[RIMURU] Before we throw our big party,
we have a few things to take care of first.
Souei. Tell us the results of your ecological survey.
Of course. I sent out body doubles
all over the Great Forest of Jura to investigate
and saw no causes for concern.
[RIMURU] Sweet.
There was one thing.
♪
[roar]
[SOUEI] A sword grizzly started causing havoc
in the northwest region of the forest.
♪
So I eliminated it.
[RIMURU] I see. Well, that's good news at least.
[RAPHAEL] Notice. Like the knight spider,
the sword grizzly is recommended
for adventurers of rank A minus.
[RIMURU] Wait, for real?
That's a rank most ordinary adventurers
wouldn't be able to do anything against!
- Indeed. - That sounds bad.
We should probably avoid sending the new recruits
to that area for their own safety.
It's not a problem.
Perhaps you are going too easy on them in training.
Regardless of the training,
that's a monster we can't let our guard down around!
Why not?
Maybe all you need to do is push them a bit harder.
- I have to agree. - You monsters!
Well, we are Oni.
[Hakurou, Kurobei chuckle]
[RIMURU] They have a point,
bulking up Gobta and his crew would definitely help.
But these monsters showing up is a real problem.
We have to ensure the safety of our visitors.
So we need to come up with some way to handle 'em.
In that case, this could be a good chance
to test out our new anti-magic barrier.
[RIMURU] Anti-magic barrier?
We just finished the prototype.
It took a bit to get it working,
but we made a fully automatic magic generator!
- [Kaijin chuckles] - [RIMURU] Wow!
[RIMURU] I knew you guys were secretly
cooking up a new invention.
Could you explain what it does?
Yes, it's a ground-breaking magical device
that automatically maintains any spell
that's been entered into it.
[RIMURU] Oh, so it's kinda like rune magic.
Right, but with drastically higher efficiency and utility.
To be honest, we were pretty much completely useless
during Falmuth's invasion of Tempest,
and we just couldn't live with that.
[RIMURU] It's pretty impressive to have a working prototype
in such a short amount of time!
These old dudes are incredible!
Kurobei and I did our best to help out
whenever we had free time as well!
That's right!
I occasionally helped consult with them, too.
[RIMURU] Ooh nice!
So it's like one big hot pot of Tempest's magic tech!
[VESTA] As a nation of monsters,
Tempest has a much higher than average concentration
of magicules present in the air.
So I had been mulling over ideas
for how we could use that to benefit us.
[VESTA] This fully automatic magic generator
is designed to function by utilizing the magicules
drifting around in the atmosphere
[RIMURU] Which we can use to put up an anti-magic barrier?
Yes, but...
it's got other features we think you'll like.
- [Kaijin chuckles] - [RIMURU] I'm happy
as long as it keeps monsters on the other side
of the barrier.
[RIMURU] What else can this bad boy do?
[KAIJIN] [laughing] Your mind's about to be blown, boss.
You see, this thing's got a magicule-accumulating device
built right into it.
By using this generator,
we can greatly lower the density of magicules
in the immediate area!
[RIMURU] Oh. This is literally just the thing we need
to solve our monster attack problem!
[VESTA] I'm glad to hear you're happy, Lord Rimuru.
However, this device still has flaws to be worked out.
If there aren't enough magicules in the air,
it's too inefficient to be useful and won't function.
But, with all the strong monsters living here,
I doubt it'll be a problem.
[RIMURU] If anything, it's perfect!
So this fully automatic magic generator
gathers up magicules from the atmosphere
to keep an anti-magic barrier up at all times?
Yeah, that's more or less how it functions.
But if there aren't enough magicules,
the functions cease,
which is why I designed it to accept an outside fuel source.
[RIMURU] And that would be?
It's a crystal made from absorbed magicules.
[KAIJIN] In other words, a magicrystal.
[RIMURU] Hmm.
[RIMURU] I could see using magistones,
but isn't it really inefficient to use
magicrystals as a fuel source?
[RAPHAEL] Answer.
When a magicrystal is converted to magic,
90% of its magicules go to waste.
Normally it would be,
but we've still got that rune magic
you created for us, remember?
[RIMURU] Oh, I getcha!
