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Overlord (Light Novel) - Volume 13, Chapter 7 Savior of the Nation Part 4
Volume 13, Chapter 7 Savior of the Nation Part 4
This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml
Neia had heard of silence, but this was something else. She had been summoned to this tent, and she was surprised at how depressed the mood inside was.
The table had been specially moved here, and the Southern nobles seated around it were pale. No, the Liberation Army commanders were also in the same state.
It was a natural reaction.
Nobody could have witnessed Jaldabaoth’s overwhelming power and not been shocked -- no, back then, Neia had not been that shocked. However, that was because the shock of losing the great entity known as the Sorcerer King had been even worse. That, in addition to everything she had witnessed up to this point, might have numbed her heart.
However, the Southern nobles had not experienced harsh fighting until now, so perhaps their alarm was only to be expected. They had not experienced a foe who could kill men one after the other just by walking, leaving nothing behind but hideous corpses.,
In addition, their army of nearly 100’000 had been panicked by a single demon and dissolved into a rout.
“--What’s this? What the hell is this! What do you call that, that monster!”
Count Domingues’ voice rose steadily.
In contrast, Caspond -- who knew of Jaldabaoth’s overwhelming power -- shrugged nonchalantly.
“That is Jaldabaoth… the real thing. I’ve told you about him before, Count Domingues.”
“I’ve never heard of the ability to kill people just by walking!”
Is that the problem, Neia jeered in her heart.
“Indeed, that is how it is. His battle with the Sorcerer King -- His Majesty -- was in a city, so we could not see the full extent of his might. But I’ve already told you how powerful it is. So surely an ability like that should not come as a surprise, no?”
“Even, even so!”
“--Count. I know what you want to say. Seeing is believing, is it not?”
It was the Marquis who spoke. All that could be said was that one had to hand it to him for not being as nervous as the others.
“...Still, saying that won’t help us make any progress. Should we not discuss what we need to do from now on?”
“That makes perfect sense, Marquis-sama. What should we do?” Viscount Santz asked in a rapid-fire burst of words. His attitude was understandable, given that he did not know if his present location was safe.
The Southern nobles had intended to crush a few stragglers with overwhelming force in order to become the heroes who had saved the nation. It should have been that simple. However, that was not to be. Now the hunters had become the hunted.
The Marquis had his arms folded and remained silent. Caspond replied in his place.
“We have an overwhelming advantage in fighting strength. The problem is that Jaldabaoth can overturn that advantage by himself. I would like to ask everyone present a question in my capacity as the Prince. What do you think we should do to achieve victory under these circumstances?”
After a brief silence, the Marquis replied, “there’s only one thing we can do” in a supremely confident tone.
“Prince Caspond. As you have said before, Jaldabaoth will probably retreat once we wipe out those demihumans, right? Then we have no other option but to do so.”
“Marquis-sama! Are you still going to fight!?”
“Exactly, Count Randalse. Do you think we can flee now?”
“...Marquis-sama, it would be very difficult for us all to flee, but could a small group not manage to run?”
Remedios snorted at Count Cohen’s suggestion.
“That’s a fitting answer for an incompetent who can’t even understand Calca-sama’s ideals.”
“What!?”
“What will you do after running away and escaping? Cower under a hay bale in a barn? Aren’t you a noble? Shouldn’t you say that you’ll sacrifice yourself for the people or something?”
“And you, Captain Custodio? You’re a paladin with a holy sword, but you can’t even beat a single demon!” Count Randalse bellowed.
Remedios looked like a ghost now, and her eyes seemed to glow from within as she turned to face him.
“Indeed. I can’t beat him. The only one who can fight him is that undead creature. But if it would buy some time -- even if it was only to let the people live a second longer -- then I would fight to the death against him! And you, what would you do?”
When a warrior who was prepared to meet death locked eyes with a noble who wanted to flee from death, the outcome was a foregone conclusion.
Count Randalse looked away, and Remedios snorted mockingly at him.
