Attendance… plz…)
….
With the classes and his disciple finally on track, and his own abilities steadily developing, Rimuru turned his attention to his finances. He couldn't openly research his Gluttony skill, that would have to wait for field work, so he filed a request for a leave of absence and looked at his bank account.
Or lack thereof.
As the last heir of the Tempest family, Rimuru couldn't just live off May like a parasite forever. His pride wouldn't allow it.
So, he came up with a plan: return to the family estate in Edinburgh, liquidate whatever assets were left, and reinvest. His patent royalties in the magical world might be peanuts compared to the Great Families, but he was confident that in the upcoming capitalist boom of the human world, even May's Archelot family would eventually have to bow before his financial empire.
At the same time, he wanted to use this trip to test his strength and understand the true nature of this world.
The Fate universe was a multiverse.
Rimuru, a good boy raised on 21st-century science where "Earth is in space, and space is… uh… really big," couldn't wrap his head around the metaphysical structure of parallel worlds.
This made his path home incredibly difficult.
If he ignored scientific truth and combined it with the lore he'd skimmed in his past life, every world had different rules, birthing different sciences and magics. But from a macro perspective… wasn't the universe just a product within a "World"? If Rimuru managed to cross the World Barrier and enter another universe, how would he find Earth in an infinite void? How could he confirm it was his Earth?
These were problems even the Great Sage couldn't solve yet. Though, in typical Sage fashion, it offered a vague solution:
[Hypothesis: If you achieve a Divine Spirit-level existence, I believe you could instantly comprehend all information within a universe via the Akashic Records upon entry.]
Which made Rimuru want to scream. If becoming a God was that easy, what would I need you for?!
Still, he followed the Sage's more practical advice: go find some Dead Apostles and dissect them.
….
Two weeks later.
Rimuru flipped through the small, leather-bound booklet certifying him as a Sealing Designation Enforcer, courtesy of the Department of Law. He tossed it onto the passenger seat and climbed into a sleek silver car, a gift from May to celebrate his professorship.
He inserted the key and turned the ignition. The engine purred.
However, just as he reached for the gear shift, an arm quietly rose from the back seat. A silver handgun pressed against the back of his head.
"I advise you not to pull that trigger."
Rimuru didn't flinch. His hand paused for only a fraction of a second before he shifted the car into reverse.
"You failed to kill me last time. You will fail again. But this time, provoking the Clock Tower's dignity twice will force the Lords to act collectively. If that happens… even I won't be able to protect you."
He glanced at the rearview mirror. Golden eyes met dull, dead ones.
"Emiya Kiritsugu."
With the Great Sage's Magic Sense scanning the surroundings 24/7, no ambush could work on Rimuru. He had known the man was in the car before he even opened the door.
"…"
Kiritsugu remained silent. He simply tightened his finger on the trigger.
"Why are you so obsessed with me?" Rimuru sighed, stomping on the gas pedal.
Truth be told, the car was great, but… Rimuru was short. Driving required some awkward stretching. He didn't want to reveal his slime physiology by liquefying his legs to reach the pedals, so he had to physically scoot forward, which ruined the cool factor of the interrogation.
"There are plenty of people in this world who need saving, right? Putting yourself in this much danger just to kill me… is that really your style?"
"You seem to know a lot about me… You stopped the Sealing Designation the Association put on me?"
After a long silence, Kiritsugu's voice came out low and rough.
"Why?"
"You really have no manners." Rimuru tilted his head, watching Kiritsugu in the mirror as if the gun were a toy. "Before asking me questions, shouldn't you answer mine? Why kill me? Or rather, who sent you?"
"…"
Kiritsugu didn't answer. Instead, he lowered the semi-automatic pistol.
Just as Rimuru thought they were about to have a civilized conversation, Kiritsugu pulled out a different gun. A vintage, single-shot Contender.
Click.
He loaded a bullet.
Rimuru's mouth twitched. He wasn't just confused; he was offended.
I know that bullet! That's an Origin Bullet! Are you serious?! Is this necessary?!
Rimuru knew Kiritsugu intended to kill him, but this wasn't a suicide mission. Infiltrating the Clock Tower now cost a hundred times more resources and risk than before. If exposed, it was a guaranteed death sentence.
Kiritsugu didn't fear death, but he operated on the logic of sacrificing the few to save the many. Killing Rimuru wasn't worth the death of a "Hero of Justice" who could go on to save thousands more.
Clack.
Kiritsugu pressed the barrel of the Contender against the back of Rimuru's skull.
"I don't know how you survived my sniper fire last time. But I guarantee you won't survive this bullet. I heard the Tempest family possesses Phantasmal blood. If so, your instincts should be screaming at you right now."
Even when threatening someone, Kiritsugu didn't explain the mechanics of the Origin Bullet. It was his trump card. Explaining it would ruin its lethality against mages.
"Ugh. I believe you. But can't you trust me for a second?" Rimuru complained. "Put the gun away. I don't like people pointing those things at me. Besides… it might go off."
"Why."
Kiritsugu didn't budge. Years of living in the underworld had taught him that killing, and interrogating, had to be clean and fast. If you talk too much, you lose the rhythm.
"Why? Because I want personal revenge? Because I want to find out who your employer is? Because I know about your ideals and respect them? Or maybe because you still have value to me?"
Rimuru rattled off the reasons rapidly. Then, he turned around in the driver's seat, staring directly down the barrel of the gun and into Kiritsugu's eyes.
"Every single one of those is a reason. Which one do you believe?"
….
+10 chapters on my p@tr3on: Kazuma_trash
you can join my discord server: https://discord.gg/5Y7uZ2kN2Y
Or in short just click in join via invite link in your discord and enter this code: 5Y7uZ2kN2Y