I looked at Shion with a mixture of disbelief and resignation.
True to form, the purple-haired woman had just backed us into a corner without even realizing it, looking proud as if she had done us the ultimate favor.
“Wait a minute, Shion!” Rimuru exclaimed, practically flailing in panic as he tried to squirm out of her embrace.
“Don’t go setting us up for things like that!
We haven’t even agreed on anything yet!”
Shion looked at both of us with an expression of pure, innocent confusion, tilting her head to the side.
“Is there a problem, Lord Rimuru?
Lord Kaelion?” she asked with complete naturalness.
“You both possess such overwhelming strength.
An army of Orcs should be nothing more than a minor inconvenience.”
“That’s not the damn point…” Rimuru muttered, his shoulders slumping in defeat before he turned to glare at me with narrowed eyes.
“And don’t you just stand there smiling, Kael!
Say something!
Help me get out of this!”
“Hey, don’t drag me into your little dilemmas,” I said, shrugging with a teasing grin.
“I already said it’s fine by me.
Besides, look at everyone…
it’s way too late for us to back out now.”
I cast a quick glance around the room.
The other Kijin—Benimaru, Hakurou, Souei, and Shuna—were looking at us with deep respect and expectation.
And don’t even get me started on Treyni, who maintained a perfectly serene smile of victory on her face.
The Dryad knew exactly what she was doing.
“So…
may I take that as an acceptance of my request?” Treyni asked softly, joining her hands in front of her in an elegant gesture.
Rimuru let out a sigh so long and heavy it seemed to completely deflate his slime body.
He knew there was no escape.
If he rejected the request now, not only would he look bad in front of Treyni and the forest alliance, but he would also shatter the image Shion and the others had of him.
“Ah…
jeez,” Rimuru finally grumbled, scratching the back of his head, even if slime form.
“Fine.
We’ll accept the quest to defeat the Orc Lord.
But under one condition.”
“A condition?” Treyni repeated, remaining calm.
“We’ll take the lead in fighting the Orcs, but we need everyone’s cooperation.
Goblins, Ogre survivors, Lizardmen…
everyone.”
I crossed my arms, pleased.
Just as I remembered, Rimuru always finds a way to turn a headache into a massive political opportunity, I thought to myself.
“Sounds like a good plan to me,” I added.
“Alright, now pay attention to this,” Rimuru said.
Rimuru spread a map over the central table and gestured for everyone to step closer.
My eyes were already heavy with accumulated fatigue from the meeting, but seeing the sudden gravity on his slime face, I decided to pay attention.
“Look at this position,” Rimuru said, pointing to a specific spot in the marshland region.
“There’s something strange about Gabiru’s troop movements.”
“Gabiru?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Is that flamboyant guy still trying to recruit everyone by force?”
“Exactly.
But it’s worse,” Rimuru continued in an analytical tone.
“He’s not positioning his forces to help his tribe against the main Orc army.
Based on this route, he’s planning a coup d’état to overthrow the Lizardman Chieftain while their main army is distracted at the front.”
“An impressive deduction, Lord Rimuru,” Hakurou chimed in, nodding slowly while resting a hand on the hilt of his katana.
“A commander who lets arrogance blind him will only bring ruin to his people.”
“I agree,” Benimaru added, scrutinizing the lines on the map with a grim expression.
“Moving troop formations like that in the middle of an invasion is suicide…
or treason.”
“If someone is pushing Gabiru to commit such foolishness, I shall investigate it myself,” Treyni offered, tilting her head slightly with serene poise.
Rimuru nodded before tapping the table lightly to command everyone’s attention.
“Alright, here is our plan of action,” he declared firmly.
“Souei!” Rimuru called.
The blue-haired ninja gave a swift nod to signal his attention.
“I need you to head to the marshlands immediately.
Use your Shadow Motion and negotiate an alliance of equals directly with the Lizardman Chieftain.”
“Understood, Lord Rimuru.
Consider it done,” Souei replied before sinking into the shadows without leaving a trace.
“If the alliance goes through, we execute Plan A,” Rimuru continued.
“We’ll lead an advance force to fight alongside the Lizardmen and crush the Orc army right there in the marshes.”
“And in case things get messy, I assume there’s a Plan B, right?” I chimed in, crossing my arms as I leaned against the wall.
“Of course.
“If the battle turns sour or the alliance fails, we’ll evacuate the village toward the sacred territory of the Treants.
At the same time, we’ll request intervention from the Adventurer’s Guild and the human kingdoms through Kabal.”
“Also, make sure to leak rumors of the Orc Lord’s appearance through the Kobold merchants,” Rimuru ordered, looking at the others.
“We need that information circulating in the human nations as soon as possible.”
Damn, not bad at all, I thought with a trace of admiration.
For a former salaryman, Rimuru was turning into a pretty competent strategist, even if I had been giving him a fair amount of help.
I guess talent shines through in the end.
“Thank you very much, Lord Rimuru, Lord Kaelion.
The forest is in good hands,” Treyni said with an elegant bow before gradually dissolving into a gentle breeze filled with green leaves.
With the Dryad’s departure and Souei’s exit, the suffocating meeting finally came to an end.
“Finally!” I exclaimed, letting out a long sigh of relief as I stretched.
“I thought I’d die of boredom before the Orc Lord even got the chance to attack us.”
Rimuru, however, remained staring silently at the tent entrance.
I knew exactly what was running through his head.
An Orc Lord wasn’t just some run-of-the-mill threat, let alone one capable of stealing and consuming its victims’ abilities.
It was a true monster.
“It’s dangerous, isn’t it?” Rimuru muttered to himself, clenching his small slime fists.
“It is.
But it’s nothing we can’t handle,” I told him, giving his gelatinous back a light pat.
“Besides, did you already forget the promise you made to Shizu?”
Rimuru stayed silent for a second, looked at me, and then broke into a wide, determined smile.
“Yeah…
you’re right.
I won’t fail here.
I’m going to fight with everything I’ve got!”
With business concluded for the day, everyone said their goodbyes and went off to attend to their respective duties.
In theory, after Souei visited the Lizardman Chieftain, we were supposed to assist in the battle seven days later, but thanks to Gabiru’s betrayal, things would be accelerated to just four days.
While Rimuru and the others carried out their assigned tasks, I planned to master Shunpo as much as possible.
I also wanted to have a serious sparring match against my black-haired bodyguard.
I should be able to manage both without any trouble, and I also wanted to see how much the second royal guard had improved through her own training.
Thinking about the war coming up in four days, I doubted I’d be able to gather much information.
Maybe I’d try some random idea that popped into my head over the next few days in hopes of getting something out of it, but I didn’t think there’d be enough time.
Ah well, I’d make do with whatever I managed to get.
Now, time to train like crazy over these next few days.