And on top of that, the hoofprints of the horses the paladins had with them would be spotted instantly by someone who knew what to look for. So was it only coincidence that they hadn’t been discovered until now? Or—
“Y-Your Majesty. We haven’t been covering our tracks. Do you think they let us go on purpose? …But why?” she asked, her voice quivering.
On their journey together, she had learned that the king before her was incredibly wise. She was correct to think that he might tell her the answer right then and there.
“…Well, there are a range of possible explanations, but the most likely is…”
For a moment, Neia thought it would be better to have him explain to their leader and not just her, but she couldn’t hold back her fearful curiosity.
“…that they don’t want to lose track of the liberation army, don’t you think?”
“Lose track of us?”
“Yes. Maybe this isn’t a very good metaphor, but say they found a nest of naughty mice. If the mice scattered, wouldn’t that be a pain? They must be waiting till all the mice gather to get rid of them all at once.”
Oh! He’s exactly right. I can’t imagine any other reason. I’m amazed he could analyze the situation so well after only being here for a few minutes… He seems to even understand how our adversaries think… Wow.
“As long as the circumstances don’t change, I doubt we have anything to fear. But I guess the tricky thing is that it’s not only our circumstances that could affect the timing of their attack. Naturally, theirs are a factor, too…”
Neia could only marvel at the king’s intelligence, how he could point out all these things so precisely.
“Thank you, Your Majesty! I’ll go report that to the commander right away.”
“Then I’ll come along.”
“Huh? But you must be exhausted from the long trip. They’re preparing a room for you, so wouldn’t you rather rest?”
“Did you forget? I’m an undead! I never need a break.”
That was true. She had completely forgotten.
Undead were beings who never tired. She remembered learning, for that very reason, that it would be hard to escape from an undead that could move as fast as she could. That utterly ordinary knowledge and her entire preconception of the undead had been shattered thanks to the King of Darkness. He was so different from what she had been taught to expect that she wondered sometimes if he wasn’t a human caster wearing a skull mask.
“Oh, I appreciate that. Then would you come with me?”
“Of course. And you don’t need to thank me. We’re in this fight to defeat Jaldabaoth together.”
She knew that by “we” he meant the Nation of Darkness and the Roebel Sacred Kingdom, but she heard it as him and her, which was a bit of a thrill.
Eventually someone knocked on the carriage door.
“Your Majesty, your room is ready.”
Neia was the one to open the door.
When the paladin standing outside saw the bow Neia was holding, his eyes nearly popped out of his head in shock.
She had never taken the bow out of the carriage before—because it happened that the King of Darkness hadn’t left the carriage since lending it to her. As a result, she had come this far without showing it to anyone.
…He’s surprised. Yeah, I know exactly how he feels. It’s definitely not the kind of weapon a squire would have…
Feeling the eyes on her, she turned back to the carriage and bowed her head.
Looking down at the ground, she didn’t raise her head until she had confirmed that the King of Darkness’s feet were settled. Then she turned to the paladin and asked, “Excuse me, but there’s something I’d like to talk to Commander Custodio about. Could you take me to her? His Majesty has said he would like to come along.”
“U-uh, yes. Understood. Then please follow me.”
The order they entered the cave was paladin, King of Darkness, Neia.
The pale-blue light from the tall mushrooms was pretty creepy. In some places where multiple mushrooms clustered together, they cast monstrous shadows on the wall. And since the humans’ skin was illuminated pale and blue, they looked almost like the dead, but strangely, that didn’t bother Neia now.
As they walked through the cave, they sometimes saw paladins on guard, as well as priests and commoners.
They had probably heard from the others, but they still couldn’t conceal their shocked stares at the King of Darkness.
They’re being so rude…
The King of Darkness probably wouldn’t get angry. He was extremely warmhearted, but that was exactly the sort of person who was terrifying when they did finally get mad.
With that in mind, she probably should have told them not to be rude, but telling every single individual would have taken all day, and it wasn’t really the sort of issue that could be solved by a quick warning like that. To the people of the Sacred Kingdom, and to living things in general, undead were naturally the enemy.
I could tell the commander…but, well, they aren’t drawing their weapons, so that’s halfway decent at least…
She suddenly noticed the King of Darkness take out a piece of paper and stare at it. She wondered what it said, but he was shielding it with a hand, so she couldn’t read it.
Eventually, they reached their destination, where voices overlapping in vigorous debate could be heard behind a curtain.
“Commander Custodio. His Majesty the King of Darkness has come with Squire Baraja.”
The room instantly fell silent.
At that point, the paper that had been in the king’s hand was nowhere to be seen.
“Have them come in.”
At their commander’s voice, the paladin raised the curtain.
The eyes of the paladins and priests—people who hadn’t been part of the delegation—contained a multitude of emotions as they stood to greet the king.
Even Neia could tell. So she was sure the King of Darkness could as well. But she didn’t detect any change in his mood from behind.
