[Chapter 4.5: Dealers]
Al instinctively grabbed onto his helmet as the teleportation kicked in. It wasn't as disorientating as he expected, but better safe than sorry and all that. As his lady's luck would have it, he got teleported just in front of her. This was nothing out of the ordinary, and so he waved to her.
"Did you get anything useful out of that dreadfully rude fossil?" Priscilla immediately asked.
"Nope." Al said, his body tensing up as Priscilla hit him with her fan, "But he did give me one of those potions you mentioned, Princess." He handed the ornate bottle over to her, knowing full well that such a bounty wouldn't satisfy her.
She stashed the potion away somewhere in her outfit – the phenomena was incomprehensible to Al, but she seemed to have a lot of pockets. "Then what did you learn? If anything at all."
"He visited my old world, long after I left though." Al said, "Also, he doesn't seem to know how I got here in the first place."
"That's it!? That's all you managed to get?!"
"Well, uh, I thought asking him straight up about his plans would've been a little obvious and rude, so…"
Priscilla turned away from Al and motioned for her knight to follow her, "You have no mind for subterfuge, no mind at all. What a terrible day this is."
Al let a moment of silence absorb the brunt of Priscilla's anger, simply walking behind her as a guard should. As much as he didn't care about his clothes and all that, it still felt a bit awkward to walk behind the overdressed royal candidate.
"So… where's that messenger guy?" Al asked after judging that Priscilla had cooled off enough.
"I sent him to run back to my brother along with those undead puppets he was gifted. Last I heard, he'll need them."
"Do you plan on helping him, Princess?"
Priscilla scoffed, "If he'll need my help by the time I take over this country, I might consider it. But if he dies before then, then he was never worth anything anyway."
Al shrugged; such an answer was to be expected from his lady. Still, dealing with Ainz's crazy abilities wouldn't be easy.
'He's like an undead king from some crazy board game. Man, what kind of DM just throws in a boss like that?'
"Then what's the plan, Princess?" he asked, letting Priscilla take the reins of fate once more.
"Isn't it obvious?" she asked, "The others are planning something, so we will follow them and as luck will have it, we will come out on top and gain all the glory they seek!"
Al sighed, 'Another road trip, eh?'
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A dashing young man stood upon a cliff, overlooking the land below as if it belonged to him. The man, Vincent Abellux, would indeed say that it did. He had won it in the battle all potential Vollachian emperors and empresses had to engage, though he did show due mercy to his sister. Hopefully, now that straits became dire, he would not come to regret that decision.
This was no faux coup, no masterful play on his part to strengthen his position as it was so many years ago. No, this was a real coup d'état.
He should've known better that the stargazers weren't loyal to him; perhaps when he returned to the throne he should throw that one back to the gladiator island to be ripped apart by dogs? It was certainly an idea, and a display of such cruelty would do wonders to relieve him of a little stress. Then again, even an emperor would think twice before touching a stargazer in such a manner.
And so Vincent thought twice… It still seemed like a decent idea, and so he stashed it away in his mental cabinet for later. Unfortunately, while that cabinet was becoming full of things he would do after returning to power, the one right next to it, dedicated to ways of getting back into power, sat remarkably empty. Soon enough cobwebs would manifest all over it.
Confirming that he was well and truly alone with a quick glance, he allowed himself a moment of weakness and sighed. It was a sigh laden with the weight of an entire empire, of all those who had lived in it, who lived in it, and who would live in it.
It wasn't a light burden, but it was one only he could bear. Those… amateurs who dared dethrone him. Well, could he really call them amateurs? Even Chisha Gold was among them, and that man was indeed no fool. His act embodied Vincent to the fullest, and was the only reason the country hadn't broken down from within.
Those with a keen ear, whether it be Miklotov, or even notable nobles like Roswaal, undoubtedly already realised what was going on, but it was still far from the general public's sightline.
Nevertheless, with nearly all his generals now against him, his position was bad, even a fool could see that. To think he would have to resort to getting foreign aid… Bleh, just the notion left a bitter taste on his tongue.
However, if the rumours were indeed true, a card greater than even Reinhard was now in play. While the Sword Saint was powerful, he had no political tact, no sense of direction. He was, by all intents and purposes, a card. This Ainz though… He was more interesting, had more agency if you will.
He remained a card, of course, as did everyone, but this card could do a little more than just destroy what was in front of them. Politics required a delicate hand, a master's brush, not the brutish application of a sword, though that could often come in handy.
Ainz Ooal Gown could provide both.
The supposedly undead mage would surely take the bait and send some manner of assistance, eager to score a favour with the emperor. Alas, in the public eye there would be no debt, as in the public eye nothing would have ever happened.
Perhaps his position wasn't so bad after all, now that he thought about it. Yes, everything was going according to plan.
A little carelessness could indeed have a painful bite, and Vincent was eager to show Ainz just what that meant…
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Roswaal enjoyed the taste of the vintage that nearly equaled him in age. He had been waiting for it to mature since his first reincarnation, and now was indeed the time for celebration. The reason for it was obvious to any person who knew a certain skeletal mage: the emperor of Vollachia decided to engage with Ainz!
