I never claimed to be a good writer, but some of these ideas sound fun (Happy 10 Chapter-versary)
Please Enjoy
Albedo found herself in a corner between almost three dozen books, most of which only loosely referenced the existence of admins within Yggdrasil. Only after encountering the word being used numerous times as general term did Albedo begin to realize just how incomplete her knowledge of the world was, a fact she considered to be shameful.
"Should the information you find not prove to be very useful, it is my understanding that Lady Shalltear was given a 'Game Encyclopedia' by Lord Ainz. The text originally belonged to Lord Peroroncino and would likely contain something relevant to your research."
Titus, the chief librarian of the Grand Library had taken quite an interest in the particular subject of Albedo's research. Like many other NPC he had a very crude understanding of the way Yggdrasil functioned, as a result little was known about things such as servers, server admins or even the concept of there being any with authority greater than that of their supreme ones.
"Shalltear has it? Then could that mean she has a clear understanding of who she encountered...?"
She should not have said that out loud, the only ones who knew about Shalltear's situation were Lord Ainz himself, the other guardians, Sebas and the Pleiades. Titus would be sure to do a bit more research himself. Albedo's current concern however overshadowed her slip of information, specifically the idea that Shalltear may have known exactly what strung her along in it's plans and still hadn't informed Lord Ainz.
"By the way, if you are concerned over one of Lord Peroroncino's possessions being handed over, there is also another journal of his that I withheld from your search criteria for...Censorship reasons."
"Bring it here immediately, I have to be sure to learn all I can now before Lord Ainz returns."
"Right away, ma'am."
Titus disappeared among a few bookshelves, and Albedo considered the possibility of Shalltear having planned things to work out this way from the start. If so then Albedo had vastly underestimated her rival in numerous ways, in fact it could be possible that they'd all been underestimating Shalltear this whole time. Shalltear had unintentionally earned a bit of Albedo's respect.
"Here you are ma'am."
"Ah, thank you."
Albedo hurriedly opened the journal and began flipping through the pages, skimming the contents for anything that caught her eye. The skimming began to slow the further she got into the journal, at the same time her expression began to contort in different ways.
"Miss Albedo, are you quite alright?"
Alright was not quite the correct term. Her eyes were the size of tennis balls and her face a burning red.
"I think...I think I'll return this later."
Never again could Albedo judge Shalltear for her perverted nature.
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When Gazef invited Brain to come along to a war meeting he had every reason in the world to decline, after all he wasn't a soldier, he wasn't an adventurer and he certainly didn't care too much about what happened to this corrupt kingdom. In the end however he agreed, not because he wanted to fight, but because he owed Gazef for taking him in and giving him the opportunity to get his thoughts in order.
Facing something as inhumanly powerful as Shalltear had crushed Brain's spirit almost completely. How could he, a man of such talent lose so overwhelmingly? Luckily for him, under the encouragement of his rival, a hopeful kid aiming for greater heights and an old man he was able to get over his fears and pick up his Katana once more. This was not a reason to stop, rather it was a lesson that strengthened his resolve to go beyond the pinnacle of humanity, it was only the beginning.
Now that resolve was to be tested. In front of him was a girl unlike anyone else in the room, the way she carried herself as well as her attire immediately set her apart from any average combatant. Honestly her demeanor was more befitting of a noble than a warrior but that was exactly why Brain found himself captivated by her appearance, because he knew that appearance was hiding a monster. She turned to look at him and they made eye contact, it was then that Brain felt the same dread as that fateful night and made the connection.
He put his hand on the hilt of his sword as a drop of sweat ran down his face.
"It's her...Why is she here?"
His words were quiet, not loud enough to be heard over Gazef's speech. His breathing grew heavier and he could hear his own heart pounding, but he would not allow himself to run in the face of this danger, he was a warrior. She was faster than him, he knew that much but his aim would not be to land a lethal blow, it would be to get her to exert more effort than simply holding a fingernail in the way. Yes, if he do even that then that would be proof of his progress as a swordsman. Unsheathing his blade, he lunged at her fearing nothing.
For a moment time seemed to slow down, and then it him, a vision of his demise. When he reached her, his head would be rolling by her feet by the time he swung his blade. It sent a chill through him, one that completely froze him in place and made him feel numb.
When it passed he was standing by Gazef once again, his hand still firmly on the hilt of his sword that had yet to be drawn. He had never moved to begin with. The revelation of this fact forced him to glance at her once again, and he realized that Shalltear's presence was completely different than before. She was directing an absurdly large amount of bloodlust straight at him, the only warning he would receive and the explanation for that vision. This time she wouldn't taunt him and play around with his ego, if he threatened her then she would slaughter him mercilessly. Or so she tried to make him think.
A smirk came to Brain's face, fear would not best him this time. He didn't know why Shalltear was here but there were a few guesses he could make. Either that man Momon had forced her into serving him after their battle or she was after something within the kingdom, which would explain why she was in that forest before. Either way he knew that she wouldn't kill him, if she did that then her cover would be blown and her mission would be a failure. He decided to call her bluff and keep his hand on his blade, a sign of his defiance towards her.
