There had to be conspiracy theories behind the family's downfall, along with rival factions within the Clock Tower kicking him while he was down and fanning the flames.
There had also been rumors lately that he might become a full professor. More importantly, if he took that path, it meant he might reclaim the position that had belonged to the Tempest Family many years ago!
A Lord's seat!
And all the seats were currently occupied!
What did that mean? It meant he would inevitably have to pick one of the Twelve Lords as his opponent and take him down.
Even if he didn't want to compete for a seat, someone would come after him. There were things you couldn't simply refuse to have...
What's more, people had spent years speculating about why he'd stopped growing. Kuonji Alice and Liddell had both kept the appearances of seventeen-year-old girls, but that was understandable. One was a pure-blooded Witch, and the other was a Lord of the Department of Botany with Witch blood--
Everyone knew that the Department of Botany specialized in Witchcraft and potion-making, including the legendary elixir of eternal youth!
Aozaki Aoko had kept her youthful appearance, too. That made sense as well. She'd obtained the greatest miracle in the world, True Magic, and could control time. It wasn't unreasonable for the master of time to stay young forever, was it?
But what about you? What gave you the right?!
Rimuru was actually helpless, and utterly despairing! He wanted to ask the same thing—what gave him the right?!
Who the hell didn't want to grow taller?! He wouldn't have minded staying seventeen or eighteen, but who could put up with being stuck looking thirteen or fourteen?!
He had to look up at everyone he met. A few years ago, when Aozaki Aoko came to the Clock Tower to sightsee and cause trouble, she'd made a complete mess of the place—and patted him on the head!
The two of them had never gotten along, okay?! Whenever Rimuru saw Aozaki Aoko acting all high and mighty, he could still feel the resentment his predecessor had harbored. It was practically tangible!
But those were just his predecessor's feelings. As for him, all he wanted was to go home. He didn't really mind his height, but wasn't it a bit much for the whole world to suspect he'd gained True Magic like Aozaki Aoko?
The whole world was out to get him!!
No wonder his predecessor had kept such a low profile and done so little all these years. Being watched by so many people with malicious or speculative gazes must have been incredibly stressful.
Right, he also had to figure out the relationship between himself, his predecessor, and the Rimuru template.
Had his predecessor been killed, leaving him to inherit the body...? Or had he crossed over in the first place, only now awakening memories from a previous life?
But no matter how you looked at it, this Slime's form and abilities had no place in this world--
And most importantly of all!! The question was--
How could he get back to Earth?!
Damn it! I want to go home!!!!
You Can't Even Make a Scallion Pancake?!
Rimuru spent the night figuring out his current situation, then racked his brains over what he needed to watch out for and whether there was any chance of getting home.
In the end, he wisely chose not to dwell on the meeting Liddell had mentioned... The Clock Tower's waters ran a little too deep, to put it mildly...
For now, the two things he cared about most were his abilities and his goals.
Early the next morning, Rimuru yawned as a bodyguard from the Achelotte Family delivered breakfast. He ate a rich, Western-style seafood chowder, folded a breadstick in half, dipped it into the soup, then yawned again and looked out the window--
Ever since the assassination attempt at the hotel, Miss Liddell had brought him to stay in her own Academic City. It was a little far from the British Museum district where the Clock Tower was located, but it was safe. He couldn't refuse her generous offer, and he did need a couple of quiet days, so after thanking the familiars of the various Lords, he'd agreed.
Every Lord had an Academic City of their own. This wasn't the one supposedly ranked alongside Fuyuki City and Tengu City as one of Japan's three safest cities. At the very least, there was no Misaka Mikoto here...
Compared to the rundown, Western-style city of Sura, the modern Magecraft district that the Queen would inherit in the future, Liddell's Academic City was strikingly ostentatious. Its high level of modernization and industrialization made its steel-and-concrete buildings look even more impressive than those in central London at the time...
In a word, it was rich!
Still, it had to be admitted that the construction of an Academic City depended heavily on the funding allocated by the Magic Association. And as someone who specialized in making potions, Liddell might not have been the richest of the Lords, but she could certainly afford to keep a freeloading Slime...
After taking in the city's sights, Rimuru settled down to think quietly, while he waited for Liddell—that scheming pink-haired girl who'd tried and failed to sneak into his room last night—to show up.
The soft, fragrant white bread gradually melted into the chowder. Sweetness mingled with the rich aroma of seafood, tantalizing Rimuru's taste buds. Yet he paid it no mind as he studied the patterns on his arm.
173 Magic Circuits... He gently ran a hand over his arm. Fifty-seven of the circuits were active, while the other 116 had remained hidden for years. That puzzled him. Why?
