To Guest Mario: You didnt realized that half of the story is from the past right? Like flashbacks.
Now, sorry for the waiting, and heres the chapter. (Not sorry btw)
No unnecessary introductions and get right to it!
Enjoy. :D
(Btw, should I continue with this or remake/rewrite another?)
The carriage had arrived at the location which they would meet the 2nd prince of the Kingdom, Zanac. (F**K these guys and their long ass names!)
They have arrived in time for it was the seventh day that they should be. And of course using the {Gate} spell which would be much quicker rather than doing the long way around.
The Death Cavalier rode up against the side of the carriage and knocked on the window, which was pulled down by Alcatraz. "Yes?"
"We have arrived my lord." It said.
Alcatraz smiled. "Very well, thank you for informing."
"No need to give me praise my lord." It bowed its head.
Alcatraz sighed. "You may return into formation."
The death rider bowed its head once more before silently leaving from the carriage's side window.
"Albedo, you know what to do." He pulled on his hood, which shadowed his face, and wore his hat. His face mask is in his inventory as he placed an illusion. Having a intimidating mask out in a neutral public would scare them all off. Even though Fear is his specialty... "Just act like through it."
He pulled out a [Bag of Holding], in a form of a combat satchel, from his void inventory. He decided to use it, due to the fact that everyone would be in awe and fear whenever he pulls something odd from his void inventory, and they would either back away or ask questions, either way it is annoying.
"Yes Alcatraz-sama." She bowed her head.
The plan is basically for Alcatraz to escort Albedo as a bodyguard. But Alcatraz is to monitor her as she works, but in the mean time when it is not going into a meeting, he would be going to Gazef's grave.
He won't be resurrecting him, he respected his decision no matter how foolish it is. He would just be visiting the grave. Because once the man's oath has been spoken, you cannot undo it easily.
He looked outside the window and saw a group of soldiers along with a figure standing out with a armor different among the others. He may be the prince that was suppose to greet them, said in letter.
"Seems the prince is here to greet us." He muttered as he made a small smile.
As the Death Cavalier lead the prince to the carriage/coach, the Cavalier spoke again. "Then, this is the leader of the envoy party, Albedo-sama."
The doors then slowly opened, and Albedo getting out of the carriage.
Alcatraz put on his hood which shadowed his face but his mouth still can be seen, thanks to the illusion that hides his devilish smile as well. F**king hell its creepy asf.
He got out, stepping to Albedo's side. He noticed that the prince seemed to be bowing his head.
"Could you please raise your head?" Albedo said in a sweet tone.
"At once." The prince replied. As he looked up, he then examined her from up to down.
"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. "...Forgive me, but may I know how I should properly address you, Albedo-sama?" That made Alcatraz to raise an eyebrow in wonder.
'How should he address her?' Even he had hard time to make up an alibi for Albedo. 'But then again, we could just roll with the bullsht dice for luck.'
"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." The prince replied.
'Like hell he would even know what they meant.' He rolled his eyes. 'Just keep on the act, Albedo.'
"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?"
'Finally, now thats kinda understandable now.'
"Ohhh, I see now!" He said. "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 didnt change even from the slightest.
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.
The prince then continued speaking. "...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."
"Then, may I ask a few questions of my own?" Albedo asked.
"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."
'F**k, were gonna start in the talks in 3 days? I hate f**kin waiting.' He suppressed the urge to groan.
"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."
"Oh, and my assistant shall also come with me." She gestured to Lordez who lowered his head slightly. "He is called 'Watcher'." 'Watcher' bowed his head.
'Was kinda expecting something else, but no use of it anyway.'
The prince looked at him, taking a quick examination at him. "That will be fine, my lady." He said.
Albedo nodded as she smiled.
Ainz sighed with heavy frustration.
He had been piled up with piles of paperwork of reports from his servants, laws, considerations, and etc. He really wanted to stay in a hole and read manga and light novels forever, but he couldnt because he is the leader of Nazarick, and there are friends who were also here helping with him, so he couldnt sit back and do nothing...
He wanted to take a break in his Human form, but he has to read few more reports before doing so, the reports he had read arent really worth much of an attention, but knowing the smallest detail could help out big ones. That is what his friend told him.
He observed that his mind is much more stronger than his Human form, possibly that it denied emotional-based features, as well as living, and focused on the cold calculating mind.
He shrugged at the thought.
As he looked through the reports, he noticed his friend's report. Curious, he read the content slowly and surely. He found out it wasnt a report, more like of a request.
Ainz hummed as he read through the content of Alcatraz's request. Basically Alcatraz wanted to make use of Iron and Steel resources, as well as other low-quality metal resources, for a high tec advancement. 'Because' he wanted to advance through the era, which he doesnt want to stick in the 'Dark-Ages' much longer.
Ainz lightly chuckled at his friend's request. He knew of his friend personality and he knew that he only wanted to make armor and vehicles. He was quite surprised when he proposed to make Nazarick into a country, which he never thought he would do so, he thought that it might be the Undead's attributes and features which turned him into a cunning person.
He would talk to him by {Message}, but he is on a mission, which is just watching Albedo not to do something stupid and allow him to have 'free time' in the Capital as well as getting the layout of it. Which is technically called 'Spying'.
He opened his drawer and got a stamp with a green confirmed of a symbol. and stamped it on the top right of the paper.
