Shitara Slime Datta Ken (WN)
Compensation and Future Relationships

Well, this and that happened, and now for some reason it suddenly became a banquet.

There are many types of alcohol available. Well, maybe it's just various forms of diluted whiskey and other drinks, but there's enough ice prepared. We do not set aside a way to carry the necessary items for the party.

But, as expected, it was too much to ask for Japanese-style sake, but since I wanted it, many variations of the drink had been prepared.

As it turned out, the drink was rather popular among the Holy Knights.

In a half-drunk state, I was hoping that the talk of “the Tempest” Martial Arts Competition would be forgotten, but it seems that my expectations will not be fulfilled.

This series of events may continue.

So, the next day arrived.

The discussion between Hinata's group and mine's group will finally be finished. Various discussions about the future relationship between Tempest and the Church are likely to take place.

As will happen, as we are the victim side and the party that has received the most substantial level of heavy damage. A soft response in the current situation is not possible for the sake of the future face and common sense.

However, a certain increase in the weight of the fees charged on the actual edge csect known as Blood Shadow was emphasized. It must be different from the desired Church intention.

Because of the small thing called management, then the responsibility for events that occurred not long ago does not completely fall from the responsibility of certain parties.

Although the Holy Knights had to pay some war damages for the failure of their conquest war this time. Well, since the location of Tempest is too far from the territory they control, even if that territory were to be given to me, I wouldn't be able to use it that much.

It does not even occur to mention the fact that this can be solved with money.

To be honest, I see establishing friendly relations abroad as a priority over acquiring gold and everything else.

While thinking about such things, the meeting finally began in earnest.

The participants from Tempest include Rigurdo, Benimaru and myself. In addition, we also have Goblin Leaders who for this purpose are promoted to Ministers.

From the side of the Church are Hinata and her 5 Captains.

Originally, I wanted both parties to acknowledge mutual recognition. Since this was my main goal from the start, getting any additional compensation can be filed afterwards.

Therefore, before we actually started the conference, both parties decided it would be beneficial to exchange general information. Such information generally consists of the situation of each party, such as their current export goods and so on.

After that, the main conference began.

While watching from a middle-of-the-road perspective, I observed every change in the balance of negotiations.

If there are any discrepancies or complications from either party, it would be best if it were corrected in the early stages of the negotiation.

After a few minutes, I began to piece together how the negotiations were going.

Needless to say, from our side, the list of grievances began with the Church-sponsored invasion of the Kingdom of Pharmas.

The direction of negotiations changes depending on the attitude of the other party, but the attitude of each side remains unchanged.

As for the position of the Church, Hinata mentioned that there is a problem with the current demand from the point of view of the Church.

Basically, the recognition of the Monster State was something that went against the teachings of the Church. This is an important issue that can lead to distrust of believers.

If nothing is done, this problem may cause estrangement of the believers. This results in a loss of Church influence, or at least a reduction in Church influence.

This was apparently the reason why the extermination of the Monster Country was the most important.

That is why, according to Hinata, the Church needs a fair reason and a cover story to deal with the situation.

Hence, they chose to take advantage of the fact that the Kingdom of Farmas had publicly demonstrated their desire to secure their profits. Giving the Kingdom an appropriate level of claim to action, they attacked Tempest along with the Kingdom of Pharmas.

Well.. they have admitted that they are entirely guilty here but.the fact that they were manipulated into action is unexpected.

(Hinata)

“Fufufuf. We actually lost, so I doubt we'll be able to make any progress if I don't give you a confession.

Besides…

I, the representative of the Church, believe in the only existence that protects the land and the people.

Those who became Christians found their salvation, and they decided on all other faiths besides the Church.

There is a limit to the number of people I can save myself. I believe that only saving those who follow the teachings of the Church is true justice.

That's also what I'm thinking about even now…

I think I've been wrong.

I should extend my hand to those who have struggled to survive, to live and be happy. As such, I guess my actions are by no means true justice.

No, if we had helped others for the simple reason of helping them, perhaps we would not have been so overpowered by this sense of arrogance.

Because, if we are true believers, we must help all who are in need, not just those who follow our teachings. It is the blindness of our pride.

To nightn strive to achieve this with every ounce of our strength is probably the most we can do. ”

As if making a mental breakthrough, and as a result finding some level of satisfaction, Hinata's face showed a bright smile as she spoke.

For old Hinata, simply saving believers was the logical choice. To abandon those who do not believe in the teaching of the Church.

