Chattering voices drifted over.
"Huh? Professor Mei took on another student?"
"What student? That must be Fairy Tale Lord Rimuru, right?"
"Eh?!! But he's so tiny! He looks so cute—"
Smack!
A cross-shaped vein popped on Rimuru's forehead. He glared at Liddell, who was struggling to hold back her laughter. "You did that on purpose, didn't you?!"
"Of course not." Liddell hurriedly shook her head and denied it, but the smile on her face clearly betrayed her.
Hmph. Rimuru glanced at the parking lot—or rather, the empty space. Although the area in front of the British Museum, where the Clock Tower's Department of Fundamental Studies was located, was packed with cars, there were fewer than five that had been driven there by anyone below the rank of professor...
Most professors weren't opposed to riding in cars, but hardly any of them actually drove!
"Teacher." A girl with short blond hair and a slight curl to it, about the same height as Rimuru, came over. She eagerly took some of the magecraft materials Liddell had brought down and said, "Instructor Asta will be teaching today's class."
"Mm." Liddell nodded to show she understood. As a Lord, she could temporarily assign any of her instructors or professors to other duties, much like a school principal. She rarely bothered with such things, though; this time, it was purely because the afternoon meeting happened to take up one of her class periods.
Lords weren't required to teach, but Liddell was clearly the sort who looked out for her students.
"Um..." The blond girl didn't ignore Rimuru. She hesitated briefly, then quickly greeted him. "Hello, Teacher Rimuru."
After greeting him, she hurried back with the materials in her arms. Rimuru searched his memories for a moment, then quickly recalled who she was: one of Liddell's nominal students, a little girl with some witch blood in her, Lina Lilico.
"What?" Liddell took a few steps, then noticed that Rimuru was still looking after her student. She suddenly chuckled. "Speaking of which, you should take on a student too, shouldn't you?"
"Huh?" Rimuru looked baffled. He had a feeling Liddell's thoughts tended to jump around. Why did she keep coming up with things on a whim?!
Seeing his surprise, Liddell reconsidered and realized she really had been a little too hasty. Most professors had students, and it was generally expected that they take on a few. It was a tradition, much like professors supervising graduate students. She had been so happy to see Rimuru emerge from his self-imposed isolation that she'd unconsciously become a little overenthusiastic.
"How about I introduce you to a student?" But since she'd already brought it up, she continued, "I already have four students, and I really don't want to take on any more."
"No way." Rimuru refused without a second thought. "Your student's nearly taller than me. Don't even think about it!"
The Clock Tower was like an advanced university. Although it accepted prodigies for further study, most of the magecraft world was organized around families. Students either came to continue their studies, much like graduate students, or were commoners supporting themselves while they learned.
Either way, their education in childhood and even adolescence was generally no different from anyone else's. At most, magecraft families were more devoted to passing down their magecraft.
So finding a student younger than Rimuru, who was currently thirteen or fourteen, would be... pretty difficult.
Besides, even if he found one, Rimuru didn't want to be a babysitter!
However, Liddell was like a little witch. First, she gave him a sly wink, then put on a pitiful expression. "Now that you mention it, I do have a child who'd suit you quite well. You can't refuse..."
"..." Rimuru looked at the fickle woman in front of him with a headache. He knew she was putting on an act, but there was nothing he could do about it. After thinking it over, he still refused. "Let's wait a while. I haven't even sorted myself out yet, so I'd better not lead anyone astray..."
Liddell furrowed her brows, about to argue, when a chuckle came from behind them. Then a voice, as unhurried as a spring breeze and carrying an air of absolute arrogance, rang out. "That sounds rather excessively self-deprecating, Lord Rimuru."
As the voice trailed off, the professor who had spoken came up beside Rimuru and Liddell and passed them. He clasped his hands behind his back, his spirited bearing set off by a tailored, deep-blue coat that emphasized his upright posture. Though his tone was haughty, he still greeted them with an elegant nod. "Good day, Lady Liddell."
"You're here early." Liddell showed no inclination to return his greeting. Instead, she narrowed her eyes ominously. "Lord Kayneth..."
Kayneth didn't care about Liddell's attitude toward him. Their families were both part of the aristocratic faction, but the El-Melloi Faction had always been in cahoots with the Yuri Phis family, the Achelotte faction's greatest rival. They'd been at odds more times than anyone could count. Unlike Liddell, who liked to express herself freely, Kayneth was a traditional mage who preferred to maintain a perfect bearing.