He can’t not have noticed what the atmosphere is like in here. Maybe kings just don’t sweat the small stuff…
“Listen, everyone. This is His Majesty the King of Darkness, Ainz Ooal Gown. Unable to watch our country continue to suffer, he came personally to aid us. Take care to mind your manners!”
Hearing Remedios’s comments, everyone in the room immediately bowed to the king.
When they raised their heads, he began to speak with a stately air. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. I am the King of Darkness, Ainz Ooal Gown. I’m coming to your aid not as a nation but as an individual. And I’m sorry to visit you so suddenly, but there’s something I realized since arriving, and I wanted to ask what you all think about it. I’ll have the aide you provided for me, Squire Baraja, explain.”
The king stepped to the side, so Neia slipped past him to come forward.
“Hello, everyone. Allow me to explain what His Majesty noticed.”
She told everyone what he had told her. After her short explanation, a heavy silence ruled the room.
“…So what do you think we should do?” Remedios asked the being next to Neia.
“No, first I want to know what you think. I came to fight Jaldabaoth, not take command. If I do too much leading, won’t there be trouble after I defeat Jaldabaoth?”
A murmur unsettled the room.
“…Or would you rather I took charge? If so, I’ll save this country in the optimal way.”
That would probably be best, wouldn’t it? His Majesty may be an undead, but everything he says is right, and he keeps his promises. At this moment when so many of our people are suffering, maybe the right thing to do is accept another country’s king.
“The only one above us is Her Majesty the Holy Lady. Sorry, but we can’t have another country’s king command us.” Remedios refused immediately.
“Ngh!”
We should do whatever it takes to save the suffering people. Isn’
t that why you decided to use another country and its wonderful king?!
Neia hung her head. She couldn’t let the complicated feelings inside her show.
“For our reference, would you tell us what you would do, Your Majesty?”
“If it were me? Once I made any move, I would look for a new base right away, I think.”
“A new base…?”
Everyone in the room subordinate to Remedios frowned. They didn’t have any other places to hide.
“You don’t seem to have any ideas. In that case, your only choice is to plan an operation on the assumption that the more moves you make, the sooner Jaldabaoth’s army will attack… Okay, that’s enough from me, I think. I’ll go to my room now.”
Neia started to go with him, but he stopped her.
“Sorry, Miss Baraja, but I’d like you to stay here and listen as my representative.”
“Understood, Your Majesty.”
He can’t be thinking of me as one of his people, but he accepts me as a representative. Then he would be disappointed if she didn’t do her best to fulfill the role. The thought of the King of Darkness being disappointed in her made her heart uneasy somehow.
“Okay, I’m counting on you. You’re fine with that, right, Lady Custodio?”
“I have no objections if it’s what Your Majesty wants.”
Having received that reply, the King of Darkness turned to go along with the paladin who had guided them.
Once they were around a corner and out of sight, a priest spoke up. “So that’s the King of Darkness… Commander Custodio, are you sure we can trust him? I’m not sure anything good will come of chasing off one monster by inviting an even more terrible one in…”
“Exactly. Escaping our current suffering by doing something that will poison us in the long run… Well, that’s the typical pattern of someone ruining themselves.”
“We already discussed that. Let’s not rehash it. The poison is already coursing through us.”
So they don’t even call him His Majesty?
Neia was irritated by the way everyone was acting since the king left.
She understood how they felt about undead as subjects of the Sacred Kingdom; their attitude was utterly natural. Actually, it was stranger that Neia took issue with it. Why am I annoyed?
“We see the value in using him… You’ve explained it to us quite clearly. I’m just not sure even we priests will be able to provide an antidote.”
What did they mean “value in using him”? Why try to decide if they could take advantage of someone who noticed their mistake and even offered them a plan to fix it instead of thanking him?
Ohhh, I see. There’s something I sense from His Majesty that the Sacred Kingdom is lacking right now: nobility. That’s why my heart is so…
How lucky she was.
She had been given the opportunity to ride in the same carriage and decide that the King of Darkness was a ruler worthy of respect despite being an undead.
So maybe the correct thing to feel toward these people was pity.
“By the way, Squire Baraja. What’s that bow you have there?”
“Oh, it’s a weapon His Majesty told me to use; he lent it to me just for the duration of this mission.”
“…Can I see it for a minute, Squire Baraja? We should examine it to make sure it isn’t enchanted with any harmful magic.” A priest reached out a hand.
She probably should have handed it over, but—
“No, sorry.”
The priest went slack-jawed. His face said he never expected to be refused.
“This is a weapon I received from His Majesty to be used to protect him. I can’t allow anyone else to touch it.” She spoke with her eyes downcast, so the anger inside her wouldn’t show. He’s cooperating with us, yet you only want to use him! Why would I hand it over for even a second?
“Commander Custodio, what is the meaning of this?”
“My thoughts exactly. Squire Neia Baraja, you need to—”
“So then, I can tell His Majesty?”
The atmosphere in the room froze.
“Fine, whatever. Let’s move on.”
