The Siege* 3

"Now then, I really am fine doing this by myself…" Vijar stared at Remedios.

"But let's hear your name before that. While it's a pain to have to listen to some mook name themselves, that sword of yours looks pretty good."

"Remedios Custodio."

Vijar and Halisha's expressions changed, but in different ways.

Vijar was smiling with bloodlust at the thought of meeting a strong foe, while Halisha was surprised.

Nasrene, on the other hand, remained unmoved.

"So you're the one, huh? You're Remedios Custodio? They say you're the strongest paladin in this country. Excellent. If I kill you, I'll become famous. I'll be the Zoastia who defeated the strongest paladin in the Holy Kingdom. The new successor to the title of Demon Claw!"

"Hmph. In that case, that must be the holy sword, right? Say, Vijar-dono, how about letting me face her instead? I'll have my people sing your praises if you let me take your place."

Both demi-humans reacted immediately to Nasrene's words.

"Heeheehee. So you're planning to hand it over and then ask Jaldabaoth for a child?"

"Hmph, we've decided that I'll deal with her. There's no need for you to do anything."

"―Begging to be bred by a demon? You make me sick."

Remedios could not help blurting out what she really thought after hearing that exchange, and Nasrene turned to give Remedios an irritated look.

"So you don't even understand what it means to bear the child of the supreme ruler… humans truly are moronic creatures."

"Even Jaldabaoth-sama would lavish care on the species of his offspring, no? When you think about it, there's a lot of advantages to being a woman, huh."

"Oh yes. And if the father's excellent blood could be passed down, the child that's born might come close to ― no." Vijar puffed up her chest. "Might even be able to bear children that surpass their father ― hm? Though you could consider me an exception too."

These three demi-humans did not act like they were feeling threatened despite being on the battlefield.

Remedios began to boil with anger as she watched them chatter idly.

"How dare you demi-humans come here and spout nonsense? There's no use thinking about a future you won't have. I'll crush your stupid dreams here. No, not just you, I mean all of you."

"Heeheehee. Oooh, I'm soooooo scared."

While Halisha looked like he was flailing his arms and legs around in panic, he was not actually afraid. That was because he was confident of victory even against an opponent like Remedios. It only served to displease Remedios even further.

Remedios shouted an order to the paladins, loud enough for the demi-humans to hear.

"Listen up. This is a duel. I'll fight Vijar. As for you―"

"I'll take him on," Sabicus said as he pointed to Halisha. "In that case, I'll take that one on," Esteban said as he walked in front of Nasrene.

"…Oya? …I'm not a warrior so I'm not too sure, but they're pretty weak, aren't they?"

"Heeheehee… who knows? Best not to be careless, Nasrene-dono."

Remedios picked up Vijar snorting at her, and she roared, "Here I come!" He must have sensed that those paladins were weak. No good would come of letting him mention it.

The first strike was key. The militiamen were watching her from behind with bated breath; not only would it wipe away their unease, it would also let her opponent know that he was facing a worthy opponent. For these reasons, she had to make an unreserved blow with all of her might.

Remedios hacked down on Vijar, holding the holy sword in one hand.

In response, Vijar raised his massive battleaxe to intercept her blow.

Both sides collided, and the very air shuddered.

She could hear shouts from the militiamen behind her. There was no time to slowly determine if they were cheers or cries of panic. Her full power strike had been answered by a counterattack of equal force.

The weapons of both sides were undamaged from that exchange of evenly matched blows.

If someone had brought a mundane weapon to this intense clash, it would probably have been chipped or bent. In other words, Vijar was also wielding an enchanted weapon.

"Kuh!"

"Nuuu!"

Remedios's next swing grazed Vijar's upper body, sending forth a spray of blood. However, the battleaxe struck Remedios's chest at the same time.

While her enchanted armor turned the battleaxe's keen blade, the impact knocked the wind out of her, and it became hard to breathe.

In contrast to Remedios ― who had been knocked back by the blow ― Vijar roared and stepped forward, bringing his battleaxe down on her.

She did not have enough oxygen to counterattack. Remedios raised her holy sword high and gracefully deflected the battleaxe's force. That hair-raising strike missed her by a few millimeters and slammed into the ground. So powerful was the hit that for a moment it felt like she was floating.

Remedios turned to face Vijar ― now defenseless because his battleaxe was buried in the ground ― and lunged in with her holy sword.

"[Strong Strike]!"

"[Fortress]!"

Having judged that he did not have the time to extricate a heavy weapon like his battleaxe, Vijar took one hand off its hilt and used it as a shield.

Vijar's right arm spurted fresh blood.

However, the holy sword did not reach Vijar's face. There were two reasons for that.

The first was because he had used a defensive martial art. The other was because Remedios's arm was numb and could not exert its full strength.

In that case, she would simply force the holy sword that had already penetrated deeper in ― but then the intense pain racing up from Remedios's leg froze her briefly in place.

The source of the pain was Vijar's lower body; the forelimbs of his bestial body had swept across Remedios's legs. Her greaves protected her from most of his razor-sharp claws, but one of them had still managed to slice her leg apart.

At that moment, the battleaxe was pulled free and rose up.

Remedios took a step towards Vijar to keep the battleaxe from moving. Just moving her leg filled her with agony.

"[Strong Strike]!"

"[Strong Claw]!"

As the holy sword stabbed in, Vijar deftly deflected it with his battleaxe.

In response, Remedios redirected the holy sword as it bounced away and guided it into a slash over the strengthened animal forelimb.

If Vijar backed off, Remedios would advance to close the distance between them.

They went back and forth several times, both sides using martial arts.

While neither side had sustained any mortal wounds, each round they fought sent blood splashing all around.

Remedios was certain that she had her opponent on the defensive.

If this keeps up, I'll win!

Delight boiled up in her heart.

If she could defeat these three powerful demi-humans, she could protect the people here. That way, they would regain their trust in the Holy Kingdom.

There's no need for that undead being to show up!

Simply put, the difference between warriors and paladins was that warriors were offensive frontliners while paladins were defensive frontliners.

While it was hard to express in figures, one could say that a warrior's attack rating was 11 and his defense was 9, while a paladin's attack was 8 and his defense was 11. Needless to say, paladins could cast spells, but warriors could learn all sorts of martial arts, so it was impossible to make a simple comparison. Still, this was the easiest way to explain the situation to someone who knew nothing.

If the question was who would be better against a magic caster, the answer would be a paladin. Thanks to the protection of the gods, they boasted superior magic resistance compared to warriors. Therefore, if Nasrene had been a magic caster on the same level as Remedios, she would not have been much of a threat.

Next was Halisha, who was very likely to be a monk-type given his war gear and movements. Monks had the advantage against magic casters or thieves, but the reverse was true against paladins. For that reason, that monkey was not a frightening foe either.

