Papers. So many papers. Rimuru Tempest sighed in front of his desk. The mountain of documents piled before him had crossed the threshold into what could legitimately be called a wall. The tallest stack probably exceeded sixty centimeters. One touch and it would collapse. He didn't want to touch it. But it was work, so he had to. "…This is insane." He muttered under his breath and gazed out the window. From the second floor of Volga Hall, the streets of Rimurus sprawled below—alive as always. Stone buildings and wooden structures stood jumbled together, the morning market bustling with activity. Oni-folk towered above the crowd with ease, goblin-kind bobbed along with their rounded backs, and lizardman scales glinted as they caught the morning sun. Multiple races, shoulder to shoulder, shopping like it was nothing. Three years since founding, and it had already become this. Rimuru felt a small satisfaction watching it, then immediately turned his gaze back to the paper mountain. No time for satisfaction. ——Originally, Rimuru Tempest had been a Japanese salaryman. Every day: copying documents, stamping seals, getting yelled at by his boss, until one day he tripped down the office stairs and died. Somehow he'd reincarnated as a slime, found himself in the middle of the Jura Great Forest, befriended a storm dragon named Veldora, saved some goblins, and before he knew it, he'd built a nation. Before he knew it, he'd become a Demon Lord. And when he became a Demon Lord, what awaited him? Papers. "I can't believe I escaped to another world and still can't escape paperwork." He grumbled alone in the empty office. Well, running a nation came with the territory. Tempest Coexistence Decree revisions, inter-species coordination, trade treaty confirmations with neighboring human nations—the work never ended. His executive Shuna brought everything meticulously organized, leaving Rimuru almost no room to slack off. Rimuru slowly opened a desk drawer. Inside, a white package. Demon Lord buns from Haruna Bakery. Red bean paste flavor. Three copper coins each. The sweets were becoming Rimurus's specialty—something he'd had made based on memories from his previous life. He snuck one into the drawer every morning. Shuna could never find out. "…Just one." He whispered despite being alone, pulled out a bun, and bit into it. Delicious. Really delicious. Being able to eat these anytime was definitely one of the best things about reincarnating into this world. The fluffy skin and subtly sweet red bean paste melted on his tongue. Under the pale glow of the mana lamp, it tasted somehow extra special. Rimuru picked up a document. Flipped. Flipped. Stamped. Flipped. After a while, something caught his attention. "…Haven't I seen this before?" He stared at the paper in his hand. Jura Wolf fur trade volume report. He was pretty sure he'd processed the same title last week. It looked familiar. Was he reading the same document twice? Rimuru tilted his head and flipped through the stack again. Then he noticed it. A white slip of paper wedged between the documents. He slowly pulled it out. It was a bun wrapper. Red bean paste. Yesterday's. It had been serving as a bookmark. "——" Rimuru froze. For a moment, Shuna's face flashed through his mind. The oni-folk princess with Tempest's highest administrative abilities. She kept careful track of his document management too. If she saw this—— "She didn't see it. She didn't see it. Nobody saw it." He quickly shoved the wrapper deep into the drawer. He glanced around nervously despite being alone. The guards were outside the door. It was fine. Nobody had seen. His heart was still pounding anyway. And he was supposed to be a Demon Lord. "…Fresh start." He cleared his throat and carefully reorganized the papers. Arranged them properly, read the titles, and this time actually processed them correctly. Flip. Stamp. Flip. Stamp. Flip—— His hand stopped. One report. Submitted by: Scout Captain Grimso. Title: Northern Forest Sector—Monster Sightings Summary (This Month). Rimuru shoved the bun in his mouth and started reading. By the third line, his relaxed mood evaporated. The report was filled with numbers. Garmbalrg sightings—bear-type monsters inhabiting the northeastern forest—had increased eightfold compared to last month. Approximately 3.5 meters tall. Strength equivalent to three B-rank adventurers. And they were moving in groups. Normally, Garmbalrg hunted alone. They didn't form packs. "Packs…?" He murmured, flipping through the report. Multiple individuals sighted simultaneously. Confirmed group behavior, not solitary. Blue-white luminescent markings observed on their backs—— Rimuru pulled out the scout team's map from his drawer. When he spread it, a detailed map of the northeastern forest appeared. Sighting locations marked by Grimso and his team were plotted in red dots. He traced the pattern with his finger. The dots grew denser the further northeast from Rimurus. And when viewed as a whole, they formed an arc. An arc that enclosed something from three directions. "Volcera Flower Garden." He said it in a low voice. About eight kilometers south of Rimurus. The apiary where Volcera bee colonies were kept. Right now, roughly thirty hive boxes were set up there. The honey they produced—Volcera honey—was the raw material for the recovery potions Tempest produced five hundred bottles of monthly. A major export to foreign merchants. The foundation of trade treaties with human nations. If the apiary was destroyed. No more recovery potions. Exports would stop. Trade treaties would crumble. Direct damage to Tempest's economy. "This isn't just a bear extermination." Rimuru stared at the map. Garmbalrg liked honey. He knew that. But this didn't feel like they'd simply wandered out seeking food. They were moving in groups. Glowing with blue-white markings. Something was wrong. The last bun sat on his desk. Rimuru glanced at it sideways, then pulled out a summons form. Shuna, Benimaru, Shion. He'd gather his executives for a meeting. The Garmbalrg situation wasn't something to handle alone. He wrote quickly, then looked up. Out the window. Toward the Great Forest. The lights of Rimurus's night market—mana lamps dotting the paths, people of all races passing through. Goblin children running around, laughing as oni-folk adults lifted them up. Lizardmen eating at food stalls, smiling. A quiet, warm scene. Rimuru finished the summons and took a breath. Then. The sky above the northeastern forest glowed faintly. Just for an instant. Blue-white. Unnatural color. Not mana lamp light. Not starlight. Something distant had flashed. He narrowed his eyes toward it, but there was nothing now. Just the dark outline of the forest far away. Maybe he'd imagined it. ——But the report's words stuck in his mind. Blue-white luminescent markings observed on their backs. "…What was that light?" The whisper fell into the quiet office. Rimuru picked up the last bun and bit into it. It should have tasted good, but something felt different. The flavor was there. But it didn't all taste delicious. He stared at Rimurus's lights outside the window for a while. Oni-folk, goblins, lizardmen, orcs. All living together in one city. A nation born across species under the Tempest Coexistence Decree. Three years old. Still like a child, but it existed. Rimuru spoke quietly, but with absolute clarity. "[serious]I'll protect my nation's peace." Nobody was listening. But he needed to say it. He placed the summons on his desk and stood. The paper mountain still had more than half remaining. But he'd stop here for today. He needed to prepare for tomorrow's executive meeting, and besides, his head needed rest. Before leaving the office, he looked out the window one more time. The northeastern sky was just normal night sky now. Stars shining quietly. Maybe he'd imagined it. ——But probably not. Rimuru closed the drawer. The bun wrapper stayed hidden in the back. He'd have to dispose of it before Shuna found it tomorrow. Thinking such things, he stepped into the hallway. Volga Hall was quiet at night. A guard bowed respectfully. Rimuru raised his hand lightly in return. The hallway's mana lamp cast pale light at his feet. For now, tomorrow. Eat buns while having the meeting, talk about the Garmbalrg situation, Shion would do something strange, Benimaru would sigh——if it started like usual, it'd probably work out. Probably.