Attendance… plz…)
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Just from the conversation on the way here, listening to May and the others chat, Aoko had pieced it together.
From the moment she heard Rimuru was reclaiming his surname and becoming a Professor, she realized something was up. Alice hadn't just dragged her to London on a whim.
This wasn't a vacation. It was a show of force.
Alice had dragged her here to stand as a pillar of support for Rimuru, to intimidate his enemies and bolster his reputation.
Aoko felt a pang of jealousy. She was the best friend who had been by Alice's side for years! Yet, in the end, she still lost out to that damn bastard Rimuru.
"I find it hard to believe you were willing to return to London using the name 'Alice'," Rimuru said, withdrawing his gaze from Elair. He chuckled softly. "May told you things she shouldn't have, didn't she? Thank you."
If even the carefree Aoko could guess Alice's intentions, Rimuru would have to be blind not to see it.
Alice's arrival might not cause a massive upheaval in the Clock Tower's administration, but it sent a silent, deafening message: The Last Bird of the Fairy Tale Witches was watching, and she was standing firmly behind Rimuru Tempest.
Oh, and she brought a Magic Gunner, a Magician, as a bonus.
Rimuru glanced at the dejected Aoko with amusement. Without realizing it, his foothold in the Clock Tower had become unshakable. Now, he could focus entirely on increasing his own strength.
Honestly, the setup his predecessor had left behind while his memories were sealed was far better than Rimuru could have imagined. It was a pleasant surprise.
It was like making a pact with your college dorm mates to conquer the world, only to fall into a coma. When you finally wake up, you find out your bros are already titans of industry, generals, and politicians, and they're all waiting to pull you up to their level.
It felt great, but also a little emasculating.
Still, Rimuru didn't feel inferior. With the Great Sage and his cheat-like abilities, he knew he would reach that level eventually. However, the smoothness of it all did make him wonder if the older generation, the Director, Inorai, and the rest, had orchestrated some of this leniency.
Faced with Rimuru's gratitude, Alice simply gave him a look that seemed to say, 'Don't be stupid,' and shook her head calmly.
Then, she spoke.
"I heard... you were assassinated."
Her tone was as calm as a pool of dead water. Yet, everyone in the room felt the temperature drop. A bone-chilling cold, laced with killing intent, radiated from her small frame.
"Ah... yes, that did happen."
Rimuru paused, then shot a glare at May. You really do blab about everything, don't you?
May buried her face in her teacup, pretending not to notice.
Aoko, on the other hand, suddenly perked up. "Eh? Who was it? Who was it? Do you need me to go to the scene and rewind time to check?"
"That won't be necessary. We already know who the killer is," Rimuru said, feeling the pressure of Alice's gaze boring into him. "Relax, I'm keeping him alive because he's useful to me."
"Speaking of which, Alice... if you really want to help me..."
"I actually do have a favor to ask."
"Speak."
"How strong is the Group's influence in Japan?" Rimuru asked with interest. "Strong enough to monitor another city alongside Fuyuki?"
"...It should be fine," Alice pondered for a moment before nodding slightly.
"Monitoring Magus families might be difficult though, right?" May interjected. "If you rely on large numbers of ordinary people, even with hypnosis or suggestion, they won't be able to detect magical workings."
"Ma, general movements are enough. I don't need detailed surveillance," Rimuru waved his hand dismissively.
"So, do you know of Mifune City?"
Hearing the name, Aoko and May looked blank. They had never heard of it.
Only Alice nodded quietly.
"Is it another mainstream Magus family?"
"Correct. To be precise, they are Demon Hunter Clans. As for purely Magus lineages, there is likely only the Fujou family remaining in that area. However, I need accurate information on the Tohno and Ryougi families. Specifically, I need eyes on a certain child within the Ryougi clan."
"Hey, don't you think your requests are... a little excessive?"
May couldn't listen to this anymore. Even Aoko frowned in confusion.
"She's right," Aoko argued. "Even if the Group has influence, the ability of ordinary people to monitor the supernatural is limited. That means for Alice to get you 'accurate' information, she'd have to go there and do it herself."
"You think Alice went to Fuyuki personally just for sightseeing? She went because she knew mortals couldn't be trusted to filter the information correctly! And now you want her to go to Mifune City too? That's a major metropolitan area next to the capital!"
"Aoko. Enough."
Alice interrupted her friend's indignation. She turned her calm gaze toward Rimuru.
"I can help you... but you must give me a reason."
As the last pure-blooded Witch, Alice possessed her own pride.
She was willing to help Rimuru hunt down his assassin. She was willing to stand by his side and intimidate the other Lords of the Clock Tower. These were matters of life, death, and honor.
But Rimuru had never asked her for help with those things. If it weren't for May, Alice wouldn't have even known he had walked out of his depression and reclaimed his ambition.
Even with her placid nature, it was impossible not to feel a little slighted. But that petty frustration was insignificant compared to the joy of their reunion.
Still, Rimuru's request felt... trivial. It was like asking a CEO to fetch coffee.
Did he really think she, Alice, the Robin, the Witch of the Holy Night, had nothing better to do than run errands?
"That's right," Aoko added, speculating maliciously. "You aren't actually treating Alice like a subordinate, are you?"
"Of course not."
Facing Alice's deepening gaze and Aoko's accusation, Rimuru felt the pressure mount. He smiled wryly.
"Actually, Alice, you've misunderstood my intent."
"Whether it's Fuyuki or Mifune, I don't need precise surveillance of every movement. I just need a tripwire. I need to know when major events or anomalies occur."
"I'm not asking you to go there. I'm asking to borrow the vast network of branch offices and informants belonging to the Group. I need quantity, not magical quality."
"..."
Alice continued to stare at him. "Fuyuki is for the Holy Grail War."
"Yes."
"And Mifune City?"
"The Mystic Eyes of Death Perception."
Rimuru answered without hesitation. "I have no intention of hiding things from you three. Not from you, Aoko, or May."
"Mystic Eyes?" Alice tilted her head slightly. A faint red glow flashed in her right eye, her own Mystic Eye, capable of a powerful Charm effect. "Unless they are exceptional, the power of a Mystic Eye is hardly worth such effort..."
"They are Rainbow Rank, Alice."
The moment the words left Rimuru's mouth, the room fell into a dead silence.
Rainbow Rank.
The pinnacle of Mystic Eyes. A power adjacent to True Magic. Eyes that only Gods, or monsters on the level of Gods, could possess.
"Are you certain?" Alice's voice lost its usual calm indifference.
"Absolutely..."
Rimuru smiled.
Revealing plot spoilers like this was usually a stupid move for a transmigrator. Knowledge was power, and giving it away freely was reckless.
But Rimuru didn't care.
His sense of immersion in this world had always been dangerously low. He felt like a Player in a video game, a bystander looking at NPCs.
He knew that as long as he retained his memories of his past life, his subconscious would always frame this reality as an "Anime World." He would never truly belong.
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