Chapter 1, Part 1

Ainz sat behind a desk looking at a document in his hand. The only emotion he felt was boredom. He wasn’t bored from reading the document though if anything he read it to liven things up. Ainz raised his head and looked around: several eight edge assassins were suspended from the ceiling, while in the corner sat a young woman in a maid’s uniform – today’s maid was Foire.

The maid’s constant staring would’ve bothered him in the past, but by now he was so used to it, he didn’t pay it any heed. Ainz sighed, ever since he faked his death his workload had decreased dramatically. There was a temporary spike when the Holy Kingdom became a vassal state, but after that, he had almost nothing to do.

Albedo would only bring some key documents for his review once a week. And the Elder Liches which were trained as administrators had mostly become proficient in their tasks, freeing up Albedo, and by extension himself, from having to review minor paperwork.

He tried going out as Momon, but his job was mostly walking around the city of E-Rantel and subtly promoting Ainz and the Sorcerer Kingdom. Having to praise himself in such a shameful manner, Ainz didn’t feel like it so he let Pandora’s Actor do it instead.

With nothing to do, Ainz had become so bored he actually started to read the documents and reports his subordinates have been sending. After a month, he had actually become somewhat proficient at it. Still, he felt bored, and his mood dampener didn’t activate to alleviate this problem. Sure he wanted to avoid doing paperwork when he thought up the idea of faking his death, but he never thought it would be so dull.

He went back to reading the document he held. It was a report from Demiurge, who had gone to the Argland Council State, a country they knew almost nothing of. The report said that he had arrived at the capital without incident and was going to have an audience with one of the dragon Councilors in a few days. It also gave a brief overview of the country’s culture, behavior etc. which Demiurge had observed during his travel.

Dragon Councilors, unlike the dragons which he subjugated in the Azerlisia Mountains, they were rumored to be users of wild magic. Along with martial arts, wild magic was native to this world, and as such, it was something Ainz very much desired to understand. Unfortunately, they had no contact with anyone who could use it, and Fluder, like other humans, knew nothing about it.

A powerful system, which was a total unknown. That was not something Ainz would ignore. Luckily his chance to learn more about it would come soon enough. An envoy from the Draconic Kingdom would arrive the next day, to ask for the Sorcerer Kingdom’s help. Naturally, Ainz would go as Momon.

Ah, one more day, just one more day and I will finally depart on an adventure.

With this pleasant thought, he put the document he just read aside and got up. He motioned to the maid to come closer, as he spoke.
“I am going to teleport to the sixth floor.”

He activated the portal and went through it, Behind him, the maid as well as several eight edge assassins followed.

“Welcome Ainz-sama,” greeted him a cheerful voice.
“We.. Welcome, Ainz-sama,” Mare followed suit after his sister.
“You have to be more assertive. How can you represent the Sorcerer Kingdom with such a panicky voice?” Aura began to bully her brother.
“I, I can’t, help it”

“Ahem, you do need to act more confidently Mare. You act this way because that’s how Bukubukuchagama-sama created you, but no one outside of Nazarick knows this. They will perceive your voice as a sign of weakness and uncertainty,” Ainz explained.

“I will do my best,” Mare replied, almost without any stuttering.

“Good. The reason for my visit is to go over the precaution you must take on your journey to the Slane Theocracy. As the most likely party to mind control Shalltear and a nation that hates none humans, it’s very likely they will try to pull something. You must be on a lookout for potential traps while pursuing our own agenda.”

“Yes, Ainz-sama, I will, be most diligent.”

“I will send two dozen Death Cavaliers to accompany you. I’d like to send you with stronger security, but if Theocracy has the Downfall of Castle and Country, then a powerful guard would just fall prey to it. Also, if they have as many God-kins as I think they might, then we would need to expend considerable resources to guarantee your safety.”

“I am afraid you are acting as bait, Mare,” Ainz told the dark elf somewhat apologetically.
“I, I understand, Ainz-sama”
“You will be accompanied by several Hanzos. And I will send Entoma along with additional forces to set up near the border with the Theocracy, so the Hanzos can convey the situation to them, should something happen.”
“Shalltear will be on standby, along with a group of powerful guards, should you require our assistance. Lastly, you need to communicate via [message] with Aura every twelve hours. If you miss such a communication we will assume that something had happened, and will act accordingly. I can locate your items, and the Hanzos shouldn’t lose track of you.”

