Ainz sighed wearily as he materialised in front of the Tomb's entrance. Awaiting him, sitting comfortably on the stone stairs as if they were made of wool, was a purple-haired man donning eastern attire. The swordsman didn't seem taken aback at all by his sudden appearance, merely tilting his head in acknowledgement.
"Welcome back Master! Might you be interested in joining me for some tea?" He asked, picking up the steaming cup placed to him and offering it to him. "Things have finally started to quiet down it seems, it would be amiss to make waste of such pleasant weather." The sun was beginning to disappear from the horizon, basking the whole ruins in a warm, golden blaze. His gaze lingered upon the grassy fields in front of him, taking in the scenery. Long ago, it must have been a mundane sight, but in his time this wasn't something he would have ever gotten to see with his own eyes.
"I will have to refuse for now." The idea sounded quite appealing, but he still wasn't sure if he even could consume food or beverages in this body and this wasn't something he wanted to test in front of someone else.
"A shame, but it can't be helped. One such as yourselves must always find himself quite busy, isn't that right?" It seemed Sasaki had arrived at a slightly different conclusion, but Ainz would not correct him. "Oh, that reminds me, the Overseer asked to tell you that he is awaiting your presence in the Meeting Room upon your arrival. He seemed pretty animated for one reason or another."
"No rest for the wicked, huh?" he accidentally mumbled, causing the samurai to chuckle.
"Indeed. I take it your expedition ended up a troublesome affair?"
"It was a fruitful endeavour, but I won't deny your words."
"Sounds more appealing than guarding this gate." He quipped, before catching himself. "My apologies. I have no qualms with the job given, but I would be remiss to say that my blade doesn't crave for the song of clinging steel from time to time. Might one of the Floor Guardians would fancy himself a sparring partner?"
"I am sure you would have no trouble finding a willing opponent." Ainz actually had someone in mind, but he'd rather not bring it up himself. From what he could remember, that person had absolutely no concept of self-restraint. "Also, if your position bothers you, I can also bring Lobo down sometimes, so you could both take turns as gatekeepers."
"Thank you, I have been blessed with a most generous Master," he responded gratefully.
Ainz bid him goodbye and headed to the Meeting Room, his mind going over the events back in Carne. As expected, the sight of her home's burning ruins had been nearly enough to break the young village girl. It was the survival of her younger sister that she had managed to keep herself together, if barely. He would have usually had to chastise Jeanne for failing to complete her task, but because the sole survivor ended up being miss Emmot's sister it all worked out in the end. Plus, when he contacted Jeanne she seemed genuinely distraught, requesting to return to her Floor ahead of him. As long as she regretted her failure and reflected upon her actions, he felt he could overlook this incident. Being too strict with his subordinates wasn't really his style after all. Neither was having subordinates in the first place, but that was a different problem altogether.
While the two sisters had been huddled together, hugging each other as tight as humanly possible, Ainz turned to Gazeff, exchanging a few words. It was clear that even the war-steeled veteran had trouble taking in such destruction, but he had done his best to hide it. Ainz wondered if he would have been that strong in his place; overlooking the charred remains of his companions. He doubted it.
After that, he helped them catch one of the horses that had managed to run away before the madness began. The Warrior Captain would return with the two to the capital, where she would help them find a place to take them in. There lived someone who was acquainted with miss Emmot that might be able to help, and if not, apparently the princess of the Kingdom had sponsored the building of an orphanage recently. Before departing himself, Ainz sent out a Hassan to follow them, just in case there was any trouble during the trip. And even if there wasn't, shadowing someone as important as Gazeff would surely result in worthwhile information.
Back to the present, Ainz arrived at the Meeting Room and was greeted by a gigantic map overshadowing the round table it was set on. Half of it was still blank, but the parts depicted were incredibly well put together, with very detailed representations of locations and terrain. It was not any map he was familiar with in YGGDRASIL, but the composition was very similar. On it, there were multiple tokens sprawled around seemingly at random, ranging from chess pieces to figures and even statues. Sitting right in the middle was what looked like a perfect miniature replica of Nazarick, down to incredibly unnecessary details such as chairs or decorations.
"Master, perfect timing. I was just about done here." Moriarty announced while emerging from the literal mountain of paper that filled the corner of the room, his elegant attire couldn't stand out more from the mess the room had become. Looking over the disaster he himself created, the old man snapped his fingers and all the files floated up in the air. One of the Nero marines approached him and started neatly organizing everything into multiple stacks, with a speed and grace unbefitting of his small body.
"Thank you dear!" he smiled sweetly to his helper before turning his attention to Ainz.
"What do you think?" he excitedly asked, his arms spread out to emphasize the giant layout in front of him. It's just something I quickly put together while you were gone. The Marines were kind enough to let me borrow the material from the Workshop and then I took out the..."
