Chapter 1, Part 3

Old original characters mentioned in this part:

Zeria Lasa – at the time a captain of the Windflower Scripture, he was sent as the Theocracy’s envoy to the Sorcerer Kingdom in Volume 12. After being subjected to Ainz’s Despair Aura II, Zeria retired from his position.

Felvia Olan Valur – the Queen of the Holy Kingdom, and an awakened God-kin. At the end of Volume 12 she realized that in a few decades the Sorcerer Kingdom will have an iron grip on most of the adventurers, due to the benefits SK can offer them, leaving the other nations without means to defend against monsters. Due to this she had chosen for the Holy Kingdom to become a vassal state of the SK.

***

Pontifex Maximus was walking briskly, his steps echoing loudly throughout the corridor of the catacombs. It was a normal day, just like any other, unfortunately that all changed. First, the bells sounded an alarm, which was unheard of for the capital of the Slane Theocracy, Kami Miyako. At the time he was in his office, unsure of the cause for the alarm, he followed the protocol and hid in the basement of his estate, along with a squad of guards.

A short while later a messenger informed him of the cause for the alarm – a dragon descended from the sky and landed in front of the Cathedral of Light. He thought the Dragon Councilors of the Argland Council State sent someone to discuss the recent events with the Theocracy, and was even contemplating various negotiation strategies. But his thinking was shattered when another messenger arrived with the news that it was not a Dragon Councilor, but rather the dark elf twins of the Sorcerer Kingdom, who used a dragon to make their entrance.

He didn’t have much time to wonder how Mare was able to come back, because a third messenger came rushing, and informed the Pontifex that the Cardinal of Light requested an immediate meeting of the Theocracy’s top brass to discuss the information the dark elves brought as well as their demands.

Before he even made it to the meeting room he could hear the agitated voices of the other members. He entered the room next to the one with the six statues of the Gods, to see the Grand Marshal screaming at Dominic Ihre Partouche, the Cardinal of Wind.

“No, absolutely no way. Not only would it deal a huge blow to our economy, but our soldier’s morale would plummet,” the Grand Marshall banged his fist on the table.

“Oh? So, you’d rather go to war with them? I wonder what the soldier’s morale will be like when you send them to fight a few hundred Death Knights!” Bellowed Dominic as he unleashed his killing intent.

“Whoa, whoa! Everybody relax. Let’s go over what we know and see if we can come up with a solution. Being at each other’s throats isn’t going to help us,” Berenice, the Cardinal of Fire tried to reason with the two.

“I see I am the last to arrive. Why don’t you fill me in on what’s going on?” Asked the Pontifex Maximus, while taking his seat at the table.

Everyone turned to face Yvon, the Cardinal of Light, who cleared his throat and told about the dark elf twins’ arrival and demands, for the third time.

“Their claim is that the Elf Kingdom is now theirs, and since our nations are on friendly terms, we should release the elven slaves as a show of good will,” concluded Yvon.

“And if we refuse?” Asked the Pontifex.

“Supposedly they will have to go to war with us, in order to secure freedom for the citizens of their country,” said Yvon with a frown.

“They could be bluffing. Why would they even care about some elves?” The Grand Marshal said.

“On the flip side, they could also be using this as a casus belli. If we refuse to free their new citizens, and they attack us, we would only have ourselves to blame,” said Ginedine, the Cardinal of Water.

“Alright, let’s discuss the results each action will lead to. Let’s say we refuse their demands, what’s then?” Asked the Pontifex Maximus.

“It’s a bluff, they won’t attack, but our relations will break down and we would basically be back to where we were prior to sending Zeria Lasa to the Sorcerer Kingdom,” said Raymond, the Cardinal of Earth. “Or they declare war. They will send hundreds of undead and use their superior mobility to devastate our country. The God-kin will beat them back, but we’ll be ruined economically. In both scenarios we lose the opportunity to launch a surprise attack, not to mention get inside their real base,” he added.

