Chapter 2, part 3
A short time later Yuri Alpha returned with a representative of the Slane Theocracy in tow. He was a man of average height and build, wearing a hooded robe, he had short black hair and piercing black eyes.
After stopping in front of the gathered guardians he scanned the room with his eyes. His face twisted in an angry scowl when he saw Jircniv, who was standing in a similar position as if he was one of the guardians. But it was only momentarily and the man promptly regained his mask-like expression. He continued to scan the room and his sight came to the two dark elf children, he was already moving on to look at the winged beauty and the frog-like man, but then his eyes went wide.
"What's this?!" He almost cried out, "heteromorphic eyes... who are they and why are they here? Could they be the offspring of that damned elf? Does it mean he had already allied with the Sorcerer King?" - the thoughts raced through his head, but his face remained unchanged.
With a bow, he introduced himself.
“I am Zeria Lasa, a representative of the Slane Theocracy,” he announced in a loud, crisp voice.
“I am Ainz Ooal Gown, the Sorcerer King of the Sorcerer Kingdom,” Ainz introduced himself.
“You did not give advance notice of your visit,” said the winged beauty, who stood next to Ainz. “What is the reason for that?”
“We were doubtful if the rumors of the undead living peacefully alongside humans were true. I was sent here to discern if that was indeed so, in which case I was to seek an audience with the Sorcerer King,” he replied in a calm voice. He had already recovered from the temporary shock of seeing those dark elves, though his interest in them did not fade.
“Pftt, and how long have you been observing us?” Asked the dark elf boy, with a tone that showed he had no respect for Zeria.
“Long enough,” replied Zeria with a knowing smile. As he did so his mind raced – "His tone is too arrogant to be a representative of the Elf Kingdom, nor is it a tone of a vassal. He must be one of the beings serving this undead monster.”
“Tell me then Zeria Lassa, why have you come to my Sorcerer Kingdom and sought me out?” Ainz asked him.
“Now that I have determined that your Majesty is indeed a being who does not bear hatred for the living, I have a proposal for you. The main reason for my journey here, the Slane Theocracy would like to establish friendly relations, and open up trade between our countries,” Zeria replied.
Obviously, that was a lie. The true reason he was there was to gather information. After extensive deliberation, the Cardinals of the Slane Theocracy decided that they simply didn't know enough about the powerful beings who recently appeared in the world. The vampire was dead, and Jaldabaoth was out of their reach. But both Momon and the Sorcerer King could easily be contacted. And seeing how the influence of the latter's kingdom spread like a spilled drink...
They had little choice. The Empire was undergoing vassalization. The Kingdom was in shambles, both politically and military power wise. After the slaughter at the Katze Plains, there was a huge shortage of men. The harvest was understandably poor, and the lack of food caused starvation in the Kingdom.
Or it would have if it wasn't for the Sorcerer Kingdom trading in grain with the Kingdom. In a brilliant move that revealed his inhuman intelligence, the Sorcerer King was able to earn praise and gratitude from the people of the Kingdom, for fixing a problem that he himself created.
With the gratitude of the common people behind him, to an extent, a third faction came to power on the political landscape. Led by Philip, a third-rate noble, this faction pushed for closer ties with the Sorcerer Kingdom. The other factions lost too much power during the war. And it was hard to oppose closer ties with the Sorcerer King when he was the only reason the Kingdom did not experience mass starvation.
The draconic Kingdom was half-consumed by the beastmen armies. Even the aid of retired Black Scripture members could not stem that tide of violence. And the recent visit from an envoy of the Holy Kingdom indicated that Jaldabaoth was hatching some plans there.
The human nations in such disarray, Theocracy could no longer afford to sit back and take their time. They had to act and act quickly. Their first step was to learn as much as they could about the Sorcerer King and his subordinates. And if possible to approach Momon. That was the main reason he, a captain of the Windflower Scripture had been sent there.
That said, Theocracy was interested in opening up trade as well. Trade was the basis of the economies of all the human countries. However with the Sorcerer Kingdom being off limit, Baharuth Empire about to become a vassal state and the Kingdom seemingly moving in that direction. The Theocracy was simply running out of neighboring countries to trade with. Plus, with open trade news and information would flow faster as well.