Brain's plan worked, and the bloodlust faded. Knowing that he'd achieved a moral victory, Brain's smirk became a delighted smile. Shalltear on the other hand was pissed. You could not see past the mask on her face but she was gritting her teeth, wanting to crush the human who would dare get this cocky in her presence but there was nothing she could do.
"With that I hope you all can lend us your support!"
A roar of applause met Gazef as he ended his speech, prompting him to smile and take a glance over to his companion.
"Oh you seem to be in high spirits, Brain."
"Hm? Oh yeah, you could say I'm feeling invincible right about now."
"Glad to hear it."
Indeed, Brain was feeling quite invincible, strength came from more than just physical prowess and he'd proven it if only to one person. This would not be the last time the two would come into conflict with one another, Brain had not only insulted Shalltear but he also knew her identity. Should Brain reveal her, it would become a big problem, and so now she found herself at the mercy of this lowly human. The rage she felt from her own helplessness was almost enough to make her explode, and it was through this feeling that she began to hear a very familiar voice in her head once again. Putting her hand to her head, the anger that reigned her subsided and a strange calmness overtook her instead.
"Nightfall, are you alright?"
Momon had not overlooked the interaction between Shalltear and Brain, in fact he was interested in exactly what relationship the two had. If they knew each other then it meant that human likely encountered her on the night of the mind control, making him a suspect with answers Ainz wanted.
"Yes, Momon. I simply worry that making an aggressive move against the Theocracy early will lead to a shortage of warriors to defend against the Empire who will surely take advantage of the situation. There is also the criminal market eating away at our resources."
For a moment Momon was stunned. While there was merit to that thought process, Shalltear was certainly not one to make a prediction based on analysis. He thought back to his private conversation with her and recognized the change in personality. For it to happen again here scared him quite a bit.
"The purpose is for a strike team to deliver a decisive blow and force the Theocracy on the back foot to give the Kingdom breathing room and avoid a full scale assault. The Kingdom won't be able withstand forces from either opponents, as a result we must go on the offensive or risk being wiped out. If we are successful then we may worry about internal affairs."
"I do understand that, however would it not be more wise to try using the criminal underground to our advantage?"
That statement caught the attention of more than a few people.
"It is true that group of criminals...Eight Fingers has quite a few dealings both in and outside of the Kingdom, that being said it should not be a surprise for them to have some bit of political power in the Empire and possibly the Theocracy as well. If we could have them assist us then mutual benefit could come to both sides."
Without delay a large man in robes came into view. His belly was fat and his clothes gave away his status as a noble among the kingdom immediately.
"It sounds as though you are in league with those people, do you perhaps have an adequate reason why the Kingdom should rely on those willing to betray their homeland?"
"As I said before, their influence likely spreads to enemies of the Kingdom as well. Since we have weaker military strength our options are limited, if our manpower is lacking then we could attempt winning through other tactics. With a war as the main concern for the country, production of resources becomes an even more vital necessity, a necessity that could very well be targeted."
Shalltear's suggestion was a scary yet effective plan. Should resources be seized and threatened, then the difference in military strength wouldn't matter. It didn't matter who's soldiers were stronger or more plentiful if they all starved, had no equipment or were allocated away from the war front. As an added bonus, any and all supplies lost by one nation could go directly to the Kingdom. The plan was only a problem from a moral standpoint as it involved coordination with a criminal underground.
"Say we did decide to go through with it, how could we even go about getting Eight Fingers to lend us a hand?"
"W-warrior Captain!?"
Gazef was the ideal model soldier but even he had his limits. Gazef's determination came from his will to protect the Kingdom above all else, even if the methods were questionable he would do whatever was necessary for the Kingdom to survive.
"I doubt they would miss the opportunity to reap the benefits of another failing countries economy, simply bringing it up to them should definitely sway them to consider assisting us."
Just a minute ago Shalltear was a bundle of hate of anger but now she was the center of attention in a strategic meeting to decide the fate of the kingdom. Most were surprised to see that a mere copper plate could offer such a sound strategy, but none were more surprised than Momon. To him, she was an entirely different person. The Shalltear he thought he knew so well had become a cool level-headed tactician in the blink of an eye, a change that left him speechless.
"Alright then, Darkness and Blue Roses will commit to this new strategy. Two adamantite class groups should be able to handle those thugs and deliver our proposal. They will have 24 hours to complete this task, should they fail we will go through with the original plan, are there any questions?"
The room was silent, no one could think of anything to say if even Gazef was on board with the idea.
"Good, then everyone else start preparing for departure immediately, you only have a day to get ready for the upcoming assault."
With that, the war meeting had come to a conclusion and Momon could only stare at Shalltear, still speechless.
"Um..Lord Ai- Momon? Are you okay?"
And then just like that she was back to herself.
