“I will say this one more time. Fluder Paradyne has betrayed us. That being the case, what damage will this do to the Empire?”
His subordinates looked at each other, and after a few seconds of this, the acolyte spoke.
“It is difficult to imagine. The amount of damage cannot be estimated with a single glance. With master around, we could be confident of overcoming any other country. We have been able to remain uninvolved with the petty politics of other nations thus far because of that.”
He looked at the scribe, seeking approval. The scribe turned pale and nodded.
“If he knows he’s been found out and sequestered, he may start taking more open action.”
“Don’t we have an intelligence agency for this sort of thing? Ah, I see. Fluder’s experience was extensive, and he shared it with us.”
“It is as you say, Your Majesty. Master truly―”
“―The possibility is shockingly high.”
Jircniv’s words overwhelmed and cut off the secretary’s.
“…But if that is the case, then we will have an incredible amount of work to do. First, let us decide who Fluder’s successor will be. Are there any suitable candidates?”
The flames of desire burned bright in the acolyte’s eyes as he heard those words, and Jircniv could not help but smile internally.
The position of being Fluder’s successor as the Imperial Court Wizard was a mouth-watering temptation. After all, it was a position that gave one the right to administer and manage arcane magic casters throughout the Empire.
Because the position had always been filled by that great hero, nobody else could claim it. Even if one had the ambition for it, their opponent was far too strong to overcome by wicked means. And now, this hitherto sealed-off position had been offered to him.
Greed is good. Desire drives progress. I approve of that sort of desire. However, I should probably ask, just in case.
“However, one must bear in mind that as the Imperial Court Wizard, one may be called upon to do battle with that monster.”
The flames of the acolyte’s ambition went out in that instant. He could not even bring himself to be excited about it. The position he had longed for became one he wished to avoid more than anything else in the world.
He would have a better chance of surviving a jump off a five hundred meter tall cliff into a shoal of rocks than he would in spell battle against Ainz Ooal Gown.
No, he might be better off dying right here.
As the acolyte thought about that prospect, a new look came into his eyes. It was the look of a frightened mouse which had been cornered by a predator.
The hopes in Jircniv’s heart died. He could tell that this man did not have the courage to take on Ainz Ooal Gown. Or rather, he should never have expected that in the first place.
“Yes! In that case, I know some people who could use 4th tier of magic; how about selecting one of them? Granted, I do know some spells of that tier, but I am not very skilled in their use.”
“Aren’t you the most skilled of the acolytes?”
“How, how could that be? There are many more excellent than I. When we return, I shall furnish their names to you immediately!”
It was only obvious that a man would want to give up everything when asked to fight a super-class monster like that. However, what he needed was a man who would not lose his fighting spirit even in that event.
…That won’t work, huh. It would be naïve to think he’s a special case. It would probably be better to consider that anyone who knows of Ainz Ooal Gown won’t have the courage to fight him. That means I’ll have to hand that task to people who haven’t met that being yet. Perhaps these ignorant folk will be driven by desire and struggle even more desperately against him.
He had been dealt a bad hand of cards. However, he had no choice but to play them.
“…I see. Then, gather information on them and then conduct interviews. After that, we’ll want to have our intelligence people ready to deal with that fellow. However, we still need to help Ainz Ooal Gown, so for the time being, we’ll have to be his obedient dogs, in order to build good relations with him.”
“Understood.”
‘His obedient dogs.’ Nobody objected to that turn of phrase. How could anyone who had seen the Great Tomb of Nazarick do so?
“Then, Your Majesty. How long will we wag for that monster? Will our children have to roll over when he commands it? Our grandchildren?”
Jircniv looked around himself, in order to make sure that no spies had made their way into the carriage and checked that the door was shut tight. With all that done, and with no further problems apparent to him, Jircniv began explaining his strategy to fight Ainz Ooal Gown.
“We ―and by ‘we’ I mean the Empire, the Kingdom, the Theocracy, the Republic, the Holy
Kingdom and other countries― will come together in an alliance. It will be a grand alliance, aimed at defeating Ainz Ooal Gown.”
Three pairs of eyes turned to Jircniv.
“What’s there to be surprised about? No single nation can defeat that monster. Then, all we can hope for is to bring all the neighboring countries into a grand alliance so we can turn the tide.”
“Are, are we really going to fight him?”
“Yes.”
Jircniv’s reply was simple and curt.
“Rather, if we do not fight, we have no chance of survival.”
“Then why are we helping that monster found a country?!”
“Because that is the first step in the formation of this grand alliance.”
Jircniv looked at everyone.
“Are you listening? Good. We are currently on the outskirts of E-Rantel, which is a strategic location at the borders of the Empire, the Kingdom, and the Theocracy. If that monster Gown wants to found a nation there, he will be making enemies of all three of those nations.”
Jircniv took a breath, and continued.
“And another thing. Gown is undead. I doubt he will treat humans ―the living― with anything approaching decency. The people will not suffer the rule of an undead king either. There will be rebellion, which will promptly be stamped out by that monster. The Kingdom will not be happy about yielding land to him either, and I doubt the Theocracy, the strongest nation in the vicinity, will do nothing.”
“But! But, Your Majesty! If the Empire helps him in his endeavours, surely we will be seen as collaborators, right? The nearby nations will be on guard against us, right? That grand alliance you speak of will not count the Empire among them! And even if they beat that monster, we’ll be next, or worse, they might target us first!”
Huhu, Jircniv smirked.
“We will work behind the scenes. We need to let the other countries know that the Empire is secretly plotting against Gown’s nation. It’ll be difficult, but it’s also the only way.”
“Will they really believe us? If it were me, I would think it was a trap.”