He did not have the strength to save every last person who needed help, who looked up at the sky begging for a savior. It was a wish that he probably thought was something that could never come true.

That is why he decided that those who follow the teachings of God should be given priority to be saved.

His logical and calculative personality had cut open the hearts of the pagans coldly.

While he remained true to his personal dogma, in his heart, he had only lied to himself until now.

In the end, the number of people he saved was extremely limited. The lines he drew limited the life he could sustain. He can never be everywhere at once, but limiting the choice of who will be saved ultimately leads to wrong decision-making.

In the end, although it was impossible to save everyone, there were more lives that could be saved.

The line that Hinata had drawn before her heart was whether or not a person believed. To not acknowledge a person as righteous unless they have faith to forget the pain of not saving them.

That is why Hinata is very worried about the decline in the number of adherents. If the number of people he trusted was reduced, it was like saying the number of people he could protect was reduced.

Well, he was a little harsh at first. The line of thought was also somewhat skewed, although I could understand the reason more or less. I come from the same world as him.

Those who place all their trust in God, handing over their decisions to those who interpret the teachings of God often end up with a narrow mind. Those who do not have the capacity to make decisions on their own will often make the wrong decisions, leading to a spiral of breakdown.

I was only treated like an enemy because of the current interpretation of Church doctrine. With that alone, I have no objection to their actions, even though religion in general becomes suspicious.

If people are more flexible and try to look at other points of view, the amount of conflict will be drastically reduced.

There is always another reason for conflict. Human nature. Often wars end up being waged for profit, authority, and the like. Lead them to beat each other to black and blue.

In the end, there are people who try to enrich themselves to benefit, while those who are religious will often be left to cry because they lose.

Well, this is a fairly easy story to measure really, I just need to be the one who doesn't cry in the end .. Or rather, I should say the one who tries not to miss.

In short, I need to consider My own intentions.

Rather than complaining to others, if they use their thoughts, they will be able to find a better solution. Well, most people are tough enough in changing viewpoints to put themselves in a favorable position. This is almost second to human nature if one thinks about it.

Maybe this is just an idea, but a good idea to not just blindly trust your partner.

In that case, I think Hinata might be a bit too serious.

From now on I recommend that he live more freely. Get some proper life experienceides his narrow-minded upbringing.

After all, thanks to Hinata being so honest and admitting her own mistakes, the conversation could go smoothly.

There seems to be no objection from the Captain either.

Most likely they had strong faith in Hinata, so they would not voice any objections to Hinata's words.

Much of the discussion addressed both situations, as well as both sides' recognition that the conflict between the two sides had now ended with the Church admitting their wrongdoing.

Now it comes to the point of compensating the discussion, but before that happens …

(Hinata)

“I'm sorry, but there are certain things I want to say about it.”

With that, Hinata began to share her thoughts.

After listening to what he said, it seemed that his superior in the Church within the Holy Kingdom, Ruberius, was not involved with his attack.

It seems that the hierarchy of the Church, or at least the position associated with it, is rather complicated.

Pope, Wise King, or whoever, there seems to be many individuals standing at ‘peak’ of the Chruch hierarchy.

However, the true person who was at the top was the leader of the Holy Knight, Nicolas Cardinal.

The raging that had been unleashed this time, as well as the war of conquest had nothing to do with the Kingdom where the Church was located.

Therefore, in the end, the involvement of the Holy Kingdom of Ruberius was only limited to Hinata.

So, even though I have demanded some form of compensation, Hinata's confession ends all of My hopes of pursuing that direction.

From his point of view, it was because he held the post of personal chivalric head of the Pope that things became somewhat complicated.

To note, the Personal Knight and the Holy Knight were two completely different groups.

Taking action solely at the Pope's request, the so-called “Personal Knights” never leaves the Pope's environment without his orders.

Only the head of the Personal Knight, Hinata herself, was given permission to act freely to act and protect the growth of the Church. That basically included overseeing the growth of the Holy Knight branch.

It was because of his position that the Holy Kingdom was not completely unrelated to the current events.

Although it was not said publicly, the responsibility for this incident rests entirely with Hinata. It was to prevent any wrongdoing on the Holy Kingdom that Hinata had withdrawn from her position as the Chief Personal Knight.

It's also not like this is the end of the story. Hinata had been told by her teacher that she could have been banished at any time.

These teachers are known as the “Seven Celestial Sages” as they are.

Although there was no need to be overly suspicious about this matter, I dared to guess that this first-rate sage was rather bold and powerful.

