CHAPTER 19:

A CONSPIRACY REVEALED

Their meeting with Osk was brief, Harry lingering long enough to use Item Appraisal spell on the Runesmithed weapon, as well as to probe Osk about its origins and whether he could buy it at a later date. While Osk's price was well within reach of Nazarick, Harry decided to leave it to Momonga to consider whether to spend that much or not. Momonga was somewhat miserly, so Harry doubted it.

However, they received a rather urgent message from Momonga, asking to meet him at the Imperial Palace as soon as possible. Albedo and Demiurge were present as well. Harry and the others decided to hurry, as putting Demiurge into the same room as Jircniv was a potential recipe for disaster. The Demon's devious nature combined with Jircniv's ingrained paranoia could cause trouble.

Certainly, when they were ushered into Jircniv's audience chamber, the blonde emperor was looking frantic and stressed, on the verge of tearing out his hair as he paced. Demiurge was looking amused, while Albedo looked concerned. Momonga's skull face didn't allow for much expression, but he looked angry and concerned. "Damn! Damn those idiots!" Jircniv was snarling, even as he looked up at Harry. He was still agitated, but he seemed to calm himself a little. "Good, you're here."

"What's wrong, Jircniv?"

"I've been caught unawares by those Theocracy bastards!" He shook his head, calming himself again, albeit with an effort. "…While you were off on your visit to Osk, your friends suddenly show up. They were going to send you a Message, but they wanted to look at reports from my own spy network."

"And you let them?" Leinas asked.

"If it's to confirm that a number of my spies have been compromised by the Slane Theocracy, yes!" Jircniv snapped. "They gave me names that I have been discussing with my spymaster for the past hour. At least a tenth of my agents within Arwintar have been suborned by the current ambassador of the Theocracy, who also has pretty deep pockets. The number may be even higher. Mostly low-level spies, nobody truly important, but enough that a significant part of my spy network has been compromised. But that's not the only problem."

Demiurge gave an amused cough. "My Shadow Demons cannot enter the embassy. Some sort of spell or ward destroys them upon entry. But they have been successful elsewhere. The Slane Theocracy have been using the Furts as proxies. The ambassador has told the Furts that their children may be found in Carne, as they have been spotted there. In truth, the ambassador also strongly suspects the location of the Great Tomb of Nazarick is there, given what happened to the Sunlight Scripture, and to that end, he has suggested that the Furts hire Worker groups. They intend to retrieve their children by force, as well as plunder the Tomb of Nazarick. I believe the Theocracy wish to also see if they can discern where Antilene is. In addition, your manor in Arwintar has been subjected to repeated attempts at being burgled, have they not, Lord Enzo?"

Harry frowned. "Yes," he mused out loud, "but we've been absent more often lately, and I thought the local thieves were being bolder. My wards would stop almost anyone, really. Crap, I should've realised. They only stepped up ever since the new ambassador arrived."

"If it makes you feel any better, I didn't tell you earlier because I had full faith in your wards, Lord Enzo," Demiurge said with a smirk. "The ambassador is tearing out his hair trying to find someone capable of breaking in. If you wish, I can furnish you with transcripts of his complaints he made outside the embassy. I'm sure you'd find them amusing."

"That's probably the only part of this mess I'd find remotely amusing," Jircniv groaned. "But they're already recruiting Worker groups. They probably won't be sent to Carne for a couple of weeks, but…I do not need this stress."

"Calm yourself, Emperor," Momonga said gently. "This mess is not your fault. Demiurge simply had a more efficient and subtle spy network."

"Shadow Demons are too well-suited to their job!" Jircniv protested.

"Shadow Demons too OP, please nerf," Harry snarked, causing Momonga and Albedo, along with Antilene, to chuckle. "But Jircniv, it's okay. It's not like you're the one sending these greedy idiots to Carne. Any idea on who?"

"The Furts have already reached out to Dragon Hunt, Heavy Masher, and Tenmu," Demiurge said. "I believe they intend to seek out at least one or two other Worker groups. The ambassador has bought out the Furts' debts, but in exchange for their loyalty."

"Which is treason," Jircniv said, bitter satisfaction entering his tone. "The question is, how treasonous have they actually been? I doubt the ambassador would seriously suggest my overthrow, but the Furts have become enemy agents. You'll have to warn Arche that her parents may be imprisoned for life, perhaps even executed, for such a crime. It's one thing to loudly denounce me. If I killed every idiot who badmouths me, there'd be far more empty houses in Arwintar, let alone the rest of the Empire, and the soil would be well-fertilised with blood and cadavers. But to act against me in such an egregious manner, even knowing the penalty…they are deluded as well as stupid! I know they couldn't possibly know how truly powerful Nazarick is, but even without that knowledge, it is appallingly stupid!"

"Dragon Hunt, we'll see if we can pay off, even retain their services ourselves," Harry said. "The old man in charge, Parpatra, isn't too bad as far as Workers go. Not sure about Gringham and Heavy Masher, he's definitely a greedy idiot who's taken too many shady jobs for my liking. But…"

Antilene smirked. "There's Tenmu. Hey, Momonga…as much as I'd love to curbstomp that Erya guy…how's about you have Aura and Mare take him on? Just enough to beat him, before you ship him off to Demiurge or Neuronist."

