The Men of the Kingdom Part II

by Kugane Maruyama

  “In that case, I’d like her to help with that on my ranch. It’s tough work mincing all that meat.”

  “I—”

  The pair’s noisy conversation continued. Ainz watched them.

  He watched them and the scene appearing behind them—the figures of their creators, a vision of the old days.

  “So where are we going today?”

  “To fight the fire giant.”

  “To fight the demonic ice dragon.”

  “Hmm… Ulbert, don’t you remember? We said we were going to go get the rare drops from that fire-giant boss, Surtr.”

  “Don’t you remember, Touch? Some people need to go hunt demonic dragons to fulfill the special-class change conditions.”

  “That may be, but Yamaiko needs those rare drops to get stronger.”

  “Oh, I’m fine…”

  “Original Fire, right? Which means she needs Original Ice, too, right? So let’s do the demonic dragon first.”

  “…I paid real money to get a higher drop rate. Surtr’s normal rate is lower than the demonic dragon’s, so don’t you think we should get that out of the way first?”

  “I’ll pay next time.”

  “Bu…but…”

  “…Maybe we should go abyss diving and hunt sexy monsters like succubi?”

  “Dearest little brother, shut up.”

  “If we’re gonna do demons, I’d rather go take out the Seven Sin Lords, although I think it’ll take a lot of prep work.”

  “Touch, now’s not the time to insist on getting your way. If you take a look at who we have here, it’s clear we have a better shot at killing the demonic ice dragon.”

  “Uhh, you’re the one insisting on getting your way. Plus, we’re not the kind of players who only think about efficiency.”

  “Come on, no need for our strongest caster and our strongest warrior to be fighting…”

  “Those two have always been like that, even back when they first reached out to me.”

  “Touch sure is a great guy to reach out to a pink meat stick like you.”

  “Teapot and Peroroncino, you need to put away your weapons, okay? Or I’ll use my guild master powers.”

  “Didn’t some guild beat the Seven Sin Lords?”

  “Apparently Pride got killed. Someone posted about it online.”

  “You must get a World Item for beating all seven, right? They’re World Enemies!”

  “Speaking of World Items, let’s use the Caloric Stone as the main core and build the strongest golem ever.”

  “Noobow, I think it’d be better to embed it in a weapon.”

  “Armor wouldn’t be a bad choice, either, but that’s just my opinion.”

  “Well, there’re a lot of things to consider with that. We can use it to make a request to the admins, too, so we should think a little more.”

  “Yeah, you’re right, Momonga.”

  “We figured out how to get the Caloric Stone as many times as we want, but it does take a ton of metal from the Seven Hidden Mines.”

  “It’s such a headache. We can’t get it for sure unless we monopolize those mines.”

  “Yeah. The mines are controlled by all different guilds, so if we use it now, we’ll probably never get it again. And I doubt we can all be nice and take turns… What if we sold some info to Trinity? We could get a bunch of greedy peeps to bump heads and snatch it out from under their noses.”

  “You mean sell to the coalition at the same time and have them clash over it? That’s Squishy Moe for you. Such a tactician…”

  “Speaking of the coalition, I hear they’re working on another alliance.”

  “What? Why?”

  “I heard they stole some guild’s World Item, so that guild changed their plans.”

  “Ah, geez. But I think it’ll just turn out like last time. It’s hard for high-level guilds to maintain alliances…”

  “—So why don’t we just have Momonga decide?”

  “That should be good. What should we do, Guild Master?”

  “…Huh? About what? I was doing everything I could to ignore your convo…huh? You’re asking me? …Sheesh… Then let’s just do what we always do and decide by majority rule so there’s no trouble later.”

  “I’ve got no objections.”

  “Me neither.”

  “Then let’s say a new gold piece for Ulbert and an old one for Touch. Okay, everyone, get your coins ready. They’re about to begin their arguments!”

  “—CONTROL YOURSELVES. YOU’RE IN THE PRESENCE OF LORD AINZ!”

