Chapter 297

Calca looked from her husband to their child, from their child to the kneeling dark elves, from the dark elves to the Allmother, and from the Allmother to the dragon. "C-Created? Ruled gods… this…" Calca felt her knees weaken. "I need to sit." She said as her legs began to shake and their ability to support her became doubtful.

She went down swiftly, barely catching herself with one hand. "You were… created by magic?" She asked of the twins, who nodded at once.

"And y-you, his other wife…? That is why you are so perfect…?" Calca asked, turning her eyes to Albedo.

Albedo preened with pride and put a hand on her own cheek, leaning into tilting her head into the touch, her wings fluttering, "Yes, I was created by Lord Tabula Smaragdina, conjured from thin air to serve this place. One of forty-one gods, whose work created everything you see here, including us."

"Only a god- in… in the stories of the Six Great Gods, the 'players', as they called themselves, there was a servant who called itself a created being… just one. You're telling me that this…" She looked around the tranquil paradise outside her husband's home, but before she could speak, Ainz corrected her.

"You are inside, Calca. Underground." Ainz said with a tender touch to her shoulder.

"But- But the sky? The wind?" Calca asked as her heart pounded like a drum.

Ainz smiled with wistful memories passing through his mind as he looked around the idyllic scene, "My friends and I made it. Blue Planet was the architect, Bukubukuchagama made the forest, her brother made the lake, I did the wind, if you wait carefully, you'll notice the smell of honeysuckle begins, it cycles through the smells of various flowering plants, to nothing, and back again. My dear friend Tabula did the sky… all of us did something, all of us created someone."

"You… created someone… not a golem, but truly living- a living being?" Calca squeaked.

"Yes, I suppose you could think of him as my son. He's a bit dramatic, and for some reason he cannot stop occasionally speaking German, but he is… growing into himself, you could say." Ainz said and forced himself not to cringe, instead keeping his expression steady and sure.

"You have another son… and didn't tell me?!" Calca said with dismay, "Shouldn't you tell your wife something like that?!" She exclaimed, and then she felt the stare in the back of her head.

"You are learning it now… I would have said something sooner, but how do you tell anyone any of this?" Ainz asked and shook his head while he shrugged, removing his hand from her shoulder. "Oh, by the way dear I created someone out of nothing and my other wife was created out of nothing too…" Ainz said it teasingly, and Calca blushed when she realized his point.

"Even if I said it, until you saw this place, would you have believed it?" Ainz asked pointedly, and she lowered her eyes.

"No, no, probably not. However, I reserve my wifely right to be miffed." Calca retorted, cracking a teasing little grin back at him. "So… what happens now? If everything you say is true… and I can't doubt it, not having seen both this place and your magic firsthand… what am I but a human… an… an insect. Even a Queen is nothing when set against a god…" The teasing smile became fragile as she lost her will to maintain it, and it was Albedo who spoke up.

"That, per my Lord's will, falls to you. You may keep it secret, or you may announce his godhood to your whole nation. You sacrificed much for him to bear Aurelion."

Sparked by Albedo's words, Calca touched the snow white hair that replaced the once golden blonde, which no cosmetic magic seemed to work on, things fell into place which previously were insensible. 'His birth, no wonder it was so hard… I… I birthed a Godkin…'

"I will… I will keep it secret for now… I need- I need time to process this…" Calca said and again looked at the little elf twins, such perfect looking children…

She drew her knees up against her chest and put her arms around her legs, "I don't know how to think, how to feel… I suppose it explains your indifference to my Kelart and I… I thought I was just lucky." She chuckled wryly, "I suppose I was."

She snorted after that, "I think… I think this makes me happy. It means my son, our son, will be strong. It means unlimited power will protect him, it means my country will be secure. I can't find a downside here except… except that I am only a human. I can never be the peer, the equal of a god. A few minutes ago I was convinced that you were just like me, a powerful monarch and magic caster… now I find out… the impossible."

"Are you going to be alright?" Ainz asked of her, and offered out their son in both hands.

She took the boy, who stirred only a little until he was nestled against his mother's breast.

"I-I- Yes, I will be. This is just going to take time…" Calca promised, "But… I want to see the rest of your home… the truth is, I can hardly wait."

Brain's eyes adjusted to the darkness almost immediately. Ahead of him he saw the gate of the manor, and from the shadows he watched while the guards patrolled in silence. They were few in number, though they were well armed, with platemail armor, good spears, and short swords at their waists just in case the spear was inadequate. 'If I could manage it, I might get good money for their gear.' He chuckled at the thought, he'd heard stories of thieves and bandits so skilled that they could strip their victims naked without them even being noticed.

He counted it a load of hogwash, but it was always amusing to think about, for the dedicated swordsman however, there was only one way to work. He watched the guards for hours to be sure they wouldn't be replaced, and then he acted. [Perfect Aim][Acceleration][Lesser Agility Boost] He used the martial arts with confidence that there would be none to counter him, there were two things he could always count on with the Slane Theocracy. The first was that their strongest fighters never worked for private citizens, the second was that neither their private citizens nor the guards they did hire were exceptionally worried about being robbed. It was a security theater, little better than a stage play to a skilled thief, and barely better for a skilled swordsman.

Brain took a step forward, then was gone from his position, and two heads spun away into the darkness, and the bodies of two guards fountained blood out of their necks, spasmed, and fell into a clanking heap where they died.

The drops of blood his sword acquired flew off out of view, and he sheathed his sword. He reached for the corpse and rustled around in the pouch on the body's waist until he felt the outline of the metal key. 'Idiots.' He thought, and snatching it into his fumbling fingers he lit out for the door, the guards were few enough that he felt no real worry that the bodies would be found.

'They're even less vigilant than those stupid bandits I used to lead, at least we rotated shifts so that somebody would notice if a corpse was left behind. These just walk the same paths… ugh, it's almost professionally offensive how sloppy people are.' Brain thought and slipped into the house when the lock clicked and the door opened.

If it was dark outside, it was pitch black inside, but he breathed slowly and let his body adjust until it might as well have been daylight. While he was no master thief, moving quietly was something he could do reasonably well. His feet carried him padding slowly down a long dark hall of burgundy stained wood, on the wall hung priceless paintings.

Brain passed them by.

On pedestals of marble stood priceless vases.

Brain cared nothing for those.

Instead Brain went down the stairs, keeping his feet close to the rail so that his weight wouldn't cause the creaking that tended to come from walking in the middle.

'Predictable.' He thought as he reached the upper floor, that was the thing about Theocracy homes, while the poor tended to be quite variable, the higher up you went in society, the more uniform it became until only the most mild differences remained in actual decor. The dining hall was his destination, and as he expected, it was a large, cavernous room, laid on the lower floor with the space dug into the side of the earth with windows arcing up so that the morning and evening sun would flood the room with light from an upward angle as if the diners were being blessed by divine light.

As it was, the moonlight cast its glow within, and Brain made straight for cabinets along the wall, glassed in as they were, he could see his prizes. Spoons, knives, and forks of pure silver, each one alone had to be worth fifty coins just for the artistry behind them.

More importantly… 'Nobody can possibly trace them.' He thought with smug confidence as he snatched them and tossed them into his traveling pouch. As a bonus, these residents, to his surprise, had several sets of gold utensils… "It's my lucky day…" He muttered while holding a spoon up to the moonlight. Only for his breath to catch at what he saw reflected in the curve of the spoon.

A slender half elf walking into the dining hall.

'Zesshi? What the hell is she doing here?!' He wondered with alarm and throwing the spoon into the pouch, he spun on his heel and made for the windows.