\u201cAll right,\u201d I said, smiling a bit as I assuaged Veldora, \u201clet\u2019s leave it at that for now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Empire is dangerous, we concluded, so it was time to move on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Next came the memories of Chronoa, as far as Chloe could recall them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After the Empire defeated Veldora, the world plunged into a great war, East pitted against West. It dragged along, the Eastern Empire holding the advantage\u2014and in the midst of this, Milim made her move. My death must have antagonized her against the Empire, and she wasn\u2019t afraid to demonstrate her hostility. That made Guy intervene, and once again, we had Milim vs Guy, the world\u2019s worst possible matchup. Daggrull and Luminus also clashed on the battlefield, apparently, spreading the flames of war further.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At this point, Chronoa fought against someone and lost her life. She had sped into battle, fighting as far as her spirit could take her. All that remained was her Will of Destruction, so she was mowing down the big and powerful left and right. As a result, she didn\u2019t remember who finally bested her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAnd only so many people have what it takes to beat Chronoa, huh?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGuy, I\u2019d imagine.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt could only be Guy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Luminus and Leon immediately replied to my musing, and I agreed with them. We didn\u2019t know how the fight between Guy and Milim panned out, but really, Guy was the only person capable of killing Chronoa. Or maybe not, for all we knew. We had no idea what Guy\u2019s motive could\u2019ve been.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSo what made Chronoa so supportive of me, then?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite what Chloe told us, I still didn\u2019t see how Chronoa and I were connected. She was resurrected after I died; we never would\u2019ve met each other, but clearly she had a thing<\/em> for me. I may not be too quick on the uptake, but even I<\/em> would notice that much\u2014and that was true from the very beginning, wasn\u2019t it? She even gave me a big hug and a kiss after I summoned her for Chloe. Why all that the first time?<\/em> I\u2019d thought, but I suppose Chronoa had her reasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWell\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBecause you saved me, Rimuru<\/em>,\u201d Chronoa said, finishing Chloe\u2019s thought. \u201cIn the future world, where all I did was rampage, you were the one who saved me. I\u2019m sure of it.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHey! I was about to say that!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOh, let me at least tell him that much. I\u2019m you as well, after all, so it\u2019s the same thing, isn\u2019t it?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n To the outside observer, it looked like Chloe had a particularly flashy multiple personality disorder. Apparently Chronoa butted into conversations whenever Chloe let her guard down. I\u2019m sure they both had a lot to get used to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The two of them proceeded to take turns talking. According to Chloe\u2019s (or Chronoa\u2019s) memory, I apparently wasn\u2019t so dead in the future after all. The Empire defeated me\u2014we were certain of that\u2014but it looked like I managed to come back to life somehow. Which\u2026 Neat, I guess? I can\u2019t speak for myself, but my faithful friend Raphael would never make a mistake. It sounded like Raphael took its damn time, but in the end, it still found a way to keep me alive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n By that point, though, the world had changed profoundly. Veldora was gone; Tempest was in ruins. A massive war had erupted between East and West, and demon lords were waging bloody battles for supremacy over one another. In which case, I could pretty easily imagine my feelings about the whole situation. I\u2019m me<\/em>, after all, and chances are I\u2019d devote myself to tracking down anyone who survived. Maybe I couldn\u2019t rescue everybody, but I could at least lend a hand to those I was closely connected to. That was just what I did, it turned out, and in the end, I found Chloe\/Chronoa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chronoa\u2019s recollections were too fragmented to answer the bigger questions, but either way, we had a grasp of the general flow. I ran into Chronoa, fighting her on multiple occasions, and I\u2019m sure I managed to win her over again. But as Chronoa told me, the fate of the world was already sealed by then.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAs you all predicted, I fought against Guy. I don\u2019t remember the events leading up to that, but I\u2019m positive Rimuru wasn\u2019t there. Then, just as I was about to die, Rimuru held me close\u2014and the next thing I knew, I saw Rimuru and Chloe from the past.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n So Guy was there after all; that didn\u2019t surprise me. The question was what exactly happened before Chronoa\u2019s death\u2026but I presumed that was where her journey back through time began. However, that still didn\u2019t adequately explain how she arrived at Chloe\u2019s time line. Maybe there was a chance I did something to engineer that?<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHad I evolved into a demon lord by that point?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYep. And you were even more powerful than you are now.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Uh, hang on, can she tell that just by looking at me? I liked to think I was pretty strong at this point, but it was hard to believe Chronoa would misjudge someone\u2019s prowess. I suppose losing my closest friends drove me to do some pretty wild stuff. Now, of course, none of this had any bearing on me at the moment, but we did<\/em> have the Empire to think about. Maybe I should\u2019ve viewed this more optimistically. Like, I still had room to grow\u2014that sort of thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Regardless, if I was stronger than I was now, my Great Sage must\u2019ve made the transformation to Raphael by this time. If so, I could totally see it doing something wacky like transmitting the memories from Chronoa\u2019s spirit into the young Chloe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2026<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Ha! Can\u2019t deny it, huh?<\/p>\n\n\n\n And now, I felt, I had a handle on what happened in the future. \u201cHey, all\u2019s well that ends well, right?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat\u2019s a pretty casual approach to take,\u201d Hinata snapped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOh, don\u2019t be that way,\u201d I replied, giving the sneering Hinata a gentle smile. \u201cChloe\u2019s just fine, as you can see, and Veldora\u2019s already been resurrected. All we gotta do is keep an eye on those two, and we won\u2019t have to worry about them going berserk. So the only problem left to deal with is the Empire, isn\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIndeed,\u201d said Luminus. \u201cIf Daggrull decides to attack me, I will take care of him. You saved Chloe for me\u2014it is the least I can do to repay the favor.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Luminus and Chloe really did seem to get along. Now my stock with the emperor was skyrocketing. I suppose this meant we could enjoy an even better relationship than before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Daggrull\u2019s ambitions were one issue to tackle, but Luminus was willing to shoulder that burden without me having to ask, promising me she\u2019d endeavor to keep the West peaceful. The Western Nations were, technically speaking, part of Luminus\u2019s domain\u2014there were some skirmishes with Guy\u2019s forces in certain areas, but that was more a pastime for Guy, nothing serious. Luminus must\u2019ve concluded that it wasn\u2019t worth obsessing over. Instead, Daggrull was the bigger problem, and she had been on the lookout for a while, wondering when hostilities with him might break out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIf we\u2019ve fought in the future,\u201d Luminus said, \u201cthere is a good chance he\u2019ll take advantage of any moves the Empire makes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I wasn\u2019t so sure of that. \u201cYeah, but Daggrull\u2019s sons are living here in Tempest, don\u2019t forget. I doubt he\u2019d resort to force that<\/em> readily.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n If Daggrull rolled into combat, there had to be a reason for it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHuh? Daggrull\u2019s sons? Is that true?\u201d Luminus demanded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSure is. They\u2019re trainin\u2019 hard under Shion at the moment,\u201d I replied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat they are,\u201d Shion briskly interjected. \u201cThey have much left to learn, but they have<\/em> started to earn their keep as of late. I\u2019ve occasionally rewarded their efforts with some of my home cooking, and they cried tears of joy over it. I found it quite charming, I\u2019ll add.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tears of joy? I dunno about that. I mean, sure, if a girl you have a crush on cooks for you, that\u2019d make anyone happy\u2026but that cooking had to be edible<\/em>, for one. But\u2014hey\u2014if you could deal with its appearance and texture, Shion\u2019s meals had grown surprisingly consumable. So maybe we were good there? If they<\/em> weren\u2019t complaining, it was nothing I needed to comment on. Let\u2019s leave it at that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hearing that Daggrull\u2019s sons were in this nation made Luminus give me an astonished kinda look, but it was gone in an instant. She recovers fast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThen it is true, I suppose. Perhaps Daggrull was being coerced by another\u2026but then, this is the future, so using the past tense is rather silly. He might<\/em> be coerced by someone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n A war would take place in the future, but at the moment, things were pretty peaceful. Daggrull must\u2019ve had some reason to harbor dreams of territorial expansion. He didn\u2019t seem like that<\/em> much of a villain when I met him at Walpurgis. Maybe I\u2019d chat with Daggra and his brothers to see what I could find out. If there was some kind of problem, I\u2019d be happy to talk about it\u2014that\u2019d beat fighting a war over it any day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cRight. I\u2019ll investigate that on my end,\u201d I assured Luminus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI will hold you to that. I have no interest in fighting a futile war, after all.