[VESTA] Thanks to that minimizing the amount
of magic wasted,
10% should be more than enough for our purposes.
[KAIJIN] And it's not like the wasted magicules
just disappear forever, you know.
[RIMURU] So we can reuse them then!
Wait, does this mean a perpetual motion machine
could be a possibility?
With reduced magicule density,
we'll have fewer monsters and spirit beasts popping up.
And the chances of anything spawning that Gobta's crew
can't handle will be dropped to pretty much zero!
You guys really knocked this outta the park.
It's perfect for our little nation of monsters!
[GABIRU] Mm-hmm.
I'm glad you're happy with the results, My Lord,
but we have one last thing to show you.
[RIMURU] Huh?!
Currently, this one is being used as an anti-magic barrier.
[grunts]
Please, allow me.
As you can see this disc has a magic engraving underneath,
and since it uses rune magic,
we're able to generate all kinds of spells with it.
[all gasp]
[RIMURU] This thing's like a magical record player!
I can't believe they made something like this
based on the vague image I gave them back then!
And if they're able to make a smaller version,
it may be possible to equip them one day!
Or they could make a bigger one that could generate magic
on a large enough scale to use in war!
[clears throat]
Now if I may, I have a proposal for how we might best utilize
these new magic generators of ours.
[VESTA] First, we can install them at even intervals
while we construct the roads
to ensure there aren't any holes in our coverage.
Then we can activate the anti-magic barrier,
and as long as the magicule density stays high,
we won't need to replace or swap out their fuel.
All they'll require is daily patrols
to ensure they're operating normally.
[RIMURU] You've really thought this through, huh?
These automatic magic generators are amazing!
So do you have the magic formula you need
to engrave these with already?
[chuckles]
Dord's putting on the finishing touches as we speak.
And we've already talked to Kurobei
about mass-producing the generators,
so we were just waiting on your approval.
That's right.
[RIMURU] Ah, gotcha.
Well, if you've got the time,
could you supervise everything, Vesta?
I have fewer classes to teach at the moment.
It would be my pleasure, Lord Rimuru.
[RIMURU] Great! Then you can start tomorrow!
Consider it done.
These magic discs are a bit heavy,
please allow me and my men to help install them.
Thank you Geld, I'd sincerely appreciate that.
- [Veldora laughs] - [ALL] Huh?
So once you've all finished putting in those boxes,
I don't have to hold back my aura anymore, right?
♪
[RIMURU] What are you, an idiot?
If you did that, most of the country would die!
[chuckles]
But, Rimuru, I've been restraining my aura
for what feels like forever now,
and it's starting to get tiring.
[RIMURU] Just deal with it, bro.
[Veldora groans]
I'm getting so worn out though.
[VELDORA] What's your secret, huh? Tell me!
[RIMURU] Secret? I just shove it into my stomach,
easy-peasy!
Man, that takes me back,
I only started suckin' it in after Rigurd told me
how it affected him and the other goblins.
But I guess thinking on it more now,
my unique skill Gluttony evolved into Beelzebuth
which increased my stomach's capacity exponentially!
Why you complainin'?
I thought this was nothing
for the likes of the Great Storm Dragon!
[DIABLO] Pardon me, Lord Rimuru.
- [RIMURU] Huh? - But to completely
conceal one's aura, as Lord Veldora does,
can be quite a difficult endeavor.
At times, even Sir Benimaru and the other Kijin
involuntarily leak a small amount.
See? Thank you, Diablo, I knew you'd understand me!
Because Lord Veldora possesses a great deal
more magicules than most,
he must constantly endeavor to suppress his aura.
[RIMURU] Wait, is that true?
Yep! So I figured if I could just release it somewhere,
then I wouldn't have to worry about it anymore!
- [explosion] - [RIMURU] Knowing Veldora,
I feel like the release he's talking about
would be more like a massive freakin' explosion!
Then a lot of dangerous monsters might spawn.
Maybe even some that are on the same level as Charybdis.
That would be a catastrophe.
Wait up. I'll give this situation more thought.
Hang tight for a little bit.
[VELDORA] Very well! I can hold out for a while longer,
but please try to hurry!
[RIMURU] Sheesh. Right when I thought
we had our monster issue sorted, an even louder,
more challenging problem pops up.
