Attendance… plz…)
….
"Hmm... Although Boundless has technically deviated from the standard definition of a Mystic Code, there is a precedent. The Holy Grail itself resides within a human host, so having a weapon live inside me isn't too outlandish, right?"
Just as Rimuru was rationalizing his new biological weapon, a rhythmic sound echoed from the hallway.
Knock, knock.
After a week of rigorous conditioning, May Riddell had finally learned how to knock.
However... she had only learned to knock. She hadn't learned the part where she waits for permission to enter.
Click.
Before Rimuru could say a word, the door swung open. May strutted in, arms crossed over her chest, her delicate face set in a serious expression.
"Rimuru?"
"What is it?" Rimuru turned around, setting the blue slime-ball he was testing onto the side table.
He assumed May had important business. But then, a small, sneaky head popped out from behind May's legs.
A platinum-blonde cowlick (ahoge) twitched atop the little head. A pair of massive, adorable eyes blinked, locking gazes with Rimuru.
Elair had been nervous. Her previous tutors were all stuffy old men who punished her with detention every time she accidentally blew something up. But the moment she saw Rimuru, her eyes sparkled.
It's a pretty Big Sister!
"Teacher!!" Before Rimuru could react, the tiny white blur launched herself across the room like a missile, burying her face into his stomach.
"Hah?" Feeling the small head rubbing affectionately against his chest, Rimuru stood frozen, arms hovering in the air.
"May...?" He looked at the pink-haired Lord for help.
May sighed, looking exhausted. She reached down, grabbed Elair by the ear, and peeled her off Rimuru.
"What did I tell you? Bow first, then call him Teacher!"
"..." Rimuru stayed silent. The bowing part isn't the issue. It's the fact that I'm apparently running a kindergarten now.
….
Ten minutes later.
Rimuru sat in a chair, massaging his temples. To his side, the tiny creature named Elair was wrestling happily with Boundless, which had obligingly shapeshifted into a slime-hamster the size of a beach ball.
"So," Rimuru groaned, pointing at the child. "This is the disciple you introduced?"
"As a Professor, you have to take students eventually," May explained with a smile. She looked at Elair with genuine affection. "She is a direct descendant of my Teacher. Her talent is guaranteed."
"… taking students usually means finding assistants who can help with research," Rimuru countered, giving Elair a skeptical look. "Can she write a thesis? Can she brew potions?"
"You need a Personal Apprentice, not just lab rats," May argued. "Someone to inherit your legacy."
As soon as the words left her mouth, Elair stopped wrestling the hamster. She looked up, her big eyes glistening with unshed tears. She looked like a kicked puppy.
"Does... does Teacher not like me...?"
"Ugh..."
Rimuru clutched his chest. Critical Hit. Okay, you have to admit... that is devastatingly cute.
"Fine, fine." Rimuru sighed, waving his hand in defeat. "I'll take her."
He knew what this was.
It was May, and by extension, the First Witch of the Archelot line, deepening their ties with him.
In the beginning, the Archelots protected him because the Tempest family paid them a fortune. It was a transaction. But now? Now that Rimuru was rising, now that he was a Professor with the favor of the Director, the Archelots were actively investing in him. Giving him a scion of their own lineage as a disciple was the ultimate sign of trust.
Besides, seeing how much May doted on the kid, Rimuru figured he was mostly doing May a favor.
Elair was barely six years old. Proper magical instruction wouldn't start until she was at least eight. Until then, his job wasn't "Teacher." It was "Babysitter."
"Also," May said, her tone shifting gears seamlessly, "there is news regarding the matter you asked about. From the Far East."
"Oh?"
Rimuru, who had been watching Elair attempt to put the slime-hamster in a headlock, snapped his attention back to May.
"What news?"
…..
Fuyuki City.
A swirl of exhaust from a passing car caught a fallen leaf, sending it spinning into the gray sky.
A young woman dressed in a black formal gown with a matching shawl stepped onto the pavement. She moved with an eerie, quiet grace, looking entirely out of place on the modern street.
Beside her, dragging a suitcase and radiating an aura of vibrant, youthful energy, Aozaki Aoko looked around curiously.
"So this is Fuyuki," she mused. "One of the few places in this Far East backwater with a decent magical lineage."
The Tohsaka family might not be as famous as the Aozaki, but their Jewel Magecraft was undeniably first-rate.
However, Aoko was less interested in the local real estate and more interested in her companion.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. A three-hour drive? Say, Alice, isn't this the furthest you've traveled since moving to Japan?"
Aoko leaned in, resting her chin on her aloof friend's shoulder with a grin full of mischievous curiosity.
"Who exactly has a big enough face to drag you out of your mansion? Did you really call me back just for this?"
"..."
Alice Kuonji turned her head slightly. She looked at her friend's eager face with calm, flat eyes. After a moment of silence, she spoke in a cool, detached tone.
"When was the last time you went to the Clock Tower?"
"...Two years ago, I think." Aoko blinked, her grip tightening on the suitcase handle. "I haven't dared to go back since the Director kicked me out. Haha..."
"I did blow up quite a few things..."
"We should go there. In a few days," Alice said softly.
"Hah?"
Aoko's face fell instantly. "Don't do this to me! The Director gave me a final warning last time... If I go back, I'm getting a Sealing Designation for sure!!"
"Can a Magician even receive a Sealing Designation?" Alice asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Wah!! You don't know how scary that Director is!!" Aoko pouted aggrievedly. "Anyway, I'm not going! Touko is probably waiting there just to laugh at me!"
"Ultimately, it was your fault for causing the explosion," Alice said, stating the fact without emotion. "This time, I will go with you."
"?!!!"
"You? Going to the Clock Tower?"
Aoko blinked rapidly, as if she had misheard. "Did my ears break? Alice?"
As her best friend, Aoko knew exactly how much Alice Kuonji detested England. For the current Alice, that place was a graveyard of memories she wanted to avoid.
Alice simply nodded silently and stopped speaking. She never liked explaining herself.
Watching her silent friend, Aoko suddenly realized something.
Something happened at the Clock Tower.
And it almost certainly involved May Riddell... and that bastard.
The moment Rimuru's face popped into her mind, Aoko felt a headache coming on. She gritted her teeth.
She and Rimuru had always been like oil and water. Compared to Aoko, who, despite her destructive tendencies, was fundamentally kind-hearted, Rimuru's operating mode in the past had been cold, ruthless, and unscrupulous.
He was even worse than Alice! Alice was just stubbornly adhering to the traditions of a Witch. But that guy... his personality was just twisted!
Majorly twisted!
The worst part was, the reason she was banned from the Clock Tower in the first place was because of him. Two years ago, out of sheer curiosity, she had tried to peek at his timeline using the Fifth Magic.
The result? The timeline fluctuated violently, causing a magical backlash that resulted in a massive explosion.
Since then, she had been blacklisted by the Clock Tower and branded with the nickname "The Human Missile Launcher."
"You aren't seriously going, are you?" Aoko rubbed her temples. "Honestly, Alice, compared to me, I think you have a higher chance of being Sealed if you walk in there..."
"..."
Alice stopped walking. She turned her head and stared at Aoko.
Just a stare. Quiet. Intense. Unmoving.
"..."
"Okay! Fine! Okay! We'll go! We'll go, alright?!"
Aoko threw her hands up in defeat. She should have known. This quiet Witch might usually be a woman of few words, but once she decided on a course of action... wild horses couldn't drag her back.
My life is so hard.
….
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