Epilogue
Epilogue
Once the fight had been decided, the rest was simple. The subhumans were all out of morale, so it was just a matter of hunting down the dregs. The Sacred Kingdom lost almost no one; only subhumans were scattered across the earth.
Now that the enemy general, Jaldabaoth, had been defeated, there was nothing standing in the liberation army’s way.
The city of Prato and the capital, Jobans, were retaken in the blink of an eye.
There was still the city of Limun farther west, and in the villages converted to prison camps, people were still suffering. But they had reached a major turning point.
The liberated capital erupted with joy, and the thrill hadn’t abated even a whole day later. In fact, the excitement seemed to have actually grown.
But Neia and the rest of the liberation army leaders knew they faced a mountain of problems.
First: food. With everything devoured by the subhumans, food issues would be an obstacle for the Sacred Kingdom going forward.
Next: lives lost. That could be rephrased as “labor.” If there were future engineers or scholars among those who had died, the loss of their technologies could prove catastrophic.
Then: materials. All the things that had been stolen or destroyed by subhumans would need to be remade, which would require a lot of resources.
Also: time. In order to retake the two seasons the subhumans had taken from them, they would have to work twice as hard.
They also had to root out the subhumans that might be lurking in their territory.
The many treasures thought to be stolen by the subhumans—magic items and other valuables—were missing. Subhumans had their own civilizations and adorned themselves with precious metals, so no one found it strange that they would collect human wealth. But not being able to figure out where it had all been taken was odd. They couldn’t find any trace of an enemy transport unit.
Even with so many challenges ahead of them, some people probably just wanted to bask in happiness for the moment. They needed a rest in order to face the struggle awaiting them. And Neia accepted that.
But today was impossible. Today she couldn’t bask in happiness.
Because today was a day of parting.
It was a terribly sad day.
In the eastern half of the capital on the city side of the main gate, a lone carriage waited. Contrary to its plain exterior, its interior was elegant and refined, and Neia was familiar with its outstanding functionality—right down to the cushions that shielded one’s bottom from soreness during long journeys, which had impressed her in particular.
Yes.
This was the King of Darkness’s carriage, which she had ridden along in during their return to the Sacred Kingdom.
That is to say, today was the day the King of Darkness was leaving the Sacred Kingdom and returning to his own country.
It wouldn’t have been strange to find subhumans surrounding his carriage. He had united the Abellion Hills and converted many subhumans into allies for his fight against Jaldabaoth. Yet, not a single one was to be found, because he had sent them back to the hills.
And that wasn’t something that had happened in the last day or so. No, he let them return home the day Jaldabaoth was defeated.
When asked why, the answer was one that took into account the feelings of the people of the Sacred Kingdom. “You don’t want to move forward with them, do you?”
Neia was ruled by emotion.
Out of consideration for the mental state of the people here, he had sent his own soldiers home and chosen to stay with the Sacred Kingdom himself. No king would normally do that.
No, none but this king of kings, the benevolent King of Darkness.
And the members of Neia’s organization, those who shared her beliefs, were filled with the same emotion.
So she and her fellow believers had taken it upon themselves to be his entourage. Since no one said a word of objection, that amounted to tacit approval. Of course, most of the fighting was over, and all they were doing was providing security for the king as he walked around, but Neia could still remember the looks on everyone’s faces.
The joy of being able to walk near someone who had saved them, the pride of getting to accompany the hero who slayed Jaldabaoth, the happiness of waiting on the king they looked up to—their expressions were a mix of all those feelings.
Now, none of them was in her field of vision.
What she could see was the wall and main gate of the capital—and the road that led to Prato and beyond, to the Nation of Darkness.
“You’re really returning today, Your Majesty? Many people are celebrating the liberation of the capital. I wouldn’t be surprised if in a few days they wanted to hold a ceremony and invite you so they can express their gratitude to the one who contributed the most…”
Neia had asked a similar question several times. She was sure the answer would be the same. That she asked anyway had to be due to the woman in her.
“Yes, today I’ll return to the Nation of Darkness. I’m not sure I’m cut out for ceremonies.”
