The Ruler of Conspiracy

by Kugane Maruyama

  “Lord Ainz, I was actually hoping to obtain your permission for something…”

  “What? Permission?”

  He didn’t think Albedo’s proposals required prior authorization. She was so sensible that she would surely make even better decisions than him. But an organization couldn’t function that way. The job of the one at the top was to take responsibility for the actions of those below. For that, authorization was necessary.

  “In order to get those humans moving, I was thinking we should send someone to the royal capital. May I go?”

  “What?!” Ainz was so surprised, he raised his voice.

  He was nervous to send Albedo anywhere with Demiurge out. Not to mention that the city wasn’t fully under his control yet.

  More than anything, though, his surprise was largely due to this being the first time Albedo had ever proposed anything like that.

  “…It would be…pretty inconvenient to send you away…”

  “Oh!” Albedo seemed happy to hear that. “Don’t worry, Lord Ainz. I’ll get the job done as quickly as possible and hurry back to your side.”

  “I see… Maybe it’s not a problem if it’s for only a short time. Who are you planning on having manage the city and Nazarick while you’re gone?”

  Since Aura and Mare looked curious, it clearly wasn’t them. Ainz figured it definitely wasn’t him, so he had to ask.

  “I was thinking of entrusting things to Pandora’s Actor.”

  He heard Aura and Mare say, “Pandora’s Actor should be fine.”

  “…Him?”

  “As you created him, Lord Ainz, he’s a highly valuable asset. The apple really doesn’t fall far from the tree—do excuse me. I didn’t mean to imply that we are like your children simply because you and the other Supreme Beings created us. Please forgive my rudeness.”

  Ainz was bewildered and blinked furiously at the unexpected apology—that is, the sparkle of the red points of light in his eyes dimmed.

  “You don’t need to apologize. He is, well, my child… Sorry. It’s not as if I dislike him, but he is an incompetent child… No, I don’t mean he’s bad or anything like that… Agh, what the heck. He is like a child, yes.”

  They ended up facing each other in silence, and that wasn’t going to get them anywhere, so Ainz posed a question.

  “If Pandora’s Actor is going to be managing things, then what about his job acting as Momon? Am I supposed to do it?”

  “No, I certainly don’t mean to foist such basic tasks off on you, my lord. I intend to set things up so that Momon takes on a request to patrol this area.”

  Ainz nodded with a grunt of approval.

  He had been feeling like he’d like to be Momon for the first time in a while and stretch his wings, but when he thought about it, the situation was very different when compared to his first carefree adventures. There were more nuisances, more matters that required him to stay on his toes. Perhaps it was best to have Momon go on patrol.

  “U-umm, but if S-Sir Momon leaves, will there be problems with the humans in the city?”

  “No. Lord Ainz’s ploy was a critical success. Because we haven’t done anything nasty to the humans—not that anyone intended to in the first place—they truly trust this Momon character. So if Momon gathers the people of influence in the city before he leaves and tells them to do as we say, there won’t be any issues. And I’m so impressed that they don’t realize they’re being manipulated by a puppet. All I can say is that it was brilliant of you to have seen so far ahead and planned for this right after we were transported here, Lord Ainz.”

  “Nnnn…it’s sort of convoluted that they believe in Lord Ainz because they believe in Sir Momon.”

  “That’s true, but what other choice do we have to govern the city peacefully? We’ll gradually remove Momon from the picture as we cultivate their allegiance to Lord Ainz. It might take a few years, but that’s just how it will have to be.”

  “All right. Albedo, leave things up to Pandora’s Actor, and once you’re done with all your preparations and handoffs, go harvesting. Is there anything you’d like to request to get you started?”

  “Understood. Well, I suppose while I’m there I’d like to meet with the human king and negotiate some things. I’ll draft my proposal, so could I trouble you for a review?”

  “Sure. Bring it over later.”

  He was confident that if it was Albedo’s plan, all he would have to do was give it his stamp of approval.

