Shitara Slime Datta Ken (WN)
Ahead of Meeting With Hinata

Hinata leaves the inner house.

When they confirmed that his presence was disappearing, the four of them continued their conversation.

「Sad child. He seriously considers himself a hero? 」

「Ya ... she is too experienced compared to the previous one」

「He won't even reach the last leg!」

「But it is true he is the strongest we have」

「But is this okay? To send Hinata without the princess' permission? 」

「He will be angry .. but if we send Venus, Saturn, and the Sun to console him, surely his displeasure will not last.」

「Last time, we seven left and he still hasn't fully recovered」

「But Hinata cannot compare with that person.」.

They said, exchanging looks.

Each one confirms each other, and,

「We don't know what the creature is, but I'm glad it appeared」

“Indeed. Thanks to that, the princess has awakened 」

「But we can't let it be what it is」

「No matter the cost, we have to recover the person ..」

They said nod.

What the Seven Celestial Sages considered important was a true hero.

The current representative was too incompetent.

Even though he was such a substitute collecting a bit of salt from the table due to the lack of a full salt shaker, he was still the strongest ingredient they had encountered over the past few years.

But his heart was too weak.

Acquired mental and soul strength that far exceeded normal humans.

The weakness of his heart prevented him from achieving this.

He's broken merchandise.

And he himself did not realize it. His flesh had stopped growing.

He stopped growing two years after joining the church.

With his body frozen at seventeen years of age due to spirit blessings, he could no longer age.

Although she was loved by the spirit in such a way, she could never forget her trauma.

Cool and logical.

Trying to save the weak – including himself.

But what he lacked most was emotion.

He doesn't love people.

Never loved as a child has broken his heart.

Accepting the love of the spirit does not awaken it.

Unfortunately, they could not expect any further awakening from him.

So as long as he sought the strength of the new demon lord, that was enough.

「Have we reached understanding?」

“Of course. If he wins – is good, if he loses. 」.

「We will state that he acted alone」

「Yes, and then we will grandly declare our recognition of the Monster Country Tempest! 」

Hinata is a disposable pawn.

It's good if he wins, thrown away if he loses.

And they know how to avoid taking responsibility.

All done for their dear wishes.

Everything is done for the one who is covered in darkness…

And before long, the presence of the Sages faded into darkness.

＊ ＊ ＊

I soon learned that Sakaguchi Hinata had set off towards my Monster Country Tempest.

He was carrying a hundred fully armed Templar Knights.

Without a doubt, he had only chosen the strongest knight who would not hinder him in the slightest.

As expected of Hinata.

He soon realized that a half-baked army would be completely worthless.

But I thought with regret.

It identifies us with a naturally dangerous existence and rejects any opportunity for reconciliation in the future.

Frankly, what is his purpose in the future?

If you don't try to understand your opponents, your only option is to destroy them…

But it will definitely lead to a great war.

The modern Japanese know how much blood has been shed in the name of God.

In the end, Hinata and the church moved by imposing their ideals on others.

Such an act completely ignores what the other party believes or says.

I don't believe justice can be found in these actions.

Doesn't Hinata understand that?

I realized that he was the one who ignored what others said.

If the enemy is a monster, there is no need to listen.

Did he believe that they would be able to show their true strength when the war started?

In fact…

Just a thought, but I had expected him to act according to modern Japanese common sense, but wasn't he really lacking it?

If he came here when he was 15, does he not know the history of our world?

Besides, I don't know much about modern education, so how much do they teach right now?

Well, whatever.

In the end, whether you can practice your knowledge depends on the person himself.

Not knowing something is not an excuse and is not important to us at all.

There is nothing we can do about the fact that he was given great power as a child.

Besides, he declared us his enemy.

There's no point in saying anything more.

I shook my head to expel this thought.

I must destroy my enemies.

I gathered the department heads and discussed the situation.

First, Souei reported Hinata's progress.

By my decree, he has sent spies to the great cities of the Kingdom of Ingracia and the Kingdom of Pharmas.

Getting information is the basis of war.

When we sent messengers to the church, I also sent spies to the Holy Empire Ruberion.

But, to my surprise, a group of knights were suddenly transferred and departed from the headquarters of the Western Saint Church of the Ingracia Kingdom.

