Chapter 1, Part 1

Chapter 1, part 1

Original, old characters appearing in this part, they had first appeared in Volume 13.

Liel – she was a spy for the elf kingdom in the Theocracy, and was given to Mare as his servant. She pledged her loyalty to Mare and accompanied him on his return from the Theocracy.

Elvyon – the Elf King, he ambushed and kidnapped Mare at the end of volume 13.

Elodarn – Captain of the Elite Guards of the Elf King’s palace.

Mirel – one of Elf King’s concubines, serving as a maid.

Six days prior to Aura and Mare surprise visit to the Slane Theocracy

The carriage carrying Mare and Liel was moving through a grassy field, surrounded by the elves riding deer. Normally they would dump the carriage, but it was too high quality for them to do so. Apparently, it didn’t just look fancy, despite the bumpy ground, it was able to absorb the shocks, resulting in a smooth ride. The one most surprised about this fact was the elf controlling the horses. He seemed to be driving through the bumpiest places he could, just to see if the carriage could handle it.

Inside, Mare and Liel were completely unaware of the little game their coachman was playing. Liel looked at Mare with concerned eyes.

“Are you alright, Mare-sama?”

“Of course. Everything is proceeding according to plan,” Mare replied with a smile. “In fact, this plays right into our hands, now we have an excuse to ask for the delay we need.”

“Then, I will proceed with the plan as previously instructed,” Liel bowed to her master.

She looked at the young dark elf, as her thoughts wondered. When I warned Mare-sama about the Elf King’s plan to kidnap him, I was certain that he would use this information to escape unscathed. Instead, he chose to follow this mind-boggling scheme. Liel could still remember how her jaw dropped when she heard the plan. But, so far, everything is going in perfect accordance with it. Did the one who came up with this plan account for the king’s behavior and factored it into the scheme? A being who could do such a thing would be a scary opponent. No wonder the Slane Theocracy is so desperate to get the Sorcerer Kingdom entangled with the Elf Kingdom.

The elven group continued their ride undisturbed. However, they were still a day’s ride away from their home when the daylight came to an end. They had to stop and set up camp. The carriage’s door opened, and a dark elf descended with a wheeze and a pained groan. Mare’s hand was on his stomach, and his face reflected his hurt. He slowly shuffled towards the fire, Liel at his side.

After the kidnapped girl sat down, Elodarn got a good look at her for the first time. He was stunned when he saw the heterochromatic eyes of the dark elf.

Is she a dark elf royalty? He wondered. Why was she being escorted by the undead? And how did the king know about her? He glanced at the elf woman accompanying the girl. Elvyon won’t tell me anything. Then, she is my only source of answers. He thought. But, that will have to wait. The King won’t tolerate such gossip.

The Elf King sat lazily next to the fire, while his servants assembled tents and began to prepare food. He watched the dejected looking Mare make his way to the fire, and sit on the opposite side. Liel took her place slightly behind Mare.

“Are you still hurt? I thought you were stronger than this,” Elvyon said with a sneer.

“You… caught me off guard,” Mare coughed. “Are you… not concerned… with the… consequences of this… kidnapping?” Mare asked holding his stomach while wincing in pain. Based on Liel’s information, they had already formulated a plan for how to deal with the king. Still, Ainz favored a diplomatic approach, so if there was a chance to do things without violence, Mare would try to do so.

“Why should I be concerned? Your undead master is dead, and I am sure his servants will be delighted that one of their ranks had fallen,” Elvyon shrugged.

“Why would you… think that?” Mare asked between groans.

“Less competition makes it easier to obtain power. I certainly wouldn’t go rescuing someone who stood in my way of obtaining power.”

Mare remained silent for a while, staring into the fire with a distant expression.

“Then, what will… happen to me?” He finally said.

“Naturally, I will copulate with you and you will bear powerful children for me,” the Elf King grinned.

“Why do you want them?” Mare asked.

“No matter how strong I am, it’s impossible to rule the whole world by myself. But, with a handful of powerful offspring, it would be different.”

“And what will… my role be?”

