"Moderate Clown Troupe, huh..."
Shirou Emiya repeated the name quietly.
His eyes flickered as fragments of information surfaced in his mind.
He didn't actually know much about the Moderate Clown Troupe. Everything he had came from two sources. One was the limited intelligence gathered by his familiars while operating in the forest. The other came from the bullet comments and scattered plot memories of his previous life.
From those memories, a few facts stood out.
Demon Lord Clayman was a member of the Moderate Clown Troupe.
The group itself was extremely powerful. Supposedly, every member possessed strength at the Demon Lord level.
And in the future, Clayman would die at Rimuru's hands.
After that, Frey and Carrion would join Milim's subordinates.
The former Ten Great Demon Lords would eventually be reorganized into the Eight-Star Demon Lords.
That was all Shirou Emiya knew.
Nothing more.
"If that's the case..." Shirou Emiya said slowly, organizing his thoughts, "then the Moderate Clown Troupe might actually be the final boss of this world."
Everyone looked at him.
"They keep causing trouble for Rimuru, Clayman dies, and then it escalates into a full showdown," he continued. "That kind of development fits too well."
It was half analysis, half instinct.
Years of anime experience speaking for itself.
"By the way," Shirou Emiya added, turning his head, "Milim, do you know anything about the Moderate Clown Troupe?"
"Nope," Milim replied instantly. "Never heard of them."
Her answer came without hesitation.
"That's strange," Rimuru muttered.
"If they're using a group like that to stir up racial conflict," Shirou Emiya said, "shouldn't they have mentioned it in their original explanation?"
He glanced at Milim.
"If I'd known there were people that interesting involved, I would've wanted to meet them."
Milim shrugged.
"I really don't know anything about them."
She tilted her head slightly, thinking.
"The plan to create a puppet Demon Lord was entirely Geld's responsibility. When he explained it to me, he never mentioned hiring some 'Moderate Clown Troupe All-Purpose Service' or anything like that."
Her tone was casual, unconcerned.
"Then maybe Geld wasn't the mastermind," Milim continued. "It could've been Clayman acting on his own."
She smiled faintly.
"If it was him, having helpers like that wouldn't be strange at all."
"Clayman?" Rimuru repeated. "Who's that?"
"Hm?" Milim looked at him. "Just one of the Demon Lords. He really likes pulling these kinds of schemes."
According to Milim, if Geld hadn't been so incompetent and gotten himself killed, things might have developed in a direction favorable to him without the other Demon Lords noticing.
The Orc Lord plan had originally been proposed by three Demon Lords.
For the sake of fairness, they had entrusted Geld with full authority over its execution.
But if anyone were to cheat behind the scenes-
"It would definitely be Clayman," Milim said flatly.
"I think it's better not to make firm judgments about someone based only on past impressions," Rimuru said, shaking his head.
"No," Shirou Emiya said at the same time, "I think it really could be him. That Clayman."
Rimuru paused.
"...Reason?"
"Intuition."
"...Intuition, huh."
Rimuru fell silent, his expression turning thoughtful.
He trusted Shirou Emiya's intuition deeply.
After all, he knew Shirou Emiya possessed a skill literally called Super Intuition.
And its effects were, frankly speaking, absurd.
"Then we should probably keep a closer eye on this Clayman," Rimuru said.
"Speaking of which," Treyni suddenly interjected, recalling something, "I remember Laplace once mentioned that he wasn't a demon."
"Not a demon?"
"Yes."
Treyni nodded.
"Of course, it could easily be a lie."
"But if it's true..."
"Then there might be accomplices on the human side as well," Rimuru finished.
The realization made his head ache.
"This is getting more and more troublesome."
He couldn't help but sigh.
...
After everything had been sorted out, Rimuru finally had a clear understanding of both the Charybdis incident and the earlier Orc Lord incident.
With that clarity, his animosity toward Phobio completely faded.
This guy had clearly been deceived.
Not only that-he had nearly died because of it.
Because of that, Rimuru had no intention of making things difficult for him anymore.
"What?"
Phobio raised his head slightly, disbelief flashing across his face.
"No... I'm unforgivable."
His fists clenched tightly.
"This was entirely my fault. Demon Lord Carrion had nothing to do with it."
