Inside the inn at Riftrock Town, the crown lay quietly on the coarse wooden tabletop, its pale golden band glowing with a warm, gentle luster in the afternoon sunlight streaming through the window.
“So this is the mysterious gift you mentioned?”
Chen Yu crouched on the tabletop, his tiny eyes fixed on the crown before him, his expression growing increasingly peculiar.
He had been racking his brain on how to deal with Casaric, yet Anvil had silently forged the crown without a word.
It really was a huge surprise.
Riftrock Town was located near the exit of the Obsidian Mining Area. It had originally been an outpost fortress used by the slimes to counter the Goblin Army at Riftrock Pass. Later, it became a necessary stop for the Kingdom’s merchant caravans entering the swamp on their way to Slime City.
It wasn’t far from the planar rift, and it was still within Olivia’s range of activity.
Olivia sat across the table, watching Chen Yu’s expression, the corners of her mouth lifting slightly.
“What, does His Majesty not like it?”
“No wonder Extraordinary Craftsmen are so rare—being able to forge a crown, no less.”
This guy Anvil had once been a pitiful wretch captured by goblins. He and Kane had been locked up in the mining area, whipped and forced to work every day. Later, he followed Chen Yu to drive out the goblins, helped establish the Kingdom in the swamp, and settled down.
Now, he even had the skill to forge a crown.
Though it hadn’t even been a year, it felt like so much time had passed.
Anvil reached into the leather pouch at his waist and began pulling things out. First came the familiar leaf wrap; opening it revealed several pieces of moss monster jerky, smoked to an oily sheen.
“Although I’m honored to forge a crown for His Majesty, this wasn’t solely my achievement. Lord Little Ka and I spent the last few days flying across the entire Kingdom, asking every citizen for a gift to offer you. It was with these gathered wishes that we forged this crown.”
“This jerky was personally smoked by the grandmother of the Lizardfolk tribe. She said His Majesty loves moss monsters but is usually too busy to eat well.”
Then he pulled out a dim, gray gravel crystal pendant lamp.
“This is a gift from the oldest Slime Scholar on Dew Street—the eldest among that batch of slimes who once studied at the Oak Academy. He said this was a lamp His Majesty personally hung from the wooden beam of the Academy, the first light in the swamp that could illuminate a book page.”
“It’s retired now, and he wanted to return this lamp—a symbol of the Oak Academy’s history—to His Majesty.”
“And this talisman is from one of the miner brothers you rescued from the mining area.”
“His mother carved it herself. He said he hoped to give it to you, so it could protect you just as it protected him.”
“And this is candy from Little Ellie in Darkness City...”
Anvil laid out every gift one by one around the crown.
Chen Yu reached out with a gel hand, caressing the gifts, and finally rested it on the crown.
Under his touch, the pale golden band grew slightly warm, like the body temperature felt when pressing a palm against a chest.
These gifts were caressing him too, praying for him, blessing him, trying to protect him.
“So this is everyone’s wish, huh.”
I’ve finally felt it.
Those emotions were so sincere and warm, moving the slime deeply.
It seemed that, without realizing it, he could no longer bear to part with this land, or with the citizens living here.
After a long moment, Chen Yu hopped around to face Olivia.
“So, what are the exact requirements for the Trial of Kingship?”
Olivia placed her teacup back on the saucer and clasped her hands together.
“For His Majesty, I believe a coronation ceremony should suffice.”
Chen Yu’s tiny eyes blinked once.
“Just that?”
“That’s right. Just that.”
Olivia stood up, walked to the window, and pushed the wooden frame open wider.
The clamor of the street poured into the room—the bells of mule caravans, the hammers of the blacksmith’s shop, the cries of vendors, the laughter of children playing... all of it flooded in.
She stood by the window, turned sideways, and looked at Chen Yu against the light.
“You have vast territory—from Floating Winterhold in the west to the Merchant Alliance and the White Horse Kingdom in the east, from the snowy plains in the north to the Dark Realm in the south.”
“The people on this land conduct trade under your laws, light their lamps with your gray gravel crystals, and relay messages through your gel network.”
