Volume 27 - Interlude 1 - Slime Bubble
The Kingdom of Vernia, a small country located in the middle of the continent, is a peaceful place.
Today, I, the king, have come up with a new game and am playing with it.
「The~ree, I'm going to catch you!」
「Nooo~~, King is pervert~!」
It's a traditional Japanese game from TV historical dramas, where you get women you've paid to wear kimonos and pull the sashes around them.
Every man would like to do that at least once in his life.
Of course, this was all for a reason.
As a King, there was no way I could just play around without meaning.
The reason.――
The German general said that there are four types of soldiers.
1. Incompetent and lazy people are suitable for low-level soldiers. They do what their superiors tell them to do without question.
2. Competent slackers are suitable for commanders. They are good at using others to make things easier.
3 A good worker is good at being a chief of staff. They prepare for this and that in minute detail.
4 But incompetent workers should be shot, because they will do terrible things.
He said.
In other words, if I, a not very capable person, work diligently as the king, the world will become a mess.
I can't bear that――
And with a sorrowful look on my face, I made up some urban legends about Serina and forced her to do the job of king. Saki and the ministers of the castle are also assisting me, so I can play with women in the daytime like this.
「Okay, I got you!」
「Ah~nn, I got caught♪」
Her slurred tongue seems to be a bit of an act, but I'll forgive it for being cute. Of course, all the women I've invited here are virgins. It's perfect, because I even done 【Appraisal】 on them.
「Alec, we're in trouble!」
The undesirable person who opened the door and came in without knocking was Serina. It's a little thoughtful of the guards to let her in and out.
「What's with the racket?」
「Geez, Are you playing boring play with women again?」
「It's not boring. I'm having fun.」
「Hmph, I wonder what the people will think when they see their king like this.」
「Of couse they won't see me like this, because it's private」
「I'll make it public.」
「This is just a private game, Serina. Even kings need their breaks. Or are you asking me to work 48 hours a day straight?」
「It doesn't have to be that extreme. ...... Also, a day in this world is 24 hours long.」
「I know. I'm talking about a little old commercial, don't you know?」
「I don't know. It's just that there's a lot of demons out there.」
I'm surprised to hear that.
「What? Are they coming into the city?」
「No, that's all right. For now, we're mobilizing all of our soldiers and guild adventurers to stop them. But there are so many enemies, it might not be good if it lasts a little longer.」
「Tsk, I hope they haven't started something nasty again.」
I remembered the word "Stampede" in a corner of my mind, but I guess I'd better check the situation first. I sent the women home and asked Meena to help me get my equipment ready.
「Meena, have you heard the full report?」
I asked the white-haired dog-eared girl who had been so helpful and reliable in taking care of me.
「No, but I heard that there is an abnormal outbreak of slime.」
「What, a slime?」
When I heard the word "Demons," I was a little surprised, thinking that there were a lot of monsters out there, but no matter how many slimes come out, they're just slimes. Even ordinary townspeople, even children, could handle them. Serina that guy is making too much of fuss.
I was a little distracted, but it was still better to find out the cause of the unusual outbreak, so I took Meena and headed out of the city.
Outside the stone walls that surround Erlandt, the royal capital of Vernia, soldiers and adventurers are slaying slimes that are approaching like waves on the ocean.
「Goddamn it, there's no end to it!」
「Damn it, I can't lift my arms anymore. I need to rest a bit. Somebody! Switch places with me!」
「Hey, there, don't back out on your own! If that slime gets into you, you'll have a hard time pushing it back!」
It was as if a pack of orcs had attacked, and a sense of urgency was in the air. But even so, the opponent is the weakest slime, a transparent one. I tried to appraise it, but it was only level 1 and weak.
「Why in the world are there so many of them ......?」
Meena gasps at the sight of the swarm of slimes.
「Well then. But first, let's give them some rest.」
I used 【Levitate】 to float in the air, and held up my right hand.
「Jajaja Jajaja Jajaja Jajaja Jajaja Jajaja!!!!」
This is the magic of the Ice Javelin. I launched it at the swarm of slimes.
The nearly one-meter-long ice javelin shot out at high speed sewed the enemies to the ground and pierced through the soft membrane one after another. The surrounding slimes were wiped out in the blink of an eye, and white smoke rose up.
「「「Ohhhhhh!」」」
「Look, That's some serious magic!」
「That can't be!」
「King Alec!」
「What a bastard. Looks like his reputation for defeating demon kings is true.」
「He's floating. ...... Is he even human?」
The adventurer, who had never seen me before, rolled his eyes and made a fuss.
