With the worst of the day behind them, the trio hurried over to the Free Guild office before it closed and sold their magic crystals and extra equipment to the resource department.
"Whoa, these crystals are from really deep down, aren't they? The quality's completely different."
"Another slotted weapon? And pure magisteel? They'd never let these out in public in other countries."
The Guild staff members were pretty impressed. Shinji's party could've fetched higher prices if they shopped around, but they were here on an undercover investigation, so they didn't want to expand their social network
that much. Besides, the Guild paid well enough. Their mission was at a standstill, but the past few days alone ensured they were damn well funded, at least.
In the army, they were paid an annual salary, all in advance; if you got promoted in rank, you'd receive the difference in salary the following year. Even if you were penniless upon enlistment, you'd get a reserve fund based on how many days remained in the year. Thus you really couldn't lose money in the military—even if you died in combat, the advance salary would be treated as part of your family's consolation payout.
Foot soldiers ranked up to private received a base salary of around ten gold coins, equivalent to approximately ten thousand dollars a year. The army covered your room, board, and clothing, so this pay was still a blessing for the lower classes. To this, enlisted men could add rank pay, hazard pay, and a lot of other side bonuses, depending on their duties.
Marc and Zhen were both first lieutenants, while Shinji was a major with a medic qualification. None of them had the authority to give orders, but their rank still afforded them a few nice perks. Otherworlders, in general, were treated well in the Empire—at least on the level of a second lieutenant—but Shinji was ranked higher than his companions.
Regardless, though, all of them were on a much higher pay scale than rank and-file infantry. A first lieutenant's rank earned them thirty-six gold coins, while a major netted forty-four—every rank promotion meant an extra four golds a year. Combined with the base pay and other income, Mark's and Zhen's yearly salaries were around fifty golds, while Shinji's usually broke seventy.
A military salary gave you an income above the imperial average, but you still weren't living like a tycoon. You'd be rich by rural standards, but in the capital, the cost of living was sky-high. Still, life could be tough in this world if you decided to go it by yourself. Having a stable career, whether in the military or elsewhere, was a godsend.
Now, though, this trio knew better. They didn't need to cling to the army at all. They could just live in that city within the labyrinth, and they'd be just fine.
Their confidence chiefly stemmed from the fact that today's trip to the Guild
alone earned them over three hundred gold coins. That well outpaced what a year in the army would earn them all combined. That, and unless the Empire handed it out to them, they'd never have a chance at scoring Unique-class equipment in their lives. It was a huge windfall.
All three of them realized this well enough, but all three hesitated to say it out loud. They kept their silence as they headed to their next destination.
Once in Rimuru, the monster city, they chose a fairly high-end restaurant for dinner, enjoying the kind of luxury they hadn't experienced in ages.
"…Is this really okay?" Zhen timidly asked. "Selling equipment like that?" Shinji and Marc were unmoved.
"Of course it is! We didn't sell all of it. We kept some samples."
"Yeah, and it's not like we can take it all home anyway. As long as we keep the good stuff, nobody's gonna complain."
Unless they received permission to loot it, anything procured during a military operation belonged to the armed forces. In this case, none of them would have any right to protest if everything they earned was taken away. At the same time, though, they were asked to investigate the labyrinth. They were posing as adventurers, and selling booty on the market was perfectly normal adventurer behavior. It seemed safe to take this as a nice side benefit. Besides, it's not like Yuuki would demand this stuff from them anyway—he was bound to let Shinji's party have it all, except for what he personally needed.
"But y'know… If they do confiscate all the money we've made, you gotta start seriously thinkin' about moving here, don'tcha?"
Shinji finally said it first. Nobody disagreed.
One gold coin is equivalent to around a thousand dollars, a ballpark conversion that applied just as well in the Empire as it did here. Minted in the Dwarven Kingdom, they circulated around the world, and the Empire recognized them as official currency. Whatever they earned here, they could bring home and use like any other money.
"I think that's totally doable."
