Part 14

Caspond was talking about some hostel or another but Neia honestly couldn't care less. Her mind was lost in her own thoughts. About the Sorcerer King. About whether or not he could actually win. About what would happen if he actually lost. Her mind was a swirl of emotions. She wanted to scream at her powerlessness. She wanted to shout at Caspond's decision to not let her go. What she actually did, however, was walk silently behind the party. Her sullen eyes trailed along the brick roads as she thought about how ridiculous it was that they were talking about housing and other trivial matters while Ainz surely about to enter a life or death battle. Lost in her pensive thought as she was, Neia almost didn't notice when Caspond suddenly stopped.

"This hostel looks nice enough. It's not the best, but we hardly have any coins with us anyways so it'll have to do." His subject of discussion was a homely looking two-story wooden building. It was an average inn in the city, not too extravagant but also not too cheap. It would certainly degrade the status of a prince to stay in it, but it wasn't as if Caspond had a better choice.

There was a scattering of agreement from the paladins, but Neia didn't say anything. The question about housing seemed so insignificant in comparison to the other events happening that she couldn't muster up enough care to respond. If Caspond was bothered by this, assuming he even noticed, he didn't show it. Rather, upon hearing the agreement of the rest of the group, he entered the building with little fanfare, the paladins following close behind him. Neia entered last and was presented with a reception area containing several tables and chairs and a bar with a person dressed in a work uniform behind it. A few murmurs arose from the ragtag assortment of people already seated in the inn when they saw the heavily armored group.

At the sight of the cramped quarters, two paladins approached Caspond and advised him to let a few of them walk in front of him to ensure his safety. Caspond gave no objection, and the paladins shuffled about him until Caspond was encircled by them. The group navigated the through the room in this formation until Caspond was near enough to the barkeeper. At this point, the paladins once again shuffled around so Caspond could talk face to face with him.

"We would like three rooms."

The barkeeper had a quizzical look on his face as he scanned the bulky armored figures behind Caspond. He rubbed the back of his head in confusion before finally asking tentatively, "Room and board or just rooms?"

"Room and board for a week."

Somewhat reassured by this familiar line of conversation, the barkeeper eased up. "Sure thing. That'll be… Fifty silver coins with your party's size."

Caspond dug around his pockets for a few seconds before laying the exact change on the counter. The barkeeper made a move as if to count the coins but decided against it. He swept them into his hands and gave an awkward bow, obviously thinking that Caspond was an important person in some respect due to Caspond's attire and bodyguards. "Your rooms are on the second floor and the end of the hall. They should be labeled as room four, five, and six. Have a pleasant stay."

"Thank you." The group did not dawdle around on the first floor. Arranging themselves again, they moved towards the stairs immediately. As the paladins ascended in front of Caspond, the stairs creaked and groaned in protest. It seemed to Neia as if the whole establishment was near collapse under the weight of such heavily clad figures. When Caspond set foot on the wooden steps, however, Neia was surprised at how silently he proceeded, not just in comparison to the noisy paladins, but also in comparison to any regular person. It was as if he was not there at all. Neia wasn't even sure if she could have been as quiet. She felt a nagging thought at this, but pushed it aside. I have things other than a prince's abnormally quiet feet to worry about right now.

When they arrived at their rooms, Caspond began dividing the paladins into the separate rooms. He selected two of the more experienced soldiers as well as Neia to be in his room while dividing the rest between the other two. Though Neia gave some objection to this, Caspond waved her complaints away and shut her up with, "It's all according to plan. Just follow my orders."

And so, with a few parting words the group split up into their respective rooms. Neia sensed a heightened air of nervousness from the paladins with her as they followed Caspond into his room, but all she felt was impatience. It was not as if she no longer admired Caspond, she was sure that he was still a suitable leader and king, but rather because her mind was plagued with matters of greater import than proper etiquette towards nobility.

"Right." Caspond seated himself on one of the two beds in the room. "Now we wait."

Part 15

The days seemed to blend together for Neia. Eat, sleep. Eat, sleep. Eat, sleep. Caspond seemed dead set on doing nothing but waiting. Neia couldn't really complain, however, for she knew that there was nothing else to do. There was no diplomacy to be done or espionage or anything like that. They lacked resources to bargain, troops to deploy, and wealth to use. She had known she would be stuck waiting. If Caspond had not been her king, she would have argued more in favor of her accompanying Ainz but as it was she was left on the sidelines. The paladin assigned to the Sorcerer King's carriage returned on the second day. He didn't have much to say except that, "The Sorcerer King seemed confident enough."

