[Volume 1: Epilogue]

Roswaal was already on his way to the capital, flying ahead of the group in order to meet with his noble acquaintances ahead of schedule. He would return in a day or two in order to make sure nothing went wrong in the domain during Ainz's absence.

He had the permanent wraiths patrol the area, but the noble's land was vast and thus Roswaal with the mirror he had been given would surely prove to be much more effective.

Ainz himself was looking at the carriage they were supposed to take and shaking his head. The design of it didn't go with the whole "wise and powerful" mage aesthetic he was trying to go for, which made sense given that it was Roswaal's carriage.

'If not for his magic I'm sure that guy would have been executed just for his trash taste.' Ainz thought to himself.

Rem, carrying more than her fair share of luggage, walked up to him and noticed his intense stare that was directed towards the carriage. She looked from it to Ainz, and then back again, eventually tilting her head and asking, "Is something wrong with it?"

The undead mage gestured to it broadly, "Don't you think this doesn't exactly scream "royalty?" It's just… It's the aura of it all, I'm sure you understand me." he said, shaking his head.

"I think so? Maybe I'm just numb to Roswaal's style after so long…" she muttered, "But what will we do about it? It's the only carriage we have."

"Hmm." Ainz walked past the carriage and pointed at an empty space on the paved road, "[Create Greater Item]."

Where once there was but air, now stood a brilliant carriage. As if made of obsidian, it stood like a piece of night that had manifested onto the canvas of the day. Brilliant, gold engravings decorated it, and on the side of it was the symbol of Ainz Ooal Gown, next to a much more modestly sized hawk, which was the symbol of Roswaal.

He opened the door of the carriage and took a look inside. The seats appeared to be made of a red material that was even finer than silk, undoubtedly being worth more than entire noble carriages combined. The black curtains and gold markings also were a nice touch.

It was by no means modest, which meant that Ainz's goal was accomplished. Noble society, from what Ainz knew, was all about grandeur, status, and power. In short, it was exactly the same as that of the ruling class from his original world.

As a salaryman taught to navigate such a world, albeit in a servile position, he was confident he could at least blend in, maybe even compete with the nobles thanks to his otherworldly gear.

Of course, he hoped that his practice of noble etiquette and royal behaviour went unnoticed by the inhabitants of the mansion, and the fruits of that could be revealed now. What kind of Overlord would he be if he didn't even know how to act like one?

Alas, competing with the actual lifelong title holders, such as Crusch, was probably off the table for now. Types like her and Anastasia were best left to Roswaal, unless an opportunity arose that even Ainz could utilise.

He turned back to Rem, "This one is much better, wouldn't you agree?" he asked, to which she nodded and began packing the bags into the back of it. After that, she put the freshly materialised harness and put it around a ground dragon that was hooked up to the previous one.

Ainz left the dutiful maid to her work, turning to the mansion and looking for the girl of the hour. Just as he did so, Emilia exited the front door, seemed to yell goodbye to Ram who was still inside, and then made her way towards the undead mage.

She arrived quickly enough, and Ainz helped her into the carriage, which was evidently made for someone his height and had the single step inside be the equivalent of a small jump for the comparatively tiny Emilia.

Of course, he helped Rem, who was even shorter, get into the driver's seat, this time with the help of flight magic. Barring the momentary confusion which mirrored that of her twin sister, she managed to land and get the reins in hand.

Finally, he himself stepped into the carriage, shut the door, and let the journey begin…

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"Ainz?" Emilia asked in between bites of the steamed cake.

He turned from the view outside towards her, "Yes?"

The carriage they were in was amazingly stable and the journey overall was pleasant. It wasn't as pleasant as simply teleporting to the capital, but if he did so then he surely would have had a lecture from both Ram and Roswaal awaiting him. The carriage was a symbol of power, and symbols held as much authority as any single person in the court.

Still, as enjoyable and calm as it was, with Rem apparently being rather adept at driving the carriage, Ainz still saw hints of worry appear on Emilia's face from time to time.

"Do you think… everything will be alright? I'm not as well-versed in politics as the others." she said, gazing at the floor of the carriage.

Ainz tried to make his imposing voice sound kind, even though it was quite a herculean task, "Do not worry, Emilia. I know of your competitors. Leave them to Roswaal or myself. I've dealt with craftier types in my day."

The shadow of a smile appeared on her face for but a second, quickly being replaced by yet another frown, "But…" She gestured broadly to herself and Ainz immediately picked up on the meaning behind it.

"Remember, we are at an immediate disadvantage at the beginning, but the beginning does not matter that much. There are a few things I have planned to increase your reputation. And, as much as honesty is often ill-advised in the world of politics, I suppose the best way is for you to simply speak from the heart."

Emilia tilted her head slightly, looking up at him, "Eh? But if it's not a good idea then why should I do it? I studied reeeaaaally hard, you know?" she said, pouting.

Ainz chuckled, "I'm sure you did, but honesty is scarce in the world of politics, and so there is no better way to earn the people's trust. Besides, if you were to lie and one of our rivals were to find out, then it could very well be over right then and there."

