New Legacy

Ch.61

Guard captain Kaido, the head of the kingdom’s security forces who was conveniently the same one who met us outside, led our whole group, monsters included, through the city within the hollow mountain to the castle keep. I was as surprised as everyone that they would let the monsters into the keep, let alone the kingdom at all with that spectacle Rimuru put on.

It would seem the warg’s impartiality wasn’t exaggerated. This was emphasized by the diversity in the people inside the City of Wargon. There weren’t just wargs even if they were the majority, but the second largest number of species was a taller more breed-diverse dog that, while still wargs, were called Half-Wargs, or Diamond Dogs since their claws were harder than diamond even without innate earth magic.

But yeah, other than the wargs were ponies, elks, griffins, hippogriffs, cat-folk. The sheer diversity put even the Varden back home to shame. My rubbernecking was put to an end once we reached the castle, however, when Rora was led inside without us and she looked back at me in disappointment, but allowed herself to be taken into the castle. “I’m afraid that the minister won’t approve of letting monster races into the castle. Hmph. Anyway, I’ll take you to a place you can-.”

“Captain Kaido! Captain Kaido!” A warg soldier shouted frantically as he punched through the crowds of people to end up panting with his hands on his knees in front of us all. “The mines! There’s been an Armorsaurus attack in the mines!”

“What?! Scramble the response force!” Kaido replied incredulously, but the guard shook his head.

“We did, but it’s the Craft Brothers! They’ve been grievously injured!” Huh? Why is this guy so bent out of shape? Yes, people getting hurt sucks, but they’re just miners, right?

“Not them! Did you treat their wounds?!” Kaido demanded frantically and I realized like I bet most people, that these Craft Brothers were very important to the Guard Captain.

“Sir...we don’t have the potions. I came to you since you have the clearance to try and have a shipment of them redirected away from the war effort.” War effort? So they’re going to war? Against who?

“Damn it...it’ll take too long…” Kaido lamented through grit teeth before Rimuru extended a tendril of slime to poke the Guard Captain.

“Excuse me! Use this!” I looked along with everyone else to gawk in shock at the sight of a barrel that had been sitting across the street before was now filled to the brim with a beautiful turquoise glowing fluid. “It's a healing potion. Use it to heal your injured.” Rimuru declared and Kaido looked baffled, but he grabbed the lid from the ground and used a fist to hammer it into place before hefting the barrel on one shoulder with ease. Woo, strong short stack boys here.

“Thank you dearly.” Kaido ran off and then I was a bit at a loss like everyone else.

“Okay, what now?” We all awkwardly looked at each other and resigned ourselves to waiting in the plaza outside the castle. Thank goodness there are benches.

🥚

Rora was feeling intimidated. The air in the castle felt both oppressive yet welcoming, as if an entity of great power was watching her both warily and with approval. The waiting room she was brought to was well furnished, the fruit bowl was fresh, the juice was sweet. Altogether, a delightful little parlor to have foreign dignitaries wait for a meeting.

However, she wasn’t a dignitary. She wasn't even from this dimension! Rora has never had to act in the role of a princess and now she’s being forced to! Hopefully the king here is understanding, because there’s no way she can try to fake it to make it. “His Majesty Gazel Wargo will see you now.” A haughty chocolate labrador Half-Warg in a white and gold cape over his purple fancy clothes announced.

Gosh, she hated this guy already. She followed him down the halls and to a grand throne room. Rora’s heart pounded and she felt a blush rise to her cheeks. Oh no. She wasn’t attracted to males before her gender change, why was she finding this incredibly handsome black doberman pinscher half-warg so attractive? Was it his gallant figure in that solid plate armor? The regal shape of his head and face? His rugged and groomed beard? Those piercing blue eyes?

“Do not be so intimidated, my lady.” Oh goddesses his voice is so deep and powerful she could feel it vibrating in her core! “Or overwhelmed. I forget how amorous alicorns can be with how rare it is for you to visit.” Oh thank gosh she didn’t have to try to pretend to hide her arousal.

“Sorry. Like I explained to your Guard Captain; I’m a Princess, but I’m not here on business. I’m not even from the neighboring countries. I’m from another world.” Rora cut to the chase and for some reason the king simply hummed with closed eyes and an understanding visage.

