Chapter 3, Part 3

Liel had woken up early, as usual. She had spent days serving Mare, but those few early hours she could devote to herself. Mare liked to sleep in, the undead guards didn’t care about her, and Zesshi would arrive sometime after breakfast. Undisturbed she sat in the kitchen, sipping on tea she had made.

It was so relaxing, so peaceful, she couldn’t remember the last time she felt this way. Serving the strong and powerful was truly different. Even as a slave she had enjoyed certain privileges, like the tea in her cup.

Soon, it will all come to an end, she reminded herself.

The two weeks the Cardinals asked for were up today, they would hold another audience with Mare. Although the dark elf had planned to stay in the capital for two more days, these two days would quickly pass.

Liel thought about her life. What will happen to me after Mare-sama leaves? If only I could serve the dark elf forever. Although at times Mare might appear cold, I can tell that she cares greatly for those who were important to her. To serve such a powerful yet caring mistress, ah, it fills me with pride.

In contrast, the elf king is a vile, selfish man who cares little for anyone. I can’t believe my people actually serve such a disgusting elf. Still, despite these thoughts, I had chosen to betray Mare-sama in favor of the king. If the king is vile, then what does this betrayal make me? Tears rolled don her eyes..

It was all I could do. I am powerless to change things. It was fate. How did I end up in this position? Holding anther’s life in my hands, I am just not cut out for this. I just wanted to find my sister and reunite my family…

All these words were familiar, she had repeated them over and over whenever she felt guilt towards her mistress. Yet doing so failed to make her feel better. Why was she put in such a position? She just wanted to find her sister, that’s all. Liel never thought she would hold a life of another in her hands. Liel sighed. She wasn’t cut out for this. She thought of her sister, of her parents…

A knock on the front door interrupted Liel’s thoughts. She quickly walked to the entrance and welcomed the guest – Zesshi.

“You are early today, Zesshi-sama,” she greeted the half-elf.

“Mm, I wanted to spend a few hours with Mare-chan before her audience with the Cardinals,” Zesshi replied.

“I am afraid Mare-sama is still sleeping.”

“Then wake her up, how lazy can she be? I’ve been up for hours,” Zesshi’s voice trailed off.

“Please, wait in the main room,” Liel bowed and went to wake Mare up.

She knocked on the door but got no response, after knocking again to no avail she entered the room. Mare was sound asleep in bed. Liel shook the sleeping girl, but that wasn’t enough. She continued in her effort and after a whiles Mare finally woke up.

“Zesshi-sama came early today and asked to wake you up,” Liel could see that her mistress wasn’t happy.

Mumbling something about having her sleep interrupted dark elf got out of the bed and reached for her skirt, which was neatly folded on a nearby chair, turning to face Liel in the process. Normally Mare would already be dressed, and she would only help straighten the dark elf’s clothes. This was the first time Liel saw Mare without the skirt. Her eyes were immediately drawn to the dark elf’s crotch. The elf wore underwear, of course, but it didn’t hide Mare’s anatomy.

Mare-sama is a, a boy? Liel was dumbfounded. But the, the skirt? The mannerism? Why?

She was so startled by her discovery she forgot to do her job. It wasn’t until Mare was fully dressed that she recovered enough to remember her position.

“Let me help you with that!” She said eagerly, trying to help Mare button up his shirt.

Perhaps in her attempt to make up for her earlier inactivity, she was a bit too aggressive, causing Mare to complain more than usual.

“Annoying, so annoying,” Mare shook his head. “You are even more annoying than Elia,” he added.

Liel froze, for a moment she couldn’t believe what she heard.

“Ma, Mare-sama, who is this Elia?” She finally managed to ask after a few seconds.

“Ah? Um, she’s one of the elves who’ve come into our service.”

“Does, does she have a small scar over her right brow?” She couldn’t stop herself from trembling.

“How did you know?” Mare was curious.

“Oh,” Liel slumped to the ground, her legs no longer having the energy to hold her.

