This chapter is told from the perspective of Vertis's parallel body in the nation of Tempest.
"Hm!? What an incredibly advanced tropolis this is!"
Another noisy visitor had arrived in the capital.
At first glance, he was a black-haired middle-aged man with a generous belly. Judging by his appearance, he seed to be a rchant.
The crafters, already on alert, naturally heightened their vigilance. No weapons were visible, but in a world where people could casually bring down buildings with skills and magic, appearances ant little.
Still, his excitent wasn't violent. If anything, he was praising the city. And when I noticed that familiar trio was with him, I finally relaxed.
"With this level of population density, and yet there isn't a scrap of trash anywhere, nor even a foul sll. It's cleanliness itself! And these structures are magnificent! The technical prowess to raise countless towers that scrape the sky! And this is supposed to be a nation of monsters!?"
More than anything, he was sincerely admiring the city Rimuru and the others had built. He wasn't so villain intending harm to this country.
Once I recognized that and gave a small nod, the subordinates surrounding the man quietly lowered their guard as well. He might be a rchant, but he was refreshingly easy to read. I wished everyone were like that.
"And that's not all! The people passing by are well dressed! You can glimpse both the high standard of living and the excellence of public safety from that alone... Look! Even the goods displayed in the shops are all high quality!"
"So this is the man they call the king of the backstreets."
"Look at him. He's enjoying himself with the innocence of a child."
"Makes bringing him through this district worth it, doesn't it?"
The Federation was already seeing a steady rise in population thanks to the enthusiastic promotion from Blumund and Yoem's group.
Because traffic in and out of the city had grown so active that so visitors could slip past the surveillance net, subordinates specialized in concealnt and infiltration were stationed throughout the town.
'Maybe I should organize a few proposals for Rimuru and pass them on through the main body.'
"When I ca here for this consultation on an introduction from Hughes, I wondered what sort of place this would be, but honestly... this place positively reeks of money... Heh heh heh!"
"Ugh, what a disgusting laugh! Creepy!"
"That human is definitely no decent adult."
"Feels like we've brought sothing filthy into paradise."
'Hm... should we build a new checkpoint?
Or maybe surround the entire Federation with walls?
No, that would go against Rimuru's way. I don't want to ruin this grand natural scenery either.
I suppose it can't be helped. Once a place develops and its numbers grow, restrictions follow.
It's difficult to build structures with a different atmosphere once a city's the has already been established.
Of course, my Laputa is a great city with multiple thes suited to the traits of each monster, but...'
'Should we inspect visitors' belongings the way they do in Dwargon...?'
"What's wrong with a rchant loving money? Co to think of it, my own beginnings were as a peddler selling vegetables around the age of seven."
While Vertis was lost in thought, the rchant visiting the city began giving the troubleso trio a brief version of his long, long life story.
"At first, I struggled just to survive. But little by little, I found joy in seeing my growing custors smile and look happy. And so I spent more than thirty years walking that single road... The seller earns money, the buyer is satisfied, and the world becos a little better. That is the rchant's creed that the great rchant Mjormile believes in."
"That's amazing, mister. But for a great rchant, all you're buying us is street-stall food we have to eat standing up..."
"The udon is delicious, though."
"What are you talking about? Everyone pays for their own."
Ghk!?
You had to draw the line clearly. Ordinary travelers could be handled with a simple body search, but if soone entered the city with a wagon, then the contents of the boxes inside it would need to be checked too.
But if we did that, it would interfere with traffic.
"Hm... Then maybe I should ask whether making several entrances would be better?"
"Yes, we've read the letter of introduction sent by Hughes. We can prepare 1,000 bottles of Hyper Potion for you right away."
"Much appreciated. Though I heard your leader is a sli."
"You an Lord Rimuru. He sotis takes human form as well! He is this divine!"
Rigurd showed Mjormile a wooden board with simple drawings of Rimuru's original form and human form sketched on it.
"I see. If he's the one who built such a beautiful country, then I'd very much like to et him and speak with him directly about business."
After concluding that deal, Mjormile moved on to visit other places. Buying and selling was always more efficient when you saw things with your own eyes and judged them for yourself rather than relying on what you'd heard.
