129

The door to the adjacent room ― Ainzach's office ― opened, and a new guest entered.

The man with an excessively skinny body ― to the point where some might even consider him anorexic ― was Ainzach's old friend, the head of E-Rantel's Magician's Guild, Theo Rakesheer.

"Pluton, that was quite a surprise. I didn't expect the Sorcerer King to come calling in the middle of our discussions. Did he notice something?"

"I'm not so sure about that."

This morning, Ainzach had gone through the daily routine of meeting Rakesheer early on to exchange information.

Ever since the city had fallen under the sway of the Sorcerer King, they only met in the morning. The reason for that was because they believed that most undead did not like the sun. Still, after seeing the undead army patrol the streets, they knew that it was little more than a way to put their minds at ease.

Their meetings were essentially undertaken for the purpose of swapping news, with no consideration to the future movements of the Adventurer's Guild and the Magician's Guild. Or rather, ever since the founding of the Sorcerous Kingdom, everyone who could flee had already left for the Empire and the Kingdom. The Magician's Guild had also transferred all their magic items out of the city, with only a few members staying behind. In other words, the Magician's Guild of this city was effectively disbanded.

However, there was still much that needed to be discussed in the field of information analysis.

Although adventurers were not particularly bound to countries, could they still carry on as they had before, from within the Sorcerous Kingdom? Would the Sorcerous Kingdom send harriers after the former citizens of this land who were busy fleeing it? If they managed to successfully cross the border, would the Sorcerous Kingdom demand the extradition of the refugees at a national level? What about magic casters?

How could they handle this situation without sacrificing Momon, who was now a resident here? In addition, how should the Adventurer's Guild treat Momon?

The temples remained silent, sensing that the Sorcerer King was keeping a distance from them too. However, would this carry on in the future? Would they lead a resistance movement against him?

Each of these questions was a challenging one, which taxed both their brains to the limit with nothing to show for their effort. However, it would be troublesome if they did nothing and simply let things unfold. The temples were particularly problematic in that respect.

Could the temples really accept their mortal enemy, one of the undead, as their king? They held their peace for now, but that in turn frightened the people even more.

In addition, there were the religious factions from the surrounding countries. If things went poorly, they might decide to unilaterally declare a holy war, with the temples within the Sorcerous Kingdom serving as a fifth column. That situation had a chance of coming to pass.

The reason why there was nobody here to represent the temples was because their stance on the matter was unclear. While it was easy enough to call them over, it would be bad if they ended up being drawn into something else instead.

That said, neither of them thought the temples would actually be able to defeat the Sorcerer King. What made them uneasy was the massacre that would surely unfold after they tried. Even worse, they feared that this would result in Momon, the Sword of the Sorcerer King, slaughtering them all. In addition, how would they heal the wounds in the hearts of the country's people after something like that happened?

Just as their heads were aching from this chaotic mess of events, the Sorcerer King had arrived.

"However, His Majesty seems to have sensed your presence here."

The best proof of that was the Sorcerer King's snort of laughter as he looked at the room next door.

"If it goes poorly, everything we've talked about might well have been leaked."

"What? That means...?"

"Exactly what you think. He also meant for you to hear his words."

The acoustics of this room were tuned such that everything said here could be heard in the other. Because of that, Rakesheer ― who was hiding in the room next door ― should have heard everything the two of them had said.

"Do you think he could have been mistaken?"

"No, that's impossible. To some extent, he should have sensed someone was there. However, His Majesty might have thought it was someone from the temples."

At that time he had been more confused than shocked due to the suddenness of the situation. When he thought back to it, all he felt was regret for his actions. How he wanted to laugh at himself, who stowed his friend out of the way.

He should have invited Rakesheer out, so the three of them could speak their minds.

Granted, the Sorcerer King probably had not put all his cards on the table yet. However, he had stated his opinions to a mere citizen, with the regal bearing of a ruler. How had he performed, in contrast?

