After conversing with the Goblins, Rimuru finally understood what Little Tsukasa had meant earlier.
It turned out that he had been constantly emitting Yoki (demonic aura), like walking naked down the street, which was why he was provoking the Monsters living nearby.
Thinking back to the Monsters that suddenly jumped out inside the Sealing Cave, and the Wolf Clan just now.
That's right.
Thinking about it again now.
The way those Monsters behaved seemed to be the result of being terrified. Only some ill-tempered, low-intelligence Monsters would attack in such a situation, and then they were all eaten by him.
Rimuru: "..."
Ugh, how embarrassing.
No, no.
Retract it quickly, Great Sage, help me!
Rimuru forced an explanation while having the Great Sage retract his aura, "Hahaha... ah... well, if I don't release some demonic energy, a bunch of monsters would come looking for trouble."
Even though the reality was the exact opposite, he'd let it slide for now. Tsukasa Astrea didn't seem like she was going to call him out on it, so he'd let this matter end here and vowed never to make such a mistake again.
While Rimuru was talking to the Goblins to gather information about the forest...
Tsukasa Astrea and Shiro in the back were also talking in low voices.
"Tsukasa, should we warn Rimuru?"
"No need. They're just Goblins. These kinds of monsters that bully the weak and fear the strong would never dare have bad intentions toward Mr. Slime. They probably just see that Mr. Slime is easy to talk to and want to ask for his help."
Both of them could see that the reason those Goblins were acting so polite wasn't just out of respect for Rimuru being a strong individual, but also because they seemed to have other motives.
Otherwise, seeing as they looked ready for war, why would they be in the mood to invite passersby to visit their village? One must know that weak monsters like Goblins don't usually have such generous habits.
As for how they judged that these Goblins were at war, that came from their experience. After all, both Shiro and Tsukasa Astrea were battle-hardened experts who had developed quite a bit of discernment.
First, weak monsters like Goblins had discovered a monster like Rimuru who was emitting a powerful demonic aura. Although their village was ahead, which is why they ran out to check the situation, as low-level monsters, they would usually choose to hide rather than take the initiative to attack. The fact that they chose to approach likely meant they had a reason they couldn't hide.
Second, it was judged through the Goblins' equipment. Although the gear was all junk, it bore traces of very recent combat.
Shiro wasn't the type who liked to intervene in the struggles between other monsters, which is why she wanted to warn Rimuru not to get too close to those Goblins.
However, Tsukasa Astrea held a different view.
If they wanted to live in this forest, territory and subordinates were things that had to be developed.
Although Goblins had low overall quality, the Goblins of this world weren't an evil race that couldn't be communicated with. Furthermore, Goblins had strong reproductive capabilities, so as low-level troops, they weren't bad at all.
However, she still had to find a way to get this Mr. Slime to achieve this goal for her.
After all, this matter was very troublesome, and she didn't want to do such bothersome things. Therefore, the task of developing a power naturally had to fall on Mr. Slime's head.
As for Shiro...
As the only person she could trust by her side right now, sending Shiro to do such a thing would be a waste of talent.
Because even if they really could establish a massive monster nation, to them, it would merely provide some convenience in life... The group arrived at the Goblin village.
It was as dilapidated as expected.
After all, they were just Goblins. Knowing how to set up tents was enough to show that this group was much better than an ordinary Goblin tribe; typical Goblins would probably hide in burrows or similar places.
Then they met the village chief of the Goblin village and learned about the situation here. It turned out that the Goblins here were at war with the Direwolf Clan.
Because of the disappearance of the Storm Dragon, the monsters in the forest began to fight for territory, especially the territory nearby. Because some fragments of light had appeared in the sealed cave earlier, causing monsters to evolve, many powerful monsters had their eyes on the territory near the sealed cave.
Hearing the explanation from the Goblin chief and the Great Sage, cold sweat dripped down Rimuru's forehead. It seemed the reason for all this was their group.
"Alright, take me to see the wounded." Rimuru decided to help this group of Goblins. On the way, he asked Tsukasa Astrea and Shiro, who had remained silent, "Is it okay if I want to help these Goblins?"
Because of his tone and attitude, the Goblins noticed that Tsukasa Astrea and Shiro were not simple, but they...
...none of them took the Goblins' thoughts to heart, because the strength of these Goblins was too weak.
Shiro didn't speak, only looking toward Tsukasa Astrea.
"Since you want to do it, then do it. There's no need to care about our opinion." Tsukasa Astrea naturally wouldn't have an objection. After all, she originally wanted Mr. Slime to take the lead in forming a power, and now that Mr. Slime was taking the initiative to take in these Goblins, she naturally expressed support, as this was what she wanted to see.
"..."
Rimuru felt a bit uneasy.
He felt like Tsukasa Astrea was calculating something.
They arrived at the place where the wounded were settled.
Rimuru used the recovery potions within his body to treat all the wounded, then gained the loyalty of all the Goblins. He began to arrange the construction of defensive walls, preparing to deal with the attack from that Direwolf Clan.
During this time, Tsukasa Astrea and Shiro just watched from the side. Rimuru also knew it was impossible to ask these two to help with such small matters. Moreover, his current status seemed to be the little brother of these two big sisters, so he didn't have the standing to ask them for help.
"Hmm, it seems Mr. Slime really isn't very clear about his own strength yet."
Tsukasa Astrea looked at Rimuru, who was over there commanding the Goblins in their formation, and confirmed Rimuru's current state.
A guy that even Shiro wasn't confident in defeating was actually setting up a formation to face beings that couldn't even wipe out Goblins immediately. One could only say Rimuru had no self-awareness and was not yet familiar with the power he possessed.
"Forget it, we'll see when the battle starts. Shiro, can you help me cut some timber nearby? I want to build a house. You don't want to live with those Goblins either, right?" Tsukasa Astrea couldn't be like Rimuru and live in a filthy, dilapidated tent with those Goblins. A Slime has no sense of smell or taste and can ignore the stench, but she couldn't.
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