Traveler Starting from Type-Moon, Demon Lord Rimuru!

"If I unleash my full magical energy, I am confident I can pull the opponent into my Reality Marble in an instant."

"Hmm, though it seems the other party doesn't really want to fight either—" Suddenly, Rimuru noticed the other party deliberately averting their eyes and raised an eyebrow.

Merem Solomon lowered his head, his petite figure beginning to move forward slowly—until he passed the high tower where Rimuru stood. He paused slightly, and upon sensing that the other party had no desire to attack either, he quickly picked up his pace.

The first encounter between the two had ended in such a tacit, mutual passing!

Chapter 041: The girls thinking on the first, second, and third layers.

Rimuru stood quietly atop the high tower, watching that dark shadow gradually disappear at the end of the street. From beginning to end, the Rat King on Merem Solomon's shoulder had never relaxed its vigilance, staring fixedly at his movements—but in the end, Rimuru lowered his gaze and turned, saying, "Pass down the order: search for every trace of the Einzbern family's Homunculi ever having been active in Cornwall, as well as all ruins, scenic spots, and historical landmarks!"

"And then—start digging! Before the Mage's Association and the Holy Church react, you must find the scabbard for me."

"As for the rest, you may withdraw for now."

"As you command." In the shadows, the dense, gloomy aura slowly receded. Altrouge sat in the air above a wisp of faint black mist, looking somewhat dissatisfied as she floated before Rimuru: "You just let him go like that? His goal is definitely the scabbard as well."

"Starting a fight would alert the Church prematurely—it would make it seem like we value the scabbard too much." Rimuru said softly: "Tomorrow, I will have the Duke of Cornwall publicly declare the entirety of Cornwall as your territory; at that time, I will need you to step forward and provide protection."

"...You want to use the appearance of a city of Dead Apostles to attract their attention? To make them mistakenly believe you intend to help me fully establish my forces and challenge the Mage's Association worldwide?" Altrouge raised an eyebrow, a look of interest appearing on her face: "Sacrificing the Dead Apostles of an entire city to cover your acquisition of a scabbard... what exactly is that scabbard that makes it worth so much to you?"

As expected, Altrouge was truly clever. The reason she hadn't achieved much wasn't because she couldn't think or was too lazy to, but simply because... she wasn't interested.

But this time, she had guessed wrong.

"It's nothing particularly special, and I don't value it that much." Rimuru glanced at her slightly, and seeing Altrouge's disdainful look—as if to say, 'Do you think I'll believe that?'—he gave a helpless, light laugh, and instead said softly: "Keep watching and you'll understand, Your Highness. The sacrifice of Cornwall is real, but my true goal is not what you think it is."

"Quite the contrary."

Rimuru whispered to himself. Children make choices; he... wants it all!

Time turns back, returning to London two days later—

After Rimuru angrily threw Eler out the door and told her to go play by herself, ignoring her extremely aggrieved little expression that was full of 'you value romance over your baby,' Rimuru returned to Liddell. He found, somewhat helplessly, that the atmosphere between the two had returned to the harmony of close friends, yet the lingering, heart-fluttering atmosphere was gone.

Helpless, after sending Liddell away to keep Eler company, Rimuru couldn't help but lean back against his desk. His thoughts continued to run at high speed as he began to consider whether there were any loopholes in the whole affair, and... whether it could continue to play out according to his script.

Liddell could only see the most superficial plan, which suited her personality well. And precisely because of that, Rimuru had said she didn't need to worry at all—after all, it would be too cruel to let a little brain that couldn't even see through his first layer worry for him.

And Altrouge could analyze one of his goals, so then... what about Alice?

Suddenly, Rimuru thought of the girl who, by merely watching him quietly, seemed to make him have nowhere to hide, as if she could see through everything and help him fill in the details of his plans.

Kuonji Alice, if it were you... you should have already fully understood what I want, right?

"Sure enough, eating from the bowl while looking at the pot—is this the nature of men?"

Rimuru: "...???"

"You should be considering the implementation of the plan right now, not thinking about women."

