After leaving the throne-room
Pandora's Actor was quite satisfied at how the plan was proceeding but he still wasn't happy. Those who had dared insult his home and his master had to be tormented for eternity. But he had to leave the king and his daughter alive to lure them in.
He left the castle not paying attention to the scornful gazes he received from many humans. Those looks were for the fake accusations that were meant to sully his master. They had not known what had just happened.
Upon exiting he went straight through the grass fields into the forest now, he was walking and had not used gate or teleportation so that his follower didn't lose track of him.
After 30 minutes, he arrived at the entrance of the forest.
He confirmed that the person was indeed following him. That meant this person was from some other organization that did not work for the king or the royal family at least. There was also the chance that they had informed someone of the circumstances in the castle beforehand. Because if that wasn't the case, they wouldn't have left the king and princess in the conditions they were in. To confirm this, was the other reason he had to leave those two alive.
He walked for a few more minutes until they were deep within the forest.
This much should be fine.
"Go."
At this command, the 4 eight-edge assassins following him spread in the backwards direction. They moved at very high speeds and surrounded their target.
As for the target, they had realized something was off but didn't even know what happened until surrounded by spider-like monsters, with razor sharp claws at her throat.
***
She froze and held her hands up. As someone who specialized in stealth missions, she was able to tell immediately that she had no chance of escaping, let alone defeating them. Momon approached her slowly,
"Either come without resistance or get tormented for life."
"I'll come." Immediate reply.
"Good"
She was wearing a black robe that covered her whole body and wore a white mask that covered half her face. It would have been difficult for one to tell her gender just from outward appearance.
They walked for a while she was surrounded by those monsters. They reached a burnt tree that stood out in the forest filled with greenery.
Momon then touched the side of his helmet with two fingers and said to empty air.
"Go ahead.."
At this, it seemed as if the space warped. It looked like the fabric of reality itself was teared up and a hole big enough for both of them to pass opened. Black and red aura was emanating from inside, or from on it. She couldn't tell.
"Go on."
Momon was tempting her to go into that hole. Who knows what would happen to her. Killing herself was the best action right couldn't possibly imagine leaking potential information about her ruler.
But, she knew that he would not let that happen. He had been so fast in there and wasn't even fazed after killing so many. Even those monsters seemed to follow his will. She couldn't see any other option than to do as he said at the moment.
She forced her legs to walk through the hole. As she touched it, her hand passed as there was nothing present there. She was wondering about the nature of something like this but as she passed through it completely, she was utterly shocked. At the fact that the scenery in front of her eyes changed.
According to legends, the cardinal heroes possessed the abilities to teleport to marked locations. But this was too early to possess it and it was only limited to the hero's party members. Also, there was the fact that she didn't see the shield hero, Momon use any of his ability. And the words he said were suspicious too.
Momon followed behind her. What her sight had welcomed was a small shed. At the side of the door, there was very beautiful lady in a maid costume standing there. She had long and straight black hair tied in a ponytail. Even her dress seemed of better quality than those wore by nobles. However, her dress had various golden and silver plates...
She stood there very elegantly as she bowed towards Momon.
Momon moved in front of her and addressed the maid,
"Send her in after ten minutes."
"Understood"
He opened the doors but she could not see inside as Momon was blocking the view. As the door closed, silence. The thought of trying to escape came into mind. But she was at an unknown location and she had a abnormally bad premonition that she just couldn't. She couldn't hear anything beyond the doors and she didn't even try to start a conversation with the maid. The maid looked genuinely uninterested.
Few minutes of awkward silence passed. None had moved from their position. After exactly ten minutes the maid held out the hand and was about to touch the door but said something without moving her gaze from the door.
"Don't you dare and try disrespect our master, or you and your benefactor shall suffer a fate worse than death."
She felt a chill down her spine. It was similar to the one she had felt in the throne room before Momon started the carnage.
The giant doors completely opened without resistance with just a touch of the maid's hand. She took one step but the next sight completely changed her views about this place.
It was after that, that she understood that there was something more terrifying than the waves of calamity that end the world. It was then, she realized what true fear was.
Inside was a room that could be compared to the throne room in terms of space. The shed was very small from the outside but that did not match the inside at all.
