Chapter 638 - The Baharuth Empire

[ Part 1 ]

Albedo was to leave for the Kingdom on a clear, sunny day, and Ainz came to see her off at the courtyard of his residence.

There were five luxurious coaches parked there. One of them was for Albedo and another was for her luggage. One of the remaining coaches contained gifts to the King, to impress upon them the difference between the might of the Kingdom and the Sorcerous Kingdom. Surrounding these carriages were 20 Death Cavaliers which Ainz had created.

It would have been simple enough to just teleport to the Kingdom, but they had not chosen to do so.

Albedo and her party were responsible for demonstrating the Sorcerous Kingdom's power. Part of that was using monsters in place of horses to pull their coaches; an implied threat, so to speak.

"Then, Ainz-sama, please take care of yourself for a while."

"Umu, be careful. We haven't found the people who brainwashed Shalltear yet. Thus we cannot rule out the possibility that they might seek to control you, and then use you as part of a great gamble to inflict massive damage on Nazarick."

"Of course. I will be careful and never let this leave my person."

Albedo was hugging a World-Class Item to her breast.

"I believe possessing that should eliminate the risk of being brainwashed by a World-Class Item. However, the opposition might not be limited to just that item. In addition, while that is the most powerful World-Class Item against physical objects, don't forget that it is not very useful against individual targets."

"Is that so? My main weapon is the transformed version of this..."

"It's weaker than a specialized divine-class item. Even so, it's still quite strong in that it will never be destroyed or damaged. All I want to say is, don't be careless because you're strong. Although I don't think you'll make a mistake like that..."

Come to think of it, Albedo had never been outside until now.

He had stationed her in Nazarick and had her serve as a rear guard. Because of this, Ainz felt worried, as though he was letting a child go out on an errand by themselves for the first time.

"Remain alert and do not be careless. If you feel there is danger, retreat immediately. Do you have any teleportation items? Some of them need time to take effect, so does yours work immediately? Some enemies can also impede teleportation before attacking, have you thought of a way to deal with them? There might also be enemies who distract you with bait before ambushing you. Don't be fooled by your enemies' strength, alright? Although I've heard you've gone through combat training in order to improve your flexibility, you still need to study up a bit more. In addition―"

He thought, it would have been good if I had lectured Shalltear like this while he thought about the tactics he would use for PKing. As he did so, he sprayed Albedo with a stream of words at machine-gun speed.

How long had he spent on thinking up all kinds of attacks? Ainz only returned to normal after he realised Albedo was looking at him with a delighted expression on her face.

This was terribly embarrassing.

Ainz coughed.

"Well, something like that. I believe that you of all people, Albedo, will not slack off on preparations and countermeasures. I'm sorry for delaying you. Take care when you travel."

"Understood, Ainz-sama."

"Although it might not be appropriate to ask right before you go, about Demiurge ― no, never mind."

"He should be fine, I believe?"

If he had received some communication from Demiurge, he would not have a huge pile of questions to ask him. For instance, Albedo had not opposed the formation of the Adventurer's Guild, but it might be better to ask him in person when he returned. Albedo seemed surprised, but after she realised that Ainz did not intend to reply, she resumed her usual gentle expression.

"Then, Ainz-sama. As the Guardian Overseer, I will show you results which will not bring shame upon the office."

"Your actions have never insulted your station."

Granted, right after that he recalled Albedo mounting him cowgirl-style, but that was not the sort of thing one could bring up at this juncture.

"There is one more thing I have to say. While you are immune to disease, this world might possess illnesses that can bypass even that immunity, so be careful. I've heard that it's exceptionally easy to fall ill at the turn of the season."

The transition between the four seasons was not very clear in Suzuki Satoru's world.

A thought struck him ― what would Blue Planet do if he were here? He would probably have the same sparkly-eyed expression that Albedo did. ...Although, whether he could actually make that expression was a different matter entirely.

Then, Albedo volunteered a suggestion, with a look on her face like a freshly-bloomed flower:

"Ainz-sama! I, I know of a remedy that works very well against illness!"

"Hoh...?"

That was quite a surprise. He had not expected her to know of medication which was unique to this world.

Nfirea the herbalist should not have come into contact with Albedo. That being the case, could it have come from knowledge within YGGDRASIL, or perhaps something Tabula Smaragdina programmed into her? His curiosity now aroused, Ainz looked forward to what she would say next.

"A kiss!"

"...A kiss?"

"Yes, kissing relieves stress and activates the parasympathetic nervous system. Once the efficiency of the parasympathetic nervous system increases, the performance of the immune system improves with it. In other words, if you get kissed, you won't get sick!"

"What you've said sounds kind of familiar..."

He recalled someone mentioning something about the parasympathetic nervous system while he was playing YGGDRASIL. That must be it. However, he did not feel that it would be effective in this world too.

"Therefore, I want a kiss~"

Albedo closed her eyes and puckered her lips.

All he could see now was an octopus.

That description might sound like it was slandering a great beauty, but the truth was, her looks had not been greatly diminished. After all, a beautiful woman remained beautiful no matter what expression she had on her face.

That untimely thought flashed through Anz's mind.

Ainz had considered running away at this point.

He wanted to say, "Certainly not", but it was plainly obvious that she was hoping for a kiss. In addition, this was a wish from someone who was about to run a work errand, so he wanted to help fulfil it, to a certain extent. In addition, it would make his heart ache to ignore the wishes of Tabula Smaragdina's daughter.

Ainz took Albedo's chin in one hand, and planted a kiss on her cheek. That said, Ainz had no skin, and thus no lips, so the kiss Ainz gave was little more than pressing his front teeth against her. In addition, since he had no saliva, all she should have been able to feel was something dry and hard poking her.

Although this was terribly embarrassing, he had to inflict himself on her.

I'm glad I brushed my teeth, even though I didn't eat anything.

After his hand left her chin, he met Albedo's wide-eyed gaze.

"What, what's wrong? Besides, it would have been too much to kiss you on the lips, so the cheek will have to do. Was it not right?!"

"...I did not think you would have considered it at all."

Before Ainz could ask her about what she really meant, tears welled up in the corner of Albedo's eyes.

"Fueeeen~"

Albedo wept. Those were not crocodile tears. She was truly crying.

After the long-awaited shock of his emotional suppression washed over him, Ainz hurriedly scrambled to do something. That said, he had no idea how to proceed.

In the past, when he had made Albedo cry in the Treasury, he had thought of something comforting to say. However, nothing came to mind now that Ainz had made her cry after kissing her. What would that pretty boy Emperor (Jircniv) do at a time like this? Although he thought about that topic, it would seem that none of the scenes which Ainz witnessed had ever covered a situation like that.

"Albedo, please don't cry."

He desperately wanted to look to the duty maid behind him for help, but he had already embarrassed himself badly enough. He could not disgrace himself even further.

"Albedo, don't cry."

Ainz pulled Albedo into his embrace and gently patted her back.

They stayed like this for a while, and then Albedo sniffled. It would seem her tears had stopped.

Ainz released the hands holding Albedo, as relief washed through him.

"Are you alright, Albedo?"

"Yes, Ainz-sama. I am very sorry for letting you see that shameful side of me."

Though stained with tears, hers was still a very beautiful smile.

There was only one reason she could be crying.

His nonexistent stomach began aching after he realized how cruel he had been. At that time, he thought it was fine, because the game was going to end soon. If only he had not thought that way, she would not have cried like this.

"Is that so. ...Well, it's about time. You should set out if you're fine."

"Understood, Momonga-sama!"

***

The curtains mounted in the coach windows opened, and through them, he saw Albedo waving to him. In response, Ainz waved back to her.

This was a scene straight out of those railway train farewells one might have seen on television.

The coach stirred slowly into motion, and the sentries began moving as well.

Ainz watched until he could no longer see Albedo's coach, and as he stared into the distance, he issued a somber, grave command.

"Forget everything that happened here."

"Understood."

Ainz walked past the maid, whose head was lowered. Ainz had no way of seeing what the kind of look she had on her face.

-x-X-x-

[ Part 2 ]

The Bloody Emperor, Jircniv Rune Farlord El-Nix clutched at his head.

This was not a recent thing. He had been doing this for quite some time now.