- [SHUNA] Here. - [RIMURU] Huh?
For you.
[RIMURU] Just goes to show that life
never goes how you planned.
Or I guess I should say "slife," huh?
[snoring]
[RIMURU] Okay! Now that I've heard all the reports.
For you.
Huh? What is this?
[RIMURU] I want you to take charge of constructing it.
It's the new capital for Milim and the others
I've been sketching in my free time.
I have faith you'll do the best job you can
and make it incredible.
So how 'bout it, think you're up to the task?
Oh. Lord Rimuru.
[RIMURU] Oops. Maybe that's too much pressure on him.
[KAIJIN] Mm.
You can leave it to us, boss!
I'll accompany Geld and lend him a helping hand.
I'll bring Myrd along as well
so there's no need to worry, Lord Rimuru,
we'll finish this project exactly as you imagined.
[RIMURU] Perfect.
With Kaijin involved, the work will be even better.
It's easy to stress about the fine details,
but just doing the thing helps you not sweat the small stuff.
Geld, I know you can do this.
And if you run into any trouble,
you can always come to me.
So try not to worry too much, okay?
But, My Lord, with such a monumental task,
failure would be unforgivable.
[RIMURU] It'll be fine, man!
Even if you do end up failing, you can always just try again!
At worst, the only thing we'd be losing are materials.
So it's no biggie.
Yeah, that's right!
Nothing happened when I messed up tha--
[RIMURU] What was that?
Well, that's news to me.
Come to my office later and you can debrief me, Gobta.
Hold on! Was this whole thing just some trick to trap me?
[laughter]
Thank you for your wisdom, Lord Rimuru.
I let fear cloud my judgments over such a trivial matter.
[GELD] So, please...
would you entrust this task to me?
[RIMURU] Sure! I'm counting on you.
[GELD] Mm.
How come Geld gets to do everything?
[RIMURU] He's the right man for the job.
Plus, you have an important job of your own.
- You mean cooking? - [RIMURU] In your dreams!
[RIMURU] Y-You're already doing a lot.
[chuckles] Why don't you leave the cooking to someone else?
He's got a point, Shion.
[BENIMARU] I mean, who else
is going to keep him safe while I'm away?
- I will! - [Rimuru sighs]
[RIMURU] I guess that about does it for today.
[gasps] Hey, wait, I almost forgot.
Diablo, please give us an update on Falmuth.
Right. Allow me to explain, My Lord.
I'll start with how Sir Youm is doing.
[DIABLO] Bargaining with both the royals and nobles
doesn't come naturally to him.
Which is why I've enlisted the help of Edmaris
to educate him in such matters.
Youm's got it pretty rough, huh?
If it were not for his past transgressions,
one might even say Edmaris
could make for a good potential ally.
[RIMURU] I'll take that into consideration.
And as for his brother, the new King Edward.
It would appear he's scheming something behind the curtains.
[RIMURU] Well, according to our intel,
it'll take them months to rebuild
and mobilize their army, right?
[chuckles]
That's correct, but even so,
I've employed measures to hurry things along.
[RIMURU] Wait. Are you sure we'll be prepared by then?
[DIABLO] It won't be a problem.
I've entrusted Sir Benimaru
with the task of rebuilding our army.
That's right! It's already complete!
Tempest now has a standing military force
to defend itself,
and a branch for covert operations.
In fact, we had so many volunteers
it was hard to decide who to pick.
[RIMURU] F-For real?
This isn't a picnic, guys.
There is but one more issue, My Lord,
though I think it not a problem.
[RIMURU] What's up?
[DIABLO] Reyheim has not yet returned from his mission.
[RIMURU] Oh, is that so?
You remembered to pass along my message to him, right?
Do you think it didn't actually make it to the Church?
Yes, My Lord.
[DIABLO] I gave Reyheim the crystal ball as instructed,
then had my subordinates escort him
to the capital of Engrassia.
Due to the surrounding barrier,
his escorts could not enter the city.
But they were able to confirm that
he was in fact allowed through the gates.
[RIMURU] Why Engrassia?
Engrassia and the Holy Empire of Ruberios
are connected to each other
by a special magical corridor known as a "Gate."
