Once the meeting was over, Ainz and his group waited for the queen just outside the main gate by their carriage as they said they would. He didn't know how long it would take, but given that they had agreed on a hour, and the walk back here took some time itself, it shouldn't be too long of a wait.
Though they could have easily teleported to the gate, that would leave them with even more idle time where they stood doing nothing. They could also use the time they spent walking to give a more thorough inspection of the city and see if they had missed something on their first walkthrough. Though nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary besides the occasional apartment complex from earlier.
Thus they were left in the position that they were in now, standing by the carriage awaiting the arrival of Draudillon. Since they now had more freedom to discuss there findings as they were now out of range from anyone nearby to hear, they had spent the time getting each others opinions, though now that they had completed that with no definitive conclusion, the well of conversation had suddenly dried up.
Ainz did not wish to simply wait in silence until she showed up however, and nor did his friends for that matter, and they began to quickly think of topics to keep the talk going. Though he found none, Ainz did suddenly remember a question he had been meaning to ask.
"Peroroncino-san, earlier when we were discussing the dragon kingdoms assistance, you suddenly jumped in to assist them. Not that I mind of course, but may I ask your motivation to such a decision?"
"Isn't it obvious, Momonga-san?" He said this with a very flirtatious tone of voice while making a gesture of reaching out his hand.
"I would assume its to help Touch-san, but I felt like we should have looked at the merits and demerits to helping them first. There's no such thing as a free lunch, and thus I wanted to see what they could offer before coming to a decision. We could have just as easily found out the answers through force if the beastmen held more value." this was only natural. One could not expect help without offering anything in return. If one side held more value, then the other would be at their mercy.
Peroroncinos face however looked like he believed that Ainz was not understanding, and therefore, enlightened him. "There's plenty of merit Momonga-san, shes a legal loli! Not only that, but she acts like a laid back adult women! Do you know what that means! My dream of having young girls that are actually hundreds of years old has finally come to fruition! That's merit enough right?!" This spiel was being told to Ainz while he was being shaken by the shoulders from his sheer excitement.
"I Think only you would be excited about this Peroroncino-san. I would need more tangible benefits to be persuaded."
"Haah... I thought you couldn't stoop any lower little bro, but it seems I was wrong. I would almost be impressed if it weren't so sad."
Peroroncino merely spun from Ainz to Chagama at this remark with a counter argument in tow. "How can you say that Onee-chan? Not only is she a real person, but she is also of a legal age. I don't see a issue here. If you can give me a reason why its a problem, then please inform me."
"If you sexually harass a queen, were kicking you out of Nazarick." Her normally cute voice didn't carry a shred of mercy in it as it shifted back to her normal deep tone.
"H-hey that's a bit far isn't it Onee-chan... Momonga-san, you wouldn't let her do that right?" his response was less of a question and more of a plead.
"Well... I'd rather not let it come to that point Peroroncino-san." he turned his head way to hide his uncertain expression(Though naturally his face did not change)
"I've been betrayed..." seeing he was defeated, he simply sagged his shoulders at his loss.
"Bro, you can handle it, momonga-san has been in Nazarick for Years, and he respected everyone's wishes of not doing anything to them. So shut up, and keep your libido in check!"
" Momonga-san is completely different! Its not fair to compare the two of us!"
"You're right. It really isn't."
"Geh... you... well..." Realizing he had backed himself into a corner, Peroroncino could only make desperate sounds as he scrambled to find a retort to no avail.
"Alright I think we've poked fun at him for long enough Chagama-san, I think we should at least focus on what we will be doing once the queen arrives here."
"Very well, though won't it be a simple carriage ride to the city, then save everyone there? I don't think to much thought needs to go into this. Unless your talking about how we are going to deal with them." though she did have a point, Ainz would never enter a large scale fight without a plan. Even if they vastly outclassed their opponents, a backup plan was certainly needed for these instances.
"I would have to disagree Chagama-san. If the golems are more powerful than we think, then we might need to actually form a plan. Right now I've contacted Shalltear to have Gargantua on standby encase we require his abilities, but if the golems really aren't that impressive, then we could just leave it to him."
"That's a good idea, but what if they golems are as powerful as him? What then?" If the opposition really had the equivalent of 4 Gargantua's, then even Ainz would have trouble defeating them.
