Chapter 2: The Dice Has Been Cast

  The king sat in the throne room. The windows were covered. The drapes blocked all but the brightest of the light from the sun. The king didn’t know what to think. He hadn’t the faintest idea on what his chief warrior was thinking.

  “Gazef, what were you thinking?” he asked himself while peering into his hands covered by the shade of the room.

  A deeply shallow look was across the man’s face. His good friend, and trusted sword was dead, he sacrificed himself to try and stop those dark young from rampaging all across the country.

  He was a good man. He might have been a good king in a different life. Here though? Here he was, a humbled and solum rat in a gilded cage, unable to do anything truly useful for his people and family.

  The man clenched his fists and sighed. He was getting old, his son was missing, and his trusted bodyguard was dead. He didn’t know what to do. It was then that he heard a soft knock on the door, and he heard the voice of his son.

  “Father, can I come in?” his second born son, Zanac, asked.

  He simply looked up to see his son peering at him with a concerned expression on his face through a crack in the doorway. The king nodded his head and his second son entered the room.

  He walked over to the window and pulled open the shades. The sunlight was blinding to the king who had stayed in the dark for the past couple of days. That reminded him of the rumors coming from thew newly minted Sorcerer Kingdom of Ainz Ooal Gown.

  It was said that he was a generous king, at least from the people of the newly minted, “Bastion of Carne.” From the people of the city E-Rantel, they were afraid, at least that was what he had heard from the people that had already coming in and out of the city itself.

  They had undead and trained military patrolling the city streets. At least there were humans there, working for the undead king. That at least proved that he was amicable enough to work with the living.

  “Father, there is still no word from my brother. It has already been multiple day since the battle, and most have given up hope for his return,” the young man spoke, and the king sighed in dejection.

  “He is dead. I can feel it in my bones,” the king spoke softly, “as king and as a father, I should have been more serious and studious raising the both of you,” King Ramposa the third, “to think I failed you both so hard.”

  As He spoke, he put his face in his open hand and felt his eyes tear up but a little. His son simply looked to his father after hearing his father’s words. He couldn’t refute them. As much as he wanted to, he knew that they were right. The young man sighed.

  “I will complete and do my brother’s duties. After all, someone has to do them,” he said with a slight chuckle.

  His father smiled at his little joke. The long-needed action causing him to sit up in his chair, and straighten his shoulders. Maybe this day wasn’t the worst? Maybe he could fix this? After all, surely that emperor didn’t want such a powerful country with such a powerful leader on his border.

  “Father, the day is rather beautiful,” prince Zanac suddenly said while looking at his sister picking flowers in the garden outside, “maybe you should get some fresh air. Maybe speak with Renner?” he offered his father, and the man stood up and waked to the window where his son stood.

  He looked at the sunlight garden and smiled when he spotted his daughter. He couldn’t believe that she had grown up so fast. He nodded his head at the thought of walking outside and talking about nothing in particur with her.

  “Yes, I think I shall,” he spoke simply, yet succinctly as he made his way to the door.

  …

  Renner twirled the rose in her fingertips. While she did this, she thought about all the words she had spoken with that demon, Yaldabaoth. Rather, his master through the mouth of the demon.

  He sought to sow destruction in the kingdom for the sake of it. To simply spite someone, who she didn’t truly know. She had also spoken with that woman known as Peregrinus. She didn’t know how to deal with her, with was somewhat of a shock to her.

  After all, her whole goal was obviously rger than simply making a more streamlined and overall better bck market and cartel. Then again, she didn’t seem to have the grandest of pns.

  Renner chuckled a devious smile before she schooled her expression. She stood back up and turned to her puppy, Climb. The smile that she put on this time was the one that got the best faces out of her puppy. Utter glee filled her as she spoke the words that would best make him happy, and watched his face.

  “Climb dear, could you please y this basket of flowers at the foot of the monument to those that died at Yaldabaoth’s attack?” she asked him while putting the white rose in the basket of flowers that they had already picked.

  “Yes, of course my dy,” he said and rushed off to do as she asked like the good boy he was.

  A creeping smile slowly climbed onto her face as she watched him rush off to do as she pleased. She had trained her dog well, though she had wished that he had fallen in battle like she had pnned.

  No matter, she would get it right… Next time…

  …

  Ainz y in bed with his two wives, Albedo on his right, Aeskell on his left. He had no idea on what to do now. He had no idea on what to do next. Sure, he knew that he had to stabilize his reign now. Yet, after that, he hadn’t pnned anything other than maybe making the Re-Estize kingdom vassals of his nation.

  He had learned what that meant from Aeskell in one of their lessons that they partook in. Said lessens were mostly just them pying tabletop versions of real time strategy games.

  Yet it seemed to work, for some odd reason. Right now as well, he was wearing his polymorph ring, and Aeskell was starting to snuggle up close to him.

  “Ainz,” she mumbled in a tired voice, “lets make some more,” she talked again in her sleep as she flopped on top of him like a cat, covering his face with her massive chest.

  “Mmpth,” he responded in a mumble, with slight exasperation.

  …