The World's Ego

Bearer of Greed

Rimuru POV

I continued to stand guard in front of Kagali and the exploration team as Shion and the others continued to fight the incoming golems while keeping watch for any ambush attacks.

"I'm really surprised that someone actually attacked. Who would be so daring as to launch an attack on a Demon Lord? And they even awakened that Chaos Dragon..." Kagali asked me in curiosity 

"I'm sorry to have dragged everyone into this matter." I apologized to everyone

"There's no such thing! Now that the Chaos Dragon has been revived, it is rather reassuring to have Rimuru-sama at our aid."

"That's right! We need to report this back to headquarters as soon as possible so that they can figure out a solution."

"But if Demon Lord Milim were to be defeated, wouldn't that leave us with no solution at all..."

"Rather than thinking about that, it's more important to overcome the trouble brewing right before us! We have no idea who did this, but intentionally triggering the traps is terribly wicked."

I smiled a little as they managed to bring the mood back up with their optimistic views, though this wasn't the time.

"I already said that I will protect all of you, so trust me. I just have to win!" I assured them with a smile

I believe that Milim will not lose to the Chaos Dragon, so we just need to deal with things on our end and head back to the surface to help her.

"Rimuru-sama sure has a lot of enemies. Is it because you became a Demon Lord?" Kagali asks me since I turned my attention back to the battle in front of us

"I guess, but it's not like I wanted any of them." I shrugged

"Why?"

"The Kingdom of Falmuth angered me. Demon Lord Clayman played a few dirty tricks and I was forced to defend myself. Hinata the Saint had a few problems with me because of a misunderstanding. It has always been this way. They picked a fight with me and I am always left with no choice but to confront them. This is actually justified self-defense." I explained

Kagali continues with her line of questioning, "I see. Then, has Rimuru-sama never actively set up a scheme?" 

"Ah, not this time. There is a conflict of interest between the opponent and me this time. Since our beliefs clashed, it became a competition of who would strike first. That's why things developed to this point."

"Can you resolve the conflict without violence...?"

"Maybe, but if this is a fight where you can only win by absorbing your opponent, it would be under the circumstances that the opponent doesn't want to be absorbed by me. So I guess this was the right decision." I answered with a small sigh

"Eh? In other words, you thought that what your enemies were doing was the right thing?"

I pondered her question this time, "Mm... No, not really. We just have different stances and justice has infinite forms. I cannot say that I am definitely in the right, but quitting here would put us at a disadvantage. That's why all we can do now is fight our enemies with everything we have."

"But you can still respect their perspective, exchange opinions, and try to establish good relationships. Wouldn't there be no need to be hostile against each other then?"

It was another difficult question that I had to think a little harder for an answer, "No, it wouldn't work. The desire of man... humankind is limitless and they would not simply endure. If your opponent steps back, you would obviously make more demands. That's simply human nature."