He bowed his head again.
"So please, take my life. Just don't pursue this any further."
Phobio remained kneeling.
He was fully aware of the severity of what he had done.
More importantly, he feared that Demon Lord Milim would turn her anger toward Demon Lord Carrion.
That fear alone was enough to make him accept death without hesitation.
Looking at him, Rimuru couldn't help but feel that-despite kneeling-Phobio somehow looked... cool.
That realization surprised her.
"No," Rimuru said. "I already said you don't need to pay with your life."
She turned her head slightly.
"Right, Milim?"
"Mm. Of course!"
Milim nodded enthusiastically.
"I originally thought about giving him a light tap."
She grinned.
"But I'm an adult now. I'm not angry at all anymore, so I'll forgive you!"
...So you wanted to hit him.
And you're still claiming you've grown up?
Rimuru sighed internally.
"Oh dear," Rimuru said out loud. "Milim already forgave you, so don't worry about it."
"But I really was furious," Phobio said quietly. "That's why I acted the way I did."
"That's exactly the point," Rimuru replied. "Wasn't it that angry-looking man who pushed you?"
She continued calmly.
"He used your anger. Manipulated your emotions. That's why this happened."
Phobio froze.
"...Now that you mention it."
His eyes widened slightly.
"He did say something like, 'Attracted by feelings of anger and hatred.'"
Seeing that her offhand comment had landed perfectly, Rimuru immediately pressed on.
"See? That's what I mean. So don't take it all on yourself."
"...I see."
Phobio's shoulders loosened slightly.
"That's right," Milim added cheerfully. "Carrion probably prefers you this way too, you know."
She smiled and looked toward the nearby forest.
"Doesn't he?"
"Indeed," Shirou Emiya said, smiling as well. "I think so too."
He had already sensed it.
"Demon Lord Carrion?" Rimuru began, about to ask why Shirou Emiya suddenly brought him up.
Before she could finish-
A large figure stepped out from the woods.
The man was tall and broad-shouldered, his physique powerful and wild.
He wore stylish clothes casually, as if he hadn't bothered to dress formally at all.
Short golden hair stood upright, and his sharp eyes carried a predatory intensity that immediately demanded attention.
"Hmph."
The man snorted.
"So you noticed, Milim."
His gaze shifted.
"And you too... red-haired human."
"Of course," Milim replied.
"I'm very sensitive, you know!"
"I am as well," Shirou Emiya added.
The two spoke almost in unison.
As Demon Lord Carrion approached, Rimuru couldn't help but compare him to Charybdis.
In terms of raw magicule volume, Carrion couldn't match Charybdis.
But-
The oppressive presence radiating from him was sharper.
More lethal.
So this was it.
Charybdis had possessed Demon Lord-level strength.
But a true Demon Lord was different.
"Ha."
Carrion stopped in front of them.
"I am Demon Lord Carrion."
His gaze settled on Rimuru.
"You not only didn't kill that fool, you even saved him."
He crossed his arms.
"For that, I must thank you."
The air grew heavy.
The oppressive force emanating from him thickened, pressing down on the surroundings.
Tension spread instantly.
Yet Rimuru remained calm.
Completely unaffected.
Because she could clearly tell-
Carrion was not as powerful as Shirou Emiya.
"I never expected you to come in person," Rimuru said, stepping forward without hesitation.
"My name is Rimuru Tempest."
She spoke clearly.
"I am the co-leader of the monsters in this forest."
"And the leader of the Monster Federation."
"Hmph."
Carrion snorted.
"A mere demon establishing a nation?"
His eyes narrowed.
"If this were the past, perhaps."
"But now? Someone like you is practically courting death."
He continued coldly.
"I received reports that a mysterious demon died at the hands of the Orc Lord."
"But it seems that information was wrong."
His gaze sharpened.
"You are the masked demon who killed Geld, aren't you?"
"That's right," Rimuru replied without dodging the question.
"It was me."
She met his eyes head-on.
"So... are you here to avenge Geld?"
At that moment, Benimaru and the others immediately tensed.
They had already been on guard since Carrion's appearance.
Now, the atmosphere completely solidified.
As if the slightest movement-
Would ignite a battle.
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