“My Prince. While I would very much like to order the paladins to die, do you still have anything to say?”
“While making up your mind is very important… well, could you go? You don’t mind leaving Vice-Captain Montagnes behind, do you?”
“I see. In that case, I’ll leave the rest to you, Montagnes.”
With that, Remedios slowly walked out of the tent. The last thing she did was glance at Shizu, who was seated beside Neia.
“Everyone, I apologize on behalf of our Captain,” Gustav said as he eyed the nobles -- who were going “Honestly” -- before continuing, ”Still, that opinion is shared by all of us. We paladins are all ready to die as shields for the people. We hope you gentlemen, being of noble birth, are similarly determined. After all, we can’t fight if there are no commanders.”
“What!?”
Before Neia could tell who had exclaimed in surprise, Marquis Bodipo spoke up.
“That’s about enough… We aren’t planning how to die gloriously, we’re planning how to win. Am I correct, my Prince?”
“Just so, Marquis-dono. There’s not much time before Jaldabaoth takes complete control. We need to find a way to win before that.”
“--There’s no way to win, is there!? Didn’t you see that demon’s power!?” Count Granero shouted as he rose to his feet. “If he used magic or attacked or something, we might still be able to come up with some way to stop him! But all he’s doing is walking! He can turn the area around him into a hellish inferno just by walking!”
“Come to think of it… Count Granero, you know a bit about magic, right? Do you have…”
“Nothing I learned covered powers like that…”
“Is that so… then, assume there were still 10’000 demihuman enemies remaining. Could we flee from Jaldabaoth while wiping them out at the same time?”
The Marquis seemed to approve of Caspond’s proposal.
“It seems there’s no other way… While it’ll be difficult, I think it would be harder to try and defeat Jaldabaoth with our strength.”
“A moment please,” Count Cohen interrupted with a raise of his hand. “I object. Jaldabaoth might not leave even after we kill the demihumans. However, he might kill all of us as a souvenir first before he goes.”
He was right. Therefore, Caspond followed up with a perfectly reasonable question.
“So what should we do?”
“We ought to negotiate.”
Few people managed to resist the urge to laugh at Count Cohen as he delivered that suggestion with a perfectly straight face.
Count Cohen’s face turned red as the others laughed at him. Before he could continue, Caspond asked:
“Count, what kind of deal do you intend to make with that devil?”
“Ah, ah yes. For instance, maybe we could trade him something in exchange for letting us leave safely…”
“What will we give him? Wouldn’t it be simpler to just kill us and take it off our bodies? Or do you mean we should trade him something that isn’t here? What would that be?”
“A moment please, Your Highness! All I’m saying is that fighting isn’t our only option! I just meant to say that there’s a possibility we might be able to negotiate with him, that’s all!”
“Count, your way of thinking is a little, yes, a little too optimistic. For starters, who will we send to negotiate with that monster… Come to think of it, I heard that His Majesty put one of his maid demons under his control, and she turned out quite useful in retaking Kalinsha. Surely that maid demon could do something, right?”
Count Granero turned to look at Shizu.
“...I can’t beat Jaldabaoth… Buying time would be hard too.”
“Still, if you fought alongside Captain Custodio, you might be able to buy some time.”
His suggestion made a lot of sense. They would need someone to hold Jaldabaoth in place while they carried out Caspond’s plan, in any event.
However, that would essentially be sending them to their deaths.
“...Hmm~” Shizu tilted her head to look at the ceiling. “...This is a problem...”
“How about it? That way, we can deepen the relationship between the Sorcerous Kingdom and the Holy Kingdom.”
“..Hmm… hm!”
“Is that a yes?”
Should I interrupt now? Neia thought as Shizu answered.
“...No.”
“May, may I know the reason why?”
“...No reason.”
“There’s no reason?”
Shizu nodded to Count Domingues, who was frozen in place.
“Is Jaldabaoth really that scary!?”
“...Hm?...That’s the reason then. He’s scary and I don’t want to do it.”