“So you’re an Otherworlder. Did you simply arrive here, or are you a Summoned One?” King Wargo asked, as if such a thing was completely normal. What is up with this world?

“My wife’s aunt plucked us out of our dimension and told us we were needed here. So maybe fifty-fifty.” Rora replied and then began satisfying the regal and stoic king’s curiosity.

🥚

We weren’t kept waiting too long while Rora was basically spilling the beans for Gazel Wargo. Kaido soon returned in great spirits with three other wargs, civilians, following behind. “Thank you! I cannot thank you enough. These guys are like brothers to me.” Kaido gestured to the trio who all smiled in gratitude. “Meet Garm, Dord and Myrd. Some of the finest crafters in the kingdom.”

“Thank you. Your potion saved our lives.” Garm, the oldest looking of them with his full brown bushy beard proclaimed.

“Yes, it reattached my nearly-severed arm! If not for you, even if I survived, my working days would have been over.” Dord the middle-aged one stated.

“...” Myrd nodded silently. He was clearly the youngest and only had a chin-strap beard with no moustache. All were brown furred and brown eyed. The only way to tell the older two apart was that Garm clearly groomed his beard more thoroughly.

“Wait, crafters? You’re skilled crafters?” Rimuru asked and I groaned.

“Ugh, this seems too Orderly.” I complained at all of the Chaos going on appearing to be why Order was falling into place. I know that’s Harmony in a way, but Chaos serving Order’s purposes just rubbed me wrong as a Goddess of the concept.

“Yep! Why, do you need something? I’m sure we can try to arrange a deal after we try to help Kaijin finish his writ on those longswords.” Garm said and Rimuru turned to us.

“Hey, how about you all go through town and see about getting some supplies while Shimmer and I go with these guys to speak to this Kaijin fellow?” At Rimuru’s words, Gobta cheered and ran off, causing Rigur and Mirrin along with their tempest wolf partners to give chase. “You can go enjoy yourself too, Ranga.”

“I’d rather stay with you, Master.” The fluffy currently downsized goodest of bois stated with a look behind him at where Rimuru was riding on his back. Out of all of the tempest wolves, Ranga wasn’t just their leader and the biggest, he was also the fluffiest and most Loyal. There’s that odd capitalization thing again just when I’m thinking about one of the Six Elements.

“Okay then, lead on guys!” I said, wanting to get things moving while my wife was struggling with being hot under the collar while more-or-less giving her life’s story to the genuinely interested stoic king of the wargs. At least he wasn’t taking advantage of her beyond probing for clarification on his questions.

🥚

“Thank you for your patience.” Gazel Wargo bowed his head slightly and Rora drank the glass of water brought to her by a chamberlain. She’d been talking constantly for what felt like hours now summarizing her adventures from the beginning at the king’s insistence. “It is a shame you’re not entirely certain what it is your in-laws wanted you to help with here.”

“All I have is an idea. That the slime I came here with, Rimuru Tempest, is vitally important. He’s incredibly powerful and is trying to establish a peaceful realm of monsters in the Great Forest of Jura.” Rora reiterated and Gazel nodded.

“I agree. Hm?” Gazel looked to the side when a frantic scholar, judging by the warg’s robes and stereotypical ‘smart guy’ appearance, rushed in with a bottle full of lightly glowing and shimmering turquoise fluid. “What is it?” Gazel leaned in and the scholar quietly whispered into his ear so low that even straining her equine ears, Rora couldn’t pick up any of it. “I see. Thank you.” Gazel took the bottle in his hand and eyed it. “Princess Rora.”

“Yes?” Rora winced at having instantly responded. Damn his sexy commanding voice!

“I believe I may have a political reason to aid your endeavors beyond favoring your company.” Gazel’s deliberate and stoic words made her blush hotly.

🥚

Rimuru was quite proud of himself! Thank goodness he gorged on all the Magic Ore in the Cave of Imprisonment and refined it into Magisteel inside his slime gut! Also, thank goodness for his broken as hell Great Sage skill helping him use Predator and other associated skills!

