Chapter 101 - Settlement

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....

It wasn't a coincidence that Rimuru went directly to the largest goblin settlement in the forest. He needed their numbers and labor to finally begin the construction of their new home. And that was where they were heading right now.

After gaining names from him, their evolution took place, transforming the majority of them into tall, capable bodies—far different from their previous evolution.

"Rimuru-sama, we have finished packing. Where should we go?" Rigurd bowed low, the rest of the newly evolved hobgoblins standing behind him, their necessities now packed onto their backs.

Rimuru nodded, glancing eastward. "We're going to the ogre village." A collective gasp echoed through the crowd.

It wasn't that they intended to disobey him, but the idea of mere goblins—now hobgoblins—venturing anywhere near the villages of Ogres, Kijins, and Fair Onis was startling. The thought was almost unimaginable.

"Let's go. Velgrynd has already gone ahead and informed them of everything." Rimuru began walking through the forest, with thousands of hobgoblins trailing behind him.

While he could have easily transported them all with a single spell, he enjoyed the process of the journey and didn't want to take shortcuts.

Meanwhile...

Velgrynd entered the ogre village, the atmosphere heavy with tension. The villagers were accustomed to interacting with Rimuru, their lord, but his mistress—Velgrynd—was a different matter altogether.

Not only was she the Scorch Dragon, but she had rarely interacted with any of them over the past centuries. Her intentions and expressions were difficult to gauge, adding an air of unease to her presence.

"H-how can we be of use, Velgrynd-sama?" The Chief, a Fair Oni born in the village, asked nervously as he led her inside the chief's house.

The village had long since integrated village in the south into one large town size settlement, with more Fair Onis and Kijins, but it still made the ogres and the original Kijins uneasy to see the newcomers now in positions of power. The newcomers, after all, were forced to come here and not voluntary, unlike the others who had chosen to stay under Rimuru's protection.

The first few decades after the integration were filled with tension, small arguments that often escalated into skirmishes. Thankfully, no casualties occurred, with the conflict only ever being mediated by Rimuru, who would appear whenever things got out of hand.

Over time, however, things began to change. The former Kijin villagers opened their hearts and minds, eventually accepting the ogres and the original Kijins who had left their homes to live in the forest. This acceptance was only solidified under Rimuru's protection.

The most surprising development came from the union between an Ogre and a Fair Oni. It was a miracle, one that no one had expected, as it defied the common knowledge that mixing species could lead to a dilution of power.

The villagers had assumed that any child born of such a union would belong to a lower-tier race, perhaps a Kijin, just as many of the other children born from the mingling of the villages had been—whether from the union of ogres and Kijins, or from the union of Kijins and Fair Onis.

To everyone's shock, the child born of this union was not only strong but exceptionally so. His power was far greater than expected, and the villagers were left in awe. Once he had grown, it was almost unanimous that he should become the new chief of the village.

The child's age, however, was still a concern. At only two centuries old, he was far younger than the others in his clan, most of whom had lived for thousands of years.

The Chief, now the leader of this unified village, waited patiently for Velgrynd's response, though every second felt like an eternity. Even someone of his strength couldn't help but feel the weight of anticipation pressing down on him.

"Child, do you know of the plan Rimuru has for this forest?" Velgrynd asked, her gaze sweeping over the group of villagers seated before her. They were a mixed group of ogres, Kijins, and Fair Onis.

The Chief turned toward his fellow Fair Oni, as if searching for an answer. "Is it the plan to create a nation under Lord Rimuru's banner?" he asked, his voice trailing off, uncertain if he was correct.

"Oh," Velgrynd said, lightly surprised, nodding in confirmation. "Rimuru accepted monsters into his forest on the condition that, in the future, when he builds his nation, the monsters will be willing to serve under him."

Her words were clear, but then, with a subtle shift in her posture, Velgrynd's aura began to intensify, sending a ripple of pressure through the group. She leaned forward slightly, the atmosphere suddenly heavy.