Therefore―

If I can beat this Vijar, chances are high that I can slaughter all three of them.

Between "fighting Vijar after being worn down by previous fighting" and "fighting Vijar while unhurt," the latter option promised better odds for her.

Remedios had challenged Vijar based on that decision. There should not have been anything wrong with that decision. However, she had miscalculated―

"My my. Dead already?"

"Heeheehee. Same here."

―Because the paladins fighting the other two were far too weak.

"What?!"

Had she overestimated those two paladins, or underestimated the strength of those two demi-humans? Or was it both?

"You're insulting me by taking your eyes off me!"

Vijar swung furiously at Remedios.

"Guwaaargh!"

While she had barely managed to stop that strike, she had still been forced a short distance away. The tide of battle had turned in an instant.

"Remedios, was it… You do know that I am the great Vijar, a being of great power whose name will resound throughout the world? If you don't put all of your body and soul into it, you'll die in seconds, you know?"

Remedios bit her lip as she heard the sounds of the others fighting.

"Heeheehee. I wonder if this paladin is strong enough?"

"…He's no different from the previous one… well, I can't really tell since I'm not a warrior."

"I am Paladin Franco."

"And I am Paladin Galvan. I will be your opponent."

Several seconds after they had spoken, she once again heard the sound of armored men collapsing.

Paladin Franco was a good man. While he was not a very strong paladin, he placed a lot of emphasis on getting along with others and he was well-liked as a result. In truth, he had been assigned here because Gustav trusted him.

Remedios knew his character, and so she had given him the task of organizing the militiamen here.

She had heard that Paladin Galvan was a newlywed. However, his wife was currently locked up somewhere. He had extinguished his desire to save her and had come to assist Remedios instead, in order to help more people.

These two people ― who were too young to die ― had been killed.

"Distracted again!"

Vijar roared, and dealt her a blow that was even more ferocious than the previous one. Remedios flung herself towards Vijar, taking the blow on her sword arm, and then she slid her blade ― but Vijar nimbly evaded it.

"Hm. What's this, some kind of bluff? Or did your body remember that movement because of all your training?"

Vijar growled. He was not wary of a worthy foe, but delighted.

"Hey, fledgling. We're done here, but you've been at it a long time. How about it, need help?"

"You must be kidding. My legend will be tainted if I need your help to kill her. Many people will speak of this if I beat her in a one-on-one."

"Vijar-dono's words are correct. How about this, Nasrene-dono. We'll destroy the humans' shields, and then―"

"―As if I'd let you!"

While she was still confronting Vijar, Remedios took her eyes off him and turned to look at the defenseless pair. However―

"You bitch! I told you already, I'm your opponent!"

Vijar did not allow her to do so. Her defense was full of holes, but he did not swing at her with his battleaxe, instead launching a kick. Remedios took the blow and was sent flying into the shield wall with tremendous force.

The shock of the impact threw her breathing into chaos for a moment.

"Aiiieeee!"

The militiamen cried out in fear.

"Keep your attention on me, human! Fight seriously!"

Vijar's shout was followed closely by the sound of his footsteps. If he swung his long-handled battleaxe, he would send the shield-wielding civilians flying, creating a gap in the formation big enough that recovery would be impossible.

Even though Remedios had lost her balance, she still took a step forward, lunging at Vijar who stood in front of her.

If possible, she would have liked to finish off Vijar with her own abilities. That was because of the power that Remedios was holding in reserve to deal with the other two.

It was a powerful move that the holy sword Safalrisia possessed, which could only be used once a day.

It was a strengthened version of a paladin's [Holy Strike].

It was the most powerful attack that a paladin wielding this sword could unleash.

Her instincts told her that it would be best not to do so. However, if she did not immediately defeat Vijar, the other two demi-humans would kill more people.

I― want to protect Calca-sama's wish―!

"!!"

She cried out without words, ignored her instincts as they screamed at her, and mentally sent a command to the holy sword. At the same time, she infused her [Holy Strike] into the blade and made her move.

The holy sword glowed with divine radiance, and light extended out to twice the length of the actual blade.

This light was apparently more dazzling the more evil a being was. In this state, avoiding or blocking this blow would be more difficult. The word "apparently" came to mind because it did not seem that bright to Remedios's eyes.

Remedios raised her holy sword to the sky, and swung it down with all her might.

Since Remedios had lost her bearings, predicting the course of the attack was child's play. Vijar casually prepared to check the blow with his axe and then shove her back. However―

"!!"

Following another wordless cry, Remedios pressed down on her holy sword while it was still locked with the battleaxe, and continued forcing it down.

She did not intend to have her sword strike its target through brute force.

The reason for this was because the radiance on the sword followed the path of the blade as it travelled down, passing through the battleaxe and entering Vijar's body.

This was the ultimate technique of the holy sword Safalrisia.

It was a holy wave that ignored defenses and armor.

The sturdiest armor, scales, and hides meant nothing to it. Since it could even pass through magic weapons, it could not be stopped by weapons or shields, which made it an unavoidable trump card.

Of course, if one did not choose to clash with the blow and was nimble enough to avoid it, they would not be hit by the wave of light. However, there was no way to avoid Remedios's flashing strike while one's eyes were dazzled by the light.

As the wave of light blew past like the wind, the holy radiance on the blade vanished as well.

However ― Remedios's eyes went wide.

She had clearly hit her target, but Vijar did not look like he was in pain.

"…What? That was a flashy move, but… it hardly hurts at all. Is it just for show?

Though I have to say, it did startle me…"

Remedios was shocked.

This guy ― he's not evil-aligned!

This technique was more effective the more evil one's foe was. In contrast, it did little damage to non-evil targets. It did practically nothing to good-aligned people. In other words, the fact that it had hurt Vijar meant that while he was not good, he was certainly not evil either.

He made the people suffer! He invaded our country! How can someone like that not be evil?!

"Heeheehee. Well, that was quite a spectacular light show, Vijar-dono. Are you really unhurt?"

Halisha narrowed his eyes as he questioned Vijar.

"It was so bright… it's still burning my eyes."

Nasrene grumbled from the side.

She had made a mistake ― she should not have used that move on Vijar after all.

Vijar tested his limbs and made sure his body was fine before shrugging. While he seemed defenseless, Remedios could not find any weaknesses in his defense no matter how hard she looked.

"…A light show? Well, I'm not too sure what that was all about, but it's nothing much, right?"

"…Vijar, I'm kind of surprised. To think you were unharmed by that attack… I might have underestimated you."

"Fuha! You get it at last! Hahaha! All right, human. You did well in making me look good. If you surrender, I'll kill you painlessly. How about that?"

"Don't make those unfunny jokes! We haven't settled this yet!"

Remedios raised her sword and shouted at the three demi-humans.

Remedios could still fight, like she had said. She placed a hand over her wounds and used her healing abilities. Her pain was carried away by the sensation of warmth.