In the past, he had purged all manner of nobles, heard about treachery which could shake the Empire, and learned of deteriorating relationships with neighboring countries. Through it all, this man had neither panicked nor fallen into confusion. However, in the face of an insoluble problem, even this man could do nothing but bitterly cradle his head.

"Dammit! You son of a bitch! Die! Die and rot away!"

While magic could curse someone to death, Jircniv did not have that kind of power. Therefore, he was simply speaking offensive words. If he could actually kill that hateful man who had wrought such devastation on his mind and his stomach lining for the past few months, he would gladly seek out such techniques.

"No, wait. It would be better to tell him to "live", right? Or maybe, 'be destroyed' would be more appropriate? I've heard of some priests destroying the undead with sacred power."

He was even thinking about such meaningless things.

Jircniv's stomach ached and strands of his fallen hair adorned his pillow every morning. The culprit, the man responsible for all of this was the Sorcerer King, Ainz Ooal Gown.

There was no satisfactory solution to the problems posed by the Sorcerer King.

The first problem concerned the casualties among the Imperial Knight Corps at the Battle of the Katze Plains.

There were only 143 deaths; a trivial number, for a direct clash with the enemy. However, the losses at the Katze Plain had been entirely self-inflicted.

In addition, 3,788 people had expressed their desire to leave the Knight Corps upon their return to the Imperial Capital. In other words, over 6% of the 60,000 men of the Imperial Knight Corps had lost their courage.

And then, there were thousands of people who complained of uneasiness and night terrors. According to the reports, there were at least 200 mentally unstable people as well.

Knights were professional warriors, and training even a single one of them entailed considerable expense.

Nor was it just a matter of money. Training time was also essential. One could not simply grab somebody off the streets and say, "From tomorrow onwards, you are a knight."

The Empire would need to spend a great deal to fill the shortfall in the number of knights. But where would he get the funds for those expenditures?

At this critical moment, it was too risky to purge the nobles and seize their assets to make up the required amount.

The reason for that was because of the second problem ― namely, the petitions which the Imperial Knights themselves had submitted to Jircniv.

The Knight Corps were permitted to make proposals to Emperor Jircniv. This was because there were some things which only blooded veterans could understand, and it was also to reduce the conflicts between military officers and bureaucratic officials. At the same time, it was also to give the impression that Jircniv ― who had a martial background ― was especially fond of the Knight Corps.

Of course, one could not expect such letters to always be positive, but the recent petitions were harsh indeed.

These petitions, from the upper echelons of the Knight Corps' command structure, expressed their desire to avoid warfare with the Sorcerous Kingdom.

Jircniv could understand that sort of thing even if they did not bring it up.

Anyone who dared face that Kingdom in open combat would be far beyond a mere fool; he would be an absolute madman. That was a nation that could trample 200,000 enemy troops with a single spell. There was no way Jircniv would conceivably pick a fight with such a foe.

Even so, the reason why the Knight Corps had tendered such a petition was because they had lost their faith in Jircniv.

Before the Battle of the Katze Plains, Jircniv had proposed to the Sorcerer King: "I hope you will use your strongest spell". The upper echelons of the Knight Corps knew this, and laid the blame for that miserable hellscape squarely at the feet of Jircniv.

In other words, they were using him as a scapegoat.

When Jircniv learned this he was both furious and frustrated in the extreme.

If he had known that such magic existed, he would never have said such a thing.

Besides, the reason why Jircniv had asked that damnable Sorcerer King to use his strongest spell was to verify how powerful his magic was.

Originally, it should have been the other way around. "Thank you for drawing out part of the Sorcerer King's power. Now we know better than to act recklessly around him," they should have said while expressing their gratitude. After all, if things had gone poorly, that magic might have been unleashed in a city.

However, the Knight Corps did not see things that way. It was because they felt that Jircniv was a splendid Emperor that they believed he had asked for the use of that magic, knowing full well what it did. Thus, many suspicious gazes now fell upon Jircniv.

This was the first time Jircniv had been so disgusted by his own reputation.

However, crying and complaining would not help things. If someone could do something in his place, Jircniv would gladly cry and scream and rest until his stomach pains went away. Of course, nobody could do Jircniv's job for him, so he had to handle it himself.

"Damn that Sorcerer King! It's all his fault!"

He pressed against the pain that radiated from his stomach, no ― Jircniv paused to think.

This was not "the Sorcerer King's fault". This was "the Sorcerer King's conspiracy."

It was very possible that the state of the Empire might have been orchestrated by him. When he calmed down and considered it, the possibility of that was very high.

Jircniv took out a key and opened a drawer. He withdrew a bottle from within.

Then, he pressed the silver ring he wore on his left hand against it.

The Ring of Unicorn ― an item which could detect poisons and which enhanced resistance to poison and disease, which could also heal wounds once a day. After confirming that there was no reaction, he gulped it down.

Jircniv placed the bottle on his desk, and frowned.

He took a mouthful of water from a bottle on the desk, to wash away the now-familiar astringent taste spreading through his mouth. After that, Jircniv pressed the area around his belly again.

Was it just a placebo effect, or had his wound really been healed? While there was no way he could know for sure, at least his stomach pains had subsided for now.

"Haaah~"

After that abnormally heavy sigh, as though ponderous tasks awaited him, he continued his work. First, he had to start with that accumulated pile of documents.

A quiet knocking rang through the room, as though it were waiting for his hand to reach out.

The man who entered was a scribe. All of Jircniv's hand-picked scribes were excellent workers. However, this man was easily the equal of Roune.

Incidentally, there were no women among the scribes. The only woman who Jircniv trusted to handle this sort of work was one of his concubines.

"Your Majesty―"

Jircniv waved to cut short a greeting that might take a very long time.

"―No need for that, spare me the greetings. Don't waste time, get to the point."

"Yes, Your Majesty. Those traders from that nation have finally replied to us. They seem to have very good stock with them, and they will be visiting the Imperial Capital soon."

"Really now!"

Jircniv smiled at this, the best news he had heard in the past few weeks.

The nation in question was the Slaine Theocracy. Needless to say, the trader in question was an emissary from them.

While this room was warded against spying, after witnessing that spell from the Sorcerer King, he had come to believe that all these countermeasures were little more than stage dressing. The fact was, he had come to feel that someone was spying on him of late.

Still, no matter how many people he sent to investigate, they found no observers. The only conclusion they could reach was that this was a paranoid delusion on Jircniv's part. Granted, his nerves had been wound up quite tightly of late, so it might actually be the case. However, he could not get rid of the sense of foreboding that came from being watched.

In the past, he might have let Fluder set up anti-spying measures, but he could not do that now. For all he knew, Fluder might already have betrayed him. Therefore, Jircniv had to operate under the assumption that spies had already infiltrated the Imperial Capital.

Therefore, all policies concerning important matters needed their own codewords. Of course, there were a few small problems which cropped up at a result, but it was still better than letting the alliance against Ainz Ooal Gown be exposed.

"Then, when will it be?"

"I believe they intend to arrive within the next few days."

Normally speaking, he would have openly invited them to the Imperial Capital, but that would be far too obvious.

It's best to meet them while pretending that it was a coincidence. However, what sort of location would avoid suspicion?

He was out of options, but even if that were the case, he could not give up like this was just a regular game. Casting that spell of utmost cruelty was essentially telling Jircniv, "I am undead, so slaying the living is only natural." He could not possibly ignore a being like that.

It was the duty of the Emperor of the Baharuth Empire to improve his chances of victory, even if it was only by a little.

In order to achieve that aim, one of the measures he had taken was to forge a secret alliance with the Slaine Theocracy. The Theocracy was a country with a longer history than the Empire, and it also counted divine magic as one of the pillars of their nation. There was no doubt that it was the best nation one could appeal to for ways to deal with the undead.

However, it would be very bad if the Sorcerous Kingdom learned of his contact with the Theocracy.

The Empire was now an ally of the Sorcerous Kingdom, and one which had helped guarantee its sovereignty. The reason why the Empire had done this was to understand the strength and organization of the Sorcerous Kingdom, as well as everything else within it. If it was discovered that they were working against the Sorcerous Kingdom, the Empire would undoubtedly be the first target for the might of the Sorcerer King.

