Traveler Starting from Type-Moon, Demon Lord Rimuru! Chapter 16

"Don't... please don't hate me..."

"...Pfft." Rimuru suddenly laughed, lifting Eler up. He watched her signature silver hair cascade down like a white waterfall and said softly, "Eler, I want you to remember something."

"You are the first student I have ever taken in, and you are the only student I cherish today."

"As a student who will inherit my mantle in the future, you can make mistakes, and you can cause trouble, but I hope it isn't for a ridiculous reason like... thinking a Griffin egg tastes good."

"Mm..." Eler, being held aloft, kicked her legs twice. Hearing this, she looked at Rimuru with a hint of confusion. These words were ultimately too difficult for her to fully grasp, but that didn't stop her from understanding some of the terms.

Like "cherish"!

"So... Teacher won't hate me... right?"

"Of course."

"Then, then, then!" Eler's eyes lit up: "Does that mean I don't have to go back to that scary place anymore!"

"As long as nothing like today happens again."

"Mm... I promise!"

"Speaking of which, it's dinner time. What does Eler want to eat tonight?"

"Anything I want?"

"Mm, as a reward for Eler not crying or making a scene in the confinement room."

"Then!" Eler regained her usual liveliness, excitedly diving into Rimuru's arms and saying happily, "I want to eat a Griffin egg!!"

"..."

Come to think of it, my friends keep reminding me that it's best to keep chapters at 2,000 words because update frequency is quite important, but how should I put it... I'm still used to 4,000 or 5,000 words per chapter... It's a habit from a certain site, and I guess some people can tell that my writing style leans that way—

Now that I've signed a contract, I'd like to ask: do you think 2,000 words is better, or 4,000?

Chapter 023, Rimuru's Cultivation Plan

In the end, Rimuru kept his promise as a teacher. Relying on Liddell and his own reputation, Aoko's threats, and a heavy personal expense, he bought a Griffin egg from Gaiusling, barely maintaining his dignity as a mentor.

It was just that when the little girl held up the half-eaten Griffin egg with such cuteness and offered it to him...

He almost fell in love with this adorable little apprentice—

In reality, Rimuru wasn't actually interested in the thing. Although it tasted good, the greatest attraction for a mage was the replenishment of vitality and mana; eating it provided a pleasure similar to mana-refilling.

But for a Phantasmal Species like Rimuru, it really held no appeal... Compared to the egg, Rimuru was more interested in stewed Griffin... Unfortunately, whether due to a contract or something else, Gaiusling refused to sell Rimuru a baby Griffin no matter what. He stated that even if he were to sell anything, it would only be feathers and claw tips. Giving Rimuru an egg... was already bearing immense pressure.

This left Rimuru feeling slightly disappointed.

He couldn't touch a living Griffin, and who knew how long it would take for one to die of old age—Rimuru was forced to give up the idea of eating Griffin and instead refocused his energy on preparing for his lectures and researching his own abilities.

A week later—the students had been screened and finished reporting, and Rimuru had obtained his positions: Level 1 Lecturer for the Basic Academic Magic Circuit Trait Department, Level 3 Lecturer for Magic Infection Risks, Professor of Water-Attribute Trait Transformation Magic (one of the five basic attributes), and an authoritative professor for the void aspect of the fictional attribute.

Of course, these were his main titles. Beyond that, he was also a guest professor for the Witch-series trait transformation in the botany course, an honorary professor in the field of Fairy Tale Magecraft research, an honorary professor of the history of Phantasmal Species development in the animal course, and so on—nearly a dozen messy honorary positions, all obtained by him running around and networking over the past week!

It is worth mentioning that in order to rightfully seize the Academic City "Sura" of the modern magic discipline in the future to give to the Queen or claim for himself, he also took the initiative to accept the position of Professor of Modern Magic. This was the first time in nearly a hundred years that anyone had volunteered to teach this subject...

"So, based on the trait transformation of magic attributes, we can deduce that..." Rimuru closed his textbook, chuckled, and tossed it aside. Wuyin instantly transformed into a stand to catch the book and follow beside him as he delivered the final conclusion: "Alright, let's stop here for today. Theoretical knowledge of magic actually doesn't help you much."

Rimuru extended his hand, and a mass of water vapor began to rise, turning into a thick fog that enveloped the entire classroom like a fairyland: "But practicing it consumes a lot of materials and mana, and it can also lead to unpredictable dangers. Therefore, studying trait transformation and mana control is actually very important for a mage."