A lot of paladin techniques won't work on him since he's not evil… but since the two of them were dazzled by it, I'll save them for those two instead.

All she had to do was fight Vijar as a pure warrior.

"Heeheehee. Well then, we'll leave her to you, Vijar-dono. We'll be hunting the humans in the rear."

"What? You scumbags!"

All the paladins she had called up were dead. The militiamen could not possibly stop them.

"As if I'd let you have your way!"

Remedios backed off and repositioned so she could face the three demihumans at once.

"It seems you're ready to take the three of us on at once, but Vijar said he wanted to take care of this."

"Heeheehee. Our aim is to wipe out the humans in the city as needed, not to serve as your opponents. Nasrene-dono, may I count on you to wipe out that rabble in the back with your power?"

"Ah yes…"

There were masses of magical power in three of Nasrene's four hands. One was ice, the other was fire, and the last was lightning.

"Dammit!"

Remedios ran toward the female demi-human―

"I told you just now! I'm your opponent!"

―And blocked the battleaxe swung at her with a roar, but she was flung far away.

At this moment, Remedios realized that there was no way she could deal with Nasrene while fighting Vijar at the same time. While she could have just jumped right to Nasrene's side, defending against Nasrene's attacks would have left her defenseless body exposed to Vijar.

What do you mean no way… I won't accept this! Not being able to do anything is just an excuse!

The moans of the militiamen stirred up Remedios's emotions.

These people had not fled in the face of terror because they believed in her.

She could not show them a disgraceful side of herself.

She would not abandon Calca's ideals ― to make a country where nobody would cry.

"Militiamen! Everyone, fall back!"

As she gave the command, Remedios gathered her resolve.

I won't die from taking a single hit. I'll rush that female demi-human while activating [Fortress]!

Vijar laughed as he watched Remedios break into a run. It would seem he had misunderstood something.

"Ho. It seems you've made up your mind. That's the way! Fight me with all you have! Give me a battle worthy of a legend! [Showdown Declaration]!"

"―Huh?"

Vijar roared, and there was a special power in that roar. Remedios's legs, which were supposed to carry her towards Nasrene, charged towards Vijar like they had gone mad. Nor was it just her legs ― her sword, her mind, her vision, she could not pull any of them from Vijar.

"[Fireball]."

A third-tier spell flew past Remedios's body and at the militiamen. Remedios could endure that spell, but it would be fatal to the militiamen―

"―[Wall of Skeleton]!"

The fireball collided with the grotesque-looking wall of bones that had sprung up in front of the militiamen and vanished.

Someone exclaimed in surprise.

Initially, it was because they had no idea what had just happened. However, it slowly changed. That was because they saw something descend lightly ― like it was unaffected by gravity ― and land on top of the frightening wall of skeletons.

That person possessed none of the intense emotions of the battlefield, and spoke with a gentle tone that seemed completely out of place with his surroundings.

"While this is a common enough occurrence on the battlefield, I find it a little difficult to watch a three-on-one battle. You don't mind if I join in, do you?"

The owner of that voice was undead.

Everyone in this city recognized him. He was the person who had originally refused to fight in order to recover his mana.

He was the Sorcerer King Ainz Ooal Gown.

Ohhhh! An earth-shaking cheer came from the other side of the wall.

Remedios tightly clenched her sword hand.

"What, what's that, who is that?"

"…By the looks of it, I think it's an Elder Lich. So there's a type without skin. Still… does a mere Elder Lich have the power to stop my spells? Is it because of his robe? It does look quite impressive. Or no, is it because its summoner possesses great power?"

Remedios did not comprehend the demi-humans' words at all. She heard the sounds, but she did not understand what they meant. That was because all her energy was focused on quelling the intense hatred welling up within her. She did not even notice that she was standing defenseless in front of Vijar.

―Ahhhhhhhhhh!!! Why did he show up?! Why are they cheering for him?! Why!

Why!! Why!!! For this filthy undead being??!!!

A corner of Remedios's mind was calm enough to note that it was a natural reaction to help someone in difficulty. However, it was overruled by her inability to forgive the civilians for cheering on the undead. The corpses of the paladins who had sacrificed themselves as shields to protect the people were clearly visible.

You're not cheering for the people who fought as your shields, but for someone who showed up late!!!!!

She was so angry that she wanted to rip her helmet off and scratch her head while rolling around on the ground.

Remedios struggled to curb the anger in her heart, and she addressed the undead being on the wall.

"―Why did you come here?"

The Sorcerer King's movements stopped, as though he had been frozen in place. The red flames in his empty eye sockets turned to Remedios.

"…Why? …I came? …To help you?"

"…I see."

Why had he not come earlier? Was he waiting until the paladins had died? Did he plan to make a stylish entrance in front of the people?

She wanted to shout that at him, but―

"Then I'll leave it to you." She did not phrase it as a request. She could not.

"And get rid of the wall."

"Hm?"

"I said I'll leave it to you!" she shouted without thinking. Remedios strove to quell her rising emotions. "―And tear down that wall. You can't?"

"…Certainly not."

In an instant, the wall beneath the Sorcerer King's feet vanished. The Sorcerer King did not fall down, probably because he was using a [Fly] spell.

Remedios turned her back on Vijar. She did not mind if he killed her from behind. That way she could laugh at the Sorcerer King for not protecting her.

Having abandoned herself to despair, Remedios found it somewhat regretful that the demi-humans did not attack her as she trudged back in front of the militiamen.

There was a hint of fear in the militiamen's eyes. Was the look on her face so horrible?

"―We'll let the Sorcerer King handle this place! Let's go help where they need us more!"

After hearing Remedios's orders, the militiamen looked at each other, and they seemed confused.

"Are you disobeying orders?!"

After Remedios glared at them, one of the militiamen quietly asked:

"Ah, n-no. But… the Sorcerer King, by himself…"

"The Sorcerer King is strong! Isn't that right?! In that case, something like that won't be a problem for him! Let's go!"

***

Remedios led the militiamen to another battlefield. They repeatedly looked back at him as they left.

Ainz looked at the empty space where they had been and muttered to himself.

"Eh? …That bitch, she actually dumped it all on me."

This ridiculous state of events made Ainz reveal his true nature.

Normally, wouldn't we have a scene like "Oh, let's fight together~" or something? Or

"Thanks for coming, we'll leave them all to you?" At the very least she could have been polite about it, we could have gone back and forth several times about "Will you be alright here?" and so on… And not even a single word of gratitude after being saved?

What the hell, man?

Frustration built in his heart. However, it did not reach the level of true anger, so it was not suppressed. It was like a tiny flame of indignation simmering inside him.

It was as though how someone had messed up and forced him to work overtime, and the person in question had said that they had something on and just up and left.