"Permission to speak, Your Majesty."

Jircniv raised his chin, indicating that the man should continue.

"Is the act of opening hostilities with the Sorcerous Kingdom not a most foolish course of action?"

Jircniv glared at the scribe. You too, huh. He chucked a scroll case into a specially designated trash bin as he thought that.

Don't crush my flagging heart, please... However...

"Then, what would you suggest we do instead?"

"Well, about that..."

Jircniv smiled as he watched the scribe gulp audibly.

"Relax. I will not censure you for anything you say. Come, speak your mind."

"Yes, then, I apologize beforehand for any offense I might cause."

With a cough, the secretary shared his thoughts:

"I believe we should continue strengthening our bond of alliance, and if the Sorcerous Kingdom has any requests... we should give in to them."

The scribe's face was still pale despite Jircniv's guarantee.

Within his heart, that treasonous statement warred with the fear that his very life might be extinguished.

Jircniv once again smiled bitterly.

"You're right."

"―Hah?"

It was because he knew the man's caliber that he felt that his gaping mouth was quite comical. Jircniv smiled in a different way than before, and then continued speaking:

"I feel what you are saying is correct. In your position, I might well make the same proposal. No, it would be strange if any man I appointed as a scribe did not suggest such a thing."

Simply put, the Sorcerous Kingdom was far too powerful.

Though they could only judge from a military standpoint, it was clear that the Sorcerous Kingdom was on a level that they could not even hope to deal with.

The personal power of the Sorcerer King Ainz Ooal Gown alone was already far too risky to face. Then there was the army of the dead he had brought to the battlefield, each of which was rumored to be able to level a nation by themselves.

They were in completely different dimensions. When one thought about it, the very idea was laughable.

"Although I feel that is the best choice, does that mean we should not prepare to take some other action? For instance, if the Sorcerer King intends to destroy the Kingdom, do you think bending the knee to him will suffice to spare us?"

He had not yet heard of any massacres in E-Rantel.

Could it be that the undead were not there? After trying to gather some information, he discovered that the undead openly occupied the city, turning E-Rantel into a demon city.

It might be that he intended to rule the residents of the area without slaughtering them, but that was jumping to conclusions. After all, there was the news of how he had subdued that adamantite-ranked adventurer (Momon), so just from that point alone, it was dangerous to think that the Sorcerer King's tender mercies would extend to the Empire.

"It is as you say. It would seem I was so cowed by the Sorcerer King's overwhelming power that I could not even make such a rational decision. My deepest apologies."

"No need to apologize. After all, the thought came to mind in the past... back to the point, where have the traders of that country chosen to rest?"

"It seems they will be lodging in the largest of the second of four."

The second of four referred to a shrine of the God of Fire. The word "largest" was not code, so it probably referred to the largest shrine in the Kingdom ― the Central Temple.

From this point on, Jircniv began nonchalantly chatting about random issues, with some lies sprinkled into the mix.

Sometimes, he would casually speak of made-up things. Even if anyone heard, investigating the truth of those words would be a tedious process. For the time being, he might have to continue this brain-straining work. As he thought about this, he realised they had been talking for several minutes.

Jircniv then decided to get to the main issue.

"How is your family? Are they still well?"

"Hah? Ah, yes. They're very well."

"Is that so? That's great. Good health is the most important thing, after all. I won't lie; the truth is, my body's been doing quite poorly of late. Medicine only keeps it at bay for a while. Do you think I should bring a priest over?"

"It seems the temples are not too happy with Your Majesty's recent actions. Applying pressure might result in a backlash. Why not visit in person, Your Majesty?"

"What a wonderful idea."

The temples battled the undead. Thus, to the priests, the founding of a nearby country which was ruled by a powerful undead being was something about which they were very wary. Thus, they had sent many requests to meet with Jircniv.

However, Jircniv had refused each time.

Jircniv was now in a state where he would take any help he could get, but he had his reasons for not accepting. One of them was because he did not trust their ability to keep out spies. The other was because Jircniv feared that if he told them what he knew, they might do something unpredictable.

If both sides reached an accord, and the priests then decided to declare war on the powerful Sorcerer King "because he is undead," the consequences hardly needed to be stated. It would result in the Empire being caught up in their suicidal actions.

In short, Jircniv was afraid that once he made contact with the temples, the Sorcerer King would assume that the Empire was hostile toward him.

Jircniv sighed deeply.

Although he had hoped they would wait for the right moment, it would seem they did not understand that point, However, the Theocracy's diplomatic party had covertly reached the Imperial Capital. Perhaps if he waited for them to make contact with the temples, there might be a chance to turn it all around.

"Then, I should make some time in the next few days to visit the temples and let them take a look at my body."

"That seems like a wise course of action. Then, I shall go make the arrangements now."

"Thank you. Then, what shall we do about the arena? I remember there was an exhibition match scheduled soon; shall we let it go on as planned? I'm not going to be stopped by words like 'you said you were going for a checkup, so you can't go there', you know. If any of you wants to watch the fight with me, you may join me in my VIP room."

The scribe's eyes widened, and his eyes gleamed as he tried to divine the true meaning of that statement.

Yes, that's right. You'd be right to suspect me. Come, see what I really mean.

Jircniv wanted to avoid meeting the people of the Theocracy in the temples.

The temples contained knowledge on healing and various other kinds of wisdom. If they were chosen as targets for a pre-emptive strike, far too many things would be lost, at a time where this accumulated knowledge was more important than anything else.

"Understood. Then let me handle the arena. I believe you were scheduled to visit the war wounded at the hospital on that day as well?"

Jircniv had not received this news, so this was probably a bluff.

In other words, he was suggesting to Jircniv that the hospital might be a better location than the arena.

Jircniv had chosen the arena because he had heard that it often hired priests to heal the wounded. With that in mind, he was thinking of bringing the emissaries from the Slaine Theocracy over in the guise of those priests.

"Delay the visitations. We'll follow the schedule we agreed on earlier."

With that, all talk about the traders had disappeared halfway through the conversation. If there were any eavesdroppers, what would they think of this? What could they learn from the phrase "second of four"?

However fiendish the Sorcerer King's intellect, he could not make any plans without any information to work with. In addition, not all of the Sorcerer King's subordinates could be as intelligent as he was. Also, the more spies there were, the higher the chances they would be exposed. Since no information on those spies had been found yet, there probably were not many spies. Or rather, he hoped that was the case.

The spectre of the Sorcerer King's absolute and undeniable magic haunted his mind. Part of him constantly thought "Since they're the Sorcerer King's men, they must be exceptional too." Indeed, he had seen many incredibly powerful beings arrayed before that throne, so that implied that those spies might be of the same caliber as them.

If that's really the case, then we don't have a chance at all... if swearing vassalage to him will settle things, then wouldn't that be the best course of action?

He had just drunk a healing potion, but Jircniv felt a spike of pain in his stomach again.

***

Two weeks later, a coach with Jircniv on board left for the arena.

On the surface, he seemed to be going to the Arena to watch a fight, but in truth, he was there to enter into an agreement with emissaries of the Slaine Theocracy and high-ranking priests of the Empire.

He had not brought any of his imperial guardsmen with him to avoid standing out, but two of the Empire's Four Knights ― "Lightning Bolt" and "Violent Gale" ― were on the vehicle as Jircniv's guards.

If possible, he would have liked to use all of these outstanding warriors to protect him. However, "Heavy Explosion" was not reliable, so he had left her behind under the pretext of guarding the Imperial Capital. No, saying that she was unreliable was not exactly correct. To be precise, he could already tell from her actions that she wanted to move on to the Sorcerous Kingdom. Thus, in order to avoid leaking any information to her which she could offer to the Sorcerous Kingdom as a gift, Jircniv had decided to keep a distance from her.

She had originally said, "I will do anything to lift this curse, even point this sword at Your Majesty". Jircniv understood this, but had still decided to make use of her. Therefore, he could not rebuke her even if she decided to betray the Empire. However, he still could not allow her to take away information that was critical to the Empire.