Since the Holy Kingdom of Ruberius had made careful preparations to sever ties with Hinata if she failed or caused trouble with her current actions, it was impossible to hold them accountable again.

At least in this case, we should consider this as a separate issue of the Western Church as it is.

I guess this time it's necessary to approve the Western Church.

Hah... Then what will be done about the compensation?

As I mentioned earlier, I'm not after money for this situation.

The goal is for the Church to acknowledge our existence, so after they give their confessions, I want to press for a non-aggression pact.

Well, my thoughts were interrupted by a Holy Knight named Arnaud.

(Brongh)

“I don't see any problem with this. If you or your people are really evil, there is no reason for us to remain now. ”

With those words, he showed his agreement.

In contrast to the opinion of the Holy Knight Arnaud was the Vice-Captain, the Holy Knight named Leonard.

(Leonard)

“However, there is still a problem. How should we deal with the teachings of the Church today?Especially when the whole authority of the Church depends on it .. ”

As he said this, his brows furrowed, indicating that he was a bit unsure.

With this, and Hinata's concerns conveyed, it seemed to be the same.

In the worst case scenario, there is even a chance of the Church being dissolved.

An important issue is to protect people during the resolution of the current hostilities. I don't care what happens to the Church in all honesty, with that I will focus on protecting people first.

In contrast to the rational pragmatic Hinata, Church believers will likely focus all their contempt for the Church.

If the Church itself disappeared, the order of Holy Knights protecting people from monsters would most likely spread.

As if to break my mind, the very troubled Leonard spoke of gain.

(Leonard)

“Although so, the population of this country is certainly not ‘Wicked Creatures’ as we thought before. Why not just let this information be announced?

In fact, even Goblins and Orcs, who made up the majority of the population, had figures that were very similar to humans. As for the Lizardmen, they were already considered as demi-humans. There was no need to think about the position of the Dragonewt class.

Even in the case of Onis, rather than being considered a low-grade monster, there were many humans who even saw them within the ranks of the Gods and Gods of the land.

In short, there is no teaching stating that Demi-humans and Demigods are ‘Evil’ right? ”

In short, monsters are not monsters, and hence are not “Jahat” as Church doctrine teaches. Basically what he said was to acknowledge the entire population I am in Demi-human status, allowing us to be treated the same as the dwarves.

This may lead to, at least, some degree of mutual understanding.

This was similar to the points Arnaud had mentioned earlier in the discussion, but he was unable to really convey those points.

Basically, this is a compromise point that is entirely political in nature.

We decided to adopt this opinion and were then able to quickly conduct negotiations that examined every possible detail.

In this way, we managed to create a basic draft for compromise.

By the way, the Church Hierarchy seems to accept and recognize the status of our current citizens. This was accompanied by us being told that the Holy Knights would form an ordinary culture in exchange for regular compensation.

Above all, as additional compensation, we were given their failed experiment. It was basically a set of experimental equipment that they were unable to complete.

As for Hinata's broken sword, we also awarded it, and some parts of the spirit armor were not completely destroyed. Analyzing it is quite simple. In any case, I gave Hinata a duplicate sword to replace her sword as she was almost helpless at the moment.

For the record, the analysis of the Spirit Armor was actually a huge development. I also have the opportunity to analyze the Spirit Equipment that the Holy Knights use.

My current Attributes are Darkness and Magic. Basically I won't be able to use equipment affiliated with the Sacred attribute as it is, but I think there is a possibility to modify it.

It seems that this is a Secret State class weapon, yet we are sitting here, well enough to analyze it. If I take this as compensation, I guess there's no problem with this much.

With this country of ours, things will gradually grow more advanced and sophisticated. Not to mention, armed is better.

After we received ‘compensation’, we started chatting and I ended up collecting some silly information as a result.

I mean, for most people, this is just common sense, but this is the first time I've heard of it.

Basically, it was information about the Great Tenma war that occurred roughly every 500 years or so.

Starting with, the,

(Hinata)

“Yah... Tempura, a bowl of white rice.. even sashimi... Rimuru, without a doubt you are Japanese. There is no doubt in my mind about it.

But to reproduce the food of our world here, I must say I'm both surprised and amazed. What you said was true, You have managed to reach the environment you wanted in two years….

If I'd never seen any of this with my own eyes, I'd never have believed it in my entire life! ”

Hinata has started with this casual segment, but….

(Rimuru)

“No, there's still a lot to do.

