Ch 49: Unexpected Encounter

After conquering the Mjurine Submerged Ruins, Rimuru, Hajime and the girls decided to go to the Great Halt Tree.

They also decided that halfway there they would pass Ancadi and use their newly acquired regeneration magic to heal the water-contaminated crops. That would be of great help to Ancadi.

"It is a pleasure to see you again."

Randzi greeted them when they arrived. Everyone got off the car and greeted him as well. Randzi was surprised to hear that the crop could be saved and guided them to the plantation.

Kaori regenerated the plantation and Randzi thanked her. As they were leaving the place where the crop was.

"Here they are. Surround them!"

Several men dressed in white surrounded them. Everyone was confused and Randzi said:

"Bishop, what is it!?"

"Duke Randzi, get away from them. These people have been defined as heretics by the church."

"Heretics?"

Randzi looks at the group and thought for a moment. The group seemed surprised that they were labeled as heretics.

"No matter how the church labels them, these are the heroes of the Duchy of Ancadi and attacking them will be a serious crime."

"Ha, You're going against the church? Do you know how idiotic that is?"

The Bishop spoke in an arrogant tone and let out a laugh. However his laughter was interrupted by a rock hitting his head. The Bishop was surprised by the rock and looked in the direction of his attacker. He was surprised to see a crowd gathered with stones in their hands.

"What do you mean heretics!? They're the ones who helped us!"

"That! How would Eht-sama label the apostles as heretics, eh!? "

"Yeah! Maybe you guys are the real heretics!"

"You liar!"

'Fucking bishop!"

The crowd spoke offensive things to the Bishop and threw stones at the people in the church. The Bishop and his subordinates were shocked to be attacked by the crowd. They thought that because they were from the church, they would not be challenged by anyone.

The Bishop and his subordinates ran out while protecting themselves from the rocks. Randzi turned to the group and said...

"I'm sorry about that."

"Are you sure about that? The church is not going to stand still."

"Yes, I am. You saved us and I will not let you be attacked in our country."

Hajime asked and Randzi confirmed his choice. The group members seemed happy not to be betrayed and Rimuru said:

"Good, let's get going then. Randzi-san, take care."

Rimuru said and pulled the four-wheeled vehicle out of its infinite space. The group members prepared to get in, but Randzi stopped them.

"Wait please. I would like you guys to stay a little longer. Ancadi is having a festival and I would like you to leave."

Randzi invited them to a festival and they talked among themselves. Rimuru, Chloe, Sakura, Ciel and Shia wanted to stay for the festival, but Hajime, Tio, Yue and Akame had no interest. They thought it was a waste of time.

"Come on Hajime-kun, it's not every day you get to attend a festival in another world."

"..."

Hajime didn't sound convinced.

"There will be food, dancing, and maybe even parades."

"...."

"]Sigh[ If you accept, maybe I'll show you some methods to create weapons."

"I'm listening."

"A magic canceller."

"Deal done."

Hajime wouldn't budge so Rimuru had to use a card up his sleeve to convince him. Seeing that Hajime agreed, Yue and Tio also agreed and Akame didn't want to be the only one to disagree so she also agreed to stay.

●●●

"Wow, that was really a great festival."

Rimuru said and propped himself up in the car seat. Currently everyone was in the six-wheeled vehicle and had just left Ancadi, right after a three-day festival.

"They actually form several festivals."

"Yes true... and all of them were great."

Hajime corrected him, but Rimuru didn't even care. There was food, parades, and many great things at this festival. At first Rimuru kept comparing it to the festivals in Tempest, but he realized that there was no way to compare since the resources in his country were much greater, so he decided to just enjoy the festival.

In the end everyone enjoyed it and did not regret having accepted Randzi's proposal.

"By the way, how long are you guys going to keep those clothes on?"

"Hm? Hajime didn't like it?"

"I thought Hajime-kun liked those clothes."

