Catching my breath while panting, I addressed him with a playful smirk.
"Well then, what do you plan to do about the second one, Second Magician?"
"Ho ho, then it shall be a double suicide, Third Magician. Unlike you, however, I maintain my own identity across dimensions, so I suspect I would be the one to survive."
We glared at each other for a moment before simultaneously bursting into manic laughter.
"Haha! You Merlin-like bastard! No matter how troubled you were, you actually dropped a meteor in the center of London?!"
"Do you think I don't know that you once went toe-to-toe with the Crimson Moon and pushed back the falling moon itself?"
"I have been retired for over a thousand years, I tell you!"
"Stop your nonsense! You're the one who tried to draft me as your graduate student!"
Unable to watch any longer, a man stepped forward and delivered a sharp blow to the back of Zelretch's head, while Aoko-nee grabbed my arms from behind and pulled me back, putting an end to the childish squabble between the Jewel Old Man and myself.
The man who struck Zelretch... in this situation, there could be only one such person: the Director of the Clock Tower, Lord Brishisan, who studied under the same master as Zelretch.
"Grow up, Zelretch. I am already dying of a headache because of matters regarding our Master; must you add to it?"
"You haven't changed a bit either... Technically, isn't it because you failed to keep your disciples in check that this situation happened in the first place?!"
"I do not wish to hear such words from a man who was bitten by a Dead Apostle and went into semi-seclusion... Regardless, it is a pleasure to meet you, Third Magician. Things seem a bit noisy, so I suppose some cleanup is in order."
In that instant, I felt a strange sense of incongruity.
The myriad gazes that had been focused on me, Zelretch, the Director, and Aoko-nee vanished simultaneously.
Of course, a few gazes remained, but for such a collective focus to disappear so abruptly meant...
"No, the gazes didn't vanish. Are you perhaps... stopping time?"
"I have not stopped time; I have merely extended the cognitive state of others to infinity. While we have begun our conversation, for them, they are still hearing the very first syllable of the word 'No' that you just uttered."
...In other words, he had deployed a Bounded Field similar to a high-speed camera's perception.
Naturally, there were a few individuals unaffected by it.
Lorelei Barthomeloi, bloodstained after our fierce battle, remained conscious. Kayneth, staring at us vacantly while holding the remains of his shattered Volumen Hydrargyrum in one hand, was also functional. Shiki-san, who had infiltrated with me, and Aoko-nee were perfectly fine despite being inside the field.
"Head of the Barthomeloi house. You made a grave error this time."
"..."
"Even if it was an entity possessing foresight that transcends common sense, to be deceived by an insider's information is unacceptable. Consider yourself under house arrest for the time being."
"But...!"
"That is not an opponent you can ignore just because you wish to. In terms of perspective alone, he is an existence possessing the 'Vision of a Magician' that surpasses even my own. Follow my orders."
After effectively silencing her, he approached me.
"To go to such extremes just to summon the Marshal of Magic... was quite radical. I assume you have a way to handle the aftermath?"
"None whatsoever."
"..."
"Human beings always live with a bit of imagination in their hearts anyway. Even if the Clock Tower took a beating, you lot will manage to restore it, won't you? Since Zelretch and you completely vaporized the remnants of the meteor, there shouldn't be any damage beyond the Clock Tower itself. The public will dream up their own explanations—collective hallucination, mass drug-induced hysteria, things like that."
"I see. So you never intended to let the meteor fall from the start?"
"Let's just say I had that much faith in you. Besides, if London is destroyed, the Foundation of Human Order might collapse. And not by a common 'war' or 'disaster,' but by the destruction caused by my Rinnegan—becoming a Singularity in itself."
"Your tongue is quite nimble. Very well... I realized I have been late with introductions. I am the Director of the Clock Tower and..."
Glancing briefly at Zelretch, he spoke with a slightly mischievous tone.
"The senior fellow disciple of that hot-blooded idiot lolicon over there, Lord Brishisan."
"Don't speak nonsense! Who are you calling your junior?! I entered the apprenticeship before you!"
"If we are talking about maintaining identity through the Second Magic, I was the one who arrived first, Kishua."
"Bullshit! I was three days faster!"
Watching this display, Aoko-nee whispered into my ear.
"...Is it too late to just go home?"
"I wish I could."
The two continued their petty argument for a while before Aoko-nee's iron fist forced them to settle down and take their seats.
"I heard the story from Kishua. It seems you've been through much trouble regarding our Master's affairs."
"...What can be done? The man left behind no small amount of mess during his lifetime. Honestly, if we're talking about suffering, you're the one enduring more. You seemed to have used quite a high-grade Holy Relic to stop that meteor—is that all right?"
"Compared to what can be excavated from the Spirit Tomb Albion, it was a mere trifle. It is not something you need to worry about... However, as you are likely aware, providing compensation for this incident will be difficult."
Naturally.