I instructed Reyheim to use it for faster travel.
[RAPHAEL] Notice.
A Gate is a magic circle that enables
instantaneous transmission between two points
via a special dimension.
[DIABLO] After his meeting, I told him to report back
the moment he returned.
[RIMURU] And since we haven't heard anything from him yet,
do you think they took him out to make sure he kept quiet?
No, My Lord, I would know immediately if his life ended.
With the effects of my unique skill, Tempter,
if someone were to die while under its effects,
their soul is forfeit unto me.
[RIMURU] Well, I'm glad he's still alive, at least.
I was afraid they'd try to silence him to make sure
we looked like the bad guys.
That does kinda suck, though.
It's hard to plan our next move
when we don't know the status of Reyheim's mission.
My deepest apologies.
I would infiltrate the Holy Empire were it safer.
[RIMURU] No, you're all good!
We don't want them to get the wrong idea.
Sending you in might provoke Hinata,
and I wanna avoid that.
That woman is trouble.
[RIMURU] My message to the Western Holy Church
was that I was willing to let bygones be bygones.
I may have thrown in a little bit of sass, too,
but that's just part of the charm.
It would be ideal if they chose to coexist with us
instead of turning hostile.
But I think Diablo's plan is a really solid one.
It would be bad if the Church decided to act against us.
[BENIMARU] Personally, I say we settle things here
and now rather than leave them to chance.
I still find it suspicious
Lord Rimuru was attacked by Hinata
at the same time Falmuth launched their assault.
Surely that wasn't just a coincidence,
and there is someone who orchestrated those events.
[SHUNA] From what you said about Walpurgis,
Clayman mentioned something about not working alone, right?
[RIMURU] Yeah, there was another he mentioned.
In that case, we mustn't rule out the possibility
that whoever he is might act as well.
He poses a threat that we can't afford to overlook
[RIMURU] I agree.
If whoever he is were to get involved,
then there's a chance Hinata will act as well.
But something about this doesn't make sense.
I can't shake this feeling that I'm missing something.
♪
Hold on a sec.
What if Hinata attacked me not only because she wanted to,
but because somebody else ordered her to?
[all gasp]
How do you mean?
[RIMURU] Well, now having said that out loud,
I can't really imagine Hinata
actually following anyone's orders.
[all gasp]
From everything I've heard about her,
she only acts on the will of the God she worships,
and that God is Luminus.
[VELDORA] Hmm. The God's name is Luminus, is it?
I've heard Hinata won't even listen to the commands
of the cloistered emperor, believe it or not.
[RIMURU] Yeah, that tracks.
When I tried to explain the situation with Shizu,
she wouldn't listen to a word I said.
So she can only be controlled by her God, huh?
Hold on. Does that mean Luminus is behind all this?
[RIMURU] I'm not sure, it's also possible
someone could have tricked her.
If she was coerced into attacking you
and not forced, it couldn't have been Luminus.
[RIMURU] My thoughts exactly.
Whoever he is, he manipulated the Kingdom of Falmuth,
had Demon Lord Clayman working for him,
and tried to have Tempest destroyed.
But despite all that,
he wasn't capable of getting Hinata to do as he pleased.
[DIABLO] And that is the reason why you believe
the Western Holy Church will not act against our nation.
Is that correct, Lord Rimuru?
[RIMURU] Yeah, it wouldn't make sense
I've made it super clear that I don't want to have
a hostile relationship with them.
And on top of that,
I seriously doubt Hinata is dumb enough to attack Tempest
while me and Veldora are around.
Hinata attacked me because of Shizu,
but she also said our city was in her way.
I figured it was just because the Western Holy Church
has it out for monsters.
But maybe there's more to it than that.
[RAPHAEL] Notice. The chance that multiple motives
are in play has increased.
On the surface, it would appear all these events are connected.
However, I surmise
that they were not the product of a single will.
[RIMURU] So you're saying...
Answer. All involved nations, individuals, circumstances,
and other factors,
appear to have aligned goals and interests,
but there are contradictions.
It would be unwise to unify them all
as the will of a single mastermind.
[RIMURU] I see.
So it's more likely to be multiple parties
rather than one entity.
When you put it that way, it makes sense.
