Tensei Shitara Slime Datta

Chapter 138: Request from the Council

The Council was the collusion of the countries surrounding the Great Jura Forest.

With congressmen elected from each country, monthly meetings are held in the Kingdom of Ingrasia.

If one had to describe it, congressmen met first to control profits, and secondly to manage the operations of their country.

When I say profit, I mean more: damage control and monster control.

There is also a need to balance the trade of country specialties, but since the speculation and policies of each country are often equated, these discussions are often difficult.

In addition, on the agenda are aid for victims of starvation and monster attacks.

Issuing a request for subjugation to the Freedom Association to reduce future harm is also the duty of the council.

Operating funds come from member states, the amount they pay is proportional to the size of the country.

Alongside this financial burden is an opportunity to increase the number of one's congressmen. In other words, get more talk on the board. For example, a large country needs to pay triple, but send three times as many congressmen.

It does not have a direct effect on one's country, but allows a country to show off its power.

As one's vote on the board increases, so does the chance of getting preferential treatment. Thus, although one would profit from the meeting itself, there was a profit to be made there.

There is also a minimum membership fee, failing to meet which results in expulsion.

Expulsion means no assistance during emergencies. The decision to issue members was also made by the majority, which only strengthened the power of the major countries.

Membership fees were expensive, and the largest Farmas Kingdom was recently demolished.

And then there was the recent chaos regarding the Freedom Association. Therefore, it was only natural that the board panicked a little.

And now the bad news has reached the board.

There is movement in the Eastern Empire!

This was enough to make the board panic.

The Council, currently in the midst of secession and confusion, is faced with the danger of being able to eliminate every country.

The one who summarized the situation was a member of the Ingrasia Government Congress.

For the kingdom to become chaotic like the empire started to move, this was probably the worst-case scenario.

For the nobility and legislators of each of these countries is a self-evident truth.

If, a certain small country were to submit to the imperial scheme, other countries would follow suit. At that time, the defeat of the remaining country would be very certain.

3 years ago, the smart countries had already started preparations in response to the Eastern Empire movement. However, matching the Empire's military power with their own strength did not go well.

Therefore, the main agenda of the day was the formation of an alliance against the Empire.

The agenda of the day looks rough.

Among them is the chairman of the Freedom Arbitration Committee is Hinata Sakaguchi.

While a large country can maintain an army on standby, a small country is incapable of doing so in times of peace.

While hiring mercenaries at the time of war had become a common practice, with every country stockpiling combat power simultaneously, they were simply running out of people to hire.

Because of this, some of them suggested that each country send some of its combat power to form private forces under the direct control of the council.

「In other words, aside from the guards of parliament, the council must also have an army!

During peacetime they would be used for patrols and countermeasures of monsters.

Now that the Freedom Association no longer exists, it should be possible to recruit adventurers as soldiers through the Freedom Arbitration Committee, what do you think? 」

This proposition is also the main topic of conversation today.

For some time silence dominated the council. The countermeasures of monsters had also been dealt with by paying the Freedom Association a certain amount. The name of the supplier may have changed, but that is all.

Donations and support have been given to the church, from the Council's funds.

In return for that assistance, the committee had managed to deal with the monsters without relying much on foreign troops. As a result, the damage of the monsters had greatly decreased compared to before. [1]

ED Note: Are you sure it's not just monsters and churches conspiring?

Congressmen are therefore demanding people to patrol and permanent standing forces.

Hinata looked at the congressman in amazement, and sighed.

「So, you mean Adventurers affiliated with the Freedom Arbitration Committee, will be forced under the control of the board? 」

Hiding her tired expression, Hinata asked the congressman.

Of course, there are funds on the board. However, it is not a large number.

Previously, the council would determine the payment based on the rank of monsters that adventurers would face. The Freedom Arbitration Association, on the other hand, conquered monsters as part of their beliefs, and required no other rewards.

But with the funds the council already has, the council won't even be able to treat every citizen to a meal. Wearing obligations on free men and women for very little amounts is the same as treating humans as dogs.

The Freedom Association is an association that has no ties to any country. Therefore, by paying a certain amount of tax, the association acquires the right to settle in a country.

Of course, their attitude is neutral.

When natural disasters such as monster outbreaks occur, mobilization orders per treaty with the state will be issued, and they will cooperate with the state-affiliated forcibly.

