130. A suddent Invitation

The operation to subjugate Yuuki ended in a failure.

But taking advantage of what we could, we reestablished the Freedom a.s.sociation in our favor.

Thanks to our efforts in removing Yuuki and his observers, the transition was smooth.

In the end, a single templar was left in each branch, and thus a new control system was created with the Western Saint’s Church at the head.

And the Church beginning changing its language and structure to more of a “spirit wors.h.i.+p.”

Then there’s the Free Arbitration Committee.

A new organization Freedom a.s.sociation and the Western Saints created.

Unlike the Council–the International Council, I mean–which operates by electing delegates, the Committee–Free Arbitration Committee–is composed of Freedom a.s.sociation guild masters.

Once it was established it became a method for countries to negotiate on neutral grounds.

Sakaguchi Hinata was appointed as the first Committee Chair.

And since the Church and Templars refused to run for this office, her appointment was rather welcoming.

Furthermore, according to the information the templars collected, there were no visible dissenters at the moment at the branches. I mean, we demon lords–Ramiris and I in particular–tend to operate behind the scenes, but there’s a surprising lack of opposition even when we act openly.

Thus, after establis.h.i.+ng this organization, we were able to join the countries surrounding Jura forest with two unions–the Council and the Committee.

You need strong bonds between nations in a large union.

That was the state of the world a month after the failed subjugation attempt.

Of course, while everyone was busy establis.h.i.+ng these new organization I was not just playing around.

Three days after the failed subjugation attempt he appeared.

Ripping through Ingracia Kingdom’s barrier, clad in silver armor, he appeared,

Silver Knight Alrose.

Introducing himself as a servant of the Platinum Devil Leon Cromwell, he handed me a letter.

It was an invitation.

As he had promised, he invited me over.

But… why now?

「My master wishes to discuss matters regarding the “Hero” with you, Rimuru-sama」

After Alrose said so, I got an idea of what was in store.

The letter came after the hero was fully awakened–surely that was the cause.

Perhaps Leon knows something about Chloe. It seems they crossed blades once, so perhaps there is something he knows that we do not.

I decided to accept the invitation. In any case, I’ve yet to complain on s.h.i.+zu-san’s behalf.

Though it all depends on his intentions from now on.

「Alright. I’m accepting the invitation」

「Your kind words are wasted upon us. My master shall be most pleased. Please, this way」

Alrose had a helmet on the whole time so I have no idea what kind of face he was making, but he certainly sounded happy about it; oh, and he teleported away.

Instant teleportation can be used by many high level devils. Even if he was using predetermined coordinates, it’s still a big deal.

By the way, those who can teleport to any place (even those they haven’t visited) are overwhelmingly high existences. Even among my subordinates only Diablo can do it… probably. It’s not a skill you can use unless you’ve got a spiritual body.

The way it works is: Shadow Step –> Spatial Transfer –> Teleport.

You could also move using magic circles, but the previous three are skills, not magic.

I have been using skills and magic interchangeably so I didn’t even notice, but seems that there is a difference. I mean, Hinata said there was, and she must be right.

Spatial transfer requires you to open a door and step into it to travel. It’s not something you can use during combat. As for Teleportation magic, it instantaneously creates and executes a magic circle allowing for instant travel. It can be used to avoid enemy attacks and such, so those who can use teleport are rather strong.

But since it’s usually only limited to your starting point and a previously visited location, this skill by no means decides the opponent’s skill.

By the way, even the lowest spatial magic should be pretty instantaneous, so one can’t let his guard down.

The second Silver Knight Alrose disappeared a magic circle appeared where he stood. In other words, that’s what I needed to use to get there.

Magic knight, spatial magic master, and I bet he’s pretty d.a.m.n skilled with his teleport abilities.

d.a.m.n you Leon, you’ve got good subordinates.

I guess I should go and bestow teleporting on Benimaru, s.h.i.+on, and the rest.

As I am now I feel I could bestow skills without a problem, and it may increase our war potential.

So I thought while as Alrose disappeared.

As a side note, Hinata can also teleport. But, since it uses so much magical energy, she can’t at the moment.

But considering her ability to do so chantlessly: I can finally appreciate her actual strength.

Although she can no longer use her『Mathematician』ability, she’s still a genius magician.

She did become weaker, but not as much as she herself claims… though that’s a secret for now.

＊ ＊ ＊

And thus I came.

The land Leon rules is more of a continent than an island. It’s surprisingly wide, and has towns divided into districts.

Forest, Field, Lake, River, and Mountain districts.

Every sector is protected via a magic circle.

An artificially created land of nature and tranquility–a magic city.

That is the land of Demon Lord Leon Cromwell–El Dorado.

「Yo… this is kind of amazing」

I muttered.

「Hahaha, you are too kind. My master will be pleased to hear such praise」

Alrose replied happily as he guided us.

Right now, his helmet is off and beautiful silver hair falls on his back.

Though he looks like a girl, it’s a guy. He is the Captain of the Magic Knights.

So it’s no small wonder Leon trusts him so much.

But, this country truly is build wonderfully. The streets glimmer as if made of gold.