“That of a broodmare?” Elvyon shrugged. He didn’t care about the females, so long as they birthed powerful offspring he would be content.

“I refuse,” Mare shook his head.

“Hahaha, you must have misunderstood your position,” the king said after laughing heartily.

“What will you do… if I… refuse to eat?” Mare grinned at the king before doubling over in pain.

“You won’t dare.”

“I will. You can… hurt me, but… that would hurt… the offspring too,” Mare wheezed and groaned, as he tried to control his breathing.

“I guess I’ll just have to hurt you before you get pregnant. To knock such stupid ideas out of your head,” the King said as he stood up, ready to turn his words into a reality.

“There is… a simple… way,” Mare said.

Elvyon motioned with his head to indicate Mare should continue.

“Make me a… ruler of the… Elf Kingdom, and… I will help you… with your goals,” Mare leaned back and stared at the king while grimacing in pain.

“Make you a ruler of the Elf Kingdom? Were you a jester in your master’s court?”

“Elvyon-sama, if I may. I believe Mare-sama is not asking you to hand over your kingdom, but rather is proposing a marriage,” Liel bowed after interjecting.

“Marriage, huh? And why should I do that?” Elvyon asked.

“It makes… achieving your goals… easier,” Mare said.

“You are just trying to save your hide,” the King waved his hand dismissively as he sat back down.

“My master is… dead, the other servants… won’t rescue me… I want to join… someone strong… like you,” Mare groaned as he spoke.

“So, you finally recognize my power. I suppose it’s understandable, given how hurt you are,” Elvyon had a pleased expression.

Should I just beat her up repeatedly so she knows her place? No, if she decides to starve herself during pregnancy there will be nothing I can do. I would have to sacrifice that offspring if I try to force her. Damn this brat. Ah, whatever, marrying her doesn’t change anything, her title will be only in name, I will be the one with the power. Having come to this conclusion, Elvyon spoke.

“Fine, I accept your proposal. I will marry you, making you a Queen of the Elf Kingdom,” he said.

“Thank you… Your Majesty,” Mare replied.

“Then, shall we consummate our agreement?”

Mare stared at the Elf King for a while, without saying anything. Liel was the one to break the silence.

“Um, if I may your Majesty,” Liel interfered.

“What is it?” The Elf King asked without looking at her.

“Well, you see, Mare-sama is currently in a lot of pain from your punch. Not to mention being highly stressed,” she paused briefly trying to gauge the king’s reaction. “These things could result in birth complications. Would it not be better to give Mare-sama some time to get her bearings before copulating? Just a few days.”

I guess wasting the first pregnancy on defective offspring would be bad, Elvyon thought.

“Fine, we’ll complete our union two nights after we return to my palace,” he said while looking at Mare. “Tell me when the food is ready,” he addressed Elodarn, before retiring into his tent.

“I, I will go… get some rest…” Mare said, as he stood up wheezing, and went to a tent set up for him.

Elodarn was surprised by this turn of events. He wasn’t sure if he was more shocked by Elvyon’s declaration to marry – all of his previous females were concubines at best – or if Mare’s wordplay and decisiveness was the more shocking matter.

He restrained his curiosity and avoided asking Liel about the dark elf, instead, he asked her about herself and learned that was sent as a spy to the Theocracy. This revelation made him even more confused, as he just couldn’t piece together the connection between the dark elf, the undead, and the Theocracy. Still, this was not a good place to gossip – the king had a surprisingly good hearing.

Looking at his confused expression, Liel could guess what Elodarn was thinking.

“Mare-sama was an envoy of the Sorcerer Kingdom to the Slane Theocracy,” she threw the elf a bone.

Elodarn rubbed his chin in thought, but there was just as much confusion as before in his eyes.

“The Sorcerer Kingdom uses the undead for various jobs, such as guards,” Liel continued.

“Oh, so that’s how it is,” the man seemed to have experienced enlightenment. “Wait, the undead used as guards? Wouldn’t they just kill the living?”

“You saw the undead escort yourself,” Liel shrugged. “For the Sorcerer King commanding the undead is a simple matter.”

