Ainz sat in his private office, clad in a mask and wearing a ring that hid his magic, Fluder Paradyne stood in front of him. Ainz looked him over, his eyes hidden by the mask, which conveniently hid the facial expression the Lord of Nazarick was making. ‘He looks like a video game character.’
‘Still,’ Ainz acknowledged privately, ‘he is supposed to be the most powerful human caster in the world… until me at least.’
The desk in Ainz’s private office sat on a slightly raised platform that meant the one behind it would look down on all the others. Around the room there hung the banners of the forty-one, plus the banner of the entire guild, each woven from silk and gold or silver thread, making each one by itself a priceless treasure to the outside world. There sat only one other chair in the room, intended for the presently absent Guardian Overseer or a single guest. Anyone else? They could stand or kneel.
Fluder stood, stroking his beard and resting on his staff, “You won’t order me to kneel, Master Gown?” Fluder asked.
The very question sent shockwaves of discomfort through Ainz, his distaste for any disrespect for the elderly was palpable, at least to him. Though Fluder didn’t seem to notice it. “No, it might take you awhile to rise, old man.” Ainz attempted to make a congenial joke, and it actually drew a little smile to the old man’s face.
“You’re kind to spare an old man the difficulty, it makes my intended question seem rude, Master Gown, but I hope you will forgive me for asking it anyway.” Fluder’s voice was scratchy with age, but despite what time had done to his body, the energy and enthusiasm within his every word was as strong as if he were a man in his prime.
“Please.” Ainz said with an inviting voice.
“Is it true that you could help me to peer into the abyss of magic? That my hopes, my dreams, can come true?” Fluder, intentional or not, reflexively moved his staff forward a little and leaned in, his eyes turned up at the elevated man who he was told was a god, eyes glistening with acute awareness of his fading time among the living. It was enough to stir a memory in the Lord of Nazarick.
“Spare… some credits… need a new breath mask… please… young man…” Ainz recalled the broken voice of the old man who sat, hopeless and weak with his back against the smooth surface of the building. “Please… I won’t last long… I can’t keep using this one…”
The desperation in the old beggar stayed with the young office worker, the ragged clothing had been filthy, the body, unwashed and if possible, more filthy than the ripped up clothing. The mask he used to filter the toxins that still made it into the domes, had little gouges in the rubber that were clearly visible, and probably other defects that were not. He gave the old man a few credits off his card and went off to work.
The next day, he saw the body lying down in the alley, waiting to be collected. Ainz still remembered what he thought then, ‘He didn’t get enough for a filter, all I gave him was false hope that he would.’
The memory was uncomfortable, and it was enough to make Ainz bite his tongue, words would not do, words would betray undesired emotions. Instead he held out his hand, and removed the ring.
To the old man, it was as if the sun exploded inches from his eyes, the supreme overwhelming power swept over him like waves from the sea during a terrible storm. The mere presence threatened to consume Fluder and stop his heart out of sheer awe. Sweat ran down his body beneath the robe, his limbs trembled, and he held back tears only so that he could continue to look. Fluder dropped his staff and his jaw, “God of magic! God of magic! I have found the God of magic at last!” He yowled with joy and shuffled his sandaled feet in the old man’s approximation of a happy dance.
Ainz slipped the ring back into place and politely waited. Fluder’s eyes shed the tears that were held within, and he wiped his face with vigor on the sleeve of the light blue robe he wore, ignoring the few that made it past his attempt at clearing them away, which got lost in his beard.
“Forgive me, my god, that was more than I hoped for… everything I am is yours, though, if I could make one small request for someone else?” Fluder asked slowly, bending down to pick up his staff.
“You can always ask.” Ainz promised.
“Yes, master. The Emperor of Baharuth, if he isn’t marked for death, I would be grateful if there were some way to spare him. I did help raise him, while the abyss of magic is all I truly care for, I wouldn’t just throw the sweet boy into his grave if I don’t have to.” Fluder glanced away, his breathing more shallow than before, and his grip on his staff a little tighter than was strictly necessary.
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Ainz marked Fluder’s character down a notch in the ledger of his heart. ‘Unless I have absolute control over this one, he must never be permitted to rise too highly.’
“I have a task for you, on that subject. I won’t promise the Emperor will live, but… I won’t take his life if I don’t have to. For now, what I want you to do is inform the emperor that you’ve found a ruin, a tomb, this tomb. Suggest it be explored for potential treasures to plunder, but that it be done by ‘expendables’. I must have our defenses properly tested before we engage in anything in the open.” Ainz passed on the order, and Fluder stroked his beard, suddenly lost in thought.
“Yes… yes I can do that, master. There are a number of expendable nobles that can be acted through.” Fluder answered, then asked, “When should I begin?”
“Immediately.” Ainz replied, and then a moment later, the gate opened at Fluder’s side. “That will take you back to your office, see to this at once. Oh, and take this.” He held out a folded piece of paper. “This has the location of the tomb marked.”
Fluder made a humble bow and stored the paper into a pouch at his side, and with light taps of his staff on the stone floor, and the quiet shuffling of his feet, the most powerful man in the empire, committed himself to treason in favor of his dream by stepping through the gate.
