Mensch are the standard humans we are all familiar with. In this universe, they fall under the same humanfolk umbrella that houses the Methuselah. Just a heads up.
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Magdalena von Leizniz was fed up.
As the Dean in charge of the biggest cadre within the prestigious School of Daybreak, dealing with all sorts of eccentric Magia came to her as easy as pie.
As a person who eked out professorship as a mere mensch, and went on to become a powerful wraith after death her influence within the College was worthy of her title as the head of its currently most powerful faction.
Be it aristocratic games, theoretical ingenuity or the ever important act of meting out pure arcane violence, Leizniz could confidently stand in the upper echelons of all Magia, both within and beyond the Trialist Empire.
But even this undeniably capable person could do nothing but clench her fists in frustration when a certain Methuselah was involved.
After attaining her current position as a researcher, Agrippina — much to Leizniz’ chagrin — had dropped every pretense of being a diligent person worthy of being a Magus.
Her lectures were taught with farsight spells and astral projection, the library staff constantly complained to the cadre about her refusal to vacate the premises, her students constantly grumbled about not even knowing what their lecturer even looked like.
All this had gone on for years before Leizniz had enough.
She had confronted the slothful Methuselah and issued an Ultimatum.
“Fight me or go for fieldwork for an indefinite amount of time.” She had told the silver haired woman.
For Agrippina, fighting Leizniz was a stupid endeavor, even ignoring the possibility of her losing.
The political implications such a confrontation threatened were enough to scare even Agrippina, so she took the second option.
This was all according to Leizniz' plans, and so she succeeded in keeping the Methuselah away from her beloved mundane lifestyle for twenty whole years.
To further worsen Agrippina's situation, Leizniz had set a condition that should have been impossible for her to meet.
“You can't return without an apprentice.” She had said.
Leizniz could remember the glee she felt at finally removing a huge thorn in her and the College's side, expecting at least a century of peace and quiet.
Which was why it was so frustrating to see her nemesis return after two measly decades, pulling along two cute children. A changeling apprentice and her absurdly talented brother who Agrippina had taken as a manservant.
Leizniz took this in stride though, after negotiating with the symbol of sloth — giving her three years of freedom from work in exchange for the right to do as she wished with her cute apprentice and attendant — she had begun to relax, falling into a fairly relaxing routine.
‘Agrippina shouldn't cause any problems for a while.’
‘Surely she acquired common sense.’ She had thought…
But alas, all that was a fantasy.
“Agrippina.” Her frustrated voice echoed in the opulent office she now occupied with her disciple and two strangers.
“Yes, Lady Leizniz.” The heterochromatic immortal responded, feigning innocence.
“What have you done…?” She raised her incorporeal arm to massage her equally intangible forehead.
Leizniz was a wraith, a rare form of undead that were born when a particularly strong soul imprinted themselves on reality after death, usually in a bid to complete some ambition ripped away from them by their mortality.
They were monsters that possessed unholy amounts of mana and the control required to put it to use.
She looked to be in her early twenties, beautiful black hair complimented with navy blue eyes, her beauty was evident even in her translucent state. Her droopy eyes and the little mole under her mouth added to her overall charm.
“Whatever might you mean, my esteemed master?” Agrippina took her chance to enjoy herself while she could.
She couldn't control the present situation, but she could at least get some amusement from it.
Leizniz was doing all she could to avoid teleporting away from this room, that was just how terrifying these beings Agrippina had brought along were.
She excelled at estimating the strength of others, no one could hide their mana capacity from her and her natural instincts as a wraith brought her close to the fey in terms of affinity with mana.
She was just as much of a phenomenon as the natural disasters humans had no control over.
But these two were different. The one with silver hair and piercing heterochromatic eyes left nothing to the imagination, the sheer energy she radiated dwarfed both Leizniz and Agrippina, a feat that should be impossible for beings barring the elder dragons and the oldest of fey.
The other was much more unsettling. She felt absolutely nothing.
She could see him sitting there, she could notice the small smile on his lips and the mischievous gleam in his beautiful golden eyes, but to her arcane senses and to the world, he wasn't there.
‘Where did this scoundrel find such an anomaly?’
Leizniz ignored the smirking Agrippina, swallowing her fear and apprehension to address her unforseen guests.
“May I ask who you are?” Leizniz knew her place and wouldn't show any arrogance where none was necessary, but she at least had to maintain her dignity as a member of the professoriate that controlled the College.
“Sure, if that'll make you relax a little. You can call me Rimuru Tempest.”
