The World's Ego

Eve of Festival

Rimuru POV

Two days later, it was the day before the eve of the festival when most of the invited nobles and royalty were set to arrive. The Kingdom of Blumund's royal couple had already arrived the day before and I took some time to have a talk with them. Then the next day my next guest arrived to greet me in the guest room, wearing a nice suit and tie attire.

"I have come, Rimuru. Having not ridden in carriages in a long time tired me out." King Gazel greets me with a grin

"Welcome, King Gazel!" I returned a greeting and motioned him to the plate of donuts on the table, "Go ahead!"

He sits across from me and practically devours the donuts before talking again.

"The elders spontaneously requested to come along, increasing the number of carriages dramatically! This is all your fault, Rimuru!" He complains to me, "To act like a King, there needs to be a preparation to its scale. It was a relief that at least the roads were properly maintained but the past few days still made for a very tiring trip."

"Ah... I'm sorry."

Souei did report that the road to Blumund is jam-packed despite the extra width we added to it. I did asking them to gather information for future improvements, but hearing King Gazel's complaints now are making me think... Maybe we should consider a method of transportation that won't be as tiring... Like a train! That's right! The magitrain project! Iris made that suggestion but I felt like it was far too early to make something like that... But now I can probably start considering prototypes to be made soon.

"Still, I never thought that you would come in person, King Gazel. I thought you might send an emissary instead." I answered him honestly

He crosses his arms with a huff, "Hmph! How could I not come? You seemed to be plotting something again, so I couldn't have peace of mind until I saw it with my own eyes to judge it myself! And... I have something to ask.", his expression was serious as he looked at me

"Hm? What is it?"

"You seem to have fought with Hinata Sakaguchi... the rumor that you ended in a draw is a lie, right?" King Gazel questioned as he stared at me

I took some time to think of an answer, "Well, I did win..."

I then proceeded to tell him the entire story of the fight between me and Hinata.

"Unbelievable. That woman in honesty is stronger than me. It would be another story if we were to talk just about swordsmanship, but in overall strength, I'd be pushed back. Yet you really still won?"

"Uh, well, yeah... Maybe I was lucky too since my skills also helped me a lot." I responded hesitantly, hiding some truths

I guess I've been alive longer than I expected and all my battle experiences from back then helped me out during my fight with Hinata...

"Liar." King Gazel scoffed with crossed arms, "You only battled her with swordsmanship and without using your real weapon. Surely you remember that you specifically told me that you are an expert in using bows."

"Ah... Hahaha..."

I can't rebuke that...

"Well, fine, since you have secrets you want to keep, then that's that. However, what are you planning this time?" He asked while I tilted my head in confusion as he clears up my confusion with his next sentence, "The Western Saints Church, how viewed us as something akin to monsters, change their doctrine now? This sudden change reeks of your doing!"

Oh, that! Right, right! I remembered advising Hinata and her Knights to bring King Gazel into this change. Since the Dwarven Kingdom has always stayed neutral for over a thousand years, even the most devout believers of the Church probably don't regard dwarves as monsters, save for maybe a small minority. Ah... I didn't ask him for approval and just went with it. I didn't think he would be this angry...