"Please save us." Her voice was crystal clear in this quiet study. The kneel was a perfect presentation of her humility and just from this display, I already knew that she was willing to put everything on the line if it meant saving her country. Of course, I had already anticipated as much since I knew that this child-like form was something she despised, yet she transformed it regularly since this harmless image could incite the will to protect her, especially that adventurer group with the 'lolicon' leader.
"I don't like being lied to." I didn't respond to her plead. Not accepting her plea would destabilize and make her more desperate in the upcoming conversation. Although I knew she would give up almost everything, I wasn't sure how she would react if I asked everything from her.
She lived for this country and I couldn't see her give it up for me, at least with the way she was now. How would she know that her country would be better off with me claiming it as mine? With my name as the country's owner, Nazarick wouldn't touch it in the future and just ask for some compensation if some stupid subordinate tried to act up.
Her eyes widened slightly at my statement and almost instantly realized what I was referring to. "I apologize." She answered and her child-like form turned more mature, revealing curves where there were previously none, filling up her clothes quite nicely.
"That's better," I said as my eyes wandered down her body for a moment, though I didn't linger for too long. "Raise your head. We can't have a conversation with you kneeling like this." She hesitated for a moment before standing up again.
I pointed at the chair opposite of mine, just across a small little table. "Sit." Without saying anything, she sat in the chair and turned to me. She was about to speak when I raised a finger. Then I picked up a tea cup and sipped it. "Your country is in a dire situation. It will probably fall in another week." An oversimplification of the current ongoing war, but it was good to point out that she was going to lose what was most important to her.
Her lips thinned as she heard my words, though she didn't say anything, waiting for me to continue. "The Slane Theocracy won't be able to send their Sunlight Scriptures since they had suffered major losses against a demon. The other countries are going to wait and see, even if they send aid immediately, it would be too little too late. This country is doomed." Her hands clenched her robes as she looked down into her lap in frustration, knowing that I spoke truthfully.
"Your only hope is a miracle." I placed the teacup on the table before clasping my hands together. "You are probably hoping for me to save you, but unfortunately I won't be able to win this war for you." My words landed like a bombshell, causing her to pale immediately. It was like I had given her a death sentence. The harshness of my words caused her emotions to spike and she was about to throw herself at my feet and beg.
"But." I continued a notch louder, stopping her from actually going through with it. "I can still aid you. I am currently in the midst of a battle that has lasted for eons. A demon that had plagued my existence is now in this world, trying to sow chaos and destruction. If he knows where I am this ancient battle will tilt in his favor and that isn't something I am going to allow. Even at the cost of your country."
Her mind was running at full speed. "My lord, you mean-"
"I will aid you in the shadows." My hand entered my inventory and her eyes instantly went round with this simple display. After all an inventory wasn't something these new worlders could replicate. It was a feat of the gods and the thirteen heroes. Her eyes shimmered slightly as my status in her mind elevated to another level.
"With this, you can rectify your insufficient power and control over your wild magic." I presented a vial of white liquid. Her eyes were round and glimmered with admiration since it was teeming with divine energy. Even someone who normally couldn't sense divinity would be able to tell that this is extraordinary. "This holds a bit of my essence. Drink some of it every day and your powers and control over your magic will experience a short boost. It is also beneficial for permanent growth if used daily, so don't be shy I can supply you more in the future."
I handed the vial to her and she treated it as a treasure, which it kind of was since it could indeed give her these kinds of boosts. It wasn't really that impressive after all she was at a rather low level and I was approaching the level to create worlds, giving her a slight boost was nothing to me. Previously, I had thought it was because of my domain, but it was the combination of it, my 'essence', and their low level that Neia and Enri were growing stronger.
"This is..." She started as she held the surprisingly warm vial. Yeah, my semen was weird. It was always fresh as Albedo would advertise it like it was some revolutionary drink. Draudillon obviously wasn't inquiring about its nature, but was just exclaiming about getting such a 'treasure', but I answered her anyway.
"As I said, it's my 'essence'. My wife likes to store them in these vials to drink at later dates or to trade them among my other women. I am not sure why they like it, I didn't question her about these things anymore." Her face froze as she looked at the vial in her hands before her eyes wandered to my face in suspicion.
"So... its... is it your-"
"My wives insist on doing these strange activities to get it, but I have long learned how to harvest it, so rest assured, I can get it whenever you need," I answered with a smile and the most innocent expression I could muster. Her smile twitched slightly before her eyes wandered to the vial again.
