The Paladin of the Sacred Kingdom Part I

by Kugane Maruyama

  If that happened, then Remedios wouldn’t be able to keep whatever promise she made here. In the end, this delegation was a group of regular people of unstable standing in society who came to beg for any kindness they could find.

  She couldn’t guarantee anything. It was nearly impossible for a single person to bear the weight of an entire state. Only a monarch could do that.

  “Excuse me, Your Majesty, King of Darkness. My name is Gustav Montagnés; I serve as Commander Custodio’s deputy. Please permit me to speak in her place.”

  The King of Darkness gestured with his jaw that Gustav should continue.

  “Thank you. We are unable to promise the sort of thing Your Majesty desires. Even if we manage to retake the Sacred Kingdom’s territory, rebuilding after Jaldabaoth ravaged our country will take an awfully long time, so I doubt we would be able to turn over anything we might offer you here in a timely manner. But I would like to make one appeal to you, and that is regarding how dangerous Jaldabaoth is.”

  “Hmm… Go on.”

  “Your Majesty. He appeared this time with a subhuman army that he didn’t bring with him to the Re-Estize Kingdom. If we don’t slay him now, there’s no telling what he’ll prepare by the next time he reappears.”

  “So what you’re saying is that now, while he’s in front of us, is our chance to kill him—that we should nip this trouble in the bud—right?”

  “As you so wisely perceive, Your Majesty. With that in mind, could you not please send Sir Momon?”

  “I see. That makes sense. Certainly, Jaldabaoth should be destroyed.”

  “Then—”

  When a look of joy was about to come over Gustav’s face, the King of Darkness began to thrust a fist out, but then stopped and clacked his staff.

  “But I can’t send Momon. Even if we manage to exterminate Jaldabaoth, I can’t have our domestic politics destabilized in his absence. So how about this? If you can buy a little more time, we can stabilize our situation. Then I can send Momon over—if he agrees, of course. You mentioned before that you could still put up a fight, right?”

  “Th-that’s true, but…how much later would he come?”

  “Hmm… Albedo, what do you think?” The ruler turned to the prime minister, who had been standing by at his side the whole time.

  “The fact that the number of subhumans in our nation is likely to increase may delay any estimate we could make. To allow for that, a few years. Hmm, yes… I think after five years our problems will be solved.”

  “There you have it. So will that work for you?”

  Five years, Gustav rolled the number around in his mouth and shook his head slightly. “It’s a bit long…”

  “I see… I suppose we need to think of your country’s needs. This is a favor being asked by a friendly nation after all.” He emphasized the word friendly. “We’ll do everything we can to cut that time down. So, Albedo, how long would it take if we stripped it down as far as we can go?”

  “In that case, perhaps we could make do with three years. But we may risk some turmoil in the Nation of Darkness.”

  “Well, that can’t be helped, I suppose. It’s to save our friends. We should spill a little blood here, too…metaphorically speaking.”

  He said it as a joke, but no one laughed.

  “…Ahem. Now then, how does that sound? We’ve shortened the time by two years.”

  The Nation of Darkness had compromised by shaving two years, but three was still far too long. There was no telling how much damage would be done during that time or if the Sacred Kingdom would even be able to maintain itself as a country. It wasn’t tenable. But if they said that outright, even the offer of sending Sir Momon after three years could be taken off the table.

  Still, the chance to save the Sacred Kingdom was right in front of them.

  This was the moment they had come all this way for. It was worth risking their lives.

  Prepared to die if necessary, Neia inhaled and said, “My humble apologies, Your Majesty, King of Darkness.”

  “…Who are you?”

  “I’m a squire in the Sacred Kingdom’s Paladin Order. My name is Neia Baraja. I realize it’s rude of me to ask this, but couldn’t you send Sir Momon any sooner?”

  The King of Darkness seemed to think it over.

  “Neia! What’s a squire doing petitioning a king?!”

  Neia thought only one thing when Remedios scolded her like that.

  Please wait a little longer to cut down your insolent squire.

  “Okay, sure. Neia, you said, right? Then when should I send him?”

  “If you could send him as soon as possible, that would be much appreciated.”

  “You’re asking me to send him, knowing it will cause damage to the Nation of Darkness, yes?”

  “Yes, Your Majesty!” Neia bowed.

  She had already resigned herself. If this upset the King of Darkness, she would simply pay for her mistake by having the commander execute her.

  She closed her eyes so the sword could come down at any time.

  “Your Majesty! Please forgive my squire’s impudence! We have absolutely no intention of causing damage to the Nation of Darkness!”

  “Oh, don’t worry about it. It’s natural for someone from one country to not mind what harm may come to another if it means saving their own… Hmm. Albedo. Do you think we could manage it in two years?”

  “I think that would be very difficult.”

  “I see. Still…make it happen.”

  Neia’s eyes had been downcast, but she looked up at the king in spite of herself.

  “Yes, Your Majesty! Understood!”

  The slight tremble of Albedo’s shoulders after she received an order uttered in that powerful voice fitting for an absolute ruler must have been anxiety about this guest’s reckless challenge.