"So, um, how are you planning to have us win?" she asked, idly playing with her hair.

"Well, the main reason for the people's distrust of you would be, and please forgive me for saying this, your resemblance to the Witch." he said, Emilia flinching slightly. "However," he continued, "it would hardly make sense for the Witch to hunt her own followers."

"Wait, you mean…?"

He nodded, "Yes, we will hunt the Witch Cult. I'm sure a few heads of their higher ranking members will cause public opinion to be swayed in our favour. Perhaps we shall even hunt ourselves a legendary demon beast should the chance arise."

"I'm sure it would help, but how will we find them? Nobody can track them! And the three demon beasts are as unpredictable as natural disasters!"

"Do not worry about it. With my own magic and Roswaal's connections, finding them will be trivial. I'm sure the task will prove much more simple than most would expect. Maybe we will be able to make some useful connections with your fellow candidates." he said, knowing full well that his divination magic would be very capable of hunting down members of the cult.

"Actually, your situation brings up some memories from my own… youth, one might call it. Would you like to hear the story?" he asked, to which she nodded enthusiastically, "Very well. Would you believe me if I told you I wasn't always strong?"

"No." she said, apparently unwilling to even humour such a hypothetical.

"I swear, it's true. Back when I first appeared in the world I would come to call my home, I was just a humble skeleton. In that world, monsters such as myself were hunted down. On one hand for practical gain by humanoid races, and on the other hand due to our appearance."

"I was killed many times, though death in that world was by no means something permanent, and the world was not kind to me. Of course, I didn't expect it to be, but what I experienced was a bit excessive." he continued, Emilia listening to his story intently.

"Right as I was about to be killed once more, perhaps for the final time, someone came to help, someone I have already told you about."

"Touch Me? That paladin?" she asked, "But shouldn't a paladin, um, fight the undead?"

Ainz put a hand to his chin, "Perhaps were he a normal paladin, it would have been so. But he hailed from an insectoid race that was hunted like my own. But the difference between us was that he was one of the strongest warriors in all the lands. He lent me a hand that day, slaying my would-be killers with a single mighty blow!"

"And, with his help, we gathered more like us. I, who was just a pitiful skeleton back then, eventually became one of the most feared and renowned mages of that world. If I could do that with just a little help, then I'm sure you can win the throne with all the support you have." he said, leaning forward and ruffling Emilia's hair.

"Do you really think I can do it?" she asked, leaning into his hand.

"I have never known defeat since then, and with my help neither will you." he said, before continuing, "But first you must help yourself." Out of his inventory he took out a pair of glasses and Machiavelli's "The Prince", tossing it over to her.

She pouted, but nevertheless she reluctantly opened the book and began reading…

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It appeared that Ancient One's favourite book was less than a thrilling read for the half-elven mage, as the girl had become drowsy only after an hour and a half or so of reading. Ainz presumed that the girl had studied late into the night, and as the sleepiness overtook her, he took back the book and glasses.

Her head slipped towards the wooden door of the carriage and Ainz, utilising his abilities to the fullest, stopped time and took out a comfortable pillow from out of his inventory, putting it in between Emilia's head and the side of the carriage.

Time began moving once again and her head hit the pillow, a smile appearing on her face as her unconscious mind registered the presence of the soft fabric. Next he put his hands into his inventory once more, this time grabbing a medium level cloak and putting it over the girl.

"After this initial meeting is done, I'm making sure she gets a proper break." he mumbled softly under his breath as he put the cloak over her. Even his undead mind registered the visual of the girl sleeping as cute, but the pity from seeing her so overworked lingered as well.

Alas, there was another person he had to care for, as he was the only adult on the journey. "I suppose I should check on Rem as well."

With those words, he cast [Fly] on himself, opened the door, stepped out, closed it while floating in mid air, and made his way to the driver's seat. Rem appeared to be full of vigour as she spotted him landing next to her.

"Hello, Rem." he said, smoothing out his cape after his landing, "Feeling tired yet? You've been driving for quite a while."

The maid shook her head, "Not at all! I'm sure I can get us to the capital in one go. But, Ainz, shouldn't you be with Lady Emilia?"

"She's sleeping right now, and" he began, only to grab onto Rem's arm and pull her towards him, saving her from falling out of the driver's seat, "you should as well. You can barely sit straight." He tapped his shoulder with one hand, taking the reins from Rem's hands with the other.

"That was just a, um, mishap. I'm fine!" she protested, relenting soon after Ainz glared at her with his fiery eyes, "Ok…" she said, pouting and leaning on his shoulder.

Thankfully, the ground dragon seemed to still have plenty of stamina left, presumably not faking its status like Rem, and was intelligent enough to require only minor input from Ainz.

The undead magic caster sighed, "I don't know why both you and Emilia overwork yourselves. She could have told me she wanted to sleep rather than read, and you could have told me you're tired as well." Ainz complained, taking out yet another cloak.

This midnight-coloured piece of cloth was fastened around Rem's neck in order to not be carried away by the wind, and she held onto it tightly, apparently enjoying the feeling of the luxurious fabric.

