He sent Shizu over to work together with the Liberation Army.
There, she would say that she was a demon maid previously controlled by Jaldabaoth, but that she was now working for Ainz.
But after that? He wasn't sure what she would be up to.
He mostly focused on what his own role was. He felt that was troublesome enough.
To make a grand entrance and kill Jaldabaoth in front of everyone, he would also use a demi-human army of his own. It would be made up of the reserves which were kept outside the Holy Kingdom's walls by Jaldabaoth.
From what he understood, this could be hard. They'd already seen Jaldabaoth perform amazing shows of power, so he would need to do something amazing as well.
Demiurge did not feel the need to include any suggestions.
"Ah, so troublesome..."
As he muttered to himself, he approached a group of demi-humans on patrol.
They looked sort of like lizardmen, but not much. He wasn't sure what this species was called, and he didn't care much. He had other things on his mind.
"Aah! Undead! Prepare to attack!"
He got a bit closer before speaking in a commanding tone.
"I am the Sorcerer King Ainz Ooal Gown. Take me to your leader."
He looked at their faces and saw what was probably confusion, but he wasn't quite sure since they weren't human.
"Are you deaf? I said take me to your leader!"
They still just stood there, mostly looking at each other.
"I see."
And so he pointed a finger at one of them. He didn't need to do so, of course. It was just for dramatic effect.
[Silent Magic – Death]
The demi-human fell instantly. The others started panicking.
He shouted.
"Don't make me repeat myself! Take me to your leader!"
The strategy he came up with was rather simple.
He would keep doing this until all the demi-humans here were under his control.
There should be around 10 000 troops here.
Hopefully, he'd only have to kill a couple commanders to get the point across. If not, things could get troublesome.
Demiurge already told him about how the demi-humans didn't really want to be here and fight for him. They hated cooperating, it seemed.
He also wanted to tell them that they wouldn't need to fight Jaldabaoth, since he'd take care of him personally. Hopefully that will both make them less afraid of helping him, and respect him more because he could say such things with confidence.
That was just what he thought, however. His plans usually didn't go very well.
Thinking about her current situation, Neia felt quite uneasy.
The Liberation Army's next target was the fortress city of Kalinsha.
The reason for this was the appearance of a demi-human messenger.
It was someone from the species called Zern. They were humanoid insect-like, and being in their presence was quite odd, as with most demi-humans.
The messenger told them about how the demi-humans fighting for Jaldabaoth in the invasion force were mostly coerced into it. They, for example, had their king killed, and now their prince was being held hostage in Kalinsha.
And so, if the prince was rescued, the 3000 Zern were all willing to fight to the death against the rest of the invasion forces.
Apparently, the males were really important in their species. The messenger said something like "if the prince and a single female survive, it will all be fine".
Aside from the Zern already present in the city, there were two main operatives selected for this mission.
Neia and that demon maid.
During the battle with Jaldabaoth, the Sorcerer King was apparently able to snatch control of one of the maids away from his opponent.
Neia thought this move was probably similar to stealing someone's wallet while fencing with them.
In other words, His Majesty truly was incredible.
Earlier, she tried to convince the others to perform large-scale searches of the east in order to rescue the Sorcerer King.
However, such plans had a lot of problems, and she could not do much as a mere squire.
Either way, she was on her way to meet the maid demon now.
The place in which the demon was housed was completely boarded up, and was surrounded by a wall due to being previously owned by someone wealthy.
Next to the wall's door, there stood a guard post, which was essentially a hastily-built hut.
Neia handed the guard a scroll given to her by Caspond. After reading it, he handed her a lit candlestick.
She went through, and walked by a ruined garden.
When she arrived at the door to the house, she knocked.
There was no response, and so she tried the door handle, which worked. The door was unlocked.
Opening it, she saw that the inside was indeed pitch black.
She entered and closed the door behind her. It was completely silent now.
"I'm Neia Baraja! I'm here to see you! Where are you?!"
There was no response, so she shouted the same thing again, but louder.
Nothing happened again, and so she took several steps with her hand outstretched in front of her.
"Uwah."
Suddenly, a voice was heard from her side, and a face appeared along with it.