"At the very least, when I can generate water directly with mana like this, it saves me quite a bit of money, doesn't it?"

Rimuru scanned the students in the lecture hall who had begun packing up their notes, then suddenly noticed a young girl with her hand raised high and chuckled: "Put your hand down, Christina. I see you. If you have questions, you can come to my lounge at any time, or just come over and ask. I don't like to delay everyone's dismissal by answering individual questions during class."

"Then, I'll see you all next week. Of course, it might be next class, let me see... The students of the Basic Academic disciplines don't need to leave after class; we're staying in this room..." Rimuru smiled gently at Christina one last time, then walked toward the classroom door and exited.

Only then did the classroom erupt into enthusiastic discussion—

Including Christina, who had just raised her hand.

"Professor Rimuru is really so gentle and cute!" A girl sitting next to her blushed, acting like a fan, before looking at her notes and saying: "However, I always feel that Professor Rimuru's theories are very... very..."

"Very straightforward and modern, right?" Christina chuckled: "I noticed it a long time ago. Compared to other professors who prefer using professional terminology, Professor Rimuru seems to like using practical examples, and many of his magic applications and examples lean toward modern usage."

"Mm... at the very least, other mages wouldn't consider things like money, right?" A passing boy stopped and said: "I heard Professor Rimuru comes from a great family too? But he's very approachable..."

"I have heard his title, it seems to be something like a Lord." Christina had clearly done some homework on Professor Rimuru.

"It's the Fairy Tale Lord." At this moment, a cold, arrogant voice interrupted their conversation.

Everyone turned to look; it was a young man with cold, ash-white hair: "Also, instead of gossiping about the professor here... have you succeeded in your attribute trait transformation practice?"

"...Hey, you're so cocky, did you finish it then?" Hearing this, the boy who had spoken earlier became instantly unhappy.

To this, the ash-haired youth only gave him a cold glance, then casually pressed his hand against the water glass in front of Christina. In an instant, the water in the glass turned into tough, solid ice, radiating a bone-chilling cold.

"...So... so amazing..." The little girl beside Christina was slightly stunned and subconsciously looked up, but the youth had already left, leaving behind only one sentence: "Christina, right? If you want to find Professor Rimuru, I advise you to go quickly. Otherwise... you might not get a turn, and you'll have to fight a certain brat for it—"

"Eh?! Fight... a fight?"

The youth's words were not unfounded. In just one week, Rimuru's reputation in water-attribute magic had almost reached a point of total dominance.

There were even those who claimed that while other people's water magic was just magic, Professor Rimuru's water magic was art—the kind of hardcore praise that usually only appears in later generations.

There was no helping it. Compared to others who focused on practical magic theory and tradition, Rimuru, who possessed hundreds of works from his past life and all sorts of imaginative water-attribute techniques, could say without hesitation that he could make even a simple high-pressure water gun into a spectacle.

Your magecraft might be stronger than mine, but it definitely isn't as stylish!

As a teacher of foundational subjects, and a high-achiever from a past life who mastered marketing, devoured business studies and market theory from a young age, and was forced to study consumer psychology on top of finance, Rimuru deeply understood how to grasp the eager and naive hearts of these teenage mages!

Rimuru understood that even if he didn't return home, if he followed the plot and the goal of saving the Human Order, his era would inevitably begin after the Seventh Holy Grail War. If he succeeded by then, he could solidify his status as a Magician, but he wasn't satisfied with that—

In the A Certain Magical Index World, which is considered one of the three major setting worlds alongside Type-Moon, there was a guy named Aleister who used his own magical philosophy to influence two-thirds of the mages in the world!

So, why couldn't he do the same?!

Seven years from now, the mainstream mages of the world, aside from the top-tier Lords and Color Rank mages, would inevitably be the pillars formed by this current group of young people!

These mages, who were still slightly immature now, but whose philosophies were clearly not yet set in stone!

Ordinary merchants only focus on the present and cater to the customers in front of them... but powerful merchants observe the next era, the user transformations of the next decade, or even better! They change the habits of their customers in their own way!

They force them to conform to their own ideas!

Because of this, Rimuru worked desperately to become a professor in every department, giving as many students as possible the chance to know him—he didn't need every student to like him; he just needed every student to know that such a professor existed so they could make a choice!

