The Workers

(3rd POV)

In the Empire of Baharut, a handsome young man with golden-blonde, short hair, and rose pink eyes is sitting on a luxurious couch listening to the reports from his spies regarding the incident which has become known as the Demonic Seige of Re-Estize City and of the heroic sacrifice of the new adamantine-level adventurer.

He is sitting across from his court wizard and confidant, Fluder Paradyne. Behind him are three of the four Imperial Guards, all of whom together could give Gazef Stronoff a run for his money so long as he isn't equipped with the Kingdom's Treasures.

The man is the Emperor of the Baharut Empire and one of the most politically powerful people in this region of the world.

"That concludes the official report, your majesty." The attendant said as he backed away with a bow.

"I see, Jaldabaoth hu? What happened to him?" He asked.

"It appears he escaped during the chaos. The kingdom has tightened security and is attempting to round up the nobles who fled."

"I see. The kingdom is in a state of exhaustion and disorder. Perhaps we shall finally be able to take E-Rantel this year if we move a little early. As for the demon... if he was brought down by only two Adamantite Teams, then he isn't a demon lord and so we can ignore him for now. Fluder, keep an eye out for any suspicious activity in the coming months. It is likely the last demon will try to awaken again after licking his wounds. I don't want to be caught unprepared like the Kingdom."

"It shall be done, your majesty," Fluder said with a short but curt bow.

"Now then, about that adventurer, Momon was it? It seems he was a majin of some significant power to be able to fight such fearsome foes. Someone like him wouldn't be unknown, are there any connections to him we should know about?" The Emperor asked.

"Yes," replied the attendant. "We were able to glean some useful information from our spies in the Kingdom. It appears that the Majin is working under the new demon lord from Jura and he was sent to 'judge' the kingdom. From what the maids in the palace overheard, the demon lord was extremely displeased with the rumors he had been hearing and sent a vassal to investigate to see if the Kingdom was as bad as it was rumored."

"I see, perhaps it was fortunate for them that their judge was killed, especially since they weren't the ones directly responsible," The emperor said with slight bemusement.

"What do we know about this new demon lord?" He asked Fluder.

"Not much is known about the man himself other than he is extremely powerful. Supposedly he even defeated Charybdis and has subjugated Demon Lords Frey and Carrion, though reports indicate that not much physical damage was done to their territories or forces, so it's possible these rumors are actually the result of an alliance of weaker demon lord seeds."

"I see. How has our unofficial investigation been going?"

"Your majesty, the workers have reported back via the {Messege} spell and their report is disturbing. The Monster Country is extremely advanced in both the magical and scientific fields. They employ various devices and previously unknown magical and natural resources in their kingdom to allow for commercial and public teleportation and they are reported to even have ships that sail in the sky. Airships I believe."

"Airships, hu? It's a good thing the Empire now has a viable airforce with the Hippogriffs Breeding Program, otherwise, we would be unable to do anything about that airpower... still, having airships would be invaluable for transporting troops. We could bypass the walls of E-Rantel and Re-Estize City and take over the Kingdom in only a few days if we had even one..." the emperor said before a smirk ran across his face.

"Order the Workers to capture one of these airships. Even if it fails and they all die, it won't hurt us since they aren't affiliated with the Empire. Since one of your students is among them, I can almost guarantee their success."

"Indeed, Arche is skilled in many forms of magic, it is a shame that, with her parentage, that she couldn't become a member of your court or harem. Her magic talent being introduced into the imperial bloodline would have been a major boon for future generations." Fluder said, much to the displeasure of the emperor.

"Old man, you're not suggesting I take a wife quickly now are you?" He said with slightly annoyed sarcasm. Lately, as his popularity with the citizens has been rising, his bachelor status has been causing some unsavory types to be throwing their daughters, and in one instance, his wife, at the emperor in hopes of weaseling into the imperial family.

"Not at all, your highness, I was simply stating my desire to see magically gifted great-grandchildren." He replied with a small grin, seemingly entering a dreamland where he tutors his 'great-grandchild' in the ways of the arcane.

One of the knights, a tall and burly man with long blonde hair tied up in a ponytail and a goatee stepped forward. "Well, I wouldn't mind if the emperor's child was a warrior. I would love to pledge my loyalty to them and train them myself." He boasted. The other imperial knights also nodded behind him.

The emperor sighed before looking helplessly at the ceiling. "My successor would surely come to despise me for giving him so much work and having such a nagging great-grandfather, uncles, and aunts."