“Guh.” Count Domingues was at a loss for words. Now that she had said as much, he had no response for her. If Shizu said, “If you’re not afraid, then you go buy time” he would be finished. If she had rejected the proposal based on some kind of argument, then all he would need to do was pick that argument apart, but since she had refused based on her feelings, getting past that would be very difficult.
As silence returned to the tent, one of the Liberation Army’s top brass, a person who commanded thousands of soldiers and militiamen slowly said:
“Why don’t we run before Jaldabaoth fully takes command? I don’t think we can beat a monster like that. We used to have the Sorcerer King in the past, but he’s not here any more… does anyone know of anybody who can defeat Jaldabaoth? No, right? If we fled to the South…”
Beside him another commander quietly said,
“...There’s no guarantee that Jaldabaoth won’t chase us to the South, right?”
With a loud thump of the table, the previous speaker bellowed:
“In that case, all we can do is follow the Prince’s suggestion and kill the demihumans! If we can’t run, then we must fight! It’s just that simple!”
“That’s right. That’s the only way we can go on living. I don’t want to bow down and go through that hell again. Let’s start by putting a formation together--”
The tent flap was forcefully pulled open, and a soldier who reported directly to Caspond rushed in.
“Your Highness! The demihumans are moving! They’re reforming their lines!”
They did not have a proper formation in the previous battle. Did they have one now because of Jaldabaoth’s command?
“Is that so… Gentleman, the enemy will be attacking soon. We need to prepare for battle as soon as possible!”
After Caspond finished, all the people who had been called here stood up as one. Neia and Shizu did as well.
The others rushed out of the tent first, eager to save time.
The final ones remaining in the tent were Neia and Shizu. Neia’s unit was already together, so there was no need to go gather them.
Neia suddenly felt that something was amiss about the grim expression on the face of the messenger who had barged into the tent, but there was nothing she could do about it, and so she and Shizu returned to their unit.
“Now then, I believe there’s still some bad news in store?”
“Yes! My Prince! Is it really advisable to let these gentlemen return?”
“That will depend on your report.”
Caspond had once told his subordinates that they must never speak of information which was not common knowledge in the presence of third parties. That was why this man was the last to remain in the tent.
“...Your Highness, the demihumans are advancing on us from the east. At this rate, they’ll reach us in one hour.”
“Im...possible…”
Caspond struggled to keep himself from raising his voice. It would be bad if someone outside the tent heard this.
“Kalinsha is to the east. Why hasn’t the city contacted us yet? Even if they did make a big detour to circle around us, how did they avoid our patrols’ eyes? ...Or are they few in number?”
“No, they’re estimated to be over 10’000 strong… what should we do, sire?”
The Holy Kingdom still had the numerical advantage even if one added 10’000 men to the demihumans forces. However, the fact that they were coming from the east was disastrous. When a smaller force attempted a pincer attack, normally one would simply defeat each arm of the pincer individually. However, this time, they were facing Jaldabaoth.
In other words, their escape route had been cut off.
“...Alright, listen closely. You must not tell this news to anyone, got it?” Caspond coldly told the surprised scout . “This news is very dangerous. If the army learns of it, they’ll sap their will to fight and we’ll lose a battle that we could have won. Also, a lot of people might end up dying. We must not tell anyone about this for the sake of unity.”
“Your Highness…”
“...Don’t worry. All will be well if we can win within an hour. There’s nothing to be afraid of.”
“...I understand.”
“Also, do your best to keep the scouts from investigating the east. If things go badly, they might let the news slip, and then we’ll splinter and end up defeated in detail. You must keep this secret until the last moment, understand?”
“Yes, sir!”
While he did not seem quite comfortable with it, the man probably felt that Caspond’s logic was sound as he left the room. Alone inside the tent, Caspond palmed his face.
***
The palisade they had built was very simple. The west and north sides were complete, but the south-side was only half-finished. Meanwhile, there was nothing on the east side. It would be better to take formation on open ground rather than try to fight in such a cramped place, so they abandoned their camp and spread out over the plains.
