“I understand.”
Albedo glanced to the side, and the undead creature that appeared took their swords for safekeeping.
Perhaps some of the paladins were unhappy about giving their swords to the undead, but since their Captain had ordered it, there was no way they could refuse.
Neia looked at Albedo as she handed over her weapon.
There was no telling what she was thinking as she continued smiling that beautiful smile of hers. Rather, one could say that she had looked upon them with pure goodwill, as though she were lavishing heartfelt kindness on Neia and the others. However, was Neia’s assessment correct? For instance, if that were not the case—
—She permitted armed people to stand before her master. Was it due to the Sorcerer King’s orders? Or… was it because she knew there was no way we could harm him?
The Sorcerer King was a powerful magic caster. Was this due to his arrogance that no amount of paladins from the Holy Kingdom could defeat him?
Or perhaps he has undead guards stationed nearby. Albedo-sama doesn’t look like she has any fighting ability...
The Prime Minister whose beauty was as far removed from violence as possible smiled gently.
“Now then, everyone. The Sorcerer King awaits. Please go forth and meet him.”
The throne room was also not as lavish as she had imagined. It would seem it had also been pressed into service directly after being taken.
However, the throne itself glittered brightly; one could say it shone with a golden radiance. Surely it was not forged of solid gold; it must have been gilded with gold foil. But even so, one could see how much effort and expense it must have taken to do so, given the size of the throne.
In addition, the flag behind the throne was just as impressive. There was no telling what had been used to weave it, but there was a depth to its hue that its simple black color could not properly express. A slight alteration to the light levels might make one think that it was a deep purple.
“Please enter, Your Majesty.”
“Everyone, bow,” Remedios commanded.
Paladins are bowing to the undead, while Neia was surprised by how Remedios could make a decision like that, she offered no resistance as she fell to one knee and lowered her head. She had learned this ceremonial practice because she was a squire. That said, her experience with meeting kings was limited to when she had glimpsed the Holy King once, as a squire. She lowered her head as she moved her eyes, frantically stealing glances at the paladins around her.
It seems… everything’s fine.
Of course, that was a decision made based on looking at their backs. Perhaps if she looked at them head-on, they might differ slightly from herself.
It’ll be fine! I wasn’t scolded by anyone even in front of the Holy King-sama. Dad said I did well too, and he even praised me.
“Announcing the arrival of His Majesty, Ainz Ooal Gown.”
As Albedo spoke from where she stood ahead of and to the side of their group, Neia heard a very faint sound that only she could pick up, like that of tearing paper, followed by the sound of footsteps and a gatsun sound of something hard striking the ground. Soon, she sensed someone sitting upon the throne.
“His Majesty grants you leave to raise your heads.”
It was very difficult to breathe during this time. Looking up too early or too late would be a breach of etiquette. After a delay of a few seconds, she silently raised her head.
And then, the being in front of Neia captured her attention.
He, he’s the Sorcerer King, Ainz Ooal Gown...
His face was that of a bare skull. Points of red light blazed within his eye-sockets. Truly, his appearance fitted one of the undead. However, Neia knew he was something else entirely.
The first thing which surprised her was his clothes.
He was dressed more richly than a noble would be at the feast to celebrate the inheritance of his title.
The length of his vestments and the spread of their hem seemed very comfortable, and his sleeves were surprisingly loose. The hem and sleeves were made of spotless white fabric and they were lightly decorated with gold and purple. It was bound up at the waist with a sash, but it did not seem strange at all. Bizarre as it might be, it exuded an exotic flavor, and “beautiful” was the only word she could use to describe it.
After that, he wore gloves that were colored the same as his garments, fitted with metal plates that sparkled in all the colors of the rainbow. One of his hands held a mystic staff which looked like seven serpents coiling around each other. That must have been the source of the hard sound from earlier.
However, it was the halo of obsidian radiance from behind him that was truly surprising.
...Is he really one of the undead? No way...
In Neia’s mind, the undead were creatures like Zombies, Skeletons, Ghasts, and other such creatures.
In that case, the Sorcerer King could not possibly be described as one of the undead in Neia’s eyes. Mysteriously enough, his skeletal face did not frighten her. In fact, one could even say he had an air of purity and divinity about him.
He was a powerful being, a fearsome being, a being whose power exceeded the capacity of the human mind to grasp — in other words, he was a Supreme Being.
Neia forgot Albedo, who stood beside the throne, and looked repeatedly upon the Sorcerer King.
What brought her back to her senses was the Sorcerer King’s voice, which said “Well then.”
“You have come a long way from the Holy Kingdom, Custodio-dono, and you ladies and gentlemen of the paladin order.”
“Thank you very much, Your Majesty.”
“While we could have organized a banquet of welcome for you, I trust none of you are in the mood for such a thing. Therefore, I have taken the time out of my busy schedule to arrange an audience with you. That being the case, rather than wasting time to no use — by beating around the bush and bandying insincere flattery — let us be frank with each other. I trust there are no objections?”
“Not at all, Your Majesty.”
“Very well. Then, tell me the present state of the Holy Kingdom. Speaking without deception or omission will allow we in the Sorcerous Kingdom to better aid you.”
After Remedios indicated her understanding, she poured her heart out regarding the state of the Holy Kingdom.
Neia did not understand the reasoning that Remedios followed which led her to be so forthcoming. Although, it was very likely that Remedios felt thinking itself was troublesome.
The contents of her spiel were just like what Gustavo had told Blue Rose, and she ended by saying that the situation on the frontlines was in a tense state. She probably did not want to say something like the Holy Kingdom was on the eve of destruction to another country, much less to an undead king.
“I see, I see. Therefore, what is your aim in coming to my country?”
“We wish to submit a request to Your Majesty; they say the adventurer called Momon has sworn himself to your nation, and if we could borrow that warrior who could fight on par with Jaldabaoth, there would be nothing for our country to fear. Thus, I beg you to dispatch the warrior Momon to our country.”
The crimson glow in the Sorcerer King’s eyes suddenly vanished, and then it reignited a moment later.