Yue and Kaori looked dismayed at Hajime's question. The clothes he was referring to were the famous clothes worn in belly dancing. These clothes left many parts exposed and were very common in Ancadi. The girls wanted to wear it at the festival, but continued to wear it after seeing Hajime and Rimuru's reaction. Hajime looked at Yue and Kaori with the eyes of a wild beast while Rimuru was mesmerized by the beauty of Chloe, Sakura and Ciel.

Not only that, but Rimuru also got a lot clingier, he was hugging and kissing his beloved (especially Chloe) all the time. It seems that these clothes had the same effect as the bikinis the girls wore in Erisen. There was even a moment when Rimuru and Chloe mysteriously disappeared and when they came back Chloe's cheeks were flushed.

Akame was the only one of the girls who didn't want to wear the outfit, she seemed to be shy.Tio and Shia tried to get Hajime's attention, but were unsuccessful. However that only made them more determined. This left Akame impressed.

"It's not that I didn't like it, but we will be passing through the Kingdom now. Those clothes are not common there."

Hajime explained and the girls agreed. They said they would change at the next stop.

"It's really a shame."

Rimuru said dejectedly and hugged Chloe's waist next to him. Everyone found his reaction funny and Ciel then said

"If Master wants, he can watch me change. That might cheer him up."

"What!? No, of course not! I'm not a pervert or anything!"

Rimuru waved his hands in despair, trying to explain. He thought Ciel had gone a bit far in suggesting this in front of everyone. The others just laughed at his reaction. It seems that "Great Demon Lord" was easy to shake.

They made a stop for the girls to change and then continued on their journey.

●●●

2 days passed.

The group was still in the desert heading towards the Haltina Dungeon.

Hajime was driving and Yue was sleeping on his lap. Kaori was next to Yue and was sleeping as well. Shia was talking to Sakura who was hugging the waist of a Rimuru clone, meanwhile the other Rimuru was hugging Ciel and Chloe who was talking to Tio in the back seat. Akame was also in the back seat not saying anything.

Everyone was listening to music as they traveled. Rimuru and Hajime had made a sound box that worked on the basis of magic and the songs they were listening to were played by Ciel through Rimuru, Hajime and Kaori's memories.

"Hm? Hajime-san, I think there's a conflict up ahead."

Shia pointed and they looked. They all saw a wagon with some guards fighting a large number of bandits. The wagon was surrounded by a magical barrier.

"Master, I have detected an acquaintance among those being attacked."

Ciel said and put down the music. Rimuru thought it best to ask later and first save the person so he agreed.

"Then let's help." Rimuru said and looked at the reaction of the others "Yes" Chloe agreed "Those bandits don't stand a chance." Sakura commented and pulled out her pink katana "Hajime-san, speed up." Shia said ready for combat "I would like to help too." Akame said.

And Hajime...

"[Sigh], I was even going to complain, but our group has already become expert at helping people in danger on the road."

Hajime wasn't the type to save people, but seeing the determination of his group, he couldn't deny it. Hajime sped up the car and headed toward the bandits.

"Hajime-kun!?"

Kaori saw that Hajime was not slowing down the car even though he was very close and questioned him.

"In auto school they teach that whenever you see a bandit on the street you should step on the gas."

"Don't twist traffic laws for your convenience!"

"Mhm." Yue agreed nodded and Kaori said "Stop agreeing with him Yue-san!"

Hajime ended up running over 5 of the bandits. The other members were confused by the metal box that killed their comrades and stopped attacking for a while.

"Kaori, treat the wounded. We'll take care of the rest."

"That's right. Anything at all, just call us."

Hajime and Rimuru said and Kaori went toward the wagon guards who were fallen or injured. Some bandits tried to get in her way, but were met with bullets.

Rimuru thought it would be tedious to deal with this so she activated "Demon lord's Haki" and said, "run away," but even as they trembled, the bandits still attacked as they thought there was no way this bunch of teenagers could win a fight.

"Die!"

"You brat!"

"Swallow that!"

The bandits shouted similar things and attacked. Rimuru realized that they would not surrender and decided to approach it Hajime style: enemies must be killed.

