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Overlord (Light Novel) - Volume 10, Chapter 2 The Re-Estize Kingdom Part 2
Volume 10, Chapter 02 The Re-Estize Kingdom Part 2
This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml
Translator: Nigel
Editors/Proofreaders: TaintedDream, M, JcqC, Ferro, Anon
It was estimated that the envoys of the Sorcerous Kingdom would take about a week to travel from E-Rantel to the Royal Capital.
Today was the seventh day. If all went according to plan, the envoys would reach the Royal Capital today.
Zanack, dressed in armor that he was not accustomed to, stood in line with his knights at the gates of the Royal Capital which faced E-Rantel.
The cloudy weather of the past few days had cleared up, like it had all been a joke, and the sky was the very picture of spring.
However, one could see heavy cloud cover in the distance. It would seem the azure sky was limited to the air directly above the Royal Capital.
This sort of scenery was quite bizarre. In fact, the Royal Capital’s meteorologist had shouted, “This is impossible!” as he scratched his head.
He had been working in the Royal Palace for a long time now, and he could predict the next day’s weather with over 90% accuracy. Thus, when he declared that this was impossible, it implied that these blue skies were anything but natural.
Zanack sighed deeply under his helmet.
He had never heard of weather-controlling magic from his teachers. However, that Sorcerer King might well be able to use such magic with contemptuous ease.
Zanack’s men were not only unskilled in the area of magic, but they lacked any knowledge of other strange phenomena. This made his head ache. More accurately, it was because he had relied too heavily on Marquis Raeven.
He had gathered the knowledge from his adventurers, compiled it, and called it the Tiger Scroll. It contained information on various kinds and appearances of magic items, the types and powers of various monsters, all sorts of spells, and so on.
Until now, he had freely shared that scroll with Zanack, his ally. However, since Raeven was no longer in the Royal Capital, the Tiger Scroll was naturally gone with him.
He had tried to find nobles who had learned from adventurers, like Raeven had, but sadly, there were none. This was not because these nobles were stupid, but because they lived in a completely different world from those adventurers. While some nobles did hire adventurers, it was merely to make use of their strength. The nobles were not interested in the adventuring world or the news which adventurers had.
The nobles had been that way throughout the Kingdom’s 200 years of history. From that point of view, Raeven was quite atypical.
It’s probably hard to find retired adventurers ― especially those of mithril rank and above.
He heard that adventurers hated troublesome things like politics. Indeed, once one entered the world of politics, one would lose one’s freedom. Would adventurers like that want to work for him after retiring?
Zanack’s heart sank as he thought about that.
“―My Prince!”
The shout of the knight next to him brought Zanack back to his senses. He looked to the end of the street ― and saw it.
He could begin to make out the Sorcerous Kingdom’s envoys.
They had exerted pressure beforehand to shut this street down for today, closing it to traffic. As a result, nobody would be popping out of doors behind them. The city gates had also been locked down just for today.
“All right, let’s go over this again. We are to treat them like foreign dignitaries. Trying anything on the envoys of the Sorcerous Kingdom is a grave offense. It will be punished by summary execution.”
“Sir!”
The reply of the ranked knights was quite forceful, and the swords at their waists made a clear, crisp and unified sound.
“All right! Then, show them the utmost respect, and impress the glory of the Kingdom upon them!”
“Sir!”
The group remained absolutely still until the envoys had arrived.
Before long, the envoys’ vanguard reached them.
It was a black-armored knight. It rode a red-eyed unicorn that had a jet black body and sported two horns on its head. One could imagine that the rider was not human either. It emanated an aura of mortal danger, as radiant as the sun. Its full plate armor pulsed as if it was alive.
Zanack could feel his warhorse trembling in fear beneath him.
It clenched its clawed gauntlet and thumped its chest.
“Apologies! We are the envoys of the Sorcerous Kingdom of Ainz Ooal Gown!”
One might compare that voice to music squeezed out of rotted instruments. It made its listeners’ hair stand on end just by hearing it. Zanack gathered up his courage to banish his fear, and then he spoke.
“I am the Second Prince of the Kingdom of Re-Estize, Zanack Valreon Igana Ryle Vaiself! By His Majesty’s order, I am to guide your party to the Royal Palace. Please follow behind us!”
“Acknowledged. Then, we shall avail ourselves of your guidance. This one ― forgive me, this one does not bear a name, so please allow this one to introduce itself by the name of its species. This one is a Death Cavalier!”
Zanack gawked a little when it had given the name of its species, but he responded immediately so as not to give offense through his delay.
“Then, may I address you as Cavalier-dono?”