Every building was placed with care, and a spiral castle reaches into the heavens.

If you looked from above, you would notice that a giant magic circle is created using the city itself. In other words, other than those who can look from above, the circle is invisible.

The circle is supplied with energy from the citizens themselves. Such careful construction tickles my pride a bit.

No question about it: Tempest is a beautiful country. But we did not incorporate magic into the land itself.

And that bothers me a bit now.

「Rimuru-sama, what is so amazing?」

s.h.i.+on walking behind me asked.

Even though she should have an overhead view, she has not noticed. Just shows how elaborate this construction is.

「This city creates a single giant magic circle.

The city is blessed with “Counter Magic” and “Enemy Radar” as a result.

It will alert them if there are any intruders. Though it seals magic attacks, that which enters it probably bounces back.

Just imagine being attacked with large scale magic: it’s an automatic win for the city.

I wonder if we should copy it in Tempest?」

「Oh? That does sound amazing, though I don’t really get it」

「Hahaha, as expected. Though you have not looked from above, you have noticed so much.

Nothing could be hidden from your eyes. You are correct; this city prides itself in its absolute magical barrier」

Alrose proudly replied.

s.h.i.+on seriously doesn’t get it. I guess she just doesn’t recognize magic. So it’s not surprising that she can’t understand it.

I wonder how hard it was to create a city that encompa.s.sed two magic circles.

Just creating one would have certainly been a pain, but here they have two; and he had to account for future development too. It’s too amazing.

But, this is a way for me to have some fun. I will definitely implement the same in my country.

Once we left the magic circle room, the hallways were made of cla.s.s.

The distant scenery was filled with flowing rivers and waterfalls in beautiful designs.

d.a.m.n him! This city is pretty.

I can’t help but accept it, but it does make me jealous–which then fuels my creativity!

And after walking ten minutes,

We were guided into one of the rooms in the Royal Palace.

The items are clearly luxury ones, and certainly of good quality. Color pattern is white and gold.

Certainly not poorly designed–he’s got good taste.

I guess it’s meant not to intimidate people into a heart attack. And just as the exterior is decorated in beautiful gold, so is the interior.

In short: it doesn’t make a visitor nervous, and that’s something I feel I could easily imitate.

As for s.h.i.+on: the moment she walked in, she sat down, started munching on snacks and sipping tea; completely unaffected.

Hmm? Shouldn’t it be the other way around? Shouldn’t I be like that?

Ignore that. If you notice that kind of thing you lose.

「Rimuru-sama, these sweets are really good. And not poisoned, please have some!」

s.h.i.+on said handing me some sweets.

To think that that cook s.h.i.+on would be talking about poison… what irony. Besides, poison doesn’t affect me.

And like that we waited for 10 minutes,

Until this country’s ruler, Leon Cromwell appeared.

「Did you wait long? Thank you for accepting an invitation on such short notice」

He said and sat in a chair in front of me.

He’s dressed even rougher than I remembered, and he speaks plainly.

Crossing his legs, he certainly looks like he belongs in a movie.

Though Alrose is certainly handsome, Leon can only be described as beautiful.

Of course, that doesn’t please me too much.

But leaving the matter of his manhood aside, let’s return to the main question.

I told him about s.h.i.+zu’s last moments.

「Is that so… She lived longer than I had predicted」

Leon replied plainly.

But that did not infuriate me. Perhaps because I had noticed something,

「Hey, did you have Ifrit possess her to save her life?」

「Who knows? I may have done something of the sort; I don’t remember」

Leon replied closign his eyes.

But it’s clear that he’s a c.r.a.ppy actor.

「Hmph… whatever. I got it.

Oh, and Ramiris mentioned something interesting: you’re a crybaby?」

When I said so, Leon’s face twisted in despair.

「That d.a.m.n brat… next time I’ll rip her wings off」

He said angrily.

Well, seems like it wasn’t a lie.

「I’ll let her know.

Oh, and you said something about summoning a special individual, is that right?」

That’s when the room got silent.

After some time had pa.s.sed, Leon gravely opened his mouth.

「That is so.

And that matter is connected to the reason I asked for you today」

Leon said and glanced at s.h.i.+on.

I nodded,

「s.h.i.+on, this conversation is a little complicated.

Please go help out Alrose with something, could you?」

I said asking s.h.i.+on to leave.

「By all means. s.h.i.+on-san, please help me in the preparation room」

Leon directed Alrose to say so with a glance.

s.h.i.+on silently nodded and followed Alrose out of the room.

And thus I was alone with Leon in the room.

After confirming this fact,

「Do you know a little girl named Chloe?」

Leon asked.

Yup, everything is connected.

I wasn’t surprised that Leon said this name.

Perhaps I had predicted such an outcome after listening to Hinata and Ruminas.

That explains who requested Yuuki’s services for the summoning and why the conditions were as they were.

That is, why children were being summoned and why most were girls>

He was looking for Chloe from the very beginning: s.h.i.+zu-san and the rest were simply a by-product.

But what came afterward from Leon’s lips completely blew my mind.