"…Yeah. I was just joking about it earlier, but now I feel like working here would be a lot more fun."
Shinji only half meant it, but Marc and Zhen were more up for it than he anticipated.
Yes, the Empire was on the cutting edge of culture and technology. It boasted a fine capital, the food was good, and they lived comfortably. As long as they had money, they could enjoy life well enough, even compared with their former world. But they were in the military, and that always came with the potential for death.
Meanwhile, the Dungeon offered everything they could possibly want. You never worried about dying—something they didn't quite believe at first, but now that they'd experienced it once, they were convinced. And if death wasn't a concern, wouldn't it be better to just earn what they could in there and party it up in town? That was the conclusion Shinji and his friends made, and no one could blame them for it.
Money, of course, was meaningless without entertainment, something the monster city of Rimuru offered lots of. There was a battle arena open to the public when events weren't taking place, giving citizens a nice, well-maintained space to play and relax. Sports like soccer and baseball were starting to spread, and some of the dungeon runners were forming teams. And then there were the hot springs—and the theaters, which housed a flourishing drama scene that played to big crowds on a regular basis, something they already witnessed for themselves. The food was just as good—no, even better than the Empire's, featuring familiar Japanese specialties, desserts, and a dizzying range of adult beverages. They were re-creating cuisines that didn't even exist in this realm, and an Earth native like Shinji found it all hopelessly attractive.
Plus, when you really got down to it, their only obligation was to Yuuki—and Yuuki didn't look like he wanted conflict with the demon lord Rimuru. It didn't even seem like they'd be betraying anyone if they moved here.
"I know desertion gets us the death penalty. But we're not at war, are we? Not yet anyway."
"Right? I was just thinking about that, too, Shinji. 'Cause we can still request a
discharge, yeah?"
"…That'll depend on Yuuki."
Desertion was a crime only when the nation was in a state of war. That didn't apply at the moment, luckily. Depending on how you interpreted this, an honorable discharge still seemed possible.
"But the problem," muttered Marc, "is this war."
That was the whole reason they couldn't commit to abandoning the Empire. War was obviously looming on the horizon, ready to rise up on them, and it'd leave its scars across this entire region. If it weren't for that, they'd be house hunting right now.
"Who do you think's gonna win?"
"…Like, before that, if we're ordered to attack this city, what're we gonna do?"
The trio exchanged glances. It was an excellent dinner, but suddenly it tasted bland to them. Attacking the city was the last thing they wanted, in a couple of ways.
Shinji's group had stayed here only a little while, but they really liked it. They'd hate it if this city got wiped off the map. That was one reason. The second—as their imaginations ominously suggested—was that if the labyrinth bosses were any indication, the strongest of Tempestian fighters had to be absolute beasts.
"I mean, of course they're gonna have someone really strong defending their important facilities, right?" said Marc. "But their troops have to be weaker than that. Or I guess we hope they are, huh?"
"I agree," Shinji replied with a nod. "I think once you get to the level of Rimuru, at least, it's a whole other ball game. There's a story about how Veldora razed an entire city long ago, and now I really don't think that's a joke at all. I mean, that wight king could do it, even."
The monsters who called Tempest home certainly seemed capable of disasters like that.
"You know, the way I see it, Arch Demons are kind of like nuclear weapons back home. They've got nuclear magic here, even."
"Yeah. 'Cause we've seen how war is all about numbers…but with a boss like that, all the numbers in the world wouldn't do a thing."
"…You'd need dozens of fighters as good as us to stand a chance."
All of them scowled…and the magical call from Gadora came shortly afterward.
An elderly man was prostrated before me. Behind him, the trio I had been watching on the control room's big screen were following his lead.
The man's name was Gadora, the very one who went through Diablo and Razen to request an audience with me. He wasn't gaudily dressed, but he had an expensive-looking magic robe on, his eyes sharp enough that I doubted his age a little.