If nothing unexpected happens... Rimuru looked at his reflection in the window... it should definitely be fine.

But accidents were bound to happen, because neither the Mage's Association nor the Church would sit idly by. No one could predict which card he would play, and the appearance of Merem Solomon... honestly, that already counted as an accident in itself.

"But this is exactly what you need to do, isn't it?" Sensing the worry in Rimuru's heart, the Great Sage spoke: "Eliminate or handle the majority of accidents so they do not affect the final result."

"Indeed." Hearing this, Rimuru felt slightly more at ease and smiled softly.

The dusk of the Western lands is the night of the Far East.

The night was beautiful, but as the greatest maintainer of order in this city, Kuonji Alice had to shoulder the responsibility of clearing out chaotic mages and various existences that could cause a leak of mystery.

Originally, this responsibility should have belonged to the Aozaki Family, but... ever since her good friend Aozaki Aoko inherited the Aozaki Family and her first act was to abandon the original mansion and begin wandering around Japan, this responsibility had fallen onto her—

Her black dress seemed to fit the night, and within it, her snow-white skin appeared overly pale, complementing the thick, white fog.

Within the dense fog, sharp claws, hideous giant maws, headless hounds, and various other terrifying monsters lurked—

They searched for enemies, and then... tore them to shreds.

This was the way of combat belonging to fairy tales.

Kuonji Alice lowered her cold eyes, glancing at the Dead Apostle mage who had been driven to a dead end in the fog and was about to fall into madness. She was just about to turn and leave when she suddenly remembered something. With a casual wave, the monsters vanished, and her figure emerged from the fog, looking at him indifferently...

He was trembling in the corner, on the verge of a breakdown. The moment he saw this Witch of Fairy Tales, he immediately knelt down like he had grabbed a life-saving straw, weeping and begging for mercy: "M-my lady, spare... please, I beg you, spare my life! I promise I won't step foot in this city again, I really won't!!"

"..." Kuonji Alice looked coldly at his pleas, completely unmoved, yet she did not let the monsters continue to surround him, instead falling into thought, wondering what she was thinking about.

The Dead Apostle, seeing her unmoved demeanor, gritted his teeth in hatred. A flash of desperate ruthlessness crossed his eyes, and as he saw her distracted by thought, he bared his fangs and lunged forward—whoosh—while simultaneously releasing a pale green wind-attribute magecraft to buff himself.

"Bang!" With a loud noise, Kuonji Alice frowned and looked at the brainless mage who had been sent flying by her guardian monster. Her cherry lips parted slightly, and a cold voice drifted out along with the fog.

"Which faction do you belong to?"

The Dead Apostle, who had been sent flying by an irresistible force the moment he started his sprint, fell from the wall with a thud and fell into complete despair. The gap in strength was too great; having made the move to attack, he basically had no possibility of survival. Just as he closed his eyes, waiting desperately for death, he was stunned by the question. The spark of hope for survival in his eyes flickered, then suddenly dimmed.

He gave a weak, self-deprecating laugh: "If I had someone to protect me... why would I risk invading your territory, just to... suck a little blood..."

"No faction... then?"

"Faction... what a distant term." Hearing this, the Dead Apostle let his head fall back in despair, his eyes completely losing their luster: "For mages like us who have betrayed our blood kin, or who have relied on research to become Dead Apostles, where would we have the qualifications to follow those big shots—"

The reason most mages become Dead Apostles is simple: to pursue a longer lifespan, or immortality, and then use that to continue researching magecraft—but just as the internal hierarchy of mages is strict, with famous noble families, Dead Apostles are not just wild cards. Even low-level Dead Apostles can catch the eye of those big shots who like to expand their influence.

"In that case—then, are there many Dead Apostles like you in the Far East?" Kuonji Alice murmured faintly. Without waiting for the Dead Apostle magus to answer, she turned away, no longer paying him any mind. Her figure vanished back into the mist, leaving only a soft voice behind.

"You may leave now. Go to Germany, and tell the other Dead Apostles."

"From today on, you have a sanctuary you can seek out..."

"In the far west, a kingdom... belonging to you is being born."