  “Also, this is somewhat awkward to ask for, but could I have a few outfits to wear? I think I’ll need to change while I’m there.”

  “I see. Then I’ll give you some things from my collection. Come by in a bit. By the way, is Demiurge—? Ah, never mind. It’s fine. Shall we move on to the next item…? Since you two are here, I might as well ask your opinions, too.”

  2

  Once their work was finished, the three guardians and the elder liches left the room, leaving only Ainz and Fith—plus the eight-edged assassins clinging to the ceiling.

  Actually, Ainz’s work was done now, meaning the rest of his day was free time. He had things he could do, but if he did them early, it just meant he would have nothing to do later. Ainz wondered how to best use this time for a while, then he stood up as he stumbled upon an idea.

  “I’m going to go see Pandora’s Actor.”

  When he made that declaration and set off walking, Fith followed behind him without a word. Naturally, the eight-edged assassins did, too.

  When they left the house, the outside air was still cool—the calendar would’ve told him as much. Ainz thought there was a comfortable breeze blowing, but when he considered that he had complete resistance to chill, he couldn’t help but glance quickly at Fith before they set off.

  The complex was mostly made up of three buildings: the main house they had just been in, the offices of the domestic officials, and the second residence. Pandora’s Actor—or rather, Momon—was staying in the second house.

  Really, it would have been appropriate for Ainz to have Momon come to him, as the ruler, but he wanted to enjoy a change of pace.

  “Huh? What’s going on?” Ainz murmured to himself as they approached the second house. He was peering at a little structure adjacent to it. They called it a stable, but the only one sleeping there now was Hamusuke. Or rather, that’s how it was supposed to be.

  As Ainz approached the little stable with a question on his mind, he heard some snoozing breaths. Sleep was a privilege of the living. Hamusuke must have been there.

  The sun had already risen pretty high, but apparently she was still sleeping.

  Hamusuke had eyes like a cat, so she could see in the dark, but according to her, she didn’t operate in terms of day and night. Her lifestyle had been to eat and then sleep until she was hungry again.

  Honestly, when Ainz heard that, the first thing he thought was, How did you earn the title of the Wise King of the Forest? He felt stupid for expecting more intelligent behavior.

  “If I can get this close before she realizes it’s me, does it mean she’s gone soft? Geez…she’s let herself go. Well, no, I guess I have to consider the possibility that she was up late working last night.”

  “She wasn’t. Mistress Hamusuke was here all day yesterday.”

  Upon hearing Fith’s damning remark, Ainz tried to come up with something to say in Hamusuke’s defense, but he couldn’t.

  Well, she’s a pet anyhow, so expecting more out of her would be barking up the wrong tree. I don’t care if she lets herself go…but it is kind of offensive to have someone around who is just hanging out while I’m working. Of course, that’s just me taking out my frustrations on her…

  When he peeked inside the stable, a giant hamster was lying there asleep. It was an image of slovenly sleep that could be perfected only by a nose bubble.

  But there was something else that caught Ainz’s eye besides the bold sleeping posture more appropriate for a middle-aged man than any hamster he had
ever seen.

  Curled up in Hamusuke’s tail was a death knight. That was the mystery undead Ainz had detected from outside.

  He had a sensory link with the undead he created, so he had a general idea of where they all were. But when they moved to E-Rantel, he had brought so many that sometimes it felt like a big jumble. To be honest, it was difficult for him to tell exactly what undead he had and where they were at the moment. Still, he hadn’t assigned any to this stable, so detecting one had surprised him.

  “Wake up, Hamusuke.”

  “Mrrf, that I say.”

  Hamusuke rubbed her eyes dexterously—or perhaps it was best described as “in a human way”—and turned around, catching sight of Ainz.

  “Ohhh! I wondered who it could be, I did. If it isn’t my master!”

  “Right now, no one’s around, so that’s fine, but normally you need to call me Lord Ainz. You’re Momon’s mount, not mine.”

  “Of course, that I will, master!”

  “Okay. If you understand, then that’s fine…”

  Her reply made him want to ask if she really got it or not, though.