"!! What remarkably soft fibers... If processed well, these could make splendid clothing. Was this also Lord Rimuru's doing, by any chance?"
"Yes, it was his policy."
To develop a city this far in a re two years... Compared to other nations, it lagged behind in neither culture nor national strength.
"Lord Rimuru truly seems to be an extraordinary person."
"Yes, and right now, he looks this beautiful as well."
Shuna, along with Garm and Dord, who processed the textile materials used as the basis for clothing, each showed him their own drawings of Lord Rimuru. But compared to the picture Rigurd had shown earlier, theirs looked like amateur sketches.
"Rimu—"
Then, the picture shown by the purple-haired, large-breasted kijin woman he t next, along with those shown by a giant bee and a stag beetle, looked almost like childish scribbles.
"..."
Since every person he t showed him a different picture, Mjormile couldn't form any clear image at all of what Rimuru was actually supposed to look like.
Still, one thing was clear: this great city could only have been built because of Rimuru's leadership and the people who trusted and followed him.
'Just as the rumors said, an astonishing group of technicians... I don't understand the principles behind it, but the atmosphere here is far from ordinary. Co to think of it, the highway from the Great Forest of Jura to Blumund was put in order in a very short ti. That reeks of profit, yes, but also of danger. Still...'
"A man of my caliber can't very well get scared with this much profit right in front of him."
"How gallant."
"You're so cool, mister."
"For now, since we can't really communicate directly, I suppose another opportunity for negotiations would be fine."
As Mjormile continued touring the city, he ca upon a certain scene. At a glance, he saw a man trying to swindle a group of young girls who looked as though this was their very first ti doing business.
The man was selling Low Potions at one silver coin per bottle and Hyper Potions at twenty silver coins per bottle, taking advantage of the fact that they weren't used to handling money and pretending to be helpful while deceiving them. Watching that rchant, Mjormile found himself frowning without realizing it. No matter that Mjormile himself had dealings in the underworld and was called the mafia boss of money in the criminal world, when it ca to business, he never lied.
[Trust is the most important thing for a rchant.] That was the creed of the great rchant Mjormile.
"Hey, you there!! You're supposed to be an adult, and you're trying to fleece children like these? You ought to be ashad of yourself!!"
Thus Mjormile sharply scolded the man trying to swindle the young girls and gave so serious advice to the three novice rchants.
"Trust matters for a rchant, but that doesn't an you should let others look down on you! You have to be ruthless enough to make people fear you!!"
After offering that advice as a seasoned elder in life, Mjormile treated them all to sothing refreshing to lift his gloomy mood, then spent so leisurely ti in an old-fashioned bar called Jura.
"This country is certainly still young. No—one might even call it immature. It achieved explosive growth in an incredibly short ti. There's no denying it lacks experience in many areas. But at the sa ti—because it is young and pure, it also has an exceptional capacity to learn and adapt. It may still be lacking now, but could you not believe that one day it will truly be able to move forward together with others, and watch over it warmly until then?"
There was an extraordinarily beautiful woman seated at the bar counter. She had a mysterious air, like a fairy in the forest, and a voice and manner of speaking as soothing as the leaves at the tips of branches. I wanted to scout her for one of my own establishnts, but—
Crunch crunch crunch crunch crunch crunch crunch
"Like this potato, for example."
Constantly eating fried potatoes in front of custors was a bit of a problem. I supposed I'd have to let it go as a missed connection this ti...
Before long, the day had passed.
"...Hm. You really can't tell much from appearances alone. I was so caught up in my prejudice against monsters that I nearly let a good business opportunity slip away. A country with seriousness and warmth, and remarkable growth besides. Which ans enemies may appear as well, but before long, it may beco the storm that shatters and changes this old world. Rimuru Tempest, leader of the nation of monsters. He's soone I'd like to et at least once.... All right! In honor of the occasion, this last round is on !"
At Mjormile's words, the troubleso trio ran off with bright smiles.
That's right. Just like us, the people of this city should run about in good health too.
A relationship of coexistence and shared prosperity. The comfort of hearts eting.
That is sothing we understand.
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