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"Kaito-sama! Rimuru-sama!"
Kagaya and the others all rose to their feet the moment the door opened. Hina stood as well, her adjutant following suit.
"Please, everyone sit down. Rimuru and I are just here to watch."
Kaito waved them off with an easy smile and then glanced over at Hina.
"So this is our Marine visitor. I wasn't expecting someone this lovely."
Hina felt a faint warmth rise to her cheeks. She straightened up and asked, "You're too kind. May I ask who you are?"
Kagaya stepped in before Kaito could answer.
"Allow me. This is Kaito-sama, the Regent of our Jura-Tempest Federation." He turned and gestured toward Rimuru. "And this is Rimuru-sama, Her Majesty the Queen."
"Wait, she's the Queen?!"
Hina stared at the young, bright-eyed girl in front of her. She genuinely hadn't expected this. What kind of ruler walked into a room behind someone else?
The thought crept in before she could stop it. Could it be that the Regent was the one actually pulling the strings?
She pushed it aside. It wasn't her place to question how another country ran its affairs.
"Yes, I'm the Queen. Something wrong with that?"
Rimuru tilted her head at Hina with a puzzled look.
"No, not at all! Captain Hina, Marines, pays her respects to Her Majesty the Queen and His Excellency the Regent!"
Hina snapped to attention and gave a sharp military salute.
Whatever the political dynamics were here, everything she had seen about this country told her these were leaders worth respecting.
"Haha, no need for all that. We really are just here to watch."
"That's right, we're only observing!"
"Whoa, she's a Marine! That cape is so cool!"
Milim's eyes locked onto Hina's cape and lit up like lanterns. She immediately grabbed Kaito's arm. "Kai-chan! Kai-chan! I want one too! Write 'Demon Lord' on the back! Wahahaha!"
"Alright, alright, I'll have Sakuya make one for you. Can you settle down for just a second?"
Hina watched Kaito manage Milim with the calm patience of someone who had done this many times before. She asked quietly, "If you don't mind me asking, who is she?"
"My little sister. You can just call her Milim."
"Ah, the Regent's younger sister!"
"Wahahaha! I'm a Demon Lord!"
Milim planted both hands on her hips and announced it to the room like it was the most important fact in the world.
Hina laughed softly. "She's certainly full of energy."
"Hahaha, that she is!"
Kaito glanced around and then rolled his shoulders. "Well, now that we've all met, if there's nothing else, please feel free to head off and rest, Miss Marine."
They had really only come to see who this visitor was. Now that they had, there wasn't much reason to stay.
Hina was a character from another world, and Kaito was not the type to let a pretty face throw him off.
"Of course. Thank you again for your hospitality."
Hina gave a final nod and turned, following the soldiers out of the reception room with her adjutant at her side.
Kagaya watched them go, then looked back at Kaito. "Is it really alright to let them move around freely?"
"Let them." Kaito said simply. "When you have absolute strength on your side, any scheme they might try is just a paper tiger. It falls apart the moment you touch it."
"That does put my mind at ease."
While Kaito and the others in the Pirate World were settling into their own leisure, the Jura-Tempest Federation back in the Slime World was receiving a far less welcome visitor.
"Hey! Go get your boss and tell them to come out here! Is this really how monsters treat guests?!"
The Royal Envoy from the Kingdom of Falmuth leaned back in his chair and bellowed across the table at Shuna, who sat across from him with her hands folded neatly in her lap.
"Our Queen and Regent are both currently away. If you have something to say, you're welcome to say it to me."
A brief flicker of disgust passed through Shuna's eyes as she looked at the loud, bloated man before her.
"Ha? A monster talking back to me like that? Just wait. When I get back, I'll have the King send his whole army to wipe this place off the map."
His gaze slid over Shuna's miko attire and something greedy crept into his expression. He leaned forward with a leer.
"Although, if you were willing to keep me company tonight, I might be able to put in a good word for you with the King. For a monster, that's a pretty generous offer, isn't it?"
He settled back with the satisfied look of a man who believed he was doing someone a tremendous favor.
"You filthy pig! Say one more word to Shuna-sama and I'll cut you apart right here!"
Uzui Tengen had already stepped forward from his guard post, hand on his blade, eyes burning.
"Mr. Tengen." Shuna's voice was quiet but clear.
He stopped. "Shuna-sama, this man has no right to—"
Shuna raised one hand and gave it a small, calm wave.
"Please sit back down. I'll handle this."
Tengen stared at her for a moment, jaw tight. "...Fine. You'd better count yourself lucky." He fixed the envoy with one last withering look and lowered himself back into his seat.
"You worthless lackey! You're not even fit to call yourself human! I'll have them kill you for this!" The envoy puffed up even further, pointing a fat finger at Tengen before swinging it toward Shuna. "Well?! Are you going to deal with him or not? Because if you don't cooperate, I'll make sure the King levels this entire place."
Seeing Shuna hold Tengen back had convinced him that these monsters were frightened of him. He was practically glowing with self-importance.
Shuna's smile didn't waver. "Of course, please don't worry. I'll see to it that he's properly disciplined. Now then, Envoy, what exactly is the purpose of your visit today?"
Anyone who knew Shuna would have recognized those signs immediately. The smile that had grown just a little too bright. The tone that had become just a little too pleasant. She was barely holding it together.
"Hmph. I'm here on direct orders from His Majesty the King." The envoy straightened and cleared his throat. "Effective immediately, the Jura-Tempest Federation will serve as a vassal state under the Kingdom of Falmuth. Since this is your first year of tribute, you'll hand over seventy percent of your annual tax revenue. You will also prepare two thousand beautiful women as a gift to His Majesty."
He paused, then added with that same leering grin, "And you personally will be attending to me for the duration of my stay. I trust that's understood? Good. You can start getting things arranged."
He was already smirking to himself, clearly very pleased with how the evening was shaping up.
Shuna's expression didn't change. "Are you telling me all of these conditions came directly from your King?"
"Obviously! What, do you think I made all of this up?!"
He had quietly padded the conditions a little, but the general shape of what he was saying wasn't too far from his actual instructions.
"Goodness." Shuna said lightly. "It sounds like your King might be missing some cells in his brain." The warmth drained from her expression all at once. What replaced it was something calm and sharp and very cold. Her eyes settled on the man across from her. "And as for you, I have put up with quite enough. You fat pig."
"To think we've actually been looked down on like this." Her voice stayed perfectly even. "By the Kingdom of Falmuth, of all people."
"Guards. Remove him."