Jayr POV - Tensei Shitara Slime Datta Ken Universe, Central World, Magic Continent, Great Jura Forest, Tempest - 2013 AMB
After briefly going over everything I know about the Eastern Empire and its ruler, the reincarnating emperor Rudra Nam Ul Nasca, whose body is now under the control of the will of the Ultimate Skill Michael, Lord of Justice, I frown as I start to think about the last and most headache-inducing individual in the whole Tensei Shitara Slime Datta Ken Universe, Yuuki Kagurazaka.
Yuuki Kagurazaka is a Japanese otherworlder summoned into this world and the one who made the Free Guild into what it is today.
As a natural-born genius, Yuuki was satisfied with his life on Earth; he had loving parents and plenty of friends, but after an overworked truck driver fell asleep at the wheel and crashed into his parents' car, killing them both, he fell into despair.
When the courts ruled the driver innocent, Yuuki discovered the unreasonableness and flaws of society.
He initially wanted to take revenge and tear it all down, but couldn't bring himself to inconvenience so many innocent people in the process.
Instead, he realized that he would have to change society one step at a time by becoming a politician and gaining like-minded friends and allies who would help him achieve a fairer society.
But before he could even finalize his plans, he was summoned to the Central World.
Kagali, a former Demon Lord on the verge of death due to their defeat at the hands of Leon Cromwell, had summoned Yuuki, whose material body and spiritual body were compatible with their astral body, and attempted to, with the last of their strength, lay a curse on Yuuki that would kill his spirit instantly and allow them to reincarnate into his body.
However, Yuuki, being a genius who already understood how the world worked during the trip between worlds, had awakened his Unique skill Creator and used it to make his special constitution, Anti-skill, letting him resist the curse.
Yuuki, taking pity on Kagali, allowed them to inhabit his body and promised to find a body for them to reincarnate into, saving her life and giving her hope.
After letting Kagali inhabit his body, he spent the next twenty years within the eastern lands, meeting up with the Demon Lord Clayman and building his influence.
After twenty years in the east, he moved westward to start carrying out his plans and wound up under the tutelage and guidance of Shizu alongside his fellow Japanese countryman Hinata Sakaguchi; taking advantage of the fact that he had not physically aged, he was able to mislead them into thinking that he had recently arrived.
Alongside his teacher, Yuuki used his knowledge of a more modern world to rework the society of adventurers into the internationally accepted Free Guild, which he was then appointed Grandmaster of. Under his leadership, monster-related deaths decreased dramatically, and a new system of ranking monsters based on their amount of Magicules and other factors was established.
These changes allowed for trade to blossom and the population to boom in areas that were previously poor and decrepit, improving the lives of many.
At some point, Yuuki encountered Mariabell Rosso, who was secretly manipulating society and the economy from behind the scenes via the Council of the West, which she had complete control over thanks to her grandfather, Granbell Rosso, who saw within her the hope of the Rosso family and thus took her under his wing and groomed her to be his successor.
Mariabell stood as an absolute roadblock in Yuuki's goal of a fair and just society and blocked his plans off at every turn, much to Yuuki and Kagali's annoyance.
At some point, Yuuki met Damrada and crushed the dark organization in the east known as "Echidna," reforming it into the underground organization Cerberus, a place where he and his friends could be at last free from Mariabell's eyes and ears.
Yuuki is an extremely dangerous person, an incredible genius with both extreme combat prowess and superlative manipulation skills.
He was born with a psychic ability that allowed him to think with his astral body like a spiritual life-form, as well as to directly influence the world around him with the power of his mind.
Due to this ability, he was able to remain fully conscious while traversing to the Central World, which allowed him to master the unique skill he acquired, Creator, and use to create anti-skill, an extremely effective and versatile defensive ability that made him immune to most magic, arts, and skills.
Even while still a normal human, he possessed enough physical strength to subdue dragons with his bare hands. During his confrontation with Guy Crimson, he used his skill to forcibly awaken himself into a saint, becoming a spiritual life-form of immense power, though even then, he proved absolutely no match to the strongest demon lord, though he barely survived the confrontation.