“You have thriving cities, and on their streets live humans, dwarves, elves, lizardfolk, slimes... and the demi-humans emerging from the dark caves of the Dark Realm.”
“They are not conquered captives, but citizens who can hold their heads high and claim to be from the Slime Kingdom.”
“You have an efficient city hall, managing the Kingdom’s taxes, population registration, grain distribution, and road maintenance. You have loyal legions, a church devoted to faith, and a rough but effective set of laws...”
“And you have a prosperous economy. The Merchant Alliance’s fleets sail freely under the Slime Kingdom’s commercial flags; the iron ore from the Dark Realm’s mines feeds the southern kingdoms; the candy shops of Winterhold are secretly commissioned even by elven nobles in distant Golden Radiance Valley—all of this forms a true kingdom standing firm upon this land.”
Her gaze rested on this bustling town.
“And these are the most important conditions for the Trial of Kingship.”
“Why not announce it to your subjects—announce the birth of an emperor?”
...
Chen Yu took Olivia’s advice and set the coronation ceremony for ten days later. The news spread across the Kingdom through the gel network.
From the northern outposts to the southern mines, from the flower shops of Winterhold to the taverns of the Merchant Alliance—every slime received this proclamation.
The Slime Kingdom would officially crown an emperor.
The slime citizens took this ceremony extremely seriously. Even before the golden autumn day arrived, the streets of Slime City had already begun to transform.
Slimes crouched on rooftops, using their gel hands to hang colorful banded moss beneath the eaves. Dwarf artisans pushed cast bronze slime statues into the square. Lizardfolk women wove colorful ropes from grass blades and hung them before the Slime Church.
Meanwhile, more and more citizens were rushing back from distant places.
Adventurers cut short their dungeon expeditions, mercenary companies turned down lucrative contracts, and even the wagon drivers who traveled alone through Riftrock Pass hurried back toward the swamp.
No one wanted to miss this grand event.
The Slime Legion also hastily returned.
Upon hearing about His Majesty’s coronation, Nilly dragged Sekashi and Semiaya along and slipped back to Slime City early.
This auntie from the Stone Descendant family patted her chest, insisting she would help arrange the ceremony.
Casimir also led the two bishops, Lya and Rem, along with over a hundred followers of the Great Slime Religion, back to Slime City.
They checked into the elven inn in Slime City and temporarily converted the public hall into a rehearsal room.
Casimir planned to personally form a choir and declared he would present His Majesty with the most magnificent coronation movement.
Chen Yu passed by the rehearsal hall and listened for a while; he had to admit, it actually sounded pretty decent.
Come to think of it, these vampires often lay dormant for decades at a time—without some hobbies and interests, they’d have died of boredom ages ago. It made sense that they’d know a thing or two about symphonies.
As for this grand ceremony, almost everyone who could come had arrived, except for Arthur, Eserin, and Count Bran, who had already departed for the Ancient Tree Council and had yet to send word.
Viola, inhabiting the body of an elven ranger, appeared in Slime City, followed by the newly returned Treant Legion.
All the young members of the Stone Descendant family were present. The elven sages of the Forest Sage Council returned aboard the levitating castle and took up residence in the guest quarters of Slime City Library.
The White Horse Kingdom also sent an envoy delegation. Princess Louisa was still busy dealing with the postwar mess in the White Horse Royal Capital and couldn’t come personally, but she wrote a letter by hand, delivered to Slime City by Celeste.
Besides words of congratulations, the letter also included a financial statement. The Restoration Army had gathered and counted over two million gold coins’ worth of noble assets left behind within the Kingdom’s borders.
This money could be used to purchase urgently needed supplies like grain and coal during the Winter Year, as well as for repairing and rebuilding the farmland in the Golden Tassel Plain and the Forge Region.
A city could be slowly restored after destruction, but without grain, many people would starve this year.
Grain and coal were absolute necessities, and the White Horse Kingdom could also use this opportunity to recruit labor for rebuilding its cities.
This was indeed good news.
