That time I got reincarnated as a slime,no, a DRAGON?

CH-52

A few days have passed since then and we are just about ready to leave. But before that, I still have a job do. I have already heard from Yuuki that Granbell is planning to release Chloe's true body. This is favorable for us, so I guess I won't stop him. The job I have to do is with Elmesia. I quickly contact her with thought communication.

'El-tan, you free?'
'Rimuru? I guess I am free. I have nothing to do. Erald doesn't let me do anything fun.'
'I see. I have something just for you, then. Should I teleport to your location?'
'Yep. There is no one here.'

I then teleported to Elmesia's location. She was sitting in a chair in a garden. There was another chair facing her and a table between them. I quickly lay out some sweets which I got from Yoshida.
"These are..?" She asked.
"Sweets. Yoshida-san made them."
"I see. I really enjoyed eating them when he was still easy to contact."
"Come to Tempest then. You are always welcome."
"*sigh* As if Erald will let me. He wouldn't even let me leave and have fun."
"Well, I have an interesting proposal for you."
"Hoh? Let's hear it."
"It's regarding the underworld of the Western Countries."
"Underworld?"
"Yep. I am sure you know a lot about it."
"I do know about it, but I had no interest in interfering with it. There is too little to gain."
"Was."
"Huh?"
"There WAS too little to gain. Now though, the things are different."
"Ah! I see."
"Yep. Now that I have literally taken over the Council, I will ban quite a few of goods and devices which might be harmful."
"But it is necessary to keep them in circulation and keep an eye on them at the same time."
"Yep. I knew you will understand El-tan."
"But can't you do it on your own? You can create your faction and take over the underworld. There is hardly anything that can stop you."
"That is where you are wrong. There is one thing that can still stop me. Or rather will stop me, regardless of what I do."
"Hoh? What is that?"
"Corruption."
"I see. If only one organization is at the top, it will turn rotten from the inside. So? What do you want me to do?"
"Simple. Make an organization to stand against mine. I already have a plan to make an organization which will connect Sarion, Dwargon, Tempest and Farmenas. It will function in the light. Meanwhile, I want you, El-tan, to create an underground organization to oppose this."
"I see. I hope I have something to gain from this."
"Of course. I have decided that Myourmiles will help you to set up the organization. He used to work in the underworld after all."
"So, we are splitting the profit three ways?"
"No. It will be 40-40-20. 20% for me."
"Why? I don't see what you stand to gain from that."
"Of course, I have my reason. Firstly, I get preferential treatment when I select goods. If I find something interesting, I will be taking it. Also, I want you to do somethingfor me."
"I guess that is acceptable. But what do you want me to do? Whether I accept or not depends on it."
"It's a simple task really. You have connections with Leon, right?"
Elmesia's eyes went wide.
"How do you know?"
"You shouldn't underestimate me, you know. I don't know what type of connection it is, but I have information that you guys meet."

Yuuki was pretty good at keeping tracks of such things. Having him with me is quite a blessing, now that I think about it.

"So? what of it? If you ask me to har-" she said angrily but I interrupted her.
"El-tan. That's it. No need to continue. I don't want you to do anything of that sort. You know that I will be visiting Ruberios, right?"
"Yes." She said still not convinced.
"I want you to bring Leon there. 'You see, Granbell, one of the seven Luminaries, is planning something and the one he is looking for might be in trouble.' You can tell that to him if he doesn't agree."
"And why would I do that?"
"Don't worry. I won't do anything to him. Rather, I only want him to meet someone. He was about to invite me later on anyways. You have my word. You can come there yourself if you don't trust me. But you mustn't interfere."
"Fine. But if you break your promise.."
"No problem. Neither me nor my subordinates will attack him. Well then, I will take my leave."

I say that and teleport back to my room. I need to quickly finish these paperwork so that I can go to Ruberios.

While I was doing it, Souei appeared.
"It's been quite a while. Have you done what I told you to do?"
"Hai. I looked into the Hyme kingdom and its functioning."
"So? Did you find anything?"
"Unfortunately, I found nothing suspicious. There were no signs of trade with the outside world either. I believe they don't have anything to hide."
"Well, I guess I was just being paranoid, but I had a feeling that something was wrong with Hyme."
"Something wrong?"
"Yep. The main thing was that they were growing crops which are only found on the surface. They must have obtained it by trading. Even if it was some other way, they still would have to make contacts with the surface. The fact that they didn't make contact with the surface for so long was bugging me."
"I see."
"You should take a few days off. That is an order by the way."
"Hai."

These guys won't even take a break if I don't tell them. So it is necessary to give orders for these things.
"After that I have another mission for you. Find information on any old ruins you can. The older the better."
"Ruins?"
"Yes. Also, keep this fact a secret from anyone else."
"Understood."

As soon as he said that, he dissapeared. I have Raphael and Uriel. Finding their ruins would be a great help. Especially Raphael.

A few days later.....

We have finally arrived in Ruberios. It was quite a fascinating sight. The children were all excited and looking around here and there. Meanwhile Takt and his band were shaking nervously. Our guide was of course Hinata. I had brought Shion and Diablo with me.

While the children asked a lot of questions, which Hinata answered, my focus was elsewhere. This country being one of the oldest, I thought it would be made in a place which would have a geographical advantage. But Ruberios had no such advantage. Neither was I built on high ground, like a fort, nor was it surrounded by mountains as a natural shield. Why was Ruberios built here then?

<It is possible that there was some other reason behind choosing this location than defense in mind.>

True. She might just have another reason.

"Anyway, Hinata, what is our schedule?"
"Hmm. For today, you all can just relax. There is a dinner feast today. Tomorrow we will invite you for sound checks. Day after, is for practicing and finally the performance is in 3 days time."
"I see. Are you guys ready? You will only have one day to rehearse." I ask Takt and his group.
"Hai, Rimuru-sama. We have been practicing all the time for this purpose only."
"I see. That's good. I look forward to hearing you guys."

After that we continued to look around, until finally the dinner feast was started. It was just like a noble's banquet. Brings back unpleasant memories. Anyway, they were serving small bite-sized appetizers. The children were angry as they wanted more, but by the end, they looked satisfied. No matter how small, if you keep eating a lot, it will fill your stomach. Me? For some reason, no matter how much I eat, it is never enough. But it's not like I need food to live. I can live off of magicules.

<The reason for this is that Master is a dragon. There is no way human sized dishes will ever be able to satisfy master. Additionally, master also has the Ultimate skill Beelzebub, which makes it possible to eat as much as Master wants.> or so she said.

Meanwhile, Takt and his bands were quite nervous. Well, they are common people after all. If they are suddenly treated with such hospitality, of course they would be nervous. But I guess I will leave them be. After the dinner, we were all led to our own room. My room was quite luxurious. Not on the same level as the one in my castle, but quite good.

While I was in the room, I heard a knock.
"Come in."
"Sorry to intrude, Your Majesty. But our master will like to meet you."
"I see. Lead the way."

Looks like it's finally time to ask her a few questions. I take Shion and Diablo with me to meet Ruminas. The maid was quite strong. I assume she one of those 'Surmounters' that attends Ruminas.

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That's it. I hope you guys enjoyed. Like and follow.