Frost Dragon Lord*3

"Then, let's begin."

After saying that to Shalltear , who was standing beside her, Aura unfurled the scroll ─ the World-Class Item she had brought with her ─ and activated its power.

[Depiction of Mountains and Rivers].

Simply put, it was an item that sealed a target into a closed-off space. To be more precise, it swapped a painted landscape with the real world, and then it would convert the real world into a painted landscape.

The definition of "target" in this case was the same as that of the super-tier spell [The Creation], and referred to a specific area. Nothing within that area ─ animate or inanimate ─ could resist its effects.

This time, she was going to trap everything within this gigantic cave into the otherworld created by [Depiction of Mountains and Rivers].

Shalltear and Ainz were protected by World-Class Items, so they would not be imprisoned within the otherworld. Instead they would appear in the painted landscape which substituted for the region of devoured reality. However, as the item's user, Aura would automatically be sucked in.

This painted world was almost the same as the real world, with nothing strange or outstanding within it. However, it was fundamentally an illusion. Without the power of [Depiction of Mountains and Rivers], once one exited the target area, everything would vanish into mist. In other words, any treasures gained from within the painted world would also dissolve into mist.

Of course, the two of them had entered this oublietted segment of reality of their own volition. Normally speaking, World-Class Items could not affect holders of other World-Class Items, but it would be a different matter if those holders accepted that influence. All that was thanks to a patch from the devs.

One could choose from 100 otherworlds to overlay onto the targeted portion of reality.

For instance, there were lethal lava lands which dealt ongoing fire damage, boreal landscapes which dealt ice damage, thunder plains that rained down lightning strikes at periodic intervals, monsoon regions where visibility was practically zero, or mist-shrouded worlds, as basic options.

The strange thing was that there were also battlefields which could be overlaid. After a certain period of time, a sizable number of reinforcements would show up to attack the enemy. However, these troops would only be about 60% as strong as their opponents, so they were generally limited to depleting the enemy's resources.

If one-on-one confrontations were desired, one could instead face the enemy with an equal number of stronger entities, each of which had 80% of the user's power. Due to this ability, it was quite useful if one's opponent was to defeat the foe.

The most fearsome aspect of this item was not drawing people into an otherworld, but that it allowed the user to choose which targets would suffer its effects. The user could also choose these effects. In other words, even if the user created a region of molten lava, they could exempt chosen people from the fire damage it inflicted.

However, it had its weaknesses.

Unless specific otherworlds were used, one of 40 escape routes would be randomly chosen during each activation, and if the enemy managed to escape via that route, ownership of the item would transfer to the enemy. Of course, none of these escape routes were simple, but the fact that one could seize the item without defeating its holder meant that obtaining it was easier than most other World-Class Items.

This time, Aura chose one of those specific otherworlds, a simple region of sealed-off space.

Besides being trapped, the enemy would not suffer any deleterious consequences. However, there was only one specific way to escape from this place.

"Alright, Hanzo, I want you to block off the escape route from this world. It'll be troublesome if any of them got away. Lean over a bit."

The Hanzo leaned over from his hiding place in the shadows, and paid close attention to Aura's explanation of the escape route.

Although Aura had not detected any ambushers nearby, it paid to be careful.

"Then, Aura. How many more people have entered this world after the others?"

"Hm? Only two people."

That answer meant the enemy did not possess World-Class Items. They breathed a sigh of relief.

Shalltear looked around the residences of the old Royal Capital. It was a large city, but it was quiet, as though its citizens had all fled.

They had to quickly capture the Clan Lord, the ruler of the Quagoa, and convey the Supreme Being's words to him. However, their visibility was impeded by the houses and they could not find the place where he was staying.

"Can you burn those houses away?"

"Hm? I can't. However, I could create a hazardous environment to deal damage over time. For instance, if there were a line of log houses, we could create a lava region and burn them to ash."

"That might kill them all, so you can't do that."

"Yeah. Still, I could activate it briefly and deal with everyone who survived... but it would be a shame if their ores melted."

The Quagoa fed their children metal and the like, so there ought to be large quantities of metal or raw ore and minerals lying around. Destroying them would be a waste, and Shalltear agreed.

"Besides, Ainz-sama's order was to see if they were willing to flock to our banner."

"And then he said that if they refused, we would cull their ranks to a specific amount."

"...Shalltear."

After seeing Aura narrow her eyes, Shalltear realised what she was getting at.

"It'll be fine! I won't mess up this time! I ab-so-lute-ly won't mess up!"

"If only that were the case."

"I think I get it now. You have to use your head. Shall we?"

"Mm, let's go. Then, can I leave the thinning of their numbers to you?"

"I think I'm more suitable for that task. Are you okay with that?"

Aura's strength was tied up in her magical beasts, so she was not as good at this sort of thing.

"Yeah... If Mare were here, he'd trigger an earthquake and wipe a whole bunch of them out."

"That boy has the strongest area attacks in Nazarick. I'm pretty confident in that field, but my power is limited in a place like this."

Speaking of which, using an earthquake to obliterate them would not fulfil their master's command of "selection". If she could do that, then she could simply summon her familiars to perform an indiscriminate massacre.

"So you've already received orders like that? All these tasks were for you to learn, Shalltear."

Aura repeated the orders their master had handed down many times.

"That's true," Shalltear replied, and then she mentioned something she had been thinking about for a while.

"Judging by the strength of the enemies we've encountered so far, it doesn't look like there's anyone here who could defeat a Death Knight. Then, could it be that they were beaten by chance? It's more likely that they used an item or defeated them with a summon that was later recalled... It's quite rare that Ainz-sama's predictions are wrong."

Shalltear realised Aura was staring at her. She did not want to ask why she was doing so.

"What? Did I miss something?"

"It's not like that... hm... ahhhh. What a dummy~"

A look of displeasure crossed Shalltear's face.

If she had missed something out, then why not just tell her directly? It was a while before Aura gave her answer.

"Say ─ how could Ainz-sama make that sort of mistake?"

"Was getting the Death Knights defeated part of Ainz-sama's plan? It's true that Death Knights made by Ainz-sama have very high stats. Nobody we've encountered so far should have been able to defeat them..."

Aura thumped her fist into her hand. "Is that possible too?" she wondered.

"I see. So it's possible that he intentionally let the opposition kill the Death Knights. I didn't think that far ahead, but I wanted to say that 'his predictions weren't wrong'. The Death Knights went down with the bridge, but I think they died from the fall. Their footprints were there when we passed through that fortress, but they weren't there on the other side. In other words, they were defeated halfway through. That means, there's only one reason they could have died."

"If that was the case, does that mean this has exceeded Ainz-sama's predictions?"

"I told you, it's not like that. If Ainz-sama was talking to you seriously, it might be like what you said, Shalltear."

"What do you mean by that?"

Shalltear knitted her brows, unable to understand. Aura went "Ahhhhh!" and stomped her feet.

"What do you mean, 'what do you mean by that? I told you, right? Ainz-sama already knew that the Death Knights died from falling into the Great Rift."

"Ehhh?!"

"Haaa... why don't you think about what happened back then? You see, when Ainz-sama was explaining things to you, I wanted to ask if the Death Knights had been pushed to their deaths, but Ainz-sama looked right at me and ordered me to be quiet. Didn't you notice? It was in the moment when he gave his instructions."

Shalltear blinked in surprise. She had seen her master make that gesture. At first, she had thought it was because he wanted Aura to keep quiet because he was saying something. However, that Supreme Being was a genius strategist, so Aura's explanation was more likely as opposed to her potentially flawed reading of the situation,.

Still, if that was the case, why had he explained all that to her?

"What kind of face are you making? Think about it a little and you'll know."

Aura's absentminded words made Shalltear's heart shrink like it was being tossed around in a whirlpool.

"Could it be... for me? Did he do that on purpose to train me? Is that what you mean?"

"...What other answer could there be? Along the way, you said there could be a strong enemy and asked Ainz-sama many things. If you knew they had fallen into the Great Rift, would you have asked so much? Ah, can you keep this a secret from Ainz-sama? It's all because you doubted Ainz-sama..."

"You say I doubted Ainz-sama's ability? How could that be?"

Shalltear hoped that she could keep quiet about how she had come out and said that she did not trust the prowess of a Supreme Being.

"Well, just keep it a secret. Just as Ainz-sama wanted me to keep it a secret from you, you have to watch your lips too."

"Of course."

When one reflected calmly on this, Aura had committed a mortal sin, that of ignoring a Supreme Being's orders. However, that was because she felt Shalltear had shown disrespect to the Supreme One...

So was it me or Aura who was rude to the Supreme Beings? Or was it neither of us? Hm─

Shalltear's head ached, and she decided to stop quibbling and not brood about the matter of keeping secrets.

"...Still, isn't that a sign of disrespect in itself? Hm..."

"...Hm ─ speaking of which, if they don't submit to Ainz-sama, he said something about cutting them down to about 10'000 people. While he did say to spare some of the females, what about the children?"