  “Neia…Baraja. How about two years, then? You may still think it’s too long, but if the army in the south still stands, you can hold out, can’t you?”

  Two years was still too long. But she could hardly take any more advantage of his kindness than she already had.

  “Thank you, Your Majesty!”

  Her gratitude came out earnestly because she felt that their chances of being saved were better than before.

  Remedios bowed after her. “Thank you, Your Majesty! You have my deepest gratitude for granting my squire’s wish!”

  “It’s fine. Commander Custodio, you have a valuable subordinate, there. A squire can’t petition a foreign king unless they truly love their country… And I’m not being sarcastic.”

  “No, I’m sure she’s happy to hear you say that.”

  “I see. Very well, I think we’re finished here? It was a fruitful meeting.”

  “The King of Darkness will leave you now.”

  At the sound of Albedo’s voice, Neia lowered her head.

  She heard the same footsteps and clacking as when he had come in, but receding this time. Eventually there came the sound of a door closing. The King of Darkness must have left the room.

  “His Majesty has gone.” When Neia looked up, Albedo was smiling, her cheeks slightly flushed. “All right, I’ll see you all out now.”

  •

  Neia had braced herself, and sure enough, when they arrived at the inn, the dressing down from Remedios began.

  “What were you thinking, talking out of turn like that?!”

  When she tried to come closer, red in the face, Gustav stood between them and spread his arms.

  “Commander Custodio! Please wait! It’s true that Squire Bajara acted without permission, but as a result, the wait time was shortened by a year. Shouldn’t you be praising her?!”

  “What are you saying?! The negotiations could have broken down entirely! And in the first place, how could we praise acting without permission?!”

  “My humble apologies.” Neia bowed sincerely.

  “Are you really conscious that what you did was wrong?! This time things turned out fine, but if they don�
�t next time, are you prepared to be held accountable?!”

  “My humble apologies.”

  “I’m asking you! Answer me! Could you have told the suffering people of the Sacred Kingdom that reinforcements didn’t come because of you?!”

  “No, I wouldn’t have been able to take that responsibility.”

  “Then why would you do something like that?! What were you thinking?!”

  Neia raised her head and looked the commander in the eye. “I thought that if things went badly, you would take my life and offer it to the King of Darkness as an apology.”

  Remedios’s eyes went wide. But immediately after, they narrowed in displeasure. Gustav next to her looked impressed.

  “You think I’d allow that?! You think your little life would be enough to make things right?!”

  “I don’t know. But I thought that you and Gustav would figure something out.”

  “And what would you do if we couldn’t?!”

  She had a point. It was definitely possible that the King of Darkness wouldn’t have been appeased by her death. But the reason she had spoken up anyway was because three years was simply too long.

  Did she think three years was fine? Why should I have to be criticized by someone who did nothing? I understand it was a gamble. But I did it because one side of the balance is the lives of all the people in the Sacred Kingdom. I’m sure saying something there was the right thing to do…

  Were the results all that mattered? Or was the method just as important? Probably no one could answer that conundrum.

  Either way, she didn’t enjoy being condemned by someone who had taken no action.

  But Neia had an idea what would happen to someone who voiced an opinion like that. So she said nothing and bowed her head.

  “Commander, please leave it at that. Thanks to her, our wait will be one year shorter. I think we should balance our response between reward and punishment. Or at least praise her as much as we scold her.”

  “………Tch.”

  Remedios seemed like she had more to say, but instead she turned on her heel and walked away.

  Phew, Gustav exhaled. Then he turned to Neia.

  “Your resolve was magnificent. The commander may be harsh with you, but she recognizes what you’ve done.”

  That’s definitely a lie. No one can hide a lie that big.

  Maybe her thoughts showed on her face? Gustav winced. “Anyhow, I’ll talk to her. If you see her now, it’ll just be more trouble, so could you go out for a bit?”

  “Understood. Thank you.”

  Neia left the inn and set off for a stroll in the brisk air.

  “Man…”

  Sure, she could “go out,” but in this country, where to?

  Neia dug in her breast pocket for a small pouch. Inside was what little money she possessed. It wasn’t much, but there were bronze and silver coins from the Sacred Kingdom. And if she couldn’t use that, she did have one gold trade coin. It would be enough to get a meal.

  But can I really use the last allowance from my parents on this?

  Neia gazed at the foreign land she was in.

  “This is such a pain. Ugh…”

  “That was an awfully heavy sigh.”

  The voice came from so nearby, Neia jumped.

  “Turn down that street. We stand out too much here.”

  There was no way she would forget that voice so soon. She nearly called for help, but managed to stop herself. When she walked as directed, she sensed something following behind her. It wasn’t just a voice being projected—apparently its owner was there, but invisible to Neia.

  Once they were on the other street, the voice said, “Turn left into that narrow alley.” Neia silently obeyed. It was cleaner than she expected, but there weren’t many people around.

  After walking a few paces in, Neia turned around and addressed the voice.

  “Your Majesty, why are you here? And are you using magic to make yourself invisible?”

  “I see. I wondered why you were doing everything I said so trustingly, but you realized who it was, huh?” With that, the King of Darkness showed himself.

