Chapter 23

『Ludmila?』

『Yes, my lady?』

『We’re all done here. How are things out there?』

『No threats have appeared, but I wouldn’t say things have been uneventful. I came across a gentleman – or rather, he came across me – and now he’s awaiting an audience with His Majesty.』

There was a pause in the Message spell. Ludmila could almost imagine Lady Shalltear’s befuddled look.

『…a gentleman? Out there?』

『Yes, my lady. An Elder Lich. Iškur, Captain of the Ruin’s Wake. I believe it was the ship His Majesty was asking about.』

A longer pause. Half a minute later, the portal of a Gate spell opened over the bow of her vessel. From the stool where he was seated, Captain Iškur leaned forward to peer at it.

『Lord Ainz wishes to question you personally about this Elder Lich before we return.』

『Of course, my lady. Allow me a moment to speak to him before I enter the portal.』

The Message spell ended, and Ludmila turned to address Captain Iškur.

“His Majesty has requested that I personally brief him about the past few hours, Captain Iškur,” she told him. “I will return once I’ve done so.”

“Alright,” the Elder Lich nodded. “Erm…before you go, might I ask what this portal is?”

“It’s the portal of a Gate spell,” Ludmila replied as she walked over to the bow. “Simply put, it’s a sort of teleportation spell. Of the Tenth Tier.”

“Tenth–!”

Captain Iškur’s voice cut off as she entered the portal and the Gate closed behind her. Ludmila found herself in a luxurious bedroom suite roughly the size of the bedroom of Clara’s solar in Corelyn Castle. Though all the furnishings that one might have expected of such a room were present, there was the distinct sense that it wasn’t lived in. Boxes and bags were organised around the floor – were they using this extravagant space to house supplies for their excursion?

“Welcome to Nazarick, Lady Zahradnik.”

She turned at the Sorcerer King’s voice.

“That being said,” he went on, “we’ll only be here for a few minutes. I’m sure Shalltear can have you over some other time for a proper tour.”

Nearby, Lady Shalltear looked up at him, surprise painted all over her face.

“Is…is that really alright, Lord Ainz?”

“Umu,” His Majesty nodded. “As with any of our past and current guests, the same basic rules apply. You don’t believe she’d bring any harm, do you?”

Lady Shalltear glanced towards Ludmila briefly, then she lowered her head.

“O-of course not! I will have her over at a later date, by your command!”

“…that’s not exactly what I was getting at,” His Majesty seemed to frown at Lady Shalltear’s response. “Well, I suppose it’s as good a start as any. Now, I hear that there is someone awaiting an audience with me. Captain…”

“He goes by ‘Iškur’, Your Majesty. A native of Lagaš: the city that we were making our way towards.”

“Hoh…and just like that, we have a name.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

The Sorcerer King stroked his chin, jaw moving as if silently repeating the name to himself. Had he made a connection from the vast pool of knowledge he possessed? Ultimately, he did not make his thoughts known – instead addressing Ludmila again.

“What else have you learned?”

“There were a few things of note during our conversation on matters beyond my knowledge or awareness,” she replied. “I believe they would be better left for those with true expertise to pursue. I was mostly getting to know him as a person. He’s surprisingly normal.”

“Normal?”

“At least by Human standards, Your Majesty. He is courteous, seems open-minded and appears to be well-meaning. A part of me suspects that this is because he was speaking to another Undead being, but he and his partner are looking to improve their lot in life and have embarked on various trade ventures. Unfortunately for them, none of their efforts have met with any success thus far.”

“Who is this partner of his?”

“Ruin’s Wake, Your Majesty – the Ghost Ship.”

“I see…what did they say about the Sorcerous Kingdom annexing the area?”

“I felt that it would be better for Your Majesty to make the offer, as both the leader of our excursion and the head of state.”

His Majesty nodded silently. The crimson points of his eyes winked out as they seemed to whenever weighty matters required thought. Ludmila took the time to scan the room. A blonde maid with eyeglasses stood by inside the closed door: one she had seen in E-Rantel’s central district on several occasions.

“Did you get a sense of their strength?”

The Sorcerer King’s eyes flared back to life, and Ludmila turned her attention back to him as she replied.

“Captain Iškur is about the strength of Nonna – the Elder Lich adjutant assigned to me by the central administration. Ruin’s Wake is about as strong as a Death-series servitor. Since she is a Ghost Ship, it is difficult for me to make an accurate assessment of her combat capabilities.”

“…Nonna?”

“My apologies, Your Majesty. It’s the name I came up with for her. She’s a…”

“A White Counterfeiter,” Lady Shalltear filled in.

“Thank you, my lady,” Ludmila nodded. “In addition, they have an Undead crew that seems to have been collected from the area using the captain’s Undead Domination Skill. Skeleton Warriors, at best.”