“Thank you Ainz-sama, you are truly a caring master. He won’t disappoint you. And you, you better not cause any trouble to our benevolent master,” Aura addressed her brother.

“I, I will act as bait,” Mare said.

“Now then, there are some specific circumstances I wish to explain to you,” Ainz said.

What followed was a long explanation about the various ambushes, traps, and other types of battle situations which Mare might encounter. Ainz went on and on about what to do in each scenario, what to look out for and how to counter.

Both elves attentively listened to his explanations. And without any interruptions, Ainz talked and talked. By the time he stopped, he realized he had been talking for nearly an hour.

I guess I’ve used this chance to alleviate my boredom.
Undeterred by the length of his lecture, both guardians thanked him profusely and praised him as a caring master. Ainz wasn’t certain if they were impressed by the insights he revealed about countering ambushes, or if they were simply impressed by how much he cared for them.

Either way, he covered everything he wanted to cover. It was time to bid Mare farewell, and send him off on his travel to the Slane Theocracy. He had to do it here on the sixth floor, the guardians insisted that he should not go outside the tomb as Ainz.

After Ainz bid him farewell, Mare and Aura teleported to the entrance of Nazarick. There a group of Death Cavaliers stood, surrounding a carriage which was pulled by several horses that looked like an incarnation of brutality. Several Hanzos were accompanying them as well.

“You better stay safe little brother, and you need to complete your mission, we cannot disappoint such a caring master,” Aura said.

“I, I will,” Mare replied.

He got into the carriage, and the whole procession began to move. Aura looked at them until the last undead rider disappeared from her sight. She mused about what to do next, Ainz-sama didn’t give her any tasks. And while she’d stay at Nazarick, in order to immediately move out if anything happened to Mare, it would be several days before he’d arrive at the Slane Theocracy. As she mused, an image of a multi-headed creature popped into her head.

“Alright, I’ll go visit Rororo then,” Aura said cheerfully.

***

After going back to his room, Ainz once again sat at his desk, looking through a stack of documents, trying his best to fight his boredom.
He scanned through a report which Sebas sent from the City-State Alliance. He and Solution were there to conduct a similar type of information gathering as they did in the Kingdom. Meanwhile, Jircniv was sent as an envoy of the Sorcerer Kingdom, to establish friendly relations and inquire if the City-State Alliance possessed anything that could help in the fight against Jaldabaoth.

He skimmed through the document, and set it aside. The next one was a report about the progress of the adventurer’s guild. Suzuki Satoru was quite shocked when Pandora’s Actor explained to him the consequences of Ainz’s actions in regards to reforming the adventurer’s guild. He could understand why Albedo and Demiurge were so impressed by this plan. Of course, he didn’t actually plan anything and just acted on a whim.

Ainz sighed and continued to read the report. Three gold ranked groups had advanced to mithril, meanwhile Moknak’s Rainbow had become orichalcum ranked. The number of new adventurers coming to E-Rantel from other nations had also surged, though they were still mostly around silver rank. Ainz was satisfied with the progress the adventurer’s guild had made in the last couple of months.

He reached for the last report on his desk. It was a rather thick report about the economic situation in the Kingdom. There were many references to supporting pages, which were filled with numbers and various projection calculations.
Ah, now this is something I can really sink my teeth into, Ainz chuckled. If someone told him that he would not only read but actually enjoy reading this type of a report, he’d laugh. But a month of utter boredom had changed things. After all, there was only so much time in a day he could practice in front of a mirror or theorize about combat scenarios.

Well, it’s only one more day, then I will journey to the Draconic Kingdom and things will get much more exciting, Ainz thought as he dug into the report.

***

Mare’s group had traveled to the border of the Sorcerer Kingdom and then towards the border city of Kircha – an outpost city of the Slane Theocracy. Normally an envoy would have to travel all the way to the capital to receive an official reception. However, given the composition of Mare’s entourage, the Theocracy chose to make an exception and to meet him at the border city, and then escort him to the capital as to prevent any incidents.