That said, if she really had managed to eavesdrop on the Empire's state secrets, then he would need to have her arrested. However, she was one of the strongest people in the Empire, so he would need to send out people on her level to eliminate her. In terms of swordsmanship, only "Lightning Bolt" and "Violent Gale" were up to the task. Sending anyone else would only result in a one-sided slaughter for them. In addition, suppressing her with numbers meant that the Imperial Capital and the Emperor's security details would be thinned out.

That being the case, he would have to turn to Fluder's disciples, workers, or perhaps assassins as represented by Ijaniya, all of whom possessed skills outside of melee combat. However, no matter which option he chose, he would have to be prepared to pay dearly for it.

The disciples were paid on a yearly basis ― although ever since Fluder's betrayal, he had confiscated Fluder's land and made them nobles ― so there would not be too many additional expenses there. However, dispatching them would require them to stop their work, which would incur losses invisible to the naked eye. In addition, if they were actually killed instead, the damage done would be more than what the latter two would cost.

Therefore the best option was to deny "Heavy Explosion" the chance to obtain valuable information and let her go empty-handed to the Sorcerous Kingdom. That might well be the most satisfactory solution for everyone concerned.

Jircniv had hinted as much to "Heavy Explosion".

However, "Heavy Explosion" was still in the Imperial Capital. Her response was along the lines of "I shall remain until I repay the kindness that Your Majesty has shown me".

He wanted to take that at face value, but that was impossible.

"Heavy Explosion" might be one of the Empire's Four Knights, but the Sorcerous Kingdom would most likely rate her fighting power very poorly. Each and every one of the many undead directly loyal to the Sorcerer King were stronger than her. Because of that, she was looking for a way to raise her value in their eyes.

Jircniv's stomach began aching again as he thought about the hopeless reality that the Sorcerer King commanded a thousand undead who were individually stronger than "Heavy Explosion", one of the mightiest warriors of the Kingdom ― and that was not including the Sorcerer King himself.

What should I do about this?!

A single strong person cannot change the course of a battle, they said. Yet, reality said otherwise.

The Kingdom's Gazef Stronoff was a man who could do just that. It was even more true of the Empire's head magician, Fluder Paradyne, a being who could shake an entire nation.

Each of them was a figure comparable to an army, or a country.

In other words, even without considering the frightening power of its undead king, the Sorcerous Kingdom already wielded the might of a thousand armies.

There's nothing to be done, is there? If... well, you couldn't stop him even with a thousand armies, right? ...As I thought, giving up is better...

Of course, he could not actually say that in front of his subordinates, but the idea had appeared in Jircniv's mind several times already. In fact, it had been his first thought once he heard about the Battle of Katze Plains.

"―Then, Your Majesty. After we meet with Silver Canary, we'll move out. Will that be alright?"

Jircniv shifted his gaze to regard the man seated before him.

Before him was one of the Four Knights, "Lightning Bolt" Baziwood Peshmel.

Jircniv nodded in silence.

They had hired a team of adamantite-ranked adventurers as security for today. While they were ostensibly there as a security detail, their main objective was to seek out any spies from the Sorcerous Kingdom. Regretfully, he could not meet up with Ijaniya, which had been considered as one of the alternatives. This also made Jircniv realise that inducting them into the Empire would be very difficult.

"Your Majesty, although adamantite-ranked adventurers possess the highest fighting strength of all humanity, they still cannot step beyond the bounds of human ability. Please do not lower your guard."

Jircniv was painfully aware of those words which "Violent Gale" Nimble Arc Dale Anoch was trying to tell him. In fact, having seen the serried ranks of monsters within that throne room, he understood those words better than Nimble, who had watched that grand massacre with his own eyes.

"Of course. However, they might well be able to hold out. Consider the Kingdom's adamantite-ranked adventurer, Momon. He pointed his sword at the Sorcerer King and defended the people with his strength. Since the members of Silver Canary are adamantite-ranked adventurers as well, it'll be quite troubling if they can't do the same."

As he said this, Jircniv smiled sadly.

"And if even they... if even they can't do it, what then?"

Jircniv's question brought pained expressions to the faces of both knights. That look was a better answer than anything they could have said. Unconsciously, Jircniv began mirroring their expressions.

"Your Majesty, please do not make that face. We might not be strong, but we will still devote our hearts and souls to completing our task."

"That's right, Your Majesty. Please, adopt that confident, swaggering attitude of yours again. This fragile state you're in now doesn't suit you."

Their gentle words pierced Jircniv's heart, and he could not bring himself to say, "doesn't that apply to you as well?" Yet, he decided to accept them without complaint. Those words might have had as much effect as scattering water on the desert, but it was true that they had soaked into the desert of his heart.

"..Forgive me. Thank you for your sincerity. Then... since only the two of you are here, would you mind listening to my foolishness for a while?"

The two knights nodded wordlessly.

"What do you think I should do? Why would a monster like that appear next to the Empire? Why? What sin did I commit against heaven and earth to warrant that? What should I do to slay that monster ― or failing that, to seal it away? Now that the Empire's trump card has been stolen away by the enemy, is there really any way to turn the situation around?"

He had not planned to say that much.

If Jircniv did not stand at their head, his people would not be able to follow him. One who placed himself above others needed to adopt an appropriately superior attitude. This was especially true for the Bloody Emperor, who had purged many nobles.

The Emperor could not afford to show weakness. That was a lesson which his respected father had taught him.

However, all humans had a limit to what they could take.

The human side of Jircniv was one he would only show to his concubines. Now, that part of him was shouting.

"It's true I asked him to cast us a spell. But that couldn't be helped! We can't plan any countermeasures if we have no idea of his abilities! Am I at fault for that? Must I take responsibility for everything that went wrong? Everyone seems to think so!"

Jircniv bit his lip and clutched at his hair.

The truth was, this was merely the tip of the iceberg. If Jircniv had completely given himself over to the feelings in his heart, he would probably be crying and screaming and rolling around on the floor. He was simply trying to protect the image of the Emperor.

Still, he had some sense of self-awareness about how he was letting himself go.

It would seem this was becoming a habit, so Jircniv returned himself to normal.

"Forgive me. It seems I got a little excited. I've been under a lot of stress recently."

He glanced down, and saw strands of hair on his fingers.

Judging from the portraits, none of his ancestors had thin hair. Jircniv could not help but muse that he might be the first Emperor in the history of the Empire to go bald.

He waved his hand to keep his subordinates from noticing. Sometimes pity hurt more than a rebuke, and the same applied to the matter of hair loss.

"That said, it might not be very convincing after you've seen that side of me. However, the two of you need not worry. I'll take care of it, somehow. I won't let him do what he wants to the Empire."

That confident smile of his seemed to soften the faces of his subordinates.

However, none of them was truly at ease.

They too understood that Jircniv's words were just temporary relief.

No matter how they thought, they could not come up with any way to deal with that monster.

In truth, Jircniv felt it would be impossible unless there was a weapon which could permanently slay the undead, or unless another very powerful human being showed up.

That's why we need to rely on the Slaine Theocracy. Their history is longer than ours, so they might be able to find a weapon that can slay the undead in one blow. No, just sharing information with them will allow us to keep fighting!"

All he could do now was pray that this was the case.

The coach continued forward, and with it rode Jircniv's last hopes.

***

The arena was circular in shape. There was a large entrance at one of its sides through which the coach entered. This entrance led to the VIP rooms, and very few people made use of this entrance. The other entrances were used for the entry and exit of the regular patrons or for the transportation of cargo. These were the three main types of entrances to the arena.

The first to alight from the coach were, naturally, the two knights serving as bodyguards. After they had verified the safety of the location, Jircniv dismounted from the coach.

Five men waited for them there.

Their manner of dress looked entirely out of place for the VIP entrance.

Jircniv could evaluate the worth of any particular work of art with a glance, but he could not divine such information from their gear and equipment. This was because what they were wearing was both artwork and wargear. Theirs was not the outfit of a noble's house guards, but the panoply of battle-hardened veterans.

By the normal rules of etiquette, the inferior party should have introduced themselves first. However, some adventurers did not care about status or rank, and these were such adventurers.

Still, he was the ruler of the Empire. Was it really appropriate for him to be lowering his head to adventurers?