“Does anyone disagree with Raymond’s conclusions?” The Pontifex asked. “Then, what about if we agree to their demands?” He asked, ignoring the Grand Marshal who had a clearly dissatisfied look on his face.

“If we agree to their demands, then our relationship would be preserved, and we could continue with our current plan. That’s the positive. As for the negatives,” Yvon looked expectantly at the head of the Executive Branch.

“Economically, it would be a pretty big hit, especially agriculturally. We have become rather dependent on the elven slaves for our food production. Perhaps releasing them in waves, say over ten years, would allow us to make the necessary changes to keep our food production up to par. But releasing them all at once won’t work,” said the head of the Executive Branch.

“Releasing the slaves in waves would also allow us to stop in just two years – once we make our move against the Sorcerer Kingdom,” chimed in the Grand Marshal.

“As for societal impact, we could probably spin it as a friendly gesture to the new rulers of the Elf Kingdom. Something like, the common men should not be blamed for the actions of their inept king. The elves had already paid for their sins as slaves, and the Elf King, who started this war is no more. Granted, the new ruler is that blasted undead, but we can still minimize the backlash,” said the head of the Legislative Branch.

The room went silent, as everyone pondered their options. The Grand Marshal was the first to speak.

“Speaking of the Elf King, what happened to him? And how did the Sorcerer Kingdom take over that country so quickly?”

“We know the kidnapping went fine, Berta of the Windflower Scripture saw that damned elf destroy all of the undead and kidnap Mare just as we planned,” said Raymond.

“Speaking of Mare. Mare is actually a boy,” Yvon said with a snicker.

“What?!” Several voices said in unison.

“Hahaha, so, it was a trap from the start?” Laughed Ginedine.

“Jircniv did claim that Ainz is a scheming monster, but Ainz is dead, can his underlings be as capable?” Berenice asked.

“Although Ainz is dead, it was Ainz who appointed Mare as the envoy. It’s possible he had already given Mare instructions prior to his fight with Jaldabaoth,” Ginedine said.

“It still seems too far fetched. It’s more reasonable to assume that the Sorcerer Kingdom had a squad waiting for Mare to return, and when the Elf King kidnapped him, they simply followed. Given the Elves’ attitude toward their king, and the fact that both twins have heterochromatic eyes, it’s possible they were able to take over the country and declare themselves as the rulers,” the Pontifex said.

“Still, that means that our plot to pitch the Sorcerer Kingdom and the Elf Kingdom against each other not only failed, but we even pushed the elven nation into the grasps of that damnable undead,” the Grand Marshal groaned.

The room fell silent again. With a sigh, the Pontifex Maximus addressed them.

“What’s done is done. However, combined with the news from the Holy and the Draconic Kingdoms, it’s crystal clear that the situation is going out of control. We must destroy the Sorcerer Kingdom before Ainz revives. This is our only chance to stop them from gobbling up every nation,” he looked around to see everyone nodding. “And our best chance of destroying them is by following our previous plan, and hoping that Zesshi is strong enough. As such, we will agree to release the slaves, but will do so in waves, over a ten year period, due to our economic dependence on them.”

“Hmm, speaking of Zesshi, her behavior is rather odd. I am afraid she has fallen for Mare and now sees him as more of a friend rather than enemy,” Yvon spoke of the topic which had been bothering him since his chat with the dark elf twins.

“Are you serious? I saw her behave rather strange, but thought it was due to being stationed back at the treasury,” Raymond mumbled.

“Don’t tell me, Zesshi is now compromised?” The Grand Marshall said with a groan.

“No, I don’t think she is. You all know her personality – she won’t acknowledge anyone unless they defeat her, and she’ll jump at a chance to fight someone strong. So, I think we can still use her in our plan,” Yvon said.

“I’ll talk to her, see what happened exactly,” Raymond said.

“Then, let’s tell Mare our decision,” the Pontifex said.

