Tensei Shitara Slime Datta Ken novel Chapter 104

Along with the freed elves, rare monsters continued to stream into the city. Considering the quality of their mounts, they must have been treated reasonably well. I guess their captors never intended to enter open hostilities against us. I mean, if you think about it, even the elf chiefs " whose plight began all of this " were without a single injury. I would imagine they meticulously planned their action intending not to kill a single "person". The elves, based on their magic capacity are rank C~B beings, but many among them can use magic. So their rank does not display their strength"a rather dangerous bunch. No matter how meticulous their planning, to capture ten elves without a single injury, is a real testimony to the hunters' strength. Assuming there were a few of them, I'd imagine they are at least A ranked. I should think about this some more later. That is, I can hardly underestimate an underground organization abundant with such individuals. My heart tightened watching the monster slaves' parade.

.

One of the Cerberus' Bosses"Damrada. As the one responsible for the monster's return, he rode into the city among them. Of course, his actual goal was to gain entry into the "jewel" called Tempest. But, thanks to an inspection upon entrance, and ban on illegal immigration, entry into the country was not easy to acquire. A guild card would have allowed entry. However, anyone else would have to enter by an invitation. The country has not yet completely developed, so we could hardly let just anyone in. The refugees pouring into our country are staying in inns we had just finished. And we're quickly putting them to work as builders or cleaning staff. That aside,

Damrada ran up to greet me with a wide smile on his face. After just a single glance at the city, with a nod full of admiration,

[It has been a long time, Demon Lord Rimuru-sama. This unworthy one is named Damrada. On this day, as we had promised, we are returning the captured monsters. We are deeply grateful for permitting entry into your country]

He bowed in respect. As always, he is extremely well dressed, nor is he gaudy.

[Yeah. Seems like you have treated my subjects well. You have my thanks. Since you have fulfilled your part of the promise, let's forget about this incident. But you do understand that I will not allow this to happen again, right?]

[Hahaha, of course. You are hardly an opponent I would want to risk my life going against]

Damrada intended to completely erase any traces of hostility using that short exchange. We, too, would rather avoid a war of attrition with this organization. I mean, we'd crush them if we fought head on, but there are many nasty things they could do from the shadows. And considering that I had just proclaimed myself as a benevolent demon lord by freeing the Templars, I would rather not waste that effort. These guys just intend to gain my favor. What good is it to pointlessly antagonize them? Well, next time they get in my way, I will destroy them.

[By the way, a little bird whispered this to me... but it seems you are holding a tournament? We couldn't possibly obtain the right to observe it?]

Damrada asked me with a natural smile. Isn't he eager to analyze our strength. Well, I don't mind. I mean, flaunting our ability was the goal. But, I can't let him have it for free, can I?

[You have my permission. You have permission to remain here until the tournament beings as well]

[Oh, how great is your benevolence! In that case...]

[But, have your strongest man participate. I'd love to see what he's like. I mean, we'll be seeing each other often from now on, right?]

I replied with a smile. He came here trying to gain my favor. There's no way he can refuse. As I thought. He hesitated a bit, but

[As expected of a demon lord, everything has a price. Understood. In that case, this individual...]

He called forth a young individual. I looked at the youth, and then again at Damrada.

[Damrada, you will participate. You are the strongest among these, aren't you?]

We stared at each other for a second, and,

[You got me. Wonderfully done. You have seen through it all. In that case, I have no choice but to participate. I will be in your care both as a participant and as an observer.]

[Yeah, our future relations will depend on your performance. So I suggest you try real hard]

Damrada bowed again and left. As I thought, he really is the strongest among them. Though he doesn't look like it, his strength is obvious to those who can truly see. And thus, our participant list increased again. It wouldn't be fun to have a battle only among our friends. This should spice things up a bit. And if things get really competitive, maybe we'll see Damrada's true strength. Martial Arts Tournament. I can hardly wait!

* * *

Ramiris and Veldora were having fun inside the dungeon. Nor was the sight of Milim flying through the sky dragging dragons into the dungeon a rare sight. Things were the same as always. There were constant reports of their loud laughter disturbing people, but we decided to ignore those reports. As for the invitation letters, Myormiles has selected the individuals to invite and sent the letters out. Communication is important. So I introduced Souei to Myormiles and had him help with the communication. Souei's subordinates"Souka, Saika, Nansou, and Hokusou became the center of Myormiles' communications team. Since he is just so good at handling people, they have quickly opened up to him. I'm really glad they aren't looking down on him.

So I can probably leave all that to them. According to Myormiles, the nobles have a large entourage of mercenaries and adventurers they employ. In other words, if we make them believe there's some great benefit for clearing the labyrinth, we can harvest loads of money off of them. And we can probably have a few nobles become our sponsors. Which would also advance our plans to reuse the arena another step. Though when I say "reuse" I do mean it in a limited sense"up to four times a year. Other times we can use it for training or something. But a sponsor, huh? Well done Myormiles, thinking that far ahead. I had thought only about the money that could be made off of adventurers, and worried about those who would lose themselves in it. And that's where sponsors would come in handy. So maybe we should fill the dungeon with hidden riches that, like a lottery, would reward a few individuals. To make money on those who like to gamble, of course. Maybe have rare items as rewards? Well, Myormiles suggested that we make a request to the Freedom Association.

[Can we make this request of them?]

[Of course. A reward of 1,000 gold coins for he who would clear a hundred floors. And that's impossible, I take it? Of course, the number of challengers will decrease due to your notori... fame... But even so, the word on the street is "Dungeon of dragons. Is there an adventurer who could defeat a dragon? Even the knights would find it difficult" they say. So those eating the nobles' scraps say. Which is why I think it's a good idea to offer a lavish reward. But, in order to make them think we really intend to pay them this reward, I propose we offer other rewards depending on floor reached. A single gold coin for reaching the 10th floor. 3 gold coins for reaching the 30th floor. Something like that. Maybe even rewards for record time to a save point?]

[Hahaha. An advertisement that would draw people in despite me being a demon lord! Well done, Myormiles, well done. So, will we award only a few people? Or all of them?]

[I was thinking the first five every month. If they are in a party, they'll just have to split the profit. And if we award them once a month, that will encourage them to compete even more]

I see. If we award the first individuals to reach the target, it won't hurt our budget and encourage participation. What a wonderful plan. No one will clear it, and even if they do, it's no problem. A trifling sum like a thousand gold coins we can earn very quickly. What a wonderful idea this has become.

[Myormiles-kun, proceed just as you have spoken!]

[Ay, I live to serve!]

Myormiles' plan requires me to contact every country and look into the list of adventurers. There's also the question of entrance into the dungeon. Adventurers can easily enter using their association cards, and we can manage the information hosted on those. As for those without guild membership, we can issue home made cards. I have already consulted Kaijin on that question. This way, we'll be able to control the access and information of every single person. Entrance into the labyrinth is 3 silver coins per go. We'll issue the first card for free. If that gets lost or destroyed, the second one is 10 silver coins. We'll also let them sample a resurrection bracelet by letting them have one for free. Of course, first entry into the dungeon is also free. And resurrection is certainly important. Afterwards, we'll sell the bracelets at two silver pieces each, and, considering their importance, I expect to sell a lot. We'll also have to make sure to announce the dangers of entering the dungeon without such a bracelet. Though they have only themselves to blame for their death, I would rather avoid victims. On another note, we have also decided to lease weapons and armours. This was my idea and I'm going to have Kurobee supervise it. Well, I don't know how this will turn out, but I'm expecting to make a fortune. I can't wait to open the dungeon!