Chapter 313

The unexpected discovery of Peroroncino's possible existence in the world left Ainz with a divided mind, and it stayed that way for quite some time, leaving him pensive and quiet in the carriage. 'From far to the east… far to the east, what they call 'The Long River, flows across the continent. But if Peroroncino came west, the river flows out to sea, and I'm sure there are other continents out there. Should I send agents to the east to learn more? Or to the west where he was supposedly going? And how long ago was this? Perhaps he found what he sought and went back to the east again.'

Ainz comforted his inability to make a decision by instead focusing on two things that 'might' have helped along the way.

His servants were sent racing over the border with the Slane Theocracy to search for any sign of the missing Queen and 'hopefully' catch her before she was returned to the Kingdom of the elves and a profoundly ugly fate… and at the same time the more covert agents were set to gathering bardic stories, myths, and legends that offered any clue to the past presence of his missing friends.

'I should focus everything on Draudillon… but… there's no way they've made it back to the Elf Kingdom this fast unless they are expending significant magic, and that will make them easier to find. So a few hours here and there searching out stories can't hurt.' Ainz resolved and thought about it more. 'It's easier to find information if the sources of information belong to me.' That much was so obvious that he almost dismissed it until he considered its implications.

'Being called a god… that wasn't something I intended. But are they wrong? The ones they call the Six Great Gods were obviously players. And what is a god except something too powerful to stop, whose will is always obeyed? But I'm just a salaryman… I don't know the first thing about being a god.' Ainz rested his chin on his hand and stared out the window. 'Everything is moving so fast. I'm sure Albedo and Demiurge think this was all part of some deep plan of mine. Good luck talking them out of that, Ainz… even if I could, who benefits when a child loses faith in a father, or a wife loses faith in her husband?' It was a question that made Ainz resolve to be silent on the matter, and, despite his shifting discomfort with the idea of being the center of a religion, it did have one clear advantage.

'The old religion will always hate the ones I love. It has to go. Replacing it does need to be a priority at some point, whatever they planned for the Baharuth Empire and bringing it under our control, the aftermath will give me some breathing room and we can focus on Kingdom Building.' The train of thought led him to the 4X games of his earlier years before he engaged in MMOs.

'What do Kingdoms need? EXplore, EXpand, EXploit, and EXterminate… so we've got a good handle on what is around us. And we're expanding relatively peacefully all things considered, marrying Calca did more than Albedo's actions alone. We have ample resources to exploit, and there are only three who might be called enemies. The Elf King, the Slane Theocracy, and the Beastmen Kingdom. In a 4X game I would need armies, but this is different. With the Elf King in his capital, he can simply be 'removed' by a sufficiently powerful assassin. The beastmen are no threat and are all but routed. The Theocracy… is unpredictable.' That was both the weakest of the three and the one that worried him the most.

'They had players, which means possible world items, and New Worlders have no class or level restrictions on using anything.' That was what worried Ainz the most. 'Avoid war.' Became his own mental policy, and the carriage rolled on. The chill of fear he felt at the possibilities of world items being used on his children, could have been called cowardice. But he turned his eye on his sleeping son, and unthinkingly put his hand protectively over Albedo's pregnant belly, and didn't care what his feelings were called then. 'Better a coward who doesn't mourn than a brave man who does.'

Caution became the order of the day, and he quietly came to one clear conclusion…

'The Slane Theocracy's ways won't go out in a blaze of glory, they'll die confused, dismayed, and with a whimper as they're strangled.'

Draudillon was on all fours in the room assigned for the Elf King's harem, a scrub brush under both her hands, and she vigorously rubbed the vomit, blood, and inglorious fluids from the wooden floor. Her white hair tumbled around her and danced with every violent back and forth motion.

All of her maids were now talking again, and many were now reliving the nightmare, and vomited up their meals. Unable to keep up the lie about their not being well, the Elf King began calling for his 'human toys' again.

The Queen gritted her teeth, shut her eyes, and put her anger into the menial work assigned to her. 'If Grandfather appears at the tournament, maybe I can get a message to him? But then, he wouldn't interfere for my country, would he really help me with this?' Draudillon had her doubts. The only ones to respond to her call for aid in the past were the Slane Theocracy, and more recently, the Kingdom of Nazarick.

And if she had to pick the one more likely to aid her now, it wasn't the former. 'Their aid was self interest pure and simple… retired scriptures helped, but they could have done so much more…' That bitter thought never left her, not once, not even while gritting her teeth and writing out letters of gratitude for what aid they had sent to her people.

"I'm sorry… my lady… I didn't mean to vomit…" The weeping blonde woman was a viscountess, the bruises on her breasts were gone thanks to the elven caster's magic, but her mental pain kept her lying there shaking long after the physical pain faded away.

"Don't worry… it'll clean right up… I'll take care of you, I promise… I promise." Draudillon replied, giving the limp woman what the Queen hoped was an encouraging smile. "We're bound to be rescued, the five nations participating in this, they'll find out, they'll make the Elf King let us go. Everything will be alright. We just have to hold out until then." The Queen hoped her words didn't sound as pathetic as she believed they did, but she had no time to gauge it before she heard someone say…

"Princess, the King summons you." Draudillon snapped her head around to look at the one to speak, she no longer thought to refuse. The last time she sent word to the Elf King that she was occupied, the bastard came and took two himself, dragging them out by their hair and saying, 'Come get them when you're ready.'

The Queen still felt the guilt gnawing at her for that. So she rose to her feet, lowered her eyes, and followed the guard down the hall to the King's private room.

The guard left them alone, and Draudillon sank to her knees in front of the towering monster. "You, whelp, tell me what you know about this… place." The elf King's perpetual sneer never left his ugly face, his demand was enough to get her to raise her eyes and answer…

"I've never been here, My Lord, but I can tell you what I've read about it, if that will please you." The Queen replied, then lowered her eyes in a servile manner.

"I saw no slave markets on the way here, just tell me where I can have more things bought." He demanded, and Draudillon bit her lower lip.

'Of course that's what he wants, it's what he "always" wants.' She mentally cursed, but said, "My Lord, the Empire was forced to give up its slaves after being defeated by the Allfather, they were all resettled in towns on the lands the Kingdom of Nazarick claimed by treaty."

The Elf King ground his teeth and growled so much that he began to foam at the mouth, but Draudillon hastily added, "However, houses of prostitution are plentiful, I'm sure you can ahhh… satisfy yourself." The truth was, Draudillon had no idea if she was right or not, but it was a reasonable guess given the nature of cities.

The perpetual anger on his face looked like it might start to fade, and the Queen took another leap of faith to suggest, "But perhaps My Lord should evaluate the competition? There are many fights, exhibitions, leading up to the first day, aren't there? Perhaps… perhaps a look at those might warn your noble self of any potential threats to your… plans." She phrased it with the utmost care, avoiding the thing he would never believe, a threat to his life. And instead suggesting a threat to his daily routine.

"You aren't an idiot, whelp. After I've got your mother, maybe I'll have some children who aren't idiots for once. Now get out, and tell the guard to prepare a carriage, I want to visit the arena at the next bout." The Elf King commanded, and Draudillon rose to her feet, bowed, and withdrew.

'He said almost the exact same thing to me before… it's like he has to say it… what is 'wrong' with him…?' She shivered, and kept shivering all the way back to the room where her maids and ladies waited for her tender care and promises of hope she herself had doubts about.