His last remark was so sudden that he rushed to give an exaggerated shrug of his shoulders so she wouldn’t take it at face value.
His Majesty’s sense of humor really is so awful.
“Very funny, Your Majesty.”
“Right, exactly. It was a joke. A joke… But to tell the truth, I’ve done everything I came to do. So there’s no longer any reason for me to stay. As king, I must lead my nation. If I stay away from the throne for far too long, Prime Minister Albedo will take me to task.”
The image of that peerless beauty Neia had met only once came to mind. The woman was so gorgeous, she found her impossible to forget.
She doesn’t seem like she would be that scary if she got mad. Or is it because she’s so beautiful that the idea of her being angry is frightening…? I don’t really think that’s what His Majesty means, but I can’t imagine her getting angry… In any case…I’m jealous…
His comment was one that could only be uttered regarding someone close to him, and for that reason, it would never be applied to her no matter how she wished for it, which only made her envy stronger. How happy she would have been to overhear the king she respected telling someone, Neia will take me to task.
“I see… It’s a pity everyone from the Sacred Kingdom can’t be here to see off the king who rescued our country.”
The King of Darkness’s departure had come up suddenly. This lonesome scene with no one there to see him off showed as much.
“I told Master Caspond I didn’t want to be burdened with a huge commotion. This country has a lot of challenges ahead. Rather than wasting effort and supplies on my departure, I’d rather they be used for reconstruction.”
“Your Majesty…”
Why do you have to go…?
If she clung to his leg and bawled, would he stay an extra day?
She was seized by the urge to do so but forced herself not to. It wouldn’t be right to take any more advantage of his charity.
“Oh, uh, I don’t mean in, like, a looking down on you way. Just that the Sacred Kingdom has lost so much. Really… Wealth and stuff. I kind of think they could have left a little more behind… The feeling I had is…that I want you to do your best without worrying about me—yes, that’s right. And besides…this kingdom stabilizing will be good for the Nation of Darkness as a neighboring country, too. For trade in the future and so on.”
He must have sensed Neia’s feelings and hurried to console her. Usually, he was more dignified, but he sounded a bit out of his depth.
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
“Uh? Mm. Nah, don’t mention it. I came to this country to acquire Jaldabaoth’s demon maids. And in the end”—Shizu had been standing next to him in silence, practically concealing her presence, but he patted her on the back now—“I got them, as you can see. So the trip was worth it.”
Neia was a little embarrassed that the Sacred Kingdom wasn’t giving him anything at all.
Shizu, the demon maid, he had acquired on his own. And it wasn’t only Neia who felt bad. All those who shared her beliefs agreed.
They considered giving something themselves, but then someone mentioned that it might actually be rude for people who weren’t even representatives of the country to offer a king something, so the idea came to nothing in the end.
Neia wished Caspond would at least transfer something on the nation-to-nation level or sign a pact with terms that left the Sacred Kingdom slightly disadvantaged.
“…If you like, I could use a huge once-in-a-year spell to resurrect your parents.”
“I appreciate it, Your Majesty…but I’ll pass.”
When they had liberated the capital, one of the prisoners said they had seen Neia’s mother die in battle. She heard from them what a valiant fight it had been. Her mother probably wouldn’t be upset to not be brought back to life.
And Neia had heard that resurrection magic required expensive catalysts. She probably couldn’t afford it. The compassionate King of Darkness would probably do it free of charge, but she felt she had already personally benefited too much from his goodwill.
Still, the fact that the subhumans had apparently done away with the corpse and she never got to say good-bye was unfortunate.
“Talking forever only makes parting more painful. I should be on my way. Shizu, don’t you have anything to say to Miss Baraja?”
“…! Yes! See you again.”
Shizu offered her hand, so Neia took it.
And then neither one in particular let go first, but they parted.
“…Is that enough, you two?”
“……I’m…fine.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“All right. Then, Shizu, let’s go.” With his foot on the step, the king turned and said to Neia, “…This country has a lot of struggles ahead. But…I’m sure you’ll be able to tough it out. Let’s meet again someday.”