She made a small noise of fear, and backed up for a bit.
"...Why did you come here?"
"I came here to ask you something. In two days' time, I want the two of us..."
She was not sure if she could fully trust the maid, and so she did not want to go into exact details until she could see that she could trust her. Until then, she would try not to say too much.
"... to go on a certain mission."
"... Got it."
"Well, I think we should share what we know and discuss each other's abilities."
"... Sharing information is important. Understood... All right, this way."
The whole time, her face was expressionless.
The maid demon then moved quickly, and Neia had to follow the sounds if she wanted to keep up.
Although night vision was not that uncommon or anything, it made her think about this powerful demon's abilities. Just one of them was said to be able to take on an adamantite-ranked party alone.
"Please be gentle with me. I'm fragile."
"... Got it."
They then arrived at what seemed to be their destination. The maid pointed to a chair Neia could just barely see with the light of the candle.
"... Sit."
She obeyed.
"... Drinks."
The demon suddenly grabbed a bottle of brown liquid out of nothing, much like the Sorcerer King had done.
She then opened the bottle, inserted a straw, and handed it to Neia.
There was some hesitation on her part, but in the end, she could not refuse if the maid really was a servant of His Majesty.
Her first sip was careful, but then...
"Ah! This is sweet! What is this liquid?!"
"... Chocolate-flavoured."
She didn't know what chocolate was, but the taste was very similar to some of the cake and candy which the Sorcerer King fed her before.
The taste put her at ease, and she wondered what this "chocolate" was, and where it came from. It might have been something common in other parts of the world, which is why both His Majesty and the maid demon had a supply of it.
She quickly finished the entire bottle. She thought that maybe she was being a bit rude, but it was offered to her like this, after all.
"... Want another?"
"Oh, may I?"
Indeed, the maid took out another bottle and handed it to her like before.
As she took another sip, she spoke.
"But I'm here to talk, so... if you have a name, could you tell me? Oh, and I'm Neia Baraja, but you can call me whatever you wish."
"... Shizu is fine. I'll call you Neia."
She expected to be addressed as "human", or something like that.
And "Shizu", was that her name, or the name of her species?
"Is that your personal name?"
"... Yes. Personal name."
"Alright then, Shizu. What can you do? Also, there were several maid demons, so why did the Sorcerer King choose you?"
"... I am good at ranged attacks... I was picked because I was the best."
"The best? So you were the most troublesome opponent?"
She then heard a small chuckle, and her expression changed just slightly for a moment. It seemed to be pride.
"Hm. I can use ranged weapons too... but it seems we don't have anyone skilled in melee, then. Do you have any ideas?"
"... What is the mission?"
"Infiltrating a city and performing a rescue."
"...Then we need the ability to move stealthily... Better not to have a clanky frontliner making lots of noise... Can you move quietly, Neia?"
"I had some training, but I'm still not great."
"... Can you use any stealth magic? Or do you have items like that?"
Neia just shook her head.
"... I see... Work hard, then."
"Yes!"
Then, the room went silent again. The only sound was Neia's quiet breathing and other movements.
It was still possible that this Shizu was merely pretending to be controlled by the Sorcerer King, while being Jaldabaoth's minion this whole time. She needed to investigate that possibility.
"In this place, er, I have the duty of being the Sorcerer King's squire."
"... Yes. He told me... He gave you a bow. Runecrafted. Show me."
It ought to be okay, right? What could she do with it if she really was Jaldabaoth's minion? She didn't know of any magic that interfered with enchanted items.
After handing it to her, Shizu just held it for a few seconds before returning it.
"... This is good. You should show it to many people."
The way she said that seemed completely flat, even for her.
"... He lent you an excellent runecraft weapon. You should spread the word of Lord Ainz's greatness."
Lord Ainz? Where had she heard that before? It seemed like an utterly inappropriate way to address her master, but then Neia remembered.
This was the same way that one maid addressed him when Neia was in the palace in E-Rantel.
If that was the case, it was most likely she was indeed under His Majesty's control.
After all, no one else referred to him like that. It was probably something private. Or perhaps something to do with the maids? Was that maid back then another demon maid? Many thoughts found their way inside her mind, but she had to focus now.
