Traveler Starting from Type-Moon, Demon Lord Rimuru! Chapter 7

A "mage killer" is someone who uses magecraft as a tool; such individuals are generally held in deep contempt by traditional magi.

"I trust that with Lord Yuri Phis's pride, there is no way he would ever instruct a mage killer to take my life."

Liddell had certainly considered this, but clearly, the gloomy, viper-like aura Yuri Phis usually exuded always made it feel as though any conspiracy must be his doing. Coupled with the fact that concern leads to confusion, Liddell was still feeling a bit hot-headed.

"Whose side are you on, anyway?!" Liddell turned her head to glare at Rimuru, pouting, but her eyes and the corners of her mouth immediately curled into crescents. Clearly, Rimuru's proactive attempt to soothe her had left her very satisfied.

Not bad, not bad at all. To think he actually knows how to massage this young lady—hmm, has this blockhead finally started to get it?

Sitting down, Liddell was exactly a head shorter than the standing Rimuru. This meant that whenever she tilted her head up, her forehead could almost touch his chin. A faint, delicate fragrance drifted from her soft hair, and looking at those exquisite collarbones, Rimuru suddenly felt... that he was actually doing pretty well for himself!

"But regardless, daring to strike within the territory of the Clock Tower is an undeniable challenge to the authority of the Clock Tower." Barthomeloi first defined the nature of the entire incident, then stood up, leaning against the table as a massive, imposing pressure bore down on everyone, speaking word by word.

"The data on the assassin has already been transmitted by the Holy Church. I trust that none of you would abandon the honor of a magus to associate with this notorious mage killer, but, since the opponent was able to succeed—"

"I believe there must have been a certain degree of indulgence from individual Lords."

Once these words were spoken, all the Lords fell silent for a moment. Isn't that obvious? Without indulgence, could the opponent have bypassed the surveillance of dozens of familiars to fire that shot?!

"I hope that in the future... such an incident will absolutely never happen again!"

Barthomeloi's gaze seemed to carry blades, scraping fiercely across all the Lords before she said with extreme seriousness: "The dignity of the Clock Tower."

"Is. Not. To. Be. Challenged."

What an imposing aura. Rimuru forcibly suppressed the timidity stirred up by her gaze, but his eyes suddenly shifted to the light screen in the center of the conference table. He had keenly sensed the information hidden in Barthomeloi's words just now.

The notorious mage killer... could it be... the one he knew?

That emotionless messenger of justice.

Emiya... Kiritsugu.

Chapter 011: So I am the culprit behind Emiya Kiritsugu embarking on the path of a Sealing Designation?

As the data gradually appeared on the light screen, Rimuru finally felt that the content and rhythm of the entire meeting had entered a domain he was familiar with.

Emiya Kiritsugu. In the center of the light screen, the killer, still looking young but already possessing a weary and gloomy temperament, was a name that had reached the ears of the various Lords in this era. However, up until now, his greatest notoriety likely stemmed from two years ago, when he personally shot down a plane and killed his own mentor.

But clearly, assassinating a lecturer at the headquarters of the Clock Tower had added another heavy entry to his notorious resume.

"Natalia's student, huh..." Yuri Phis's gloomy voice contained a peculiar sense of emotion: "He walked a path completely different from Natalia's..."

"Don't start with the 'paths' and whatnot." Liddell seemed particularly sensitive to Yuri Phis, habitually raising an eyebrow and saying viciously: "It's this guy, right?"

"Most likely." Barthomeloi clasped her hands together and said coldly: "Based on the footage recorded by the various Lords' familiars and his combat style, including his preference for using various modern methods and his ability to break through a Lord's blockade, as well as the list provided by the Church, he is the most likely candidate."

"Tch, modern methods..." Liddell narrowed her eyes slightly: "Achelotte likes this kind of enemy."

After she finished speaking, she tilted her head back slightly. After a wave of fragrance drifted over, Rimuru met her smiling eyes and saw her hand him a dossier of intelligence.

Perhaps in the future, magecraft that requires casting materials and specific tools might not necessarily be more convenient than technology, but at least for now... Rimuru could confirm the convenience of magecraft, just like this intelligence book that could transmit content through touch.

After flipping through a few pages, Rimuru found that most of it was no different from the memories in his mind, except for the addition of many detailed incident records. However... judging by the records, it seemed that most of what Emiya Kiritsugu had done was documented, which was equivalent to having a criminal record. This left him quite puzzled.