“This is slightly more chaotic, but still too orderly.” Shimmer commented with a bit of complaint in her tone at Rimuru’s incredible abilities. He’d analyzed and copied the masterwork Magisteel Longsword Kaijin had completed to fill his writ on time and be available to help his people learn how to craft. He didn’t fully understand the exotic beauty’s issue, but it seemed more to do with her nature than her personal preferences.

“I can’t thank you enough, Rimuru. I will gladly take a job to apprentice more people for helping me out of this bind. I only had a few days left because the minister who gave me the writ pushed the deadline up on top of it already being unreasonable.” Kaijin, the heavily muscled and brown furred/eyed and thickly bearded warg master smith shook Rimuru’s extended tendril. “Say, I’ll take the swords and the invoice to the requisitions office and then we’re going to celebrate, want to come with us?”

“Huh? Celebrate?” Rimuru asked in bemusement, not fully understanding just why Kaijin and his apprentices, the Craft Brothers, were so overjoyed.

“Yeah! We’ll take you to the Butterflies of the Night hostess club! They have friendly beautiful staff composed entirely of Kind elk ladies. Well, um, we could find someplace more gender neutral if your lady friend wants to stick with us.” Garm said with a look at Shimmer, but instead of disgust, Shimmer was clearly interested. Oh! Right, she’s bisexual with a preference for females.

“Attractive elk ladies, you say? Just to confirm, I haven’t seen enough of them to tell, but are the elks around here not all seven or more feet tall tending towards the lean side and tend to use magic to partially alter their species?” Shimmer questioned and got confused shakes of the head from the wargs while Rimuru wondered about such a drastic difference between elks of different dimensions. “Then yes! I’m all for going to see these ladies.”

“Ah, pardon milady, but where are elks so outlandishly alien?” Dord asked curiously as they left Kaijin’s workshop to first deliver the swords and invoice to the office and then onward towards the promised fun. Oh! Rimuru almost forgot about his villagers running around trading for supplies. Curses, he doesn’t know a way to contact them. It looks like they’ll have to miss out on the fun.

“In my dimension. I’m an Outworlder, you see. One here on a temporary visit. I’m not sure when I’ll be summoned back home, but while I’m here I’m going to help out and have fun.” Shimmer answered casually and the wargs all nodded in acceptance. Seriously, what is up with this world that dimensional travellers are essentially treated as a novelty?

Anyway, after Kaijin dropped off the order, the group was quick to rush to a very nice establishment with a neon-like magic sign outside. Rimuru wasn’t disappointed! They may not be elves, but the elks here give up the same cute and elegant vibe his mild fetish had him gaga over~! Ah! They picked him up! Boobies~! Not as big as Rora or Shimmer’s, but bouncy, soft and more than willing to hug him to them~!

‘I don’t know if I should be happy or sad that I’ve gotten more boobie action as a slime than as a man~!’ Rimuru mentally cheered as he was sort-of fought over by the cute elk ladies trying to decide amongst themselves who got to snuggle the warm squishy cutie for the night. He was so happy and distracted he almost missed how flustered Shimmer was making the proprietress as the flirty chaos serpent practically compressed her heaving honkers on the bartop.

Rimuru couldn’t understand it himself, but he could appreciate girl-on-girl behavior. One didn’t need to be batting for the same team to appreciate it when two of the opposite team were up to bat. Analysis: white grape champagne-soda, alcohol content 7%. Didn’t need to know exactly what he was absorbing Great Sage, but at least this means he could replicate it.

“Mister Rimuru?” Rimuru’s pleased stupor was interrupted by the smiling and knowing face of the darker-furred elk who dressed a bit like a gypsy. “I know you’re a bit in your own world right now, but I wanted to know if it was okay for me to see your fortune.” She held up a crystal ball, but then Shimmer barged into the situation frantically.

“No! No fortunes! Fortunes and prophecies only cause trouble or broken hearts!” Shimmer stated fearfully, as if she’d had first-hand experience.

“Oh my, I’ve never had any fortune do something like that. What happened?” The gypsy-like elk asked worriedly and Shimmer calmed down a bit.

