That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, Vol. 12, page 1
Copyright
That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, Vol. 12
FUSE
Translation by Kevin Gifford
Cover art by Mitz Vah
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
TENSEI SHITARA SLIME DATTA KEN volume 12
© Fuse / Mitz Vah
All rights reserved.
First published in Japan in 2018 by MICRO MAGAZINE, INC.
English translation rights arranged with MICRO MAGAZINE, INC. through Tuttle-Mori Agency, Inc., Tokyo.
English translation © 2021 by Yen Press, LLC
Yen Press, LLC supports the right to free expression and the value of copyright. The purpose of copyright is to encourage writers and artists to produce the creative works that enrich our culture.
The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book without permission is a theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like permission to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), please contact the publisher. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Fuse, author. | Mitz Vah, illustrator. | Gifford, Kevin, translator.
Title: That time I got reincarnated as a slime / Fuse ; illustration by Mitz Vah ; translation by Kevin Gifford.
Other titles: Tensei Shitara Slime datta ken. English
Description: First Yen On edition. | New York : Yen ON, 2017–
Identifiers: LCCN 2017043646 | ISBN 9780316414203 (v. 1 : pbk.) | ISBN 9781975301118 (v. 2 : pbk.) | ISBN 9781975301132 (v. 3 : pbk.) | ISBN 9781975301149 (v. 4 : pbk.) | ISBN 9781975301163 (v. 5 : pbk.) | ISBN 9781975301187 (v. 6 : pbk.) | ISBN 9781975301200 (v. 7 : pbk.) | ISBN 9781975312992 (v. 8 : pbk.) | ISBN 9781975314378 (v. 9 : pbk.) | ISBN 9781975314392 (v. 10 : pbk.) | ISBN 9781975314415 (v. 11 : pbk.) | ISBN 9781975314439 (v. 12 : pbk.)
Subjects: GSAFD: Fantasy fiction.
Classification: LCC PL870.S4 T4613 2017 | DDC 895.63/6—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017043646
ISBNs: 978-1-9753-1443-9 (paperback)
978-1-9753-1444-6 (ebook)
E3-20211019-JV-NF-ORI
CONTENTS | AT WAR’S EVE
Cover
Insert
Title Page
Copyright
Prologue: The Jesters’ Escape
Chapter 1: The Sound of Soldiers’ Boots
Chapter 2: Accomplishments and Preparations
Interlude: A Look Inside the Empire
Chapter 3: The Imperial Guests
Chapter 4: The Empire Makes Its Move
Chapter 5: Toward the Opening of Battle
Epilogue: The Emperor’s Conquest
Yen Newsletter
PROLOGUE
THE JESTERS’ ESCAPE
Yuuki Kagurazaka is a genius.
Even back in his original world, Yuuki had a special power—a sort of supernatural observational force, one you could call psychokinesis. He was born with this power, but he never felt any urgent need to do something with it. After all, he knew if he told someone about this power of his, he’d be made into a spectacle. Life was thus rather humdrum for him, but he enjoyed it well enough. His parents were kind to him, and he had a decent number of friends. He never found it hard to scare up some money when needed, so he had access to basically anything he wanted. He had absolutely no complaints.
But one day, Yuuki was befallen by sudden misfortune. Right when he entered middle school, his parents passed away in an accident. It wasn’t their fault; their car was hit head-on by a truck driver who fell asleep behind the wheel, and they died instantly. Only Yuuki, sleeping in the back seat, survived. He thought it was unfair, of course. He hated the driver who caused the accident, but there was nothing he could do about it. Japan was a nation of laws and regulations, and personal revenge wasn’t part of that picture.
The ensuing court case revealed a number of things. The transportation company the truck driver worked for had bitten off more than it could chew. They put the brunt of that on their field employees, who toiled on even though they knew they were overworked. The driver, too, was a victim here.
