The Men of the Kingdom Part II

by Kugane Maruyama

  “What are you—? What do you mean by interfering?”

  “…NGH.”

  “…”

  Sebas’s punch, about to obliterate Tsuare’s head, had been blocked.

  Cocytus had reached out from behind Tsuare, whose eyes were still squeezed shut, to stop the fist.

  If he’s blocking a strike ordered by a Supreme Being, does that mean he’s revolting?

  But the question in Sebas’s mind was resolved immediately.

  “Step back, Sebas.”

  Though he was irritated and confused, he had been about to throw another punch, right up until he heard Ainz; his fist relaxed completely. It wasn’t a rebuke to Cocytus but an order holding Sebas back. That was to say, the plan all along had been for Cocytus to block the attack.

  The whole thing had been a setup. In short, they’d done it to test Sebas’s will.

  Tsuare cracked her eyes open and seemed to realize she’d narrowly avoided the guillotine looming before her. Once the threat to her life had receded, the tension in her snapped like a string, and she trembled with tears in her eyes. Her legs were shuddering so violently she seemed likely to fall, but Sebas didn’t move to support her. Or rather, he couldn’t.

  What could he do now? He had completely forsaken her.

  Ignoring Tsuare’s fear, Ainz and Cocytus began a discussion.

  “Cocytus, would that attack have killed the woman for sure?”

  “NO DOUBT. THAT STRIKE MEANT INSTANT DEATH.”

  “Then I hereby judge Sebas’s loyalty to be sound. Good work, Sebas.”

  “My lord!” With a hard expression on his face, Sebas bowed his head.

  “Demiurge, any objections?”

  “None, my lord.”

  “Cocytus?”

  “NONE, MY LORD.”

  “…Victim?”

  “Peach-clay-scarlet-grape-brown-ash. ”

  “Okay, then on to the next item of discussion.” With a snap of his fingers, Ainz stood and spread his arm to the side. His robe billowed. “Thanks to Sebas’s and Solution’s work, I think we’ve gathered enough intelligence. There’s no reason to stay here any longer. Effective immediately, I’ll have you vacate the mansion and return to Nazarick. Sebas, you’re responsible for the woman’s fate. Since we’ve proven your loyalty, I won’t tell you what to do with her—is what I’d like to say, but we need to think things over before releasing her. Don’t you agree there will be trouble if she goes around blabbing about Nazarick, Demiurge?”

  “Indeed, I do. As long as we face an unknown enemy, we should avoid information leaks whenever possible.”

  “So what should we do?”

  “…Perhaps we should check on some things.”

  “Right. Sebas, wait a little while on disposing of Tsuare. I don’t think you’ll have to kill her, but I can’t say for sure.”

  Sebas couldn’t hide his surprise that even Ainz, Nazarick’s ultimate authority, couldn’t decide immediately and was leaving the issue of what to do with Tsuare unsettled. “Lord Ainz, are we withdrawing from this mansion—from the royal capital—due to my mistake?”

  “…Sort of but not really. As I mentioned before, I think we’ve gotten nearly all the intel we need out of this place. There’s not much benefit to staying entrenched here any longer. I figure it’s safer to withdraw. Demiurge, I’ll take Victim back. Give them here.”

  Having taken the baby angel from Demiurge, Ainz cast a spell. “Greater Teleportation!” At the same moment, he flourished his cape dramatically, like a stage actor. Then, in a ball of raven black collapsing in on itself, he vanished.

  Sebas was briefly stunned by the strangely theatrical departure, the likes of which he hadn’t seen before, but he came back to himself with a start. “Well, she seems a bit tired, so I think I’ll let her rest in her room for a little while. There’s no issue with my escorting her there, right, Demiurge?”

  “…No. It’s as you say, Sebas.” Demiurge smiled demonically and gestured elegantly toward the door as if to say, Go ahead. “Just keep in mind that you could be summoned again. I don’t think you need to worry, but I don’t want to have to go chasing you around the capital.”

  “Come with me.”

  “…Okay,” Tsuare replied in a hoarse voice, tottering after Sebas.

