Title: "The Nazarick Grand Prix."
Disclaimer: Overlord is owned, written and created by Kugane Maruyama.
I do not own Overlord and this literature is only and purely, a fan fiction take on Overlord.
Chapter 23: The Cardinals' headaches.
That night, right after the meeting was over for that particular day. One of Raymond's servants knocked on the treasury's door, and Zesshi opened in kind. The servants explained to the half elf god-kin, that they were under orders from Cardinal Raymond to bring her these items temporarily. And that she should be expecting some guests soon then, they set up the equipment and taught her how to operate said items. When they were done; the lead servant told her to "Enjoy the movies".
Shortly after the servants left, another knock was heard. The person that knocked on the door identified himself as Cardinal Raymond, and so Zesshi opened the door and indeed; it was Cardinal Raymond. And behind him are the members of the Black Scripture, even better, was the fact that they brought some foods and drinks with them. And with that, Zesshi let them in and they watched the special advanced copy of John Wicked that the Sorcerer King gave them as part of the 'movie package' which was his gift to every delegation team's leader.
Zesshi was astonished when the screen lit up, and showed the 'Nazarick Productions Logo' even more so as the movie progressed. As the movie got to the more action packed scenes, Raymond pause the movie just to remind Zesshi that "Remember, it's just a show. None of that is real. So don't get any ideas." And the rest of the Black Scriptures nodded in agreement, and after that; Raymond resumed the movie being played. Even though they've all seen the movie before, save for Zesshi; they still enjoyed seeing it for the second time. Some of them actually enjoyed it even better the second time around, as the intensity and 'pull' of the movie still captured its audience.
After the movie, they took the time to prepare the instant noodles. So that they could enjoy them on the next movie, and that next video was the movie inspired by the actual movie "Sweet November" a love story that had many of the female audience teary-eyed. The song played at the ending of that movie stuck with the viewers, and considering Raymond's own history; the story hit him crashing down on his walls as he silently cried tears while looking at the screen. Sylvan, the sixth seat, and Zesshi herself understood his situation and didn't talk about it. When the movie was over, Raymond ordered the second seat to be the one to one to deliver the nation's official reply to the Sorcerer King. But the second seat's mission has another reason hidden, and that would be to buy more of the good stuff that the others wrote on a LONG list. This list included him buying new music discs, especially if it contained the song sung in the movie they've just seen. Raymond held on to its nostalgia so much, that he actually watched the entire credits just to know the songs used in the movie.
(Author's Note: The song at the end of "Sweet November" is titled "Wherever you are." And it was originally performed and popularized by Celeste Prince. A song so good, that I already included it in my funeral playlist.)
After watching four movies, Raymond looked at his satchel and noticed that the remaining movies were the "Hobbit Trilogy" and the "Lord of the Rings Trilogy", and a movie titled "You're on Trip" (Nazarick's version of the movie "Eurotrip"). So with that, they cleaned up the place before they left and went to their respective homes. Zesshi thanked them before they left; she really enjoyed the movies and the company that enjoyed it with her. After that, she felt content and later on went to sleep.
Morning started anew and with it a brand new day, one that would bring Cardinal Dominic's scorn and frustration to a boiling point. As the meeting went on about how to account for all of the slaves, especially in making arrangements on how they would organize for the mass exodus of their Elven slaves. And after agreeing on what they deemed was the best way to handle the expected public outcry and complaints, it was at this point; that Cardinal Dominic lost his cool after hearing the council discussing ways of setting the elves free. To him, it was a clear betrayal of their faith and from the teachings on how the humans were the chosen ones of the six gods.
"I can't believe this!" Cardinal Dominic shouted as he slammed his hands on the table, causing everyone to look at him annoyingly. Especially since he did not even bother to contribute anything useful throughout the meeting, and all he did was just complain and object every step of the way.
"Everybody listen up. Look, I know I made a big mistake by going behind your backs and I'm truly sorry for that, we all are. But you know me well enough to know, that all that I do is for the greater good and for the security of the teachings and to bring glory to the six. For centuries now, our nation has always been humanity's best defender. If we allow ourselves to give into fear and be cowed and dictated by that accursed undead now, then our culture, our traditions, our identity will be all gone. And what do we do about the teachings of the six? Are we to just to forget the atrocities done by those creatures to humanity, back when our race was in great danger and close to extinction? Have none of you remember that they EAT humans?! I'll be honest with you; yes I don't want to die. Not because of this mistake, but should my death be necessary for the extinction of none-human species? Then I would gladly give my life for such a cause. I'm sure Ginedine and Yvon feels the same, otherwise; they wouldn't have agreed and supported the secret mission we did. And so, before you make a big mistake and finalize this foolish action. I implore you to think it over again, for none of this will work." Dominic stated his mind passionately, in the hopes of diplomatically convincing them to change their decision.
"I understand where you're coming from Cardinal Dominic. But based on Cardinal Raymond's reports, and the evidence he's able to present so far. It's quite clear that at least for the immediate future, we must do this. And in doing so, we can at least buy ourselves some much needed time. Time we truly needed to make our preparations until we gather enough forces, and also time to gain enough information against the Sorcerer Kingdom and their allies. None of us has ever lost our faith in the six, but we must also be realistic and know when to attack the enemy. Thus for now, we have no other option but to bear such loss and humiliation." The Pontifex said in his voice filled with authority.
