At the outskirts of Nazarick's forest, three carriages slowly came to a stop.
They were lavishly appointed, and the beasts pulling them were not ordinary horses, but eight-legged magical creatures known as Sleipnir steeds.
The carriage in the middle was a pale gold color. It was the Bloody Emperor's personal carriage.
After Sebas left, the Bloody Emperor had turned the matter over in his mind again and again.
He had considered throwing the full weight of the nation into a direct war against them.
He had also considered pretending to agree, smiling and playing along with that so-called Supreme One on the surface, while secretly hiring adamantite adventurers and coordinating with his own men to carry out a decapitation plan.
He had even thought seriously about a certain name.
The adamantite adventurer team "Ainz Ooal Gown," said in Kingdom rumors to have wiped out the Eight Fingers and driven back the Demon Gods.
In the end, he abandoned all of it.
Instead, he chose to conceal his movements and quietly came here with only a handful of trusted people.
As emperor, he could not gamble.
He could not stake the safety of the Empire on a reckless bet.
The carriage door opened slowly. The Bloody Emperor and Fluder stepped down amid their guards.
Close behind them came two of the Four Knights, [Lightning Bolt] and [Fierce Gale].
To prevent anything unexpected from happening in the Empire, the Bloody Emperor had not brought all Four Knights, only these two.
Baziwood Peshmel, the one known as [Lightning Bolt].
Nimble Arc Dale Anoch, the one known as [Fierce Gale].
Compared to the other two, [Heavy Explosion] and [The Unassailable], the Bloody Emperor clearly trusted [Lightning Bolt] and [Fierce Gale] more.
[Heavy Explosion]'s full name was Leinas Rockbruise, with blonde hair and green eyes.
Despite carrying the title of one of the Four Imperial Knights, the Bloody Emperor understood very well that she had no loyalty to the Empire.
That woman understood the meaning of self-preservation and "safety first" far too well.
That was why the Bloody Emperor deliberately did not bring her this time.
If a conflict broke out, she truly might abandon them and run.
Worse, she might even switch sides on the spot.
As for [The Unassailable], he was loyal, and his defensive ability was the strongest among the Four Imperial Knights, but when he considered his personality…
Forget it. Better to have him remain behind with [Heavy Explosion] to guard the Empire.
As the four of them disembarked, a dense forest spread out before them.
"So this is that forest of monsters?"
Staring at the forest, the Bloody Emperor remained dazed for a long moment.
Who could have imagined it?
This ordinary-looking forest had wiped out the Theocracy's former Black Scripture, and now even he had been dragged into the aftermath.
"We have been expecting you, Emperor of the Human Empire: Jircniv Rune Farlord El-Nix."
A cool, crisp voice came from within the forest, instantly drawing the attention of the Bloody Emperor and his entourage.
Three figures slowly approached.
"I am Narberal, appointed by the Supreme One to receive you… guests. The two behind me are my assistants."
"For the time you will be here, please take care of us."
Remembering the Supreme One's instructions, Nabe forcibly suppressed the urge to call them insects.
Behind her, the red-haired Lupusregina watched the group with a cheerful smile.
CZ remained expressionless as always, giving a small nod as greeting.
Seeing the three of them in maid uniforms, even the Bloody Emperor froze for a brief moment.
Fluder, however, practically had light in his eyes as he stared at them.
Do not misunderstand. It was not lust.
Fluder's attention was not on the three themselves, but entirely on their equipment, specifically those maid uniforms.
"Magic items… they're all magic items…"
Fluder looked dazed. Under his magic detection, the maid outfits were giving off multicolored light.
The Bloody Emperor snapped back to himself. Hearing that, his expression grew heavier.
If what the old man said was true, then this indirectly proved that the other side's wealth and strength far surpassed the Empire's.
It seemed the two carriages behind them would be useless.
Wealth?
Beautiful women?
They clearly did not lack either. Before he had even met the one truly in charge, two bargaining chips had already been rendered meaningless, and that made the Bloody Emperor's head ache.
"Was this deliberate?" he thought.
To him, sending these three maids was a calculated warning: a quiet display of power and riches, meant to crush their momentum before negotiations even began.
"Such deep scheming…"
After piecing everything together, the Bloody Emperor could not help but sigh inwardly.
But when he raised his head again, his face already wore a completely natural smile, one that showed no trace of falseness.
"You have my thanks, all three of you. To have such beautiful ladies come out to greet us, I sincerely express my gratitude to the Supreme One whom I have not yet had the honor of meeting."
"If you do not mind, you may call me Jirc. I hope we can get along well from here on."
As an emperor, the ability to produce a flawless polite smile was a required skill, something ingrained into his very bones.
It was not narcissism. The Bloody Emperor firmly believed that no woman could remain completely unmoved in front of him.
But to his disappointment, the maids named Narberal and CZ remained expressionless, showing no reaction at all.
Especially the maid called Narberal. The way she looked at him, as if he were some insignificant insect, made him deeply uncomfortable.
Just then, Lupusregina, who had been smiling cheerfully the entire time, suddenly stepped forward.
"Of course that's fine! From now on I'll call you 'Jirc~', and you can just call me Lupus."
Lupusregina casually slapped the Bloody Emperor on the shoulder, instantly easing the slightly awkward atmosphere.
"I'm glad to hear that."
"So then, may I ask where the… Supreme One who invited me is?"
The Bloody Emperor let out a quiet breath of relief before asking.
"Jirc~, the Supreme One allows you to call him by his name. You can just call him Momonga-sama."
Lupusregina said this with a cheerful smile.
"Momonga…"
"But why does that name sound so familiar?"
"Wait… wasn't there a magic caster in the adamantite adventurer team [Ainz Ooal Gown] who also went by the name Momonga? The one known as the [Sevenfold Magic Caster]?"
(The origin of that title came from E-Rantel, where a Doppelgänger disguised as Momonga summoned the seven elemental spirits to fight against the undead, earning the nickname.)
The Bloody Emperor's thoughts immediately began racing.
Could those two… be related somehow?
Before he could finish the thought, Nabe cut him off.
"Let's go. Momonga-sama has been waiting for quite some time."
"Oh, and please stay close to us. Some of our companions are easily agitated. If one of you gets eaten by accident, that would reflect poorly on us."
After walking a few steps, Nabe suddenly seemed to remember something and turned around to remind them.
After all, the one Momonga-sama had specifically asked to see was the Bloody Emperor.
His subordinates were not part of that request.
Still, considering the Supreme One's careful planning, Nabe decided it would be best if nobody died along the way.
"Seriously, Nabe, you're no fun at all!"
Lupusregina puffed out her cheeks. She had been looking forward to seeing the desperate expressions on their faces if someone got eaten.
Hearing this, the Bloody Emperor's face stiffened, and the smile he had been maintaining twitched slightly.
He quietly took half a step back, politely creating a bit of distance between them.
This maid is not right.
"Please rest assured, Narberal-dono. We will stay close to you!"
...
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