No―

I would've been more angry. Like say, if I was going home to play Yggdrasil… and the guild had plans already, and being late would cause problems for everyone. It happened before, and while everyone forgave me back then…

Thus fueled, the miniscule flames blazed up into an inferno, and then they were forcibly extinguished.

"Hm… While my anger's been suppressed, I'm still unhappy. That's the first time I've been treated so rudely."

While she had shouted "shut up" at him before, the situation had been different back then. In the first place, they had agreed that Ainz could sit this battle out, but Ainz had still rushed over as reinforcements. Surely anyone who had an inkling of common sense would have taken a different tone when addressing him.

Everyone Ainz had met until now had been at least minimally polite.

That was why Ainz found it strange.

After cooling his head and searching through his memories, Suzuki Satoru recalled having met people like Remedios several times before.

Still, none of it comforted him.

Ainz turned his still-irate gaze on the three demi-humans.

Granted, it was not entirely their fault either.

Ainz understood that he was simply taking it out on them.

What should have happened was that Remedios's relationship meter with

Ainz should have maxed out when the latter saved her from danger, she should have apologized for treating Ainz this way all this time, and then worked hard for Ainz in all ways in the future. That was why Ainz had been observing Remedios from the air with [Perfect Unknowable] active all this time, and then stepped in to help her when she was in trouble.

But in the end, things had turned out like this.

He could not understand how they had ended up this way.

If the department's quota was not met and it was close to the end of the month and someone stepped up to make up for the shortfall, surely everyone would be grateful to that person, right? Especially if that person had finished his own work long ago and had come back from his leave to help them.

Ainz had been observing the battlefield from above, and he had a firm grasp of the big picture. There were many more dangerous places than this. He was even aware that the girl who had glared at him all this time was in danger.

Even so, he had chosen to come to this place because he wanted to sell a favor to the highest-ranking person he could ― better to rule in hell than serve in heaven and all that ― and he had judged that the captain of the Holy Kingdom's paladin corps was the highest ranking person here.

However―

"I really am annoyed."

As he grumbled without thinking, Ainz heard a piercing laugh.

"Heeheehee. Looks like you've been left here. Heeheehee, how sad, how sad."

"An Elder Lich. In other words, an individual that's powerful as a magic caster. Is there a need to be careful? I haven't seen that wall-making spell before, but it seems to be of a fairly high tier."

"Hmph. So it's still a magic caster, then? Don't really feel like fighting it. In the end, you need to beat a warrior if you want people to sing tales about you."

The three demi-humans seemed to have recovered from the bizarre situation enough to banter with each other. Ainz turned to look at them, and his eyes focused on the ape-like demi-human among them who seemed to have laughed just now.

"Does it matter? First we kill him, then―"

"―Shut up."

Ainz interrupted their conversation and cast an eighth-tier spell,

[Silent Magic – Death]

The ape-like demi-human's smile was frozen on his face as he slowly collapsed.

"…What? What did you―"

"―I told you to shut up, didn't I?"

Ainz once again cast a [Silent Magic – Death] spell.

The four-legged demi-human collapsed in the same way as just now.

"Eh? Ehhh? What happened? What's going on?"

The female demi-human who remained still did not understand what was going on, but it would seem she had already recognized who had done it.

"Was, was it you? You killed those two in an instant…?"

Terror was deeply etched on her face. Her body was shaking hard.

"Yes, yes," Ainz carelessly cast a [Silent Magic – Death] on the female demihuman as well. "―Hmmm?"

She did not die. Ainz's [Death] had been resisted.

In the moment he realized this, Ainz's mind immediately switched gears, entering a mental state that could be considered a combat mode.

Was it a defensive racial characteristic? A protective spell she had cast on herself? Had she resisted it normally? Had a magic item protected her? Or was it something else?

While one could not completely rule out the possibility that it might have been a coincidence, surely she could not have resisted it under her own power.

Ainz had observed the three of them as they fought. While he did not think that he had the full measure of their abilities, Ainz was certain that they could not resist the power of his magic in a direct contest.

As Ainz mulled over the reasons for this, he felt that it would be best to stay on his guard and let his opponent make a move.

Perhaps he might discover something that could only be found here. He would like to see the trump card wielded by someone who could resist Ainz's usual attack methods.

"Hmm… Well, it doesn't matter what she did. What a waste of time. If I'd known, I would have left that woman alone and gone to help elsewhere. I was thinking that if I fought together with that woman, we could have put on a show of hard-fought triumph, so we would have spent a bit more time on the back and forth…"

***

A chatty undead being stood before her.

What kind of undead creature is this? …The undead couldn't possibly ally themselves with humans. Is it being controlled by a necromancer? Still, that power…

While she had no idea what he had done, he had instantly killed two warriors who were on par with her. Could such a powerful undead being even be controlled?

If his finger pointed to her, would she be the one to perish next?

The only people she knew who could do this besides the Demon Emperor Jaldabaoth would be the great demons who were his henchmen.

―That's impossible! Anyone who could control an undead creature who was on par with those mighty beings must be on the level of a god! How could such a necromancer exist?

If this human nation had such a necromancer, how could the Demi-human Alliance have pressed their invasion so far?

Should I run? Should I take the chance to flee while he's acting all relaxed? Or can I even escape?

She did not possess any spells which were handy for escape. After all, she had never been in such danger before and had not felt the importance of learning such spells.

In that case, the only way out is through!

"Ahhhhhhhhh!"

She used her battle cry to rouse her spirit, and began to cast spells with her trembling lips.

There was a fourth-tier arcane spell called [Silver Lance].

It was a physicaltype spell, but since it possessed silver properties, it was a tremendously damaging spell against enemies who were weak against silver. In addition, it also had a special effect known as "piercing," which made it do more damage to unarmored opponents. However, it also had the drawback that its damage could be reduced by armor.

Her trump card lay in altering this powerful spell to produce new, unique spells.

There was the [Burn Lance], which inflicted fire-element damage.

There was the [Freeze Lance], which inflicted cold-element damage.

There was the [Shock Lance], which inflicted lightning-element damage.

These three spells all did elemental damage, so armor could not reduce their potency, and they still retained the deadly "piercing" ability.

Of course, in keeping with their deadliness, those spells consumed far more mana than fourth-tier spells.

She activated three of these potent ― to her ― spells at once.

She was simultaneously casting three spells, each one of which used a significant amount of mana. In addition, simultaneously casting spells was very draining in itself, and as the shock of using huge quantities of mana hit her, she felt light and floaty, as though she were about to pass out.

"Diiiiiieeeee!"

The three lances flew toward the undead being ― and then vanished without a trace.

"―Hah?"

She could not understand what had happened before her eyes. She could understand if it had taken damage, or shrugged it off. But this ― this was like nothing had happened at all.

The lances had simply vanished.

"Eh? Eh? What? What what?"

