The Ruler of Conspiracy

by Kugane Maruyama

  “Your Majesty, isn’t that asking a bit much? That’s how a bard makes their living.”

  But he chuckled at Baswood’s concern. “No, no, I can’t talk about my ace move, but it’s no problem to teach you the ordinary things. But…wouldn’t it be better for you to ask the great caster? I’m sure he knows more than I do…”

  At the mention of Fluder, Jircniv endeavored to keep his expression steady.

  Jircniv had a gag order out about Fluder’s betrayal, so not a word had spread outside. For the time being, he was keeping him on as principal wizard, gradually robbing him of his powers when he wasn’t looking and groping for a way to compensate.

  The size of the hole to fill showed him just how much the empire benefitted from Fluder, but it was too late.

  “I can’t rely on that old fellow for everything. It’s like doing your homework as a student. Just because you have a great teacher doesn’t mean you should wait to ask them the answers—you’ll get an earful.”

  A few people laughed at his remark.

  “You’re exactly right, Your Majesty. Understood. I was just thinking the payment for this job was too high for what it is. I’ll tell you a little about intonations later on.”

  “Oh? That would be great.”

  There were multiple box seats at the arena—for wealthy people who donated to the management of the arena, for high-ranking nobles, and for the emperor. They went straight toward the emperor’s box. Perhaps they had checked the place out ahead of time? Söder proceeded without needing to ask for directions.

  Soon they came to a point where the door was just around the corner, but Söder held out a palm to stop Jircniv.

  “There don’t seem to be any people around, but I’ll go on ahead just in case, so can you all wait here by this corner?”

  He spoke low and didn’t wait for an answer before moving quickly down a corridor. Curious, Jircniv poked his head out and took a look.

  Having reached the door without making a sound, Söder did something, and the door cracked open. It scarcely seemed open at all, but apparently it was enough for the fixer to slip through, and he disappeared inside.

  In less than a minute, the door opened wide to reveal Söder’s face.

  “All clear. This room is safe.”

  Everyone moved into the room that had passed the safety check.

  Jircniv looked around.

  It was a bit small, but the elegant furnishings were all pieces of the highest quality, and everything was immaculate despite the fact that he almost never came here.

  There was a large opening in the wall of the arena, so they had a full view of the scene below. When he took a glance, he saw that everyone in the packed seats was going wild.

  The reason so many people had come out was that a martial king match had been scheduled at short notice.

  The king of the arena—the martial king—was so strong that a proper match couldn’t be found for him. For that reason, it had been quite a while since he had fought.

  The stands were overflowing with people eager to see how he would perform.

  Certainly, many people admire the power on display. And since we have professional soldiers, the battlefield is another world to civilians. That must be why they’re able to enjoy death matches as spectacle.

  No, I’ve heard that even some knights enjoy going to the arena.

  So is it about expressing and liberating your savage nature?

  While Jircniv was absentmindedly pondering those things, Argenti had finished their search of the room.

  “Any sign of any intelligence spells or the like being activated?”

  “We found nothing, Your Majesty. Right?”

  “You got it. First, it’s hard for me to tell if something has been cast or not, so I had them check to see if there were any magic items around. And there weren’t any! But there’s one thing I want you to remember, and that’s that I don’t have as good of examination skills as a thief. Please don’t assume we’re perfectly fine… Although, I did have our leader boost my detection abilities with an intonation, so we’re probably okay, but you know.”

  “As far as magic, I used a detection spell, and there was no sign of anything being cast. I put up detection obstruction, so it doesn’t seem like we’ll have any issues.” Unkei struck his staff against the floor and it jangled refreshingly.

  “Then can I request something else? Is there a spell we can use to detect anyone approaching? Something you know is there even if it’s invisible would be great.”

  “Unfortunately, I don’t have any spells like that. I’m fairly certain our leader does, though.”

  When the ball landed in his court, Freiwaltz made an okay sign and left the room.

  “What else? If someone tries to listen in, what kind of countermeasures come to mind?”

  Jircniv thought frantically about what Ainz Ooal Gown might be capable of. Frankly, he couldn’t imagine the unimaginable. As a result, it was practically impossible to underestimate him.

  “…Honestly, I think with all we’ve done, we’ll be fine. We’ve already got multiple spells protecting you.”

  “He’s right, Your Majesty. I’ve also cast Obstruct Detection, so I’ll be notified immediately if anyone tries to investigate us using magic. Please don’t worry.”

  Söder and Unkei soothed him in turn.

  They probably thought he was a touch paranoid. Or maybe they thought he was nervous because he sensed an assassin.

  But he was very curious how the pair would react when he told them they were up against the King of Darkness. Would they understand that no matter how cautious they were, it could never be enough? Or would they say they couldn’t do a job like this for so little money?

  The best for him would be if they knew nothing about the King of Darkness and just did their best to handle the job.

  But though he had restrictions on King of Darkness–related matters in place, it was impossible to keep sixty thousand mouths shut.

  It had to have leaked already. In that case, he heard that the higher the rank of the adventurers, the more regularly they collected information, so there was a good chance these guys already knew how powerful the King of Darkness was.

