Hello Nazarins and Scrolls, another chapter of my Fanfic The One Who Came Back.

As the war continues, Ainz must fulfill an obligation in the Draconic Realm.

With you

The One Who Came Back

Chapter 76: Solemnities

Weeks after the fall of the Theocracy and the meeting at the Argland Council, a reception in the Draconic Kingdom was being held. At this moment, all the solemnity of the arrival of the dignitaries had already ended, an extremely boring ceremony took place, with all the pomp and circumstance deserved. Therefore, only a summary of the best moments will be reported here.

The rulers came by carriage, but of course, they did not make the entire journey here; portals were provided, so everyone arrived at the same time in the capital.

The kingdom's population was in the streets to see the arrival of the delegations, flags decorating buildings and lampposts, flowers in the windows and wherever they could be hung. Despite the capital's population being in better condition than the rest of the kingdom, they didn't seem like they had almost ended up in the bellies of beast-men.

Everyone followed the column that made its way to the castle entrance where a real fair was taking place.

The carriages were each more beautiful than the last, and despite there being many, it was possible to distinguish which carried a ruler.

The delegation leading the procession was from the Dwarven Kingdom, and their main carriage was made of dark metal, robust but ornamented with geometric patterns.

The second delegation came from Arwintar, and the Emperor's carriage was almost entirely golden, with various intricate designs.

The third was from the Elven Kingdom and, well, it looked like a living being of vegetation, its structure resembling a carriage, although it had moving parts like wheels, everything in it resembled parts of a forest, with the green of grass and foliage and the dark brown of a centenary tree's wood, but it was not cold like dead wood; it radiated a warm, fresh, and lively aura.

Most carriages were pulled by creatures similar to horses, Slipnirs, white, black, and some more robust than others; the only one that did not follow the standard was the delegation from the Sorcerer Kingdom.

Firstly, because it had only one carriage in the delegation, in front of it followed an escort of undead knights wearing golden armor, their faces could not be seen through the helmets, only the glow of their red eyes; they were mounted on Soul Eaters, and the same type of creatures pulled the carriage. This was a spectacle in itself, large, black, and gold, if the one the ambassador used last time was imposing, this was a palace on wheels; seated driving the coach was a red imp, wearing a full tuxedo.

In the history of the New World, there had never been a meeting where so many sovereigns were in the same place at the same time; if Ainz earned a coin every time something like this happened, he would have two coins, which is not much, but it is strange that it happened twice in recent months.

The most exciting part was the entrance of the rulers, no one is ever prepared for the arrival of the Sorcerer King, it is as if they glimpse the epitome of power, so an attempt was made to minimize the shock of his presence for the select group of nobles inside the palace hall by announcing the other rulers first.

The first carriage to arrive was Gondo's, the dwarf with his rough demeanor, followed in short steps, his delegation brought jewels of splendid beauty as gifts.

Next came Emperor Jircniv; he knew how to conduct himself, even though he did not like Queen Draudillon, he made no mention of it or showed his surprise at seeing her a little older than he remembered. As gifts, beautiful paintings were brought, one of them being a large life-sized self-portrait of the Emperor himself, a work the queen intended to burn or place in the dungeon to torture prisoners.

The Elf King was next; Mare almost faltered in his step, but only for a moment. He knew that if there was any mistake, it would be his master who would be humiliated, so he tried to be as adult as possible. His subordinates carried two small pots with seeds. The queen showed great interest; the nobles initially found the simple gift strange, but upon seeing that the seeds were golden and platinum, they fell silent.

"These are seeds of Sacred Oaks, the trees that will grow from these seeds will never fall ill or die naturally, they will be a symbol of friendship between our kingdoms as long as they remain," said the young elf.

Everyone was amazed by the symbolism of the act, especially since the kingdoms were not even formally allies yet.

Ainz was analyzing the situation: 'After this, what can I give that is so meaningful?!'

Sebas was announced, and the queen was eager for his arrival, but to her disappointment, he came arm in arm with a young woman, the same one who was dressed as a maid the last time the ambassador was in the kingdom. Despite this, her hope remained, as neither of them wore the customary wedding ring.

Lastly, came the Prime Minister and the Sorcerer King; the tension in the room was palpable until Ainz broke the silence.

"Good evening, Draudilon Ouriculos, Dragon of the Black Scales, Queen of the Draconic Kingdom. I am the Sorcerer King Ainz Ooal Gown and I thank you for the invitation to come to your kingdom."

