A large number of documents were gathered in this office along with several officials of internal affairs. Their expressions were hard to look at, the reason being their increased workload had taken its toll. Another reason for this would be the stress they felt from their knowledge of the Kingdom's perilous status.
Zanac shook his right hand which had been signing so many documents that it started to ache and moved his shoulders around in circles. He could hear his body creak as he did so.
It seemed that his body, just like the others, desperately yearned for some rest.
Though he wanted to take a break right now, the amount of work that was being transferred to this office was unfortunately ever increasing.
Given that was the case, he should either fetch more hands to deal with this or distribute his work to the others. Unfortunately, there wasn't anyone there that Zanac could delegate his work to. If anyone was to take over Zanac's workload, it would have to be another member of the royal family.
Zanac had his own reasons for not requesting help from his father or Renner.
The truth was, he had access to aid but just couldn't call upon it.
Zanac lifted up his pen again, scanned through the document that was placed in front of him, and signed and stamped it.
After repeating the same routine for the eighth time, a knock on the door was heard.
Sighs could be heard from multiple officials. Perhaps this was another delivery of even more documents.
One of the officials, whose heavy breathing sounded unnaturally like a sow screeching, stood up and walked towards the door at a snail's pace. His movements were so sluggish that it was as though he believed that the slower he moved, the less he would have to work.
A knight stood outside the door.
"I'm terribly sorry for bothering you in these busy times, but Renner-sama wishes to speak with Your Highness."
It wasn't what he had expected, but it was still an equally troublesome matter.
"I am busy, so no. Tell her to talk to me during dinner if she has something to say."
Ever since his brother went missing, Zanac and his family had tried to dine together as much as possible. These past few days were the exception, Renner had probably been dining alone for a while.
She couldn't possibly be feeling lonely though. In these times when there was a shortage of maids, she would have dined with Climb and Brain instead. She was probably happier now than ever, perhaps happier than either Zanac or their father.
"Yes, Your Highness."
The knight shut the doors and left, but Zanac knew that Renner would not accept that excuse at all.
Zanac stopped writing and ordered the official who was about to walk back to his post to stay in place.
After about a minute had passed, the door was knocked on again and the same knight was behind it with the exact same message as before.
"I'm very sorry, Your Highness. The princess, she said...If you don't want her to spread some rumours which may or may not be true, go meet with her at once."
Is she seriously resorting to threat? Zanac gave a wry smile. Though he did not believe that his sister would actually do as she claimed, if she was willing to threaten him, he should probably listen to what she had to say. If rumours were actually spread around, no doubt his workload would increase even further.
He just had to act as though he was being forced against his will.
"Got it, let her in but no one other than Renner. Those two, just let them wait in the adjacent room."
"Yes, Your Highness."
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From the knight's immediate response Zanac could tell that his predictions were correct, those two had tagged along.
Brain was the Kingdom's best warrior, unparalleled in his strength. Climb was also much stronger than a regular warrior. To have those two stay inside the palace all day and be Renner's bodyguards felt like a waste of talent.
Those two were not under the palace's direct employ but were instead paid through Renner's privy purse and thus were her direct subordinates. Zanac had no say about their assignment.
After the knight had closed the doors, Zanac turned to the officials still toiling away in the room and said,
"You all, my sister is due to arrive soon, what will I ever do with her? Rejoice, for a break is upon you all. Three hours starting from now. Rest up and return rejuvenated."
The officials gave their tired smiles and shambled out with heavy steps as if they were zombies.
Princess Renner entered soon after. Unlike the officials who had just left, she had on her a radiant smile.
"Onii-sama, forgive me for speaking out of turn, but those officials of internal affairs could be much more efficient if you let them rest well. People tend to make more mistakes when they are tired. Speaking of which, is onii-sama alright?"
Zanac rubbed his stubble-covered chin. He had worked an equal amount of time as those officials so he naturally appeared as tired as they were. He did want to take a rest, but as a superior, way too many things depended on him.
"I honestly think we should hire someone who could forge my signature."
"There was a person who could forge father's signature, should I fetch him?"
Renner stared silently at Zanac. He knew what her question meant, but it was better to check to be sure.
"—what do you mean?"
"Is our father still well?"
Zanac had a wry smile.
"Oy oy...you think I would plot to kill our father? In this current situation...? Father was not feeling too well, he's resting in his room. I doubt he could rest well if he was reminded of his duties as king. Which is why you, as the princess, should not meet him for now. Sorry~" Renner's smile matched his. Upon seeing that, he knew she understood it all.
"Onii-sama, between us, there is no need to lie. Onii-sama, without Marquis Raeven's soldiers, has enough manpower to place our father under surveillance. The ministers of the interior and military affairs must have already joined onii-sama's side...What does father plan to do?"
"He still wants to talk it out with the Sorcerous Kingdom."
Because of that, Zanac had to step in as the King's regent and take care of everything else the best he could.
Since he had locked his father up, he had to take all of these matters into his own hands. If he still requested help from his father given these circumstances, he would truly be the most pathetic man ever.
"Mmmm...Still, I understand father's line of thought. After all, he had witnessed 200,000 men being instantly wiped out on the battlefield..."
Plus he had lost Gazef Stronoff and his own son. Zanac did not give voice to those thoughts but just grumbled in his heart.
"It is not that I cannot relate to his desire to settle this through diplomacy, to reduce the number of casualties to the lowest possible, but things have already progressed to a stage where a resolution through diplomacy is no longer possible."
Zanac took out a huge sheet of paper and spread it on the table.
It wasn't regular scrap paper, but a lavish piece of thin and white paper. On it was the full map of the Kingdom made through [Copy].
"Look. These are the cities in the Kingdom that had already fallen to the Sorcerer King's conquest."
Numerous 'X' marks dotted the northern and eastern sides of the Kingdom, more than half of the cities were marked. Someone well versed in cartography would know from the size of those cities alone, they were home to a large number of people. Those who were intelligent enough should have already realised that if this map had included villages, the number of 'X's would be multitudes higher.
Zanac traced a path on the map with his fingers.
"Though the Sorcerous Kingdom appeared to have not been making any moves since the war had begun, they had actually been invading the north."
Renner looked at the country Zanac's finger stopped at.
"To put pressure on our neighbours like the Council State, to prevent any reinforcement from being sent here, right?"
"That's correct. We had thought that they had not been moving at all and that the declaration of war was just an empty threat. While our naive father was attempting to negotiate with them, things have already developed to this stage. Cities were destroyed and our people were massacred en masse."
Zanac gnashed his teeth and made an audible sound.
"...Such barbarity. Absolutely unforgivable."
Those who could tolerate this kind of treatment were not fit to be called royalty.
"So the Sorcerous Kingdom has no intention of communicating with us. Surely they're planning something unprecedented? Right?"
"You're right, what will happen next — perhaps a more open act of aggression."
Zanac nodded his head.
That was why he had been busy formulating a call to arms to send to every noble within the country.
"Tell me, o sister of mine, please use that brilliant mind of yours. Why did we not notice the Sorcerous Kingdom's invasion? Why did we not receive any intel of the invasion before the northern city of E-Naüru had repelled the enemy's attack?"
When the Sorcerous Kingdom besieged a city, it was said that not a single soul was spared from the resulting massacre. However, to have made sure that no leaks had occurred was a feat that was pretty much impossible. After all, merchants and travellers still strutted around even during wartimes.
What had they done to seal everybody's mouths?
Was it some sort of spell by the Sorcerer King?
"Onii-sama could smell a whiff of it too right? The Sorcerous Kingdom had placed all of our sources of intel on lockdown."
"Ah...so you think so too. So if that was the case, these 'X' marks might not be true either."
"If this wasn't something the Sorcerous Kingdom had done, things would be much easier to explain. We may have a traitor amongst us."
