The Paladin of the Sacred Kingdom Part I

by Kugane Maruyama

  Even though she had anticipated it, the reality made Neia’s mind go black for a moment. Next came rage at the demons who had performed such inhumane experiments.

  “Miss Baraja! Have the priests come on the double! And Commander Custodio and the other knights! Hurry!”

  “Yes, Your Majesty!”

  In a corner of her mind, a voice asked if it was really okay to leave him alone, but it was an order from someone trustworthy, wise, and powerful. Surely, she didn’t have to worry. The voice died down instantaneously.

  •

  The priests opened the door and went inside. The way their shoulders jumped at that moment said more than words about how appalling and ghastly the scene was.

  Neia was watching as the King of Darkness turned over the paper they had found to Remedios and Gustav.

  “I want you to look at this. It tells the names of the people in there and what was done to them. There are these other documents as well, but it’s unclear if they are more of the same or something else, like part of Jaldabaoth’s plans. Can you read them?”

  Remedios took one glance, frowned, and handed the paper to Gustav.

  Gustav shook his head. “I can’t make head or tail of it. But you were able to read this one page, right, Your Majesty?”

  “Yes, using a magic item. The issue is that the item requires a lot of mana—critical mana I need to conserve for the fight with Jaldabaoth. So I wonder if either of you know anyone who can read this. It could be someone with a literacy ability or even someone you think might be able to do it.”

  “No, I can’t think of anyone. The southern nobles could be hiding someone who can, but I highly doubt it.”

  “Oh… Then what should we do? I’d like for you guys to figure out how to read the rest of these.”

  “Would it be possible to borrow your item, Your Majesty?”

  “No. It’s one of my nation’s treasures, so it’s the same as how you can’t lend the sword at your hip so easily. To a caster like me, this sort of item is more precious than a sword.”

  Remedios and Gustav looked at each other.

  “Understood. Then we’ll do our best. Also, we have another issue. Apparently these orcs were imprisoned here. What should we do with them?”

  The orcs didn’t come to attack the Sacred Kingdom; they were brought here by Jaldabaoth as captives. Questioning them wasn’t yielding any useful intelligence, so they weren’t sure how to handle them.

  “Hmm…got it. Can you tell me where they are? You’re fine letting me take care of them?”

  “Yes, thank you.”

  Gustav gave simple directions. The city wasn’t that big to begin with, so it didn’t seem like they would get lost.

  By the time Neia had memorized the general route, an exhausted-looking priest opened the door.

  “Ohhh! How’d it go?! How are the people doing?!”

  “We’ve at least cast healing magic on those who were alive. It was our first time treating people who had been so horribly abused, so we’ll stay a little longer and keep an eye on them. Then, if nothing is wrong, we’d like to bring them out of here.”

  “Got it. Then we’ll send over some paladins and militia members to help.”

  “Understood, Lady Custodio. Then if you’ll excuse me, Your Majesty.” The priest opened the door and went back inside.

  Watching the priest go, the other four realized they had nothing else to do here, and moved on to their next destination.

  For Neia and the King of Darkness, that meant to the orcs.

  “If there are demons around, it’d be handy to have someone who can see through transformations,” the king mentioned to Neia as they were walking.

  No demons had been spotted in the city, but given the presence of demon writing, he must have surmised that demons were or could be around.

  “Demons transform?”

  “Yes, some of them—into men, woman, or sometimes animals.”

  “Oh… So you’re hoping for someone with a talent for seeing through transformations? My apologies. I’ve never heard of one like that. Oh no, I have heard a legend like that. I remember reading it in some book, but I have no idea if anyone currently can…”

  “…I guess I should ask Lady Custodio about that, too.”

  “Are transformations like illusions? I tend to think of illusions as tricky magic spells, but…”

  “First of all, there’s a big difference between a transformation and an illusion, but it’ll take too long to explain, so allow me to omit the finer details. In any case, you shouldn’t underestimate illusions! How terrifying the magic gets depends on how quick the illusionist’s wits are. And particularly if they’ve truly specialized instead of just putzing around.”

  “Specialized?”

  “That’s right. For example, Perfect Illusion can deceive all five senses. And someone who has reached the ultimate powers of illusion can acquire a move that can only be used once every few days but allows them to deceive the world.”

  Deceiving the world was an act on a level Neia couldn’t even imagine.

  “How amazing a feat is that, deceiving the world?”

  “From what I’ve heard, it can do anything any other tree of magic can do. To put it simply, you could even use it to resurrect the dead.”

  “What?! But it would be an illusion, right?”

  “Yes, causing the world to be under an illusion is the illusionist’s ultimate power—because if you can deceive the world, then your deception becomes the truth.”

  “Whoa” was the only way she could react. Hearing that if someone mastered illusion, they could do something so powerful, it was so awesome that she couldn’t quite wrap her mind around it.

  “So does anyone in this country keep track of talents?”

  “No, I’ve never heard of anything like that. Does the Nation of Darkness track talents?”

  “We don’t yet. I’d like to in the future, but it seems like it will take quite a bit of work… It might still be a decade or so off.”

