The matter had come to a successful conclusion, and Rimuru brought the children to the entrance of the labyrinth.
"Ramiris, thank you so much for this time."
"Thank you!" x5
"Well~ it's not like it was a huge deal, no need for all this, really."
Ramiris scratched her head, feeling a bit embarrassed.
"Then that's it for now; we're preparing to head back. Are you two coming with me?"
Rimuru asked Susu and Ramiris.
"No way!"
"Okay!"
Two completely different answers rang out.
Ramiris had decided she wouldn't leave the labyrinth again for a while; she wanted to be an elegant shut-in.
Susu, however, looked full of excitement; her adventure had only just begun.
Looking at the dotingly cute Susu, Rimuru felt uneasy; he didn't know what Draco was thinking, letting this girl go out on her own.
To be safe, Rimuru decided to take Susu along for the time being, lest some accident occur.
"Then I'm leaving, Ramiris! Don't miss me!"
Susu waved her small hand to say goodbye to Ramiris.
"Hmph, hurry up and go, I won't miss you, you dummy!"
Ramiris gave a tsundere cold snort but still waved her small fists at Susu a few times.
"Mhm! I'm off, bye-bye."
Susu smiled brightly and then quickly stepped into the base's teleportation array. Amidst the flashing light, the group left the area.
The originally cheerful atmosphere dissipated, leaving only the empty teleportation array, which looked exceptionally lonely.
"Sigh~ that dummy."
Ramiris stood at the edge of the teleportation array, murmuring to herself with a bit of loneliness.
Everyone has their mission, and as the guide for the Saints, Ramiris could not leave the labyrinth for too long.
She needed to bestow the protection of the spirits upon the destined ones; this was the mission given to her by the Creator God.
This was why, even though Ramiris had fallen from being an Elf Queen to a fairy, she still possessed bug-like, terrifying authorities such as 'Labyrinth Creation'.
Returning to the labyrinth, the surrounding small spirits crowded around her.
"Lady Ramiris seems unhappy."
"Is it because her good friend left?"
"We will stay with her."
The spirits' chatter made the somewhat sentimental Ramiris feel much better.
"You dummies, I am one of the ten demon lords, the Labyrinth Fairy, Lady Ramiris! How could I be sad over a fool?"
Ramiris gave a light snort and returned to the previously remodeled Fake Nazarick.
"But an empty city is indeed a bit boring."
"Hardly anyone has come to the labyrinth for an adventure lately, sigh~"
"I'm bored to death!"
Ramiris rolled around on a large bed, voicing her most honest inner thoughts.
"Right, why don't I..."
As if thinking of something, a spark flashed in Ramiris's eyes... On the other side, in the Kingdom of Ingracia.
Rimuru stepped out of the teleportation array with the children, and then his brow furrowed.
"Susu, can you hide your tail and ears?"
Susu could definitely not enter the city looking like this; she would surely be stopped as a monster, just like before.
Susu pushed away the two girls who were hugging her tail and scratched her head, thinking.
"I can turn into my beast form."
Saying so, she transformed into a Seven-Tailed Golden Fox emanating a golden holy light.
Elegant and noble, she was filled with a mysterious and charming aura.
"Wow~"
"So pretty~"
"Susu is amazing~"
Seeing Susu like this, the children's eyes sparkled with stars, looking at her with admiration.
However, her size was on par with Ranga's.
"That seems even more obvious; it's worse than before."
"I see."
Wagging her fox tail, Susu returned to her little girl form.
"Mhm~ we can try that."
Having found a solution, Rimuru said to Susu.
"Susu, can I eat you?"
*Thump thump thump!*
Susu took several steps back in fright. "Susu is so cute, why do you want to eat Susu?"
"Uh... no, I mean just to isolate you, and I'll let you out once we're in the city."
Rimuru explained hurriedly.
"Really?"
"Mhm, why would I lie to you?"
"Okay then."
Although Susu was a bit scared, she still agreed to Rimuru's request.
Afterward, 'Gluttony King' was activated, and Susu was swallowed by the black mist, entering the pitch-black stomach.
"Don't tell me this was your real goal."
<...>
Rimuru put on his Anti-Magic Mask, and the group returned to the school smoothly.
Susu was also released, but her eyes were filled with swirling tears.
"You liar, I'm never going into that small dark room again!"
Inside the stomach was endless darkness, and the atmosphere was a bit oppressive; it had clearly terrified the child.
"This..."
Under the comfort of Rimuru's snacks, Susu slowly calmed down.
These were Rimuru's last 10 silver coins, and they were all gone.
Afterward, Susu temporarily stayed at the school, playing with the children every day.
Meanwhile, Rimuru was still waiting for news from Diablo, so he wasn't in a hurry to go back, planning to work at the school first to earn some money... Nazarick's Seventh Floor, Lava World.
Scorching Temple.
Demiurge sat in his study, with various documents piled on his desk; these were all intelligence gathered by his subordinates from all over the world.
Nazarick's intelligence network had already permeated the entire world over the past two years.
Even the Western Council and the Holy Empire of Lubelius had many intelligence personnel mixed within them.
Even the Eastern Empire, which Lord Draco had forbidden contact with, Demiurge had quietly reached out to.
Of course, he wouldn't violate the Supreme One's orders; he simply used the Roland Merchant Guild, which had always had close business dealings with Nazarick, to spread intelligence insects throughout the Eastern Empire.
It was precisely for this reason that Demiurge saw the true darkness and strength of the Eastern Empire.
He immediately understood why Lord Draco had not let him contact them so soon.
Thus, the plan to conquer the Eastern Empire was temporarily shelved; it wouldn't be too late to deal with it after resolving the issues with other forces.
At this moment, Demiurge began to act for Lord Draco's plan to conquer the world.
First was the Puppet Kingdom, Kistav.
A superpower with a population of one hundred million, it had ten major cities under it, arranged in a circle to guard the capital where the ruler, Clayman, resided.
Although they had lost a hundred thousand troops before, the defensive strength of each city had not been affected in the slightest.
If they were to attack by force, it would inevitably destroy the cities.
These would belong to Nazarick sooner or later, and destroying the cities would be equivalent to destroying their own assets.
As the saying goes, attacking the heart is superior to attacking the city; this was a country dominated by Clayman's fear.
As long as Clayman was dealt with, the remaining city-states would only need a display of military force to be deterred.
Demiurge had already formulated an attack route that could reach the core of Kistav directly.
With the issuance of his orders one by one, Nazarick's army began to prepare.
Clayman's intelligence-gathering capabilities are top-notch. This time, he intends to execute a blitzkrieg, striking the core with maximum speed to take it down in one fell swoop.
Demiurge was waiting for news from the Jura Tempest Federation.
As long as the matters in the Kingdom of Falmuth were resolved, he was confident he could take over the Puppet Kingdom in an extremely short amount of time.
Now, everything was ready; all that was needed was the final push.
Understand?
-------------------------
If you enjoy this story, you can read 70+ advanced chapters on Patreon!
Webnovel will keep getting 1 new chapter every day but Patreon readers can stay far ahead.
Maybe it's not a big deal now… maybe it will be later.
[email protected]/Greyhounds
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"