“Luminous, Valentine.” The other one spoke.
‘Hm, last names. Are they nobles from some far away country?’
If that was the case then why were they here to see her specifically?
“Where do you both hail from?” Leizniz asked tentatively, not keen on setting them off by appearing rude.
“You're still on edge?” Rimuru asked, a bit fed up with how Leizniz seemed to be walking on eggshells around them. He also conveniently avoided the question.
“Forgive me, but I believe this much caution is required in this situation.” Leizniz touched her chest in a show of sincerity.
“Hmm…fine then.” Rimuru replied, still sounding unsatisfied.
At that moment Leizniz could finally sense something from him. It was subtle but it was there.
“Thank you for your consideration.” She said, well aware that what she was sensing was deliberately made available.
It was a small show of kindness. He could probably tell how unsettling it was for a being like her to have a black spot in their perception.
“It's nothing. Well, since I'm talking to you already I'll just say why we're here.” Rimuru said while glaring at Agrippina, who was supposed to be in charge of negotiations.
The Methuselah shrugged, enjoying the sight of her ever composed superior being on edge.
“Of course.”
“We want to enroll in the College under your cadre, we need your help for that.” Rimuru said.
‘How odd…’ Leizniz mused.
Why would some foreign nobles come to her personally just for enrollment? And why are they with Agrippina in the first place?
Leizniz was missing various pieces of vital information.
“That can be arranged easily, I just need you to provide your permit to stay in the Empire and proof of your citizenship of your nation of origin.” Leizniz decided to just move the conversation forward, the problem will appear sooner or later.
“Well, thing is….” The previously intimidating Rimuru now looked sheepish, his speech hesitant.
“We don't have those.” Luminous said without much fanfare, uninterested in Rimuru’s time wasting.
“Pardon?” Leizniz said.
“Documents, proof, permits. We have none.” Luminous reiterated, in much clearer details.
Leizniz' incorporeal head snapped towards Agrippina's direction, one question plain to see on her facial features.
‘Do you have a death wish?’
Agrippina could relate with the wraith, but she had a feeling her concerns would be taken care of easily.
The Trialist Empire of Rhine was a superpower in the true sense of the word. Economically and in terms of military strength, they were relatively unmatched.
This state was incredibly difficult to maintain.
With multiple states and nations dissatisfied with the Empire's dominance, there was no end to the attempts at disrupting their rule.
For this reason, the Empire took its foreign relations and security very seriously.
Sitting in front of Leizniz right now was a crime worthy of immediate execution. Their mere presence as undocumented and unverified entities was grave enough.
And they wanted to enroll in the College?
“Oh, it seems it's gonna be harder than we thought, Luminous.” Rimuru was as carefree as ever.
Perhaps he didn't understand the full implications of his situation, Leizniz thought.
But she couldn't be more wrong.
“I think you have the wrong idea, Lord Tempest. Your presence here is-”
“Oh no, I'm perfectly aware of the consequences of being here.” He cut her off, his voice turning serious.
“Then?”
“They just don't apply to me.”
‘Ah, it doesn't apply to him. Of course.’ Leizniz couldn't bring herself to consider the sheer arrogance of his statement, she simply accepted his words.
She was surprised at her own acceptance. She, who was well aware of how terrifying the Empire could be when dealing with threats to its hegemony. Why would she accept such a statement so easily?
It didn't take her long to realize.
‘I fear this person more than the Empire…’
With her internal thoughts settled, Leizniz moved on to the matter at hand.
“Is that so? How do you propose we meet those requirements then?” She asked.
“Lady Leizniz, we only need your backing. Lord Rimuru over here has promised to deal with those parts himself.” Agrippina finally decided to make herself useful, albeit belated.
Leizniz couldn't imagine how they'd fool the College's multiple anti-forgery measures but she simply dismissed such thoughts.
If they were confident, why not let them try?
“Very well.” She said, as she raised her right hand.
A document manifested in her palm, complete with the seal of the School of Daybreak.
She floated it over to Rimuru, who grabbed and inspected it carefully.
“Oh?” Rimuru said, slight surprise evident in his voice.
Leizniz expected a more extreme reaction from someone looking at College paperwork for the first time, but she realized this was the best she would get.
Magia were a pretentious bunch, from their speech to their dressing, they tried to push their image as sophisticated and learned individuals.
This was most evident in every piece of official paperwork they produced.
Euphemisms, metaphors, obscure references to virtually unknown historical figures and events, College documents were more akin to archaic literature than bureaucratic proofs of legitimacy.