"The divine energy couldn't be fake... Maybe angels are different than normal men..." She muttered under her breath, clearly trying to convince herself. Even if I said it straight out, she would probably 'use' it anyway. As for why I insist on giving it to her... did I develop a fetish?
"With a little boost to your wild magic, you might be able to create your own miracle and save your country. Of course, it won't be enough to win this war. I will send some of my subordinates over who will train your people. It won't win you the war, but it will buy you time until I can openly give you a hand."
Although she looked skeptical, there was also a sense of resignation in her eyes. She didn't have any other real options than to take my word at face value. There was just no other way. The country was falling apart and she needed help as soon as possible.
"I understand." She finally relented placing the vial into her lap as she bowed to me. "Can I ask a few questions?" She asked hesitantly.
"Of course." I waved my hand and leaned into the chair I was sitting in.
"Those subordinates... is your wife among them?" The moment her voice fell, I knew why she would hope for her to be here. Although my reputation and deeds were spreading wildly even in other countries now that I had revealed myself to the world, Fubuki wasn't without her limelight.
She was a powerful magician who was at least on par with normal adamantite adventurers. With her help, the pressure of the Beastman Country would lessen significantly. The other reason she asked this question was to probe me. Since she was my wife, she was obviously important to me.
How would it be possible for me, an angel, to leave my wife alone in a foreign country and possibly expose her to danger? If I did it would mean I had confidence that she would survive an encounter with my rival demon, which would increase the value of Fubuki in her eyes, or because I had equipped her with something to ensure her safety. There was also the possibility that I knew where the demon was and didn't worry about her security.
Regardless of the reason, just letting Fubuki go to this country alone would convey my confidence in her safety, which was obviously good news for her. However, "No, she isn't. I need her by my side." Her eyes were cast to the ground, trying to hide her disappointment.
"My maid will be here to assist you as well as most volunteers of my church." Internally, I grimaced slightly at the thought of having my own cult, though I would take the manpower I could get. "She is excellent in covert missions, so she would be fine carrying out some missions against your enemies, though I would suggest you keep her involvement to a minimum. She also isn't going to reveal herself to the public." She nodded understandingly.
After all, my maids weren't secret associates of mine. Most knew of them and even if they didn't know of their strength, they knew I was close to them and they followed me loyally since the beginning. It obviously eased the dragon queen to know I would send one of my closer subordinates to her, though the fact that she was a maid and the fact that she specialized in covert missions dampened her enthusiasm a bit. After all, a subordinate who could hide away quickly was more likely to survive even if her country fell.
"How long will it take until you can save our country?" She asked what was probably the most important piece of knowledge for her.
"Until I have eliminated him. It might take a month, it might take a year or longer. Prepare yourself for the worst..." I seemed to hesitate for a moment before I reached into my inventory again and pulled out a feather. I placed it into her hand. "If you can't hold on any longer or... you are being confronted by a demon of overwhelming strength, inject mana into this. It will give you enough strength to resist. However, it comes at a cost."
I glanced at the feather 'solemnly'. It was an 'item' I had created through my domain and chaos energy. It will fill her with my divine energy through my domain and give her 'extraordinary' strength. To be honest, it wasn't anything too special, just something I played around with and it would only increase her levels by 20 for a short period of time and form a protective barrier around her that could withstand the equivalent of level 100's casual attacks.
Of course, it was a 'precious' item and it would save her life if she truly encountered danger. My mind wandered to the Beastman Country and its current movements. I had investigated why they were agitated and it turned out, they were killing and pillaging in my name, or at least the commotion I created was turned into their justification to wage an all-out war.
I felt bitter about it and thought of wiping them out, but it wouldn't make sense with the current story I was spreading. Me appearing brazenly in another country and spending time to resolve the war would certainly be something that was exploited by the demon. If it wasn't then that might be suspicious for anyone caring enough to think a layer deeper into it.
Which in turn meant, the only reasonable action a demon opposing me would take, was to start his attack on a country that was further away at the same time I appeared in the Dragon Kingdom. Of course, we could just reason it by saying that the information traveled too slowly.
However, the threat level had to be high enough to make the entire world vigilant of this demon. A demon that was cunning enough to the point he could even predict my appearance. If this was a real ancient war, I wouldn't make such a mistake to allow the enemy to act. Being in the open, while the demon hid away would be too disadvantageous. In a real scenario, I would lay low until he made a move and kill him in one fell swoop.