  The argument between Sebas and Demiurge had been gradually escalating until Cocytus’s voice hit the pair like a bucket of cold water.

  They turned and found Ainz staring at them intently, and their faces changed color. They couldn’t read his emotions from the flames flickering in his hollow eye sockets, but there was no mistaking the power in his gaze.

  Realizing that a violent reprimand wouldn’t be unwarranted, they both leaped into action at once.

  “Please excuse my poor behavior, Lord Ainz.”

  “My apologies for such a foolish display.”

  His response to their bows and apologies was extremely strange. “Ah-ha-ha-ha!” Laughter suddenly echoed through the room—merry, bright laughter.

  Neither Cocytus, Demiurge, Sebas, nor Solution had ever seen Ainz cackling in such high spirits before. It was so unbelievable to them all that they just stood there blinking.

  “It’s fine. I forgive you, I forgive you! Yes! Sometimes you have to fight like that—ah-ha-ha-ha!”

  What had touched Ainz’s heart was a complete mystery, but Sebas breathed a discreet sigh of relief; it seemed like things would work out somehow.

  “Ah-ha-ha… Tch, maybe it was suppressed…”

  Their master had calmed down all of a sudden, as if a string had snapped, but it wasn’t just Sebas’s imagination that he was still in a rather good mood.

  Ainz addressed him cheerfully. “I understand what you’re saying, Sebas, but unfortunately, inviting a human into the Great Tomb of Nazarick would be…you know. Still, I’d like to see Tsuare. Bring her here.”

  “Eh? Uh—yes, my lord! Understood.” Though he was inwardly confused by Ainz’s strange request, Sebas promptly exited the room and brought Tsuare back.

  “Lord Ainz, here she is.”

  “Yes, bring her over…” Ainz leaned forward in his chair. There was something strange about how closely he was examining her.

  Sebas observed her out of the corner of his eye, wondering if she’d done something to displease him, but she was no different from before, and he had no idea what the reason for his master’s behavior could be.

  “…There’s definitely a resemblance.” He probably hadn’t intended to say it aloud. “…Good of you to come, Tsuare. First, let me say this: I generally don’t give warnings twice. I respect other people’s choices, even if those choices lead them to unfortunate outcomes. With that in mind, I have a question for you. If you lie, that’s the end of the discussion, and if your answer is undesirable to me, it’ll be over then, too.”

  Sebas, standing next to Tsuare, heard her gulp. That was only natural. In the face of a threat like that, she was probably unbearably anxious about what would happen next.

  “Now then, the question. Tell me your full name.”

  Sebas couldn’t understand Ainz’s intentions. Why would he ask such a thing?

  He peeked out of the corner of his eye at Tsuare and saw her gaze darting around the room. The reaction spoke volumes.

  Answer honestly, Sebas prayed in his mind.

  She hadn’t even told Sebas her full name, so chances were good that there was something about it she didn’t want people to know. Still, lying to his master would only lead to the worst possible result.

  The silence continued until Ainz started getting impatient, and she murmured in a voice as tiny as the buzz of a mosquito, “Tsu-Tsuare…Tsuareninya.”

  “And your last name?”

&n
bsp; “Tsuareninya Veyron.”

  “I see… I see… Then I ask you, Tsuareninya, is it your wish to come to the Great Tomb of Nazarick—the land I rule—and live there…? The Great Tomb of Nazarick is not home to humans. Not that it could never be, just that there aren’t any. For that reason, I’m not sure it’s a suitable habitat for you… You also have the option of accepting a vast fortune from me and living somewhere far away in human lands, you know.”

  The proposal was so grand she wondered why he was making it to her, but she replied without a moment’s hesitation, “I—I want to live with Master Sebas.”

  Ainz slowly nodded.

  Curiously, the red light burning in his vacant eyes softened.

  “Very well. Listen, my minions.”

  Everyone straightened up, and Tsuare hurried to copy them.