Shingee, as I surmised, was actually named Shinji—Shinji Tanimura, to be exact. The other two put their real names on the processing form. All three were apparently assigned to Gadora here, a master sorcerer; they usually worked under Yuuki but were serving as assistants to Gadora in their current investigations.
They had explained all this to me, and after Gadora was done, he took this pose, Shinji and the gang copying him. We weren't gonna get anywhere like this.
"Yeah, um… That's about what I figured with you guys, I guess. But we can't really get comfortable and talk if you're posing like that, okay? Let's move somewhere else."
Shion nodded. "Lift your heads," she intoned, sounding grumpy for some reason. This is why I hate royal audiences like this—I know I'm gonna mess up my manners somehow. I'd prefer to just skip the whole thing.
"A-as you wish!!"
Given all that exaggerated shouting, I was starting to dread our meeting.
So we relocated to a reception room—a plainer one. I tended to prefer this one; over in the fancier chamber, the furniture and stuff were so high-end that I was afraid I'd break or ruin something. One false move with a full teacup, and it'd be liable to stain the fancy carpet we had in there. In my heart, I was still just another common peon, and I preferred surroundings within my means. It appeared Shinji's party was the same way; they looked a bit more cheerful than before.
"Which do you like more," I casually asked, "tea or coffee?"
"Uh, um, coffee, please."
"Shinjiiiii!!" Gadora shouted. I spent a few moments calming him down. "And you, Gadora?"
"M-me? Well, um, I'll have what Shinji's having."
Oh? Don't they have coffee in the Empire? I figured they would, but maybe there's not that much in circulation. Turning toward Marc and Zhen, they simply nodded back at me—they were okay with the same thing, I supposed.
"Okay, four American blends, Shuna!"
"A-American?!" Gadora yelped.
"Oh, did you want something stronger? Dark roast, maybe? Or you wanna try it Tempest style?"
"N-no, um, I didn't mean it like that, but… Ah…"
"Oh?"
"S-Sir Rimuru, would you happen to be…an otherworlder?"
"Um, yeah…?"
That's the question he has? Because if so, he clearly hasn't done his homework. I sized the four of them up, but only Gadora had an "oh crap" look on his face. I guess the other three knew but forgot to tell him. Ah well.
"Now, how about we get down to business?"
Shuna laid out the coffee cups on the table, along with enough milk and sugar for everyone. Leaving Shinji and his friends to watch in wonder at this, I decided
to address Gadora first. He gave Shinji a spiteful look after he exclaimed "Oh, this coffee's really good!" but I was kind enough to overlook this.
"Well, to tell you the truth, I am something of a veteran reincarnate as well."
…Hmm. Lord Gadora certainly kicked things off with a bombshell. The other three turned toward him, looking just as surprised.
Apparently Gadora, in his mission to master the magical arts, had reincarnated himself many times over an untold number of years. With every rebirth, he'd read through the secret libraries of this or that royal palace, allowing him to build a vast store of knowledge. He came to know Adalmann in the midst of this clandestine sorcery research, and the two became close friends.
"As I mentioned earlier, I had a personal vendetta against the Western Holy Church—one I kindled after my best friend Adalmann was killed. Thus, over the course of centuries, I crafted my plans and coaxed the Empire into doing my bidding."
Gadora gave me his personal history. After Adalmann was put into a trap, he swore revenge, headed into the Empire alone, and gradually built up his reputation. He had experienced battle against Veldora as well—certainly, he'd led a far more eventful life than I thought.
"In hindsight, I'm honestly glad I completed my reincarnation ritual before we challenged him. I always wanted to see for myself the ultimate in evil, the worst nature could create…"
Only four True Dragons had ever been born. They sat at the precipice of monster-dom, the most powerful beings on the planet. Based on his experience battling one of them, he didn't think the imperial army was likely to ever beat Veldora. He was, of course, saying this right in front of the guy, who was already shooting me gleeful sidelong glances. I wish he'd stop. Yeah, it's amazing and all, but it's not like I was obliged to keep praising him over it.