But war is not a natural disaster. There is no reason for adventurers to join a country in a way.

Of course, the directors may have changed and some adjustments have been applied, but there is basically no change from the Freedom Association era. Or rather, by joining the church, the strength of the organization has increased and now rivals the strength of a nation.

The congressman's statement to give the board direct control over the adventurers is completely absurd.

However, the situation has changed.

Countries fear that, even if they join hands with the Freedom Arbitration Committee, they will still not be able to expel the invaders.

Hinata realized this.

The ability to gather intelligence of men from the Burmund Kingdom, Fuse, is high. Details of the work within each country have been reported to Hinata before.

Therefore, he decided to assess the other party's attitude without rejecting them.

As if facing a roaring waterfall, Hinata watched as some legislators nodded vigorously, and

「To be exact. As the Giaban Legislator said, it is natural for us to unite and face unprecedented danger. We assume the association agrees? 」

「This is right, good plan. As an Arbitration Committee, you also cannot ignore this crisis?

It is natural for fellow human beings to cooperate. Do you disagree? 」

And next .

Perhaps through a secret agreement, whispers of consent rose simultaneously.

Not everyone was included, but there were no objections from other members of the legislature. Moreover, having problems with governing at times of war was a problem that many countries shared.

So, many may expect an immediate rejection, but it cannot help but try to get some free soldiers this way.

But it all went brilliantly in Hinata's hopes, and in lieu of evidence.

Well, what to do? Hinata thinks. Or rather, the answer is certain.

Accept, or refuse.

It is easy to refuse them. First of all, they are level — they cannot be forced to accept.

Of course the point is to protect each other, but this remains a give and take relationship. The association was not so weak that they had to follow.

And even if he refuses, no country among them has the authority (now) to issue a state that refuses military support. The current board cannot continue to exist if they lose even a single taxpayer.

In addition, this association is indispensable by their — board preventing illegal activities and suppressing criminals.

Only one group had such influence to coerce the other countries of the — board known as the Freedom Association, and what is now called the Freedom Arbitration Association.

However, if this ended in rejection, then the relationship between the Association and the board would turn bitter.

I refused! I want to say, but they won't take this lying down.

Moreover, if the Association did not cooperate with the council, then they would not be able to match the Eastern Empire.

Without the feeling of being ruled around is disgusting, yet it is hard to resist this. Really painful.

Should they accept?

This will likely be seen as the Association's downfall from grace. Undoubtedly within a year, the Association would be forced to lick the Council's feet.

This is absolutely to be avoided. Considering the future relationship with the group of countries, an equal relationship should be maintained.

It is difficult, but the Association must refuse.

But there was no way he could take it for granted.

And thus, Hinata made a suggestion.

He suggested they …

−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−−

In response to the council's request, I came to the Kingdom of Ingrasia.

I brought Benimaru and Souei. Also Shuna. It will be troublesome if I carry too much, but this should be fine.

Shion was busy training his subordinates, and Gerudo had taken command of various constructions.

As for Diablo, he had already come out cleaning up the remnants of Farmas. He said something about collecting his protege .. whatever that means.

Well, they'll be coming soon if I call them, and it's not like there's any work they have to do here, so I let them do as they please.

And that's why the four of us went to the Kingdom of Ingrasia.

We have been looking through various shops, and Shuna is very interested in shopping for the latest clothes and decorations on the windows.

Benimaru has acted vigilantly as my guard.

Souei has been lurking, giving me a report from the shadows.

Speaking of the shadows, it was quiet now that Ranga no longer lived in my shadow - she was with Gobuta.

Gobuta had been called to train with Karion, and he suddenly cried, saying he was going to be killed. With a feeling of "it can't be prevented", Ranga joins her, but her tail is clear: Ranga is also depressed …

Oh, but I'm pretty sure Ranga likes Gobuta.

And everything swells up when they're okay.

While enjoying the food in the Ingrasia kingdom, we exchanged opinions about the upcoming council meeting.

Shuna held on to the clothes I bought happily, and was a bit talkative. It's nice to see such a difference, compared to the sad-reason-for-secretary Shion.

It doesn't seem like he's listening to us at all, but I don't think that's very important.

Honestly, I don't really care about the board. I came here with Shuna and Benimaru today to give them a proper rest.