The primary possibility was that some official of internal affairs had betrayed them and were reporting false intel. The other possibility was that some of the Kingdom's nobles had swung over to the Sorcerous Kingdom's side and were submitting false reports.
Zanac's finger continued to trace lines upon the map. He pondered, which noble could be corrupted to manipulate such a massive amount of intel.
Zanac's finger stopped on a city and he moved it aside to not block it.
"...Oh sister of mine, surely you have figured it out already, which noble had betrayed us?"
"Can't it be that other possibility?"
She could see through him completely. Though in the past he had found his sister's intelligence to be annoying, she felt more reliable now than anything else.
"...I could count on one hand the number of people who would have this much control over the intel that flows into the capital. The minister of military affairs for example, but not even he could control the flow of merchants and travellers in and out of the capital. It is impossible for anyone within the capital to have the ability to lock down our intel like that."
"If you understood this much, surely onii-sama already has the answer in mind...It's Marquis Raeven."
Zanac rejected that notion immediately, even though his finger had been resting on E-Libera.
"Do you really believe that to be impossible? Marquis Raeven is one to dote over his son. What if, someone was to kidnap his son and hold him hostage?"
"...Is that how they coerced Marquis Raeven? Absolutely despicable!"
"Though, I'm of the opinion that he may have betrayed us simply because he thought that 'the crown is doomed for'"
Although he was unwilling to believe in Marquis Raeven's betrayal, there was no other nobleman who was as powerful as him. He would only need to call in a few favours with other nobles close to him before he could completely cut off the flow of intel to and from the city of his choice. The survivors would have also chosen to seek shelter and protection from the larger cities, E-Libera would have been an excellent choice in that regard.
Was it because of those factors that the Sorcerous Kingdom had set their sights on him?
"...What kind of person do you believe the Sorcerer King to be?"
"Abnormally flexible in his ways of thought, someone who possesses an entire nation's worth of intellect and guile. What is most terrifying about him is the fact that he does not simply rely on his overwhelming power, but meticulously plans his every move out. One could say that he is a monster to whom the concept of arrogance is completely foreign."
{Hoh?} Zanac looked at Renner, something felt off about her. Her expression was the same as usual, but her voice carried an unusual emotion, that of awe and reverence.
"The web of plots unfolding in front of our eyes were perhaps weaved into the Kingdom many years ago. We are but stuck moths."
"I would prefer to say butterflies."
"In any case, we are at their mercy, it does not matter if onii-sama prefers to use butterflies in that metaphor or not. Even if we slipped through these webs unharmed, there would just be another layer underneath...it is frankly terrifying. I did not believe that someone like him could exist in this world. What if our actions were all well within his calculations?"
"So you are saying that he is better than you?"
Renner laughed and did not respond.
"Let's go back to our previous topic, onii-sama is probably thinking about searching through Marquis Raeven's residence, right? I do not think that you could find anything substantial there."
"That is true, but surely we cannot just remain idle, right?"
Given how likely it was that Marquis Raeven had betrayed them, they had to do something about it. He was still hopeful that they could find even the slightest trace of a clue to all of this.
"Before we do that, I have a question for onii-sama. If the current situation progresses on, the Sorcerous Kingdom would surely initiate the final battle near the capital. Would onii-sama order the soldiers to defend the city or send them out to receive the attack? How will we be raising our forces?"
"I have already received satisfactory responses from our neighbouring nobles."
Those who were more distant had not replied yet. It wasn't because they had not received his message yet, but because they wished to watch from the sidelines. They probably wished to see the royalty wiped out so that they could bow to the Sorcerer King as his new subjects. Or perhaps it was because they did not want to get on the Sorcerous Kingdom's bad side by defending the Kingdom.
Either train of thought was naive to say the least.
Their belief that they could distance themselves away from this was proof enough on its own of their utter stupidity.
No, he shouldn't be mocking their idiocy. If they knew of how ruthless the Sorcerous Kingdom had been, they would not have done so. They were simply all victims to the information lock that was placed on them all.
Once the capital fell, there was no doubt in his mind that the Sorcerous Kingdom would extend its brutality to the other cities. The nobles who wished to abstain from this battle would end up in defeat anyways.
"Do you believe that...we could win?"
Zanac gave a wry smile and responded calmly to this convoluted question.
"It is not a matter of whether we win or lose, we simply have no option but to face them in battle. The Sorcerous Kingdom will scorch every inch of this country and slaughter all of our citizens. This is our last stake at survival."
"...Onii-sama...is already king, eh?"
"What? What do you mean? Are you saying that I am being too full of myself?"
"...Umm, if we were to be defeated in this battle, wouldn't the Kingdom be destroyed? If that is the case then the citizens of the Kingdom would not be safe no matter where they escape to. While I do not believe onii-sama's choice to stake it all on this battle to be incorrect, Marquis Raeven may have betrayed us for this reason too, to save the citizens."
"I see...so that his city could become a sanctuary for the refugees, hmmm,"
"But I doubt the Sorcerer King would allow that to happen. Perhaps he had also ordered Marquis Raeven to kill the people seeking refuge in his city to test his loyalty."
Why would Marquis Raeven betray them? No, has he betrayed them at all? Perhaps this too was another ploy of the Sorcerer King, to sow the seeds of doubt amongst them to bait him and Renner in.
Zanac recalled the Marquis Raeven who only wanted a better future for the Kingdom.
Maybe he should write him a letter and have an honest conversation with him, but that could be a dangerous move.
A traitor who continues to receive their former letters. That would certainly cause the Sorcerer King to cast doubts on him.
That could be a ploy that he could use against them, but it was better saved for a situation in which Marquis Raeven would be marching along with the Sorcerer King's army. This wasn't the best time to do something like this. If Marquis Raeven really was being coerced by threats against his family's wellbeing, he could not fault him.
Zanac recalled the Marquis Raeven who excessively doted over his son.
He reminisced so hard his eyes almost squinted into a line until he was knocked back to reality by the sight of his sister.
"Refugees...? Speaking of which, father wanted you to...well, he wanted us to seek refuge in the City-State Alliance as the Kingdom's representatives. That was way before I placed father under surveillance. If you still want to do so, you better get away from the capital soon."
Soon enough he will have to draft everybody he could and face a decisive battle against the Sorcerous Kingdom. If he was being honest, they had no chance at all. Defeat meant that the capital and the other cities would be razed to ashes.
That meant that nowhere within the Kingdom was safe. Perhaps they should follow their father's suggestion and abandon the country.
In normal circumstances, there were two ways a victor would have dealt with a kingdom's former royalty.
One was to mix their lineage through political marriages, the other was to wipe out everyone with royal blood to leave no loose ends behind.
The Sorcerous Kingdom would definitely choose the latter.
"That is an excellent idea, would onii-sama come too?"
"At this point, how could I...If our elder brother was still here I would have chosen to run too. Don't mind me, what are you going to do? The Sorcerer King is undead so he probably wouldn't take {that} kind of interest in women, so they would undoubtedly be killed too."
"If the Sorcerous Kingdom attacked us, I could be violated by one of our own who's desperate enough to do so."
Zanac showed his disgust on his face upon hearing how calmly his sister had said such words. But, he had to admit that she was also being realistic.
Renner's beauty was renowned, it wouldn't be out of the question for those kinds of people to exist.
"Then remember to not leave Climb and Unglaus's side for now."
"Mmm, okay, I won't let Climb leave my side."
"There's no one but the two of us here and I won't speak of it given the current situation, but you have to answer me with 'those two'."
Why would Brain Unglaus choose to serve under this woman?
Though he had heard rumours that Brain was interested in Climb, he did not appear to be gay in the slightest. However, after some investigations, it did appear that he had not had a woman at all — it couldn't possibly be because he's only interested in children, right?
