Chapter 42: Goblins Under Command.

"Rimuru POV:"

Well, that trip was interesting, and his reaction was priceless. I still start to laugh remembering his reaction. Hahaha.

Well, putting that aside, I think it's time to start the real work. Okay, so the first step is making goblins my subordinates and becoming their leader.

But first,

>>Ciel<<

<<Yes, Master?>>

>>I want to tell you something, but before that, come outside in your body.<<

<<Okay. >>

As I instructed her to come out from our souls and inhabit her body once again, she did so precisely.

Soon, a portal opened, and she emerged from it like a goddess descending from heaven.

"Yes, Master? What do you want to say?" she asked me as she stepped out of the portal, which then disappeared.

"Well, the thing is, I want you to be with me during my journey of making our Kingdom," I told her, and she seemed a bit confused.

"What do you mean, Master? Aren't we always together everywhere we go?" she asked me in a confused voice, tilting her head to one side.

How cute!!!!! I absolutely need to record this!!!!!

Rewind time!!!!! Rewind time!!!!!!

*Time Rewinded*

"Well, the thing is, I want you to be with me during my journey of making our Kingdom," I told her again, but this time she just looked at me flatly.

"??????"

"Sigh* Seriously, Master, why did you rewind time? Sigh*" she asked me, sighing.

How could I forget that we are equals???Nothing affects her, just like me! How could I forget that?

Is it because I got blinded by Ciel's cuteness? Yes, definitely, that's the case!!!

I need to do something before my brain shuts down because of her charm and cuteness!!!!

"Well... um... eto... Hahaha, I guess I accidentally did that. Hahaha," I said awkwardly, laughing.

I bet that she is totally not convinced.

And yep, she is not convinced.

"Don't lie to me, Master. You know that we can't lie to each other, right?" Yep, she got me there.

Guess what? It seems that I don't have any choice but to spill the beans.

"Sigh. I just wanted to record you when you were looking so cute," I gave up and told her.

"You rewound time just for that? Sigh. You really are a child, huh," she said, smiling, I guess?

"You do know that you can record it again because we are always together, right?" she continued, all the while smiling.

How could I forget that? Really, her cuteness is making my brain shut down.

And her smile—it's... it's illegal!!

"See, I can tell just by looking at you that you didn't think of that. How childish you are. But I like that part of you the most, so it's fine. Also, you are looking so cute right now," she said after looking at my dumbstruck face.

Then she looked at me and,

*Smooch*

She snuck a kiss on me!

It's unfair! Totally unfair!

Why is she always able to sneak kisses on me, and I can't?

"It's because I love you more than you love me," she said, as if reading my mind.

"How did you know what I was thinking?" I asked her.

"It's because we are one and inseparable, silly!" she said.

*Smooch*

And once again, she snuck a kiss on me.

Sly woman!

But she is my sly woman, after all, so it's fine.

"But still, you didn't tell me what you mean by 'I need to be with you'? Aren't we always together?" she said, reminding me why we were having this conversation in the first place.

Stay focused, Rimuru! Stay focused!

Rimuru, you can have your time with her at night, but right now, you have a task at hand!

"Ah... about that, what I mean is I want you to be with me in person during our whole journey of making our Kingdom, not just in our soul," I finally told her the reason behind bringing her outside of our souls.

"It's fine, but is there any specific reason behind this?" she asked, wanting to know the real reason behind my decision.

"Well, the real reason is, I want my queen to be with me when I build my kingdom!" I finally told her my reason.

"Hm... if you want, then it's fine. I will stay in person with you during our whole journey," she finally agreed.

"Yeah!" I said in happiness.

"Hehehe, you are so cute when you do your little victory dance. Hehehe," she said, giggling.

"Hey, I am not dancing! It's just that my body moves on its own!" I said to her in a childish way, I think.

Actually, I am unaware to myself, started doing my little victory dance, which I sometimes do when I win an argument with Ciel.

So far, I've only won twice. Only twice, and she always wins!

*Sad Rimuru*

"There, there, Master. I'm sure that when you grow up, you will win," she said, patting my back.

"Really?" I don't know why, but I asked her.

"Yes, really," she said to me.

Wait... wait... did she just again call me a child and immature?

"No, it was just your imagination," she said to me.

Now I am totally sure that she did.

Anyway, just forget about that and let's focus on our goal.

"Well, everything aside, I think it's time for us to get going and start to make our Kingdom," I said to her as I dusted off all the immaturity that I was showing.

