Chapter 279
The Calm
Before Arthur could understand what was happening, he felt something moving quietly beneath his black clothes.
"Astaroth… my companion."
Arthur smiled faintly and gently picked up the little creature before placing it around his neck, as he usually did.
Astaroth coiled around him quietly, as though he had never been gone.
"Now… where were we?"
Arthur moved again and sat down on the chair, then raised his gaze toward Rimuru.
"They're all yours, my friend."
Rimuru smiled in surprise.
Arthur's calmness was strange… as though what had happened moments ago had been nothing more than an insignificant detail.
But inside Rimuru's mind, two questions refused to remain silent.
Who was Arthur, really?
And was he human… or something else?
He had witnessed Arthur's swordsmanship, his control over the wind, and the fire that responded to him without hesitation.
He had witnessed his wisdom, his perceptive gaze, and his strange composure.
It was as though an old man who had lived for centuries… had disguised himself as a young boy.
Who was Arthur?
And where did this power come from?
These were two questions asked by everyone who had ever stood against him.
Only a few had learned the answers…
And none of them had lived to tell the tale.
The Following Morning
Arthur and Rimuru stood observing the goblin village.
The village that had once been weak, dilapidated, and filled with fear…
Had now become a mixture of goblins and wolves, moving about in mixed groups.
"Truly primitive groups…"
Arthur thought calmly.
"Wait, there's something I don't understand."
He said this as he turned around.
"Yes, Arthur-sama."
Arthur paused for a fraction of a second.
…Sama?
The title passed through his mind like a small stone thrown into still water.
He set the thought aside and returned to his question.
"Don't the goblins or wolves have names?
I mean… you can speak, think, and communicate… so why do you have no names?"
The goblin chief bowed slightly, looking embarrassed.
"Even without names… communication between us is easy."
Arthur noticed his discomfort and did not press the matter.
At that moment, Rimuru smiled with pure, foolish cheerfulness.
"All right! Then I'll give everyone names!"
Silence filled the air…
Then the goblins and wolves erupted with joy and disbelief.
Is he bonded to someone?
Arthur wondered as he watched their brightened faces.
Rimuru began naming everyone one by one, until he reached the son of the former wolf leader.
He thought for a moment, then said:
"Ranga."
The moment the name was spoken…
Rimuru fell to the ground and immediately lost consciousness.
"Damn it… I knew it."
Arthur sighed as he held the gelatinous Rimuru in his hands.
"When you give someone a name… you give them a portion of your own power.
Every creature has a limited amount of magicules, and this idiot kept naming them without stopping."
Three Days Later
Rimuru remained unconscious.
During that time, Arthur noticed the changes.
The goblins…
Who could once be knocked down by the faintest breeze, had become taller and sturdier, their bodies now packed with fierce muscles.
Even the village chief had changed drastically.
As for Ranga…
The wolf that had once been the size of an ordinary wolf was now as large as three wolves combined, and his fur had turned a beautiful black that shimmered in the darkness.
All of this…
Was because of a name.
Night
Everyone gathered around the fire, eating and drinking peacefully.
There was supposed to have been a victory celebration, but it had been canceled because of Rimuru's condition…
Now, after he had awakened, everything had returned to its simplicity.
Quiet laughter filled the air, the flames danced, and the night was refreshingly cold.
Arthur sat off to the side, silently observing the scene.
I wonder… how is he doing now?
|Are you thinking about Myung?|
Yes.
|Didn't you give him the storage necklace?
Clothes, food, weapons… and even some of the power you implanted in his heart?
It will activate when needed and save him.|
I know… but I can't describe this feeling.
|What feeling?|
Calm.
|What's wrong with that? Isn't it a good thing?|
\*Of course it's good… but tell me, Cain.
When was the last time we truly felt calm?\*
He fell silent for a moment.
\*In which world have I been transferred?
In what era?
I haven't felt at ease even once.
Fighting… then fighting… then more fighting… and pain.
That's why I see two possible explanations for this calm.\*
|…?|
The first:
This world is weak… and I am strong.
With my current power, without attracting the attention of the heavens, I can erase entire cities with a flick of my finger.
—And in just three seconds… I can split the earth without the heavens noticing.
As for my full power… I can destroy this entire timeline and the whole galaxy in the blink of an eye.
That's why I feel calm.
|A convincing reason… What is the second?|
The calm before the storm.
|What do you mean?|
An eerie, silent calm.
It settles over a place and numbs your soul.
It makes you feel as though nothing could ever hurt you.
But… it's all an illusion.
There is no calm in a world built on killing. And there is no rest for a warrior who has walked the path of hell.
While Arthur was lost in his thoughts, Rimuru finished establishing a set of laws.
Laws intended to prevent future conflicts…
For with different races living together, racial conflict was a possibility that could not be ignored.
Such conflict could lead to destruction.
And perhaps, in the end, it would drive both sides to unite around a single common purpose… harming humans.
That was precisely what Rimuru did not want.
He was originally human, and he sincerely hated causing harm to humans. How could he allow those under his care and protection to commit such acts?
And that was not all.
Avoiding harm to humans…
Was truly a wise decision.
In most parts of this world, humans made up the largest share of the planet's population.
According to the information he had gathered earlier, this particular world was teeming with enormous numbers of humans.
If the goblins and wolves attacked humans, the response would not be simple or limited.
It would not be a matter of merely killing a few of them…
Humans would mobilize their armies, and their response would be complete extermination.
For revenge was a formidable, dark force that knew no mercy.
To avenge the humans who had fallen, they would not hesitate to commit the most horrific acts.
Humans would be willing to kill even innocent goblin children and young wolves…
Those who had made no decisions of their own and bore no responsibility for what had happened.
And this behavior was not exclusive to humans.
It applied to nearly all living creatures.
For revenge, in the end, remained the strongest reactive force dwelling deep within living beings.
Arthur concluded his thoughts in heavy silence,
Then sharpened his hearing, listening to the remaining laws being discussed around him.
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