"Quiet." Yue said before killing several bandits, "Who said you guys could move?" Sakura said and froze several of them. Shia gave an excited shout and swung Doryucken, Ciel just watched as Rimuru had an extremely one sided clash with some bandits.

Akame was just scratching and killing her targets. Rimuru and were teaching her how to use her powers, so Akame who was already super strong was even more powerful. Her katana easily cut through the armor of the bandits.

Chloe was showing no difficulty either.

"I think that was all of them."

"Mhm, let's go see how Kaori-san is doing."

They put their weapons away and went to see if Kaori needed help. When they arrived they saw that Kaori had healed most of the guards and was helping them up.

"Looks like she's okay... Ah, Ciel-san, which of these guards is our acquaintance?" Rimuru asked curiously, "not a guard" Ciel shook his head in denial.

"It's that one over there. Princess Liliana."

Ciel pointed to a pile of sand near them and there stood a girl wearing a cloak. She hid her face and avoided looking at anyone.

"Eh? Lily?" Kaori said in surprise upon hearing Ciel's words. The girl in the cloak seemed surprised to hear a familiar voice, "Kaori?" She said in surprise and took off her hood. When Lily did so, the group could see a beautiful blonde haired gaorta who looked to be 15 years old. It was Princess Liliana of the Haihiri kingdom.

"I well found the familiar barrier..."

"Kaori, Good to see you! Looks like my luck hasn't run out."

Lily said relieved. "Is that Lily-san?" Rimuru realized who it was and was surprised. He couldn't understand why the princess of the kingdom was in the desert without her guards. Kaori also seemed to want to know.

"It's good to see you too Rimuru. We were all worried when you went down in the Dungeon."

Lily had felt guilty for bringing students from another world into her country's war, so she talked to the students whenever she could. That's why she really cared about the students' safety when they went to the Orcus Dungeon.

"Lily, are you okay, do you have any injuries?" Kaori asked and began to analyze her. However she seemed fine

"Don't worry, I want to talk is about you, Kaori. Shizuku told me about how you declared your love for Nagumo-kun in front of everyone. Come on, tell me more. How are your travels? Oh, that must be him, right?"

Lily's words left Kaori red and unable to answer. At this moment the other members of the group approached.

"Oioi, Kaori, Rimuru, who is she?"

"".....""

Lily, Rimuru and Kaori were silent. Hajime had already spoken to Lily, so they did not understand his question.

"You forgot me, "[Cry] even though I'm a princess. Uuuuh..."

Lily started crying and Kaori scolded Hajime. Rimuru found the scene funny and said nothing. "Looks like we meet again" they heard a familiar voice from inside the wagon. When they looked in its direction they saw a man in merchant clothes and a face they recognized.

"Oh, that's the guy we escorted in Fhuren." Rimuru commented as he remembered, "Yeah, what was his name again? Motto, right?" Hajime asked and the merchant named Motto agreed.

This man tried to buy the girls as slaves, but he received some of Rimuru's Haki and gave up. He was quite insistent, so the group noticed his great merchant spirit.

"It is a pleasure to see you all again. I see you know Princess Liliana."

Motto said and greeted everyone.

And Liliana.

"You recognize someone you escorted once, but you don't recognize a princess? Huuuu, my pride was a little wounded..."

She said and fell into crying again. Kaori comforted her and after a while Lily stopped crying and approached Motto. She told him that she would no longer need his escort and offered to pay him, but Motto stopped her.

"There is no need. You have something that is often more important than money to merchants.... It's trust."

"Trust?"

"Yes, so I won't charge you for the trip princess Liliana. Have a good trip from here on out." Motto bade farewell to the group and got into the wagon. His guards followed him and continued on their way to Ancadi.

The group wanted to know why the princess was here, so they invited her into the car.

"Aiko has been kidnapped." Lily stated heavily and everyone was surprised. Before Lily continued Rimuru quickly explained to Akame who Aiko was so she wouldn't be confused. Akame realized that Aiko was someone important to the group and listened carefully to Liliana's story.