“Of course!”
The king went to enter the carriage. Neia called out to him without thinking.
“Your Majesty! Your Majesty King of Darkness!”
He stopped on the step and turned around. Neia swallowed, mustering her courage, and spoke in a quaking voice. “U-umm! May I call you…Lord Ainz?”
What a brazen request. She wouldn’t have been surprised if he shouted at her for being an impudent foreigner.
“…Uh? Yeah, it’s fine… Call me what you like.”
“Thank you!” She bowed to the broad-minded king. When she looked up, Shizu was getting into the carriage. “Take care, Miss Shizu!”
“Mm-hmm!” Shizu gave her a thumbs-up and disappeared into the carriage.
The horse must have detected that the two had boarded. It neighed and set off on its own.
“Good-bye, Your Majesty!” Neia shouted after the carriage, no longer able to hide her tears. “Long live His Majesty the King of Darknesssss!”
It wasn’t only her voice that raised the subsequent cheers.
The main gate wasn’t the capital’s only gate. Other believers had secretly gathered at other gates and were waiting outside to raise their voices in a prayer for the king’s prosperous future.
“Huzzah!”
“Huzzah!”
Then they frantically scattered flower petals they had brought with them.
The carriage drove through.
This wasn’t enough to send off the one who had saved the Sacred Kingdom. But this was all Neia and those who understood her feelings were capable of.
The carriage gradually receded in the world blurred by tears.
Neia sniffled.
She was lonely.
She wished the king or Shizu had invited her to the Nation of Darkness. If they had, she might have given up everything to go with them.
But they hadn’t.
It stung.
In the end, she was merely an attendant for while he was visiting her country. That was all he had thought of her.
A vortex of negative emotions threatened to swallow her up.
But no.
Neia would never forget those words. The King of Darkness had told her, …This country has a lot of struggles ahead. But…I’m sure you’ll be able to tough it out. Let’s meet again someday.
In other words, he had expectations for her.
He thought that despite the swirling chaos, she would be able to do a proper job rebuilding the country.
An era that felt both long and short, that had changed her life, was at its end. But this was also a beginning. There were so many things she had to do.
First, she had to work to repay His Majesty’s kindness.
Then she had to get the country back on its feet. Justice and wickedness… She didn’t know what they were before, but now she could define them with confidence.
Justice was the King of Darkness. And weakness was wickedness, so it was important to train and grow stronger.
Neia would spread her truth throughout the peaceful Sacred Kingdom.
“Lady Baraja, please dry your tears.”
It was Beltrán.
She looked over and saw that his eyes were totally bloodshot. Maybe he had wiped his eyes before coming and was trying to hide it, but from the way his voice shook, it was obvious he had been crying.
“Right.” She wiped her face hard, like Shizu had done.
“Lady Baraja. The people who witnessed the fight would like to hear the king’s story. Many have even brought their families.”
“I see. I’ll tell them what a wonderful person His Majesty—Lord Ainz—is. And I’ll talk about Shizu, too.” Neia fixed her gaze ahead. “Parting is sad. But let’s go, everyone! Let’s let the people know that His Majesty is justice!”
“Yeah!”
Three thousand people raised their voices at once and followed Neia as she set off.
The carriage drove on.
The long job was over. Ainz had never experienced it before, but he figured this was what it was like to be stationed away from one’s family for work. He had periodically returned to Nazarick, but it may have been the first time he was away for so long.
He had thrown the meat of ruling the Abellion Hills at Albedo, and anything further to do with the Sacred Kingdom he was leaving entirely to Demiurge.
In other words, the burden on his shoulders had decreased, and he relaxed to the greatest extent possible without Shizu noticing from where she sat across from him. Partway through, he had changed Demiurge’s scenario to easy mode, but the exhaustion from the time he had spent in hard mode hadn’t completely left him. Still, it was true he felt that relief specific to finishing off a job—and a matter that had been rather stalled out, at that.