He placed down the paper and turned his head to the window, for some reason he felt at peace whenever he looks through the blue, beautiful sky.
'I wonder if Alcatraz-san feels this as well...' He thought. '...He better not do anything stupid.'
As he stared out the window and to the sky, he then returned working on the paperwork and read their contents.
'Once I've read some of the reports, Im going to change into my Human form and take a deep nap. My head is splitting from all of this.' He groaned quietly.
Alcatraz, or 'Watcher' as his alias for this mission with Albedo, he stood upon a grave, where Gazef is buried.
The tombstone said; 'Here lies the Warrior-Captain Gazef, he rest in peace.'. There are flowers around the tombstone, as a sign of honor and respect to the man.
Alcatraz could only stare down at the tombstone lowly and silently as a cool breeze went by.
"Never thought you would be buried in a place like this, Gazef." He chuckled at his words. "Though, it would be nice to have you back, and you not being dead in your age yet..."
"You could have lived through just by being Ainz's vassal, and more people would also live by your sacrifice on your loyalty..." He frowned. "You could have swallowed your pride and save yourself, and at the same time, others lives." Said Alcatraz as he went silent afterwards.
He sighed again. "You remind me of my son, you have the same attitude as him, but never the looks." He shook his head with amusement. "He has the will to save someone, even if it risks his life for them..." He made a small smile.
He turned to the skies on the horizon. "I've only been watching him from afar, because of her... I never knew of him directly, and I cant stay with my family due to the... circumstances I've been..." He said sadly. "But at least I know what my son is like, and thankfully, he is not fully like his mother." He chuckled before sighing.
Meanwhile, from the some place else...
The undead player felt his heart beating. He stood frozen and too shocked for him to understand what just happened.
"What the!?" He said shockingly.
His heart felt beating warmly, for the first time in about few months being stuck in this world.
"What... What was that?" He mumbled confusingly. He placed his hand onto his heart, and didnt feel it beat again. "Was I imagining things?" He shook his head.
"Man, I hate having f**king stresses like this, makes you go crazy." He said quietly before ordering several of his undead summons to build some things in the warehouse which is now his base. "Really need to rest from time to time, should take a break on planning to protect f**king Vale, stressing me the f**k out..." He muttered silently as he watched his summons carrying cargo of red sap from the trees in Forever Fall.
"Hopefully, there might be a chance, IF there is a chance, then I wish that I would meet him soon enough... Havent properly know about him much, less than watching him and observing him ever since..." He smiled to himself before turning to the tombstone. "And hopefully, you also would find peace in the after life... If there is such thing." He sat on the ground, crossed-legged, and pulled a violin from his satchel.
He placed his satchel and his dark-edged katana to the side. "What was that song again?" He pondered silently. "Oh! Remember it now..."
He readied his violin and began to play...
*Playing Bink's Sake (Violin Solo)*
He played the song as a appreciation and respect to the dead man, even though the dead can't hear, it is somewhat right and honorable to do which is only for Alcatraz's opinion.
He felt peace by playing it, he could picture images in his mind of his friends. Their arguments to which he find it amusing, the bond on friendship they had formed in some way, their raids, their laughter.
It hurts on not being able to fully release your emotions, which is being restrained. He could feel that his eyes were filling up with imaginary tears, but it something was holding it in strongly, it didnt matter because he didnt care and smiled as he played.
He finally finished the song, with a big smile behind the mask and his body trembled with immense emotion being held in. Though the emotion suppression could vanish it, but not completely.
'Son... I wonder how are you doing right now... I hope you are doing well what you are doing...' He really wish that he could cry without any restrictions.
He slowly breathed in and out, to calm himself from being painfully suffocated from the restricted emotions he has held on. He made a one big exhale before being completely calmed.
He went silent after that before laughing loudly with a huge grin. "-Hahaha! Haah, why am I doing this? *Chuckled* *Sigh* This would be quite embarrassing if someone saw this."
He got up and dusted himself. "Doesnt matter, what I have said here is done." He shouldered his bag and tipped his hat to the grave. "Ill see you next time Gazef. Sorry that I havent been able to get something for you." He shrugged. "Then again, Im not used to dealing situations like this..."
"The world will change Gazef..." He muttered lowly as he walked away. "It will change..."
(He is wearing a outfit from Bloodborne, Hunter's outfit (A) just so you need to know)
Alcatraz didnt really manage to learn the streets and layouts of the Capital really, he just placed a beacon in the place they have been staying and his senses telling him on which directions to go and quick to arrive at the destination on the beacon he had placed.
He really felt like a drifter walking down the streets with his outfit on. It gives him both sense of coolness and a small unwanted attention, because he looked like he is sell-sword for hire.
He could feel some eyes gazing at him with mixed expressions as he can tell by from both the atmosphere and their whispers a sense he can hear them with his enhanced hearing.
Though they aren't showing it, he could still tell by taking quick glances to the sidelines.
But he didnt mind it and ignored them, fully paid his complete attention on walking down the well-made cobblestone road. He's in the market part of the district where there is tons of people roaming around. Which led him to his disappointment that he has to walk through a place where there is a bit to much people. But has to deal with it since this path is the fastest back to the place they're staying at.