Seeing the bright glimmer in his eyes, Ainz couldn't help but think of a passionate grandpa showing off his antique collection. And he was playing the part of the awed grandson that didn't understand what he was saying, but still found the whole thing pretty neat. It reminded him of those sets from RPG games, except on a whole different scale of quality, such that it would make even the most avid collectors turn purple with envy.
"You've done a really good job with this, Moriarty" he awkwardly complimented him, before being waved off by the older gentleman.
"You flatter me. I'm sure you could have done a much better job than me, but I'm still pleased to know the plan pleases you so far."
'Plan? What plan?!' Ainz's mind instantly went into a panic.
"And with your most recent actions..." the Servant continued, ignorant of his Master's inner turmoil. With a swift move, he took out some little houses, crossed out the name "Carne Village' and added the figure of a knight on a horse, together with two smaller pieces. "the board is finally set. We can truly begin playing now."
Ainz looked over the miniature world with a newfound perspective. 'I'm supposed to understand what this means? Wait, the map looks like representations of the New World, how did he get everything done so fast?"
"Ahem," he pretended to cough, buying time before the expectant Overseer. "Everything seems to be in order, but are you sure this is the best course of action?"
"It is only a rough outline, but I consider it on par with my greatest schemes. Of course, I also eagerly await any improvements that you might make. Feel free to take a look at the more detailed version of the plans."
The Marine in the room handed Ainz a stack of papers for him to examine. They were full of convoluted information and strange equations; so much so that it felt more like a college course than a battle plan. Needless to say, he didn't understand a thing. If he still could, he would be sweating bullets right now, like a student who didn't study getting called out by the teacher. He needed to offer some ideas though, otherwise, Moriarty might think him to be incompetent. Which wasn't untrue, but he couldn't let him know that.
Desperately going over everything he already said he would get done, he remembered about one of his promises. He gave up on the files and instead rummaged through the box nearby until he found the figure he was looking for.
"Everything so far looks promising, I have no objections. The only thing I might add was to send Bathory here." Ainz took the Lizzie figure (that was also somehow a perfect one-to-one replica of the original Floor Guardian) and placed it somewhere random on the map. He promised her that he would organize her tour, so this was the perfect chance to begin planning. He didn't need anything too elaborate, just to find a big city for her to visit and perform in. A city far away, if preferable. 'I'm sorry, random citizens. Please do your best to survive for Nazarick's sake!"
Moriarty on the other hand seemed intrigued by his mostly arbitrary choice. His eyes pondered over the figure for a bit, the slight twisting of his moustache giving him the air of the famous evil schemer he was based on.
"The Empire? Hm...No, that could work. Interesting choice Master. I see you place quite a bit of trust in her." Ainz didn't understand why Moriarty was so set on misinterpreting everything he said, but he would use that to his advantage in this situation.
"I trust in the capabilities of all the members of Nazarick." Now only if he could trust them to not turn on him, that would make his life much easier.
"Looks like even I have trouble comprehending the mind of a Great One. It is quite a...exciting experience." He mused.
"Well, if that is all I shall retire for the evening."
"Of course! You just got back from your expedition, I apologize for taking so much of your precious time. It's quite unsightly for an old man like myself to get so passionate over everything." He heartily laughed. "We shall continue the preparations tomorrow morning, I will be sure to have a more concrete itinerary by then."
Ainz inadvertently winced. His plan to escape from the evil mastermind's clutches was all too easily thwarted. He couldn't just continue to stall for time, he needed something more long-term to limit the amount of decision-making he had to do as much as possible. If things went on as they have so far, ruling Nazarick would soon turn into another office job, except this one was a job he was vastly underqualified for.
In short, what he needed right now was something to keep him away from the Great Tomb for long periods of time, to give Moriarty the chance to run things properly while he merely 'supervised' him. The old Overseer has already proven himself the best suited for this type of work, but it seemed he wanted the two of them to work side by side on maintaining and protecting the Tomb, which was just not feasible. After all, the best leader is the one that creates the most suitable environment to allow his subordinates to perform to the best of their abilities. It just so happened that this particular environment worked best with him out of the picture most of the time.
Now, the only question that remained was: What would he do in the meantime? The reality of his sudden arrival in this new world was just now beginning to set in for him, filling him with a strange sort of excitement. the prospect of exploring and adventuring these foreign lands resonated deep within him, so much so that the beating of his non-existing heart was loudly ringing in his ears. It was just like when a new DLC was released in YGGDRASIL, he always was the one to push the rest of the guild into leading the charge into the unknown. But as much as he wanted, he could not just abandon the NPCs and travel to the other side of the world. As much as he dreaded the thought of being in charge, it was undeniable that he was the one responsible for all of his friends' creations. So if he planned on leaving his post for longer spans of time, he had to make sure the time he spent outside was furthering Nazarick's interest first and foremost.
"Maybe I should have gone with Stronoff after all. Maybe I could have infiltrated myself into the Royal Court or something. That sounded like it could have been useful." As his thoughts drifted back towards the conversation with the Warrior Captain, he was suddenly reminded of a piece of information he had recently gained. The Adventurer's Guild.
