Hello Nazarins, brings you another chapter of my fanfic The One Who Came Back
The plot gets complicated with the arrival of the emissary from the Sorcerer Kingdom and it will only get worse.
With you
The One Who Came Back
Chapter 61: My War Games
"We can't allow him to enter" Rigrit whispered to Riku, but many could hear.
"We can't stop him from delivering the message, Mrs. Rigrit."
"We can keep him on hold indefinitely", Riku replied.
"That would only delay the inevitable, they know we're gathered here and they know why. If we stop it, it will be a declaration of war by all of us, something we are not in agreement with at the moment nor are we prepared for", replied Murios.
Everyone agreed with his statement, but Riku remained silent.
"Let the messenger in."
The doors opened, and the messenger walked to the center of the room. The guards prepared for an attack.
"Good afternoon, esteemed dignitaries. I am Sebas Tian, Chief Butler of His Majesty the Sorcerer King Ainz Ooal Gown, and I come as a messenger from the Sorcerer Kingdom."
Everyone was surprised to see a human directly serving the undead king.
"King Ainz Ooal Gown requests the participation of our kingdom in this council to clarify recent events."
"I am Murios Avant Lux, head of the council of the City-State of Argland. Your request is quite unexpected. As such, we would need to deliberate. So, if you can, please, we ask that you wait for our decision in the other room," Sebas was told.
"Yes, thank you for hearing our request. His Majesty believes he will bring relevant information to the deliberations. With your permission," Sebas said with a bow before leaving the room.
"The presence of the Sorcerer Kingdom here demonstrates more awareness than we expected. I believe we cannot deny their presence. Perhaps we can even negotiate, if necessary", Lord Murios said after the doors closed.
"It doesn't matter. Whoever he sends will simply bring lies to obscure the judgment of those present here," Riku mouthed with displeasure.
"Or something worse," the black dwarf said. "I agree with Lord Riku. It could even be someone sent to attack this council."
"Lord Ardork, despite your fears, if the Sorcerer King wanted to kill us, he would have sent a powerful being to do so, not a human," Murios pondered.
"Exactly to make us lower our guard for what is to come!" Lord Malio, the human, retorted.
"Sorry, Murios, this discussion will likely drag on if everyone is going to argue, but since we are all present, I request an emergency vote to decide whether we allow the Sorcerer Kingdom's entry into this meeting, and that the invited kingdoms also have a vote in this decision," Eloi, the elven councilor, advised.
"All right, then, those in favor of allowing the Sorcerer Kingdom's entry, raise your hand," few did not raise theirs, "those in favor have won. Let our hope not be in vain. Please, let the messenger in again."
"Lord Sebas, the participation of the Sorcerer Kingdom has been approved. I believe we can postpone the meeting for a few days until the representative arrives," Murios suggested.
"Sir, there's no need to wait. If you allow me, I will inform my superiors," Sebas left the room again but stopped just after the doorframe. "Yes, it's Sebas Tian, sir. Communication has been reestablished again, yes, probably protections, yes, I will wait."
'At least the protections seem to be effective,' Riku thought.
Sebas returned to the room and stood on the right side of the door. At that moment, a black portal opened just inches from the threshold, and from it emerged a world beauty that would make men of various species have improper thoughts.
'So, they sent the Prime Minister herself, the strongest being in the Sorcerer Kingdom,' the disguised dragon analyzed.
But Albedo did not introduce herself; she followed and positioned herself on the left side of the door.
"We announce the arrival of the Sorcerer King Ainz Ooal Gown."
Albedo and Sebas made a deep bow as the Supreme Being emerged from within the portal.
There was consternation at his words and even more so when they saw that the Sorcerer King himself had appeared.
Riku did not move, but there was a slight tremor, as if he were unsure whether to seize the opportunity to attack or not.
"Good afternoon, gentlemen. I am Ainz Ooal Gown. I believe you must be talking about me."
"Do you have spies here too?!" someone shouted.
"Hmm! I think I recognize you, Riku Aganeia, isn't it? We've met, haven't we? Perhaps. But to answer your question, no, I have no spies here, and there's no need, after all, it's obvious that you would gather after recent events."