“Open trade? I thought the Slane Theocracy despises none humans,” Ainz said with a chuckle. “Could Theocracy really have open trade and relations with a country where not just humans and other humanoids, but also demi-humans and even heteromorphs, including undead live in peace?”
Naturally, Zeria had anticipated this question. He went on to explain that since Ainz did not massacre the citizens of E-Rantel like a normal undead would, the Theocracy was open to establishing relations with such a merciful being. As well as the current state of affairs as far as trade goes.
As he heard the man explain, Ainz nodded in agreement – "Even for Theocracy it was important to keep their economy from collapsing, so much so that they were willing to overlook him being an undead."
“Then we shall establish relations and open trade with the Salne Theocracy,” - announced Ainz.
"Who should I send to handle this? Demiurge is busy with the Holy Kingdom. Albedo is an Overseer and has too much work as is, Aura is handling the Forest of Tob and Shalltear still needs more experience. Hmm, he appeared to get excited when he saw Aura and Mare, could it be he was relieved to see humanoids amongst my entourage?" Ainz thought.
“Mare, why don't you handle this, since you have already completed the dungeon for adventurers,” Ainz said.
Zeria's eyes went wide again for a second when he saw the dark elf girl bow down and reply.
“Yes.. Ainz-sama. I will ... do as you command.”
“With this matter settled, why don't you stay for my next meeting?” Ainz proposed. “I was already briefed on the reason for this audience with an envoy from the Holy Kingdom. As a newly allied country, this is something that concerns you too. Truthfully, it concerns all beings.”
“Of course, your Majesty,” Zeria replied. Although his face was a poker mask, his mind was a mess.
"Why is an envoy of the Holy Kingdom here? Did things get so bad they had decided to seek the help of this undead sorcerer? And why did he decide to send that small, panicky dark elf girl as his envoy? Her of all people!”
There was a knock on the door and Yuri Alpha walked in to announce that the envoy from the Holy Kingdom was there.
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"From here on everything should be going as planned," Ainz thought.
Sometime earlier
When Potemur and “The Young Blood” rode their horses up the gates of E-Rantel, two guards had come out to greet them.
“Humans?” - wondered Kiza in a puzzled tone.
The group stopped, and Potemur explained to the guards that he was seeking an audience with the Sorcerer King, which was arranged by Princess Renner. One of the guards went to ask his superior, an Elder Lich which stood some distance away.
“Say, why are there human guards at the gates? Wouldn't undead serve as better guards?” - Potemur asked while they waited.
“It is as you say. However, undead guards would frighten newcomers. Thus it was determined that having human guards to greet those coming to the city would work better. Besides, there are still plenty of undead guards,” the man responded, gesturing at the undead beings staged on the walls not far from the gate.
"Not only does he not feel hatred for the living, but he understands humans quite well. This Sorcerer King is quite crafty,” Potemur thought.
The other guard returned, and their group was escorted by an undead being to the quarters of the Sorcerer King. It was hard not to shake in fear as they looked at their guide. Over two meters tall, wearing spiky metal armor, a helmet with two horns, a rotted face displayed beneath the helmet. It was the kind of enemy that would make “The Young Blood” think twice about attacking. Yet here it was, leading the way like a good servant would.
As they walked through the city of E-Rantel they took in the surroundings. The citizens seemed to be carrying on with their lives. No one showed any signs of panic or fear, in fact, no one really paid any attention to the occasional undead being that walked by.
“It appears Kiara's intel was correct, though this is hard to believe.” assessed, Marv, as they made their way through the city. The others nodded in agreement.
They came to a large building, and their guide indicated for them to wait there, while it went inside. A moment later it came back with a woman.
Potemur's eyes went wide – the woman that came out of the building was a stunning beauty. But what caused his reaction was that she wore a maid's outfit. It was the spitting image of one of the maids that accompanied Jaldabaoth...
“What is the meaning of this?!” He screamed, having lost all of his composure, “Why is Jaldabaoth's maid here?! Battle formation!”He shrieked having completely lost it.
“Calm yourself!” A loud, powerful voice filled his ears. “Put your weapons away, she means you no harm.”
When he turned around Potemur saw a warrior clad in full suit of black armor, two gigantic swords on his back, an adamantite
adventurer's plate hanging from his neck.