"We want to be useful…" Rem muttered, snuggling the cloak Ainz gave her and leaning against his shoulder, which was comfortable due to the bones being covered by Ainz's immaculate robe.

"Useful? You already are. There's no need for you to do this to yourself. Despite my race, I can still worry about others, you know?" Ainz said, glancing at the girl.

"But you could replace us, no? With your undead, or something else. They don't eat, sleep, or complain. You don't really need us… Without me, Roswaal, even Emilia, you could still do anything." Rem said, looking up at him, although her eyelids were evidently becoming heavier by the minute.

"Well, yes it is true that my undead are efficient. They are strong, obedient, and have many benefits. But… For once, I'm not doing this wholly for myself. What reason would I have to try and gain the throne? I suppose it's just nice to help someone else achieve their goal."

"As much as I hope to decipher that Witch's words and repay an old debt, that's just a part of it. It's been a long time since I've had anyone else to go on a quest with. To overcome challenges and hardships, to navigate political intrigues and battles… I always found these things fun, but what reason is there to do it alone?"

"With my friends, when we would slay another world ending threat, or win against our sworn adversaries, it was fun because I was with them. I guess I'm just chasing that same feeling again, even if the people and places are different. Childish of me, isn't it? To simply try to have fun."

He finished speaking and looked over to his side, seeing that the maid was already soundly asleep. "I wonder how much of that she heard?" he asked himself, pulling her closer in order to make sure she wouldn't fall.

Riding on, having a general sense of direction thanks to his ride from the capital to the mansion before, he thought about the selection. 'I really could end it in one or two days if I simply decided to assassinate them…'

He shook his head to dispel the dark thoughts, 'I'm supposed to love myself or whatever, and here I am thinking about killing teenagers and children. This body is both a blessing and a curse.'

'I think I can manage to cooperate with them. Their lack of divination magic gives me an insane upper hand, so maybe I can strike some deals with Anastasia and Crusch.'

The two odd cases were Felt and Priscilla. Felt possessed the only threat, that being Reinhard. Were he to forge friendly relations with her, he could make that card his own. Given that she was a child, a former thief and orphan at that, she most definitely didn't have a head for politics, and probably didn't even want to rule.

Felt wouldn't be a problem, and hopefully would even be a boon. Priscilla on the other hand… A sort of innate hatred appeared within him as he thought of the spoiled woman. The trouble there would be not killing her. She herself was whatever, but her knight proved to be a much more interesting case.

'Someone even Roswaal doesn't know much about… Once I learn his name, I can ask the Witches. If all else fails, then maybe Satella will know something.'

His thought process moved on, this time to the Witch who summoned him here. 'Poor girl, given the worst hand possible. And then to be locked up alone until you wish for death. I can almost relate.'

He sighed internally, 'But her resemblance to Emilia… To be summoned by her and then meet her duplicate is no mere coincidence. Something bigger is at play here, I know it. It's like starting the first quest in a chain. "Collect 15 apples." is the first one, and it ends with "Kill God." This is exactly how it goes, but I suppose there is a distinct lack of Gods here.'

'At least my time magic immunity should be fine, or else this may have already turned into a complete mess, since she can even pull people from other worlds.'

Still, he thought of the Witch with the tear stained cheeks that asked him to kill her. Many things stemmed from that statement. For instance, he had the ability to kill her, putting him above anyone who fought her before and, due to a certain skill of his, he could see why he was uniquely capable of such a task.

But the information gained from the question was nothing compared to the threads that lingered from it. How did Emilia tie into all this? What was the Witch Cult trying to do? Could he even extract that Witch Factor from her when the time came?

Question after question came, but no answer arrived.

Alas, only one thought lingered on the undead's mind, 'This can end only one way, for Ainz Ooal Gown does not know defeat…'

(AN from Edgy: And that's Volume 1 done! I sure hope you enjoyed it. Next time, the Royal Selection! Knights, nobles, candidates and Ainz in the centre of it all! But as I am writing that, and if you feel that you need a little more political intrigue, perhaps from a certain Golden Princess this time, then check out [The Golden Princess] by TheNumberOfTheBeast on AO3 and also here on FF! As always, more to come and I hope you've enjoyed the story so far!)

(AN from Aterro: Greetings dear readers from far and wide, I woke up this morning and have seen Edgy and I managed to reach a milestone of 700 followers. That number is truly outstanding and we are certain that with your help, we'll reach 1000 followers by this summer. Thank you for feeding us all the reviews, keep it up and I hope you enjoy this adorable Epilogue Edgy and I put together.

Now to answer some reviews:

If Ainz were to have a body...

Will it be the same as testament from guilty gear? Not an exact copy but the idea of giving him a gender neutral body that is.

Aterro: We do not plan to give Ainz a physical body in the near or far future.

Nice! btw though it pains me to admit, Reinhart is basically unbeatable so how would boney-chan fight him if the conflict ever arises?

Edgy: I won't say much, but I believe people are overlooking several trump cards of Ainz's that put Reinhard at a disadvantage if anything. That is all I will reveal.