"I do think, mind you, that we could have scored a tactical victory against Sir Veldora. But those fools in the Empire insisted on trying to win that beast over to our side. I warned them, time and time again, that it was an impossible waste of time."
Gadora's interests were fixed squarely upon the West and his revenge against Luminism, and he didn't want to waste good soldiers on pointless campaigns. He attempted to prevail upon his superiors how unrealistic their hopes were, but the commanders refused to listen, overvaluing themselves far too much.
Hearing all this, Gadora sounded like a pretty stand-up guy. But Gadora was also the one who fanned the Empire's lust for expansion, it seemed. I asked him to spare me all the details and skip to more recent trends.
"So for the most part, the Empire's trying to start a war because of you?" "That… That's part of it, you could say…"
No, old man—you can try talking your way around it, but you had to be the cause. He quickly began making excuses, perhaps sensing my displeasure.
"But… But no! The Empire has always had that will to dominate, you see. If I didn't give that lust for power a direction, they would've fanned the flames of war all over the world. All I did was turn their eyes toward the West. Their goals matched with mine, you could say. It was a good arrangement…I thought…"
Oh, like hell it was! And now we're mixed up in it for no reason?
"And let me tell you, I was against invading the Forest of Jura. It is the domain of Sir Veldora, the Storm Dragon, and I didn't want to repeat our mistakes from before. I suggested they devote their efforts toward scheming against the Dwarven Kingdom instead, but they can be so stubborn, all of them. They try to use military might to solve all their problems…"
Gadora sounded pained about it. I didn't care.
"Wait a minute! So the Empire does want to hit the Dwarven Kingdom?!"
I had pretty much discounted it. But did we need to consider a campaign route through Dwargon after all?
"You thought about that, too? Well, it's nothing as concrete as wanting to 'hit' them, exactly. My suggestion was to propose an alliance with King Gazel, so he'd allow us to march through the kingdom. My only grudge was with the Western Holy Church, remember…"
The old sorcerer was already aware that Adalmann was safe. They would be
meeting after our talk was done—and that's why Gadora, realizing just how badly he whiffed on all of this, had switched to an antiwar stance. He was on friendly terms with the emperor, he claimed, but not even he could ask him to withdraw their military plans. Instead, he kept pleading his case against the war in subsequent government-level meetings.
This attitude seemed a little too convenient for my tastes, but if Gadora could help us avoid war, I was willing to bite my tongue. Either way, I wanted to get as much out of him as I could right now. As I did, Benimaru and my other officers were in the next room over, listening in and holding their own strategic conference. My job was to make Gadora as comfortable—and loose-lipped—as possible.
"I imagine King Gazel turned you down, huh?"
"As one would expect, I suppose. Some of our commanders considered an assassination attempt, but I spoke up against that. If we were prepared to do that, I said, we may as well crush them with an all-out assault!"
It didn't strike me as anything to be proud of. He was more of a warmonger than I thought.
I rolled my eyes a bit but kept extracting more info from him. The Empire's military structure, the thoughts of their leading officers…even the astonishing news that Yuuki was planning a coup. All this assured me that I was getting pretty much everything Gadora could provide.
Finally, seemingly at ease, Gadora opened up to me.
"Let me assure you, Sir Rimuru, that I bear no particular sense of duty toward the Empire. They broke up the army division I personally built from scratch and took all my men away from me. This group with me—Shinji, Marc, and Zhen— are my personal apprentices, so I'm allowed to turn to them as needed. But in the end, if Adalmann is alive and well…or um, well, at least…then I have no attachment left to the Empire."
He was an egocentric, self-centered old man, not a shred of loyalty in his heart, and he wasn't afraid to admit it. I had to hand it to him—I wasn't about to say it out loud, but I kind of respected that attitude.
"So with that in mind, Sir Rimuru, if I may have the honor of joining your cause, I am ready to exert myself as best as I can!"
Right after admitting his utter lack of loyalty, he was courageous enough to ask for a spot in my administration. I gotta admit, I liked the guy. But Benimaru and some others were in the next room hearing all this. I could already picture them losing their temper over Gadora's attitude. It was gonna be hard to calm them down later.