"But, what about the sacred items from the Sunlight Scripture, especially from the Windflower Scripture members that were captured there? Surely, we must retrieve those sacred items. We can't let the undead and his followers lay their filthy hands on them." Dominic exclaimed.
"I mean no disrespect to you three, especially you Dominic. But it was actually your actions that resulted in us having to go this route, remember that it was these brash actions that made us lose the entire Windflower Scripture. And in that respect, the three of you don't really have any choice but to support our current actions. Anymore rogue actions from you three or from anyone, will result in being declared as excommunicated from the faith and be exiled onto the beastmen nation's borders. I hope I have made myself clear!" The Pontifex explained the situation in a secretly dumb-down way as he pointed to the one track minded cardinal of his own faults in all this.
After getting a mild nagging from the Pontifex, Cardinals Ginedine, Yvon, and Dominic understood how that they were trapped in the current situation. Dominic bowed down and sat down quietly, all the while looking down on the floor. Biting his lips till his blood stained his white robe, he took it in stride silently. He knew there was nothing he could do for now, but inside his mind; he swore that he will rid the world of the undead king and all of the Theocracy's enemies even if it's the last thing he does. Understanding the situation even more just added to his scorn, resulting in Dominic asking to be dismissed for the day; as he 'wasn't feeling well'.
Raymond knew Dominic well enough from their time as members of different Scripture teams, with him in the Black Scriptures and Dominic in the Sunlight Scriptures. Raymond know very well just how zealot the members of the Sunlight Scripture are against non-humans, that they would kill a new born young of any non human species. Even worse, they would all gladly do it with a smile on their faces. So Raymond had two of the Black Scriptures, follow and observe Dominic in secret.
After four exhausting, long days of meetings, deliberations, discussion, and debates. The leading Council of the Slane Theocracy finally finished the legislative works, including the procedures on how to go about ensuring that the Undead can't have anything to use for an excuse to wage war on them. In layman's terms, it means they have to ensure everyone would keep to their end of the deal.
The next day wasn't any better, as the new legislation was enforced; the richest and most prominent members of society were the first ones to taken of their elf slaves. With the exception of the cardinals, selected high priests, and some nobles that were included in the secret meetings. Everyone else was left with no specific explanations as to why their slaves were being taken from them, from the oldest living elf, all the way to the newly born ones. All elves were taken, much to their fears and panic of the sudden happenings. With no other choice however, the elves followed the instructions of the soldiers as they were taken into carts for most of them and carriages for the children and the pregnant ones.
"Excuse me sir, but may we know where will we be taken?" Asked one of the female elves, which happen to be pregnant for eight months.
"Truth-be-told, none of us really know. We were just given a command to collect ALL of the elves in the country, and then take you all to the border. Other than that I got nothin' for ya." One of the guards, sitting beside the driver of the cart replied to the pregnant elf.
This happened mid morning. And by evening, most of the cart and carriages carrying elves of different shapes, sizes, gender, etc. Most of them were obviously malnourished and very skinny, they clearly have had lots of scars that they been inflicted for many years. And then, as the elf slaves disembarked from the carts and carriages, with trembling steps mostly due to their malnourished bodies. The elves were then, ushered by the soldiers to go inside the large tents set-up a few meters away from where the carriages dropped them off. After that, those very same carts and carriages went back into the capital to pick up the other elves that were freed from their now former owners.
As the elves entered one of the large tents, many of them noticed that they were ushered in by human women into several stations. The first tent was intended to check them for identification check purposes, as well as for health inspections and check-ups to ensure they know who were healthy and who had any kind of disease in their bodies. The ones, who have been found to have sexually transmitted diseases, were quietly and respectfully guide into another tent. For reasons of quarantine and safety, once inside; the doctors patiently explained to the elves about their health conditions and how it might affect others around them. They also delicately explained to the elves that they will need to undergo medical treatment, and will have limited contact with the public and that they will be required to wear a specific kind of bracelet to identify them with their condition, all so that other will know how to interact with them; the bracelet will only be removed after they have been fully cleared. But they will be given appropriate jobs where they will be paid accordingly to their work, then they informed the newly freed elves about the place where they will live from now on.
After hearing what the doctors and scholars told them about the Sorcerer Kingdom, most of the elves didn't believe them. And so the staff told them the reason as to why they were set free, and after hearing about it; the elves were mostly ecstatic and happy about their impending new life with freedom. Some of the elderly Elves even went on their knees, to thank the doctors and other staff members. After the Elves were done, with all of the medical tests and debriefing, they all proceeded onto the next tent. This was where they were served food by staffs from different food establishment and civilian volunteers. The elves found the new kinds of food to be the best tasting food that they've ever tried in their entire lives, the new drinks like sodas and iced teas added joy to them, especially to the young ones.
After finishing their meals, they were moved onto the next tent to be given new sets of clothes. They could hardly believe that the clothes they're wearing are given to them for free, since the quality and the designs of their new clothes are comparable to what some of the nobles in the Theocracy wore sometimes. The fact that some of the volunteers even told them that these kinds of clothes are normal clothes for the residents of the Sorcerer Kingdom. Many of them however, were concerned about the fact that their new home nation is ruled by an undead magic caster. But their fears were immediately put to rest when the staff members told them that the Sorcerer King is unlike any undead, in fact; he was unlike anything anyone has ever known. Some of them even went on to praise the Sorcerer King for all the good changes he's done for them and their families, they even tried to teach them about the faith believing the Sorcerer King is a god that came to this world to bring salvation for everyone who accepts him as their lord and savior.