Whether it was his manners or his inevitable success.
"After all, this year's students will be arriving soon. I have to start getting busy..." Unlike Liddell, Kayneth was not only Lord of the Department of Mineralogy, but also a first-class instructor in the Department of Spiritual Evocation under his mentor. That meant he had regular classes to teach every week.
Rimuru studied the familiar stranger, his thoughts suddenly drifting... It wasn't until he saw Kayneth that he shifted his thoughts from how to survive to the story itself. Kayneth now looked almost exactly as Rimuru remembered him, but the sharpness about him hadn't yet settled, as it had in the story.
Rimuru's eyes lowered slightly, and his fingers began tapping without him realizing it. "Since crossing over, I've been so focused on the situation I'm in that I nearly forgot the first thing I should figure out as someone who knows the future is the timeline and where we are in the story—"
"There are too many events in the Nasuverse, and they're too chaotic. Hiding won't guarantee safety. Besides, if I want to go home... I have to actively pursue these things. Mahoyo has already happened, and according to Great Sage, I clearly wasn't as lucky as Aozaki Aoko. I can't peer into Akasha..."
"But this younger Kayneth clearly shows me what I should be paying attention to next..."
"The Fourth Holy Grail War."
"Notification: You don't have Veldora, the nuclear power plant from the original work, so I suggest you try to obtain the Holy Grail... It would be a decent energy source."
"Emmm... Come to think of it, if I eat the Holy Grail... won't I get indigestion?" After hearing Great Sage's words, Rimuru's expression turned strange instead.
Great Sage's abilities included All of Creation and Thought Acceleration, among others. Their conversation and Rimuru's thoughts took only a moment in reality. By then, Kayneth, having finished greeting Liddell, looked once again at Rimuru, who was studying him and spacing out. He curled his lips and interrupted Rimuru's thoughts. "Lord Rimuru, you should say less about leading students astray. The magecraft knowledge passed down through the Entpeste family for dozens of generations would be enough to make anyone grateful, even if you taught them just a little."
"Speaking of which, if you're worried about the quality of your students, there are a few talented youngsters in the Archibald Family this generation—"
He didn't continue, but his meaning was obvious.
"Huh?" Rimuru was briefly taken aback. He could understand Kayneth praising his family's legacy, but now he seriously wondered whether some rumor had been circulating among the Lords and professors. Otherwise, why were they all so eager to dump their kids on him...?
Still, Kayneth's words stirred something in Rimuru. If Kayneth was offering a member of his family, then the most famous one would undoubtedly be that future princess's apprentice, the black-stockinged girl who also toyed with Waver!
Rimuru's eyes lit up, and he nearly blurted out an immediate acceptance. "Reines?"
"Reines?" Hearing that, Kayneth's normally haughty, composed expression flickered with confusion. He thought for a long time but couldn't recall anyone in his family named Reines...
It sounded like a girl's name... but there really wasn't anyone by that name.
Kayneth narrowed his eyes and confirmed with complete certainty. As a once-in-a-century genius, he believed that every outcome in every matter was bound to be a success; he couldn't possibly make a mistake over something so trivial. Still, Reines was a pretty good name.
He silently stored the name away, then shook his head. "I'm afraid there's no one in our family called Reines. It seems..."
He looked meaningfully at Rimuru and Liddell, mistook Rimuru's reaction for a polite refusal, and smiled. "Lord Rimuru already has someone in mind."
"I don't think you need to concern yourself with his students, Professor El-Melloi!"
Liddell practically gritted her teeth as she spoke. Trying to poach someone right in front of her was a massive affront to her dignity!
She even changed how she addressed him, raising the matter to the level of rivalry between magecraft factions and telling Kayneth to get lost.
"Oh? I agree." Kayneth chuckled without the slightest hint of retreat and turned away. "There's still some time before the meeting, but I have a few things to attend to. Until next time, Professor Achelotte."
"And I hope you have a pleasant afternoon at the Clock Tower, Lord Rimuru."
Kayneth put his hands in the pockets of his uniform. His straight-backed posture and upright stride always made Rimuru think of a German soldier—
"What an irritating man." Liddell narrowed her eyes slightly and muttered as she watched him leave.
