AN: Short Chapter
Chapter 19
Upon entering the city, Ainz and Aura found themselves nearly overwhelmed by the amount of diversity. Humans, dwarves, elves, hobgoblins, and a great variety of demi humans. Including Lizardmen that were very different from the ones that they knew of. 'It's almost modern, actually some of the clothes look like ones from Earth.' he looked at Aura who looked amazed by the sight. "Aura, we can explore a bit while we gather information, you can enjoy the local cuisine." He said. "Gate." From his robe he pulled out a bag of gold coins. "Go on, have fun."
"Thank you, Lord Ainz!" she said before running off.
"Ah, precious youth." He said granted Aura was older than him in age, but not in mentality. "Now, where to start?" the overlord began roaming the streets. 'Does my appearance not startle people?' he wondered. 'They don't spare me a second glance, it's kind of a relief.' He said stopping at what looked like a bar. Walking inside he noticed how it reminded him a bit of the bar in Nazarick. Behind the counter was a beautiful woman who appeared to be in her twenties. She has long light green hair, her skin is light with well defined facial features. She appeared to be semi-transparent.
Ainz sat down. "It's not every day an undead comes in." she said much to Ainz's surprise. "I may not look it, but I'm rather…experienced when it comes to life."
"I see." He said. "I didn't expect to be found out by a bartender."
"I'm not a bartender, this is just something I do for fun so I can slack off when it comes to my actual duties." She said much to his amusement. "So, I take it you didn't come here for a drink."
"No, I seek information about this place, my companion and I aren't from around here; we're travelers who came upon this place by accident." Finding this place was technically an accident. "So far all we know is the name of this nation and this city."
"If that's the case then I can tell you what I can." She said. The dryad proceeded to tell him about the full yet filtered history of how the Jura Forest Federation came to be. She didn't mention Izuku's name only referring to him as leader, king, and ruler of monsters.
"This, Ruler of Monsters sounds like a very powerful person." He said. "To create a nation such as this and in the time it took him, I'm impressed." He stated. "I'd very much like to meet him in fact."
With Aura
It was official, dumplings were now her favorite food, so much better than burgers and fries. Add in some of this amazing citrus juice and you had the perfect combination. "You really like the food here." She looked to her left to see a young androgynous teen who looked to looked to be 16 years old. He had messy yet long green hair that reached his waist, green eyes, and freckles on both sides of his face.
"Yeah, it's the best I've ever had." Aura said. "I mean, how can this be so good?"
"Simple, it's because the cooks are doing their very best to make their customers happy." He said. "You're a dark elf, right?" He asked.
"Yeah, why, you got a problem with that?"
"Of course not, it's just that you're the first dark elf to come here, it's good to see a bit more diversity here."
"Seems like you've got a lot of diversity here." She said. "I've never seen these kind of hobgoblins before, and this is nation of monsters; this is actually pretty cool."
"Aw, thank you, we worked really hard to attain this peace." He said. "Are you here with anyone?"
"Yeah, I'm here with my master, the Supreme Being Ainz Ooal Gown." She said. "Oh, we're looking for someone named Izuku Tempest, does you know him?"
"Of course I do, he's the ruler of the Federation." Izuku said. "He's actually headed to the Administrative Building right now." He said pointing to the building. 'Treyni, please escort our other guest to the Administrative Building.'
'Understood.'
"Come with me and I'll get you in." he said. Aura was suspicious of the teen's sudden offer, but if he tried anything then she could simply break his legs. With confidence in her strength she followed the teen.
Jura Forest Federation – Administrative Building – Meeting Room
It was just the two of them, their subordinates were outside the room, ready to act if anything happened. Izuku sat on his throne while Ainz stood in front of him without his mask or gauntlets to hide his skeletal features. "Momonga." Izuku chuckled. "It really is you."
"Tabula?"
"Yeah, it's me but please call me by my new name, Izuku Tempest." He said. "Well, actually only my last name is different so just call me Izuku like you did IRL." He said. "I understand that you go by the name Ainz Ooal Gown now."
"That's right, but how did you find out?"
"A very reliable source that told me everything you did up until a point, including your identity as the adventurer Momon, the death and revival of a brainwashed Shalltear Bloodfallen, and your actions against the Lizardmen Tribe." He said.