"Such detailed intelligence... didn't the Mage's Association consider clearing him out before this?"

"The intelligence is detailed because many of the things he did could be traced back through magecraft, confirming he was the one who did them." Hearing Rimuru's question, a kind-looking Lord explained: "But it is true; although the Holy Church listed him as a heretic to be purged due to his actions, the Mage's Association has indeed not taken any targeted action against him in recent years."

"Why?"

Hearing this, even Liddell couldn't sit still. As someone who usually played the role of a hands-off manager, she didn't really care about these messy magus affairs, but since this involved Rimuru, she had to care! Therefore, she deliberately made a show of being disgusted by everyone.

"Does he have a prestigious family standing behind him?"

Hearing this, the corner of Yuri Phis's mouth twitched. No matter how he listened, it felt like she was implying him, pointing at the mulberry tree while scolding the locust tree.

At this moment, Rimuru spoke up instead. He leaned forward slightly, placing the judgment result on the last page of the intelligence in front of Liddell, pointing at the line with his small finger and reading:

"Because Emiya Kiritsugu's targets are generally illegal magi, and he holds the status of an Enforcer of Sealing Designations."

"Uh..." Liddell was slightly stunned.

"Remember to finish reading the intelligence next time," Rimuru whispered with a light chuckle in her ear, then straightened up and said: "I understand the Enforcer of Sealing Designations; it must have come from his mentor, Natalia... but what I don't understand is that I don't seem to be... an illegal magus, right?"

"Heh." Hearing the three parts of grievance in Rimuru's voice, Kayneth couldn't help but let out a scoff: "You don't need to worry about those words, Lord Rimuru. After all, for that fool, his definition of 'illegal' is contrary to the concepts of most magi."

"In fact, according to the Sealing Designations of the Mage's Association, most magi who are hunted down are wanted because they violated the secrecy of mystery. This means that, in another sense, bounty hunters chasing these illegal magi also protect ordinary people and uphold the rules of the Mage's Association. In this regard, although Emiya Kiritsugu has always been somewhat contemptuous of the Mage's Association, he has never relinquished his status as an Enforcer."

Inorai, the old woman, explained quite appropriately. She was the one who had personally determined most of these underlying rules and reasons, so she could truly rattle them off with ease.

"Does killing his mentor not count?"

Rimuru looked up. One had to know that in the traditional world of magecraft, killing one's mentor was far more serious than killing one's father!

"He had a justifiable reason." The old woman continued: "If he hadn't destroyed the plane at that time, the influence of magecraft would have spread, and mystery would have been leaked. So, although his actions are despised by all magi, they are justifiable in terms of the outcome."

"However, ever since he inherited one-fifth of his father Emiya Noritaka's Magic Crest, he has never had any interaction with the Mage's Association. In a sense, I suspect he has never cared about what the Mage's Association thinks of him."

"Alright, I have no more questions." Rimuru put down the intelligence and scanned the group. It was clear that if it weren't for the fact that the opponent had suddenly attacked Rimuru and challenged the dignity of the Clock Tower, most of the Lords would clearly have been seeing this intelligence, or rather, this record, for the first time.

That made sense. After all, a mage killer like Emiya Kiritsugu, who was notorious but posed no threat to them, wasn't even worth mentioning in their eyes, so why would they care?

But this intelligence was truly detailed... Rimuru looked at the intelligence on the table, his estimation of the Clock Tower's terrifying influence rising another level in his heart. Beyond their terrifying record-keeping ability, there was also the memory of these Lords, or rather, their rapid information reception and processing capabilities.

For a person they had never paid attention to, when it involved them, whether it was Yuri Phis being able to quickly find fragments about the opponent from his memory without even looking at the intelligence, or Inorai being able to clearly describe the reasons for the countless decisions she had made in the past, it all showed that these old monsters were still exceptionally powerful.

"So, how does the Mage's Association intend to handle this?" Liddell's face flushed red after she came back to her senses, and she turned to ask, dissatisfied, while tugging on Rimuru's arm: "We shouldn't just let him go this time, right?"

"Oh..." she said, scrutinizing the intelligence a few more times to ensure she wouldn't strike again, before letting out a calm, mocking remark: "This guy actually still has the right to enter the Clock Tower..."