"I thought he seemed fine." Rimuru watched Kayneth's retreating figure. To be honest, he didn't remember him very well, only vaguely recalling that he was an unlucky guy who got NTR'd.
That remark clearly upset a certain pink-haired girl. She grabbed Rimuru's head and ruffled it furiously. "That's because you've never seen how sharp-tongued he can be!"
"He treats you that way only because he respects your family background. If you didn't have the Entpeste name, you'd know how obnoxious he is."
Liddell's family was a magecraft family that had risen during the Industrial Revolution. When she said that, Rimuru immediately understood why Kayneth had been so rude to Liddell, a fellow Lord.
Rimuru, with Liddell's hand holding him down, clearly had no intention of conceding quietly. He tried to lift his head as he blinked curiously. "So, does that mean my status... is actually higher than yours?!"
"??? You little—!" Liddell immediately bristled. Ignoring the fact that they were in a Clock Tower corridor, she used her height advantage to trap Rimuru's head under her arm, then squeezed his cheeks with both hands. "You've got a lot of nerve making jokes! Explain who Reines is first, hmm? Have you got your eye on some seductive hussy, hmm?"
"Mm! Jush let me go firsh!" Caught off guard, Rimuru was instantly trapped. He hurriedly turned his head into a soft blob through mimicry and slipped out of her arms, then said helplessly, "That was just a name I made up on the spot!"
Even so, Rimuru's thoughts were growing clearer and clearer.
Kayneth's reaction meant Reines hadn't been born yet... In other words, Matou Sakura and Tohsaka Sakura, who were around the same age as Reines, hadn't been born either!
That meant the Holy Grail War was still a long way off!
Chapter 6: What Year Is It Now?
"Really?" Liddell looked at the blue-haired boy, whose hair she'd ruffled into a bird's nest. For some reason, it put her in a much better mood. "You seemed pretty tempted. If you really have plans of your own, I won't interfere."
"Really." Rimuru gently shook his head. He glanced at the growing number of students around them, cast a soundproofing spell, and continued walking. "By the way, wouldn't Kayneth make Yuri Phis unhappy by trying to send students my way?"
"Why would you think that? Of course not." Liddell looked puzzled. "Kayneth's the heir to the El-Melloi Faction. That doesn't mean his family belongs to the El-Melloi Faction. The Archibald Family has its own Magic Crest too..."
"But the Archibald Family itself is... nothing special." Liddell clicked her tongue, sounding rather dismissive. "If they hadn't produced a genius like Kayneth, nobody would even know the family existed. So I don't understand where he gets the nerve to look down on other families."
That might be true, but shouldn't Kayneth's family be judged by the El-Melloi name rather than the Archibald name now...? Rimuru complained inwardly.
After all, although they were called families, in magecraft circles a family usually centered on its Magic Crest, not its bloodline. And since only one person could inherit a mage's Crest, mages who chose to have lots of children were relatively rare. This made it easy for a magecraft family to end up without a suitable blood descendant to inherit the Crest, forcing it to find someone else to continue the family line.
In other words, if the El-Melloi Faction had no descendants in that generation with the talent to inherit its Magic Crest, then once Kayneth inherited it, he would be considered part of the El-Melloi line first and the Archibald Family second.
"Uh..." Seeing the girl get angry again, Rimuru wisely shut his mouth and turned to another question he cared about. "Um... Liddell duck!"
"Speak."
"What year is it?"
Liddell: "???"
The next moment, Rimuru felt an incredibly gentle touch on his forehead. Liddell put a hand on his head, her face full of concern...
Rimuru: (ー`?ー)?!
"What are you doing?!" Rimuru looked up indignantly and saw Liddell give him a look like he was an idiot. She muttered, "Nothing wrong with him..."
"..." Rimuru felt a faint sadness. Honestly, he didn't want to ask a question like that either!
But in this miserable era, smartphones didn't exist yet, and even the internet and computers still ran on DOS. Forget the advertisements and time displays that were everywhere in later years.
He'd done his best to pay attention to his surroundings, but all he could determine was that it was late-eighties London, about seven or eight years after Walpurgisnacht, based on how old Liddell was! What was he supposed to do?! He was desperate too!
Thankfully, although Liddell didn't understand his suffering and frustration, she still answered him properly. "It's 1987. Why?"
