"EeDechi has no chance of turning this around. I must avenge Demiurge." Ainz stroked the World Item in his hand, his killing intent thick and heavy.
A World Item's holder was immune to other World Items. Ainz couldn't be sure whether EeDechi possessed one, but the situation had changed. The World Item · [Super] Depiction of Nature and Society would absolutely be able to imprison her and deal massive damage.
A striking figure appeared out of nowhere. She leaned against the doorframe. "Lord Ainz, Albedo still hasn't sent any message. Can I go out and look for her?"
Ainz glanced at her. It was Rubedo, Albedo's sister. She wore a military-green bodysuit that clung to her tall, slender frame. Her legs were long and straight, her breasts full and high, and her long red hair blazed like living flame.
"No need for you to worry about it," Ainz said in a deep voice.
Rubedo was the strongest fighter among the level-one-hundreds, but she was also the most unruly and defiant. She had always wanted to leave the Great Tomb of Nazarick and "go out for a stroll." Ainz knew she was a warrior who was hard to control. He could not let her roam free.
Rubedo curled her lip. "But… Demiurge is dead. The outside world isn't safe. Albedo is such a delicate little flower. If she runs into EeDechi, who knows how badly she'll get ruined."
Ainz ignored her and kept studying the World Item in his hand.
Rubedo kept talking anyway. "Send me out to fight. I can finish EeDechi off in a couple of moves. Albedo loves you more than anything. If something happens to her, you won't feel good about it, right? Hmm?"
"Shut your mouth! Is that how you speak to Lord Ainz?" A stern rebuke sounded from behind Rubedo. Cocytus strode toward her step by step, his eyes cold and hostile.
"Hey, Cocytus? You wanna throw down?" Rubedo still leaned against the doorway, tilting her head to stare at the hulking Cocytus with nothing but contempt.
"Let's go. Arena?" Cocytus breathed out two jets of freezing mist.
"Enough. Knock it off," Ainz raised a hand to cut them short. "Quiet down, Rubedo. Stay put right here. If we need you, I'll send you out."
...
Thirteen days later, the Last Defender of the Way adventuring party left Baharuth and returned to E-Rantel.
They hadn't found a chance to use a teleportation circle while in Baharuth. The fastest route to the Re-Estize capital was to take one from E-Rantel.
The Golden Apple tavern. EeDechi and the others stepped inside. The tavern owner, Joseph Lesua, stood behind the counter.
The moment he spotted EeDechi, Barrett, and Franco, it was like he'd just seen three walking gold bars. His eyes lit up and the corners of his mouth stretched into a greedy grin all on their own.
"You three looking to use the teleportation circle again?" Joseph's gaze locked onto the scarf covering EeDechi's face.
"You know the drill. We're heading to Re-Estize. Sorry to bother you," Barrett said, laying several gold bars on the counter.
"No bother at all! What luck—I'm heading to the Re-Estize capital myself to watch the royal wedding. Let's go together!" Joseph beamed, his wrinkles bunching up as his whole face split into a massive, flower-like grin.
He stared hungrily at the gleaming gold bars, spread his arms wide, and pulled them into a crushing hug like they were his most beloved lover.
"All mine," he licked his lips, eyes burning with raw greed.
Under the irresistible power of coin, everything was settled in no time. The Last Defender of the Way adventuring party made their way to the central teleportation hub and teleported straight to the capital of Re-Estize.
Joseph went along with them too. After all, E-Rantel used to belong to Re-Estize, so he had a soft spot for the royal family—especially now, for the wedding of the first queen in Re-Estize's history. His excitement was through the roof.
...
Re-Estize, the capital.
The masked EeDechi stepped out of the teleportation circle and stretched lazily. The masked Barrett and Franco stood off to one side while Cheeko scampered around at their feet.
The whole city was decked out for celebration. Everywhere hung colorful banners, bright lanterns, and spinning paper pinwheels fluttering in the breeze.
The capital had thrown itself into wedding preparations for Queen Renner and her fiancé Climb. Every detail of the massive event was being readied on a scale that rivaled the old king's coronation. All of Re-Estize was in a nationwide frenzy of joy.
People filled the streets with smiles on every face. Vendors wearing sashes handed out candy, kids bounced and cheered, and street musicians played lively tunes that mixed with bursts of loud laughter.
The festive spirit of the queen's wedding shone from every face, wrapping the entire city in a bright pink glow of celebration.
"It's really lively," EeDechi said, squeezing through the bustling crowd, clearly impressed.
"Got to admit, Princess Renner really had the people's hearts. Well, guess it's Queen Renner now," Barrett said.