Since entering it was dangerous, further confirmation was obtained with the power of gold, so whether the information was trustworthy or not …

Sure enough, Souei. although I taught him the basics of being a ninja, he developed it to suit his taste.

Even I, who taught her, was surprised by how well it suited her.

Well, in fact, the most important point was taught by Fuze.

Although he might teach her many cunning things, so no one could achieve this much. I see, I thought satisfied.

Souei sends Soukadan other ninjas to various countries and uses the natives to gather information.

And among the information they obtained was the fact that there were too many Knights Templar in the Kingdom of Ingracia.

What was strange was the speed at which people moved to the Ingracia Kingdom from the Holy Kingdom of Ruberion.

No matter how many roads they make or how safe they are, they move too fast.

More people enter the Church than leave.

In the end, for three days, a hundred templars had departed.

And the decisive evidence was the appearance of Palace Guard Captain Sakaguchi Hinata.

He was famous enough that the information bureau immediately found out.

One hundred soldiers naturally charged the horses and set off towards the Kingdom of Pharmas.

In other words, they took the fastest route to our country.

They'll be here in two weeks.

With that thought in mind, I should praise Souei for getting the information that quickly.

He calmly presented his findings at this emergency department meeting.

He's totally reliable.

「As expected, you have obtained important data in a short time. Keep good work in future 」

「No, at the moment I still have a lot to upgrade」

When I praised him, Souei calmly accepted the compliment.

Really, a shadow.

Her beautiful face was completely expressionless.

Well, by using the information obtained, we can make a plan.

Although we have not been able to confirm that his party actually consists of the templars, I decided to proceed with that in mind.

In that case, they were an army of 100 A-ranked individuals. Led by Hinata.

In contrast to the previous 15 thousand soldiers, the current one was much more dangerous.

I don't plan on going alone this time. Not planning to commit suicide.

So what are we supposed to do?

I asked the department head for his opinion.

「How about we cut everything?」

I won't say who said it, but just consider this guy an idiot.

Completely ignoring whether we could or could not do it, he only mentioned the results.

That was why he wanted a unique skill that was useless.

「Against them all directly? If we do that, there will definitely be fatalities 」

Yep. Benimaru seemed to have left a proud mind.

He seriously considers abilities and can judge our fighting prowess accurately.

Well, he often trains with Hakurou so this is proof of his growth.

I've always said that we should hand it over to our general, but maybe that's actually a good idea.

「That might be a good idea, but they are templars. Each one should have an A rating at least.

Even if we attack from above, we won't be able to break through their shields.

We might be able to stop them like that, but surely Gerudo will do better in that case 」

“As you said. Division I'm a lot. And if we just need to stop them, they won't be able to hurt us too much 」

That's how the conversation continues.

Victims, yes.

Just when everyone is safe and sound. I can't stand to see my friend die.

But our enemy is Hinata, and he's dangerous.

The last time we fought, I could escape my — goals, but if we fight to the death, I would have already died.

Besides, he didn't try hard.

Right now, only I can fight it.

I can't imagine myself losing, but I don't know how it would be if the knights would fight with him.

Moreover, the knights posed a different matter. How should we treat them?

Should we slaughter them all or let them go?

They are the guardians of mankind blessed by the spirit.

I can't ignore the casualties created by the monsters in this world. And protecting the village and the city was the duty of these knights.

They prevent further casualties. Most of them hate monsters. And this templar is the embodiment of hope, hope, and the prayer of every victim.

Such is the Knights Templar.

Maybe this time if I can talk to Hinata I can clarify the misunderstanding.

But unfortunately, because we were monsters, he treated us as a plague that required immediate cleanup.

Not that I don't understand what they mean.

Surely many of them lost friends, family, and lovers to monsters.

And it was true that many mindless monsters were rampaging aimlessly.

The Monster Country Tempest prevented such a victim.

And, it seems that we are not displacing monsters from this land.

But in some other lands monsters might be killing humans right now.

If we slaughter all the knights, who will protect the land?

I cannot ignore my responsibility for the lost life.

So annoying. It was all because Hinata was not listening.

Therefore, there is no way to make them trust us or avoid a battle …

They are also not opponents that we can fight while holding back.

They are anti-monster experts. If we underestimate them, we will be killed.

If we win with overwhelming force maybe we can convince them of our goodwill.

It's annoying.

Anyway, I want to win without producing a single casualty.

In that case, a personal duel.