"Did he specify to leave a certain amount alive?"

"Although, don't they get stronger by eating metals as children? And if we're going to rule them, wouldn't children be easier to brainwash? Shalltear─"

An evil grin appeared on Aura's face.

"If Ainz-sama didn't leave any specific instructions, that means... it's a test, right? While we could always send the Hanzos to ask for directions, Ainz-sama said he left it to you, right? So I think Ainz-sama wanted to see how you would deal with it... Can our Number One Floor Guardian take good care of this task?"

Shalltear smiled thinly by way of reply. She had been thinking about this ever since she had been given her orders.

""4'000 males and females and 2'000 children ought to be enough."

"Hm? Hm ─ I guess. You seem to be handling this pretty easily ─ hm?"

Aura fell silent and cupped her hand to her ear. Shalltear knew what she was doing and kept as quiet as possible. In the end, she was all smiles.

"Ah, I heard what sounded like a large group of Quagoa making their move."

"Are they fleeing, or are they deploying their forces?"

"I can't be perfectly sure because I'm going by sound, but they don't sound like they're running away. It's more like they're dispersing outside the city."

Apparently, there were 80'000 Quagoa here. Demihumans were the kind who grew stronger with age. In other words, everyone was a soldier. If they mobilized over 10'000 people but deployed them within the city, their advantage in numbers would be cut down by half.

While the intruders were so few they did not qualify as an army, they possessed incredible fighting power. The matter of the Dragon should have spread throughout the Quagoa. If that were the case, the smarter people would lead the others outside the city to evacuate, while setting up in formation to lure the enemy into the city for a fight. If a small number of enemies moved into the city, the Quagoa could surround the city and mount waves of attacks to tire them out before dealing the finishing blow with a team of elite warriors. That seemed like the most appropriate battle strategy.

In any case, one needed a wide, open space to deploy a large force.

Shalltear was hoping for just that.

"They're over there. Then, we should begin negotiations now."

"Of course. We need to work hard so we don't keep Ainz-sama waiting."

***

Over 60000 battle-capable Quagoa were formed up and waiting for the enemy.

Female Quagoa who were not pregnant or bearing children were just as good at fighting as the males, which was how they had managed to mobilize these numbers. Still, despite mustering a force bigger than any in recorded history, Clan Lord Pe Riyuro was not happy at all.

This was far too strange. The cave which contained the Royal Capital had suddenly been wreathed in mist.

What on earth was going on?

The battle-ready troops began lining up, facing the Royal Capital. If the enemy feared their numbers and did not come out, then that would be the best case. Therefore, they took the minimum provisions with them, and left their Dwarven treasures behind. As long as their enemy was not stupid, they would see that there was no point in fighting.

However, someone emerged from the Royal Capital.

One of them was dressed in red armor, and another was a dark-skinned shorty that was not a Dwarf.

According to the ones who had watched the encounter with the Dragon outside the Royal Capital, there should have been two more, but they did not see them. They must have been grabbing treasure, while these two were buying time for them.

"In any case, just to confirm, that is not a Golem right?"

"Yes, it's not a Golem."

According to Yozu, the Golems were tall of stature and wore black armor. So that suit of red armor was something else. However─

Perhaps that's a type of Golem. It might be better to think of it that way. Still, why did they come out to face an army in the tens of thousands head-on? Is it because they're confident of killing us all ─ No way, it can't be. That's impossible.

Riyuro shook his head to disperse the horrific image that had appeared within it.

He could guess that the opposition possessed unimaginable power, given that they had created this bizarre dimension. The fact that they could make a Dragon prostrate before them without a fight also suggested they were very strong.

Still, his side numbered over 60'000. It was completely incomparable to having only hundreds or thousands of people. There was no way to fight this many opponents.

However, if they were Golems, then it was understandable.

Golems did not tire like living beings. They could fight forever, and if they were strong enough to defeat Riyuro, then they could theoretically kill everyone here.

Still, that was merely theoretical.

Even if only one out of several Quagoa dealt damage through a lucky hit, over the course of thousands of rounds of fighting, the accumulated scratch damage would result in injuries that could take the enemy out of commission.

Numbers were strength. With his army of 60000, as long as they fought on the ground, they should even be able to slay a Dragon Lord.

"─I'll go talk to these people. You wait here. If I'm killed... Well, do as you please."

"It's too risky," one of his advisors said, stating the obvious.

"...We can't talk to Golems, so I'll talk to the one beside it. It would be bad if we didn't find out their objective, at least."

In any case, Riyuro was determined to attempt a dialogue.

The enemy must be strong. That being the case, he would ask them their objective. If they could be reasoned with, then he would not mind paying a certain price. If they could chase off the Dragon Lord, then acknowledging them as their new masters would also be fine. Even if that was impossible, he could pay them more than the Dwarves did in exchange for switching sides.

"Nobody must follow me. If a lot of us come at once, it might trigger hostilities."

Without saying anything more to his aides, Riyuro stepped forth.

His troops parted on both sides of him, and the opposition seemed to have noticed that someone was coming. He could see the enemy had stopped to observe his movements.

"Sorry for the wait."

Riyuro was the first to speak, and his voice made the enemies look at each other.

He looked around. As expected, there was nobody else around. There were two other people from that face-off with the Dragon ─ the Dwarf and the skull-helmeted chap ─ neither of which was here.

"Hm? Who're you?" the dark-skinned shorty replied.

It would seem the red-armored one was a Golem. It seemed paler and taller than the humanoid next to it. Still, at a glance, there was no telling that it was an artificial being ─ it looked very realistic.

"I am Pe Riyuro, Lord of the Quagoa Clans who live in this place. And you ─ who might you be?"

"We are under orders from the Supreme Overlord who has come to this land in order to rule you."

It spoke!

The red-armored one spoke. Since he heard that Golems could not speak, it was obviously not a Golem.

Trying to hide his consternation, Riyuro replied:

"Rule?"

"Correct. Our Lord has come to subjugate you. Bend the knee and bow before him."

Then, what should I do? Riyuro thought fast.

He did not mind bowing and welcoming a new ruler. All they needed to do was grow strong beneath that ruler and then overthrow them.

The problem was that they could not submit to the opposition without knowing their power. They might have made that Dragon kneel before them, but that Dragon was not the Dragon Lord. For all he knew, after bending the knee, they might be made to fight the Dragon Lord.

"...There should be two more of you. What happened to them?"

"You do not need to know. You are only allowed to say if you accept our rule or not."

They were not revealing anything to him. That would mean that investigating the enemy's intentions ─ whether or not they truly intended to fight in earnest ─ was very important.

"...You say you want to rule us. However, it is very difficult for us to accept your proposal without knowing your strength. Does that make sense to you?"

In other words, he was implying that "if you tell me how strong you are, I don't mind being ruled by you." However, the two of them merely looked at each other and shrugged.

"Is that so. Our orders state that if you will not accept our rule, we are to reduce your numbers until you are forced to bend the knee. After that, you are to kill yourselves until there are only 4000 males, 4000 females and 2000 children left. You should be able to differentiate who is more valuable, am I correct?"

"Then, once there are only 10000 of you left, we will take you back to our country, the Sorcerous Kingdom, where you will be put to work."

Fear coursed through the Clan Lord for an instant.

It was not because of the cruel content of the message. It was because they had delivered it in a matter-of-fact tone that was completely devoid of arrogance.

He felt that these two people could actually do it.

Yes.

These two people could kill an army of over 60'000.

Were they mad? Were they overconfident? Or─

That unbelievable attitude left Riyuro at a loss for what to do next.

They could not listen to such insane orders without so much as a fight.

Perhaps they had sensed the hostile intent from his side, but the two of them looked at each other, and their faces twisted into grins.

The Dwarves were hairy, so he could understand them. These two people had no hair except on the tops of their heads, so he could not read their expressions. Such was the gulf between two different species.

"W-wait─"

He could not finish his request for them to wait.

"─Then, I shall now begin reducing your numbers to an acceptable level. That being the case, do not give your clothes to anyone else."

Normally speaking, the Quagoa did not wear clothes. After all, they were covered in fur from head to toe.

However, a king needed to show his authority, and thus he needed something to easily differentiate himself from others. That was why he wore clothing and a crown made by Dwarves, with the sigil of the Clan Lord. At the same time, he could let others wear them to serve as doubles for him, in order to deceive enemies from other races.

Had they seen through that plan and thus tried to cut him off halfway?

Taking out the enemy leadership to cripple the enemy army was the most obvious victory condition. However, why had they not done that?

No, that's not it. There's another reason for that... Could it be... That must be it. They're not trying to kill me, they're trying not to kill me by accident!

The differences between species ran very deep. However, as long as he wore his clothes, they could tell who the Clan Lord was and thus they would spare him. That was the meaning of their haughty declaration.

"Then, isn't it about time you went back? We will start once your side moves towards us. I would be glad if you picked out the ones you wanted to survive before that."

