The Ruler of Conspiracy

by Kugane Maruyama

  And since he hadn’t heard any stories like that, he had guessed that there weren’t any overlords around.

  “I see. I’d like to have adventurers leap into the unknown and gather that sort of information. If there are other overlords out there and they harbor a hatred of the living, they would be pretty problematic. You realize that, right?”

  Ainzach’s eyes widened and he nodded. “Yes, it’s just as you say, Your Majesty. I’m now convinced that I understand the true form adventurers should take.”

  “Yeah. You should consider me an exception to undead. I understand the value of humans, so I won’t kill them without reason, but other overlords may not act the same way.”

  “They won’t?”

  “There’s no guarantee. Am I the exception, or is my whole race the exception? We should probably assume the worst.”

  “…You’re right, Your Majesty. I’ll keep that in mind.”

  Ainz nodded.

  If they found traces of one and it had been defeated, it could lead them to the people who brainwashed Shalltear. Or there could even be an overlord out there being mind controlled in the same way Shalltear was.

  “All right, I’ll go make an appointment.”

  “Thanks.”

  Ainzach got out of the carriage. After watching him go, Ainz took out a mask and put it on. He walked around E-Rantel without it now, but he figured that in the imperial capital—especially having snuck in—it would be better to do at least the minimum to conceal his identity.

  He also changed from his usual robe to one that was more subdued.

  Its magic tier was one lower, but that couldn’t be helped. Ainz had only one god-tier robe. There were also all the things his guildmates had left, but their armor was even more customized to the individual than their weapons were. They had allotted lots of data to buff specific skills they possessed. So while he could use those items, he couldn’t take full advantage of their abilities.

  If that was the case, then Ainz preferred something he built for himself, even if it was a little weaker.

  As he was adjusting all of his gear, there came a knock at the carriage door, and Ainzach spoke to him.

  “I’m terribly sorry, Your Majesty.”

  “What is it?”

  “Unfortunately, he can’t meet you today and would like to do it tomorrow. If you wish, I’ll tell him you’re here and try to convince him. What do you think?”

  “That’s not necessary.” There was no way he would make a good impression on someone by forcing himself on them when they were busy. On the contrary, from a sales point of view, he had made a cold call and actually gotten an appointment instead of being turned away at the door, so that was a fantastic success. “Let’s just do it tomorrow. We should be thankful he’s available so—sooo— What is it?” Ainz asked, noticing Ainzach’s eyes had gone round.

  “O-oh, I was just thinking how tolerant you are, Your Majesty. Some nobles even look down on merchants, so…”

  “You thought I would order you to force him to meet me?”

  The fact that he didn’t reply immediately spoke louder than the words Yes, that’s what I thought would have.

  Ainz wondered if that would have been the more correct way for a ruler to act. It was too late now, but Ainz Ooal Gown was a king. He needed to act like one, even when it felt weird to Satoru Suzuki.

  “This is the first time I’ve ruled over humans. If you think that’s correct in human society, then I’ll do it.”

  Ainzach frowned. “I don’t know, Your Majesty. I don’t know any kings, so I’m not sure if it’s proper or not. Personally, I prefer the way you were thinking just now, but perhaps high-ranking nobles should exercise their power.”

  “Human society sure is complicated.”

  When Ainz grumbled that in the end, he still didn’t know what to do, Ainzach gave him a friendly smile. “You may be right about that, Your Majesty. There really is a lot to deal with.”

  The two of them chuckled inside the carriage.

  Ainz pumped his right fist where it couldn’t be seen, secure in the knowledge that he had loosened Ainzach up quite a bit.

  “Did you tell him that I would be accompanying you tomorrow?”

  “No, I didn’t. I wanted to hear your thoughts first. Is it an issue if I give your name?”

  “…If he won’t make a fuss, then it’s fine. You know him better than I do, so you should decide.”

  “Understood. Then I think I’ll keep it secret for now.”

  After deciding the specific time, Ainzach left the carriage again.

  Ainz felt a little bad treating him like a gofer. He knew this wasn’t a seniority-based society, but Satoru Suzuki didn’t like ordering his elders around.

  I get why so many people dislike having subordinates older than them…

  If it was someone from an entirely different society, it probably wouldn’t have bothered him. For example, if Ainzach were from the empire, he wouldn’t have any problem jerking his chin at him. The reason he did now must have been that he saw Ainzach as one of his subjects.

  He should be given fair compensation. If I don’t remember that people who don’t seek rewards like the members of Nazarick are an exception, I’ll be the worst ruler ever. I don’t want to be a king like a black company!

  Ainz made a vow to the voice of HeroHero he could hear skimming across the back of his mind.

  When it comes to Ainzach’s reward… As a king, how much should I actually pay him? Is market rate for a mythril-plate adventurer enough? No, he should get a managerial allowance, so 10 percent—no, that’s too much—5 percent more…? Could someone just give me advice about compensation?

  He could consult with Demiurge and Albedo, but he was skeptical about whether they actually understood what proper compensation rates consisted of. He had the feeling they would just say, Anyone should feel happy to even have a chance to work for you, Lord Ainz.