We were an obstacle in Clayman's plans.
But he also tried to use us at the same time.
I'm sure he would've been thrilled
if Hinata and I had destroyed each other.
I, along with Tempest,
was a thorn in the Kingdom of Falmuth's side.
So they were probably hoping
she would eliminate me for them.
As for Hinata, she'd want to avenge Shizu
while also upholding the Church's doctrine,
so there was no way she'd ignore me.
That's where all three of their motives align,
and where things were set in motion.
But in the end, I escaped from Hinata,
Falmuth was defeated, and Clayman was killed.
Whoever this "he" is,
I bet you he's busy trying to rebuild his forces right now.
Given his current situation,
would he really try to fight me head-on?
[RAPHAEL] Answer. It is unlikely
he will take that action.
Were his power on par with that of Clayman,
he surely would have intervened at an earlier stage.
[RIMURU] In other words,
he won't come after me directly.
There's no reason someone who's been hiding all this time
would suddenly try to make a move.
[RAPHAEL] Notice. You must not forget,
there remains a high possibility
that multiple people are at work in the shadows.
[RIMURU] That's a good point.
If there are other masterminds,
things could be happening regardless
of if Hinata is on board or not.
Mm.
With multiple interests at play here,
we shouldn't assume that
Hinata cannot be manipulated into action.
Is that what you're implying, My Lord?
[RIMURU] Right as usual, Diablo.
I'm starting to wonder if maybe we were mistaken.
Mistaken how, My Lord?
[RIMURU] It's like Diablo just said.
Multiple interests mean multiple parties involved.
And because each of them likely has a different end-goal,
they aren't on the same page.
- Oh, I see! - As brilliant as ever, My Lord!
Then could it be possible that the mastermind Clayman
mentioned is conspiring with them?
[RIMURU] I don't know about that,
but it'd be dangerous to act on assumptions
when we have such little information.
If it's true that Hinata acted out
of some sense of obligation, then things make more sense.
[KUROBEI] Agreed.
[chuckles]
Then I believe there's one more matter
that requires further investigation.
I'm told it was merchants who gave Edmaris
and the others their information.
But given what we've uncovered,
that seems extremely dubious.
[RIMURU] Hang on, you said merchants?
Is something the matter, My Lord?
[RIMURU] When a nation gets ready to go to war,
their spending pretty much shoots through the roof.
So I'm thinking that it's entirely possible
that those merchants could be pulling the strings
behind the scenes in order to turn a profit.
I see.
♪
Hmm.
Shuna.
[RIMURU] Check the ledgers we recovered
from Clayman's castle for the records
of all merchants who visited there.
I'll take care of it.
[RIMURU] Diablo. I want you to look into anyone
who's done business with Falmuth.
It would be my pleasure, My Liege.
[RIMURU] Benimaru, put our reinforcements on standby.
Make sure they're ready for anything, okay?
Yes. Leave it to me.
[RIMURU] Rigurd, we're gonna throw a grand festival.
I'm leaving all the preparations to you!
I won't fail you, Lord Rimuru!
[RIMURU] Geld, do your best
on the projects you've been assigned.
You got it!
[RIMURU] Hakurou, you'll be Benimaru's aide.
Of course.
[RIMURU] Gabiru, help Rigurd out.
- Sir! - [RIMURU] Rigur,
go ahead and review the city's security
so we'll be ready for all the species that'll be visiting.
You can count on me.
As for you, Shion.
Let's see, uh. Uh.
[whimpering]
Oh, yeah! You can escort me, along with Ranga! 'Kay?
- Right! - [RANGA] Thank you, Master!
[RANGA] I shall protect you!
[RIMURU] That was a close one.
And me?
That's right, Veldora.
[RIMURU] Your job is to stay out of everyone's way.
Yes, my specialty!
[RIMURU] Is it though?
Oh, and, Gobta.
[snores]
I know you might be sleepy,
but don't forget to stop by my office, got it?
Huh!
[all laugh]
[RIMURU] And with that, regardless of my ascension
to Demon Lord, our meeting ended like they always do.
[door opens]
[HINATA] Thank you for waiting.
It's time for us to begin.
[RAPHAEL] Next time. "Meeting of Both Sides."