"Hurry up and go back."

They waved him off, indicating that he should return. In other words, there was no need to negotiate any further.

This was far too different from his expectations.

I told them I was willing to bend the knee, but why couldn't they make even a little concession? If they aren't even willing to do that... does that really mean they view our lives as worthless...?

In the face of this arrogance, the Clan Lord struggled to suppress the terror overflowing from this heart.

In any case... they can't possibly cut the 60000 people here down to 100000... Yes. That must be it. They must have lost their minds after seeing our forces!

Under normal circumstances, that sort of thinking would be correct. Even Dragons could not reduce their numbers by such large amounts.

In that moment, realization struck the Clan Lord.

Could it be that they intend to mount flying hit-and-run attacks?

If they fought like Dragons, then things would be very tricky.

Deploying in a wide open area like this would be detrimental instead.

Then, should he pull his forces back to the residential district?

However, that would be very dangerous. If the enemy could destroy buildings, then it would cause great damage to their homes. In the end, this was the only place they could fight.

After returning to his troops, the Clan Lord gathered his aides.

"Was that a Golem? ...What happened? You look very uncomfortable."

His expression must have frightened the other two. The Clan Lord patted his face and gave his orders.

"Ahh... In any case, gather the Blue and the Red Quagoa."

"Will they be a personal guard?"

"Not just that. Gather all the exceptional individuals of each Clan together."

***

Riyuro gave voice to a mighty cry. It was a cry infused with the skill he had obtained when he had ascended to the position of Clan Lord. As he saw his army of over 10'000 charge the enemy in response to the cry, he even felt a little pleased. However, the results of that charge were too horrible to watch. Like a flow of water striking a wall, the charging soldiers struck an invisible barrier and were sent flying.

What splashed everywhere was not frothy water, but Quagoa ─ or what used to be Quagoa. Perhaps a sight like this would be fitting of Dragons or Giants, but their opponents were creatures that were even smaller than Quagoa.

"They're flying..." one of his aides muttered dumbly to himself.

This was not a metaphor. The charging Quagoa were literally flying through the air. Neither did they do so one by one. Several dozens of them were sent flying all at once.

Their pulverized corpses became a shower of meaty chunks which rained down on their comrades. The gore-caked troops continued their charge, whereupon they become lumps of flesh themselves which fell on yet more of their companions. It was a scene straight out of a nightmare.

For some reason, the fact that they could not see any blood spurting made the sight even more surreal.

"What, what the, what the hell is that?!"

Riyuro did not even have the strength to answer his advisor's mournful cry. His thoughts merely leaked out through his mouth in the form of words.

"This many..."

"Clan Lord! What is that!? It's nothing like the Golems we saw before!"

They smashed away every single Quagoa charging them in a single blow. This was no longer a battle. It was not even a massacre. It was simply disposal. The comrades he had gathered to increase their influence were now being mangled up in vast quantities like so much rubbish.

"We, we have to run!"

"Where will you run to?!"

He shouted at his panicked aides.

"Where can you run to in this strange dimension?! These people said they're going to kill us until there's only 10000 of us left!"

His aides had nothing to say.

After seeing this overwhelming ─ this monstrous strength, they understood that their threats were not a joke. While it was hard to believe, they had no choice but to believe it. Out of their 80000 citizens, only 10000 would be permitted to survive.

Although he wanted to beg their forgiveness right now, there was no warmth in the eyes of those two. Even that Dragon Lord's eyes held more compassion.

They have no intention of changing their statement to cut us down to 10000 people.

"That's impossible! Clan Lord! What the hell are they? What have the Dwarves brought here?!"

"Why are such tiny people so powerful..."

As he heard his advisors, another flash of inspiration struck Riyuro.

"Could it be that red-armored chap is also a Dwarven weapon? They sent something stronger because they knew the Golems were destroyed?"

"...So if we defeat it, they'll send something even stronger than that?"

The cries of his men echoed all around. Only the region around Riyuro was silent.

"Let's pull the men back─"

"Stop! They have to fight! There's no other way out for us! However strong it is, it'll get tired eventually! When that happens, we'll wait until it can't swing its weapon any more, then force them to negotiate and demand concessions from them!"

"I, I see... But... Will it really get tired?"

He had mentioned something Riyuro had thought of in the corner of his mind. However─

"In any case, as long as it lives, it ought to get tired. It might have more stamina than us, but it'll definitely get tired. Until then, make it keep swinging its weapon! ...Even if it doesn't get tired, once it gets bored of killing we might be able to discuss something."

The Clan Lord was reluctant to speak the words which came next, but they had to be said.

"Besides, we can't win even if we fight it! Not against a monster like that."

His troops would not be demoralized to the point of flight. The cry Riyuro had used to sound the charge turned his men into warriors that did not know fear. Much like the Berserk state of Berserkers, it increased their attack strength but reduced their defense. More importantly, they were immune to all fear-related effects. However, the fact that they would not refuse the Clan Lord's orders no matter how dangerous they were could be said to be a double-edged sword.

The great mass of soldiers continued charging without ever looking back, and they were cut down to half their previous number with such swiftness that hardly anyone could believe it.

At this point, nobody had the strength to speak.

The fact that this tragedy was unfolding before them and it was the doing of one person traumatized their hearts.

All except for one person.

That person ─ Riyuro ─ scraped up the last of his courage.

"You chosen heroes!"

He could not raise his voice.

Riyuro saw the Red and Blue Quagoa before him, as well as the other Quagoa with special abilities, all of whom had been formed up into the strongest combat units of the clans.

The reason why none of them responded to Riyuro's cry was because they were all watching that suit of red armor with despair in their eyes.

They too must have felt that they had no hope of victory. When they had first been gathered, their eyes had shone, but now there was no light in their eyes, as though they were dead.

He had chosen not to drive them berserk to preserve their defensive strength, but it had been the wrong decision.

The Clan Lord raised his voice to try and psyche them up.

"You are our ace in the hole! The enemy has killed many of our comrades, so it should be tired! You will be able to make it suffer!"

It ought to be tired ─ he said that, but there was no sign of it. That red suit of armor showed no signs of stopping as it cut every single Quagoa which charged it to pieces and sent the chunks flying into the air, swinging and thrusting its strange lance-like weapon without end.

"That's right! No matter what, it's living, so it'll get tired! You can do it! Go! Our heroes!"

WIth a prayer in his heart, Riyuro sent out those heroes.

He gave his men orders to clear the path to the red suit of armor. Then, the heroes would assault the red armor─

─Riyuro closed his eyes.

"My, my Lord... Mighty Clan Lord of us all..."

After hearing his aides' trembling voices, he slowly opened his eyes.

"You... you don't need to say anything. I know. I, I saw it too..."

Nothing had changed. That was right. It had made no difference.

Just like the regular soldiers, the chosen heroes had been chopped into mincemeat and sent flying as lumps of flesh. And it had all happened in an instant. They had met the same end as the regular soldiers.

"...So... so..."

Riyuro could not say anything else. Although he did not know what that red suit of armor was, it was something which was undoubtedly stronger than a Dragon.

Riyuro could no longer feel anything. If he simply waited quietly for time to pass, the outcome would be as the enemy willed it.

"...said they wanted 2000 children. Pick out that amount."

"My Lord...:

"...There's nothing else we can do. Even if there's only 10000 of us, as long as we survive, someday... someday, we can make the Quagoa great again..."

Nobody could say anything in the face of Riyuro's words. That was because everyone clearly understood in their hearts.

They understood that there was nothing else they could do.

Riyuro's head drooped powerlessly. It was as though he had been walking in a safe place, and then suddenly ambushed by a monster..

"Speaking of which, what is the Sorcerous Kingdom, anyway? Does it have anything to do with the Dwarves? Someone please tell me..."

His muttering came straight from the heart.

However much he tried to deny it, the carnage before his eyes gave him the feeling that an even greater tragedy would soon come.

Suddenly, he saw his Quagoa servants holding cages, Those were the cages used for storing food lizards. Riyuro knew that now was not the time for this, but the stress on him made him reach out to the cage. He grabbed a live lizard, but just as he was about to bite its head off, an intense pain coursed through his belly, bending his body into a ㄑshape.

There was no way he could beat the absolute ruler who would soon subjugate his race. The idea of flourishing again was so outlandish that even he had nothing to say in its defense. No matter how many generations passed, they would never be able to rise up in revolt. The Quagoa of the Azellisia Mountain Range would forever wear collars in service to their dreaded master.

The wildly-thrashing lizard slipped from Riyuro's hands and vanished between his men's legs. Riyuro went "ahh" in what was more a sigh than a shout, and then he collapsed into silent sobbing from sheer misery.

"If you were that strong, you should have said so in the first place! Why, why didn't you tell me!"

The whimpering of the Quagoa Lord, hailed by his people as the greatest ruler in their history, blended with the screams of the children as his own soldiers butchered them.