His most powerful weapon, however, is his tremendous manipulation skills, which allowed him to discreetly gain control over much of the Western Nations, manipulate the Western Holy Church, and even fool both Mariabell Rosso and her grandfather Granbell Rosso, highly skilled manipulators on their own right.
He was even able to convince Guy Crimson to spare him and his friends by offering to spy on his opponents.
Needless to say, with his front as the founder and Grandmaster of the Free Guild, he possessed immense resources at his disposal, being able to dispatch high-ranked adventurers to various assignments.
Meanwhile, he was also secretly a crime boss of immense power as the founder and Grandmaster of Cerberus, a crime syndicate based in the Eastern Empire.
Thanks to his influence in both the Free Guild and Cerberus, Yuuki is in an incredibly useful position, so much so that gaining his support is equal to gaining the support of all the adventurers affiliated with the Free Guild and members of Cerberus.
For all his strengths, he does have a few weaknesses. One of them is his total inability to use traditional magic; despite his immense genius and great personal power, he is unable to use aspectual magic, and is seemingly unable to make contracts with elementals to use elemental magic, either.
Another weakness of his is that over time, he tends to get overconfident and underestimate his opponents, a tendency born from the fact that he is so gifted and powerful that he rarely encounters people who can rival his power and influence.
Now, the only reason why I think that Yuuki is actually the most annoying one to contact is because Yuuki is one of the characters who has been changed the most between the Web Novel version, which I have read, and the Light Novel version, which I almost completely ignored, having already read the Web Novel.
His entire character has been reworked, and his motivations are completely different, to the point that his actual "role in the story" is a completely different one in the Light Novel compared to the Web Novel.
In the web novel, he was the series' main antagonist, but in the light novel, his motives are really to create a peaceful world; however, it would require causing chaos to complete this goal, making him a neutral or morally ambiguous character at most.
This gives me a little headache as I am not really sure how to deal with him.
The reason for that is that I am not sure which version this universe takes after, and my Divinity as God of Justice would likely judge him as a neutral individual in either case with the only difference is that "web novel" Yuuki is likely going to stab us in the back at the first chance, especially if it means saving himself, while "light novel" Yuuki would fight to our side until the very end and even be willing to sacrifice himself if it means saving the rest of the universe.
After thinking about this issue for a few more moments, I reach a simple conclusion: 'Oh well, surely he'll be the last one that I'll get in touch with, and if in the end, I still can't fully identify where he stands, then I'll make use of my Ultimate Skill to ensure his cooperation.'
Reaching that conclusion, I start to once again casually walk through the streets of Tempest, greeting the monsters peacefully, moving on with their lives, doing their part for the growth of Tempest and the Jura-Tempest Federation.
Suddenly, I perceive the presence of a person of interest quickly approaching the city, and without any hesitation on my part, I start to move toward Rimuru's location.
Soon, I find Rimuru calling over Kaijin and showing him the Hipokute grass, a type of rare herb that is used as an ingredient for making potions that can be found in places with high magicule concentrations, like the Sealed Cave that formerly had Veldora sealed in.
And next to it, the Potions he made from processing it, that are magical panaceas that heal injuries instantly, with varying effectiveness depending on their potency, making them crucial in a world where physical conflicts happen often.
Potions are categorized into three types according to their potency. Lower-level potions can be created by diluting superior ones, and using magicule-rich water for dilution can double the yield.
Low Potions are the cheapest and least potent potions around, able to heal minor to moderate injuries.
High Potions that have the potency somewhere in the middle, able to heal major injuries with the exception of lost limbs.
Full Potions are the most potent among potions and are sometimes called Elixir, able to heal fatal injuries and restore lost limbs, even if the limb in question was lost long ago and became a stump.
They can even restore damaged weapons made of magisteel and its evolutions.
They are created by attaining an extraction rate of 99% from Hipokute herbs, a feat unheard of before Rimuru Tempest and I developed the process.