He did not give voice to those thoughts given how scary his sister is. If those two were to find out about it, it would be troublesome.
"Anyways, I do not intend to flee. As a princess, I will face death with grace and dignity."
That was unexpected.
He had thought about this in the past, about how she would be fine with any kind of life as long as she was with Climb. Perhaps she was only putting up a front and had already prepared to escape.
{She would be the type to do that...}
"But even a corpse could still be exploited by the Sorcerer King."
"Perhaps, will onii-sama be leading the army against the Sorcerer King?"
"Ah, yeah. Even though my presence would not make a difference at all, the army needs a royal to lead them — I have to take a stand."
Zanac looked towards the ceiling.
"You have said something to the effect that I am the king-to-be in the past, that is why this responsibility falls on me...father will hopefully take care of my funeral arrangements...you can choose to run away at any time."
Though he found his sister to be annoying most of the time, they still shared the same blood. To do what a brother should was the least he could do. Perhaps he could receive God's pity after his death.
"I understand. I'll do so when the time comes."
As Zanac retracted his gaze on her, he saw that Renner had replied with her usual smile.
-x-X-x-
The Sorcerer Kingdom had finally begun their westward invasion. City after city and village after village fell in their wake. They were beelining towards the capital, albeit at a painfully slow rate.
The larger an army was, the slower it would march. However, according to her companion, Evileye, this should not apply to the Sorcerer Kingdom's army, which was completely comprised of the undead. She believed that this was done to stress out the Kingdom's inhabitants.
The stress of an invading army had already caused chaos to break out within the capital and many had died as a result. After that had happened, the people of the capital had two options.
The first was to flee the capital and move towards the opposite direction of E-Rantel — the west.
The other option was to remain in the capital, shut their doors, and never come out of hiding.
As to which option was more popular, the overwhelming majority of people chose the latter. Those who chose the former were all people with the capital, connections, or skills to guarantee their survival even in faraway lands.
That was why more than 95% of the capital's population chose to stay.
But, that was only true till yesterday.
The royalty had put up a decree.
The decree was that due to the ever-encroaching army of the Sorcerer Kingdom, the city required more manpower to defend it. All able-bodied men had to join the battle. It was essentially a draft.
Of course, there were those who feared the battlefield and so still chose to hole themselves up, but the amount of people who believed that if they were to not contribute to the war effort, their loved ones would die, held the majority.
The fiery passion of the people began to spread within the capital, those affected by it started to descend into madness. The streets bustled with men preparing for war. Fathers and their sons alike were soldiers. Those who wished for better rations while they were away made the culinary industry boom. This was all exacerbated by the people's knowledge that the royalty had ordered every merchant within the city to keep food prices low.
The members of Blue Rose shuffled through the crowd.
Lakyus had a suggestion for her companions behind her.
"I said, guys, I can handle it on my own. The request did not specify who should go, but that does not mean that all of us must move out at once. I bet everybody is busy, right? How about we go our separate ways here?"
"…What is up with you, Lakyus? Is there a reason why you don't want us to tag along?"
Lakyus forcefully adopted a smile upon hearing what Evileye had said. Though in her mind she had thought, "How keen of you!" she did not give voice to that thought. Evileye was fine in that regard, Tina and Tia were much keener than she was. Thank the gods she was not facing them instead.
"I understand what Lakyus is feeling right now. I heard that Azuth-danna was coming too, right?"
Lakyus' felt her heart drop for a moment.
That was correct. Lakyus' uncle, the leader of the adamantite-ranked adventurer group Red Drop, Azuth Aindra was invited alongside them.
"Oh, you're family. There must be a lot you two want to discuss in private, right? We understand."
Nice, their confusion led them away from the real reason. Lakyus concurred with what Gagaran had said,
"That's right. Could you guys just do this for me? He didn't even look for me after he came to the capital. So—"
"How perplexing."
"Unbelievable."
"Eh?"
Lakyus looked towards the twins.
"You two are related and both are leaders of adamantite-ranked adventurer groups. Given the current situation he still did not tell you about his return to the capital, so how did our requestor find out about it?"
"If he was related to Red Drop, he should have said so. But, that requestor said nothing at all."
Last night, a man of insignificant stature showed up at the inn Blue Rose was staying at, told them that they had a job request, and to head to this location. To have directly approached them rather than go through the Adventurer's Guild was an act suspicious enough that it made Lakyus want to reject his offer.
However, upon learning that Azuth of Red Drop would be there too, she had to show up as well.
"That's right. This is beyond suspicious. This could be called a conspiracy even. It could be a lie to bait us in or something."
"Yeah. Given the possibility that this could be a trap — even though you are strong, there are still some things you can't handle alone. If this other party is trying to harm us, we should try not to get picked off one-by-one."
"Guys…"
Lakyus was happy that everybody was so worried over her. But—
"Also, we also want to meet with that hero-senpai."
"I've only heard of his name but have never met with him in the past. If you're related to him, it should be easy for us to meet with him, right?"
Lakyus felt her stomach collapse in on itself.
While her uncle was not exactly a bad person, he could not be called a good person either. Overall, what she was certain of was the fact that he was someone who could only be a bad influence on children.
When Lakyus had met with him back when she was still a child, he appeared to be normal but that might have been him just hiding his true nature. Perhaps his screw came loose during his adventures?
She only had one solution to things that she could not understand — though this was not exactly something the gods would bother with — and that was to pray. Other than that, there was nothing she could do about it.
Her uncle was the type to act all honest and upstanding when meeting someone for the first time. He was also the type to spout corny lines like, "if you long for a hero, then it is that hero's duty to grant your wish."
She could only hope that he would do the same this time.
Lakyus and company arrived at the inn they were told to go to.
The business around here seemed to be quite run down and the place was just dirty in general.
The doors to the inn were built well and surprisingly heavy.
Right after Lakyus had pushed open the door, Tia and Tina tapped her twice on her waist.
It was a signal for her to be on alert. They must have noticed something.
Opposite the door was the counter yet they could not see any evidence of tavern-like business was being conducted here.
That meant that this place was remote enough that this establishment could not operate as a tavern, but only as an inn.
Lakyus felt that everybody had switched modes due to the eeriness of this place. They were prepared for combat to break out at any second.
Lakyus spoke to the aloof man behind the counter.
"…We are Blue Rose, here to meet with our client."
"Go to room 301. Mister Azuth of Red Drop is already there."
Was he really here? It was time to find out.
Lakyus thanked him and immediately ascended the stairs to the side.
The inn was incredibly silent. They did not cross paths with another person the whole way there, nor did they hear any sounds at all. Was it because the walls had great sound-isolation properties or was it because the inn was actually empty?
The group reached the third floor and found the number of rooms on the floor to be surprisingly low. The rooms on this floor were probably huge.
Lakyus knocked on the door that had a sign marked with the number 301.
"Uncle, it's Lakyus!"
After focusing her ears, she faintly heard a man's voice on the other side of the door saying, "come in." The volume of the voice was so low that she could not tell if it was her uncle's or not.
After blocking Tia and Tina, Lakyus pushed open the doors herself.
The interior of the room was vastly different from its exterior.
The room was filled with exquisite and heavy furniture, much more luxurious than Lakyus' inn. To be honest, that creeped her out. This inn was terribly suspicious after all.
They had not even finished surveying the entire room when a voice was directed towards Lakyus.
"Aw, Lakyu-chan! Long time no see!"
"Unc…"
That was indeed her uncle's voice.
Lakyus forcefully slammed the doors shut towards the direction her uncle's voice had come from.
"W-what's going on, Lakyus?"
Gagaran was the first to speak.
Everybody must have heard her uncle's voice already. It was hard for her to say that nothing was wrong after that display.
"Guys, I feel like I should meet with my uncle alone after all."