"Given what I have heard of him, I was considering what to do with him," Momonga said. "I'm surprised you didn't want to do it yourself."

"Oh, I do…but Aura and Mare are my siblings now. Gotta give them gifts. Giving them Tenmu ought to be a good present. They can break Erya, and have his slaves as playmates. Maybe it can serve to be an aperitif to taking on my sperm-donor."

Jircniv scoffed. "I'd pity him, but the way he treats his slaves…a good slave should be an investment, treated well, not subjected to degradation. Even with those modifications to the laws I suggested, he flaunts those laws, even though it's behind closed doors. Speaking of law-breakers, I understand that you are taking action against the Eight Fingers soon?"

"And what of it?" Albedo asked.

"From a realpolitik point of view, the Eight Fingers and their allies have helped my own ambitions to absorb Re-Estize, I will not lie about that. However, they have also sought to undermine a number of my own policies here in my empire. In addition, from a personal point of view, I find many of their activities disgusting. I find sex slavery to be abhorrent. All of my concubines are paid and have opportunities after their time with me, should they be loyal. In addition, the Eight Fingers' drugs trade, particularly in Black Flour, has become a problem even here. Then again, their very name inspires arrogance. You know of its origins by now, I trust?"

Demiurge nodded. "It's a reference to the God of Theft, who supposedly had eight fingers. Their sibling supposedly had six arms, hence the name of the Eight Fingers' enforcers."

"In other words, the Eight Fingers believe themselves to be emissaries of at least one god if not two. They certainly act with the arrogance caused by such a belief," Jircniv said. "Do not mistake me, they are powerful, powerful enough to be a problem to root out in earnest. But…well, I for one would be sitting on the sidelines and eating snacks while watching it fall from your efforts…"

"Poor Jircniv's stressed," Antilene mused, as they reconvened in Harry's mansion afterwards. "I'd suggest he get laid, but he has a harem, so he could relax that way."

"This is no laughing matter," Momonga said. "His spy network has been partly compromised by the Theocracy. And as he is an ally and a friend to Harry, that is dangerous. Demiurge, there are no plans afoot by the Theocracy to suborn the Emperor himself?"

"Not that we know of, or else I would have told him, though they are overly curious about his relationship with Lord Enzo," Demiurge said. "That in itself is dangerous. An assassination of the ambassador at this point would also draw further undue attention. I wish to have some agents analyse the protections on the embassy before we act any further against them, see if there are countermeasures against Doppelgangers and the like. Though giving Jircniv enough of a pretext to send the ambassador back would probably be ideal. In addition, I would suggest assigning one of the Pleiades to act as a maid here, but also to keep an eye on matters while Harry is away."

"It'd have to be either Narberal or Yuri, though Yuri's still supervising matters in Nazarick," Harry mused. "Entoma's too inhuman-looking, unfortunately, save for at a distance, unless I use my disguise ring on her, and there's her preferred diet to consider, while Aureole is needed as traffic control in Nazarick, so to speak. As long as Narberal keeps her insults about humans to a bare minimum around them, I'll go with her being here."

"A good point, and she is a powerful mage as well," Momonga said, before turning to Harry. "You wish to tell Arche and Foresight what is happening?"

"Yeah," Harry said. "I owe it to them…"

Arche, understandably, was upset. So were the rest of Foresight, but Arche was the most affected by the news. So he took her to a nearby lake, not far from one of the Lizardmen settlements, and let her rant and scream to her heart's content, until finally, she broke down, sobbing in his arms.

"You feeling a little better?" Harry asked.

"…Only a little," she admitted. "They…they signed me and my sisters away to you without a second thought, and yet, now they want me back, and they want to anger my benefactors to boot?" A shuddering sob escaped her body. "I…I thought their stupidity had limits, but this…will they be able to take us?"

"No. We'll see them coming long before they arrive at Nazarick. More than enough time to get you and your sisters somewhere safe until those idiot Workers are dealt with. Same with Foresight, if these Workers are ordered to attack them. From what I know, Dragon Hunt won't do so, and I doubt Heavy Masher would, but Tenmu?" Harry sighed. "I wouldn't put it past the bastard in charge."

Arche shivered, and Harry gently rubbed her back. "Hey, it's okay, Arche. You know as well as I do that, if anyone dared to kidnap you or your sisters, I wouldn't rest before I got you back. Same goes for Foresight, for Antilene and Leinas, for Momonga, hell, Albedo's grown to like you, and so's Aura and Mare."

"…Harry…I need to ask, why have you been so kind to me, to my sisters?" Arche asked, her voice thick with emotion.