The only thing that would make me give up such an opportunity was if I couldn't predict where he would appear, but then again, we shared a long history. If I couldn't predict a planned attack once I showed my face somewhere else then someone might question my experience.
Hmm? Now that I was thinking about it, this might be a better approach... This might make this play a bit more balanced as well. Besides, I have to include Ainz otherwise he would feel left out.
"I will try my best to wrap things up as soon as I can." With that, I stood up and disappeared out of her view. I glanced down at the palace roof as if I could see through it. To a certain degree, I could sense the environment and her figure clutching onto the two things I had given her as if they were her lifeline, which it effectively was.
In the next moment, Aneko appeared from the shadows to meet the Dragon Queen. I turned my attention away from them and looked at the others who were securing the surroundings. Fubuki, Yuri, Sueko, and even Neia, who was now blessed by me, were sneakily positioning themselves around the palace.
My memory was a bit fuzzy on the details and I thought I remembered a dragon residing inside the Dragon Kingdom, but until now there was no sight of them. I called them back as I knew I wouldn't find anyone any time soon. I might as well return. The seed had already been placed and even if the movements of the Beastman Country were unexpected, it was still tolerable.
...
Calca sighed as the door closed behind the emissary of the Re-Estize Kingdom. It wasn't something that would happen regularly without prompt, but an angel appearing and showcasing his might in front of the world, attracted a lot of attention. Her neighboring countries were usually reluctant to aid her against the demi-humans of the Abelion Hills.
Now they flock here wanting something from her. After curbing the rebellion of the south, she directly sent some of Lord Azazel's noble followers and her own loyal subordinates to take over the land of the fallen rebels. Usually, even the nobles on her side would frown upon having some minor nobles take a portion of their 'war spoils'.
However, they were sent by Lady Fubuki, so it was clear that they had a divine being as their backing. No one would dare to question their decision even if they found it hard to accept. She shook her head as she thought about the emissary of Re-Estize's desire to see him. It was obvious with the way they chose their words that they thought she was trying to intentionally mysterize him by hiding his whereabouts.
However, she wasn't deliberately making things difficult for them. She wanted to visit him even more than these emissaries, who only just now heard about him. Despite her desire and previous interactions, she still couldn't meet him. Her figure slumped slightly into her chair as she thought about the fact she wouldn't be seeing him anytime soon. Currently, she was feeling a bit overwhelmed with everything happening right now. Even though she was able to resolve the rebellion due to Lord Azazel's intervention, it only got more stressful.
Now she was stuck with dealing with people who only saw Lord Azazel as a potential threat, or weapon, or looked down on him. At least, the emissary of the Re-Estize was not so subtly blaming her for claiming a natural event as a deed of a 'mere' adamantite adventurer. She couldn't help but shake her head. It was publicly known he was a true angel and even if he didn't cause it, he definitely influenced it.
It was rather tiring to deal with them as they were rather stubborn to dismiss his deeds and obvious power. She wondered if he would dare claim the same if it wasn't a benevolent angel. No one would speak carelessly about a magician that was obviously powerful enough to turn the tides of a war by their lonesome, right?
"Do you want to take a break?" Calca looked over at her friend, Kelart, who seemed similarly annoyed at the attitude of this poorly chosen emissary.
"No, it's fine. Invite them in." She signaled to the guard at the door. The next emissary was one of the two that truly mattered, she couldn't possibly make them wait for too long. If they hadn't arrived a step later than the Re-Estize emissary then she would have talked to them first.
"Announcing the arrival of the esteemed emissary of Slane Theocracy, Ian Als Heim!" After the guard made his announcement, he stepped aside and let a middle-aged man with short wavy platinum blonde hair and a beautiful woman with long blonde hair and pure white skin. Calca had to admit that the woman was on par with her in terms of looks.
At first, she wanted to dismiss the woman as the assistant of the emissary, but the moment their eyes met, she seemed to recognize something. However, she couldn't quite put her finger on it and had to dismiss her suspicion to focus on the emissary.
"Your Majesty, it's a pleasure to meet you." Ian Als Heim bowed as he greeted her, while the woman behind him followed suit without saying a word.
She nodded, at least their tone when addressing her was much more pleasant than the previous emissary. "Please, do stand. I can only imagine the length of your journey."