"Hahaha!" Fluder and the knights laughed for a bit before regaining their bearing when the Emperor stood up and his eyes moved over to his court wizard.

"My empire shall never fall to the likes of fake demon lords and demons. I, Jircniv Rune Farlord El Nix, command you, Imperial Court Wizard Fluder Paradyne."

"Yes."

"Capture one of these Airships for the Empire, but do not allow for the Empire's direct involvement to be known. This Jaldaboath demon interests me as well, perhaps I can offer it an alliance by giving him the City-State Alliance to our east as its territory.

It would give us a buffer against the other demon lords and separate us further from the troubles Estonia is currently dealing with. We can't take in any more refugees. Plus, we have our own Adamantite teams and the Imperial Legions are much better in terms of organization and experience than that group of adventurers in the Kingdom's capital so we should be able to deal with Jaldabaoth if push comes to shove."

"As you have commanded it, so it shall be done!"

"Momon, Rimuru, Jaldaboath... it seems a few characters are coming out of hiding and only a few years before another Great War. If we can secure victory against the Kingdom first, then there should be enough time to solidify our rule with the support of the Theocracy before the angel's invasion."

...

Three days after the Demonic Seige, In the Kingdom of Re-Estize's Capital, currently, there is chaos ensuing.

Hundreds of nobles had all fled the capital during the night and there are currently not enough staff to properly run the government. The chaos is secretly being amplified by the rumors of stray demons running around in the night, haunting the city, causing mass panic and confusion.

The King has also fallen ill while the Second Prince, Zanac Valleon Igana Ryle Vaiself, was among the ones slane by demons during the incursion. He was seemingly assassinated with a magical knife that makes the use of resurrection magic impossible on him, much to the horror of the few remaining noble and their servants in the capital.

Thankfully, a golden princess has emerged during these difficult times. With her Holy Knight, Climb the Demon Slayer, by her side, she has quickly stepped up to the plate to quell the unrest. The popularity of Renner Theiere Chardelon Ryle Vaiself was so much, that many began to organize themselves to support her ascension to the throne as the first Queen of Re-Estize.

She ordered the building of hospitals, orphanages, and even a school for those affected by the attack. She delved deep into her own retirement and dowry funds and even selling many of her personal treasures to pay for these, never collecting a cent more in taxes like how the nobles usually did after an emergency.

How these rumors were being spread was unknown, but what was known was that any mid-level accountant within the royal family's vast businesses could see that it was true that she only used her own money and properties to finance the reconstruction. She even commissioned a statue for Momon, the 'Hero' of Re-Estize, and personally visited the injured the morning after the attack.

It came as no surprise then, when the first prince showed up outside of the gate of the Capital, that a large mob appeared and protested the return of the "Fleeing Prince".

Re-Estize had become incredibly unstable in these last few days and was on the verge of the civil war by the time that the Royal Court finally received a message that would haunt them. Rimuru Tempest, Demon Lord of the Jura Forest and the Lord of Justice, would be visiting in one week.

...

Back in the Central Region of the continent, a large group of former adventurers was standing around a cliffside as they watched a semi-modern city in the distance. They looked at the multi-colored rooves, each seemingly designated for a purpose of some kind, and at the vast system of roadways and cobblestone streets that ran throughout the city.

Suddenly, a young blonde woman with short hair and blue eyes approached the group.

"Mast- I mean, Sir Fluder Paradyne has just contacted us with orders." She said meekly.

"Well, what are they, lass?" A short brown-haired dwarf asked. He was the leader of the worker group, Gringham of Heavy Masher.

"We are to steal one of the airships while it is in drydock and bring it to the outskirts of the Empire. He wants us to make it look like the work of the Re-Estize Kingdom." She said.

"Seriously? I knew twenty platinum coins was too much of a payment for such a simple mission." A handsome young man with golden blonde spikey hair with a red patch said as he walked over to her.

"Arche, you don't have to go with us to do this job. I know you have to worry about your sisters' safety and there is a risk, no, almost a guarantee that a few of us are going to die. You can head back." He said. This was Hekkeran Termite, the leader of Foresight, a Worker group that Arche belonged to.

"As much as I feel the sentiment of wanting to ensure your comrade's survival, I doubt she'd be able to make it back. There are some nasty wild animals and monsters in this forest. The fact only four out of ten teams made it here is already a miracle." An old man said. He was balding on the top of his head and wore armor similar to a samurai's. This was the leader of the worker party Dragon Hunt, Parpatra Ogrion.