In front of her sight was death incarnate. On a throne made of some kind of expensive metal was sitting a skeleton. But it was not dead. It was an undead. She had only heard of those in fantasies and there was a rumor that these appeared with the waves. Its whole body was covered with a robe that would put any and all others to shame. Only its face of bone and ribs with lights that looked like they were fueled on hatred glowing within its eyes.
What was truly frightening was that its left arm had a small shield. It was the same shield as Momon. The same as the Shield Hero. That could only mean one thing. Inside the black-suit of armor was this. That this undead was the Shield-hero. Just whose wrath has the king released upon this world...
Beside him on both sides stood monsters, or not. She wasn't able to tell. One of them had a plain white face with three holes in it. It wore very different kind of yellow clothing. While at the other side was a very pale young girl with silver hair like the moon. There was only one way to describe her. 'Beautiful'.
She made her legs take a few steps forcefully. As she was a few feet away from them, the girl beside the undead spoke.
"Bow down before the supreme being."
She went on one knee without thinking. She knew that she had to report about this to the queen and for that she needs to stay alive. There was no more thinking about it.
"Stand up." The undead sitting on the throne spoke just like a ruler would. She stood up slowly as respectably as she could.
"So now, shall we start.."
While In The Castle Town
In the bustling streets of the town, were walking an old man along with a small hooded figure that one could mistaken for his grandchild.
The old man was in a high-class black suit and had white hair and beard. The small -hooded figure had mismatched eyes and long ears. The man walked with a refined movement while the hooded figure walked beside him .
They were Sebas Tian and Aura Bella Fiora. They had been in this town since the last night. Their mission was to simply figure out where the demi-humans as slaves were sold off and bring them all under their control. This was done to increase the war potential of Nazarick and a few other motives. This was also done because their master wanted to know more about this world and conduct a few experiments.
After reconnaissance and gathering information for the past few hours, they had finally found what they were looking for. They arrived in front of a huge tent. Before this they had brought under control a few other slaves from slave traders but none of them were on this scale. They could sense around a couple hundred beings inside the tent.
As for bringing them under their control, simply using force would have been sufficient but their master had ordered them to do the opposite. That was to ensure that they could continue supplying them with demi-humans and information without reserve. These traders got a lot of information from traders from other towns and cities.
They could have been simply replaced, but bringing them under direct control would have been more profitable. If they refused to comply then the use of force was allowed.
They entered the tent completely masking their presence. They passed many cages that contained many demi-humans. Some had the resemblance of a human while some resembled beasts more. They walked though the passages towards the center of the tent where only a single person was present.
As they reached the center in front of the person, they saw a somewhat small man with a mustache. He wore a weird kind of suit and was sitting down while handling some papers. Upon noticing the two, the man gracefully lifted himself from his chair and got a creepy smile on his face.
He straightened himself then slightly bowed after getting a hold of his short-stick. He was conducting himself with utmost manners.
"Now, what might you be looking for, dear customer.."
Sebas with both of his hands behind him, spoke in a deep voice that fit him perfectly.
"Hello, we have come here to make a deal."
"That's what I am here to serve you for. Now what kind of deal are you talking about?"
Not once was his face free from the sinister smile.
"First, my name is Sebas and the one beside me . As for what kind of deal. It would seem that the humans of this world, namely the royalty of this country has rudely summoned our master along with his home. He has came to be referred as ' The Shield Hero'. But even more infuriating is that they had plotted against him as to sully his name. This could not be forgiven.
So, we are here to simply take all the demi-humans including you under our master's control. This also includes all the information you won't be using force unless you resist. And of course considering this is a deal, you will be provided with appropriate reciprocation in kind. We would not like to force you to submit but we will resort to it in the case of your disagreement."
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
It looked as the speech had been practiced beforehand. The face that had a smile mere moments ago was now twisted. He immediately put a smile on his face back but it wasn't the one he showed before.
"Is your master really the Shield Hero?"
"Yes, I believe he is referred as that in this world."
"And would you be willing to tell me what kind of plot was played against him?"
"That would be quite difficult but I am sure you would hear it shortly."
"I see"
He got his old smile back on his face
"What would I be gaining in this deal?"
"We currently do not possess the currency of this world but as for now, we may offer you gold items or equipment as our master deems fit."
"I see. I see. Are you sure that you possess enough power to make me bend my will?"