"He won't in the future," Barthomeloi replied softly. "First, we will revoke his status as an executor of Sealing Designations, then list him as a target for a Sealing Designation, and finally, issue a warrant and announce a bounty—"

At this point, she paused and swept her gaze across the Lords before continuing: "However, these are just the basic procedures. Given that the individual has infringed upon the majesty of the Clock Tower, the crux of this agenda is whether to dispatch a Lord as the executor for a swift retrieval, and if so, which Lord should be sent."

"Furthermore, the precious material from this Sealing Designation will be kept by the retriever, to be used for experimentation or research."

Chapter 012, Necessary Concessions and Safeguards

Sealing Designations are nominally a means to detain mages who possess special talents, or to retrieve those who have violated the rules of magecraft in their research, all in the name of protecting the mystery and preventing its exposure.

But in reality, this is simply the Mage's Association's legitimate way of eliminating mages who do not conform to their rule, while simultaneously recycling them.

Rather than protection, once a mage is successfully retrieved under a Sealing Designation, they lose all rights as a human being and are kept and studied as mere material.

Generally, they are soaked in formalin... though living specimens are not unheard of.

Given this, it is easy to understand why Emiya Kiritsugu's file was laid out so exhaustively before everyone... clearly, it was to let the Lords choose and negotiate among themselves.

Whoever takes a fancy to it dispatches their own, and if multiple parties are interested, they engage in an exchange of interests.

This actually left Rimuru feeling somewhat disappointed; he had originally hoped to use this agenda to determine which Lords held malice toward him, and to see if he could use that as a pretext to launch an attack.

But clearly, within the Clock Tower, which is controlled by the Twelve Families, it is impossible for the three great noble houses to purge their own ranks and seek justice for a mere lecturer. The only thing that could be done was for Barthomeloi to provide a warning after her opening remarks, and then prepare to appease him by capturing the culprit.

But overall, even with the obligation to capture the culprit, if one wants to mobilize the influence of the Lords, it must be done through discussion—or rather, through parliamentary negotiation, pressure, and the exchange of interests. The fact that Emiya Kiritsugu was placed on the table for the Lords to decide for themselves once again highlights the hegemonic status of the Twelve Families!

In other words, even though the Director's assistant, Barthomeloi, has the authority to issue orders, she did not do so, choosing instead to resolve it through an agenda. While it may seem like she was just giving face to the other nobles, it speaks volumes.

The other Lords looked at one another, yet not a single person was willing to speak up.

They were all old foxes; they knew that the Achelotte family would definitely jump in to claim the prize immediately, so why would they bother pushing themselves forward?

There's no benefit! What for? To gain a favor from a future noble house? The three great noble houses don't need it, and the lesser noble houses are worried that Rimuru's rise would squeeze them out; they have no desire to invest.

Besides, even if they wanted to curry favor, could they possibly offer more than Achelotte?

Covet the material of Emiya Kiritsugu? Since they didn't know about Emiya Kiritsugu's Origin Bullet, in the eyes of these Lords, the only thing of value Emiya Kiritsugu might possess was that half-baked Magic Crest.

But that Magic Crest only inherited 20% of the Emiya Noritaka crest!

And Emiya Noritaka... ahem, he's already soaking somewhere in the Clock Tower's vault.

Seeing this, Rimuru was not angry, but rather secretly delighted. He immediately leaned in close to Liddell's ear and whispered: "Secure the authority for this Sealing Designation."

These Lords didn't know Emiya Kiritsugu's capabilities, but he did!!

Not to mention that after Emiya Kiritsugu's modifications, his once mediocre Reality Marble had become a time-attribute magecraft formula that could be activated at will; the Origin Bullet alone was worth a fortune! If he had the Origin Bullet, Rimuru believed he could walk anywhere he pleased in the future, even in front of the Lords!

Well, as long as he didn't run into a True Ancestor or something, it would be a one-shot kill!

Plus, he could gain talents by devouring others, along with his super-regeneration ability—

Emiya Kiritsugu only had a limited number of Origin Bullets because his ribs couldn't regenerate!

But Rimuru... he was different! According to the original work, where Rimuru could infinitely devour and replicate ores just by eating a sword... if he devoured an Origin Bullet, wouldn't that mean he could mindlessly manufacture them endlessly?!

Damn, just thinking about it makes me invincible, right?!

Liddell, hearing Rimuru's voice and feeling the warm breath against her ear, felt a flush of crimson rise to her cheeks. She rolled her eyes and forced herself to stay calm: "Isn't that obvious? Even if you didn't say anything, I would have taken it anyway!"

She had said it from the start: Achelotte likes enemies like this.