  Apparently, the King of Darkness was thinking about things even ten years in the future. Maybe that was the difference—a big one—between kings and commoners.

  •

  The orcs were in a building that had its windows boarded up from the outside. It was fairly large, probably the second or third largest in the city.

  A number of paladins clustered at the gate and seemed to be wary of what was inside.

  When they saw the King of Darkness approaching, they all dropped to one knee in a show of respect.

  “I heard from Lady Custodio that there were orcs in this building. Can I go inside?”

  “Yes, of course, Your Majesty!”

  “Then you can all leave and do whatever other work you have to do.”

  The paladins looked up. “But the commander ordered us to guard this location. We can’t leave.”

  “…I see. Then I take back what I said.”

  With that, the King of Darkness passed between the knights and pushed the door open. Neia followed him, of course.

  A potent acidic smell wafted out and into Neia’s nose. It wasn’t poison; it reminded her of the smell of a prison cell she had visited a long time ago with one of the paladins. There were other stomach-turning odors mixed in.

  “What in the world…?”

  She had wondered when the commander had brought it up: Why were the orcs brought here?

  Though she knew she would find out soon, the wings of her imagination spread. If this isn’t a problem that only affects the orcs, if it could be a rallying point in the fight against Jaldabaoth, maybe some subhumans will resist, too.

  While she was thinking, the king continued opening doors. It already felt normal to have him leading the way.

  They left a room and entered a hallway.

  Walking in it for a moment was enough to tell that this building was dirtier than a prison.

  It was filthy with blood, vomit, and excrement. She couldn’t begin to imagine what ha
d happened here, but it was a terrible environment.

  Orcs were subhumans about as tall as humans with piglike faces; they were said to be a tidy race. There was no way they would stay somewhere like this by choice.

  Neia looked at the long hem of the King of Darkness’s robe and worried that his splendid clothing would get dirty, but there was no way she could ask him to wait outside. There was no one with the wisdom to stand in for him.

  Eventually, Neia’s sharp ears began to hear things that indicated the presence of a large number of living things, including a child crying and a voice that sounded like the mother trying to calm it.

  They’re orcs…? Not humans…?

  Neia was at a loss. She had never considered that they would have families and raise children. The orcs that came to Roebel were invaders, enemies to be hated; she had never thought anything about them past that.

  Neia was still confused when the king opened the door.

  The awful smell grew worse, and shrieks went up.

  “An undead!”

  “It’s a skeleton! What’s he doing here?!”

  “Those humans! They sold us to undead! Shit!”

  “Controlling undead? Those grimy humans.”

  “Mama! Help!”

  “My boy!”

  The king stopped in the doorway. He must have been confused, too.

  “Ju— Ahem. Shut up!”

  His order caused the room to fall silent. But it only lasted a moment.

  In the next, the shouting echoed twice as loud as before. What they were saying was hardly any different. No, it seemed like voices lamenting their fate and saying they didn’t care what happened to them as long as their children were spared had increased.

  “………Sighhh.” The king let out a tired sigh. Then he punched the door with all his might. He was incredibly strong despite being all bones; the hinge busted and the door went flying. When it hit the wall, it made a startlingly loud noise. The subhumans quieted all at once.

  “Shut up. The next one of you to talk had better brace yourself.”

  In that silent, frozen atmosphere—where some mothers frantically covered their children’s mouths—the king took a step into the room, and the subhumans all edged away.

  “It’s not as if I came here to kill you. Quite the opposite—I’m here to set you free.”

  It was hard for a human like Neia to grasp the emotions of the orcs’ piglike faces. But this one time, she was extremely confident.

  The look was That’s a lie!

  “It’s a pain if you all talk at once. Have a representative come forward.”

  After a moment, an orc went to step forward, but the one next to him held him back. Then he came to the fore instead.

  It was a thin orc, but he looked like he must have been quite built at one point.

  “…So you’re the representative?”

  The orc nodded without saying anything.

  “…What? Why aren’t you saying anything?”

  “Um, could it be because you told them to shut up, Your Majesty?”

  “…I thought I allowed him to, but I guess it didn’t get through? I permit the orc who stepped forward to speak. First, let’s hear your name.”

  “I’m Diell of the Gan Zuu tribe—Diell Gan Zuu.”

  “Diell, okay. First question: Is there anyone here you don’t know or whose personality has changed as if they were someone else?”

  “N-no, there’s no one like that here.”

  “Then next, tell me why you’re all imprisoned here.”

  “…Do you know about the demon Jaldabaoth?”

  “Of course. He’s my enemy. Or rather, I came here—to the Sacred Kingdom—to kill him.”

  Their faces said, Definitely a lie. Certainly before Neia knew him, she might have thought the same thing. But not anymore.

  She showed herself beside him and spoke. “His Majesty is telling the truth. I’m a citizen of this country, so please listen. Jaldabaoth brought you along with the allied subhuman army to invade this land.”

  Diell’s expression changed slightly.

  “Wait, a human… I think a female?”

  You think? Neia wondered what that was supposed to mean, but she couldn’t tell the orcs’ sexes by face; it must have been the same for them.