-x-X-x-

Ainz and Gondo left the treasury together. A flight of Dragons bowed their heads before them. There were 19 of them in total, including Hejinmal.

In other words, all the Dragons Hejinmal had mentioned were here. Now there would be no need to hunt them down.

...It's good that they're all being obedient, but it's a shame that I don't have more Dragon corpses... Should I find some excuse to kill a few more? No, that would be evil. Then why not let them breed and then harvest them later... hm? Isn't that the same thing?

"─Most Exalted Sorcerer King. Your faithful servants have gathered before you."

Hejinmal spoke as Ainz was thinking. Putting aside his contemplations for the moment, Ainz replied:

"Raise your heads."

The kneeling Dragons raised their heads as one.

Due to the massive size of their bodies, they were far taller than Ainz once they rose, but there was no sense of them looking down on him.

However, there were a few surprised looks among them.

They had heard about it, but it was still hard to believe that Ainz had slain the Dragon Lord, their father. Or rather, even Ainz would think the same thing if he were in their shoes. There were many things which had to be seen to be believed.

Just as Ainz was thinking that, one of the Dragons roared.

"I won't accept this! To think the person who killed Father is actually ─ what?"

Ainz walked in front of the roaring Dragon. Then he smiled, and beckoned with his hand, as though to say "Give it your best shot."

The Dragon swiped its claws at Ainz.

They were fast, but not as fast as the Troll he had fought recently.

Ainz did not dodge them. He took the Dragon's attack head-on. The Dragon — who thought Ainz could not evade in time — grinned broadly, but when he realized that Ainz had no need to dodge, that grin froze on his face. After making sure that the Dragon knew that, Ainz cast a spell.

"[Grasp Heart]."

Ainz's gaze moved from the Dragon who had collapsed like his father, and turned to the others.

"Is there no one else?"

After that quiet query, the Dragons were bowed even lower than they had been earlier, as though they were trying to lie flat on the ground. Nobody here doubted Ainz's power any more.

Ainz opened a [Gate] and chucked the Dragon's corpse through it. Then he took Gondo and got onto Hejinmal's back.

His mother's back was larger, so mounting would be more suitable for a ruler than taking Hejinmal.

However, Ainz had already ridden Hejinmal all the way here, so he might as well ride him the rest of the way.

"Leave this city. My subordinates should be waiting there."

The Dragon flight took wing in unison, and the Hanzos led them to a place where many Quagoa were kneeling down.

The sight of countless Quagoa in silent prostration was quite bizarre, and as Gondo saw this, he croaked hoarsely.

Ainz was about to make the same noise himself, but he could not do such a thing in front of his Guardians, whose brightly smiling faces seemed to say, "We worked really hard!"

"Ainz-sama! As you ordered, we've finished the selection from the Quagoa. There are 4'000 males, 4'000 females and 2'000 children. The rest are all corpses. Also, we allowed them to recover the intact bodies and place them elsewhere."

"I see. So they rejected my compassion, but now they cling desperately to their final chance for survival. What a bunch of fools."

The clothed Quagoa kneeling in front of all the others shuddered visibly.

"Then, where is their king?"

"Over there," Shalltear pointed. As expected, it was the trembling Quagoa. Before Ainz summoned him, he activated his halo of obsidian radiance. According to his research, that effect best suited a ruler.

As he listened to the mutterings and whisperings from the Dragon flight, he called out to the Quagoa Lord.

"King of the Quagoa, raise your head."

"Yes!"

The Quagoa Lord's body shook violently as he raised his head. Then, his eyes went wide, and he went still, as though he had been frozen.

Ainz could clearly hear him going "Hiiiiiiiieee..."

"...I am known as a merciful king. The sin of not immediately accepting my proposal shall be absolved by the blood of your people. Yet, if you will give your lives and your loyalty to me, I shall guarantee your prosperity."

"Understood!! We are your servants, and all our children and our children's children shall grind ourselves to dust in Your Majesty's service!!!"

"A good answer. It pleases me."

"Yes!!!! Thank you very much!!!!!"

As though to terminate the conversation, Ainz waved his hand, as though to indicate that the Quagoa Lord could resume his submissive posture.

Excellent! It seems all my practice paid off.

The endless repetition of lines and poses before the mirror had finally borne fruit. After striking a victory pose in his heart, Ainz turned back to his two Guardians, who had flawlessly discharged their duties.

"You have done very well. I am very proud of the two of you."

"Thank you very much!"

"Your words have cleansed my heart of the shame of my previous mistake, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart."

"Hm, hm..."

After seeing Shalltear's delight, Ainz was sure that he had used the right words.

"Then, is this amount alright? If it's too much, we can cull them again until their numbers please you, Ainz-sama."

"No, there's no need for that... this ought to be a good number. Come to think of it, could any of them become powerful adversaries? Not by our standards, of course, but by those of the people of this world."

"My deepest apologies. Those people were─"

"No, that's not it. The Clan Lord whom you spoke to was considered quite strong, although we never saw his strength."

"Is that so..."

While he was not sure how the Death Knights had been defeated, it was most likely a coincidence. For all he knew─

They might have fallen into the Great Rift...

As he thought of that, Ainz felt deeply ashamed. Realizing that he had been mistaken after lecturing Shalltear so passionately made his face feel like it was about to erupt in flames ─ and then, the shame was gone. In its place was a smoldering depression. And then, as he thought about how Shalltear had been taking notes, it deepened ─ and then he was back to normal.

Should he try to bluff his way through this?

However, if he messed it up, they might tell the others, "Ainz-sama said this, but actually~" and so on.

This is bad! This is really bad! I shouldn't have gotten carried away by my joy and lectured them like that! I feel like crying now.

Ainz sighed deeply.

Well, come to think of it, isn't this a good chance to tell the Guardians that I can mess up too? From there, I can move from the position of an incredibly wise ruler to an ordinary ruler, and that might free me from my emotional torment. And if I do that, the Guardians might notice my mistakes and warn me about them.

He ordered the Dragons to leave, because he knew they had very keen senses. Then, he had the Quagoa move some distance away. Gondo looked very lonely all by himself, but he would just have to bear with it.

Once the three of them were alone, Ainz gulped.

What he would do next might well send all his hard work down the drain. Ainz felt uneasy over how the way the situation would change and what might happen in the future. His body ─ which knew no fear ─ started to feel afraid. Despite that, he gathered up his courage to speak.

"Ah, you two, listen up. ...Do you remember what I said about the possibility of a being in this place that could easily defeat the Death Knights?"

The two of them looked at each other, and their faces suggested that they had realised something.

"Yes, that. It seems I was mistaken. Maybe the Dragon I killed could have destroyed the Death Knights, but it doesn't seem like anybody else could."

"I understand, Ainz-sama. Your words were intended to make me learn. To think that you had to disgrace yourself on account of my inexperience... I, Shalltear Bloodfallen, tender my utmost gratitude to your exalted self for your merciful considerations!"

"...Eh?"

Much to Ainz's surprise, they were looking at him with respect in their eyes. In particular, Shalltear's face was flushed red, her eyes were moist, her lips were pressed flat and her mouth was quivering as though she was on the verge of tears.

What part of that deserved respect? It baffled Ainz. Had he touched their hearts in some way?

Also, I should deny what Shalltear said, right? No, Shalltear learned a lot from this journey. Then I'll put my faith in you, Shalltear!

"It seems you realized it, Shalltear."

"Yes!!"

Their eyes seemed to shine even brighter.

Say what─? Ainz thought that, but he still had to clarify himself.

"Still, even I can fail, and I can make mistakes. I hope you will keep that fact in your hearts."

"Yes! While I don't think it's possible for our great ruler to ever make a mistake, I understand, Ainz-sama!"

Shalltear seemed to have reached the limits of her endurance. She sank to her knees and began sobbing. As she clenched her teeth and wept copiously, Aura put her hand on Shalltear's shoulders, her own eyes brimming with tears. While it was a touching scene which illustrated their friendship, Ainz had no idea what was going on, and all he could think about was where Shalltear ─ as an undead creature ─ was secreting her tears, saliva and other bodily fluids from. Thus, he took refuge from reality by thinking about biology.

While Ainz had no idea how things had gotten this way, he decided to leave things as they were for now. Yes, there were far too many things in this world which defied understanding, or rather, they were situations where he had to feign said understanding. That was how he felt when he listened to his CEO explain important cases.

Ainz felt that this was merely kicking the can down the road, but at the same time, he felt that his future self who would encounter the problem again would be a better person. Thus, Ainz did the only thing his present self could do now.

After kneeling down in front of Shalltear, he wiped her tears away, like a parent would for their child.

And then, in that moment, even more tears coursed down her cheeks.

"Ainzsh-shama..."

"Alright, alright. Don't cry, Shalltear. I told you the same thing back then, didn't I? You can't waste your beautiful face on tears."

"Wash I usheful to you?"

"Yes. You did very well. You were everything I expected of one of my Guardians."