"Your Majesty, forgive the rudeness of Lord Aganeia, he does not represent this council. I am Murios Avant Lux of the Argland City-State council, but here with me are the representatives of various nations," Murios then made the long introduction of everyone again.
"I see, it is a pleasure to be in front of the distinguished dignitaries and the people of the sea, air, land, and underground," each made a greeting. "But I see that some representatives are missing. I see no one from the Dragon Kingdom, the Dwarven Kingdom, the Elf Country, the Baharuth Empire, or... the Theocracy."
"Two of them are your vassals, and the others are in your pocket. They would be here to spread your lies. And the Theocracy, you know very well what happened to it," Riku said with displeasure.
"Oh, how dare you speak like that to..."
"ALBEDO! Please let me handle the situation. I apologize for my partner's outburst," Ainz said, cutting off further arguments.
"Partner!? Like a wife?" murmured everyone, including Albedo.
'A terrible choice of words,' groaned Ainz internally. "Ahem! I hope Lord Aganeia is not speaking for everyone in this council at the moment, as that would demonstrate a limited view of the situation. Vassal kingdoms could testify to how they are treated, and my trading partners are also your trading partners. But besides that, I see that even in the Argland Council, there are representatives missing from various races. There are canine beastmen, Avians, rabbitmen, humans, black dwarves, and elves. I believe you must represent the survivors of the theocracy or dissidents from the Elf Country, right?!"
"Yes, Your Majesty, I am Eloi Greevalle and I represent the free elves. The Argland Council is formed by representatives of willing races."
"Still, Lord Greevalle, there are no goblins, trolls, orcs, lizardmen, or other demi-humans, much less a vampire."
"Most of these races are wild or tribal, and there is no centralization for us to... contact. Besides, vampires and undeads are known as natural enemies of the living."
"Well, I see. But still, demi-humans have tribal councils like this in the Abellions Hills or in the lands of the lizardmen. And I don't want to be rude, but minotaurs have no problem feeding on humans. I believe they even have breeding grounds for that," the Supreme Being pointed at the minotaur, who simply smiled.
"Your Majesty, the minotaur people, despite their restricted diet, are an exception..."
"Exactly," Ainz interrupted. "An exception. This means there could be good vampires, or... undead, right?!"
"Your Majesty's logic seems to make sense. Something we could consider attempting in the future, but at the moment, we have no way to contact the other kingdoms so they can come..."
"If it's not a problem, I can bring them quickly. Albedo, please," Ainz said, not giving time to be questioned.
Albedo stepped out of the room and contacted Shalltear. Soon, five portals opened, and from them emerged several authorities. Sebas announced them one by one.
"Queen Draudillon Oriculos, Queen of the Dragon Kingdom."
"King Gondo Firebeard, Lord of the dwarf people of the Azerlisia Mountains."
"Princess Renner Theiere Chardelon Ryle Vaiself, of the Vaiself house."
"Emperor Jircniv Rune Farlord El-Nix, of the Baharuth Empire."
"Lord Mare Bello Fiore, King of the elven people and Lord of the Great Forest of Evasha."
Eloi instinctively kneeled upon seeing Mare, but the consternation was general. While the kingdoms sent representatives for the debate, the Sorcerer Kingdom brought the rulers themselves. Metaphorically speaking, Ainz had brought machine guns to a knife fight.
As the authorities stood in front of Ainz, their security positioned themselves alongside the others. Antilene and Leinas were the only ones recognized.
The Queen Draudillon, from the corner of her eye, eagerly observed Sebas, standing stoically by the side. One thing she immediately noticed was the absence of the draconic aura he should emit, and another was the ring on his index finger, something he did not wear before.
'I'm sure he didn't have that, as I memorized every detail of this man: his regal demeanor, his white hair, his full beard, his strong arms, his chest...' the queen's breathing became heavy. 'I should stop thinking about these things and focus. Since it's not a wedding ring he's wearing, it's probably some sort of anti-detection item.'
The Queen then stepped forward.
"We don't need to go through the introduction of everyone present again. As the sovereign of an independent nation, I think I should start."
"Wait, Your Majesty," said Glurius, the old aquatic man. "We can't start yet. I sense a sick aura in the room. Someone here is cursed!"
Riku practically pointed towards Ainz.