He noticed there are several armed men coming up to him, but stopped in about 5 feet in front of him, they all looked quite smugly and a huge sense of pride in their faces. He noticed the people around him suddenly kept distance on them, as if they are afraid.
'This now?' He thought tiredly. 'I've enough sht to do something now.'
"Hmmm, never seen you around here in this district before." He lead person said.
Alcatraz shrugged his shoulders. "Just came here to pay visit from the cemetery." He slightly glanced behind him, as if he is telling them which direction he came from.
"I see, sorry about your loss." The person bowed his head in respect, but Alcatraz could tell that his man was just pretending to show his respect as he could feel the mockery in his tone. "Who were you visiting?" The man narrowed his eyes on Alcatraz.
Alcatraz slightly raised his head. "You wouldnt believe me anyways." He tipped his hat. "Ill be off now-"
"-Oh no." The man gripped the handle of his sword firmly. "-Apologizes but, you arent going anywhere, you're coming with us." He halted him.
'What now?' "..." He said tiredly.
"You're a mercenary are you? A mercenary right?"
"And what makes you say that?" He raised a suspicious brow.
"Your weapon and your outfit, your clothes says its all." He said smugly. "Plus, you dont even have a plate around your neck which means you're either a mercenary or a soldier... Or a bandit."
'Really? My f**king weapon here? Its a piece of sht.' He held onto his katana's handle. 'I just made it with f**king magic, everyone is f**king weak here so why the f**k not have a weapon which would balanced everything out!?' He inwardly said sarcastically.
"Either of those you said are completely wrong, sir. I'm just a traveler visiting the dead."
"-Not without some identification, you're coming with us." The man slowly walked forward and drew his blade half-way from its sheathe, the men behind him also did the same. "This will be your last warning, so come with us and you won't be harmed." He said with a smug smile.
Several people of the crowd then began to back off from them, some were watching from afar with concern and fear, some also ran away from the scene.
'Time to check if these f**ktards are the real deal.' He pulled out a badge with a symbol of Nazarick and displayed it to the men in front of him. "I claim that you know of this?"
The man tilted his head in wonder. "What is that? Some kind of a charm? Hah! Anyways, you're coming with us." The man completely drew out his weapon from its sheathe.
'As I thought, these men are f**ktards.' He sighed inwardly. "Then dont blame me if you'd fallen asleep then."
"What ar-" Before the man could finish, Alcatraz activated his {Shrouded Fear} and directed it towards the men. They stood in frozen fear, and couldnt move a finger nor an inch. The people that were presently around could only watch in confusion and interest, mostly confused, onto wondering what happened. They do not know, but if one has a keen eyesight, they could see that the men were sweating bullets right now.
'What the!? I cant move!?' Thought the man with panic.
Alcatraz slowly walked to them and drew out his blade. It made people to stare and gasp at its beauty of a blade. Its edges were glowing with dark-green colors, and its blade looks as if it is been made with the best craftsmen gathered and made the blade.
But truly, this is one of Alcatraz's blades he himself created using his Master Blacksmith and his Skilled Weaponsmith skills and using low-med quality metal, it was for him to test it out and to also balance himself against foes in the NW since he would find it boring to fight the inhabitants with power that they couldnt fully grasp at its peak of level. Only for the inhabitants in this world...
He enchanted his blade or which he dubbed it 'Twilight's Shadow', with extreme durability, sharpness, and for it to be shrouded in cold, dark aura to blend in with its appearance.
Having flashy enchantments onto the thing would attract unwanted attention, as much as he wanted, he has to play it safe.
He slashed them with the back part of the blade where its dull and non-lethal. 'Jeez, why do I have a feeling that this is like that one sort of anime?' He silently casted {Sleep} upon them, just to make sure they have been knocked out completely for the day.
(A/N Seriously, why is 'casted' not a f**king word? I call this BS)
They all went down unconsciously, Alcatraz then sheathed his sword quietly then the crowd went agape seemed to be in mixed expressions. They were mostly feared and in awe of his skill with the blade, some went to call in guards. But he didnt mind it, he'll be back to the party anyway.
He properly shouldered his bag and held his blade to his waist, and before he could walk away, someone shouted from the crowd. "Hey! What do you think you're doing!? What did you do to those guards!?" It was a female voice with a firm voice.
'What now?' He glanced to the source lazily.
He saw a young woman with long blonde hair, green eyes, and pink lips that show a healthy gleam. She also wore leather armor with some metal on some parts to her body. She also held a blade on her hands, the blade is beautifully made and its theme is almost same as the night sky.
He then noticed that she was also flanked by several girls with their weapons readied.
'Ah, its Blue Rose. Should have known.' He lazily laid his sheathed blade on his shoulder. "..."
This time, she say again with a threatening tone. "I'll ask you again, what did you-"
"-They were about to make some move on me, ma'am, so I decided to dealt with them before they could do some harm to me." He took a slight glance at them, which made them to shift a bit.
The girl behind the mask, which is Evileye, then said cautiously without dropping her threatening tone. "Did you kill th-"
"No, I didnt kill them" He interjected sharply. "Try to look closely." He said coolly. He backed away from the unconscious men few steps for Blue Rose to confirm that they were only incapacitated, not killed.
'Forgot about her, maybe I should gather information from her...?' He narrowed his eyes slightly on the short, red caped masked girl.