"Ainzsh-shama─~"

Shalltear clutched the material of Ainz's robes.

"Er, erm. Alright, it's about time you stopped crying."

"O-okie..."

Shalltear looked up at Ainz as she breathed in through her nose and tried to wipe her tears away.

"Thank you so much for all the kindness you have shown me!"

"Mm, hm. Alright, then we ought to move on now. There's still a lot to be done, no?"

***

The Council Chamber had been noisy all morning, but after receiving the latest piece of news ─ it fell silent.

If they were not hugging their heads, they were scratching them. Not a single Dwarf in the room could stay calm.

And then, someone spoke.

"...He's back."

"...Well, that... that was fast. Did he really... really take back the Royal Capital?"

"...Are you trying to find fault with him?"

"What a brave fellow you are, putting yourself at odds with the monster ─ no, the mighty being ─ who returned after seizing control of that Dragon's nest of a Royal Palace. I'd say you're as brave as that hero-king from the legends. ...By the way, please tell him that all of us believed in His Majesty from the beginning."

According to the messenger, he seemed to have returned on Dragonback.

Dragons were very strong, and thus they were very proud. They were thus very interested in how anyone could have performed the shocking feat of subjugating such a being.

The obvious explanation was that he had used magic to force its compliance. However, when they took into consideration the matchless might of the Sorcerer King, it was equally plausible that he could have cowed the Dragon into submission by sheer force alone.

No, the latter was more likely. It did not seem like that Sorcerer King needed any magic to rule over Dragons. The absurd mental image of a Dragon kneeling before him in submission even flitted through his mind.

The Director of Food Production sighed deeply, and then he turned a stiff, stern gaze on everyone else.

"Then, what should we do? We're out of time, aren't we? His Majesty has returned. If we don't meet him right away, we'll be in trouble. That means we have to make a decision right away, about that ─ about the Forgemaster!"

The Forgemaster had fled the country with the metal ingot which the Sorcerer King had entrusted to him.

Needless to say, the act of running away with an item that another country had given to them for the purpose of making something was unforgivable.

This black mark would be visible for all to see when the Dwarven nations made deals with other nations.

It was a fatal blow to a country which traded on its smithing abilities.

Who would commission any work from a country with such a bad reputation? Worse still, it was not an average blacksmith who had run off with the item, but a member of the nation's leadership. It might well be interpreted as the nation pulling strings behind the scenes.

As they imagined the future which might result from this, they began searching, all the while discussing what they should do if they could not find it.

However, none of them could find an answer which would result in the Sorcerer King granting them his forgiveness.

"...I still can't believe he actually ran off with that ingot..." the Cabinet Secretary muttered, but those words had no meaning here. They were long past the point of feeling anything for them

The commander-in-chief looked coldly at the Cabinet Secretary.

"Then what should we do? There's no doubt that he ran away with the ingot. We've also received eyewitness reports of the Forgemaster leaving."

"...Could he have been controlled by the Sorcerer King's magic?"

The room returned to silence in an instant.

Nobody here actually expressed their agreement with the statement, but rather, the commander-in-chief grew more and more displeased.

"Even if you don't want to acknowledge this crime committed by a fellow Dwarf, by one of us, anyone who says that about the person who reclaimed the Royal Capital that we could not... simply put, that person is the scum of the Dwarves."

"─Don't be like that, commander-in-chief. You should know as well; he searched the hardest among all of us, and he's the most tired."

"I don't think the problem can be explained by simply saying that he was fatigued..."

"Well, let's leave non-constructive talk like that for later, Commander-in-chief. We need to make a decision about more important matters now. Should we inform His Majesty right away? I feel it might be better to try and delay things and use the time to continue searching. What do you think?"

The Merchant's Guildmaster shook his head.

"It's a bad move. That leads to the problem of us covering things up. We might as well come clean and beg forgiveness. Besides, have we found him yet? For all we know, he might be in the belly of a magical beast now. If only we could recover the ingot... that idiot."

This was not something they should be saying about a friend, but nobody would speak out against the people rebuking the Forgemaster for causing such a big problem. On the contrary, the commander-in-chief even nodded in approval.

"Fortunately, he didn't take the shortsword as well. But, ah, well, if we apologize... will we be forgiven? ...Well, it's not like we can do anything but apologize."

"It's important to apologize, but it's even more important to state the truth. And after that, all we can do is accept whatever terms he dictates."

Everyone agreed on this.

"Then, what will he demand from us?"

The Dwarves did not know what metal made up the ingot which had been taken, so they could not estimate its value. This, they could not suggest payment in cash terms. If they underestimated the value of the item, they might end up angering the Sorcerer King beyond all hope of their relationship ever recovering.

Therefore, they had to let the Sorcerer King name his price. Still, would he actually ask for money? They imagined that he would ask for something else, but even they could not imagine what exactly he would ask for.

"I can't think of anything. Let's turn it around ─ what can we agree to? No... what requests should we deny him?"

"Can we even do that? It would be hard, right? This city might have historical value, but we don't have any national treasures of a physical or magical nature."

When the Demon Gods had rampaged through the Royal Capital, only one member of the Dwarven royal family had survived. He was the last king of the Dwarves, known as the "Runesmith King", and after taking powerful magic items with him on his journey, there had been nothing left behind which could be considered national treasures.

"...Oh! I've got it! What about the Treasury within the Royal Capital?"

"We talked about this earlier, didn't we? Saying that sort of thing to the person who reclaimed the Royal Capital for us is just too... Still, it's also true that there's nothing else."

Looking around, everyone nodded in a show of agreement.

"...Hopefully, the Dragons didn't destroy it."

"Don't say that. ...Then, let's invite the Sorcerer King to enter by himself this time."

***

Hm? There's one less person. What happened?

There was a strange expression on the faces of all the Dwarves as Ainz entered the room.

The one who spoke for them was ─ well, they all looked the same to Ainz, so he had no idea who it was. All he knew was that it was certainly not the commander-in-chief. He began with "Thank you for reclaiming the Royal Capital" and launched into a long string of thanks, which made Ainz feel tired. Then, once he had forgotten what they were talking about in the first place, the commander-in-chief's mood changed.

"There is also another matter which we must tender our sincere apologies, Your Majesty. The ingot which Your Majesty entrusted to us has been stolen by the Forgemaster, who fled the nation with it. We are currently searching for him, but we have had no luck in finding him. ...Your Majesty gave us that ingot and your trust, but yet an incident like this occurred on our part. We do not know where to begin apologizing."

The Dwarves bowed as one.

Frankly speaking, Ainz had no idea what was going on. Therefore he asked:

"Why would he do something like that?"

Did running away with the ingot mean that he was going to sell it to someone? Was it financial greed that made one of the Dwarven nation's councillors abandon his post?

For a moment, Ainz wanted to say that there was a player involved, moving their hidden pawns in the Dwarven nation. However, a player would not need an ingot like that. It was not valuable enough to make people forsake their position, even for very low-levelled players That being the case, it would have been more advantageous to keep their subordinate hidden and in a position of power.

"We don't know. We honestly do not know. None of us have any idea why he would perform such a rash act."

"...Then, my next question: what about the armor I requested?"

The Dwarves exchanged glances.

"...We cannot possibly apologize enough for that. While he left the shortsword, he took the ingot, and we are unable to return it to you. We have already sent out search parties and we will return it once we find it. Then, if you will permit it, please allow us to offer a substitute for the armor. While it pales in comparison to the ingot you entrusted to us, it is the greatest effort we can muster."

"We plan to prepare three sets of adamantite chainmail, and then enchant them to the best of our ability."

"If ─ if you desire a shield, we can fashion one for you out of orichalcum."

"Umu..."

Now if he were a malicious customer with a complaint, now would be the best time to make a scene. However, Ainz did not want to be such a customer.

Still, the loss of the ingot─

─Does it pain me? It's not rare; I have many more like it. ...And for all I know the metal isn't found here, but it might be obtainable in other regions. That being the case, it'll be better to have more suits of armor, right? They did say they were going to enchant them too... Plus, even if they do find that ingot, it's not like they're going to ask for all the other items back, right? That would make this a pretty good deal...

"...If you don't have it, it can't be helped. Then, let's leave matters at that. Discuss this with Zenberu later and prepare what he wants."

The Dwarves sighed in relief.

Should he have given them a harder time? Still, it would be bad if people doubted his kingliness due to his pettiness. In that case, perhaps accepting their offer would allow others to view him as a generous person.

Still, they ought to be alright with a request or two.

"...Then, may I add another request to that?"

"...What is it, Your Majesty?"

Their stiff voices implied indicated that they were all on guard against him.

"There is no need to be so tense. It isn't a big matter, after all. I simply wish your country's support for the matter of recruiting runesmiths."

"What, what do you mean by that?"

"Could you hold a ceremony in this country and make a public announcement about them working in my nation? That would surely make them happy."

The Dwarves looked at each other and nodded instantly.