No one should have been able to know that Neia was in the palace that day, right? If that was the case, this couldn't have been some sort of strange attempt to gain her trust.
If the demon maid wanted to make it seem like she was loyal to him while she wasn't, she would have probably just said "His Majesty", or even used some over-the-top title to make it seem like she's super devoted.
But she didn't do that. She spoke like that to Neia, who shouldn't know anything about such a detail.
Maybe there was some strangely complicated plot by Jaldabaoth which involved the assumption that Neia knew, but she discounted that.
And so, Neia responded with a smile.
"Of course. Everyone should know of His Majesty's greatness."
After a moment of silence, Shizu suddenly and quickly extended her hand, which spooked Neia a bit. She extended her own hand, and they performed a handshake.
"...Speaking of which, it's easy to get along with you. As a human being, you have a bright future, Neia."
"I have very mixed feelings about getting along with a demon. We're talking like this because we both understand the truth about how great His Majesty is. Because we are both his servants."
Shizu nodded, seemingly in both agreement and thought.
"... Although you probably aren't very important, I will make sure to protect you."
"Thank you."
"... But if you die and get resurrected, that counts as keeping my word, right?"
"What? N-no, I'm not sure that does!"
"... If you come back and are still human, it should be fine, right?"
"I suppose..."
Another brief silence followed, and Shizu got up.
"... While you're not cute, this is specially for you."
She then went close to Neia and put something on her forehead.
"Eh?! What?! What is this?!"
It was something very thin, and it now stuck to her skin. She could not get it off at all.
"What's this! Eh! Wait! I'm scared!"
"...It's okay. It won't hurt and it's not scary. Look."
She then showed Neia what was presumably the same thing that was on her forehead. It had the number one and some sort of symbol on it. It looked like some kind of special paper. Was it magic? A talisman, probably. But how was she to remove it? Was it just stuck there forever?
"Why did you have to stick it on my forehead! Aren't there better places to put it?!"
"...Mm, like a little sister."
"Huh? Uhm, anyway, take this off. At least stick it on my clothes or somewhere else!"
"...It can't be helped, then."
Shizu then took out another bottle out of nothing, and used a single drop to easily remove the object.
"... Sticker. It needs to be pasted somewhere obvious."
Neia did not understand what this was all about, but complied.
Ainz sat in his office in Nazarick. He was reading reports which he still did not understand, no matter how hard he tried.
Seeing how terribly disorganized the demi-humans were, he felt a bit anxious about leaving them alone to attend to other duties.
He felt that they would all kill each other before he got back, even if he only left alone for a moment.
Still, it had to be done.
As he was finishing up his reading, he got up.
He stood around looking at nothing for another moment before finally using the Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown.
He then appeared in a different room on the ninth floor, and this one was quite simple. In the center of it, there were some chairs and sofas surrounding a table.
In front of him was Demiurge.
"Lord Ainz!"
He was already kneeling when he teleported. Was he seriously waiting like this?
"Hm. Rise, and go sit."
"Yes!"
The demon obeyed, and he followed him.
After they sat facing each other, Ainz remembered the list he'd made.
He was trying to make this seem like a casual conversation, during which he would just happen to ask questions regarding the plan. Specifically, he also wanted to see when Neia could be killed off.
Once his fame was past a certain point, the loss of one individual would be a negligible detriment to its spread.
But how long would he need to wait?
It seemed she was quite good at her job, so perhaps he'd need to lead her on for several months. They only had one date, and yet he was already feeling completely done with it all. It was better than he expected, but not enough for him to tolerate this going on for some ridiculously long period of time.
"Now then, Demiurge. Do you know why I wanted to speak with you?"
He looked uneasy.
"I could not, of course, grasp the full extent of your intent behind any given action, but perhaps this meeting was some sort of way to discuss certain topics? I am unsure about the specifics, unfortunately."
He wasn't prepared for something so close to the truth, but he still gave the answer he already prepared.
"Wrong. I am disappointed."
He could immediately see the horror on the demon's face.
It felt terrible to treat him like this, but it had to be done.