Rimuru scrunched his face up as he decoded the document with a little information from Ciel, only for the document to boil down to an acknowledgement of the bearers of the document as affiliates of the Leizniz cadre of the School of Daybreak.
“Will I have to write in this manner as well?” He raised an eyebrow at Leizniz, who solemnly nodded.
“It's not too late to back out I guess….” He grumbled.
“Oh no you don't.” Luminous grabbed his shoulder, she wouldn't let Rimuru run away from something he already signed up for.
Especially not when he dragged her along with him.
Leizniz watched the two with interest, wondering how people of such power still seemed so normal.
It was enviable to her.
After building the Leizniz cadre from scratch and coming back from death as a wraith to cement it as one of the College's big seven, she had changed.
But these were thoughts she would revisit on another day.
For now, she would watch how these two would rouse the sleeping College.
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“See you in a week or so, Erich!” My friend, Mika, said as she waved to me. She still had lingering signs of exhaustion from the trip we had just returned from.
My master had sent me to a town in the north called Wustrow to negotiate with a scribe for a copy of the most cursed book I've ever laid eyes upon.
Dragging my Magus-in-training friend along with me, we had somehow ended up fighting through an Ichor maze filled with undead, nearly dying in the process.
Ichor mazes were pretty much the equivalent of what we called dungeons back in Japan, it was a novel experience, ignoring how I almost dragged my friend to death with me.
I made my way into Krahenschanze, the castle that housed the Imperial College of Magic. For the first time in a while, I was glad to set foot into the hub of vanity and familiar danger.
Pulling on the straps of my backpack, I made sure that the cursed tome I was lugging around hadn't disappeared into thin air. The weight I felt calmed my nerves.
I took the mystic elevator down to the floor where the madam’s atelier was located. My impatience was all but written on my face, I couldn't wait to offload my dreadful cargo and see my sister again after weeks.
I stepped into the atelier, foregoing knocking as usual.
The place felt different somehow, I couldn't place a finger on what exactly was giving me this feeling.
But it all became clear when I stepped into the living area.
My feet halted, my body stiffened as I took in the strangers lounging around in my employer’s space.
Contrary to typical scenarios, it wasn't their beauty that had me frozen, although I could see that happening under different circumstances.
No, it was the sheer capacity for violence that I could feel from both of them.
My trait, [Permanent Battlefield] enabled me to shift into a battle ready state upon a moment's notice, effectively making me immune to embarrassing situations like this one where I would freeze up.
At least, that's how it was supposed to be.
“Brother!” My little sister shouted as she caught sight of me. I only just realized that she was previously playing with the blue haired stranger in his lap. This was just as outlandish as their presence, seeing as Elisa was probably the most antisocial child to exist.
I pulled her into my grasp as I pushed my will into the world around me, calling upon the cursed blade that had stubbornly attached itself to me.
“Come.” I said as the pitch black sword appeared in my hand.
I took a defensive stance, wary of the two who looked at me in confusion and amusement.
“Who are you two?” I squeezed out.
Lady Agrippina would never have a visitor in a million years, she just wasn't that sort of person. And that made their presence that much more suspicious.
The one with blue hair stood, his eyes seemed to be focused on the sword in my hand.
“Huh, a sentient sword.” He said.
I squeezed the handle tighter as I heard his words. He had just casually analyzed the Craving blade without even touching it.
A feat I suspected must be impossible for even Lady Agrippina.
“Hm. No one else is here now, so I suppose I can say this…” He continued, walking slowly towards me.
“Stop!” I shouted, panicking for the first time in a while, the last being when Elisa was kidnapped back in our hometown.
I briefly glanced at Elisa to see that she was unconscious.
‘How!?’
Elisa should have an intrinsic resistance to magic as a changeling, a simple sleep spell should have been blocked.
The being kept walking towards me, the craving blade kept shooting incomprehensible alarms into my mind, but the main point was to get away.
He lightly brushed the blade away with his bare hand, before laying it on my right shoulder.
At that point, I knew it was too late.
There is no escape.
I looked into his eyes of gold, drowning in them as I awaited my fate.
“I'm not a bad slime!” With a cheerful voice and a smile, the person said words that shocked me enough to make me resort to a practice I had long abandoned.
“What the actual fuck…?”
And then I blacked out.
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Below are Agrippina's and Leizniz' character cards, sourced from the light novels.
Tell me if I'm dropping too much information to remember, I'll make a separate chapter that summarizes everything I've revealed so far.
Peace.