So unlike Souei who is always on a business trip, I want to give Benimaru and Shuna a chance to enjoy the world.

And that's why we're carefully discussing tomorrow's agenda.

「So, Souei. What is the agenda for tomorrow's meeting? 」

Souei then tell us.

Contrary to our expectations, there seemed to be a raging dragon somewhere, the appearance of a mysterious demon king.

Doesn't Souei like to work hard!

Being something like a shadow creature, his army was gathering information endlessly lately. So the reason for our invitation should already be known to Souei.

And now everyone knows that I am relying on Souei to gather info.

「Yeah, we've got the point. We rely on our own country strength record and hypothesis .. 」

「Ah, release us the details. So why were we invited?

We have been treated as national guests, but they may want something.

I wonder if it was because of the train? Do they want it in every country?

Because we need to put the rail .. impossible even if they ask 」

「Perhaps, they want our help because the war is about to start?

The only one we have to help is the Burmund Kingdom? 」

「Ah, empire. That also. It's time yes

Benimaru and I talked about important things casually.

Shuna is not here at the moment, so nothing can stop us from leaking state secrets in the cafe.

But thanks to the barrier we had built before, no one could listen to us.

「What Benimaru said is true.

However, it seems that the train is also a pretty hot topic. For those who cannot imagine such a thing, it is. Some merchants contacted Myormiles-dono, but he was not a bought merchant.

The main problem was the invasion of the Eastern Empire, and the possible support of Tempest. 」

「How unfortunate that they want our power and not a carriage .. Well, I plan to destroy the empire, but is there any reason for us not to accept?」

"City . Actually, from the information we understand, the Imperial army is a big deal.

In a direct clash, in terms of national strength, we will be at a disadvantage.

It will be a different story if we forcefully mobilize every race of the Great Jurassic Forest, albeit 」

"That's right .

I mean, they've been preparing for war for hundreds of years.

Worst case scenario, we might even ask the countries here to cooperate 」

Then the conversation between Benimaru and I continued.

In reality, it would be nice if we could avoid open conflict, given that Yuuki is also there.

That's because I hope to hide our fighting potential like Zion and Diablo, who are currently enthusiastically strengthening themselves.

It seems I accidentally caused our Department head to go to the training phase. Even Gobuta came out and tried to become stronger.

Moreover, even if countries never ask for our support, I cannot imagine a case where we did not join the conflict.

「So yeah, maybe no problem right?

In this situation, the balance of power is shared between the association and the board

The council reflected the opinions of the nobility, while the association defended the interests of the common people ……

The council encouraged the adventurer commanders, and Hinata proposed to utilize the power of Tempest instead. 」

"Huh? They want to use us? 」

「Ya, use us. However, since we have been recognized as a country, our troops will be left to our own discretion.

In other words……"

「Hohou. I see, it's okay ... wait, what's the difference with just used !? 」

「It really leaves a bad taste ……

Well, the other party seems to have no intention of taking advantage of us but it is still hard to believe. 」

We both nodded and ended the conversation.

With our cake after the meal, the attendant came.

Cake .

Food is so enticing.

While sweetness can still be prepared to some extent, sugar is still a valuable commodity.

So, cakes are super classy luxury items even in Tempest.

Ah, this nostalgia.

Even though I ate this every day for days, it was still delicious.

The real reason I brought Shuna here today was for the cake.

This way Shuna will remember the taste of the cake and multiply it. My memory is not enough to recreate the flavor, so I have to bring it here.

「Shuna, this is really good

As long as you stay here, please eat as much as you want. So, remember the taste according to your best ability 」

Shuna, who was confused by my words, tried the cake.

First the short cake. It is orthodox, but this cake affects all other cakes. If this one is bad, no doubt the rest will not be fine.

Shuna bites the cake.

And being serious, he looked at me straight and nodded. He then concentrated fully on the cake.

Soon, words were no longer needed. We understand each other on a deeper level. And if he could even replicate ice cream, the cake would definitely be a piece of cake.

So we, really threw away our previous discussion and enjoyed a delicious cake.

The next day, we arrived at the meeting place.

It was as expected. Hinata visited the last night, and gave me an idea.

As per Souei's intelligence, the council's goal is to utilize our troops in the name of cooperation.

However, the feelings are mutually beneficial.

Thus began the clash of wits between the raccoon and the fox.