“Gentlemen,” Yvon nodded to the others, as he stood up and left the room.

While Yvon made his way through the catacombs and the Cathedral of Light he was deep in thought. We made the right decision, getting our forces and launching a surprise attack is our best option. Freeing the slaves in waves is an acceptable price for that opportunity. Then, why am I feeling so uneasy?

Without realizing it, he had already arrived to the doors of the cathedral. Schooling his face into a friendly smile, he exited and walked towards the dragon and the elves, who were busy chatting with Zesshi.

The three halted their conversation when he approached, looking at him expectantly. With a small nod, Yvon spoke.

“Mare-dono, Aura-dono, as representative of the Sorcerer Kingdom it is my pleasure to inform you that, to preserve our friendly relations, we will comply with your plea to us to free the elven slaves.”

“I am glad you have made the right choice,” Aura said, while Zesshi let out a chuckle.

“However, we have grown rather dependent on the slaves, as such we cannot release them all in one go, lest it do immense damage to our economy,” Yvon said. “As such, we will release the slaves in waves, over a period long enough for us to make the necessary adjustments.”

“And how long is that?” Aura asked.

“We feel that ten years will give us adequate time, of course, if we can we’ll free them sooner.”

“Yvon-dono, this dependency and economic damage you speak of, do they concern your agriculture and food production?” Mare asked.

“That is correct.”

“Only agriculture and food production? Or are there other industry which is overly dependent on slaves?” Mare asked.

“Well, slaves are used in a large variety of jobs, but these two are the major ones,” Yvon replied.

“And this economic dependency is your only reason for not releasing all of the slaves immediately?’

“Um, ah, well, yes,” Yvon didn’t like how this conversation was progressing, not at all.

“Then, if the Sorcerer Kingdom provided you with the required food supplies, you would release the slaves right away?” Mare asked.

“Ah, um, it’s not just supplies, there is also tending to the fields and livestock to keep the farms in adequate condition…” Yvon tried to escape the trap Mare had set.

“The Sorcerer Kingdom can provide you with eight years worth of grains. In exchange, you will release half of the slaves immediately. The remaining half will be freed, but will remain in the Slane Theocracy for three years, and will work at the farms and other agriculture projects. They will enjoy the same freedoms as the citizens of the Slane Theocracy, save for being able to leave their work places. They will also receive a salary for their work, from the Sorcerer Kingdom. This plan should address your concerns regarding your food supplies and agriculture, while allowing you to release the elven slaves faster,” Mare said.

“Um, well, that does sound like ehh, an attractive offer, but…” Yvon began, as his mind raced. Did they see through our plans again? Still, if the other half is released after three years, it won’t be an issue since we’ll strike before that time.

“What’s there to think about? You get eight years worth of grain, and get to keep half the slaves for three years, while we pay for them. Are you saying that’s not a satisfactory solution to your issues? We are doing so much, yet you aren’t satisfied? Would you prefer if we demanded you free all of the slaves immediately, while not offering you any compensation?” Aura unleashed a tirade at the stumbling Cardinal.

“Easy there, Skippy,” Zesshi said while getting a better grip on her scythe.

While Mare projected calm and quiet power, Aura had a much more brash and in-your-face attitude. Such attitude caused Zesshi to itch for a fight with the incorrectly dressed dark elf girl.

“What Aura me-means is, you’ve already made a decision to release the slaves, now it’s just a matter of speed. We’ve done the calculations and believe that our proposed plan should give you adequate time to adjust to the lack of slave labor. Even if you disagree with our assessment, I am sure we can address the smaller details later,” Mare said. “Yvon-dono, would you agree with the general outline of our plan?”

“Um, well, we would need to go over the numbers, but I think it’s acceptable,” Yvon made his decision.

“Great. Then, why don’t you do that, and we’ll come back in a week to finalize everything,” Mare said with a smile.

“We’ll be seeing you,” Aura cheerfully announced.