Amidst this awkwardness, the man standing in the center of the group of five spoke up:

"Your Majesty, Emperor Jircniv Rune Farlord El-Nix. I believe this is the first time we have met, and it is an honor. We are the adamantite-ranked adventurer team Silver Canary, who have accepted the request of providing security services. I am the team leader, Freivartz. Pleased to meet you."

His dignified voice echoed through the surroundings.

He had a lute on his back and a rapier at his waist. He wore a chain shirt which wreathed his body in bizarre lights.

All his equipment did not just reflect the light, but emitted magical radiance from within. Every piece of his panoply looked like it was a first-rate magic item, especially that lute, which was also known as Star Symphony.

As he observed the man's thoroughly confident attitude, Jircniv recalled himself from several months back, and could not help but feel some envy.

"... I have heard about the deeds of you gentlemen, the highest-level adventurer team in my country. That heroic saga of how you slew the Radiant Crawler truly got my blood boiling. Therefore, I know about all of you to some extent. However, since this is a rare opportunity, could I trouble you to personally introduce the heroes of my country to me?"

"Then, allow me, as the bard to..."

"―C'mon chief, lay off a bit, will ya? Hate ta say it, but when I hear ya go at it, I break out in bumps. Shiny shortsword or whatnot... anyway, can we just skip that part? Ayy, Yer Majesty. Sorry 'bout the way I talk, I was born this way. No worries, yeah?"

The man beside Freivartz stepped forward and gently inclined his head.

He was a stocky and short man. Though he had a smile on his face, those disproportionately small eyes of his had no mirth in them.

He was Keila No Seydeshtin, a man with thief classes known as the "Planner".

(TL Note: "Planner" here is used in the same way as "Assassin")

There was not much information about the "Planner", so there was much which remained unknown about him. He was probably closer to the underworld and more involved in ambushes and assassination than regular thieves.

Jircniv indicated that he should not worry about it, and then Baziwood chuckled.

"Haha, it's fine. His Majesty's long used to it."

"Oh, and this would be... you must be "Lightning Bolt"-san of the Empire's Four Knights. Could it be you were born there as well, friend?"

"Hm? Ahh, no, probably in a different place. I popped out in a dirty little alley. You must have crawled out of a deeper and darker place than me."

"Seems that way. The air around you's different... sorry 'bout that. Guess I was too hasty."

"It's fine, "Dark Cloud"."

"I've never called myself "Dark Cloud" before... really, this is all your fault, chief."

Freivartz simply quirked up the corners of his mouth as Kaila looked to him.

"It's better to let us introduce ourselves rather than go by strange nicknames. My apologies, Your Majesty. First, this is Seyde, our eyes and ears. Next is our fighter. You might be a bit surprised when you see him, but I can guarantee his strength."

"No, of course His Majesty won't doubt him. After all, I feel he might be stronger than me."

"Well, I'm glad to hear that from a strong man. This is Fan Rong."

The person being introduced was a red-furred ape which stood around 170cm tall. He was wearing armor that looked like it was made of white furs, and he had battle axes on either side of his waist.

He was an Ape Beastman, as well as one who channelled the spirit of the apes through the power of his warrior class, the Beast Lord. He had read about this in a report before, but actually seeing it with his own eyes was quite the shock.

And indeed, by appearances alone, he looked stronger than even Baziwood, the mightiest of Jircniv's subordinates.

Fan Rong raised his right hand and waved to Jircniv and the others.

"Then, next is the one who heals our wounds."

Freivartz hurriedly began the next introduction. This was because he was worried Jircniv would be displeased.

This time, the man at Freivartz's left stepped forward.

"Forgive me," he said as the strange staff he held made a ringing noise. That weapon was apparently called a "shakujo".

"This humble monk goes by the name Unkei and is a follower of the Buddha. Pleased to meet you."

Though he was dressed strangely, he seemed quite a bit more civilized than the Beast Lord from just before.

After he removed his bizarre, large hat ― called a fukaamigasa ― the head thus revealed had no hair upon it. If he had not known that the man had shaved it all off himself, Jircniv might have looked pityingly upon him. He was quite young, after all.

(TL Note: the fukaamigasa is a straw hat associated with monks)

He wore a strange battle robe called a kasa. He was a soryo, who were spiritual magic casters that lacked a bit in the healing department, but which showed exceptional power when battling the undead.

(TL Note: kasa are cassocks associated with Buddhist monks)

The Buddha he followed hailed from the far South, and had few followers. Some viewed him as one of the followers of the Four Gods. There was little known about him and there had been no interest in building a temple to such a god within the Imperial Capital. However, Jircniv did know that this man's existence was considered a nuisance of sorts.

Basically, the temples set the price for the use of healing magic. However, when a lone, unaffiliated user of healing magic appeared, how would they deal with him? What would they do if that man was also an adventurer of the highest order ― an adamantite-ranked adventurer?

There was no particular link between the Empire's government and its religion. The fact that Jircniv had no ties to them could be considered good fortune.

He did not want to be further embroiled in troublesome issues.

However, when checking through the man's record, he found that he displayed exceptional performance against the undead, which immediately drew Jircniv's attention. If need be, he might need to apply the necessary pressure to the temples. Of course, that was only if his abilities were really that effective.

"I see. Then, the last one must be Powapon."

"It is as you say, Your Majesty."

The man Freivartz had saved for last was stranger than the ones before him. He was arguably the most bizarrely-dressed of the five men, and he lowered his head to Jircniv.

His bare upper body was tanned black with strange white patterns painted all over him. This was probably because he was a member of the odd class called the Totem Shamans.

"...Aren't you cold?"

"I have already equipped a magic item which protects against shifts in the temperature, so there is no problem at all."

Jircniv could not help but feel surprised at the reply, which was more normal than he had expected. He had received reports about his queer appearance, as well as the news that he was a regular person under all that. Still, the sheer dissonance filled him with surprise. At a closer look, he seemed quite handsome, and quite young as well.

Why had he chosen this class? Part of him wanted to know, but at the same time he did not want to now.

Jircniv regarded Silver Canary before him.

This was a weird team made up of weird members. The only thing they had in common was that they carried a feather of the silver canary their team had once raised somewhere on their persons (in the case of the Totem Shaman, it was on his waist).

Those feathers glittered with silver light, as though they had just been shed.

"Understood, gentlemen. Then, I'll be in your care today."

"Leave it to us, Your Majesty. Think of it as coming aboard our ship."

Jircniv could not help but grin wryly as he heard Freivartz's words, and made to leave. However ―

"―Hang on a bit, Yer Majesty," Seyde said in a dull voice.

"We've been hired to protect ya, Yer Majesty, so please don't walk so far ahead. That okay?"

"It is not a matter of being okay or not. You were hired to protect me, so I will do whatever you deem necessary. In addition, if you feel that you need to make use of their strength, please feel free to order them around. However, I'd like to request that they be kept near me as much as possible."

"Well how about that. So we can command the Empire's Four Knights as we please, I guess we've really hit the big leagues now. Still, it'll be fine if you two stay by His Majesty's side. If anything happens, just run when we give you the instruction. That oughta do it. Then, play us a tune, chief."

"Got it. My apologies for Seyde's tone, Your Majesty. No matter how many times I tell him, he always ends up doing that..."

"No need to worry. That said, it might be troublesome if he did that in a public area..."

Perhaps Freivartz had gotten the message, but he nodded slightly. That implied that he knew the right time and place for this sort of thing.

And then, he sang. No, this was less of a song than a collection of bizarre sounds. This was because there were some parts he could hear, but not understand. It stopped after several seconds, although the strange music lingered in their hearts. Then, Seyde made his move.

If one had to attach some form of sound effect to his movements, both "sluggish" and "slimy" would be appropriate. Either way, Jircniv was not capable of those movements.

"Then, please keep about ten meters back and follow me."

They did as Seyde said, keeping ten meters back before moving on. Jircniv took the opportunity to ask Freivartz about the song from just now.

"What was that, anyway?"

"Does Your Majesty not know? That was a bard skill, a spellsong. It differs from user to user, and can be performed with various instruments, but in my case, I evoke its effects through song."

"So that's it, huh."

Freivartz could not help but smile as he saw Jircniv mumble to himself. Just at that moment, Jircniv remembered something he wanted to learn about, but did not have a chance to follow up on. He decided to take this opportunity and asked:

"...I have something to ask you. Can that spellsong control people?"

