that I'd done the recruiting.
I hadn't asked about the scope of the work. That was partly my fault too.
But there was no way I was going to accept "See you after the tournament is over! Goodbye!" That was absolutely out of the question.
So it should be fine to leave it all to him.
Right, Myourmile? Let's smile, forgive each other, and call it even.
"Wait—why are you wrapping this up so neatly?! What do you mean 'even'?! I was the one who got swindled here!
And I'm not saying I have a problem with the workload! But—"
"Great, then there's no problem."
"Also, did you just casually say 'leave it all to me'? You're not planning to have me develop the entire Great Forest of Jura, are you?!"
"Haha, come now! That's still a long way off. Right now, what's important is the Long-Ear tribe."
He seemed to be objecting, but I decided to treat the matter as settled.
More important right now was the Long-Ear tribe situation.
Having recovered from his shock, Myourmile's expression had turned serious.
He bounced back faster than I expected.
Well, maybe he'd just given up trying…
From there, the conversation moved quickly.
Since we had the moral high ground, we could confront Baron Kazak openly.
When I suggested this, Myourmile responded: "No, capturing a petty noble like that wouldn't accomplish much. They'd cut him loose to protect themselves. This time, it would be faster to have the King handle it."
It made sense. There were mutual aid agreements for situations like this, and the Blumund Kingdom was the country responsible for managing the nobles who had stuck their noses where they shouldn't.
Rather than dealing with it directly, getting the King of Blumund to take action would probably resolve things faster.
"That sounds good. But I've never actually met the King—what should I do?"
Myourmile gave a broad nod and volunteered to handle the negotiations. "Leave it to me!"
Once a decision was made, it was time for immediate action.
So I took Myourmile and used "Spatial Movement Gate Creation" to teleport to the Blumund Kingdom.
This ability worked by grasping space and opening a connection, producing a warped rift right before your eyes.
It was the upgraded version of "Spatial Movement"—you could only create a gate to places you'd already visited. Passing through it would take you to your destination instantly. Others could use it too, making it incredibly convenient, but it consumed a massive amount of magicules.
Logically, you couldn't manipulate space without spending a lot of energy. But for me, it was no big deal.
I didn't want to waste time on travel, so I made the jump right away.
Myourmile was nervous at first, but he surprisingly passed through the gate without much fuss.
As expected, he was a bigger deal than I'd thought.
Perhaps, having understood that I was a Demon Lord, he'd already resigned himself to the fact that anything was possible.
At Myourmile's estate, I waited for word.
I'd sent Myourmile to the royal palace to request an audience with the King.
He told me it might take a while, so I should wait at the estate.
But in less than three hours, a carriage arrived to pick me up.
Myourmile, who had come to escort me, explained how things had gone.
"It went better than expected. I requested an audience with the King, and mentioning Rimuru-sama's name likely helped. The request was granted immediately.
I explained the situation, so by now there should be a welcoming party heading to Baron Kazak as well."
Apparently, they had treated me with exceptional courtesy.
Having one's name known down to the lowest levels of the court was apparently not something that happened often.
Well, for a small nation where information was life or death, they probably made sure to drill into everyone exactly what could happen if they mishandled a piece of information.
And since Fuse was involved, they wouldn't have left anything to chance.
Upon arriving at the royal palace, I was led into the great hall.
There, a simple seating arrangement had been prepared, complete with tea and light refreshments.
A portly, good-natured-looking man was seated and rose to greet us upon our arrival.
Behind him stood Baron Belyard, who was supposedly Fuse's friend.
If that was the case, then this plump fellow was the King of this nation.
"Allow me to introduce myself. I am the King of this nation, Buldol Ram Blumund. It is my pleasure to meet you at last—the Monster King. No, the Octagram's newest star, Lord Rimuru."
He addressed me so casually that I was taken aback.
Was it normal for the King to greet you first? Well, I was a King too, I supposed.
"The pleasure is mine. I am
"Of course! We would in fact like to request your continued cooperation. I am terribly embarrassed that, through no knowledge of our own, this nation has caused you inconvenience.
If you would be so kind as to allow us to handle the punishment ourselves… and the reparations as well…"
"Oh, no. The reparations won't be necessary, as long as this is resolved peacefully. I hope we can continue to have a good relationship going forward."
"Oh! That is a relief to hear!"
He'd looked quite solemn, but the moment I said I didn't want reparations, his face lit up with a smile.
I couldn't tell if he'd actually been prepared to pay or not, but there was no denying he was a sly one.
And yet, somehow, I couldn't bring myself to dislike the old man.
While we were going through these pleasantries, two individuals were brought in under guard.
One was Baron Kazak.
He was wearing the same mediocre clothes as before, surrounded by royal soldiers, looking utterly bewildered. He was pale and trembling.
The other was a gentleman dressed in black. His clothing resembled Chinese-style garments—black with gold embroidery depicting a three-headed tiger.
Three Big Heads… I was pretty sure the gatekeepers of hell were three-headed dogs, but was it different here?
In my assessment, this person—who appeared to be one of the Three Big Heads' executives—showed neither fear nor agitation. He stood there with perfect composure, as though he were the King himself.
The soldiers merely surrounded him without daring to make a move.
He clearly radiated an aura of someone you did not mess with.