Once they were all given medical treatment, good food, and new clothes. They were now guided outside, and that's where they saw lines of many bus units. And guarding them are several groups of men, some are adventurers from the Sorcerer Kingdom while the others are knights from the Baharuth Empire. And due to the Rune crafted armor that they wore, the elves know that they are indeed from a different kingdom. Some of them however, wore different uniforms; suggesting they might be from another group. Among them was the adventurer team Blue Rose, from the Re-Estize Kingdom. The Roses were accompanied by a small squad of soldiers sent by King Rampossa-III, and a little bit further from them; were another group of warriors wearing mostly black suits of armors, and with them are several magic casters wearing black robes. This group all had in common is the fact that they all wore black on their arms and armor, and they all have the insignia of a white skull. The adventurers informed the elves that the black clad group are popularly referred to as "Ainzist's" meaning they're all members of the Church of Ainz Ooal Gown. These individuals follow the example of their founder Neia Baraja; otherwise formally known as the "Pioneer of the Faithful" many members agreed that the new title bestowed unto her was more fitting the simply being referred to as 'Pope'.
The armored individuals led the former slaves into the buses, and told them that the bus will be their ride going to the Sorcerer Kingdom. The elves noticed that there were no horses or Slipneirs harnessed at the front of the large vehicle, there were no animals at all. and so some of them asked the armed volunteers as to how could these strange new 'carriages' transport them all the way to the City of E-Rantel? The volunteers answered their respective charges, that these new vehicles were among the many new inventions and innovations were from the Sorcerer King's generosity. And shortly after all within the first batch of freed elves were properly inspected and taken care of, the bus units left and so did most of the armed individuals serving as their security escorts just in case they encounter any roaming wild beasts or if the Slane Theocracy decided to double cross the Sorcerer King. The later being very unlikely, but they could never be too sure about the Slane Theocracy's leadership; considering how most of them are crazy zealots.
The elves enjoyed the comfortable ride and the view as well. A female elf, that also happens to be a mother of two teenagers, with a third one on the way. Couldn't help but cry tears of joy as she took in the fresh air into her lungs, breathing in that new smell in the air that they've never smelled before. For almost a hundred years of existence, this was the first time the air she breathed in smelled so clean, so fresh. And that's when she realized, as she said her thoughts out loud "This must be what freedom smelled like. I just wished your father was still alive to experience this together with us right now".
Her son replied "He is, mother. I feel that he is with us right now". And that made the three of them smile as they looked out the window and took in the view. At one point during the long journey to E-Rantel, the elves suddenly screamed and panicked in fear as they saw several Frost Dragons flying above or beside the bus units. The Sorcerer Kingdom based escorts just laughed and waved to the frost dragons, and the frost dragons flew ahead of them, went up and then blew off their freezing breaths from the skies from a safe distance. The frozen breathes slowly landed, and hit the area in the form of snows falling down. The little children saw the falling snow on the windows, and thought that it was magical. Then the escorts explained to the Elven passengers about the Frost Dragons and how they came to be under the rule of the Sorcerer King, and once again, the majority of the elves still have their doubts about the existence of a powerful undead magic caster that doesn't hate the living. Instead cares for them, made numerous advancements in many aspects of society, and finally; outmanoeuvring the Slane Theocracy into setting every elf free from slavery. The whole thing seemed like a dream that's too good to be true, and some even thought that the whole thing might have been just a really, really good dream. Or that they were already dead and being sent into the afterlife, where most of them have always thought to be the only place where they could finally be free. But the escorts assured them they are indeed still alive, and that the Sorcerer Kingdom is no dream or a made up place, but actually exists in the same reality as they do.
A few miles from E-Rantel, the bus passengers saw the city's walls. And as they saw the wall getting bigger as they get closer; hope and gratitude swelled in their hearts as the promise of a new life was just a few miles away. Whether they'd actually be better in their soon-to-be-new-home or not, doesn't really matter right now to them. As long as they are free, treated equally and fairly, and given a chance to prove themselves to be worthy of a job or maybe even have their own homes and business. That was more than they could ever hope for, compared to their former lives as slaves where they almost forgot the word hope and it was almost erased from their vocabulary.
Then, just a few meters from the main gate. The soldiers informed the passengers that several officers from the Department of Immigration, will be boarding the bus to conduct the "Visitor's seminar". They also informed them that some of these officials might be from other species or maybe even undead, but they need not be afraid; for the Sorcerer Kingdom welcomes anyone and everyone as long as they understand and follow the laws of the nation. After a while, the Immigration officers arrived and entered the buses. Most of them were Elder Liches, Lamias, and one being a Werewolf. While some are also Elves, Dwarves, and even Humans. The elves were shocked to see several dangerous creatures, that were known to be feared predators and would probably kill them all so easily, but are right now dressed in 'Blue Suits' (Specifically designed for each race) explaining the rules to them clearly and patiently, the professionalism of the officers alone was very shocking to them. Shocking enough, that one Elf asked his friend to punch him on the face real hard; just to make sure he wasn't dreaming a strange dream. The other guy reluctantly did his friend's request; a request the former immediately regretted asking for, as it turned out to be real.
