Published at 5th of August 2019 11:00 am

Chapter 274: Side chapter - Rimuru’s Elegant Escape Play - 25 (END)

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Afterward.

The students were put on the airship that Diablo and Souei came in and sent off to the Kingdom of Ingracia.

While I was going to miss it, this was the end of the survival training.

Laplace stayed on the island and talked with the monsters about the plans for building Wonderland.

This was in order to listen to their requests and to insure habitat segregation.

In the future, this island would have a secret base for mysterious airships and an amusement park from hell for the training of the students.

We were also considering allowing civilians inside while accompanied by guards.

And—

Within the airship, I decided to listen to what Diablo and Souei had been doing up until now.

“This must be some kind of mistake!”

Screamed Jujilas as Souei escorted him. He was tied to what looked like a dirty log.

But on closer inspection, it wasn’t a log, but a person who had been turned into a tree.

“What’s this?”

“Ah! This guy had crawled into the NNU Magic and Science Investigation Academy, and so I punished him. As you commanded, I refrained from taking his life.”

Diablo answered proudly.

While it was true that he had not killed him, what did he intend to do now…?

“Hehehe. Once the questioning is finished, I intend to put him in the treant labyrinth town.”

“Uh, I don’t know if Trainee would like that?”

“Do you think so? Then what if I give him to you as a present, Lord Rimuru?”

“I don’t want him! This isn’t just a questionable hobby, you know? They will question my sanity!”

“That is true. I am very sorry. Shall I burn him now?”

“Hmm. Maybe…”

The conversation was like some kind of comedy sketch. Just then, the log-I mean, Godama, began to cry.

I felt a little sorry for him.

But upon further questioning, it turned out that he was causing the most mischief in regards to my plans for the school… I could not forgive him for that.

I had no reason to forgive him.

“Oh, well. After making him an example for other fools and enduring one hundred years of tree life, he can be released. He may even be able to start life again if his brain is fine. In the end, it is important to repent.”

“That’s wonderful, Lord Rimuru. You are always overflowing with mercy!”

Oh, really?

I felt like I was being rather harsh.

He was feeling a lot of pain but couldn’t die. He couldn’t faint or even go mad. Perhaps it would be better to just die.

However, he would be much more mentally stronger if he came out of this intact after a hundred years.

Depending on his attitude at that time, I may just hire him at Tempest.

It was not particularly pleasant, but it would work as an experiment.

And there was one other person.

Jujilas, who had been crying for quite some time now…

His heart certainly would not be able to survive turning into a tree…

Hmm. In fact, just like the small fry he was, he hadn’t actually committed that grave a crime.

On the other hand, he had affected the school and put meaningless status systems in place and shown open hostility towards me.

“What should we do with him?”

“I could kill him for you?”

Souei was quick to say.

Do you mean it? Diablo seemed to ask as he looked at Souei with surprise.

Wait a minute? I just remembered something.

“That’s it! This guy is fixated on class. We can strip him of his status and make him labor as a prisoner.”

“I see. He can help clean the labyrinth.”

“Hehehe. And there will be no worry of him dying if he wears the bracelet.”

It seemed like a very harsh punishment indeed.

The bracelet would cause him to resurrect every time that he died.

And cleaning the labyrinth was very dangerous work.

A certain number of the monsters had been dealt with, but there was still parts that needed work.

It was Trainee and the other labyrinth managers that went their periodically, but they would need people to help them.

Or course, it was all very dangerous.

There was a possibility of being killed by monsters repeatedly. So it was usually work for prison laborers.

The least popular job in Tempest.

However, this was not the kind of conversation we could have in front of the students.

It wasn’t just a matter of having a bad influence on them.

So all of these thoughts remained in my head as I decided on Godama and Jujilas’s fates.

After that, there was also Magnus, Rozari and Irina.

Irina would sometimes look at my face and shout.

“Tsk. Just kill me!”

Ah! How typical!

“Hehehe. Then without further ado!”

Diablo began to move, and so I stopped him frantically.

You can’t kill the person who begs to be killed.

It was against the rules.

“Um, I understand that you hate me and everything. But, it’s not exactly justified. The ruler cannot just stand by without resisting during a war. A country cannot exist without protecting its citizen’s safety and assets. It is fine if people want to sing about being pacifists, but the ruler cannot. Or else the country will fall. Can you understand that?”

“Yes… I understand that I am wrong. But! I cannot help but hate you…”

Well, she couldn’t help herself then.

And she had no hope of changing, and so she wished for nothing but to die at my hands now.

This was all very annoying.

“By the way, who do mean when you talked about someone from your home? The people who died in the war with the empire were mostly brought back to life.”