His voice wasn't filled with ignorance or arrogance as one would in such a situation. He spoke in a very polite voice. He was a businessman to the core and would gladly deal with anything as long as it gains him profit. Sebas understood this and responded in kind.
"Yes. I am quite sure we possess power enough to at least force you right now."
"I see. I suppose my answer needs to be immediate?"
"Yes"
"Then, I guess I will have to accept. But may I at least see the items I would be paid in."
"That is not possible currently as it has not been decided what you will be paid but be at ease. Our master does not steal from people. You will be paid in equivalent to what we receive from you."
"I guess it can't be helped. I gracefully accept your proposal. I hope for good relations in the future."
"It's good that you understand. All the other traders in the town were quite unpleasant and in the end, what happened could not be called a deal. As for now, we will be leaving a bodyguard in your shadow for your protection. If you have anything to ask, you may contact us through your bodyguard. We hope for your absolute loyalty towards our master. I suppose you understand what would happen to you if information about us were to leak. We would be taking all the demi-humans with us by dusk. Your payment will be delivered to you after few days."
"Yes, I would be looking forward to it."
With the deal finalized, Sebas looked over to Aura in her hooded figure. It was quite rare to see her so quiet. But as soon as she took off her hood,
"Yo. It seems you are quite sharp."
Her cheery voice called out to the slave trader. It seems she was intentionally holding back. Upon seeing the long ears of Aura, the smile of the trader widened. He suppressed his urge to ask more about her for now.
"Hahaha. You are quite mysterious indeed. It is a pleasure doing business with you."
"Yes. we will taking our leave then. The shadow demon is already with you."
With that, Sebas and Aura left the tent and the slave trader was left alone in there.
"Pretty sharp, huh! Who's the sharp one here..."
The smile widened even more as he looked at all the cages. There was a hint of pity and happiness, both mixed within. Not for the slaves but maybe for himself.
After 1 Hour
As the trader was handling some paperwork sitting on his desk in the middle of his tent, three figures entered his line of sight entering from the entrance of the tent. He saw two figures he had seen before but the last one was unknown to him. As they came closer, he realized who it was.
In a full black armor with gold decorations done and a small white shield on arm. He realized he was the shield hero. The one referred as the other two's master. His face was all smiles again. He bowed slightly,
"Welcome. Shield-hero."
He felt unsure of what to refer to him as but it seemed this was fine.
"Aah, yes. I see you have got quite a few slaves with you."
"With utmost respect, these are no longer my possession but yours."
"Hmm. I see. I suppose that is correct. So who is the strongest you have got here?"
"Yes, please come this way. I would recommend this slave. He's level 75." As the curtain over the cage was removed, a wolf like beast-man appeared. He was being very submissive and sitting quietly inside the cage. According to the trader it was a Wolf-man.
"Hmm? Level 75? Aura come here and check how it would fare against your beasts."
"Yes, it seems he can fight on par with somewhat 20 to 30 level beasts.I am not too sure myself."
"I see. Its fine. Aura, all of these here are under your direct control. Be sure to train them properly. And don't be too harsh on them. We don't know about the beasts of this world. Tell me if you find something interesting. Ah, but I want to conduct some experiments regarding the power levels and level caps. So I will be taking one of them under my direct training. I hope you don't mind."
"Of course not, Ainz-sama. But are you sure that you have to be troubled for such task."
"Its fine. Slave trader, hmm, it is quite unpleasant addressing you like that. What is your name?"
"My name is Beloukas. May I have the honor of knowing your name?"
"My name is Ainz Ooal Gown. But you must refer to me as Momon, as that is the guise I go by."
"Yes, is addressing you as Shield-Hero fine."
"I guess that's fine. Now moving one, as for my experiments, I would like to see the weakest demi-human you have at present."
"Demi-human huh? Please come this way."
He moved a few cages ahead and then lifted the curtain of a certain cage.
Inside was a very small girl, about 7 or 8 years of age. She had a very scrawny body. She was wearing a black-brown one piece that looked as if made of carry bags. She had bruises all over her body. Her eyes seemed dead, like all hope had been didn't even seem to flinch when light had suddenly entered her eyes.
"She would be among the weakest of my slaves right now. She is a racoon-type with severe mental and physical disorders. She has quite a lot of panic attacks in the middle and her health doesn't seem likely to heal any time soon."