And with that, the first batch of the now free Elves arrived at the Sorcerer Kingdom. There, they started their new lives as free men and women. No more chains, whips and beating. No more rape, and no longer will they forcefully separated from their loved ones ever again. Not until their natural lives end, at least.
Back in the Slane Theocracy however, while the remaining slaves were being accounted for and taken from their 'owners', some of these owners resisted and a few even tried to fight back with their own private guards and hired mercenaries. All of these resistances proved to be futile however, since every squadron of soldiers were personally led by a masked and hooded Scripture member. And a single Scripture member proved to be clearly a LOT better than some hired thugs and bullies. Others tried to take their complaints straight to the Council, namely; the Cardinals. But as such, they didn't even reach the gates of the temples when the guards stopped them on the spot.
On the other hand, not every Elven slave got to be freed from their human tormentors. Some of the slave owners decided to kill their slaves, rather than seeing them get set free. It seems that there are those who took their religious belief to a whole new level, by killing the elves before the soldiers arrive at their homes to take the elves and set them free. This of course, led to a lot of violence; as it was explicitly mentioned in the official documents, that ALL of the Elves be freed AND alive and in good condition as much as possible. This would put them all in a dangerous position, since the murders could still be counted as a violation of the agreement. And due to the reports of the murders done by their 'owners', the council send an order for every member of every Scripture to assist, by leading the small squad of soldiers to inspect every home and take every elf they could find and have those Elves transported to the edge of the border between the Slane Theocracy and the Sorcerer Kingdom.
As strange and contradictory their new orders are. The Scripture members were mostly professionals after all, and they did their duties without complaints. At first, many of them questioned the Cardinals as to why they were now being tasked with saving the Elves from their human owners, and even setting them free in the process. It was then, that the Pontifex authorized Raymond and the Black Scripture members to inform them of the truth behind such bold actions. The members of the Black Scripture aside, many of the other Scriptures have divided opinions about the whole thing. Some are completely against it, but they know that the cardinals wouldn't be doing what they're doing now; unless they have some really good reason behind their actions. The fact that the problem was caused by the three cardinals' unauthorized mission, and that very same mission resulted in the entire Windflower Scripture long with others of their faith. That was indeed humiliating for their nation, and the current economy clearly proved it. And with that, whether they agreed with their orders or not; they proceeded to do their duties and moved out to help secure the Elves' freedom. Coincidentally, the three cardinals that caused a lot of trouble for just about everybody never showed themselves to the public. Not even the staff and priests, from their respective temples have seen them ever since the vote was finalized. It's as if, they just vanished.
However, the whole thing turned out to be a big mess. Not even a week has passed, and numerous reports of mass murders of Elven slaves have been coming in droves. According to the reports, there were many villages and cities that started gathering elves in a single area; only to kill them for no apparent reason. The whole thing angered the remaining Cardinals, especially Raymond. They were so upset at what those people have done, since it would definitely anger the Sorcerer King. And as a result of that, they might possibly still end up having to push through war on two fronts. The cardinals and the rest of the council ordered all of the scriptures to investigate everything they can find out about these incidents, more importantly; if these incidents were real honest madness done by the common people, or were they influenced somehow, or if there are any other factors that made these incidents possible.
Cardinal Raymond suspected that Dominic, Ginedine and Yvon are somehow involved in all of this. So he asked the agents he tasked with keeping an eye on them, on the status of the three cardinals. The fifth seat and the tenth seat of the Black Scripture, gave their reports directly to Raymond; they were about Dominic's behaviour and his movements. According to the two, other that eating more food that usual; there was nothing suspicious about his actions. It was pretty much the same for the other two cardinals, according to the other Scripture members tasked with keeping an eye on Cardinals Ginedine and Yvon. Somehow, these reports made Raymond more suspicious of the three. After going through with all of the reports, he looked at the surveillance photographs taken by the fifth seat. Looking at the pictures carefully, he noticed some specific details that seemed off to him. After some thinking and careful observation, he ordered the Scripture members to regroup with their respective teams, take some time to rest but be ready to for action should his suspicions be true. This statement had the present scripture members worried, then Raymond proceeded to explain his suspicions and worries using the very reports that was just handed to him; especially the photographs as evidence.
Cardinal Raymond quickly headed for the office of the Pontifex, and ordered some messengers to summon Cardinals Berenice and Maximilian, with the instruction to tell them to come to the Pontifex's office for an emergency meeting. After a few minutes, the two cardinals entered the Pontifex's office and they started the meeting.
"Alright Cardinal Raymond, you called us here saying this was an emergency meeting. So go ahead, and tell us what the emergency is all about. This is not about the mass elf killings right? Because we already know about them." The Pontifex said to Raymond, expecting him to have real good reasons for this sudden meeting in his office.