"Chief of the Ogre village," she began, her voice cold and commanding, "do you choose to serve under Rimuru, or will you leave the forest?"

While her words were phrased as a question, her tone was not one of inquiry. It was more of a formality—one with an answer already set in stone.

The Chief inhaled deeply, steadying himself before replying. "With all due respect, Lady Velgrynd, we have long sworn our loyalty to Lord Rimuru. While our past has been... rather eventful," he continued, his eyes briefly clouded with thought, "we are fully committed to serving him."

He stood from his seat, his movements slow but deliberate. With a respectful bow, he kneeled before Velgrynd, his posture one of deep reverence. "Please, order us, Lady Velgrynd. What does Lord Rimuru need from us?"

The other villagers, one by one, followed suit. The ogres, Kijins, and Fair Onis all knelt, their eyes lowered, awaiting her command.

"Give us your orders, Lady Velgrynd!" they echoed in unison, their voices filled with unwavering loyalty.

Velgrynd's eyes softened slightly as she nodded in approval, a small smirk curling at the corners of her lips. "Excellent. Clear the west, south, and southwest areas near the village. Monsters of all races will be coming to build the city in this area. The village will become part of the eastern portion of the city to be constructed."

At her command, the villagers sprang into action. Even the proud Fair Onis and Kijins, known for their strength and nobility, began to work with surprising speed. The air was filled with the sound of trees being uprooted, rocks and boulders being broken apart, and the ground shifting as they prepared the land for the city.

Velgrynd watched them work, her posture relaxed but her gaze sharp, ensuring that no one slacked off. The task at hand was monumental, but with the strength of these monsters combined, it would be done.

Rimuru took his time traveling to the Ogre village, making as many detours as there were goblin villages along the way. He didn't take everyone from each village—rather, he gathered a portion from each to serve as the workforce.

If he had brought every goblin from each village, with each having an average of a thousand or so residents, the numbers would have become overwhelming. There simply wouldn't be enough work to keep everyone occupied.

Clearing the land and laying the foundation would be the ideal time to bring everyone in. When construction reached its peak, there would be plenty of tasks for everyone to contribute to.

"Oh looks like they started already," Rimuru smirked seeing the entire ogre village began clearing the area near their settlement. "Rigurd, look for Benimaru he is the Chief of the Ogre village. Tell him that you will help with your numbers, also you're in charge with organizing and giving task to the hobgoblins."

"Of course, Rimuru-sama!" He bowed before venturing towards the ogre village to seek their chief. The hobgoblins who were now in the tens of thousands timidly followed behind under the gaze of the higher rank races.

Rimuru ignored them and went to Velgrynd who was watching the villagers clear the land. She sat at the chair provided to her as well as someone to cater her every need while she watches.

He thought of an idea and sneaked behind her silently, as he got closer. "Don't try anything stupid Rimuru." Her words halted him in his position.

Slumped that his prank failed before it even was enacted he made his own seat and place it beside her. "How'd you know that it was me?"

"No one would play pranks at me, especially not from them." She pointed at the hard-working kijins who demolished the boulders and the ogres carrying them away. Meanwhile, the Fair Onis were uprooting the trees with their bare hands.

"Even so, how did you notice my presence." He poked her side playfully.

Velgrynd held his hand stopping him, "I didn't, it was instinct honed from all your pranks." Rimuru raised a brow, not believing her words. "Also, even if you hide your presence, the space you occupied is still obvious to me. It was like an obvious empty space where normally someone should be occupying it."

"Ah, noted." Rimuru nodded understanding, while he was hiding his presence it wasn't like he was really putting everything he had to hide. It was understandable to find flaw to his half-hearted attempt to sneak behind her.

"Are you planning to visit each village in the forest?" Velgrynd asked, a groan escaping her lips as she imagined the effort involved. "As far as you told me before, there are hundreds of them, right? You did give them a safe environment to increase their numbers."