The twin Ninjas - Tia and Tina - went to the bodies and checked, they turned to Lakyus and said. "He's right, they're still alive, no lethal wounds to be found." Tia said, Tina nodded to back her sister's confirmation up.
Lakyus felt a bit relieved to know that the man didnt kill the guards and were still alive.
But that doesnt change the fact that she will easily calm down from a situation like this. He just took the guards, who seemed to be not moving when the man was slowly walking towards them. It doesnt make any sense to them.
For all she knows, is that this man is possibly on par with Brain and maybe the late Gazef.
She examined the man's appearance closely. His face was shadowed by his hood, but his cold, unwelcoming frown can barely be seen. He was wearing a black-coated duster with crimson trimmings. He has the same weapon that Brain Unglaus used, but his blade seemed to be much more longer and was beautifully crafted. It's blade's appearance is midnight black, almost the same as her cursed sword.
'Could it be one of the Swords of Darkness?' She thought uneasily as the possible fact that the magic item with it's curse may overwhelm its user, and will endanger anyone around the user with extreme power of destruction if the user doesnt have the will to control it, yet he doesnt seem to show any signs of trouble holding it in.
"Who are you? You dont seemed to be an Adventurer..." She lowered her sword, followed the same suit from her teammates, but were still on guard on the suspicious man in front of them.
They noticed that there wasnt any plate on him. Either he is a worker, or something else...
"I'm not, I'm just a simple bodyguard for a specific person." He scanned the area and noticed the people seemed to be afraid of him and were backing off. some were running away and others where at a good distance to watch what will happen between him and the Adamantite team.
That made them to be surprised. How could a skilled swordsman like him be a bodyguard? That made them curious on what he just said. "You're a bodyguard? Of whom?" She asked.
Alcatraz pulled out the badge again and lazily showed it to the girls. "Recognize this?"
"Is that... The Sorcerer King's symbol!?" Evileye exclaimed, making everyone who heard her widen their eyes with the size of a dinner plate.
"Finally, someone recognized it." He said tiredly and placing the paper symbol back into his duster's pocket. After all, whats the use of not using the pockets of clothing if you keep on using the void inventory all the time?
"What are you doing here?" She hissed.
"I will tell you, once I know who you are miss...?"
Lakyus took a bit step forward. "I am Lakyus, leader of the Adamantate team; Blue Rose. My friends here are Evileye, Gagaran, Tina and Tia." She gestured as she introduced their names to him.
'Gargaran? Hahahahaha! Sounds like the daughter of f**king Gargantua!' He suppressed the urge to laugh with the help of his emotion suppressor. Time like this, it is really helpful. 'Glad to know her name finally, didnt get the chance since she died.'
He nodded. "I apologize that I have no name, but I am called as Watcher." He bowed. "I am the bodyguard of Al- the Ambassador of the Sorcerer King." He almost make a mistake there.
Everyone widen their eyes, no, simply put that it made them to be surprised to their core.
"The Ambassador of the Sorcerer King is here?"
"What is going to happen?"
"F**k this sht, Im out."
"Why is the Ambassador here?"
"Will there be war?!"
Those were the murmurs of the citizens around who had heard what Watcher (Alcatraz) stated.
"Now if that answers your question, I'll be heading to where the... Ambassador is at." Before he start to walk away, the shorty of the Blue Rose spoke up.
"What are you doing here then for, 'Watcher'?" She asked in a neutral tone, but if you hear it more closely there's some anger within her voice. Most likely because of Momon being held as 'hostage' before Ainz Ooal Gown.
Lakyus glanced at her companion, getting a small hint that she is trying to get information from the bodyguard. 'Smart move.'
Watcher shifted his place lazily. "Simply talking proper terms with each other. All I know is that the Ambassador is here to talk sense to the Capital, thats all..." Was all he said before he started walking away. He turned to his shoulder and spoke to the Blue Rose. "Those men are either thugs or corrupted guards, you should probably get new ones or arrest them." He said lastly as he tipped his hat.
The Blue Rose could only watch the man walk away, they couldn't do anything to halt the man's way as he has a - what they would have to guess - 'matter' to do with the Ambassador.
"Should we-" Tia was about to speak, but was cut out shorty by Evileye.
"-No, we shouldn't." She watched carefully on the man's back. "And I feel that we shouldn't anger him..."
"What makes you say that?" Gagaran raised a questioning brow.
"Because if we do fight him, I think we wont be able to win." She turned to her teammate. "That 'Watcher' is possibly much stronger than the late Gazef."
The team looked at her with disbelief, the man that they had encountered is possibly stronger than the late Strongest Warrior in the Capital?
"We'll need to know where the place they stay." Evileye said. "We'll be able to monitor their movements."
The rest of the Blue Rose know the policy on adventurers not involving in Kingdom matters, but this one is involving the lives of the people in the Kingdom, so they had no choice but to follow their comrade's suggestion.
They cannot just leave this matter alone...
Alcatraz managed to reach the place they had been placed in for the time being. Which is a f**king castle to be exact.
They were assigned to be in the Kingdom's guest room, since they are envoys from the Sorcerer Kingdom and wouldnt want to treat them really disrespectfully. Which is really obvious...
It has been last night since they had a dinner with the Royal Family, he also ate and managed to get some good taste. He felt relieved that his undead body is able to consume the food and digest inside his body, converting it HP.
