Author's note: I thank the readers for their encouragement, for their questions and comments... Nevertheless, I prefer not to answer your questions. I don't want to give too many hints. I think that would hurt the plot.
Negotiation
Moving in her sleep, Miriel held a hand to her face, struggling in uncomfortable dreams.
The light slipped between the heavy curtains, lighting her face. The young half-elf growled and her eyelids sprang before fluttering open.
With her heart beating too fast, the Summoner awoke with a start.
"Where... where am I?"
Her memory was empty... she did not recognize the beamed ceiling with wood paneling. It was decorated with naive drawings similar to those of a medieval book. The young woman sat down and looked around her.
Miriel was in a splendid bed in the middle of a sumptuous room. The fabrics: brocade, silk, and satin, competed with the blue fabric of the wallpapers decorated with golden motifs.
Besides the bed, the bedroom was furnished with a chest, a massive carved and varnished wardrobe, as well as a circular table with four chairs with red velvet cushions. There was even a small cabinet in woodwork against a wall.
Golden chandeliers, now extinguished, were to illuminate the room after dark.
It was a room worthy of a Renaissance palace.
How did she get there? ... Ah yes! The memories came suddenly. The invocation, the Slane Theocracy, Ainz Ooal Gown. She was in the palace of the Pontifex Maximus in Silksunteks. As she pushed the sheets back and her feet landed on the woolen carpet covering the floor, a side door opened. Dressed in her habitual French Maid outfit, Diolaine Gisle Kuri curtsied gracefully before raising her head with a smile.
"Did you sleep well, Lady Miriel?"
"Thank you, I've... I've had strange dreams."
The half-elf frowned... it was really a strange feeling. She had dreamed of memories that were not hers... No, she shook her head... memories that were not Watanabe Haruko's. Did Miriel have her own memory? Did this body remember things she - the player- had not done? She sighed and shook her head again. She was just a 16-year-old high school girl, and all these questions were beyond her... and she had enough problems like that... even her immediate survival was not assured.
"Would you like a bath or breakfast?"
Hearing the question, Miriel stopped looking at her trembling hands and clenched her fists before turning to the servant.
"Both and in that order."
"Yes, my Lady."
"Oh... one question, Diolaine, how did you know I was awake?"
The servant lowered her head to hide her confusion and made a much lower reverence than the first.
"It is my duty to be ready to serve you at any time."
Miriel sighed once again, leaving the servant to prepare her bath. So Diolaine was spying on her... the Summoner was not surprised, nor even angry. Having long lost all naivety, all illusion about human nature, she could not even feel betrayed.
Instead, she began to plot.
She had identified a spy of the Slane Theocracy. How was she going to use this knowledge?
"I apologize, Lady Miriel, but you must remain in your chambers... for your own safety."
He was one of the two knights guarding the door who had just spoken. His voice was young, but it was difficult to judge his real age because his face was hidden by one of those ridiculous helmets that looked like fire hydrants.
Without hiding her disappointment, the half-elf thanked her and closed the door. Finally, the worst was that the knights did not really lie. It was indeed safer for her to stay in her apartments. A half-elf not chained up would be better off not wandering around a palace filled with religious fanatics and knights accustomed to exporting the 'healthy' values of the Slane Theocracy with a sword in one hand and a torch in the other.
It would be a shame to have an unfortunate accident, wouldn't it?
Well, of course, in addition, the local leaders probably had some little secrets they didn't want her to find out. By the way, Miriel had already understood that the Elves were very popular slaves in Silksunteks... but she suspected that the cardinals probably had other things to hide, probably even more horrible. Who knows, there may have been an office of the local equivalent of the Holy Inquisition in the cellars... and its torture rooms devoted to the 'correction' of heresy.
These people were too much like the Catholic Church to expect anything positive. Undoubtedly this palace was also built thanks to the Sale of Indulgences (1). And she especially didn't want to think about the affection of some "good" priests for the Choir Boys...
And she was in the hands of those people...
The anguish squeezed her stomach.
Sitting at the table, she held her face to her hands. Until then, the Supreme Council had treated her well. But it was obvious that this was not the result of their 'affection' for half-humans...
Yesterday, the Summoner demonstrated her usefulness by creating several Elder Signs. She even taught local wizards how to create them without her help.
Truly a magnificent and beautiful result... except that it also meant that the Pontifex Maximus no longer needed her to continue the production of protective amulets able of repelling the children of Shub-Niggurath.
To stay alive, she had to make herself necessary... permanently. Except Miriel would go crazy if she had to spend the rest of her life in prison... even a luxurious one.