"This girl… Are you seriously saying such things even after we came all the way here?"
Evileye's dumbfounded voice was to be expected.
Lakyus looked at everybody's expressions. Evileye had spoken as their representative, she could tell that the rest of them had the same thought from their expressions alone.
Then—
"Sigh, guys. Let me make it clear. My uncle is an odd individual."
"…The leader of Red Drop?"
Lakyus put on the stern expression as expected of a leader and nodded upon hearing what Tina had said, she then looked towards the others. They were confused, but having known Lakyus for a long time, they knew her to be honest.
After she had parsed that from their expressions, Lakyus opened the door again.
There was a shiny velvet chaise longue in the room.
On it sat a man, a man she knew well — it was Azuth Aindra in the flesh.
His upper torso was completely exposed, one could clearly make out his welldefined abs and puffed-up pecs. This was not exactly how one should present
themselves in front of their client yet it was not the reason why Lakyus stopped her companions from advancing forward.
On top of Azuth's body, to his left and right, were two half-naked women snuggling up to him.
No, they could not be called half-naked. Their voluptuous chests were fully exposed and though they were wearing undergarments, they were just strings that barely covered up anything at all.
From their appearances, they appeared to be high-class escorts.
Erotic outfits that were likely taken off recently were strewn across the ground. Azuth held both women in each of his arms, his hands were latched on their breasts, rubbing them.
"Uncle… your niece was summoned here by the same client. Can't you welcome me in a more appropriate manner?" Lakyus said.
However, Azuth's hands did not leave the breasts of those women as he continued to knead them without giving it much thought. The women did not seem to mind Lakyus' group at all but just uncaringly continued on with their soft moans.
This attitude honestly enraged Lakyus a little. If these women had been procured by their client, Lakyus would like to have a word with them.
"Naaah, I thought that you guys would come a bit later. Uhh, I'm not actually doing it on the bed anyway, so why should it matter?"
"Of course it should!" Lakyus did not bother to turn around to check her companions' expressions.
"…Really?" Azuth's had a confused expression, yet he did not stop rubbing the women. "You're just too inflexible in your ways of thought! It is in every man's nature to want to fuck beautiful women. My children would probably be born with the same gift too. Don't you know that it's important to ensure that our bloodline continues on?
"Hmmm, even though you're high-born, this kind of mentality is still so deeply ingrained in your heart?"
Upon hearing what Evileye had said, Azuth put on a displeased expression and stared at her. Though they could feel a sense of pressure from his gaze alone, none of Blue Rose backed down. To Evileye especially, it felt just like a soft breeze. She continued,
"…Sigh. From your expression alone I can tell that was a bullseye. They call you a hero but you're no different than a child. Actually, could it be that the reason why you abandoned your status as a noble and chose the life of an adventurer was precisely because you are this kind of person…? Anyways, this is no attitude to receive your clients. Ladies, begone."
"—What's with this child?"
The woman lying on the right glared at Evileye.
"Sigh, what a bother. Hey, Aindra… Is the room on that side still vacant?"
Evileye pointed towards a door that was not the one to the corridor.
"Ahhh. That's a bedroom, I've checked it already."
"Is that so? Then send them there."
"What's with this child? What is she trying to do?" The woman to the left glared at Evileye with an angry expression. "Don't you act all high and mighty now, you're just a brat who won't even dare to show their face."
"…Sigh. [Charm Person]. Go."
"Ah, yes. Understood."
The woman on the left stood up immediately, prompting the woman on the right to take on a shocked expression with her mouth wide-open—
"You too. Don't forget the clothes on the floor."
Before the woman could respond, her [Charm Person] had already been cast.
The women obediently walked into the adjacent room.
Azuth pouted and raised his shoulders. From an adventurer's perspective, what Evileye had done was no different than someone drawing their blade, yet he did not appear to fault her for it. Though she did not want to admit it, Evileye saw him as pretty lenient in that regard.
"Evileye… good job!" Tina raised a thumb to Evileye, "To be brave enough to let women who could have been assassins get this close to you, as expected of an adamantite-ranked adventurer."
"Were they?"
"We were trained to do those things back then as well. Women who were not gifted in raw power or arcane talents could only resort to weaponizing their femininity. Though Gagaran cannot relate at all, I'll still explain their methods.
First—"
Evileye tuned out of Tia's explanation and spoke to Lakyus instead.
"It would be troublesome if that wasn't done. Well, I won't interrupt you with this topic anymore. Speak of whatever you want I guess."
"Thank you, Evileye. Now then… haaaah…" she was already exhausted before she had spoken a single word, "Now then, uncle, our client this time around is extremely suspicious. Who are they?"
"Hmm? Oy oy, you came here without knowing about them? Hmm, they're someone with a massive organization behind them, probably."
"Probably? Speaking of which, are they someone you are familiar with?"
"I haven't met them in person. If they knew their manners, they would have given me their name. Hmmm, if they intend to hide their identity, then—" Azuth smiled, "—they must be someone shady. So, what are you planning to do?"
"What do you mean what do I plan to do?"
"If you guys want to fle— leave this place, you can use the path I planned out."
"We do not intend to leave."
Lakyus felt everybody's gaze on her.
"…Pffft. Think over it. The Sorcerer King's army has killed every civilian along its way towards here and razed the cities too. To think that the capital would be any different, aren't you being a little too naive?"
"Then, uncle, let us fight side by side!"
"It's impossible. Because I did not confirm his power directly, I could not say for sure. But if the rumors are all real, I— we can't win against that guy. Only a monster could fight that monster, it would be unwise for humans to intervene."
Azuth sighed tiredly. Lakyus had never seen her uncle like this.
"…I knew this was a waste of time, that was why I did not bring the rest of the team along. I also told my brother to run away."
"But… none of them did, right?"
"Haaah. What a bunch of… idiots. But, he did put his child under my care. They were taken by my companions to the Council State and are probably there already."
Just as complicated emotions arose in Lakyus' heart, Tia nervously said,
"— Boss!" At the same time, a man's voice came from the corridor, "You're all on-time!"
The three who had been standing by the door, Tia, Tina, and Gagaran, appeared to be pushed along by an unseen power into the room. A man and a woman followed after them.
The one who walked in front was a young man.
All ten of his fingers had rings adorning them. A gentle smile shone from his face.
Behind him was a tired woman. Her clothes were loose and she walked in a way that said she did not want to walk at all. An unusually giant hat sat on her dome, covering most of her face.
Lakyus raised her guard.
Her companions were being suppressed on a biological level — that is to say, from raw power alone. Both of the visitors were capable of giving the worldfamous adamantite-ranked adventurer Lakyus a fright she could not put into words.
Yet, once the person behind them showed up, the atmosphere changed more so than ever.
That man's giant body slowly inched its way into the room. His appearance was that of an axe-wielding barbarian. An intense, overwhelming pressure emanated from him that made them feel as though the space around them was being distorted.
The two in front of them were indeed strong.
But, that man is far more powerful than them both.
Lakyus could not move, as if she was being suffocated.
As an adamantite-ranked adventurer, she had defeated numerous powerful monsters and demi-humans yet they all paled in comparison to this man. He might even be stronger than the skull-wearing demon that appeared during
Jaldabaoth's disturbance.
That man was probably the bodyguard of those two.
People as strong as them, if they did not belong to any organization, would inevitably cause rumors about them to spread. If that was the case, what was behind them must be an enormous, national-level organization to be capable of hiding information about them completely.
"…We were right to bring our equipment along."
"…Every single one of them is stronger than us."
"Haaah. I don't remember hearing about people like them within the Kingdom."
"Oy oy oy, you're late already so don't go around spreading that dangerous aura. Did management mandate that you do? Do something this boring?"