They had chosen to form a long line.
Any unit that made contact with Jaldabaoth would be lost. Therefore, the other units would abandon it and attack the demihumans. They had taken this formation because they were prepared to make that sacrifice. Amidst all this, Remedios would lead the paladins on hit and run attacks, so she had no fixed position. This was so that she could head towards any location where Jaldabaoth appeared.
Neia and her unit were also free-roaming. She understood the two implications of that assignment. The first was that it would be easy for Shizu -- as a subordinate of the Sorcerer King -- to escape. The second was that if Shizu wanted to fight Jaldabaoth, putting her in an immobile unit would result on a hole being torn in the line of battle.
Neia’s unit had already discussed what they would do if Jaldabaoth showed up.
Would they hunt down the demihumans, flee to a safe place -- or perhaps, would they fight Jaldabaoth?
Their answer was unanimous.
They would defeat the demihumans.
All of them deeply hated Jaldabaoth, the source of all evil. However, they knew their place -- what good could they do, if even the mighty Sorcerer King was no match for him? In that case, it would be better to focus on slaying the demihumans, in order to bring them just a little closer to victory. Of course, part of that was also because they did not want to let Shizu die, being that she was a subordinate of their great benefactor, the Sorcerer King.
Neia mounted up on her horse, and studied the enemy.
The demihuman formation had been full of openings in their previous battle, but now it was immaculate. What had once been a motley grouping of demihumans by racial types was now a neat line of battle that looked like a veteran army.
Had the demihumans projected such an image of strength and power in the previous battle? Their rows of shields looked sturdy and indomitable, while their bristling spear points gleamed with blinding brilliance. Jaldabaoth’s incredible command ability notwithstanding, this unit’s cohesion was self-evident.
No--
This is only to be expected. Everyone would obey once they saw his overwhelming power.
Many demihumans placed a great emphasis on personal power. In that respect, they would probably be glad to follow Jaldabaoth.
The battle was about to begin.
Neia and her people loosed arrows from the rear.
A rain of arrows launched by 3’000 people fell upon the enemy.
During this battle, the humans had adopted a wide formation in order to end the battle quickly -- by wiping out the demihumans.
They launched a heavy cavalry charge, leaving nothing in reserve. The humans were committed to an uphill slog, and they attacked ferociously. In contrast to them, the demihumans solidified their defense.
Perhaps it was because they understood that this all-out attack was nothing more than casting kindling onto a blaze. The charred remains of the kindling would scatter all over the ground in short order.
Given that humans were weak individuals, it would be very difficult for them to bring down the demihumans’ reinforced defense. Or rather, the humans might have actually had a chance against the demihumans if Jaldabaoth were not around. However, the demihumans’ unit composition was one which allowed the many races making it up to make full use of their respective abilities, compensating for their weaknesses and further emphasizing their strengths.
The demihumans’ defense made the advantage the humans had enjoyed several hours ago seem like a pleasant dream. No matter how many times they charged, how many times they thrust their lances, or how many arrows they loosed, nothing they did could shake the demihumans’ formation. Instead, the attackers from the Holy Kingdom took heavier losses than them.
Time was passing, and they could not let the battle last until nightfall. However, the humans’ morale and stamina would probably give out before that and they would be crushed in turn.
In addition--
“Jaldabaoth’s appeared in sector 2A! Second Infantry has been completely wiped out!”
“Fourth Infantry has taken more than half casualties!”
“Sixth Lancers has taken over half casualties!”
--The messengers loudly announced the situation on the battlefield.
“Where is he this time!?”
Caspond had suggested they divide the battlefield into several sectors.
They were numbered, to make moving the men as easy as possible. It was a very crude system, but it was easy to understand.
The forces there must have been trying to flee Jaldabaoth. Even from here, it was plain to see that they were in complete disarray. The demihumans in that region began their attack, and troop organization there disintegrated like it had melted.
That was it.
Just by appearing once and using just that little bit of power, he had destroyed a battalion of 500 men, and there were nearly 1000 casualties in total. The demihumans who charged the gap he created caused even more deaths in turn.