  “We aren’t attacking this country. There shouldn’t be a single orc tribe that cooperated with Jaldabaoth. Which is to say, we resisted, so we were brought here as punishment.”

  “Hmm… What did he do to you once you were here?”

  The question seemed to shock all the orcs, not only Diell. The ones who seemed to be mothers held children close. Neia could also hear retching and other vomiting noises.

  “…Honestly, what is he doing?” the king mumbled to himself. “Um, I seem to have asked a bad question. Should I bring some water? Or is there something else you want?”

  His attitude changed completely. He seemed extremely flustered. Perhaps he felt guilty for causing the orcs to relive painful memories. It was probably less than respectful for her to think such things, but he seemed almost like a parent trying to comfort a kid that one of his children made cry.

  This must be how a king thinks when he views both humans and orcs as subjects of his country…

  To the inhabitants of the Sacred Kingdom, subhumans were enemies. If they were in the same position, they probably wouldn’t have anything kind to say to them.

  “We don’t want anything special. Just please don’t make us talk about what happened. It wouldn’t be fun to hear, and for us, it was hell. If you ordered us to talk, we would have no choice, but please at least let us do it where no one else can hear.”

  Hearing a female orc softly crying, Neia was terrified. What in the world was done to them?

  “…This is a problem,” the King of Darkness mumbled, but there was so much going on that Neia didn’t know what he was referring to. “Also, um, yeah. If you’re against Jaldabaoth, then we’re also here to ask if you’d like to cooperate with us, since we have a common enemy.”

  Diell lowered his eyes. “Once, we wanted to fight, but not anymore. After everything the demons put us through, our spirits are broken. We have no courage left.”

  “Then what will you do if I liberate you?”

  “If possible, we’d like to go back to our village, and if there are any of us remaining there in safety, we’d like to take them and move far away to somewhere Jaldabaoth can never reach us.”

  The king nodded.

  “Then how about the domain I ru—?”

  “We refuse! We know how dangerous it is to displease you. It would be smarter to agree now and then flee with all our might at a point where it seems like we can escape. But nothing is worse than betrayal. So if we refuse now, at least we can hopefully die less painful deaths.”

  “What…?”

  Their refusal was so firm, the King of Darkness seemed confused. But Neia understood Diell’s feelings so well it hurt. Until she met the king, she thought undead were the enemy of all living things, too.

  “…Uh, my domain isn’t a horrible place or anything. We even have a diverse population of subhumans!”

  “Lies! You must be lying! You can’t fool me or any of the rest of us! They must be undead subhumans!”

  Half-crazed Diell was Neia’s former self. That’s why it was her duty as someone with more experience to explain what she had learned about the true nature of this king.

  “His Majesty is telling the truth. He may be an undead, but he manages to show kindness to the living as well. He loves children and governs subhumans equally, and his subordinates respect him. As proof of that, they built huge statu—”

  “Miss Baraja! That’s really enough, so if you could just…”

  “But Your Majesty!”

  “Please… Really, just please…”

  If he was saying please, she really did have to stop.

  “Human, are you being mind controlled?!”

  “No. I’ve see
n his nation with my own eyes. The first subhuman I ever met was a naga.”

  A murmur went through the subhumans as they exchanged glances with one another. Some voices asked, “What’s a naga?” but she ignored them.

  “There was also a subhuman with a face like a rabbit’s. I’m not a resident of the Nation of Darkness, and it’s true that the time I spent there was short, but I still know that the people who live there aren’t wearing the expressions of pain and fear you were a minute ago. And of course, they weren’t wounded like you are now.”

  The subhumans looked down at their emaciated bodies. They had lost so much weight they were like sticks.

  “It’s as she—Miss Baraja—says. Still, I’m sure you can’t believe us. But I promise on my honor as Ainz Ooal Gown that you would never be treated so unreasonably if I were ruling over you. That’s because everything I rule belongs to me. If one of my subjects gets hurt, that means one of my belongings is damaged. And don’t worry; if you say you don’t want to live under my rule, I won’t force you to. You should live how you like. For now, I’ll arrange things so you can return to your village.”

  “…Why are you being so kind?”

  It seemed to Neia that Diell had set aside his preconceptions and faced the true King of Darkness for the first time.

  “Hoh-hoh… I want to defeat Jaldabaoth. That means the subhumans he brought here are in my way. So sending you back to your village is one way to chip away at his power.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “If you spread word that I’m kind, unlike Jaldabaoth, it might cause unrest within his army, or even some defections.”

  “Ah, I see.”

  It was hard to believe someone when the deal only seemed to benefit one’s own side, but it seemed that subhumans, like humans, were more likely to trust someone if a deal showed benefits for both sides.

  “But I don’t think it’ll be that easy. Most of Jaldabaoth’s subordinates are thirsty for blood. Even if we go back to our village and spread word, I doubt it will have much effect.”

  “That’s fine. I just want to make every sort of move I can. And if Jaldabaoth is ruling through fear, there might be subhumans who are willing to rebel against him. So I’m repeating myself, but you’re sure you don’t want to cooperate with me in the fight against him?”