"I'd find it hard to imagine the surrounding nations would be able to survive with such a force hiding under their noses, but if that is the case, we can use Gargantua as a way to quickly escape, then wipe out all of the beastmen with an area of effect spell, and find a way to take them for ourselves."
If the chance presented itself, Ainz could use a cash shop item to cast [Iä Shub Niggurath] instantly, and depending on the number of enemies, the dark young could hold off the golems while they watch from a safe distance. Of course, retreat was still the first option if their might proved to be too much.
"That could work, but then we would need to know the number of beastmen were facing, as well as have access to such spells. Peroroncino could take a lot of them out from a distance, but he is more suited to face individuals then armies, and Momonga-san's super tier magic would need time or a cash shop item to effectively work, so retreating may be the best option in that case.
"Well what other options are there?"
"Hmm..."
"I made it!"
As the group dived into another round of introspection, a shout came from the gates entrance, and at its source was a small girl accompanied by two guardsmen. Unlike her previous attire, this outfit seemed to be made for travel, as it was thick clothing that was lined with leather for defense.
"I deeply apologize for having your majesty wait for me. It toke some time to get prepared for the journey."
"Be at ease, there is nothing to apologize for, being prepared is a essential quality for anyone heading into the unknown." Ainz could not necessarily fault her for this, as back in YGGDRASIL, he would also take a very long time deciding what the best gear to wear in a new environment or to a fight, thus he couldn't say anything with his companions in tow. Plus she was still here by the designated meeting time, thus there was nothing to be upset over.
"Yeah its completely fine! It's only natural to take considerations in travel gear! There is nothing to worry about!" BukuBukuChagama simply gave the reply in a singsong voice while waving a tentacle in her direction as if to say "Don't worry about it!"
"Thank you your majesty, and you as well... I just realized that I haven't gotten your name yet."
"Your right! My name is BukuBukuChagama, but you can call me Chagama-san!"
"I'm sorry, I have yet to understand your standing in the sorcerer kingdom, but if you are equals to the sorcerer king, should I not refer to you as Chagama-sama?"
"Its fine, though we are equals in terms of power, were just friends of Momonga-san, so you can call me whatever you wish!" though she had no real facial expressions to speak of, it was apparent based on her positive voice that she was smiling.
"Then thank you Chagama-san. Honestly I wish I had your voice. If I could sound that cute I would be able to attract an even greater number of people to my side in debates."
"Yep, its one of my specialties! Maybe I'll teach you how to improve your voice acting later."
"I am most grateful. Then your majesty, It should be at least a 8 hour journey to get there by carriage, so I assume we are departing in yours, your majesty?"
"Indeed, is that a problem?"
"Not at all, I was just making sure."
"Alright then. Seeing as my undead do not require food or rest, we should be able to reach it in less time then normal. Maybe in 6-7 hours if we're lucky."
Since his runecraft™ scheme had fallen through for now, he had decided to simply try pitching his undead's merits until new progress with the field was discovered. Instead of beating a dead horse, he would sell it.
"That would certainly be of assistance. Based on our reports, the army will reach the city by today or tomorrow, so every second counts towards saving my people. Your majesty, I'm in your capable hands."
"Umu, then let us be off."
And so they entered the carriage, in hopes of reaching the last standing city of the dragon kingdom in time.
.
.
.
"Hm? Who would be coming here at this time?"
"Huh? What is it onee-chan?"
As one of the guardians of the 6th floor, Aura was tasked with keeping track of all who entered and exited the underground forest. Though all of Nazarick was celebrating the return of two of the supreme beings, that was no reason to become lax. If anything, it meant they needed to work harder so they others may return to them one day.
"Mare, it seems someone entered the 6th floor from the 5th floor entrance."
"D-do you think it could be a intruder?"
"Don't be ridiculous. That's impossible." A intruder could not have possibly made it this far into the great tomb. Since only one reaction was sent, it would seem only one person had entered. Not only would it be impossible for a individual to have made it this far into Nazarick, but They would also need to have passed the other guardians to do so.
In a sense, Mare's words were doubting the abilities of the supreme ones, as well as there fellow guardians skills. It would not be out of line to say those words could be taken as a affront to Nazarick as a whole.
