Rimuru's evening thoughts are of Hinata...who herself is on her journey towards him, with some of her closest subordinates right beside her. She wanted to take this mission alone, but they couldn't just leave her. So they drew straws to see who got to go with her! How cute. And she doesn't seem to have the companionship
.
Tempest is good for business, the economy, and for modern fashion, in fact! But what catches Hinata's eyes the most is seeing ramen, that's right, RAMEN being sold and she immediately heads in to grab a bite of the meal no self-respecting Japanese person could refuse. Especially when she hasn't had it in so long. And it's a big hit with her and her subordinates! Even the gyoza! Though it does expose her sensitive tongue, but I guess she got the last laugh grabbing the last bite of gyoza and leaving with the mic drop that she doesn't put on weight. A womans' dream
.
Tempest has paved roads, anti-magic barriers to ward off monsters, kindly guards, plenty of police, AND campsite's for travelers. They could have a Laid-Back Camp episode here! It also really puts into perspective for Hinata all the good Rimuru is doing with Tempest and how he's not the enemy
.
Of course the Seven Sages are making things worse, making her subordinate Renard think that she might be working with Demon Lords or that the best way to help her is to stage an attack on Tempest...which only serves to escalate the conflict and make Rimuru think Hinata planned that attack rather than to negotiate
.
Rimuru really was worried about the Crusaders...but it's basically a one-sided fight. His forces can heal themselves and easily knock out the Crusaders and leave them tied up. All that anxiety for nothing. It gets so decisively in Tempest favor that Shion just orders everybody to go in and push them back to secure complete victory, because why not? Better that than eat her cooking. And Gobwa seems to admire Shion quite a bit
.
So Hinata and her group walk into their forces losing, and Hinata can't help but think they're past the point of any negotiation and that Rimuru set this all up so they could have a decisive showdown...and she finally meets him for the clash they've been hyping up since episode one
.