The third night passed somewhat pleasantly for Neia due to this reassurance. Assuming the battle and the healing proceeding the battle took a day, the Sorcerer King could be expected to return on the fifth day. As such, Neia was only weighed down with her restlessness during the third and fourth day. When the morning came on the fifth day, Neia, Capsond, and the paladins waited, waited, and waited. They waited until the sun dipped below the horizon. They waited until the moon glowed a brilliant pale white. They waited until the murmurs of the morning commute began. They waited until the sun had once again risen. It was the sixth day and they continued waiting. They waited for all they could do was wait. When the sun rose on the seventh day, they were finally forced to accept the horrible truth. The Sorcerer King had been killed.

There was an unnatural silence upon the group's table that morning. Each of the paladins had a pale look on their face and their meals were untouched. Neia's eyes were bloodshot due to lack of sleep. Caspond's confidence from days before had dissipated. It had been replaced with a grim acceptance.

Finally, the silence was broken by the slow creak of the main door of the hostel. A messenger, panting slightly with a letter in his hands took a moment to catch his breath in the doorway before exclaiming, "I have an important message for Caspond. Is Caspond here?"

Caspond rose to his feet with a speed unconstrained by any noble predisposition. "Yes! I am here. What do you have for me?"

"A message from the king of the Southern Kingdom."

At once Caspond slumped in defeat. So too did the paladins, their brief moment of exultation dashed to bits by the messenger's words.

With a heavy voice, Caspond beckoned the messenger over. "Well then. Come on with it. Give it to me."

"I apologize for I cannot follow that request. My lord has instructed me to read the letter to the recipient instead of merely giving it to him."

Caspond put his face in his hands. "Very well. Then out with it."

The messenger nodded in thanks and cleared his throat nervously before beginning. "My dearest prince Caspond. I am so, so, sorry to inform you that the Sorcerer King has died. Recent reports by Southern Kingdom scouts have stated that some of the more prominent flags of the demi-human army appear to have remnants of that king's clothes attached onto them. But this is not the most terrible part! It has been stated that Jaldabaoth himself has been seen carrying around the body of that king! Though it is unknown why he does this, it does make one thing clear. The Sorcerer King has died. My apologies Caspond. It appears now that the Southern Kingdom has to take the safety of both kingdoms in its hands. I thought it would be better for me to inform you before we invade the scraps of your kingdom. Proper etiquette does need to be followed after all." The messenger folded up the letter. "End of message. I will be going now." The doors creaked once again as he opened them and departed. What was left was an open-mouthed barkeeper, a bleak looking group of paladins, and a crestfallen Caspond.

"Your majesty!" Neia jumped up suddenly with fire in her eyes. "Send me out! Let me fight this demon king! You must!"

"Please. Just don't squire."

"Listen! Your majesty. Think about it. Consider what has happened. The Sorcerer King has lost to Jaldabaoth. That fearsome spell caster lost to someone. That spell caster which could level nations and kill hundreds of thousands with a flick of his finger. If he has lost, think about the strength of the foe we are going against! It doesn't matter if Jaldabaoth won by the smallest of margins, at his level of power even if he was near death they could destroy any army the Southern Kingdom sends with a blink of his eyes."

Caspond erupted with unexpected emotion. "Do you think I have not considered this squire? Why else do you think we went with this plan, me and that king? The Southern Kingdom's troops are insignificant when compared with that monster of a demon. We decided that it was best for us to not be indebted to the Southern Kingdom at all and try our chances. We traveled her to take me out of imminent danger, not to negotiate. The only reason why we even bothered going to that palace was to see if that idiot king had anything secret hidden." Caspond let his hands drop limply to his sides. "But it was evident that he didn't… We've lost. Both of the Kingdoms have lost Neia. There's no point in throwing another life into the grave."

"We haven't lost! I can kill Jaldabaoth-"

"Are you not listening? If the Southern Kingdom's entire army cannot contest Jaldabaoth, what hope have you? Give it up."

"That's the thing. I am stronger than any army the Southern Kingdom can gather. I am sure about this."

"Are you alright in the head squire?"