"Really now. Then please allow my nation to handle the matter of catering. Preparing for these will take some time, so I hope you won't mind my staying here for a while."

There were no objections from the Dwarves.

Ainz smiled in his heart. Now he would not need to return to E-Rantel.

At first, he thought he would have to spend more time on all this, but in the end he had taken back the Royal Capital in a flash. That was bad.

The first reason was because he wanted to inform Albedo about the Empire's request for vassalage with [Message], so she could plan it with Demiurge. Things would be very bad if he were present. Therefore, Ainz needed a reason to not go back.

Also, he wanted to improve his friendly relationship with the Dwarves, which was also a very understandable reason.

Ainz also wanted to learn three pieces of information from the Dwarven city:

1: The presence or absence of players. If there were none now, there might still have been some around in the past.

2: Further investigation of runes and related information. He did not know enough about this topic. He had already learned quite a bit from the runesmiths; runes had been around for a long time, but it was unclear when exactly they had appeared and who had introduced them. Part of the reason was the chaos of the Demon Gods' attack, but Hejinmal's books did not contain any information on this, and neither did the Treasury.

3: Knowledge on smithing and ores. Now that he had enlisted the runesmiths to his cause, all he had to do was slowly tease that information out of them. However, there did not seem to be any of the prismatic ores here, as expected.

Regarding the second point, Ainz intended to have the Dwarves find out more when after they returned to the Royal Capital in the future, which was why he needed a firm friendship with them.

***

The long lines of tables were set with many plates, each of which was laden with a sumptuous variety of dishes.

The piping hot food exuded a bewitching aroma, which drifted over to Ainz.

As one of the undead, Ainz had no desire for food, but the remnants of Suzuki Satoru did. His wish to try some and his curiosity over how it would taste pricked at him.

This body does have its good and bad points...

He could curb his hunger, but not his curiosity. After all, his curiosity was part of his mind, which was not affected by his undead body.

Perhaps if the dishes before him were made by the chefs of E-Rantel or Nazarick, it might not piqued his curiosity so, but these were made by Dwarves.

Since the runesmiths wanted to bring their entire families to the Sorcerous Kingdom, they had their wives, mothers, daughters and other female relatives cook for the event. Of course, most of the 2'000 shares of food here today were supplied by Ainz ─ by Nazarick.

Of course, Ainz was not a person who would use items wastefully, so most of these were essentially E-Rantel's cuisine. The meat had been collected by the Dragons from this mountain range, while the wine had been sourced from the Kingdom and the Empire by those traders who remained in E-Rantel.

The tables were groaning with plates of food, but even now the ladies were still serving up the food they had made.

There was little difference in the external appearance of Dwarven males and females. The biggest difference lay in their beards. Male beards were very long, and they were typically woven into three braids, while female beards were sparser. That said, sparse still meant that their beards resembled those of human males. However, the ladies seemed to have a habit of trimming the whiskers under their noses.

I don't really see how it's a habit... Well, that's culture for you. The Sorcerous Kingdom has gathered all sorts of humanoids. Probing too deeply about this sort of thing might cause problems in the future.

Ainz turned his gaze away from the ladies who were still serving food. His eyes crossed the countless Dwarven heads before him and rested on the raised platform in front of him.

Some of the smiths bound for the Sorcerous Kingdom were standing with the members of the Council.

And then, the Council informed them about the migration to the Sorcerous Kingdom.

"It has begun."

"So it has."

The answer came from Gondo, who stood by Ainz's side.

"...You're their representative. Is it alright if you don't stand out there in front of them?"

"Give me a break, Your Majesty. I'm almost useless as a runesmith. It would be a shame to let someone like me represent them. ...Wouldn't you be a better choice, Your Majesty?"

Ainz and Gondo locked eyes for a moment, and then they chuckled.

Naturally, Ainz simply did not want to stand on the stage to meet and greet people. His earlier words were simply something he had forced out.

"Still..." Gondo's face turned serious. "I can't thank you enough, Your Majesty."

"Why is that?"

"This farewell party. Please look at the people on stage."

Ainz looked at the stage once more. They were not finished speaking, and that was all that came to mind. However, it would be a bit insensitive to say that he had not noticed anything after Gondo had brought it up.

"Umu... I see..."

In the end, he simply used the appropriate answer as a smokescreen.

"It is as Your Majesty surmises. Everyone's eyes have changed."

"Indeed, they have," Ainz replied without thinking, though he still had no idea what was going on. "Still, why is that?"

Gondo chuckled, like he found it amusing.

"It is the joy of feeling admiring gazes on them once more. Today's ceremony ─ with dishes made with ingredients never seen before, as well as all kinds of alcohol ─ was to let the runesmiths realize that they weren't being sold, but being hired by the Sorcerous Kingdom."

"I'll be expecting great things of them, you know?"

"Mm. I remember I once said that I would repay Your Majesty's kindness. That applies to the others as well. Thank you very much. Oops, looks like it's about time, Your Majesty."

After taking a large stein of beer from Gondo, he thumped it against the table like the others were doing. Ainz then raised a tiny cup of liquor in a toast, and then gave it back to Gondo because he could not drink it.

The Dwarves ─ who had been holding themselves back all this while ─ burst into activity. Many Dwarves flocked towards the food, gorging themselves nonstop with the dishes on display.

"What's this? It's amazing! Did your wife really make this?"

"Mm. His Majesty provided the ingredients. We had a lot of failures while trying it."

"Mhm. It's good, that's a fact. But to an old fogey like me, it could stand to be a bit blander."

"You're meant to wash it down with wine."

"What? Let me try... Ohoh! Incredible! The taste is just right!"

"The wine's good too. I wonder if my wife could make this too?"

"It seems that the Sorcerous Kingdom will be sending us food for some time. Looks like we'll be eating well, then."

"I'd rather have their wine. This is from the Sorcerous Kingdom, right? Better be prepared to pay!"

They talked at the top of their voices as they ate. And then─

"I envy those runesmiths. They get to eat this sort of thing whenever they like?"

"No, these should be pretty expensive, right?"

"Doesn't seem that way, does it? Look, in human countries, vegetables are cheap. Seems to be the same way with the Sorcerous Kingdom too."

"Mm, they really are a fortunate lot. And, I only had a bit, but is it me or is the Sorcerous Kingdom's wine top-notch stuff?"

"Umu. I only had a sip of that myself. Ahhhh, that was delicious. Still, grape wine is good; though maybe not that strong."

"Don't we have a reason to visit the Sorcerous Kingdom?"

"I've heard tell that they're planning to let the citizens of both countries move freely between them."

"Oi oi, Everyone here's pretty highly-placed, but shouldn't you be more careful about letting that sort of thing get out?"

"Nah, seems they're going to make a public announcement. In the future, this country will be active in a lot of places... and although this is just a rumor, they say that we took back the Royal Capital."

"...Rumor has it that the Royal Palace was a nest of Dragons. The Sorcerous Kingdom is really amazing."

Naturally, Ainz picked up on those words as well.

Rather than praise Ainz directly, their opinion of the Sorcerous Kingdom seemed to have gone up instead. That probably meant they could continue being friends in the future.

Ainz smiled in satisfaction, and turned to Gondo again.

"Go speak to them, Gondo. I may not be back for a while."

"Is that so. ...Then I shall go talk with those chaps from the mines."

Gondo was looking at a Dwarf with an evil look in his eyes.

"And what will you be doing, Your Majesty?"

"...A messenger from my country has come. I need to meet them. Then, see you again."

Ainz raised his hand in farewell, and walked away.

He had originally been standing in a corner of a vast, spacious room. He opened the door to leave and headed for a guest reception room cum lounge room cum parlour.

It was quite a luxuriously furnished room, with tables, chairs, cabinets and the like. Demiurge was standing there.

"Forgive me for making you come all this way."

"Certainly not. Your location is where I should be headed, Ainz-sama."

Ainz walked across the room and sat in a chair. Then he bade Demiurge to take a seat as well.

"...I've seen the reports. I'm working here, so I must apologize for having you put them in writing instead of just delivering them by mouth."

The reports in question detailed Demiurge's preparations and activities in the Holy Kingdom. Of course, if he heard them from Demiurge himself, it might damage Ainz's disguise. This had also been taken into consideration.

"...Even so, you've done well as I expected, Demiurge. Your accomplishments can only be described as outstanding."

"Thank you very much, Ainz-sama."

Demiurge bowed.

"Still, I could not hope to equal your feats, Ainz-sama... You have firmly secured a place in the Dwarves' hearts."

Ainz thought that he must surely be referring to how he reclaimed the Royal Capital, or recruiting the runesmiths. However, was that really the case?

"...Hm, so it seems you've seen through it already, Demiurge. Do you think the Dwarves have noticed?"

"Rather than notice it, I think they have no other alternative."

Why wasn't there anyone else here? If only there were, he could use his usual tactic. As Ainz studied Demiurge in detail, he noticed a smile on his face.

...What's so funny?!