  They left the room, and the two sets of footsteps tapped down the hall. They walked without speaking, and eventually the door to Tsuare’s room came into view. They hadn’t gone very far, but it felt like they’d been traveling for a terribly long time.

  When they reached the door, Sebas finally seemed to have made up his mind to speak. “I don’t intend on apologizing.”

  He sensed her flinch behind him.

  “But it is my fault that I was ordered to dispose of you. If I had handled things differently, this wouldn’t have happened.”

  “…Master Sebas…”

  “I’m a loyal slave to Lord Ainz—and the Forty-One Supreme Beings. If the same thing happened again, I’m sure I would act no differently… So I think you should go be happy in the human world. I’ll request permission for you. Lord Ainz should be able to manipulate your memories. We’ll erase all the bad ones, and then you can go.”

  “…What about you?”

  “…I’ll have him erase mine, too. Nothing good can come of remembering this.”

  “What would be ‘good’?”

  Sensing the intense will behind her words, Sebas turned around.

  He was met with the sight of a woman glaring at him through her tears. Slightly shaken, he considered what he could say to persuade her.

  Certainly, Nazarick was an exceptionally wonderful place, truly blessed by the gods. But that held true for only Sebas and the others created by the Forty-One Supreme Beings, along with the lower minions of the Great Tomb.

  To an ordinary human with no aptitude or powers, such a place could never be a home. And he didn’t think it would accept Tsuare, a weakling with a nearly worthless life. No, it wouldn’t be possible without the protection of Nazarick’s supreme master.

  “…I’m saying you should go be happy in the human world.”

  “My happiness is where you are, Master Sebas, so please take me with you.”

  Tsuare stated her wishes clearly, and Sebas pitied her.

  “You seem to have experienced some happiness from this minor sequence of events, but it’s only because your heart is numb from the hell you endured.”

  She had seen the worst the world had to offer, so she thought she could live a pleasant life in this problematic place that was only a small step up—that was all. That’s what Sebas had decided, but Tsuare laughed.

  “I don’t think this is hell at all. I get to eat till I’m full, and you give me honest work to do. I was born and grew up in a tiny village. Life there was hard, too.” Tsuare’s eyes focused on something far away for just a moment. She returned to herself immediately and looked straight at Sebas. “We worked the fields while we were racked with hunger, and then the lord of the domain made off with most of the harvest anyway. There was barely anything left to fill our own stomachs. And on top of that, the lord treated us like toys. He’d rape me and laugh when I screamed. He laughed! I don’t—”

  “I understand.” Tsuare was smiling weakly when he pulled her in close, folded her into his breast, and put his arms around her trembling shoulders. Just like before, she cried like a dam had broken, and he felt her tears soaking into his shirt.

  The world she had seen and lived in couldn’t possibly be all there was. Still, to her, that was what human society represented.

  Sebas deliberated.

  What would be best? No matter how much he thought it over, he could come up with only one answer. But there was a good chance it would infuriate his master and end with an order to kill Tsuare.

  “You might die, you know.”

  “If you have to kill me, then at least I’ll die by the hand that granted me warmth when I was nothing more than a breathing
corpse…”

  The expressive face gazing up at Sebas gave him the determination he needed. “Okay, Tsuare. I’ll ask Lord Ainz his permission to bring you to Nazarick.”

  “Thank you.”

  “It’s too soon to thank me. This supplication could result in an order to kill y—”

  “I know.”

  “I…see.”

  Tension receded from his arms around Tsuare’s shoulders, but she didn’t move away. She clutched Sebas’s jacket and gazed up at him with glistening eyes.

  They were filled with anticipation. Sebas instinctively understood that, but he didn’t know what she was hoping for. He did remember something he wanted to be sure of, though.

  “Just to confirm, you won’t have any regrets if you leave the human world? There’s nowhere you might want to go home to?” An invitation to Nazarick wouldn’t entail that she could never have any contact with the human world ever again—he wasn’t whisking her away to imprison her—but there was still a chance she would never go back.

  “…I…would like to see my little sister again. But my wish to forget the past is stronger…”

  “I understand. Please head to your room for now. I’ll go see Lord Ainz again.”