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n So we decided to examine the Daggrull issue and make a decision later. It\u2019d suck to have him working in tandem with the Empire, so just in case, Luminus would keep a close eye on him, too. Louis and Gunther nodded their approval, so I felt the task was safe in their hands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat leaves Guy to discuss\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019d like to talk about that, if I could.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n There was no point complaining to Guy about what he would do in the future, but I still had my concerns. It was best, I thought, to explain matters to him as well. How deep I should go with him, of course, was another thorny issue\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n But Veldora suddenly jumped in. \u201cGuy is an Arbitrator. He\u2019s nothing to me right now, but long, long ago, I have a vague hunch that he might have annihilated me\u2014or something to that effect. Or not at all, even. It hardly counts if nobody remembers it, right?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I wasn\u2019t sure where to begin with this little confession. What did he mean, Guy was an Arbitrator? And they fought at some point in the past\u2014and Veldora got \u201cannihilated\u201d? That was news to me. Also, having it not count because you don\u2019t remember it sounded like a dumb excuse even for a young child, but I didn\u2019t want to dog-pile on him, so I kept quiet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHoh,\u201d remarked Luminus. \u201cGuy has his wiser side, I see.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAn Arbitrator?\u201d Leon paused a moment. \u201cGuy is certainly not allied with humankind, but he\u2019s not hostile to them, either. If he killed Chronoa in the future, it\u2019s easy to surmise that Chronoa was little more than her Will of Destruction at that point, and Guy saw her as a threat to the world\u2019s continued existence.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSo what\u2019s this Arbitrator stuff about?\u201d It seemed like I was the only one out of the loop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAn Arbitrator,\u201d Luminus explained, \u201cis part of a separate system from Heroes and demon lords. Their mission is to prevent the destruction of the world. It is said they speak for Veldanava himself, the creator and Star-King Dragon.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIndeed. The Star-King, my elder brother, created this world, and he set up this system so nobody would go around ripping it apart.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Aha. And so Veldora was annihilated after trying to do just that. Now<\/em> it made sense\u2014it proved that the True Dragon definitely did<\/em> wake back up at that point in the future. I wasn\u2019t so sure Veldora lost his memory of it, but I was better off not bringing it up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSo that\u2019s how it is? In that case, I don\u2019t think Guy\u2019s likely to target Chloe right now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cUh-huh. I mean, I remember Chronoa going crazy, and, um, I don\u2019t have any personal thing against the demon lord Guy, so\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hinata and Chloe seemed convinced as well, smiling as they chatted about this. As long as nobody went berserk, it seemed like we could avoid conflict with Guy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWell, in that case, should we let Leon discuss this with Guy?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cRight,\u201d Leon replied. \u201cMy and Chloe\u2019s futures are riding on this, after all.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHang on, Leon. You\u2019re not involved in this.\u201d Chloe, with all her innocent, childlike looks, could be downright scary when chiding Leon like that. I felt kind of bad for him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Leon was this really handsome, cool-looking dude, but I guess he got the villain treatment a lot of the time, as his entire relationship with Shizu attested to. But between his tongue-tied ways and knack for painting himself in a bad light, I felt like maybe he was just really misunderstood. To put it succinctly, he was like Masayuki, except the exact opposite.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chloe treated him like a friendly neighborhood boy, a big brother\u2013like figure. Nothing romantic, though\u2014apparently Leon had always been popular with the ladies, and perhaps thanks to that, Chloe never picked up on the love he had for her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thinking about it, I had to pity him. For once in my life, I decided to try showing him a little more kindness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n So I\u2019d call this summit a success. Both demon lords had pledged to support me. We just needed to stay alert for the Empire, and beyond that, we\u2019d each figure out the next moves to make. But right when I was about to adjourn:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cP-please, just one moment! He has guests! They\u2019re in the middle of an important meeting!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOh? I\u2019m impressed that you spotted me barging in. But since I\u2019m here and all, mind if I say my hellos?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n There was a clamor down the hall. That voice, that pompousness\u2026 It had to be Guy, the strongest of all demon lords. He had made it this far in without me noticing, and only a very<\/em> small number of people could do that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Report. No signs of hostility.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2026Or did it<\/em> notice all along? Now wasn\u2019t the time to debate about that, though. I hurriedly left my seat, but before I could even lift a finger, Diablo sneered and walked over to the door.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYo!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cGo away.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He concluded the short exchange by slamming the door in Guy\u2019s face.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c\u201c\u201c\u2026\u201d\u201d\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n This was too much to handle. The rest of us froze on the spot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOh, come now, Diablo! I\u2019ll have none of that!\u201d Guy shouted angrily after opening the door once more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTch!<\/em> You are meddling in a vital summit. It has only been a day, and our preparations are not yet complete. We would like to take our time discussing matters with you, so please, do not come until you are invited.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Diablo was trying to be polite, but he was acting damn<\/em> sure of himself in front of Guy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2026Did they know each other, maybe? I wasn\u2019t the only one who thought so, judging by Luminus\u2019s and Leon\u2019s surprised looks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cUnbelievable,\u201d Luminus scoffed. \u201cNot surrendering a single step to Guy\u2014although I\u2019d expect nothing less from Noir.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat? Noir?!\u201d Leon yelled. \u201cWhy is someone so lofty in the service of Rimuru?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hmmm\u2026?!<\/em> The words I\u2019m picking up do not<\/em> portend good things for my future! Diablo\u2019s someone \u201clofty\u201d? His head\u2019s in the clouds, yeah, but\u2026 And what\u2019s this \u201cNoir\u201d stuff?<\/p>\n\n\n\n As I sat there confused, things grew even more chaotic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSir Rimuru, are you all right?! I just heard from my sister that\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMy lord, I felt the presence of the Red\u2026!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOh, is this a war? Because if it is, I\u2019m ready to fight!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n First Benimaru rushed in, then Soei. Behind them came Carrera, and at almost the same time, Ultima came barreling in as well. It was nuts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At this point, I may as well have allowed Guy inside instead of booting him. I had no intention of inviting him anyway! It looked like I\u2019d have to discuss all this in detail with Diablo later. Now, though, I needed to restore order.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cEveryone, calm down! And you step back, too, Diablo.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n That finally made everyone settle down a bit. Once all was quiet, I continued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI hadn\u2019t planned this, but, Guy, I actually have something to discuss with you, too. If you\u2019re here and all, I might as well have you join the summit. You okay with that?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSure. Perfect, even. I need to talk to you, too.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019d wanted Leon to handle him, but I guess we had a change of plans. With Guy\u2019s permission in hand, I then had to chase everybody else out of the room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOkay\u2014there\u2019s nothing to worry about, all right? I\u2019ll call you guys if something comes up, so get back to work for me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Everyone looked amply relieved. I heard some unwelcome grumbling, such as \u201cHeh, the Red\u2019s done it again. I don\u2019t stand a chance against him\u2026for now\u2026\u201d and \u201cPfft!<\/em> I thought we could start bashing some heads,\u201d but overall, things were under control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n The rest of the rabble were back at their posts. Shuna left to prepare some tea for those of us still in the reception hall. As she did, Leon spoke first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNow what<\/em> is the meaning of this? Why is Jaune here, of all people?!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Huh?