So was it the transportation company’s fault? Well, the facts didn’t paint a clear picture there, either. If they turned down a job from a big firm, they might not have gotten another order from them again. It wasn’t easy to say no to a longtime client. The transportation company should’ve responded by improving their business structure, but skilled drivers were tough to come by, and they didn’t have the financial wherewithal to bring on and train younger talent.
That’s so messed up, Yuuki lamented. The world was just so unfair, and he was just so powerless.
Who should he hate for it? To be honest, society itself had serious problems. Yuuki considered exacting his revenge on society, but that was beyond his own capabilities. As a genius, he thus knew his own limits. The world had advanced to completion, in essence. Supernatural powers or not, having a little strength on your side didn’t mean you could change anything by yourself. You weren’t gonna beat an army, and even if you could, there was no future awaiting you past that. Yuuki thought about giving in to despair, destroying all of society, and rebuilding it from scratch…but that’d cause nothing but misery for vast numbers of people, and he just couldn’t commit to that.
If Yuuki wanted to change society, the only way was to pound the pavement and attract more people who shared his beliefs. He could then become a politician and improve his nation in his own image—that was the only plan Yuuki came up with. A long, patient path. One that was possible if he really put his mind to it, but it’d only bear fruit decades into the future.
Yuuki was at an impasse…and before he made his decision, he wound up traveling between worlds. But whether this was a stroke of fortune or misfortune for him was another question entirely…
It was the sheer malice of the demon lord Kazalim that brought Yuuki to this world. Kazalim had lost his physical body, retaining possession of just his spiritual one, but he still hadn’t lost his powers as the Curse Lord. He was biding his time, making the necessary preparations to resurrect himself, and he’d execute his plan only when he summoned a body suitable for his spirit.
Of course, he carefully examined the constraints he’d put on this summoned target. Failure was absolutely out of the question for this ritual, so he’d use his powers of domination to carve a cursed seal before the summoning. The summoned target’s heart and mind would be crushed, completely unaware of what happened; Kazalim would then seize the power within their soul, snatching away the body and resurrecting himself.
Kazalim’s sole mistake was summoning Yuuki for this ritual. None of the curse-driven magic the demon lord tried on him worked.
With his genius-level talents, Yuuki quickly surmised how this world operated. In the midst of the journey, he obtained all the powers he wanted—the powers to change the world. It was pure, unadulterated energy, a power from the soul that he could alter to his liking. The name of it: the unique skill Initiator. He had told Rimuru that he lacked any special skills, but that was a bald-faced lie.
The first thing he initiated with this power was Anti-Skill, the ability to cancel out anything hostile coming his way. That immediately foiled Kazalim’s scheme—not only was Kazalim defeated, but he even had to capitulate to Yuuki.
Now Yuuki found meaning to life in this world. Here, it was eat or be eaten. The laws governing civilization were still incomplete, and it’d be a while until they even approached perfection. Therefore, it was left to him to become this world’s leader—and guide it in the right direction.
Yuuki had decided to tackle this unfair world head-on. It was a challenge that drove him forward. This world was his for the taking.
Yuuki had escaped the chaotic scene at the cathedral with his three servants, Laplace, Footman, and Teare. The group promptly tried to flee the Holy Empire of Lubelius—they considered staying nearby and gauging the situation but ultimately decided that remaining there was too dangerous. The berserk Hero Chronoa wasn’t the kind of pushover Yuuki could control; she was a fearsome figure, one who saw any living, breathing being in sight as her enemy. Granville must have known that when he offered to fight alongside Yuuki. He hated to admit it, but this time, his enemy had the upper hand.
“What a travesty, though, eh? We finally gave the demon lord Luminus the slip. We were one step away from nabbin’ a Hero, the greatest weapon anyone could hope for…and now look,” Laplace lamented.
“Hoh-hoh-hoh!” Footman chortled. “Her strength was nothing I’ve seen in this dimension. It is a pity we couldn’t bring her to our side, but against her, everybody there would’ve been killed, no?”