  He had changed into a dark-black robe so as not to attract attention. But the robe had a velvet sheen, and she could tell it was valuable.

  Neia immediately fell to one knee.

  “Yes, it is as you say, Your Majesty. Where…is your escort?”

  “Oh, I didn’t bring one. Having someone along would only be a bother.”

  “Wh-what do you mean?!”

  “Mm. I want to speak with your leader in secret. I want you to call her for me… No, I should go to her room. Could you open the window? I can go in that way.”

  That was a bizarre request. She wouldn’t normally open her commander’s window, but it was a king—the king who had promised to assist Roebel—who was asking. She couldn’t be so foolish as to displease him.

  The word assassination crossed her mind, but if he wanted to kill Remedios, he could have done it when they met him earlier.

  There was also the possibility that someone was impersonating the king. But this presence before her that exuded overwhelming sovereignty was undoubtedly the King of Darkness. Each and every move he made could only have been performed by someone born as royalty.

  Should I believe him or not?

  Neia thought for a moment and chose the former.

  “Understood. I’ll go right away.”

  “Indeed. By the way, were you sent on an errand or something? If so, I should apologize to your leader.”

  “Huh?”

  “—Huh?”

  Neia inadvertently exchanged glances with the king.

  “…You mean you’re not out on work? It’s like free time? If so, I’ll apologize for interrupting your precious—yes, truly precious—off time with my request.”

  “N-no, it’s not really…like that… I-I’ll go open the window.”

  She slipped past the King of Darkness in hurry.

  What had startled her was the kindness in his words, as if someone had gently spread a rich medicine blended with oil on her cracked, dry hands.

  She sprinted and reached the inn almost immediately.

  Of course, she couldn’t go thudding around at full speed inside such a high-class establishment. That said, she couldn’t take her time, either, so she proceeded at a speed that wouldn’t be uncouth—although she had the feeling she got some cold looks from the staff—and arrived at the commander’s room.

  She knocked right away and went to open the door, but it was locked. For a moment, she had the lonesome feeling she’d been the only one left out, but this wasn’t the time.

  “It’s Squire Neia Baraja. Please open the door.”

  There was a click, and a paladin peeked his face out.

  “Excuse me.” She didn’t have time for manners. She spoke to Remedios, who was there, “It’s His Majesty the King of Darkness. He wants to speak to you in secret.”

  Neia sensed everyone’s eyes look behind her in surprise.

  “No, he’s not there.”

  She walked swiftly over to the window and opened it.

  As one would expect from a high-class inn, there was no creaking, and it opened smoothly.

  “What are you—?!”

  From a third party’s perspective, it seemed like an almost dangerous act. It was only natural that one of the paladins would shout, especially since it was one of the ones who had been guarding the Holy Lady.

  But Neia took no notice. She leaned out the window and waved to the King of Darkness who was out there somewhere.

  Someone yanked her collar back.

  “What are you doing, Squire Baraja, indiscreetly opening the window? And where exactly is the King of Darkness supposed to be?”

  She turned around to find a paladin red in the face. Well, it made sense to be angry, but—

  “That’s enough. She has only broken your rules to grant my wish. If you’re going to blame someone, blame me.”

  A
soft voice reverberated in the room.

  With his foot on the windowsill, the King of Darkness leisurely revealed himself.

  The paladins reached instinctively for their swords, but Neia rushed to stop them.

  “Hmm… I seem to have startled you. Sorry for that. I came because I wanted to meet in secret. I realize coming through the window is ill-mannered, but I hope you’ll understand that I had no choice… I put her in a difficult situation…” Having set his feet on the floor, he surveyed with room with a kingly air. “…I am the King of Darkness, Ainz Ooal Gown.”

  When he announced himself, Neia was the first to take a knee. Behind her, she heard the rest of the knights follow.

  “It’s all right… You should stand. We don’t have much time. Lady Custodio. Can we talk?”

  “I have no objections. This way, please.”

  Neia sighed as she stood—phew—and her eyes met the King of Darkness’s when he turned around. Of course, he didn’t have eyeballs, so maybe she was the only one who felt like they exchanged a glance.

  “That squire won’t be participating?”

  “She’s only a squire.”

  “She was at the audience earlier, though, right?”

  He sounded genuinely puzzled and expressed himself in an utterly normal way, but the sarcasm was biting.

  “Squire Baraja, you come, too.”

  “Yes, ma’am!”

  She didn’t really want to attend the meeting, but for some reason, she was curious to see why the King of Darkness could possibly have come.

  Remedios, Gustav, and the King of Darkness sat at a table, while Neia and the others stood against the wall. It was the same setup as when they had met the Blue Roses.

  “All right, Your Majesty. Please forgive me, but I’ll be direct. Why have you suddenly shown up at our inn?” Gustav asked, and Remedios nodded.

  “Sure. I said back there that I’m not fond of indirectness. I don’t want people to understand me in a warped or mistaken way.”

  His way of speaking was so substantial somehow, so indescribably intimate.

  “We decided on sending Momon in two years, but if you agree to one condition, I’m not averse to sending someone else as strong as him right away.”