Three weeks ago something strange happened in the Haihiri kingdom. The king labeled Hajime, Rimuru and Kaori as heretics. Liliana tried to convince him to change his mind, but nothing she said worked. Every time she tried something, her father would say something about god and ignore her arguments. Not only this, but the way he spoke and his personality seemed to have changed.

All this happened soon after the arrival of a gray-haired woman who claimed to have been sent by the church.

Lily found these events strange and tried to talk to the Apostles, but was always prevented by soldiers or the gray-haired woman herself. Then the day came. Aiko was kidnapped. Liliana saw the gray-haired woman kidnapping Aiko and realized that something very wrong was happening. She then fled the kingdom and decided to ask Ancadi for help. Lily got a ride with a merchant and made her way here.

"So I would like your help."

Everyone was thoughtful as they heard her words. Even Akame, who didn't know Aiko, wanted to help. Yet everyone looked at the person who could deny this proposal. Hajime.

"Well, that gray haired woman must be sent by the gods, so I guess it's my fault for telling Aiko about them..." Hajime paused a little "let's help my teacher." He said determinedly and everyone was excited.

"Thank you!" Lily thanked him excitedly, but Hajime discouraged her by saying "don't misunderstand, I'm going to save Sensei, I'm not going to help the kingdom."

"Don't worry Lily-san. Since we are going over there, I can give a little help for the kingdom."

Rimuru said and Lily thanked him. The others also seemed happy to help. They wanted to get there as fast as possible so Rimuru took the wheel and sped off.

He could even have stopped in time for that, but it would have been a hassle, because the car wouldn't move and Rimuru would have to push. So Rimuru decided to just step on the gas.

"Let's go for it!"

●●●

"So Shuna, why did you call this emergency meeting?"

Shion asked and sat down in his chair. The actual location was the meeting room that Rimuru and his executives used.

Besides Shuna and Shion, also here were: Benimaru, Soei, Geld, Gabiru, Hakurou, Diablo, Ranga, Ultima, Carrera and Testarossa. There weren't that many people here because the meeting was called abruptly.

This was the first time Shuna had called a meeting, so everyone was curious. Shuna was at the head of the table, so she seemed to have something important to talk about.

What Shuna was about to say made everyone understand the reason for the meeting.

"As you know, some time ago Rimuru-sama entrusted me with an important responsibility. He entrusted me to take care of the continental barrier and today, the barrier detected something."

The continental barrier. It wasn't actually a barrier and more of a detection field. This barrier was around the continent that Tempest was on.

This continent was called the main continent and covered not only Tempest, but several other important countries such as: the Eastern Empire, the Holy Empire of Ruberios, Ingracia, Dwargon and many other countries. This continent was similar in size to Asia on earth, but its shape was different.

The barrier Shuna spoke of also covered a small continent to the north and a small continent to the south.

The southern continent was much smaller and had only one country. El Dorado, ruled by the demon lord Leon Cromwel. This continent was about the same size as Australia and had a similar shape. This country had already taken up trade relations with Tempest.

The northern continent was slightly larger than El Dorado and had no defined country. This continent was too cold for any humans to live on so the only ones who lived there were the demon Lord Guy Crimson, Velzard, Mizari, Rein and the demons commanded by them.

These three continents were extremely close and so Rimuru was able to put up a detection field that covered them all. In addition the field covered some islands that surrounded them. The reason Rimuru put up this field was...

A few years before Rimuru returned to his old universe, he was warned by Ciel about something he didn't know about this world.

There was one more continent.

Ciel had taken a general look at this world and found that this planet, was similar in size to earth and also had a south pole and a north pole, but that they were not inhabited. The most interesting thing was that Ciel discovered a new continent.

This continent was the same size as the three continents mentioned before, and was literally on the other side of the world. Its shape was very similar to a shield. Ciel detected various life forms on this continent, so Rimuru became curious.

Rimuru went to Guy to ask about it, because Guy had once been Veldanava's mediator. A mediator was someone who prevented humanity and the other races from destroying each other. Guy always did this by sending demons to attack humans and forcing them to unite.

Rimuru asked Guy if he sent demons to that continent, but it seems that even Guy didn't know about the continent.