Rimuru paused, thinking it over. "Yeah, it's not like it would take much time for someone like me."

Velgrynd raised an eyebrow, a knowing look crossing her face. "You could just order them to spread out for you." She gestured to the monsters clearing the area around them. "They'd be more than happy to receive orders directly from you."

Rimuru considered her words for a moment. "True, but it's not like we need to call them all right now." He let out a small sigh, his shoulders slumping slightly. "It would've been great if the Dryads had stayed with us."

Velgrynd shot him a pointed look. "It was your idea to send them back to Ramiris."

Rimuru grinned sheepishly. "Yeah, I know..."

More than a hundred years ago, small green pixies had wandered into the Forest of Jura. Over time, a few of these pixies had managed to survive the harsh conditions, and, through evolution, they had transformed into Dryads.

"Right!" Rimuru suddenly stood up from his seat, a spark of excitement in his eyes as an idea popped into his mind. "What about bringing Ramiris here? We could have her stay, and by extension, employ the Dryads. It's not like they can devolve back into pixies, and it would be better for them to be in a forest than a labyrinth."

Velgrynd raised a brow, clearly skeptical. "You're planning to let the Queen of Spirits stay in this place?"

Rimuru nodded, but his tone was casual. "Yeah, but not right now. Maybe once the foundation is finished, and the houses and main buildings are built. That's when we can start gathering the rest of the monsters from the various villages in the forest."

Rimuru then turned to observe the monsters who were close to finishing the task of clearing a small part of the southern area.

"Make sure to flatten out that area and move the border farther," he said, pointing toward the cleared land. "We're going to build a city that can accommodate more than a million monsters, along with structures for lodging and housing."

He glanced to a different area, noticing that the boundary where the clearing had stopped was closer than he wanted. The Fair Onis who were clearing the trees immediately nodded in understanding and began marking the new boundary before continuing to remove the trees.

"Make sure to set those aside," Rimuru instructed, gesturing to the trees the Onis were carrying. "We can use them as lumber for construction later. That goes for the boulders and rocks on the ground too."

The Fair Onis nodded in unison, placing the trees in an open space that had already been cleared earlier. A group of ogres and goblins quickly followed, removing the branches and setting them aside.

"Lord Rimuru," came the voice of the Chief, calling him over.

Rimuru turned to face him. "Yes, what is it?"

The Chief, Benimaru, scratched his head awkwardly. "Would you mind telling us how we should place the foundation? We need to make sure that the areas meant to be roads are separate from those for the building foundations."

Rimuru nodded thoughtfully. "Got it, Benimaru," he said, reaching into his pouch and pulling out a rough blueprint for what he envisioned as the capital city of his country.

Benimaru took the blueprint and began scanning it, his eyes widening in surprise. Several others crowded around, looking at it in disbelief.

"Um, My Lord..." Benimaru's voice was hesitant, and he bowed his head slightly. "It shames me to say this, but... I don't think we're capable of constructing something of this scale."

A few of the others murmured in agreement. Despite having lived for thousands of years in the forest, and having built a village that was far better than most human towns, the scale of Rimuru's blueprint left them feeling out of their depth.

Rimuru tilted his head thoughtfully, then nodded in understanding. "That's true... I should have considered everyone's skills before coming up with something so complex."

Normally, Rimuru would just throw a blueprint in front of his subordinates in the Citadel, and they'd get to work—sometimes even going so far as to kidnap famous artisans from all over to make sure things were done right. In fact, the blueprints were often designed by someone else entirely, so that might have been another reason why he hadn't thought about the practical challenges involved.

"Hm..." Rimuru rubbed his chin in thought. "It's been a while since I saw Guran's grandson. Maybe I could hire some dwarves and have them teach everyone how to do this properly."

A/N: To the land of the elv- dwarves!

Frankly, the next few chapters are more or less just building and recruiting in the forest. Also, it won't be called Tempest anymore this time. Frankly I don't think the name of the country is ever mention, just the name of the capital in the drafts.