"Pleasure doing business with you."
Their conversation had been unusually easy and brief. It was as if they had only exchanged a few words of small talk before Fim turned toward the door to leave. Just then, Rimuru seemed to think of something and suddenly called out, "By the way, Fim, I've got a big opportunity here. Interested in taking a shot at it?"
"A... big one?"
With only the few hundred million pounds at his disposal, Rimuru could at most make a killing when the Soviet Union collapsed, ruthlessly plundering the parts of its wealth that had become worthless.
But with Fim, a world-renowned tycoon, on board, Rimuru believed they could manipulate the Soviet economy and gobble up the whole thing in one bite.
After all, as the demon king of finance, what made Fim so terrifying wasn't just the tens of billions in his hands. Even more frightening were his connections and his status as a trendsetter.
He could not only persuade other international investors to make financial moves, but also set the trend and draw countless capital tycoons in his wake. In other words, if Fim wanted to short the ruble, even people who didn't believe the Soviet Union would collapse would join in, however cautiously.
That was the extent of his terrifying influence in the secular world!
And since the other man had already taken the initiative to show goodwill, Rimuru didn't mind offering him something tangible to deepen their "friendship."
After all, this was more cake than Rimuru could eat on his own. Better to team up with someone and take a bigger bite!
Besides, with Fim on board, even if the Soviet Union didn't collapse in this world, simply opening its markets to free trade would be enough. Once billions upon billions of dollars began frantically shorting the ruble, the country would...
Collapse completely.
At heart, Rimuru still had a great deal of goodwill toward this steel empire. But... it was only goodwill.
While Rimuru and Fim were "kindred spirits at first sight," engaging in a "warm and friendly exchange"...
London, UK. The Clock Tower.
"Teacher! Teacher! Teacher!" Eler's excited silver cowlick bobbed up and down as she ran toward Rimuru's lounge, arms spread wide.
At that moment, Rimuru was dealing with the Dead Apostle deliberations on one hand and studying the theories of Spiritism on the other.
Just as he was growing mentally exhausted, the office door was quietly pushed open. A little silver-haired head peeked inside. The instant she spotted Rimuru, she kicked off with her little legs and launched herself at him headfirst!
"Teacher!"
The moment he saw Eler, Rimuru's mood suddenly lifted. He smiled instinctively, and a silver-haired bundle went thump into his arms.
"How did you come here by yourself..." Only then did he remember that he was supposed to pick Eler up from the Department of General Fundamentals after class today. Liddell was attending the Grand Resolution, so there should have been no one to look after Eler.
"Ah, I'm sorry, Eler." Rimuru felt a little guilty and gently ruffled her hair. Eler already treated the Clock Tower like her own backyard, and as a great demon lord, she wasn't likely to get into trouble, but he had still forgotten.
"Mhm, mhm~" Eler shook her head. Her big eyes swept over the lounge, which was full of books, and she suddenly asked, "Did Eler interrupt you, Teacher?"
"No, you didn't." Rimuru smiled and shook his head, then glanced out the window.
The Grand Resolution had hardly affected the Clock Tower. Even though it was being held in London, there had been no fanfare; they were simply short a dozen or so professors.
Still, the word "Grand" had added a little pressure for Rimuru.
Thankfully, things were going smoothly on the Dead Apostle side. Now he just had to wait for the outcome here.
Hmm... He also needed to speed up his research into Spiritism.
Avalon was a necessary safeguard.
"If it really doesn't work, we can consider the Possession Ritual."
"But the Possession Ritual needs a medium. Where am I supposed to find one in this era..." Rimuru set Eler back down on the floor. Wuyin was in the White Knight Rimuru's hands, and Eler had just experienced for the first time the pain of having her toy taken away.
"Speaking of Gray..."
"Gray should be about the same age as Matou Sakura."
"Right, she hasn't been born yet... Forget it, then." Rimuru sighed. A medium was a vessel whose body could perfectly endure and contain a possession, like Reines and Sima Yi, or Waver Velvet and Zhuge Liang.
But finding a vessel for King Arthur was difficult. There were plenty of Artoria faces in the Nasuverse, but finding a suitable vessel in this era at such short notice would be no easy feat.
"The magecraft model I built is fine. My control over magical energy is, too."
"I know. So the problem must be the stability of the magical energy source and the construction and operation of the Magic Circuits." Rimuru thought for a moment before guessing, "I still don't have enough magical energy. And trying to knock on Alaya's door with the power of a Phantasmal Species... I really was oversimplifying things."
