Traveler Starting from Type-Moon, Demon Lord Rimuru! Chapter 4

Chirping sounds drifted over.

"Eh? Did Professor Mei take on another student?"

"What student? That should be the fairy tale lord, Professor Rimuru, right?"

"Huh?!! But he's so tiny! He looks so cute--"

Snap!

A cross-shaped vein popped up on Rimuru's forehead. He turned a dark face toward Liddell, who was struggling to hold back her laughter. "You did that on purpose, didn't you?!"

"How could I." Liddell shook her head quickly, denying it, but the smile on her face clearly betrayed her thoughts.

Hmph. Rimuru glanced at the parking lot. It was more of an open field than a parking lot. Although the area in front of the British Museum, where the Clock Tower's basic departments were located, was packed with cars, there were fewer than five that could actually be driven in by anyone below the rank of professor...

Most professors didn't mind being driven, but those who actually drove themselves were incredibly rare!!

"Professor." A girl with short, slightly curly blonde hair, about the same height as Rimuru, walked over. She eagerly took some of the magical materials from Liddell's hands. "Lecturer Asta has been asked to cover today's class."

"Mm." Liddell nodded to show she understood. As a Lord, she could temporarily reassign any lecturer or professor under her, much like a head teacher, though she rarely interfered in such matters. This time, it was purely because an afternoon meeting had occupied the time slot for one of her classes.

Lords weren't strictly required to teach, but Liddell was clearly the type who cared quite a bit about her students.

"Um..." The blonde girl didn't ignore Rimuru's presence. She hesitated for a moment before quickly speaking up. "Hello... Professor Rimuru."

After the greeting, she hurried back with the materials. Rimuru searched his memory for a moment and quickly recalled her identity: one of Liddell's nominal students, a little one with a bit of witch blood named Lina Lilico.

"What is it?" Liddell walked a few steps, then noticed Rimuru was still watching her student's back. She suddenly chuckled. "Speaking of which, you should take on a student yourself, shouldn't you?"

"Huh?" Rimuru was a bit bewildered. He always felt Liddell's train of thought was a bit jumpy; why was she always coming up with things on the fly?!

Seeing Rimuru's surprise, Liddell reflected and realized she had indeed been a bit impatient... It was mainly because professors generally had students, and it was considered a tradition to take on a few, much like a professor mentoring graduate students. Having finally seen Rimuru emerge from his self-imposed isolation, she had been a bit too eager without realizing it.

"How about I introduce a student to you?" Since she had already brought it up, she continued, "I'm already mentoring four students; I really don't want to take on any more."

"Not happening." Rimuru didn't even think about it. "That student of yours is almost taller than me. Don't even think about it!"

The Clock Tower was similar to an advanced university. While it allowed genius students to come for further studies, the magical world was largely family-based. Students were either like graduate students coming for advanced training, or commoners working their way through.

But regardless of the path, education during childhood and even adolescence was generally no different from that of normal people, except that magical families were more keen on passing down their craft.

So, finding a student even younger than Rimuru's current appearance of thirteen or fourteen... was actually quite difficult.

Besides, even if he found one, Rimuru didn't want to be a babysitter!

However, Liddell blinked her eyes craftily, like a little witch, and then said pitifully, "Since you put it that way, I actually do have a child who would be perfect for you. You can't refuse..."

"..." Rimuru looked at this fickle woman with a headache. He knew she was faking it, but he just couldn't do anything about her. After thinking for a moment, he still refused. "Let's wait a bit longer. After all, I haven't even sorted myself out yet. Better not mislead the youth..."

Hearing this, Liddell's brows furrowed as she prepared to retort, but then a light chuckle came from behind them. Immediately after, a voice as steady as a spring breeze, carrying an air of absolute arrogance, drifted over: "That is being far too self-deprecating, Lord Rimuru."

As the voice fell, the professor who had spoken passed by Rimuru and Liddell. He walked with his hands behind his back, his spirited figure clad in a deep blue standard-issue trench coat, which accentuated his upright posture. Although his tone was arrogant, he still greeted them with a touch of grace: "Good day, Ms. Liddell."

"You've arrived quite early." Faced with the gesture, Liddell had no intention of responding. Instead, she narrowed her eyes dangerously. "Lord Kayneth..."