Well, no... On second thought, there was little chance of that happening. The Cardinals had summoned her to fight Ainz Ooal Gown. At some point, she would have to go after the King of Darkness, and... Well, the good news is everything would end very quickly.
R.I.P. Hero!
Okay... stay alive... gets out of here... and most importantly live free, that's the plan. First, she had to 'sell' to the Supreme Council the need to send her outside the palace to investigate Ainz Ooal Gown's weaknesses and how to fight him. In addition... in addition, it was even true. Miriel had no chance of defeating the Undead without learning more about him and she had absolutely no confidence in second-hand testimonies.
She nodded firmly. The young woman was determined to do everything possible to ensure her survival in this strange world.
For this, she could count on a number of assets.
The Summoner placed a finger on the interface of Obscura Onihime Online and several sub-menus appeared.
Apart from the disappearance of the 'Log Out' button, the interface had not changed.
Miriel was a wizard who specialized in Invocation and Illusion. She was of medium level... But her characteristics were surprisingly high... In OOO, the characteristics were calculated randomly at the time you created your character. Except that... Watanabe Haruko restarted the character creation again, again, again and again... probably nearly 200 times... until she obtained very high characteristics, especially for intelligence and wisdom (2).
As a result, she had more powerful magic and faster magic regeneration. (3)
Nevertheless, this was not her greatest asset... far from it.
The young woman scrolled through the list of her equipment.
There was everything she had chosen to participate in the expedition to the Omalhu fortress. Weapons, potions, and various useful items for Dungeon Crawling. There was also her share of the loot, mostly trinkets (gold statuettes, jewelry, gems...), some books on the Lore or magic, as well as minor magical objects.
None of this was of much value.
In Obscura Onihime On Line's Community, Miriel was nicknamed 'Relic Woman', because she had decided to find all the 'Relic' of the game. The OOO Relics were magical objects with magical powers and a unique appearance. Linked to important Lore events or made by legendary wizards, gods, or demons, they were very powerful and highly coveted. However, Miriel had found a surprising number of them during her adventures... even though she had to give several to the other members of her guild.
The Usha Orb, an object to travel between universes was the last Relic to join her collection.
Her finger stopped for a moment on an icon resembling a black book. Its title was displayed next to it: Greedy Clutches... Well, that Relic was still in her inventory. Miriel smiled, she would certainly need the power of this Relic.
Yet the Summoner continued to the bottom of her list of objects, where her money was.
The first thing Miriel needed was a friend... and not just anyone, she had to obtain the complicity of the spy who reported her every gesture to the Cardinals.
"Diolaine!"
Hearing his name, the maid entered the room and bowed out.
"My Lady?"
Miriel replied with a smile, she did not have to force herself. The servant was an adorable girl with pink hair, exactly the kind of girl she had always wanted as a friend.
"I wanted to thank you for taking care of me."
"But that's perfectly normal, My Lady."
"I insist..."
The half-elf held out her hand and, to the surprise of the maid, it disappeared in an opening filled with a purplish nothingness and bordered by crystal cubes. Miriel took a purse from her inventory and put it on the table.
"I give you these fifty gold coins to thank you for your kindnesses... of course, these coins are not currency here, but you can sell them at the price of their weight. It's a gift! You don't have to tell your superiors... it's between you and me."
Diolaine blushed, thanked her, and took the purse. Her eyes grew in astonishment at the sight of the gilded and polished pieces...
In MedFan games, the currency used was almost always gold coins. So a single apple cost a gold coin in Obscura Onihime Online... except that the New World had a much more realistic economy. Gold was much rarer and much more precious. If fifty coins were just a little pocket money in OOO it was equivalent to a fortune here.
Fanatics did not make good spies, because they could not hide their convictions. As a result, spies were almost always professionals working for money, so their loyalty came at a price.
And given that the gold coins had a footprint of 0 in OOO, Miriel was constantly carrying her entire fortune in her inventory... just over 25,000 gold coins.
This fortune represented an enormous ability to influence others and, if that was not enough, she could make good use of Greedy Clutches.
In the OOO Background there were 7 unique books collectively called the Black Books. These Relics were created by an ArchDevil who created them to corrupt a Hero. Each of them symbolized one of the Seven Deadly Sins. Greedy Clutches was Avarice.
Opening this book would summon a demon who was in fact a merchant... with a lot of gold. This Relic was very useful in OOO, allowing them to sell their booty while they were still in a Dungeon or to buy supplementary equipment (antidotes before entering a room full of spiders, arrows for the archer, a new spellbook, etc...).