Logistics are still too slow, communication is still out of the question.

Since there is a miracle, a relaxing life and food preservation is possible for now.

The worst part of this time is definitely the culture. There is still too little depth in our environment.

It will take time, but one day it will be applied to society.

My current goal is the major development of our highway network and its maintenance. I want to get a safe and secure path to develop. We were working on it, and it was gradually beginning to take shape.

After that I want to do the information transfer. I gave up on wireless communication a while ago because I had no knowledge of the matter.

However, even though the transmission can greatly be upgraded through the incorporation of Magic Steel, so I plan on utilizing this for short and medium term.

When magic steel connected between cities through space through the use of shadow steps, it was possible to communicate with them without using excessive amounts of magic.

What do you think? Comfortable right? ”

Well. I was a little bragging.

In fact, not only between our cities, but a network that would connect even the villages was planned.

Bester has developed a long-range telecommunications technology that he calls Comm-Gems.

It is too magic intensive if visual images are also conveyed during communication, so it is currently impossible to include every village. It's something to see for the future.

If the steel cable will be processed and eventually stretched, it is possible to handle it only with human energy.

If the Shadow Step space is to be used, then this process can be done easily without obstacles.

After that, we just wait for the development and refinement of the receiving point.

As expected, from someone living in the Information Age, the speed of information transfer takes a special place in my will.

Hinata was clearly amazed by my plan.

(Hinata)

“Uh... um.. well... er, it's all fine…

Be careful not to go too far. You will be attacked by angels. ”.

Hinata said this in a relaxed tone.

Angel!? What was that? What about Angels?

Hinata seemed to realize my confusion and continued.

(Hinata)

“Ara? You don't know?

Every five hundred years, the gates of heaven would open, allowing the Angels to begin their invasion.

Based on the basics, they did not attack human settlements very often, but overdeveloped cities were eventually destroyed.

Research shows that the Angels look down on civilization as the One for them if you will.

The only one who managed to escape from their attack was the Dwarf Kingdom.

Their domain only had two entrances. Large-scale invasions were also unsuccessful as dragons inhabited the mountains.

Therefore, they managed to defend themselves.

More or less that is the reason why civilization stagnated to a certain degree.

The only exception was the kingdom of Ingrasia. That is also the reason why the board is in the first place. It was to conduct research and try to reduce the damage from any invasion.

Every five hundred years, the Imperial Capital is redesigned based on how much damage was caused after the invasion. It is basically trial and error.

This is something that is unanimously approved by every country and something that is fully understood by all residents.

Also because their research has not been excessive so the damage and destruction can be suppressed to a minimum.

Each country provides support and conducts their research in total secrecy. Any discovery is usually kept secret and only the King in each country can take advantage of the latest technological developments.

If they spread the results to the people, the angels would definitely vent their anger on them.

The system is carefully defined and approved. Only discoveries are determined not to cause incidents that are released to the masses.

The purpose of the angels was to eliminate monsters as well.

I guess that's something you shouldn't ignore. ”

Is this something that everyone knows?

Feelings like this I always feel when I get an explanation like this…

But what is it about angels? How I've never heard of them….

(Rimuru)

“Oi, do you know about this?”

Well, at least not everyone. When I questioned Rigurdo and the others present, they had absolutely no idea about this.

I don't know anything about the Angel invasion, but I do know that when Angels come to attack, it just means a war between the Demon King and the Angel.

Well, I was wondering about the war that happened five hundred years ago. I wonder if it is a war between Demon Lords or a war against Humans.

When you think about it, if it was just a fight with humans, it would be a half joke if any form of truce was actually made or respected.

Although I never really thought about it in depth, now I'm starting to get ideas based on everything I've told you. I guess that makes sense now.

Yet ... every five hundred years the Angels invade yes …

They don't approach humans, but what's with this hatred of civilization?

Is it just because they want to disturb humanity, or are they afraid of something?

To be honest, I don't understand the intent behind their actions.

(Rimuru)

“So? Do they leave some countries alone? What happens if someone beats an angel? ”

Well, the answer to my question is pretty clear.

That's a very bad idea. If you really want to make enemies of a race higher than most monsters or demons, you can know the rest by yourself.

Indeed, the demons are quite troublesome, I might not want to go out and make another enemy.

As it stands, there is no need to do any interference with an undeveloped human being. What limits will technology be destroyed?

Could it be that they hated the tastes of otherworldly people? Maybe gunpowder is useless.