Obviously, I have already planted quite a lot of seeds of the Hipokute grass in my Soulbound Territory and already learned how to produce these Potions on my own. After all, having another method to heal and help people is always a nice bonus.
After showing the Hipokute grass and the Potion, Rimuru starts the conversation, "Kaijin. If I sold this in a city, how much would I make?"
Kaijin thinks for a bit and then replies, "Hmmm. Danna, that's a tough one. This potion is too good. Its effects are too good. It's impossibly good!"
And then, Kaijin briefly explains that Rimuru's potion has the highest purity rating of 99%, that normally, the limit is 98%, and even Dwarf masters have not been able to surpass it, that even at 98%, it fetches a very high price, and so on.
After explaining all that, Kaijin concludes, "So, if you tried selling this in a city..."
However, before he can finish his sentence, a voice from the sky concludes in Kaijin's place, "You'd stand out too much!"
While Rimuru is searching for the one who just spoke without being able to find him as he is hiding his presence and figure through magic, the voice adds, "It's been a while, Kaijin! And, Slime. Does thou... do you remember me?"
While saying this, a person appears from the sky, saddled on a familiar-looking winged horse.
A wonderful white steed with wings, a Pegasus, and after landing, he jumps to the ground fully revealing himself together with two other people.
He is the person of interest I perceived a few moments ago, the King of the third generation King of the Armed Nation of Dwargon, who is renowned as a great Hero and celebrated as a wise king for his impartial rule, Gazel Dwargo.
He has a very dwarf-like, tough-looking body, with the height of a human covered in an armor of muscle that hides surging energy beneath.
His skin is tanned brown as characteristic of his race, and his jet black hair is slicked back all the way.
(Image Here - Gazel Dwargo)
Both Rimuru and Kaijin also immediately recognize the King Gazel Dwargo, with the latter exclaiming while his eyes open so wide they seem like they'd fall out at any moment, "M-my lord! Why, eh, why would you be here? Eeeeh!!! Did you sneak out of the castle?!"
At the same time, I notice that Rimuru recognizes one of the two people together with the King Gazel Dwargo, making me realize that one of them is Vesta, the minister who tried to ensnare Rimuru and Kaijin when he visited the Armed Nation of Dwargon.
Meanwhile, Gazel casually replies, "Fun! I slipped past a hundred guards of my own! They've been slacking. When I return, I'll retrain them!"
This makes a still very tense Kaijin comment, "N-no... to have a King as their training partner..." followed by the King, who asks in a soft but imposing tone, "Hmm? Kaijin, did you say something?"
Making Kaijin quickly reply, "N-no! I said nothing at all!" Making the King smile and say, "Is that so? Okay, then!"
After that, they decided to continue the conversation at a different place, not to a temporary one, but to a special building in the center of the city where all the administrative duties are carried while I casually followed after them.
So they borrowed one of the conference rooms, and once inside, Rimuru started the conversation by asking, "So, King, what's all this about? Why did you bring Vesta-dono along..."
In response to Rimuru's question, Gazel smirks and answers in a jovial tone, "Oh! That's simple! Since I selfishly decided to forbid your future reentry into the Armed Nation of Dwargon, I decided to come and see you instead. As for Vesta, he's also at fault for what had occurred, so I also exiled him. But we can't have him lead a carefree life, now can we! So I brought him over."
While Rimuru responds with stunned silence, Kaijin repeats and exclaims, "'So I brought him over!' Did you really just say that?! Do you, King, truly understand? Are you planning to have Vesta work here?"
Gazel continues to knowingly smirk while asking, "Hmm? You don't want him?"
This clearly annoys Kaijin, who yells with a deadly serious face as he is desperately pressing the King for answers, "That's not the problem! Aren't you worried that his knowledge will be leaked to us?"
In contrast to the serious Kaijin, Rimuru calmly observes the ongoing situation while the King casually ignores his questions; meanwhile, Vesta looks completely lost.
Suddenly, the Dwarf King, Gazel, turns serious and says, "Leak... huh. When you guys left, wasn't that exactly what you were doing? I've considered erasing you, you know?" This immediately stumps Kaijin, who mutters, "King, that..."