The Watanabe couple did not have much conversation, only about their work. Forced to listen to them at every meal for years, little Haruko had learned a lot about added value and all the rules of trade. This allowed her to understand that, in the New World, Greedy Clutches was a Cheat allowing her to become very rich and very quickly. Understand this: capitalism is based on supply and demand. One buys at the supply price and one resells at the demand price. To make money a merchant therefore buys a product where he is frequently encountered and has little value, to resell it where it is rare and where customers are willing to buy it expensive enough to make the price of transport profitable. That's how a merchant generates a profit margin.
If Miriel were to sell apples bought at Silksunteks Market to the Demon summoned by Greedy Clutches, the latter will pay the Obscura Onihime Online charge... Apples would literally be bought for gold! (4)
And gold was an immense power, in fact, gold was always stronger than iron.
Miriel had once again crossed the corridors of the palace of the Pontifex Maximus, escorted by the Knights of the Sunlight Scripture. While keeping a neutral expression, the young woman looked with interest at the reactions of the priests, monks, and knights she had met on her way.
The day before she had a public interview with the leaders of the Six Religious Sects and even the Pontifex Maximus, she also created amulets to protect their wearer from the monsters that caused the Massacre at Katze Plains.
Listening attentively to the discussions mentioning her, Miriel noticed that rumors about her actions had already spread throughout the palace.
When the guards opened the door to the room where the Supreme Council had received her the day before, she was not surprised to find herself facing them.
The room was again filled with a large audience. Copyist monks were installed at lecterns, ready to write the report of this new session.
Miriel bowed her head politely, lifting the bottom of her dress with one hand while placing the other on her heart.
"I thank this assembly for seeing me again, it's an honor."
A monk showed her where to sit.
After a few words and a short prayer calling "the Six Great Gods" to bless the assembly and guide the deliberations, the Pontifex Maximus turned to the half-elf.
"Lady Miriel, we need your help. We have a first mission for you."
With a sore throat, the Invocator stood up and bowed politely. Although she hides it quite well, she was stressed, her heart beating too fast. She had been thinking all morning about how she should act. In fact, she had no choice— she had already given the Elder Signs without asking for anything in return. And people - especially powerful people - tended to believe that what was given to them for free was worthless. This was a very common mistake... so try to hold your breath while you count your fortune... you will inevitably discover that oxygen is more valuable than gold.
To stay alive, she had to earn the respect of the Supreme Council and build a relationship that was not unilateral. So far the Cardinals ordered and she obeyed... and that was not really different from the bullying that Haruko had experienced on Earth. From now on, Miriel would ask for something in return for each of her interventions. Besides, it wasn't really to obtain a reward... but to accustom the Council to negotiate with her. They had to see her as a true partner.
But Miriel was absolutely not naive. She knew she would face strong opposition... For them, the half-elves were slaves. They would probably be outraged. There was even a possibility that things were going wrong—or very, very wrong. However, to become a Hero in practice as much as in theory, she had no choice. The Council had to agree to her terms, and in public...
Her life, her freedom, and her safety depended on her next words.
"I am of course at your disposal, Pontifex Maximus. However, before you told me about my new mission, It is necessary that you listen to me, I too have a problem... an embarrassing problem."
There was a brief moment of silence. Behind her, Miriel heard muffled conversations and whispers... but no hostility. For now, they were just surprised.
Good. Very good.
She waited and...
Yvon Jasna Delacroix, the Cardinal of Light, spoke.
"An embarrassing problem? What do you mean, Lady Miriel?"
The half-elf nodded mentally. All right... the most important thing was not to monopolize the conversation... the public and the Council should see her as a humble and respectful person... but a person with legitimate demands.
"Monsignor, I'm afraid I've to spoke at length about myself so you can understand. I apologize for that. Do I have permission to speak?"
All eyes turned to the Pontifex Maximus, who remained motionless for a few seconds and approved with a simple movement of the chin.
"I was adventurous from a world called Sonval. As I was exploring a Dungeon...
Miriel quickly recounted her adventure in the Omalhu fortress and her invocation.
"... I then found myself in the cathedral of Silksunteks and you have to understand that I have a hard time getting used to this situation. I didn't ask to come. You called me without... without giving me a choice. Now I have to risk my life to help you... In exchange for... nothing? I am not a resident of the Theocracy of Slane, I am not a member of your religion. Who am I to you, anyway?"
This time, there were several reactions. Behind her, the whispers of the public were louder... and more hostile. As for the cardinals, Santini, Guelfi, and Lagier seemed annoyed. But the first to speak, Laurasan, had a soothing gesture for his colleagues.