  “All right…”

  Tsuare released Sebas’s jacket and wrapped her arms around his neck. Sebas didn’t let it show on his face, but he had no idea what to do now. Ignoring him, she stood on her toes.

  Their lips met.

  The gentle touch lasted for only a moment. Tsuare pulled back almost immediately. “It’s prickly.” She moved away, touching her lips with her fingers. “That was my first happy kiss.”

  Sebas couldn’t say a word, but she gazed at him and smiled brightly.

  “I’ll be waiting here. See you soon, Master Sebas.”

  “U-uhh…y-yes. Please wait just a little while.”

  “What happened? Your face looks red…”

  It was the first thing he heard when he returned to the drawing room. Upon realizing he was blushing, Sebas began taking long, slow breaths. This display of agitation from before was a failure for a servant about to meet his master. His hand nearly went to his lips, but he refrained and assumed an expression appropriate for an ideal retainer.

  “It’s nothing, Sir Demiurge.”

  “You don’t need to use ‘sir,’ Sebas. You can talk just like we were when Lord Ainz—the sole absolute Supreme Being—was here. What do you say, Cocytus?”

  “I AGREE.”

  Sebas acknowledged that he understood.

  Five minutes later…space warped.

  When the rippling fabric of reality smoothed out, a figure appeared. Of course, it was Ainz. He was no longer carrying the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown, and he had not brought Victim with him, either.

  Sebas, Cocytus, Demiurge, Solution. All four of them fell to one knee with their heads lowered.

  “Thanks for meeting me.” Ainz circled around the desk and sat down in the chair. “Rise.”

  The four of them stood at once and focused on Ainz, who seemed to be in extremely high spirits.

  “Now then, now then, Demiurge. This is proof that you’re a worrywart. I didn’t think for a moment that Sebas would betray us. You guys are paranoid. I even checked in the Throne Room.”

  “My apologies. And thank you for entertaining my foolish dissenting opinion.”

  “That’s fine. Even I overlook things sometimes. With you checking up on them, I can rest easy. And I’m not so petty that I’d complain about your worries on my help.” Demiurge bowed low, and Ainz shifted his eyes away from him. “Now then, we were going to discuss what to do with that woman, right, Sebas?”

  Sebas’s body was rigid with nerves. He mustered a “yes, my lord” and paused. After a glance at Ainz’s expression, he resolutely asked, “What shall we do with her?”

  After a momentary silence, Ainz replied with a question. “Mm, if we release her, Nazarick intelligence will leak, I suppose?”

  Demiurge nodded when Ainz looked at him. “Yes, that is correct, but what should we do?”

  “Let’s just adjust her memories. After that…all we need to do is give her some money and drop her in a suitable place.”

  “Lord Ainz, I think killing her would be easier and more definite.” Demiurge offered his opinion, and Solution nodded her agreement.

  Ainz watched them and thought, If they both feel that way…

  Sebas experienced utter chaos internally.

  Once their master made up his mind, it wouldn’t be easy to change. Although he’d been pardoned, Demiurge, Cocytus, and Solution were probably thinking less favorably of him now. If he voiced an opposing opinion in the wrong way, he might offend them.

  But he had to say it.

  Sebas opened his mouth to disagree with Demiurge. But he didn’t. That is to say, Ainz spoke first.

  “…No, Demiurge. I’m not fond of killing when there is no particular benefit to us. Or rather, if you kill a weakling, you can’t use it later. We need to consider how she could be useful to us alive.”

  Sebas suppressed his sigh of relief. Ainz hadn’t decided what to do with Tsuare yet. There was still a chance.

  “Understood. Then…shall we have her work at the farm I’m running?”

  “Oh right, you’ve got khimaira, right? By the way, you don’t want to kill some and eat them, do you? We need to improve Nazarick’s food situation.”

  Demiurge averted his eyes from Ainz, who was murmuring, “Khimaira steak—no, burgers…,” and stared into the distance.

  Then he returned to himself. “The meat is bad quality—it doesn’t make the cut for food. I don’t think it’s worthy of feeding glorious Nazarick…” Demiurge’s smile suggested he couldn’t recommend it. “Well, we do feed dead livestock to the others. They don’t eat it as is, so we grind it up.”