If I defeat Hinata, the knight's will will be destroyed.

So hurt.

Without knowing his true strength, I cannot expect things to go according to plan…

「Alright, I decided. We will win without killing any knights.

But that's as long as none of us fall in battle.

That is why,

First, the Yellow Numbers led by Gerudo would form a defensive line around Tempest.

Don't allow any knights to enter our city.

Benimaru, leading Green Numbers, Dark Reds, and Yellow Numbers will be placed inside.

Support any part involved in the battle.

Look, the Gerudo group is our main line of defense.

If the enemy reaches it, destroy them.

Shion Yomigaeri.

Hiryu Gabil's.

And, Gobuta and his Goblin Riders are our main force this time around.

Yomigaeri will fight immediately. Although they could not win, they were immortal so they would slow it down.

Furthermore, Gobuta and Goblin Riders will support the Yomigaeri.

Do hit-and-run tactics to interrupt their movements.

Don't let them trap you, so focus on mobility.

Lastly, Hiryu would be implicated from the sky.

Rescue the troubled riders and close the gap in our defensive line.

And, get involved with the intention to fight one by one.

It would be best if the templars could watch the entire battle.

Souei will observe the battle from the shadows.

Diablo would avoid directly engaging and observing from the sky.

If you see such a powerful knight, I'll hand it over to you.

Benimaru, I leave the last line of defense to you. Gerudo, obey the instructions.

Also, if the enemy proves to be much stronger than expected and our chances of winning are almost nonexistent, Benimaru, immediately begins to retreat.

Escape to the High Orc settlement.

If I fall, Veldora will face Hinata.

That's it all.”

I decided what could hardly be called a strategy.

In one of a million chances that they attack our city, Benimaru and Gerudo will protect him.

I made plans while considering all their propositions.

I closed my eyes and ran some battle simulations.

Frankly, the King of Wisdom Raphael believed this to be the act that produced the least amount of casualties.

Actually, Raphael has absolutely no doubt about my victory.

This whole plan collapses if I have trouble fighting it or losing.

Is Raphael okay?

I thought about this all the time, but wasn't Raphael a very confident individual?

If anything, Raphael trusts me too deeply.

Well, the King of Wisdom believes in my power. Which I don't trust — because of the difference.

Ah, whatever.

I saw the department heads here gathered.

They all look at me.

And,

「In other words, we decapitated everything, right?」

「…」

“Just kidding.

In other words, we fought without killing a single one of them and without losing a single one of us.

Meanwhile, Rimuru-sama will bring us their chief general! 」

They seem to understand.

For a second there I wondered if they all had headaches.

But if Shion understood, then everyone understood too.

I'll hit the sleeping Gobuta later, so it'll be fine too.

「Now, in order for everyone to understand, I will say it again.

If the enemy is stronger than I expected, if the battle goes badly, escape.

I left that decision to Diablo and Benimaru.

Also, don't forget to share information through the Thought Network.

I hope we can all weather this storm safely. That's it all!”

「「 「Ay, You will be finished !!!」 」」

They all agree.

Now, we wait for the battle.

To ensure my victory, I have prepared some devices.

“This device” is not big.

Other than me, the head of the department will be in trouble if the enemy installs a holy barrier.

At one in a million chance of the knights building a holy barrier, we will lose.

This device prevents the barrier from working.

They were created thanks to Raphael's analysis.

The simplest device would purify magical energy using spirits. But, you need a lot of spirit power for that.

And the true spirit of affinity is rare. Furthermore, you will need four high-tier spirits.

So what's the alternative?

First of all, spirits naturally resist magical energy.

Open a hole in the barrier.

To do that, create a large tunnel leading out of Tempest.

Of course, the exit of the tunnel was located in such a way that Benimaru could easily reach everything he had.

So it doesn't matter even if they see that tunnel.

The entrance will be put in place on the battlefield that we consider most appropriate.

Since the enemy came through the Kingdom of Pharmas, we can easily predict their path.

I don't want any casualties in the forest, so we'll fight them in the open plains.

Besides, I will be liberal and strengthen the tunnel with Demon Steel.

And that's when I was thinking of asking Veldora to guard the tunnel. And we will make him release his aura normally when the battle begins.

So we are ready to fight the Holy Barrier.

Everything's sorted.

Now, I'm just looking forward to the second meeting.