Chapter 2, part 2

The throne room of Nazarick was brightly lit by the chandeliers. The magical light illuminated the figures beneath. All the guardians were present, and on the throne in front of them sat the overlord of death – Ainz Ooal Gown. It was a regular meeting for those gathered. Taking place five days after the events in the Holy Kingdom, that country was the main focus of the discussion.

“Everything is going as Ainz-sama had planned,” proclaimed Albedo. “Princess Renner had informed us that a high ranked diplomat from the Holy Kingdom had asked her to arrange a meeting with the Sorcerer King. They should arrive in two days.”

“Jircniv will also arrive in two days,” nodded Demiurge “as expected of Ainz-sama. To predict the outcome of my actions in the Holy Kingdom so far in advance. Truly marvelous”

If it wasn't for his skinless face, the expression on Suzuki Satour's face would be a mix of confusion and a blank stare. 'Why did he and Albedo bring up Baharuth Empire?" He wondered, he felt a headache coming but chose to ignore the praise Demiurge was lavishing on him.

“Then once we accept their request for help, we will proceed with Demiurge's plan,” Ainz said.

“Another kingdom will be in our debt. Only a Supreme Being could come up with such a flawless plan,” said Shalltear, looking at Ainz with eyes full of admiration.

“Defeating Jaldabaoth will make Ainz-sama the hero for the creatures of this world,” added Aura with a smile.

“And.. having Demiurge-sama there.. will remove any.. suspicion from.. Nazairck,” Mare added in his panicky voice.

"Indeed, Demiurge had come up with an excellent plan,” Ainz thought, but before he could say it, a soft laughter came from his side.

“Kuku,” laughed Albedo “do you think that is the extent of our Lord's design?”

“Eh? What are you talking about?” Asked Shalltear.

“Do you honestly believe a plan by Ainz-sama would only accomplish two goals?” Albedo looked at Shalltear with a sense of superiority, the feeling that she understood her master better than Shalltear made her wings move with excitement.

“Ainz-sama will defeat Jaldabaoth and become the hero of the people, while the Holy Kingdom will be in our debt. Also, Pandora's Actor will be used to take suspicion away from Demiurge for being Jaldabaoth. That's all isn't it?” Asked Aura while looking at Ainz.

“Please. Explain. To. This. Unworthy. One.” Cocytus wanted to know as well.

"Don't look at me like that! Aura mentioned everything. So I don't know what other benefits Albedo assumed this plan will yield!” Suzuki wanted to cry. Unable to think of anything his only choice was to go back to his usual resolution.

“Albedo, it seems that not everyone understands me as well as you do. Please explain it to the other guardians,” Ainz told her with a hand wave that any king would be proud of.

“As you command,” Albedo bowed to Ainz. “In the course of our interactions with the inhabitants of this world, there have been several instances that could create doubt in the minds of those weak creatures Ainz-sama wants to rule over. While drowning them in blood is the natural course, our merciful ruler does not wish to do that. He aspires to rule them peacefully. To do that we must remove these possible obstacles from his path.”

“Specifically, there are three such instances,” she continued. “The first is Shalltear's failed mission. We do not know all of the details, who she came in contact with and what they had learned. From reports of the Adventurer's Guild we know that she encountered and killed a group of adventurers from E-Rantel.”

As she heard this, Shalltear shifted uneasily, while Albedo continued.

“Also Ainz-sama was able to cover for Shalltear with the vampire Honyopenyoko, which he defeated as Momon. There is a possibility that there are those she encountered, either before or during being mind controlled, who could recognize her,” Albedo concluded her first point.

“A human named Brain Unglaus is likely one such individual,” added Demiurge, “from Shalltear's report, she had run into him during my invasion of Re-Estize, and even though she did not remember him, it seemed he knew her and her strength.”

“Yes, I've asked Renner to look into it. But there might be others,” continued Albedo. “The second instance is Demiurge's invasion of Re-Estize – also he and the maids had worn masks, their clothing is the same. The maids are especially suspicious for obvious reasons. And Demiurge cannot keep using his frog form forever when interacting with humans.”

“The third instance were the corpses of the two fleas that Ainz-sama and Narberal Gamma killed in the cemetery of E-Rantel,” Albedo went on, “Narberal's target was beyond resurrection. However, the one Ainz-sama killed could be resurrected, and could reveal that Momon is Ainz.”

“ Although no one would believe that and would attribute it to her brutal death and possible post-resurrection memory loss,” added Demiurge. “Especially since everyone had seen Momon and Ainz-sama at the same time. Indeed, killing her in a way that allowed for resurrection and not taking her corpse back to Nazarick is no doubt just another cog in the plan of the Supreme Being we all serve.”

"My plan huh?" Ainz thought self deprecatingly. Clementine's body disappearance had slipped his mind with the slew of current events, however, it was still something that made him worry. “At least Demiurge thinks it's fine,” Ainz mused.

“We will devise a story to both covers up Nazarick's involvement and explain the sudden appearance of Jaldabaoth, Nazairck, Shalltear, and Honyopenyoko. It should make our enemies less weary of attacking Nazarick,” concluded Demiurge.

"Oh, a cover-up plan? Excellent," Ainz mused. The fact that both he and Jaldabaoth employed maids was bad enough, the fact that anyone who saw them would instantly recognize them, masks or not, was worse yet. Ainz wasted a good deal of time agonizing about how to resolve this quandary but came up empty-handed. To see that Demiurge had a solution made him feel pleased.