"Yes I do Raul. I'm sure you've all noticed that Dominic, Yvon and Ginedine haven't been seen in public after the council ruled in favor of setting the Elven slaves free. (The others nodded in agreement) At the last meeting they attended, when Dominic requested to leave early; since he claimed that he wasn't feeling well that day. I took the initiative to have a few Scripture members secretly keep an eye on them, just to make sure they wouldn't do something foolish again. It seems to me now that since that time; Dominic and the other two already made their move, as to what exactly is that move? I have no idea." Raymond said as he presented the reports to his colleagues.
"Okay, so they all left early from the meeting and haven't been seen publicly since then. I see nothing wrong with that." Cardinal Berenice remarked.
"Please take a look at these pictures. They were made using a device called a 'Po-la-royd-ka-me-ra' (Polaroid Camera) it can copy an image the user wants to, and quickly print the picture onto this special paper." Raymond explained the photograph to his colleagues.
The others were amazed at the details of the picture, as well at its potential applications.
"If you would observe these two pictures here, the one on your left; was taken on the day Dominic asked to be allowed to leave early from the council meeting. Observe and compare his skin tone and height from the servant beside him, we will use this as basis for further comparison. Now, please take a look at this photo on your right; this was taken the very next day. Look closely at his skin tone here, even for a sunny day we know he doesn't get tanned that easily. Plus, observe the height difference between him and that same servant in his mansion. Now compare that with the one from your left, now that we're doing a side by side comparison; we can then be sure that this Dominic (Pointing at the photo on their right) is an impostor and Dominic is most likely not in his mansion anymore. Therefore; I strongly suggest that we send the Scriptures to inspect their homes and bring the three "Cardinals" for questioning. If I am wrong, and by the gods; I hope I'm wrong. Then at least we would know they have nothing to do with the current problem we're facing. But, if I'm right, then unfortunately; our problems might just have gotten bigger." Raymond said as he stated his point. Then he proceeded to examine the reports about the other two missing cardinals, and it turned out that his suspicions were right all along. Dominic, Yvon and Ginedine have gone into hiding and who knows what they intend to do.
After further examinations on the photos, and other evidence from the reports. The council was convinced of Raymond's suspicions, and so they authorized Cardinal Raymond to order the Scriptures to head for the three Cardinal's estates. And arrest them for questioning, including everyone that works there; especially family members. After the orders and warrants were given, the Scriptures moved swiftly and quietly to make sure no one slips past them or that anyone might detect them.
After nearly three hours of gathering the individuals within the cardinals' estates, and inspecting their homes. The Scriptures' diligent and thorough efforts; have unfortunately, confirmed the councils' worries. They all knew that these recent unwanted and unfortunate events; would put the entire nation in many great dangers.
"Alright now, you only got one chance to tell the truth with your jaw, shoulders, and legs all still in their proper places. And if you don't? Well, let's just say this aint your lucky day. And with all that's happened recently and so quickly, that I haven't got time to even enjoy this… (Sniffing) Hmm, delicious smelling instant noodles. I'm dishing out my stress on somebody today, if you don't want that unfortunate somebody to be you? Then, just tell us all we need to know "Cardinal Dominic". I mean, c'mon now right. Do you really want to get the living shit beaten right out of you? For what? For being loyal fool? Use your head man." The third seat of the Black Scripture said to the fake cardinal Dominic. Trying to convince the guy to give out the information they needed from him.
"What the heck are you talking about? I am Cardinal Dominic! Was the humiliation from the failure of our secret mission not enough for you people?" The Dominic impersonator shouted.
"Alright. Don't say we didn't give you a chance to get off unharmed." The third seat replied, before proceeding to beat the fake cardinal. After a few minutes of venting out the third seat's stress on the prisoner, the doors to the interrogation room opened and Cardinal Raymond entered the room holding some documents.
"Has he spoken yet?" Raymond asked the Scripture members in the room.
"No he has not, sir. But I'm sure we can him to." Says the one talking to the fake Dominic earlier.
"Let's use the truth then." Says Raymond. After that, he looked at the man he suspected was posing as a double for Dominic. Then he called one of his assistants to come into the room, bringing a strange device with a large roll of continuous paper, and there were some weird thin metal rods pointing on it. The assistant placed the boxy device on another table, while the Scripture members attached the wires on the prisoner's fingers, wrist, upper arm, and two more wires on his neck. The wires now attached to him, and his hands and legs restrained by enchanted straps; the whole strange ordeal made the 'cardinal' worried and uncomfortable.
"Let's start with the basics. Tell me your name, age, and I don't know if you know this. But, both Cardinal Dominic and I were once members of different Scriptures. I was from the Black Scripture, now tell me from which Scripture were you from?" Raymond asked the 'Cardinal'.
"Easy, I am Dominic Ihre Partouche, fifty seven years of age, and I was from the Sunlight Scripture. Now do you believe that I am who I say I am?" The Dominic stand-in replied.
"Not so fast. I still have a few more questions for you, so just relax and answer truthfully. Which Scripture member was Dominic related to? And how long did he last in a sparring session against the extra seat?" Raymond asked again.
"It was Nigun Grid Luin. He was the Captain of the last generation of the Sunlight Scripture before being annihilated by that damn undead. As for the second question. It was five seconds." 'Dominic' answered confidently and smugly.
"Okay, that confirms it then." Raymond muttered.
"Oh, the six be praised. Can I go now? This whole thing is just absurd; you know that as a Cardinal; I set an example of telling the truth." 'Dominic said.