“This one would be honored to be addressed in that manner.”
“I see. Then, may I greet the leader of the envoys? As the Second Prince, I am also responsible for said leader’s actions within the Kingdom. If possible, I would like to explain the circumstances to your leader.”
“Acknowledged. This one shall convey your message to our leader-dono.”
“You have my deepest thanks.”
With that, the outrider retreated to deliver his report.
While the whole process sounded quite laughable at times, he was facing up against the Sorcerous Kingdom, after all. It was a nation that could control the undead and make use of monsters, so it would be best to assume that the usual ways of doing things were inapplicable here. He felt stupid for even expecting the leader of the envoys to have a vaguely human shape.
“Now then, stiff upper lips, everyone. We cannot afford to do anything that would offend them.”
“Sir!”
As he heard the knights’ response, Zanack poured strength into his belly.
The envoys had passed through several towns on the way here, which was how Zanack knew of the party’s composition.
There were five coaches.
Each of them was pulled by a horse-shaped monster that radiated an inauspicious air. Then, there were numerous Death Cavaliers, who had been tasked with perimeter security. There were also other monsters beside them.
Zanack was unclear on the names of those monsters or how dangerous they were. Still, whether he knew them or not, his duties remained unchanged. Since they were envoys dispatched by the Sorcerer King, he could not possibly allow any slight to be shown to them.
A Death Cavalier ― probably the same one from just now ― approached him from the envoys’ side.
“Forgive the long wait. Our leader ― the right hand of the Sorcerer King Ainz Ooal Gown, Albedo-sama, has agreed to meet with you. Zanack-dono, please, proceed this way.”
After signalling to the other knights to hold their position, Zanack guided his horse after the Death Cavalier.
In all honesty, it was quite terrifying.
After all, Zanack was moving amongst monsters he had never seen before.
Even so, he still had his pride as a member of the Royal Family. Zanack would soon be the King, and since he would have to meet with emissaries of the Sorcerer King, he was forbidden to disgrace himself. Instead, he had to demonstrate his ability at this time, and let them take home news of the talented people in the Re-Estize Kingdom.
Zanack’s horse could not keep itself from breaking out into a cold sweat as it approached the coach. Zanack dismounted, standing before the coach.
“Then, this is the leader of the envoy party, Albedo-sama.”
What sort of monster is going to show up next? Zanack willed his expression not to change.
The door slowly opened, and a human figure slowly emerged.
What he saw there ― was beautiful.
No, Zanack could not think of an adjective that could better describe her. The only thing which came to mind was “world-class beauty”
Nobody in this world could possibly possess looks comparable to Renner’s. Zanack had believed this until now, but then he realised that was mistaken. If Renner’s was a radiant beauty, then Albedo’s was a seductive beauty tinged in darkness.
Albedo trod on the stepboard of the coach. The faint sound of her high heels jolted Zanack back to reality.
Zanack immediately genuflected before her and lowered his head.
One might think that it was embarrassing for a prince of a royal family to kneel before anyone, even if they were an emissary from another nation. However, after considering the difference in power between the Kingdom and the Sorcerous Kingdom, this was the right course of action. What the Kingdom needed now was not glory, but concrete benefits.
“Could you please raise your head?”
The quiet, lovely voice rang out from above him.
“At once.”
As he looked up, the fair maiden’s face was all smiles as she tenderly looked down on him.
This was a practiced attitude which superior men would adopt ― no, was she even human?
Zanack moved his eyes to size her up. First, were the wings on her waist magic items, or something else? Similarly, the horns curling out from the sides of her head.
Whether they were magic items or if she was actually a heteromorphic creature, neither of them seemed particularly bizarre once he considered that she hailed from the Sorcerous Kingdom.
“I am the envoy of the Sorcerous Kingdom of Ainz Ooal Gown, Albedo. Though it is but for a few days, we will be imposing upon you. Rise, Prince-dono. You certainly cannot continue speaking as you kneel.”
“You have my deepest thanks.”
Zanack straightened up, and then a problem presented itself.
Though he had learned her name was Albedo through conversation, was that really all?
In the Kingdom ― and in the Empire ― commoners had two names, nobles had three names, and titled people had four names. For the royal family, they had four names ― plus their titles for a total of five names.
This was why Jircniv Rune Farlord El-Nix and his four names were mocked for not being an actual member of royalty. However, a name like Albedo sounded like an alias, or a nickname. One could not possibly be as foolish as to address a member of the nobility by such a moniker.
Though he might have been worrying needlessly, he could not be sure that such a situation would not occur.