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When Fluder was gone, Ainz was alone, but only for a moment. The knock at the door was distinct, it came spaced out, another knock several seconds after the other, and that, not loud. ‘Mare.’ He realized, ‘That means Aura won’t be far behind, in fact she’s probably with him now, along with Sebas, Arche, and Lupusregina.’ He swallowed violently, painfully hard and cleared his throat. ‘Time for the next step then.’ He thought, and said with all the authority he could muster in his voice, “Enter.”
The click of the latch was followed by the slow creaking open of the door, and as Ainz predicted, Mare entered the room. His skirt waving about with every step and his sister following on his heel. “See, dumdum, I told you it was fine to knock on Lord Ainz’s door, especially if he is the one to call us.” Aura’s voice was smugly confident, and Mare, slightly hunched, was already blushing and clutching his staff against his body with a nervous, shifting energy about him that seemed to keep him from standing still.
Behind Aura, came Sebas, Arche, and Lupusregina, who took positions behind the two guardians. An entirely proper position, but also… practical.
‘Lupusregina and Arche stand no chance, even Sebas would be hard pressed against one of them. But hopefully it doesn’t come to that.’ He kept the thought quiet and gave in to the quivering of his heart, choosing to focus on more banal business first.
“Your report.” Ainz commanded.
“Ah, L-Lord Ainz, th-there is a human army a few days from Carne, a-and the villagers are asking if th-they can expect h-help. M-Miss Enri says she understands if it’s a no, b-but that she h-has to ask ‘for their sake’. Wh-What do I tell her, My Lord?” Mare answered.
“We cannot involve ourselves openly in the affairs of the Kingdom, so we will help them rebuild, or they can run and we will help them. But nothing more. However… we have a great many ‘trash drops’ in the treasury, don’t we?” He asked rhetorically, everybody knew they did. Items going back to before they even had the limitless storage space of Nazarick. “We’re not at war with the Kingdom, if anything, they’re close to being allies. If we were to extend our generosity to the village to help protect themselves, the Kingdom can hardly claim we’re at fault if they attack the victims I was so recently honored for saving… twice.”
“No, of course not.” The sentiment was shared by several voices, confirmation in Ainz’s mind that it was the right call.
“Then gather up equipment suitable for level twenties, that should make up for any difference in skills at least. Tell Enri that she can ‘buy’ these things in installments of grain or coin until they are paid for.” Ainz said, lightly tapping his finger on the desk in a constant, steady rhythm.
“M-Master, the village has also grown, new people keep showing up, some deserters from the army, some refugees ahead of the army, and Miss Enri is asking if she can delay tribute until they can make up the grain difference.” Mare went on, and again Ainz agreed.
“Fine, that place is a long term investment, and these are special circumstances.” Ainz said, again relief flooded through him as the need to reveal the truth was put off by just a few more minutes.
The report went on, first from Mare, then from Aura, and at last Ainz realized something important, and cursed himself for not considering it sooner. “I will need to assign someone permanently to Carne soon. There are too many important people there to simply leave their safety to the local militia. Especially if it grows.”
The answer became immediately obvious. ‘Axel is stationing itself there, nobody would think it strange if Lupu resided there full time.’ It was such an elegant answer he briefly patted himself on the back for it. “Lupusregina, after we’ve finished with things as they are and ‘Axel’ is no longer merely an adventurer team, you will be stationed in Carne Village. Watch over the important people as your first priority, and the entire population as a second priority.”
“My lord, I obey.” Lupusregina bowed her head with formal dignity, but inside, excitement stirred at the prospect of all the little teasings that lay ahead for her intended security targets.
When the last brief was had, Ainz took a deep breath and hesitated… then rose and left his desk. He stepped down from the raised position and went to stand between the two guardians. “Aura, Mare… do you know how I see you?”
The twins scratched their heads and looked up at their master, he crouched down, and their eyes followed. “My Lord, I don’t get it. We’re your guardians, right?” Aura asked, her voice briefly uncertain.
“Yes, but you are also the children of Lady Bukubukuchagama, and that makes you the precious children of a dearly treasured friend. It makes you very special to me, so much so that if she were to return, it would be very hard to let you go.” Ainz raised his hands and put them on the blonde heads of the twins and rubbed lightly.
They tightly shut their eyes, their hearts bursting with excitement that was so great it was frightening.
“So I have to ask you… who am I to you?” Ainz finished his words with the unexpected question, but it had a ready answer.
“The One Who Stayed.” Aura replied, “Lord of Nazarick, master of the tomb, the divine leader…” The young girl who worked as a guardian rattled off titles, seeking something to please her liege and thereby reduce her own sense of anxiety that rampaged over her trembling eyes.
“Am I all those things, even if my form is not the same?” Ainz asked.
Mare nodded rapidly. “Lord Ainz is Lord Ainz!” The stutter was gone for a moment as the young trap almost shouted the clear declaration of faithfulness.
Aura was slower, “I-I wouldn’t know if it was you if you were disguised, but… if you are you, then you’re you, and I’ll always follow you, Lord Ainz.” Aura flushed a deep red over her dark skin and involuntarily began to rub away tears that were pooling in her eyes.
It was for that reason Aura didn’t see Ainz’ face before Mare, when Ainz removed his mask.
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