She shivered uncontrollably as tears began to flow from her eyes. These were tears of joy. A decade of worries and hopes, of fruitless searches and struggle to keep the faith, all of that had hit her at this moment. Her sister was alive. She was safe. And she was even serving such a great mistress (master, she thought in the back of her mind) as Mare. Overcome with emotions, Liel’s whole body trembled.

“Hey! Hey, are you alright?” She heard Mare ask in an alarmed voice.

After she didn’t respond Mare squatted next to her, placed his hands on her shoulders, and shook her lightly. Liel’s eyes seemed to regain clarity, as she stared at him.

“Ma, Mare-sama, I would like to ask you about Elia,” she wiped the tears from her face.

“Mm, there is no time right now, Zesshi is waiting outside,” Mare looked at the door to his bedroom. “We can discuss this after my audience with the Cardinals,” he added, looking at her.

She nodded in response. The dark elf seemed to be relieved.

“Then, I’ll go meet Zesshi,” he said before he walked out of the bedroom.

A short time after Liel followed him, as a servant she still had her obligations. She walked out of the bedroom and wanted to go to the washroom to clean her face. However, Zesshi saw her and used this opportunity to tease the dark elf.

“Oh, you’ve made her cry? What did you do?”

“I didn’t do anything,” Mare responded honestly as he followed Liel with his eyes.

“My apologies, may I go clean up my face?”

Mare waved his hand, indicating she could. Liel bowed and left the room.

“You came earlier than usual today, didn’t want to have your time with me cut short by today’s audience?” Mare teased Zesshi.

“Pfft, you wish,” Zesshi snorted. “Though I must admit, chatting with you has entertained me for these two weeks,” she added.

“Always staying in the capital, guarding the Cardinals really does sound boring.”

“It’s what I do,” Zesshi shrugged.

“Only because your masters care little for you, you are just a powerful tool, that’s all.”

“They went to war with the elves for me,” she retorted.

“Ah yes, the war with the elves. So many years had passed and the war is still going. Why is that?”

“Fighting elves in the forest is difficult.”

“Or could it be that the Theocracy isn’t putting enough effort into it?” Mare asked.

“You want to say that they are only putting on a show, and not committing enough forces to actually win?”

“Surely, with the power the Theocracy possess, a quick victory against the elves would be expected, no? Yet the war had been going on for such a long time. What other explanation is there?” Mare spread his arms in a questioning manner.

He carefully observed Zesshi, who remained silent for some time. In a battle, the most powerful resource is information, he had learned this from Ainz-sama. Providing your enemy with a false information was just as crucial. Zesshi had taken a certain liking to him, and so it was easy to plant the seeds of doubt in her mind. Such seeds could produce surprising results.

Also, deep down Mare felt a certain liking to this battle-crazy girl, and if he could prevent her from fighting against his master, he would do so.

“If it was my master, he would move swiftly to avenge one of his servants,” Mare added after Zesshi didn’t say anything.

“Even if he can suppress his nature, an undead would still enjoy killing the living.”

“You are wrong, he wouldn’t do it for himself, he would do it for the peace of mind of his servants,” Mare retorted.

“If he’s so great, why isn’t everyone serving him?”

“They are,” Mare laughed. “Haven’t you noticed, you are the only ones against him. Baharuth Empire had become a vassal state, and are now enjoying unprecedented security as well as political peace. Not to mention they no longer need to hold their annual war against the Kingdom. The Re-Estize Kingdom had avoided mass starvation thanks to the food provided by the Sorcerer Kingdom. And the faction which supports closer ties with us had become the largest of the three political factions.”

Zesshi had a defensive look on her face and in her posture. They’ve been through this before, she wouldn’t so easily abandon her beliefs.

“The Holy Kingdom had chosen to become a vassal state, as their way of repaying Ainz-sama for his help in defending their nation against Jaldabaoth. And as we speak, Momon and Nabe of Darkness are leading the liberation of the Draconic Kingdom.”

“The only ones who see my master as an enemy is the Theocracy,” Mare concluded.

“Whatever, I do what I am told, I’ll leave the decision making to others,” Zesshi replied dismissively.