"…Because in many ways, you remind me of myself, as well as an old friend of mine, Hermione. I've told you about her, even shown you my memories of my time at Hogwarts. Like me, you have appalling relatives who don't give a damn about your skills and achievement, they're just obscenely obsessed with keeping up appearances. Though at least your parents had a superficial love from you, from what I've gathered. And like Hermione, you were blessed with skills and talent that nonetheless hadn't been allowed to flourish to their full potential. I wanted to give you a chance to spread your wings. I mean, your sisters aside, you're happiest with Foresight, aren't you? I wanted to give you that chance. But if you really want to call me Dad or something…"

"…Give it time," Arche said, looking up at the sky with teary eyes. "I'm still getting used to this. Sometimes, it feels like a dream, and it'll be gone when I wake."

"Yeah, Sebas told me poor Tuare felt the same way when she first woke up after being healed," Harry said. "In a way, so is this life. When Yggdrasil was coming to an end…well, a DMMORPG was like a dream in many ways, and I was going to be forced to wake up. And yet, I never did. And in a way, I was lucky. True, I got sealed away by that treacherous bastard of a Dragon Lord and that necromancer bitch…but I got to meet so many people, both before and after. And…I got to help so many people. In a way, that's why I've been so kind to you, Arche. Hermione told me a long time ago that I have a saving people thing. I can't save everyone, Brita's team and the Swords of Darkness are cases in point…but I will do what I can."

She just remained silent. Harry, after a moment, got to his feet. "How about we have dinner tonight in Nazarick? You, your sisters, me and Albedo. I'll see if I can get a menu from Pestonya."

Arche chuckled weakly as she got up. "Sure. She's very nice once you get to know her, despite that mutilated dog's head she has. And Albedo told me her sister Nigredo is also nice."

"As long as you've got a doll with you to satisfy her," Harry said. "We should have her meet you and your sisters one day. Nigredo looks like something out of a horror film thanks to Tabula's obsession with gap moe, but she is nice when she's calm."

"Maybe." Then, after a moment, she said, "How about we make it a family meal? Bring in Antilene, Aura and Mare as well?"

"Sure."

That night proved to be a bonding experience with the family unit springing up around Harry and Albedo. She played the role of an indulgent mother to the hilt…and in truth, it felt like it was gelling together. Aura and Mare got along well with Arche and her sisters.

Even so, there was the knowledge that the operation against the Eight Fingers would begin soon, to say nothing of the Workers being sent before long. And an event would come that would signal the beginning of Operation Gehenna. Fitting, that the word in some traditions meant Hell, for that was what was coming…

CHAPTER 19 ANNOTATIONS:

So, Demiurge has uncovered a conspiracy, Jircniv's stressing out, and some Workers are going to die like noobs.

Before I get onto the review-answering, I should apologise for not posting this chapter yesterday. There's a reason for that: I've finally finished the PS4 God of War game (the third game in the franchise I have completed, after the first two games of the original trilogy), and made a start on God of War: Ragnarok. So, who wants to see me do a Harry/Freya fic?

Review-answering time! The Disquieting One: I've no plans for any truly different character development for Renner, as of yet.

windliondemon: Actually, if we're talking about the annual war where Momonga uses Ia! Shub-Niggurath!, then no. As mentioned before, Jircniv's relationship with Ainz Ooal Gown is changed. He already knows about Super-Tier Magic thanks to Harry, and he's not so enamoured with basically having someone use a magical nuke (he's witnessed Harry using Fallen Down during his time with the Thirteen Heroes via a Pensieve memory) to wipe out Re-Estize's army. What's more, for now, Momonga and Harry do not want to establish their own country, and the Floor Guardians are at least somewhat aware of this. Keep in mind, the Worker Invasion is happening about a month earlier than it would in canon.

Nathair1: Osk is relatively harmless compared to, say, Peroroncino, or half the clientele of the Eight Fingers. He at least doesn't do anything to anyone without their consent. Unfortunately, Davernoch won't get the chance to meet Momonga…but his fate will be to meet Albedo, who, while not madly in love with Momonga, nonetheless is nettled with this Lich who had the temerity to name himself the Undead King. I decided to base his fate at Albedo's hands off a certain episode of Death Battle. And yes, Hilma is indeed the woman Mare dragged off to meet the Prince of Fear. While she debatably gets more mercy here…it's made clear that not only is it a mercy she does not deserve, but the mercy is in itself a punishment.

Dragon Man 180: I think Sebas/Tuare is actually more or less canon to Overlord. I feel a little uneasy about that, but she's definitely an adult according to the wiki, and Sebas…well, I know people make cracks about his actual age being only a few years old, but one of the few exceptions I make for pairing ages is artificial beings, hence Harry being paired with Albedo for this fic. Honestly, it's more of the much older-looking man being with a barely adult girl that has me concerned. That, and the fact that Tuare is recovering from multiple rapes and other trauma, and it feels like an unhealthy relationship, a bit like a far darker version of Raphtalia's love for Naofumi in The Rising of the Shield Hero.

As for how Hilma is broken…well, it's Albedo who does it. She's inspired by Dante Aligheri's Divine Comedy, specifically the Inferno (ever since learning her true nature, Albedo has become an avid reader in her spare time, partly to become of greater use to her masters, partly for the joy of learning, and partly to try and determine whether she has a soul or not), and basically shows off the worst parts of Nazarick to Hilma. Hilma understands the message: This could be you if you do not cooperate.

No numbered annotations this time.