It would be one thing if the demihumans had gotten cocky and pressed the attack, but they immediately retreated after pursuing for a short distance, like a turtle shrinking into its shell. This turned the battle into a melee, and the tactics designed to make it difficult for Jaldabaoth to use his powers could not be applied.
That masterful strategy was probably the result of Jaldabaoth’s command ability as well.
Remedios led her paladins to sector 2A as quickly as she could. However, by the time she arrived, Jaldabaoth was no longer there. He had moved to another region via teleportation, as if to mock them.
This series of events had repeated itself over and over again since just now.
The word “bad” was not nearly enough to describe this.
Still, it was a fact that nobody here, Neia included, could think of any good solutions. All Neia and her people could do was keep raining arrows on the demihuman troops.
Shizu simply watched the battle from beside Neia. Her weapon was not capable of arcing fire like bows were, so she had no chance to demonstrate her incredible skills.
Eventually, Neia’s fingers began to hurt from drawing back her bowstring, and everyone’s quivers -- including her own -- began to run dry.
“Baraja-sama! We’re almost out of arrows!”
They did not have unlimited arrows.
“...Fall back for now and replenish supplies!”
The unit obeyed Neia’s instructions and returned to the rear to stock up on arrows.
She would have liked to give them some rest time, but unfortunately they did not have the luxury of that.
“Are you ready?”
“Yes, Baraja-sama. We can move out any time!”
“In that case--”
Just as she was about to shout for them to move out, Neia saw several mounted scouts from the east.
The lead scout met Neia’s eyes for a moment, and then he shouted:
“Demihumans from the east! Look out!”
“Hah?”
Surprised, Neia looked into the distance and squinted. She could make out some rising dust and the shapes of what looked like people. While she would need to check their movement speeds to be sure, given their distance, they would be here soon.
What a mistake this had been.
They had been so focused on the demihumans before their eyes that they had neglected to watch their backs.
She wanted to believe this was fake. She wanted to believe that Kalinsha had sent reinforcements to help them.
However, that was not the case. If it were, then they would have sent a swift horse ahead to inform them.
Neia’s legs felt like they might collapse.
This news was far too grim.
Jaldabaoth’s plan was to trap them with a pincer attack from the enemy reinforcements.
He did not fight, but let the demihumans fight instead. This way the humans would choose not to flee, but to fight in order to satisfy their victory conditions. Jaldabaoth’s aim had been to bait all the humans onto the battlefield and keep them from escaping.
In other words, Jaldabaoth had already surmised that the humans would say that he would flee once the demihumans were wiped out.
“Haha, but of course!”
Beldran laughed with genuine mirth.
Just as everyone was looking at him with panicked eyes, Beldran regained his calm and addressed Neia.
“Prince Caspond made a fatal mistake in his thinking. More importantly, why did he not notice it?”
“What do you mean!?”
“...Baraja-sama. It is a perfectly natural thing. As long as Jaldabaoth controls the hills, he can send reinforcements here. Just destroying the demihumans in this place does not mean Jaldabaoth will retreat.”
“Ahhh!”
After hearing the explanation, Neia was not the only one who understood. The same noises could be heard from around Beldran.”
“After driving away the demihumans here, we will still have to counter-invade the hills. Prince Caspond’s idea can only be proven correct after we exterminate all the demihumans there as well.”
Indeed. Beldran also supplied an answer for why they had not thought of thus.
“...Prince Caspond and ourselves thought of the same thing, and we were blinded by the possibility of salvation and did not consider the matter in greater depth.”
But launching a counter-invasion of the hills was practically impossible. In other words--
“...There’s no way to save the Holy Kingdom?”
Silence filled the air. The clamor of the battlefield seemed very far away.
“No…” Beldran forced himself to speak. “There is a way.”
“Which is?”
“...Jaldabaoth. We have to defeat the Demon Emperor Jaldabaoth.”