"Spellsongs can convey a suggestion effect, just as spells can. It should be possible. In addition, they should be able to charm people, to a certain extent."

Jircniv looked at Freivartz.

"I see... is that so..."

"That should be it, yes."

So that monster had the power of a bard, unless―

"Then, what do you know of monsters which look like frogs?"

―Unless it was an innate ability as a monster. That possibility could not be completely crossed out. It was very important to make sure of that.

"Frogs? You mean like Giant Toads?"

"No, not like that. Something more intelligent. I'm talking about a monster which stands on two legs, and can instantly activate something like that spellsong."

"...Do you mean a Toadman? A Toadman bard would fit your description... but if I recall correctly, Toadmen are not particularly outstanding demihumans. Perhaps if it was an old, tribe leader-class Toadman... I've heard those can use special abilities to confuse the foe."

What happened there was not quite confusion.

He had read about the demihumans known as Toadmen, but their appearances differed slightly from the monster called Demiurge. Could he be a mutant or offshoot Toadman, or perhaps a king-type Toadman? Those possibilities could not be discarded, but it was most likely that those were not the case.

"It seems not. My deepest apologies, Your Majesty. There is simply too little information. Perhaps, if you could tell me more about the creature in question, I might be able to solve this mystery for you."

That was like a life preserver to a drowning man.

"Really now. Then, I shall tell you about the appearance of this monster. If possible, could you use your wisdom to help me out? In addition, could you tell me in detail about spellsongs?"

In the Empire, there was probably nobody who knew more about monsters than adamantite-ranked adventurers.

"Your Majesty, that would be imposing on them. These are their livelihoods you're talking about."

Freivartz chuckled in response to Baziwood's words.

"Well well, it's true we can't talk too much about our trump cards. Still, answering that question earlier should be fine. Just... would it not be better to ask that great magic caster-dono? I'm sure he would know more than us..."

Jircniv strove not to show any information when the topic of Fluder came up.

He had already issued a gag order on Fluder's betrayal, so no information had been leaked. For now, Fluder was still in his position as the head magician, though his privileges and powers were slowly being stripped away so he would not notice. At the same time, he was looking for a way to fill the gap Fluder would leave.

From the size of that gap, Jircniv realised exactly how much of a boon Fluder had been for the Empire, but it was already too late.

"We can't keep relying on the old man. This is like homework for a student. If one simply waits for all the answers because one had a good teacher, he'll wind up being scolded for it."

Jircniv's words were met with several laughs.

"Indeed, Your Majesty has a point. I understand. Well, the fees for this request were quite above average, given the task we were hired to perform. Then, I'll summarize the matter of spellsongs for you later."

"I see. I'll leave that to you, then."

There were several VIP rooms in the arena. One was reserved for the arena's investors. One was reserved for high-ranking nobles. Then, there was the one reserved for the Emperor, for a total of three. They were currently heading for the room that had been set aside for the Emperors through the generations. Perhaps Seyde had scouted the route before, but he did not ask the way even though he was leading the group.

At last they arrived, but at the corner before they could see the door of the room, Seyde reached a hand out to Jircniv, indicating that he should stop.

"Not picking up anyone here, but let me go first. Can you guys wait at this corner for a bit?"

He did not wait for a response to his whispered words, but instead turned the corner like he was going for a stroll. His curiosity piqued by this, Jircniv had a look of curiosity on his face as he tried to spy out the situation.

He approached the door without making a sound, and after doing something, he slowly opened the door. Although he had barely cracked it open, that seemed to be enough for him to enter, and his entire body vanished into the room.

After a while, the door opened, and they could see Seyde's face within.

"It's fine. This room is safe."

The group entered the room, which had been verified as safe.

Jircniv looked around.

It was a little small, but the exquisitely-made furniture was all first-class. The room had been immaculately cleaned for the Emperor, who hardly visited.

A large window had been opened on the side of the room which overlooked the arena, allowing a panoramic view of the scenes below. If one squinted, they would be able to see rows upon rows of fully occupied seats, packed with an audience which was excited to a fever pitch and cheering wildly.

The reason for the large crowd was because the Martial Lord had been suddenly scheduled for an appearance.

The king of the ring ― the Martial Lord ― was overwhelmingly powerful. There was nobody he could fight in earnest. Therefore, it had been a long time since there had been a match with the Martial Lord.

It was because of such a long-awaited battle with the Martial Lord that the crowd had come, drawn by anticipation of the heroic figure who would battle him.

As expected, a big reason for that was admiration for strength. Since the Empire had its professional warriors called knights, the battlefield was like another world for the dwellers of the Imperial City. This was why they looked forward to the spectacle of a life-and-death battle.

No, he had heard there were knights who enjoyed the arena as well.

In other words, they looked forward to a spectacle and display of brutality.

Just as Jircniv was spaced out while thinking of this, Silver Canary completed their sweep of the room.

"Were there any signs of divination magic being used in here?"

"We discovered no traces of such magic, Your Majesty. Is that right?"

"Yup. Well, seeing if spells have been cast is pretty hard for me, so I did a look-see around, checked for any magic items, but nothing turned up. Still, hope ya don't forget that I don't have the perception of a thief. Please don't think it's absolutely safe... well, our chief's boosted our detection ability with his spellsong, so it should be fine."

"Regarding the field of magic, this humble monk has used a divination to investigate the surroundings. However, there were no traces of any spells being cast. In any event, I have created a magical barrier which should impede divination spells, so one can assume that it should be fine."

Unkei thumped his shakujo on the ground, and a clear ringing echoed through the room.

"Then, may I make another request? Is there magic which detects the presence of people nearby? It would be best if it was a spell which could detect even an invisible person."

"Regretfully, this humble monk does not count such spells among his repertoire. However, I believe our leader has such a spell."

Freivartz, whose name had come up, signalled that he understood and left the room.

"Now what? What measures will you take if the foe intends to eavesdrop upon us?"

Jircniv strove to think of what he could do against Ainz Ooal Gown. However, it was impossible to imagine what surpassed the imagination. The fact was, that man seemed so massive in his mind that everything he could visualize felt insignificant against him.

"...Frankly speaking, I think it should be fine after doing this much. At least, that's what I think. Don't look at me like that, we've fortified ourselves with several spells already, right?"

"That's how it is, Your Majesty. This humble monk has already used anti-divination magic and configured it so that any attempt at magical investigation will send an alert to me. Please be at ease."

Seyde and Unkei spoke thusly, one after the other.

Did they think he was obsessed? Or did they think he had gone a little mad because he was worried about assassination?

Still, what would these two think if he told them they were going up against the Sorcerer King? Now that was what really interested Jircniv. Would they say, "we can't possibly prepare enough against him?" Or would they say, "If we'd known that, we wouldn't have come for this measly sum"?

Naturally, the best scenario was to not tell them anything about the Sorcerer King and have them prepare against all threats as best as they could.

Still, no matter how much he tried to censor information on the Sorcerer King, he could not stopper 60,000 mouths.

News had probably gotten out. That being the case, since adventurers tended to spend more time gathering information the higher-ranked they were, there was a very large chance they had already learned about the Sorcerer King's abilities.

It wouldn't be hard for them to figure out why I really wanted them here, no?

After pondering various possibilities, Jircniv decided to bluff his way through with a warm smile.

The two of them realised that Jircniv could not accept what they had said. Neither did they have anything else to say beyond that.

A great cheer rose up from the arena.

From where they were, it would seem that one of the battles between the gladiators had a winner.

In the past, the defeated were condemned to death, but not any more. There were still cases of deaths in battles, but there would be no killings after the victor was determined.

Apparently, a gladiator had been spared because his repeated defeats were amusing. This allowed him to awaken his true power and he became champion, whereupon that particular restriction had been abolished. This decision had been made because there might be another person like him someday.

Which Martial Lord was that? Although he couldn't compare to the current Martial Lord, he was apparently quite a powerful chap. But, these people aren't loyal to any country. I need to think about how to get them on my side...

"In any event, we're done here, Your Majesty."

Jircniv turned when he heard Freivartz's voice.

"Thanks."

He should probably have been more sincere in his thanks toward these adamantite-ranked adventurers. However, he had simply tossed off the usual appreciation instead.