A Death Cavalier rode ahead of the procession and was met by an average looking man at the gates. Despite the rider’s frightening appearance, the man displayed no signs of fear. The two exchanged greetings, and after confirming the arrival of the envoy, the rider went back to the procession while the man called for his superior.

“Dominic-sama, the envoy of the Sorcerer Kingdom will be arriving shortly.”
“Thank you, Kegor,” the old kindly-looking man told him.

Of course, as the new captain of the Windflower Scripture, Kegor Bosk wouldn’t be tricked by the man’s appearance. The Cardinal of Wind was a renowned figure and had exterminated many demihumans as part of the Sunlight Scripture. Even now, in his old age, he still possessed power similar to a Scripture captain.

The two of them watched as the carriage surrounded by some twenty undead riders came closer.
“It might be a long shot, but see if you can learn anything about these riders,” Dominic said, and Kegor nodded.

The procession finally reached the gates, and the carriage came to a stop. The door opened, and a small, dark elf girl descended to the ground. The most striking thing about her was the gauntlets she wore. One was made of a white metal and looked like a hand of a maiden, its slender design was covered in gold embroidery. The other gauntlet was made of a black metal and looked like a demon’s claw. Looking at it struck one’s soul with fear.

The dark elf looked around before addressing the two men in a panicky voice.
“I, I am an envoy of the Sorcerer Kingdom, Mare Bello Fiore.”
“I am Dominic Ihre Partouche, the Cardinal of Wind. And this is my subordinate, Kegor Bosk,” the old man introduced them.
“Ni.. Nice to meet you.”
“Then shall we proceed to the capital? Kegor and his man will provide an escort, to prevent any misunderstandings. I, on the other hand, am too old to ride on a horseback, would you mind if I join you in the carriage?”
“N.. Not at all, you, you are welcome to join me,” the elf girl said after a moment of hesitation.

Dominic smiled on the inside, so far so good. Now my main job will begin. Still, why did the Sorcerer King choose this panicky young girl as an envoy?

The two of them got into the carriage, and the whole procession began to move, with human riders leading the way. After a bit of silence, Dominic was going to ask about the mysterious looking gloves, but the elf spoke first.
“I’d like to talk to you about the agenda I wish to pursue while I am here,” she spoke, with no hint of stuttering. “As you are aware my master, Ainz-sama had heroically sacrificed his life to defeat Jaldabaoth. Now everyone in the Sorcerer Kingdom is looking for a way to defeat and preferably seal Jaldabaoth. As a nation which possesses considerable military power, I would like to ask the Theocracy to share their knowledge, so that together we can defeat the evil demon.”

What the heck, was the stuttering just an act? What’s with this girl, Dominic thought as he regained his composure after momentarily gaping at the elf.

“I would also like to tour the capital and learn more about your culture and history, so as to further the relations between our nations.”

“Of course, Mare-dono. For our part, we would like to learn more about the Sorcerer Kingdom and its king. Pardon me for saying this, but an undead who doesn’t slaughter the living is a rare being.”

“By the way, may I ask about your gauntlets? The craftsmanship is spectacular, it must be a very powerful item?”

“Oh, this? They were a present from Ainz-sama. They are meant to remind me that within me there is both good and evil, that is something I must not forget as an envoy of my master. Unfortunately, the exquisite design aside, that’s all they do.”

“Umu, I see.”

With the Clearwater Scripture actively working in Baharuth Empire during the last month, the Cardinals had learned about the events that transpired at the palace when the two elves came to the capital. This, seemingly shy girl, cast a spell that buried several dozen knights. Certainly, if she were to give in to her evil notions, and with her power, the result would be disastrous.

“Also, I heard that the Sorcerer King had traveled to the Holy Kingdom using dragons? That almost sounds like a fairy tale. Could you tell me how this had come to be?”

It was a long journey, he had plenty of time. Whether the stuttering was an act or not, he was an experienced public figure, and his own look was an act as well. He would get the information he wanted out of this girl, one way or another.

 

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