"Lady Spider Princess, might you be willing to offer just a little hint… about why His Majesty the King has summoned us?"
The noble who had received the invitation cast a subtle glance at the servant beside him. The servant immediately took the hint and stepped forward, presenting several ornate boxes one by one.
When Spider Princess saw the boxes, her brows knit together at once. She assumed they were trying to bribe her.
Unfortunately for them—or perhaps fortunately—Spider Princess had absolutely no interest in gold or silver. On the contrary, this sort of thing was far more likely to earn her displeasure.
The noble seemed to notice the shift in her expression and hastily ordered the servants to open the boxes. The moment they did, Spider Princess froze.
Inside the boxes were not jewels or coins at all, but exquisitely crafted maid outfits—each one more elaborate and stylish than the last.
The nobles of Marisu City were not fools. Since open resistance was no longer an option, the only path left was to curry favor.
These past few days, they hadn't simply been sitting around waiting for their fate. They had been investigating.
Ren Kuroda—and the ten close subordinates who stood at his side—had all been thoroughly researched by the nobles.
From what they learned, the woman standing before them—Spider Princess, the Minister of Internal Affairs—was not only the strongest among the monsters and the highest-ranking of them all, but also possessed an… unusual hobby.
She had an almost obsessive fondness for maid outfits.
Despite holding a position of immense authority, her fixation on the role of a "maid" far exceeded that of any normal person—something made abundantly clear by the fact that she herself was almost always dressed as one.
So for this occasion, the noble had spared no expense. He had sought out the finest designers in the Kingdom of Farumusu and commissioned the best tailors in Marisu City, pouring an enormous sum of money into creating these brand-new, one-of-a-kind maid outfits.
"His Majesty Ren Kuroda inviting you to a banquet is already an honor in itself," Spider Princess said coolly."And you needn't worry about His Majesty intending to do anything to you. With strength like yours, you were never on his radar to begin with.If he truly wanted you dead, do you honestly believe you would still be alive right now?"
Perhaps swayed by the maid outfits, Spider Princess spoke more than she usually would. Then she took the boxes, turned around, and left.
Although all that effort had earned them only a few sentences, the noble present was more than satisfied.
She hadn't said much—but it was enough.
At the very least, they now knew that Ren Kuroda had no intention of putting them to the sword this time. Their lives were not in immediate danger, and that alone was enough to make them breathe a long sigh of relief.
As for why they were being invited in the first place—once they reached the palace, they would find out soon enough. In any case, since it was an invitation from the king, refusal had never really been an option. And truthfully, no one dared refuse.
That very night, nobles large and small emerged from their estates, arms laden with carefully prepared gifts, all heading in the same direction.
Some wore anxious expressions; others, having learned that their lives were likely not at stake, appeared relatively composed.
Under the guidance of monsters, waves of nobles soon entered what was now the royal palace.
To be honest, as nobles, they had visited the palace countless times before—but never with emotions like these.
The guards stationed throughout the palace were no longer human soldiers, but all manner of monsters instead.
And these monsters were powerful—so much so that merely passing by them made the nobles' hearts clench from the oppressive aura they radiated.
At last, inside the grand hall they knew so well, they saw the newly crowned king of the kingdom.
A boy who looked astonishingly young.
"Everyone," Ren Kuroda said calmly, "I didn't invite you here to settle scores, nor do I intend to do anything to you.I invited you because I want to cooperate with you—on a very profitable business venture.So please, relax. I'm not some bloodthirsty madman. As long as you don't cross my bottom line, I believe I'm quite reasonable."
Ren's words were spoken sincerely.
Unfortunately, not a single noble present believed a word of them.
In just a few hours of fighting, tens of thousands of soldiers had vanished without leaving even corpses behind. Entire groups of noble officials had been executed on a whim—and now he had the nerve to call himself "kind"?
Of course, what they thought inside was one thing. Outwardly, they continued to flatter him as politely as ever.
"May we ask, Your Majesty," one noble ventured cautiously, "how exactly you wish to cooperate with us? And in what way might we be of service to you?"
Despite their unease, someone had to ask.
After all, Ren Kuroda now had manpower, overwhelming strength, and towering prestige. None of them could fathom what use he could possibly have for them.
"It's simple," Ren replied. "I want to build roads. And not the kind where you just pack down some dirt.I mean proper stone-paved roads—wide enough for merchant caravans to travel freely.More than that, I intend to extend those roads to the neighboring kingdoms."