"Let's find an inn first."
On the packed main streets, plenty of shops and taverns were running discounts.
"Celebrating Her Majesty Queen Renner's grand wedding—70% off all week!"
"Congratulations to Her Majesty the Queen and the brave warrior Climb on their lifelong union! May you grow old together hand in hand—50% off today and tomorrow!"
Signs and banners like these were everywhere. Barrett picked out an inn, ducked inside, and they got down to planning their next move.
They had spent a lot of time in the royal palace here before, so Barrett still had the layout memorized. He stopped by the adventurer guild to pick up some fresh intel and managed to get his hands on a detailed map of the royal residences.
At the same time, Barrett learned that Re-Estize had rolled out a medical insurance fund for adventurers. Old Tony's old dream had finally come true.
Because Queen Renner was playing the "close-to-the-people" card hard, she hadn't expanded the palace at all. Everything stayed exactly as it was. She had even cut back on some of the lavish spending and placed no restrictions on what the public could say. All kinds of half-true, half-false rumors about the royal family were swirling around, so pinpointing exactly which royal bedchamber Queen Renner was using turned out to be easy.
As for the royal family's security—even if Nazarick might be lending a hand—it might as well not exist to EeDechi. The battle plan came together without any trouble.
"How are you planning to deal with Renner?" Barrett asked EeDechi.
"Haven't figured it out yet," EeDechi answered honestly.
"If it were me, I'd kill her for sure," Barrett said. "I won't be going with you. I'm heading off to resurrect Old Tony."
Cheeko suddenly meowed, as if she had something to say.
Barrett pulled out paper, a quill, and ink. He spread the paper flat and handed the quill to Cheeko.
Cheeko clamped the quill in its mouth, dipped it in the ink, and wrote: {Can I go resurrect my old little master? I really miss her.}
Cheeko's former master had been the young daughter of a local lord. The lord's territory wasn't too far from the capital. His little girl had come down with a strange curse called "Death's Kiss." She wasted away day by day until she finally died.
After trying every cure he could think of with no success, the lord decided Cheeko was responsible for his daughter's death and hunted it relentlessly. That was how Cheeko had ended up as EeDechi and the others' companion, leaving that place behind.
"Of course, no problem," EeDechi said without hesitation, pulling out a small copper can. "We'll go resurrect her right away—as long as you remember what she looks like."
"Oh! So this fat cat's finally leaving us?" Franco exclaimed in happy surprise.
"How could that—" EeDechi started to argue, but her voice faded. She realized Cheeko really might go back to her little master.
Cheeko lowered her head and stayed silent, saying nothing on the paper.
EeDechi crouched down and rubbed its little head. "Come on, let's go resurrect her."
They pushed hard day and night, racing along the road for several days until they finally reached the lord's castle.
Barrett carried a bulging cloth sack that held Cheeko and a small copper can. He and Franco went to talk their way past the soldiers guarding the gates.
EeDechi waited in the carriage outside. She stared out the window at the rolling hills and mountains, a faint shadow of sadness in her eyes and a tangle of emotions in her chest. Honestly, after traveling together for so long, it was impossible not to feel attached to Cheeko. But if the cat wanted to resurrect its old master, EeDechi wasn't about to stop it.
EeDechi waited patiently for half a day. Finally, Barrett and Franco walked out of the castle and headed straight for the carriage.
EeDechi looked over and noticed the cloth sack in Barrett's hand was empty. No familiar sky-blue little figure trotted at their feet either.
"Did you manage to resurrect the kid?" EeDechi asked.
"Success," Barrett said. "Ever since Cheeko swallowed that World Item, it has been able to channel magic power. It pictured the little girl's face, and just like that, the girl came back to life. The lord and his whole family were over the moon and apologized to Cheeko as if they had lost their minds."
"I see," EeDechi nodded gently. "That's good."
She made a point of not saying she'd miss the cat, but the downcast look on her face was impossible to hide.
"Captain," Franco pulled open his oversized mage robe and gave a little grunt. "Surprise."
A blue ball of shadow leaped out from inside the robe and dove straight into EeDechi's arms—it was Cheeko. The round, chubby cat rolled happily in its lap, rubbing its head against EeDechi with everything it had.
EeDechi couldn't help breaking into a smile.
"That resurrected little girl still carries the 'Death's Kiss' curse," Barrett said. "She's alive now, but she won't have many years left. So Cheeko wants to keep traveling with us. Maybe someday we'll find a way to break the curse for good."
The three of them and one cat climbed back into the carriage, set off down the road once more, and headed back to the capital to finish their unfinished revenge.