Neia could sense everyone’s eyes looking behind her back.
“No, that’s not it. He’s not there.”
Saying so, Neia strode over to the window and opened it.
As expected of a high class establishment, the windows slid smoothly open, without any trace of jamming.
“What the hell?”
From a third party’s perspective, this was a sudden, rash outburst. It was only natural that a paladin would bellow at her. It was even less tolerable for a paladin who had once been placed in charge of the Holy Queen’s security.
However, Neia ignored them as she leaned her upper body out of the window and waved to the Sorcerer King, who ought to be outside.
After that, Neia was dragged back in by her collar.
“What are you doing, Squire Baraja? Don’t just open the windows like that, and more importantly, there’s no sign of the Sorcerer King.”
Looking back, she saw a red-faced paladin. His anger was understandable. However—
“That will do, I think. She broke your rules at my behest. If blame must be assigned, then let it fall upon me.”
A quiet voice echoed through the room.
The Sorcerer King slowly revealed himself from where he stood upon the window frame.
Neia saw a paladin reaching for the longsword at his waist, and frantically made to stop him.
“Mm… I apologize for alarming you. I chose to come by myself because I wished to speak with you in private. While it might be somewhat rude to enter via a window, it cannot be helped for the sake of going incognito. I hope you can understand that… And I must apologize to her as well.”
After descending from the windowsill, the Sorcerer King surveyed the interior of the room with the regal poise of a king.
“....I am the Sorcerer King Ainz Ooal Gown.”
Upon the mention of his name, Neia fell to one knee before anybody else. A moment later, she heard the paladins behind her simultaneously genuflecting.
“Very well… You may rise, Since there is no time, is it convenient to have a word with you, Captain Custodio?”
“We have no objections, Your Majesty. Then, please come this way.”
As Neia rose, she let her breath out — just in time to meet the eyes of the Sorcerer King, who had turned around. Of course, there were no eyeballs in the Sorcerer King’s eye sockets, so saying she gazed into his eyes was purely Neia’s imagination.
“Will that squire not be taking part?”
“She is but a squire, Your Majesty.”
“Was she not present at the audience chamber just now?”
The Sorcerer King’s natural tone made him sound like he genuinely did not know. However, his words contained a powerful sense of sarcasm.
“Squire Baraja, come join us.”
“Yes!”
Although Neia was not very keen on taking part, for some reason she dearly wanted to know why the Sorcerer King had chosen to pay them a visit.
Remedios and Gustavo faced the Sorcerer King over a table, while Neia and the others stood by the walls. This was the same way in which they had received Blue Rose.
“Now then, Your Majesty, please permit me to ask a direct question. May I inquire as to why you have graced our humble lodgings?”
Remedios nodded after Gustavo spoke.
“But of course. Like I said earlier, I dislike beating around the bush. After all, doing so makes it easy for one’s words to be misinterpreted or have their meanings twisted.”
There was a sense of reality to the Sorcerer King’s words which could not quite be articulated.
“While I have decided to send Momon over in two years, if you will accede to a request of mine, it would not be impossible for me to dispatch someone on par with Momon from the Sorcerous Kingdom.”
“On par with Momon?” Remedios could not help but exclaim.
“...May I know the nature of the request which Your Majesty wishes to make? Depending on the nature of the request, I pray you will forgive us if we cannot immediately give Your Majesty an answer.”
The Sorcerer King chuckled in response to Gustavo’s words, and then he spoke.
“But of course. Given your present state, I can roughly imagine… now, calling you a resistance movement would be a pretty spin on things, but the fact is that you are most likely a band of guerillas hiding in caves, am I wrong?”
Everyone present held their breath.
Neia was no exception.
Why could the Sorcerer King speak about the true nature of their circumstances? How had he divined this? Pinpointing the cave issue was particularly impressive.
The Captain and Gustavo’s faces were stony masks, only their eyes turning to look at Neia. They must have thought she had leaked the truth to the Sorcerer King. Therefore, Neia shook her head, to indicate It wasn’t me.
The Sorcerer King ignored Neia and the others’ shock, and continued speaking.
“The strength of the south is untouched, but yet you did not seek to cooperate with them and conduct joint operations. That is because a rift exists between yourselves and the southern nobles. That being the case, once you — who failed to protect the Holy Queen — fall under the command of the new Holy King, it will probably be very difficult for you to hold on to your previous positions. Therefore, you cannot offer me land, titles, trade concessions, and other such privileges. If you actually kept your words on this matter, the possibility of war with my Sorcerous Kingdom exists, depending on what the next Holy King decides.”
The Sorcerer King clearly highlighted the key points of the war with the demihumans, as well as the decisions they had made about their future.
“Similarly, you cannot use your nation’s treasures as bargaining capital. For instance, the holy sword which you bear, Captain Remedios. If you actually did try to trade them, the most you could do was treat the country’s treasures as having been plundered by Jaldabaoth and then turn them over to me. However, doing so is very dangerous. Should someone inform the next Holy King that said wealth was actually obtained from you, trust in you paladins will most likely sink like a stone. Worthless, in other words. Therefore, all you ladies and gentlemen can do is what you did at the audience chamber, informing me of your plight — mm, I imagine that I have hit the nail on its head, given the expressions on your faces.”
After saying all this, the Sorcerer King leaned back against the back of the chair.
Silence filled the room.
Perfect. He was just too perfect.
Neia felt nothing but respect for at the Sorcerer King’s reading of the situation.
Was this the man they called the Sorcerer King? Neia thought.
Neia had once met the Holy Queen close up, but the Holy Queen had simply greeted her, and Neia had not had the chance to truly interact with a true monarch. To Neia, now was her first time meeting an absolute ruler — one possessed of a dignity and insight that surpassed all others, in addition to incredible might — or in other words, a perfect being. This powerful impact left an indelible impression on Neia’s heart.
“That said, anybody could have imagined that. In truth, I am somewhat ashamed of coming in here and smugly spouting all that… I trust you all did not think I had not even considered that much?”
“O-Of course, Your Majesty!” Gustavo replied with a stiff smile on his face.
“Wonderful. If I had been regarded as an idiot who could not even think of that much, I would not be able to face my subordinates who labor for my sake… now then, based on all that, let me be clear about what I want — which would be maids. I want maids.”