Chapter Sixty

  Neia marveled at what her eyes beheld, a confluence of power the likes of which the world had never known, His Majesty, Ainz, Lord Ainz, God… assembled leaders of the lands of men, and only two states were effectively absent.

  The Slane Theocracy, and the Southern Holy Kingdom. ‘They will not miss the next such gathering. When the north is revitalized I will petition the Holy King for a chance to spread the word south. All will know our savior’s glory…’

  Her thoughts on the matter aside, the coming of a dear friend of her Lord was an unexpected boon, the fact that he was the father of Jaldabaoth meant so little to her that Neia surprised even herself. ‘Lord Ainz approves, that is answer enough.’ She acknowledged that universal truth, but almost as important, he was nearly as charismatic as the Sorcerer King himself, with his fearsome appearance only adding to his raw and unbridled presence.

  Standing where he was, only two paces away, she could see him clearly and appraise him deeply, despite his goatish body, he appeared ‘human’ in a way that Neia could not explain, not fully. But there were little things.

  He tugged lightly at his curious looking clothing, like a nervous human groom might.

  And for all his power, he had no appearance of arrogance, chatting amiably with Sir Torald Haroldson while the stringed instruments began their gentle strumming and humming in a traditional Draconic Kingdom song. Also, he frequently turned his eyes toward the door through which the Queen would appear, again, like any other man.

  ‘If all beings are capable of this, then might we not all have peace one day?’ Neia wondered, gave the demon a reassuring smile when he darted his gaze toward the door for the seventh time. She then nodded and leaning forward a little she whispered, ‘It’s normal.’

  He tapped one hoof on the stone floor, and then the strings began to rise in their tempo, the brass instruments began in turn, and the Queen of the Draconic Kingdom entered, drawing silence over the room. The musicians never skipped a beat, their formal clothing would have been the envy of lesser nobles, but there was not one who could doubt that they deserved the finery they wore as their notes soared and sailed over the grandiose hall.

  She stepped forward, pausing once to allow herself to be seen, her long hair braided down her back, her soft cheeks touched with the colors of rose powder, her bright eyes sparkled like jewels in the flickering candlelight that replaced the common glowstones.

  Her dress was of white silk with golden trim, and in front of the lower half of her face was a veil of lace secured by golden hooks hanging from her golden loop earrings.

  As brides went, she was far from innocent in the ways of the world, but her steps were sure, confident, and shameless, minding not at all the inhuman body that awaited her at the far end of the room.

  ‘If only all the others could be here… if only…’ Ainz turned his thoughts to Bukubukuchagama, and in those thoughts he wondered, ‘Is she well? Is she happy… if she were here… could I at last…?’ Whether he would have had the courage or not, he could only wonder, and hope that some day he might know the answer.

  The music came to a slow stop as the Queen made her final step before the paladin, and she held her hand out between the two, inviting each to place their hand in hers. When they did, the heroic paladin covered both of theirs with her other hand.

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  “As it was in the times of the old gods, so it is now in the time of the new, that a union between those who share a common faith, with one another, with their houses, their names, their spirits and their longed-for dreams, should be consecrated in the eyes of their peers, their community, and the gods themselves. Gathered here, we have peers, we have gods, we have the couple. And it is my privilege to join these two together.” Neia paused to take a breath and after inhaling, she turned her eyes to the Queen.

  “Queen Draudillon Oriculus, do you swear to share in the burdens of your mate as you share in celebration of his triumphs, to stand at his side against all comers, and keep faith with him no matter what the world sends against you?” Neia asked the question with the greatest of solemnity, and even the mask obscuring her face could do nothing to disguise the penetrating power of the stare that lay behind it, and certainly nothing against the power of her voice that drummed the demanded oath into the veins and heart of the Queen.

  With her eyes not on the paladin, but instead up toward the demon who saved her nation, she said the truest words of her life up to that moment. “I do.”

  Neia’s eyes turned toward the Demon Emperor, “Do you, Ulbert Alain Odle, swear to share in the burdens of your mate as you share in celebration of her triumphs, to stand at her side against all comers, and keep faith with her no matter what the world sends against you?”

  While Draudillon might have missed it, Ulbert could not, ‘An evangelist… Ainz got himself a real live evangelist… he wasn’t exaggerating.’ The utility of that class was not lost on him, it was a rare subclass in Yggdrasil that buffed or debuffed by the reach of their voice, like a bard’s ability to command, an evangelist could persuade.

  He made a mental note to speak to Ainz about her later, setting aside his shock as she, unintentionally or not, intoned her power in his direction, he answered no less truthfully than the Queen.

  ‘I thought I’d die alone, a virgin, unloved, unwanted, thrown in a hole and forgotten before the death of our world. Now I have a Queen, an Empire, a wife, I have real friends and a bright future… this is what I’ve always wanted…’ His thoughts were such that were his demonic body capable of it, he would have wept when he in return offered up what was till then, the truest words of his life also…

  “I do.”

  “Then what the gods have witnessed bound together, let neither man nor monster tear asunder. I pronounce thee, husband and wife.” Neia said, removed her hands, and clapped them together so that their thundrous echo rang out over the hall.

  “You may kiss the bride.” She said, and when Ulbert unhooked her veil and let it fall to hang down beside her cheek, he bent down and gently kissed the exposed rosy skin, before the hall erupted in cheers.

  A naive person would have thought that this eruption of noise was a sign of good cheer for the newly minted royal couple.

  But a wiser person, such as Renner, knew better. ‘This will help cement the power of His Majesty, with this he has his enemies surrounded, they will all buckle and fall or die in short order.’ Renner’s mind was already working out the endless calculations needed to make that determination as to who was likely to fall first and who, if any, would succeed them.

  However, at her side, a naive person leaned over to speak to her, “As a priestess, I should be appalled but… I really think they meant it… could I really have been wrong about demons after all this time?” Lakyus’s whisper grated on Renner’s nerves, even though she didn’t ‘hate’ the woman, the naive outlook was inexcusable from nobles even if they’d gone off adventuring instead of fulfilling the obligations of their birth.

  “The paladin has something to do with it.” Renner whispered in return, even without magical skill, since she herself was now a demon, she was sensitive to control magic of all kinds, but even without it she could recognize the minute changes in body and inflection. What magic the paladin used, it was hard to say, but it would bear researching later.

  The rest of the night was a haze of alcohol, dancing, music, and among the most important figures in the multitude of nations, from Baharuth to the Holy Kingdom, from the Draconic Kingdom to Re-Estize, the powerful began to feel out ways that their bonds could enhance their power further.

  But for once in the Draconic Queen’s life, her mind was less on the politics of the hour, and more on the night of desire that would follow. And in all the years that would follow this one, for the rest of her days, when someone would ask her what she felt that day, she would say without question…

  “It was a very happy day.”