Three Days Later.
Outside the Ogre Village, on the hillside
Benimaru hurled a black flame from his hand.
Boom!
A deafening blast erupted across the hillside.
Black flames surged and engulfed the entire mountain face.
"Black Flame Prison!"
With one overwhelming strike, everything caught in the blazing cage was reduced to ash.
However...
A figure emerged slowly from within the sea of fire.
He lowered his gaze to his body, completely unharmed.
As expected. Aqua's Blessing granted total immunity to all status effects. Including flame burns.
Whoosh!
Just as Chishiya stepped forward.
A sharp glint of light flashed in his blind spot.
Hakurou appeared like a phantom.
The wooden sword in his hand swung directly at Chishiya's arm.
Bang!
The wooden blade struck squarely. But not even a scratch appeared on Chishiya's skin.
Despite using a wooden sword, Hakurou's strength was now nearly on par with a Demon Lord.
Even higher-level demons wouldn't walk away unscathed from a clean hit like that.
Chishiya flexed his arm briefly.
The Knight's Body ability was doing its job.
The physical reinforcement from all his blessings was even better than he expected.
In terms of defense, at least, he was very satisfied.
Hakurou stepped back and sheathed his sword. "Chishiya-sama, we'll end here for today."
"Your strength is far beyond ours."
Benimaru looked frustrated. "I expected a gap, but…"
"I didn't think our attacks would have zero effect."
"I still have a long way to go."
"I'll keep training."
These guys were way too humble. Honestly, if it were a typical Demon Lord, they'd be splattered across the hillside by now.
Especially Hakurou—his sword speed was ridiculous.
Chishiya hadn't even been able to react in time.
With their current strength, even if the Orc Lord evolved into a Demon Lord, they'd probably still win.
"We should go name the rest of the villagers."
Over the past few days, Chishiya had named most of the Ogre Tribe.
But not all had evolved into demons.
Most had only evolved into Kijin.
Benimaru and the others were clearly unique.
"Chishiya-sama, another group of goblins has arrived asking to join us."
At the village entrance, another wave of goblins waited patiently.
Chishiya had lost track of how many batches this was now.
In just three days.
Including the 1,000 currently in front of him.
Over 7,000 goblins had come seeking refuge.
Some even arrived from the far eastern parts of the Jura Forest.
Chishiya rubbed his temples.
No doubt about it, Treyni was the one spreading the word.
No, correction. 100% her fault.
Still, he didn't turn them away.
He named them all.
Manpower was always welcome.
After finishing, Chishiya staggered back toward the village.
Benimaru followed, a hint of concern in his voice.
"Chishiya-sama, are you alright?"
Naming 1,000 goblins in one sitting wasn't exactly low-stress.
"I'm fine."
Chishiya waved him off.
Mana consumption was tolerable.
But—damn, coming up with names was agony.
How does Rimuru manage this?! Unique names for every goblin?!
It took him forever just to think of one.
He was mentally suffocating.
———
In just three days, the village had transformed.
Ogres, goblins, soldier ants—the total population had swelled to nearly 15,000.
Construction had accelerated dramatically.
The once crude thatched village now featured wooden houses across the entire settlement.
Stone-paved roads had been laid.
Even an industrial district was under development.
Materials were stored in large warehouses, and rows of workshops lined the streets—blacksmiths, tailors, armorers.
Kurobe remained in the smithy, teaching blacksmithing to the male villagers.
Several high-quality blades had already been forged.
Souei managed material gathering.
Shuna focused on clothing production.
Benimaru and Hakuro trained daily.
As for Aqua.
She, Megumin, and Darkness had formed a patrol unit with several ogres.
They scouted the area regularly to prevent another sneak attack like Treyni's surprise appearance.
As Chishiya passed by Kurobei's forge, the rhythmic clanging of metal echoed.
He didn't stop.
Instead, he headed toward Shuna's workshop.
"Chishiya-sama, you're here!"
The moment she saw him, Shuna lit up like sunshine.
She ran over, excitedly showing off her work from the past few days.
Her large, bright eyes sparkled.
They chatted briefly to check on progress.
Chishiya gently patted her head.
"Good job. Thanks for your work."
Shuna's face lit up as she smiled under his touch. "It's nothing. As long as I can help you, Chishiya-sama!"
His heart skipped a beat.
Adorable.
He was seriously jealous of Benimaru for having such a capable little sister.
Unlike his cousin in his past life, whose only skills were chuckling and saying "hehe."
Stare…
Suddenly.
Chishiya felt two intense stares on his back.
A cold sweat broke out across his shoulders.
He turned.
Megumin and Shion stood in the doorway, expressions unreadable.
"Sensei," Megumin said with a fake smile. "We were working hard on patrol while you're living the easy life?"
"Well done~, thank you for your hard work~," she added mockingly, mimicking his earlier praise.
"Huh?!!"
She stomped up and jabbed her staff into his cheek.
"We've been busting our butts out there!"
"Answer me—!!!"
Chishiya: "…hard work… yes… you worked very hard…"
Shion stood silently beside her, smiling with the air of someone who had just caught her cheating boyfriend.
"Chishiya-sama, Miss Shuna still has plenty to do."
"It's probably not appropriate to keep distracting her. Let's go."
Wait—what?!
I didn't even do anything! Why does it feel like I've just been caught cheating?!
Flustered, Chishiya straightened up. "Right. Let's go."
"Chishiya-sama!"
An ogre wearing a guard uniform rushed in.
"Miss Treyni is here."
"I see." Chishiya nodded.
Time for the strategy meeting.
———
Meeting Room
It was called a meeting room.
In reality, it was just a wooden hut they built specifically for discussions.
Treyni gave a respectful bow.
"Chishiya-sama, it is time."
"Please accompany me to the Central Lake—the Lizardmen's territory."
"The other two representatives are already waiting."
Rimuru and the Lizardman leader, no doubt.
Chishiya nodded. "Alright. Let's go."
Shion piped up. "Chishiya-sama, please let me come with you!"
She wouldn't cause trouble, right?
He thought for a moment.
Yeah, she was more reliable than Aqua.
Stare…
Shion's eyes gleamed with anticipation.
Chishiya sighed, massaging his temples.
"Fine. You're coming."
———
Meanwhile
Jura Forest – Central Lake
Underground Cave
Inside the stone-walled chamber, the Lizardman chieftain sat at the center of the long table.
To his right, the seat remained empty.
To his left sat a female goblin, gently cradling a familiar blue slime in her arms.
Next to her, a goblin with a round head was slumped over the table, snoring softly.
The chief glanced at the slime.
"This is…"
Haruna gently stroked the little blob. "This is Rimuru-sama."
"Three days ago, he named 500 goblins."
"He's resting now, having used up too much magic power."
"But don't worry. He'll wake up soon."
The Lizardman chief was speechless.
Five hundred goblins?!
That was no small feat.
Anyone capable of naming that many had to be far stronger than they appeared.
This slime... wasn't to be underestimated.
(To be continued.)
***
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