Oh how had Roswaal laughed when he heard of such an occurrence! At his doorstep as well! Truly uproarious!
He could already see the dethroned emperor, overlooking a city or village of some kind, a smug grin on his face as he thought about all the ways he would use the mage.
Frankly, if he scoured the Vollachian Empire for long enough with a certain mirror, he was nearly sure he could find that exact scene playing itself somewhere out there.
Vincent was good, a prodigy even, but Roswaal still had a few centuries up on the young man, and experience truly was the mother of all knowledge.
And going by that line of logic, Ainz dwarfed them both. Who knew how many aeons Ainz had lived through? How many of his past adventures involved adversaries as intelligent, or more so, as Vincent? Probably an untold amount,
As far as Roswaal was concerned, this would end the way it did with him: Vincent firmly in the skeletal clutches of Ainz. In his experience, it wasn't the worst fate, though his heart did still ache sometimes.
He downed the rest of the glass and continued staring outside of the window.
"Just how will the world change?" he asked himself, "And who will live to see it?"
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Anastasia ran from corner to corner, making sure that all the boxes were packed, that nothing embarrassing was sticking out, and that Ricardo hadn't accidentally left any of his fur on the goods; it was the season where he did shed the most, after all.
It was just like her past, slaving away once again, except this time she was dressed in expensive fur rather than rags.
"Ricardo! Are you sure we have everything for the trip? And are Mimi, Hetaro, and Tivey packed as well?!" she called out.
The wolfman walked in from outside, boxes of whatever goods Anastasia intended to transport still in hand, "Yes. Stop worrying so much. Shouldn't you act like this is just a deal with another business partner?"
"The key to not panicking on the spot is panicking in advance!" she answered, taking a deep breath and returning to her usual calm, "But it's fine. I'm just not used to being out of control nowadays."
"I get you, boss. Still, things will be fine. Who's this random magician with his tricks to come up against Anastasia Hoshin, eh?"
Anastasia offered the wolfman her usual, energetic smile, "You're right, but you still won't be getting a bonus."
"Darn. Here I thought a chance finally appeared."
"Keep dreaming." she said before correcting herself, "Actually, don't dream on the job and continue packing."
"I'm a mercenary, not a butler." Ricardo complained, reluctantly carrying the boxes outside, returning for more cargo right after.
"If you're that picky about your profession, do you want to go fight Ainz or whatever he's going after at the moment? You know how well that went for Julius."
"I know, I know. Speaking of, will he be alright seeing Ainz again? No, uh, hard feelings?"
Anastasia waved her subordinate's worries away with a leisurely gesture, "He can get uppity about knighthood and all, but he'll know better this time around."
"If you say so, boss. Actually, why'd you send him ahead of us? Shouldn't someone's knight stay with them? Not that I can't do as good of a job as him or anything."
Anastasia looked over a few nearby boxes, opening and closing them before shaking her head, only then did the question seem to register in her head, "Oh, I thought a little travel would do him good. Also, when he's not dealing with knights or whatever, he can actually be quite diplomatic."
Ricardo scoffed, "And when's my turn for a little getaway like that? I've got a few connections you'd like in Vollachia, you know?"
"Vollachia?" Anastasia put a finger to her chin for a moment before shaking her head, "No, I have a bad feeling about that place. Call it a merchant's intuition."
"Whatever you say." the wolfman said, "Now let me get this hauling over with."
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This was a big moment, perhaps even the biggest moment of Otto's career.
No, this definitely was the biggest moment of his career. Well, besides the whole 'getting kidnapped by cultists' part. Oh, and the negotiations with Ainz. Hmm, and probably after mastering his divine blessing…
Besides those few things, this was definitely the biggest. If it got any bigger than this again, his heart may just give out. Today he would be meeting with the famed Veronica, a blacksmith sought out across borders.
He circled around Margrave Mathers' mansion to find Veronica's forge. It was a sizable building, perhaps not the size of her old shop in the capital, but it hosted her forge and everything else she needed, all while not being an eyesore on the noble's property.
Part of that aspect came from the fact that it was Ainz who constructed it, giving it a wooden exterior that fit in well with the part of the garden where the building lay.
Otto took a deep breath and knocked on the door…
A second passed.
Then another.
And then he knocked again.
He could hear the birds from the nearby branches telling him to just open it.
"I can't! It'd be rude and no way to treat a valuable business partner!" he called out to the creatures around him, knocking for a third time.
A few more seconds passed and a bird landed on top of the building, impatiently tapping its foot on the roof.
"Okay, fine." Otto said, "But I will blame all of you if this backfires."
He grabbed the handle of the door and forced the passage to open up, yet just as quickly he pulled up. Sweat started flooding down his face and he instinctively threw his hat away.
"What manner of heat is that?!" he yelled, still recovering from the blast of hot air.
"Chirp." commented the bird on top of the building.