The woman Azuth was mocking objected,
"To bring whores along, how impressive, old man. This is not a love hotel though~"
Azuth responded in kind to her,
"Hmph, this place was the exact reason why I called them over, I wanted you all to be as disgusted as I was."
"Tsk—" The woman snapped her mouth shut as she adopted an expression that was hard to look at.
She did not object to what Azuth had said, meaning that this inn was indeed connected to them. There were only two countries that had the capability to set up national-level organizations. One was the Council State, the other was the Theocracy.
The latter was far more likely.
"Well well, if you all will just end this right now, I would be very happy."
"Quie-chan
… sigh, Quie-chan is the lead this time so I'll just listen to you."
After being scolded by the gentleman, the woman forced herself to shrug and nod along.
"Azuth-sama is absolutely correct. You took time out of your busy schedule to meet with us yet we were the last to arrive. I do apologize to your esteemed person."
"Hmph."
Azuth sneered a little, yet that gentleman's smile never faltered.
"Now then, do forgive me for my frankness — let us get down to business, Azuth Aindra-sama and the members of Blue Rose present."
Lakyus squinted her eyes.
Her uncle had abandoned his title as a noble, but because he still retained the title of honorary knight, proper etiquette dictated that he must be referred to by his full name. However, Azuth was the type to dislike being called by his full name.
Those who were meeting him for the first time and wanted to follow protocol would have fallen into this trap.
This gentleman however, managed to avoid this. This meant that this man had done his thorough research, no, it was probably more accurate to say that the people behind this man had done their research.
"Lakyus Alvein Dale Aindra-sama. Evileye-sama. Tia-sama. Tina-sama.
Gagaran-sama. We are here to persuade you to join our side. Though fighting to your last breath here is an honorable option, we do implore everyone here to consider the future instead."
"Ugh. Such an impolite fellow. So, which country sent you?"
"It doesn't matter which country we're from. It's all usele—"
Suddenly, a hand appeared from behind the woman and covered her mouth.
"No way!"
Tia and Tina drew their weapons in surprise.
Behind the woman stood a man wearing an odd outfit. His entire body, including his face and hands, were covered. Metal plates lined his clothing for better defense.
"Not good, it's an assassin way beyond our league."
"Not good, he's much stronger than us."
These two were the strongest — most vicious — assassins that Lakyus knew of, but this man was stronger than them both.
"Please do not worry and please sheath your weapons. If our goal was your demise, we would not have introduced ourselves in such a trifling method."
The gentleman was correct. To have entered this room in a way where none of these adamantite-ranked adventurers could notice must have included the use of an ability that was capable of completely masking oneself. To have revealed himself in such an idiotic manner meant that he was not there to assassinate them.
Or perhaps this was part of their tactic too. They were reminding them that if they did not join their side, outstanding assassins could get them at any time.
"Also, as for my companion's slightly inappropriate matter of speech, I do deeply apologi—"
"—Oy oy. What good does hiding that fact do for you? You guys are from the Theocracy, right?"
"Are they really from the Theocracy…? I can't believe that people like this exist there."
A shocked Evileye said. Lakyus was equally surprised.
They had fought against a unit that was burning down demi-human villages in the past and they were strong. Especially the captain of that unit, who was stronger than Lakyus was at that time. Yet, no one from that unit was as strong as the people in front of them.
"You didn't know? I thought that you'd at least have heard rumors about them… they are the pride of the Theocracy, their unit of heroes, the Black Scripture. It's likely that all of them have reached the realm of heroes."
Azuth was looking towards the barbarian.
That man put on the smile a beast would have right before it feasted on its prey.
"Hahahaha… Looks like you know quite a bit about us. But, don't you have one too? Someone like me, or even stronger than me?" He pointed towards Evileye,
"Evileye of Blue Rose. You're a hard one to deal with."
Yet his attitude was not of one admitting defeat, rather, his expression told them that he treated Evileye as an equal.
"…Hmph. There are people stronger than me… Hmm… excluding fiends, of all of the humans and demi-humans, only Momon-sama is stronger."
"Only Momon? Hmmm…"
The barbarian muttered to himself while a faint smile bloomed on his face… and said no more.
"I say. People of the Theocracy's secret unit. Why won't you fight alongside us against the Sorcerer King?"
.
"Perhaps that woman also...no, that was..." Evileye continued to mumble to herself, but Azuth ignored her and asked the gentleman, who responded with his unwavering smile.
"To have received an invitation from your esteemed person is an utmost honour to us all. However, we are here on an express mission to convince your esteemed persons to join us. That is why we can only choose to ceremoniously reject your suggestion. After all, soldiers who participate in battles out of their own selfish desires would only bring harm to their organization."
"Trying to use your orders as a scapegoat, I see. Still, I'm interested to hear your personal opinion."
"What a bore — Aren't things much simpler if we just followed our superiors' order?"
The annoyed woman said. The gentleman's smile faded away as it was replaced by a troubled expression.
"I bet you're the type to find even your own thought process to be annoying."
"That's about right. As long as I carry out my orders, the responsibility for them will always fall on my superiors. It's too annoying to have to shoulder responsibilities myself, so I don't bother with it. I'm pretty good at shifting responsibilities onto others, I've even received praise for it~"
"They weren't praising you."
The barbarian whispered to himself.
"Hehe. Now then, Aindra-sama...my apologies. Azuth-sama, we understand what you meant. So, what about the members of Blue Rose?"
"Before that, could we ask a question? How can we escape from here?"
"I will tell you how after you join us. By the way, we have extended this offer to numerous other adventurer groups already and they have all accepted. Those groups have already been relocated to safer locations to sit this one out."
"...Oy. Did you use violence or threats to force them to go with you?"
As Gagaran had said, if someone as strong as them were to threaten other people, it would be hard for them to refuse.
"We really do, from the depths of our heart, want to become comrades with you all. This is a cooperation for our future — for humanity's future."
The gentleman did not appear to be lying at all, his personality was probably the reason why he was chosen to be the negotiator.
"...I refuse"
Lakyus did not even have time to ask for everybody else's opinions before Gagaran replied.
"No need for 'I'...we will go with the leader's decision."
Her companions started nodding their heads in agreement upon hearing what Gagaran had said.
"Is that true...? Looks like nothing I could say will sway your opinion. Looks like I'm out of options."
The gentleman took their rejection unusually well. Lakyus lowered her posture in case he resorted to force.
After seeing what Lakyus had done, the gentleman gave a wry smile.
"Please, there's no need to worry, Lakyus-sama. We do not plan to use force. We hope that everyone here could avenge those who have fallen to the Sorcerer King. We have left a fee for your troubles at the reception, please do accept it before you return. Now then — we'll be on our way."
After the gentleman gave his orders, the people of the Theocracy began walking towards the exit. Things appeared to have concluded peacefully. Just as Lakyus breathed a sigh of relief, Azuth called out to the gentleman,
"Oy, speaking of which... The mister named Rufus or Roof-Ass, is he still okay?"
"Ru...? I'm terribly sorry. Our country spans a vast area so I do not know who you are referring to... If you could be a bit more specif—"
"—Ah, is that so. I suppose it's only natural for people of your rank to not know him by name after all. So, how do you guys usually address that undead? Milord or something?"
Every member of the Black Scripture was stunned and were subsequently filled with malice. The entire room was suddenly overflowing with an aura of bloodlust that made them feel as though combat was about to break out at any moment. The gentleman was the first to make a move.
He extended both arms to stop the people behind him.
"Quie-chan. What's wrong? Are we not killing them?"
The gentleman stared at Azuth with cold, unmoving eyes and calmly replied to the woman,
"He's bluffing. Do not move of your own accord. This is an order." The bloodlust that emanated from them disappeared as fast as it had appeared. The gentleman's cold-eyed stare remained on Azuth, "...though I am extremely curious to find out the extent of your knowledge on this matter...I will report this to my superiors. Everybody, it's time for us to leave."
