C18 Falling Stars.
Capital of the Baharut Empire - Emperor El Nix
My name is Jircniv Rune Farlord El Nix, and I'm also called the bloody emperor by my detractors.
I lived a simple life: luxuries and pleasure in the palace, disturbed only by the inevitable work of an emperor. However, there is always work to be done for a bright future and one does not earn the title of "bloody emperor" on a mere whim, instead, it is earned by gutting the ineptitude and corruption of the empire. If only with blood they will understand then I will stain their streets with blood and then I will hang their decapitated heads and then all will understand.
This much is certain: I will be remembered with a bad face in history and despite this, the empire will live more grandiose than ever, or so I would like to affirm.
Sometimes, fate and the gods are cruel, and nasty to the point of making me want to curse them all and burn all their churches to the ground, for if I were allowed to behead the insolent gods who play with mortal destinies I would do it with my own hands if necessary.
Why is this happening, why in one of the most prosperous times of the empire do I see this star falling on our capital?
Do the gods hate me personally? Is killing corrupt nobles and seeking greatness for my empire wrong? Of course not! This is a farce! Bullshit! All the gods can kiss my ass right now! You arrogant fucking idiots!
"Fluder, I don't care how profane the magic you use is, stop that star from falling on the Baharut empire."
Fluder slowly bowed as he looked up at the sky and the star coming closer and closer towards them.
He began to channel a spell at my side as he raised his staff to the side. But I know that expression on his face.
"No hope then?"
With a defeated sigh I shrug my shoulders.
"My apologies, there is not enough time, at this point, the most I can do is to conjure up a barrier over us and hope for the best."
"Fluder, I know your magic, that's a teleportation spell, you plan to get us out of here and leave the entire capital to its fate."
Fluder slowly lowered his head but did not stop his spell.
"In that case, use magic on the meteorite and send it away."
"There is a possibility of non-"
"I ordered you to stop that star from falling on Baharut, I trust your magic, I don't care if there is a chance of failure " I raised a hand to the sky pointing at the fiery ball that was rapidly approaching the capital. "Do it as soon as it comes in range."
I noticed it instantly, the silence of the old man; how much concentration, it is admirable no doubt, I like that he devotes at least as much concentration to saving my capital as he does to playing with his stupid undead. Unfortunately, I should not insult his stupid undead even in my thoughts for it is thanks to them that we now have workers who do not eat or rest.
I'm still waiting for that powerful undead that is giving Fluder so much trouble, in the meantime, the best I can do while watching a star fall on my head is to lie down and drink some wine while I watch. Other than making sure the old man doesn't run off I've already done all I could so there's no point in worrying about something that doesn't concern me. Live or die, whether I relax now is of little importance.
I take some of my wine, look at the sky and drink some more, after several seconds I notice a bitter expression settling on my face.
"Old man, was it you who stopped that thing?"
Hey hey hey hey, old man that face is no good at all. I look up at the sky once again and see the glowing ball in the air, floating with a flame of a reddish or purple hue I notice the object suspended in the air, it's not too big, maybe the size of three people or a Troll.
However, what kind of thing simply floats over the capital?
Suddenly the fireball rushed madly towards the balcony where we were standing, I heard Fluder unleash the spell in hand on the unidentified flying object that was falling in our direction but it had no effect.
I gritted my teeth but I blackly averted my gaze, whatever this thing is it is coming specifically towards us.
Looking at the sky the ball got bigger and bigger but its speed suddenly slowed down as it got closer. When it got close enough a wind current forced me to close my eyes in an instant and when I could finally see the object in front of me...
A... girl... with... A strange costume that throws flames to propel itself; In her arms a huge undead in luxurious robes was carried bridal style.
I pride myself enormously on my great charisma and my special ability to hide my emotions behind a poker face... But at this moment My face must be pitiful.
.+. .+. .+.
Balcony at the Imperial Palace of the Baharut Empire
"Maple you can put me down now."
"Huh? Are you sure? If we get information about Carne Village we could fly directly as we are now."
