"A slime?" Looking at the slime before them, the still-conscious red-haired and pink-haired Ogres were utterly astonished.
"Is it wrong to be a slime?" Seeing the two Ogres' shocked expressions, Rimuru felt slightly irritated. However, recalling that slimes generally represented the weakest of monsters, he deflated.
"Rimuru-sama, you're here!" Gobta, Rigur, and the other goblins, upon seeing Rimuru, were visibly excited.
"Yes. Is everyone alright?" Hearing Gobta and the others' inquiries, Rimuru directly responded.
"Takeru-sama and Tsumugi-sama saved us!" Rigur quickly explained.
"I see. Thank you so much, Takeru!" Hearing Rigur's words, Rimuru turned to Takeru and spoke.
"You're welcome. They never intended to kill in the first place." Hearing his words, Takeru waved his hand.
"Well, I'm not entirely sure what happened, but it's hardly appropriate to discuss this standing here. If you don't mind, please come to my village first." Hearing Takeru's words, Rimuru suggested.
"Eh, is that permissible?" The red-haired Ogre hesitated upon hearing this.
"Yes. There's much I wish to ask you as well. As for healing, please use this." Hearing his words, Rimuru, seated atop Ranga, produced several lumps of recovery potion and treated the unconscious Ogres.
The pink-haired Ogre likewise lifted the goblins' sleep magic. Subsequently, everyone proceeded toward the village.
"Oh, what are your names?" Along the way, Rimuru curiously asked the leading Ogre.
"We have no names," The red-haired Ogre replied calmly.
"Ah, right. Usually, they don't have names. I see, I see." Realizing this, Rimuru fell into thought.
Takeru understood that, judging by Rimuru's demeanor, he intended to bestow names upon them. Takeru watched calmly, having no intention of intervening.
He had previously considered recruiting them but ultimately deemed it unnecessary. In a month, he would depart this world, and he's lacking sufficient Character Manifestation Cards to bring them along.
Furthermore, their combat power held little significance for Takeru. Even after Rimuru's eventual awakening as a Demon Lord, Benimaru would still be no match for Ram. Compared to Diablo, the gap was even wider.
"Takeru-san, may I ask what you did to make yourself so incredibly hard?" Suddenly, the white-haired Ogre approached Takeru and inquired.
"Did I use something? I used nothing at all. It's simply that my natural defense is relatively high," Takeru replied calmly.
"To withstand blades through sheer physical constitution... it seems I have underestimated this world's strong." Hearing Takeru's words, the white-haired Ogre remarked with emotion.
He harbored no doubt regarding Takeru's statement, as given the power Takeru had just demonstrated, deception was unnecessary.
Subsequently, upon returning to the goblin village, the six Ogres gazed at the increasingly prosperous settlement with astonishment.
More importantly, the goblins here were all evolved Hobgoblins or higher, and all appeared to live quite comfortably.
In honor of the Ogres' arrival, Rimuru, putting aside past grievances, hosted a grand party. It was also an opportunity for the tirelessly laboring goblins, Kaijin, and others to relax.
Rimuru's sole regret was his lack of a human form and, consequently, human taste buds. Unable to savor any cuisine, everything entering his mouth was utterly bland.
During the banquet, Takeru sat with the Ogres, Kaijin, Rigur, Rigurd, and others in a peripheral area. There, the red-haired Ogre recounted their tribe's destruction and the reason for their earlier aggression.
"Pfft!" Hearing the red-haired Ogre's account, Kaijin spat out his drink.
"You say the Orc tribe attacked the Ogre tribe? Impossible!" Kaijin looked incredulously at the red-haired Ogre.
"It is fact," the red-haired Ogre replied seriously.
"Can such a thing truly happen?" Despite the Ogre's affirmation, Kaijin remained doubtful.
"I wouldn't know," Rigur directly stated. Previously merely a small goblin struggling daily to survive, such matters were entirely beyond his comprehension.
"Is it that strange?" At that moment, Gobta, clutching a skewer of roasted meat, approached and asked curiously.
"Of course. The power disparity between the Ogre and Orc tribes is immense. For the comparatively weaker Orc tribe to attack the Ogre tribe is inherently impossible," Kaijin explained matter-of-factly.
"Yet they came. They suddenly attacked our village. Armed, clad in armor… an overwhelming force seemingly capable of conquering the entire forest. Those accursed Orcs destroyed our village!" The red-haired Ogre's eyes burned with hatred.
"Orcs wearing armor?" Kaijin keenly seized upon the unusual detail in the Ogre's words.
"Yes. Full-body steel armor, much like that worn by humans."
"Hmm, in that case..."
"Likely, the Orc tribe is not acting alone," Rigurd added seriously.
"Indeed. The Orc tribe could not possibly afford such expensive equipment," Kaijin agreed, nodding.
"Precisely. Among their army... there was a masked Majin. A high-ranking Majin. I am certain," The red-haired Ogre then revealed another crucial piece of information.
"Meaning the Orc tribe has joined the banner of some Demon Lord?" Rigur speculated hesitantly.
"But why would a Demon Lord do such a thing?" No one could fathom the Demon Lord's motive.
"I do not know. But our kin numbered three hundred. Now, only we six remain," The red-haired Ogre spoke with anguish.
"I see. No wonder you seem so unwilling to accept this," The slime-formed Rimuru nodded, understanding.
"The Orcs' intentions are not difficult to guess. Their objective now is undoubtedly the Jura Forest. The Ogre tribe was merely their first opponent." Looking at everyone, Takeru, who had been silently drinking, spoke calmly.
"The Jura Forest?" Hearing Takeru's words, everyone fell into contemplation.
"Indeed. Since this matter involves Majin, their ambitions would not be aimless. Also, do you recall roughly how many Orcs attacked your village?" Takeru then inquired of the Ogre.
"How many? Though the situation was chaotic, a conservative estimate... several thousand, approaching ten thousand Orcs," The red-haired Ogre recalled the sea of Orcs he had witnessed during his escape.
"What? Several thousand Orcs?!" Hearing this, Kaijin and the others were shocked.
"That is merely an hors d'oeuvre. I have, in fact, received a special prophecy. The Jura Forest is about to face a catastrophe, its origin being the Orc tribe. The root of this calamity may well be the legendary Orc Lord," Takeru stated calmly.
"What? The Orc Lord?!" Hearing Takeru's words, everyone was deeply shaken.
"Now that you mention it, the Orcs that attacked us showed no fear of their comrades' deaths. It is entirely plausible," The red-haired Ogre quickly added.
"What, what? What's an Orc Lord?" Observing Kaijin and the others' shocked expressions, Rimuru asked curiously.
"The Orc Lord is a unique individual that emerges within the Orc tribe once every few hundred years. Possessing extremely high leadership abilities, it is said to be able to devour the fear of its comrades. Furthermore, its strength is absolutely terrifying," Kaijin took a deep breath and explained.
"Devouring fear? And possessing terrifying power? Takeru, are you unable to deal with it either?" Seeing the fear in Kaijin and the others, Rimuru turned to Takeru.
"What do you think?" Hearing Rimuru's inquiry, Takeru merely smiled lightly, offering no direct answer.
Observing Takeru's relaxed and composed demeanor, Rimuru nodded. He understood the so-called Orc Lord was likely no match for Takeru… otherwise, Takeru would not be so calm and at ease.
However, Takeru's power was immense. Rimuru was uncertain whether the Orc Lord's strength lay below Takeru's but above his own.
As for Takeru, his affairs here were concluded. He would likely not remain here, nor would he necessarily intervene. Thus, Rimuru understood he must prepare in advance.
Sighing, he contemplated his next move.