The unexpected turn of events just kept piling up by the hour as if the entire pantheon had decided to test how well she could adapt to the changes unanimously. Renner had already planned to visit the frontlines and distribute food and supplies, but now she couldn't pass the opportunity to establish a relationship with Lord Ainz's chosen, a far more important figure in the long run.
Information was sparse but luckily her spy network gave her enough information to work with. She knew that the young saint, Neia Baraja, was from Roble Holy Kingdom and the daughter of a decorated paladin and of the nation's heroes the black color. She had just been sent on a trip, likely one of the infamous pilgrimages paladins could go on to defeat strong monsters or capture dangerous criminals. Her gears turning, she eagerly sent a proposal directly to Lord Demiurge, to gift Neia better gear and use her as a propaganda tool to spread worship of the New Gods.
Renner slowly paced back while waiting for a reply, left only in the company of her invisible handlers as Gazef and Climb were preparing her carriage for the trip, packing bags and suitcases. There was an eerie silence in the room and her mind filled with uncertainty. What if the recent events were a sign that she wasn't being valued and the Gods saw her plan as a flawed one? After all, if they valued her, then they wouldn't be testing her like now - they'd just continue on with their machinations, allowing their servants to continue doing their jobs with minimal interference. The Gods were powerful but didn't involve themselves much with their servants after acquisition.
Despite being lost in her thoughts, she did see Venosa move and lock the door from the inside, which meant that a delivery was indeed coming and the now all too familiar gate was about to open. Renner stopped, took a deep breath, and turned her full attention to the swirling void materializing in the middle of the room, black as the night sky.
First to step through was Lord Demiurge which meant things were serious enough to demand the archdemon's presence as her immediate superior. She slightly bowed her head as a second figure emerged, one she had not seen before.
A goatman in an immaculate black suit decorated with gold and a flowing red robe that looked like it had a mind of its own followed her superior out of the void, oozing confidence. Her mind went into overdrive: she recognized parts of the suit and instantly knew who the person was. Without any hesitation, she dropped to one knee and lowered her head, staring at the ground. In the corners of her eyes, she saw her handlers canceling invisibility and doing the same, even dropping weapons and other equipment in this individual's presence, which they never did even for Lord Demiurge.
"What gave away my identity?" Lord Ulbert asked with a hint of amusement in his voice.
"I recognized your attire, my Lord. At least parts of it, from our first meeting," Renner replied.
"Observant as always. Rise and be at ease," Ulbert ordered as he casually walked past her and sat down at the table.
Renner returned to her feet and turned around, waiting for orders feeling she should only speak when spoken to. Her God was present and in his true form nonetheless, and she couldn't even form theories of how serious things were if Lord Ulbert came in person to speak with her.
'I can be fairly certain I haven't messed up. If that was the case, I would be disposed of and a doppelganger would take my place. My Lord would not waste his time to come in person and declare me a failure.' She reasoned, which gave her at least some reassurance. It wasn't the worst-case scenario.
"Come join me. We have a few things to discuss." Ulbert motioned at the empty seat in front of him.
Renner accepted the offer without hesitation, which did come with a price. There were subtle hints in Demiurge's expression that he wasn't approving of how fast she accepted the seat, a terrifying prospect.
'I will have to explain myself to Lord Demiurge later.' She mused while paying full attention to the God sitting at the same table as her.
"Your mind is an interesting thing. I wonder how much you have deducted on your own already." Ulbert spoke as Demiurge pulled a cup and a kettle out of his inventory and filled the cup with strong but pleasantly smelling dark liquid which she had never seen before. He then proceeded to add some sort of high-grade alcohol, which Renner was unfamiliar with as well, and a healthy dose of white sugar.
"I know that Neia must be very important, but to what degree I am not yet fully aware. For that reason, I proposed to use her as a figurehead, with room to navigate her as needed." Renner answered.
As Ulbert took a slow sip from his cup, Demiurge made the same beverage for her. Renner knew for sure that she couldn't refuse the offering yet she already made the mistake of being too eager to sit down. To be sure, she looked up at Demiurge with a questioning look, and when the demon tilted his head at the cup, she gracefully picked it up with both hands and took a slow cautious sip, unafraid of poison since, again, the Gods had other methods to handle useless subordinates.
Her eyes widened. First from the strange mixture of pleasant tastes exploding in her mind and then from a jolt of energy she felt rushing through her body. Whatever this beverage was, there was a large chance she was the first mortal to ever taste it. The tinge of bitterness suffocated by the perfect amount of sweetness and the slightly burning aftertaste of the strong alcohol a royalty like her would usually shun. "This is wonderful. Thank you for treating me, Lord Ulbert." She expressed genuine gratitude and took another sip, wanting more.
"My favorite. Unfortunately, coffee seems to not be native to this world. Perhaps it will be cultivated in time. Now then, I will make some things clear." Ulbert gulped his cup, continuing. "Neia Beraja is picked by Ainz as his apostle and she was the first mortal to utter his name, in public nonetheless."
Renner nodded and waited for Ulbert to continue. This fact alone elevated Neia to being pretty much any mortal and she needed to thread carefully around this girl. She was already in a superior position in the eyes of the Gods after all.
"This means she isn't a tool or an asset you can use however you like, even I don't want to piss off Ainz right now. To you she is untouchable. That said I do like the idea of you befriending her, especially considering your… ambition." Ulbert smirked.
"Understood. I will treat her with utmost respect and avoid tampering with her plans," Renner stated with conviction.
"Good. You will gift her a decent mail set and an enchanted bow and make sure no locals involve her in their schemes, and if you do involve her in yours, run them past Demiurge first to ensure it works with Ainz." Ulbert nodded at Demiurge, who pulled out a box from his inventory and put it on the ground.