Still, once he returned to Nazarick—E-Rantel—he would have to handle all the work that had piled up during the two seasons he was away, neither hurrying nor taking too long; once, thinking Albedo was keeping an eye on things so there would be no problem, he had simply stamped everything with his approval, and she said, “I’m impressed as always, Lord Ainz. What speedy decision-making skills,” in what felt like a sarcastic way.
Yes. He had work waiting for him when he returned, but it wasn’t as if that was the reason he wasn’t using a Gate to go immediately.
Certainly not.
His intention was to teleport once he was out of sight, but it was still too soon. There was no benefit to showing his hand. Of course, the fact that the Hanzo, who was most definitely on the roof, didn’t say anything and his anti-intelligence magic didn’t activate should have meant that no one was watching them, but there could have been methods Ainz was unfamiliar with.
He figured that as long as he had time, it would be fine to wait to teleport until the line of sight was a little more obstructed.
Right. It wasn’t that he wanted to put off reading documents that he wouldn’t understand anyway as long as he could.
But if there was one problem…
Shizu hasn’t said a word since we got in the carriage…
It had been the same with Neia—time with one other person in a carriage with no conversation made him extremely uncomfortable. With a man, he could have said whatever came to mind, but with a woman, he tried to take more care with his topic selection.
He had been hoping for a while now that Shizu would say something, but it didn’t seem likely. Finally, unable to bear the silence, Ainz made up his mind to speak.
“Shizu, how was it working on your own away from Nazarick? Did you have any issues or things that should be handled better in the future?”
He started by asking for a report from his subordinate who had worked in isolation in the field.
“……I think……I did my best.”
“I see. Good job hanging in there.”
The conversation ended. That was it.
Though he waited briefly for it to continue, Shizu had nothing.
There wasn’t really anywhere he could take things, having been told that she had done her best. You didn’t answer the part about issues encountered or potential improvements, he thought, but that was the superficial processing of a boss. Probably she meant that she had worked hard, so he just needed to wait for the results. And that was a good thing—because it meant she hadn’t run into many problems.
“……But,” Shizu continued, “……it’s hard to think for myself and operate……on my own.”
“Yeah. You’re right.”
Up until this mission, Shizu had worked inside Nazarick, only doing what she was ordered to. This was the first time he had given her general instructions and made her decide things for herself to some extent, operating independently. Maybe it was a bit much. Maybe it would have been better to start with something simpler, but he also knew that she had achieved plenty.
“But now, circumstances are such that it wouldn’t be at all strange for the Pleiades to be out and about. I’m sure the news that the demon maids have been brought under the King of Darkness’s control will spread to other countries from the Sacred Kingdom. You may get orders to lead a group on a mission outside Nazarick in the future. This was good experience, right? But we should avoid such open-ended instructions. The person in charge needs to make sure—”
Having said that much, Ainz realized he was wringing his own neck; as the one in the top position at Nazarick, he was the one most likely to be giving orders.
I can’t write a proper proposal. On the contrary, I’m sure I’m only capable of explaining superficial ideas, which will have Albedo and Demiurge furrowing their brows at me!
“—to play things by ear and write proposals that allow for some degree of wiggle room. After all, it’s the ones on the ground who have the best grasp on the situation!”
“……Yes, I learned a lot this time not only following instructions.”
“Yes, that’s right. I’m sure you did. I understand that feeling very well.”
As he was nodding, Ainz compared himself—with pain in his nonexistent stomach upon seeing Demiurge’s instructions—to Shizu, who seemed to have gained something, and shed a few mental tears.
“By the way…” He changed the subject. If he continued along that line, he might have ended up shocking himself even more. “It seems like you became good friends with Miss Baraja when I wasn’t looking. Weren’t you sad to say good-bye?”
“……She’s…my favorite.”
“I see! That’s great!” He reacted with genuine joy.
Satoru Suzuki never had children, but he felt like a dad hearing his kid had managed to finally make her first friend.
Well, I’m glad I resurrected her…but what does “favorite” mean in this case? Could it be that she means like a toy and not a peer?
Ainz cautiously asked, “…Is it safe to say you made a friend?”
Shizu cocked her head and thought for a moment but then answered, “……Yes.”