The Dwarf King interrupts him and continues, "I'm serious! I decided against it, though. I try to avoid pointless effort. I brought Vesta over because I would like him to work here!"
These words have an immediate effect as they lit a flame in Vesta's eyes, who exclaims in a moved tone as he was expecting a much worse outcome from this meeting, "K-King!"
In response, Gazel looks at his subject and tells him, "Don't get this wrong, Vesta. I had high expectations of you. That much is true. I won't permit you to serve me, but you can work to your heart's content here. That's all."
At this point, Vesta asks, "King! Wouldn't that mean that they would be learning all the Dwarf skills for free?"
This makes Gazel sigh out loud before he explains, "Fun. Is this all you guys can say? With you two here, this city will become the center of technological development. Don't you understand? The Armed Nation of Dwargon, this King is interested in working together with you. Get it?"
Then, with a serious face, he focuses on Rimuru, looking at him straight in the eyes, and continues to say in an official and regal tone, "The Armed Nation of Dwargon, as of today, officially seeks to form a non-aggression treaty with you! Also, before that. As an under-the-table deal, we want to form a Mutual Technology Research Treaty. That, however, must never be mentioned to anyone. How about it? Will you accept these two treaties?"
For his part, Rimuru immediately recognizes the benefits of such an alliance and, without wasting any time, he asks, "So does that mean you are recognizing us as a country with sovereign rights?"
To his question, the Dwarf King replies without any hesitation on his part, "Of course. It's a good offer, isn't it? Also, just out of curiosity, what is the name of this Country?"
Kaijin and Rimuru exchange glances before Rimuru replies, "After thinking about it with some friends and some of my most important subordinates, we decided to name this the Monster City Tempest. As for the Country formed by the alliance with the various forces of the Jura Forest and this city, we decided to name it the Jura-Tempest Federation."
After that, the Dwarf King decided to stay the night with us.
The reason for that is that even if by traveling on the Pegasus, he could return to the Armed Nation of Dwargon within a day, but journeying by night is dangerous, so he decided to return the following day.
That night, to commemorate the alliance with the Armed Nation of Dwargon, we threw a large party with an abundance of food, and some pretty good cooks that have been able to impress even the King.
That's mainly because Shuna is just such an amazing cook, and I've taught her many recipes from all over the Omniverse.
After some time, Gazel started grumbling about how he never gets to leave the castle and such before he asks to have a mock battle with Rimuru, at least that is what he is saying, but the truth is that Gazel simply wants to have a chance to judge Rimuru's strength and character up close.
At first, Rimuru was very reluctant and tried to refuse many times, but since the Dwarf King insisted, in the end, he decided to play along with him.
Rimuru quickly transforms into his Human Form, which, after eating the Orc Disaster, has grown a bit; he no longer looks like a child but like a young androgynous boy around 1.50 centimeters tall in height.
Taking wooden swords in their hands, they soon face each other while Hakurou observes the match and calls for it to start, "Begin!"
The very next moment, the Dwarf King moves at a very fast speed while at the same time escaping Rimuru's perception completely until he stops right in front of Rimuru and hits the wooden sword out of his hands with a very swift and precise strike perfectily showing why he is considered a hero by his people and regarded as someone equal to some of the Demon Lords.
The match was decided in an instant and ended in a complete loss for Rimuru, who still didn't fully understand how he lost.
It seems that Gazel also notices this as he tells the slime, "Listen, Rimuru. From the very beginning, you didn't notice me approaching from the sky, did you? Though Magic Perception is a wonderful skill. However, there are countless ways to slip outside of its sight. I anticipated what perception method you would use, and slipped past it. These are the basics of war! Concentrate harder. If you depend only on your abilities, you won't improve!"
Rimuru understands what Gazel is trying to teach him, and with a satisfied expression, he thanks him, "Thank you, Gazel. Next time we meet, it won't be this easy!"