"What's her level?"
"She is still at level-1."
"That is quite good. Aura, she will directly be under me. You may have the rest."
"Yes, Ainz-sama."
As all was said, first, Aura began taking control of the slaves one by one. Almost all the demi-humans except a few beast-men just submitted themselves without a fight whereas, those that tried to fight off simply gave in under the pressure of Aura. Even Belaukas started sweating once she started, but the smile never vanished. He was a businessman to the core.
Belaukas had asked if they wanted to use the slave-seal. Ainz was quite curious if this would work but it seemed like blood was needed for that. As Ainz didn't have blood and Sebas had no use having slaves, the idea was abandoned. Aura anyways didn't require the use of seals and her skills as a beast tamer would have been fine.
All those present were under the control of Aura and only the raccoon-type demi-human remained. She had gotten quite scared because of the pressure emanated by Aura. Ainz bent down until the point it was possible. He looked into her eyes but she didn't make contact.
"What's your name?"
"..."
"What's your name?"
"Ra-Raphtalia" Her voice was so quiet normally one would not have been able to hear it, but not Ainz...
"Raphtalia huh... Its a nice name."
Ainz could not tell why but he had a bit of sympathy for her. Or maybe he didn't even know it himself.
"Stand up!"
"..."
"Stand up!"
This time she slowly got to her two feet. She had looked so weak that Ainz was quite surprised himself that she was able to stand.
Ainz produced a healing potion out of thin air. It was in a narrow glass flask with red potion. He held out the potion towards the racoon girl. She hesisitated. Perhaps she mistook it for blood. Others had done so before. Or perhaps she was just too scared.
"Drink it!"
"EEHH! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Please don't hurt me!"
"There is nothing to apologize for. This is a healing potion. Drink it."
She weakly nodded and slowly extended her hand towards the potion. She was still hesitating. She took the vial from his hand and took one sip from the flask. She had a look of surprise upon the effects that the potion had. She could feel power and warmth emanating inside her. She then gulped down another few sips.
Only a little more than half the potion was consumed by her and all her injuries had healed already. Ainz felt that the effects of the potion were a little more potent than shown in the new world. She had more than just a few bruises and she had a disease too. But still, the healing potion was showing a much better result. Maybe the effects of it changed or are better in this world. Ainz would have to check it out.
She emptied the glass vial and returned the vial to Ainz. Ainz stored it in his pocket space and confirmed that she had healed completely.
"Thank you"
She was still very quiet and timid. Ainz had expected that this would most probably not be enough to get her trust. She reminded him of the orphans he had often seen on the roadsides in his original world.
"Hmm. You seem to be fine. That's good. Now then, Beloukas."
"Yes, Shield hero."
"Tell me what this would be worth." Ainz said as he took out a YGGDRSIL coin out. He tossed it to Beloukas and he caught him.
"Let me check it out. Hmm, Hmm? It is very strange. The material is undoubtedly gold but at the same time it is not only gold. It's as if it is pure and impure at the same time.
Whattt! I-It has magic mixed within it. And that too unknown magic. Shield hero, is it made from the magic in your previous world?"
His smile was no more and he was acting just like a little child checking out a new toy.
"Ah. Yes. It is. So tell me how much is it worth."
"Thi-this is worth around 25 gold coins or even more. If you give me just 100 of these coins, no, even 90 would be fine. Then, everything in this tent would be paid for."
Just 100 of these coins would not hurt Ainz or Nazarick in the tiniest. But he was still hesitant to give coins from YGGDRASIL away as they were limmited in number and he didn't want to reveal much about himself, and of course not get new type of coins into existence.
But he was even more stuck-up on giving away weapons and equipment. The trader would surely trade them for a hefty amount of money. But those weapons and equipment could eventually end up in the hands of an enemy. So he had to make a choice.
He took out 110 coins from his inventory and handed them to Beloukas. He seemed very pleased at that.
"I expect you to serve me faithfully."
"As you wish."
"Aura, get those with free wills the best training from the area guardians and Mare. I would like to see their growth. Also, as for Raphtalia, Cocytus will be training her and as for magic, we will see."
"I understand, Ainz-sama."
"Now then."