Hmm, so she’s aware that they’re saying things that would be problematic if His Majesty were to find out.
“Before we do that, Commander Custodio, shouldn’t we send Squire Baraja back to the king?”
Neia saw the priest’s eyes flick toward her bow momentarily.
She understood what he was getting at, and she responded with a look that showed none of the disgust rising within her. “My apologies, but His Majesty ordered me to stay and listen. I’d appreciate it if you would allow me to be here.”
“Hmm… Gustav, what do you think?”
“His Majesty told her that in front of us. If we sent her away now, it could cause trouble.”
“I see. Then let’s have her stay.”
You really said all that right in front of me, huh? thought Neia as she bowed and expressed her gratitude.
“So what should we do about what the King of Darkness said? It’s easy to say we should move, but… Does anyone have an idea of somewhere safe we could go?”
If there were someone like her father, Pabel, here, who had ranger skills, they would have been able to make or find a space where this amount of people could camp long-term. But there was no one like that in this group.
“The King of Darkness—His Majesty was saying that he thought Jaldabaoth wouldn’t make a move as long as we didn’t. So we just need to find somewhere to shelter before he does anything, right?”
The paladin’s suggestion gathered supporters. But Neia knew that nothing good would come of putting off the issue. They would only end up panicking.
“It’s not only an issue of location but also of food. Right now, our supplies are keeping well because it’s winter, but we’ll still only barely make it through. It seems like you weren’t able to get assistance in Re-Estize, but shouldn’t you at least have bought some food?”
“Unfortunately, the food in the Kingdom was more expensive than we could have imagined. And even if we could have bought it, how would we transport enough to feed all these people for several months?”
“Deputy Gustav, I understand what you’re saying, but without food we’re doomed. Maybe we really should try to obtain some from the south? Or we could move our base closer to the coast and transport food from Re-Estize by water?”
“We don’t have the money for that. We tried getting support from the wealthy merchants there, but we didn’t get a good response. And from the south…” Gustav winced. “They don’t realize how close the danger is to them, that our navy being worn down means the same as going to the guillotine.”
“We need something to motivate the south to cooperate.”
“A base, food. We have heaps of problems.”
“…Is Her Majesty the Holy Lady’s resurrection likely?”
“Unfortunately, according to the Blue Roses, tier-five magic probably won’t work when there is no body or the damage is too severe.”
“…Could His Majesty the King of Darkness do it?”
“You’d borrow the power of an undead?”
“We have no choice. Once Her Majesty is resurrected, then our main problem is Jaldabaoth.”
Everyone looked to Remedios, who was scowling.
“…We’re shelving that issue for later. I considered our options while we were traveling—the first thing we’ll do is free the people imprisoned in the camps.”
A few people nodded in agreement.
“Aha. All the people of the Sacred Kingdom have combat training. Each village liberated is another military force…if they’ll fight. But if we do that, our food issues will be even more dire.”
“That’s why we attack the camps. They must have food there.”
“Oh! Good thinking as always, Commander Custodio.”
The paladin’s comment made Remedios grin.
Neia looked at her smug face with icy eyes—because she
knew whose idea it had been.
“And we’ll have those people help us to liberate more camps. At some point, we’ll be sure to find a noble who could put us in touch with the south. Before Jaldabaoth can mobilize his army against us, we’ll build our own and launch an attack of our own. That should throw off their plans.”
“Aha!”
Now there were more voices chiming in.
“That should be our plan. Squire Baraja, inform the King of—”
“One moment, Commander. I think it would be better to have me talk to him. We should follow all the etiquette when explaining an operation to a king.”
Gustav was right. But Neia had the feeling that wasn’t the only reason for his proposal.
Still, since she didn’t know what Gustav was up to, she couldn’t object.
“I see. Well then, let’s do that. I’m counting on you.”
“Yes, ma’am!”
•
Neia went with Gustav back to the King of Darkness’s room. A paladin stood before the door, which was only a sheet of cloth. It wasn’t clear if he was on guard against those who would harm the person inside or the person himself.
Gustav directed him to leave, so he went away.
Neia furrowed her brow.
If he had the guard leave, there had to be some other reason he had come besides explaining their plan. She didn’t think he would attempt an assassination, but if it came to that, she would have to take up her weapon to defend the King of Darkness.
“Your Majesty, King of Darkness, it’s Gustav Montagnés and Squire Neia Baraja.”
Having received permission to enter, Gustav went in first.
It was such a dreary room that the memories of the inns they’d stayed at in the Re-Estize Kingdom and the Nation of Darkness were depressing. Or rather, this wasn’t the sort of room a king should have to stay in.
There was no helping that the walls were the bare rock of the cave, but the furnishings were also so shabby.
Paladins learned to sew during their service as squires, but they never learned to build furniture.
That said, the bed the king was sitting on was splendid. Its dark gleam made it seem like it had to be made of obsidian. White bedding was spread over the top.
The Paladin of the Sacred Kingdom Part I Page 18