<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI have a question as well,\u201d said Luminus. \u201cI presume the other one was Violet, but were my eyes playing tricks on me? I heard she was rather gloomy and spiteful, so I can\u2019t be entirely certain\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Huhhh? Jaune, Violet\u2026 What are these people talking about?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oh, wait!<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDid you mean Carrera and Ultima? Diablo over there invited them, but they\u2019re actually a lot more talented than I thought\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I was trying to explain things, but Leon and Luminus didn\u2019t let me finish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cCarrera? And Ultima<\/em>?! Did you give those two names<\/em>?!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSimply unbelievable. So Diablo wasn\u2019t enough for you? You\u2019ve brought even more Primals under your wing\u2026?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Leon was on his feet and shouting. Luminus looked completely out of sorts. Both of them fixed me with piercing glares.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYeah, isn\u2019t it crazy? That\u2019s partly why I\u2019m here, so I can grill him about what he\u2019s up to.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Even Guy was spouting nonsense at me. And I mean, what was I supposed to say?<\/p>\n\n\n\n As I floundered for a response, Shuna brought in some tea on a cart. We all fell silent, not wanting to get in her way. A pleasant aroma filled the chamber, helping us regain our calm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n My mind thus cleared, I tried considering what everyone was saying. The key word here was Primal, as stated by Luminus. And that<\/em> meant\u2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n Understood. It is one standard for describing demons.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Right, right, I remember having that explained to me. They were defined as the \u201cfirst\u201d demons, and all that\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2026Wait, the first<\/em> demons?!<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDiablo, you aren\u2019t one of the first demons or something, are you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWell,\u201d he casually replied, \u201cyes, I am a leader of one of the seven bands of demons, among the first born into this world.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oh man. I had no idea the demon I summoned when I transformed into a demon lord was something this<\/em> huge. I knew he was superpowerful, but this was even crazier than I thought.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c\u2026You\u2026didn\u2019t know that?\u201d Leon asked me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIncredible,\u201d Luminus scoffed. \u201cI always thought you had a screw loose, but not to this<\/em> extent\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Leon\u2019s and Luminus\u2019s gazes were boring into me. But what could I say? If Diablo answered a summon as off the cuff as mine was, there was no way he could\u2019ve been anyone that<\/em> amazing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2026<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n I think I even stunned Raphael into silence. But Diablo\u2019s true identity wasn\u2019t the real shocker; Raphael seemed surprised that I didn\u2019t know about it myself. I suppose Raphael thought I knew all about the Primal Demons, then.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2026But hang on. I feel like Elmesia, the Heavenly Emperor of Thalion, mentioned something about Primals as well. So that<\/em> was why she warned me so much about them! Because she picked up on who Diablo was! And I would have, too, if I had paid a little more attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hey, this happens, you know? You get an idea in your head, and you stick with it. I\u2019m not gonna investigate every little factoid I know, and I\u2019m not gonna bring it up with everybody I see. And as far as Raphael was concerned, there was no special need to tell me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What a pitfall. Having a dictionary on hand wouldn\u2019t help much if you never used it. Raphael had been giving me a lot of helpful advice lately, but not even it could understand what I did and didn\u2019t know. No matter how brilliant my partner was, it meant nothing if I didn\u2019t utilize him correctly. I sure learned my lesson about that<\/em> today. Again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ignoring my surprise, Diablo began regaling the audience with the story of how he met me. Apparently this extended all the way back to me encountering Shizu. She and Diablo knew each other, it turned out, and Diablo happened to be visiting this land when he picked up on the presence of Shizu in her final moments. The idea of Diablo being aware of me since back then was astounding, although I still had no idea what his motivations were.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe lower demons in my family accused me of fleeing my post in order to serve Sir Rimuru, an accusation that wounds me deeply. But I took my time! I waited for just the right opportunity, and in the end, I successfully answered Sir Rimuru\u2019s call!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Diablo flashed a contented smile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So him coming to that<\/em> summon wasn\u2019t some fluke after all. It was inevitable because he planned it that way. I could feel a headache coming on from the shock. What\u2019s more\u2014in another wild revelation, Diablo revealed that he was so jealous of Beretta that he tried to \u201cpurge\u201d him without alerting me. However\u2014as he dared to put it\u2014since I had created Beretta\u2019s body, he deemed it too much of a waste to damage it at all. \u201cThis body was handmade by Sir Rimuru,\u201d Beretta had scolded him, \u201cand if you lay a finger on it, he\u2019ll be quite<\/em> displeased.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Truly, this was exhausting me. What a ridiculously long story this was. Someone please stop him<\/em>, I wanted to beg\u2014but Diablo was talking a mile a minute, and nobody could get a word in edgewise. So I finally spoke up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDiablo\u2026 Diablo! That\u2019s enough, all right? We need to continue the summit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSatisfied now?\u201d Guy added, backing me up. \u201cEnough about you, Diablo. That bum Deeno\u2019s here, too, isn\u2019t he? Can you call him over for me?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n That was finally enough to shut Diablo up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI will bring Sir Deeno over at once,\u201d Shuna said, bowing and taking advantage of her chance at long last to leave. Or escape<\/em>, I thought, my heart about ready to give out on me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBut I was getting to the good part\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Diablo looked eager to continue, but everyone ignored him. If we let him prattle on, there was no telling what he\u2019d say next. Keeping him quiet right then would do wonders for my blood pressure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Somewhere in the midst of all this, Guy had sat down in a chair. Leon\u2019s attendants had brought a seat over from the adjacent waiting area for him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAh, how thoughtful of you,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Arlos and Claude nodded their appreciation behind Leon. They must have known Guy from before\u2014otherwise, I\u2019m sure, they\u2019d be too scared of offending him to move at all. I suppose I should\u2019ve arranged something for Guy, but my brain was running on empty. Having this pair of knights around was a godsend. For all I knew, I could\u2019ve pissed Guy off without even realizing it. (Besides, the secretary who should\u2019ve<\/em> been backing me up was too busy talking his head off, and Shion was frozen by my side in a classic \u201cnot my problem\u201d power move.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSorry to make you handle that,\u201d I said to the two knights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNo need to worry about it!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe understand your situation, Lord Rimuru. You\u2019re busy trying to shoo people away from this chamber, aren\u2019t you? Allow us to handle this much for you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Arlos and Claude were really nice. Diablo and Shion could learn a lot from them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cGuys, can you try to be as considerate as those two over there, please?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHeh-heh-heh-heh\u2026 I had perhaps grown a little too impassioned.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Diablo seemed ready to pin the blame on Guy\u2019s unexpected appearance\u2014but yeah, maybe this was just an unlucky break for him. Normally, he\u2019d never overlook something like that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDuly noted, sir!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Shion, on the other hand, was the ever-obedient student. Great at saying Yes, teacher!<\/em> but not at much else. I could only pray the knowledge would stick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So Guy sat down, acting as pompous as ever. As he did, Shuna came back in with Deeno\u2026and Ramiris, too, for some reason, and before long the summit was back in session.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n Our first topic was the Primal Demons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSo, Deeno, you got an excuse for us?\u201d Guy asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cExcuse? For what?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Deeno\u2019s reply came too naturally. It only riled Guy further.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDon\u2019t give me that crap, you! Why didn\u2019t you stop him from naming the three of them?!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yeah! That was important, right? By him<\/em>, I suppose Guy meant me\u2014but look, if I\u2019d known these three were such bad news, I would\u2019ve never even thought about assigning them names, okay? It was kinda too late now, but I wished I\u2019d had some warning, at least.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLook, why in the name of all that\u2019s unholy do you think I sent you here in the first place?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cUm\u2026sightseeing?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNo! This is a reconnaissance detail! Reconnaissance, you hear me?!