As he said this, the black armor covering his body disappeared and his real self dressed in exquisite robes was revealed. As expected, this came as a shock to all present except the guardians. Without saying anything else, Ainz opened a 'Gate'. He went through the gate and took Raphtalia along with him. Sebas and the demi-humans followed him with Aura at last. Beloukas was scared but at the same time was quite amused.
As Ainz and the others went through the gate, they were deep in the forest in front of Nazarick. He messaged Shalltear to open up a gate to the sixth-floor. Yet another giant gate opened and they all went through without making another noise. They arrived in the middle of giant colosseum there. He went ahead with Raphtalia, Aura and Sebas while all the "slaves" were lined up and bowed.
"Stand up. I expect you to serve Nazarick to the best of your abilities. You will be provided with fighting gear and expect you to become strong enough to be worthy of staying here. You need not be worried for as long as your loyalty doesn't waver in the least, you won't be mistreated. Hence this day, I announce that you are hereby a part of Nazarick."
Ainz turned towards the small racoon-girl beside him and addressed her. She did seem to be the most scared of all, seeing as though she was kept different from the others.
"The same goes for you." She weakly nodded.
"Good. Aura, tell Mare to prepare lodgings for all of them on this floor only. Sebas, I expect you could handle the matters of their nourishment."
"Yes""Understood"
"Good job, for now send Pestonya over here to heal their wounds. Those who have more grave injuries that might require immediate action, you are allowed te use the healing scrolls we have present."
With that Ainz teleported to the 10th floor in front of the throne room. Currently there should only be Demiurge and Albedo in there. Also, there was Yuri Alpha who was currently standing in front of the giant doors to the room. She bowed before Ainz before opening the doors to the room.
Ainz entered the room with Yuri following him. Albedo and Demiurge were also kneeling on two sides in front of the throne. Ainz continued towards the throne. At one point, Yuri stopped following him and knelt and Albedo started behind him instead.
"Be at ease" Ainz said in a practiced manner. The two kneeling in front of him stood up.
"Demiurge, how is everything progressing?"
"Ainz-sama. Everything is progressing just as anticipated. All the slaves and their traders of Melromarc are under our control. This will lead to various problems in the country, and especially the castle-town. They will be hard pressed for labor and won't be able to supply their needs properly. This problem is expected to only grow as time passes and will be the most problematic for nobles.
Also, the fact that the country's top executives and ministers are no longer present will make it even more harder for the growing problems to settle down. This will lead to unrest and conflicts within the country. There will be conflicts especially for gaining the seats of power that are left demi-humans purchased as slaves will be an addition to the forces of Nazarick.
The robed woman caught earlier was, as you know, unexpectedly directly in service to the queen. Or it would be more accurate to say the monarch. The assassins sent to follow her in hiding have not yet reported back, but the queen is expected to get the invitation within a few days."
"I see. So far everything seems fine. Good job Demiurge."
"I am undeserving of such praise."
"Umu, Albedo, you have to assign some of the close-combat area guardians to the training of the demi-humans. Mare had already been summarized about his job of seeing if tier-magic is accessible by them, who are the inhabitants of this world. Depending on the result, we may have to be more careful regarding showing and using our magic in this world. Also, assign low to high tier equipment from the treasury to them depending on their individual capabilities. Leave the one I will be monitoring myself."
"Yes. But Ainz-sama, If I may be so impudent. Why were the demi-humans of this filthy world allowed in the Great Tomb Of Nazarick. Would it not have been better to dispose off of them. Especially, the one you are going to monitor by yourself. Is it really required for someone like you to be doing something petty like this. "
"No, Albedo. The demi-humans as far as we know are hated in this country. This could become a reason enough for them to bear hostility towards humans. So, they could become useful pawns against the humans when needed. This will also help us know about the power the people of this world could achieve."
"Understood."
"Good. Now. Yuri Alpha."
"Yes"
"As discussed earlier, you along with Pestonya work on recovering the health of those demi-humans. If they have metal traumas, see if stabilizing magic could help. If not, try to resolve those to the best of your capacity, so that they turn to be even more thankful and loyal."
"Understood, Ainz-sama."
With this, all the matters of the day were resolved. Ainz was dead tired, mentally of course and was just thinking of going to his room and rest.
Demiurge, as usual, had taken the words spoken by his master to be a puzzle that he needed to solve in order to gain even a little insight on his master's grand scheme. His excited smile was easily visible to everyone in the throne-room.