He’d also figured that since they’d totally destroyed the brothel, it would take time for their enemy to regroup and plan an attack.
All he could say now was that he’d been too optimistic.
Sebas was anxiously hurrying down the hall when a voice called out to stop him. It came from the drawing room.
“Master Sebas, in here.”
“Solution! Is she there?”
She couldn’t be. He’d glanced in a moment ago. Still, he held out hope despite the slim odds.
When he entered the room, Solution was standing in the middle of it holding a sheet of parchment.
“It seems like something is written he—”
“Please let me see it.” Without waiting for her reply, he snatched the parchment out of her hands. He activated a magic item, read the words on the sheet, and crumpled it up with a furious expression. “She was abducted, so I’m going to save her.”
The response was quiet and measured. “I think that’s fine.”
Sebas’s eyes widened. He never would have expected that from Solution.
“But Lord Ainz’s orders were to withdraw to the Great Tomb of Nazarick,” she added. “Shouldn’t you prioritize that?”
“We’re supposed to bring Tsuare.”
“Master Sebas. If you act on your own again, you’ll be putting yourself in a very dangerous situation. Where are you even going to go in the first place?”
“They were kind enough to specify a time and place. It seems they’re connected to the organization that was running the brothel I destroyed.”
“I see. But before you leave, you should report to Lord Ainz. If you hadn’t destroyed the brothel in the first place, none of this would have occurred. Didn’t this happen because you neglected Lord Ainz’s wish that we operate quietly? If you act independently again, you’ll be ignoring his orders again… Besides, have you forgotten what our master said?”
The words flashed in his mind—under whose name Tsuare would be protected.
“Report to Lord Ainz. Tell him she’s been kidnapped and ask what to do.”
3
4 Late Fire Moon (September) 3:15 PM
“La-la-laaaa.”
Cheerfully humming a song she made up, Albedo slid a needle through a loop of yarn. She tugged it tight. Again she inserted the needle, again she pulled it taut. After several repetitions, she’d sewn black fabric onto a sphere made of white yarn. Next, she stuffed some cloth into the white ball to make it especially round.
She took a hard look at her yarn doll, which was nearly a perfect sphere, and then smiled tenderly—a smile brimming with love like that of a goddess.
“Okay, Lord Ainz’s head is done!” Satisfied, she squeezed her hands into little fists and then pet the figure’s skull.
It was an exceedingly adorable item, with appliqué eyes and mouth; it would surely make Ainz blush if he saw it.
“Next, I need to make his body…”
She very gently placed the skull on the corner of the table and got up to get the ball of white yarn.
Albedo was in her room.
Originally, she didn’t have personal quarters, since she was assigned to defend the Throne Room.
Ainz felt it was wrong for the captain of the guardians of the Great Tomb of Nazarick not to have her own chambers, so on his orders, she’d been given one of the Forty-One Supreme Beings’ spare rooms.
Like Ainz’s, Albedo’s quarters were spacious. Since she hadn’t had many belongings to bring with her, she’d honestly thought it was too empty.
But after living there for two months, that was no longer true.
One of the reasons for that was the dressing room she was about to open.
It was completely full of Ainzes.
Of course, they were artificial. She had innumerable Ainzes, from life-size body pillows featuring him in different poses to adorably deformed Ainz-shaped plushies.
This was a top secret chamber, an unbreachable holy ground where not even the maids who came to clean were allowed. She called it her harem room.
“Tee-hee-hee-hee-hee-heeee!”
With an odd little shout, she took a flying leap, slowed her fall with the wings at her hips, and landed on a body pillow. The movement was reminiscent of a rugby tackle.
Still embracing the pillow, she rolled across the floor with her momentum. There were all kinds of Ainzes strewn around, so it didn’t hurt at all.
From underneath three Ainz pillows, she giggled in that strange manner. “Tee-hee-hee-hee-hee. My newest body pillow, made with Lord Ainz’s sheets… In other words, I’m indirectly sleeping with him. Tee-hee-hee-hee-hee…”
Burying her face in the pillow, she sniffed.