"I said I wanted to have a casual conversation. Are you calling me a liar?"
Demiurge looked like he was about to have a panic attack, so he knew to stop.
"But don't worry. I am not angry. Just know that not everything I do is part of the great plan. There must be time for other things."
"Yes! I was a fool, Lord Ainz! Allow me to-"
"No, I will not allow anything. Are we not here to talk?"
Demiurge looked like he was being tortured.
But it was time to start. As for his first topic...
"So, how would you say your day has been? Have you enjoyed it?"
"Yes, Lord Ainz. Every moment I serve the Supreme Beings is a glorious one."
"Is that so. Well, I'm glad you're enjoying yourself. When was the last time you ate?"
"I believe it was around 11 days ago now."
"Hm. What did you have?"
Demiurge looked at him intensely.
"A cheeseburger."
"I see. Did you enjoy it?"
"... Yes...?"
This was weird. His tone was like he was answering questions a teacher gave him.
"Are you not hungry?"
"I am not, but even if I were, my hunger means nothing. I must always do my best to serve the Supreme Beings!"
"Hm. I see." He tried to feign an interested tone.
Just then, Demiurge had some sort of reaction to those few words.
It seemed the situation was something completely different in his mind.
Well, it couldn't be helped. He's already said this was just casual. Perhaps it would be bad to insist further.
"Then, how is the plan going on your end? Any trouble?"
The demon leaned back a bit, and smiled.
"Not at all, Lord Ainz!"
"Hm. I see. Do you enjoy creating plans, Demiurge?"
This time, he leaned forward with a complicated expression. A bitter smile.
"While service to the Supreme Beings is the greatest pleasure there is, I am also sometimes demotivated due to the fact that anything I create is so inferior to your own incredible planning."
Ah, more of this.
"I am unhappy to hear that you feel that way. Know that I greatly appreciate and value everything you do for Nazarick."
The demon now had a simple, genuine smile of happiness and admiration, so he let the silence go on for a bit.
"And what about something specific? For example, how do you feel about the situation in the Holy Kingdom? In particular, how is my fame spreading amongst the people? Is it all progressing well?"
Another, different smile was now on Demiurge's face. It was rather devilish.
"Yes! Yes, everything is going just wonderful thanks to that girl you have provided!"
Huh?
"She is being hailed as one of the heroes who liberated Kalinsha! Her own fame is rising, and she is doing excellent work spreading word of your glory!"
What the hell was he talking about?
Of course, he could not ask him.
"She has organized a group which now numbers in the tens of thousands! They even hold festivals in your honour despite their situation! What glorious progress! To think you have prepared such a girl in a country like that!"
Was he talking about... Neia Baraja?!
Did she do all that?!
Tens of thousands of followers?! But it's only been weeks since he "died"!
Wasn't that weird? As far as they knew, they were following a dead guy!
What the hell was going on there?!
And then, emotional suppression had to kick in, cushioning his bewilderment and panic.
Still, he was happy that things were going well, at least.
But this meant that he might have to wait a lot longer to get rid of Neia.
Perhaps he'll turn her into a martyr?
"Hm. Demiurge. Are you pleased that the plan is going well because of that girl, then?"
"Of course, Lord Ainz! I am once again impressed beyond words by your unfathomable intellect!"
"I see. I was thinking, for how long should she be kept around? What if she was turned into a martyr at some point?"
The demon's mood soured.
"I must apologize for my ineptitude, Lord Ainz. At present, the situation is evolving quickly due to the improvements you have made. At least right now, I do not think I am able to predict such things. In truth, the idea of using her as a martyr had not crossed my mind."
"That's fine. We will have to discuss this later, then. I will call upon you when that time comes."
Neia sat in a chair in her room, preparing for the upcoming event, which would finally be the last thing on her schedule for today. It was a thanksgiving festival honouring the Sorcerer King and everything he's done for them.
She was already quite exhausted, however. Today, she gave a speech, did paperwork, attended a meeting headed by Caspond, and practiced her archery.
It wasn't that long ago when she would only do one of those things a day at most.
Though she didn't feel important, the amount of duties she now had indicated that she was moving up in the world.