1987! The Fourth Holy Grail War was in 1994! (Some people believe the Fourth Holy Grail War took place in 1990, and Baidu Encyclopedia used to list that year too. But later, the UBW version stated that the Fifth Holy Grail War took place in 2004, and the second episode of the earlier Zero also said Clinton was already president at the time. Clinton took office in 1992, so this story uses the 1994 date. This is noted here to avoid confusion...)
With an exact date to work with, Rimuru's mind raced. He quickly worked out the implications, feeling disappointed but also relieved.
He was disappointed because the Fourth Holy Grail War was still seven years away—a long time. That meant he had to keep his head down and grow stronger over the next seven years, since his knowledge of the future was useless for the time being. He was relieved, naturally, because seven years was a long time, but still enough time to prepare—
The only thing that made him feel a little down was that it also meant he'd have to stay in this world for at least seven years...
Seven years.
How many seven-year stretches did a person get in their life...?
Seeing Rimuru's expression suddenly turn relieved, then fall into sadness, Liddell grew increasingly confused. "Is there something wrong with the date?"
"No... I just suddenly thought of a few things."
The two of them made their way deeper into the Clock Tower. The students, already sparse, grew even fewer.
"Tell me... Would it be difficult for you to keep an eye on a magecraft family?"
"Hmm? That depends on which magecraft family." Liddell stopped in her tracks, her little face turning serious as she looked at Rimuru. "If it's one like Kayneth's..."
"No, no! It's just an ordinary family in the Far East. They were once fairly well known, but they've fallen into decline."
Rimuru blinked and paused slightly. "It doesn't really matter to me whether you can keep an eye on them or not, but if I don't do something, I just feel... uncomfortable."
"The Far East?" Liddell fell silent for a moment. For some reason, she suddenly thought of her good friend, the girl who liked to wear black dresses, Kuonji Alice—cool, aloof, and sly...
She gave Rimuru a suspicious look, wondering if he was doing it on purpose. Compared to Kuonji Alice, who had immense influence in the Far East, the Achelotte Family, based in Britain, was simply... too weak!
One was a major investor in the city, the other a country squire. But with such a great distance between them... Still, she could let Rimuru have anything else; when it came to him, Liddell really didn't want to give in to her childhood friend...
"But if it's just an ordinary magecraft family, it shouldn't be a problem..." Liddell muttered to herself. "At worst, I'll make the trip myself under the pretext of a concert..."
"Did you misunderstand something?" Rimuru quickly stopped Liddell, who had fallen into thought and was planning how to storm the Far East. "I was just asking, and asking you to keep an eye on them. I have my own plans for everything else!"
If a Lord showed up in Fuyuki City early, who knew what might change about the Holy Grail War—
"Just keep an eye on them?" Liddell continued to scrutinize Rimuru for a while. Then, in a very serious voice, she said quietly, "Really, Rimuru, I mean it. If they've offended you, believe me, wiping out a mere magecraft family in the Far East would be nothing to the Achelotte Family—or your old Entpeste Family. It'd be as easy as blowing out a breath—"
"So, Rimuru." A cold glint flashed in Liddell's eyes, and her voice turned haughty and icy. "If anyone tramples on your authority, don't endure it. Even if it means slaughtering the entire Far East..."
"..." Looking at Liddell's utter seriousness, a warm current passed through Rimuru's heart. But he still wiped the cold sweat from his brow and said helplessly, "It's not that serious. There's just something I need from them, but... it isn't the right time yet."
And, while he was at it, he wanted to see if he could change that poor girl's fate.
"Is that so?" Liddell rubbed her chin. She still thought Rimuru's priorities were a little off. If he truly restored his family to glory and reclaimed his place as a Lord, he'd have anything he wanted. Honestly.
Still, she chose to respect his wishes. Having his own ideas was good... Good, even!
It was certainly better than the state of frantic isolation he'd been in for the past few years!
"Fine, I promise. But if I'm going to watch over them, I should probably ask Alice... By the way, what are the magecraft family's distinguishing features?"
"Distinguishing features? No, the Matou Family in Fuyuki City should be pretty well known, right?"
"The Matou Family?"
"Yeah, the Matou Family."
Chapter 8: The Old Foxes of the Clock Tower
Before you continue