  “Hmm. They eat their own kind? So they really are just animals.”

  “Exactly as you say, Lord Ainz. They’re so foolish, and that’s what makes them adorable playthings. However, they are omnivorous and also eat wheat, so if you have any extra, might I trouble you for some? We’re not quite getting by on what we can steal alone…”

  “They are the source of our precious parchment supply. I don’t mean to starve them. Yes…before you withdraw, Sebas, buy a large amount of wheat and give it to Demiurge.”

  “Understood. For a great quantity, I think I’ll rent a warehouse and store it there temporarily. How should I transport it to Nazarick?”

  “Hmm…Call Shalltear and have her use Gate. You don’t mind if we leave it up to you for the rest, do you, Demiurge?”

  “Of course not. We’ll transport it from there.”

  “Good. By the way, Demiurge, your work truly stands out from the rest at Nazarick; I can’t thank you enough.”

  “Thank you, Lord Ainz! That sentiment is enormously encouraging for me.”

  “…Uh, well, calm down. I want to ask you something, too. Are you sure you don’t have too much on your plate? I summon you whenever I need you, you’re running the farm to stabilize our parchment supply, you’re making demon king plans—I’ve left a lot of important things up to you. I keep wondering if you’re actually okay.”

  Demiurge smiled ear to ear. It was a pleasant smile, devoid of malice, that Sebas had never seen on him before.

  “Thank you so much. I am utterly unworthy of your concern, but please feel at ease. All my work is extremely rewarding, and none of it is burdensome to me at the moment. If I begin to feel I require assistance, I will be sure to ask.”

  “I see, I see.”

  Listening to their master’s happy voice, Sebas frowned and ruminated on the true nature of Demiurge’s farm.

  As a fellow servant of the Supreme Beings of Nazarick, Sebas knew Demiurge’s personality inside and out. There was no way he would simply manage a farm, even if he was raising monsters like khimaira…

  A striking scene flashed through Sebas’s mind—because he’d guessed the identity o
f Demiurge’s livestock.

  Could he really send Tsuare to such a place? Certainly, Demiurge would guarantee her bodily safety, but he probably wouldn’t go as far as to assure her mental well-being.

  The pair’s discussion reached a pause. If I’m going to interrupt, now is the time, Sebas decided and addressed their master. “Lord Ainz.”

  “Hmm? What is it, Sebas?”

  “If it’s all right with you…” He held his breath. This was a gamble. An extremely dangerous gamble. But he had to do it. “I’d like to put Tsuare to work in the Great Tomb of Nazarick.”

  A silence descended, and as all eyes gathered on Sebas, Ainz quietly said, “I asked Cocytus a similar question once before, but what’s in it for us?”

  “Indeed. First, Tsuare can prepare meals. Currently the only two members of Nazarick who can cook are the chef and the sous-chef. I’ll take the liberty of excluding Yuri and her ilk. Considering the future, I think it would be beneficial to have more people who can cook. Also, I think having a human work in Nazarick as a test case is value enough on its own. I should think if a lower life-form like her could eke out a living there, it could set a promising precedent. In addition—”

  “Okay, okay.” Ainz raised a hand to stop the torrent of appeals to Tsuare’s usefulness. “I get it, Sebas. I understand very well what you’re saying. I was thinking we should take our lack of cooks into consideration.”

  “But Lord Ainz, will she be able to prepare dishes worthy of Nazarick?”

  Sebas shot a quick, sharp glare at Demiurge. The devil smiled back at him.

  That jerk. Sebas killed the words on his tongue.

  Ainz may have forgiven Sebas, but Demiurge hadn’t. Surely that was why he was trying to take Tsuare’s case in an undesirable direction.

  “That’s critical, isn’t it? How about it, Sebas?”

  “…Tsuare makes home cooking. As for whether it’s worthy of Nazarick…it’s hard to say.”

  “Home cooking?” Demiurge scoffed. “I doubt we’ll be serving many steamed potatoes or whatnot in Nazarick.”

  “I have to say, Demiurge is being too hasty. Her knack for classic dishes means that if we ask the chef to teach her, I’m sure she could master other cuisines. We need to consider not only her present skill but her future potential.”