That was the logical conclusion, but Yuuki wasn’t sure things would go that easily.
“Yeah, who knows? ’Cause in the end, the demon lord Rimuru’s a freak of nature, huh? And Luminus and Leon were on-site, too, so we’re talkin’ three demon lords and a small army of decent magic-born. No matter who won, it sure wouldn’t surprise me,” Laplace replied.
“Precisely,” said Teare. “Granville is a former Hero himself, so he’s quite strong, too. I can’t even fathom who would come out on top.”
Laplace and Teare weren’t as optimistic as Footman. Like Yuuki, they were also contemplating a possible victory for Rimuru’s side.
Certainly, for Yuuki’s purposes, Chronoa annihilating everybody on the scene would be the best way to end the day. That’d rub out Rimuru, a tremendous nuisance; Granville, a pain in the ass; Luminus, a likely future threat to him; and even Leon, the nemesis of Laplace and his cohorts. With all of them gone, the West was as good as under Yuuki’s control—and while Chronoa would still be a handful, she wasn’t that scary to him if she lacked any sentience. For all he cared, they could just bait her with some monsters and banish her to the other side of the desert or something.
If an adversary was all strength and nothing else, Yuuki wouldn’t even see it as a threat. That was why he hoped, at least, to find out who survived, but…
“No, we were right to run. If we got involved, I don’t think any of us would’ve come out unscathed. And besides…”
His instincts told him something bad was about to happen. They needed to figure out their position in this free-for-all, if only so they could form a strategy, but Yuuki trusted his instincts and chose to flee anyway. If Chronoa was defeated, the surviving demon lords would no doubt be openly hostile to him. Rimuru had probably noticed Yuuki’s betrayal by this point; he couldn’t talk his way out of that any longer.
With this defeat, they had lost their base of operations, their position, and everything else in the West—and all, Yuuki thought, because he was foolish enough to fall for Granville’s offers. He was thus willing to accept this result as his just deserts. That was why, when it was time to flee, he didn’t hesitate for a moment. This firm decision-making acumen was one of his greatest assets, and it had seen him through some difficult spots time and time again.
Yuuki assumed this would be another one of those times. But he soon came to realize how sorely mistaken he was.
Suddenly, as Yuuki’s group quickly traversed the landscape, a single man stood before them, blocking their path. Next to him was a blue-haired girl whose beauty immediately drew your attention, wearing a dark-red maid outfit that looked extremely out of place.
“…?!”
“Who’re you?”
Yuuki froze, sensing the danger. The man ignored Laplace’s question, his eyes transfixed on Yuuki; nobody else mattered to him.
“Hoh-hoh-hoh! If you mean to get in our way—”
Footman took a step forward, ready to eliminate this duo. The next moment, he was sent crashing to the ground by a new figure—another girl, wearing the same dark-red maid outfit as the blue-haired one. This girl’s hair was green; she was none other than Mizeri, who had been on assignment in Englesia until a few moments ago. The appearance of Testarossa put an end to that mission, and so she flew over.
And with Mizeri here, the blue-haired figure must have been Raine. The two of them served only one man—the demon lord Guy Crimson, Lord of Darkness and the most powerful being in the world. His rouge hair, darker than blood, fluttered in the breeze, his crimson eyes twinkling like gems as he beheld Yuuki.
“Hey. The first time we’ve met, I think? You’ve been attracting my interest.”
Guy’s gaze was frozen upon Yuuki. No one else was permitted to enter his sight. Yuuki, detecting this, wasn’t sure whether to feel happy or sad about that. Given the way Mizeri just dispatched Footman, he had a decent idea of his foes’ powers. And not just that—the colors of their hair, and the unusual maid uniforms, matched those of a curious group Kagali, Kazalim, and Clayman had all told him about. This man before him stood at the very peak of the world—a peak he wanted for himself. If he had the ambition to conquer the world, Yuuki would have to face him sooner or later.