"You're welcome. Still, we were hired for protection, so should we stand by in this room?"

They were hired as bodyguards. With that in mind, it was a reasonable suggestion.

However, would it really be alright to have secret talks with them in the room?

Granted, there might be merits to involving them in this. However, once they realised what he was aiming for, he ran the risk of making unnecessary enemies.

Still, they're nothing compared to that ― what am I thinking? I'm comparing every challenge I meet to that monster, that's proof that I'm starting to go mad, if nothing else. Besides, it would be stupid to keep making enemies.

Jircniv shook his head.

"I'm sorry, but there will be important talks taking place after this. It would be quite troublesome to have you waiting in here."

"However, it'll be very difficult to protect you that way, Your Majesty."

"There are two men I trust in this room. They ought to be able to buy enough time for you to get here."

"Well, that's true," the hereto silent Ape suddenly said. "However, if the enemy is an assassin on the level of Seyde and if things go wrong, they might end up making quite a mess."

"When you talk about an assassin of my level, you're probably talking about that girl from Ijaniya. She's the kind who can use ninjutsu to suddenly attack from the shadows."

"Well, with these two warriors around, a sword-wielding foe should not pose any difficulty. However, what about magic? It is precisely that point which makes this humble monk uneasy. In addition, I feel that we will be more interested by the match than any talks Your Majesty is conducting, no?"

They had all ended up trying to persuade him to let him stay, but since Jircniv was this determined to not let information leak out, he could not accept their suggestions.

"Your doubts are well-reasoned, gentlemen. However, I cannot compromise on this point, be it as a man or as the Emperor of the Empire."

Silver Canary looked to their leader, who sighed deeply.

"It can't be helped, then. I'm sure Your Majesty must have your reasons which you can't disclose to us. Then, we'll stand watch outside. However, can you tell us exactly who is coming?"

"A reasonable question. However, you have to pretend that you saw nothing. Can you?"

"Of course. We will not reveal anything, no matter who comes. If it gets out, we will gladly bear the consequences."

"I trust you. First are the High Priests of the God of Fire and the God of Wind. There will be four other priests with them."

"I see. Then, we'll be on guard for anyone besides these people."

"Ah, please do. This VIP room was segregated from the other VIP rooms during its construction. I doubt anyone will get lost and wander here by accident."

"Understood... Also, is it alright if we break the lock on the doors, Your Majesty?"

"You may destroy them if you see fit."

Fan stepped forward. A sinewy, scratchy sound came from his hands, which clutched the hilts of his battleaxes with a force that no human could match. It seemed a bit excessive just to break a lock, but Jircniv was no warrior, and had no room to comment.

However, the two members of the Four Knights had surprised looks on their faces as they spoke quietly to each other. That got Jircniv's attention.

Fan slowly raised his battleaxes.

"―Ah, you can't break the doors."

Fan stopped halfway as he heard Freivartz speak. Jircniv's brows furrowed.

"Why not? Weren't we going with the plan of 'Oh, we were planning to break the lock, but we wrecked the door too, what a shame, why don't we come in as well?' or something?"

"Don't do that this time. I don't want to get involved in that complex political stuff."

"Indeed. This humble monk does not wish to be even more hated by the temples."

"All right. Then this much should be enough."

Fan gently swung his battle axe, and effortlessly broke the lock.

He should have been speechless. Or perhaps he should have been displeased. Perhaps he should have felt many things, but all Jircniv felt was impressed. It made him think, as expected of an adamantite-ranked adventurer.

He was not impressed with how he could so easily break a lock with a battleaxe, but by the sheer audacity of openly saying such things in front of the highest authority in this country. In addition, there was the arrogance it took to declare that they were willing to ignore the wishes of their client ― who was also the most powerful man in the country ― in order to do the best job they could.

These were the things that Jircniv now lacked.

"...I might as well drag them all into the mud of bureaucracy so they can't escape."

Just as Jircniv quietly mumbled that, the members of Silver Canaries fled like frightened rabbits, as though they had arranged it from the beginning.

The only people left with Jircniv were the two knights, who looked at each other.

"That was impressive. They worked together so closely without any form of communication. ...Perhaps that's only to be expected? They're adamantite-ranked because they can do that."

"...Well, I don't know what to say. Though, it might not be quite right to admire them... Your Majesty, should we make drinks?"

"We should. Sorry about that. Can you help me with the preparations?"

"Understood. Then, come help out too, Baziwood-dono."

Baziwood frowned at the suggestion.

"Eh? Me too? Your Majesty, we should have brought a maid along, shouldn't we? Our guests would probably find the drinks tastier if a girl was serving them. I mean, I know I would."

"Yes, yes. Enough complaining. Baziwood-dono, please be extra careful."

"Please, Baziwood. There's no point wishing for what we can't get. We have to work with what we have. Just like the Empire."

"That analogy could use some work, Your Majesty," Baziwood spoke as he busied himself with the preparations.

Cries of encouragement rang out from the arena below, and there were howls which sounded slightly different from those of wild beasts.

The next match had already started.

Jircniv searched his memories.

The match before the Martial Lord's was apparently between adventurers and monsters. Matches where adventurers fought were quite popular with the audience, because it was more likely that they would be flashy affairs laced with magical explosions and the like.

Jircniv felt very touched as he looked down on the heated intensity below him, and he said

"What a peaceful sight."

"Really, Your Majesty?"

As he wondered why someone was responding to his self-directed mutterings, Jircniv turned to see Baziwood standing before him. Nimble had a look of annoyance on his face as he handled Baziwood's share of the work as well.

"Doesn't seem peaceful to me at all. Just look."

One of the adventurers was struck by the claw of a bestial monster, and blood flew through the air. The audience wailed and shouted their encouragement.

"I didn't mean the fight, I meant the audience."

Jircniv looked over the loudly-shouting crowd.

"Is this not a peaceful sight, compared to the situation which the Empire is in? If the people knew the sort of monsters which lurked under that thin, fragile layer of skin, do you think they could enjoy themselves like this?"

"But isn't peace good? There's no point letting the people go around with aching bellies, is there?"

Baziwood was right.

Jircniv deeply regretted the pointless words he had spoken.

"You're right, Baziwood. Then, it's almost time. What about the preparations?"

"Yes, Your Majesty. I was a bit worried we would not make it in time because somebody was not helping out, but the drinks and paper are all laid out. So is the ink."

The astounding quantity of ink and paper was in case someone was eavesdropping on the VIP room. Although he felt that the cheering was loud enough and this room was distant enough from the others for that not to be a problem, and listening alone could only get one so much, it did not hurt to be redundantly prepared.

He knew it was very troublesome. He had done this before in the Imperial City, but this was really very tiring.

The reason he had gone to such cumbersome lengths was because the might of the Sorcerous Kingdom was an unknown value.

If he knew what they could and could not do, his response might have changed.

He had planned to use the war to mount an investigation, but it had ended in a truly horrific manner, leading to a terrible tragedy. Still, he could not completely give up on his investigations. He thought of other methods, but if they were no safer than before, then he could only tremble before the enemy's shadow. But even if he did get any results, even if he did uncover any actionable methods, he might end up being paralyzed by that same shadow to the point where he might as well give up.

No, he could not forget that heat that passed through his throat.

"Ainz Ooal Gown ― if I knew the limits of the Sorcerer King's power, I might not have needed to go this far."

At that point, he had asked him to help as a collaborator, but now that he was a king and a peer, asking him for such help was nearly impossible. No, he could still ask, but thinking about the potential price of such aid made his head ache.

"It's not just the Sorcerer King, Your Majesty. It's pretty bad as long as we don't know what his vassals can do, right?"

"That's correct."

"...What if those subordinates are stronger than the Sorcerer King himself?"

"How could that be? That's impossible, right?"

Jircniv broke into a cold sweat at that answer.

As he reflected on the fact that the Four Knights were stronger than him ― and that they were his subordinates ― he could not bring himself to say that it was impossible. One who stood above others did not need pure physical strength, but other things.

What if Ainz Ooal Gown was like that?

"―No, it can't be. Listen, Nimble. You've got it wrong. Understood?"

"Yes! Sorry, Your Majesty."

