"I have decided to use my sword to divine your true nature, Rimuru! If you insist on calling yourself the 'leader' of this forest, I may need to show you your place. If that sword on your waist isn't mere decoration, I ask you to accept my request." Yeah, so that's what it came down to. A fight.
And the worst part? I wasn't part of the fighting! Since I wasn't the leader of the forest, it wasn't my job to fight this battle! I had to watch as Big Bro got to have all the fun!
"Alright. I accept your request. I'll just have to make you regret calling me a boaster."
Both sides stepped forward, and King Gazel explained the rules. "If you can block a single string of my attacks, you may declare yourself the victor. You're also free to attack me at any time, but remember: I am Gazel Dwargo, Master of the Sword! My blade shall not be taken lightly." With that, Gazel drew his sword. It was a pretty well-made single-bladed katana.
You know, katanas like that required a bit more skill to use than the normal blades that I liked. I didn't really see the allure in them, but Big Bro had one, too.
As Big Bro drew his sword, three dryads, including Treyni, appeared to 'moderate' the match. Treyni also took the opportunity to berate the dwarves for calling Big Bro a 'boaster' when he said that he was the leader of the forest, showing the dwarves where they stood, shocking them.
Gazel reluctantly apologized, but the grin on his face grew wider, when he realized that Big Bro was actually strong enough to earn the dryads' respect. He loved fighting too, huh?
I think I'll get along with him rather well.
"Begin!"
The moment that the battle began, Big Bro moved. I suppose he didn't see the point in waiting for Gazel to make the first move. Drawing in with Strengthen Body, he appeared in front of Gazel in a flash, slashing at the Dwarven King's body with a flash. You could really tell that he'd been practicing in his mindscape during his free time. He'd probably spent a grand total of a year or more working on his forms against imaginary Hakuro. His technique was far better than mine. But at least I had more Arts. He couldn't use any advanced Arts at all. Just plain bad at it.
Big Bro expected his opponent to brush his first swing off, from what I could tell. As soon as Gazel did, Big Bro moved his sword in for a follow-up, then another, at lightning speed, changing the length of his arms by a few inches each time.
After that didn't work, Big Bro tried a few other tactics, like using illusions to mess with Gazel's vision, magic at point blank range, and a few other things. Gazel easily brushed everything off like he was dealing with a child. There was a clear difference in both raw power and skill.
"Are you done? Is that all the power you have, Rimuru?" He prodded, annoying Big Bro.
"Shut up! I haven't come at you for real yet, so don't hurry me!" Big Bro was being a sore loser. It was kinda funny.
Finally, Gazel made his move. First, he unleashed this tremendous aura. Even though I wasn't even fighting, I actually flinched a bit.
In response, Big Bro fired off a Voice Cannon, a giant sonic shockwave, at Gazel, distracting him, so that his aura disappeared. Then, he finally readied himself to go on the defensive.
Then, Gazel disappeared. Well, to Big Bro, probably. Thanks to my Battle Senses, Chaotic Warrior's Sub-Skill, I could tell exactly how he was moving.
Then, their blades clashed. And the battle was over.
…
After Big Bro's fight with Gazel, things began moving fast.
Firstly, as it turns out, Gazel had been Hakuro's student, about three hundred years ago.
Just how oldwas Hakuro? Anyways, after his people talked him out of moving to Tempest and apprenticing under Hakuro once more in swordcraft, we moved to the city's Central Hall for a meeting, which eventually turned into a banquet somehow.
Then, at the beginning of the banquet, Gazel dropped a bomb.
"Rimuru. D'you want to forge a covenant with me?"
As he put it, it was just a matter of time before Big Bro controlled the entire forest, and once he did, he'd be in the center of a vast new market that Dwargon couldn't afford to ignore. So, he wanted to back us now.
It was a great opportunity for both sides. We'd gain recognition, and Dwargon would get first grabs at a vast new market, and our trust moving forward. He was especially interested in our technology, and the new trade route that was going to pop up once we became known to the world.
Basically, the treaty would consist of a road built between our nations, a nonaggression treaty, assistance when the other nation was endangered, promises of safety for dwarves who went through the forest, and a tech-sharing agreement.
The only two drawbacks for us were minor. The fact that we'd have to do all the legwork for the new road, and the military assistance, which we likely wouldn't suddenly be tapped for, anyways. After all, Dwargon was a strong, famously neutral state. Nobody was gonna be dumb enough to attack them without a good reason.
So, Big Bro accepted the deal. With a caveat.
Basically, in exchange for building the road, we'd be responsible for lodging. We'd have an inn built every 40 kilometers or so, and that would turn into a pretty good source of income going forward. Since most of the road would be built inside our borders, that was only fair, so Gazel didn't have a problem with it.
Which left us with the final problem. Our nation's name. While the forest's alliance had a 'name,' that was just an assortment of different races promising to work together. It wasn't the name of an actual nation. But, since Big Bro was in charge of 30% of the forest, he did have the power to reorganize the alliance into a nation and name said nation as he saw fit.
Big Bro's original idea was to give Abil a jewel last name and call it the Jeweled Federation, but he got vetoed. So, we ended up being the Jura-Tempest Federation, or Tempest for short. They even named our town, the new capital of Tempest, the City of Rimuru, which I found endlessly funny.