The reaction of those three to my question far exceeded mere surprise.

Apparently, it was news to them.

“Hey, hey. Didn’t the resurrected soldiers tell you anything?”

“N-no. We had heard, but we couldn’t believe it. We thought perhaps they had hallucinated it amidst the horrors of the war…”

“Yes. How could we believe such a thing…”

Magnus and Rozari shook their heads in firm denial.

Hmm, I suppose so.

But, it did happen.

“Shinji Tanimura. Also Mark Lauren and Shin Ryusei… People from my home… They were ‘otherworlders’ who came here. I searched for them desperately, but could not find them. You killed them, didn’t you? Even if it was the work of your subordinates, it is ultimately your…”

“STOOOP!!”

It was probably her answer to my question, but Irina looked me straight in the eyes and began to talk.

And the names that came out of her mouth were all familiar to me.

I told her to stop and gave her the truth quite plainly.

“You know, they are alive?”

What are you saying? I shall not be fooled! She seemed to say as she glared at me.

But it’s the truth…

“I mean, I guess they haven’t bothered to contact their friends?”

“As for that, Lord Rimuru…”

Souei seemed to know the reason.

Shinji, Mark and Shin had all betrayed the empire and defected. That was why they could not contact anyone.

And…

“They are very obsessed with their research and rarely leave the country. But they do enter the labyrinth occasionally for exercise and stress relief.”

Well, there you go.

Ramiris would have laughed loudly in this situation.

Now that I think of it, Ramiris and Veldora were rather quiet recently.

I was worried that maybe they were plotting something, but it looked like it was just their research.

“Hehehe. Now that I think of it, they had been asking for more personnel. Among the documents in Benimaru’s room, there was a request for an increase of workers.”

Diablo had a sharp eye and had looked through the documents addressed to Benimaru.

In fact, I had known about it.

However, there was no one that we could send, and it had been ignored.

It had to be someone knowledgeable with a resistance to mana.

Such personnel didn’t come easily…

Hmmm? Personnel…

“Irina. If you don’t believe me, why don’t you go and see them?”

“What!?”

“On one condition!”

I could see that Irina had tensed up.

I smirked and continued.

“You will have to work there as a researcher too. And if you refuse this offer, you will be subject to a one hundred years sentence. Then you will not be able to confirm that what I have said is true, and you will not be able to meet them if it is. It’s up to you. Choose as you will.”

Irina’s expression was deeply troubled.

However, she came to a decision surprisingly quickly.

“Regardless of it being true, research is preferable to a sentence. I will work there even if you are lying to me. Besides, you…protected the students. I do not think you are the kind of Demon Lord who would lie and toy with the hearts of others…”

I did not know if she was being sincere, but she said this as she accepted my offer.

Just one last push now.

“Of course. After all, you were honest enough to tell me your plans. Quite freely too. How could I not have taken that into consideration?”

I smiled devilishly and nodded.

“But! Do not say that.”

Irina looked very embarrassed.

“Hehehe. Irina. While I do not lie, it is no difficult thing for me to play with the hearts of people. I might tell Shinji and the others about this. Especially when we are drinking. It can’t be helped, can it?”

“AHHHHH!!!”

Irina imagined this scene and shouted with embarrassment.

“I, I swear to be loyal to you. But, please don’t talk to them about this…?”

“I will think about it!”

I said victoriously and nodded.

Magnus had listened to this whole exchange.

“Satoru…no, Great Demon Lord Rimuru. I, no, I don’t care what happens to me. But could you not forgive Rozari for her crimes?”

“Lord Magnus!?”

“I am very aware that this is very selfish of me. But she was only following my orders. If you could at least allow me to take the blame for it and forgive her…”

I had thought he was one of those shallow types, but this was rather dashing of him.

Well, he was actually part of the imperial family.

I wanted to avoid earning anymore hatred through dealing with him too harshly.

It would be a diplomatic issue, and I didn’t care to act so extremely just because I could.

So, what to do?

As I wondered about this, I heard a knock on the door.

I felt the presence of two people.

It was probably them.

I was expecting them—well, I wanted them to come.

Good.

Now I could prepare a point of compromise.

“Come in.”

I gave them permission before Souei could stand up.

As expected, it was Julius and Karma.

I had told the teachers to stop them if they tried to come in here, so it meant that the other students must have helped them.

I could feel my mouth curling into a little smile.

To think they would come here to talk to me directly after finding out that I was the Great Demon Lord.

Well done! I thought.

“Master Satoru…no, Lord Rimuru! Please forgive Magnus!”

As soon as they entered, Karma bowed deeply and said those words.