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Watching this exchange, I realized that even Guy had his own struggles. I\u2019d had a hunch about this, but it turned out Deeno was a spy after all\u2014although I wished Guy didn\u2019t have to say so right in front of him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnd you<\/em>! Don\u2019t act like you\u2019re not involved in this!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oh, and now Guy was taking it out on me? Great. It didn\u2019t seem fair to be yelled at by the person spying on me, but I supposed I was the cause of this, so to speak. I wanted to plead my case, but a reflexive reaction wasn\u2019t a smart move. This was Guy, after all\u2014inviting his ire upon me was never a smart idea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cKwah-ha-ha-ha! Why get so worked up over such trifles, Guy? He\u2019s got quite a long history of naming people willy-nilly, you know!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Veldora, for a change, actually stepped up to defend me. I gave him a subliminal Attaboy<\/em>\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSilence, you child! The adults are talking!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c\u2026R-right.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2026but a few choice words from Luminus shut him up. He can dish it out, but he sure can\u2019t take it, huh? And now the whole room was aware of that. Still, at least his contribution pointed Guy\u2019s ire away from me momentarily. I seized the opportunity to launch an offensive of my own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOkay, okay, so Deeno came here to keep tabs on me, then? I\u2019ll refrain from complaining about that for now, but it\u2019s true that Deeno\u2019s at fault for not stopping me, and the person who trusted him enough to send him on that mission has some responsibility as a supervisor, doesn\u2019t he? Don\u2019t you think so, Guy?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Spreading the responsibility, in so many words. I wasn\u2019t about to shoulder all the blame here, so I tried to hand some of it back over to Deeno and Guy. The former was clearly at fault, so all that remained was to rope the latter in, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHe\u2019s right, Guy. Besides, I told you, I can\u2019t watch over him! I can\u2019t believe you actually thought about making me do work!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Deeno must\u2019ve been pretty quick on the uptake, because it looked like he immediately picked up on my plan. And on the bandwagon he went.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI swear, you people\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Guy was frustrated. I took pains not to rile him further, feeling around for a landing point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBesides,\u201d Deeno continued, \u201cI never even had any time to stop him. You know, when I saw Rimuru bringing the Primals over, I was so surprised that I couldn\u2019t even speak. I mean, like, three<\/em> of them! Diablo was always kind of a weirdo, so I could understand him, but can you even imagine Testarossa<\/em> working for someone? Nobody could!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTrue enough.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oops. Sounded like Deeno was trying to wriggle his way out of this. Guy was about to accept it, too. I didn\u2019t like how this was going.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cListen, guys, Diablo brought them over because he said they\u2019d be useful, and I believed him, all right? I never thought they were these superpowerful beings, and they were perfectly happy to be serving me. They\u2019re under Diablo\u2019s direct control, so he\u2019s the one responsible for them. And it\u2019ll be on me as well if something happens, but it\u2019s only natural to trust in your employees, isn\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I tried to strike a more upbeat tone as I pushed the blame on Diablo. He was<\/em> the one who started this; I thought he deserved that much. I turned my eyes toward him, all but begging him to take on Guy\u2019s anger for me. For reasons only he knew, he eagerly nodded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cKeh-heh-heh-heh-heh\u2026 Your trust in me is encouraging like nothing else. I must be more diligent than ever to live up to your expectations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Guy took one look at Diablo\u2019s gleaming smile and fell silent. He leaned back in his seat, clearly fatigued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSo this is Diablo\u2019s fault?\u201d he pompously stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWell, not his fault<\/em>, exactly\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe\u2019re kinda victims here, too, y\u2019know?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I hemmed and hawed a bit, Deeno faltering as well. Only Diablo retained his sparkling pride, looking as ebullient as ever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWell, this<\/em> guy\u201d\u2014Guy pointed at Diablo\u2014\u201chas been a nutcase for ages now, so I\u2019m not going to whine about that at this point. And, Deeno, if you can\u2019t stop Rimuru\u2026well, circumstances being what they were, I understand that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Whoa, whoa, this is getting way out of control\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBut you<\/em>, Rimuru!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oh,<\/em> here we go! Why am<\/em> I taking the heat?!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat about me?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I couldn\u2019t lose my cool here. I had to be bold with Guy\u2014be bold and act like I did nothing wrong. So to keep him from picking up on my indecision, I had Raphael take over primary control of my body. That\u2019d keep me safe. No matter how much I was panicking on the inside, I\u2019d remain calm and collected on the surface.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDon\u2019t give me that shit!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Guy then proceeded to angrily lecture me. Thanks to me, the balance of the world had totally collapsed, blah blah blah<\/em>, now nobody knew how the world situation would unfold, blah blah blah<\/em>\u2026 It was some pretty heady stuff, and even giving Raphael bodily control didn\u2019t accomplish much. I guess Guy was a lot more calculating than I thought.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnd what\u2019s more, thanks to you, Mizeri\u2019s mission was a big failure, too. I\u2019m gonna hold you at fault for that, you hear me?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I wasn\u2019t sure how I was at fault for something I wasn\u2019t aware of, but if Guy wanted to pin the blame on me, then so be it. I just nodded, said, \u201cAll right,\u201d and let it go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n The lecture was over, but Guy still wasn\u2019t done talking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Apparently Guy made a deliberate habit of triggering calamities at regular intervals, so the whole of humanity considered him an enemy. His goal was to stoke a unified fear against an all-powerful foe, keeping humankind from wasting its time with needless internal power struggles. When Granville was in power, Guy took no action, refraining from any major moves, but now that Granville attempted an all-out attack on Luminus, the balance of power was totally out of whack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thus, Guy had ordered Mizeri to reunite humankind with an event that\u2019d terrorize everyone at once. Her idea was to kill off the Council and all its members, reminding the leaders of the Western Nations just how fearsome a demon lord could be. That, she reasoned, would help unite all the leaders peacefully.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSo Mizeri attacked the Council, and who<\/em> did she find there but Blanc\u2014or \u2018Testarossa\u2019 now, I suppose? I\u2019m so used to her old<\/em> title that I can\u2019t help but keep using it. But regardless, Mizeri avoided a confrontation with Testarossa, and so her plan was foiled. That\u2019s all well and good. The problem<\/em> is what comes after that. As long as we can\u2019t rule over those cunning humans with fear, they\u2019re doubtlessly gonna start squabbling among themselves. And with the Rozzos a thing of the past, history tells us that the power struggle\u2019s only gonna get more intense. What do you think will happen if the Eastern Empire makes a move while the Western Nations are carrying on with that<\/em> nonsense? They\u2019ll lose big, is what. And it\u2019s your<\/em> fault, Rimuru! So tell me what you\u2019re gonna do<\/em> about it!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Well. Didn\u2019t expect that. Guy was trying to prevent the Western Nations from tearing themselves apart? He never seemed to take much interest in the human race, but maybe he was trying to keep doomsday from happening, at least. Guess that was his job as Arbitrator and stuff. He wasn\u2019t at all a friend to humankind, and his means could get pretty violent, but in a way, I think I could understand his motives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now I had to question my plans for the Western Nations. I didn\u2019t even realize Testarossa and Mizeri had made contact with each other, but I couldn\u2019t go and reveal that<\/em> at this point. All I really wanted to do was make humanity recognize us and build friendly relations with them, but\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n As I pondered over how to answer him, Diablo stepped up in my place. Ignoring the scowl this elicited from Guy, he said, \u201cHeh. What will he do, you ask? All Sir Rimuru desires is making his ideals reality.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I was anxious about what he might say, but it wasn\u2019t like I had any concrete ideas. I doubted idealistic arguments would work on Guy, so I counted on Diablo and his supreme confidence to save the day, but I guessed he disappointed me, huh? He went with the whole \u201clofty ideals\u201d argument I\u2019d already dismissed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat do you mean by that?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOh, it\u2019s very simple, Guy. I am merely saying there\u2019s no point in doing something as bland and uninteresting as terrorizing people. Certainly, they\u2019ll be more submissive to you, but it\u2019s not making the most thorough use of their abilities. Terror, you see, is an emotion that dissipates over time. No matter how much tragedy you engineer, it is doomed to fade into oblivion. Once it does, all that remains is bitterness.