The next morning, once all the necessary people were awake, Rimuru gathered us all in the newly finished meeting house.
According to what Rimuru had told me, it was Mildo who made it following his instructions.
In theory, it was a house specially made for meetings and similar events.
Inside, it was really quite empty and had no decorations at the moment.
The ogres, Rigurd, the four Goblin Lords, and Kaijin would attend this meeting as a sort of mediator, along with Rimuru and me.
After everyone took a seat on one of the stools that surrounded the long table in the center of the room, the goblin Haruna entered carrying tea for everyone and, once she finished serving it, she left without saying a word.
Honestly, the taste of the tea had improved quite a bit; I suppose Rimuru have tell them that improving etiquette was important.
The ogres also seemed to like the tae, so everything was perfect.
“So, how did you end up in this situation?” asked Rimuru.
After that, the ogres began to explain to us what had happened and part of their history.
Basically, for some reason, the ogres had gone to war with the orcs.
This was already surprising at first because ogres, being B-rank creatures, were far superior to orcs, who were only D-rank.
This news were enough to atonish those present, because theoretically, ogres were the peak of strength in the Jura Forest.
That’s why the orc’s victory was so shocking.
The ogres also told us that in their village there were about three hundred of them, and that they lived in a rather militarized manner, training among clans and historically serving as a kind of mercenaries for various Demon Lords, organizations, or groups that requested their help.
This lifestyle made their total strength much greater than what a normal group of orc’s could muster, but the outcome was unexpected and the result was that the only survivors were the ogres present here, which left them quite distressed.
They continued telling that, before they could flee thanks to my help, their leader had faced an especially large and powerful orc, and had fallen in battle.
We also learned that a masked being seemed to be the one leading the army.
In the words of the ogre princess, who was more of a shaman for the tribe, she told us that the being had a clown mask and a dreadful dark aura, and that it was a high-level *magic-born*.
The fact that Rimuru also wore a mask and how quickly everything had happened made them think that, in some way, Rimuru was related to this figure.
It also seems that, apart from the thousands of orcs, there were three other special orcs like the one who defeated the leader of the ogre tribe.
All of this, while they were wearing armor and wielding weapons that normal D-rank orcs would never have been able to obtain normally, led us to suspect that they were receiving support or help from another group.
Some suggested that it might be some human nation, but the suggestion made by Kaijin that it could be a Demon Lord made more sense.
At the mention of a Demon Lord, Rimuru seemed to lose himself in thought for a moment.
I suppose he was remembering Shizue’s words and the promise he had made to her regarding Leon.
After explaining the entire situation, Rigurd suggested that perhaps the orcs were trying to take control of the forest, which caused those present to look at Rimuru and me, waiting to know our position regarding the possible threat.
To calm the atmosphere a bit, Rimuru asked for more tea for everyone, which seemed to work.
For the first time in the entire meeting, because I already knew everything they would say, I decided to intervene.
Looking directly at the ogres, I asked them:
—Your current situation is not very good.
What do you plan to do from now on?
Run and hide, seek revenge, or some other option?
—Is it not obvious?
We will build our strength, wait for an opening, and challenge them again!—
—Precisely.
¡We must avenge our lord!—
—¡ As must I !
We are all but powerless right now, but I refuse to let those two-legged pigs live—
—We promise to follow our young master and princess!—
Those were their responses.
Honestly, even though I knew what they would say, having the courage to think about challenging the orcs with their current abilities was quite surprising.
Rimuru also seemed to reach the same conclusion as me, just thru a different line of thought.
Deciding to be the one to make the offer, I directed my words straight to the group of ogres:
—What do you think about joining us?
Our goals are not very different at the moment, and if you usually work as mercenaries anyway, perhaps we can make a mutually beneficial deal?
—We couldn’t…
—started the redhead, but couldn’t finish.
—That’s it!
If it’s strength you’re looking for, joining us is a great option.
I don’t know if you will be interested in anything we can offer you, but I’m sure we can work together.— Rimuru Replied.
“Sir, doing that could involve this village in the conflict,” said the princess.
“Don’t worry about it.” Most likely, one way or another, we would have ended up in trouble anyway —I replied.
“Exactly!” Moreover, it’s no problem for us; we will follow the path that Rimuru-sama and Kaelion-sama decide without any doubt or issue —said Rigurd with determination.
—That’s a good option.
Moreover, not long ago a lizardman visited our village and seemed to be investigating something related to this matter.
Working together would be more efficient —added one of the Goblin Lords.
—I see.
Not a bad proposal.
In fact, it is a welcome one.
We could use this place as a base to assemble the resistance forces we need against the pigs… —said the ogre prince.
—Yeah, exactly —I replied.
—We’re gonna be fighting anyway.
You might as well come along for the ride.
—And could this agreement stay in place until the ringleader of the orcs is defeated?—
—Sounds perfect to me.
You’d be free to do whatever you like once the matter with the orcs is settled.
You could work with us to build a nation, go out on a journey, whatever.
What do you think?
— Rimuru replied
The red-haired ogre thought this over for a few moments while the others remained politely silent.
They must have respected his decision-making skills.
He closed his eyes, then opened them once more.
—Very well, —he said—.
—We will serve under your leadership!—
-So that’s the path he chose.
Good.
That’s a big help for us, too.-
After that, Rimuru just turned toward me and smiled happily.
It seems he got what he wanted.
—Now that we’re working together, it would be more useful and convenient for you to have names, so I’m going to give you some.
What do you think?— said Rimuru.
—Sir, we already communicate well enough without any need of them..—
—Hoh, hoh.