  Which means…I need a smart human. I can rely on Fluder for magic, but he even said himself that his knowledge on other realms is patchy.

  Nazarick was practically invincible, but in the realm of knowledge about human society, Ainz felt a bit anxious.

  …Start with what you have? I’m glad I went with Demiurge’s plan. Of course, by the time Demiurge is suggesting something, I don’t have any intention of rejecting it.

  As Ainz was letting his mind wander, there came a knock at the door.

  “Sorry to keep you waiting, Your Majesty.”

  He hadn’t been waiting in particular, but he received Ainzach in the generous way a ruler should and urged him to go on.

  “I made an appointment as you wished, tomorrow at ten o’clock.”

  “Good. Then just until tomorrow…I’m going to send you back to E-Rantel. Now then, relax and accept the spell: Greater Teleportation.”

  Ainzach disappeared instantaneously.

  With Greater Teleportation, it should have been no trouble to get him outside the outermost of E-Rantel’s three walls. If there was anything in the way of his landing position, he would zip to a nearby safe place, so there was no need to check up on him with another spell.

  “Now, I guess I’ll get in touch with that one using Message,” Ainz murmured to himself. It wasn’t something he enjoyed doing, so he said it partially to get himself going.

  He was contacting the one who said he would give everything to Ainz: Fluder. The reason he was dragging things out with him even though he knew what the old man wanted was that he wasn’t confident he could pay him.

  The compensation Fluder wanted was Ainz’s magic knowledge.

  But Ainz’s magic ability wasn’t learned by accumulated study. So even if Fluder threw himself on the ground and begged to be taught, Ainz didn’t really know what he could do.

  If it were Yggdrasil, he could share what he knew about magic, but unfortunately this world seemed to have a different system.

  He did wonder why the same spells existed if they learned them in
a different way, in addition to some other things, but he hadn’t figured out the answers yet. There was a mountain of things he didn’t understand. He even had to consider the worst-case scenario that he might suddenly lose the ability to use his Yggdrasil abilities.

  Maybe he could get the answers to his questions if he took a multilevel hit when casting the spell whose effect had changed in this world, Wish Upon a Star—to lose several levels at once in exchange for a powerful way to get a wish granted.

  But that was an extremely dangerous gamble.

  He could use it, but whether he would get his answers or not was a mystery. There was a plenty good chance it would end as a total waste. More than anything, he didn’t have the courage to use this spell that could be considered his ace move. Things would be different if he had a way to gain massive amounts of experience points, but he hadn’t found one yet.

  Ainz sighed—not that he had lungs—and, feeling like a salesman who had to apologize to a customer that the product he promised would come in hadn’t arrived yet, cast Message.

  “Fluder Paradyne. It’s me, Ainz Ooal Gown.” After saying that much, he said what he always said next. “You’re from the village of Vermut. And your first experience with magic was…if I remember correctly, a mystic there.”

  “Oh! Master! I’ve been waiting to hear from you!”

  Fluder’s gratitude was palpable.

  What he had said were the passwords. Fluder said the person on the other end of a Message could be someone impersonating someone he knew, so Ainz had promised to say the name of his village, which had already changed, and that memory.

  But even all that couldn’t assuage Fluder’s fears about Message.

  Ainz felt it was an unhealthy paranoia, but if that was the case, there was nothing he could do about it.

  Mildly weirded out by Fluder’s blazing passion, he answered back, “Sorry it’s been a little while. I thought I would finally teach you some magic soon like I promised. Do you have a little time now?”

  “Of course! No matter what’s on my schedule, I can always make time for you, master!”

  No, you really don’t have to do that, thought Ainz, but this passion for magic was Fluder in a nutshell. That kind of magic maniac wanted lessons, and this ordinary guy had to bullshit his way through somehow.

  The job—as much work as dealing with the complaints of an unbearable complainer—made Ainz’s stomach hurt.

  …I have no doubt that I’m the one with the worst stomachache in the entire imperial capital.

  But he couldn’t turn back now.

  In order to teleport into Fluder’s room, he readied an intelligence spell to confirm his positioning.

  “All right. I’m going to go to your room using Greater Teleportation.”

  “Ooh! Not Teleportation but Greater Teleportation? What tier is that?!”

  “…Let’s discuss that later. This Message won’t last forever—because I don’t have a commander class, you know? …But there’s something I need to confirm with you first. What kind of measures do you have in place to counter intelligence magic? Do you have anything to obstruct teleportation?”

  “N-no. I’m not using anything like that.”

  Hearing that, Ainz’s nonexistent eyebrows twinged. “Isn’t that a bit careless? To have nothing at all?”

  It was possible that any conversations had in Fluder’s room were overheard by a third party.

  “My apologies, but those sorts of spells are a weak area for me…”

  “Then wouldn’t using a magic item instead be elementary? I’ve seen all sorts of things in the imperial capital. I heard you were making them.”

  Ainz recalled the market he’d gone to the first time he visited the imperial capital. He had been surprised to see things similar to refrigerators.

  “It’s as you say, master, but I’m sure you know that in creating magic items, it’s important that you be able to use a similar sort of spell. For instance, for a fire-enchanted weapon, Fireball or another fire spell. But the spells for defense against intelligence magic aren’t very popular…”

  I see, thought Ainz.