“I am Momon, the leader of the adamantite group “Darkness” and currently an enforcer for the Sorcerer King,” he introduced himself “And who might you be?”
“I am an envoy of the Holy Kingdom, here to see the Sorcerer King,” Potemur told him.
“Oh, I see. Then the reason for my summon was to listen to your issues. You mentioned Jaldabaoth earlier, how do you know of him?” Momon inquired.
“He had attacked our country,” Potemur replied with sadness in his voice.
“Then I understand your reaction just now. I had the same response myself when I first saw these maids,” - Momon continued. “Do not worry, they serve the Sorcerer King and have nothing to do with Jaldabaoth.”
“But the resemblance... it's uncanny,” his voice betrayed hints of doubt.
“I am sure the Sorcerer King will explain this to you shortly,” - Momon told him, before addressing the maid, who stood silently in front of them all this time.
“Then Yuri-san, can you inform the Sorcerer King that we are here?” He asked the maid.
“Yes, Momon-san,” she replied with a bow, before disappearing inside the building.
A short while later she came back and ushered them in, “The two of you can see Ainz-sama now." Then she addressed the group of adventurers that were with Potemur, “You can wait in the guest house while the envoy talks to Ainz-sama,” she pointed at the building nearby.
Marv and his group went to rest at the guest house, while Potemur and Momon were led to a set of large, heavy doors. She opened them and motioned for them to walk in.
“Ah, Momon-dono” - rang a voice as they walked in, “it is good that you are here, as this situation concerns you as well.”
Potemur saw a skeletal being, he was sitting on a throne-like chair, dressed in a very luxurious looking robe of pure black. The robe appeared to be sucking the light in, giving him an ominous feeling. As he walked toward the center of the room, he looked at the other figures present there. Two humans, two dark elf children, a frog looking humanoid and... For a moment Potemur stopped. He saw a winged beauty – she looked similar to his Empress, except her wings were black and horns protruded from her head.
"Ah, she is a devil, not an angel," he realized, as he approached the center of the room. Momon took his place near a human on his left, but closer to the throne.
“I am Potemur Dorland, an envoy of the Holy Kingdom,” he announced in a loud voice.
“I am Ainz Ooal Gown, the Sorcerer King of the Sorcerer Kingdom,” - introduced himself the one sitting on the throne. “The man on your left is the emperor of the Baharuth Empire, he was here to sign the vassalisation documents. The one on your right is Zeria Lasa, a representative of the Slane Theocracy, he is here to establish friendly relations and open trade. I take it you've already met Momon. The rest are my subordinates,” - Ainz concluded, without going into further detail.
“I understand Princess Renner had already outlined my purpose for coming here, so I will be brief your Majesty. After several months of people and even entire villages disappearing, a demon force attacked one of our cities. These demons were led by a demon which according to our information fits the description of a demon called Jaldabaoth, who attacked the capital of Re-Estize Kingdom not long ago.”
Momon seemed to perk up with interest.
“An adamantite group of adventurers was in Cressa at the time. They confronted the demons but were defeated once Jaldabaoth and his maids showed up,” Potemur told them.
The man on his right shook his head in disbelief.
“After defeating those adventurers, Jaldabaoth did not destroy the city they fought to protect. Instead, he announced that in two weeks he will attack and destroy the capital of the Holy Kingdom. That happened seven days ago.”
"No wonder they are so desperate, to lose one of their two adamantite groups, and have the enemy announce the destruction of their capital. Since Theocracy declined to provide help, the Holy Kingdom had no choice," recognized Zeria.
“On behalf of the Holy Kingdom, I plead to you to aid us,” Potemur continued with a trembling voice. “You could dispatch Momon-dono, he had already proved that he can defeat Jaldabaoth. There is still time if we hurry we should be able to make it before the attack.” he pleaded.
“And what can you offer in return for our aid?” Asked the winged beauty in a dismissive tone.
“I.. I will..” - as he thought about what he would do to protect his country and his Empress Potemur steeled himself “We will give everything”
“Everything huh” chuckled the undead being on the throne. “There will be no need for such sacrifices.”
As stunned Potemur was about to ask the meaning of this words. The Sorcerer King addressed the frog-like humanoid who stood before him.
“Looks like your brother is causing problems once again Demiurge.”