"Pfft… Setting an example… Telling the truth? Ha, ha, ha! Oh, you're good. You even have Dominic's conviction in his own lies. You've obviously misunderstood my meaning, what I've confirmed just now, using this device; is that you've been lying! Ha, ha, ha, ha… you see, while most of your answers were correct. When you stated your name, the machine already detected a lie in that very moment. Oh and Dominic lasting five seconds against the extra seat in a sparring match? No way! It would have been good, if he could actually last that long in a fight against the extra seat. But even the first seat from my time till now couldn't even last three seconds in a bout against the second seat. The other answers don't really matter, for it was these two questions that I was waiting the answers for. And as he expected, you would fail the lie detector test on those. Normally, I'd let the scriptures handle the interrogation. But since we were out of time, I've made a judgement call and let them do the rest of the interrogation on you. I just wanted to be sure whether you are really Dominic or not. And seeing this new invention at work in a real case like this one? Is truly amazing. Well, off you go now." Dominic explained.
"Wait. You said 'He' was expecting this. Who's he?" Asked the fake Dominic.
"Who else? The Sorcerer King of course." Dominic replied, as if it was public knowledge. And after that, a [Gate] opened and Solution Epsilon walked out from it. Then, she grabbed the fake Dominic by the neck, while the Scripture members removed the prisoner's restraints, and Raymond's assistant removing the Lie Detector's cables from the tied up prisoner. Solution then, walked into the dark void. Then, they heard another female voice from the other side of the [Gate] speaking to Solution.
"Oh! Is he the one to be interrogated?"
"Yes he is. The Cardinal has already confirmed that this man is just a stand in for the real culprit."
"Well then, just put him there if you'd be so kind." The female voice said. Then Solution came out of the still opened [Gate] and thanked Cardinal Raymond, and carefully took the Lie detector machine from the other table. And as she was walking back to the dark portal, the others heard the other female voice spoke again.
"Sorry for having to tie you up like that. I'm just doing my job, nothing personal dear. Now, do you know what kidney stones are?" The other female voice naughtily said. Then, all they heard was a long scream cut off by the portal closing after Solution has entered the [Gate].
"What was that all about?" One of Raymond's assistants asked curiously.
"I don't know, and my instincts tell me I don't want to know. For now we just have to wait for the interrogation results." Raymond said to his assistants.
After twenty minutes, a [Gate] appeared again and Solution walked out from it once again. This time though, she was accompanying a drooling, almost zombie-like person, and upon close inspection. Raymond recognized the man, to be the fake Dominic he was talking to a few minutes ago. The prisoner's state of being, and his appearance even made Raymond and the Scripture members quite uncomfortable.
"Cardinal, this is your copy of the information our interrogation specialist have extracted from the prisoner. And here's a [Message] scroll you can use to contact us if you need to. Have a good day." Solution said to Raymond then she went back into the black swirling void and vanished.
"Wait, boss. Are you sure it's alright to ask for the Sorcerer Kingdom's help into this, without getting the other Cardinals' knowledge?" one of the Scriptures asked.
"Not really, but what can I do? The longer we stay here not knowing Dominic's plans, the longer we risk getting in war and possibly civil war at the same time. If that happens, then humanity will be doomed. The ones from this side of the world anyway." Raymond answered with stress taking its toll on him, being obvious in his voice.
Now, let's move on with our own interrogation just to be safe. I will report these results to the other cardinal, and you keep me updated with whatever information you get from him and the other impostors." Raymond instructed the Scripture members.
And with that, Cardinal Raymond headed for the council meeting room to discuss a lot of topics which may save their nation or end it all. It all depends on how they can stop whatever Dominic and his co-conspirators were planning.
But that will be another story, for another time.
Two weeks after arriving from the Sorcerer Kingdom's Pioneer's Holiday, in the northern half of the Roble Holy Kingdom.
King Caspond's court was bustling with reports on the situation with their southern half, and immediate updates on the reinvigorated restoration efforts, which was partially due to the arrival of more construction materials. The stories about the new wonders from the Sorcerer Kingdom, was a hot topic with just about everyone in the nation. The fact that King Caspond himself; said that all of Neia Baraja's stories about the wonders found in the Sorcerer Kingdom are all true, just made the majority more lively with the hopes of these new invention be made available to the public soon. The new vehicles, that accompanied the nation's delegation team upon their return a few weeks ago; have indeed awoken the masses' sense of curiosity and excitement.
From the public's perspective, seeing some strange looking new carriages, that doesn't have any animals or any species pulling the carriage; is something that blew the people's minds. The sight of the very fancy Limousine entering the Royal Palace's Gates, was a sight on its own. But what stole the scene, were the massive trucks that rode in bringing tons of the construction materials, as well as tons of the new stuff; including the new inventions, foods and drinks from the Sorcerer Kingdom. News of the Sorcerer King's generosity have excited the masses, and made the people more appreciative of their saviour's kindness. Most especially, to the ones that have moved away from the temples of the six or four gods. And now converted into Ainzism and practiced the teachings from the Book of Ainz Ooal Gown.