To hide his talent?
But there was no need. Magic Circuits determined the speed and complexity of the magical energy one could manipulate at a time. Having more of them could show a mage's potential to some extent, but it wasn't definitive--Magic Circuits weren't Magic Crests. They didn't determine the types and number of Magecraft one inherited, or the knowledge they received.
Besides, unlike Magic Crests, Magic Circuits couldn't be stolen. In theory, there was no need to hide them.
So Rimuru was more inclined to think that his predecessor hadn't hidden them intentionally. He simply hadn't needed them.
That was right. He hadn't needed them.
Aozaki Touko had more than thirty Magic Circuits, while Emiya Shirou had only twenty-seven. That was still enough to make him a monster like EMIYA. Having too many Magic Circuits could only show that Rimuru's body had a high potential; it wouldn't directly make him stronger.
After all, if you asked him... 173 didn't seem like that many.
Emiya Shirou's Magecraft was only ranked C, while Kuonji Alice, with her A++-ranked Magic Circuits, had them throughout her entire body. She even had Magic Crests carved into her bones and organs... By comparison, Rimuru was just a loser with an overall Magecraft level of around A!
Inheriting the Magic Crest wasn't a problem. The combination of extensive water Magecraft and Imaginary Number Magecraft had given Rimuru mastery over ice, mist, and some applications of conceptual Magecraft.
Overall, there was nothing particularly special about it. No ruined Magecraft system, no unusual Magic Circuits, and no unique school of Magecraft passed down to him...
In the end, Rimuru could only call it an unpolished gem that had never been properly developed.
Still, that was a good thing. It was only because his predecessor had been so lazy that I had the chance to shape this body into something more suited to me...
Rimuru thought it over, then asked the Great Sage.
"Are you sure my Imaginary Number and water attributes weren't affected by my innate talents?"
"Notice: They were not. However, it is possible that Magecraft may undergo an abnormal mutation after receiving a boost from your talents."
I see.
Rimuru nodded. The reason he wasn't in a hurry was the talents that had come with the awakening of the Rimuru template.
The Slime's racial talents, such as splitting, mimicry, and super-speed regeneration.
The template's inherent bonuses, such as physical immunity and lightning resistance, as well as the Great Sage's ability to learn at incredible speed--
And most importantly...
Devour, then evolve!
"It's a self-destructive ability. If I get too deep into it, greed and power will take over."
Rimuru drew a deep breath. He didn't want to become a lunatic who saw a good ability and immediately wanted to eat its owner. At least, compared to a messy path that was broad but shallow, he preferred something like the chowder made by the five-star chef at the table before him.
Its essence had been concentrated to perfection, bringing out the distinctive flavor of the seafood.
He would find a path that suited him and follow it. For now, the one path he could think of was spatial Magecraft.
If he wanted to go home, he couldn't avoid finding a way to pierce through space and locate the coordinates of his own world.
If he could choose, his ideal starting goal would be Zelretch... Though he supposed that could also be called his ultimate goal.
"Great Sage, if I fall into Akasha, can you pull me back?"
"Notice: Unknown. However, if given enough time, you will one day be able to devour it."
"Enough time..."
Rimuru narrowed his eyes. Through the swirling mist, his golden eyes stared into the distance...
Suddenly, the door burst open as a lively pink-haired figure flung it wide. "Rimuru, have you had a good rest?"
"Uh..." Interrupted in the middle of his thoughts, the blue-haired blob turned around and said helplessly, "Couldn't you knock first? What if I were doing something private in here?"
"Oh? Something private?" Liddell went up on her tiptoes, swung her pink ponytail, and eagerly leaned into Rimuru's room to sniff around... But all that reached her nose was the faint aroma of seafood chowder.
"Tch..."
"What's with that disappointed look..." Rimuru's mouth twitched. "Have you decided on a place for me yet?"
"How could I do that so quickly? It's only been one night. The meeting about your attack isn't even until this afternoon." Liddell glanced at the untouched breakfast before Rimuru and frowned slightly. "It's gone cold... Was it not to your taste?"
"I was just thinking about something." Rimuru glanced at the breakfast and picked up his spoon, ready to eat. But Liddell immediately called over the guard outside and snatched the plate right out of his hands!
"???"
My breakfast!!!
"It won't taste good cold. I'll have them make you another one." Seeing Rimuru's stunned expression, Liddell burst out laughing. "What would you like? I'll have them make it for you."
"?" Rimuru paused, then flashed her a mischievous smile. "You said that?"
"Mm-hmm, I did!"
"Then... how about some Chinese-style soft-fried breadsticks with freshly ground custard soup?"