"I see." Ainz knew Izuku well, of course the teen would object to certain actions that he'd performed or the way he handled certain situations. Specifically the deaths of humans, Izuku obviously still had his humanity. Emotions had likely driven some of his decisions which led to him creating a nation of his own. "I admit that what happened with Shalltear was a result of my not taking extra precautions and properly thinking ahead, I should've taken more time to consider other scenarios." Ainz said.
"Exactly, not to mention you put one of the strongest guardians out there without proper back up, and you never gave her a retreat order if anything happened; the guardians aren't invincible and you're extremely lucky that you were able to revive Shalltear." He said. "And what about the Lizardmen Tribe; was there truly any good reason to do what you did to them?"
To him the subjugation of the Lizardmen Tribe through force was unnecessary violence, plain and simple. He couldn't imagine the body count that Cocytus now had. Was this how Ainz planned on handling all future negotiations?
"The Lizardmen Tribe could've been handled with a bit more tact, and without such a high body count.' He admitted. 'How did it turn out like this, I'm admitting my mistakes to him so easily.' That's when he remembered what Izuku had said to him in the past.
"Every leader makes mistakes both big and small, but it takes a true leader to admit those mistakes and learn from them." Tabula said. "So, you can talk to me in game or IRL."
'That's why, I could always talk to him even when he entered UA, only a couple months before the servers shut down.' He chuckled. 'Just like old times.' Izuku sighed.
"I don't really have any right to question your decisions like this to be honest, I wasn't there during the last meeting with you when the servers shut down." The teen stated. "I shouldn't expect us to think the same way; that was pure arrogance, sorry."
"No, you're right, I could have handled certain events with much more tact and less bloodshed." He said. "You've become a lot more confident, and you've matured."
"I had to, everyone looks to me for leadership after all." He smiled. "That's why I'll do anything to protect them; they've all precious to me." He did name the hobgoblins, kijin, and orcs after all. "I believe it's time that our subordinates come in." he said using Thought Communication to contact the kijin. Seconds later Benimaru, Shion, and Souei stood by their masters side. Aura did the same, she was glaring at the teen though. "All of my subordinates."
"Facial expression, movements, and how you introduce yourself will decide your fate when you enter the room."
Shalltear had decided her choice and would stick with it. The vampire walked into the room with confidence and her head held high. The two denizens of Nazarick were more than shocked to see the missing floor guardian as she walked to Izuku's side. "I found her in Veldora's Cave, she'd been in there for over 300 years starving and weak." He stated. "She'd been sent into the past." He wasn't a liar, and Ainz knew this.
"Shalltear, you betrayed Lord Ainz again?!" Aura exclaimed. "And now you dare to show your—"
"Aura, that's enough!" Ainz said silencing the dark elf. "Shalltear may no longer be aligned with Nazarick, but you shall still give her the respect she deserves for her years in service as a floor guardian of Nazarick." He said. "Besides, it's better that she serves another Supreme Being rather than someone with hostile intentions toward Nazarick." Aura looked confused upon hearing this, was he trying to say that this person sitting on a throne was a Supreme Being?
The other Supreme Beings had abandoned Nazarick, but that didn't mean they were all dead. Aura had never considered that a Supreme Being had left to create a nation of their own. In truth the thought hadn't crossed the mind of anyone in Nazarick despite them revering the Supreme Beings as gods. "Huh, it does make sense for a Supreme Being to have the highest position of authority no matter where they are." She smiled. "Now it all makes sense, well, most of it."
"Is there something you don't understand?" Izuku asked.
"Yes, why did you cripple Demiurge?" she asked.
"I'll be honest I didn't recognize Demiurge when we fought, I was just trying to protect that girl so I tried to kill him as I would any other enemy." Izuku explained. "Had I known who it was then I would've simply beat—knocked him unconscious." He said correcting himself. "If possible I'll find a way to get him a new arm as an apology." He said. 'Without Evileye knowing, but now I know that she fought one of the pleadies maids, Entoma.' He always thought that the maid was adorable.
"But now we get to the important question." Ainz said.
"That's right, Ainz would Nazarick consider forming an alliance with the Jura Forest Federation?" he asked. "Nazarick will be acknowledged as an independent nation." Their deal would be similar to that with the Armored Dwargon Nation, but the trade of materials, items, and information would be their specialty. Ainz and Aura would return to Nazarick to explain the situation to all the denizens of Nazarick. Little did any of them know, the Demon Lords had their eyes on the nation of monsters.
Chapter 19 End