As the saying went: if you want to get rich, build roads first.
The Kingdom of Farumusu occupied an excellent geographical position and was naturally suited to become a commercial hub among neighboring nations. Unfortunately, the former king's stinginess had prevented that potential from ever being fully realized.
Once proper roads were in place, merchants would naturally prefer routes that were safe and easy to travel.
At that point, Farumusu would become a massive trading center. Even taxes collected from merchant transactions alone would amount to a staggering source of revenue.
Moreover, large-scale road construction would stimulate urban growth—a lesson Ren brought straight from modern society.
"To undertake a project of this scale," Ren continued, "we'll need not only manpower, but also a tremendous amount of capital.Since you are all members of Farumusu, shouldn't you also contribute to its prosperity?Of course, I'm not one to bully others with power. Whatever amount you invest, I'll convert it into corresponding shares for you."
At that, the nobles finally understood.
So that was it.
This sudden banquet wasn't an act of kindness at all—he had his eyes on their wealth. They were being turned into walking moneybags.
No matter how beautifully Ren dressed it up, to the nobles, this whole thing sounded like reckless nonsense.
What was wrong with dirt roads? Why insist on grand highways?
And extending roads into other kingdoms was hardly simple. First, they would need permission from those nations. Worse still, the roads would have to pass through the Jura Great Forest.
True, rumors said the Storm Dragon had already been slain—but the forest was still crawling with dangerous monsters. In the nobles' eyes, Ren's plan was nothing short of a pipe dream.
As for the "shares" he mentioned, after asking for more details, they did find the concept rather novel.
Still, they feared that if the roads were never completed, their so-called shares would become worthless scraps of paper.
Seeing the hesitation written all over their faces, Ren could only sigh inwardly.
This was clearly a golden opportunity to make obscene amounts of money—and these country bumpkins were still wavering.
If this were modern society, the moment the government announced a project like this, capitalists would be clawing at each other to get in.
Ren briefly considered simply wiping out the nobles and confiscating their wealth to fund the project himself.
But that was unrealistic.
In any era, in any world, nobles were an unavoidable existence.
Greedy as they might be, they still played a significant role in pushing a kingdom toward prosperity.
And slaughtering them all would damage Ren's image. If every wealthy person ended up dead, what merchant would dare come to Marisu City in the future?
In the end, whether out of fear of sharing the same fate as the executed officials, or because some were genuinely tempted by Ren's proposal, every noble present contributed at least a portion of their family's wealth.
After confirming each contribution, the Samurai Spirit handed out slips of paper in return.
The nobles stared at the documents—called "stocks"—that now represented the exchange of vast fortunes, their faces twisted with resentment.
Voluntary, my ass. Did they really have a choice?
After leaving the palace, some nobles tore their stock certificates to pieces and stormed off in fury.
Others thought that since it was just a piece of paper and didn't take up space, they might as well keep it.
In their eyes, tonight's "cooperation" was nothing more than money thrown into the void.
A business venture, my foot—this was clearly a ransom paid for their lives.
Once the nobles departed, silence fell over the grand hall.
Aside from the busy Samurai Spirit, Ren Kuroda was deep in thought about his next system-related tasks, while Spider Princess stood quietly behind him, maintaining the impeccable posture of a maid.
"Looks like those nobles still aren't satisfied," Ren muttered. "After reluctantly handing over so much money, they've decided to send assassins now?"
He had barely finished speaking when Spider Princess let out a sharp cry and turned her gaze toward a shadowed corner.
Just as she was about to strike, Ren reached out and stopped her.
"It's probably not an assassin," he said. "More like a subordinate of an old acquaintance."
Almost the moment the words left his mouth, a figure appeared before them.
The newcomer had deep blue hair, a single horn protruding from his forehead, and was dressed much like a ninja.
"I was just wondering how to get in touch with Rimuru," Ren said with a faint smile. "Didn't expect you to come knocking yourself.You didn't come all this way just to say hello, did you, Sōei?"
The figure standing before them was none other than one of the six oni Ren had encountered when he first arrived in this world.
Named by Rimuru and reborn as a Kijin, he was Sōei.
"Yes, Lord Ren," Sōei replied respectfully. "Shion and Shuna have been in contact with you, so I followed the location they provided.As for my purpose here—I am acting under Lord Rimuru's orders, to request your assistance."