Slime Reincarnation

"So? Are there other reincarnated assassins out there?"

At my question, Sneaky Natsu tilted her head.

"I don’t know of any others. And I don’t know of a skilled killer beyond Beltree. Even Kaiserzel, leader of the assassin group Black Knights Dark Knight, couldn’t beat Beltree."

...Ah!? Come to think of it, when I went to save Princess Cassina wearing that black robe and silver mask, I’d called myself Dark Knight. I have absolutely nothing to do with the assassin group Black Knights Dark Knight.

Just then, a group of guards and someone who looked like their superior came rushing in.

"What happened here!?"

"Hey, don’t you need to run, Natsu?"

I asked her, but,

"I’m employed by this kingdom’s intelligence division now. So I’m fine."

"WHAAAT!? Why, why!? Last time you attacked me you said you were a freelance assassin!"

I couldn’t accept this! Why was Natsu employed by the kingdom’s intelligence division now!?

"I told them I had information on the ’hero who saved the kingdom,’ Yabe. They paid well and scouted me on the spot."

"Why!? Why!? And don’t just go selling my information without asking! Where did compliance go!?"

"There’s no compliance in another world."

Natsu said this with an infuriatingly smug look on her face.

"S, so you’re the ’hero who saved the kingdom,’ Sir Yabe?"

"Eh, I don’t really get the whole ’hero who saved the kingdom’ thing, but Yabe’s my name, yeah."

"Ha, quite the character, aren’t you. I’m Gawain, head of the intelligence division. So, what’s that lying over there?"

This man, Gawain, overseeing the intelligence division, was apparently the top of the kingdom’s intelligence agency.

"...So, basically, this maid led me here to set me up. The killer identified himself as Beltree."

"...I see, killer Beltree, quite the troublesome one. We’ll take custody of this maid from here. You’d better hurry and get ready for the audience."

Oh right, that’s true. I really did need to get changed in a hurry.

"Understood. I’ll leave this maid in your hands, thank you."

With that, I hurried off to change.

"...Where am I even supposed to go?"

A maid searching for me, lost as I was, found me and led the way.

"His Majesty King Warenheid Arel Barbaroi the Fifteenth, entering!"

In an atmosphere of solemn grandeur, King Warenheid appeared in the audience hall accompanied by the queen. Already gathered near the throne were the heads of the three great ducal houses, Lycaorost, Pleasure, and Draisen, and the four great marquis houses, Elsarpa, Frearlt, Dormia, and Kirue. Beyond them, the Coluna Frontier Count, Earl Lubengel, and every other noble head from viscount down to baron had gathered in full.

"Hmph, even so, the capital’s been dangerously unsettled lately, wouldn’t you agree, Marquis Kirue?"

The Duke of Pleasure had been grumbling about the capital’s poor public order for a while now. He aimed his remarks at Marquis Kirue, who’d recently been attacked in her carriage right there in the capital.

"The attackers were dealt with by the capital guard. As for me, I only survived thanks to the capital guard’s efforts. I’d say they did quite well. Though don’t you think it’s rather odd that a marquis’s carriage gets attacked and monsters get summoned in the capital, all in such quick succession?"

Marquis Kirue glared sharply at the Duke of Pleasure.

"What!? Are you suggesting I had something to do with it!"

"I never said any such thing about you, did I?"

"What did you say!"

"Perhaps you’re raising your voice a bit much?"

Marquis Kirue said this with an unbothered, composed tone, further enraging the Duke of Pleasure. The Duke of Draisen stepped in to calm things down.

"Hmph! And that ’hero who saved the kingdom’ the royal family summoned is taking his sweet time, isn’t he? If something happens here in this castle, it could badly damage the royal family’s prestige."

"Quite an unsettling thing to say. Do you happen to know something about that?"

The Duke of Pleasure only wore a smug grin in response to the Duke of Draisen’s question.

The front row, where the dukes and marquises gathered, was dominated by an almost frighteningly tense atmosphere.

"Lord Coluna, my thanks for all the information you’ve shared."

"Not at all, we’ll need to build cooperative ties going forward, after all. I look forward to working with you as well."

The Coluna Frontier Count answered Earl Lubengel’s greeting with a warm smile.