“Hmm…I believe that covers everything that I wanted to ask. Was there anything else you’d like to add, Lady Zahradnik?”

Ludmila hesitated to provide a response, unsure as to how she might properly convey her thoughts. In the end, however, she decided it was best to say things plainly.

“…they’re poor, Your Majesty.”

“Poor?”

“As in impoverished. It’s not difficult to understand why. They were born in a stripped and burned-out ruin. Since I was once destitute myself, I can’t help but feel for him. Upon our meeting, Captain Iškur was wearing a tattered brown robe and nothing else. Despite being an Elder Lich, it makes him look like he might be picked on by the surrounding Humans instead. For the time being, I had the Vampire Brides arrange suitable garb for a royal audience.”

His Majesty remained silent after she spoke. Ludmila wondered what he might be thinking about. Perhaps he was just as taken aback at the notion that an Elder Lich could be down on his luck.

“Why doesn’t he raid the surrounding area?” The Sorcerer King held out a hand as he asked, “An Elder Lich and a Ghost Ship crewed by Skeleton Warriors shouldn’t have any issues with most of the surrounding territories.”

“It goes back to what I mentioned about his trade ventures. The Katze Plains is nothing but dust and rubble, so he’s been trying to establish connections with the living to secure a reliable flow of resources. From what he mentioned of his younger days, some of those attempts went quite badly for him.”

The Sorcerer King raised a hand to tap his jaw thoughtfully.

“So since he’s been trying to build up his reputation as a merchant, he’s refrained from hostile acts against neighbouring territories.”

“That appears to be how it is,” Ludmila nodded. “He’s clearly made efforts to become more personable than the average Elder Lich. Since their objectives do not appear to be at odds with our national policies, I thought that we might be able to arrive at an amicable arrangement. Would this be possible, Your Majesty?”

“Assuming that all he has shared with you is true, I don’t see any immediate problems with it. I do have some doubts, however: the living tend to be anathema to naturally-spawned Undead, as you should know.”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Ludmila lowered her head. “Thank you for taking my words into consideration.”

“Arbitrarily dismissing counsel from loyal subordinates is the hallmark of a foolish leader,” the Sorcerer King told her. “You have been entrusted with a position of authority – do not make it any less than what it is.”

With that, they made preparations for the impromptu audience. Ludmila went over Lady Shalltear’s lines with her in a corner of the room while His Majesty appeared to be conversing with someone using Message. Once all was readied, Ludmila returned to the ship ahead of them. Captain Iškur looked up at the sound of her feet alighting on the deck.

“Is…is everything alright?”

The Elder Lich’s voice was shakier than it was before. It was such that Ludmila thought that his bones might fly apart.

“Are you alright, Captain Iškur?” She asked worriedly, “You sound like you’re about to crumble away.”

“Y-you’re kidding, right?” The Elder Lich wrung his hands nervously, “You just casually mentioned magic of the T-Tenth Tier before vanishing into that portal. If I knew that the Sorcerer King was–”

“Ah, that wasn’t the Sorcerer King’s portal,” Ludmila told him. “It was Lady Shalltear who cast it. His Majesty is capable of even more powerful magics.”

The three-metre tall Beastman frame of the Elder Lich wilted.

“…can I go home now?”

Ludmila reached up and patted him on the shoulder, offering him a reassuring smile.

“His Majesty will be here right away,” she said, “just follow my lead and you’ll be fine.”

Lady Shalltear emerged from the Gate, her heels tapping against the deck as she stepped to one side. Ludmila went to a knee and lowered her head. Captain Iškur hastily followed suit. Along either side of the hold, the Vampire Brides knelt as well. The Death Knights, Death Priests, Death Warrior and the rest of the Undead crew snapped to attention behind them.

Her liege’s silvery voice chimed clearly over the assembly.

“Announcing the arrival of His Majesty the Sorcerer King, Ainz Ooal Gown!”

The hem of the Sorcerer King’s luxurious black robes crossed her vision. It was followed by Lady Shalltear’s blood-red sollerets as they made their way from the bow of the vessel to the canopied throne. A minute passed before Lady Shalltear’s voice sounded through the air again.

“His Majesty permits you to raise your heads.”

Ludmila waited for several heartbeats before rising to her feet. Captain Iškur, however, only made it halfway. With a single glance at the Sorcerer King, he fell on his hands and knees, crawling to the space in the hold below the throne. As he scrambled forward, the box that was his gift bounced over the carpet to rest at His Majesty’s feet. The Elder Lich’s skull made a hollow ‘thok’ sound as his forehead hit the wooden deck.