Kayneth didn't care about Liddell's attitude toward him. Although they were both from the Aristocratic faction, the El-Melloi faction had always been in the same boat as the Achelotte faction's biggest rival, Yuri Phis. Their infighting wasn't a one-time occurrence. However, compared to a mage like Liddell who liked to express herself freely, a traditional mage like Kayneth preferred to maintain a perfect image.

Whether it was his attitude toward others or his inevitable success.

"After all, this year's students will be arriving soon, so one must start getting busy..." Unlike Liddell, besides serving as the Lord of the Department of Mineralogy, Kayneth also served as a first-class lecturer in the Department of Spiritual Evocation under his mentor—which meant he had fixed courses to teach every week.

Rimuru observed this strange acquaintance slightly, his thoughts suddenly drifting... It wasn't until he saw Kayneth that he shifted his focus from his own survival to the plot... At this moment, Kayneth looked almost exactly as he remembered, but it was clear that the sharp, cutting edge he possessed hadn't yet settled down as it had in the story.

Rimuru's eyes drooped slightly, and his fingers began to tap rhythmically. Ever since I transmigrated, I've been struggling with my environment, almost forgetting that as a prophet, the first thing I should have clarified is the timeline and the plot nodes—

There are too many chaotic events in the Type-Moon world. Even hiding isn't a guarantee of safety. And if I want to go home... I have to actively pursue these things. The Mahoyo era has already passed, and according to the Great Sage, I clearly don't have the luck of Aoko Aozaki to glimpse the Root...

But this younger Kayneth in front of me clearly tells me what I should focus on next...

The Fourth Holy Grail War.

Notification: You do not have the nuclear-powered Storm Dragon from the original work, so it is suggested that you attempt to obtain the Holy Grail... It is a decent energy source.

Emmm... speaking of which, if I eat the Holy Grail... will I really not get indigestion? Hearing the Great Sage's words, Rimuru's expression turned rather strange.

The Great Sage itself possessed abilities including All of Creation and Thought Acceleration, so the conversation between the two, including Rimuru's thoughts, had only taken a moment in reality. At this point, Kayneth, having finished greeting Liddell, turned his gaze back to Rimuru, who was observing him while distracted. He curled his lips and interrupted Rimuru's train of thought: "Lord Rimuru, it is best to avoid such talk of 'misleading the youth' in the future. After all, the magical knowledge passed down through the Tempest family for dozens of generations—even if you only taught them a little, it would be enough for them to be eternally grateful."

"That said, if you are worried about the quality of disciples, our Archibald family has a few little ones with decent talent this generation—"

He didn't continue, but the implication was self-evident.

"Ah?" Hearing this, Rimuru was slightly stunned. He could understand Kayneth promoting his family's heritage, but he now seriously suspected that there were some rumors spreading among these Lords and professors about him? Otherwise, why were they all frantically trying to shove children his way...?

But it had to be said, Kayneth's words made Rimuru's heart skip a beat. If it were a member of Kayneth's family—then the most famous one would definitely be that future disciple who would become a queen, the black-stockinged girl who played Waver like a fiddle!

This made Rimuru's eyes light up, and he almost blurted out, "Reines?"

"Reines?" To his surprise, when Kayneth heard this, a flash of confusion crossed his otherwise arrogant and indifferent face. He thought for a long time, but in the end, he couldn't recall any child in his family named Reines...

It sounded like a girl's name... but there certainly shouldn't be one.

Kayneth narrowed his eyes slightly, confirming with certainty. As a once-in-a-century genius who believed that the outcome of any matter must be a success, Kayneth didn't think he could be wrong about such a small detail—though, Reines was indeed a nice name.

He silently tucked the name away in his mind, then shook his head. "Regrettably, there is no one named Reines in our family. It seems..."

He gave Rimuru and Liddell a meaningful look, interpreting the other party's reaction as a polite refusal, and smiled. "Lord Rimuru already has someone in mind."

"I don't think you need to trouble yourself with my student's affairs, Professor El-Melloi!"

Liddell said this through gritted teeth. Being poached right in front of her face was a significant affront to her dignity!

This caused her to change how she addressed him, elevating the topic to the level of factional politics to remind Kayneth to get lost.

"Oh? I think otherwise." Kayneth chuckled without a hint of hesitation, turning around to say, "Although there is still some time before the meeting, it is clear I have other matters to attend to. See you later, Professor Achelotte."