"Maple, please, that important-looking guy is looking at me with a stupid face." Maple looked at the emperor and approached him leaving Ainz on the ground.
"Hi! I noticed you were staring at us earlier. Is there something strange about us?"
Jircniv blinked twice and turned to Fluder who had the same surprised face before looking back at Maple and trying to put a smile on his face, Aniz on the other hand instantly noticed the anxiety behind that poorly manufactured expression in so few milliseconds, however that tiny lapse of confusion was only noticed by Ainz.
"Something strange you say? Depends, would you mind telling me who you are?" Jircniv commented with a friendly smile on his face as he slowly sat up from his reclining position with his wine glass in his hands.
Maple tilted her head thoughtfully for a few moments before approaching the emperor, Fluder instantly tensed up as he struck a battle pose.
"I'm Maple, this here is Momonga-san, it's a pleasure to meet you."
Maple extended an engine-wrapped hand to Jircniv who swallowed saliva for a second before reaching out and grabbing the cannon on Maple's arm and shaking it slightly as if shaking his hand. Ainz noticed Jircniv's smile tremble slightly as he spoke which made him smile inwardly as he felt strangely proud at the awe Maple caused over this important-looking man.
"The pleasure is mine Maple-dono, I am Jircniv Rune Farlord El Nix, the emperor of the Baharut Empire, forgive the rudeness of my ignorance but could you tell me what race you are? I have never seen someone with your... Characteristics."
Maple smiled foolishly. "Come on, don't joke with me, I'm as Human as you or Momonga here." Ainz put a hand to his forehead as Jircniv's expression twisted slightly.
"Well, it is a pleasure to meet you, if you tell me the address of your country of origin I would be more than happy to help you to leave the empire as soon as possible."
Maple opened his mouth but Ainz stepped forward and took the floor.
"Grand Emperor Jircniv Rune Farlord El Nix, Ainz Ooal Gown ruler of the great tomb of Nazarick and sworn ally of Maple Tree greets you. I apologize for our lack of manners as we have barged into your palace with no rhyme or reason. However, rest assured, our intentions are noble and we do not hold the slightest ill will towards your person or against your empire; instead we would be more than happy to begin friendly relations between our powers. You see our... Fatherland has suffered a cataclysm and we have become separated from our closest friends; our nation, the..."
Ainz looked for a second at Maple who cleared his throat and went into full roleplay mode in seconds, adjusting his stance. As she solemnly shouted.
"Our great nation The Sacred Democratic Republic of Yggdrasil!" Ainz thought about the name for a second before continuing.
"Exactly, the Sacred Democratic Republic of Yggdrasil has sent me and Maple, the dark knight of absolute destruction as diplomatic envoys to establish an embassy in your Capital."
Jircniv frowned inwardly as he tried to remember if he had ever heard any of the names mentioned.
"We would be more than happy to host your embassy in our precise capital city, would you like to stay and negotiate the details?"
Maple still in a stiff pose took a step forward.
"Lord Ainz, I am very sorry to inform you of this, but I have just received a report! A strange power has captured our messenger, apparently holding him captive in Carne Village!"
"Huh, do we have a messenger? Ah, I see, my plan was that when they will ask for the position of our fictitious nation I will point to Carne Village to then follow them home but this works too."
Ainz squeezed his hand and began to radiate an aura of minor desperation that made both the Emperor's and Fluder's hair stand on end. Though Fluder rather than fear, felt a strange pleasure at this magical power. Ainz spoke in a commanding voice.
"Stupid people who dare to oppose the Sacred Democratic Republic of Yggdrasil. Jircniv I apologize but it looks like I will have to deal with this in person. Could you please tell me in which direction Carne Village is located?"
Jircniv gulped and thought quickly, still afraid he noticed something strange. He wanted to ask. "Neither of you know where he is?" However, he was also unaware of such information so he didn't feel so inclined to ask such a question, instead, it was just this detail that told him something was wrong. "Did your envoy end up imprisoned in a place I don't know about?" Then it rang in his mind. Not long ago, somewhere to the northeast something had happened, on the border with the Kingdom something in Carne Village...