"…I gave you all that time and this is the best you can do? Is this the ace up your sleeve? Hm. I guess I didn't need to let you make the first move out of caution. Now then, there's not much time left, so hurry up and die.

[Maximize Magic – Reality Slash]."

-x-X-x-

<Part 5>

There was a world of darkness.

She did not know what "she" was.

She wanted to open her eyes ― but she did not know what eyes were.

She did not know what darkness or the world meant.

She did not know why she was thinking of these things.

She knew nothing.

She was vanishing.

She did not know what "vanishing" meant.

But she was vanishing.

However, suddenly, she felt like she was being pulled by something.

From above, from below, from the left, from the right, from somewhere―

A completed world was pulling her.

A pitiful being who had been completed by the works of their friends.

Someone who had sealed away all thoughts that there was a greater treasure than that.

And then ― an explosion of white light dyed the world.

There was a tremendous sense of loss―

A sense of separation from a whole―

Neia Baraja blinked several times, seeking to return her unfocused field of vision to normal.

She sensed that something had happened, but she could not remember anything about it. However, she ought to have been fighting demi-humans. What on earth had happened?

"…That was a dangerous place."

As she heard that calm voice, Neia narrowed her eyes and looked up with an abnormally keen gaze.

It looked like darkness.

It was not the darkness a child would fear, but the darkness which granted peace to those who were tired.

It was the Sorcerer King Ainz Ooal Gown.

"Yhour… Mhajeshty…"

Neia reflexively reached up to him, like a worried child reaching for her parents―

"Neia Baraja. Do not force yourself to move. Let me take care of this place and rest."

Behind him, she could see the demi-humans frantically attacking the Sorcerer King, stabbing him with swords, hacking at him, punching him.

However, the Sorcerer King completely ignored them. He spoke to her as though nothing was happening.

The memory of Buser came to Neia's mind.

The Sorcerer King reached into the sleeve of his robe and, after a brief delay, he withdrew a purple, poisonous-looking potion. Normally, potions were blue.

Neia did not question the Sorcerer King even as he poured that poisonouslooking potion on her. What the Sorcerer King did must surely be correct.

Reality turned out as she had imagined it. The purple potion that he poured on Neia's body instantly healed all of her wounds. It would seem the Sorcerer

Kingdom's potions were of a different color.

"While it seems a full recovery will be a long way off, you should recover your energy before that ― what a pain. Tch. The militiamen are all dead… looks like there's a few left over there. In that case…"

The Sorcerer King turned to face the demi-humans as they attacked him from behind over and over again.

There was fighting all over the city at this very moment, and someone was dying with every second that passed. However, in that moment Neia completely forgot about that, because her eyes were stolen by the glorious back of the Sorcerer King who had risen to protect her.

Her unease and worries about the demi-human army were completely gone.

That was ― what Neia had longed for.

So it was here all along. I see…

Neia was certain that she had found the perfect answer to the doubts that she had been holding on to all this time.

The Sorcerer King casually cast a spell.

A dazzling stroke of electricity raced along the top of the city wall. It was apparently a spell called [Chain Dragon Lightning].

The demi-humans on the wall were swept away, so easily that it was hard to imagine there had been a life-and-death struggle here earlier.

"Did… yhou… dhefeat… them… all?"

"No, there were some people still fighting nearby, so I was trying not to catch them in it. However― [Napalm]. Ah, that's all of them. Next we have to deal with the idiots climbing up. [Widen Magic – Wall of Skeleton]." A wall of bones suddenly sprang up on the outside of the city wall, where the demi-human forces were. While she could not see the other side because her vision was blocked, she could hear the demi-humans on the ladders wailing, followed by the sound of objects falling and hitting the ground hard.

"Now to take care of their forces which are already in formation… I sent some undead over there earlier, they'll deal with it soon enough."

As he spoke, he took out another potion. It was completely different from the one just now, being stored in a beautiful, slender phial. While she had no idea

what the potion inside it could do, it looked like it must be a very valuable item.

"I, ahm fhine, Yhour Mhajeshty…"

"…Enough of that. I'm sorry I was late in saving you."

The Sorcerer King shielded the upper halves of his eye sockets like he was being dazzled as he poured out the contents of the bottle. The sense of weakness she had been feeling since just now melted away. However, her body still felt heavy. She felt like something had been scraped away from herself, but matching it ― no, exceeding it ― was a warmth in the core of her body.

She could get up like this. While her body still hurt so much that her tears had leaked out, she could not remain in such a disgraceful posture in front of the person who had come to save her.

"Stop ― Miss Baraja. There's no need to force yourself to stand."

While she wanted to get up, Neia obediently lay back as he pushed her shoulders down.

"Yes, like that… I'll get someone to carry you. ―You lot, over here!"

The Sorcerer King waved to what seemed to be militiamen.

It was at this point that Neia realized that for the sake of expressing her gratitude, she had not yet asked a question which had to be asked.

"Your Majesty, will you be alright? You came to help us and used the mana you should have been saving to fight Jaldabaoth."

"It's fine. When you think about it, it couldn't be helped considering that it was for the sake of saving you."

"Your Majesty…" A weighty stone seemed to have fallen from her chest. "I understand now."

"Hm? What is it?"

The Sorcerer King waited for Neia's reply.

"I understand what justice is."

"―Ah, so you've found the justice that belongs to you? That's good. …Is it protecting the weak, or something?"

His voice was full of tenderness, and so Neia replied with confidence.

"Your Highness is justice."

For a moment, the Sorcerer King froze.

"….Hm?"

"I understand now! Your Highness is justice!"

"…Ah, is that so. You must be tired. Don't you think it would be better to rest? You'll think of strange things when you're tired. Surely you won't want to roll around on the bed and make weird noises after you calm down, right?"

"I'm a little tired, but more importantly, my heart has cleared up. I am absolutely certain that Your Highness is justice!"

"No, nono, I said so back then, but I'm not justice. Look, what they call justice ought to be something like protecting the weak is common sense, that kind of… uh, abstract concept. Right? I mean, normally speaking."

"No. Justice without power is meaningless, but power like what Jaldabaoth possesses is not justice either. Therefore, being strong, and using that strength to aid others is truly justice; in other words, you are the incarnation of justice, Your Majesty!!"

As Neia's eyes went wide while she spoke, the Sorcerer King suddenly raised his hand, and then placed it over Neia's eyes like he was coaxing her to sleep.

The pleasant coolness of his fingerbones made Neia's cheeks relax.

"…Ah. If you shout too loud, won't it make your wounds hurt? After this, we can slowly continue what you were talking about just now."

"Yes! Your Majesty!"

She heard the sound of several footsteps, and by shifting her gaze, she saw the forms of paladins and militiamen approaching her.

"Your Highness! Thank you very much for coming here to help us!"

"Don't mention it."

As he answered, the Sorcerer King slowly rose to his feet. Neia felt lonely as he stood up and wanted to reach for the Sorcerer King's robe, but then she realized that doing so would be terribly shameful and so she curbed herself.