"Yes, we need to start our work," she also agreed with me.

"Okay, then let's go!" I said.

As I looked in the direction of the goblin village that should be there where my other variant started his journey.

With Ciel's hand in mine, our fingers intertwined, we started to head towards the village.

.

.

.

.

.

After almost 20 minutes of walking, we are near the goblin village, and I can sense them from here.

There are not too many of them; there are almost 100 goblins, and some of them are separated from their group and have gone into the forest.

Wait, they are coming in our direction. Hm... I am sure that they are not coming towards us because we have erased our presence completely, and leaking any type of aura or energy is already out of the question.

So most likely, they are just passing by in this direction, and we just happened to go this way.

"Yes, Master, that is the case," Ciel answered my unasked question.

Well, it's a good thing because this way we will be able to establish our first meeting smoothly.

Also, in this way, we will be able to start our journey as it should be. I don't care if from now on everything goes differently or the same as my variant's timelines.

I will do as I please; if I want, then I will change the events, but I will make sure that even if I do, I take all of my subordinates as they should be, like how I took Zegion and Apito.

It doesn't matter if the events are changed; the only thing that matters is, in the end, I have all of them as my subordinates, and they are living a good and happy life.

But still, even if I change the events in the future, I want the start to remain the same. So their coming here is a good thing in a way.

"Ciel, is there any way to make them notice us like how they noticed my other variants? Because I don't want to make our presence known or release any type of energy. I'm not in the mood for causing havoc in the world," I asked her.

I asked her this because, like my other variants, if we release our aura, even if it's just a tiny fraction of it, it will start to destroy things, and people who are weaker than True Dragons will die immediately being in my aura, even if they are awakened people like True Demon Lords or True Heroes. Personally, I don't care about such trivial things because I can just restore them back to their original state, but now I'm not in the mood for doing that.

Actually, right now I have sealed my Omnipotence too. Initially, I only sealed my Omnipresence and Omniscience, not Omnipotence. However, during my fight with Veldora and Milim, I sealed it. But even after sealing it, I didn't become even a fraction weaker than when I hadn't sealed my Omnipotence.

I know that sealing Omnipotence is impossible, and no one can do it. For example, Veldanava wanted it, and even the author of the story desired to seal it, but it remains beyond their reach, whether they are fictional characters like Veldanava or real individuals like the author or readers. But I'm different. To me, Omnipotence is merely a term; in the face of my power, it's inconsequential. It is nothing but a simple word.

I am even above concepts such as Omnipotence, Omnipresence, and Omniscience. Such trivial things don't matter to me because my power exceeds them.

By sealing my Omnipotence, I lowered my presence to a degree that lower beings, such as people from the Tensura World, can withstand when I make my presence known.

By sealing my Omnipotence, I am able to lower my existence because I use Omnipotence, Omnipresence, and Omniscience as a medium to regulate my power. This allows me to stay in lower worlds such as the Tensura World and the Fiction World. And yes, I have visited the Fiction World more than once.

To explain this, imagine an infinite sea representing my power. If we consider concepts such as Omnipotence, Omnipresence, and Omniscience as a funnel, then I am using this funnel between my power and the lower worlds. By doing so, I can lower my existence.

This funnel's size is comparable to that of a average bacterium [2 micrometers (μm; millionths of a meter) long and 0.5 μm in diameter], while my power is the infinite sea. Thus, even with the funnel, I still have access to my power, but for the world, it will be like a small hole on one side of the funnel. By sealing my Omnipotence, Omnipresence, and Omniscience, I have made the size of the hole in the funnel even smaller.

It's like putting a protective wall between my power and the world so they won't get obliterated by it. I have access to both sides; in other words, I have my power and can still interact with the lower worlds and their people.

I did this because, even if I am in my avatar, which doesn't even have a fraction of my power compared to when I am in my True Body, I am still stronger than anyone from the Fiction and Tensura Worlds. If I let that power run rampant without any restraint, these worlds would end. I don't want that because these worlds are a medium to cure my boredom.

Beings like myself, and those who are powerful like Veldanava, we don't give a damn two fucks about worlds or the peace, conflict and destruction within them. We only care about curing our boredom.

And if the destruction of the world can cure our boredom, so be it. The destruction of the world doesn't affect us, and if saving the world will cure our boredom, so be it—we will save the world. As long as it cures our boredom, we will do it.

