So it’s not just Roune, he wants to get everyone here as well?!
Worse, he might be planning an even more wicked scheme. No matter what, it was hard to believe this was an innocent act of charity with no ulterior motives. He cursed the twisted face of Demiurge as he replied “Understood” from the bottom of his heart.
“No, no, no, we could not possibly trouble you. After all, we must return to make preparations.”
“Is that so? That is a shame. Then, if it is convenient― no, please allow one of my servants to send you home.”
Jircniv imagined himself riding a dragon, and curiosity welled up at Ainz’ suggestion. Still, Jircniv shouldered that prospect aside. There was no way Ainz would simply transport him home, and he did not wish to owe Ainz a favor.
“I am deeply appreciative of Gown-dono’s most generous offer and I thank you for it. However, I feel that since I came on a carriage, I should return the same way.”
“An undead headless horse could run day and night without sleep―”
“―Please forgive me, but I must respectfully decline.”
“Must you? I see.”
He could sense that there was some disappointment in those words. Was it an act, or was it the truth? Jircniv could not tell, although he suspected it might be an act.
In any case, as long as they did not fully understand their current circumstances, he wanted to avoid announcing the news of the Empire’s alliance with the undead Ainz.
To begin with, if he rode an undead horse that hated the living back to the Empire, leaving aside the priests that he brought with him, what would the priests of the capital’s temples have to say about that?
“Then, permit me to return to my domain.”
“Very well. Demiurge… escort our guests outside.”
“No, no, there is no need to trouble… well, since this is a rare opportunity, how about the maids? I have never seen such beautiful women before.”
Ainz cricked his neck in surprise.
―It was an incredibly fake movement.
Jircniv fought to keep his anger under control as he smiled to Ainz.
He knows we’re on guard against Demiurge but he’s still provoking us like this!
There was no intention of forming an alliance here. It was a roundabout way of telling Jircniv exactly who was in charge here.
I’ve never seen such evil before… he’s a threat to humanity’s continued survival…
“Ah, thank you for that. Then, please speak with the maids waiting outside. Ah, what a fine day for forging an alliance. How I wish I could make it a feast day!”
You mean, to celebrate the day you made slaves of us?!
As he screamed internally, Jircniv smiled to Ainz once more.
“Indeed. Yes… Indeed.”
After the talks were concluded, Ainz gathered the Guardians in his room ― Albedo, Demiurge, Aura, Mare, Cocytus, Shalltear, and Sebas.
He signaled to his kneeling subordinates to rise.
He placed both elbows on his table and meshed his hands, covering the lower half of his face.
His nonexistent belly ached. Now was the time for the review. As he held that feeling in his heart, he peeked at Demiurge and Albedo.
They did not seem angry. Nor did they seem speechless.
However, who could tell if that was or was not a poker face? After thinking of that, he looked closely at them again, to see if their faces were frozen in anger.
I want to get out of here. In the first place, why did I sit here… no, it’s too late. Words said can’t be unspoken. Grow a damn spine, Ainz Ooal Gown!
With that, the phantom pain in his gut seemed to have subsided, but he still felt like throwing up.
When he learned the Emperor was approaching Nazarick as planned, Ainz could not help but indirectly ask Demiurge “Then, what will we do next”, but instead the answer he got was “Since all is going as predicted, we shall stick to the plan.”
But I don’t know what the plan is!
Of course, he did not actually say that.
As the ruler of the Great Tomb of Nazarick, Ainz had to adopt an attitude that matched the expectations of the NPCs. To him, they were like his guild members’ children, who had been placed into his care. Therefore, he put his all into making a good impression on them, even when all he had to do was resolutely nod and answer “is that so” in a kingly way.
When it came to Demiurge’s plan, however, Ainz was desperately flailing in the dark.
The actual talks with Jircniv Rune Farlord El-Nix had been played entirely off the cuff, trusting that there would be a way through no matter what. As for how confident he was of having said the right thing during the negotiations… well, simply put, he had no confidence at all.
Like a student waiting for his test scores, he peeked at the two of them.
This is like a job interview…
When he had just started working, he remembered having a similar feeling to this.
“Then, as planned, the Emperor has made his move.”
Ainz took a deep breath. Just as he was about to speak, a voice interrupted from beside him.
“Ainz-sama, I fear to ask, but I have a question. Why did you have to give the emperor of the humans a place as a collaborator? Couldn’t we have just conquered the Empire by force?”
In response to Shalltear’s question, Ainz’ non-existent heart skipped a beat.
In order to conquer the world, they would first apply pressure to the Empire. Because of that, they would allow the Empire to launch an attack on Nazarick, and use that to threaten the Empire and force the Emperor into direct talks. Then, they would demonstrate the overwhelming power of Nazarick. That was how this operation should have gone.
That was all Ainz knew. The exact importance of why they had to impress Nazarick’s power onto the Emperor was a mystery to him.
Because of that, he had no idea how to properly answer Shalltear’s question.
Aura continued after her.
“Shalltear is right. We went to their capital and it’s nothing much.”
Ainz glanced at the other Guardians. They all seemed to feel the same way.
Even if they had no intention of going against the decision made by Ainz, their master, even if they thought it was the right way, the doubts would still keep welling up.
In addition, they wanted to know why Ainz made the decisions that he did, to understand his true intentions, so they could serve him more effectively.
If they did not know his motives, then the chances of them accidentally working against his aims would be higher. In particular, two of the Guardians felt uneasy about this lack of knowledge, namely Shalltear and Sebas, who had already committed mistakes in the past. Both of them watched Ainz with eager faces, ears pricked up so they would not miss a single word of Ainz’ answer.