To the un-initiated, Ainzism is just some new religion founded by Neia Baraja; the former squire assigned with the task of assisting the Sorcerer King during his stay in the Roble Holy Kingdom, to defeat Jaldabaoth. But to those who have converted, or at least to the ones that are knowledgeable about it. It is not just a religion that compels one to follow numerous strict rules, and to pay a part of their earnings regularly. Instead, within the faith of Ainzism; one is only required to follow few certain rules. Among them is what became to be known as "The Golden Rule" this rule specifically states to "Do unto others what you want others to do unto you. Most have understood this simply meaning to say, that one should treat others the way they want to be treated as well. This rule's simplicity and practicality touched on a lot of people, most especially; the poor and disenfranchised citizens in society. Another point of focus of the new religion; is to make themselves stronger, not only in the physical sense, but in other areas as well. After consulting with Ainz a few years back, Neia began preaching about the benefits of pursuing and mastering their individual passions. Whether it be being a soldier, a farmer, a carpenter, a painter or whatever. In time, the 'faith' evolved from being strong enough to defend oneself, to being the best in what they do and treating others as they would want others to treat them as well.
Neia travelled the Northern Roble Holy Kingdom, from the capital, all the way to the outskirts of the nation. She was preaching on her usual subjects of becoming stronger and self sufficient at the same time. But now, she was also telling everyone about her own experiences during her stay in the Sorcerer Kingdom. Not just that, she also showed them some of the new inventions and explained them to the people. And after her sermon, she had her assistants set up the music player, the wide monitor screen, and the speakers. Then, she would play the discs that contained different movies. The fact that these new inventions, are actually able to show scenes from a story; as if they were the ones taken into the story just to live it somehow, was truly awesome and amazing to them. Among these discs, Neia's favorite was the copy of the concert and because she played them at just about everywhere she went; this greatly popularized the many kinds and variety of music as well as the dances performed on stage.
The following days after King Caspond returned, together with the rest of the delegation team. A lot of changes were made, mostly about safeguarding the construction materials and the relief goods donated by the Sorcerer King and his people. Only members of the Church of Ainz Ooal Gown were allowed to guard the items. No one was allowed to take from the construction materials without the expressed permissions from the King, Count Ricardo, or from Neia Baraja. This improved the overall state of the kingdom's restoration efforts, since the materials are now used to build homes for the massed.
Inspired by the public housing designs that they've seen in the Sorcerer Kingdom, King Caspond tasked the architects and engineers to follow the designs that maximized the resources they have; and make sufficient spaces for the residents at the same time. As a result of this, the Holy Kingdom adapted the concept of the 'Apartment building's' designs in making affordable homes for the poorest of the citizens. With this borrowed idea, the problems on homelessness and economy were expected to improve with time.
Another reason the general public was now ecstatic, was due to the details of numerous nobles that were involved with the theft of the earlier batch of supplies from the Sorcerer Kingdom were now made public. Coincidentally, almost all of those nobles were closely tied with temple of the old gods. The fast pace of the repairs on the old gods' temples did not escape the public's notice, and with the believers of their religion quickly dwindling; they mostly kept silent on many issues unlike before, during Queen Calca's time back then.
And then, exactly two weeks after returning from the Sorcerer Kingdom. King Caspond made a royal decree to summon all of the nation's nobility, every military official, the wealthiest merchants, even the leaders of every religion. After one day of waiting for all of them to get to the capital, just in the middle of the day, it was then time for his life changing announcement. One that would change his life, together with the hundreds of thousands of citizens in the Northern Holy Kingdom. All of the nobles and every VIP in the country were patiently waiting for the big news down on the ground, as King Caspond looked at everyone below on the ground and then; he made the historic speech.
"Good day to all of you sons and daughters of this great nation. I have gathered all you here from the wealthiest among the rich, to the poorest among the common man and woman on the land. I know our nation is still recovering from the wounds of the invasion led by that accursed demon Jaldabaoth and his cohorts, and it has been almost five years now and we're still trying to pick up what remains of our lives; not for us. No, not just for us, but in memory of those we've lost ever since the invasion as well as to other we've lost along the way. My sister, our late Queen Calca had a simple dream. It was to make this nation a place where no one would have to suffer and the only tears one could cry would be tears of joy. To those of us who would hear of such a thing, would most likely think of them as wishful thinking, fantasies of those with a heart of gold. It might as well be just a fantasy, but a welcomed one I'd say. Then the invasion happened and it turned these lands into lands filled with nightmares and pain that I'm sure, just like me; many of you are still feeling up to this very day. (Many among the crowds were nodding in agreement with their king, some were even crying as painful memories came crashing down on them.) Let's be honest, during those times, we've lost hope. It was thanks to the brave men and women who found their courage and formed the resistance. They were the ones that kept hope alive and did what they could to save as many as they able to, given the limited resources they had; which is no small feat I tell you.(The masses clapped for the Paladins, Soldiers, Guards, and Militia volunteers that helped out during those times.) It was they, who risked the dangerous travels to look for help, and they found that help in the most unlikely and most surprising form. I'm sure no one, I mean NO ONE; would ever expect it from. Our help came in the form of an undead magic caster, one that had just founded his own brand new nation back then. Many were sceptical and more even worried, when he came to our nation to offer his help and I don't blame them. But despite all of our fears and suspicions, he kept his word and eventually rid the world of that evil once and for all. When I first heard of his vision from then squire Ms. Neia Baraja, I thought she was joking when she told me that the Sorcerer King, an undead; was trying to make this world into a 'Utopia' a place of perfect harmony. A place, where the tears a person would ever cry would be those from joy and not from sadness. The irony is not lost on me, but the reality is that it is the truth; an Undead, no; an existence like no other.