"Huh?" Liddell was dumbfounded.
"And a serving of Sicilian-style thin noodles wrapped in egg and fragrant chives?"
"Oh... medium-well!"
"..." Liddell forced herself to stay calm. She nodded, thought for a moment, then turned to her subordinate. "Did you get all that?"
The man in black: "???"
Lord Kayneth's First Meeting
That afternoon, Rimuru emerged from his room in high spirits, ready to head to the Clock Tower for the meeting. Don't get the wrong idea. Liddell was there to take part in the council, but Rimuru was only going as the person involved, in case they needed him to clarify anything or cooperate with the investigation...
Strictly speaking, he wasn't even allowed inside the meeting room.
Rimuru had no complaints about that. After all, with his current status, he was just a non-tenured lecturer.
A lecturer without even a room of his own, who had to stay in a hotel outside the Clock Tower.
At the Clock Tower, lecturers and professors were completely different positions, with vastly different status. This had been one of the things that puzzled Rimuru most at first. The survivor of a great family, yet even if he wanted to stay out of power struggles... Surely he shouldn't have ended up as a lecturer?!
He should at least have been called the Blue Professor, not the Blue Lecturer!!
A lecturer with a color title?! That was just absurd!!
If Rimuru had been treated that way before he came here, he might have turned around and said, "To hell with this lousy Clock Tower," then left without another word. But according to what Liddell had told him later, it turned out the Director hadn't refused to give him a position. His predecessor had stubbornly refused one...
That was why Liddell had been so happy all night when she heard Rimuru was finally willing to become a professor. And the next morning... he'd given the kitchen staff a hard time.
The place where Rimuru and Liddell were staying was her private research building at the academy. It could also be considered the Achelotte Family's territory at the Clock Tower. Its layout was more like a hotel than an academic building. As they passed the dining room, Rimuru was surprised to sense the palpable resentment of the chefs...
He couldn't help shrinking his neck. They were only soy milk, fried dough sticks, and scallion pancakes!
It wasn't his fault that the five-star chefs couldn't make them. He hadn't even complained that they'd spent ages learning and still couldn't make them taste right!
Liddell didn't care at all. After all, Rimuru had pointed out a shortcoming of the family's chefs: they knew very little about Chinese food.
Hmm... Rimuru liked Chinese food. That was something to remember.
When Liddell reached the ground floor, she flashed the keys to her pink Lamborghini, opened the door, started the engine, and reversed out in one smooth motion. Then she pulled up in front of Rimuru, coolly parked, and opened the rear gull-wing door. It gave Rimuru the strange impression that...
He wasn't living in London in the 1980s at all, but in the twentieth century, where Magecraft didn't exist.
"I've been meaning to ask: are most mages technology-illiterate?"
Rimuru sat in the passenger seat, cautiously watching the traffic outside. Once they left the concealed barrier around the Academic City, they were completely back in London's ordinary world.
But what surprised him wasn't the car. After all, society in developed countries in the late 1980s wasn't all that different from today. Apart from the modern explosion of information, lifestyles and everyday objects had already begun to change at a slower pace.
The only things that changed quickly were the hardware and facilities being rapidly replaced as the times advanced.
What actually surprised him was that Liddell could... drive?!
And judging by how confidently she overtook other cars and sped along... she seemed pretty good at it!
"So how long have you been ignoring me, exactly?" Liddell clearly wasn't pleased by the question. "I'm your closest friend, after all, aren't I?"
Faced with that deadly question, Rimuru wisely stayed quiet--
"Sigh." For some reason, Liddell felt that after Rimuru had been attacked, he'd become much more cheerful and easygoing, as if he'd finally figured things out, but... he'd also become more calculating. She couldn't tell whether that was a good thing or not.
"Not all mages reject technology, though most traditional mages don't care much for modern appliances." Liddell didn't elaborate, only adding, "The Achelotte Family owns shares in most companies in the ordinary world, after all. We pay attention to these things."
Those words left Rimuru speechless for a full ten minutes--
He suddenly realized that even if he never went home... he might still be able to live pretty well?!
Oh, damn this capitalist rich girl!
But jokes aside, Rimuru's mind hadn't changed. After all, he'd spent twenty-five years in a familiar world, with his family and his usual way of life. They would leave him feeling utterly out of place and uncomfortable in this one.
The students of the Department of Botany, who served the Witch of Coal, and the students of Yumina's Magecraft faction were the first to spot the tall figure approaching in the distance.
At the same time, Rimuru got out of the car beside her. Several whole height classes separated them, and he immediately drew everyone's attention.
Before you continue