"You... you are letting me go?" Hearing this, the Dead Apostle jerked his head up, staring in disbelief at the thick fog beginning to recede. In all the legends, he had never heard of a single Dead Apostle surviving after being discovered by the Witch of Fairy Tales—was she really that terrifying witch?!

"If informing you of this news can reduce the number of Dead Apostles in the Far East, it is not an unacceptable outcome."

A cold voice drifted from the mist: "You have one day to inform your companions and leave this city."

"Y-yes, then..." The magus swallowed hard, terrified that he might mishear a single word and lose his life. He pondered the witch's words, and for some reason, a tiny flame of hope ignited in his heart, like seeing a campfire amidst the distant snows of a harsh winter...

"P-please... may I ask... who is it that is willing to shelter us...?"

Germany was rumored to be the territory of the White Winged Duke... but the White Winged Duke... he was one of the Twenty-Seven Ancestors, surrounded by powerful subordinates. How could he possibly be willing to shelter them?

But alas, when he looked up, hoping to ask for a definitive answer, her figure had already dissipated along with the mist, vanishing completely from his sight.

He was left alone, his body covered in wounds torn by monsters, struggling to carefully treat himself with the meager amount of magical energy he had left—though the witch hadn't said it, even a fool knew that if he dared to hunt for human blood to recover his strength within this day, his next moment would surely be his death.

And with fluid transactions strictly controlled, the price of blood on the black market was something he couldn't even dream of paying—

Five minutes later, as he struggled to lean against a wall and limped away into the end of the street, Kuonji Alice's figure slowly emerged once more, accompanied by the spreading mist. She glanced at the messy scene of the battle and quietly lowered her eyes to begin cleaning up.

Repairing the walls, fixing the road, and washing away the surrounding bloodstains.

This task, which originally did not fall under her duties and was not a form of magecraft she excelled at, had already become increasingly practiced.

Above her head, the chattering Blue Robin finally found an opportunity and fluttered down, landing on Kuonji Alice's shoulder.

"You've broken your own traditions, you rebellious witch, squawk!"

"..."

"Birds of a feather flock together; I can only say you've been led further and further astray by that guy of yours. You're really making me worry!"

"..."

"By the way, why did you send him to Germany? Isn't your little lover in Cornwall, UK?"

Hearing this, Kuonji Alice's movements finally paused for a moment. In the silence, she spoke softly: "Cornwall is merely a discarded pawn... Faced with the Mage's Association and the Holy Church... it cannot be held."

The Einzbern family in Germany had triggered a purge across the entire country, and just as the White Winged Duke was being fiercely suppressed by the Church, Rimuru had reached out toward the UK once again, slapping the face of the Mage's Association, who had originally been watching the fire from the other side of the river.

Now, the Mage's Association would certainly not be able to sit still.

It was said that the Grand Resolution was about to be convened, and the Church would also send magi who had defected to them to participate.

This all indicated that both sides would surely fight in coordination—but Rimuru had provoked two major powers at once; what was he aiming for?

Considering the thoughts and remarks Rimuru had often let slip during their childhood, Kuonji Alice knew exactly what he was planning the moment he made a move.

Speaking of which... Kuonji Alice quietly raised her head and looked at the sky—

The Mage's Association and the Holy Church only saw that human power could absolutely repel the Dead Apostles and form a crushing momentum, but they forgot... that when a spring is compressed to a certain point, the inevitable result is...

Rebound.

"Squawk? Hmph, I had already thought of that, I just wanted to use this to test you, little Alice. You ignore me whenever I say anything else, but the moment someone mentions that guy, you're eager to explain... I'm very worried!"

"...Can you shut up for a moment?"

"No! I! Can! Not! Little Alice, I am not just a relic left to you by your mistress, but also the guardian who promised her I would take care of you and keep an eye on you. On that note, I also need to properly screen your future husband for her—squawk?"

Before the Blue Robin could finish his sentence, he felt his neck grabbed by Kuonji Alice's hand.

Snap!