  Plus, I don’t like the idea of anyone figuring me out.

  Having thought all that, Jircniv smiled vaguely to gloss over it.

  The pair seemed to think they had convinced him, and it looked unlikely that they would say any more.

  An even larger roar went up from the stands.

  When he took a look, it seemed the fight between two swordsmen had been decided.

  In the old days, the loser would be put to death, but now, though people sometimes died during matches, they were never killed after the outcome was decided.

  The rule was said to have been abolished after a swordsman, who just happened to be saved during a losing streak because he was fun to watch, ended up awakening his abilities and becoming champion. Apparently, it was thought that there could be more like him.

  What number martial king was he? He wasn’t as strong as the current king, but he was still something. I need to think of a way to bring powerful people who have no intention of belonging to a nation into my corner…

  “Anyhow, we’re done, Your Majesty.”

  He turned around at the sound of Freiwaltz’s voice. “Thanks.”

  Since he was dealing with adamantite-plate adventurers, he felt he should probably express a bit more gratitude, but his usual terse appreciation had already slipped out.

  “It was nothing. Then regarding our escort duties, do you mind if we stand by in this room?”

  He had hired them as bodyguards. With that in mind, it was an utterly obvious suggestion.

  But could he have private talks with them around?

  There were plenty of pros to getting them involved, but once they learned his aim, there was a risk he would end up making enemies of people he should definitely not make enemies of.

  Still, they’re nothing
compared to hi— What am I thinking? Being fine with that monster as an enemy is proof I’ve gone insane… Only a fool would make any more enemies at this point.

  Jircniv shook his head.

  “Unfortunately, this is a very important meeting. I can’t have you in the room.”

  “It will be awfully difficult to protect you if we’re not in the room, Your Majesty…”

  “I trust these two, and they’ll be here with me. I’m sure they would be able to buy time until you arrive.”

  “Well, that’s true.” It was the gibbon, who had been silent until now, who spoke. “But if your opponent was an assassin on par with Söder, you might be in trouble.”

  “Someone on par with me? Like the little lady from Ijaniya. She uses ninjutsu, so she pounces at you from the shadows.”

  “Your two warriors will be unbeatable against an opponent who relies on a sword. But what about magic? I can’t help but be anxious about that scenario. Besides, I think we would be so absorbed by the match that we wouldn’t have any interest in your meeting.”

  They all tried to persuade him, but after having gone this far to avoid any leaks, he couldn’t accept their proposal.

  “Your worries are valid. But as the emperor, I mustn’t yield on this point.”

  The eyes of Argenti gathered on their leader. He heaved a sigh.

  “Then I suppose we have no choice. As the emperor, you must have conversations we can’t be privy to. Very well—we’ll be on watch outside. Could you tell us what sort of people will be coming?”

  “That’s a natural question. But you fellows didn’t see anything. Got it?”

  “Of course. No matter who comes, that information will never spill from our lips. And if it does leak, we’ll take responsibility and handle it.”

  “Then I’ll trust you. It’s the high priest of the fire shrine and the high priest of the wind shrine, plus four priests who will probably accompany them.”

  “I see. Then if anyone else arrives, we’ll be on our guard.”

  “Yes, that’s what I would like from you. This guest box is somewhat removed from the others. No one should end up here ‘lost.’”

  “Understood… And, Your Majesty, do you mind if we break the lock on the door?”

  “If you think it’s necessary, go ahead and do it.”

  Fahn strode forward. The handles of his battle-axes were creaking with a sound that a human grip would never produce. Jircniv felt that kind of force might be a bit overkill for just breaking the lock, but he was no warrior, so he couldn’t say anything.

  But his two knights were whispering to each other enough that it bothered him.

  Fahn slowly lifted the battle-axes over his head.

  “Oh, don’t break the door!”

  At Freiwaltz’s shout, Fahn paused.

  Jircniv couldn’t help but shift his eyebrows.

  “…Why not? We aren’t going with the ‘Sorry, I was going to break the lock, but I accidentally broke the door, too, so we’ll just stay in here with you’ plan?”

  “No, not this time. I don’t want to get involved in messy politics.”

  “Me neither. I have no interest in being any more suspect in the eyes of the shrines.”

  “Got it. Then this should be enough.”

  A battle-ax glided down to strike the lock, easily breaking it.

  Was he supposed to be disgusted? Or offended? There were surely many reactions to choose from, but Jircniv was impressed. Just what I’d expect from adamantite adventurers, he thought.

  Not that the battle-ax had broken the lock like nothing but that they had the guts to talk like that in front of the nation’s highest authority. And the arrogance it took to ignore the client’s wishes, even if the client was the emperor, in order to do their best job possible.

  Those were things Jircniv had lost.

  “…Maybe I should drag these guys deep into a political mess. So deep and sticky they can’t escape.”

  The moment he murmured that, the members of Argenti ran out the door as fast as fleeing rabbits. Their movements seemed to have been prearranged.

  The three left in the room looked at one another.

  “That was amazing. Being able to move as one like that without saying a word is just… Well, it’s as expected, isn’t it? They’re adamantite precisely because they can move like that.”