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHmm. Continue.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBitterness, over time, turns into hatred. It drives people to take revenge upon their abusers. Humanity\u2014lacking in intelligence, as clever as they may be\u2014fails to notice exactly how absolute the difference in power is between them and us. If they are agitated by monsters or the like, they\u2019ll quickly dirty their hands with some quite foolish behavior.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cRight. And that\u2019s why I purge them. Because I\u2019m not willing to let them get their hands dirty.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cKeh-heh-heh-heh\u2026 And I tell you, it is a pointless errand. The inherent foolishness of man causes their memories to fade. One generation gives way to the next so quickly; there\u2019s nothing to be done about that. However\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He paused for a moment, eyeing Guy with a serious look.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cInstead of letting the Rozzos corner the market, if you redistribute the wealth, you can have nations rebuild their relationships while retaining some amount of fairness. That, in turn, creates new economic principles.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnd then?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou leave these new principles, these new choices, and you delude them into thinking they\u2019ve chosen their own future. That way, the foolish humans will believe they\u2019ve created it for themselves. This system is something that, unlike human memory, never fades. It allows you to rule the human world semi-permanently. Sir Rimuru is the one managing that, and I see it as my personal job.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Wow. Diablo was talking sense. So basically, if they build it up themselves, they\u2019ll treat it better? Also, was that really what I had in mind? I felt like I might\u2019ve said something along those lines, but I didn\u2019t think it was anything quite so grandiose\u2026 That, and he was talking based on the foregone conclusion that it\u2019d work<\/em>, which was kinda scary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI see. So if you hold on to the economy and guarantee their safety for nothing in return, the weak will come to depend on you? A society where everything\u2019s resolved through bloodless wars. Yeah, maybe that\u2019d be better than life under the Rozzos.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Guy nodded, seemingly reevaluating Diablo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBut of course. A world where the masses are left satisfied, not the classes. The supply-and-demand chains that result will come to create new possibilities as well. And that<\/em>, Guy, is what Sir Rimuru hopes for.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He wasn\u2019t wrong, I suppose. What I really looked forward to was seeing how culture would advance and evolve. I wanted to see more mass media for everyone to enjoy\u2014movies, music, manga, novels. Creating that kind of art required a foundation that afforded you enough free time in life. I wanted to give people a chance to enjoy prosperity so they could discover these new, previously unknown talents within them. I\u2019ll freely admit that I didn\u2019t think too much beyond that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSo once they learn how nice peace can be, they\u2019ll be afraid of losing it?\u201d Guy asked Diablo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cPrecisely. In a word, it is the concept of gratitude<\/em>. People appreciate Sir Rimuru for protecting the peace, and so they contribute to preserving that peace worldwide. I believe that is far more efficient than the terror-driven rule you picture.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Before I knew it, the two of them seemed to be fully understanding each other. Luminus and Leon, listening to Diablo\u2019s blueprint for the future\u2014as well as their attendants, even\u2014they all looked at me, bemused wonder on their faces. Under that kind of pressure, there was absolutely no way I could tell anyone I wasn\u2019t thinking anything like that at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBut if we\u2019re going to do that, it\u2019ll take a long-term perspective and a lot of intricate calculations, won\u2019t it? You have to manage it, or I can easily see there being too many humans around to deal with. They\u2019ll get all carried away. You want me to go through all that trouble?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Come on, Guy. It\u2019s not like caring for a pet. You\u2019re not gonna wake up one day and find that your hamster had a dozen babies or something.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHa! And you think Sir Rimuru is incapable of seeing into the future that far? Perhaps it would be too difficult to manage for you, but for Sir Rimuru, it\u2019s something he could handle in his spare time. I think it\u2019s safe to say there is no need for concern.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Whoa. Why was Diablo assuming I\u2019d<\/em> manage this? I mean, I was pretty sure he and I talked about how running the world from behind the scenes was a nice, demon lord\u2013like way to go about matters\u2026but if you said that in front of Guy and the other demon lords, they would meddle with me, wouldn\u2019t they?<\/p>\n\n\n\n I was unnerved, really, but apparently I shouldn\u2019t have been. In fact:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou think, huh? Well, okay. I\u2019ll leave all that to you. I really<\/em> doubt it\u2019s gonna go as well as you describe, but it\u2019s no skin off my nose if you fail. \u2019Cause if you do fail, I\u2019ll just step up and start culling those fools. So let\u2019s see you take responsibility for this, all right?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Surprisingly enough, Guy was smiling at me. And if that was what it\u2019d come to, I\u2019d just have to accept it. If I said All right<\/em> a moment ago, I couldn\u2019t really say No way<\/em> now, without warning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI think Diablo was exaggerating things a little, but he\u2019s not wrong, generally speaking. Sure, it\u2019s a bit idealistic, but I feel like it\u2019d be nice if things worked out like that. And regardless of what you have to say about it, I\u2019m gonna try to engineer world peace my own way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n That was my promise. And so without really understanding what was going on, I was officially appointed by the Octagram to manage the Western Nations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It would\u2019ve been great if the summit mercifully ended right there, but we still<\/em> weren\u2019t done with everything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cRimuru,\u201d rumbled Leon, \u201clet me give you a word of warning. Carrera, formerly known as Jaune, is the kind of short-tempered demon who\u2019d freely lob nuclear magic around if she\u2019s seized by the impulse. You\u2019d best keep her on a short leash, or else the capital you took great pains to build will become a pile of ash.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat\u2019s right,\u201d chimed in Luminus. \u201cAnd let me just add this. As mentioned earlier, the Violet I know is a malicious, moody individual, the living embodiment of brutality. Unlike the monster races, she doesn\u2019t seek to eradicate the human race\u2014but she is fickle, prone to quickly change her mind on matters. Perhaps she\u2019s pretending to be a nice young lady in front of you, but I\u2019d be very hesitant to let my guard down.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Their advice didn\u2019t put my mind at ease much. And although they didn\u2019t spell it out, it sounded like Testarossa was even more trouble than Carrera and Ultima.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This was starting to look like bad news. Well, \u201cstarting to\u201d isn\u2019t the right way to put it, maybe. More like it was<\/em> bad news, and I\u2019d finally just noticed. I now knew Testarossa and the others were Primal Demons, and I had just been told by my demon lord peers that they were my<\/em> problem. If they ever did anything, it\u2019d be my fault\u2026and while they were technically serving under Diablo, blaming him would get me nowhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019d even told Elmesia I\u2019d take care of them, so I couldn\u2019t just rescind my offer. I wanted to go back in time and punch my dull-minded self, but that\u2019s what I get for being so thoughtless, I suppose. It\u2019d be a lot harder to manage these<\/em> guys than all of human society, and the thought made me let out a surreptitious, depressed sigh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n Then Ramiris, Deeno, and Veldora got to their feet, as if waiting for Guy to wrap up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cY\u2019know, we feel kinda in the way here, so we\u2019ll let you all take care of the rest, okay?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYeah. I\u2019ve got some important work to do. Vester\u2019s waiting for me and stuff, so I\u2019ll catch you later, Guy!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIndeed. And in that case, I will go back to my Dungeon guardian duties. Ah, a dragon\u2019s work is never done! Kwaaah-ha-ha-ha!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n They worked as a well-practiced, synchronized team, clearly trying their best to get the hell out of Dodge. Deeno, in particular, was so eager to not get yelled at any longer that he brought up his totally nonexistent work ethic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHuh? Work? You? That joke\u2019s not even funny.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Guy didn\u2019t overlook that, either, making the obvious comment. But Ramiris was ready with a retort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNo, no, he\u2019s tellin\u2019 the truth! Deeno\u2019s my assistant now! I\u2019m serious!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Guy\u2019s eyebrows arched in surprise. He wasn\u2019t about to believe anything Deeno said, but if Ramiris backed him up, he\u2019d have no choice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDeeno is\u2026working<\/em>? What foul magic did you cast upon him, Rimuru?!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n His amazement was now pointed my way. It was a tough question to answer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI don\u2019t know! But in our nation, the rule is that you gotta sing for your supper, and I\u2019m just having him follow that. There\u2019s no spells involved.