As for the Merchant Alliance, they were as extravagantly wealthy as ever. Nolan and Samuel, as their representatives, brought gifts worth a full two hundred thousand gold coins. The Alliance’s banners lined an entire row of carriages outside Slime City’s gates.
On the day of the coronation, the sky was clear and cloudless, clear as a mirror—a rare good day in winter.
Slime City’s square was packed so tightly with citizens it was practically impenetrable.
This area was a wide expanse in the city center, encircled by a hugging inner river, usually used for markets and festivals.
But today, the crowd was so massive that even the streets across the inner river were packed full. From a high vantage point, the sea of people looked like ripples spreading outward in layers, with the high platform at the square’s center as the epicenter, reaching all the way to distant houses and shop entrances.
At the same time, to ensure the ceremony went smoothly and to protect the citizens, nearly the entire Slime Legion had been deployed.
The levitating fortress, reflecting a silvery luster, was piloted by Silver Sparrow and drifted right over the city, drawing the citizens’ awe and exclamations.
Big Brother Slime rode a beetle, patrolling the eastern side of the square, followed by a full row of Slime Knights.
“East Street is clear!”
Further away, on the battlements of Slime City’s outer wall, Yano and Galvin stood side by side.
The wind from the wall blew, causing their cloaks to flutter slightly.
Yano looked at the bustling square and couldn’t help but sigh. “I never thought the Kingdom would make it this far.”
“What a shame—we have to guard here and can’t go watch in person.”
Galvin, too, was watching the square. Then he suddenly spoke.
“His Majesty is coming out.”
And indeed, at the top of the steps leading to the square, slime guards pushed open the heavy gates of the palace. A slime wrapped in a red cloak slowly hopped out.
The bright sunlight poured down, making his gel glow with a warm luster, like a piece of translucent, sparkling jade.
“His Majesty!”
“His Majesty is coming out! His Majesty!”
“The King!”
The crowd waved their arms enthusiastically, and the slime citizens bounced with excitement.
Some slimes, trying to get a better view, either sat on other citizens’ shoulders or stacked themselves into a tower, piling up high just to catch a glimpse of the King on the high platform.
“Can you see?”
“I can see! I can see! The King is looking up at us!”
“The King! The King!”
The pink slime at the very top wobbled excitedly, shaking its gel and waving a stick.
“Ca-can’t hold it, hm…”
The companions below wobbled unsteadily, and the whole slime tower collapsed into a soft, colorful pile of jelly, drawing laughter from some adventurers who had rushed over from Storm Territory.
Chen Yu stood on the steps, gazing at these enthusiastic subjects, deeply moved inside.
The Slime Mother and Little Flower nudged him, signaling that he should respond to the crowd’s cheers.
Chen Yu wobbled his gel, hopping down step by step until he stood on the high platform.
People surrounded him on all sides.
Anvil and Little Aileen stood on the left side of the platform. Today, Anvil wore a formal dwarf ceremonial robe, embroidered with the Artisans’ Guild’s hammer emblem.
Little Aileen, too, had been helped by the elves of the Dryad domain to dress up; she stood there like an exquisite doll. When she saw Chen Yu appear, her little eyes sparkled brightly.
Behind them stood the elves of the Dryad domain and the elven sages of the Forest Sage Council.
At that moment, Viola was chatting pleasantly with Selene. When they saw him come down, both turned their gazes to the high platform.
Sekashi and Semiaya stood on the right side of the platform, with members of the Lizardfolk tribe behind them.
The assassins of the Stone Descendant family were scattered around the square, on alert for any possible attacks.
Only Nilly sat on a rooftop, claiming she needed an overview of the entire square to prevent sneak attacks—in reality, she just wanted a spot to slack off and enjoy the ceremony.
Olivia, who rarely traveled far, had also come to Slime City. She stood in the front row of the viewing gallery and gave Chen Yu a slight nod.
“Your Majesty, say something to your subjects.”
Chen Yu wobbled slightly on the high platform, his red cloak fluttering lightly. His gaze swept over every citizen below the platform.
