He saw his father ─ Olasird’arc ─ coiled on his Golden Throne. His mother Kilystran and the other two concubines ─ Munuinia and Mianatalon ─ were also present.
Three pairs of puzzled eyes trained themselves on Hejinmal. One more pair looked in a different direction ─ at the people mounted on his back. That last pair belonged to his mother, Kilystran.
Before anyone else could speak, Hejinmal shouted:
“He who sits upon my back is the Sorcerer King Ainz Ooal Gown! He is the king who shall rule this land and us Dragons!”
Strictly speaking, he was the servant of Aura the Dark Elf. However, it would be easier for them to understand this way, and in any event, he had made this declaration after seeking and receiving permission to do so.
Silence filled the room as the words faded. It took some time for the other Dragons to parse the words Hejinmal had just said.
“Have you gone mad, you little whelp?!”
In an instant, his father’s anger boiled over.
That was only natural. His father was the lord of this land. ─ No. The former lord. Thus, it was a natural reaction for him.
He rose from his coiled position and took a fighting stance that would allow him to pounce right away.
Hiiiieee!
In truth, it was very scary.
Between himself and Olasird’arc, there was no doubt that his father was stronger. It was not simply a matter of might and toughness, but there was also a vast difference in terms of battle experience. In addition, Olasird’arc’s body was also leaner and more conventional, in comparison to Hejinmal’s.
Saying that Hejinmal had no chance of victory was stating the obvious.
However, he had no choice but to make that declaration. According to Hejinmal’s books, no follower would ever make their master state their identity.
Therefore, he secretly looked at his father with an expression which said, “it wasn’t my idea”. However, it was completely ignored. The angry glare was targeted at Hejinmal alone. In the eyes of his father, who believed that Dragons were the strongest race of all, people like his Master and the Dwarves were not worth considering.
“─King of Dragons. Will you submit to me in exchange for your life?”
“The hell you say, you damn Skeleton?!”
How could he be a Skeleton! Hejinmal wailed internally.
At the same time, there was a certain indignation, at the fact that he had not picked up on the treasures his Master wore. Perhaps he was so angry that he had not even noticed.
If I hadn’t aggravated him, maybe he wouldn’t have ended up this way…?
No, that was impossible. For all he knew, it might have been even worse. As Hejinmal’s mind whirled with delusions, a look of surprise appeared on his father’s face.
“…No, wait. What are those clothes you’re wearing?”
Perhaps after calming down somewhat, his Draconic nose for treasure had kicked in.
Hejinmal felt that this was very bad, and he looked around for help. However, all the concubines had the same excited look on their faces, a bestial hunger for treasure in their eyes. Only his mother was trying to surreptitiously leave this place, but she had no intention of helping her son.
“This is the first time I have seen such treasure. If you want me to forgive your foolishness, then offer me your raiment, Skeleton.”
“Umu… dealing with fools is truly tiresome.”
A cold voice rang forth.
Why did his father’s instincts as one of the living not tell him that Death awaited him? It must have been his Draconic avarice at work here.
“You idiot! You’ve just thrown away the only chance you had to survive! No, I should kill you ─”
“[Grasp Heart].”
And with that, his father’s body slumped powerlessly to the ground.
All eyes went to the body of the strongest Dragon here.
The way he did not move at all looked like he was sleeping. Of course, that was definitely not the case.
The air in the room turned cold, and the Supreme Being spoke.
“I have no interest in last words. Then, Hejinmal, which of them is your mother? I shall show her mercy and spare her life. As for the others, well, I’m sure there will be various uses for them after we’re done picking them apart.”
“That’s me!”
“That’s me!”
“That’s me!”
Three voices rang out at once. For a moment, Hejinmal almost said “That’s me!” as well.
“…What’s this? Don’t tell me there’s the mother who bore you, the mother who raised you, and the mother who cared for you?”
Hejinmal looked at the two Dragons who were not connected to him by blood.
The two of them were gripped by fear.
Their eyes were clouded over with terror. That too was natural; after all the mightiest Dragon present had just been slain in an instant.
They did not contemplate fight or flight or whatnot. They sprang on the sole chance of survival which presented itself. Much like himself, they had made the most correct choice to live on.
Their fearful eyes looked towards Hejinmal, trying to ingratiate themselves with him. How would they react if he said, “No, I only have one mother”? His absolute master would surely slay the other two without any hesitation.
Currently, the power of life and death over the other two Dragons rested in Hejinmal’s hands. However, he could not take delight in this. All he felt was a tremendous sympathy for others in the same situation as himself. At the same time, he planned to have his “mothers” owe him favors for a long time to come.
“It is as you say, Your Majesty. I have three mothers!’
“Is that so? What a shame. However, a promise is a promise. Alright, I shall spare them… Still, is there only one Dragon corpse? Dragons are far too useful. One does not seem quite enough… What a shame.”
After peeking around, the three concubines bowed before Ainz in the pose of submission.
“Leave this place and gather all the Dragons here. Then, inform them that you are now under my rule…If anyone refuses to accept this, then I will deal with them personally. Now go.”
The concubines burst into motion and ran at top speed. It was a speed that either inspired awe in onlookers or frightened them speechless.
Hejinmal did not think for a moment that they might try to escape. In the face of this mighty magic caster, their chances of escape were slim to none. They ought to have realised that as well. No, to Hejinmal, it made no difference even if they escaped. After all, if they did so, he would know how the Sorcerer King would find and deal with them.
Tok. Someone tapped lightly on Hejinmal’s head, Turning around, he saw his Master’s eyes looking at him.
“I have another order for you. It is a very important order. Gather all the Dwarven books you have, including those you have not yet finished, as well as all the other books outside your room, and bring them to me.”
“Yes! I understand! I shall do so at once!”
After nervously setting the two of them down, Hejinmal ran with all his might.
“So, they’ve gone.”
Ainz watched as Hejinmal vanished into the distance. He had inquired about how many Dragons lived here from him. Therefore, if the numbers did not add up, it would still be of benefit to him.
There was only one Dragon corpse. After thinking about all the uses he had for it, he wanted more. However, punishing freshly subjugated people who had done nothing wrong for the purpose of generating corpses would violate his ideals of fair reward and punishment.
Kuku, Ainz chuckled.
If they ran, he would hunt them down, kill them, and take back the corpses. As he pondered how to make use of said corpses, Ainz turned his gaze to the glittering pile of gold which the Dragon before him had been lying on.