Still, this was for the best. The world of the Dead Apostles, once as lifeless as stagnant water, would soon become lively—and the Bird of Death liked a commotion.
"I... lost."
The Black Winged Duke folded away his wings and slowly turned to face the petite figure.
"Then what have you decided?" Rimuru asked. No one could see his expression beneath the mask. Secretly relieved, he continued, "Will you do as you did when Crimson Moon challenged you?"
"Perhaps." The Black Winged Duke nodded, then placed a hand over his chest. "There is only one ancient ritual for the defeated: death."
"But I happened to survive death, and Lord Crimson Moon acknowledged me, transforming me into what I am today. The reason I swore allegiance after being given a new life was also because he acknowledged me."
"So?" Rimuru frowned. "Perhaps?"
"I will not break my word. You defeated me. Though it did not end in my death, you may still regard this life, which should have belonged to its master, as yours."
"But, White Knight, while your desire for me and your intention to use me could be considered a form of acknowledgment, you need me because you have an extremely strong purpose and are determined to pursue your own ideals. I can stand by your side, but I will not swear allegiance to you—"
"Tsk, you really make things complicated. So, in the end, I can consider you an ally, but not a subordinate, right?"
Rimuru held out a hand, palm up. "Isn't that what I wanted from the very beginning?"
"No. In practice, you can command me as though I were one of your subordinates. I simply won't become your follower."
"...?" Rimuru tilted his head, a huge question mark popping above it. He was just about to ask more when White Winged Duke's laughter behind him interrupted them—
"Ha ha ha ha! Blackmore, you're as ridiculous as ever."
At the same time, Merem Solomon, who had been watching the show, stepped out of the shadows. "Give up on getting to the bottom of it, Leviathan. You can't expect a philosopher to give you a straight answer to anything."
"..." Rimuru paused. He let the matter drop and glanced at the Black Winged Duke. "In that case, I look forward to what the future holds for us."
He ignored Altrouge, who had walked up beside him and was about to praise him, and instead greeted Merem Solomon. "Yo, long time no see, Merem Solomon."
The Black Princess's face went blank when he ignored her. Then, furious, she ground her teeth. Ah, that despicable schemer!
Merem Solomon narrowed his eyes, his expression cold. "Long? It's only been four days since we last met."
"Four days already." Rimuru smiled. "So, do you understand what I want now?"
"Yeah." Merem Solomon looked up and replied. Before, he had been racking his brains trying to figure out what Rimuru could possibly want from him. But when he received the invitation to join the Twenty-Seven Dead Apostle Ancestors, it was as if he had suddenly understood...
The White Winged Duke's faction was the largest among the Dead Apostles. The Black Princess, Altrouge, might have the title of an empress, but she had no faction to back her up—and she also had a rival, the White Princess, Arcueid Brunestud.
This decision was officially a negotiation between White Winged Duke and the Black Princess. Whatever its ultimate purpose, the two were bound to clash. And as Altrouge's greatest support at present, the White Knight—whose ambition was no less than White Winged Duke's—had clearly decided to open his arms and build a faction for the Black Princess.
Swear allegiance?
Tsk, that was no small matter, especially when he still belonged to the Burial Agency.
"I didn't understand before, but now I do. I still can't make a final decision, but for now, you can count me as one vote on your side."
"A wise decision," Rimuru said with a smile.
"Hey, you're picking a side before the topic's even been brought up? Isn't that a little premature?" asked the startled young lady, the Fifteenth Ancestor, Rosetta.
"What does it matter?" Merem Solomon replied coolly. "Leviathan has a reason I can't refuse... But even if I and the Black Winged Duke stand with Leviathan, won't that merely even the scales?"
Leaving aside the Black and White Knights, Altrouge's only initial supporter would probably be Zepia Eltnam. Since this was White Winged Duke's home ground, everyone knew that most of the Dead Apostles present supported him, with only a few Ancestors remaining neutral.
"Tsk, what about Trhvmn? You don't mind him either?"
"Mind him? Not really..." Trhvmn was White Winged Duke's name. Rosetta had asked him, but White Winged Duke merely grinned wildly and kept his eyes fixed on the White Knight. Only after hearing Rosetta's question did he pause and shake his head with a laugh. "If I could, I'd love to fight Leviathan... But the point of this decision isn't a battle."
"There's only room for one performance at the opening ceremony. Everyone, let's go inside and talk first—"
With that, he led the Consuls back into the building. Seeing that even the main parties were being so dull, Rosetta rolled her eyes and followed.
"Then let's go in, too." Everyone was exchanging nods and heading inside, and Rimuru didn't want to keep standing out there. The Black Winged Duke and Merem Solomon seemed to be politely waiting for him to speak, which pleased him. He made the suggestion, then suddenly remembered something and looked back at Altrouge. She had turned away, sulking and glaring at him with puffed cheeks...
Uh...
Rimuru blinked, his voice instantly turning meek. "Um, Your Highness? Shall we go in...?"
"So you do remember I'm a princess?!" Altrouge jumped up and glared at him. "Why not just call yourself King of the Dead Apostles while you're at it?"