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History was not Tanabe's best subject, that much was self evident in her difficulty in keeping up with everything these overly-religious Cardinals had to say. If everything they said were to be believed, then that meant this body belonged to the Goddess of Wind, who was somehow both the fastest of the Six as well as the only one who wielded heavy weaponry. On top of those little outlines the only other thing to be learned was that she wore gleaming silver armor and a helmet that never showed her face.
While the information wasn't particularly detailed it did give her a few concrete facts to nail down.
Firstly, this body had a class similar to Tanabe's Shadow Knight, while she was not certain of the exact class it was clearly a knight of some kind which matched up with her own.
Secondly, these gods they believed in were players from Yggdrasil, something that should have been blindingly obvious and yet was still kind of a shock to realize. Tanabe had known plenty of players with awkward avatars in the past but a small girl wielding greatswords and battleaxes had to have been the most ridiculous. Just imagining having to use a weapon twice or three times her size sounded like a nightmare.
Thirdly, this Theocracy was the wall between humanity and the vast majority of demi-humans who could overrun them otherwise. What made this so important is the simple fact that the Theocracy could not simply be destroyed and taken over by another country. The Theocracy probably had the strongest warriors of any other nation and trying to eliminate them would only lead to bigger problems afterwards anyway.
And finally, the original Goddess of Wind was a demi-human. This in combination with class explained why this body was forced onto her, it was the only one that fit. While these people hadn't and or refused to believe it, the reason why the goddess never showed her face was simply because she knew the consequences that could come along with it. Honestly she could not blame her, with how these fanatics constantly slandered any non-human entity that came up it was a miracle she lived and died without ever having her secret revealed.
Now the problem was figuring out how to bring these truths to light without immediately being sentenced to death. She bit her lip and thought silently while the council debated what to do with her. Another idea came to mind, it was risky but she'd have to play god just one more time.
"Well regardless of who I was before, this is what I've become now. It would not be wise to defy me, lest you bring ruin upon yourselves."
That sounded kinda cheesy… But it still had an ample effect.
"I will not accept your notions of pretending to be the goddess who so graciously risked her life for us." Another old man opened his mouth.
"Fine then, if you will not listen to words then why don't you bring me a warrior to prove the strength of your nation. No mere knight could stand up to me, you would only be making an example out of them because you refuse to accept the truth in front of you."
That was a very commanding statement, it got the council murmuring amongst themselves. Now whether or not they believed, they were at the very least frightened. Really Tanabe had quite the simple plan. This body whether for better or worse was still level one hundred, that meant any average warrior wouldn't even be able to harm her. In fact, the only person who could probably threaten her was possibly the Captain of the Black Scripture or Zesshi and she was locked away to protect their precious artifacts. It would be easy, demonstrate her power to these people and have them acknowledge her as their goddess. Once that was out of the way she would have more freedom, that would be her chance to try and figure out whether or not she could get her old body back somehow. If so then these old fools could be left with a fresh corpse and tanabe could make her getaway unscathed.
If not...Well playing judge, jury and executioner had always been one of her favorite past times back in Yggdrasil anyway. It was a win-win, assuming there was no conflict with Ainz and his tomb anyway. That felt like foreshadowing… Tanabe was already nervous.
"Even if she demonstrates her power, no one will accept this, our goddess being a demi-human will cause mass panic."
"Indeed, if we aren't careful we'll have more enemies inside the country than out."
"A civil war in this day and age? That would tear the Theocracy apart…"
The gossipping over Tanabe's declaration was terrifying, would the people of the Theocracy really be pushed to such lengths over such a small detail? Yes, they would.
"Might I offer a suggestion then?"
The Captain spoke up yet again, his face radiating confidence.
"If it pleases our Goddess, then she can test her strength as a part of the Black Scripture. Rather than reveal her existence to the masses would it not be best to have her work as an agent, completing the duties she always has?"
Dude, shut up! That was not a suggestion she liked at all, she would rather have let the country go into a civil war.
"Yes...Marvelous idea. She will have her stage, and the purity of the order can be kept."
Tanabe's eye twitched involuntarily. She was the supposed to be the one calling the shots and yet instead she was being given a task against her will.
"Fine, then. I'll allow you to see for yourselves, that way you'll understand who you should be worshipping."
She couldn't deny this. Turning down a suggestion they liked would be the same as acting like a brat, now rather than showing off on a stage she would be forced into actual combat with outside forces. So much for playing god…
"Then the matter is settled, Captain it will be your task to equip and then lead her into battle. When the time is right we will know the truth behind this matter."
The council was far from done discussing this but Tanabe wouldn't get to hear the rest of their little chat. Rather than sitting on a throne eating grapes and punishing heretics she'd be thrust into battle like a true soldier.
"Ha...I just got here and it's already become a massive headache…"
"Hm? What did you need?"
"Oh nothing, lead the way young man."
This was some treatment for a god.
Zesshi still doesn't know Tanabe is a girl, lol