  Magical beasts, due to their nature as beasts, were particularly susceptible to mind control. That was why he was lending her an item that gave her immunity to those types of spells, but he was still worried that she might end up leaking intelligence for some reason completely unrelated to magic.

  “Well, you haven’t made any mistakes yet. I’m putting my trust in you. Now about what I really wanted to ask you: What’s with this death knight?”

  “Ohhh! This is my training friend, that he is.”

  That’s when Ainz remembered.

  Apparently, this was the death knight he had assigned when Hamusuke was acquiring the warrior class—the undead they had used in tests to see if it could level up as a warrior and acquire martial arts.

  Ainz had even equipped the death knight with an artifact that dramatically increased experience point gain in exchange for decreased ability points, but he never leveled up. Ainz wasn’t particularly upset because the results were as expected, but Hamusuke began to protest about this and that, so after retrieving his artifact, he let her have the death knight.

  That guy…? But the spikes on his armor are rounded off… I didn’t give him to her as a body pillow. I was hoping maybe she would master something as a warrior… Well, whatever. I have plenty of death knights. Letting her have one won’t cause any problems.

  At this point, Ainz had so many death knights, it was overkill—he had even been creating them as part of his daily schedule.

  “I see. Got it. But even if you’re not a wild magical beast anymore, it’s pretty bad if you don’t notice someone until they get this close to you. We’re not Aura, after all. Shouldn’t you be a little warier?”

  Hamusuke looked dejected, and her whiskers drooped. “I am sorry, that I am. In the forest, I was the strongest, that I was. I was never attacked, so I never really had to be on guard, no I didn’t.”

  “Didn’t you ever have a child…hood? But wait, what about the Giant of the East and the Magical Serpent of the West?”

  “Who? That I ask. Who are they? East? West? What are you talking about? That I wonder.”

  A question mark appeared above Ainz’s head. “…The other two you split the rule of the forest with.”

  “Oh-ho! I was not aware such creatures existed in the forest, that I wasn’t! Brilliant, master, that you are! I’m impressed with your knowledge, that I am! I don’t know much about the world beyond my territory!”

  “You call yourself the Wise King of the Forest, but…”

  “It was a human warrior who came into my territory a long time ago who named me, that it was. It was a rather cool name, so I let that warrior go, that I did. How nostalgic!”

  Ainz had the feeling he had figured out what happened.

  The warrior who had been allowed to escape must have exaggerated the story of facing off against Hamusuke. Even if it was only to justify why they survived while all their friends had been killed.

  He could understand the logic of it. Hamusuke was actually quite strong by this world’s standards. The only humans he had met who could defeat Hamusuke were probably Clementine and Gazef.

  Ainz suddenly thought of Gazef.

  “Hmm? What’s wrong, master? That I ask.”

  “Ah…it’s nothing. Just, right… You’re not qualified to be Wise King of the Forest. You’re the Hamster of the Forest.”

  “If I remember correctly, a hamster is that animal you mentioned before, master, that it is. You really think I’m a hamster, do you?”

  “Yep. You’re a giant hamster.”

  “Ohhh! I’m a giant hamster, then, that I am. Do you know where I might find some more of me? That I wonder.”

  “Nope.”

  His firm negative depressed her.

  Ainz felt like maybe he had been too mean, so he consoled her. “I guarantee those who work for Nazarick commensurate rewards. If you continue to work for Nazarick, I’ll make sure to find you some relatives.”

  “Ohhh!” Hamusuke’s whiskers perked up. “I’ve always been loyal to you, master, that I have, but now I’ll redouble my efforts to be loyal, that I will!”

  “Good, good. So, Hamusuke. Is Momon—I mean, Pandora’s Actor—home?”

  “Your double, master? I’m not sure if he’s in, no I’m not. He rides in carriages the humans send around, so he doesn’t always go around with me, no he doesn’t.”

  “Ahhh, I seem to remember him telling me he was using the carriages to share information.

