Attendance… plz…)
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"That is enough."
May froze. She let out a disgruntled huff, glaring once more at the old man before sinking back into her chair. Lord Gaius was technically her uncle by generation; she had to give him some face.
"Indeed, May."
At that moment, Rimuru stepped forward. He placed his hands on May's tense shoulders and began to massage them gently, smoothing down her metaphorical fur.
"At the very least," Rimuru said, his voice calm and amused, "the assassin used a modern sniper rifle. That implies the culprit was a Spellcaster, not a Magus."
A 'Spellcaster' (User) was someone who treated magecraft merely as a tool, often combining it with technology. To a traditional Magus, such people were heretics, scum beneath contempt.
"I believe that with Lord Eulyphis's pride, he would never lower himself to instruct a Spellcaster to take my life. It would be an insult to his own aesthetics."
May had considered this, of course. But Eulyphis always looked so gloomy, like a venomous snake coiling in the shadows, that it was easy to attribute any dark scheme to him. Plus, concern had clouded her judgment. She was running hot.
"Whose side are you on, anyway?!"
May turned her head, puffing out her cheeks as she glared up at Rimuru. But the corners of her mouth and eyes curled into crescents of delight.
Not bad. He actually knows how to give a massage now. The blockhead finally learned something useful?
Sitting down, May was a head shorter than the standing Rimuru. When she tilted her head back to look at him, her forehead almost brushed his chin.
A faint, elegant fragrance wafted from her hair. From his vantage point, Rimuru caught a glimpse of her delicate collarbones.
You know what, Rimuru thought, this isn't a bad deal for me either.
"Regardless of the specifics, the fact that they dared to strike within the boundaries of the Clock Tower is an undeniable challenge to our authority."
Lorelei Barthomeloi set the tone for the entire incident. She stood up, leaning forward against the heavy table. A massive, crushing aura of dignity and power radiated from her, pressing down on everyone in the room.
She spoke slowly, enunciating every word.
"The assassin's dossier has been forwarded to us by the Holy Church. I trust that none of you would abandon the honor of a Magus to conspire with this notorious 'Magus Killer.' However..."
Her eyes narrowed.
"For the assassin to have succeeded in taking the shot, I am certain there was a degree of... leniency... from certain Lords."
Silence descended upon the table.
It was an unspoken truth. Without someone looking the other way, how could an outsider bypass double-digit layers of familiar surveillance to fire that shot? It was impossible.
"I expect," Lorelei continued, her voice dropping an octave, "that in the future... this will absolutely not happen again."
Her gaze felt like a knife, scraping against the skin of every Lord present.
"The authority of the Clock Tower."
"Will. Not. Be. Provoked."
What incredible pressure. Rimuru forced down the instinctive fear rising in his chest under her glare.
He shifted his gaze to the screen of light floating in the center of the table. His mind latched onto a specific phrase Lorelei had used.
Notorious Magus Killer...
Could it be the one he knew?
The emotionless champion of justice.
Emiya... Kiritsugu.
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As the dossier materialized on the screen of light, Rimuru finally felt the rhythm of the meeting shift into territory he understood.
Emiya Kiritsugu.
The photo in the center showed a man who looked slightly younger than the version Rimuru remembered from the anime, yet he already carried that signature aura of weary, deeply ingrained gloom.
In the present, his reputation had already reached the ears of the Lords. Though, up until now, his most infamous act was likely the incident two years ago, where he shot down a plane, killing his own mentor, Natalia Kaminski, to stop a Dead Apostle outbreak.
But clearly, assassinating a Lecturer right in the heart of the Clock Tower was about to become the new headline on his resume.
"Natalia's student, ah..."
Eulyphis's voice was heavy with a strange, dark nostalgia. "He has walked a path completely different from hers..."
"Don't give me that 'path' nonsense," May Riddell snapped. She was hypersensitive to anything Eulyphis said. She raised an eyebrow, her expression fierce. "It's this guy, right?"
"Most likely, yes," Lorelei replied, clasping her hands together. Her voice was cold. "Based on the footage recorded by the familiars and the combat style, specifically the reliance on modern weaponry and the ability to breach high-level Bounded Fields, combined with the list provided by the Church... he is the highest probability."
"Tch. Modern methods..." May narrowed her eyes. "The Archelot family loves enemies like that."
She finished speaking and tilted her head back. A waft of fresh fragrance hit Rimuru again as she looked up at him with smiling eyes, handing him a magical intelligence ledger.
"Here."
Rimuru took the booklet. It was a convenient piece of magic, touching it transferred the information directly into his mind.
Maybe in the future, technology will catch up, but right now, magic really is convenient.
He flipped through a few "pages" in his mind. The information largely matched his memories from the anime, though with far more granular detail.
However, looking at the rap sheet, it seemed like almost everything Kiritsugu had done was documented. He had a massive criminal record in the magical world.
Which confused him.
"If the intel is this detailed... why hasn't the Association wiped him out before now?"
"The intel is detailed because we can use Retro-cognition magic to confirm his involvement after the fact," a kindly-looking Lord explained.
"But you are correct. While the Holy Church has labeled him a heretic and authorized his elimination, the Mage's Association hasn't taken specific action against him in recent years."
"Why?"
Hearing this, even May Riddell couldn't sit still.
Usually, she was a hands-off Lord who couldn't care less about the messy affairs of random magi. But this involved Rimuru, which meant she had to care.
And if she could annoy the other Lords in the process, that was just a bonus.
"Is there a prestigious family standing behind him?" she asked, her tone dripping with insinuation.
Eulyphis's mouth twitched. No matter how he listened to it, it sounded like she was implying it was him. It was practically an accusation disguised as a question.
At this point, Rimuru intervened.
He leaned down slightly, placing the open intelligence ledger in front of May. He pointed a small finger at the very last line of text on the final page and read aloud:
"Reason for non-engagement: Emiya Kiritsugu's targets are primarily renegade or criminal magi. Furthermore, he holds the status of a Sealing Designation Enforcer."
"Uh..." May blinked, momentarily stunned.
"Next time, remember to read the whole report before you start accusing people," Rimuru whispered into her ear with a soft chuckle.
He straightened up and addressed the room. "I understand the Enforcer status; he likely inherited it from his mentor, Natalia. But what I don't understand is... I don't believe I count as a 'criminal magus,' do I?"
"Heh."
Hearing the slight note of grievance in Rimuru's voice, Kayneth couldn't help but let out a sneering laugh.
"You need not concern yourself with those words, Lord Rimuru. To that fool, the definition of 'criminal' is diametrically opposed to the views of most Magi."
"Actually, regarding the Association's Sealing Designations," Inorai, the old woman, interjected smoothly, "most magi who are hunted down have violated the code by leaking Mystery to the public. Consequently, Bounty Hunters who pursue these renegade magi are, in a sense, protecting ordinary people and upholding the Association's rules."
As the one who personally adjudicated many of these rules, she could recite the reasoning effortlessly.
"In this regard, while Emiya Kiritsugu has always shown a certain contempt for the Association, we have never formally revoked his status as an Enforcer."
"Does killing his own mentor not count?" Rimuru asked, looking up.
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