"Lady Miriel, you are the Heroine that a World Item left by our gods has chosen to help us. Please, explain why you are so uncomfortable."
"Isn't it obvious? I had a life, a family... and I would never see them again."
To be honest, Watanabe Haruko's life and her family were not a big loss... but this was the moment when she had to get public sympathy and so tugging their heartstring.
"I suddenly found myself here... in an unknown world and in a country..." She seemed to hesitate as if she was struggling to speak. "Forgive me but I am not stupid... you use the Elves as slaves... I am the Heroine of a country where people who look like me are mere slaves."
It was actually the trickiest part. But it was better to make them immediately understand that she was intelligent enough to understand the situation and that she was afraid of being treated as a slave...
Nevertheless, she had just made a direct criticism of the Supreme Council.
And it turns out that they react quite dramatically. Guelfi, the Cardinal of Water, stood up at once, reaching for the half-elf.
"You said too much! By what right do you question the divine ordinances of the Six Gods?! We have already too much tolerated your unholy presence! Just yesterday, you summoned a demon under the palace..."
"... with the permission of the Pontifex Maximus! Permission I asked for beforehand! I risked MY immortal soul to help you, and I asked for nothing in return... And the notion of thanking me never crossed the mind of any of you "said Miriel, cutting the Cardinal off.
Zinedine Delan Guelfi becomes pale and then blushes under the effect of anger. Instead of responding to that, he went on the attack.
"How did you acquire the ungodly knowledge necessary to summon a demon?"
"I prevented a previous invocation of the Black Book's Archdemon."
The invocation was an Event during a quest, in OOO.
"What evidence can you give us that you are not a servant of this demon?"
"None."
Guelfi had a triumphant smile.
"Naturally."
She shook her head.
"Did you forget, monsignor, all the evidence and witnesses are in another universe. What are you accusing me of? Of wanting to help you? I was summoned here against my will! I didn't ask to be your Hero."
The Cardinal of Water still had much to say, and three of his colleagues (Santini, Partouche, and Lagier) seemed to agree, but the Pontifex Maximus spoke.
"Sit down, Cardinal Guelfi. We have heard your opinion and we will take it into account."
An alarm will go off in Miriel's brain. In other words, it did not matter that the leader of the Six Sects had allowed the invocation of a demon it remained a crime whose judgment was simply postponed.
The Pontifex Maximus looked at the half-elf without showing any emotions.
"To sum up what you said, you ask that your freedom be respected and... to be remunerated."
He said those last words contemptuously.
"Supreme Pontiff, please forgive me if I contradict you, but I never spoke of money... I want freedom and respect."
"Respect?"
'Trust, if you prefer that word. I'll be honest with you. After what I've learned about Ainz Ooal Gown, I feel I have little chance of defeating him... But I will have absolutely none if I have to defend myself continually against accusations of Dealing with the Devil. An enemy is enough for me. You hate everything I stand for... and you don't like my specie very much. But, I was the one called here... So give me a chance to prove to you that Einheri, the horn of the Valkyries, was right to summon me."
The leader of the Six Religious Sects remained unvoiced for a long time and the silence in the room was such that a fly was heard.
Finally, the Pontifex Maximus nodded.
"I understand... I promise you that the most enthusiastic members will receive... precise instructions."
Miriel bowed.
"I humbly thank you, Supreme Pontiff."
She won the first round... Nevertheless, the Summoner suspected that if she won against Ainz Ooal Gown, the accusations of Dealing with the Devil would instantly reappear... and she would end up at a stake. But it was a problem for later.
"Now let's talk about the mission the Supreme Council wants you to do, Lady Miriel!"
A few days later, Abelion Hills...
A long corridor with walls and ground made of cut stones stretched into the bowels of the earth. Glass globes hung from the ceiling and shed light from several candles planted in the ground that created zones of light in the long corridor.
Near a door, a large humanoid was on guard. His skin was green and warty with pork facial features. An Orc... and a warrior. He had a rough suit of armor and an all-metal shield on his left arm. In his right hand, he was holding a serrated axe that most humans would have had trouble lifting with both hands.
Hearing a slight noise, the Orc turned his head... but the corridor was empty. The rather stupid creature frowned upon seeing a blurred area.
Suddenly...
"Ember Lash!"
The incantation broke Miriel's invisibility spell. The young woman reappeared holding in her hand a whip made up of several strips of burning particles...
She immediately attacked, immobilizing the Orc, which caught fire... the monster screamed but she held out the other hand.
"Silence!"