“Oh, Supreme Ruler of Death!” He cried out, “Your humble servant beseeches you to grant us your mercy and protection! We are as dust beneath your feet, but we shall serve you in any way that you desire!”

Deafening silence followed his outburst. Lady Shalltear narrowed her eyes, stepping forward from her place beside the throne. Ludmila suppressed a sigh. The air seemed to freeze over at her liege’s quiet, yet deadly tone.

“Base cur!” Her enraged hiss washed over them, “You dare cast your wretched offer at His Majesty’s feet uninvited!”

Lady Shalltear raised her left hand, pointing a gauntleted finger at the grovelling Elder Lich.

“This is the only mercy you deserve!「Implosi–”

“Shalltear.”

The Sorcerer King raised a hand. Lady Shalltear interrupted her spell and returned to her place beside him.

“Baroness Zahradnik has spoken well of you, Captain Iškur,” His Majesty said. “So I shall forgive you for this indiscretion.”

Another ‘thok’ drifted up from the quivering ball of an Elder Lich as he smacked his forehead on the deck again. He struck his head so hard against the wooden boards that his health visibly dropped in Ludmila’s Life Essence. She hoped that he wouldn’t leave a hole in her ship by the end of the audience.

“Now,” the Sorcerer King said, “I’ve been informed of your circumstances, so what I tell you should be to your benefit. The Sorcerous Kingdom will be extending its dominion over the Katze Plains. As residents of this territory, you will naturally become my subjects.”

“You have our eternal thanks, Your Dark Majesty!” Captain Iškur banged his head on the deck again, “If your humble servant might ask, what is to become of our home?”

Beyond Clara’s plan to use the Katze River as a major artery for trade, Ludmila was uncertain what else might be in store for the region. Restoring the land to an arable state would generate great benefits for the Sorcerous Kingdom’s living population, but she wasn’t sure if it was possible. As far as she knew, all attempts at reclamation had failed. It could also be left as it was, turning it into a place for intelligent Undead subjects like Captain Iškur and Ruin’s Wake.

Both represented promising avenues for development. The latter would depend on how many natural Undead flocked to the banner of the Sorcerous Kingdom, but the potential represented by their unending lifespans was not to be understated.

The Sorcerer King made a graceful gesture with his left hand, and Lady Shalltear leaned forward to pick up Iškur’s gift from the dark carpet. She presented it to His Majesty, who examined the item as he spoke.

“The final decision for the territory will be pending a thorough analysis of the various options available to us,” the Sorcerer King told him. “As for the residents…I hear that you and your partner have been attempting to establish trade with the neighbouring populations. I believe that you will begin to experience success from this point onwards.”

“T-truly, Your Dark Majesty?”

“Umu,” the Sorcerer King nodded. “It has been less than a year since the official founding of my nation, so the various peoples and cultures under my rule still have much to grow accustomed to. However, you will not be driven away as you have in the past. The rest is, as they say, your business.”

Captain Iškur visibly trembled, as if divided between looking up at His Majesty and lowering himself further into the deck somehow.

“I…I am at a loss as to what to say. What must I do in exchange for this great boon?”

“All races are welcome in the Sorcerous Kingdom,” the Sorcerer King told him. “There are, of course, laws that must be observed. You must cooperate with the local authorities in order to minimise potential disturbances caused by your passage. Also, hmm…I suppose you do not need roads so tolls are similarly not applicable, but you are still subject to trade taxes and harbour fees. You will be received as any other trader in my nation and expectations for their conduct similarly apply to you.”

“My experience with the living has been notably absent of any success,” Captain Iškur said, “so I fear that I may run afoul of local laws and customs. Are there other Undead traders in your realm that I might consult with?”

His Majesty seemed to find the Elder Lich’s query amusing, and he rested his bony cheek against the knuckles of his left hand.

“Though Undead are employed by local merchant companies, you will be the first Undead trader. Hopefully, you will not be the last. In addition, Merchants tend to exact a price for everything – even advice and consultation. As you are, you would not be able to afford it, but I believe there is someone who may be willing to assist you.”

“Who might this kind individual be, Your Dark Majesty?”

“Countess Clara Corelyn,” the Sorcerer King replied. “She administers the riverland territories that border the Katze Plains. Utilising the Katze River system as a conduit for trade is her initiative, so you should be able to exchange your knowledge and expertise of the region for her help.”

Captain Iškur’s head thoked on the deck again.

“I will gladly do this! We are most thankful for Your Dark Majesty’s guidance!”

“Good,” the Sorcerer King gave a regal nod of his head. “Now that everything is settled, we should continue with our excursion. Captain Iškur: would you like to give us a tour of Lagaš?”

“O-of course,” The Elder Lich replied. “It would be our greatest honour to do so!”