This was probably most obvious when it came to her fellow followers of His Majesty, which regarded her as his representative and an authority on many things.
She had recently spoken to some of the craftsmen who were part of her organization, so they could have some sort of badge or something like that to show off their membership, fostering a stronger sense of community and belonging. Currently, it was called the "Sorcerer King Rescue Corps", and they had about 36 000 members. She thought about how that name might change with time, as they lose their overall goal of rescuing His Majesty, or at least finding out what happened to him.
She was unsure whether the number would increase or decrease as a result of no longer having a clear purpose. She would be overjoyed if it turned out that knowledge of His Majesty's greatness would spread to more people after everything was over, but the lack of a threat might just make everyone turn away from his glory.
She no longer wanted that part of their country to return to how it was before. The undead being seen as evil? The old church preaching those things again?
That's how it was likely going to be. Things were going to return to that state.
"Ugh..."
She made a noise of unhappiness as she thought about that.
Still, there were more pressing things at hand now.
In a few days, most of the people here will head out to reclaim the capital city.
There, they will fight against most of what remains of the invasion force.
Their forces, now including support from the southern nobles, will be about 95 000 strong. The rest of them will hold the other cities they've retaken until this point.
The demi-human force they were going to be met with was most likely going to be significantly weakened due to how His Majesty has helped- no, due to how His Majesty had already personally killed so many.
Victory seemed quite certain.
However, this was all assuming Jaldabaoth was still recovering.
Shizu said his recovery will take a long time, but she could not guess how long exactly.
If Jaldabaoth did indeed show up and summoned demons, or just fought personally, they would lose.
In that case, they did not intend to waste time.
Neia got up from her chair, and prepared to leave.
This festival was also a great way to increase her followers' morale before they march.
A servant was probably already waiting outside her door, ready to escort her.
She now had several such servants, and they made her life much easier.
Ainz was marching an army of 10 000 demi-humans through several large instances of [Gate].
The plan was to use them to make a dramatic entrance to the battle which was now already taking place.
It was a battle where about 30 000 demi-humans were being led by the Evil Lord of Wrath playing the role of Jaldabaoth.
Over and over again, he had them practice a dramatic entrance where they would split in half and he would walk through.
It was hard to get them to do anything, especially to act in a dignified manner.
"What a pain... I wish I was just commanding undead again..."
The undead would just do whatever he relayed to them with his thoughts, as did all summons.
Commanding a real army was far above his own abilities.
After all this was done, they planned to take over the demi-human plains and somehow incorporate them into the Sorcerer Kingdom, though he wasn't aware of the details.
"Albedo was going to handle that, I think?"
He could think such unrelated thoughts because everything in regards to an army was very slow.
Marching was slow. Moving into formation was slow. Commands getting around was slow. Distributing supplies and gear was slow.
Fortunately, he didn't have to deal with much of that at all. He managed to get them here without killing too many commanders.
Looking around, he could also see that winter was soon to end.
Looking around some more, he saw some minor squabble happening between two demi-humans of different species. They argued, but didn't dare break formation. Not in his presence.
He sighed.
Looking around even more, he saw that it seemed like most of them had gone through the [Gate] already.
And then, one of his messengers came running to him and immediately took a knee.
"Your Majesty!"
His breath was ragged. Clearly he must have been sprinting around from place to place for a while now.
"Speak."
"Everything seems to be in order. Most of them have already passed through. On the other side, they are also marching as they should."
"Good. Is that all?"
"Yes!"
"Then go."
Just like that, the messenger sprinted off again.
Just like they practiced, the army parted ways to let him dramatically pass through.
From there, he clearly saw the ongoing battle.
The humans were in strange formations, which didn't seem reasonable at all at first glance.
But upon closer inspection, there were many other formations of charred corpses.
The entire way the humans were fighting just now was a result of Jaldabaoth's appearance.
The Evil Lord of Wrath was using an area of effect ability which simply dealt some fire damage in an area around it.
The goal here was to have him seem as terrifying as possible, and so having those around him immediately die as he approached seemed quite appropriate.
The fire damage was quite minor considering the Evil Lord's level, but it was of course devastating to the humans.