  In Yggdrasil, players could acquire only three spells per level through the usual means. So at level 20, they would have sixty spells. Expecting someone to choose Obstruct Detection as one of those was pretty harsh.

  For the uninformed, sixty might sound like a lot, but if someone asked Ainz to pick sixty spells from up through tier three, he would spend all day mulling it over.

  First, he would want to know what they would be used for, then if a class change was possible—there were a lot of factors to juggle.

  In that sense, he did feel a bit bad for getting annoyed with Fluder.

  “You’re right. This time was my bad. It’s just as you said. Certainly, when you’re getting attack and defensive spells, detection and intelligence spells end up low priority.”

  In the game, it was easy to say, I’ll take this one, so you take that, but for these people, selecting spells practically meant deciding the course of their lives. It probably took quite a bit of bravery to choose unpopular spells.

  And detection magic had some depth to it. It involved anticipating what spell one’s opponent would use to collect intelligence.

  Frankly, being a caster specialized in detection magic was like gambling with the chips of one’s life.

  “…Okay. I’ll give you an Obstruct Detection item. Stay on your guard with that from now on.”

  “Yes, master!”

  He couldn’t see him, but he knew that Fluder was bowing low. He might have even thrown himself on the floor.

  “Your compassionate words have been received!”

  Relax, it’s just an item, thought Ainz, and it pained his heart. “R-right… Now then, I’m going to peek into your room.”

  Ainz cast the spell and looked into Fluder’s room.

  From above, he could see Fluder on his knees.

  When he searched for magical auras—perhaps it was to be expected from Fluder—there were several different colors in the room. But none of them indicated the danger of teleportation obstruction. Upon confirming that much, Ainz used Greater Teleportation.

  His field of vision changed; his teleportation into Fluder’s private quarters was a success. Though he knew from the lack of delay or feeling of being observed that he wasn’t in enemy territory, he still swept his eyes around.

  He didn’t need to be that cautious. But enemies were most likely to time their attacks for the unguarded moments following a teleportation. In order to avoid that, Satoru Suzuki had gotten totally used to anti-PKing moves.

  “So good of you to come, master.”

  “…Raise your head,” Ainz ordered.

  Fluder had bowed deeply upon seeing him. Honestly, you really don’t have to do that, was what Ainz felt.

  This guy’s loyalty—more accurately, submission stemming from greed—was abnormal.

  It could be termed similar to that of Nazarick members. He had finally gotten used to the people in Nazarick being so loyal, but when he got that sort of devotion from someone he barely knew, it put him on guard.

  “Yes, master!”

  “Now then, I don’t want to stand the whole time I’m talking, so I’ll take a seat.”

  “Yes, master! What’s mine is yours. Use it all as you would!”

  Feeling like he would like to get accustomed to this attitude but also like he wouldn’t, Ainz sat down on a sofa, but Fluder didn’t move to sit across from him. He remained kneeling on the floor with only his head lifted.

  “That’s enough. Sit down.”

  “A-are you sure? I can sit in the same way as you, master?”

  “…I’m pretty sure you used to have disciples. Is this how you did it?”

  The way of thinking that seemed liable to be found at a freakishly hard-core company creeped Ainz out, but Fluder shook his head. “No, I never did anything like that. But between you and me, master, is a gap that makes us incompara
ble. I could hardly consider us the sam—”

  “—I don’t mind. I permit you to be seated. Now sit.”

  “Yes, master!”

  Ainz made sure Fluder sat down and then—thinking, Agh, my stomach hurts—asked a question.

  “First, what happened with that thing I a…”—he nearly said asked but caught himself—“ordered you to do? Did you copy down all the inside facts of other countries as far as the empire knows?”

  “Yes, master! I finished recording the data for nearby countries. The only thing is…”

  “What? Is there some kind of problem?”

  “Master! I suppose it’s no less than I would expect from the emperor.” His face looked proud. It was the face a teacher would turn toward his outstanding pupil. “It appears he’s discovered my betrayal.”

  It was only natural when switching jobs to make a vow not to leak secrets from one’s previous employer all over the place. From that perspective, forcing Fluder to spy and give up insider information made Ainz a brute.

  But Ainz already knew quite well that he was ruling a country not a company. Anything he did so that his nation would flourish—so that people who belonged to the Great Tomb of Nazarick were happy—was correct.

  He didn’t have anything against Jircniv. But that didn’t matter when it came to profit for his country. If Jircniv’s unhappiness would make the Nation of Darkness wealthy, then Ainz would make him miserable.

  That said, rather than a full-on brawl, he was aiming for coexistence and mutual prosperity.

  Squishy Moe had once told him a random story about what would happen if Mr. Nash got imprisoned or something, and apparently the point was that if chance was limitless, then cooperating would lead to great profit.

  Ainz knew that the two countries would use each other, but on a personal basis, he wanted to get along with Jircniv.

  In exchange for poaching Fluder, I made sure no one from the empire got hurt on the Katze Plain, so we’re even. And since I’m spying on him so much, I feel closer to him…