Ainz felt as though this was a tremendous success, but the explosion of joy was immediately suppressed. Though he found that annoying, he realized that this was perhaps a first for Nazarick and was able to enjoy the slow-burning contentment of a friend outside of their home.
Most of the members of Nazarick had never been beyond its confines. So it was possible that they simply hadn’t made friends and they would be perfectly capable of it if they got the chance.
Ainz certainly didn’t count those with friends as superior. It could even be the case that friends were unnecessary.
But he did feel that perhaps it was better to have the opportunity to make them than not.
I had my guildmates in Ainz Ooal Gown. Maybe I should let the others go outside and give them free time so they get a chance to interact with others… Especially Mare and Aura. Or maybe everyone was born at the same time? Hrm…
“So did you promise you’d go back to visit Neia?”
“……No. This place is…far.”
“Oh! You don’t have to worry about that. I’ve made a note of several teleportation spots. You can go hang out whenever you want—using a Gate. Don’t feel like you have to hold back! Anytime, anytime.”
“……When I get some time…I will.”
“Yeah! Time… I’ll make sure you have some. I’ve been interested for a while in starting a vacation system. I’ll give the Pleiades some time off, too. Maybe you could all go on a trip together. Already, the story is that you’ve all been put under my control, so there shouldn’t be any problem with it.”
Shizu thought for a moment and then shook her head back and forth. “……Nuisance.”
“A nuisance, huh…?”
What does she mean by that? That they would bother Neia? Or that they would get in the way of her spending time with Neia? Or does she think the others wouldn’t want to go?
“Well, if it’s a nuisance, then don’t worry about it. You can go on your own. By the way, I’m changing the topic, but I believe Miss Baraja’s parents died, right? She wasn’t upset about that?”
Apparently, Neia Baraja’s parents had died. He felt like it would be all right to resurrect them if she wanted. And if she would be even more grateful…
Nah.
Frankly, at this point, there wasn’t much value in bringing her parents back. He could tell from looking that she was plenty grateful. So he didn’t need insurance. Plus, wands for raising the dead were rare; he wanted to conserve them as much as possible. And if he had Pestonia or someone use a resurrection spell, gold or precious stones would be consumed.
Honestly, the advantage they would gain wasn’t worth it.
But if she’s Shizu’s friend, that makes it different. I don’t mind doing something like that for a friend of Shizu’s.
Neia had seemed close with her, and that’s why he had brought up the subject to see how she—and Shizu—would react.
“……She……doesn’t mind… And it’s not good to give special treatment.”
“Oh? I thought it would be something nice to remember us by…but…well, that’s fine.”
Actually, resurrecting people, and without a tidy corpse at that, could be a huge pain. There was the whole How come you did it for them and not for me? thing. And he couldn’t have them asking for the Holy Lady to be resurrected. If he did, he was sure Demiurge would find a way of dealing with her, but there were too many downsides.
“If you’re going to go, you can’t read that book. You know that, right?”
“…………Yes…I know. It’s in the professor’s room.”
Shizu knew how all the gimmicks in Nazarick worked. He had never let her out of Nazarick before, since it would be too dangerous. He adjusted the situation with Control Amnesia.
Shizu’s knowledge about the gimmicks was part of the backstory given to her by the player who created her. Ainz wasn’t sure if magic would affect something like that, but when he tried it, the spell functioned as expected.
This was a feat he had been able to pull off thanks to practicing on the guinea pigs he had acquired; if he perfected the technique, he would be able to achieve amazing things.
That is, he realized he might have the power to touch the very core of each NPC. What is the origin of memory? What is an NPC backstory, exactly? Stuff like that. But that was merely Ainz’s imagination talking, and it was far more likely nothing of the sort was possible. And to answer those questions, it might be necessary to master all the details of the spell and comprehend everything there is to know about human memory. In that case, he would probably require tons of guinea pigs and decades of training and research—and he’d have to resign himself to the idea that it could all come to nothing.
In any case, with Shizu’s memories incorrect as they were now, she was a sort of trap.
