The Accursed, the Banished and the Regretfuls

Chapter 6 : Fox and wolves

Rimuru's POV:

As we are going to the Treant Settlement, the old hag told me what she did in those past years. While she made a deal with some Demons to help her surveying the surface, she responded to a few summons herself. Not only to gather some intel, but also to construct a persona for the humans.

She found a great way to move their hearts by protecting the king of one of the Western Nations, dismantling a conspiracy to overthrow him and giving clues on how to resolve his kingdom crisis, going further than what the contract stipulated. It has a good impact on the Human world because this king was known to be a good one, loving his people, albeit being too kind and naive with his opponents.

And she did better when she planned the destitution of another one who tried to wage a war against a rival nation. This scum tried to make the people forget about his disastrous ruling by blaming his neighbor for their misery. He wanted a great pawn to assert his power against his target.

But when she responded to his summon, it didn't end well for him as she already saw what kind of trash he was. By making all of his misdeeds publicly known, disposing of him and choosing a good replacement, those who heard about what she did in her first summon started to see her as a token of prosperity.

They started to call her the 'Demon of Honor' *Pfft*, because she helps only those who are worthy and punish those who forgot their responsibility. They even made a great deal about her quirk of sometimes touching people when they are in range, mistaking it as a blessing and calling it the 'Hand of Regalia'. Seriously, I'm trying hard to maintain my pokerface.

In addition to these, she's also known in the Jura Forest for having swiftly ended a war between two of the strongest tribes, preserving the tranquility of this land and even gave help to some of the weakest groups to survive. Man, her reputation will be a great help, for once she made a good use of her brain.

I also got useful info about the current state of the world, and we have work to do. Several Demon Lords have awoken in the last 2000 years, they are called the Ten Great Demon Lords -talk about a lame name- and the red porcupine is their leader.

The Eastern Empire was created when the First Hero defeated or made alliances with the bordering countries, and is currently trying to conquer the world. On top of that, we have the Great Tenma War, when the Angels are attacking the most developed countries every 500 years. That's the cooldown of Armageddon, what a surprise.

Seriously you two, you're still on this stupid game after all this time? We'll need to kick their ass in the future. Your death has worsened everything, Veldanava. If I succeed in resurrecting you, I'll make you work to the bone to compensate for all of this stupidity.

When we finally arrived, Treyni guided us to a small house, in a clearing with a pond. Here lives the last of the Nineheads, the little fox spirit who was saved by the old hag years ago. Apparently she can choose between a fox and a human form, and look like a child when using the latter. But she remains most of the time here, barely talking to anyone.

I see Mithra looking a little sad. She visited her once after leaving her in the Dryads care, and it didn't go well. Pretty normal if you ask me, seeing her face must have brought back traumatic memories of this event. We had our share of pain, but we can't imagine what it means to have lost absolutely everything and everyone you hold dear, and be the sole survivor of the genocide of your species.

-"Little one? Can we come in?"

It's not everyday you see the old hag use such a gentle tone. What would the humans think if they saw this?

-"Leave me alone! I said I didn't want to see your cursed face again, Demon. Go rot in Hell and don't come back."

-"... Rimuru, help me please."