The members of the Black Scripture did not lower their guards as they walked out the room but maintained the attitude that if Lakyus' group was to take any sort of action, they would retaliate in kind.
After a while, after Lakyus was certain that the Black Scripture had left already, she started ranting at Azuth.
"Uncle...you're the weakest of us all. Please stop provoking other people."
"Hah...? Indeed, that was pretty dangerous. I did not expect them to antagonize us that hard. If it wasn't for that man with the fake smile, I would have been dead. They were probably thinking something along the lines of, 'rather than dirty our own hands, it'll be more beneficial if we let the Sorcerer King have his fill first before we have ours' or something. Though I doubt we were worth that kind of consideration."
Lakyus intentionally directed her sigh towards Azuth, who had been laughing loudly.
Was that really the case?
Her uncle had revealed to the Black Scripture that he had some sort of crucial intel on the Theocracy, it would not have been unusual for them to kill him to prevent that intel from getting into the Sorcerer King's hands. The other probable outcome would have been for them to kidnap him to interrogate him or use magic to get the intel out of him.
The root of the issue was why her uncle had let the Theocracy know that he had that kind of intel. If he had not done so, the conversation would have concluded with nothing else happening.
Why would he intentionally burn himself?
Azuth wasn't someone who couldn't see the bigger picture. Given that was the case, there had to be something in the background that Lakyus did not know of.
She would not get an answer from thinking about it alone. Lakyus stopped that useless train of thought.
"For God's sake...So, what does uncle plan to do next?"
"Hah? I plan to wait till the Sorcerer King's army made its way here. The big boys up there seem to be planning to send soldiers to the neighbouring territories to take formations. To be honest, I don't think they have a chance at victory. The Sorcerer King and his lackeys will come here sooner or later... You're not strong enough to trade blows with him, just run away."
He had made his intentions clear.
"Even so, I will not abandon this city to run away. Uncle..."
If something was to defeat the Sorcerer King, it would not be the strike of a warrior but rather, the stab of an assassin. Precisely because of that, Lakyus had to clench her teeth and simply watch as waves of men were sent out to defend against the Sorcerer King's attack.
"If you wish to invite me to fight alongside you, I refuse. I have my own plans."
"Really?"
"Yup. I will do what I do best, and you should do what you do best. However, for the sake of my cute niece I will reiterate again. It's best for you all to run away. You are all nothing in the face of the Sorcerer King's power."
"...hmph, what does that mean? Are you saying that you could achieve more than us?"
Faced with Evileye's question, Azuth laughed as if he did not have an answer to that.
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"Indeed, even I could not win against the Sorcerer King. I am but a mere man. But, even if the Sorcerer King surrounds the entire capital, I alone could still escape."
Azuth stood up.
"Now then, I'll be going to the other room to work these hips, what will you guys be doing?"
Lakyus realised what her uncle had meant and furrowed her brows.
"We'll go back. After all, there are still things we need to prepare for."
Lakyus bid farewell to her uncle and descended the stairs carefully with the rest of her group. They took their pay on the first floor and left the inn. It did not appear as though the Black Scripture was waiting in ambush there.
At a distance away from the capital that would take the average traveller three days to cross, the Sorcerous Kingdom's army could already be sighted. This report landed in Zanac's hands. To receive the Sorcerous Kingdom's army's attack, the entire army of the Kingdom had mobilized under Zanac's command.
On the plains about half a day's worth of marching away from the capital, the Kingdom's army had already established a front upon receiving news that the Sorcerous Kingdom was invading from the west. According to their battle plans, they were to wait for the Sorcerous Kingdom's army there.
The front was built upon a wide bit of road that was locked down for this purpose. If the Sorcerous Kingdom's army was to continue on their current, straight trajectory, this would be the most effective. However, if the Sorcerous Kingdom was to change their direction of approach, there would be a need to form a new front. Though they were worried about that possibility, the reports all indicated that the Sorcerous Kingdom was beelining for them. It appeared as though they did not have to worry about that possibility coming true.
Yet no one was rejoicing because of it.
The Kingdom's army that will be facing against the Sorcerous Kingdom's army this time around was comprised of levies from the neighbouring nobles, the capital's militia, and able-bodied men drafted from the refugees. It would not be incorrect to call this army the Kingdom's last hope.
In total, there were over 400,000 men.
To have formed such a large army was something worthy of praise, yet the reality was that they were scraping at the bottom of the barrel. Not many had suitable equipment, a lot of people only had a club.
Even under this situation, morale was high. However, the reason for that was purely because they had the spirit of a cornered beast. They knew the extent of the cruelty the Sorcerous Kingdom had displayed and thus took up arms through the sheer force of will to protect that which they hold dear. If their courage was to take a hit in any shape or form, the Kingdom's army would surely instantaneously collapse.
The size of the army was a weapon in and of itself, the long lines of soldiers alone gave off an overwhelming pressure without them doing anything at all. So then, for what purpose was the Sorcerous Kingdom's army advancing straight towards this army of 400,000?
Even those who aren't too well versed in battle tactics would know that facing such a large army head-on wasn't the best strategy. For the Sorcerous Kingdom, their best strategy would have been to 'do nothing'. They had an army full of the undead, which did not require supplies at all. In comparison, the Kingdom's 400,000 strong force was akin to a gigantic yet starving beast. As long as they manage to completely surround them and apply pressure inwards, this giant beast would soon doom itself by starving to its death.
Yet the Sorcerous Kingdom's army marched in a straight line, destroying everything in their path. He knew of the Sorcerer King's firm grasp of the bigger picture, so it was hard to imagine that they had done so with no purpose in mind at all.
The Sorcerous Kingdom simply had confidence in their imminent victory.
To something like the Sorcerous Kingdom, this was not reckless behaviour at all. To those who could defeat an army of 200,000 men with a single spell, this army of theirs could be wiped out with the use of only two spells.
Of course, Zanac, as the general, did not want to believe that that could happen. However, the people, especially nobles, who believed in that notion weren't exactly a minority either.
He understood why they had suggested that their forces should be split into groups. Though they could fall one-by-one, they also avoided the possibility of their entire army succumbing to a single spell.
But they could not do that.
Due to the devastating loss they had experienced during the battle of the Katze plains as well as the current invasion by the Sorcerous Kingdom, not many noblemen who had the skills to command such a large number of soldiers and cavalry were left. Splitting their forces would not create smaller armies, this force of 400,000 soldiers would suddenly turn into 400,000 commoners instead.
It was precisely because they had this many men gathered — this many comrades — in one place that people had the courage to face the Sorcerous Kingdom.
They had been manning this front for two days now.
A lot of time had been eaten up by the preparation this many men required.
After both sides had set up their formations, the Sorcerous Kingdom's army had adopted a prideful attitude that said loud and clear, "we gave you just enough time to prepare."
Their forces numbered around 10,000, comprising 3-4 types of undead. This was a miniscule number in the face of 400,000 men. However, in terms of individual strength, the Sorcerous Kingdom's army undoubtedly held an overwhelming advantage against them.
"Your Highness."
"I know."
Zanac gave a prompt reply to the minister of military affairs.
The minister's movements were stiff, almost comical at times, due to his unfamiliarity with the armour he wore. But, Zanac was not a pot to call the kettle black.
He was wearing what used to be Gazef's armour, one of the treasures of the Kingdom. Zanac knew that it did not suit him at all, he was far from Gazef's league.
But, Zanac was thankful for this magically-enchanted armour.
These past few days, Zanac had been packing on the pounds due his stress-eating habits. If it wasn't for the armour's enchanted nature, he would have had to request a blacksmith to add an inch to the waist area.
"Bring forth my horse!"
A steed was brought forth to Zanac's large tent by a knight following his order.
