Chapter 318

Days on the road saw numerous assemblies of the population, the Kingdom of Carne's population expanded shockingly close to the Kingdom of Nazarick, and a few towns were even springing up. Ainz recalled the state of things when he'd first appeared, village after village destroyed by Theocracy soldiers disguised as knights… as a result, villages tended not to come too close to borders unless there was a fortification to protect them from harm. But there were no forts to be found except for a handful that existed for travelers along the roadways.

It was a ringing endorsement of the Wolf King and Wolf Queen's faith in the Allfather, and the result was an eruption in farmland that rivaled the most fertile places in Re-Estize.

For this stage of the journey, Enri's carriage took the lead, allowing her the honor to put the peasants in good spirits, and many gathered along the roads to wave or bow or kneel and pay their respects. It wasn't lost on Ainz how diverse their reactions to the Queen was when she leaned half her body out the window and waved at them with both hands.

Her smile was bright and wheat golden hair trailed beside her in the breeze stirred up by the rolling carriage, the peasants whooped and cheered, proving her wild popularity, while the Swords of Darkness rode close by with proud expressions on their faces every step of the way. 'Even Lukrut, for all his ludicrousness, seemed to have taken things seriously…' Ainz noted, but kept his focus on the reactions to, and 'of' the Wolf Queen.

She clearly didn't care 'how' they paid their respects to her, she had no sense of royal decorum… Ainz tried to imagine Calca, or Albedo, or Draudillon or Renner, or even Neia, doing this, and he simply couldn't picture it. 'But it works for her.' He thought of Enri, her youth, sunny disposition, and her obvious love for her population shown through her clear and obvious return of their adoration back to them had paid off in a rare sort of way.

'Her children might not have her casual air, but for a very long time I think I'll find the rulers of Carne to be very plain spoken and open faced people… I think I'll like dealing with them.' Ainz reasoned, and made a mental note to put additional funds into trade development with them before integration was completed. 'A little of their mannerisms would do a world of good for the stiffnecked natures of some of the others… then maybe I could relax just a little more.'

He knew it was a selfish thought, but he didn't have it in him to care. Not about that.

The carriages switched places after crossing the border, putting the Allfather's in the forefront well before any crowds came into view. Albedo, of course, had her own view on the matter. "Hmpf, she should have always been behind our Lord, that is where all creatures belong, behind him or beneath him." She had a rarely revealed viciousness about her at that moment which was the opposite of the calm and matronly woman she portrayed herself as most of the time.

And in that, Calca believed she saw a glimpse of the real self beneath the mask. It chilled her blood to see it, and the unspoken question came to mind again, 'Exactly what race is she?' The wings made it certain that Albedo was not a human, but with so many races in the world, and perhaps even more in the confusing panoply of the 'Second World' and 'First World' the possibilities were endless.

But that mask dropping moment provided an answer the Roble Holy Queen never expected. 'The Allmother… she is a demon… a true demon in the flesh…'

She would still need to ask to be sure, she didn't believe her husband would lie to her about it, but the asking was merely to confirm what the Holy Queen was now absolutely certain of.

But how to ask… and how she should act having gained that knowledge, were very different things.

Thankfully her husband saw fit to answer.

"Now, now, Albedo." Ainz patted her thigh and the demon immediately calmed herself and wore her mask of sweetness and light again, "If we give them the little things, we gain the large things. Especially if what we give them increases what we gain."

Again Ainz cast a silent thought of gratitude toward the missing Queen of the Draconic Kingdom, by now agents and spies and search parties from multiple nations would be scouring the Slane Theocracy and rushing toward the elf Kingdom itself. But none would accomplish as much as his own agents, of that Ainz was sure.

'Demiurge will have set demons to scouting for her, demons that even the elves wouldn't have a chance at seeing, not to mention the Hanzos… wherever she is, we will find her.' Ainz felt the certainty in his gut, and trusted it enough to relax as he watched the scenery pass.

The crowds which gathered began 'mostly human' and Calca waved with polite, reserved dignity, as did Albedo and the Allfather.

But as they went from village to village and town to town over the next few days, there was a change. "Dark elves?" Calca asked.

"They are former slaves from the Baharuth Empire, brought here to help settle the vast empty lands between cities." Albedo explained without looking away. The carriage bumped a little, "Oh and… the roads aren't finished yet, but they lay a few miles every day in exchange for certain… considerations, on their taxes."

"Paving… everything?" Calca asked, and Albedo acknowledged her question.

"Yes, roads are the lifeblood of a Kingdom, good roads mean ample trade and travel, it's how talent moves from place to place and it makes a kingdom prosperous. In time there will be a single continuous road from the tip of the Southern Holy Kingdom, all the way to the most distant border of the Baharuth Empire. Our husband has a slew of plans, nay, a mountain of plans for the reshaping of this world!" Albedo said with an almost wild expression as she opened her arms expansively.

"Plans? Husband?" Calca asked, and picked up her son to cradle him against her bosom, her eyes narrowed just a little, "What is she speaking of?"

"Project 'Utopia'." Ainz answered.

"U-to-pia?" Calca sounded out the unfamiliar word. "What is that?"

"In literal terms, the word means 'nowhere' but it has another meaning. It refers to an imaginary Kingdom in which perfect and rational governing takes place, an ideal state-" Ainz ceased to speak when tears filled Calca's eyes.

"Where everyone will be happy, and no one will cry…" She finished the unspoken words of an ideal she hadn't dared to dream of since the day she had to reclaim her capital city from her own angry population. "I'd… I'd almost forgotten my own dream… tell me everything, and how I can help make this Utopia 'everywhere' instead of 'nowhere'."

'And just like that… she is his, down to the core of her soul…' Albedo thought with a welling of admiration for her master. Though he couldn't rewrite others as he had rewritten her in the final hour, he somehow changed those he touched, and made them his with nothing more than words.

"How glorious is my Lord, and how lucky I am to be by his side…' Albedo thought with joy, and the carriage rolled on, with dignified waves to the cheering dark elves who rushed to gain a glimpse of their liberator in the flesh.