The implication was that no matter what happened in this agenda, Achelotte was going to hunt this mage down! No one could take it from her!

"No..." Rimuru looked at the other Lords, then leaned even closer to her ear, pressing completely against it to whisper: "The reason I want you to take it isn't to help me get revenge, but so that once you have it, you can just set it aside to prevent the other Lords from catching him..."

"???" Liddell blinked, her face a mix of confusion and bewilderment.

The two's little movements did not escape the notice of the other Lords. Even though Rimuru tried his best to keep his voice down, they were all Lords; if they couldn't hear that, they would have lived their lives in vain.

However, out of respect for their relationship, the other Lords were happy to pretend they hadn't heard. But this sentence left not just Liddell, but all the other Lords, momentarily stunned and in complete disarray...

They could accept someone coveting Emiya Kiritsugu's material, but what was this about letting the guy go?!

"Lord Rimuru..." the old woman suddenly spoke up, interrupting their whispering: "Are you trying to take your revenge yourself?"

"Eh... you guys... could hear that."

Rimuru was stunned for a moment, then sheepishly scratched his head, looking as honest and simple as could be.

Nonsense... the Lords thought, rolling their eyes internally. But they couldn't help but lower their guard against Rimuru, feeling a bit more favorably toward him. No matter where you go, an honest, simple person always puts people at ease.

"Then..." Rimuru blinked and playfully patted Liddell on the head: "Why didn't you remind me!!"

Hearing this, Liddell's pretty face flushed red. She stammered in annoyance, slammed her hand on the table, and stood up abruptly: "You dare hit me?!"

"..." Rimuru saw her angry expression, the small fangs she was baring, and her flushed face, and he understood instantly.

Oh... so she's just greedy for my beauty and didn't want me to move away from her ear.

Heh, women.

"Heh, alright, let's not engage in such flirting here," Yuri Phis said gloomily.

"Eh~ they're young," Gaiusling immediately retorted: "Don't be so petty."

"Sorry." Liddell gritted her teeth at Rimuru with a glare, then flicked her pink twin-tails, which slapped across Rimuru's face with a thwack. She sat back down, pouting: "Just as Rimuru said, I hope the execution of this Sealing Designation is left to us, Achelotte."

"Then, Lord Achelotte, do you intend to follow Lord Rimuru's suggestion and leave things be once you take over?"

The old woman asked kindly.

"This..." Liddell suddenly found herself at a loss for how to answer.

"Lord Rimuru." Seeing her reaction, Inorai understood the situation and turned her head. "While I can understand your desire to take revenge personally, this also concerns the dignity of the Clock Tower—"

"I will state the reasons," Rimuru replied quickly. Compared to Liddell, he was much better at handling these kinds of negotiations. "And I will firmly cooperate with the Clock Tower regarding all external handling and responses."

Very good. Inorai nodded in satisfaction, her face becoming even kinder. The world of magecraft also had methods of information dissemination, including newspapers and dedicated television channels. With the progress of the era, public opinion and the flow of information had become increasingly difficult to control; this change had always been the most frustrating thing for Inorai.

"But in that case, it seems there is nothing left for the Clock Tower to do for you."

"To be honest, Lord Barthomeloi..."

"You may call me Inorai, Lord Rimuru," Inorai interrupted.

"Uh, right, Lord Inorai. To be honest, I never thought about using this attack to coerce the Clock Tower into doing anything for me or gaining anything," Rimuru said with a wry smile. "But I do hope that, at the very least, my safety can be guaranteed. After all, this kind of thing should not happen a second time."

Rimuru was very clear about what he lacked right now. With the support of Achelotte, he did not lack resources, and with the Rimuru template, he did not lack power. What he lacked was simply time.

And those malicious intentions hidden among the noble houses, stemming from the fact that he threatened their status.

Therefore, what he needed was very simple.

A guarantee—a guarantee that within the Clock Tower, no one would dare to touch him!

Normal confrontations were fine, and he wasn't afraid of secret schemes, but as for flipping the table and resorting to assassination—that kind of sore-loser behavior should not happen a second time!

"Of course!" Inorai nodded; it was a reasonable request.

"Even if you hadn't said it, we could not allow such a thing to happen in the Clock Tower again," Barthomeloi also nodded. "Barthomeloi guarantees this with our family name."

"Seconded." The old fox Trantbellio opened his eyes slightly, spat out those two words, and then closed them again. This indicated that at this moment, the three great noble families had reached a consensus.