If someone tried to use her to infiltrate Nazarick, they would definitely be in trouble.
“The professor…huh? Will the other Shizus activate?”
“……When the time comes.”
Wait, they aren’t just a gimmick? thought Ainz, but he didn’t say so. It was similar to how the true identity of Santa Claus was shrouded in secret.
Satoru Suzuki had no memory of Santa coming to his house, but he had made an appearance in Yggdrasil…
“It was just the admins, though,” he said with a wistful smile. When he realized Shizu was staring at him, he told her, “I was just talking to myself.”
“……Your Majesty King of Darkness.”
“Hmm?”
“……Your Majesty King of Darkness.”
“…What’s gotten into you, Shizu?”
She had been referring to him normally all this time, so to suddenly get called by his title sort of—well, really—confused him.
“……Was I being…overly familiar till now?”
“Wh-why would you say that? It’s much weirder for you guys to call me ‘Your Majesty.’ Lord Ainz works fine. Really, you can take ‘Lord’ off. What about Mr. Ainz or something?”
“……That would be rude. I’d get yelled at.”
“…Oh, well… In any case, you don’t have to call me ‘Your Majesty.’”
“……Understood.”
“Oh, right. How did the rune thing I Messaged you about go?”
“……I did my best.”
“Ah…”
It didn’t seem like it had gone very well. Well, it probably didn’t matter if it had ended in failure.
But maybe I should have waited to get back the bow and other items I lent her, thought Ainz absentmindedly as he looked at Shizu.
On his way, he had been accompanied by a glaring girl, and on the way back, an expressionless one. Both a bit eccentric.
The musing made Ainz crack a smile.
Caspond gazed out from the deepest chamber in the castle—the one that belonged to the holy king.
His coronation was coming up in a few days, so with the excuse that he wanted to relax, he refused to let anyone in—not even into the adjoining sitting room.
He knew for sure that Remedios would complain without reading the atmosphere, so he had her under house arrest. Well, no, not quite. He was having her rest at home because later he was planning to have her patrol for any subhumans lurking in the Sacred Kingdom.
His moving into this chamber before his coronation did give those hostile to him reason to attack. The reason he pushed the plan through anyhow was because the power struggle had already begun.
The point was to make his ascension a fait accompli before the opposition began interfering. To Caspond as he was now, without much knowledge of noble society, it was easier to have clear boundaries of who were enemies and who were allies. That was part of the reason he went ahead with the move.
“…If I take the throne without laying the groundwork with the other nobles, some of them will be offended. Especially southern nobles—the ones under me who haven’t been harmed. And when they hear his voice, how will the people of the north, whom I fought alongside, react…?”
“Clear discontent will result, causing a rift that will split the Sacred Kingdom in two.”
Caspond had been talking to himself, but a voice responded.
It was a soft voice that seemed to worm its way into people’s hearts. It was the one who gave Caspond orders.
He turned around immediately, took a knee at the owner of the voice’s feet, bowed his head, and then lifted it. “So good of you to come, Master Demiurge.”
If he wasn’t wearing a mask or changing form, he must have made sure the coast was clear.
“I was here picking up things to take to Nazarick anyway, so I stopped by. Are you having any problems at present?”
“None at all. Everything is going according to your plan, master.”
When Caspond smiled, he got a faint grin back.
“Despite a few unexpected elements, thanks to Lord Ainz’s efforts, we managed to complete phase one without any hitches. I expect a lot from you in the coming phase.”
Even with his head lowered, Caspond knew that was a lie.
Demiurge didn’t expect a thing out of him. But if he deviated from the rails that were set out, the course simply had to be corrected, and the plan would still be executed.
And there were probably plans for what would happen if Caspond’s true nature was revealed. Among his instructions were some things he didn’t understand the reasons for. He was sure they were in preparation for that sort of event.
The first phase of the plan was to bring the subhumans and Abellion Hills completely under Nation of Darkness rule. Any troublesome races were to be exterminated beforehand. And the other goal had been to spark a confrontation between the northern and southern parts of the Sacred Kingdom.