It was a perfect answer, but there was no rejoicing. It was the most insoluble problem in the world, and they had adopted Caspond’s plan precisely because they could not do it.
“...As I thought, we should have gone to look for His Majesty above everything else. We were the ones who chose poorly.”
If she had not gone to retake Kalinsha, but went to the hills with Shizu in tow, they might have avoided this.
Still, it would have been very difficult. Neia had made the best choice she could based on what she could do. She had tried to avoid foolhardiness and pick the most successful path.
However, should they have tried it after all?
What if--
What if--
What if--
Countless “what ifs” flew through Neia’s mind. Every time she thought about “what if I had done this or that” she was swamped in guilt and regret.
Her will to fight was at rock bottom. Neia was not the only one. Her entire unit which felt this way.
The victor was clear.
When one got down to it, the premise of their victory was flawed from the start. Or rather, the battle itself had been a waste of time.
All they could do now was think about how to end this with as few casualties as possible and flee to a safe place. However, that was not the right thing to do.
Weakness was a sin.
It was a sin to be so weak that they could not rescue anyone. That was why they had trained hard to this day.
She could not allow this to end with herself as a sinner.
If that happened, she would not be able to face that figure of absolute justice, His Majesty Ainz Ooal Gown.
Neia had prepared her soul for what was to come, and she unconsciously mentioned what was in her heart.
“It’s over, huh.”
She was louder than she thought she would be. There was no telling if the people around Neia had been affected by her mood, or if they had been thinking the same thing as Neia from the start, but whatever the reason, they all bowed their heads.
This was the end.
The dream of liberating the Holy Kingdom and helping the people had come to an end here.
Come to think of it, they had dared to entertain that dream because of the Sorcerer King’s power. But this was how they had ended up like this when they were by themselves.
Neia knew that now was not the time to laugh, but she did. Then her face turned serious, and she looked toward Shizu.
“...Can you get away?”
“...How about you, Neia?”
Neia held her chest high.
“I can’t run! I’m a person who saw His Majesty work for others, and who benefited from it. I can’t let this end with me as a weakling -- as a sinner.”
Neia saw the people around her raise their heads.
“We won’t run from that bastard!”
They looked like proper warriors again.
Those were the faces of men who were prepared to die. How she wanted to show them off before the Sorcerer King.
“But… sem… no, you’re not the same… Which is why we want to place our wishes in you. I know it must seem strange for us to entrust our thanks to you, since you’re a subordinate of the Sorcerer King, but… Please do it for us. Please find His Majesty, Shizu. You can command those of us who are still in Kalinsha as you see fit. Therefore…”
“...Got it.”
Neia breathed a sigh of relief after she heard Shizu agree.
However, that expression immediately became one of surprise.
“...There’s no need for me to go.”
“What, what does that mean?”
“...Look.”
Shizu pointed at the approaching objects -- the demihuman reinforcements coming from the direction of Kalinsha. They were made up of many different races, even Orcs and Zerns. Neia stared at the flags which the demihuman reinforcements were holding up in neat rows. It was--
“Eh?”
Neia was so shocked that she exclaimed despite herself.
She doubted what her eyes had seen and looked again several more times, but what she saw remained the same.
“...See? There’s no need.”
Neia knew that flag very well.
It was the flag of the Sorcerous Kingdom.
The shocked cries from her comrades proved that what Neia had seen was no illusion.
“Isn’t that the flag of the Sorcerous Kingdom? You told us about it before, didn’t you, Baraja-sama?”
“Are those reinforcements from the Sorcerous Kingdom? Baraja-sama did say something about demihumans in the Sorcerous Kingdom.”
They were in the middle of a war right now. At this very moment, countless people were killing each other, and Jaldabaoth was killing people too.
However, Neia forgot all that as she tried desperately to grasp what was going on.
What happened next fired everyone up.
The demihuman army neatly split into two, like they had drilled the maneuver countless times. They made way in the center for a single undead being to step forward.
He was a magic caster in a black robe, mounted on a skeletal warhorse.