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n If I had a spell like that,<\/em> I\u2019d have a lot less trouble. It must\u2019ve come out in my tone of voice, because Guy didn\u2019t push the topic any further.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So Ramiris and her two cohorts scurried out of the chamber. They had just finished the tea and snacks Shuna set out for them, so their timing was impeccable. I\u2019d expect nothing less from them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFine, then,\u201d Guy muttered. \u201cI\u2019ve given my complaints to Deeno. Hopefully, he\u2019ll try to bring me some useful<\/em> information for a change.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Again, I really wished he wouldn\u2019t muse like that when I was in the same damn room. Being so blatantly alerted about spies in my midst kinda made things hard to deal with, not that I could tell Guy to knock it off. Might as well look on the bright side, though. It sure beat probing each other out under the table.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So I changed the topic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cGreat. So did you come all the way here just to ask about Testarossa and the other Primal Demons?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n If that was all, Guy would\u2019ve been heading home by now. But he wasn\u2019t, so there must\u2019ve been something else. I really didn\u2019t want yet more problems to deal with, but we wouldn\u2019t be getting anywhere unless I asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat was on my mind, yes, but I have another question.\u201d Guy reclined in his seat, looking at the rest of us before settling upon Leon. \u201cI just had an encounter with a group that called themselves the Moderate Jesters.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOh?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat\u2019s the group you<\/em> had dealings with, isn\u2019t it?\u201d Guy asked Leon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt is,\u201d Leon replied with a nod.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hang on. He just casually confirmed Guy\u2019s suspicions, but that was pretty damn important!<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWait, so did you see Yuuki, too?\u201d I asked Guy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMm-hmm.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Not long ago, I ordered Soei to examine the Free Guild headquarters and its regional branches. I was pretty sure our encounter yesterday wasn\u2019t planned by Yuuki, so I figured he\u2019d pop back to his own headquarters. I doubted he\u2019d make much of a public presence, so I had Soei\u2019s forces stake out likely Guild sites, keeping an eye out for disguises or stand-ins. For the time being, I hadn\u2019t heard anything\u2014but I never thought Yuuki would run into Guy instead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSo are you connected to Yuuki, then?\u201d I pressed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHuh? Don\u2019t be silly,\u201d Guy replied. \u201cThey were trying to flee to the East, so I spanked \u2019em a little for it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I suspected Guy and Yuuki might be in cahoots, but I guess not. That was a relief, but it still didn\u2019t indicate what Guy was after.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou didn\u2019t kill him?\u201d Leon asked. I was curious about that myself\u2014but moreover, was he saying that Yuuki abandoned his positions in the West and tried to flee eastward? He never struck me as the type to shy away from making big moves, but this was an incredibly bold decision, even for him. Too bad he was unlucky enough to draw Guy\u2019s ire. If he \u201cspanked\u201d him, I assumed murder wasn\u2019t on the menu, but he sure must\u2019ve put him through the wringer. Not that I felt bad for Yuuki. He deserved it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNo, I didn\u2019t kill<\/em> him. At first, I thought I\u2019d capture him and make you owe me a favor, but things changed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Guy proceeded to tell me how his encounter with Yuuki turned out. Now we had a clearer, albeit still vague, idea of what he was up to when nobody was looking. He was the main employer and boss of the Moderate Jesters, proving Raphael correct.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So we went over everything, good or bad, Yuuki had been up to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n One, he developed the Society of Adventurers into the Free Guild.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Two, he built connections to the Rozzos, de facto rulers of the Council, and handled their dirty work\u2014including being an intermediary to Leon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Three, he backed Clayman as a demon lord, even controlling him behind the curtain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Four, he crushed the Echidna Club, the shady group that presided over the Eastern Empire underground, and created the secret Cerberus society to replace it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In public society, he created the Free Guild; outside of it, he was an organized crime leader. The Echidna Club was news to me, but it sounded like a pretty gigantic presence in the underworld\u2014and that info came from Leon, so there was no doubting it. (The Orthrus slave market that Masayuki broke up, by the way, was an affiliate of Cerberus, so I\u2019m sure Yuuki had a hand in that, too.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n The pattern seemed to indicate that Yuuki had a knack for crushing existing organizations and taking them over for himself. Sounded easy enough, but it was incredibly difficult to put into practice\u2014and he had done it all in under ten years. \u201cTalented\u201d wasn\u2019t the half of it. Calling him a genius was no exaggeration at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Still, I didn\u2019t like how overly self-confident he was. No matter how talented you were, failing to accurately judge your opponent\u2019s strength was a serious mistake. One look at Guy should<\/em> have taught you how much trouble he was. Yuuki managed to escape this time, though\u2014if I had to say one positive thing about him, it was his incredible good luck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Learning he was alive left me with mixed feelings. We shared a homeland, after all, and I didn\u2019t actually want him to die or anything. But at the same time, I couldn\u2019t just let everything he did slide. He pretended to be this nice, affable guy, but meanwhile, he was using the Rozzo family and even Leon as his pawns. That, and he sent the Moderate Jesters to drag Hinata and me into battle\u2026 Even worse, this was all for the sake of world conquest\u2014a dream too childish for me to laugh at.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So why did Guy let Yuuki go? I decided to ask him point-blank. If he answered me, then hey, win-win.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAll right. So if you let him escape, then what could possibly be your plan?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOh, it\u2019s all just a game,\u201d he deadpanned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I wasn\u2019t sure what game<\/em> meant in this context, but he ignored my suspicions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As he put it, the Eastern Empire was bound to make a move soon, and Yuuki had offered to go in and sabotage things if Guy spared his life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cUm\u2026 So it sounds like you don\u2019t want the Western Nations to fall. But why?\u201d I\u2019d been wondering about that. But Guy\u2019s reply was even more surprising.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBecause it\u2019s my job to manage them so they don\u2019t fall. I mean, I don\u2019t want too<\/em> many humans around there, but regardless. My final mission, you know, is to put all of humanity under the rule of the demon lords.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n That, I surmised, was the game Guy alluded to. And once his rule was complete, so was his victory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWell, I mean, why\u2019d you have Lady Mizeri try to wreck the Council, then?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n If she killed all the councillors just when the East was on the attack, the Western Nations would be at a deadly disadvantage. None of the countries could work with one another. The battle could\u2019ve been over before it began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Guy chuckled at the question. \u201cJust \u2018Mizeri\u2019 is fine,\u201d he casually replied. \u201cI gave Mizeri permission to unite the West into a single entity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n What was that supposed to mean\u2026?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Understood. He presumably wanted to spread terror across the West, making it easier for you to rule over it.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Um, so is it like this, then? A demon lord massacres the Council, everyone\u2019s panic-stricken, then I lend a hand and they all eagerly agree to my protection? If a few people had to die for it, then oh well?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Understood. Presumably so.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n I see. It was pretty extreme\u2014a bit like starting a fire so you could be the hero who put it out\u2014and I felt Guy and Mizeri had different motives, but they did it all for me<\/em>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Or not? Maybe he just wanted to take advantage of me, so I could manage the Western Nations for him. What he didn\u2019t know was that I had already made some deep inroads in the West. I didn\u2019t think quite this far ahead, but with Testarossa\u2019s support, I pretty much had the Council in my pocket.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But Guy wasn\u2019t out to destroy humanity. Quite the opposite. He wanted to appropriately manage those fools so they didn\u2019t kill themselves off. And if I took up that job, Guy couldn\u2019t ask for anything better. It was exactly what he wanted, really.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One thing I definitely understood about Guy now: He was way<\/em> too sketchy with his work. I had to admit\u2014I could probably handle this better than him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOkay. So you don\u2019t have any issue with me basically having total control of the West?