"How was I supposed to know it would be that hot? You could've warned me if you're so smart!"
Reaching for the handle once more, this time he stood to the side, dodging the hot air that escaped the inside of the building.
He pulled his hand back and carefully glanced inside. Somehow, probably thanks to a certain skeletal mage, the area inside was much bigger than it appeared on the outside, eclipsing any forge Otto could've imagined.
Yet the size didn't help the building dissipate the heat any easier, and the young merchant was sure that he would die of a heatstroke before finding Veronica in this place.
"Excuse me?! Miss Veronica?! I came to discuss our deal which Ainz negotiated a few days ago!" he called out into the searing heat.
As his eyes scanned the environment, he saw Veronica turn a non-euclidian corner, and his eyes nearly fell out of his head.
'How the hell is she still alive?! And how can she get any work done in this kind of place!?'
To his absolute shock, awe, and horror, Veronica was not dressed in any special cooling gear, nor did fire spirits surround her as a form of protection. No, she was dressed in just a casual shirt and pants with way too many pockets for his liking.
"You!" she called out, pointing at Otto.
'This doesn't bode well.' he immediately realised from her tone of voice.
"Close that door! I need all the heat I can get!" Veronica yelled, "Whatever business you have can wait!"
Instead of arguing with her, Otto complied, deciding it was best not to antagonise her further.
He sat down on the grass near the building, patiently awaiting the blacksmith to finish whatever they were working on. A little time used like this could return a lot of money, and so he deemed it a worthwhile investment.
The shadows on the ground twisted and turned as time passed, and soon enough Otto's stomach was hungry for a little more than a return on his investment.
Right as the sun dropped fully below the horizon, the door to the forge opened once more. No heat haze emerged from within this time, and Veronica called out, "Oh, you are still here? I'm free now."
Otto jumped to his feet and ran up to her immediately, "Of course! As Ainz mentioned befo-"
His elegant business pitch was interrupted by the sound of his stomach growling, and Veronica raised her hand, motioning for him to come in.
"Can't do business on an empty stomach. Come in. I was about to have dinner anyway." She turned around as Otto graciously bowed, following behind her.
Once the place was no longer lethal to the average human, Otto had to admit that the forge was nice, and more so a full house, though burn marks seemed to litter every surface either way.
After he sat down, Veronica put a medium-rare steak in front of him.
"What?" she asked as Otto glanced at her own, more than sizable portion, "Smithing is hard work, you know?"
"Of course." Otto said, "Especially in that searing heat. May I ask how you manage to work in such conditions?"
"To be quite honest, I don't even notice the heat ever since Ainz gave me this thing." She pointed to an orange ring on her left hand's middle finger, "Apparently it gives total immunity to fire and heat, so I can't really tell how painfully hot it is for people, just for the metals."
"I've never heard of a metal that would require the kind of heat I saw here today." Otto commented in between bites, "I suppose that is also Ainz's doing?"
"Yep." Veronica answered, "Apparently he has this 'Asgardian gold' in spades, and wants me to figure out how to melt it. Tall order, I'll give him that."
"I wish you luck with that. I'm sure you'll manage with time. As for the purpose of my visit, I hope Ainz has informed you of the exclusivity contract we are to make, correct?"
Veronica nodded, "Yea, yea. I sell only to you, and only the goods made with material that Ainz didn't give to me. I know the details."
"Then… when can I expect any products to be available?" he asked.
"What's your budget?" Veronica countered.
"Please, do not worry about such a trivial matter. I wouldn't be sitting here opposite of you if I didn't have the means to back up my own words."
"In that case, you can go right around that corner and find all the things I'm willing to sell to you at the moment. It's a decent collection, though far from my best if I am to be honest,"
Otto stood up and bowed low after rapidly finishing his meal, "Thank you for the meal, Miss Veronica, and I look forward to a fruitful business partnership."
He tried his hardest to contain his excitement and to not run to the goods mentioned by Veronica, managing to awkwardly speed-walk instead.
Oh Gods, was it worth it though!
There were so many masterpieces here, just waiting for the right man to sell them to!
No matter what, he would have to get his hands on at least one of these, and then selling it for double or even triple Veronica's price wouldn't be a problem! If he went to Vollachia he could eve-
{Otto?} came the voice of Ainz, {I have a small stipulation to add to our business deal. You are forbidden from selling anything to the Sacred Empire of Vollachia.} he said before disconnecting.
The merchant swore that the birds outside were mocking him as his expression soured.
Edited by Korak324
Beta Read by: HackSlashBash, WhoStoleMyTea?, SIB
Discord Link: Discord . gg / 8966UupbPp
(AN: I have a discord now! Go join it if you wanna hang out! Anyway, hope you enjoyed this quick catch-up chapter with some of the characters who don't get the spotlight as often in this volume! Also, I've decided on 2 crossovers to write once any of my current stories finish, since I don't want to have too many active ones. They will be secret, unless you join the discord maybe?! As always, more to come and I hope you've enjoyed the story so far!)