His style might not be suitable for every mage, but as long as the mages who liked his style could find him, that was enough!

In the future, Rimuru believed that this would surely be... a very interesting achievement and an undeniable force!

Just like now, whenever Rimuru finished a class and planned to return to the lounge, many students would follow him back, hoping to receive some guidance—"Hmm... strange, there are no students today?"

As soon as Rimuru stepped out of the classroom, he was stunned the moment he realized there were no students, but he quickly thought of something—there seemed to be only one reason for the absence of students, and that was...

"Teacher!!" A happy cry came from not far away, and the silver-haired ball Eler, wearing a black gothic coat, came dashing over with an excited look on her face!

"As expected..." Rimuru opened his arms with a chuckle, and the next moment, the ball had already charged into his embrace—her little head nuzzling and rubbing against him!

It must be said that when Rimuru started to get busy, the time spent accompanying Eler would decrease accordingly. This little one, who used to cause trouble everywhere because her Witch bloodline gave her too much energy and she couldn't stand loneliness while being playful, had become increasingly dependent on Rimuru ever since she met him—a teacher who had plenty of time to accompany her. Even being locked in the "dark room" by Rimuru hadn't scared her off; instead, she had become even clingier—

This made Liddell extremely jealous, while at the same time, she could only laugh helplessly, thinking that Rimuru's appearance was indeed more likely to be liked by children, and his personality was quite gentle.

But when Rimuru started teaching, especially after he took on so many identities and had to put in twelve times the effort to guide students to accumulate reputation and meet his own standards, Eler began to fall into... the lovesickness of not being able to find her teacher every day.

Until one day, she began her "Eler Adventure," and while looking for her teacher, she broke into the large classroom of the Clock Tower... and discovered a new world!

Because of Liddell and Rimuru's reputation, she could move through the academy almost unimpeded. Not only would no professor stop her, but they would also thoughtfully point her toward the direction and location of Rimuru's lounge!

And by her teacher's side, there would be many weaklings even worse than her to play with!!!

The little devil Eler! Had succeeded!!

At first, those bullied freshmen would go to the seniors for help.

But when the seniors learned that this was Rimuru's personal disciple, these students pampered her to the extreme... they were practically willing to serve Eler like a younger sister, just so she would put in a good word for them with Rimuru, hoping to be chosen as his students—that is, positions similar to assistants and graduate students.

Did you really think the Clock Tower was full of bookworms pursuing truth who didn't care about emotional intelligence?

On the contrary, in the Clock Tower, where various mage families stood in great numbers and everywhere was filled with bloodline discrimination and comparisons, the exchanges between families and the factions among heirs were rampant. The higher the grade of the student, the more they understood the unique social nuances among mages—

The society of mages is still a society, and no one can escape it.

This was also the part that made Rimuru feel comfortable; at least his sociology studies hadn't gone to waste, right?!

And this time, Rimuru quickly noticed that the one who brought Eler to find him wasn't any senior, but Liddell. He saw her looking at Eler, who was being so intimate with Rimuru, with a smile, and she said to Rimuru helplessly: "I don't have class today, and I originally wanted to keep her company, but she insisted on coming to find you."

"Is that so?" Rimuru chuckled. "She didn't come to find me; I'm afraid she probably wants to bully my students again, right?"

"I did not!" Eler raised her little fist and denied it earnestly: "I wouldn't bully them. They can't even understand the simple trait theory you simplified..."

"As if you could understand it..." Rimuru tapped her head with a smile.

"I can understand it..." Hearing this, Eler was stunned for a moment, then jumped out of Rimuru's arms with a "wow" of dissatisfaction, looking aggrieved: "Teacher, you really do think I'm a dummy, wuwuwu!!"

"..." Seeing the little one's aggrieved look, Rimuru was stunned: "You can understand it?"

"She can understand it." Liddell stood by, watching the interaction between the master and apprentice with a light smile, and said softly: "Eler's Witch bloodline concentration and her talent for magecraft are both very high. Furthermore, for her, all the content of the foundational subjects is just child's play."

"Child's play...?" Rimuru blinked, feeling a bit dazed. If the Clock Tower was a university, then the five-year education of all foundational subjects was more like specialized basic quality education for those who had just become mages, covering all knowledge and elements from first grade to high school. Even many things, such as the Trait Theory Rimuru had just taught, already belonged to the level of introductory calculus in university!

