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Tensei Shitara Slime Datta Ken (LN) - Volume 13 - Chapter Pr




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PROLOGUE

TWO MISGIVINGS

Gadora was at an impasse—about two things, mainly. One, it went without saying, was about who might have been trying to murder him.

If the assailant didn’t even alert me to their presence, that lowers the range of possibilities greatly. I have my thoughts on their identity…but…

But Gadora admitted to himself, he was too afraid to state the name. Because if his forebodings turned out to be true, it meant all his sinister designs—and those of Yuuki and his gang as well—had been playing into Emperor Ludora’s hands the whole time.

…No, it may just be possible. The emperor has lived far, far longer than I have. He commands knowledge beyond any average person’s perception, and he has the power to match. It wouldn’t be strange at all if he saw how events would transpire and made his move decades in advance. But if so…

Gadora was far away from the Empire. But if his suspicions were true, he thought, then Yuuki was in danger. So now what? Should he warn him or just let him be? That was the problem. Yuuki was hardly a stranger; he had a decent enough affinity for the man. Despite that, Gadora was firmly on the side of Rimuru’s forces at present. He couldn’t rock the boat right this moment.

If he was truly concerned, he could have revealed everything to Rimuru and sought his advice. But if he disclosed all this uncertain intelligence and turned out to be wrong, it’d send Rimuru’s trust in Gadora plummeting. Gadora had already betrayed the Empire once; any further loss of confidence would affect his very position in life.

The pluses and minuses to all his options left Gadora frozen in place, unable to take action. And that wasn’t all. The second doubt in his mind made all his thoughts frazzled, flying in every direction.

That face, that ambition… It is absolutely the same as what Emperor Ludora exhibited. But even the sight of me didn’t seem to faze him at all. He truly appears to know nothing…and I doubt he is a fake, but…

There was no way Ludora could be there. No matter which angle you debated it from, Gadora concluded there was no other answer…which meant that person was just someone who resembled Ludora.

But if that person was His Highness… No, that’s silly talk. Let’s think about who stabbed me. I have to conclude that I know the murderer, but if my hunch is right, that kid Yuuki is in trouble. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to sleep at night unless I at least give him a warning. And let’s inform Sir Rimuru as well.

In the end, Gadora gave his friendship first priority. It might damage his reputation, but that was fine. In this nation, after all, might truly did make right—and in Gadora’s eyes, survival of the fittest was exactly what he hoped for.

Finally reaching this conclusion, Gadora quickly sprang into action.

“Yuuki, it’s me. I’d like to give you some advice. To tell the truth—”

Before even asking what Yuuki was doing, Gadora laid out his main points in a single onrush.

“Whoa, um, this is sudden.”

“I am afraid it has to be. Think about my position, won’t you? Sir Rimuru might start to foster doubts about me thanks to this, so I don’t have time to debate the finer points with you. I’ll do what I can over here, so just keep an eye out for any nighttime assassins, all right?”

With that, Gadora ended his magical call with Yuuki. Then in the same motion, he walked off to report to Rimuru. In a well-oiled business, he recognized how important it was to stay in touch, report what you know, and be open to discussion. He was an expert at raising the apprentices and other people under him, and he didn’t scrimp on those tenets.

“So the old man’s okay after all, huh? And I guess he’s made himself at home over at Rimuru’s place, even.”

Yuuki mulled this over with a grin, his gaze toward the window. The imperial capital was facing a long rainstorm, all but blocking his view outside—but even through the rain, his eyes detected a suspicious figure. Based on the person’s well-trained movements, it was clearly someone directed to surveil him. The realization made Yuuki smile expectantly, and he stayed where he was. Kagali, the other person in the room, spoke up first.

“Do you mean Gadora? Well, I’m sure he did. Even a former demon lord like me has always found him a wily sort—the kind you’d best never turn your back on. That’s why our relationship was so fruitful for us.”

Yuuki nodded. “It was. I gained my position in this nation thanks to him. And just now he gave me some of the most valuable information I could ask for.”

Gadora, he was sure, wouldn’t hesitate to give him useful intel on Tempest. For example, intel on Chronoa, that sort-of Hero. Her fate was still unknown, but if Rimuru was alive, he must have defeated her. Still, if Rimuru had actually contained all her wild violence, there’d have to be rumors about it by now—but Yuuki had heard nothing.

Gadora didn’t mention her, either, so Yuuki couldn’t discount the possibility that Chronoa was dead. Maybe he was worrying too much about it. He decided to move on. He needed to work out the issues Gadora brought up in his emergency report.

“Oh, did he? And what did he have to say?”

“So apparently Masayuki is the spitting image of Emperor Ludora.”

“Huh?”

Yuuki grinned at Kagali, who was too flummoxed to say anything else. If someone told him that out of the blue, he’d probably react the same way.

“Right? It makes no sense. I thought that wizard finally lost his marbles, but it doesn’t seem like he’s joking. I really don’t think the emperor transformed into Masayuki or whatever, though… I can’t be a hundred percent sure of that, but…”

Yuuki recalled his encounters with Masayuki. His smile dissolved. Looking back, Masayuki hadn’t been summoned to this world. As he put it, “I turned around, and next thing I knew, I was here.” He was a visitor, someone who came to this world out of sheer happenstance, or so he thought. But…

But I can’t fully prove that Masayuki’s an otherworlder. I mean, he used magic and skills to—

He stopped himself before his mind went any further down this path.

“…Actually, let’s save Masayuki for later. Right now we need to talk about the guys watching us.”

“Oh? You were piquing my interest just then. But you’re right. It’s a bit stifling, being observed like this all the time.”

“Right? It’ll hinder our plans, and before that, I think we’re gonna have to dispose of all our preparations anyway.”

“What was that?”

“You heard me. If the old man’s telling the truth, it’s safe to say we’re in serious danger.”

If Gadora wasn’t lying, moving the Composite Division currently deployed for the Dwarven Kingdom was a bad decision. Yuuki had no idea what would happen—but even before that, he needed to step back and figure out who was friend or foe. It was a complete restart, and that’s exactly how cornered Yuuki and his cohorts were.

“…Ah. Then yes, now’s no time to be talking about that Masayuki boy.”

Kagali never doubted Yuuki’s words. If Yuuki saw danger ahead, there was never any refuting that.

“He told me he sought an audience with the emperor, only to have someone stab him in the back.”

“Someone? Not Kondo?” Kagali paused, then dismissed the idea. “No. I assumed that nobody besides Kondo could kill Gadora, but I could picture some hidden talent among the more undercover Single Digits.”

Besides, Tatsuya Kondo as the culprit was all too expected. Yuuki wouldn’t be demonstrating so much surprise if it were him.

“I agree with you on that, yeah. But I’m surprised for another reason. Gadora said he thinks he knows who stabbed him.”

The room fell silent. Kagali took a breath and peered into Yuuki’s eyes.

“…Someone both of us know well, you’re saying?”

Her eyes told him the story. They said Tell her, or else. Yuuki gave this a half smile and a light nod.

“Believe it or not, yes. Of course, Gadora could always be mistaken, but I really don’t think there’s a way to mistake this.”

Kagali’s eyes widened. “So it’s someone in our circle?”

Her smile had vanished.

“Yes,” Yuuki replied, nodding. His smile, meanwhile, only grew wider. “Our double-crosser is—”





COMMENTS

2 Comments

7 Months, 2 Weeks ago

i hate cliff hangers

2 Years, 2 Months ago

Damn this fvcking interesting… I wonder who really is this Emperor.. (Is it Masayuki?)?

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