Chapter 277

"...That's what I wanted to hear. That kind of self-purification among comrades is important. I think that is what Lord Rimuru believes. And when one of us goes astray, it is necessary to draw a clear line. That is what I think."

And so Diablo explained his idea to Souei.

The reason that the president of the Tempest Development of Human Resources Academy could not act this time was that there was no concrete evidence.

Even if the other schools were acting suspiciously, it was up to the views of people to determine whether it was right or wrong.

That meant that you could not judge what someone was doing as being evil just by your own intuition.

This was why there was a system of deciding by a majority, and you could not go against it.

So of course, it did not make sense to just blame the president.

The real problem was the lack of a surveillance system.

Monetary aid and bribery. They had different names but the result was the same. In that case, it was necessary to find proof of these actions.

What was needed was the establishment of a system that you could report to when you thought that something suspicious was happening.

"Regarding that, that was my mistake. I had my spy search the place, but no detailed reports had come up."

"I too have become lax due to the peace. Though, your spy may need to be punished..."

"That's my concern. Now, you were talking about drawing a line. What do you mean?"

Souei's eyes were telling him to get to the main subject.

Diablo continued to smile as he did just that.

"In other words, they attacked that line."

"What...?"

"Let me ask you a question. Do you think that people from other countries can meddle in the politics of our country?"

To Diablo's question, Souei replied with, 'Impossible.'

It was true.

Tempest's political structure was separated into an Upper House and Lower House, and bills that were passed by the Lower House would still be discarded if the Upper House rejected it.

The Upper House was made up of the elite, and only those that Rimuru chose were allowed to join it.

The administration itself had Rigurdo at the top, and the members of the Lower House were elected by citizens. But in matters of legislation, the Upper House held much more power.

And during times of war, all of the institutions would serve under the Upper House.

As long as this system was in place, even if a foreigner gained citizenship, it would be difficult for them to meddle in the country's politics.

Even if they managed to join the Lower House, they could not gain the highest level of power in decision making.

"Exactly. But what about in matters of business? Or in important institutions such as research?"

Souei's answer was exactly the same.

His answer was that it was 'impossible.'

Rimuru was surprisingly stingy when it came to money, and he had acquired all vested interests in advance.

There was no chance of getting in afterward.

As for the research institutions, heavyweights of the country such as Ramiris and Veldora were involved there, and of course, they left no room for people of other countries to enter.

"Yes! In other words, if those of other countries wanted to enter these important institutions, they will have to wait for the next generation. If they tried then..."

"I see. That's the connection to the academy..."

Yes. Diablo nodded.

It meant that the enemy was at least smart enough to know that it was a waste of effort to try and force people in now.

So they would likely plan in the long term instead of just thinking in the short term.

You could say that these were formidable opponents.

-Corrupt the students and create discrepancies in their abilities.

If that happened, brilliant people will naturally flow into Tempest.

The students of Tempest would faithfully follow Rimuru's words, and would not act with hostility towards any humans. That's why they were probably holding their heads down now.

And like this, the enemy forces would start to control them and gain new authority.

This was a long plan that took this all into account...

However, because Rimuru had a distrust of the students at the academy, they had succeeded in catching the enemy's plan by the tail.

"That is Lord Rimuru. He must have seen through everything."

Diablo said in an emotional voice.

Really? Souei seemed to doubt it, but he knew that voicing it would just make Diablo angry, so he kept quiet. He did feel like there was not any contradictiond in Diablo's theory, and he couldn't think of any other purpose.

And so he brushed it aside and asked Diablo a different question.

"So, why Ingracia? Can't we just go to the empire and find proof of the bribery?"

Diablo kept smiling as he answered.

"Indeed, I thought of that too. However, I had one doubt when it came to that."

"Doubt?"

"Yes. A simple thing, really. These people are no longer nobles, so where did these funds come from?"

"...I see. There is a need to investigate that."

"Yes. Even if we found proof of this bribery, what if it's not real...you cannot bribe someone without money, after all. The Ingracia Kingdom was one of the kingdoms that were left because of Lord Rimuru's kindness. I don't think the money came from the western countries, but it will be necessary to find out clearly where the money came from."

"I understand. You are probably correct to think in this way."

Souei said and closed his mouth.

The only thing left was to find out who was behind it all...

Diablo's idea was simple.

They were not sure of the size of the enemy forces and the leader. That was all true, but it was clear that it was someone involved with the academy.

They should remain calm and slowly apply pressure to this enemy.

If they did that, the enemy would reveal itself without a doubt.

Diablo came to this conclusion. And now, they would just wait quietly for their departure time.