“It doesn’t smell like…anything.” She sounded extremely disappointed—to the point of inspiring pity, had anyone heard her.
Ainz was an undead who didn’t require sleep, so he didn’t use his bedroom to begin with. Plus, since his body was all bones, he didn’t have any particular body odor. He did bathe to rinse off dust and the blood of his opponents, but his own body didn’t secrete anything that would smell.
“Hm…? Is this…? Could it be?! Lord Ainz’s…”
But this virgin in love could detect Ainz’s nonexistent scent—although it might have been an olfactory hallucination.
“Hee! Tee-hee-hee-hee-hee-hee-heeeeeeee!”
Resembling a pervert more than a captain of the guardians, she inhaled deeply with her face still buried in the pillow.
“Ahh, I’m so happy.”
As captain, Albedo bore the brunt of an extensive workload. Her job included many painstaking responsibilities, such as various tasks related to positioning Nazarick’s soldiers and building the area’s security network, confirming Nazarick’s internal security, checking the statuses of everyone serving in the Throne Room, and so on.
For that reason, it was very important to her to use this space to rest and recover.
“Ohhh, I wanna see Lord Ainz. I wanna see Lord Ainz. Ahhh, I wanna see him.” She was irritated with Narberal, who was traveling with him, but tightly hugging the pillow helped her decompress. Just then—
“Albedo.”
She jumped.
Cold sweat broke out on her forehead as she glanced around the room, face twitching. Then she realized she’d heard the voice via a spell.
“I-if it isn’t Lord Ainz! Whatever could it be?”
“I just got a Message from Sebas—no, Solution—saying that Tsuare, the woman he picked up, was kidnapped, so I’m asking you to put together a unit to support him.”
When he said “Tsuare,” she remembered who it was right away.
Immediately after Ainz returned, he’d left for E-Rantel to be Momon, but she’d heard the rest from Demiurge, who’d stayed.
“Please forgive me the foolishness of objecting to your decision, but is a lower life-form like a human really worth the trouble of forming a special unit to save? I understand if the people responsible for the Shalltear incident are behind it, but…”
“No, I don’t think it has anything to do with Shalltear. This time it seems to be a crime syndicate lurking in the kingdom’s underground.”
“Then that seems even more…”
“Albedo. I promised to protect Tsuareninya on my honor as Ainz Ooal Gown. Do you understand?”
The tone of their conversation changed completely.
His searing anger reached her loud and clear. Albedo’s voice stuck in her throat; she couldn’t speak.
“You get it, right? You understand?! I swore on my name to protect her! And then somebody kidnaps her. My friends and I came up with that name, and now someone is slighting it. Even if they didn’t mean to, I can’t let that stand!”
After his declaration, his hatred seemed to abruptly subside.
He’d probably quelled his emotions after they passed a certain point.
“…Sorry. Got a little upset with those asshole kidnappers. Forgive me, Albedo.”
Now that her master’s voice was more composed, Albedo finally calmed down enough to be able to speak. The wrath of a Supreme Being stressed her out even when she knew it wasn’t directed at her. “Th-there’s nothing you need to apologize for, Lord Ainz.”
Despite his physical absence, Albedo bowed low.
“So, Albedo, this is an order. Rescue Tsuareninya and keep her safe and sound!”
“Understood! And when we rescue her, we’ll bring an iron hammer down on the human scum who displeased you!”
“Yeah, I’m counting on you. By the way, is Demiurge still there dealing with the wheat? Put him in charge of the operation.”
“I’d like to go directl—”
“No, Albedo, I need you to guard Nazarick. Send Demiurge. And tell him to be careful not to let his true identity be exposed. Okay, so I’m leaving the royal capital stuff up to you and Demiurge. Do it right.”
“Yes, my lord!”
The Message ended, and silence returned. Albedo stood slowly and carefully tidied up the body pillows.