He looked around some more, and spotted a group in the back looking in his direction.
They were basically not even in the battle, really. It seemed they were intentionally kept out of harm's way.
Neia and Shizu were among them.
And so, he approached using [Fly].
As he got closer, he could see the people seemed to have looks of awe and respect. They were probably Neia's people.
And the squire herself was crying tears of happiness, and Shizu stood next to her.
"Your Majesty! You're here!"
"Of course. Also, I am happy to see that you are safe, Miss Baraja."
"Yes! It's all thanks to Shizu!"
As her name was said, she came over with a handkerchief, and forcefully wiped Neia's face in a manner which looked uncomfortable.
"... There's snot on it. Really shocking."
"Oh? Are you two getting along well?"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
"Shizu?"
"... Yes. I like cute girl Neia."
Right now, Ainz felt two completely opposite emotions.
First, he was very, very happy that Shizu had made a friend. And a friend from outside Nazarick, at that.
But this also meant he couldn't get rid of Neia. Not easily, at least.
If they really were friends, he couldn't hurt CZ's feelings.
He couldn't do that to one of his children.
Emotional suppression kicked in, and both the despair and happiness mostly disappeared to the back of his mind.
He would discuss this with CZ later.
"I see... That's good, then, huh?"
Perhaps he let some hint of unease slip, and so he spoke again quickly.
"Uhm, that is to say, I really did not expect that, but it is good. I am happy you two are friends."
Neia spoke in a voice that was uneasy and guilty.
"Your Majesty, are you displeased that we were unable to rescue you? If that is the case, then the responsibility-"
"Please stop. I am not displeased in any way."
She started crying again, but asked another question.
"A-are those demi-humans from the Sorcerer Kingdom?"
"Hm? When I fell to the east, I took the land there for my kingdom, so I suppose you could say that."
She was now staring at him again. Her visor was off, and so she looked quite scary. That expression was probably awe, but he did not want to look at her face too much.
"So then, Miss Baraja, I believe it is time I head over there and find Jaldabaoth. I can't see him now. Is he teleporting in and out of the battle?"
"Y-yes, that's probably it..."
"I see. Then I'll be off."
With those words, Neia seemed to suddenly remember something important, and frantically looked around.
"E-everyone! We didn't kneel before His Majesty!"
He didn't think that such a thing was needed, but then everyone did as she said, herself included.
"Ah, I am truly grateful. But please rise now."
It looked like Neia was about to speak now, probably to explain how he didn't need to be grateful at all, or something like that. He raised his hand to stop her.
"If that's all, I have a demon to kill."
Cheers could be heard from all around him now.
Almost immediately after, the Evil Lord showed up in the distance, near the middle of the battlefield.
Ainz prepared to put on a brief light show, just like last time.
He thought that it might resemble fireworks from the point of view of those below.
"Then I'll be off."
And with those words, he was off.
Neia could barely bring herself to breathe as she watched him approach the great pillar of flame that was Jaldabaoth.
Just like before, they ascended into the air, and spells the power of which she could not comprehend were exchanged.
It seemed everyone had stopped fighting to watch.
This time, the battle was shorter.
And it ended with the fiery shape dissolving into nothing.
Neia and her followers were gathered around the eastern gate of the Holy Kingdom's capital, where the Sorcerer King's carriage was waiting, complete with undead horses.
It seemed to be the same carriage with which he arrived, the same one in which they spent weeks together and where her love for him was still young within her heart.
She stood close to His Majesty and Shizu, while her many followers allowed them quite a bit of space.
The atmosphere was sad and gloomy. Her followers hated to see their hero go.
It was only Neia who seemed mostly unaffected by this.
This was, of course, because her next date with the Sorcerer King would take place in only a few weeks' time. And from that point onward, they would happen every two weeks or so.
This made her happy, in a way. She was close to His Majesty in a way none other in the country could claim.
At least to her knowledge...
"The people are quite sad to see you go, Your Majesty."
"Is that so? Well, I am not happy to leave them in such a state, but I am glad to have supporters here."
"Only the greatest of fools would be blind to the reality that you saved this country."