"We are moving immediately to finish off those who dared to attack our envoys, we just need an address. Where is Carne Village?"
Jircniv gulped as he felt his legs threaten to fail him and pointed in the direction of the Kingdom, before he could say anything Maple came running over and waved her hand excitedly.
"Thank you very much, Jircniv-dono! We will visit again!"
Maple then charged Ainz bridal style and ignited the suit's thrusters, stripping off in moments, leaving behind only a ripple of wind.
Jircniv blinked for a couple of seconds before pinching his cheek, after seeing that this was not a dream he lay back down again with a tired face.
"Fluder..."
Fluder still understood without words.
"I will investigate this Republic of Yggdrasil and also about Carne Village..."
Jircniv leaned back in his seat and let out a sigh.
"Hey old man, those guys look like a big threat, should we let them set up an embassy in our capital? For starters, I wondered what kind of beings they are and how much power they really have. Ainz/Momonga. He's undead, isn't he? He didn't look like a simple lich..."
"Indeed, whatever it was it wasn't a lich and I couldn't sense any magic from it so it was most likely hiding many secrets."
"And the girl... She reminds me of my younger sister, God rest her soul. Empty head, too many good intentions, if she wasn't with that undead guy she'd be useful... ah... but seriously. What the hell was it?! No one who mistakes a skeleton for a human can be human But well at least she's cute I guess."
.+. .+. .+.
Several kilometers in the air. - Private Conversation through [Message].
[Maple, how far do you think we are from home?]
[Hum... I'm not sure, hopefully not too much, but you know, someday we should both go on an adventure].
[I see, I don't think it's going to happen.]
[Hey! Why?!]
[Well... I don't want to leave my friends' children on their own].
[We can hire a nanny! I'm sure Syrup would be thrilled with the job].
[Ha, I doubt they'd let themselves be controlled by a turtle, but I might consider asking Pandora's Actor to take my place for a while By the way, I guess Jircniv didn't think you were human].
[Oh, although I wasn't lying when I said I was as human as you or him.]
[But I am not human Maple]
[Huh? Don't lie!]
[Have you even looked at my face? I'm pure bone.]
[And? Momonga, no matter how much I talk to you, no, rather, the more I talk to you the more I feel it: Momonga you are a good person, there is no doubt you are human inside].
[I'll have to disagree with you on this point, they are nice words even so, thanks for that].
[Don't be so mean to yourself! As soon as we can, I'll buy you an ice cream].
[But the undead can't eat-].
[And who decided that? I'm sure there are ice creams for the undead, wouldn't life without ice cream be very sad? or in this case, non-life]
[Maple, in Neo Japan only a privileged few can eat ice cream regularly.]
Maple looked at the horizon for a few moments before accelerating her flight.
Behind those glaring flames,
small and innocent drops of water fell,
for those poor people
who lived their lives without ice cream.
.+. .+. .+.
Author's note.
Sorry for the delay (the mental one and also the publishing one) as some of you may or may not know I publish these chapters in Spanish on another site and then I translate them and I look for errors, so that takes some time... Also, I took some vacations after studying for the tests and so just now I'm back at it. Thanks for enduring the bad English!
I don't have much to comment on the author's note so I'm going to correct the chapter before publishing it.
Oh, and a little publicity for the Chainsaw Bocchi One-shot, check them out if you are interested.
Sincerely
"Poetry: that thing which when written down
looks like the coolest piece of shit
And when viewed in context sometime later
You ask yourself: what the hell is ownership?"
J-More
PS. I don't know what made me write a bit in verse at the end.
I put more work into each of the scenes by simply increasing the descriptions and adding a few more valuable details I'm more than sure I'd have at least three times as long chapters with the same amount of dialogue (or very similar) I have no idea if that's good or bad but it bothers me a bit.
PS3. I love writing dialogue, they just come so easily when you start writing.
PS4. Jircniv will appear again!