「Hey, the slime is coming again. Don't let your guard down.」
「Ha, forgive me, Your Majesty!」「Ooh!」
「All right, soldiers, switch to the rear units while you still can! Your Majesty!」
A knight with black hair and piercing sky-blue eyes――the Guard captain Lancelot gave the order and came over here.
「Lancelot, have you found out the cause?」
「No, not yet, but I'm having the court mages and scholars investigate it now.」
「You can spend as much money as you want. Have the Adventurer's Guild send out an urgent quest to investigate as well.」
I gave him instruction.
I don't care how weak the enemy is, we can't afford to take it easy when there's a battle involved. At night, people need to sleep.
「I understand. Make the arrangements.」
「Right away!」
「Eeii, you're always getting in the way of slime. Why don't you stop resting and take out the enemy as soon as possible!」
On the other side of the room, I heard a man dressed in silk clothes that didn't look like they were meant for battle yelling at adventurers and soldiers.
「Lancelot, who is that guy?」
「is the former minister, Count Mutha von Maus.」
「Ex? Then he has no authority. Now shut him up or take him out.」
「Yes, sir. You two, follow me.」
Lancelot will take the knight and bring in the non-combatant outsider.
「Whoa, what are you doing, what a rude bastard」
「This is an order from His Majesty the King. It's a nuisance to disrupt the chain of command. Count.」
「What? Your Majesty! As a former minister, I'm trying to be helpful――」
He tried to explain to me, but I didn't need to hear every word. I gave Lancelot a shooing motion with my hand.
「Your Majesty's orders. Take him to his cell. If he's too noisy, I'll have him thrown in jail to cool off.」
「Right away!」
「Sigh. You're not a good commander if you don't give your soldiers a break. I can't believe he's a former minister.」
I sigh. The order not to rest is a word that should only be used for those who are slacking off.
It's not a word you should use on someone who is tired from working so hard.
「Indeed. If a soldier is exhausted, they will not be able to fight.」
The soldier Lancelot also nodded with a sigh.
「Darling, I think I know what the caused of this!」
Saki, dressed as a lightly-dressed Thief, came running. She's pulling Letty behind her with a rope wrapped around her, but ...... I think I know what caused this. And the culprit too.
「Soo? I've already figured it out, but let me ask you something.」
「Come on, Letty. Speak for yourself.」
「Y-you're wrong. I drew a new magic circle for the glorious advancement of science and magic, and somehow, I must have messed it up a bit. I didn't do it on purpose!」
「That's okay, but can you erase the magic circle?」
「Of course I erased it right away. But........I noticed the anomaly after a night's sleep, so during that delay, there was an awful lot of slime out there. ...... Maybe?」
「I see. All right, you guys, let's do this! Letty, the magician here, took out the source of the slime! They don't just spawn endlessly.」
The morale and motivation would be different if it was said that Letty had done something wrong or that Letty had played an active role. That's why I made it a little more dramatic.
「Hey, Alec, I'm a mage! I'm not just a mage, I'm an A rank mage, Crusher Letty! You made a mistake there」
「Shut it. It doesn't matter. As the ringleader, you're going to have to pay for the expenses incurred from this incident and the drinks for the adventurers.」
「Ehh? Alec, you're the king, so just pay for it with the taxes.」
「No - can - do!」
When Letty says that shamelessly, I tell her to go fuck herself.
「Now, Letty, let's go get your wallet.」
「Eh. I mean, Saki, this treatment of me is like treating me like a criminal. How can you do that to your friends?」
「But even if you say that, this time you're a common criminal.」
I nodded. It was Letty who was at fault.
Even though it was unintentional, she had summoned a large number of dangerous demons. It's like professional negligence, I guess.
「If you pay all the fees, I'll let you off the leash. Then you can go scot-free.」
「That's my darling, you're very forgiving. But don't make the same mistake, Letty.」
「Wh-Who are you talking to? It's absolutely impossible for this genius mage to repeat the same mistake.」
Saki and I look at Letty with subtle expressions.
「Wh-What's that suspicious look? It's not the kind of look you want to give your friends! Oh, wait, I'm still talking to Alec, but those are eyes that I don't trust! That's not the way to treat a comrade in arms who just defeated the Demon King with you! This - is - weird!」
「Really, it's so tiring to waste time with Letty's attitude.」
Serina who came over seemed to immediately understand the situation and said such a thing.
It seems that the kingdom of Vernia is at peace today.
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