That was the form of the hero Neia adored, who she saw even in her dreams.
“It, it’s His Majesty… no way…”
Neia had no confidence in whether she was watching a dream or witnessing reality.
However, the being she saw was immovable, and he could not be a dream.
Her emotions exploded inside her, to the point she could not even describe how she felt.
Her hot tears blurred her field of vision. She could not even think to wipe them away.
Shizu waved to the Sorcerer King. He seemed to have noticed this, and urged his horse over to her.
The Sorcerer King approached.
What should she say to him? Should she apologize for not searching for him? Would she be forgiven if she did that? While Neia was looking for the right words to say, the Sorcerer King had already reached her and nimbly dismounted from his steed.
“...Umu. What a coincidence that we should meet here. Miss Baraja. Did you think I was dead?”
“Your, Your Majesty!”
Neia could not stem the flow of her tears.
“I believed in all this time, because Shizu-sempai told me. I thought you would be fine, but… it was true!”
“Ah… um. Ah… hm. Mm. I see. That pleases me. Uh… sempai?”
It would seem the Sorcerer King was also delighted at this reunion, because he seemed to be at a loss for words.
“...Don’t cry.”
Shizu pressed her handkerchief to Neia’s face and rubbed it forcefully.
“...There’s snot on it again. Really shocking.”
“Oh… it seems you’re getting along quite well with Shizu, Miss Baraja. This pleases me.”
“It’s all thanks to Your Majesty! I don’t know what I’d do without Shizu-sempai! Thank you very much!”
Neia’s emotions had been such a mess that she did not know what she had been saying just now.
“I see… That is quite a surprise for me… Shizu, how was it?”
“...I like Neia. Her face is kind of charming.”
“Please don’t say that,” Neia said as she rubbed her eyes, having stopped crying already. Soon, she had cleared away the last of her tears. “Your Majesty, I have many things I would like to ask You, but the most important thing is… are You displeased at the speed of our rescue? If you are, then I take full responsibility--”
“--Miss Baraja,” the Sorcerer King raised his hand to keep her from going on. “Why are you saying this? None of you have displeased me in any way.”
Neia’s eyes filled with tears again. Nor was she alone -- everyone around her who had heard the Sorcerer King’s kind words wept as well. There were people who had been holding their tears in who finally broke down sobbing.
The Sorcerer King’s shoulders shifted slightly.
“...Ah, everyone, do not cry. More importantly, you ought to have other things you wish to ask, no? Many more things? Why not ask?”
“Ah, yes.”
After Shizu wiped her tears again -- she had apparently put the snot-stained handkerchief away -- Neia asked the Sorcerer King a question.
“Are, are those demihumans soldiers of the Sorcerous Kingdom?”
While she had not seen any undead among them, these demihumans might merely be the vanguard.
“No… no, you could say that, I believe? When I fell to the Abelion Hills, I took the land there for the Sorcerous Kingdom. Therefore, you could call them forces of the Sorcerous Kingdom, no?”
Neia was speechless.
He was amazing.
How could that be anything other than “amazing”?
The hills were filled with demihumans, and they were supposedly ruled by a henchman of Jaldabaoth. Yet he had dealt with him with just his strength alone and subjugated the hills. Who else could do this besides the Sorcerer King?
Neia trembled in excitement.
“And so, well, it took me a bit of time to gather the demihumans suffering under Jaldabaoth and lead them here as an army. All this was in order to settle things with Jaldabaoth -- it seems we had good timing.”
There were no facial expressions on the Sorcerer King’s bony visage, but Neia could sense him smiling majestically.
“I! I expected nothing less of Your Majesty!”
Beldran ran over to the Sorcerer King, his face stained by tears.
“Oh! It is He!”
Suddenly, Beldran fell to his knees. No, he was not alone. Everyone around Neia -- everyone who belonged to her flock -- gathered around and prostrated themselves before him.
“That’s His Majesty for you!”
“Simply magnificent, Your Majesty!”