“I don’t get it…” There was a strangely hard glint in her eyes as she murmured those words. She was facing one corner of the room.
One of the reasons she didn’t let any maids in her space was because she didn’t want anyone else touching her legion of Ainz dolls. But there was another reason in that corner—the flag with the crest of Ainz Ooal Gown embroidered on it.
Usually it would be hung so it was visible immediately upon entering the room, but instead it was gathering dust in the corner. It received no respect or esteem there, just contempt, anger, and hostility.
“Ainz Ooal Gown…? How stupid.”
Albedo thought of the giant flag she’d hung instead of the Ainz Ooal Gown flag. It was too big, really—like a great theater curtain.
“The Great Tomb of Nazarick belongs to you and you alone. I devote myself to you and only you, my lord. Ahh, I hope to hear your lovely name once more someday …”
Chapter 7 | Attack Preparations
1
3 Late Fire Moon (September) 6:27 PM
Climb had called guards who relieved Brain, and he headed home, finally reaching Gazef’s house in the evening. Once free from the stresses of combat, Brain realized his stomach was aching with hunger.
I’m gonna feel bad if Stronoff was also hungry and waited for me all this time…
He pushed open the door to the house. His attitude was completely uninhibited, as if he owned the place, but of course, he had permission from Gazef.
Someone must have heard him come in—as he walked down the hall to the room he’d been given, footsteps were approaching.
His guess that it was Gazef proved correct when the source of the sound came down the stairs.
“You were out a while, Unglaus. Where’d you go?” There was no censure in Gazef’s questioning voice. On the contrary, he regarded Brain with bright curiosity in his eyes as the latter tried to think how he could ever answer that question in a concise way.
“If you’re up for it, want to tell me over dinner?”
That was just what Brain wanted to hear. He rubbed his stomach and laughed. “That’s a great idea. Where do we eat?”
Gazef looked just a little surprised and guided him with a this way gesture to the dining room.
“You’re going to have a servant cook for us? Don’t tell me you’re going to make it?”
Gazef grinned in response to the casual question. “Definitely not. I’m a horrible cook.” Then he frowned and added, “But—maybe because she’s getting on in years?—my maid seasons things so mildly. When your job takes such a toll on your body, you want to eat something with a more robust flavor… I can’t get her to understand that.”
Brain chuckled and teased, “So the captain of the kingdom’s Royal Select has to eat bland health foods?”
Not the least bit offended, Gazef replied, “That’s right,” with his usual frown. “Maybe I should have treated you to my household’s vegetarian cuisine, but I bought us something.”
“I see. Then I’ll have to thank you for being so thoughtful.” Brain grinned, which cracked Gazef up a bit.
“Well, can you cook, Unglaus?” he countered.
But the blade only sliced through air.
“I can’t make anything fancy, but simple things, yeah. When I was traveling around and training, I would’ve been in trouble out on the road if I couldn’t cook for myself.”
Gazef gave a curt “aha!” as they entered the dining room. He picked up a basket that had been left in the corner.
It was nearly big enough to fit a baby inside, and the scent rising from it faintly tickled the nose and stomach.
The two men sat down facing each other.
After taking the various foodstuffs out of the basket and making a spread, they filled their glasses to the brim with red wine and clinked them. They didn’t make a toast to anything in particular, and instead took a silent gulp.
The refreshing flavor of the young wine blossomed in their mouths.
After a couple of swallows, they set down their glasses with satisfied sighs and chatted quietly.
“…I haven’t had a drink in a long time,” Brain commented.
“Me neither. And actually, I haven’t even been home for a meal recently.”
“…Must be hard to work at the royal palace.”
“Well, I do have a lot of duties as captain of the Royal Select.”
“Do you guard the royal family?”
“Yeah, that’s my main job.”
Hearing about Gazef’s life, Brain could tell what an upstanding guy he was. It would have been okay for him to bend or break now and then, but he hewed to the straight and narrow.
The nobles must hate this kind of peasant.