"We, of the Draconic Kingdom, are graced by your presence, Your Majesty."

"For me, it is a great pleasure to be here, but at this solemn moment, I see that many gifts have been brought to you: Riches, art, and friendship have been offered, and now I find myself in a situation..."

"YOUR MAJESTY!" interrupted Draudillon "Ahem! Your Majesty, forgive me for interrupting you, but I think there has been a misunderstanding; you are the guest of honor here. For everything you have done for us, I will not accept a single coin or jewel from Your Majesty. The one who should be giving gifts, offerings, and proofs of friendship is me, and yet you have already given us the greatest gift we could receive, our lives, for which we are grateful."

The Queen stood up and then made a bow; the kings followed her, and all the nobles present knelt.

Albedo smiled and Ainz thought. - 'Whew! That was close.'

After this ceremony, everyone was now enjoying the subsequent soiree, each in their own way, of course; no noble could speak directly to a sovereign, so Jircniv entered into a discussion with Gondo every time they met.

Mare did not have many people around him, although many were interested in talking to his delegation; Antilene was an impenetrable barrier at the moment. Many matters needed to be handled by the delegation itself, as since he took on the role of king, he had rarely been in his new lands, leaving most of the administration, if not all of it, to the Prime Minister, something that made both happy since one had no experience and the other had been doing such work for centuries.

Decen Hougan never cared about governance itself, he was only interested in war, power, and offspring; so, after his fall, such an adjustment as the new Elf King was very welcome by the Prime Minister, but now Mare was reminded that he would still need to be officially crowned, something that made him groan internally.

The Queen approached Ainz; she now had an older appearance than the one used during the council, apparently gradually changing her youthful appearance to something more adult in recent months.

"Your Majesty, are you enjoying the visit?"

"Yes, Queen Draudillon, the music is particularly beautiful; a few days ago I visited the lands on your border and the beauty of the place impressed me."

"We are honored by your words."

"Despite that, I still believe I should have given you something, something you might desire."

The queen glanced at Sebas. "I can think of something."

Ainz pondered for a moment. "I think such a gift could be arranged, and I am sure I would not hear a single word of objection... but I think you would not be happy because the gift has a will of its own and, with it, its own desires. I believe you do not just want a trophy, do you?"

"No, if he were to stay, it would be of his own will."

"You are very honest, so... you have my blessing to fight for what you desire."

Draudillon smiled, excused herself, and went directly to speak with Sebas.

"Hello, Ambassador Sebas, I am very pleased to see you again in my kingdom," she said, looking at Tuare.

"It is always a pleasure to visit you."

"Yes, a pleasure. Lord Sebas, may I speak with your... companion for a moment? I would like to ask for some female opinions."

"Yes, excuse me, Your Majesty," said Sebas, stepping aside.

"Your name is Tuareninya, if I am not mistaken."

"Yes, Your Majesty. Tuareninya Veyron..."

"May I call you Tuare, right?"

"As you wish, Your Majesty..."

"Well, Tuare, what would you say if I asked you to stay away from the ambassador?"

Tuare thought for a moment. "I would say that only the Sorcerer King would have the... power to request such a thing, and I believe he has not done so, Your Majesty."

"No, he has not, but I can request the presence of Lord Sebas here, indefinitely."

"And then you would have a prisoner, you would have his body, but never his heart."

"Even so, I warn you that I will request the ambassador's presence as much as possible, so, over time, I will win his heart as well."

"Your Majesty, if I may be frank..."

"I expect nothing less than that."

"You will never take Sebas away from me," said Tuare with such conviction that it surprised the queen.

"That remains to be seen," replied the sovereign in the same tone.

'You old lizard!'

'You miserable little human!'

Despite the forced smiles, the tension between the women was so great that it seemed like a lightning bolt was crossing their gazes, this lasted until they heard a nearby conversation.

"Thank you for the handkerchief, Lord Sebas, I see you are alone, would you like to drink something?"

Both looked furiously at Leinas, who presented herself as yet another rival in this struggle.

'Poor guy', thought Ainz as he watched the butler surrounded by the three women, not realizing that Albedo, stealthily, had been arm in arm with him all this time.

...

Author's Note

Tuare and Draudillon will maintain a rivalry towards Sebas, while Reinas will just wait for an opportunity.