As he watched Ainzach knit his brows, Rakesheer icily asked:

"Then, what will you do next? No, I already know. After all, you used to call him the Sorcerer King, but now you refer to him respectfully."

"Don't you think someone might be listening in on our conversation?"

"Don't you think that's the reason I'm telling you this now?"

"Could it be that I was magically charmed?"

"I'm not confident in completely ruling it out, but I don't think so. Charm magic is time-limited, and even if the Sorcerer King wanted to sustain it, he probably would not be able to."

"Then again, it might be possible for His Majesty."

"Come on, give me a break. That would be a real headache if it was true. After all, that's magic of the 8th tier and above, the realm of the divine."

The two of them laughed briefly, and then Ainzach resumed his serious expression.

"I believe helping His Majesty in this matter is a good idea."

"Even if that makes you all accomplices in invading other countries?"

"...Is it not natural for strong nations to subjugate weaker ones?"

"So you know it will result in tragedy and have chosen to permit it?"

"Things may not necessarily develop in that way. After all, ever since His Majesty took control of this country, who among us is worse off?"

Rakesheer fell silent.

The surprising thing was that nobody in this country could say they were in a worse situation than before.

"Aren't there adventurers who lost their jobs because of this?"

"Well, you're right, but isn't it a little... come on, lay off me already."

"That's true. I spoke without thinking. Still, given that this was such a rare opportunity, why didn't you ask the Sorcerer King what he thought about the temples?"

"Give me a break. If His Majesty decided that they were a nuisance and decided to destroy them because of something I said, I'd have to live the rest of my life knowing I caused a great slaughter. How do you think I could live with myself if that happened?"

"Do you think the Sorcerer King is someone who would do such a thing?"

"No. In fact, I'd say it's the opposite. His Majesty is very rational, to the point where it's quite shocking. To the point where sometimes, I wonder if that undead face of his was actually made by magic. Yes ― it feels just like when I talk to Momon-dono."

"Well, that would be a slight on Momon-dono."

Ainzach smiled thinly as he saw his old friend with a displeased look on his face.

"Well, that's true. It's disrespectful to compare a hero of humanity to the undead Sorcerer King. However, when you consider that they're both beings of superhuman might, they do seem quite similar. If I had to describe it... yes, I can feel the same presence around them, one which only those extraordinary entities could radiate."

"I see. That does make sense when you put it that way."

The two of them recalled the form of that great hero (Momon).

Then, after that brief pause, Ainzach looked directly at Rakesheer.

"―Rakesheer. If you do not wish to aid His Majesty, could I trouble you to not come here any more?"

The reason for that hardly needed to be said. After all, Ainzach's room might well be used to store data pertaining to the national administration of the Sorcerous Kingdom. Allowing outsiders to traipse in and out of such a room was definitely not appropriate.

In addition, the Sorcerer King's words ― which had made such a great impact on Ainzach's heart ― had also been spoken to his old friend.

The new vision of adventurers of which he had spoken was a shining and glorious one. In the past, there had been adventurers who had set foot upon unknown lands. However, most of them died far from their homes, or had broken down in the face of reality. Only a handful of people could actually do such a dangerous thing. But now, the Sorcerer King ― a magic caster who wielded absolute power ― was offering his full support to them. That opened up a whole new vista of possibilities to them.

Contained within that was the possibility of becoming true Adventurers.

After a brief pause, Rakesheer finally spoke.

"I say, Ainzach. You do know that the Magician's Guild in this city is practically disbanded, right?"

"Ahh, so it is."

"Then, please allow me to support you with all my strength, as your former comrade. After all this is over, why not let us go explore the unknown as well?"

"―Haha," Ainzach chuckled. "Think of our age, though. Huhu ― are we really going for it?"

"Why not? Although, you'll have to speak to His Majesty then, and convince him not to put an age restriction on the Adventurer's Guild."

And so the two of them filled the room with their cheerful laughter.

-x-X-x-