Hearing that, Gazel let out a sigh and then replied with a grin on his face, "Fun. So you say, youngster!"
After their match ended, the monsters' cheers filled the city as they were very excited, to say the least.
Benimaru, Souei, and Shion also seemed like they wanted to say something, as their faces were serious, but then held themselves back.
Hakurou nodded with a happy expression on his face while Rimuru learned that he still has a long way to go.
Then the banquet continued long into the night, where my friends and I took advantage of the situation to also officially introduce ourselves to the Dwarf King Gazel before briefly explaining to him who we were and informing him about the looming threat of the invasion of the Champion of Power and his armies, whose only objective is the complete destruction of their whole universe.
Needless to say, at first Gazel was wary of us and didn't fully believe our words, but after a brief display of our power to show that if we had any bad intentions toward him and his nation we didn't need such convoluted plays, he believed us and with a firm expression on his face he promised to start prepare his people and contact his allies to defend this universe as soon as possible.
The next day, the Dwarf King of the Armed Nation of Dwargon, Gazel Dwargo, and Rimuru Tempest of the Jura-Tempest Federation officially gathered to sign the two treaties.
The treaty between the Armed Nation of Dwargon and the Jura-Tempest Federation essentially testified to bilateral cooperation.
The fact that their two representatives signed the treaty ascertains its validity, but Rimuru still has some doubts, so he asks, "Could a treaty between two countries be established this easily?"
In response to Rimuru's question, Gazel calmly explains, "Hmm? That's not a problem. Since I swear by the Gods, Spirits, and Sacred Ancestors, I cannot falsely sign. And you aren't a human, are you? Through the contract's authority, should you lie, you'd be erased, you know?"
Rimuru seems even more confused after hearing Gazel's explanation.
The reason for that is that he is completely oblivious to the very important fact that monsters in this universe can't lie; they are completely incapable of conveying what they believe to be a lie.
However, that does not mean that they can't fool people.
For example, they can omit facts or lead them to believe something by revealing only specific facts.
However, in the case of contracts, lying through the aforementioned methods becomes essentially impossible.
Well, if the monster can talk himself, herself, or itself out of the lie, then no problem, but if him, her, or it publicly declares a lie, its existence will be erased.
It's a rule pertaining to every monster; however, monsters born through birth are not always bound by this rule and sometimes capable of telling lies, like Goblins, who can lie freely.
On the other hand, high monsters and demons exemplify this rule and are famous for being bound by contracts.
Demons don't tell lies, and although they are often called sly, they are actually a rather pure race.
While my mind wanders around such a topic, Gazel and Rimuru continue to casually chat.
"Even though you're a monster, you didn't know this? Rimuru, aren't you strange..."
"I was born not too long ago. I'm still in the process of learning."
"Is that so...? Well, whatever. Please don't accidentally erase your entire country after I went to the trouble of recognizing it! Your rule assures the safety of the entire forest. I beg you!"
"Well, we've just finished building this city, and we don't intend to lose it; so, we'll do our best!"
After that short exchange, the two finally signed the treaty into effect, and the moment Rimuru and Gazel wrote their name, the document began to glow and split into two.
Then Gazel explains that the paper, it seems, was made by the Elemental Engineers, and to annul it, you would need to burn both copies at the same time, which means that technically, both parties have to agree to the annulment.
On top of that, as long as the other party is living, destroying only one of the documents is next to impossible, as it would merely restore itself to how it was before.
The curious Rimuru even tried that once, and it was exactly as he said.
Thus, the contract was complete, and they soon decided that this contract should be kept between the two countries, and while openly declaring it is not a problem per se, it kind of defeats its purpose.
The Dwarf King accepts his copy, pleased, before he says, while taking out a crystal as large as a fist, "I'll also leave this to you!"
Then, when Rimuru accepted it, he explained, "That's a communication crystal. Ask Vesta about its installation. Use it in case of an emergency. And stay in good health!"
After that, he saddles his Pegasus and flies off after telling Vesta to enjoy his stay and saying goodbye to everyone, leaving as suddenly as he came.