(Rimuru POV)
'Isis, Let me go over the information Mnemosyne has on the Demon Lords one last time.' I thought to myself. I could sense Isis rolling its metaphysical eyes in response to my request, but it was my skill. It had to comply.
'Master, this is the tenth time that you have inquired on this subject in the last two hours. But if you insist…' Isis was completely right, but I couldn't help it. I was nervous.
And I felt that I had every right to be. Whether I deserved a seat at the council or not, the Demon Lords were ten of the most powerful and influential beings on the planet.
As such, I'd already asked Ramiris, Veldora, Diablo, the Lycanthropeers, King Gazel, and anyone else who I thought might have some useful information on the subject. King Gazel had been flabbergasted to learn that I'd been invited to the Demon Lords' Council.
But, all of my questioning had led to quite a bit of useful information.
'Clayman. Known as the Marionette Master, ruled over the Puppet Nation of Dhistav. Strength likely comparable to the Orc Disaster, though this is simply a rough estimate. His skillset is built around manipulating and controlling those weaker than him. As such, his goals will likely always center around gaining more personal power, and more seats at the Demon Lords' Council. The Orc Disaster incident was due to this obsession. Threat level: Annoying, but low.' Harsh criticism from Isis, but fair. Could Clayman himself harm me in any way, shape, or form, at this point? Absolutely not, but dealing with him would be a pain. His personal connections couldn't be ignored. Luckily, Milim was setting everything up perfectly for me, though I did wish that she hadn't sacrificed Eurazania for the set-up.
'Carillon. Known as the Beast Lord, rules over the Beast Kingdom of Eurazania. While stronger than Clayman, still one of the three weakest Demon Lords as far as raw power goes, due to his unawakened Demon Lord Seed. Straightforward, proud, and trustworthy. Will likely not show up to Walpurgis due to the fact that Clayman likely ordered Milim to kill him.' I really did hope that he was okay. I couldn't imagine Milim actually killing him.
'Frey. Sky Queen. Queen of the Harpy Queendom of Fulbrosia. Roughly as strong as Carillon. Known for her love of high places. Tricky by nature, but does not seem to harbor interest in the Jura Forest, due to its low topography. Milim considers her to be a close friend. Is likely pretending to ally with Clayman, in order to aid Milim in tricking him into convening this Walpurgis.' In other words, I should be wary of her, since it's entirely possible that she betrayed Milim somehow, but it's not particularly likely. Milim had high praise for Frey, according to Mnemosyne. There was no chance that someone Milim talked about like that would be stupid enough to pick Clayman over her, under any circumstances.
'Leon Cromwell. Platinum Devil. Ruler of the Golden City of El Dorado. While technically a True Hero, his actions have always lined up with his own interests and nothing else, making him a unique existence. The same man who summoned Shizu, though whether he gave her Ifrit to save her or control her can be debated. Despite the fact that he's the newest Demon Lord of the bunch, Milim has high praise for his combat abilities, and he was the only one of the four newbies to gain his position by killing another Demon Lord, Demon Lord Kazalim. Likely does not care about Clayman at all, though may hold animosity toward you for various reasons. Caution is recommended.' Right. I still had a score to settle with Leon. I'd sworn to punch him at least once for what he put Shizu through, but that score between us could be put on the backburner for now. He wasn't my big problem right now.
'Roy Valentine. Bloody Lord. According to Milim, who technically swore Risa to secrecy, Roy is the stand-in for the real, True Demon Lord, Luminous Valentine, the Goddess of the Luminousm faith. It is recommended that you tread lightly with Valentine, due to the fact that it is uncertain whether the attacks from Hinata and Farmus were actually approved by Luminous or not. It is likely that she harbors resentment towards you, due to the fact that Veldora destroyed her home during a rampage several centuries ago. Veldora himself had high praise for her combat abilities.' Pulling that from Mnemosyne was a real shocker, but apparently, if absolutely necessary, Milim had said that I was allowed to know. I wasn't allowed to tell anyone, though.
'Deeno. Sleeping Ruler. Not much information about him. Even Milim isn't completely certain of his combat abilities, beyond the fact that he is an awakened True Demon Lord. Deeno is a Fallen Angel, and is known for his laziness. Unlike other Demon Lords, Deeno tends to mooch off of Daggrull or Guy Crimson, bouncing between the two every few centuries when they get fed up with his laziness, and has no subordinates of his own.' So the guy's a NEET? Kinda like Ramiris, then.
'Daggrull. Earthquake. Ruler of the Holy Void of Damargania, A giant whose nation was built on the edge of the Barren Lands, lands that are still incredibly treacherous, due to magicule poison from a fight between Milim and Guy Crimson several centuries ago. As such, he has coveted the land currently occupied by Lubelius for centuries. According to Veldora, his power was equal to Veldora's pre-sealing, and the two fought often.' So, a friend of Veldora's, whose nation is essentially barren? I'd have to feel him out a bit, with Tempest's supply chain and Risa's abilities, when it comes to magicule purification, we could probably help him out quite a bit.
'Ramiris-' The NEET of the Labyrinth, currently reading manga from Veldora's shoulder. Yeah, I already knew enough about her. She was going to be taking Treyni and Beretta to the council with her, as backup in case a second Demon Lord decided to join in and try to protect Clayman.
Honestly, either of those two alone were probably strong enough to pretty easily wipe the floor with Clayman and one or both of his attendants, all at the same time.
While you're at it, you can skip Milim, too. Since I already know her pretty well, I'd rather not touch the massive load of information that you have on her, Isis.
'Report. A small portion of that data is off-limits, anyway. Risa has it locked with Nephthys.'
Yup. Don't wanna know all the weird stuff that Risa knows about that girl. Anyways, it's a 100% guarantee that Milim'll back us up. Saying that she'd never hurt that curious little firecracker was like saying that the sky was blue.
'Guy Crimson. Lord of Darkness. Lives in the barren ice continent to the far north. Analysis of magical residue in the area suggests that he harbors a close relationship with Velzard, Veldora's older sister, the True Dragon who embodies the attribute of cold. As such, Veldora has little information on Guy.'
Wait, so does that mean that Veldora's scared of his older sister or something? That's rather terrifying, with how stupidly strong he was, even back when he was stuck inside that Unlimited Imprisonment jail.
'Guy is an Arbitrator, responsible for keeping the world from destruction, and has the ability to fight Milim to a draw. Has done so in the past, during the incident that rendered the Barren Lands barren, in order to keep her from destroying the world during a rampage. The stalemate was broken by Ramiris sacrificing her powers to pacify Milim. The strongest of the Seven Primordial Demons, highly prideful, and generally shows little to no interest in the affairs of the weak. Milim considers him to be something of an uncle.'
I could read between the lines there. Basically, you're saying that you have no idea how he'll react to me, but you don't think he'll be hostile, since he thinks of Milim as family, and generally doesn't particularly care about anybody unless they threaten civilization as a whole?
Definitely a nice thought.
Unfortunately, I'd have to take most of those speculations with a grain of salt. After all, though I trusted Milim and Carillon to have my back if they were there, I'd never met the others. Still, I was now ready to attend the Demon Lord's Banquet, Walpurgis.
Hopefully.
It wouldn't turn out that bad, right?