And you're telling me this five-year-old kid understands it all?!

Are you kidding me? Is she a genius? No, she's a monster, okay?!

"Is it strange? Witches and Phantasmal Species are beings that possess inherited techniques. You shouldn't find this strange at all." Liddell laughed. "When you were first sent to my house, you could freely release basic magecraft at the age of four."

"Compared to you, Eler is still a bit lacking; so far, she can only do the simplest Mana Burst..."

Mana Burst isn't simple, okay... Haven't you seen the future Artoria Pendragon relying on a single Mana Burst to kill gods and Buddhas alike...

Rimuru complained internally, helplessly picking up Eler, who was kicking her little legs, and suddenly thought of a question.

"In that case... Eler... could you... attend classes with the students?"

Hearing this, Eler, who was still kicking her legs in triumph, was suddenly stunned—her little face instantly turned to stone:

"...Eh?!"

There was a formatting error in the previous chapter, which has now been corrected.

Chapter 024: How to be a qualified prophet w

As the courses and the disciple's affairs were on the right track, and his own abilities were being steadily developed, aside from the Devour ability which Rimuru couldn't openly study properly, he had to submit an application to go out before turning his attention to his own... assets.

There was no help for it; as the last heir of the Tempest Family, how could Rimuru be content with living off Liddell's charity for the rest of his life...

After some thought, he decided to return to his old home in Edinburgh to sell off the remaining family assets, and then... perhaps his patent royalties in the field of magecraft couldn't compare to those of the great families, but he believed that in the future of the capital markets, even Liddell's Achelotte would have to bow down before his financial empire!

At the same time, he hoped to use this as an opportunity to test his own strength and gain a deeper understanding of the reality of this world--

The Type-Moon world was a collection of multiple parallel worlds. As a good child who had received a scientific education from a young age in his previous life—knowing that outside the Earth was the universe, and outside the universe was... ah, he didn't know—Rimuru was completely unable to comprehend the structure between worlds.

Thus, the road he wanted to take home would become exceptionally difficult.

If one were to set aside so-called scientific truths and combine the various settings Rimuru had picked up during his spare time in his previous life, each world had different world rules, naturally giving birth to different worldviews of science, magic, or a blend of both. From a macroscopic perspective, then... the universe was naturally a product within a world. The question then arose: if Rimuru truly crossed the world barrier and arrived in another universe, how could he find Earth in an "infinitely large" universe, and how could he quickly confirm that this universe was his home world?

These were problems that even Great Sage could not solve at the moment, though in its words...

"If you reach the level of a god by then, I believe that the moment you enter that universe, you will be able to understand all information through All of Creation."

This left Rimuru feeling very helpless. If becoming a god were that simple, what would I even need you for?!!

However, despite saying that, Rimuru still honestly followed the advice given by Great Sage and planned to go find a few Dead Apostles to dissect and study.

Half a month later, Rimuru held the small badge of a Sealing Designation Enforcer approved by the Department of Law, flipped it over with interest, opened the door, and climbed into a silver car. This was a gift from Liddell for him becoming a full professor--

Yet, just as he had skillfully started the engine and prepared to drive, an arm quietly rose from the backseat, gripping a silver handgun.

"I advise you not to make a move." Rimuru's hand paused, and he chuckled as he shifted into reverse, saying: "Not only will you fail to kill me like last time, but you might also cause the Lords to take collective action for provoking the dignity of the Clock Tower once again... if that happens, even I won't be able to protect you."

"Emiya Kiritsugu."

Rimuru looked into the rearview mirror, his pair of golden eyes meeting those lifeless yet profound eyes.

Possessing Great Sage, which performed a continuous, non-stop magical energy scan of the surroundings 24 hours a second, no concealment could escape Rimuru's perception, so he had already discovered the other party before he even got into the car.

"..." The other party remained silent, merely tightening his finger on the trigger.

"Why are you so fixated on me?" Rimuru curled the corners of his mouth, saying helplessly while forcefully slamming his leg down on the gas pedal--to be honest, this car was great in every way, except... he was too short, making it somewhat inconvenient to drive. Since he didn't want Emiya Kiritsugu to discover his abnormalities and special fluid characteristics, Rimuru did not partially elementalize into liquid to elongate his body.

"There are still many people in this world who need you to save them, right? Is it really your style to put yourself in danger just to kill me?"