“Hmm, the Sorcerer King, the one who took a chunk of land from the Re-Estize Kingdom? There were rumors that he singlehandedly defeated the Kingdom’s army. But the details sounded too absurd to be true,” Elodarn mused.

“The rumors might be true, the Sorcerer King sounds very impressive,” Liel said casually.

“But, he’s dead, isn’t he? The dark elf just said so.”

“A temporary inconvenience,” Liel shrugged.

Elodarn wanted to know just how could being dead considered a temporary inconvenience, but a shout from the king’s tent stopped any notion of continuing his chat with Liel.

“Stop yapping and get me some food,” Elvyon shouted. “I swear, I should just kill all of them,” a less audible threat followed the shout.

The Guard Captain cast a look at the nearby guards who were preparing food, only to see that everything was ready. The guards had apparently been too entrenched in his conversation with Liel to inform him of this fact.

“The food had been prepared, your Majesty,” he called out to Elvyon. “Please, inform Mare-sama as well,” he addressed Liel.

The woman stood up and disappeared into the dark elf’s tent. There were some groans, and then Mare walked out of his tent. Elvyon had already come out and was sitting by the fire, a plate of food in his hands. Mare sat down opposite the king and was handed a plateful as well. The two ate in silence, making the rest of the elves feel awkward.

After the food was consumed, the situation didn’t get any better. Elvyon got up and returned to his tent, without saying anything. Mare followed the king with his eyes before he too got up and retreated to his tent.

These two, Elodarn shook his head, not sure how he should feel about such a strange dynamic between future king and queen.

The next morning the breakfast was a lot more lively, as Liel told Mare about the capital of the Elf Kingdom. The guards, who felt more at ease with Mare than with Elvyon, would sometimes chime in, adding their own remarks regarding the city and its landmarks.

The king had a frown on his face all the while, but since he didn’t say anything the guards pretended that there was no issue. Experience had taught them that nothing good could come from talking to the king when he was in a bad mood.

After the breakfast was finished, the elves got up on their mounts and the carriage once again began to smoothly move along the bumpy ground. They continued to travel until the sun began to set. The plan was to take a break in the afternoon, but Elvyon ordered to continue without a break. Perhaps this was the right decision – having entered the Elf Kingdom shortly after noon, they could now see Crescent Lake, the capital, on the horizon.

As the name suggested, the lake was in the shape of a crescent, with the city situated inside of it. With the lake providing a natural defense, anyone who wanted to attack would have to go around the water, giving the city plenty of time to prepare its defenses.

Mare stared out of the window, his eyes filled with interest. Unlike the boring, brick houses of the human kingdoms or equally as boring log houses of their villages, this capital looked much more interesting. Tall trees grew everywhere, and there were many homes built on top of the branches of each tree. Rope ladders and hanging bridges were strung up everywhere Mare looked, giving the capital a very unique look.

Their procession finally rounded the water edge of the crescent and began to move through the city. It was impossible to see the tops of the trees from inside the carriage, so Mare stopped trying to and instead looked at the street they were going through. The street was made of cobblestone, which was surprising. Though Mare quickly realized that this was only the case for the main street – the side streets were just dirt roads.

There were a good amount of elves on the streets, but the atmosphere was somewhat subdued. There was little time to think about the reason for that now. They continued to move and soon Mare was able to see the king’s palace. Made out of large blocks of white marble, it was the only stone building Mare had seen in the capital. It was large and grandiose, with many cute balconies and carved statues in the niches of the walls.

Despite itgms impressive looks, Mare wasn’t fooled. He picked up the various placed where the marble was damaged or broken off entirely. The palace was still magnificent, but it could be seen that it didn’t receive the maintenance it required. After making this observation Mare leaned back inside the carriage and closed the window.

“Looks like the palace had seen better days,” he remarked to Liel.

“The war with the Theocracy has been very taxing on this nation. Although, the king paid little attention to such things even before the war broke out,” Liel said, her voice betraying the sadness she felt.

“That will change soon,” Mare promised, as the carriage came to a stop in front of the palace.

 

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