He smiled politely. "The distance of our travel pales in comparison to the significance of the information that has reached us." She nodded in response, feeling rather refreshed that he was already getting to the focus of their visit.
"Do tell, what has reached your ears?" She brushed over the fact that the news must have reached them even earlier than the Re-Estize Kingdom, considering their comparable arrival despite a greater distance to travel.
"We heard of a true angel, who changed the sky. They have helped Your Majesty deal with a rebellion. We were here in hopes of confirming this information personally." His eyes seemed to glint with the passion of a faithful pilgrim.
Hearing this, she just showed a saddened expression. "Although I would like to deliver good news, I won't be able to. The angel you seek had left this country to pursue a demon he is hunting." There was no surprise in the man's expression, showing that he had already investigated before meeting her, which meant that they had arrived even earlier or they had a better grasp on internal information than expected.
"As a follower of the God of Life, I desire to help. Is there a message from this angel-"
"Lord Azazel." Kelart interrupted him, stunning him for a moment. It was good that she was here, she could get away with some things that she wouldn't. "He is to be addressed as Lord Azazel."
"O-of course." He glanced at Calca, but she just kept quiet, silently agreeing to her words. Unlike the emissary of the Re-Estize Kingdom, Heim seemed to gain some understanding and his eyes shone with a more fervent glint.
After all, if the queen of this country desired that emissaries from other nations adhere to a respectful address, it signified the illustrious status of those individuals. In the current situation, this endorsement lent legitimacy to the information they had received.
"No, there isn't any message he had left behind besides one." Heim tensed at her words and listened attentively as did the woman, who stood behind him. "The demon, Jaldabaoth, will strike soon. Prepare."
Heim's jaw clenched. "Is there anything else? How should we prepare? When is this demon going to strike? What can we expect? Hordes of demons, famines, plagues?"
Calca raised her hand to interrupt Heim. At least, this one took the threat seriously. "More detailed information is in the hands of Neia, a student of Lord Azazel. She is usually preaching at the church of Potentia Libertia."
Heim raised his eyebrows in stunned silence. He quickly smoothed his expression. Calca wasn't sure whether this news would conflict with his view. After all, Lord Azazel establishing a new religion instead of continuing the existing religion signified that he wasn't one of the gods they worshiped or didn't want to associate with the religion they practiced. Both weren't good news for the faithful.
With another destination, Heim excused himself to meet up with Neia as soon as possible, while she signaled the guard to invite the next group. The Baharuth Empire. She heard a lot about the bloody emperor and personally disliked his methods, but the might of the empire couldn't be underestimated.
Besides the Slane Theocracy, they were the most important visitors today, so she wouldn't delay meeting them either. After announcing the emissary, Calca was quite surprised to see them accompanied by a person, whose reputation had reached her ears.
Leinas Rockbruise. Fair skin, green eyes, and long blond hair with bangs firmly covering the right side of her face. A skilled and powerful warrior. However, it wasn't just her strength that made her known to Calca. It was also due to the curse that plagued one side of her face. She had sent multiple requests to Calca in hopes she could help her regain her beauty.
However, there wasn't much she could do. After all, she specialized in prettifying and not breaking curses that affected their beauty. She also didn't have the time to help her. It was even surprising that she knew of her abilities and had the courage to inquire about possible help.
It was clear what she hoped with her visit to this country this time. She was clearly desperate for a solution to the point that she would travel here at the first hint that something or rather someone could help her.
Her mind wandered to the woman who accompanied the Slane Theocracy's emissary. She now knew what she recognized in the woman. Like this one, she was here to seek someone who could resolve something she was struggling with, and... she was powerful.
The capital of her country had truly turned into a powder keg. There were a lot of dangerous people entering it and all of them were here for something deeply important to them. If something set them off, it wouldn't be easy to smooth things over.
After the Baharuth Empire, she didn't expect anyone else. The other countries were too far away to have arrived already.
...
In the sky above the holy capital, Hoburns, out of the view of the people below an exquisite armor was hovering over it, seemingly searching for something. After a while of not finding its target, it turned its sight toward the mansion, where a few foreigners were currently waiting for the owner of it.
It was evident that they hadn't been fortunate in encountering them thus far. After a brief moment of hesitation, the armor vanished from sight, flying back at full speed.
The Platinum Dragon Lord, Tsaindorcus Vaision, couldn't divert their attention from the fissure for too long; it was expanding and soon something would be able to come through it. He needed to prepare and he needed allies, otherwise the entire world was doomed.