I use my avatar because I want to enter the Fiction and Tensura Worlds to cure my boredom. I am too powerful in my True Body to enter any world. In my avatar, I lower my presence and power to a degree that allows me to enter the Tensura World and Fiction World.

Even if we see these worlds as a medium to cure our boredom, we still love people from these worlds. I care deeply about Veldora, Shizue, Velzard, Velgrynd, and others who are close to me. In the case of Veldanava, his family matters to him as well.

So, even if we see these worlds as nothing but a way to cure our boredom, we can't let them get destroyed. If that happened, the people we care about would die, and we don't want that.

So that's why I use my avatar to stay here. This way, I can cure my boredom while staying with the people I care about.

Now, you may say that from my previous statements I am contradicting myself, so let me rephrase it a little. Despite using these worlds as a means to cure my boredom, my affection and love for some individuals are genuine. Therefore, by utilizing my avatar, I can fulfill my personal desires while also maintaining meaningful connections with those I cherish.

However, if in the process of doing this, I become too bored, and the destruction of the world can cure my boredom, then I'll let the world be destroyed and save the people who are important to me.

"Master, are you breaking the fourth wall again?" Ciel asked me.

"Well... um... you see, I need to inform the people who are reading this story about what's going on and what I did. It's not something I did on my own; rather, it's orchestrated by that evil author. Yes, it's the author's doing. Totally, it's the author's doing," I explained to her in a hurried voice.

Well, that's a lie, obviously, because the author is long gone. I mean, he's with Azathoth, enduring eternal suffering for his sins, that bastard! And even if he were still around continuing the story, it wouldn't matter because I have authority over him. I'm superior, controlling not only him but also this story. Heck, I can even control other stories, and I've already done that just for fun.

One time, while playing around with other stories, I accidentally nerfed a witch from her own story. She's the strongest in her story, in her world, the creator of her own story and world, and for fun, I made her as weak as a newborn baby.

It was so hilarious that I still laugh whenever I think about it.

But even if I can do all of this with just mere thought, I won't do it. Every time I mess something up, Ciel has to fix it, and afterwards, she becomes mad at me for making such a mess. So, I won't do that because I don't want an angry Ciel!

Once Veldora asked me why I seem scared of an angry version of Ciel, and the answer to his question is simple:

I didn't live through the Void just to die on the sofa!

Well, he didn't understand what I said, but I'm sure he will understand when he gets married. All my fellow husbands have my sympathy, and we should do something about all the sofas in the entire existence.

Haaa, I know what to do. I will just erase the concept of sofa from the entire existence, so in this way, there will be no sofa, and my fellow husbands' problem will be solved.

Yes, I will do that, but before that, I need to make sure that Ciel won't find out about it.

"I don't buy it because I know that we are superior and stronger than the author, and we can control him, this story, and other stories. But for this once, I'll let this go and fix the fourth wall," she said and fixed the fourth wall.

Phew* now I don't need to die on the sofa.

"Well, to answer your previous question, master, about how we should make contact with them, we can just make this reality like they sensed our aura and come towards us. Like how it happened in our other variants' timeline," she answered my questions.

Hm... this is a good way to do it, and in this way, we don't need to do anything too difficult to attract their attention. If I were to say, then it's the easiest way.

"You are the best, Ciel! We will just do that," I complimented her.

And now she is blushing. How cute!

"You can praise me more, master," she timidly said, still blushing.

I think I should give her compliments more so I could see her like this more!

While I was thinking, she made some changes, and now I can sense that the goblins are heading towards us. They seem scared out of their minds.

"We are here, Master," Ciel said, and we stopped.

In a few moments, some goblins appeared. It was a group of 25-30 human-lime monsters, with small bodies and crude equipment. Covered in a thin layer of dirt, their expressions lacked intelligence, though they weren't completely barbaric. Some of them carried swords, spears, and stone axes. Many of their swords were rusted, and their armor was thin. Some had stitched together rotting cloth for protection.

As we observed them, one of the goblins stepped forward, likely the leader, and opened his mouth to speak.

"Guga. O strong one... Do you have any business up ahead?" the goblin who stepped forward asked.

Hmm... At least they have some intelligence. It seems they are scared of us, showing us respect. Good, good.

"Ahem* Should I say, 'pleasure to meet you'? Well anyway, I am Rimuru, Rimuru Tempest, and she is Ciel, Ciel Tempest, my wife," I introduced both of us.