\u201d I said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNot at all. As long as some fool doesn\u2019t get cocky and kick up a fuss, I have no complaints.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Great, then. This was turning into a much<\/em> shorter process than I expected, but if that was how the chips fell, then I might as well take over Western Nations management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIn that case, I\u2019ll be glad to accept. And since I am, I\u2019d appreciate it if you could quit messing around in northern Englesia.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n From what others had told me, one of Guy\u2019s underlings enjoyed causing havoc up north on regular occasions. Razul was the guardian up there, and Shion had just done a fine job killing him, unfortunately. Given the state of emergency, Elmesia of Thalion had sent a team of Magus knights over to keep the peace. It wouldn\u2019t be right of me to thank her for that, exactly, but it\u2019d be incredibly selfish to tap her armies again for the same thing. If I was gonna rule the Western Nations, it was up to me to defend them, and that meant a lot of money I\u2019d have to waste on a defense budget. I really<\/em> wanted to avoid that. The world\u2019s not exactly crawling with talent like Razul.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNo need to worry about that. We can leave such trivial matters to Testarossa as well.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Diablo smirked at me, banishing all my concerns. But before I could ask if that was really okay:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cRight, yeah. The guys up there could use a breather anyway, I\u2019m sure. Let \u2019em all do what they like.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Even Guy agreed with Diablo. It made me think about just how inscrutable the thoughts of demons were to normies like me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So as Diablo suggested, I let Testarossa handle all the demon activity in Englesia. I had a pledge from Guy, and I figured that would stave off any conflict before it started.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I was thus now the ruler of the West, but we still had a few loose ends to tie up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSo, Rimuru, can I leave you responsible for the Eastern Empire?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Luminus\u2019s question reminded me of that other<\/em> issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWell, if you\u2019re saying that the Empire\u2019s making a move, do you mean militarily speaking?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I wanted to ask, just in case. Guy gave me a nod, like this was the dumbest question in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLately,\u201d Hinata explained to me, \u201cthe Empire\u2019s been conducting a rash of military exercises. It was brought up in the Council, too.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n If she was aware of it, she must\u2019ve already come up with some countermeasures. I didn\u2019t think the Empire was going to stage an army invasion\u2014the three routes they had to choose from were all forbiddingly difficult to conquer, so it didn\u2019t seem like a realistic choice. There was too little merit in the Empire aiming for the West, unless they didn\u2019t care about the casualties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Staging an invasion, at the end of it, is meant to be a profitable enterprise. You don\u2019t have food, or resources, or a place to live, so you strike at other nations that do\u2014but if you solve your own problems, there\u2019s no longer any need to risk bloodshed. Of course, it\u2019s never that<\/em> easy to solve problems. There\u2019s no reason for a wealthy nation to bust their hump over a poor one, so if they\u2019re asked to, there\u2019s the seed of a conflict right there. That\u2019s why wealthy nations keep a standing army to defend themselves\u2014it\u2019s important to make would-be invaders think they won\u2019t have an easy victory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nobody\u2019s going to dirty their hands with war if the profit isn\u2019t worth shedding blood over. But why else would people want to go into war?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Understood. Because of a firm belief they will win no matter what.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s all I can think of.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I controlled the Council, so I couldn\u2019t imagine one of its members betraying me. Maybe, then, the East developed some amazing new military tech or a battle strategy like none before\u2026or some other ace in the hole.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHinata?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI know. You asked me about the structure of the Dwarven Kingdom earlier? Well, it\u2019s not impossible to march an army through it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n She wasted no time picking up on my intentions. The Dwarven Kingdom was neutral, and I doubted Gazel would give them permission to pass, but that was the safest route an army could take to invade the West. In fact\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou know, I dismissed the notion at first, but is there a chance they\u2019d attack Dwargon first?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHee-hee! How shameless. You asked me to investigate that question because<\/em> you thought so, didn\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oh, was Hinata praising me? I\u2019d only thought of that just now, but ah well. Let\u2019s roll with it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou knew, huh? Well, if the possibility\u2019s there, let\u2019s tackle it, I say.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I resolved to contact Gazel and work out a plan. It\u2019d be much more than an annoyance if it happened\u2014a real disaster, in fact\u2014but it wasn\u2019t something we could wish away. With Tempest now holding the Council\u2019s military power, it was our duty to bear the full brunt of combat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIf you weren\u2019t around, y\u2019know, it would\u2019ve been Granville and Luminus facing off against the Empire.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Guy sounded like it was none of his business now. But the size of the Empire\u2019s force was a question mark, and in that scenario, it\u2019d be the Rozzos\u2019 combined armies, Hinata\u2019s Crusaders, and the Lubelius standing force fending it off. No matter who won, it didn\u2019t matter to Guy. So why did he take Yuuki\u2019s offer, then? I could only surmise that he had his own motivations. I suppose that strange word\u2014game<\/em>\u2014was the key to understanding that, but it\u2019s not like he\u2019d give me a straight answer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019ll provide support, too, but don\u2019t expect me to take orders from you, all right?\u201d said Hinata.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I could understand that. Hinata had no reason to oversee the front lines herself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019m still not exactly sure if this\u2019ll turn into war, but we\u2019ll figure out something. Hinata, you guys should prepare in case the Empire completely bamboozles us with their invasion.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cRoger that. And we\u2019ll take care of any of their agents disguised as merchants.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Her smile was a little frightening as she accepted. But this was fine. Now I didn\u2019t have to ask for anything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cRimuru,\u201d a troubled-sounding Luminus said, \u201cif you are defeated, it will come down to us to fight. I advise you to do whatever it takes for that not to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I could believe it. Between accounting for casualties and repairing their destroyed cathedral, Luminus was in no shape to focus on a war. I should have been happy I got Hinata\u2019s support, at least.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMy main concern is whether I can get Yuuki\u2019s cooperation\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Our feud went down to the root. He had the Kingdom of Farmus do his bidding, which led to all sorts of horrors for Shion and her force. He was controlling Clayman, and if you turn back the clock enough, he was even involved with the uprising led by Geld in his orc lord days. If you asked someone to forget it all and let bygones be bygones, well, that wasn\u2019t how people worked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAre you worried about us, Sir Rimuru?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Shion could be sharp like that sometimes\u2014I wouldn\u2019t even say anything, and she could see exactly what conflicted me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWell, kind of. I\u2019m not about to start trusting him out of the blue given everything that\u2019s happened so far.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In fact, I couldn\u2019t trust him at all. And if a war suddenly broke out, there was nothing you could count on less than an ally you couldn\u2019t trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNow that Yuuki\u2019s gone, I\u2019ve got no idea how<\/em> he\u2019ll move,\u201d Guy carelessly added. \u201cNot that I care, really. If you can handle all that for me, then perfect.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hearing that made me decide, finally, that counting Yuuki as part of my force was hard to picture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cKeh-heh-heh-heh-heh\u2026 Then I will ask Soei to examine his movements\u2014and only<\/em> examine them,\u201d said Diablo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIf you could, please.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s enough about Yuuki for now. We\u2019d have to see how things went. At the very least, I wasn\u2019t gonna get all buddy-buddy without an apology. We were running a country here, so depending on what he did, I could imagine us patching things up\u2014but I wasn\u2019t broad-minded enough to forgive him in exchange for nothing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAre you good with this, Shion?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOf course! I\u2019ll crush him if he opposes you, and if he reconciles with you, I\u2019ll forgive him after I punch him out!