Authority

They looked upon him in a mix of fear, awe, and shock.

Hiiro's annoyance, however, continued to grow.

Already perturbed by the fact that Rimuru had taken away his preferred mode of comfortable travel, he now found himself dealing with a group of outsiders causing a commotion at the village entrance.

His irritation deepened because he knew why they had come, even without their saying a word. With the village's ruler absent, the task of properly managing and handling these newcomers had fallen to Hiiro.

While he could delegate the responsibility to Hikari or Rigurd, the chances of him being drawn into the situation, whether he liked it or not, were high.

For an introverted slime like Hiiro, such chores were a very troublesome affair.

Nonetheless, he bore the responsibility for this task as the second-in-charge after Rimuru, a position he often tried to keep low-key. Suppressing his annoyance as much as possible, Hiiro addressed the goblin elders and demanded, his voice commanding yet majestic,

"..Speak. What do you want?"

His tone was met with admiration from the goblins, but they knew they couldn't make him wait. Among the three goblin elders, the oldest-looking one finally spoke up.

"Your Mightiness, we seek protection and shelter. Our villages were destroyed by the Direwolves, and we have nowhere else to turn. Please, Your Mightiness, if you take us in, we will swear our eternal fealty to you. Please."

The goblin elder lowered himself to the ground once more, pressing his head to the earth, and the other goblins followed suit.

Rigurd couldn't help but see himself in that goblin elder—the time when he, too, had implored his current lord to save his village in a similar manner.

Rimuru had shown great kindness by accepting them, even though there was nothing to gain. But the same might not hold true for Hiiro. Rigurd knew this and felt a sense of unease.

What if Hiiro decided to reject their plea? The question weighed heavily on Rigurd's mind, but he dared not voice his concerns.

Challenging Hiiro's decision or even questioning it would be tantamount to challenging Rimuru himself, who had entrusted Hiiro with the authority to oversee the village in his absence.

Rigurd knew that he had no power to overturn Hiiro's decisions, especially without risking the massacre of everyone present.

Even now, he struggled to maintain his composure in the face of the aura Hiiro exuded, let alone contemplate going against him.

And thinking about such things, He couldn't help but wonder if he would be any different from Rigur, his son, whom he had reprimanded and scolded for daring to question Rimuru's judgment.

The answer was very clear: he wouldn't be any different.

Rimuru and Hiiro shared a close bond that was apparent to everyone. Although Hiiro did played the role of Rimuru's protector, Rimuru treated him more like a younger brother.

So, if Rimuru had to choose between siding with someone who had been with him from the beginning and was like a younger brother to him, Or, a goblin village he had saved on a whim, the answer was evident to all, even if no one dared to ask the question.

That's why, regardless of Hiiro's decision, Rigurd resolved to oversee the situation without taking action.

After a long pause, Hiiro finally spoke. He lowered his oppressive aura slightly, but not enough to grant the goblins the freedom to move.

"...I do not have the authority to make such decisions, as the Lord of the Village is currently not present."

His words left the goblins in a state of awe and bewilderment.

A being powerful enough to immobilize them with his aura alone, even without fully exerting it, was not the Lord of the Village? Then, who was?

The goblins were filled with mixed emotions. What kind of person held authority over an individual like Hiiro? Would this Lord be as benevolent as the being before them?

Hope and despair, fear and faith, joy and sadness—these conflicting emotions played across their faces.