"Is there any specific reason that you came towards us?" I asked them, acting like I am oblivious to the current situation.

As I talked, a few of the goblins ran away.

"Guga. O strong one... We just felt a strong monster nearby so we came here to see," the previous goblin said.

"Hm... I see. Well, we are just passing by, nothing more, nothing less," I said to them.

.

.

.

.

Right now, Ciel and I are sitting in one of the goblins' huts. Actually, after meeting and talking with them, they invited us to their village, which was exactly what we needed.

So here we are, sitting in one of their huts, waiting for the goblin who brought us here to fetch their chief.

Hm... I think they are here.

"We apologize for making you wait, honored guests," a goblin said while entering the hut.

This goblin seemed to be the leader of all the goblins in this village. His demeanor was more composed than the others, and there was a certain respectfulness in his tone.

"Ah, don't mind it. We haven't been waiting that long," I reassured them, trying to ease their obvious nervousness.

"We humbly apologize for the inability to provide better accommodations. I currently have the pleasure of serving as this village's chief," the goblin, now identified as the chief, said to us. Another goblin brought some tea for us.

I have to admit, I'm a bit surprised that they can make tea. It's a simple gesture, but it shows a level of hospitality and culture I wasn't expecting from such a primitive-looking village. Still, I'm not going to drink that.

As I looked at the chief, I could sense his anxiety and hopefulness. These goblins are clearly struggling, and they're probably looking to us for some sort of help or protection.

While I was lost in thought, Ciel was quietly observing everything, her presence calming yet authoritative. It's moments like these that remind me why having her by my side is invaluable.

"Thank you for the tea," I said politely, even though I had no intention of drinking it.

"We appreciate your hospitality. Now, how can we assist you?" I continued.

"Well, there is no need to apologize or anything. But why do you all seem so beaten up? Did something happen here?" I asked, feigning ignorance.

"It's because our god has disappeared. It was 90 days ago. Ninety days ago, our god disappeared, and with him, his divine protection too. Since then, direwolves have started attacking us. Half of our villagers have already died," he said, tears streaming down his face.

These people are going to be my subordinates in the future, and now he's crying in front of me. How pitiful.

Did they seriously consider Veldora as their god? That good-for-nothing, otaku dragon, that idiot lizard? The irony of the situation is almost laughable.

"Hm... currently, how many of your people are here? And how many of you can fight?" I asked him.

I needed to know this because they were going to be my subordinates, and if they were going to be my subordinates, they needed to be strong. I couldn't let my subordinates live in such dire conditions.

"We have a total of 100 people. If we include the females, we have 60 people who can fight," he said after doing some quick math. Are they even capable of doing math?

"Sixty, huh. And do you know how many direwolves there are?" I asked him.

If I wanted, I could find out easily, but I wanted to see how much talent they had.

"There are almost 60 direwolves, and it takes 10 of us to defeat one direwolf," he said to me.

Well, the numbers match perfectly, but their attack potential doesn't.

"Oh, strong one, could you please help us?" the leader abruptly asked, kneeling—or bowing, I couldn't quite tell since his whole body was almost touching the ground.

"What will I get in return for helping you?" I asked, curious about their offer.

I could easily make them submit to me by using force, but I wanted them to make the choice themselves.

"We will offer you our utmost and eternal loyalty, my lord!" he declared, and all of them kneeled in front of us.

Hm... yep, everything is according to plan. They chose to swear their loyalty to me by themselves, not me making them swear.

<<Master, you know, nowadays are starting to act like an evil person,>> Ciel said to me directly through our minds.

>>Ciel, I swear that I didn't do anything evil. You are here all the time, and you saw that they swore their loyalty by themselves,<<

<<Yes, yes, I know, master. But don't worry, love this side of yours,>>

She said and become mute. What's with that response?

Well, I do admit that I manipulated them in a way by creating the situation where they have only one choice to get any kind of help from me, and that choice is to swear their loyalty to me. But hey, who is going to stop me anyway? I can do what I want.

"Hm.. if you are that desperate, then I will accept you as my subordinates and help you," I declared.

And now they are jumping around happily.

"That's enough, guys. Now you are my subordinates, so let's prepare to fight the direwolves!" I said to them.

Second step complete. Now the third step: defeating the direwolves and taking them as my subordinates.

______________________________________

And that's the end. That's all for this chapter.

Please let me know your thoughts on the chapter in the comments. It really motivates me to write new chapters.

Word Count: 3.9k