"..." Altrouge looked so indignant that it was obvious she had no intention of going inside. Rimuru sighed and thought for a moment. The moment his gaze drifted toward the back of her neck, the Black Princess jumped as if she'd been singed. "If you dare grab me in front of everyone, I swear I'll fight you to the death!!!!!"
"Then just go inside..." Rimuru tried to reason with her. "The meeting's already started. We can't keep everyone waiting, can we?"
"No!" Altrouge raised her little head and resisted with all her might, making it obvious that she would only go in if he lowered his head and apologized.
She knew this wasn't right, but so what if people had to wait for a princess? Her dignity mattered most! If she kept letting Rimuru act like this, she really would lose all her dignity as a princess! That couldn't happen!
"..."
Rimuru sighed. He glanced at the Black Winged Duke and Merem Solomon, who hadn't moved from where they stood up ahead. Dragging a princess inside by the scruff of her neck would be improper and treasonous. After thinking it over, he simply walked over, took Altrouge's hand, and started pulling her inside.
"Eh?!" The moment Rimuru took her little hand, the Black Princess's mind went blank. She suddenly felt... dazed.
Five minutes later, everyone had taken their seats in the hall. Rimuru sighed as he rubbed the two new puncture wounds in his hand.
"Hmph. Serves you right." The Black Princess shot him a glance, her blush not yet faded. She tried to sound fierce, though she was a little flustered. Did he think he could touch a princess's hand whenever he wanted?!
Fou yawned, sensing her master's distress, and rolled his eyes in resignation.
Hmph, foolish humans... and Dead Apostles, too.
"One person is still missing... There's half an hour until the appointed time. In that case..."
White Winged Duke turned his head, his stern gaze sweeping across the hall. It was as if he were inspecting the guests—or introducing them to everyone.
"This is probably the first time in hundreds of years that so many of us have gathered!"
"Everyone present has a title and a seat of their own—the very pinnacle of the Dead Apostles."
"The First Ancestor, Primate Murder... and the Ninth Ancestor, King of the Dead Apostles... Altrouge."
"Fou?" The white dog raised his head in confusion. Altrouge let out a disdainful snort in reply.
"And the Sixth Ancestor, the Black Knight, Sturt, and the newly appointed Eighth Ancestor, the White Knight, Leviathan..."
Tsk. He knew the Ancestors weren't ranked by strength, but those numbers—Six, Seven, and Eight—still sounded irritating.
Rimuru narrowed his eyes. He had been wondering why his princess acted like a dog and even bit people. Now he stared at the foolish white dog perched on Altrouge's head. What did this walking dog treat Fou do to deserve first place?!
"The Tenth Ancestor, Nero Chaos."
A cold-looking man nodded to everyone without a word. It seemed he'd been in the hall the whole time, Rimuru thought, as the Great Sage brought up information about him in his mind.
"Chaos Group, the immortal magician. He came from the Wandering Sea, one of the three great Magecraft organizations. He specializes in fighting with beasts and possesses the life factors of 666 beasts within his body."
His gaze flickered between calm and ferocious. Rimuru only had to look at him once to decide he was someone he couldn't work with.
Chaos was a magician whose life was shared with the beasts inside him, and whose mind was almost constantly being influenced by them. He was powerful, but... Rimuru had always kept his distance from unstable madmen.
"Thirteenth Ancestor, Zepia Eltnam..."
The elegant gentleman stood and bowed slightly to everyone before quietly taking his place behind Altrouge. Zepia's loyalty clearly improved Altrouge's pouty expression. She even shot Rimuru another glare for good measure—
"Fourteenth Ancestor, Van-Fem!"
As White Winged Duke looked toward the modest, slightly plump man at the end of the table, Van-Fem raised his wineglass toward Rimuru. The crimson liquid inside made Rimuru lift his brows slightly.
He'd met this man!
Or rather, his other identity... Rimuru the magician had met him. They had even... struck a deal.
"Van-Fem, the devil of finance. Though he's one of the Twenty-Seven Dead Apostle Ancestors, he's passionate about manipulating the world of finance rather than using vampirism to expand his influence. He's one of the world's biggest capitalists and cares a great deal about human society... Rimuru, he may have recognized you."
Ah... I see.
Rimuru didn't let it show. He nodded in return and casually took Altrouge's tea, raising it in place of a toast.
As the two exchanged an apparently wordless greeting, Altrouge became increasingly unsure of her place in the world.
"Ri..." The princess ground her teeth furiously, but Rimuru casually handed the tea back to her and asked, "What's the deal with Van-Fem?"
"Huh?" Altrouge paused and furrowed her brows, thinking for a moment before answering softly. "If you mean the financial magnate Van-Fem, he's the only Dead Apostle who doesn't like increasing his influence by sucking blood. He's a strange one, but he's a lot like you—he prefers to use incentives to persuade people to work for him... Why?"
"He seems pretty interested in me."
"That's normal. After all, you inherited the White Knight Brad's position—or, rather, you killed Brad." Altrouge shrugged. "Brad once used the Ghost Ship Fleet to capture his Fifth Castle. They have a grudge against each other."