The reason why he said this was because many nobles had died in the previous battlefield. It was not just family heads who perished, but even the firstborn heirs of some families. Currently, many noble families were led by the “spares”, the second or third sons.
Spares were spares. Nobody expected much of those nobles. Not only did they lack class, but they lacked knowledge as well. In short, they lacked the appropriate upbringing.
Under normal circumstances, they would have been properly educated by the higher-ups in their faction, but the previous war meant that they no longer had the manpower for such efforts. As a result, many incompetent people were forced onto the center stage, and these incompetent people gathered together to form a faction of incompetents.
Currently, the class of the Kingdom’s nobility had plummeted, thanks to these people. At this crucial moment, could they meet a woman like Albedo with adequate etiquette?
“...Forgive me, but may I know how I should properly address you, Albedo-sama?”
This was a somewhat disrespectful question.
Normally, he should have asked. “What title do you hold among the peerage, Albedo-sama, or perhaps what is your position in the Sorcerous Kingdom?”
The problem was, she might have shot back, “Do you not even know the rank of an emissary from your neighboring country?”
Still, that was the fault of the Sorcerous Kingdom.
After all, no information about the Sorcerous Kingdom had flowed out from its borders. Though it had declared its own sovereignty for several months now, they had largely restricted themselves to internal affairs. This was the first time they had engaged in diplomatic relations of their own accord.
All Zanack knew about Albedo was that she was the leader of the envoys, and the hand of the Sorcerer King.
The Empire would probably know… but they didn’t tell us anything… Well, anyone who would have asked for that sort of spell to be used on us must hate us to the bone.
As though sensing his worries, Albedo answered:
“Though it may not appear that way, I have been appointed as the supervisor who leads all the Floor Guardians and Area Guardians within the Sorcerous Kingdom of Ainz Ooal Gown.”
“Ohh, I see.”
He said that, but he had no idea what being the “supervisor” meant. In addition, he was completely clueless regarding the “Floors” of which she spoke.
Albedo continued speaking, having seemingly seen through his concealed confusion:
“Indeed. I am Ainz-sama’s ― no, I should say, I am the Sorcerer King’s second-in-command, the Guardian Overseer . Perhaps that would be more appropriate?”
“Ohhh, I see now!”
Ainz-sama, it looks like she’s close enough to address him in that manner. So she’s a marchioness, no, a duchess, perhaps? I need to get this information back to the others. But still, Guardian… Overseer?
“Then, Albedo-sama, permit me to escort you to the Royal Palace. There are suites in the Royal Capital where I pray you will take residence for the time being. My father ― King Ranpossa III is of advanced age, so he assigned me the task of meeting you at the gates of the Capital. I pray you will forgive us this slight.”
“It is fine.”
Her smile had not changed at all.
Normally, she should have been thanking the Prince. However, he could clearly sense who was the superior party from her attitude.
Zanack was gushing cold sweat from his back. This was because he understood that forging good relations with them would probably be a very difficult task.
“...In addition, we would normally ring the bells in celebration, but the unfortunate misunderstanding between our countries led to tragedy, so please forgive us for not doing so. In addition, the common folk do not yet know of your arrival, so please take that into consideration.”
“Of course, it is not a problem.”
He had no idea what would the people would do if they knew that an emissary of the Sorcerer King had come to call on them. In that respect, Albedo’s answer was a great relief.
Is it better to think that I owe her a favor?
He was not at all worried that the envoys would be attacked by an angry mob. Those Death Cavaliers ― indeed, everyone present was probably very strong, even within the Sorcerous Kingdom. He could easily believe that each of them was a match for that Gazef Stronoff.
“Then, may I ask a few questions of my own?”
“Of course! I will answer as long as it is in my power to do so.”
“Well then, could you tell me of the itinerary after we reach the Royal Palace?”
“Yes! First, there is a dinner scheduled with myself and the rest of the Royal Family tonight. Tomorrow, we will visit the theaters in the day to watch the dances and hold a dinner party at night, where all the nobles of the Kingdom will be invited. The day after that will feature a concert by the Palace’s orchestra ― after which we will begin the diplomatic negotiations.”
“So that’s how it is… then, I trust there will be no issues if we decide to freely tour the capital?”
“Of course. We shall select exceptional knights to serve as your guards.”
Although the word itself meant that the knights would defend them, it also implied observation, and even to restrain them if the need arose.
“May I know if any place interests you?”
They would need to completely lock down the area on that day, to make it impossible for commoners to go near that place.
“No… there are no places which particularly interest me. Since I do not know which locations are worth visiting in the capital, could you guide me on a tour?”
“Understood. I shall make the appropriate preparations.”
Albedo smiled as she nodded.