  “Tsuareninya will be under our protection from now on, on my honor as Ainz Ooal Gown. We can welcome you as a guest of the Great Tomb of Nazarick, but what is your wish?”

  “Th-that’s very kind of you, b-but please let me work with Master Sebas.”

  “If that is your desire. So we’ll tentatively make Tsuareninya a maid who reports directly to Sebas. Sebas, give her appropriate work to do. At the same time, we’ll transition the Pleiades to the Pleïades and change the team leader as prescribed. However, we won’t have her move from her current location, so Yuri Alpha continues as the acting leader.”

  Solution bowed her head low.

  “And tell all the members of the Great Tomb of Nazarick that Tsuareninya is protected under the name Ainz Ooal Gown and that she will be working alongside them.”

  Everyone in the room besides Ainz and Tsuare bowed at once.

  “Demiurge, do you have any objections to my decision?”

  “Not a single one, my lord. Your word is law in the Great Tomb of Nazarick. That said, I imagine many will find it hard to comprehend welcoming a human to our blessed land. How shall I explain it to them?”

  “If we step back and think about it, Nazarick welcomed Yamaiko’s little sister Akemi, who’s an elf. So her being a human alone shouldn’t rule her out. If we say that, then—” Ainz looked at Solution as he continued, “—we’d have to expel your littlest sister, too.”

  “I’m not sure if you can call an immortal being human, but…”

  “Hmm, that’s true, Solution. Now then, Demiurge. Tell them those were my words. If anyone has objections, have them come see me, and I’ll explain.”

  “Understood. For my part, I have no further questions.”

  “Okay, then, to confirm: First, we begin withdrawing from this mansion. We’ll send all the guards stationed here back to Nazarick immediately. Sebas and Solution, your final job in the royal capital will be to buy the wheat Demiurge requested and move it to a storehouse. Once you’ve collected it there, we’ll send Shalltear to transport it to Nazarick using Gate. That’s it, I think?”

  They all bowed their heads without a word, and after glancing around, Tsuare hastily followed suit.

  “What should we do with Tsuareni—with Tsuare, Sebas? Should I take her back with me? Or should we have her go with you?”

  “I should think it would be less troublesome for her to go with me, in more ways than one.”

  “Okay, got it. Then Sebas, Solution, bring all the guards here. I’ll send them back with my magic.”

  “Understood!”

  Watching the three of them leave the room, Demiurge asked Ainz, “Do you know that woman?”

  Ainz slowly rose from his chair without answering and turned toward the wall, as if to face someone. After a pause, he spoke. “Demiurge, I believe kindness deserves kindness in turn and harm should be avenged with harm. In the same way, debts must be repaid.”

  Ainz pulled a book out of thin air. It had a leather cover and was so shoddily bound with a string it was nearly falling apart.

  “I have a version the librarian translated for me, but this is the original. This journal belonged to…a girl who was burning with rage after her elder sister was spirited away by a noble…”

  In a certain village, there had once lived a pair of sisters who loved each other. Their parents had died too soon, leaving the girls destitute, but they got by and helped each other out.

  Then one day, the elder sister was taken as a mistress by the lord of the domain, about whom no one had anything good to say. If this could have led to a happy life, the younger one might have held back her tears and celebrated, but she guessed from the rumors that her sister would be toyed with and discarded like garbage once the man was done with her.

  Her guess turned out to be correct. Furious, she left the village to seek a way to save her sister—because no one would help her.

  Eventually, she realized she had an aptitude for magic, so she cultivated her power in order to stage her rescue. But before she could reach her goal, her quest was cut short.

  Much was written in the journal, but on the last page was a single, simple line praising two adventurers, Momon and Nabe, with whom she’d gone on a journey to gather herbs.

  “I learned a good deal of the ways of this world from this journal, so I’m indebted to you. I’ll repay that debt to your elder sister.”

  Ainz stroked the faded leather cover and put the book away in space.

  “Then Lord Ainz, there’s a favor I’d like to ask of you.”

  “What is it, Demiurge?”