"Should I provide her and her team with sizable funds as well? I can disguise it as me befriending another talented adventurer team," Renner asked.
"You can drop coins in their direction. Onto the next topic. So you, my dear princess, think you are suitable to represent me?" Ulbert's tone was still casual but Renner felt a hint of danger behind it.
'Was I too arrogant to assume I can become Lord Ulbert's Apostle? I best treat it carefully and answer honestly.' Renner decided that any sort of attempt to deceive the God of Trickery was beyond foolish, he had surely seen through anything she could scheme up or attempt to hide. "Yes, I believe I am a suitable candidate, but if there is someone better, I will gracefully accept defeat."
Ulbert leaned forward grabbing her chin with two fingers, his sharp claws slightly digging into her delicate skin, threatening to draw blood. "Now, now, let's not pretend to be so modest. You would use any means necessary to eliminate competition before I name my apostle, am I correct?"
"Most, my Lord. I would not attempt to deprive you of competent servants, only those far too incompetent to be useful. I can only imagine what price I would pay if I as much as try to harm those you have your eyes on. I crave to be the one spreading your word, but I know better than to use all I can to achieve it. I know my position as a servant." Renner answered truthfully, doing her best to not wince in pain as the nails grew ever larger.
Ulbert loosened his grip as he let out a cackle that made her shudder. "Consider yourself my apostle, dear. You're almost like a daughter I never had. Wouldn't she fit as your younger sister?"
"I believe so. I have taken a liking to her. She is a true monster wearing human skin." Demiurge admitted with his trademark smirk.
Her God let her go and leaned back, grabbing his cup again as the archdemon had already refilled it. "Let's discuss your ambition."
"My ambition? Being your apostle was my ambition." Renner picked a cup as well and took another sip, savoring the wonderful taste.
"Renner, Renner, come on, do you think you can hide anything from me?" Ulbert chuckled.
"I know I can't but…"
"But what?" Ulber inquired.
"I prefer to work on my ambitions one at a time. My current one besides keeping Climb is now fulfilled, so I have to consider the next one carefully. Having too many ambitions could split my resources too thinly," Renner explained. In truth, she didn't expect things to go so smoothly and hadn't given much thought to her long-term goals.
"Indulge me."
What did she desire? There certainly were a few things. Perhaps it was best to treat the conversation with her God as a confession and present her all on a platter for him to dissect and analyze as he wished.
"Immortality for me and Climb, to never die among the mortals. A position where I can utilize my mind and be rewarded for my efforts, freed from the shackles that hold me here in this kingdom. Discarding my weak human self, if possible that is. To know of all Gods so I can see how I can elevate your worship, to fulfill my duties as ideally as possible." She expressed what she believed she wanted the most at the moment.
"I can turn you and your toy into demons, which would simultaneously fulfill two of your desires. As my apostle, I believe you would have your hands full with duties, especially if you plan to be Neia's trusty shadow just like I am Ainz's. As for knowing Gods, I think I could give you a tour through our domain and let you meet them after the operation is concluded, especially considering your apostle position; nobody would protest it."
"A demon? That sounds lovely. I am truly thankful for your generosity, my Lord." Renner broke into a smile, bowing her head. To turn into one of her superior Lord Demiurge's kind would be a boon, considering their many abilities alongside immortality.
"I do like to be generous towards those who serve me well." Ulbert took the last gulp from his cup, handing it to Demiurge, "And Renner, make sure to elevate those who I have entrusted you with, they are more capable than you think they are. I do follow your partnership with Venosa and I think you two could do a better job at it."
"Of course. I will do my best to work with my allies." Renner jumped to her feet and bowed deeply, the last bit of tension finally leaving her as she knew what she had messed up on in her endeavors.
"We'll see. Until we meet again. Your company is a pleasant one, my dear," Ulbert declared as he disappeared through the portal followed by Demiurge.
Renner stood motionless for a while as she fully processed what had happened. Her God knew more than she assumed and was more generous than she could ever hope for. There was little doubt that she had taken the right path before but now she was ready to fully devote herself to Lord Ulbert.
"Congratulations. It seems Lord Ulbert does see a value in you." Venosa congratulated her.
"Thank You. It seems he also wishes we get along better," Renner replied as she returned to the table and picked up the cup, taking another sip.
"Indeed. If the Lord wills it, we must oblige." Venosa agreed and activated the invisibility again.
Shadow demons moments later reported that Climb and Gazef were heading back to receive the next set of orders so she needed to be ready. Renner quickly finished the cup and put it in one of the drawers just in case anyone was observant enough to notice an unfamiliar object in her quarters, locking it tightly and placing a shadow demon to monitor and protect it.
She then crouched to pick up the crate but quickly found out it was rather heavy. After partly lifting it up by a corner, she gave up and looked at the spot where Venosa stood. "Can you put it in my dresser?"
{ You are amusingly fragile, princess. } Venosa chuckled in her mind and picked up the crate without any effort, carrying it deeper into her quarters. She knew her Lord's new apostle was weak as a human, but the stark contrast between her body and mind did make working alongside her quite entertaining.
Now all that remained was to make up a believable story to be able to give some gear to Neia as she went to inspect the goods. 'I think I can pass this gear as my insurance that I kept in case I had to flee. I have taken a few archery courses after all.'
Editing by aidan_lo.
Proofreading by aidan_lo, Sluethen, mfkz_rocker, IAMTHEPLOKOKIOPO, x4x, Stac, fvvck, Dtrackt, and clagan
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