"Y-Your Majesty! What is the meaning of this summons? I-I have done nothing untoward, I assure you!"
Baron Kazak cried out frantically.
But his words were cut short by Baron Belyard, who delivered the explanation.
Upon hearing it, Baron Kazak's face went from pale to white as a sheet: "Th-That's absurd! They're monsters! No matter how you treat filthy, inferior monsters, I am a noble and—"
That got under my skin.
But I held back. I'd already promised to let them handle the punishment.
Without that promise, things could have gotten ugly. Even if I had no intention of doing so, merely releasing a wave of killing intent could be enough to kill the weaker ones.
Sensing my mood, Belyard spoke: "Silence.
By His Majesty's decree, this matter is to be resolved through the dissolution of the Baron Kazak household.
Baron Kazak is to be exiled from the country. You are welcome to file an appeal, though the evidence is more than sufficient, so it would be rather pointless.
You will be held in custody during the trial.
Now, this way…"
With that, Baron Belyard led Baron Kazak—or simply Kazak—away.
He was a pawn who'd been used. His character was the lowest of the low, but as punishment for his crimes, it seemed fair enough. I had no objections.
The real problem was the person from the Three Big Heads who was calmly observing all of this.
He'd been brought in without even being given an explanation of the situation.
Despite being the underground organization, his whereabouts were known? Or rather… to take on jobs, had they registered with the state?
I took a closer look at the man.
Fine clothing.
Elegant bearing.
And those eyes that you absolutely could not let your guard down around.
A smile played at his lips, as if he were enjoying the spectacle.
Then, in measured tones: "Hm. It appears I've stepped on a landmine. Your presence, sir—it surpasses the Demon Lords I've done business with in the past.
You are a person of great magnitude. It seems I've done something to offend you, so allow me to offer my apologies. I will accept whatever terms you dictate, within reason. Would you be willing to let this go?"
He was proposing a deal.
The sheer audacity.
And he was quick-witted, too.
I wasn't wearing my human form, but I certainly hadn't released my "Demon Lord's Aura." The Long-Ear tribe had shown the same fearful reaction to this very appearance.
And yet, this man had seen through my true nature at a single glance.
And if he'd done business with a Demon Lord before, it made sense that he wasn't someone you could handle with half-measures.
A massive organization that rivaled the Free Guild from the other side of the law.
But it was probably more than that. Even national rulers didn't dare to interfere with them carelessly.
And the person standing before me was most likely— "I'll get straight to it. I want the release of the Long-Ear tribe you abducted, plus any other monsters you've captured.
Furthermore, I demand a guarantee that you will never again engage in plundering or monster capture within the Great Forest of Jura."
The Three Big Heads executive had kept his eyes on me from the start, ignoring the King and everyone else entirely.
The King of Blumund and his courtiers hadn't raised a single complaint about it.
They had been completely overwhelmed by his presence.
Proof that this was no ordinary person.
Now—how would he respond to my demands?
"That will be perfectly acceptable.
All captured monsters will be returned to you, of course. The Long-Ear tribe as well.
Furthermore, I, the Three Big Heads, solemnly swear that we will never again lay a hand on the Great Forest of Jura.
On my name—Damurada, one of the Three Heads of the Three Big Heads."
He declared this with brazen confidence.
So that was it.
One of the Three Big Heads.
Not an executive, not a manager—this guy was one of the apex.
Three individuals had founded the organization, and together, they were the Three Big Heads.
"Very well. If you're swearing you won't interfere, I'll let it slide this time.
But there won't be a second time. Testing the waters by making moves against a Demon Lord—you underestimate me."
Where had they learned that I'd become Demon Lord and claimed dominion over the Great Forest of Jura?
They'd known, and they'd tested me.
My response—and my strength.
The proof was that everyone in Blumund had been shocked to learn that one of the supreme leaders had personally come to observe.
The supreme leader, who had been shrouded in mystery behind a veil until now—one of them had personally come to scope things out.
In other words, abducting the Long-Ear tribe, approaching that low-ranking noble to create an easy trail—it had all been part of the plan.
They had executed this entire scheme for the sole purpose of drawing me out and appraising my power.
I had confirmed via thought communication with Souei that there was no sign of an attack.
Of course there wasn.
Damurada's plan had succeeded the moment he'd lured me out.
I ordered Souei to withdraw from the area.
"Ha… hahaha. Indeed, I should have known. You saw right through it.
The newest star of the Octagram is not one to be taken lightly. Compared to Lord
It is an honor to meet you, Demon Lord Rimuru. I hope we can maintain a cordial relationship going forward."
So he had known all along.
"Stepped on a landmine"—what a load of crocodile tears. He'd known perfectly well and done it on purpose, and he wasn't even sorry about it.
A dangerous man, Damurada of the Three Big Heads.
He was going to be a troublesome opponent.
And the one who had prepared the equipment for the Orc Lord and the others—that might have been him too.
I'd assumed Yuuki had arranged it, but that would have left too obvious a trail. If a different organization was involved, that wasn't surprising either. Well, the connection was unclear.
Damurada bowed elegantly to us and departed, promising that he would personally see to the handover of all the monsters that had been captured and enslaved.
And one week later, true to his word, the freed monsters arrived in the Monster Nation.