  “…I’m not sure what to say, but I think we admire them for slightly different reasons… Your Majesty, shall I prepare beverages?”

  “Yeah. Thanks. Will you do that?”

  “Understood. You too, Sir Baswood.”

  At the suggestion that he help prep, Baswood made a sour face. “Huh? Me too? Your Majestyyy. See, shouldn’t you have brought along at least one maid? The drinks will taste better if a girl pours them instead of us grimy old men. At least, they definitely would for me.”

  “Yes, yes, that’s enough whining. Get twice as busy with actual drink prep now, Sir Baswood.”

  “I’m counting on you, Baswood. There’s no sense in worrying about what we lack. We have to make do with what we’ve got. It’s the same as the empire’s current situation.”

  “That comparison is no good, Your Majesty,” Baswood said as he got to work.

  They could hear the cheers from the arena below, and a war cry that was a bit different from a beast’s went up.

  It seemed as though the next match had begun.

  Jircniv searched his memories.

  The match before the one with the martial king would be adventurers versus a monster. When adventurers were in the arena, the fights were often flashier due to bursts of magic, so they were popular with the crowd.

  Looking down at his enthusiastic subjects, Jircniv remarked, “This is what peace looks like.”

  “You think so, Your Majesty?”

  He was talking to himself, so he hadn’t expected a reply. When he turned to look, it was Baswood standing there. Nimble was behind him with a disapproving face, doing enough work for the both of them.

  “It doesn’t seem very peaceful to me—look.”

  One of the adventurers took a beast claw, and blood sprayed into the air. The crowd’s shrieks and cheers grew louder.

  “It’s not about the match but the audience.” Jircniv gazed at the roaring spectators. “Isn’t this quite peaceful compared to what’s going on in the empire right now? I just think, if they knew that a monster was lurking just beneath the surface, would they be able to enjoy this as much?”

  “Isn’t it fine that it’s peaceful? Giving all the people stomach pains wouldn’t get us anywhere, would it?”

  Baswood was right.

  Jircniv regretted being so petty.

  “It’s just as you say, Baswood. Now then, our guests will be here soon. Are we about ready?”

  “Yes, Your Majesty. Someone didn’t help me at all, so I wasn’t sure I would make it in time, but the drinks and papers are all ready. We also have plenty of ink.”

  They had prepared such a surprising amount of documentation as a precaution against anyone listening in. The cheers were loud and there were no adjacent rooms, so there was only a handful of ways to spy on them, but extra caution never hurt.

  He knew it was a pain. He had done it in the palace, and it was exhausting.

  All of these complications stemmed from the fact that the Nation of Darkness’s power was an unknown.

  Once he knew what it could and couldn’t do, he could change their countermeasures accordingly.

  The scheme to investigate it during the war had borne painful results and caused a tragedy. But that didn’t mean he could give up. If he didn’t come up with a new plan and look into things in a safer way than the previous time, he would be jumping at his enemy’s shadow forever. And not only that, he would be driven into a situation where he jumped at shadows and abandoned even a good plan.

  But he still couldn’t forget that awful feeling.

  “If we could just figure out Ainz Ooal Gown’s—the King of Da
rkness’s—limits. Then maybe we wouldn’t need to do so much prep work.”

  Back then, he had been able to make requests as a supporter, but now that they were both rulers, it was practically impossible to ask anything of him. Or rather, he could, but when he thought that there was no telling what would be demanded in return, his head hurt.

  “It’s not only the King of Darkness, Your Majesty. Don’t we need to figure out what his retainers are capable of, too?”

  “Right.”

  “…There’s no way his subordinates would be more powerful than him, right?”

  “Ha, I think not,” was Jircniv’s answer, but as he said it, he broke out in a cold sweat.

  Considering the fact that he had the Four, who were much stronger than him, as subordinates, there was no way he could say he thought not. What the one on top needed wasn’t simple brawn but something else.

  So what if that went for Ainz Ooal Gown as well?

  “No, it couldn’t be. Listen, Nimble. Your thinking is flawed. Got it?”

  “Yes, Your Majesty! Do excuse me.”

  If that was the truth, they would be done for. He wanted them to at least be equal, but he would pray to the gods if the subordinates could be lesser.

  He really didn’t have enough information.

  Maybe we should move ahead with the plan to get intelligence out of that dark elf girl despite the danger. I’ll talk to the Theocracy about importing a ton of elves and use those, too, somehow… And what about that boy Aura? Nah, he’s still such a child, I doubt he’s interested in women. Besides, he seems pretty aggressive.

  Just as Jircniv was settling into some lengthy contemplation, there was a knock on the door.

  As expected, it was Freiwaltz.

  “Your guests have arrived, Your Majesty. Six in all. I’ve met the high priests before, so I’m sure it’s them.”

  “Then let them in—”

  As he said that, he heard Söder’s challenging voice from the open door.

  “Oops, not so fast. You fellows in the rear. The numbers are as expected, but a couple of you smell like me. I’ve heard of disciplinary squads belonging to shrines—for rubbing out priests who break the precepts—but I thought they were a rumor.”