Even the Sorcerer King was startled by the chorus of praise.
“Oh, ahh… hm… speaking of which, I have a question for you as well, Miss Baraja… who are they?”
“They are people who are grateful for Your Majesty’s kindness and who wish to repay it to You!”
“Exactly! We were rescued by Your Majesty!”
“Yes! We are the people who wished to repay the debt we owe Your Majesty in some way. Thus, when Baraja-sama called, we answered!”
As though to back them up, Neia proudly stated:
“We’re not the only ones! There are many more people who want to repay the kindness Your Majesty showed us!”
“Oh… this makes me very happy… although, does everyone feel this way?”
“Yes! Precisely! Everyone is grateful to you!”
“I… I see… Thank you, everyone.”
The Sorcerer King’s thanks made everyone feel like they had chosen the right way to express their gratitude, and so they wept with lumps in their throats.
“...Are these tears of gratitude for me?”
“Yes! Precisely!”
“And you gathered them all, Miss Baraja… it seems you’ve grown up while I wasn’t around to see.”
“Thank you very much, Your Majesty!”
Neia was all smiles after being praised by the Sorcerer King.
“Ah, now then… Miss Baraja, please have them rise. I came here to make up for my previous defeat… what happened to Jaldabaoth?”
“Ah! Yes! Jaldabaoth--”
Flames erupted, as though they had been waiting for that moment. Neia shuddered as she thought of how many of the Holy Kingdom’s soldiers must have perished in that blaze.
“..I see. Then there is no need to ask. It seems the time to fight him again has come. Shizu!”
“...Yes, Ainz-sama.”
“I will handle the rest. You will protect the people here. Don’t forget to have them prepare an appropriate welcome for my victorious return, alright?”
Cheers of “Uohhhhh!” rose up from the crowd.
“Hear me! I miscalculated in the previous battle. I was outnumbered and low on mana. However, the situation now is different. Jaldabaoth cannot summon that many demons again in a short time. In addition, I am fully recovered now. There is no more reason for me to lose! All you need to do is wait here for me to return in triumph!”
The people cheered as the Sorcerer King announced his absolute victory.
He flourished his cape and advanced regally. Everyone stepped aside, clearing a straight path for him, as though shaken by his overpowering aura of dominion.
“Your Majesty!”
The Sorcerer King turned to look at Neia.
“Please win!”
“Of course!”
The Sorcerer advanced once more. Though his form seemed to be shrinking, she did not feel alone or afraid. It was the reassurance of a child being held by her parents. Neia was not the only one. There were others who felt the same way.
“...We’ve won.”
From beside Neia, Shizu announced the Sorcerer King’s victory with certainty in her voice. Neia agreed with her as well.
Soon -- a plume of flame rose. It was followed by the darkness flying after it.
Just as before, fire and shadow clashed with each other.
By this time, the cries of the battlefield had gone silent.
Both sides lowered their blades and looked to the battle in the sky.
Yes.
Everyone knew it in their hearts.
The victor of this battle would have the right to end it all.
They were no longer in a realm where mortal men could intervene. This was a battle of the gods.
Light.
Darkness.
Fire.
Lightning.
Meteors.
All manner of incomprehensible phenomena
—Collided with incredible force.
And then—
“Ahhh!”
Neia rejoiced.
That was because Neia’s keen eyes had seen the fire die, and the darkness slowly descend.
This battle had been surprisingly swift compared to the previous one. It was as though to prove that with his mana restored and without the maid demons to get in his way, the Sorcerer King could triumph that easily.
“Shizu-sempai!”
“...It’s like I told you, kouhai.”
Shizu looked like this was perfectly natural, and Neia grabbed her hand and shook it vigorously. However, that was not enough to calm her heart. Neia tightly embraced Shizu’s little body and the hands behind her back kept patting and patting.
As everyone witnessed his victory, they erupted into thunderous cheers.
The Sorcerer King slowly descended and landed upon the earth.
After that, the Sorcerer King raised both his arms, and brought forth even greater cheers than before.