Rimuru asked other people about the same subject and the only ones who seemed to know about it were the real Dragons. Velzard knew, but was never interested. Velgrynd knew, because Rude had plans to dominate this continent and Veldora was the only one who had ever gone there.

Before Veldora was sealed by Chloe he had fun spreading destruction(nowadays he had fun with manga). Veldora told Rimuru that he had once gone to that continent and destroyed some cities.

Veldora told Rimuru everything he knew about the cities he attacked. He didn't remember much, since it was several centuries ago, so the only things he said were that in the cities he destroyed, they had only humans and Veldora didn't kill anyone. He also saidThe technology of these cities was of the same level as the Western Nations were before Rimuru came to this world. This meant that the angels probably attacked there as well.

After hearing this, what Rimuru decided was: they would not attack, invade, or contact the other continent. Rimuru didn't want to play Europeans by invading the Americas, so he decided just the other continent if they did it first.

So Rimuru put a detection barrier around the continents to know when someone from the other continent got close. He left Shuna in charge of the barrier, for two reasons. 1 Shuna was extremely reliable, 2 Shuna didn't have as much work as the others.

Shuna had enough work as a cook, but nowadays she had trained several people who were almost her equal. In addition, there was another big boss named Yoshida. The other executives often had to go and solve some problem, so Rimuru left it to Shuna to monitor the barrier.

"I see... What do we know about them?"

Everyone there knew the meaning of Shuna's words, so Benimaru asked what he wanted to know. The others also looked at Shuna curiously.

"Yes, at the moment we know that they came in 4 ships completely made of metal. The barrier detected only humans and their quantity is 1200."

Shuna described what the barrier discovered and the others were thoughtful. Ships made completely of metal meant advanced technology. However, the continent's technology was not far behind, as there were even a few airplanes. Testarossa then raised a question.

"Miss Shuna, from which direction did they come?"

"As Rimuru-sama expected, from the east."

Ciel told Rimuru that it was most likely coming from the east. That's because, even if the distance from the west was the same (since it was literally the other side of the world) there were more dangerous monsters to the west. And obviously it wouldn't be south or north, since that would require crossing one of the poles.

"Miss Shuna, you said metal ships? Then they must be well armed..." Hakurou commented "I will have my spies keep an eye out." Soei said and commanded his spies by telepathy.

"How long will it take them to reach land?"

"If they continue at the same speed, it is estimated five days."

"Okay, so before we make contact, let's warn the world leaders and the demon lords."

Benimaru estimated that it would be better to warn the others before making contact, and everyone agreed. This was because many of the world leaders might want to talk to these foreigners as well.

"Ok, good that Rimuru-sama gave these 'mobiles' to several of them" Geld said proudly, "Kufufufu, Rimuru-sama always one step ahead, it's a shame he won't be here to see this..." Diablo said and finished with another laugh.

"Soei let Dwargon, The Masayuki and the western nations know. Let me warn the demon lords." Testarossa said and stood up. Everyone was getting up to perform tasks, but Shion stopped them.

"Wait. First we have to think about how to warn them."

"Huh...? Ah, really." Gabil seemed to be the first to realize what she was talking about and sat back down. Actually 4 demons hadn't even gotten up since they knew this subject would come up.

"What do you mean, Miss Shion?" Geld asked and it was Testarossa who answered in his place.

"She is saying exactly what she said. The way we warn the leaders, may also define how our approach to these foreigners will be." Testarossa said and took his tea. Carrera seemed to have understood what she said and stood up abruptly.

"Ah, I get it! We have to think about whether we are going to kill those guys or not!"

She seemed excited that she understood. They had to decide whether to ask the world leaders to send their armies or their diplomats. They had to choose the peaceful or aggressive approach.

"Of course we will approach them peacefully." Benimaru said and no one objected. Geld even added, " Yes, we should avoid harassing them as much as possible."

Everyone thought the same thing, as Rimuru always tried the peaceful and diplomatic approach. Rimuru's will was the most important thing for them.

"Okay, everyone get to work."

Benimaru ordered and everyone left the meeting room.