  “While I was reading the materials Sebas sent, there was one thing that interested me, and I was wondering if I might have some time to investigate.”

  “Something caught your attention?”

  “Yes, there’s a place I’d like to go visit. I’d like to be back by the time you return, but I need to look for it first, which may delay me… It would be extremely rude of me to keep you waiting, my lord, but if at all possible, I beg you…”

  Ainz replied cheerfully to put the grim-faced Demiurge at ease. “No problem, Demiurge. You’re acting for the benefit of Nazarick, right? Waiting for that doesn’t bother me at all. You should go.”

  “Thank you!”

  2

  4 Late Fire Moon (September) 3:01 PM

  In the morning, Sebas and Solution’s busy day began.

  They could have left without saying anything, but destroying the reputation they’d built as merchants would be a waste, so they decided to act as though they were returning to the empire.

  Solution had met everyone only once, but Sebas took her with him to tell all the merchants and guildsmen he’d interacted with that they were leaving.

  The visits couldn’t very well end with just that; for friendly human relationships, small talk was unavoidable. No man was averse to chatting with a woman as beautiful as Solution, either, which only exacerbated the situation.

  As a result, they were trapped at each stop for half an hour or more, and it had gotten quite late by the time they finished.

  “That took a long time, but the temporary storage and transport of the wheat is done. Now we should be free to return to Nazarick, right?”

  Solution sounded delighted—which was rare for her. Sebas could tell she was happy to go home to the Great Tomb of Nazarick, as well as satisfied she had carried out their master’s orders. Since Sebas had been the one doing the majority of the intelligence gathering around town, she probably hadn’t encountered many opportunities to feel she was accomplishing anything with her work.

  The farewell visits they’d gone on were work and a place for Solution to shine as the public-facing lady of the house. It must have been very fulfilling for her. She even seemed ready to start humming a song.

  In fact, thanks to her good mood while she was talking to all the merchants, negotiations on various fronts had progressed to their advantage. Even discounting their bulk purchase of wheat, the prices for the storehouse rental and so on were exceptionally low.

  Being a pretty lady has its perks. Reflecting on how great that must be, Sebas parked the carriage on the grounds of the mansi
on and walked up to the door with Solution.

  Sebas took out the key and inserted it into the keyhole.

  But when he turned it as he always did, there was no click or response of the lock.

  Suspicious, Sebas furrowed his brow and looked at Solution.

  The door’s unlocked?

  When he pushed, it opened slightly.

  They’d left Tsuare there alone. She never would have gone out on her own.

  “There are a number of new scratches on the keyhole. There’s a good chance someone picked the lo—”

  Without waiting for Solution to finish, Sebas flung open the door. He didn’t even think to consider a trap. If there was one, he would crush it underfoot.

  They’d already mostly moved out of the mansion, so it felt vacant and empty. He stepped inside, activated all his detection abilities, and searched for the chi of a living thing—for Tsuare.

  But there was no sign of any human.

  “Tsuare! Tsuare, are you here?” he shouted and searched the house.

  He looked everywhere, but she wasn’t there. Not only could he not find her, but also he didn’t discover any trace of what might have happened to her, either. It was as if she’d simply vanished.

  No, someone definitely broke in. I don’t smell blood, so they must have just taken her. So they’ve kidnapped her, and they’ll demand…

  Sebas clenched his fists.

  Just as I thought, it was a mistake to leave her alone while we said our good-byes. His error grated on him.

  He’d been nervous about leaving Tsuare all by herself in the mansion. Thanks to their run-in with an underground organization, he had doubted danger could be too far away.

  The reason he’d left her alone regardless was because she was still frightened of other people and going outside. She hadn’t healed from her trauma. Her composure during the audience with his master and the others was probably because she hadn’t registered them as people. Her reaction back then hadn’t been one of someone with mental scars but of any normal person encountering monsters. Even just having her sit in the carriage could have been an issue, which caused him to opt for leaving her at the mansion.