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Just don\u2019t kill him when you do<\/em>, I said to myself. Although if she did, I\u2019d chalk that up as an accident. Yuuki didn\u2019t want<\/em> to kill me or Shion, so I could guarantee it wasn\u2019t on purpose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So we shunted the question of Yuuki to the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n Guy had one more thing on his mind\u2014the main thing, in fact. It was about the Hero Chloe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI know that Granville\u2019s mission was to unlock the thing Luminus here was trying so hard to hide in her domain. I was watching to make sure that thing didn\u2019t go out of control, but Diablo was all \u2018Just leave it to Rimuru,\u2019 so\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n So he decided to travel here to see how things were turning out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When did Diablo say that anyway? Then I remembered\u2014Diablo did<\/em> run off for a bit during battle, didn\u2019t he? He must\u2019ve been doing a little unauthorized negotiating. I can\u2019t say I liked that, but it turned out to be a masterstroke. If Guy had gotten involved in that fight, there\u2019s no telling what could\u2019ve happened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe were talking about that a moment ago, actually, but now that you\u2019re here, why don\u2019t I summarize things for you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I decided to take control of the summit and go over everything one more time. I didn\u2019t think Leon and Luminus would say anything I didn\u2019t want them to, but still, just in case. The really important stuff\u2014Chloe\u2019s time travel, the countless loops she\u2019s made\u2014that was all best left hidden. Besides, as long as I didn\u2019t tell Guy, he had no way of knowing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c\u2026So we defeated the berserk Chronoa, and that settled things for good.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n My story thus wound up pinning most of the blame on Chronoa, but I only did it to protect Chloe. If I started talking about how Chloe was<\/em> Chronoa, it\u2019d just make things more complicated, so I wanted to keep that a secret from Guy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAll right. Quite a tough battle, it sounds like. So can I ask you something?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSure. Anything.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat girl over there\u2019s clearly a Hero. Mind giving me an explanation?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oof. I tried to hide that, but Guy was just too smart to fool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWell, in that battle, a hidden force within this girl woke up\u2014\u201d I attempted a believable, if wholly absurd, story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou liar.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n So much for that. It certainly made for a classic fantasy, discovering your powers in the heat of battle, but the excuse had no chance of working.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cUm, to tell the truth\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cChloe here,\u201d Leon said as I hesitated, \u201cis the exact person I spent years searching for with my targeted summoning. She happened to be there for some reason, and thanks to that, we were all saved.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I had no idea where Leon was going with this, but if I wanted to slog through it, I had no choice but to follow his lead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIndeed,\u201d Luminus said before I could speak up. \u201cI was quite surprised as well, but this Chloe turned out to be the most suitable sealing vessel.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now she was adding her own take to the story. So it\u2019s up to me to tie it all together, then?<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSealing vessel?\u201d a quizzical Guy asked, looking right at me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s what I wanna ask<\/em>, I thought\u2014but by now, there was no chance we could be honest with him. I had to keep going.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYeah. The way Leon described it, she\u2019s got this unique ability to steal any target\u2019s power and seal it within herself. I could hardly believe it, but we\u2019ve got the results right before our eyes, so I kinda have to.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n How was that<\/em>, huh?! And I even passed it to Leon\u2014it was his turn to take over. But Luminus was quicker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou are absolutely correct. Now, I am afraid to say, I have lost my most prized of hidden weapons\u2026but I suppose I can accept that over an uncontrollable death machine on the rampage.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n She seemed embittered. Truly<\/em> embittered. It was an A-list performance; I almost wanted to applaud her. Now Leon just had to wrap it up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c\u2026I can see why. Guy, there are many powerful forces in the world, yourself included. I wanted to protect Chloe against these advancing threats, but I never thought she\u2019d use her force right after I met her. I am just as unlucky here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Leon sighed. His depression hardly seemed contrived at all. If Luminus won the Best Actress award, he\u2019d be sharing the stage as Best Actor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Regardless, we now had a coherent story. Chloe sealed Chronoa away, and thus she had obtained the powers of a Hero.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHmm. You three aren\u2019t trying to trick me, are you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNot at all,\u201d I retorted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou\u2019ve always been too doubtful of others,\u201d Leon agreed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIndeed,\u201d said Luminus. \u201cStop fretting over trivialities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n We all swarmed upon Guy\u2019s doubt in unison. Such instant teamwork was the result, I suppose, of how much we all cherished Chloe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBut you see she\u2019s obtained Hero powers, don\u2019t you? Are you just going to leave her be?\u201d Guy asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Leon rose from his seat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDon\u2019t worry,\u201d Guy added with a laugh, \u201cI\u2019m not going to touch her.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFine, then. If you were ever to threaten her, you\u2019ll have to address me first.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Leon sat back down. Things were tense in the chamber now, but Guy wasn\u2019t being the least bit hostile. I, too, was worried Leon might try something unadvised, but he was surprisingly calm. That reassured me well enough, but the next moment, I was chilled to the bone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A sword glinted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Guy\u2019s hand was a longsword, produced from parts unknown, and it was now heading straight for the back of Chloe\u2019s neck. The speed of his technique was nothing short of supernatural. My perception speed, enhanced a million times over, told me I\u2019d still never make it in time\u2014and the same was true for Leon and Luminus. Our faces twisted in horror as we tried to turn away from the tragedy about to unfold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But\u2014the next moment, a clear tone echoed across the chamber.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2026?!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n The little Chloe had now grown and was wielding a sword nobody saw her unsheathe to take the force of Guy\u2019s blow. Her very clothing had transformed to that of the Hero; she had mastered the use of Holy Spirit Armor as if it came naturally to her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHello to you, demon lord Guy. This is the first time I\u2019ve seen you in the flesh; you\u2019re quite powerful indeed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAhhh-ha-ha-ha! You ain\u2019t too shabby yourself. Your name\u2019s Chloe, then? There\u2019s only a very few people who can use that<\/em> power, myself included.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Guy and Chloe congenially greeted each other, but I found myself unable to remain calm. I simply had no idea what just happened. Even with my super-enhanced perception, I missed it. Clearly this wasn\u2019t some chintzy old hyper-speed move\u2014the air around them wasn\u2019t even vibrating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was magic\u2026or something else. And at a time like this, I had the perfect partner to help out. Raphael, your commentary, please!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Report. Unknown. Analysis and assessment of the subject Chloe Aubert\u2019s actions failed.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Really?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cAll right,\u201d I said, smiling a bit as I assuaged Veldora, \u201clet\u2019s leave it at that for now.\u201d The Empire is dangerous, we concluded, so it was time to move on. Next came the memories of Chronoa, as far as Chloe could recall them. After the Empire defeated Veldora, the world plunged into a great […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3532","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tak-berkategori"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/novel.mdtaal-aminii.my.id\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3532","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/novel.mdtaal-aminii.my.id\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/novel.mdtaal-aminii.my.id\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novel.mdtaal-aminii.my.id\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novel.mdtaal-aminii.my.id\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3532"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/novel.mdtaal-aminii.my.id\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3532\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3533,"href":"https:\/\/novel.mdtaal-aminii.my.id\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3532\/revisions\/3533"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/novel.mdtaal-aminii.my.id\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3532"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novel.mdtaal-aminii.my.id\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3532"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novel.mdtaal-aminii.my.id\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3532"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}