Demiurge's smile made Ainz's nonexistent stomach ache. Albedo's smile was similarly terrifying. The idea that they might have seen through his act made his nonexistent heart pound faster.

"If... if the Dwarves see through it, what do you think I should do?"

"I doubt that will be a big problem. After all, you did provide the catering for the runesmiths' farewell party. With that, you can shrug off anything the Dwarves say."

...What's he talking about?

"I trust it's not important, then."

Now that his attempts to lead Demiurge on had failed, Ainz decided to leave it at that. Asking too much about an intelligent person like him was very dangerous.

"Then, how goes the vassalization of the Empire?"

"Yes. Albedo and I have discussed the matter and we have drawn up a draft. After that, we hope you will look over it and share your opinions with us."

If Demiurge and Albedo finished it together, then I won't need to step in. Ainz thought that, but did not say it.

"...Have you given the Empire enough benefits? Enough that the neighboring countries will look at the Empire and think, 'life will be good for us once we become vassals of the Sorcerous Kingdom', or something along those lines?"

"It will be fine."

Ainz muttered "Yes" in his heart. In that case, he could give it his OK without even looking at the draft.

"Even so, your achievements in the Dwarven Kingdom and the Empire were truly breathtaking. I imagine the term 'fathomless wisdom' exists to describe you, Ainz-sama."

"Certainly not. I'm confident you could have done this easily as well, Demiurge."

Demiurge revealed a rare expression ─ a bitter smile. Then he shook his head.

"Indeed, if that was all. Even so, how far into the future have you predicted the course of the Sorcerous Kingdom?"

Not even tomorrow. But of course, he could not say that.

Ainz wondered what sort of answer would fit the style of a ruler. Just then, he remembered a guild name from YGGDRASIL.

It was called Millenium Kingdom.

If only the Sorcerous Kingdom could really last a thousand years. Perhaps it was because of that thought, but a relevant memory came to mind.

He had no idea why the guild's emblem was that of a crane, and so Ainz had asked Yamaiko about it. After that, she told him that it was because Cranes were said to live for a thousand years in mythology. Similarly, tortoises would live for─

"─Ten thousand years."

Ainz frowned as the words slipped out. He had accidentally overstated the scale. Just as Ainz hurriedly looked toward Demiurge, intending to correct himself, he realized that it was already too late.

"To, to think your plans were of such a grand scope..."

Demiurge's eyes went wide, and those jewel-like pupils of his shone even brighter.

Ah, this is bad.

"I was kid─"

"─That being the case, things like spreading the undead around must surely be to encourage the other nations to rely on you rather than viewing our troops as dangerous elements, Ainz-sama. That must be the right answer for someone who views the world from such a wide angle. Still... how fearsome you are..."

Ainz did not know what he was saying, but he knew there was only one thing he could do at this point. "Well done, Demiurge, you have completely anticipated my plans, as I expected." However, he could not use that tactic all the time. Therefore, this time, he would say ─

"Fufufu, I haven't thought that far ahead, Demiurge."

"...Is that so. Understood. I shall carve this matter into my heart."

As he saw Demiurge's gentle smile, Ainz's heart flooded with cold sweat.

Eh? What? What's going on? ...I'm not too sure, but doesn't this mean I'm in an even more precarious situation now?

However, Ainz had not thought of any solutions. Then, he would have to deal with it with a fake smile.

"Fufufu... I'll leave it to you then, Demiurge."

"Fufufu... Understood, Ainz-sama."

In contrast, Demiurge's smile shone even brighter than before.

Even though he wanted to cry, Ainz managed to pull himself together enough to ask a question in a trembling voice.

"...Then, Demiurge. About the report you sent... when do you think it will take place?"

"It will begin in the fall, but I shall have to trouble you in the winter, Ainz-sama. The beginning should be fine, but once the opposition makes their move as well, there might be some discrepancies even if we manage to manipulate them."

"Well, you did plan this after all, Demiurge. I can leave it to you in peace."

"Thank you very much, Ainz-sama. As for the matter of the Empire's vassalization─"

"─I'll listen in detail once I return. Can you give me a copy of the plan first?"

"Understood."

"...Then, I look forward to how this project of yours will unfold, Demiurge."

-x-X-x-

-x-X-x-

-x-X-x-

It was morning when Enri woke up. She quietly left the bed, so as not to wake her husband who was still asleep beside her. The air outside was very cold, and it made her want to get back into the bed that was still warm from their two bodies.

The bed creaked as she rose, but her husband of half a year was too tired to react. He slept like a puppet whose strings had been cut.

Now that Enri managed his life for him, he kept a more regular schedule. Thus, his deep slumber was simply because that was the way he was.

...Although it didn't use to be like this.

When they had just gotten married, he had not slept this soundly.

Maybe he was nervous... But now he's used to it, so that's good.

Enri yawned and stretched.

Her bare breasts jiggled.

Enri's face flushed pink, and she reached for a piece of discarded clothing.

Granted, only Enri and her husband lived in this house, but this was hardly presentable.

If her little sister Nemu were here, she would definitely not be dressed like this. However, Nemu would not wake up here — in the Emmott house — but in the Bareare house.

Let's not disturb the newlyweds, her mother-in-law Lizzie had said. Nemu had listened because they had decided not to rebuild the Emmott or Bareare houses. And so, this had happened.

It had been two years since the incident where they had lost both their parents. That said, Nemu was still scarred by the incident and was unwilling to leave her big sister at night. It was only by the grace of some unknowable instinct that she had managed to accept the new arrangement.

Since Enri lived in a farming village, she often saw animals engaging in those activities. She might also have heard about what young couples did when they vanished into the forest after leaving the dancing circle on harvest festival nights. Before she realised it, she had also learned what husbands and wives did at night.

However, nobody had explained it to her in detail before. Enri and Nemu were not old enough to have heard such things. Still, someone needed to teach her what to do, but knowledge was as much a poison as a cure.

Lupusregina-san does say a lot of weird things...

Everyone in the village treated the aide of the nation's ruler with respect. Enri was one of them as well. However, they could not fully accept every aspect of her personality. Over the long time they had known each other, Enri had realised one thing: Lupusregina was a criminal who delighted in people's reactions to her crimes, and she was the type who could watch someone fall into a trap with a smile on her face.

Enri had the feeling if she did not go out and say, "Please teach me", Lupusregina would not teach her anything concrete.

On the other hand, if she did not keep an eye on Nemu before she spoke to Lupusregina, Enri had the feeling that Lupusregina would describe all sorts of things to Nemu in exacting and loving detail.

I can teach you all sorts of adult things any time you like. Enri had not forgotten those words from Lupusregina.

After making up her mind to find Lupusregina, Enri picked up her clothes which had fallen to the floor, and put them on.

After that, she headed for the kitchen, and turned the tap on.

She collected the water which flowed out in a small container. She turned the faucet in the opposite direction once it was full, and the water stopped flowing.

In the past, she had woken up early to draw water from the well. Now, she could use this magic item to obtain fresh water. Its temperature stayed the same even in freezing or warm seasons.

This magic item, the Faucet of Spring Water, could make 200 litres of water a day. Apparently, it had been designed by the sage of a certain country.

This was not a common item, even in big cities. She had heard that there were certain places where gigantic versions of this item served as a city's water supply.

Enri wiped herself down with a moist towel.

"Uuuu, it's cold."

While the water's temperature was fixed, one would still lose a lot of heat from wet skin if the air was cold. However, Enri grit her teeth and bore with it, then rubbed herself down with the towel. She had done so before she slept, but still she did it again.

Enri still remembered that incident — when Lupusregina had called out to her while humming, a playful grin on her face — and vowed that she would never drop her guard.

Still, magic items were really great.

Enri had thought that countless times.

Carne Village had a lot of residents now.

Over 90% of them belonged to the Goblin Army Enri had summoned, and this village could not support all of them.

The first problem was accommodation.

The Goblins had solved that by chopping down logs from the Great Forest of Tob and building simple housing. However, the problems of insufficient food and water were harder to deal with.

Their initial solution to the lack of food was the produce of the forest, but they could not forage enough to support all the Goblins. Therefore, they had asked Lupusregina for help, and in return they had received food aid. Of course, that food was only borrowed and would have to be paid back, though fortunately there was no deadline attached.

The next problem was a lack of water. In the past, the village well had been sufficient, given that there had not been that many people. But now that the amount of people in the village had increased so drastically, they had to set up a roster to draw water all day long.

Even then, they could not collect enough water, so they had to dig new wells very far away. If they dug them nearby, they would be tapping the same water source, and there was no telling if the wells would dry up.

Fortunately, the Dwarves who had moved to this village had solved that problem.

They had come in the summer, and during the course of fall and winter, they had become close friends.

Are those people still making new magic items?

Until about two months ago, the sound of explosions and flashes of light had been a common occurrence, but now everything had settled down. At most, some of them would drink outside and get into fights, but that was all.