Immediately the cries of the suffering of the Orc were quenched. Without emotion, Miriel watched him convulse before collapsing to the ground and shriveling into a smoky charcoaled corpse. Behind him, the door the Orc kept was locked.
She put her hand on the lock.
"Open!"
There was a click and the door turned on its hinges. Behind, another corridor lit by torches fixed to the walls.
" Chameleon!"
Miriel, once again invisible, resumed her advance in the Dungeon.
She was looking for a magic scroll that was held in this underground maze. She had no idea what this spell was for and had been careful not to ask questions of the Pontifex Maximus. She would act like a dedicated agent... at least on the surface. But the Summoner intended to find out what the parchment was for before handing it over to her sponsor...
Waving her fingers in front of her, Miriel selected the map. As she advanced, the corridors emerged from the "fog of war". She even saw enemies as red spots in nearby corridors...
A little further on, the corridor turned before arriving at a door giving access to a small room guarded by two foes.
Miriel laid her hand on the ground. Becoming visible again as she uttered the incantation.
"Gravity Trap!"
A magic circle the size of his palm appeared on the ground.
She reached out to the end of the corridor.
"Summoning Monster I"
Two Dire Wolves materialized in the hallway and started howling. They were pretty lousy monsters, but their only role was to lure the guards.
The door opened and two Orcs went out, they threw themselves on the Dire Wolves and killed them quite quickly.
During the fight, Miriel had not remained inactive, casting two spells.
"Stone Skin!"
The ground seemed to rise, completely enveloping Miriel. When she became visible again, she looked like a monochrome stone statue.
"Armor!"
Particles of light began to spin around her arms, legs, torso, and head. The first spell made her invulnerable to a number of attacks, while the second was a magical armor that reduced the chances of being touched. However, it was just a precaution... which proved useless.
Indeed, the Orcs rushed to Miriel while bellowing but they did not reach the half-elf.
They passed over the magic circle and immediately collapsed, pressed against the stone pavement by the gravity force.
The Summoner raised her hand with a slight smile.
"Thunderbolt!"
(1) The Trade of Indulgences is another "healthy" habit of the Medieval Church. In short, it is the sale of prayers to rich people, exonerating them of their sins (plunder, rape, kill... as long as you pay, paradise is guaranteed). The money was used to build the Episcopal palaces and even the Vatican.
(2) Miriel's characteristics:
Strength: 10
Dexterity: 17
Constitution: 14
Intelligence: 18
Wisdom: 16
Charisma: 14
In OOO, human statistics vary between 3 and 18 (half-elves have - 1 in Strength and Constitution, + 1 in Dexterity and Charisma).
It should be noted that - in the New World- Intelligence and Wisdom only serve to boost magic... In reality, Miriel's mental faculties are those of Watanabe Haruko.
(3) The time has come to explain one of the main differences between magic as practiced in Yggdrasil (and thus in the New World) on the one hand, and magic in OOO on the other.
In Yggdrasil, magic uses the 'Tier' system. Most defensive spells in Yggdrasil immunize against the spells of a lower Tier. A Tier 1 spell costs one magic point. Wizards have a certain number of magic points that depend on their levels... Being level 99, Ainz has thousands of magic points. To regenerate these points, a Tier Magic user needs to rest.
In OOO, spells cost a number of magic points. Any wizard can cast a spell as long as he has enough magic points. In addition, the magic regenerates constantly... it is a form of endurance... if the wizard does not make any effort (casting spells) he regains magic points.
Each universe has a very different balance from magic. In Yggdrasil, wizards have many magic points and spells cost few points. While in OOO spells are more expensive and Wizards have fewer points... except they are never out of magic points.
(4) To better understand, imagine Miriel going to the Silksunteks Market and buying as many apples as she can up to the price of one gold coin... She will fill her inventory with apples. When she opens the Greedy Clutches Black Book and resells the apples to the demon merchant... she will receive a gold coin for EVERY apple. Greedy Clutches is a Cheat Item that has ample potential to plunge the continent's economy into chaos! But in addition, Miriel can buy magic objects, OOO-specific rare metals ingots, potions, or magic books at the Merchant Demon.
Even without considering the price that the inhabitants of the New World would be willing to pay for weapons made of unknown metals or magical objects based on unheard-of principles... it would completely upset the military balance of forces. The inventory of the Merchant Demon re-spawns EVERY DAY. Miriel can therefore provide thousands of weapons within a few weeks... Enough to re-equip a small army with elven or ebonite weapons! And this without even counting wizard staffs, potions, spellbooks, alchemical components, etc.