"We need a leyline."
"The magecraft itself needs optimization, too. Researching it on our own is too slow."
Rimuru stared at one of the books. It was written by Kayneth, and he fell into thought.
Maybe... it was time to pay the Lemon-Head Department Head a visit?
"Then let's prioritize solving the magecraft problem. As for the leyline... perhaps we could seek out a False Holy Grail War to participate in."
"Neither of my identities can get away right now. The priority is to improve my standing, not run all over the world looking for those lousy rituals."
Most False Holy Grail War rituals were started by half-baked mages and lacked the support of a leyline. Never mind their extremely low success rate; even if he found one with a leyline and managed to make it work, the odds of summoning King Arthur as Saber would be incredibly low.
Of course, the most important thing was... even a False Holy Grail War wasn't something he could just find whenever he wanted. Rimuru couldn't afford to wait that long.
"I might as well take a leyline for myself and perform a Spiritism ritual."
"Surely you can't take the Aozaki Family's leyline, though?"
"Why would I take Aoko's? Aren't there four in Fuyuki City?"
At the thought, Rimuru immediately felt justified. "What's wrong with borrowing one?"
It was late at night. After finally sorting through some of the documents, Rimuru returned to Liddell's Academic City. He went back to the residential building, which was practically like a hotel, only to find that Liddell hadn't returned yet.
The Grand Resolution, huh.
Rimuru gently carried the sleeping Eler back to her room. Then he returned to his own room to wash up and brush his teeth. As he raised his head to look in the mirror, his primary consciousness began to drift away. In an instant, it crossed thousands of miles. When he opened his eyes again, the glittering lights of Berlin surrounded him.
The White Knight Rimuru had finished talking with the others. Night was usually a time of revelry for Dead Apostles, but to him, it meant it was time to rest.
Turning away from his reflection in the glass, Rimuru sensed Altrouge's arrival.
Altrouge had no habit of knocking. She knew how keen Rimuru's senses were, so whenever she came in, he would already be ready to receive her.
"Your Highness." Rimuru opened the door and saw Altrouge standing quietly outside. She walked in slowly.
"The White Winged Duke came to see me." Altrouge's blood-red eyes turned gently toward Rimuru as she spoke softly. "About the terms of the contract."
"Oh?" Rimuru froze slightly, then smiled. "Then I'll leave it to the great King of Contracts."
"..."
"Sometimes I really wonder about you. Weren't you planning to use me to keep the Dead Apostles in check? Why would you agree to a condition like this? Are you an idiot?"
"We had an agreement, Your Highness." Rimuru smiled faintly. "After I leave, you'll take my place in protecting humanity."
"You're so sure I'll keep my word? We haven't even made the contract yet." Altrouge raised an eyebrow, displeased. "And who gave you the right to decide that on your own?"
Rimuru watched her throw a tantrum with amusement. He let her complaints echo around the room without saying a word.
Well... He couldn't exactly tell Altrouge that the main reason he trusted her was that he was confident he could pin her down and beat her into the ground before he left.
Still, if she had misunderstood... then let her misunderstand. A pleasant misunderstanding wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
At last, Altrouge noticed Rimuru standing there like a wooden post, lost in thought. Her little face fell, and she let out a helpless sigh. "Forget it. You never discuss anything with me anyway..."
"Hey, hold out your hand."
"Hm?"
"Hold out your hand, you idiot!"
Rimuru blinked in confusion, then helplessly held out his hand. Altrouge bared a little canine, as though she could already feel the pain in his hand.
But in the next moment, he heard Altrouge's solemn whisper.
"I, Altrouge, Ruler of Blood and Contracts, hereby establish a contract in the name of a blood pact."
"...Your Highness?"
"I hereby swear that when you leave... I'll inherit your will and protect the primates until eternity."
As another sharp pain struck the back of his hand, Rimuru felt something faint and intangible appear within his chaotic soul. It was a witness to the contract.
"A one-sided... contract?"
Rimuru looked at Altrouge in astonishment, because the contract had not required him to do anything.
"If you're willing to trust me, then I can trust you, too." Altrouge turned her head away awkwardly and said coldly, "Rimuru, there was one thing you got wrong at today's meeting."
"...Hm? Was there?"
"I really have been looking for a mage like the White Winged Duke, but that isn't why I support you so much." As she spoke, Altrouge gave Rimuru a complicated look, then turned around and said coldly, "And even if the White Winged Duke hadn't betrayed us, he still couldn't have taken your place."