If that was really the case, then they were finished. He hoped that at the very most, those subordinates would be equal to the Sorcerer King ― and Jircniv was desperately praying to the gods that they would be weaker than him.

As he thought, they did not have enough information.

I guess we should continue that plan of trying to learn something from that Dark Elf girl, with the knowledge that it could be dangerous. Granted, we can't buy a lot of slaves from the Theocracy, but maybe that method could... Or perhaps trying the boy (Aura) would be better? No, he looks too young, so using women on him probably won't work. Besides, he seems quite strong-willed.

Just as Jircniv settled in for a long contemplation, a knocking came from the door.

The three men looked at each other, and then Nimble went to open the door.

As expected, Freivartz was there.

"Your Majesty, the guests have arrived. There are six people in total and I've met the High Priests before, so I believe it's them."

"Then, please come in―"

Just as he said that, Seyde chipped in.

"Whoa, whoa hang on a tick, you guys in the back. Numbers add up, but something's off? The two of you in the back feel like me. So, you're from the punishment squad of the temples ― the ones who kill apostate priests? I thought you guys were just supposed to be boogeymen?"

"This humble monk is quite surprised too."

"Whose people are you?"

"Good grief, how troublesome. It would have been fine if you had just let us pass without incident... Firstly, you are mistaken. I ― no, we have a good reason to be here. Namely, because the Emperor invited us. He'll be unhappy if you show hostility to us, you know."

"H―m. Okay, so could you wait there for a bit? Let me check if you guys are telling the truth here."

He let Jircniv see their faces. There was the High Priest of the Fire God, the High Priest of the Wind God, as well as four others he had not seen before. They wore dark-colored hoods which prevented him from seeing their full faces, and that was the most suspicious part.

Since this was the first time they had met, there was no guarantee that they actually were emissaries of the Theocracy. However, since the High Priests were there as well, things would not be able to progress if he did not believe them. The Sorcerer King would be the only one who benefited from any internal disputes which resulted.

"They are the guests I was waiting for. Sorry, but could you let them in?"

The members of Silver Canary had shocked looks on their faces, but they still let them pass.

Even after the doors were closed, they did not lower their hoods.

Jircniv did not say anything about their impolite behavior. They were probably just as wary as Jircniv was, and the object of their mutual caution was the Sorcerer King.

"It seems my guards have inconvenienced you. I apologize."

"Please, pay it no heed. The truth is, those adamantite-ranked adventurers were right about the two people in the back."

The two emissaries took a seat, while the other two people stood at attention behind them.

Jircniv wrote the word "Scripture" on the sheet of paper he had. His response was a faint smile, but it spoke more than any words could. The Theocracy's special forces were known as the Scriptures, so they must have come from one of the Six Scriptures.

"Then, why don't we enjoy the fight first? The main event is about to begin, is it not?"

Jircniv nodded to that question.

The main event was when the excitement of the crowd reached its peak, and so the noise intensified. This would make eavesdropping very difficult, which was why he had chosen this time and this place.

The emissary produced a document and handed it to Jircniv.

Jircniv carefully revealed the document, so as not to let it be seen from the back or the sides, and saw several questions there.

Simply put, they were asking why he had asked the Sorcerer King to use that spell.

Then, they asked about the Emperor's position on the matter.

About how much they knew about the Sorcerous Kingdom.

It was couched in the most diplomatic of terms, but it was still a questionnaire.

While they could have simply mailed it to him, the reason why he had managed to get them all the way here was because they feared the reach of the Sorcerous Kingdom's arms. Or perhaps it was because they did not trust the Empire.

Dissatisfaction welled up in Jircniv's chest. However, when he recalled their relationship with the Sorcerous Kingdom, it was only natural that they would not trust them at all.

Jircniv filled in his answers just as a round of cheering went up. It would seem the match was about to begin.

"Before this grand bout, let me call your attention to Emperor El-Nix, who has come to spectate the battle! Ladies and gentlemen, please look to the VIP room above you!"

It was the announcer's voice, amplified by a magic item.

"Excuse me."

Jircniv rose, so the audience below him could see his face.

The people cheered as one for Jircniv. He turned his handsome face to the people, and smiled silently to them. The women began shrieking for him, and Jircniv felt quite satisfied that his popularity had not yet waned.

"Thank you very much! Then, next up, ladies and gentlemen, the long-awaited battle with the Martial Lord! The preparations will take a while, so please be patient."

"The Martial Lord, huh," Jircniv muttered.

Jircniv had once asked Baziwood about letting all the Four Knights battle the Martial Lord. He had laughed and said they had no chance of winning. The answer worried him, so he let Fluder gather some information about the Martial Lord. The results showed that the Martial Lord was a being that was so powerful that it was unfair.

"Still, who is the Martial Lord fighting, Your Majesty?"

The question from the emissary was an obvious one. The fact was, Jircniv did not have an answer for him.

"I'm not too sure myself. This match with the Martial Lord seems to have been hastily decided and did not appear on the program either, for secrecy's sake."

"I see," the emissary replied.

"Well, anyone who could go one on one with the Martial Lord must be an adamantite-ranked adventurer. However, Silver Canary is here, so it must be someone from Eight Ripples. Honestly, I really can't approve of exhibition matches with a chance of killing one of the rare adamantite-ranked adventurers."

"I cannot completely refute that, but the fact is that strength is attractive. This place is probably best suited for letting the people see an example of overwhelming power and giving them a dream of making it their own."

The man who interrupted was the High Priest of the God of Fire ― in other words, the highest-ranking member of the God of Fire's faith.

"That said, after considering the Empire's present condition, it's possible that it might end up lowering its military strength. The Martial Lord is the Empire's mightiest being. Why not enlist him into your forces?"

"...To think someone like you would actually say something like that."

The Slaine Theocracy was a human-centric country. No, it would be better to say that they looked down on the countries of other races.

They were a nation that could still exist in a world filled with various races after advertising that fact. One had to hand it to them. Or rather, one could say that uniting a species was a condition of building a strong nation.

"That's just my personal opinion. It doesn't reflect on my country. Well, that's enough chit-chat for now, Your Majesty. Can I have your reply?

"Indeed. Then―"

"―The wait is over, ladies and gentlemen! Introducing our challenger!"

Jircniv's hand stopped as he was about to write the answer to the first question. This was because he was curious about the challenger, who was brave enough to issue a challenge to that Martial Lord. Being acknowledged as a challenger meant that he must be able to put up quite a fight. Did anyone like that still exist in the Empire?

If he was outstanding enough and was willing to serve the Empire, he would employ him even if he lost. Depending on how things went, he might end up giving him the seat on the Four Knights that "The Immovable" had left empty after his death.

"..The name of the challenger may well be known to many in the audience. That great man has come to grace us today! I give you, the Sorcerer King of the Sorcerous Kingdom, His Majesty! Ainz! Ooal! Gown!"

"―Haaaah?"

That sound of utter stupefaction escaped from Jircniv.

He did not understand the announcer's words as they buried themselves into his brain.

Confusion filled the arena, and the VIP room was deathly silent.

Jircniv looked around him, and he was sure that everyone had heard the same thing.

"Ainz Ooal Gown?"

―Impossible.

Of course it was impossible. The leader of a country could not possibly appear in a gladiatorial match in another country. This was obvious to anyone with common sense. It was not as if he was a barbarian.

In the first place, they had been keeping an eye on the Sorcerous Kingdom's movements. If the Sorcerer King had entered the Empire, that matter would have reached Jircniv's ears immediately. It would have been an absolute top priority matter. He had arranged to have that news reach him whether he was in his harem or in some other place.

If that news had not reached him despite all these efforts, that meant―

He secretly entered the country? Why would anyone do that? And he came to the arena? What on earth is he think― what? Could it be? Is that how it is? This... how is this possible?

Jircniv's body shuddered uncontrollably.

Then, he shifted his line of sight to look at the emissaries from the Slaine Theocracy.

There were keen looks in those eyes under their hoods, and the looks in those eyes said only one thing. No, in all likelihood, Jircniv would have reached the same conclusion if he was in their shoes.

They were thinking: Jircniv called the Sorcerer King here.

"Please wait. This is a trap!"

-x-X-x-