She had thought of scolding her brother for saying such things, but understood that this was his personality and simply settled with a icy glare.
"I-I-I'm not saying that it is of course! I was just wondering..." his voice trailed off, seemingly losing what little power it had.
"Haaah... Well It's not. Since there was only one reaction, it's probably one of the other guardians coming here for some reason or another. I'll go meet them by the gate."
"Unnecessary-arinsu." on cue, a [Gate] had opened next to the dark elf twins, and from it stood a world class beauty known as Shalltear Bloodfallen. Though one would commonly find her expression to be a smile of haughty superiority, or a sadistic grin to her lessers, today she wore a large smile that could not be mistaken for anything other then happiness. It looked like it would belong to a innocent girl on a summers day, and Aura could not help but feel weirded out by the difference to her normal self.
"Shalltear? What are you doing here? Did Ainz-sama send you, or are you here for personal business?" being sent on a personal mission from Ainz was any guardians dream, thus it was the only explanation Aura could think of for this odd expression she wore.
"Ah, nothing like that. I simply came to inform you that Peroroncino-sama has returned!" She practically twirled in place as she gave her cheerful reply.
"Really! So soon?!" Now it was obvious why she wore such a expression. Both Aura and Mare would do the same if there beloved creator had returned to them.
"Indeed. Its not doubt due to the wonderful work I have done for Ainz-sama! I was so worried that due to my past failure, he may never see me as adequate to grace me with his presence... But I was wrong! He is truly here at last!"
"C-congratulations Shalltear! I'm happy for you that your creator decided to come back. I hope BukuBukuChagama-sama comes back to us as well..."
Aura naturally agreed with this as well. In fact everyone in the great tomb would naturally want the one who created them to come back to them as soon as possible. No one would dare think otherwise.
"Oh yes, it seems that BukuBukuChagama-sama came back with him as well. Did I forget to mention that?" her face was the very picture of confusion, as if to say "Was it something I said?"
Silence.
The entire room went silent in the face of this news. The expressions the twins had on there face froze completely still without changing in the slightest. Then the uproar that came from the two quickly shattered the quiet.
"ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?"
"I-I'm mad to Shalltear! Why didn't you say that sooner!" though not as explosive as Aura's shout, it still carried the same anger within it that was completely parallel from Mare's usual character.
"Oh come now, I was just having some fun with you two. No need to work yourselves up into a tizzy."
Though they clearly had more to say to her, the excitement of their creators return overrid that, and they threw away the argument for the sake of seeing her sooner.
"Then where is she now! Don't toy with us this time Shalltear or you will regret it." the agitation in her tone was obvious, and they clearly would not let another joke go by so easily.
"Unfortunately, BukuBukuChagama-sama and Peroroncino-sama have gone with Ainz-sama to the dragon kingdom to assist Touch-Me-sama with some unknown task. I don't know when they'll be back, but it shouldn't be too long since all three of them are going."
"Shes already gone?" the sadness was evident within her voice, to say nothing of her expression.
For the first time, Shalltear's elation seemed to drop slightly as she moaned softly. "I understand Aura, I myself only got to see Peroroncino-sama once when I sighted him at the dwarven drop off point, but he soon fainted upon seeing me, that we had to bring him back to Nazarick before I could say anything. He probably did so out of happiness, as I almost did myself, but still..."
"Then can't we go out and assist them?" it would only be natural to assist ones creator out on the field. It certainly wasn't a excuse to see her sooner. Of course not!
"Can't. We are currently under orders to stay within Nazarick until they arrive. So until they get back, I have just been tidying myself and my room up so I can meet him properly once he comes back!"
The gloom that had been cast over the twins vanished in a instant as it was replaced by determination. "Your right Shalltear! That might be the most sense you've ever made!" it was true that one needed to be immaculate before ones god. Anything less would be a complete embarrassment. Therefore, they would need to clean the entire living area of the giant tree before letting BukuBukuChagama see it.
"Hah?"
"Come on Mare, let's hurry!"
"Right! C-coming!"
Ignoring the incredulous sound made from Shalltear, the two sprinted off at top speed to prepare themselves for BukuBukuChagamas eventual visit.
A/N Merry Christmas! And your gift is 3 chapters at once! Hop you all have a great holiday!