It took Zanac quite a bit of effort to get on his favorite horse, which did not look too kindly to Zanac. He did not take any bodyguards along with him as he rode out of the front and towards the Sorcerous Kingdom's army.
Even if he brought bodyguards along, if the Sorcerer King wanted to kill him, bodyguards would be completely useless. They could not serve as deterrents at all.
That was why riding solo was effectively a demonstration to the onlookers of his courage. If he was killed while riding solo, it would serve to damage the Sorcerer King's public image.
{The Hero of Re-Estize...has a nice ring to it}
Zanac reached the midpoint between the two armies with no obstacles at all. He activated a magic item to amplify his voice.
"I am the prince of the Kingdom of Re-Estize, Zanac Valleon Igana Ryle Vaiself! I wish to seek an audience with His Majesty the Sorcerer King!"
Zanac did not plan to fight a battle of wits against the Sorcerer King. Things had already come to a point where that was completely meaningless.
He just wanted to find out what kind of a thought process would have led the Sorcerer King to do what he had done.
----
Ainz surveyed the front his army had formed from a three-sided tarpaulin tent. Due to the fact that the Sorcerous Kingdom's army was comprised of undead beings that did not require food resupplies, the front they had formed was much smaller than what a conventional army would have.
From an objective perspective, there was no need to establish a front at all and some had even suggested this to him. However, Ainz believed that front building was a valuable experience to gain too.
Actually, from the several fronts they had formed already, the one in front of him looked to be a lot sturdier than what they had at the start.
At first, these fronts were formed with the aid of Mare's magic, but due to a specific reason, Mare had been relegated to simply watching the soldiers build the front at Ainz's side.
Aura was also watching the soldiers on the side, but it appeared that she was only observing her own servants.
No matter if it was front building or tents, magic could always produce an outcome of higher quality. However, due to the same reason as above, Ainz had ordered this tent that was currently being used as their mobile headquarters to be transported to this location through physical means.
{It might be a good idea to leave all civil engineering tasks in the future to Mare.}
Amongst the populace of the Sorcerous Kingdom, there were many races of demi-humans and heteromorphs that were adept at digging tunnels. It would be a good idea to make them subordinate to Mare. That said, Albedo or someone else might have also had this idea and put it into action already. If someone had done so already, then the relevant documentation for this should have already been perused by Ainz. There was a need for him to ask Albedo about this in a roundabout way later.
Was she being tacit? Albedo, who should have been working hard to establish the front, had returned with Cocytus.
"Ainz-sama. It appears as though the humans have sent an envoy. How shall we proceed?"
"Not a messenger to declare the start of the battle? Prepare a reception... Prepare the receptive drinks as well."
As Albedo began to prepare the table, chairs, and such, a man wearing full-plate armour on horseback entered Ainz's line of sight.
Ainz recognized the armour worn by that man.
{That's...I think that's Gazef Stronoff's armour. Is this man the Vice-Warrior Captain? He's quite different from the descriptions I've heard.}
The envoy stopped between the two armies and started yelling his introduction.
"I am the prince of the Kingdom of Re-Estize, Zanac Valleon Igana Ryle Vaiself! I wish to seek an audience with His Majesty the Sorcerer King!"
He could hear him clearly even from this distance. He must have used some kind of magic item.
"What should we do, Ainz-sama? If he is not here to declare the start of the battle then it would be a waste of time to converse with him. Shall we initiate the battle as is?"
"No, Albedo, We. Cannot. Do. That. The. Opponent. Desires. To. Have. A. Battle. Of. Wits. With. Ainz. Sama, If. We. Rejected. Him. Outright. It. Would. Reflect. Negatively. On. The. People's. Impression. Of. Ainz. Sama's. Magnanimity."
"What value do rumours hold?" Albedo sneered, "They are dead men walking, what good are rumours that fall on no ears?"
Ainz was not too keen on fighting a battle of wits or whatever, surely the royalty of this country would not lose out to him in anything other than combat prowess. Still—
"Albedo. Have you forgotten? About the possibility that the rumour could be transmitted through magic?"
"...I'm terribly sorry."
"Hmm...I will go then. The royalty of our opposition came alone. If I were not to do the same, it would not reflect well on us."
"Are you sure it will be alright? Ainz-sama."
"I have no idea. Aura, if I were to be brainwashed or mind controlled, you should use your World Class Item to protect me."
Ainz's usual World Class Item was in Nazarick's storage, so if Aura used [Depiction of Nature and Society] on him, he would be trapped in it. This way, even if he was brainwashed, they could not kidnap him through teleportation or other similar methods.
"Understood!"
"Umu," Ainz replied to Aura and left the front on a Soul Eater. It was worth noting that after Ainz had practised horse riding, he looked adequate while doing it. However, because he wasn't too apt at it, to prevent making a blunder in front of the two armies, Ainz still chose to ride a Soul Eater to be on the safe side.
The other party was waiting for Ainz next to his horse, so Ainz also got off the Soul Eater upon arriving at his destination. No matter how bad this was going to get for him, Ainz steeled himself to do to others what they had done to him.
His opponent was a man on the chubbier side of the spectrum. Makeup caked his face to cover up the dark circles under his eyes.
"Nice to meet you, Your Majesty the Sorcerer King. My name is Zanac Valleon Igana Ryle Vaiself."
"Nice to meet you, I am the Sorcerer King Ainz Ooal Gown. I will be in your care then. Now, a standing conversation would be neither here nor there." Ainz cast a spell twice, producing two black thrones that faced each other. Because it was created with magic, the two thrones were naturally identical.
"Though it is hard and metallic, we should still sit down first. How do you feel about that?"
"I would be glad to, Your Majesty."
As they both sat down on the thrones, Ainz cast another spell to create a reflective black table between them.
While Ainz had started casting magic the moment they had met, Zanac did not seem to be on guard at all. It appeared as though he did not have any intention to assassinate Ainz.
Afterwards, Ainz took out two cups and an ice-filled container from his inventory.
"How about some water? Alcohol would be inappropriate given our current situation so, what about orange juice instead...?"
"Thank you very much, Your Majesty. Just water would be fine."
"Now then, we are all set for the talk. What should we discuss then? Perhaps about the justification of our invasion?"
"That would not be necessary, Your Majesty. I am more interested in the reason why you were insistent on carrying out such heinous acts? Why did you refuse our offer to surrender?"
That was a natural question for him to ask. Although to Ainz, his reasons were clear and justified, to them it must have appeared to be senseless slaughter.
"Umu," Ainz nodded his head. Given how things had turned out, there was no point in hiding his intentions anymore. He began to exposit the Sorcerous Kingdom's plans to Zanac.
"Because we stood to gain nothing from that. I intend to sacrifice your people as an example to the world of what would happen to them if they stood against the Sorcerous Kingdom. To that end, you will all be eradicated and the Kingdom will be rendered into a mountain of ash. That mountain will continue to serve as a warning after centuries, after millenia, of how foolish of an act it would be to go against the Sorcerous Kingdom."
"...You do not appear to be jesting."
"Of course not, I am just stating what is to come."
"Why?"
"What do you mean?"
Ainz could not read between Zanac's lines and thus replied with a question.
"Your Majesty the Sorcerer King is in possession of immense amounts of power. Even if you did not do what you said you would, the people of the world would still come to know your awesome power." Zanac wetted his lips, swallowed a mouthful of saliva, and asked, "Why are you this petty?"
"Petty, am I?"
Zanac tensed up at the possibility that he had angered Ainz, but Ainz was not angry at all.
"What is your goal?"
Ainz grumbled to himself, "what is {your} goal?"
In the past, to Ainz— no, to Satoru, to have met the buddies he had in the game of Yggdrasil was the epitome of his entire life. It was such a wonderful memory that all he wished for was to be reunited with his friends again.