"Actually, Moriarty, I might not be available for such a free discussion in the foreseeable future. Starting tomorrow, I plan on masquerading as an adventurer in order to further the name of Ainz Ooal Gown and to allow us to further familiarize ourselves with the New World." Ainz felt like patting himself on the back for this idea. Forget two birds, it was like killing an entire flock with one stone. This way, he could get out of Moriarty's hair while simultaneously working towards both Nazarick's and his own interests. Maybe the other NPCs were right, maybe he was a genius.
The grampa-like Servant visibly stilled at his declaration.
"You intend for Momon to take the stage so soon?" he asked, bewildered.
'Oh, come on! You have to be kidding me!' Not only was Moriarty able to predict his plan, he actually went a step further and even picked a stage name for him. If Ainz thought that before the difference in their abilities was vast, now that distance might as well have been a canyon.
"I-Indeed. I see no further reason for waiting." He answered evenly, his voice not betraying a drop of his inner turmoil.
"But it is so early!" Moriarty protested. "If you busy yourself so much, who will be there to steer us in the right direction?"
"I trust you will be able to handle it. I believe you can do a better job than even I can." Ainz pressed on, letting a few of his true feelings come out.
Moriarty's shocked expression slowly transformed, to the point where he was forced to put a hand over his mouth and lean on a nearby chair to try to calm the trembling of his shoulders.
"HA HA HA HA HA!" he exploded, unable to hold on. He struggled to talk between deep breaths. "When you said you had trust in our capabilities -hah- I never expect something like this. You are a surprisingly honest person, -hah- right Master?I can't say I dislike it, though." Having finally regained his more dignified appearance, he made a deep, respectful bow, only sullied by the ghost of the smile still on his lips. "Very well. This old man will continue serving you to the best of his abilities. I shall not squander the trust you have put in me, that I swear."
"I expect you not to. Will you follow me outside for a moment?" Ainz was slightly concerned his servant was having a panic attack. He didn't even know if Servants could suffer from heart problems or anything similar, but he thought some fresh air would not harm the elder in front of him.
"Certainly!" he answered before Ainz cast Teleportation and dropped them in the middle of the sky outside of Nazarick. He also buffed himself with Flight and was prepared to do the same for the NPC but it appeared that the winged-like cape on Moriarty's back allowed him to gracefully hover in the air without any assistance. Not that Ainz had been too worried about his safety, a drop from this height would barely leave a scratch on the high-level NPC.
By this time the sun had already faded from the horizon, making way for the moon and the stars to illuminate the night sky. Ainz was momentarily left speechless by the millions of tingling lights sewn into the dark canvas, a chaotic ensemble of brilliant lustre more pure and eternal than anything human hands might be able to comprehend. Despite sharing the same space with the pale, crystal-full moon, one did not overshadow the other. On the contrary, they existed in complete harmony with one another, so much so that Ainz felt like taking one away would only serve to dull the beauty of the other. Absedmintedly, he raised himself to reach out for a particularly bright spot in the sea of light. Since time memorial, people had entrusted their wishes to the stars; so much so that the entire collective of human consciousness unabatedly clawed itself towards the future while barreling towards them. They were an unending tower of unanswered prayers that nonetheless lingered on, their flames refusing to be extinguished until the impossible reaches its conclusion. Was he like that? Someone who desperately chases the unattainable, regardless of how dim the light at the end of the tunnel might be? Or was he someone who could merely grab onto others' dreams, to search and grant their wishes by his own hands...
"Truly marvellous, is it not?" Moriarty exclaimed, snapping Ainz out of his reverie.
"It is. I can't deny I am glad to find myself in this New World. Despite the hardships that await us here, I cannot deny its beauty!"
"Do not worry, Master. Though we might destroy this world, the earth, the river, and the sky, they shall remain unchanged for long after we pass; serving as witnesses to the dance of madness we shall choreograph here. I doubt even an immortal such as yourself will live long enough to see them perish. I find it an oddly comforting thought, to be honest."
"World destruction, huh..." he mused to himself. It seemed Moriarty had his eyes set on wiping out humanity, or at least something of that calibre. He honestly didn't know if that was a bad thing or not for him. He doubted it would be something his friends would have personally agreed with, but it was certainly one way to accomplish his goals. Though if it came to that, he would like to preserve at least a small of this World's culture. If the stars will be there to remember him, he would like to be there to remember this place. It was still too soon to worry about such things so far into the future, but it was still something to consider.
The two of them continued watching over the landscape beneath them, still mostly hidden in shadows despite the brightness of the moon, no further words spoken between them. And so, the gears of fate continue to turn as the world plunges itself into the unknown, an arduous struggle in which the end is all but guaranteed, but still stubbornly clinging to survival nonetheless. All that remained was a silver thread of hope for tomorrow. A wish upon the stars.
Author's notes:
One of my neighbours was walking his dog. It is cute. Further observation is required.