They also had been to the theater, which is quite nice since the theater back in their world is kinda expensive to even watch a live movie or act, and theres going to be a dinner party holding later in tonight. And hopefully it's not going to end like those moments...
'I wonder how will Ainz do when he managed to eat food...'
He walked into the castle entrance and pulled out the Sorcerer Kingdom's symbol, giving the guards a clear signal that he is one of the Sorcerer Kingdom's escort and let him through.
He went into the building and notice several servants cleaning the interior entrance, they noticed him and greeted him respectfully, as he did the same.
As he walked by few more steps, he took off his hat and pulled down his hood out of manner. Even he is in a 'escort' mission, which his friend requested him for, he still needs to adjust in the new place for a couple of days and after that he is good to be back home, sleep in his really comfortable bed, and drink some delicious wine...
He walked through several hallways and reached to his room, it was technically a bit distant to the envoy's guest room - which Albedo totally doesnt agree on but Alcatraz managed to use his 'magic' onto persuade Albedo that it is alright.
After all, Albedo is the important figure in this mission, not him since he is asked to join in the 'talk'. Albedo is representing the Sorcerer Kingdom, while Alcatraz 'Watcher' is just the ears of Ainz, for him to get the clear details on the talk.
He used his key to open the room, and walked in. His room isnt entirely luxurious, but its decent in his taste. He placed his bag down and quickly left the room, which of course he locked it on the way out.
He head towards to where Albedo is staying at, to have a report going on.
[Albedo, are your room?]
[Ah, yes I am Lord Alcatraz. Do you need something?]
[Before that, are you dressed? I'll be coming inside the room]
[You can come in now, my lord, I am well dressed]
'If you say so...' He slowly opened the door and revealed his sight of a well-lighted room, and Albedo being in her... 'Casual' wear. Im not gonna describe since it could be just a f**king nightwear which you can imagine.
"Welcome, Alcatraz-sama." She bowed.
'Holy sht...' He looked up and down of her clothes with a quick eyes. For some reason he could feel his unholy blood rushing onto his lower part of his torso.
He immediately suppressed down his dirty thoughts of her... appearance right now and falsely coughed to the side. Tho there are still some parts of his mind that are placing this scene in his memories now permanently... XD
"Be relieved now, I just came here to check on you." He placed his hand into his duster's pocket. "Have you gain anything?"
She shook her head. "Nothing that is majorly important nor a threat to our plans, Alcatraz-sama."
"I see, and also, have you been... Thinking of them?" He asked.
"Them, my lord?" She asked confusingly, not getting the question.
"The Humans I mean." He said. "What is your opinion on them?"
And almost by an instant, her expression changed from welcoming and warming to a grimace of a scowl as if a trigger was activated upon the words spoken.
"They are insects that are not worth to be living within the Supreme Being's rule." She said with angrily.
'As expected... Of course.' He thought lazily. "That Albedo, is what you think lowly on them."
She titled her head slightly to the side, not getting the point. "What do you mean?"
Alcatraz smiled a little. "What I mean is, if one dares to underestimate them, even by a speck of dust, it would possibly be the downfall." He noticed a chair which was near the bed and went towards it. "Sit down, I'll be telling you a story." He sat down and gestured for her to sit down on bed.
Albedo hesitated on her master's words, but regardless, she obediently obeyed.
"The story begins with a man, who was beaten to death." He started. "There were... a group of militias that went into his house, his friend and with his spouse were beaten, they beat them. But, the man who was beaten stood up, even when he was beaten down every time to the ground, he stood back up again. So they hit him harder, but still he got back to his feet... And I think because of this they stopped the beating, and let him live. Thus, calling him "Stoykiy muzhik"" He chuckled... "Which means, 'Standing Man'."
He could only tell that Albedo is really listening him intently. Like seriously, its just a f**king story.
"And you know the meaning behind it?" He asked.
She shook her head. "Forgive my incompetence. I'm afraid I dont get what you're saying, my lord." She was about to bow but was stopped when Alcatraz raised his hand.
"Im not literally asking you if you get it. All I want is a yes or a no, and your answer is no." He smiled. "That's alright, I'll tell you the meaning behind the story."
He slowly pulled his hand back. "'You can't break a man the way you break a dog, or a horse. The harder you beat a man, the taller he stands.' That is the meaning behind it. The more you push them around, maybe sometime around there will be but only some or few of them will stand tall and hold their ground."
"Amazing..." Albedo muttered. "It is never a wonder why the Supreme Beings held so much knowledge. As expected from Alcatraz-sama." She said.
'F**K NO! WE JUST KNOW ALOT OF THINGS BACK IN OUR WORLD!' He suppressed his urge to laugh out from this.
He chuckled, to muffled some out of his laughter.. "It's better to know everything, rather than nothing."
He noticed a body pillow of Ainz on her bed, it was covered by a blanket so it couldn't be noticed easily to which he did. 'What the f**k? Did she make that? F**k, I guess her wanted to be Ainz's wife is serious then. This could have been avoided if Ainz didnt change the damn description but for Tabula-san to leave 'slut' description there is really a f**king low move.' He quickly mentally shook his thoughts out of the body pillow and regained his composure as he continued to converse with Albedo for a while. She seemed to be intent in listening to his words. Possibly for learning from him...
As what all f**king NPCs will do for their creators and masters, they would with to serve them eternally and learn their knowledge.