It seems that Angels individually approach the B rank of +, so they always come with a team of approximately.. 1,000,000 or more …

In addition, there was a Captain/Commander class leader who was stronger and organized the invasion.

It seemed like there were General level classes as well, but this individual's combat ability was unknown.

The Demon King's body might be stronger.

They were also under the attributes of the Saints, so any real attacks or interventions from the Church would probably be useless.

Though, even if nothing was done, the helpless monsters would generally be massacred under the Angelic invasion.

However, they did not seem to be allies of mankind either, even Hinata did not know much about them.

Well, that's to be expected because no human has seen an Angel for more than five hundred years. The only reason they are known is through historical footage and rumors.

Given that, there is a good reason why the Church considers monsters as enemies, and also why demons exist.

Among the monsters, there seemed to be an organization that was extremely hostile towards humans. There was even a Demon King in their midst who clearly hated humans as well. Yeah, of course you are…

Clayman was a representative of that faction, but he was dead by now.

With Clayman dead, no Demon King among the Eight Star Demon Lords had any clear enmity towards mankind.

(Hinata)

“HAH?! Clayman is dead ?! ”

Oh, that surprised Hinata.

(Rimuru)

Yeah, he's dead. I killed him and destroyed his soul. ”

While I'm looking for delicious, salty and greasy potato chips, I offer you my answer without the burden.

Ah, potato chips are the perfect snack ..

Rather than talking about that little fish, I would rather talk about the Angel that is to come. But it was clear that he was conflicted about whether or not he should give up on the matter.

That kind of little fry .. what happened to him doesn't matter at all if I'm really honest. Well, that's what I was thinking, but….

From what Hinata told him about, Clayman had always acted discreetly and they could never get any leads on him.

However, his extreme enmity towards humanity was obvious, and if there was no examination of the internal balance between the Demon King, and the necessary approvals of some other Demon Kings, it was clear, he probably would have gone to war with them centuries ago.

Then I remembered.

(Rimuru)

“Oh right, I just remembered that Clayman called his master the Demon King Kazaream or something natural. Ah, she seems to have a relationship with Yuuki, so it's better to be careful.

The Holy Knights who had not heard this were told so.

(Anon Holy Knight 1)

‘Hah? The leader of the Freedom Association might be Demon King Kazaream? ”

(Anon Holy Knight 2)

“However ... we cannot simply examine it publicly about this ... If handled incorrectly, this could lead to an all-out war between the Church and the Freedom Association ..”

(Rimuru)

“Yeah, Kazaream is alive and we assume he managed to manipulate Clayman …

That means the boss of the hostile demon is Kazaream. Even if he was not the de-facto leader, the chances of him monitoring them might be very high. ”

I said that while eating some potato chips.

But, contrary to their serious facial expressions, their hands continued to spit out new potato chips into their mouths.

These people ... Aren't you acting too familiar?

Heck, even Hinata reached out her hand and bit into various items.

Wait, what is this about ?! Is this really a topic that you can just discuss?

So on and so on, but I ended up just muttering rashly, especially since it had nothing to do with me anymore.

(Rimuru)

“Good. It's just a possibility. But the best thing is that we don't act recklessly.

However, I admit that there are many people who are chasing after the children of “Lainworld”, so I don't want to warn them if I don't need to. ”

(Hinata)

“About that, I thought I might know somewhere. I'd like to go and check further, but do you mind if I do? ”

(Rimuru)

“Eh? Uh.. Ah .. Do you need to ask carefully? Are there any professional informants in the Freedom Association? ”

Hinata may have a similar idea.

I might be able to figure out what she's up to, and if that's what I'm thinking, it's not a bad idea to entrust her to her.

Thinking of this, I hesitantly nodded in agreement.

Indeed, even though there was no real evidence, this was not something that could be left alone.

These issues will all be determined by the information we collect. Hinata's eyes showed me that she also realized the importance of the situation at hand and we nodded at each other.

Thus, our future relationship with the Church has been successfully arranged. We were able to complete the friendship meeting and spend our time meaningfully.

I can even get some unexpected information, but I'd better let ‘itu’ people to check it out.

Hinata also stayed for about two or three more days before she returned.

For the sake of emergency contact, allowing one party to directly contact the other, some people were left behind. However, monitoring us is no longer their purpose here.

Since we have stopped all open hostility, it is best to establish friendly relations in the future.

If possible, I want to keep the relationship as it is.

Like this, the series of Conflicts with the Church, officially reached a tentative settlement.