The two elves said their goodbyes to Zesshi, got on the dragon and took to the sky. Yvon looked after the disappearing dragon, while a single thought occupied his mind. Just like that, in a bit over one hour, the two elves managed to change the way of life in the Slane Theocracy.

***

Sitting behind a desk in his office, Ainz was reading various documents which were neatly stacked in front of him. It had been a few days since he came back from the Draconic Kingdom. Technically, Momon was still out there, chasing the last remnants of the beastmen army. However, doing that was pretty boring, and there were several important developments which demanded Ainz’s attention. As such he traded places with Pandora’s Actor, allowing him to get back to Nazarick earlier than expected.

The most unexpected of these developments concerned the Holy Kingdom. After just a few month of being a vassal, the former queen of the Holy Kingdom, Felvia Olan Valur, sent out a proposal to fully integrate her nation into the Sorcerer Kingdom. Ainz had discussed this topic with Pandora’s Actor. The doppelganger thought that this action was brought on by three reasons. The first was the new of the Draconic Kingdom wanting to become a part of the Sorcerer Kingdom, rather than a vassal state. With the Sorcerer Kingdom seeing such a large and sudden expansion, the amount of resources they could devote to a vassal state would certainly diminish.

The second reason was that Felvia realized that being a vassal state didn’t mean they could take advantage of the Adventurer’s Dungeon nor the rune crafted gear, as both of these benefits were reserved for the Sorcerer Kingdom’s citizens. Which would leave her nation dependent on the Sorcerer Kingdom for their adventurers. Since this concerns was the main reason for becoming a vassal state in the first place, it made sense that she would want her country to fully integrate into the undead magic caster’s nation, to solve this issue.

Lastly, having experienced the rule of the undead, thought via Albedo rather than Ainz himself, for several months, many of the initial concerns she had were no longer an issue.

Drafting the documents required for the integration of the Holy and the Draconic Kingdoms would normally take quite a bit of time. But the demon Demiurge had apparently anticipated this course of action and, since he happened to be rather free, had gone ahead and drawn up everything. Ainz just need to skim through this thick stack of documents.

However, he was currently busy with several other things. Specifically, the Elf King had been brought back to Nazarick, and was sent to Neuronist Painkill. After Aura spent a few hours feeding his limbs to her familiars and then having him healed, only to do it again, and again, and again. Apparently, during the kidnapping the king had punched Mare, and even though it did little damage, Aura had been very upset about it.

Hmm, I wonder how Aura’s and Mare’s mission in the Slane Theocracy will go. Well, either way we win. But we really lucked out with the whole Elf Kingdom thing, to conquer it in just a few days. Ahh, Demiurge will never let me live it down. Ainz sighed. His prediction about the demon’s behavior was, unfortunately, correct.

Demiurge assumed that not only did Ainz already determined this course of events when he asked Mare to be an envoy to the Theocracy. But that he had already anticipated Mare’s meeting with Liel, whose sister Elia was one of the three elven slaves who had entered Nazarick with the worker scum all those months ago. Worse yet, Demiurge even declared that Ainz had predicted this all the way back when Demiurge had first told him of the plan to use workers to test Nazarick’s defenses.

He tried to deny such an absurd claim, but it fell on deaf ears. Demiurge was apparently shaken to his very core, by the fact that Ainz was able to take his own little move, and use it as a springboard to execute such a fabulous play. Demiurge already knew that Ainz could plan far, far ahead, but being able to utilize other’s seemingly mundane actions for such far reaching benefits was something new.

Ah, what am I going to do about his twisted perception of me? Ainz thought.

There was a knock on the door, a nearby maid rushed to open it. A few moments later she returned.

“Ainz-sama, Demiurge-sama wishes to speak with you,” she announced.

Speak of the Devil, I wonder what information he was able to get out of Elf King, Ainz thought.

“I’ve been expecting him,” Ainz said. “Let him in.”

 

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