F**king obvious, as f**k.
It has been nighttime now, and they are in their carriage on their way to the location on where there will be a dinner party.
'And hopefully, this would be a fun night for me and Albedo...' He thought lazily.
He had dressed up formally for the party, same goes to Albedo, wearing a black beautiful dress that paled others in comparison. He also have to make another alibi of a name, which is Drakul L. Crimson. (I suck at naming!) For him to be a bodyguard would just make the approach on him a bit difficult as they will think he doesnt have anything to speak of. Possibly.
And if there is an assassin around - which he doubted so much that no one can harm Albedo - he will just take action and eliminate the problem.
And for his guess, he wouldnt be able to carry his weapon around, so he just crafted his concealment weapon, which is a pistol that can fire both lethal and non-lethal rounds. Its also just made entirely out of wood and some pieces of metal. True, its not a good piece of equipment compared to his previous ones, but he didn't carry any of his own resources in his void inventory, so he had to improvise.
He places his guard down whenever times like this happens, but now, he made a mental note to keep carrying them forever.
Alcatraz is just reading from his book consisting of his ideas and inventions, as well as plans for the technology and tactics for their military in both Nazarick and the Sorercer Kingdom.
'Huh, maybe I should make a couple of guns to test for the undead... Couldn't be possible since they don't have no, wait that was a stupid thought, Skeleton Gunners already got guns with them... But the fact they only wield single-shot rifles if I can remember. Meh, I'll upgrade the arsenal when we managed to - hopefully conquer and liberate some kingdoms... Only if their laws is against ours that is. Life is sacred, even though I've killed before...'
In the immense train of thought he's in, he didnt noticed that they had already arrived at the entrance and had noticed until the sounds of people were slowly getting louder.
"We're here my lord." Albedo said.
He nodded and closed his book and rubbed his neck.
"Let the act begin..." He muttered quietly.
As their carriage parked at the 'drop off', Alcatraz opened the carriage door and gestured for Albedo to go out first. Ladies first. Alcatraz followed the second she stepped out and donned his hat to conceal his face for the meantime...
It seems that they are the only ones outside at the moment and could guess that they are already inside.
[Just to remind you, just try to enjoy the night for the sake of completing this task for Ainz] And again, he fully regretted for saying this statement again.
[Yes, Alcatraz-sama!] She said mentally in a joyous tone, even her expression changed into a face of... You know what to imagine.
As they near the entrance, they were greeted by the guards at the entrance with complete respect as they are the envoys of the Sorceror Kingdom, they were then guided by a 'ceremony master' and headed to where the dinner party is held.
And to Alcatraz taste of the place, it's not bad nor it was decent, but nevertheless paled in comparison in place of Nazarick.
As they arrived at the entrance of the doors which behind of it is where the party is held at. They were told to wait as the servant rushed in to announce their arrival.
The moment the man went in, Alcatraz sighed releasing his stress he had kept in. But unfortunately, this caused Albedo to look at her master with slight concern.
"Is there something wrong my lord?"
"No, it's just the things I've been thinking in the past. It's nothing too major for the plan nor for Nazarick, it's just a person I've been thinking about."
"Forgive me for asking but, who is this person you thought of?"
He shook his head with amusement. "There's nothing to forgive of Albedo, and the person which has been in my mind for quite a while is my..." He paused. 'Should I tell her? This would make things more f**king complicated if I do.'
"... The answer can wait, would that be alright?" He made a small smile, which he guessed that she felt the smile underneath his mask. He then removed his hat and latched it onto his right side of his hip.
"Yes!" She then straighten her pose more elegantly.
"-welcome the leader of the envoys, Albedo-sama!" Was a male voice was heard, then almost after that, the doors opened. Revealing a crowd of nobles gazing upon them with surprised looks, mostly towards Albedo's beauty to his guess.
'Nobles... Huh.'
Philip tightened up his smile while smoothing out his clothes.
This was only the second time he had participated in a noble party like this. Still, perhaps he should say that this was expected of a dinner party organized by the Royal Family - the sheer decadence of this event outshone the one he had previously attended.
The formal attire of the other guests seemed much more costly than the ones at the earlier party. How much did their outfits cost, anyway? Philip glanced at his own clothes, and began to feel a bit little frustrated.
'The upper-class nobles really had some awesome clothes.' He thought
The noblewomen in their fancy dresses all had smiles on their faces, but were those smiles mocking him for his plain attire? Philip could not help but think that way, even without any basis for such assumptions. When he looked around, he imagined all the surrounding nobles laughing at him.
'It's all because I have no money.' He frowned slightly at the thought.
If his domain was wealthier, he would have been able to afford better clothes. However, Philip's domain had never been that prosperous to begin with. Even his clothes now had been hastily stitched together from his older brother's formal wear. As a result, they still felt a little tight around the shoulders.
Would he be given a bit of money and then chased out of the family home? Or perhaps he would be sent to live with a poor family and work like a peasant. He could only see tragedy waiting in both options. Yet, things had not unfolded that way. Instead, he was making his debut at a grand society ball.
That was why Philip felt he was lucky.
The first bit of luck was his elder brother, the second son, dying of illness before he came of age.
