Ainz stood at the edge of the river, the water was clean and perfect. The little noise of the babbling waters as they ran over rocks was almost a kind of musical accompaniment. He wasn’t wearing his armor at the moment, rather he was wearing a robe that was hastily put together for him at his request by Enri Emmott. “Why would you take a bath ‘dressed’?” She had asked with a cockeyed look.
“It is a custom in my country to wear one of these, I may have left my home, but it is still part of me.” Ainz had answered, and that was that. The alacrity with which she’d worked was surprising, she snatched a few unused bolts of fabric from someone, rushed back through her own door, and with fingers moving like she was a master swordsman with her needle which was her weapon of choice, she stitched an improvised robe together for him to use.
Her hands held it out at the shoulder and her head bowed with humility. “It’s a bit of a hasty job, but I hope it will do.”
He reached out to take the robe from her, his hand on the collar, but she hadn’t moved, she was obviously tense. “Something on your mind, Enri?” Ainz asked and drew back his hand.
She lowered the robe and raised her head, “May I ask your advice, Momon?” She bit her lower lip and waited until he nodded and took a seat.
“I’ve been asked to take the role of the next chief. I’d talk to Lupu about it, but-” Enri stopped speaking and, carrying the robe to the table to set it between them, she claimed a seat herself.
“You think she’ll tell you to do it, and you don’t want to hear that.” Ainz guessed.
The way the village girl bit her lip was answer enough.
“I agree with her.” Ainz replied. “Could I tell you a story?” He asked.
She looked up at the square jawed, dark haired, towering warrior figure, and waited.
“There was a man who had friends, his friends had children, and they had wonderful times together, he and all of them. It was the happiest time of the man’s life, because he had no family of his own outside of them. Then something happened, and his friends were taken away. All that was left behind, was him and their children. The children lacked direction, they were sad, they were confused and hurt, and every time he looked at them, he saw the sense of loss in their eyes. Faced with their desperate need, he chose to take care of them himself, because there was nobody else to do it.” Ainz wished very much for his helmet at that moment to hide his face, but as he spoke, he did his best to present an expression of stoicism. How successful he was, without a mirror he was unsure.
“So… I’m supposed to be like the one in that story?” Enri asked, she formed a self deprecating smile, put an arm on the table, and propped her cheek on her palm when she looked up at the dark warrior.
“If you like.” Ainz suggested. “You don’t have to say yes, there may be others willing to take the role. But you are young, full of ideas, and that young man, he’s an important figure. If you’re tied to the village and he is tied to you, what does that make your village?”
Enri thought that through, and red creeped over her face, “But I’m nothing, just a peasant, I can barely write my own name and only count well enough to sell my crops without getting cheated!”
“Nfirea can read and write. Have him teach you. The Swords of Darkness, for the most part, seem set on staying here, they’re around your age, who better to guide and understand them? You’ll make mistakes as a leader, but your very reluctance, makes you better suited for the role.” Ainz suggested as gently as he could.
“So, what happened to the man in that story of yours?” Enri asked by way of distraction.
“I don’t really know, he’s very much alive and trying to take care of his friends’ children, I know he treasures them, and he’s doing his best for them. Who knows how it will all work out.” Ainz stood up, “Thank you for the robe.” He said and put it under his arm.
Enri stood at the same moment and bowed deeply. “Thank you for the advice.”
He left her there, and now he stood beneath the shade of a great tree for his first ‘new world bath’ he touched the water with a toe. It was warmer than he expected, and slowly he inched his way down into it. The robe he’d been given was of green and black, the colors divided vertically and solid rather than striped for simplicity. The dyes were simple and cheap apparently, and the cloth locally made. Coupled with the green grass that he scrunched beneath his toes like a guilty pleasure and the warmth of the sun, it was still surreal.
Ainz couldn’t help but think, ‘I’ve never actually felt real grass before now… it’s remarkable.’ The fresh air and clear water and the warmth in general was on a whole other level. From where he stood he could see villagers out in their fields, hoes and plows busy wringing a living from the soil, on the surface it seemed like just more back breaking work. ‘But this place at least, is well fed, they eat what they grow, and don’t need breathing masks just to go outside. My world, for all its technology, is a living hell, and for all the danger, this is paradise.’ His body sank down into the water and the fabric floated around him, his warm hands cupped some of the water and splashed it into his face.
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The water ran over his skin and the tingling sensation that came with it left him feeling truly alive. He took a long, deep breath. ‘From what Ninya told Lupusregina, there are a lot of people who are like the worst executives back home. They ruin things for others just to get better things for themselves. Gazef’s abundant gratitude to me suggests that true heroism is very rare among those with the power to actually be heroes. If left to itself, this world will be ruined eventually because nobody knows what lies far enough down the road they’re on.’
“If I take over this world, I can prevent all that from happening.” He muttered, and checked his stats again. The two skeletal dragons were worth much more in terms of raw numbers, but they still barely moved his exp bar. ‘I wonder if the world item that was part of me when the change hit, has something to do with breaking the level cap?’ He considered the question that came to him out of the blue, and lowered himself to sit in the river bottom. It brought the water up to his shoulders, so he allowed his arms to float freely while he thought. He could think of no way to experiment with that, which didn’t risk a potentially unpleasant side effect.
He turned his mind back to the idea of ruling instead. ‘From what Lupusregina says, Ninya has a scheme in mind, it should be nurtured, perhaps we should find her sister for her, that might be a useful way to gain her gratitude.’
“Should I wash your back, Momon?” Lupusregina asked, he didn’t look behind him to where she stood.