Humans may have names, but we monsters certainly don’t need them.—
—Haaha.
Don’t worry about it.
I’d say it’s more for our own sake than yours.
It makes it easier for us to communicate and refer to you.— I told them with amusement.
—But naming monsters can be dangerous,— said the ogre princess.
—Don’t worry.
I’ve done this before, and there’s no problem.
—Rimuru replied.
—Actually, all the monsters you’ve seen in the village were named by Rimuru.
Amazing, right?— I said, trying to get them to agree.
—¿Everyone by him??
—they wondered.
—Mr.
Kaelion, you haven’t named any monster ?.
With your power, it shouldn’t have been a problem at all.?
—Benimaru asked me.
—Here we go,— I thought, exasperated with my situation.
—It’s not that I don’t want to name anyone.
It’s just that I currently can’t —I indicated to them, to which they seemed confused.
Before they could say anything, I continued—: As you may have already noticed, my race is quite special, and if the information I have managed to obtain is sufficient indication, then I can say that my race is completely new and different.
This is the result of one of my skills.
I still don’t fully understand how this skill works, but I know that essentially it makes me different from the rest, so I can’t currently name anyone, although I know that in the future I probably will be able to do it—I told them.
Honestly, I decided to be partially honest with them because there was no real reason not to mention that part of my skill.
Moreover, knowing my situation could make them help me easier in the future.
Although I must say I didn’t expect the girl I rescued to be as depressed as she is right now.
Kaelion —the elder said to me respectfully.
“—So, will it be Mr.
Rimuru who name’s us himself?” asked the purple-haired woman.
“Correct!” said Rimuru.
Before they could start with the appointments, I decided to ask the black-haired girl directly:
—Hey, the one with black hair, you seem quite depressed.
What’s wrong?
—I asked her directly.
—Well, I…
Actually, I wanted it to be you who named me, Kaelion-sama, because if it weren’t for you, not even my body would have remained intact —said the girl honestly.
After a few seconds of silence, I finally answered her.
—I know how you feel..— For the moment, there’s not much I can do, but right now I’m looking for ways to get rid of the limitations that this skill imposes on me.
If you are willing to wait around a year, which is what I estimate it will take, I promise from the bottom of my heart that the first thing I will do is name you.
If you are willing to wait until then, it is your decision.
“I could have ended there, but I continued, this time speaking to the others—: I wouldn’t mind naming some of you in the future as well, but in the situation we find ourselves in, the most useful thing is for most of you to receive a name —I concluded.”
“We understand, Mr.
Kaelion.” We will accept the name from Rimuru with pride right now —said the redhead, while the others, except the one with black hair, nodded.
—Good.
So, have you decided what you’re going to do?
—I asked her.
—I understand the situation we are in, and I also know that any additional strength will be very useful for everyone, but I would like to make the selfish request of being able to receive your name in the future, as you suggested.
You saved me and my village; thanks to you, we can move forward, no matter how few we are, so I would like to serve you for the rest of my life, sir —the girl replied resolutely as she knelt before me.
I’m not entirely sure why, but hearing that she was willing to wait so long for such a significant increase in power—just to serve me in the most loyal way possible—made me very happy.
Having heard her answer, I addressed her directly.
—Very well !.
If you’ve made up your mind, then so be it!
I accept you as a subordinate and you have my word as a leader, but also as Kaelion, that as soon as my skill allow’s it, you will receive a name from me —I said, standing in front of her.
Shit, that sounded cringier than I expected—I thought.
“I deeply appreciate it, Mr.
Kaelion,” she said firmly, but also with a barely concealed happiness.
—Sir, even though we received a name from Rimuru-sama, I would like you to know that we will be eternally grateful to you and that you can always ask for our help in any situation.
After all, even though our formal master is Rimuru, you are also the leader of the village we serve —the ogre princess told me, while the others just nodded with smiles.
“I understand, thank you very much then.” I trust your skills —I sincerely thanked them.
—Before you receive a name, if you don’t mind, I would like to take a bit of your blood and be able to touch you while you receive the name.
It will also be necessary to have some of your blood after you have received the name and experienced the effects of having done so.
If it’s not too much trouble, of course —I asked the group of ogres.
“Of course, sir, it’s no problem,” they all assured me.
“But if possible, I would like to know why,” the redhead asked me.
—Since we arrived in this village, I have been analyzing and gathering information on how the evolutions of different beings work.
I have done it in the hope of finding a method that will free me from the current limitations I possess.
—Limitations?
What limitations?
I didn’t know there was something wrong with you —Rimuru told me.
—It’s nothing serious.
Just like you, I possess more than one Unique skill, but due to the effects caused by one of them, the others are in a weakened state.
In fact, not long ago, I was able to lift the limitations of one of them thanks to research and training.
This strange ability is also responsible for my strange appearance, which is also responsible for both my physical body and my spiritual body being unstable.
That’s why I would like to have your blood; it would be very useful for my research —I finished explaining.
Now, some of you might think that saying all this wasn’t necessary and that it could cause me problems, but honestly, I saw it as a good opportunity.
Now that they knew what was happening to me, possible moves and requests I may ask in the future would be easier to accept and understand.
—Wow, I didn’t expect your situation to be so complicated.
And yet you were so strong, incredible —Rimuru told me.
—Haha, thanks for the compliment, buddy —I said with a light laugh.
“Sir, it will be no problem for us to assist you with your research, feel free to take as much blood as you see fit,” said the one who would soon be called Benimaru.
—Perfect.
Thank you —that was the last thing I said before approaching them.