Kishua Zelretch and Lord Brishisan's master was none other than the King of Mages, Solomon. But if my hypothesis is correct, the mastermind behind this incident is the target of the Grand Order for this era: Lev Lainur Flauros. An incompetent intelligence bureau that couldn't even recognize the enemy living right beside their King for over a decade.
The Clock Tower was also a victim of their deception, and considering the physical damage to the Clock Tower, their losses were greater. If the 'Clock Tower' were to pay reparations, internal backlash would be inevitable.
"Well, I wouldn't say we can't give you anything at all."
Zelretch reached into his robe, pulled out a small pouch, and tossed it to me.
"This is the compensation?"
"At the very least, for you, it is an item that can be considered more precious than anything else."
"Then that part is settled... I'd like to ask about the Clock Tower's future stance. If something like this happens even one more time, it won't end until someone is dead."
"The Barthomeloi will no longer be hostile toward you. Nor toward the 'Implementer of the Great Work' to come. We will see to that part on our end."
"That's a relief then. Perhaps you might consider cooperating with us...?"
However, both men shook their heads immediately.
"That would be difficult. As I have said many times, I have already 'graduated,' and Brishisan over there is far too busy with the problems of Albion staring him in the face."
"...Is the Spirit Tomb Albion that critical an issue?"
"From the perspective of a magecraft user like yourself, it might seem trivial. But our position is different. Over thirty intruders are caught trying to break into the tomb every month. That is almost one per day."
For a moment, I wondered what was so special about those intruders, but Lord Brishisan immediately shattered that thought.
"For your information, one of the humans breaking in there is Francesca Prelati—a name you likely know. The woman who uses illusions. Have you heard of her?"
"Ah... that crazy woman."
If Francesca were to successfully enter the Spirit Tomb Albion, a situation defying all common sense would undoubtedly unfold. I gave up on trying to persuade him further.
"What do you plan to do about Lev Lainur?"
"You may kill him if you wish. Though I suspect you will not."
"...It can't be helped. Even if it's incredibly unpleasant, he's a necessary human for what's to come. By the way, if things have turned out like this... does it mean Marisbury has already put the demi-Servant experiments into practice behind our backs?"
"Yes, I have already confirmed that within my field of vision," Kishua interjected.
"Normally, it was an event meant to occur around this timeline, but I didn't expect him to proceed without even informing the Einzberns."
"That man wasn't exactly normal to begin with, so I didn't expect much... though that butterfly effect has hit quite hard."
"Anything else to say? Despite how I look, I am out here by carving out precious time. If you have questions or requests, I would prefer you voice them as quickly as possible."
"Then one thing. I want to ensure the reserve staff I've deployed to the Modern Magecraft Theory department, including Waver Velvet, do not get caught in the Clock Tower's power struggles."
"Ah, that den of monsters in the Norwich school. Kishua will take care of that."
Excluding Beryl, who was simply trash, the Crypters were all exceptionally capable individuals.
Kadoc Zemlupus, who could be called an unlucky Ritsuka Fujimaru; Ophelia, theoretically the strongest among the Crypters; Yu Mei-ren, the immortal True Ancestor-like elemental; Peperoncino, who smashed Caster Limbo in a one-on-one; and even Kirschtaria and Daybit, who are capable of restoring the Human Order single-handedly.
"That will suffice."
* * * * *
The bounty and execution orders issued by the Clock Tower against me were terminated.
On the surface, Lorelei Barthomeloi was placed under a year of house arrest for 'excessive zeal resulting in a rampage,' and the Lords seemingly avoided any formal punishment, letting the matter fade into obscurity.
Of course, in the shadows, an unsatisfied Aoko-nee caused several 'minor' accidents—like laying waste to the Department of Adjudication and the Enforcement Division—but since it wasn't particularly critical, I decided to ignore it as well.
At any rate, thanks to the endorsement of Lord Brishisan and Kishua, I was 'officially' granted the title of Third Magician and was abruptly promoted to the rank of Grand, skipping several tiers in an instant.
"This too is a form of politics. It is the Clock Tower's way of saying they respect you to this extent, so let us stay out of each other's way."
"Is the 'Miss Blue' title Aoko-nee received something similar?"
"In a manner of speaking."
Lev Lainur vanished as if evaporating the moment the incident concluded.
According to the Einzbern staff already stationed at Chaldea, he had resigned from the Department of Archaeology a day before my arrival and transferred to Chaldea... the reason why was as clear as a movie plot.
"Still, I didn't think the Demon God Pillars would move this quickly..."
"If you hadn't thought of it, it would have simply been forgotten."
Fuyuki City, Japan.
In the middle of the city center, which had once been destroyed and was now being rebuilt, brilliant flames were consuming a house as if a bomb had detonated.
In front of the house stood a red-haired boy with a blank, hollow expression of despair, and beside him was a red-haired girl staring at the scene with the same look of utter disbelief.
"Shiro Fujimaru and Ritsuka Fujimaru. Who would have guessed the Demon God Pillars would try to kill those children first?"