“Demiurge, explain the exact details of the cover-up story so all of the guardians can understand it,” Ainz commanded.

Journey to Re-Estize and beyond

Potemur and the four orichalcum adventurers comprising “The Young Blood” traveled on horseback to the Re-Estize capital. Each of them utilized two horses switching to a fresh one when the other got tired. Additionally, Potemur would cast spells on both the riders and the horses to rejuvenate them. Traveling at such breakneck speed, they were able to reach Re-Estize on the morning of the fourth day of their travel.

They made their way to a tavern where members of “Blue Rose” awaited them. Once they arrived, Potemur and Lakyus left to visit princess Renner, while the rest settled in the tavern, to have a drink and chat about the recent events in the Holy Kingdom.

Both groups were interested in hearing about Jaldabaoth, and time flew by quickly. About an hour later Lakyus and Potemur returned, and the later jolted the members of “The Young Blood.”

“Everything has been arranged, we can now travel to the Sorcerer Kingdom to meet with the Sorcerer King.”

“Do what?!” cried out Shola, a cleric in Marv's group.

“Don't act so surprised, don't you remember what Kiara told us?” Marv asked him. “But are you sure it's safe to travel there Potemur-sama?”

“We should accompany them to E-Rantel!” Said a masked magic caster loudly. “We cannot allow any harm to happen to them. Especially since their group is so small. I.. I mean we should definitely accompany them!” she continued excitedly.

“They do not require our help Evileye. No one in the Kingdom can threaten a group of their caliber, and the Sorcerer Kingdom had exterminated most of the monsters on the roads, making them safe,” Lakyus retorted as she rolled her eyes.

As she heard her leader Evileye's shoulders sunk, while the rest of “Blue Rose” laughed heartily. After that Marv's group and Potemur embarked on their journey to E-Rantel. They hoped to arrive there around noon of the seventh day after the events at Cressa, which would leave them just enough time to make it back. Assuming, of course, the Sorcerer King would provide the help they sought.

Two Days later in E-Rantel:

Inside Ainz's quarters in E-Rantel there were several figures. Ainz himself sat on a throne-like chair. Beside him stood Albedo, the guardian overseer. While Demiurge, Shalltear, Aura, and Mare stood in front of him. There was one more person there – the former Emperor of the Baharuth Empire Jircniv Rune Farlord El Nix. Having just finished signing vassalization papers, he could no longer be regarded as Emperor.

Still, the vassalization terms were quite fair, and his loss of absolute authority aside, Jircniv could not claim that the Empire would be worse off as a vassal of the monster who sat in front of him. He was surprised that Ainz did not try to push for stiffer terms, given that he had all the advantages in this situation. Then again, he could not understand this monster and had effectively given up on trying to outsmart him.

“Well, Jircniv-dono, I hope you work hard to make Baharuth Empire great. Especially now that it's my vassal,” the skeletal being said. “Also, as my vassal, you should be aware of the territorial politics and events of the surrounding countries. I would like you to be present during my meeting with an envoy from the Holy Kingdom,” Ainz continued.

“Of course your Majesty,” Jircniv replied, saying “your Majesty” felt weird to him who had been a king all his life. Still, this was his new reality. “And when will they be arriving?”

“Oh, they should be here in about five minutes. They had already arrived at the gates of this city,” Ainz replied.

There was a knock on the door, and a beautiful maid walked in. She was wearing glasses and had her hair in a bun. She looked

at Ainz as if asking a permission to speak.

“What is it, Yuri?” Asked Ainz. The envoy from the Holy Kingdom was still a few minutes away, having just passed the Elder Lich which served as a manager at the gates.

“Ainz-sama, a man claiming to be a representative of the Slane Theocracy is seeking your audience,” - she reported.

There was a cacophony of reactions to her words. Demiurge's entire body shuddered and he seemed to tremble for several seconds, before looking at Ainz with eyes full of fear and admiration. Albedo opened and closed her wings with excitement, she looked at Ainz full of pride.

“This must be the look a woman gives her lover when she realizes how amazing he is,” - Ainz mused, as he scanned the room.

But everyone else had surprised expressions on their faces.

“Theocracy? Why are they here?” Aura asked.

“They did not send any advance notice, should we punish them for showing such disrespect to Ainz-sama?” - asked Shalltear.

"Hmm, what should I do? According to plan we were supposed to meet with the envoy from the Holy Kingdom, agree to their request for help and in the process leak the cover-up story to Jircniv. Should I meet with this representative of the Slane Theocracy?” Ainz struggled to make the right choice.

"But wait a second. Why are Demiurge and Albedo acting this way? They should be as surprised as everyone, yet they act as if this is all according to plan.. wait, could it be? Is that the reason for their reaction? Ah, I see, this is indeed an excellent opportunity, looks like luck is on our side.”

Having come to a decision he waved his hand with the regal bearings of a monarch.

“I will meet the representative of the Slane Theocracy,” he told the maid.

As she left he looked at Demiurge and Albedo's expressions, to make sure they did not show any signs of disapproval. He was relieved when there were no such signs, on the contrary, they looked to be elated at his decision.

"I see, then my guess for their earlier reaction must be correct,” Ainz thought, as he smiled.