Attendance… plz…)
….
He could mass-produce Origin Bullets. He could spam them like a machine gun.
Infinite Anti-Magic Ammo. I'd be invincible!
Lost in his power-leveling fantasy, Rimuru leaned in close to May. Feeling his warm breath tickle her ear, May's face flushed a deep crimson. She rolled her eyes, fighting to maintain her composure.
"Isn't that obvious?" she hissed back, trying to ignore the sensation. "Even if you didn't ask, I was going to secure it!"
She had said it from the start: The Archelot family loves enemies like this. Aka She was going to hunt him down personally, and no one else was allowed to touch him.
"No..." Rimuru leaned in even closer, practically pressing his lips against her earlobe to ensure absolute secrecy (or so he thought).
"I don't want you to get the rights so you can avenge me. I want you to secure the rights... and then shelve it. Do nothing. Just stop the other Lords from hunting him."
"???"
May blinked, her brain short-circuiting. What?
Unfortunately for the conspirators, their "secret" conversation wasn't secret at all.
Every person at this table was a Lord of the Clock Tower. If they couldn't hear a whisper from two feet away, they would have died decades ago.
Usually, out of politeness (and because of the ambiguous relationship between the two), the Lords would pretend to be deaf. But this specific sentence? It was so baffling that it broke their composure.
They were ready to accept greed. They were ready to accept vengeance. But sparing the assassin?
"Lord Rimuru..."
Inorai, the old woman, spoke up, interrupting the intimate huddle.
"Is it your intention to exact vengeance personally?"
"Eh...?"
Rimuru froze. He pulled back, looking around the table with wide, innocent eyes.
"You guys... could hear that?"
He scratched the back of his head, putting on a performance that screamed "harmless, clumsy country bumpkin."
Of course we could hear it, you idiot, the Lords mentally collectively sighed. But at the same time, their guard lowered. A guileless fool was much safer to deal with than a scheming politician.
"Then..." Rimuru blinked, then turned and lightly chopped May on the top of her head. "Why didn't you warn me?!"
"Hey!"
May's face turned beet red. She slammed her hands onto the table and shot up from her chair.
"You dare hit me?!"
"..."
Rimuru looked at her flustered expression, the bared canine teeth, and the rosy flush on her cheeks.
Oh.
She wasn't ignoring the eavesdropping because she forgot.
She was ignoring it because she was enjoying me whispering in her ear.
Heh. Women.
"Hmph. That is enough," Eulyphis grumbled, his voice dripping with gloom. "Please refrain from public displays of affection in the council chamber. It is unsightly."
"Oh, let the young be young," Lord Gaius chuckled, waving a hand dismissively. "Don't be such a stickler."
"My apologies."
May gritted her teeth and glared at Rimuru. She whipped her head around, sending her massive pink twin-tails slapping into Rimuru's face with a loud thwack, before dropping back into her seat.
"As Lord Rimuru stated," she announced, puffing out her cheeks, "I wish for the execution of this Sealing Designation to be entrusted to the Archelot family."
"Then, Lord Archelot," Inorai asked, her voice gentle but probing, "do you intend to follow Lord Rimuru's suggestion? Will you accept the assignment only to let the target roam free?"
"That..." May hesitated. She wasn't sure how to answer without sounding irresponsible.
"Lord Rimuru."
Seeing May's hesitation, Inorai turned her gaze to the blue-haired boy. "While I understand your desire for personal vengeance, this matter also concerns the dignity of the Clock Tower."
"I will issue a public statement explaining the reasoning," Rimuru replied instantly. He was far better suited for this kind of negotiation than May. "And I will fully cooperate with the Clock Tower regarding the official response to the outside world."
Excellent.
Inorai nodded with satisfaction, her smile becoming even more grandmotherly.
Even the magical world had its own news networks, specialized newspapers and encrypted television channels. With the advancement of the era, controlling public opinion and information flow had become increasingly difficult, a change that Inorai found perpetually frustrating. Rimuru's willingness to manage the PR aspect was a relief.
"However, if we do this, it seems the Clock Tower is left with nothing to offer you by way of compensation."
"To be honest, Lord Valualeta..."
"You may call me Inorai, Lord Rimuru," she interrupted softly.
"Uh, right. Lord Inorai. Honestly, I never intended to use this attack as leverage to extort anything from the Clock Tower," Rimuru said with a wry smile.
"But I do hope that my safety can be guaranteed. After all, something like this should not happen a second time."
Rimuru knew exactly what he needed.
With the backing of the Archelots, he didn't lack resources. With his Slime template, he didn't lack raw power potential.
What he lacked was time.
And he needed protection from the malice hiding within the noble families, the people threatened by his rise.
He needed a guarantee. A shield that made him untouchable within the Clock Tower.
Political maneuvering? Fine. Infighting? Bring it on. But flipping the table and sending assassins because you couldn't win fair and square? That needed to stop.
"Of course," Inorai nodded. "That is a very reasonable request."
"Even if you hadn't asked, we would never allow such an incident to occur within the Clock Tower again," Lorelei Barthomeloi added, her voice firm. "The Barthomeloi family guarantees this on our name."
"Seconded."
Lord Trambelio opened his eyes just enough to utter the word before closing them again.
In that moment, the Three Great Aristocratic Families had reached a consensus.
Seeing this, Eulyphis felt a mix of complex emotions. He mentally cursed Emiya Kiritsugu and the other Lords who were just watching the show, but he had no choice. He nodded in agreement.
"Seconded."
From this moment on, unless Rimuru actively sought death, no noble family would dare target his life. At least, not in the near future. To do so would be a direct slap in the face to the Three Great Families.
….
With his safety guaranteed, Rimuru felt a weight lift off his shoulders.
It wasn't an absolute shield, but it was enough. Until he became an existential threat to a Lord's seat, no one would risk annihilation by the Three Great Families just to remove a potential rival.
As for becoming a Lord? Rimuru had no immediate ambition to climb that high.
Leaving aside the issue of his current strength, Rimuru simply didn't care about a measly seat at the table. He knew the secrets of this world. His vision was set higher.
Besides, with the Archelots backing him, to put it bluntly:
If he was willing to be a trophy husband and marry into the family, he could become part of the Twelve Lords in minutes!
So, he thought, safety secured. Next steps:
-Figure out why Kiritsugu tried to kill him.
-Keep a close eye on Fuyuki City.
-Thoroughly research his Slime abilities and build a comprehensive combat system.
The meeting moved on to the next agenda item.
However, the remaining topics were clearly above his pay grade. Rimuru settled into silence, listening to the debates drift around him as he sank into his own thoughts.
System construction...
He needed to organize his skills.
[Great Sage] was the core. [Predator] was the engine.
As the voices of the Lords buzzed in the background, discussing budgets, ley lines, and artifact disputes, Rimuru closed his eyes, visualizing his skill tree.
Water magic. Imaginary Numbers. Shape-shifting. And eventually... Spatial Magic.
He was just getting started.
….
499 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter.
999 Power Stones = 1 More Bonus Chapter
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