Kuonji Alice cleanly and efficiently broke the Robin's neck. As a result, the familiar was once again forced to revert into a strange-looking blue statue—

The Blue Robin, Robin, was one of the relics left to Alice by her mother. He was her closest and most trusted familiar and partner, with only one flaw...

He was overly talkative and a complete idiot.

"Breaking tradition for his sake?"

Kuonji Alice quietly placed the statue back into her handbag and sighed softly.

If she could, she would have liked to help him. However, since he was not using his identity as Rimuru to accomplish these things, her presence would only cause Rimuru a great deal of trouble.

Meanwhile, far away in Cornwall, while waiting for his subordinates to excavate the entire region, Rimuru was greeted early in the morning by the Princess of the Black, who was rubbing her eyes and wearing a sheer princess nightgown.

She looked as if she hadn't woken up yet. The moment she entered, she yawned and tossed a piece of intelligence brought by a familiar to Rimuru, huffing, "That damn White Winged Duke really didn't listen to my advice. Not only did he refuse to give up control of Austria, but he actually intensified his offensive there!"

"Damn it, is he retaliating against what I did in Germany?"

"Oh? So soon? I thought he would wait a while, at least until Cornwall was wiped out before starting—"

Hearing this, Altrouge's pouting little face went blank: "???"

"He isn't retaliating against you, Your Highness; on the contrary." Rimuru took the intelligence, flipped through a few pages, and chuckled lightly: "He is inviting you. Austria, as the region where your two forces are most intertwined and disputed—is the most suitable for negotiations and... for serving as the Kingdom of Dead Apostles, isn't it?"

Chapter 042, The Reason for Allegiance to You.

"A country... of Dead Apostles?"

Altrouge was slightly taken aback, her dull little face instantly turning cold: "What... exactly are you trying to do?"

"When you met me before, you were on your way to negotiate with the White Winged Duke, right?"

"..."

"Although the negotiation failed, your original intention was merely to have the White Winged Duke withdraw from the struggle over Austria." Rimuru flipped through the intelligence reports, speaking softly as if he hadn't noticed Altrouge's dissatisfaction at all: "So, let me ask you, what if you had succeeded?"

"What?"

"If you had succeeded in the negotiation, what then?" Rimuru continued: "You only felt that the White Winged Duke's invasion of Austria was an offense to you, while ignoring why he turned against you in the first place, and why he invaded Austria."

"That is why I said you aren't good at negotiating. If you cannot even grasp the most basic elements of negotiation—positions and the direction of interests—you naturally cannot persuade the other party—"

"How could I not know that?!" Altrouge opened her blood-red eyes, interrupting Rimuru's words, and said haughtily: "It is nothing more than his ambition, which is as vast as a black hole."

"Yes, ambition." Rimuru put down the documents in his hand, stood up, and met the eyes of the Princess of the Black: "So, on what grounds do you demand that he abandon his ambition?"

"In your hands, Austria can only be that Austria—a country that has not been infiltrated by the Church, but also one without any goals or ambitions."

"Negotiation is about constantly putting chips on the table—whether through cooperation or compromise."

"For the first step, you didn't set an example; you only used the arrogance and status belonging to you as the de facto leader of the Dead Apostles. But... as everyone knows, the only True Ancestor the White Winged Duke respects is the one whose surname you inherited."

"Thus, the contradictions and conflicts began. You fought a great battle with him, which ended in a draw. Do you consider that a disgrace?"

"Isn't it?" Altrouge wrinkled her nose slightly. She understood the idea Rimuru was trying to express, but still said: "I'm not interested in ambition or anything like that; that cannot be a reason for him to offend me."

"Then you also need to give him a reason to hand over his chips." Rimuru looked at the scowling Altrouge and suddenly smiled: "Just like when you forcibly sought me out back then, did you ever ask for my thoughts?"

"But I also promised to give you help. For instance, I think you use my forces quite comfortably..." Altrouge muttered under her breath, unwilling to concede: "And that detestable old man, he occupied half of my Austria without saying a word back then!!!"

"Indeed, but you cannot deny... that at the moment you recruited me, you still held the thought in your heart that me being favored by you was my honor, didn't you?"