And then Julius followed.

“Magnus is our friend. But we didn’t realize he was troubled, and we didn’t consult him. We hadn’t talked together about what we really felt. We couldn’t. However, we would like to now. I want to say what I really feel, from the heart! So please, could you not give us that chance?”

Julius expressed himself before lowering his head just as Karma had done.

This was good.

I now had a reason to forgive.

“Very well. You can all share the responsibility for what happened.”

At these words, Julius, Karma and Magnus all raised their faces at once.

Rozari also looked at me with uncertainty.

“You can all help each other. If one of you looks to be going down the wrong path, stop him. Do you agree that everything happened while you were my students? Teachers are responsible for what their students do. And so I will close my eyes in this case.”

Diablo sat back in his chair gracefully and enjoyed his tea.

Souei was pouring me a second cup.

Neither of them said a word in protest.

“So-so…does that mean that we are forgiven…?”

Rozari asked hesitantly.

It was not me, but Diablo who answered her.

“Hehehe. Can I tell you something? When Lord Rimuru says he forgives you, he has forgiven all of your sins. He says he is going to close his eyes, so that means that you have all gotten away. But remember, there won’t be a next time.”

And then Souei added,

“Yes. The real problem was with the school. In a way, you were all victims. This plan of raising personnel and sending them to the center was quite interesting. That alone is hardly a crime.”

He said.

Exactly.

Ultimately, brainwashing students was not good, but the rest was hardly an issue.

“Well, that’s how it is. I said as much to Irina, but when it comes to war, your perspective will change depending on which country you are with. Such is history. It cannot be helped that people wish for their country to have an advantage. That is why it is important to study the history of other countries as well as your own. It will help you understand both sides and judge fairly. Well, perhaps this is not the most convincing argument, since it’s coming from the mouth of a Demon Lord.”

I finished.

I was about to tell Magnus and the others to leave, when Godama caught my eye on the floor.

“…Oh, yes. Julius. You were shouting about how much you hated me, weren’t you?”

“Oh?”

“…”

Diablo immediately reacted to this. Even Souei’s eyebrows twitched.

“Uh, no…that…”

Sweat dripped from his handsome face as he desperately searched for the right words.

Hehehe.

I had mostly ignored his words, but I couldn’t say that I wasn’t just a little hurt.

“Even I was a little wounded by having such words said to my face.”

“It was just a…a figure of speech…”

Julius had tears in his eyes.

I decided to let him off here.

“I’m joking. All is forgiven. But on one condition.”

“Condition?”

“Yes. Take care of this.”

So saying, I pointed at Godama.

Julius looked less than enthusiastic, but he agreed without complaint.

“As you are all responsible, you can take it around to the other schools. It will be a punishment for you, so you can take turns every year. I am sure that any student who thinks of doing something foolish will have a change of heart when they see this. It’s two birds with one stone, isn’t it?”

Rozari and the three others looked very unenthusiastic about it.

That made me quite satisfied.

I was able to get rid of the thing and also punish them at the same time.

Hurrah!

After that, I had all of the revolutionaries, or ‘Human Emancipation Alliance’ members taken in, as they seemed to have very extremist views.

Souei’s subordinates had already received the order, and they would be finished with this task shortly.

I would hand them all over to Laplace, as they would make good workers.

I was sure they would prove to be very useful.

And just like that, the great cleansing of the school and driving out of the troublemakers was complete.

—Afterward.

Julius, Magnus, Karma and the others of their class became legendary warriors whose names went down in history as the people who the Great Demon Lord once cooked for.

Some of them, like Marsha, became actual heroes. As she was known as the forebearer of the new style of magic.

My escape resulted in several other amusing stories as well, but those were for another time.

◇◇◇

After returning to Tempest.

My body, Rimurun, was cruelly split into two.

Well, as it was a slime, it had just split into two smaller slimes… Still, it was not a good feeling when you thought of it as your own body.

“Th-this is…um…”

“No! It was because Shuna wouldn’t let go!”

It was surprising enough that Shuna would resist Shion’s great strength.

But more than that, I was shocked that my incredibly resilient body had been split into two.

These two should not ever be angered.

I promised to myself once again.

By the way, I was able to return to normal by absorbing the two Rimurun bodies.

Shuna and Shion looked a little sad, so I thought that I would give them a doll next time.

◆◆◆

The Forum was held in the Ingracia School City-The development of magic and science. The 8th…

Mai gave a wonderful lecture.

She had succeeded in stabilizing the Different Gate after ten years.

But the fact that I listened to her and thought, ‘maybe it would be fun to visit another world next time,’ will be our little secret.

To be continued?

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