"...Oh? Then doesn't that mean he should... thank me?" Rimuru blinked, then smiled.
"Be careful. He's the Supreme Puppeteer." Seeing Rimuru's expression, Altrouge warned him with concern. "Even the giant puppets he makes casually are as powerful as Merem Solomon, the King of the Continent."
"Be careful? Why?" Rimuru shook his head, amused. "He hates Brad. He doesn't hate you, Your Highness."
He understood. In essence, Van-Fem was much like him. As the devil of finance, he naturally favored a merchant's way of doing things. Fighting with brute strength was a last resort; most of the time, trading benefits was what they both believed in.
Altrouge was a capable leader because she was fiercely protective of her people. She didn't care whether they were right or wrong. Brad and Van-Fem disliked each other, so she naturally took Brad's side, instinctively hating and opposing Van-Fem. Rimuru didn't deny that this kind of personality could easily win her the love of her subordinates, but it clearly didn't make her a suitable ruler.
Rimuru thought that if Altrouge ever grew into a capable emperor, the first thing she'd do would probably be to turn around and kill him, the scheming subordinate who was always so disrespectful... Still, he was looking forward to her growth. It wasn't just because she helped him and wasn't hostile toward humanity. More than anything, the two of them got along... fairly well?
His conversation with Altrouge took up some of Rimuru's attention. White Winged Duke's introductions had gone by quickly, so he had to rely on the Great Sage to gather information about the others.
"The person in the third seat is the Fifteenth Ancestor, Rita Rozay-en. She's a typical traditional aristocratic vampire: she indulges in pleasure and lives for the moment, while sharing the twisted tastes of many nobles. She likes to do whatever takes her fancy and seeks out unusual thrills."
The blonde young lady sipped her tea elegantly. The twisted tastes of many nobles... Rimuru frowned slightly. Did that mean torturing people?
"The Sixteenth Ancestor, the Black Winged Duke..."
"The Seventeenth Ancestor, the White Winged Duke..."
Well, look at that. Everyone from the Thirteenth to the Seventeenth Ancestor was present.
Rimuru nodded slightly, but the Eighteenth Ancestor certainly wouldn't have been invited. He was a blatant avenger, and had become one of the Twenty-Seven Dead Apostle Ancestors only because he'd killed the previous Ancestor. His goal was to kill every "Ancestor."
So although the Church had added him to the Twenty-Seven Dead Apostle Ancestors, all the Ancestors tacitly considered the Eighteenth Ancestor dead, with no successor for the time being.
By then, White Winged Duke had finished introducing himself. His deep voice and gaze turned toward the final two people.
Clearly, he was introducing them in order of their Ancestor number—
"The Twentieth Ancestor, Merem Solomon, and the Twenty-First Ancestor..."
"Water Demon Sumire. She doesn't have much of a political leaning, but... she seems particularly close to Rita Rozay-en. She's usually drunk, so generally speaking, her actions can be considered to align with Rita Rozay-en's."
"Now, aside from one fellow who's rather bad at keeping time, nearly all the Ancestors still alive have gathered. It seems the princess's influence is quite impressive."
"I'm only here for the show," Nero Chaos replied bluntly. "The last time we gathered like this was hundreds of years ago, when you and the Black Princess fell out and proposed hunting the True Ancestors, wasn't it?"
"So, have you decided to make peace?"
"You're only here for the show, Nero...?" Before White Winged Duke, Altrouge, or the others could answer, Merem Solomon spoke coldly. "Hah. I thought everyone, like me, had an unavoidable threat or reason for coming."
"Indeed." Rosetta smiled. "Let's not waste time with pleasantries. The invitation White Winged Duke sent me made it sound like I had to come."
"So you're that pathetic—you can be threatened just because you're weak?" Merem Solomon immediately mocked her, without the slightest courtesy. Unlike the other Dead Apostles, whose factions were clearly defined, Merem Solomon stood alone. Well, he wasn't as fervent as the Avenger Knight about hunting down other Ancestors, but he clearly felt that those ungrateful bastards had been just as responsible for Crimson Moon's death.
Rosetta hadn't expected the person she'd just supported to suddenly turn around and attack her. For a moment, she was so furious she could hardly breathe. "You..."
"Hmph." Merem Solomon didn't care. He turned away and glanced at Rimuru and White Winged Duke, narrowing his eyes. "The reason you haven't started yet... surely you're still waiting for that fellow?"
"Since this is a negotiation, shouldn't there be an absolutely neutral witness?" Rimuru replied with a smile. "But given that person's habits, he seems to prefer arriving at the last possible moment."
"So it's true..." Merem Solomon clenched his fist in fury and slammed it onto the table with a bang.
That damned Magician!
"The Jewel Mage, Zelretch!"
Chapter 053: The Dead Apostle Decision—Mutual Probing!
Five minutes later, as the Ancestors pondered or grew impatient, a glowing portal slowly bloomed in the hall. Rimuru's eyes lit up when he saw it. So this was how one traveled between parallel worlds?
"My, my, it seems I'm the last one to arrive again."
Before you continue