"And, I wish you a wonderful afternoon at the Clock Tower, Lord Rimuru."

Kayneth shoved his hands into his uniform pockets. His straight-backed posture and rigid stride always made Rimuru feel like he was a German soldier—

"What an annoying guy." Liddell narrowed her eyes slightly, muttering as she watched his retreating back.

"I think he's alright, isn't he?" Rimuru watched the figure walk away. To be honest, he didn't have a deep impression of Kayneth, only vaguely remembering that he was an unlucky guy who got cuckolded.

But this clearly angered the pink-haired beauty. She pressed down on Rimuru's head and began to mess up his hair spitefully: "That's because you haven't seen him when he's being mean!"

"The only reason he has that attitude toward you is because he acknowledges your family background. If you didn't have the Tempest surname, you'd know just how hateful he can be."

Liddell's family was a magus lineage that rose to prominence during the Industrial Revolution. When she mentioned this, Rimuru immediately understood why Kayneth appeared so rude to Liddell, who was also a Lord.

Rimuru, with his head held down by Liddell, clearly had no intention of admitting defeat. As he pulled his head upward, he blinked his eyes and asked curiously: "So, does that mean my status... is actually higher than yours?!"

"??? You guy!!" Liddell instantly bristled. Ignoring the fact that they were in a Clock Tower corridor, she used her height advantage to lock Rimuru's head in a headlock, then began to squeeze his little face with both hands: "You're still making snide remarks? Explain to me who Reines is first, hmm? Did you take a fancy to some vixen, huh?"

"Mmph! Let go of me first!!!" Caught off guard, Rimuru was hit by the surprise attack. He hurriedly used his mimicry to turn his head into a soft blob to slip out of her grasp, then said with a wry smile: "That was just a name I made up on the spot."

Although he said that, Rimuru's thoughts were becoming increasingly clear.

Kayneth's reaction proved that 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!

In that case, the Holy Grail War was still a long way off from his current time!

Chapter 007, There is a Magus Family Called Matou

"Really?" Liddell looked at the blue-haired blob, whose hair she had ruffled into a bird's nest, and felt her mood improve for no reason: "You seemed pretty interested. If you really have your own plans, I won't interfere."

"Really." Rimuru shook his head gently. He glanced at the increasing number of students nearby, cast a sound-dampening spell, and continued walking: "Speaking of which, isn't Kayneth afraid of causing dissatisfaction with Yuri Phis by shoving a student onto me?"

"Why would you ask that? Of course not." Liddell said strangely: "Kayneth is the heir to the El-Melloi faction, but that doesn't mean his family is the El-Melloi faction. The Archibald family has its own Magic Crest, after all..."

"However, the Archibald family is actually... just so-so." Liddell smacked her lips, quite disdainfully: "If it weren't for the genius that is Kayneth, this lineage probably wouldn't even be known. That's why I don't understand where Kayneth gets the arrogance to look down on other lineages."

That may be true, but surely one should measure Kayneth's lineage by El-Melloi rather than Archibald now... Rimuru muttered helplessly to himself.

After all, while they were called lineages, magi generally considered the Magic Crest as the core rather than blood relations. Furthermore, since a magus's crest could only be inherited by one person, those who chose to branch out were rare. This often led to magus families failing to pass on their bloodline, forcing them to find others to carry on the lineage.

In other words, if the El-Melloi faction had no descendants with the talent to inherit the Magic Crest in this generation, and Kayneth inherited it, then Kayneth would be prioritized as a member of the El-Melloi lineage, with Archibald coming second.

"Uh..." But seeing the girl starting to get angry again, Rimuru wisely shut his mouth and switched to asking about another issue he cared about: "Hey... Liddell!"

"Speak."

"What year... is it this year again?"

Liddell: "???"

The next moment, Rimuru felt an extremely gentle touch on his forehead. Liddell placed her hand on his head with a look of worry...

Rimuru: (ー`?ー)?!

"What are you doing?!" Rimuru looked up in dissatisfaction, only to see Liddell muttering with a look that suggested she was staring at an idiot: "Nothing wrong here..."

"..." Rimuru felt a faint sense of sorrow. Honestly, he didn't want to ask such a question either!

But in this godforsaken era, smartphones hadn't appeared yet, and even the internet and computers were still using the DOS system. Let alone the ubiquitous billboards and time displays of later generations.