"Unfortunately, not everyone sees it that way, Miss Baraja. Still, I must thank you. I've heard you were largely responsible for my fame."
Neia didn't like being called "Miss Baraja" by His Majesty like that. She's already tasted the sweetness of being called by her first name, and anything besides felt wrong now. Still, they were in public, and so she had to put up with it to keep everything a secret.
"Me? Responsible for your fame? I can't claim something like that, surely your glory speaks for itself! All I did was organize these people!"
Her words now were sincere. She did not think that highly of herself. It seemed only natural that everyone who witnessed the Sorcerer King would come to understand how great he was.
"No need to shy away from praise, Miss Baraja. You deserve it."
She smiled. Normally she'd continue refusing to accept his praise, but she knew His Majesty well enough to know there was no point. She just had to accept his words for what they were.
Praise.
From the man she loved.
It made her happy.
Her goal of successfully courting him was still in the distant future, but for now, she was happy with this.
His Majesty, meanwhile, seemed to be in deep thought.
There was one more thing he considered saying before final goodbyes were exchanged. The matter of resurrecting her parents. He was not sure about whether or not it was at all a good idea.
First, he did not want to waste resources on her parents if she was already loyal to him, as the lack of complete bodies was very troublesome. Afterward, maybe he'd have many people coming to him, wanting their own loved ones revived. Many would also ask him why he hasn't resurrected the Holy Queen. In that case, he'd need all sorts of excuses.
Perhaps the whole thing could be kept secret, but that was highly unlikely.
However, he now also had to consider her attempts at courting him. He could give the girl her parents back, and present it as some sort of gift to represent his affection.
He thought before that if he did not constantly escalate their relationship in small ways, she'd eventually get frustrated at being led on, and start hating him instead. This was troublesome due to her newfound status as a hero. When their relationship reached a point where escalating any further would feel impossible to him, he could simply use this.
Either way, he would have to consult someone smarter than him. Again.
The one thing he was sure of was that he no longer wanted to kill Neia. He could not do that to Shizu's friend.
Neia was a little surprised at how suddenly the Sorcerer King went quiet and thought about something. Has something happened?
"Ah, sorry about that. Well, I'm afraid it's time to give our goodbyes. Shizu?"
The maid demon, which was standing unassumingly behind His Majesty until now, moved close to her.
"...Goodbye. I'll miss you, Neia..."
"I'll miss you too, Shizu."
The maid then stretched out her arms and hugged Neia.
And she hugged back.
Indeed, it seems they've become good friends.
Seeing them like this made him both happy and uneasy again.
As Shizu pulled away, he moved very close to Neia, and spoke in a quieter tone.
"Goodbye, Miss Baraja. I hope we meet again soon. In fact, I have no doubt we will, hm?"
"Of course, Your Majesty. Goodbye."
Her tone just now seemed happy and playful.
Now that she was Shizu's friend, he found her to actually be far easier to be around.
She was still troublesome, of course.
His Majesty and the maid demon headed for the carriage.
His followers cheered as the Sorcerer King waved to them before he went inside.
As soon as the door closed behind him, the carriage was off.
Neia's butler, Bertrand, approached her from behind.
His eyes were red. It seemed he just wiped them after having wept.
"So, that's it? At least for now...?"
"Hm. Seems like it."
"Ah, I'm once again surprised by how strong you are, Lady Baraja. As expected of the woman chosen by His Majesty."
She felt a little guilty due to her secret.
If she didn't have a date planned with the Sorcerer King, she'd probably be the one weeping the hardest out of everyone here.
In fact, she was already thinking about what she was going to wear for that occasion. "Should I wear what I always did, the Grand King's armour? Well, I have the time and privacy to change into something else now, so maybe that won't do. Should I arrange for some expensive dress? Ah, but what if it doesn't fit his preference? Should I just ask him plainly what his preference is? Yes, maybe he likes something exotic. Maybe he likes specific colours or styles... that dress Prime Minister Albedo was wearing... maybe something like that? Ah, it was kind of revealing, more than one might expect of someone in her position.
So maybe His Majesty would want me to wear... less?"
Neia made herself blush with her own thoughts.