"―No, actually, maybe you should. Therefore, I hope you will take Squire Baraja to a safe place in order to show your gratitude. While you can't see it from here, I've already sent the undead I made into the demi-human encampment, so it should be alright for you to stand down for a while."

"Your Majesty―"

"―Neia Baraja. And also, the people of this country. Let me handle the rest. I promise you that I will do my best to save the people of this city."

The Sorcerer King floated lightly into the air.

"Also, there's one more thing. Can you help me move the bodies of those three demi-humans over there? They were strong foes, so I want to study them carefully."

The three corpses to which the Sorcerer King pointed looked like they had once been very impressive demi-humans.

"Move them with their war gear. Don't worry about being rough with them, but do not misplace their equipment. I'll leave that to you."

As he watched the Sorcerer King fly into the air, a paladin turned to Neia.

"Squire Neia Baraja, while we would like to carry you… the lack of materials for a stretcher makes things difficult. Can you stand?"

"Yes, though it's difficult."

Neia slowly got to her feet. Her legs were trembling, and they ached as soon as they took her weight. Neia leaned on a militiaman's shoulder and hung on tightly to him.

Looking down from the city wall, the unit that was supposed to be defending the west gate was gone, and there were no bodies. The sound of clashing blades on the wind seemed to be coming from far away, so taking the shortest route down from the side tower ought to be fine.

Neia sought the form of the Sorcerer King who had disappeared into the sky, and as she thought that it was a shame that she could not see him, Neia entered the side tower.

***

As he greeted the demi-humans invading the city with attack spells from the air, Ainz thought about the sequence of events which had transpired and wrinkled his nonexistent brows.

―That was a huge mistake. The order was all wrong. I should have prioritized Neia Baraja over that annoying woman.

Neia had died because he helped Remedios and was thus delayed in going to Neia's side. He had to use a high-level wand to resurrect Neia, because he was not sure how high level Neia was, and he was afraid of her turning to ash like the Lizardman from back then.

In truth, he had no idea whether the price of resurrecting Neia was justified by the benefits she could bring to Ainz and Nazarick. That said, since the plan to help Remedios and indebt her to him had been a complete failure, he ought to at least try again with Neia, which was why he had chosen to resurrect her.

However―

…Would a Wand of Resurrection ― a seventh-tier spell ― have been fine as well?

…It seems I was being too generous. Also, it'll take an hour before I can swap out this ring.

Ainz was looking at one of his eight rings, the one on his right thumb.

It was the Ring of Wand Mastery.

Said ring was an ultra-rare artifact dropped by a boss.

Normally, only magic casters of the appropriate tradition would be able to use the spells stored within a wand. For instance, only a divine caster could use a wand imbued with the first-tier divine spell [Light Healing]. If they could be used by magic casters of other traditions, then they would be staves, which were more expensive.

That said, a patch had updated certain wands so they could be used by all Players. Unfortunately, the wand imbued with the ninth-tier spell [True Resurrection] that he had used to resurrect Neia was not one of them, and Ainz would not be able to use it under normal circumstances.

However, he could use it as long as he had this ring.

Yet every time the ring was used, it only applied to one wand at a time, and he would have to wait an hour before he could change it out. It also carried the drawback of requiring mana to use, but it was still a very valuable item regardless.

Due to its high rarity, very few people in the guild "Ainz Ooal Gown" possessed it, and the one which Ainz had was left to him by Amanomahitotsu when he had quit the game.

Well, it doesn't look like I'll need to use that wand anywhere else, so I shouldn't let it bother me. Speaking of which, I just realized when I covered her eyes, it feels like she simply respects me. Given what she said… does that mean I've gained her trust? Umu. I wonder what happened?

Ainz recalled Neia's reaction.

Her gratitude sounded sincere… but at the same time it felt like she was glaring at me. Is it because her face is scary? How about recommending she wear sunglasses or something?

Ainz might have thought that, but of course he could not actually say it. In the carriage, she had mentioned being conscious of how scary her eyes had looked.

If one encountered a lady with smelly armpits, how would they react when you said, "You stink," and gave them a bottle of perfume?

It feels like all the respect I've cultivated would vanish and she would only resent me…

In addition, Ainz ― Suzuki Satoru ― was not brave enough to say such things.

Ainz spotted a cluster of demi-humans nearby and discharged an area-ofeffect spell at the ground, slaughtering them all. The militiamen who had been facing them waved to him. Ainz raised his arm as well by way of response.

Originally, he had intended to just raise his hand, but there was a distance between them, so he put his arm up high in order for them to see him.

That's right~ It's the merciful Sorcerer King~ Be grateful to me~ speaking of which, does resurrection magic make people go mad or act weirdly? Compared to that, it would be better if she was just pumped up or on a buzz…

Ainz thought about Neia.

It felt strange no matter how he thought about it. She had been perfectly normal when he had parted ways with her, but she had ended up like that after being brought back to life.

Is she mad? Should I heal her with magic? It would be a little scary if it was a side effect of resurrection. I don't want to end up warping her personality as time passes.

There had been a strange force in Neia's murderous eyes, an insane, ferocious gleam that frightened him.

It's so bad that she mistook me for justice, huh. Some rest ought to help with that… oh.

Ainz turned his gaze to the demi-human position.

Half of it had already been destroyed, and Soul Eaters were walking lazily among the fleeing demi-humans. Even that much was enough to send the demihumans collapsing in droves from their instant death auras. The Soul Eaters who consumed their souls became stronger in turn.

When Soul Eaters appeared in Yggdrasil, they were almost always levelappropriate encounters, so the chances of a Player being downed by an instant death effect would only be one in a hundred or less. That was why this special ability of Soul Eaters rarely got the chance to see use.

However, it was different this time. This was the perfect opportunity to show it off.

"Souls, huh… oh no. I should have experimented with this."

Ainz suddenly landed. Then he used his ability to create mid-tier undead to craft a Soul Eater.

"「Go.」"

After he issued a mental command, the Soul Eater immediately began to move. At the same time, he sent an order to the Soul Eaters who were obliterating the demi-humans outside.

It went: "「Leave some prey for the newly-made Soul Eater.」"

Undead created with corpses did not vanish with the passage of time. But why did they not vanish?

If it's not because they're using the corpse as a medium, but the soul, does it mean that Soul Eaters which haveeaten souls won't vanish? …Well, even if I found the answer I wouldn't know where to apply it. Still, knowing is better than not knowing.

He ascended into the sky once more, and verified that the city was safe. Most of the demi-humans should have been wiped out by now, but he ought to be careful, just in case.

Muu, that annoying woman is there. Ignore her, ignore her.

Ainz looked away from Remedios and flew elsewhere.