Still, that didn't stop me from bringing Gadora on as a guest adviser, albeit on a probationary basis. If he wanted to join me, I'd make him work for the right. He certainly wasn't gonna be too loyal to me, but I'd see how he could pitch in.
For now, I was okay with him meeting Adalmann and using a Transport spell to access Floor 70. His knowledge could help us out a lot—maybe he could assist Ramiris. But before he settled down in Tempest, I planned to have him return to the Empire and do a little job for me.
As for Shinji and company, I'd allow them to remain here in Tempest. They told me they'd take it easy for a while as they figured out what they wanted to do. This was their request, made under Gadora's advice, and I had no reason to turn it down. If they turned traitor, I could always banish them—but I guess they really didn't want that, because they readily pledged their loyalty to me. However, they also professed a great respect for Yuuki and asked not to be involved in any hostilities against him. I was okay with that.
"Really," I said, "the relationship between us and Yuuki's people is so complicated. We kinda have a truce for the moment is the way I'd put it. He's pissed me off a lot, and I'd like to get back at him, honestly, but I can't really will myself to hate his guts, either."
Despite it all, Yuuki was still Shizu's student. And whenever I recalled how happy Shizu seemed when she talked about him, I couldn't help but cut the guy some slack. Maybe I was too soft on him, but hey, we're fellow countrymen. There'd be no more second chances, but for now, I'd put our past history on ice. If you asked me to trust him, however, that was another story. Trusting that bastard at this point was nothing but a death wish.
"And you know, guys, I don't think you should trust Yuuki too much, either."
Gadora nodded at this, interestingly enough. Guess he had his own thoughts about Yuuki, too. They were acquaintances and partners at one point, so maybe Gadora could be a good go-between for us. I was starting to think recruiting him was a pretty smart idea. If he didn't excessively trust Yuuki, either, I could at least believe him on that point.
Later, I reunited Gadora with Adalmann, the two of them fondly reminiscing. Adalmann consented to take him in, so for the time being, I'd let them live together.
But before he did…now that I had all the info I wanted from Gadora, I ordered him to return to the Empire and follow my instructions. First, he'd advocate against the war for me.
"You think you can do that?"
"By all means, Sir Rimuru. I am used to behind-the-scenes maneuvering, trust me."
I'm sure he was. But normally, it'd be impossible for a single person to stop the will of an entire state. It's not that I didn't believe Gadora, but I figured it best to give him a plan B as well.
"If you can stop the war, that'd be best…but from what I'm hearing, that sounds like an uphill battle. You said the Empire's got an expansionist streak, right? If they're on the move, we can't really stop them now."
"But…"
"So if that winds up not working out, I want you to point 'em at this labyrinth."
"How do you mean?"
In the labyrinth, we could take all the casualties in the world and still not have a problem. That led me to this idea.
"I see… So you'd use the labyrinth to chip away at the imperial forces and break their morale?"
"Pretty much. And I'm sure Yuuki's gonna use that opportunity to act as well. If he starts a riot back home, the Empire can't really keep a war going, can
they?"
I wasn't sure how well it'd all work out—but in the labyrinth, at least, we were guaranteed not to lose anyone. I explained all this to Gadora, giving him some labyrinth equipment and three Resurrection Bracelets. He could use this, I figured, to sell the Dungeon to the commanders for us. No army wanted to be attacked from the rear. I doubted they were going to ignore the labyrinth and march on to the West, but if we could dangle some rewards in front of their eyes…
"Ah, I understand. A very astute way of thinking—and I know a few commanders greedy enough to take the bait. I think you can expect results from this scheme, Sir Rimuru."
So Gadora accepted it with full confidence. If possible, we'd stop the war. If not, we'd divert them into the labyrinth. The rest was up to him.
Thus I granted Gadora and his three apprentices asylum—and with these new, unexpected allies, the incident came to a close.