Turmoil

On the side note, There was another missing individual from the village whose presence I couldn't sense: Hikari.

She was probably keeping an eye on Hiiro from a distance. Her loyalty to him was unquestionable. So, I wasn't too worried about him, although there was something nagging at my mind, I had to do something about the people outside first.

It seems the time has come to put 'that' in motion...

I needed to give Rigur some orders to ease his burden as well, so I shared my plan with him.

After that, I informed him that I would make my decision regarding whether or not to accept the goblins outside at dawn tomorrow. I asked him to relay this message to the group outside as well.

Today was going to be a long day, and the hobgoblins in my village would become even busier.

The sun was high in the sky, just past noon, so I had to finish most of my work and issue orders to ensure that everything would go smoothly tomorrow, before I met a certain blob of slime.

  ***

Finally, it's over...

After several hours of nonstop work, which consisted of meetings with dwarves and hobgoblins, discussing plans for the future, as well as initializing my strategy, my work was finished. Although it took time just to explain it to them in a way they could understand without any problem.

Now, all that's left is to see how it goes tomorrow morning.

I'm not too worried, though. If everything goes according to plan, I will have addressed all the problems around here.

This somehow reminded me of my past days when I used to work as a salaryman, although this time I was laboring as the ruler of a group of hobgoblins.

The sun was now close to setting.

"It's time..."

With that thought in mind, I slowly made my way toward a certain hill. This hill offered a perfect view of the village and a pleasant environment for a particular slime to rest comfortably. Even before I reached the hill's summit, I sensed a presence ahead of me. It was clear to me who it was from afar, as there was only one person in the village with such striking beauty. It was Hikari. She was gazing at the top of the hill but had not ventured there herself, perhaps because she believed it wasn't the right time or for some other reason. Instead, she observed from a distance, prepared to intervene if necessary. As I drew closer to her, she looked at me and greeted me with a smile and a bow.

"Ah, welcome back, Lord Rimuru. How was your journey?"

"Thank you, Hikari. It was good, but what are you doing here?"

I already had an idea of her answer, but I wanted to hear it from her perspective.

"I'm keeping an eye on Sir Hiiro," she replied without hesitation. However, her words carried a hint of unease, sadness, and regret.

"Why watch him from here? Why not approach him directly?"

She could have easily gone near him and resolved any issues she had by speaking with him in person. Although he might initially seem annoyed, Hiiro was always willing to accept requests from others.

Being second in closeness to Hiiro after me, she probably understood this. So, what was the reason for her to stay here, feeling so down?

" ....I wish to but I don't think now is the right time, nor am I the person Sir Hiiro needs to see right now."

I found her words intriguing. What did she mean by that?

But before I could question her words, as if she could read my thoughts, she continued.

"Lord Rimuru will understand what I mean once you meet Sir Hiiro. So, please don't mind me and proceed with Haste."

I was tempted to ask for more details, but I decided to respect her wishes. Her voice had a tinge of urgency in it, which made my heart a little uneasy for some reason.

With a nod to Hikari, I continued on my way to the top of the hill.

  ***

I approached the hill where a solitary figure, a slime, stood, seemingly gazing at the twilight.

The scene was undeniably beautiful, but the atmosphere conveyed a different message altogether.

'What the hell is going on here.....'

It was hard to move in the heavy atmosphere as if something was hindering me from going forward. Something thick, black was lingering in the surrounding. It was just a feeling but there was no other way to describe.

The figure remained unmoving even as I drew nearer.  With each step, a growing unease welled up within me, intensifying with every passing moment.

I couldn't quite grasp why I felt this way, but as I approached even closer, the turmoil within my heart intensified severely.

'Arghhhh.....'

Emotions surged within me, a chaotic mix of joy, happiness, delight, fear, sadness, and loneliness. These feelings entangled with one another, but the prevailing emotion among them was sorrow.

I couldn't pinpoint the source of this sadness, and it left me bewildered. There was no reason for me to feel these emotions at the moment.