“A sound policy, but one that can result in your death, if your superiors aren’t smart,” Mare shrugged.

“But, enough of that, have you heard anything about my audience? Will the Cardinals share their knowledge, or will they deny knowing anything like the last time?” Mare switched topics.

He felt he had already pushed Zesshi far enough in the direction he wanted. Such small pieces of doubt, day after day he had bombarded Zesshi with a certain perspective, one which praised his master while painting the Theocracy in a bad light. He wasn’t naive to think that she would switch sides, but the possibility of her revealing more information due to her confused state wasn’t unreasonable.

“They will share information with you,” Zesshi replied.

“Oh, then they will let me take a look at the treasures of the Six Great Gods?”

“They will.”

“Oh, I am looking forward to seeing what power they hold,” Mare said excitedly. “Speaking of powerful items, what is your scythe? The craftsmanship is really amazing,” he stared at the weapon the girl laid next to her.

“Are you asking me to let you cast an identifying spell on it?” Zesshi asked.

Mare nodded in response, but she just laughed.

“Only a fool would let an enemy do so.”

“Are you implying we are enemies? Am I not here to establish friendly relationships between our nations? And if the Cardinals had chosen to share their information with me, then isn’t that a sign that we are, at the very least, not enemies?” Mare used her words against her.

“You are awfully argumentative today. Then, since we have such a friendly relationship, will you let me use identifying magic on your gloves?”

“Umm, no,” Mare brought one of the gloves up to his face as if inspecting it.

“And why not?” Zesshi mocked.

“Only a fool would let an enemy do so,” Mare laughed.

“You really are catty today. Throwing my own words in my face like that,” she shook her head.

“Anyway, we still have some time left, what would you like me to tell you today?” Mare changed the topic again.

“Heh, are you trying to appease me with your entertaining stories?” Zesshi laughed. Mare had seen right through her desires.

***

A few hours later it was time for the audience with the Cardinals. Zesshi accompanied Mare and Liel to the Cathedral of Light, where the Cardinals had gathered.

“I’ll see you after,” Zesshi said her goodbyes.

Mare nodded, and entered the audience chamber, while Liel remained outside.

Inside the room, the Cardinals had been gathered, there were five of them. The Hanzos had already informed Mare that one of the Cardinals, Maximilian, had left the city. But Mare still displayed a genuine reaction when Dominic explained that Maximilian wouldn’t be present.

“Then, Mare-dono, we have chosen to share our knowledge with you and the Sorcerer Kingdom. Although the undead hate the living, your master has not perpetrated any acts of violence against his citizens and had even confronted Jaldabaoth,” Dominic Ihre Partouche praised.

“I am glad to hear that you will share your information with me,” Mare smiled.

“Then, what would you like to do first? Inspect the treasures of the Six Great Gods, or learn about the God-kin?” Dominic asked.

“Umu, the, the items first,” Mare’s stuttering once again reared its head.

Dominic nodded and came off the small platform that the Cardinals stood on.

“Here they are, you can examine them to your liking,” he gestured to a nearby table with about a dozen items on it.

“Are these all, all of the treasures the Gods left?” Mare asked as he approached the table.

“No, there are more. These items are among the most powerful ones. Also, some of the items are currently in use and we couldn’t show them to you,” Raymond explained.

“Ah, like the scythe which Zesshi uses?” Mare said casually while picking up a sword from the table and examining it.

“Ah.. yes,” Raymond replied.

“You don’t mind if I use an identifying spell, right?” Mare asked after he took out a scroll.

“Go ahead,” Dominic assured him.

“Oh, this is a really powerful weapon,” Mare exclaimed after using the scroll, “It truly worthy of being an inheritance from the Gods!”

After the sword Mare carefully inspected all the other items. There were three sealing crystals, several weapons, two jewelry pieces and a few armor and clothing items.

The sword was surprisingly a level 100 legendary, the other weapons were top class with one being just a high class. The armor pieces were all high class. Of the three crystals, one contained a summoning spell of 8^th tier, while the others contained an 8^th tier spell and a 9^th tier spell. The rings were a high class ring and a middle class.