Since his eldest brother - the first son - was already a man by then, there was no longer any value to his elder brother, the second son. In addition, theirs was not a wealthy fief, and they could only use herbs instead of priests to treat him. In the end, his condition had taken a turn for the worse, and he shuffled off the mortal coil.
(Cold motherf**ker is he right?)
But at this point, Philip was now elevated to the position of a spare. His value had risen from that of a farmer to that of a butler. So things like these were not uncommon.
But to what had catapulted Philip into the upper crust was the result of Philip's next stroke of luck.
Several years after reaching adulthood, it was time for Philip's elder brother to take over the family estate. Then, that war with the Empire had broken out. If it had been like previous years, it should have ended after a few bumps and scrapes. Therefore, it was a safe way for his elder brother to obtain a battle record, and his family could take pride in the fact that they had pledged men to the battle.
However, his elder brother had not come back. He had been consumed by the Sorcerer King's magic, and perished with the twenty peasants that went with him.
Philip could not forget the instant of joy he felt when he heard that news. It was the joy he had carried within him ever since becoming a spare.
His elder brother's body was missing, and so was the suit of full plate armor passed down from his ancestors. Still, that was not a big problem. Once his domain grew wealthier, he would make a better suit of armor for himself. The more important thing was that the title of estate heir had gone from unattainable to practically his.
And for some reason, the timing for that was just perfect.
If his brother had died after inheriting the family estate, Philip would have had to spend his time waiting for his nephew to grow into a man. However, since his brother had died without claiming his inheritance, his lordship was a done deal.
It was as though the Sorcerer King had gone out of his way to arrange all this for Philip.
Because of that, Philip even felt something like goodwill toward the Sorcerer King that he had never met before. If only he could convey his gratitude directly to the Sorcerer King's emissary.
'That's right. I'm going to ride on my streak of luck. How can I let such a good chance get away before my eyes?' Philip's heart blazed like a bonfire.
He could only think of his father and elder brother as idiots after seeing what they had been doing all this time. 'Why don't you do this? Doesn't this bring you more benefits?' Of course, he'd never told them that to their faces.
That was because none of the gains made would trickle down to him. Neither would any prestige for doing so be his. Therefore, over a long time, Philip had cooked up ideas on how to properly administer his fief and stored them in his heart.
And just as Philip was musing and envisioning his glorious golden future, a male voice rang through the hall.
"Ladies and gentlemen! I present to you the leader of the envoys from the Sorcerous Kingdom, Albedo-sama!" And at this moment, the grand hall's orchestra lowered their instruments, and the mood of joviality in the air died down.
Judging by the noises, it would seem the master of ceremonies had just announced the star of the dinner party which the Royal Family was hosting.
"Albedo-sama serves as the right hand of the His Majesty the Sorcerer King in the Sorcerous Kingdom, and commands a position equivalent to that of a prime minister as a 'Guardian Overseer'. Albedo-sama will grace us along with her assistant, Drakul L. Crimson, for this evening."
A soft woman's voice said, "Oh, I wonder who's the man...".
A wealthy-looking noble standing nearby chastised her with a "Quiet, you."
Philip then wondered what sort of person this emissary and the man would turn out to be, he looked toward the doors by which the master of ceremonies was standing.
"Then, let us welcome them, Albedo-sama and Drakul-sama!" As the great doors opened, the entire hall fell silent. He felt his jaw slacken with his mouth open slightly.
A goddess-like woman stood there. Her perfect features were more beautiful than any peasant, more beautiful than any whore in the Kingdom's brothels, more beautiful than any woman Philip had ever seen in his life. Of course, the Princess from earlier was pretty, but Philip preferred what he was seeing now.
Her clothes were beautiful as well. Her platinum dress was accented with golden hair ornaments, while the lower half of her dress was covered by what seemed like black feathered wings. Her reflection in the magical lights above made it seem as if she was glowing.
He felt his jaw slacken.
But thats not the only eye-catching figure on what was there.
There stood a man with a appearance that made almost every noble here pale in comparison. His broad yet a perfect features, his posture seemed to look like his back was hooked making him to stand up straight like a perfect line.
His clothes was accented with dark purple trimmings, and the outfit itself also seem to be made of fine dark material that he couldnt tell, and seemed to be made in a exquisite yet a foreign design of fashion.
'That's her assistant?' Was all his mind could compose of a thought right now.
The elation he felt at at the Sorcerous Kingdom's triumph - to which he was favorably inclined - made the joy of victory surge up in his heart.
"We welcome your presence, Albedo-dono." Ranpossa III rose to welcome Albedo.
"Your Majesty, I am grateful for this reception." Philip could only see a side of Albedo's face, but when he saw Albedo's tender smile, he was acutely aware of one thing. 'She's beautiful beyond words...'
"I do hope you will forgive me for taking a seat, due to my age. Then, nobles of the Kingdom. Our main guest has arrived. Tonight, please enjoy yourselves to your hearts' content. Then, Albedo-dono, I hope you will enjoy yourself as well."
"My thanks, Your Majesty." A sweet smile bloomed on Albedo's face.
"..." The man who was beside Albedo, didnt said anything, and that made some of them to react to him to say something as saying nothing before the ruler of another country is rude, but none of them dare to speak before the king and as well the envoy of the Sorcerer Kingdom in present. Some of them guessed that he is just a lucky commoner, but none of them prove right to that guess. HAH!