"I don't care much, there are quite a few elves in this forest and I, for one, could do with adding a few more to my collection." Said Erya Uzruth, 'leader' of the worker group Tenmu.

"Tch! Bastard." A purple-haired half-elf yelled from behind Arche.

Arche looked at everyone, minus Erya, and smiled before shaking her head. "I will see this one through. It's our last job after all. Besides, I doubt any of you could successfully operate a piece of magical technology if you were given a thousand years!" She claimed with false bravado.

"Heh, that's the spirit miss." The old coot said before the groups all turned to make a plan.

Foresight and Dragon Hunt would sneak into one of the parked airships on the cities outskirts. They would knock out the guards and clear the airship of all monsters while Tenmu and Heavy Mesher caused a distraction by attacking a small residential area on the other side of the city.

The plan would start tomorrow at sunset, to give everyone to prepare. It also served as a good time to hunt monsters formally anyways. Monsters who had night vision wouldn't be able to see them at sunset since it wasn't dark enough, while it was dark enough to make it hard to see by the standards of day-dwellers. They also observed that the guards' sift ended just after sunset and new guards would replace them, so striking just before the guards got off and were tired and lazily waiting for the end of their shift was the perfect time to strike.

Using these points, along with the element of surprise, the workers thought that they could get in and out before any of the monsters had time to react.

What they didn't know, however, was that their entire plan was being overheard by Da Vinci and Rimuru Tempest, who was watching them with a Minor of Remote Viewing.

...

(Rimuru POV)

"Well they are certainly smart, I'll give them that. If it wasn't for the fact that the Dryads alerted us, the various warning seals and barriers were set off, and the fact you paid a visit to Fluder yesterday and converted him to our side, then their plan 'might' have worked." I said with amusement.

It's not every day you get caught off-guard by something. I thought the workers were going to be different, with the fact there were more of them and all, but now it's the same four as canon. I briefly think that Akasha has something to do with it, especially after I gained [Moirai], but I push it off to the side.

'I always wanted to save Arche and her team. It was a tragedy what happened to her and her sisters in canon, but at some point, I just put it to the back of my mind and never did anything with it. Like a chore you have to do before your parents get home. Aways in the back of your mind and to the point where you nearly forget it but then realize you only have a few minutes left before they get home and you have to rush it.' I thought before turning towards Da Vinci.

"By the way, why are you a loli now?" I asked.

"Don't worry about it! I simply moved on into my perfect body!" she happily exclaimed.

Da Vinci seemed to often swap between two bodies, her adult Milfone and her loli one. She seemed very different from her canon counterpart because she would change her body constantly, like as often as people change clothes.

I sighed again before I turned to Freya. "Make sure to follow them when they take the airship. I want you to confront them when they touch down and that will be our excuse to attack."

"Do you even need an excuse?" She asked with a sweatdrop.

"Kinda, there are multiple reasons for this. First, I don't want my image to be tarnished. It's up to them to prove that human greed is a result of all of their problems. The reason I attack them is that they attacked me first, or so I want them to believe.

Secondly, I don't want Guy to interfere until it's too late, as he hates monsters who create unnecessary chaos for humans and interrupt his 'game' with Rudra, so he will try to 'cull' me if I run around invading everywhere just because I can. I can defeat him in combat, but that will cause more ripples that are not really necessary at this point in time and Milim likes him.

Third, it's kinda fun to act like a scheming villain in the shadows and create complex plans and watch others fall into them." I said with a smirk.

"That third one is the real reason, isn't it?" Da Vinci said with a sweatdrop on the side of her head.

"W-well maybe, but you aren't one to judge! You have a hobby of creating Rube Goldberg Machines, so don't patronize me" I said in an almost childish tone.

"Well then. How to you think they plan to steal the airship? I doubt they know how to fly it." Da Vinci said, completely changing the subject.

"Oh that's easy, the girl there with magic has a Unique Skill called [Magic Item of Owner]. It's unoriginal, but it's similar to Lancelot's Knight of Owner Noble Phantasm. It allows her to comprehend and know how to operate any magical construct perfectly. She'll probably have an A+ or even A++ Riding Skill when using it." I say

"What are you two talking about?" Freya asked with a little confusion.

""Don't worry about it"" We both replied before looking at each other and chuckling/giggling.

I definitely wasn't the one giggling by the way...