Below, the citizens wore different clothes, spoke different languages, came from different races and different places. Yet at this moment, they all looked up at him with hopeful eyes.
Seeing that Chen Yu had cast his gaze upon them, everyone fell silent in unison, waiting for their King to speak.
Chen Yu looked at them and remembered when he first arrived in this world—how he had emerged from the swamp with nothing but gel. Back then, he couldn’t even speak; all he could do was bounce around with a *pa-pa-ji-ji* sound.
Now, he stood here, in the heart of a city that belonged to him, watching a crowd of people gathered because of him, quiet because of him, waiting to hear what he would say.
A surge of pride welled up inside him, and he spoke in a soft yet dignified voice.
“I thank every citizen who traveled from afar to Slime City to attend this coronation ceremony. I thank you for your recognition of the Kingdom and for your devotion to me.”
His voice was not loud, but he projected it across the entire square through his Divine Sense.
“This journey has not been easy, but you have always stood behind me.”
“Our Kingdom began with a small oak tree in the swamp. Later, we had gray gravel crystals, our first stone road, our first blacksmith’s shop, our first classroom with a roof that could keep out the rain.”
“The Lizardfolk tribe moved in, the dwarf artisans moved in. Later, the demi-humans of the Dark Realm came, the fishermen of Storm Territory came, and the Merchant Alliance’s fleets began to sail with our commercial flags.”
“From a tiny tree hollow on the edge of the swamp to standing here, in the center of this city today.”
“This was achieved not by me alone, but by the dwarf blacksmiths who hammered out cannons in the Obsidian Mining Area, one strike at a time; by the slime scholars who worked through the night making decisions in the palace; by every vendor who pushed a cart through Riftrock Pass on a winter morning; by every miner who wielded a pickaxe in the tunnels; by every sentry who stood the night watch on the city wall...”
He raised his gel hand and pressed it against his own gel chest, his expression more solemn than ever before.
“You have given this crown its rightful weight, and I will respond to that weight.”
“I promise you here and now: I will protect this land, protect every town, every street, every window lit by a gray gravel crystal lamp at night on this land.”
“No one will ever darken this land again—whether demons from the Abyss or enemies from anywhere else. As long as I am here, as long as you are here, this Kingdom will endure.”
His gel swelled slightly as he took a deep breath.
“I hereby proclaim: on this day, I am crowned King, and the Slime United Empire is established.”
“In the name of the Slime Emperor—Heaven bless the Slime United Empire!”
“Heaven bless the Slime United Empire!”
The people were stunned by the title of “Empire” and burst into cheers. Casimir directed the choir to strike up the music, and a solemn, grand melody echoed through the square.
“The time has come. Crown the King,” Olivia declared loudly.
The slime guards hopped over, carrying a wooden box lined with red velvet.
The Slime Mother lifted the crown from inside, slowly hopped over to stand before Chen Yu, and looked up. She rubbed against his head affectionately, as if to say, “The child has grown up.”
Then she took half a step back, raised the crown, and placed it on his head.
The moment the crown settled, the pale golden band lit up, radiant as sunlight.
And then Chen Yu felt the entire world change.
The earth beneath his feet came alive.
Every inch of land stretching from the swamp to the harbor, every road from Slime City to the White Horse Royal Capital—all the land he had walked, all the land he had poured his construction efforts into—lit up in his perception.
He stood at the center of the high platform, yet at the same time, he could feel the cold of Winterhold and the warmth of the Forge Region in the White Horse Kingdom.
It was as if countless invisible threads connected him to every stone, every tree, every field, every person on this land.
He could feel the joy and hope of his subjects, the roots of the ancient trees in the Dryad domain slowly growing underground, the forge fires burning brightly in Floating Winterhold’s blacksmith shops, and the sails at the Merchant Alliance’s harbor billowing into a full arc, driven by the sea wind.
The entire Kingdom was within his perception, united with him as one whole. The entire Kingdom held him up, like the earth supporting a tree.
And this young tree, nourished by the earth, gradually grew into a towering giant, offering a canopy to shelter from wind and rain, protecting this land.
Legendary.
As it should be.