“It wasn’t me, but my brother-in-law. He got a fortune from a spooky witch that warned him of many things. They all came true. If he hadn’t known about them, he would have been just fine dealing with them on his own, but because he knew beforehand, he suffered regular anxiety and defeatist behavior.” Shimmer declared and Rimuru could understand that. If you didn’t know what came and didn’t stress, facing it was actually much easier. Having a Sword of Damocles hanging over you was setting up for disaster.

Yet the hurt and sad look on the gypsy elk’s face filled him with guilt over Shimmer essentially saying her skill was harmful. “I’ll take a fortune anyway. You worked hard at this skill, I’d like you to show me something.” Rimuru said while inwardly cursing his Kind nature.

“I’d be happy to! What to show you though...oh! How about Who You’re Destined to be With?” The elk winced when Shimmer tugged on her ear.

“Hey, hey! It’s bad enough you’re dabbling with fate! Be more specific! Words like those can be twisted!” Shimmer chided and released the elk’s ear.

“Ah, right. How about The Person You Will Love?” She warily asked while eyeing Shimmer, who gestured for her to work harder. “Um...Who You Will Partner With Romantically?” Shimmer gave an okay sign and the elk huffed out a relieved sigh. “Okay, here we go.” She waved her hands around the crystal ball in her lap and revealed…

Hold on, who?

It was confusing. First it showed the image of a human woman, which then twisted into a unicorn mare, then into a wavering shadowy silhouette. All were engulfed in flames save the silhouette which endured. The shadowed eyes opened with both terrifying and captivating gleaming fiery amber orbs with a predatory reptilian or feline slit to them.

“I...I’ve never had such a complicated fortune before. Your Future Beloved, she’s endangered by Fire and filled with sorrow. She does not know happiness, only pain. I hope that you can bring her peace and happiness, Mister Rimuru.” The elk said sadly and Rimuru both regretted, yet was thankful for this fortune. Seeing the beautiful girl give a weak and false smile followed by clear anguish and then that hazy silhouette made him want to find her, to help her.

Of course, that was when the good evening was spoiled by an oafish dog.

🥚

Rora was at dinner with Gazel, having taken him up on his offer for dinner and to sleep in the guest room, when she suddenly bent her fork around her fingers and snarled with fury at what her wife was paying witness to. “My lady, what has caused you such ire?” Gazel asked with polite concern, the absolute gentledog being a most gracious host on top of being a competent ruler from what she’d seen helped her keep her temper from escalating.

“That oafish brown minister that brought me in here and kept my wife and friends from coming into the castle with me just insulted her, my friend, as well as Kaijin and his apprentices. Kaijin punched him in the snoz and now they’re all being arrested!” Rora took deep, calming breaths as Gazel’s stoic gaze turned sharp and coldly furious.

“So. Vesta has made his bed.” Gazel dabbed his face with a napkin and folded it on his plate before he stood, causing his suit of armor to rasp. “I will ensure that justice is properly dealt. Do not worry about the court tomorrow. If it goes as I imagine, the initial ruling will be absolutely disproportionate. I will overrule it and reveal the truth then.”

“Thank you, Gazel. If I had to, you know I would storm the dungeons, free my wife and friends and leave this place forever. Is that the only reason you’re going to act?” Rora questioned and Gazel looked into her eyes, his face ever stoic.

“You know that is not so. You have my measure as a person. My motivations are entirely impartial, focused on fair and even justice. While the assault must be punished, since it was only a single strike to the jaw, a fine is the most they will face with your personal testimony and my backing. It might seem to be preferential treatment, but skills such as your Telepathic Transmission aren’t unknown. I will have every ability to properly handle this situation thanks to you.”

“Thank you. Is there any way that I can...repay you?” Rora asked with an unsure shift of her hips. During her 20 year fusion with Shimmer, she’d learned she could optionally be pure female or a herm. Part of her many discoveries in her abilities in isolation.

“I’m afraid that any such actions must be between myself and someone I am willing to marry and sire an heir with. You will not be staying, so I must decline such an enticing invitation, my lady.” Gazel calmly replied and Rora sighed in lament that the handsome king was beyond her reach.

“I apologize for the temptation then. I wish you a good night.” Rora bid farewell and then continued her meal. She was looking forward to tomorrow now, so was Shimmer.