And phase two, led by Caspond, would be the clear confrontation and struggle.
Phase three was to eventually have the Nation of Darkness govern both realms.
“…Shall I keep my corpse, the tool for that purpose, here?”
“That won’t be necessary. It’s being stored in Nazarick. I’ll bring it once the plan has reached that point.”
The corpse of the real Caspond had been wrapped in a Shroud of Sleep and taken to Nazarick.
The magic item would prevent the body from decomposing. He had been captured and killed with an instadeath spell to make an extremely tidy corpse and was preserved before rigor mortis had even started to set in. He was even a bit warm still. With this corpse, anyone would think he had just died all of a sudden.
“Just to confirm, you know what to do as the next holy king, yes?”
“Yes, my intention is to make this a rich country worthy of presenting to Lord Ainz.”
“Yes, that’s right. But don’t decrease the amount of discontent. Discontent is the perfect spice with which to welcome the next king.”
“Yes, Master Demiurge.” The Caspond doppelgänger asked about something that wasn’t part of the plan. “By the way, how should I handle that girl?”
Understanding exactly who he was referring to from that question alone, Demiurge showed him a wholehearted smile for the first time.
“I once used the word inscrutable to describe Lord Ainz…and he really is. He prepared such a wonderful pawn for me. Her presence is likely to speed up my progress by a number of years.”
It was hard to tell where Demiurge’s narrow eyes were looking, but Caspond Doppel noticed them suddenly shift. When he realized they were directed at the wall—actually, beyond it—he remembered the capital’s main gate was in that direction.
“I wanted to acquire someone who worshipped him…but to think such a deeply religious country would produce a girl like that… I was wondering why he told me that I could kill a girl he lent a weapon to, but it must have been to drive her into that mental state?”
Demiurge, delighted, wasn’t directing the comment at anyone in particular. Caspond merely waited in silence for Demiurge’s attention to return to him.
“I was right not to read too much into it and order her to be saved. But of course, no matter what I did, Lord Ainz would have compensated for it. That he said he was going to test my coping ability by thoughtlessly ruining the plan…and then set this up so well… I’d expect nothing less from the one who led the Supreme Beings. He shows me how inferior I am with his every move… Ho-ho, how cruel.”
Demiurge shook his head, overcome with admiration. Silence reigned in the chamber. Eventually, as if to shake off his excitement, Demiurge adjusted his collar and tightened his necktie.
“Your position on the matter should be to support Neia Baraja with everything you’ve got. Do it visibly under the pretext of extending gratitude to Lord Ainz. That should further intensify the clash between north and south… I’ll give you a detailed plan soon for what to do if someone interferes with her. Until then, operate from the positions I’ve just laid out.”
“Yes, sir! …And what will you do with her? She won’t be the next leader, will she?”
If so, there were preparations to be made. That said, Demiurge would surely give him instructions if that were the case, so all he needed to do was follow them.
“That’s not a bad idea, but I think it would be better to have her in a different role. I’m not sure if Lord Ainz wishes to be called a god or not, but if he does, we should probably start making arrangements. We can probably use her and her friends in experiments to do with worshipping Lord Ainz as a god.”
“Yes, sir!”
“Now then, is there anything you want to confirm at this point?”
“Yes. The unnecessary woman, Remedios Custodio, is running around on pointless errands, but wouldn’t it be safer to kill her?”
“No, we should leave her alive and let the nobles take their discontent out on her. That’s why the first time we met, I made sure not to kill her. She belongs to a different department. As for the paladins, promote the deputy to commander and do with them what you will. Make good use of them.”
“Understood!”
“We can get rid of her once the confrontation heats up, yes.”
When Caspond acknowledged this, Demiurge ended the conversation and vanished using Greater Teleportation.
The demons lurking in the shadows, the Hanzos that Caspond couldn’t possibly defeat, had been left for him to continue borrowing.
Having stood, Caspond Doppel looked out the window again.
He could only see the courtyard, but he imagined the city overflowing with joyful inhabitants. And he sneered.
“Yes, enjoy your happiness a little bit longer, my people.”