"..."
Rimuru watched in silence as she left the room and slammed the door shut... Then he gave a wry smile.
This... wasn't my fault, was it?
"...Scumbag."
Let's Go to War! Humanity!!
Liddell didn't return until the next morning. Even though she was exhausted, she went straight to find Rimuru.
"You look exhausted."
"If you'd gone to one of those dogshit deliberations full of scheming and backstabbing, you'd be tired, too." Liddell flopped down on the sofa without the slightest concern that her short skirt left her exposed. "With the Church involved, this meeting was less about mages joining forces and more like one big exercise in passive-aggressive sniping."
"You should've seen it. Good grief, they nearly came to blows."
"So, what was the result?"
At Rimuru's question, Liddell sat up, her expression turning more serious. "Although the news that Zelretch had appeared at the Dead Apostle deliberations caused a subtle shift in the Magic Association's attitude, Cornwall belongs to the UK, and the Magic Association can't tolerate the Dead Apostles occupying it, Rimuru."
"You need to be ready."
"So they've decided to join forces and attack, then?"
"Right. The main point of contention between the two sides was the Church. They kept talking about exterminating heretics, but clearly they also wanted the Magic Association to hand over quite a few things." Liddell paused slightly, then said, "There's also the matter of the White Knight, Rimuru."
"The Church wants to kill him outright, but the Clock Tower's attitude is ambiguous, in line with Lord Inorai's. Since reports say the White Knight became a Dead Apostle while fighting Altrouge, Lord Inorai believes we shouldn't push you completely into the Dead Apostles' camp."
"...By the way, it's strange that the people from Alastor Academy are taking an unexpectedly united stance, too."
Of course... The hidden director of Alastor Academy was one of the Dead Apostle Ancestors. Rimuru chuckled and shook his head. "I don't really care what they plan to do about the White Knight. What about me? Does no one suspect me?"
"The Mistics family did bring it up, but Inorai and Barthomeloi joined forces to shut them down. It concerns the Clock Tower's dignity, after all. Still, to be safe, you should deal with the Blood-Sucking Impulse as soon as possible. The Church has a way to detect it, and they might use it on you one day." Liddell looked worried as she added, "I heard you got the scabbard?"
"Yeah... I got it. But figuring out how to summon King Arthur into the modern era is the real challenge."
Mistics... They were a branch family of the Astrea faction, weren't they? Good grief, wasn't picking a fight with me at the last meeting enough? Now they were bold enough to provoke me again?
But the Church hadn't brought it up? Were they wary of my influence, or... did they really not suspect me? They couldn't actually be that stupid, could they?
"When are they attacking?"
"They haven't agreed on a time yet, but with the Church's influence in the UK, they shouldn't need long to assemble their forces. Three days at most." Liddell spoke softly. "You're going to the battlefield, Rimuru."
"You're going to fight yourself and put on a show?"
"That would be boring." Rimuru shook his head with a soft laugh. "If I want to get stronger, I have to challenge interesting opponents."
Compared to the cumbersome Grand Resolution, things on the Dead Apostle side were much simpler. When dawn once again shone over Germany and all the Ancestors gathered in Berlin, it took less than half an hour for the black flags across the country to slowly vanish. The aura of the Dead Apostles disappeared once more without a trace.
When the mages of Germany took to the streets again and looked up at the clear skies, the gloom in their hearts hadn't lifted in the slightest.
Because they knew—
"War is coming."
Rimuru's clear eyes gazed at distant Berlin. Then he turned and followed Altrouge and the others ahead of him.
They were returning to Cornwall.
Time passed. Forty-eight hours later, under the moonlight in Cornwall.
The pale moonlight mingled with the blood moon, tinting the entire starry sky a dim, eerie red. The scent of blood slowly spread through the air, and now and then, cries and groans echoed through the shadow-shrouded city.
The Ghouls were slaughtering one another.
Nearly a week had passed since Rimuru had turned Cornwall into a city of Dead Apostles. During that week, the newly made Dead Apostles, along with countless Living Corpses produced by failed transformations, had searched nearly every corner of the Cornwall region. Now they had fallen completely into a frenzy for blood.
They had been denied fresh blood to turn ordinary beasts into starving wolves and make these cannon fodder fight with a frenzy of their own.
Of course, not all Dead Apostles were willing to obey. They had to endure their cravings while also using their strength of mind to suppress their blood thralls. But by now, the area around Cornwall had long been surrounded by mages and Executors, with no way through.
Before you continue