It seemed to Brain that his hunch was right—nobles featured surprisingly little in Gazef’s stories. Despite his fairly high position as captain of the Royal Select, most of his stories were about life as a soldier or serving the royal family. There was absolutely no mention of the luxurious world of ballroom dances and so on.
In the neighboring empire, it was becoming less and less the case, but in the kingdom, the wall dividing nobles and commoners was still high and thick.
Brain suddenly found his situation hilarious.
He’d been honing his fencing skills in order to beat Gazef under the assumption that they’d fight to the death the next time they met. Instead they were drinking like old friends.
Perhaps Gazef realized what Brain had been thinking, because he smiled.
At the same time, Brain took up his glass and tapped it against Gazef’s. Perhaps he was drunk? He bumped a bit too hard, and the wine sloshed onto the table.
“Hey, hey, don’t get it on the food.”
“If we pour wine on it, it’ll be wine flavored. Could be good!”
“I don’t have a terribly sensitive palate, so I don’t mind, but…are you the same way, Unglaus?”
“Brain, call me Brain.”
“Oh, then I’m Gazef.”
“Got it, Gazef.”
They laughed and clinked glasses again.
Gazef’s stories covered a wide variety of topics, all from a world Brain knew nothing about, and their conversation was rolling along when the captain nonchalantly asked, “So, Brain. How did a man of your caliber end up like that?” He was cautious, like he would be when touching a blister. His studying gaze wasn’t to sniff out the truth but to express his concern, most likely.
“Ahh, thanks.” The sudden gratitude made Gazef blink in confusion, and his reaction was so funny that Brain’s cheeks relaxed into a smile. Then he straightened up and replied, “I encountered a monster…”
“A monster? You mean like an ogre or something?”
“I think it might have been a vampire… Her name was Shalltear Bloodfallen. The move I devised—to defeat you—she repelled it with her little finger.” Brain noticed Gazef’s eyes widen slightly.
“I see…,” Gazef replied, a
nd a manly grin spread across his face. Brain understood what was behind that expression very well—the emotions of a warrior who wanted to shatter a powerful enemy.
They were the things Brain had felt about Gazef. He had probably wanted to fight Brain, too—to relive that hair-raising battle once more…
But the brutishness of a die-hard fighter immediately vanished from his expression. What remained was the smile of the captain of the Royal Select.
When Brain described the vampire’s appearance, Gazef said, “Hrm, never heard of her,” and took a draught of wine. Brain also took a sip to wet his lips and told him about the fight—well, the massacre.
But he didn’t mention that he’d been employed by a mercenary band. He had the feeling Gazef would be understanding and say, Well, that’s one way to live, but he just couldn’t bring himself to tell this upstanding man the cruel things he had once done in the name of improving his fencing.
Gazef listened in silence without a trace of doubt in his eyes.
“Do you believe me?”
“…Well, the world’s a big place. I wouldn’t be surprised if such a monster exists somewhere out there. Historically, there were evil spirits and dragonlords, after all. But a monster like that…I doubt I’d be able to beat her, either.”
“Yeah. I don’t know how strong you are now, so I won’t make any half-ass comments, but I’ll still go ahead and say that you wouldn’t be able to win. That fiend lives in a world we can’t even set foot in. Even if we went at her together, the fight would probably last only about a second or two.”
Gazef jokingly grumbled, “Naw, c’mon,” but Brain made an earnest appeal.
“Gazef, as the captain of the Royal Select, you need to protect the royal family. Even if you see that thing, don’t you dare think about fighting it! Your life is too valuable to be squandered.”
“I’m grateful for the warning, but if that Shalltear monster aims for the king, I’ll buy time for him if it’s the last thing I do.”
Buying time isn’t possible, even for Gazef. Not if that monster isn’t playing around. But for some reason, Brain still had the feeling that Gazef would do it, that he really would delay the vampire, even if only a tiny bit.
The Men of the Kingdom Part II Page 4