“The water itself is doing that. But if you’d like to take a bath yourself, go ahead.” He said, and a moment later he heard the sound of flowing water being broken by footsteps as the brown skinned maid stepped into the waters and sat nearby. She took the same posture as her lord, legs drawn up and arms floating freely, allowing the flow to carry away any grime. Her long red hair was up to keep it from getting wet, and around her body was a robe similar to his own, though with black and green on opposing sides.
“Enri?” Ainz asked, seeing it out of the corner of his eye.
“Enri.” She confirmed with a little smile.
“Is there anything I can do,” Lupusregina looked around, sniffed the air, and was quiet for a moment, collecting sounds, secure that they were alone, she finished, “my lord?”
“Nothing, I was just thinking about the needs this world has that requires a ruler that can guide it.” Ainz said.
“Oh, the plan, yes, Lord Demiurge told us about that.” She said with a broad and enthusiastic smile.
“Ah, yes… yes the plan.” Ainz said hesitantly. ‘What plan?’ He looked away from her and out toward the fields so his confusion couldn’t be given away by his expression.
“What’s the next step… do you… do you show one of the others?” Lupusregina asked, her admiring yellow eyes focused on her beloved master.
“Yes. I’ll need things from Pandora’s Actor, and soon. So he will have to be next. Plus I know he has no special hatred for humans, and his loyalty should be high since I am the one who created him.” Ainz said, though whether he was trying to explain it to her or convince himself, he himself was uncertain.
“What kind of world will you make when you rule it, may I ask that, my lord?” Lupusregina inquired.
Ainz’s voice became airy, distant. “A world where everyone wishes to be ruled eternally. A world my friends would have been proud of. But before I can even begin with that, I need to know that all the children of Nazarick will be with me. If even one will not, I don’t think I can bring myself to stay.”
Lupusregina felt a sublime glow of privilege, being so privy to her lord’s mind was a deep and rare honor, something she couldn’t have fathomed as even a possibility before the day they came here, or even ten minutes ago before it happened. Yet it was so. “If you go, so do I.” She grinned, “A great lord should never be without a maid. You may empty Nazarick if it comes down to it.”
Ainz snorted, “I like your optimism, your maker made you quite the girl.”
She couldn’t help but beam at his almost parental praise and inched a little closer to him. His hand came out of the water, droplets splashed and fell back into the river from which they came, she didn’t even care that her hair got wet. Ainz’s hand was on her head, giving her repeated pats of praise. ‘My sisters will be so jealous!’ The thought came up immediately, and with it, a profound humility that Lupusregina Beta couldn’t help but think would never, ever fade.
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‘No, I can’t lead the village.’ Enri answered herself, ‘But I know how it can be led.’ She thought as the door shut in front of her and the dark warrior was gone. She sent Nemu out to the adventurers and to Nfirea, asking them to come at once to her house.
When they gathered together, she told them about the offer to let her lead the village. “Congratulations.” Nfirea said, enthusiastic despite his still mournful state. “When do you take charge?”
“I don’t. One thing that all this has taught me is that one person isn’t good at governing alone.” Enri said and pointed to Peter, “You helped organize our training in ways even the goblins didn’t think of,” then she pointed to Ninya, “you started checking to see if anyone had magical talent that could be cultivated,” lastly she pointed to Nfirea, “you running a shop and a lab here may make this village famous.” She lowered her hand and her gaze, “Everyone brings things to the table, so everyone should have a say in how things work. Not just do what I say and hope I’m never wrong. I think things are going to change, and change a lot very soon.”
“Why? And what are you talking about?” Nfirea asked, he looked around, the rest of the room looked no less confused.
“The Wise King is dead, the Dark Warrior slew two skeletal dragons, and I’ll bet that the woman Lupu killed was famous. Mr. Momon has personally offered to reside here, and we have our walls, with all of that, this will be the safest village in Re-Estize. Safety is a peasant’s dream, and we’re going to live it.”
They began to understand the meaning behind what she said, and it was difficult for any of them to disagree.
Enri continued, “One chief isn’t enough, I want us to prepare for the future, start a council made up of our fighters, our farmers, our traders… I don’t know all the details yet… I was hoping you’d all help me with that. See, before this, all we had to do was have a big meeting and everybody talked about stuff until we came to a decision. But if we get bigger, and we don’t have a lord living here, we won’t have that option. What if we have people choose who to represent them, and they present all their ideas to the chief. The chief then decides what to accept among their proposals.”
“Sounds complicated, and what if the chief or the representatives aren’t any good?” Nfirea suggested the obvious problem.
Enri scratched her head and thought it over. “I suppose that’s possible. We’ve had plenty of bad lords over the years. But we can just have everybody pick new ones every few years, they have to keep asking people to let them do the job, and besides, that way we can always get new ideas flowing and not…” Enri sighed, “Our chief was a good one, but he never liked change. We need people open to new ideas and not set in their ways. So… so new people every five or six years will keep new ideas coming.”
“So ah… what do you all think… should I present this to the village, you’ve all seen a lot more than I have, that’s why I brought it to you first.” Enri bit her bottom lip as looks traded back and forth.
“A lord took my sister as a plaything, I like any idea that keeps that from happening.” Ninya said, clutching her staff against her body, “This might be worth a try, and if it doesn’t work out, it can always be abandoned and the old system picked up again.” Ninya suggested, and that spurred more positive expressions from the rest.
Enri sighed with relief, her shoulders slumped as nervousness at presenting the novel idea finally fled. “Alright, I’ll present it to the village after you’ve all gone back to E-Rantel to finish your task, the village will be waiting for you.”