"Hello. I suppose this is the first time we've met? I suppose I should also say goodbye, though. After all, you're going to die here." The only other living thing inside the mile-wide barrier with me turned out to be a woman. An exceptionally pretty, twenty-year-old woman with long black hair and loose, easy-to-move-in white business attire that proved that she held a high position within the Holy Church.
Specifically, a Paladin. The ultimate Church-ordained enemy of all monster-kind. Suddenly, everything made sense.
"Umm… Do you have me confused with someone else? Just so you know, my name's Rimuru." I knew it was pointless, but in the tiny, nearly impossible probability that she was actually gunning for someone else, I didn't want to get caught in the crossfire by mistake. I really didn't want to fight the Western Holy Church if I didn't have to.
"You are unexpectedly polite, for the lord of monsters. Unfortunately for you, there's no mistake. Your town's a bother to us, so we're going to crush it. As such, it would be rather inconvenient for us if you went home right now, understand? We couldn't track down your companion to offer her the same courtesy, unfortunately, but you aren't so lucky." Everything in her words screamed cold, hard fact. As little interest as I had in accepting those facts, though, I gained a bit of comfort from them nonetheless.
Somehow, these people knew that I was the leader of Tempest, and that Risa was my right hand. Luckily, they hadn't been able to pinpoint Risa's location inside that labyrinth, in order to trap her, too. That meant that Risa was likely still in contact with Izzy inside Tempest. Between the two of us, Risa was stronger, especially in a situation like this, so at least the city wasn't in half as much danger as I was in.
"Okay, who are you calling a monster lord? Obviously, I'm just a normal adventurer." I tried.
"Don't bother playing dumb. We have an informant. I know everything about you. We have eyes all over Englesia." She replied, cool as a cucumber.
I was really cautious about showing off my powers. To all of Englesia, save the kids and Yuuki, I was just a normal adventurer. Had I been tailed, somehow? No. Wise One would've noticed.
It didn't really matter right now, though. She believed whatever she'd been told, and that was clearly enough for her to decide to kill me over.
And she was clearly both crazy and confident enough to do it. Otherwise, why would she walk up to a 'monster lord' alone, with no armor and a single rapier dangling casually at her hip.
My mind raced, but figuring out who was attacking Tempest right now wasn't important. I'd leave that for later.
"So, are you ready?"
"No." I admitted, as she unsheathed her rapier, "But, could you at least tell me your name before we fight? Common courtesy?"
She gave me a bemused look. "A monster interested in names and courtesy? I suppose I forgot, since it doesn't really matter to me." She proceeded to smile faintly, giving off the impression of courtesy. "In that case, I am Hinata Sakaguchi, captain of the Chief Knights of the Holy Imperial Guard, and a faithful servant of Luminus, in the Holy Empire of Lubelius. Glad to make your acquaintance, for now."
"Hinata? Yuuki told me that you were leader of the paladins. You're running the Imperial Guard, too?"
"While it does not please me to share an acquaintance with a monster, yes. I do hold both positions, not that it matters. I serve Luminus, not the mortal Emperor." She said. And with that, she readied her rapier, a sign that the conversation was over.
'Report. That rapier is at least the upper grade of Unique Class. It is recommended that you do not allow the blade to touch you under any circumstances.' Thanks, Wise One, but isn't that a really big part of most sword fights? Besides, the fact that the blade is literally glowing rainbow kind of tipped me off. Just in case, I drew my own sword, but I really hoped that I wouldn't need it.
"Wait, I don't want to fight! I've actually been wanting to talk to you!"
"I make a rule of not listening to the words of monsters." She replied coldly, jabbing at me with her lightning-fast blade. Even with Wise One tuned directly into my muscles, I only barely dodged it.
"No, wait! You're Japanese, right? Me, too! That's why Shizu asked me-" I tried once more, but my pleas were falling on deaf ears. It was like talking to a brick wall.
A brick wall with a really sharp rapier.
"You managed to dodge that? I suppose you really are the monster who killed my teacher… Revenge will be mine soon, though. And a monster being Japanese? Making friends with Miss Shizu? How ridiculous." Another lightning fast flash of her sword, which I barely dodged.
I tried to explain my story once more, in Japanese this time, but it was no use.
In a voice that seemed to sound even colder than before, Hinata interrupted me. "So you speak Japanese. Just as he told me you would. There is no point to this farce. Give it up."
'Report. High probability that you are caught in a plot devised by Yuuki Kagurazaka, with one of the goals being your death.' Wise One immediately made the connection.
It was a disturbingly easy connection, too. It made me hesitate a bit.
After all, the number of people who knew when I was leaving Englesia, that I was an otherworlder who knew of Hinata and had a connection to Shizu, and that I was the leader of Tempest, with Risa as my right hand? Outside of the residents of Tempest, it was pretty much just Yuuki. There were more than a handful of people who checked some of those boxes, but besides the kids, Yuuki was the only one who truly checked them all. Kabal, Elen, Gido, and maybe Fuze might've been able to check most of those boxes, but Risa had given Yuuki quite a bit of false information over the past few months, painting herself as a flake with a love of violence and a hobby of collecting powerful magical beasts on purpose, since she didn't trust him. He didn't even know about Curiosity at all. I could imagine him thinking that Risa would just vanish for weeks on end without checking up on anyone else, but anyone who's actually been to Tempest, seen how the residents looked up to her, would definitely see things differently.