As Ainz flew, he could hear cheers coming from below him, and Ainz responded with a wave of the hand. After verifying that there were no more demi-humans ― that the fighting had ended, Ainz began making his way to the war room. He would need a lot of time to return to Nazarick and take care of all sorts of annoying meetings.

"I need to handle this properly…"

A crushing surge of uneasiness flooded into him, and then his emotion .

. suppression calmed him down. The only thing that remained was a chilly sensation in his heart.

I need to use [Message] to tell Demiurge to meet me in Nazarick.

***

Once Ainz made his move, victory was all too easy. After wiping out the demihumans attacking the city and finishing a couple of other things, Ainz returned to his own room.

One of those things was to show his face at Caspond's chambers and ask him for some minor favors in the future. The long and short of it was that after trampling the demi-human encampment underfoot, he had no issue with giving them the leftover rations and everything else ― magic items excepted.

Since Ainz had devastated the demi-human camp by himself, then the spoils from the demi-humans should have rightfully belonged to him. Dumping them into the Exchange Box would have yielded quite a tidy sum. However, if he monopolized it all, the goodwill he had so painstakingly built up might end up losing its value. That being the case, he ought to write it off as an investment and give it all to the Holy Kingdom. Of course, there might be valuable magical items among the loot, and he had no intention of giving those up.

Normally, Ainz would have gone to the camp by himself and used [Greater Magic Vision], [Detect Magic], and other such divination spells to examine the scene, but he felt that there was no need to do so. In addition, Demiurge ought to have investigated what magic items the demi-humans possessed ahead of time. Even if something had slipped the net, there ought to have been nothing there which could harm Ainz. If there was, then it would have been more eyecatching.

After that, he went to recover the equipment from those three demi-humans.

As expected, nobody had dared loot the corpses, and so Ainz recovered their magical items without incident. Of course, he had an idea of how powerful those items were from the mana they contained, but he still held out hope for something bizarre or unusual.

He dumped them onto the bed and prepared to magically investigate each and every one of them, but he had something he needed to do first.

"―Now then!"

He deliberately made noise.

Part of that was to psyche himself up, but there was another meaning to it.

There was something he needed to do before sending the [Message] to Demiurge.

Ainz took out a scroll ― Demiurge-brand ― and cast a spell, whereupon a pair of bunny ears sprouted from Ainz's head.

He used them to check for nearby sounds, and it seemed like there was nobody hiding to spy on him. However, that was not enough to put him at ease. After all, there was magic, such as the second-tier spell [Silence], which could eliminate sound, and then there were also thief skills, so it was too early to conclude that there was nobody around just because he could not hear anything.

It's thanks to Demiurge's farm ― which allows us to obtain raw materials easily ―

that I can use scrolls this casually. Dumping large quantities of produce into the

Exchange Box means we can make back the gold spent on the scrolls without any problems. I've thought about this before, but I have a good feeling about the various ways in which Nazarick is developing.

They could still use the ordinary parchment from this world for first-tier spells like [Rabbit's Ear]. One would need Yggdrasil materials to go any higher.

However, part of the supply problem had already been solved.

While it was true that they could only be used as substitutes for up to thirdtier scrolls, Demiurge had already done a great deal of work. The first and most indisputable thing was that when considering everything that had been done until now, he was the most deserving of commendation for his contributions.

Next would be Albedo and her perfect management of Nazarick.

Ainz then went on to use his ability to create lesser undead and brought forth a Wraith.

Check the surroundings and see if anyone's spying on me.

After receiving the order, the Wraith left the room without opening the door.

Wraiths had astral bodies, and so they could move straight through walls and other such obstacles. Still, there was a limit depending on how thick those walls were, so it was hardly unlimited, but the thickness of the room's walls was no problem for it.

Ainz focused his mind on the ears he had sprouted.

Even if there was a skillful thief lying in wait, could they really remain motionless if an undead creature suddenly appeared, especially if it was surrounded by an aura of fear? In addition, they would need a concealment ability that could hide them from detection by a Wraith. Of course, deceiving low-tier undead was easy, but if someone actually possessed these abilities, then they must be very capable indeed.

Ainz concluded that there could not be such a person. If there was someone like that in this nation, then they should have had them take part in the previous two battles.

That said, I can't rule out the possibility that someone like that might be wary of me and thus lying in wait. Still, given that woman's personality, it shouldn't be possible…

if there was someone like that, it wouldn't be unusual for Demiurge to inform me about them.

It would not be unusual. As he thought of those words, Ainz wondered, Is that really the case?

Surely Demiurge would not have felt that Ainz would have understood even if he did not say anything, right?

…Ah, the more I think about it, the more my stomach hurts…

If such a mistake had resulted, then he ought to gather his resolve and sit Albedo and Demiurge down for a good chat.

Eventually, the undead being returned.

"Was anyone there?"

The undead being replied in the negative. Ainz's ears had not picked up any suspicious sounds either.

"Is that so? Then hide in the walls and keep an eye on the surroundings."

After watching the undead being enter a wall, Ainz mentally prepared himself.

Now then, I'll be casting [Message] next.

It was a simple thing, but he could not bring himself to do it.

He felt like an employee who knew he would be scolded by his boss after returning to the office.

Still, he could not stay this way forever. His heart would also be heavy if Demiurge contacted him first.

"Time to do it, me!"

After cheering himself up, he sent a [Message] to Demiurge. He had rehearsed what he wanted to say in his head countless times and had run more than enough simulations. All he had to do now was say it.

However, the [Message] connected before he could breathe in deeply to ease his stress ― or rather, there was practically no delay between casting the spell and opening a channel to Demiurge. The response had been way too fast.

"Demiurge, is that you?"

"「Indeed it is, Ainz-sama.」"

"Umu." He had practiced this many times. All he had to do now was say it.

"…I was wondering if you had any questions about the divergence of my actions from the report, and so I contacted you. While I understand what you want to say, I feel that Albedo ought to be present as well if there are detailed questions. Return to Nazarick without delay. I will be returning presently as well. We'll meet in the log cabin on the surface."

"「Understood. Then I will contact Albedo from my end.」"

"Ahh, please do."

He immediately cut off the [Message]. After that, Ainz sighed deeply.

Ahhh, that's good. He didn't sound mad. Ahhh, that was scary!

What should I do if a talented subordinate gets mad at me? he had thought. Ainz's heart was full of fear; in order to put himself at ease, he channeled new strength into his faltering body and stared at the wall.

The Wraith's mission was complete. Thanks to friendly fire being on, he could destroy the undead like Shalltear had, but there was no need to waste his strength. Ordering it to return was also a simple task. Incidentally, there was no need to speak either; he could simply issue a mental command. In that way, he could break the tenuous link between them.

That said, there were countless such links stretching back towards E-Rantel.

Over there, he was not confident of being able to give a clear order without speaking it. That much was true. However, Ainz had made very few undead in this place, so issuing a clear-cut command would be simple enough.