He snuck a peek to that noblewoman from earlier, and saw that she was mumbling something about "she didn't lower her head" or something along with those lines. Philip cast aside that foolish woman and her foolish words and instead feasted his eyes on that world-class beauty in front of him.
He burned the image of her speaking closely with Princess Renner into his eyes.
'If only I could make that woman mine...' He understood that it would be a very difficult task. However, when one thought about it, it was not completely impossible. (Oh Philip, if I were you I think you should give up on doing that)
'Once my fief becomes wealthy, the other nobles will start introducing their daughters to me. The wealthier I get, the better the girls will be. Even that Princess, even that emissary isn't out of the question!'
Philip suddenly felt a wave of heat surge up from his lower body. 'Well, the Great Nobles usually have a concubine or three… the best case would be if I could enjoy those two beauties at the same time.'
Philip looked back and forth between Renner and Albedo. 'Hold on, they did said he is an assistant...' He then took a look at the man who's drinking a glass of wine right now. 'Maybe, but this is just a chance!'
Philip hurriedly picked up a beverage from nearby table full of drinks before his fantasies grew out of control,. It would be very bad if he got hard here. The cool sensation of the drink sliding down his throat helped him regain a measure of calm.
'Come to think of it, how did they make this ice? Is it magic…?' The only people in Philip's estate who could use magic were the priests. While they could help cure illness, they would demand money for doing so. They would ask for an appropriate payment if they had to make ice.
'Well since they're in my domain, I'll have them heal me for free next time. A mere resident daring to charge his lord money, how ridiculous is that!' Philip made a mental note of this new way to deal with the priests in future. He looked forward to getting to work on his domain once he returned. He could imagine all his brilliant ideas being put into action, lighting up his life with golden radiance.
'-Oya?'
When he looked back to Albedo, he saw her standing by herself. Aside from the man who's an assistant for the envoy, she seemed to be alone...
There were many nobles around, but nobody knew how to approach her, nor her assistant.
'The Sorcerous Kingdom, huh… What will become of the Kingdom after this?' Philip did not particularly care what happened to the Kingdom, but it would be troublesome if it affected his estate.
That being the case-
Philip shuddered at the idea he had just thought of. '-Oi oi, don't think about such dangerous things. It's just… well, it's not exactly a bad move, right? How should I say this… I can't believe I actually thought of an idea like that...' He looked at the side of Albedo's lonely face.
'There's no use in being third. There's no point in being second. The most important thing is to be the first.' The emissary of the Sorcerous Kingdom looked like she had been outcast because nobody was talking to her. Philip had read about how ladies were quite vulnerable to this sort of thing.
'Do it. You have to make a gamble to get a return. The chance to rise has come because everything has changed. I'm a lucky man, so I should make good use of my luck.' Philip's family had always been bound to a faction, but they were typically at the tail end of that faction. There were only so many benefits he could gain from continuing to be bound to that faction.
Then, he recalled some words he had heard recently. A certain very skinny landlady had said, "Why not make a faction of your own?"
After making up his mind, Philip downed the glass of wine he had been holding all this while.
It was unlike the watery wine he had drunk at home. It felt like his throat and belly were burning. As though propelled by the heat which rose from his belly, he steeled himself full of confidence, and thus Philip stepped forward.
Before he spoke, he silently cleared his throat to speak firmly and fluently.
"Albedo-sama, mind if I cut in?"
Thanks to his voice, Albedo turned her smile to him.
He was not blushing from the wine.
"Ara, how do you do..." Her brows creased for a moment, as though deep in thought. Philip immediately realized what she was looking for.
"I am Philip."
"Oh? Ah, Lord Philip - no, Philip-sama. It is an honor to meet you."
"The pleasure is all mine, Albedo-sama. Nothing could delight me more than to make your acquaintance." Philip was keenly aware that the air around him seemed to have changed. A quick glance aside revealed that the higher-ranked nobles had shocked looks on their faces.
He could not stem the joy within him as he realized all eyes at the dinner party sponsored by the Royal Family were on him.
'I, I'm now, I'm now the center of attention!'
To think that he - who had only eaten cold meals in the past - was now the focus of these people who stood at the pinnacle of the Kingdom. As he thought about this, an unexpected excitement took control of Philip.
'That's right! I'm Philip! Watch me! Watch the man who will be the central figure of the Kingdom!' Philip racked his brains, and then made the biggest bet in his life.
That was to say, he invited Albedo to a ball which would take place a couple of days later.
Which also made Alcatraz to be more frustrated than ever as he can take a good guess that Albedo is more pissed at the man in front of her right now... Pity.
(I PITY YOU ETERNALLY PHILIP!)
YAY! CHAP 13 is HERE!
Now im quite sorry (nope) for the late upload (again and again) because reasons. I have a f**king life you know?
Anyways, after reading back to the first part of the chapter of my story, makes me want to rewrite the wholeeeeee shit again. But, BUT! There are 2 choices I need confirmation for you guys as you have to review this to me.
1: Should I rewrite the whole f**king thing and start all over?
or
2: Edit some of the chapters from beginning til now, and make it more... professional? Yea.
I want to make a poll for this, but I dont know how to make one and im just too lazy to do it. So just review this and we'll get over it.
Hope you enjoy your lives...
(Btw, chapter 10 and 11 is now fixed, you can read them back again)