“Ah, so you’re Guy Crimson, hailed as the most powerful of the demon lords? It’s an honor to meet you. My name is Yuuki Kagurazaka. To think that you’d come to me—did you want to join forces?”
Yuuki grinned at Guy, never letting himself be overpowered. This was, he knew, very wishful thinking. One of Guy’s maids had just knocked Footman to the ground; there was no way they came here to extend an olive branch. He knew that, but he still put up a friendly facade. That was how he negotiated—making an outrageous statement or proposal and gauging the other side’s circumstances and goals from their reaction.
“Aaahhh-ha-ha-ha! You’re funny. That’s quite an attitude to take in front of me. And maybe that wouldn’t be such a bad offer, but it looks like you and Leon are enemies, eh? And besides, aren’t you traveling to the East now? Because personally, I ain’t a fan of Ludora gaining any more war power.”
Negotiations were off the table. Yuuki didn’t expect Guy would take the offer from the start. It didn’t faze him—he was too busy scrutinizing whatever information he could glean from Guy’s words.
Ludora was the emperor of the Nasca Namrium Ulmeria United Eastern Empire. Guy’s name-dropping him meant the two had a relationship—and most likely not a friendly one.
…So they want to eliminate us before we can reach the East? I really don’t want to tangle with the strongest demon lord here, but if this is what it’s come to, so be it…
There was no avoiding a battle with Guy. Escape was futile. Silly little tricks were meaningless in this situation. Going after Guy with everything they had, Yuuki decided, offered them better chances.
“Hmm… Well, all right. If you’re opposed to us, that serves me just fine as well. This way, I can test out the powers of the strongest of demon lords before I come to the East.”
Yuuki meant to antagonize Guy. At the same time, a great excitement welled within his heart until it spilled out and coursed through his entire body. Right then, at that moment, he had decided to take the powers he had bottled up and unleash them all against the strongest demon lord. Defeat, he thought as he sized Guy up, wasn’t even imaginable to him.
Yuuki was certainly confident. In fact, in a one-on-one match, he was sure he could beat anyone. He could tell Chronoa was a pretty dangerous foe, but nothing more. With a concerted effort, he could win, if only after a struggle—but they were sharing a venue with multiple demon lords who were clearly not on his side. Leon, Luminus, even the incredibly softhearted Rimuru, had likely noticed Yuuki’s true intentions. Rimuru had realized some time ago that Yuuki was his enemy, but that actually benefited Yuuki back at the cathedral—had he tried using Rimuru to his advantage, Yuuki would’ve fallen into a trap. Yuuki didn’t know that at the time, but either way, he had the right idea about Rimuru now.
Yet with all his confidence, not even Yuuki was stupidly bold enough to take on three demon lords and Chronoa simultaneously. He didn’t need his instincts to tell him that retreating was the best option. Now, though—this was different. The man standing in front of him was all the warning he needed—and once he realized that, Yuuki resolved to handle matters with everything he had.
Guy flashed a bemused smile. “Oh, you think you can beat me?”
“Well, kind of. I was planning to knock you out sooner or later anyway, so this is just accelerating the timetable a bit.”
Yuuki’s attitude quickly stoked the murderous ire of Raine and Mizeri—but they’d never open their mouths without their master Guy’s permission. The demon lord was the absolute ruler, and any concern for his safety was therefore a sign of disrespect. Guy was a capricious demon lord, merciless to anyone he deemed not worth his time. Raine and Mizeri just barely earned that acceptance for themselves, but get on his bad side, and they’d be killed in an instant, no doubt. That was the clear difference in power between Guy and his maids.
Laplace couldn’t move. He was like a frog transfixed by a venomous snake. If he tried to assist Footman, Raine would certainly retaliate. It was four against three, numerically speaking, but the yawning gap in strength was extremely cold comfort to him. He might be able to take on Raine and Mizeri alone, but with Guy around, he didn’t stand a chance.