「―Disappear.」 Now then, to return to Nazarick for a while…

After this would come a very frightening task ― a task of deception that had to be completed. He would have liked someone else to handle it if he could, but that was impossible, Besides, who could he hand it to?

He touched the magic items from the three demi-humans on the table in the hopes of clearing away his unease.

Fufu. They're weak, they're cheap, but still, obtaining magic items in this world makes me happy… well, maybe I'm not as happy as Pandora's Actor would be, but it does feel like I enjoy magic items too, huh?

The first thing he did was appraise the magic items belonging to the fourarmed demi-human. Among them was the armband that had protected against Ainz's instant death spell, and its name was the Deathguard Armband. It could grant immunity to death magic once a day.

Ainz picked it up and twirled it in his hand several times, then put it back on the table.

Boring. If only there were better items. Now then―

Just as he was about to set out, he heard the sound of knocking on the door.

A voice from the outside said, "Your Majesty, this is Neia Baraja."

Ainz immediately inspected himself. Then he looked around the room to ensure that his bearing was that of the absolute sovereign that was the Sorcerer King. After that, he slowly settled himself into a chair and the pose he adopted was King Ainz Number 24.

"―Enter."

He did his best to speak in a low, weighty voice. This change in pitch was also

the result of repeated practice.

The door opened, and Neia ― her injuries now recovered ― entered the room and bowed to him.

"I am deeply grateful to be granted permission to enter, Your Highness. I have come here in order to discharge my duties as a squire."

"Umu. I am glad you came, Miss Baraja. But there is no need to fulfill your squire's obligations today. While your wounds might have healed, the fatigue of the battle must―"

Ah, it's been taken care of, Ainz thought. The potion he had used back then was one which removed both fatigue and exhaustion. It was a potion that Nfirea ―

his skin dry and rough ― had praised to the heavens.

"I am able to fulfil my obligations as a squire thanks to Your Majesty's power. Also ― I am very happy to be allowed to stay by Your Majesty's side."

Neia smiled ― or was it a smirk? One's body would naturally go on the defensive in the face of a hostile or evil smile, but Ainz's kingly poise was unbreakable.

"…Is that so? However, I must return to the Sorcerer Kingdom for a while to handle some critical tasks. I apologize for wasting your trip."

"I see…"

She looked very sad, but she did not look cute at all. All he could think was that she was glaring at him. However, Ainz had already thought of a way to deal with Neia.

All he had to do was close his eyes. That way, her eyes would not frighten him anymore.

"Speaking of which, I am glad that you are well ― that you are alive, Miss Baraja."

"Thank you very much, Your Majesty! All this is thanks to your power. In particular, without this suit of armor I might not have been able to hold out until Your Majesty arrived."

But you didn't hold out, you died… well, all's well that ends well. Come to think of it, I heard she was fighting on the city walls, so giving her that armor which could defend against ranged attacks was the right choice!

"Fufu. Well, that is good to hear. How about the bow? Did you show off its power to the masses?"

"Yes… many people saw the amazing power of this bow… although, they're all dead now."

"What?! ―I see, so that's what happened. What a shame."

He had failed again. Ainz was filled with a profound sense of regret. If everyone who saw it was dead, it was no different from nobody seeing it at all.

Maybe I should give up on trying to promote rune weapons, Ainz thought. Still ― I think there ought to be more chances for it. Even if this plan fails, it doesn't mean I've lost anything, and there'll be great benefits if it succeeds.

"I am sure that without the gear which Your Majesty lent me, I would be in Heaven with the others… thank you very much, Your Majesty."

Ainz sensed that her words came from the heart, and so Ainz thought, Well done. Of course, he could not express that emotion. He had to keep showing her a ruler's poise, after all.

"Pay it no heed. All you need to know is that a master's duty is to protect his followers."

Ainz cracked his eyes open a fraction to study her reaction. Neia's face had twisted slightly when she had heard the word "follower." It was probably not anger, but it felt like some kind of unhappiness. If her present attitude and the flow of the conversation were to be trusted, that was not the case.

In other words, opening his eyes had been a mistake. Ainz closed his eyes again.

"Thank you very much, Your Majesty. Also, the people whom Your Majesty saved also wish me to express their gratitude to you."

"Ho…" All right! Ainz struggled to hide the way he felt. "You need not worry about it. I simply happened to save them because they were there. However, I hope they will not expect this good fortune to repeat itself, I used quite a lot of mana in this battle, so I might not be able to help next time, you know?"

"Understood, I will convey your message to them."

"Ahh. However… that's right. Please inform these people that I am glad to receive their gratitude… and now, Miss Baraja, I apologize but I really must be going. After this ― yes, can you come back in four hours' time?"

"Yes! No problem at all! Then, please excuse me, Your Majesty!"

Neia left the room, and Ainz opened his eyes.

Hm. Her gratitude does seem quite genuine. Looks like I've got one person at last.

No, as the saying goes, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Should I give out free healing potions as advertisement? That ought to win me more gratitude…

but can it make up for the mistake with the rune weapons?

Ainz took out the purple potion.

This was Nfirea's potion. Its quality was slightly inferior to that of Yggdrasilmade potions, and it was still in the development phase. However, its effects might catch up in the future, or he might end up being able to make Yggdrasil's red potions.

It would have been too wasteful to spread the news of Yggdrasil's red potions for nothing, so I didn't use them… still, I don't know whether people who are used to blue potions can accept purple potions. Using them here and collecting the results sounds like a good plan.

Right now, he intended to have Nazarick conceal the potions which Nfirea and his grandmother had made. He did not plan to distribute the technology.

However, that plan might change in the future, and the time might come when he could sell that potion. It would be good to prime the pump for such a situation.

This is complicated. There's merits and demerits on both sides…

Frankly speaking, the fact that he's discussing his sex life with me is causing me a lot of problems. I mean, at least they're not doing it in front of me, but wouldn't it be bad if word got out that he was talking about his wife?

In the first place, why is Nfirea even discussing this with me? Is it because he has no male relatives and is far away from the city he had lived in until now, so he thought that he had nobody to talk to? For all I know, he might be thinking that Narberal and I have that sort of relationship.

But he ought to know that I'm a skeleton…

While Ainz had thought of spying on the two of them at night to satisfy his curiosity, he felt that doing so would change his attitude towards the two of them, so he had curbed the impulse. However, it took a great deal of effort to shake off the curiosity that flashed through his mind every time Nfirea came to discuss it with him.

I remember something about it feeling very good, so he was asked to do it a lot of times… could it be that the reason he made so much of that potion ― some kind of nutrient supplement, I think ― and then gave it to me was because…

In any case, he had decided to give it to those two Lizardmen so they would work hard on making more rare children.

The fruits of technology are first applied to the military, then sex and medicine. Is that true? …Ah, time to go back.

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