  “Heh-heh.” Ainz chuckled deviously.

  That was all according to his calculations. The people were convinced that they were telling Momon things that Ainz was keeping secret from him and aiming to get him to defect, but actually, Pandora’s Actor was feeding them lies without them realizing.

  For instance, Ainz is a very trustworthy king and is a compassionate being who thinks of the people.

  “I see. Got it. But hey…you can wear armor now, so if you have nothing else to do, how about putting it on and training?”

  The prototype armor designed for Hamusuke should have been finished.

  “Understood, that it is, master! In that case, I would like to see the lizardmen, that I would!”

  “All right. I’ll make that happen. If I tell Cocytus, he’ll have someone summoned.”

  “I’m so very grateful, master, that I am! Okay, Sir Death Knight! Let’s do our best together, that I say!”

  Ainz paid no mind to the passionate friendship between the hamster and the undead and walked away.

  From behind he heard her say, “Ugh, be quiet already, that I say!” but he couldn’t imagine the death knight had said anything. He wondered what Hamusuke was going on about but decided to forget about it.

  Actually, that one time I gave her… I feel like I’m forgetting something. But if I can’t remember, it must not have been that important.

  Despite that dissatisfying train of thought, like a sneeze that wouldn’t come out, Ainz had arrived in front of the second house. He didn’t do anything like use the knocker. Fith, who had been behind him, slipped by.

  “Open it.”

  “Yes, Lord Ainz.”

  Her expression as she opened the door was attentive, but her lips were smiling faintly. She must have been thrilled to have been of use to him.

  I’m really glad I observed Jircniv. I really have gotten this ruler thing down now. I feel bad for him, but I’m going to keep watching. It’ll help me learn how to act like a king.

  Ainz didn’t thank Fith but gazed at the open door.

  “Eight-edged assassins.”

  “““Yes, my lord! At your service.”””

  The several eight-edged assassins who had accompanied him appeared at his side.

  “Go.”

  “““Yes, my lord!”””

  When he gestured with his chin, the eight-edged assassins gave a more spirited re
ply than usual and pressed into the building. No one was there besides Pandora’s Actor. Sometimes Narberal was around, but she was usually in the Great Tomb of Nazarick carrying out Ainz’s orders.

  He could have left a regular maid here, but he didn’t want the humans who came to visit Momon to think they were being monitored, hence the current state of things. Still, considering the possibility that the enemy who brainwashed Shalltear might infiltrate, Ainz felt he needed to take some sort of precautions.

  …That is, if there’s even anyone who could infiltrate this far. Well, only a fool lets his guard down… Mm, still. How long do I have to wait here in front of this door? Am I supposed to go in? Common sense would dictate that I wait here because the eight-edged assassins will return to this spot. But is it very kingly to wait at the entrance like this?

  After hesitating for a little while, Ainz decided, Whatever, and stepped inside the second house.

  He walked with what he imagined was the dignified attitude befitting a king, which he had practiced dozens of times pacing around his room.

  But before he went twenty paces, one of the eight-edged assassins returned and threw themselves at his feet.

  “Lord Ainz, we’ve called Master Pandora’s Actor for you. He’ll be here momentarily.”

  “I see. Then I’ll wait in the sitting room.”

  He had been to this house before, so he had a general idea of the layout. He had Fith open the door and unhesitatingly sat in the most honored seat in the room.

  It felt strange because his old company employee manners told him he was in the wrong spot, but this wasn’t a hard move for Ainz after all his ruler training.

  A short time passed; then there was a knock on the door. He nodded at Fith.

  Having received permission, Fith opened the door, and Pandora’s Actor entered—not using magic to transform into Ainz as Momon but in his normal military uniform.

  “Lord Ainz, Supreme Being and my Creator—”

  “No need for greetings. Sit.”

  “Yes, sir!” He clicked his heels together and strode over.

  Pandora’s Actor probably intended to display the brisk motions of a military man, but to Ainz it was all unnecessary. Overblown was how he would’ve described it.