When the plug was about to be pulled from the game, when all of this was meant to be for naught, he was transported to this world instead.
The end turned out not to be the end at all,
But instead, it was a new beginning.
The NPCs created by his friends began to exhibit free will. From their every move he could feel the remnants of his former companions. No, to be honest, the shock he had experienced at the beginning confused him so much that he was constantly worried about their betrayal. Looking back, that was moronic of him. Nowadays, he just did not question their loyalty at all.
Yet, it did not seem like Ainz was the only one who was transported to this world. He could see the footprints left behind by other players.
Perhaps it was only natural then for him to think that his companions, the people who shared those good times with him, could have come to this world as well. It was only natural for him to wish for this. Of course, Ainz knew that he was transported here during the final moments of the game's operation, which made his friends' appearance in this world unlikely.
Actually, through the use of multiple spells and intel sources, he could faintly feel the lack of their presence. However, since he did not have concrete proof of that belief, the possibility of it happening still remained.
One might call him an idiot for holding on to such vain hopes, one might also call him a futile loser too.
But to the Ainz of yesteryear, that was all his life had amounted to.
And now that dream was gradually fading away.
Sure his friends were important to him, but now, the NPCs were important to him too.
They were essentially children that had been left behind by his companions.
Ainz, as the only one to have stayed behind, had the duty to protect them at all costs.
Because of this, Ainz was willing to sacrifice his all to ensure no harm ever came to the NPCs. In order to ensure that Nazarick would never fall to outside forces, he had to prioritize the empowerment of the organization's every aspect.
Shalltear was dominated by some unknown entity in the past. Though he had succeeded in regaining control over her, if things had turned out any worse back then, important intel on Nazarick could have been made known to outsiders; consequently, it could have led to the destruction of the guild.
He could not allow something like that to ever happen again.
"What is my goal, you ask? I seek something that is difficult yet also easy to obtain. All I wish for... is a single thing. That is, happiness."
"Happiness?"
Zanac repeatedly blinked in surprise.
Ainz laughed a little in response. He did not find what he had said to be so outrageous.
"No matter if you're human or whatever, the pursuit of happiness is the ultimate goal, is it not?"
Ainz threw away his act and began to converse with Zanac as if he was a close friend of his.
"And you would step over others' happiness to achieve your own?"
"Isn't that obvious? If the happiness of those I hold dear could be guaranteed, those of others do not matter to me at all. If you could secure the happiness of your subjects by inflicting suffering on the citizenry of another country, what would you do? Would you say, abandon their happiness altogether?"
"Those are the extremes!" Zanac calmed down as the sentence trailed, he lowered his head and said, "That was out of line of me. My apologies, Your Majesty."
Ainz went back to his ruler persona.
"It is fine, there is no need to worry at all."
"Even with the intellect and power of Your Majesty the Sorcerer King, there are no other possible methods to guarantee happiness?"
"...Perhaps, but, I could only say 'perhaps'. If you had a guaranteed method to obtain happiness, what would be the better option? To seek a perhap nonexistent secondary method or sticking with what has been tried-and-true? 'The Goddess of Luck is bald at the back of her head' after all, was that how the saying went?"
(TL's note: Roman proverb, see Disticha Catonis II, 26. The English equivalent is "Take Time By the Forelock" but that cuts out the 'Goddess' part)
Zanac was absolutely incredulous.
"What a strange Goddess. Sorry, I did not mean to belittle the Goddess you believe in. Please do forgive me."
"Haha, I don't mind at all. That wasn't something I believed in, just a proverb I remembered. Very well then, that is the extent of it all. For the happiness of my subjects, I must sacrifice your people. This is the basis for this war, do you get it?"
"I guess so. I do relate to Your Majesty's desire. The pursuit of the betterment of one's own country and a guarantee to one's own countrymen's happiness, that could be said to be the only responsibility of a ruler. If the destruction of our people guaranteed the people of the Sorcerous Kingdom their happiness, I do understand why you did not accept our surrender. I suppose it couldn't be helped."
"Right? You get it. Now then, it's my turn for a question, but I don't really have one..."
Ainz looked around while he pondered, "Ah, right. The armour you're wearing reminded me of it, so I'll ask about that sword. The sword that Gazef Stronoff wielded, who's currently in possession of it?"
"It is currently under the safekeeping of a man named Brain Unglaus."
"Brain Unglaus? Ahh, that man."
When he dueled Gazef, there was someone by that name between the two men who had witnessed said duel. However, given how long ago that was, he could barely remember his appearance.
Although he planned to turn the capital into ashes, he still planned to recover a few items, one of which being Gazef's sword.
"That man, has he come here too?"
"No, he has not, Your Majesty. He should still be in the capital."
"Is that so? Then you wouldn't have any issue with what kind of magic I use to destroy you all, right?"
The one in charge of sieging the capital was Cocytus so he would have to order him to watch out for the sword later.
"While I have no intention to forfeit in this battle, I would be eternally grateful if Your Majesty was to use magic that would inflict the least amount of suffering on my people."
"...Hmm. You do have a point. I understand. After all, pleasant conversations like this one are hard to come by. For you especially, I shall try my best to kill you as gently as I could."
"Thank you very much."
Zanac had on him a brilliant smile to which Ainz could not help but feel amazed.
This man's courage was quite sizable. If Ainz was in his shoes, would he have been able to do the same?
{—I don't think so. As expected of someone of royal blood. This has been very educational.}
Zanac took the glass cup in front of him and downed the water in a single gulp, as if he was not worried about poisons at all.
"Delicious, Your Majesty. Say, I do hope you could answer one last question of mine — was Your Majesty the one who killed my brother, or was it one of Your Majesty's subordinates?"
"Your brother?"
Ainz tilted his head and after a short while, remembered the prince of the Kingdom they had already disposed of. He could not recall his name, but did remember that it was super long.
"It was probably one of my subordinates."
"Is that true...so he was dead after all...I feel like a huge weight has been lifted from my shoulders...Your Majesty, thank you for telling me. I suppose it is time for us to bid farewell."
After saying that, Zanac began walking towards his horse.
Ainz walked towards the Soul Eater after he had tidied up everything, only to find that Zanac was still waiting by his horse.
Ainz questioned in his mind why he had not already gotten onto his horse as he climbed onto the Soul Eater. Only after he had done so, did Zanac mount his horse.
Between a prince and a king, it was easy to tell who held the higher status, so he had probably done so to avoid looking down on Ainz from his high horse. To Ainz, someone who had not studied equestrian etiquette, this was the proper protocol that the aristocracy should strive to follow. Zanac's standing in his mind rose by a bit.
{Looks like studying the etiquette of the upper-class has become mandatory...what isn't at this point? Will the amount of things I have to learn ever decrease...?}
----
"Your Highness!"
The noblemen all came out to welcome Zanac back, almost every noble that had answered his call was there.
No one halted his exit from the front, yet now it felt like he could not get back in if he tried. That meant that everybody was anticipating for good news, the best of which would be if the Sorcerer King had agreed to handic—
Zanac answered their question with a curt reply.
"I couldn't do it. His Majesty the Sorcerer King plans to kill us all, that was non-negotiable to him."
What he found to be surprising was the fact that there were still nobles who turned pale at this news. Were they still hoping that everything would turn out fine even with the current situation?
Zanac got off his horse and left those nobles, who were all biting down on their lower lip and were deep in contemplation, behind to walk towards his own tent.
After he entered the tent, the minister of military affairs welcomed him, only for a sarcastic smile to surface on his face.
"That does not look like good news."
"In other words, just as we had expected, but, well, one thing did surprise a bit."
"Really? Speaking of which, I have never met with the Sorcerer King, just what kind of an evil monster was he?"
Zanac smiled.
"He was more human than I thought."