And even now he continues to help us, not just us, for the Sorcerer King himself had already pledged to send aid to those who sorely needed it. He had generously send tons of relief goods to the Re-Estize Kingdom who are now in the middle of a terrible famine. He had also send aid to the Draconic Kingdom, in the form of relief goods and I've already gotten news that their own Queen Draudillon have already agreed to the terms for gaining military aid to stop the invaders from destroying innocent lives. And lastly he had sent us his continuous support, from the day he helped liberated us, up to this very day. I have maintained communication with the other nations and I want to be the first one to give you the good news.
For, by this time tomorrow; the king of the Re-Estize Kingdom, King Rampossa-III himself. Will be the one to publicly and officially announce that the entire Re-Estize Kingdom will then become a vassal state under the Sorcerer Kingdom, just like their former rival the Baharuth Empire. And with that, the peace between both sides will be assured and there will no more war between them; that also means no more lives will be lost in senseless battles. But as a king, as your king; I am responsible in leading this nation to a future where my sister's dream can become as close to reality as it can be. I am also responsible for protecting my own people from any harm that might threaten us as a nation. Unfortunately for me, my time as a fellow victim and prisoner during Jaldabaoth's reign of terror, it had greatly deteriorated my health that even now my body have failed to be as it was before all that tragedy happened.
But have no fear my people, for today I have assured this nation's future by officially declaring the Northern Roble Holy Kingdom as the newest vassal state under the care of the Sorcerer Kingdom! I assure all of you; that I have spend a lot of time thinking about this decision. I did not make this decision lightly, but when I arrived and stayed in the Sorcerer Kingdom even just for a week; I have seen human children, happily playing together with the children of beastmen, elves, lizardmen, even with vampire children. Yet, they have no fear being near such creatures. And those creatures' children have no fear, nor any hostility towards their human playmates. Everyone there can read, write and count even complex calculations just about as good as any merchant. They are ruled by an undead leader that is incorruptible and will not die after sixty or seventy years of age. Instead, they have a ruler that will continue to guide them towards a brighter future, one that I have already experienced a glimpse of it, along with a chosen few. Lady Neia Baraja's stories of our journey beyond the skies and reaching the moon itself are all true.
I have already signed the vassalization documents, bearing witness to this are Lady Neia Baraja and Count Ricardo. And to make this completely official, I present to all you. Please welcome the Sorcerer Kingdom's Prime Minister, Lady Albedo." King Caspond ended his speech by introducing Albedo, after hearing the entirety of their King's speech, the people's voices erupted in joy.
This just made the people's obvious agreement with their King's decision. It's not like they didn't like Caspond's rule, it was the opposite of it. The masses loved their King Caspond who treated them kindly and fairly. Everyone that had seen him before; knew that he was having health problems. By abdicating the throne to the Sorcerer King, he can now be freed from the burdens of kingship and now he can have more time to undergo health treatment. Up in the balcony of the palace, with Neia Baraja and Count Ricardo serving as witnesses; Albedo signed the papers finalizing the vassalization of the Roble Holy Kingdom. The only ones not happy about this are the priests of the temple of the six gods, and the Nobles closely tied with the old churches. As soon as the vassalization was declared official and binding, those nobles angrily left the palace grounds and decided to have a small meeting of their own. A possibility already expected by Albedo and Demiurge, and so the two have already had some stealth units on hand and ready just for such possibilities.
Unknown to them, they were already being watched by the unrelenting shadow demons and even a few Hanzo units. Since the public was celebrating the pleasant surprise, the noise from the people's cheers just made the task of tracking them down much easier. And with the trained Ainzists warriors closely behind the Hanzo units, and just right in the middle of their meeting. In which they were discussing about making plans to assassinate King Caspond in the hopes of somehow nullifying and voiding the vassalization documents. The group of entitled nobles and theocracy priests were apprehended before they could even be ready for a fight.
The nobles' arrests being made public as they were cuffed and chained, along with their co conspirators being lined one after another. They were made to walk all the way to the Royal Palace so that King Caspond can decide their fates as head of the latest vassal state of the Sorcerer Kingdom. The nobles just felt scorn and humiliation as they were being mocked and laughed at by the ones they've always looked down to as just peasants, born to serve their betters. But now, it was the very same people who are now laughing at them, angry at them, and even throwing rotten vegetables at them.
These events in the Northern Roble Holy Kingdom will definitely cause some ripples in the serene pond of politics throughout the continent. As for details regarding those? They will all be explored in another story, to be told at another time.
(Author's note: Yeah I know there are many missing details here, but those will be answered in the future chapters of this story.
The next chapter will tackle on the happenings on the Re-Estize, Argland, and Draconic Kingdom's side of the world. As for the Nazarick mishaps. Sorry about them not being in this chapter. I've decided to put them all together in a chapter of their own.
There will be a major announcement at the end of the next chapter. Let me know what you think of the story so far, leave some honest reviews, id appreciate it. "FEED ME" keep sending those reviews and whatever. Thanks.