He had tried his best to observe his surroundings, but in the end, he could only infer that it was the late eighties in London based on the fact that seven or eight years had passed since Walpurgisnacht and Liddell's age! What could he do! He was desperate too!

Fortunately, although Liddell didn't understand his bitterness and frustration, she still answered honestly: "It's 1987, what's wrong?"

1987! The Fourth Holy Grail War was in 1994!

With the accurate answer, Rimuru's brain spun rapidly. He quickly calculated, feeling both disappointed and relieved.

He was disappointed because there were still seven years until the Fourth Holy Grail War, which was a long time. This meant that for the next seven years, he had to keep a low profile because the prophetic knowledge in his head was useless for now. As for being relieved, it was naturally because while seven years was long, it was also sufficient time for development—

The only thing that made him feel a bit down was that this meant he would have to stay in this world for at least seven years...

Seven years.

How many seven-year periods does a person have in their life...

Watching Rimuru's expression shift from relief to disappointment, Liddell became increasingly confused: "Is there a problem with the time?"

"No... just suddenly thought of something."

The two gradually ventured deeper into the Clock Tower, and the already sparse students became even fewer.

"Tell me... if I wanted you to help me keep an eye on a magus family, would it be difficult?"

"Hmm? That depends on which magus family it is." Liddell's footsteps faltered, and she stopped, looking at Rimuru with a serious face: "If it's one like Kayneth's..."

"No, no! It's just an ordinary family in the Far East. They had some fame once, but they've already declined."

Rimuru blinked and paused slightly: "Actually, whether I keep an eye on them or not doesn't really have anything to do with me, but if I don't do it, I just feel a bit uneasy—"

"The Far East?" Liddell was silent for a moment. For some reason, she suddenly thought of her good friend, a certain Kuonji Alice who loved wearing black dresses, was cold, black-bellied, and indifferent...

She cast a suspicious glance at Rimuru, feeling as though he might be doing this on purpose. After all, compared to Kuonji Alice, who held immense influence in the Far East, the Achelotte family, with their headquarters in England, was simply... too powerless!

Even if one was a major capitalist in the city and the other was a broken country squire, the mountains were high and the emperor was far away... But then again, she could yield on other matters, but when it came to Rimuru, Liddell truly did not want to give in to her childhood friend.

"But if it's just an ordinary magus family, it shouldn't be a problem..." Liddell muttered to herself, "At worst, I'll just use the excuse of a concert to make a trip there myself..."

"Are you misunderstanding something?" Rimuru saw her lost in thought, already calculating how to storm the Far East, and quickly intervened, "I was just asking you, and having you keep an eye on things. As for the rest, I have my own plans!"

Good grief, if a Lord were to storm Fuyuki City ahead of schedule, who knew what kind of changes might occur to the Holy Grail War--

"Just keep an eye on them?" Liddell continued to stare at Rimuru suspiciously for a moment before saying softly and very seriously, "Really, Rimuru, I mean it. If they provoke you, believe me, wiping out a magus family in the Far East is no different than blowing a breath of air for the Achelotte family, or for your former Tempest family—it makes no difference."

"So, Rimuru." A flash of coldness crossed Liddell's eyes as she said with extreme arrogance, "If anyone tramples on your authority, there is no need to endure it, even if it means a bloodbath in the Far East..."

"..." Looking at the deadly serious Liddell, a warmth flowed through Rimuru's heart, but he still wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and said speechlessly, "It's not that serious. There are just some things I need over there, but for now... it's not the right time."

Also, I might as well see if I can change the fate of that poor girl while I'm at it.

"Is that so?" Liddell rubbed her chin. Although she felt that Rimuru's priorities were still skewed—if he truly restored his family to its former glory and returned to the position of a Lord, he could have anything he wanted—she still chose to respect his opinion. Having a mind of his own wasn't bad... having a mind of his own was good!

It was much better than the state of frantic, self-imposed isolation he had been in a few years ago!

"Fine, I agree. But if it's just surveillance, I really should ask Alice to help... By the way, what are the characteristics of that magus family?"

"Characteristics? No, the Matou family in Fuyuki City should be quite famous, right?"

"The Matou family?"

"Yes, Matou."

Chapter 008, The Old Foxes of the Clock Tower