The existence of the Dwarves was now an integral part of the village's functioning.

In the past, there had been no blacksmiths in Enri's village. Thus, she had to go to the city to buy tools, or beg the very rare travelling blacksmiths to make them for her.

There had been a blacksmith in the Goblin Army she had summoned, but having him bear the heavy burden of the village's repair work would surely lead to problems. And then, the Dwarves had appeared, and they had taken up that job.

The most important thing was that their loyalty to the Sorcerer King rivalled that of the humans from Carne Village. This village had been saved several times by the magic caster who became the Sorcerer King, Ainz Ooal Gown. Anyone who heard someone badmouthing His Majesty would immediately go up and beat the offender into a pulp.

The Dwarves seemed to feel the same way, and they often said things like, "That celebration made me feel proud of myself again" "Did you see how jealous they were?" "Drinking time!" and so on while they imbibed. Enri did not quite understand what they were talking about, but they could feel their gratitude to the Sorcerer King in their words, so the villagers opened their hearts to them.

After she was finished, Enri put on her clothes.

Her husband did not seem to have woken up yet, so she decided to get the chores done.

Until recently, her husband had been handling the task of potion-making. But recently, he had stopped working on such tasks. Instead, he was involved in the storage and preservation of herbs, which would be important in the future now that the village's population had increased. In addition, he also helped with Enri's work as village chief. He worked hard for the village, so she had to work hard for him too.

After stepping outside, the familiar scenery — that of the ever-growing Carne Village — came into view. Carne was now larger than an ordinary village because the Goblins Enri had summoned had added their own living quarters to it.

"Alright then..."

Enri clenched her fist.

In order to make breakfast, she had to draw the ingredients from the food store.

"Good morning, General-kakka."

The form of a black-clad Goblin emerged from a murky shadow.

This was something she saw every morning, so Enri replied without any surprise:

"Good morning. Nice weather we're having."

"It is as you say, General-kakka. According to the Goblin Weather Forecaster, it seems it will be sunny all day long."

"Really?"

Enri had long since abandoned any resistance to being called General.

She had told them countless times that she was not a General, but the message had not gotten through. At this point, being the Village Chief was pretty much the same as being the General, so she had decided to accept it.

Incidentally, there was a unit called the Goblin Rear Echelon Support Unit. It was populated by people with rare vocations. Apart from the Goblin Weather Forecaster, there was also the Goblin Strategist, Goblin Blacksmith and so on, for a total of 12 jobs.

"Oh, General-kakka, it seems your bodyguard has arrived. Your servant shall now excuse himself."

The black-clad Goblin faded back into the Shadows, and the familiar Redcap took his place by Enri's side.

Personally, Enri did not like the Redcaps. They had an evil look on their faces; in short, they were very scary.

In the past, Jugem had accompanied her, but as the former troop leader, he was now one of the many managers of the greatly-expanded Goblin force.

In truth, the duty of escorting her should have fallen to the silver-armored Goblins after his departure, but for various reasons, the Redcaps had ended up filling that role.

Frankly speaking, there's no need for escorts or whatnot.

She did not think anyone could evade the Goblins' eyes and reach the heart of the village, but she could not completely ignore their worries.

Trailed by the Redcap, she headed toward the larder that adjoined her house.

She opened the door and saw a cramped place packed with barrels and bottles, with many glass flasks lining the shelves. In its depths was a small mountain of grain, and hanging from the rafters were bales of sweetgrass and jerky.

The reason why they had so much food was because the Goblins had put a lot of effort into breaking ground and opening up new fields.

Currently, there were a lot of new crop fields surrounding the village in a large radius. While repaying the food they had borrowed would be difficult, they were at least self-sufficient for this year. In addition, they had captured chicken-like monsters and tried breeding them. If all went well, they would be able to fully repay the food they had borrowed.

After selecting the ingredients for today's meal, Enri headed back outside.

There was a massive wall in the corner of her vision.

It might have been within the village, but the wall was not made of wood. It protected the Dwarven workshops, and standing sentry within it was the Death Knight who had slaughtered the knights that had terrorized Carne Village in the past.

The wall which enclosed the Dwarven ateliers had been personally raised by the ruler of this nation and the savior of this village, the Sorcerer King Ainz Ooal Gown. "Its purpose is to minimize the damage caused to the surrounding village when their experiments fail," he had said.

She had wondered if they could not simply build it outside the village, but obviously she could not say such a thing to His Majesty.

"I wonder what magic items the Dwarf-sans are working on now?"

"Shall we investigate?"

"I've told you before, you can't."

While nobody had told her what the Dwarves were working on in their workshops, she was confident that it would not harm the village. Enri could accept that.

Should she try to stealthily gather information about them? The Goblins had suggested that several times in the past, but Enri had always shut down those suggestions with ironclad finality.

Carne Village's savior, Ainz Ooal Gown had said that he wanted the village to accept these Dwarves. At the same time, he had told them that what they were working on was top secret.

Even if he was an undead being who hated the living, he was still the magic caster who had saved the village several times, and so they trusted him more than anyone alive.

Just then, the Redcap slid in front of Enri. They only did that under certain circumstances.

Enri shifted her line of sight and saw the familiar form of a beautiful woman, who was surrounded by four Redcaps.

"Hiya, En-chan. How ya doin'~"

"Ah, good morning, Lupusregina-san."

Things had been like this ever since the person called Lupusregina met the Goblins. The Redcaps were few in number, but whenever Lupusregina showed up, they appeared in groups. In addition, they wielded weapons that they would not normally carry around.

It was said that there were other Goblins present in the vicinity besides the Redcaps, but Enri had never seen them before.

Even Enri could tell that the reason why they had gone to such lengths was because the Redcaps — no, the Goblins were wary of Lupusregina. That said, Lupusregina might be a mystery, but Enri did not think that she would do anything to a village which hosted a bronze statue of her master. In addition, she had saved Enri and Nfirea's life in the past.

On the contrary, Enri could not help but worry that this would upset her.

She had spoken to the Goblin Strategist and he had said that he would talk to them about it, but it would seem nothing had come of that thus far.

The sole saving grace was that when she had told Lupusregina about this, she told Enri not to worry about it.

"I've only been here a while and already there's people dashing out. Poor me~"

"There's no way we wouldn't be on guard against you when you arrive in that way. You should know that."

The answer came from one of the Redcaps surrounding Lupusregina.

His voice was calm, but there was a clear sense of wariness in his voice.

"Ah!" Enri raised her voice as she considered that the situation was developing in a bad direction. "How exactly did you come here, anyway?"

"Hm? I took Flatchest Vampire Airlines Frost 05, from Nazarick to Carne~"

"Eh? Flatchest Vampire Airlines?"

"Yup. It's the name of the person in charge of all outdoor movement~"

"Pettan Ketsuki Koukuu-san, then?"

"Yup. Pretty much, Oh, and if you meet her in person, just tell her I said it. Or rather, I hope you'll mention my name. Otherwise, who knows what'll happen to you~"

As she looked on Enri's puzzled face, Lupusregina broke into a smile.

"En-chan, you're really funny. Really, you're quite interesting..." Lupusregina's eyes narrowed in an instant. "Really~"

Lupusregina's bright red tongue peeked out from her slightly opened mouth and licked her lips.

It was not a seductive gesture. However, Enri felt something crawl up her lower back.

In that moment, the Redcap standing by her sprang into action.

He pulled Enri back and slid into the gap — in front of Lupusregina — which had appeared.

In this highly tense atmosphere, Lupusregina shrugged, wearing her rarely-seen serious face.

"...I won't do anything to her~ Is that enough to calm you down? Still, if you don't believe me, why don't you all come at once and have a go? That way, I can deal with you without holding back."

The Redcap lowered his head, and returned to his original position.

"—And that's that. By the way, Frost refers to Frost Dragons."

"Frost—Dragons?! By Dragons you mean the Dragons from legend, right? Amazing! Are those Dragons Gown-sama's servants as well?"

"Yup. Air transport is flourishing in the Sorcerous Kingdom~"

"That's amazing!"

Enri's eyes were sparkling.

The Dragons in question were incredibly powerful monsters sung about in legends. Anyone who could subjugate them was no ordinary magic caster.

"Gown-sama is really amazing!"

"...Well, that's true,"

A troubled expression came over Lupusregina's face.

"A Dragon like that... hm~ someone like me... Well, it's fine~"

There were some things Enri wanted to ask, but since she seemed to have come to terms with things, it was alright. Probably.

"Ah, why did you come around today?"

"Ah, yes, yes. Hm... I might not be able to come by for a while. I came to tell you that I hope you can take care of yourself."

They had known each other for over a year, but this was the first time she had said such a thing.

"What happened?"

"Hm~ I guess it's okay to tell you, En-chan. Actually, it seems Ainz-sama was defeated in battle and died."

Enri pondered the meaning of those words, and then their meaning sank in.

Her response was equally understandable.

"EHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH?!"

-x-X-x-