Neia thrust her bow at Caspond. "Look! This is a bow of unimaginable power, given to me by the Sorcerer King. It can kill tens, if not hundreds, of people with each shot. I'm certain this bow has the power to harm Jaldabaoth."

Caspond looked at her with expressionless eyes, "If it is as you say, then why did the Sorcerer King not specifically ask for your help? I have discussed the plans with the Sorcerer King. At no time did he mention needing your help. It can only be assumed that he concluded your power was not worth even a miniscule amount of his-"

"I object!" Neia exclaimed with a confidence that even surprised her. "I have spent the past several weeks travelling by the Sorcerer King. During battles and during negotiations I have noticed something about him. He is arrogant. Arrogant beyond belief. So arrogant that he does not realize the danger of his arrogance. During his battles, he walks confidently out in plain sight with no protection of armor. He spends his mana brazenly and he confronts his enemies without even bothering to observe them beforehand."

"Nonsense, the Sorcerer King is one of the wisest beings I know. He plans not days but centuries ahead. He would not let something like arrogance be his downfall."

His wisdom is definitely stunning but centuries? Isn't that a bit of a jump? Neia shook her head. Now's not the time. "I must ask you to forgive me since I disagree. It is because he is so powerful in intellect, strength, and sorcery that arrogance pervades his very being. His power has obviously gone unrivaled for centuries if not millenniums. Any being, no matter how wise he is, would grow arrogant in this situation. If you do not believe me, then I will recount an event which clearly displays his arrogance. During his battle with Buser he cast aside his magic to use physical weapons instead. He had no shortage of mana, I'm now sure of that. He just wanted to test his might. He then took Buser's most powerful blow head on. He, a mage, allowed Buser, one of the strongest demi-human warriors in this region, to strike him! He feels that nothing can harm him. I am sure of that."

"And so what. What does this mean? What point is there to proving that he is a bit careless sometimes?"

"It means that even if I would have been able to help him, he would have disallowed it! A being as arrogant as him would not dare let a weakling like me help. It would hurt his pride beyond belief! Thus, he didn't include me in his plans. Confident as he was, he was sure that he could win without any help."

Caspond narrowed his eyes. "Let me outline your argument then squire. You're saying that because the Sorcerer King is arrogant he would not make use of all of his resources? That he would allow someone who could kill Jaldabaoth to stand by idly while he was killed? Do you realize just how preposterous that sounds?"

"Preposterous or not, it's our last chance. Do you want to just sit in resignation as Jaldabaoth conquers both Kingdoms? Though it may seem unlikely that someone as wise as the Sorcerer King would make such a blunder, don't you think that there's the slightest chance that he did?"

A silence dragged on for a second before Caspond responded. He rubbed his eyes and let out a sigh. "Alright, I will concede that there may be a slight chance that what you have said might be true. However, the question remains, how will you go about getting close enough to shoot Jaldabaoth? He's a spell caster from what I've heard. Spells will always outrange bows, no matter the bow.

"I will go with the Southern Kingdom. By blending into their ranks, I can approach Jaldabaoth without arousing his suspicions. I will be relying on his area of effect spells targeting other areas of the army. Once close enough, I can deal the killing blow."

"The killing blow?" Caspond was not convinced.

"The killing blow." Neia said this with a strident tone. Her voice displayed steadfast certainty, but on the inside she felt anxiety twisting her insides into knots. It was likely that Caspond was right. That she would just be another soldier sent to her death. However, she was willing to take the gamble. Whether I die when fighting Jaldabaoth or in one of those prison camps under the rule of Jaldabaoth, I assume that it would be about the same.

Caspond thought for a few moments before finally agreeing. "Very well. It is not as if it matters whether you are here or not. I have other paladins here to protect me. Furthermore, the chances of me being killed are low anyways. Without a kingdom, what use is a king? I give you my permission."

"Thank you your majesty!" Neia bowed deeply before moving to prepare her things.

"Take some coins with you." Caspond held out twenty silver coins. "You'll need to buy some rations. On foot it'll probably take the army five days to reach the border."

"Thank you again your majesty." Neia accepted the coins with another bow. She gave a salute before exiting the room. As she ran down the rickety stairs, the paladins in Caspond's room looked with uncertain expressions at Caspond. They were unsure if Neia actually had a chance or if Caspond had just sent her to die. Caspond didn't bother answering their questioning faces but rather turned away to hide his face. He was smiling.