Chapter Thirty

  When they reached the treasury, Pandora’s Actor was in the midst of yet another inventory. This seemed to be his preferred activity when he was bored… but now in fact… he had a great deal to do. Demiurge’s campaign included the looting of vast amounts of treasure from the Holy Kingdom including troves of gold, silver, platinum, books, weapons and armor, and of course his favorite things… magic items.

  Everything had to be categorized, organized, sorted according to their value including whether it was worth keeping or throwing into the exchange box to get Yggdrasil gold.

  ‘I feel like I’m money laundering.’ Ainz mused as he watched Pandora’s Actor toss a few bloodstained gold coins of the Holy Kingdom into the box, and a smaller number of Yggdrasil coins came out the base. No sooner did the clinking noise of tumbling coins cease than Pandora’s Actor spun on his heel, rendered a swift and snappy salute to Ainz, and shouted, very carefully avoiding the use of German, “My. Father. Willkommen to the treasury!”

  ‘He tried.’ Ainz thought, letting the single German word slip by… ‘I suppose I can’t expect him to be quiet too… gah, at least he tried.’ Ainz reiterated his thought and tried not to hide his face in his hands at the sight of the fruit of his cringe phase. ‘Can I really handle ‘days’?’ Ainz asked himself, not for the first time in the last hour.

  But out loud he said. “Thank you. I have no time to waste on conversation, my friend Ulbert has returned, and I am going to meet with him tomorrow. Albedo will give you the roster of equipment to provide for him. You will then choose what equipment to arm yourself with, and join me in the throne room at dawn tomorrow. You will join myself, Ulbert, and Demiurge on a… Kill Quest.” Ainz concluded, randomly choosing a label for their intended actions.

  Pandora’s Actor did not delay his response, he struck a pose with one foot back, one hand over his chest and the other raised to the sky, his blank face tilted up he cried out. “Mein Vater! Long have I waited for this day! To join in glooooorious battle for the Supreme Beings!”

  “That’s enough!” Ainz cut him off with a sharp order before Pandora’s Actor could go on monologuing at length. “Albedo will explain everything. I just came to-” He stopped, ‘Why did I do this myself… ugh, I could have just sent Albedo…’ He quickly covered for himself, “to invite you personally to join us.”

  Pandora’s Actor bowed deeply at the waist, “I am honored beyond words. I will join you. Please leave everything to me.”

  “Good. Ah, see that you handle it.” Ainz said and made his retreat as quickly as he could. ‘I can be such a bad boss sometimes…’ He sighed as soon as he was well away from them both.

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  And when he was?

  Albedo looked the doppelganger up and down for any sign of hesitation or disloyalty, and though she found none, she was quick to reassert herself with him. “Make sure you watch closely how everything goes. Remember, this is our duty to our master. We must protect him above all else, and be prepared to act as soon as we can. Your father is on the line. Never ever forget that.” She reiterated, and to that, Pandora’s Actor simply said…

  “Ja.”

  The following morning, Ulbert stretched out with a yawn and found that he was in his demonic form. He noticed also that his clothes were scattered away, and his Queen wore no more than he did. More notably, she was awake and lying on her side, she’d been watching him sleep.

  “I’ve never seen a demon sleep before. I wasn’t sure you actually did.” She drummed her fingers on his chest and he replied as her tapping fingers continued to press rhythmically against him…

  “I’m more surprised you’re okay sleeping next to a demon.” Ulbert said with a little half laugh.

  She propped her head up in her palm and with a little smirk said, “You destroyed a nation-spanning army in a month, if you wanted my death or suffering, I’m sure there’s nowhere I could have run to avoid it, and nobody who could have protected me. Knowing that, well the bed is cozy and comfortable, and sometimes the greatest danger is also the greatest safety.”

  “You’re strangely pragmatic for a human.” Ulbert said, and she let out a laugh that rang like silver bells.

  “I believe that was a compliment, so I’ll accept it, but I remind you, I’m not fully human. I still have the blood of a dragon in my veins.” Queen Draudillon’s little smile became a frown instead. “I’ve always suspected that is part of why the Slane Theocracy’s aid has always been somewhat lax. They put a lot less effort into protecting humans whose faith in the Six is less stringent than their own.”

  “Are they really that bad?” Ulbert asked, recalling some of the complaints made against them the previous evening.

  “Yes. If they took over this country, I would be killed or enslaved, without question. But they can’t conquer it without risking a war of extermination with the beastmen, and they need me, so we tolerate each other. Goodness knows how they’ll respond when there is a Demon Emperor on the throne.” She didn’t laugh, not even a little.

  “They did nothing about Ainz Ooal Gown for exterminating the Kingdom army at the Katze Plains. So they’ll do nothing about me after I prove my strength against the Beastmen.” Ulbert said with confidence.

  “You may be right. Myself, I won’t be the least bit sorry to no longer need to rely on them for support. But for now… one more time before you go? The sun isn’t yet up, and I’m sure you can be where you need to be with time to spare…” He took on his human shape again, and allowed her to straddle him in the earliest of early hours before the coming dawn.

  It was a great regret, in its own way, when he finally left, his wings spread and his outfit put back on with the Queen’s own hands to finally go out and meet with one of the friend he left behind.