"...Is he really that impressive a man? This Yabe fellow?"

"You met him yesterday, didn’t you? How was he?"

"...In a word, I find him hard to pin down... though I couldn’t help but notice he moves rather quickly, I must say."

Earl Lubengel wore an expression that went beyond a wry smile, closer to genuine bitterness.

(He moves surprisingly fast, does he...)

The Coluna Frontier Count found this rather unexpected. He’d never seen that side of Yabe before. If anything, Yabe had always seemed to dodge the advances of the women around him. Why had he moved so quickly this time? Events would unfold in ways even Yabe himself never imagined, but for now, that was still beyond anyone’s knowledge.

"Thank you all for gathering here today."

King Warenheid spoke from his throne. The queen stood at his left, while Chancellor Reberg von Mittamaier waited at his right. Chancellor Reberg spoke up.

"Today we have summoned a man known among the common people as the ’hero who saved the kingdom.’ His accomplishments are truly worthy of being called the salvation of this kingdom, and it is to properly honor those achievements that this audience has been arranged."

"Ha! I doubt it amounts to much."

The Duke of Pleasure spat this out. Beside him, the Duke of Lycaorost remained expressionless, his gaze fixed, not moving an inch. Chancellor Reberg shot him a sharp glare.

"In the town of Sorenarini, within the Coluna Frontier Count’s territory, he repelled a horde of roughly ten thousand monsters unleashed by a Dungeon Stampede."

"Impossible!" "Ten thousand!?" "What kind of army would that even take!"

The hall stirred with murmurs. The idea of defeating ten thousand monsters was simply too much to believe.

"In the town of Sorenarini and the fortress city Felbane, he preemptively uncovered and suppressed acts of terrorism, and rescued and healed a great number of people suffering from poison spread during the attacks."

"What’s this now?" "Active in the city too, and healing on top of it!?"

"In the Earl of Tarbal’s territory, he defeated the Demon King Garuard, sealed away in the Demon Tower."

"Wh, what did you say!?" "Wasn’t that just a legend!?" "That was supposed to be untouchable!"

"Beyond that, he used his tamed creatures to exterminate a mass outbreak of Dark Pythons in Bahana Village, and wiped out an army of fifteen hundred orcs in the commercial city of Barrietta, saving both the village and the town respectively."

"C, could that really be true..." "This man’s combat strength might rival the kingdom’s own army..."

The murmuring grew considerably louder now. Chancellor Reberg raised his voice further and continued.

"Had it not been for Sir Yabe’s actions, the town of Sorenarini, Bahana Village, and the commercial city of Barrietta would have faced total destruction, and the fortress city Felbane would have suffered over a thousand deaths from poisoning."

"What!?" "Seriously!?" "How much has this man saved!"

The audience hall erupted into an uproar.

"As you have all just heard."

At King Warenheid’s voice, the hall fell instantly silent.

"To offer nothing in return for accomplishments of this magnitude would itself damage the kingdom’s own prestige. I intend to reward this man’s achievements fully, as he deserves."

"And now, the ’hero who saved the kingdom,’ Sir Yabe! Enter!"

A fanfare rang out, trumpet like instruments sounding as the great doors of the audience hall swung open.

(Whoa, there’s an insane number of people here!)

That was my first thought as the massive doors before me swung wide open and the audience hall came into view.

"Come on, Yabe, let’s go."

Irina said this to me, sounding remarkably composed despite my own nerves. What a reliable partner.

I began walking forward into the audience hall. Behind me, Irina, Luciana, Fileontina, Sarina, and Rina followed in a line, five abreast.

Reaching the designated spot I’d been instructed to, I dropped to one knee.

"Raise your head."

Chancellor Reberg’s voice called out. I followed his instruction and looked up toward the throne.

And there, sitting on it, was the roguishly charming, blond, long haired handsome middle aged man I’d spent an entire afternoon a few days ago freely trading opinions about the kingdom with.

(SO YOU REALLY WERE THE KING ALL ALONG!!)

It felt like exactly the kind of thing that could go either way in these stories, and somehow it went the predictable way after all. I wanted to give myself credit for managing not to shout that out loud.