Chapter 44

So Rimuru and I left the tent, not too interested in watching them eat on the floor, wondering about the luck in getting this human guest (or prisoner, depending). On their way out, I told their guard to lead them to Rimuru's private gate near the cave after meal time was over.

"Don't worry about it," Rimuru assured a disappointed looking Rigurd as we walked. "We can practice manners later." After all, they grew by leaps and bounds. I didn't expect every diplomatic endeavor to go flawlessly with these Hobgoblins.

After sitting back in Rimuru's tent, we began to wait patiently. Rigurd had one of his female assistants prepare tea for us. It looked better than the last drink I tried from them but poor Rimuru could only guess at the taste.

Neat how evolution even affects an area like that.

Slowly, we settled into a truly cultured society. Something about the tea convinced me.

After a few more moments, the four adventurers popped in, immediately giving a hearty "Sorry 'bout that!" as they entered. The tent was a little cramped with all of them inside.

Once their goblin guide was gone, another one brought out some fresh tea for the group. There, see? Real service, out of nowhere. They must've picked it up from the dwarves —I knew they had been spending nights drinking with them, learning about their society and culture.

"Ah, nice to see you again. My name is Rimuru, and he is Vegito, we are the leader of this small group. What brings you here?" I think that's a pretty valid question. They nodded at each other—must have been expecting this—and started talking.

"I am glad to meet you, Rimuru, Vegito. My name is Kabal, the leader of this band...more or less. This is Elen, and that's Gido over there. We're adventurers, all ranked B—you know what that means, I imagine?"

"Hi! Elen here!"

"Gido, sir. A pleasure."

So they were a party. Being ranked B put them in the upper echelons, to be sure, but they would've faced a rough time in the cave, no? Maybe they were masters at hiding from monsters or something. And what about the other one in their ranks? I was sure there were only three of them in the cave.

"This, meanwhile, is Shizu, a temporary addition to our team for this mission."

"Shizu. Charmed."

It was hard to tell her gender or age strictly from her voice. But after honing my talent at trying to tell goblins apart, I knew right away—she was a woman, and she also had that, so I knew the first time I saw her, she must be a girl. And, if my hunch was correct, maybe even Japanese? That was the impression I had.

The way she carried her teacup and the way she knelt just so, tops of her feet flat against the floor. That position, I thought, had to be rare in this realm, and her three companions certainly didn't bother—the men just sat cross- legged on the wolf-pelt rug over the ground, and Elen chose to keep her legs to one side instead.

Ah, well. It wouldn't be strange to have a culture somewhere on this planet that resembled Japan's. I'd pursue that train of thought later.

Although, it occurred to me—was it me, or were these adventurers being way too cavalier with their own safety right now? So far, they seemed to be enjoying their stay immensely—eating, drinking, and laughing with each other. This was a monster's den they'd wandered into. They knew that, right? Maybe they just had a screw loose, I dunno.

*this is really not what I was expecting* - Vegito

*Yeah, I know what you're thinking, they really liked hell when they entered the Hobgoblin village, and the Tempest Wolves also lived here* - Rimuru

*Maybe, they're used to it, besides I never saw them in Blumund* - Vegito

*Hmm, maybe they didn't come back while you were in Blumund* - Rimuru

*...Oops. distracted. It's time to continue the conversation, I have a feeling that this woman is the person you are fated to be with* - Vegito

They were exceedingly forthright with their story, apparently not wary of my motives in the least. Their guild master had sent them to examine the area around the cave and check to see whether anything suspicious had taken place...but this mission was proving to stymie them.

"Yeah, that's the thing!" Kabal continued. "We're here looking for 'suspicious' things, but what the heck is 'suspicious' supposed to mean? We're clueless here!"

"Totally!" Elen chimed in. "I wish he could've said, like, 'Look for this or that or the other thing' instead of leaving it so vague!"

"We might be good scouts and all that, but we can't do everything, y'know?" Gido added.

And so they bad-mouthed their guild master without a care in the world. I almost felt sorry for the guy, although the first time I saw him, his face was that of a hideous bastard because he had a gash on his face.

Along the way, this group had run smack into a large, suspicious-looking boulder with a hole in it. This is it! they must've thought, because they drew their swords and stabbed it a little bit...only to wake up an entire nest of giant ants.

*This person..* - Vegito

*I don't know what to say* - Rimuru

It was a miracle they were alive—they'd spent the next three days constantly on the run, losing all their possessions on the way, before making it here. I had to hand it to them for managing that, really.

"Well," I reflected, "I wouldn't say there's much 'suspicious' going on around here, no. The cave, mainly, I guess?"

Elen shook her head. "But we didn't find anything in there, no. Did you know the story behind that cave? There's supposed to be this big, evil dragon sealed inside, but we spent two weeks running up and down that cave, and nothing! Two weeks without a bath, and we got practically nothing for it..."

"Whoa, c'mon!" an unnerved Kabal barked back. "We can't go around revealing that much to them!"

"What do you care?" Gido countered. "She's the one who did it! It don't matter to me!"

The men completely panicked at Elen's unwitting revelation.

We already knew, of course, thanks to our last encounter with them. And these people liked a dip now and then, huh? Maybe we have to get a bathhouse built around here.

Moving on.

"So what were you looking for in that cave, exactly?" asked Rimuru curiously, I also know why they went to that cave, yes thanks to the information in the Guild so I know the current situation.

Hmm. Veldora's disappearance must have confused the humans. That act of disappearing, even though he was safely sealed, was big news—this was a very powerful dragon, I think, though to Rimuru and me he just seemed like a nice guy who liked to chat sometimes.

However, it must be a huge problem, if someone sent out a search party. Was building a city near the mouth of this cave a mistake?

"We brought along a Reaction Stone, too, because they said the cave was practically bursting at the seams with magicules...but it wasn't anything near what we thought it'd be. I mean, the concentration's a little heavier than your typical cave, but nothing outside what's normal now. And that is pretty unusual, so at least we've got that to go back home with, but..."

"It's still packed with strong monsters, though, so I don't really wanna go back in again if I have the choice," Elen said. "No treasure to speak of, either, and no magic ore. All that monster hacking you gotta do, and there's no payoff for it at all!"

"Yeah," Gido added, "you might find some bandit gear if you look a bit, but nothin' worth goin' out of your way for."

*Oops. No ore, huh? Well, what if I told you that there used to be a lot of it... and I swallowed it all? And what if I told you that the magic had decreased there because I swallowed Veldora, the one who made them all? It was all basically my fault, right?* - Rimuru

*yes, maybe Veldora's disappearance is really a big problem, I heard that in the Guild too, maybe this has something to do with monsters like Ogre, Orc, and Lizardman.* - Vegito