Given that the items in Yggdrasil were ranked as follows: divine, legendary, relic, legacy, top, high, middle and low. It could be seen how powerful the Theocracy was, even possessing a legendary class quality weapon. Of course, Ainz had already told Mare that this would be the case. The Theocracy was most likely the ones to have brainwashed Shalltear. Any player who possessed a world item would have other equipment to match it.

“I can see why the Slane Theocracy is considered the strongest human nation,” Mare offered his false praise.

“I hope you can understand our reluctance of sharing information of such powerful items,” Dominic smiled.

“Yes, I didn’t expect you to have such equipment,” Mare responded sincerely. “That sword is powerful, but do you have any items which could seal Jaldabaoth?”

“I am afraid we don’t have any such items,” Berenice, the Cardinal of Fire responded.

“I see, that’s too bad, I was really hoping you would have something,” Mare said while observing the Cardinals. “Then, what about the God-kin?” He continued after the other side’s silence.

“As you have already learned, Zesshi is a God-kin,” Ramond said.

“There is only one? How could this be? Even the Holy Kingdom has two, and they only have one bloodline,” Mare didn’t need to act, he was actually surprised.

Even if they are lying, it still doesn’t make sense to only reveal one to me. Ainz-sama said that the Theocracy could’ve had as many as a hundred God-kin. Even if that number is much lower, surely it’s large enough to reveal more than one such being to me, Mare’s thoughts raced.

“The power of the Gods is more likely to manifest itself in species other than humans. That’s why even with four bloodlines, we only have one God-kin,” Ginedine sighed.

“I, I understand. Then, if the need came, would you allow Zesshi to join the forces of the Sorcerer Kingdom and confront Jaldabaoth?” Mare probed.

“No, you already know that Zesshi’s job is to protect us,” Raymond’s reply was fast.

“Actually, we might be willing to do so, under certain conditions,” Ginedine replied, ignoring the astonished looks on the other Cardinal’s faces.

“Ginedine, what are you..” Raymond began angrily but stopped when Ginedine raised his hand and indicating he should stop.

“Then, what are these conditions?” Mare asked.

“Your master might have a personal conflict with Jaldabaoth, but the demon’s existence is a threat to the whole world. Therefore we should all fight him, not just your Sorcerer Kingdom,” Ginedine proclaimed.

“I am glad to hear you say that this is what my master hoped would happen, when he sacrificed his life to delay Jaldabaoth,” Mare spoke with an excited expression.

“Then, here’s what I propose, the Slane Theocracy will gather a force of powerful heroes, this is better left to us since most living would not trust an undead or his messengers,” Ginedine explained. “Two weeks prior to Jaldabaoth’s revival date these heroes will arrive in your domain, the Great Tomb of Nazarick. There they will wait for Jaldabaoth to strike so everyone can move together to confront him.”

“An excellent plan, I will have to ask Albedo-sama, but I don’t see any issues with it. We can use all, all the help we can, can get,” Mare’s excitement made him stutter again.

“Then we will immediately begin gathering allies,” Ginedine concluded.

“I will depart in two days, I am sure Albedo-sama will be happy to hear that we will receive such great help in confronting Jaldabaoth,” Mare replied.

After he left the audience chamber he scanned the room and began to walk toward Zesshi when he located her.

“I am feeling kind of tired, I’d like to rest for a few hours,” Mare told her.

“Huh? How lazy can you be?” Zesshi smirked.

“You are the one who came early and woke me up today. Don’t worry, I’ll make it up to you with some glorious stories about..” Mare began.

“Pfftt, you think I don’t have anything else to do but listen to you talk?” Zesshi interrupted him before walking away.

“You are cute when you are mad!” Mare yelled at her back. He smiled when he saw Zesshi freeze momentarily before she increased the speed at which she retreated.

“Ah, I am beat,” Mare covered his mouth as he yawned. “Let’s go home,” he told Liel, and the two left the Cathedral.

 

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