King Of Heroes (231) (Patreon)

As Ozymandias’ barque had arrived closer to the City, Ainz and the Servants could not only notice some details about the city, but also see the facial expressions of the people standing on its walls. Guards most likely.

Contrary to Ainz's assumption, who had expected to see Ozymandias just blasting the defenses, as he flew over the walls, probably while declaring that no one could bar a Pharaoh’s way. The barque suddenly slowed down before coming to a halt just outside the city walls. The lack of the outbreak of violence, allowed Ainz to get a closer look at the people standing on the walls and at the walls themselves.

It wasn't that Ainz was well versed in architecture, nor could he tell anything about the walls other than that they looked sturdy. No, his attention was instead taken in by the strange structures placed at regular intervals all along the walls, they looked like obelisks? So maybe they serve some kind of religious significance… But Ainz couldn’t shake the feeling that they looked like cannons for some reason, probably from the period movie he had watched in the past, the obelisks were placed in positions similar to cannons.

There were a fair number of out of place technological devices in YGGDRASIL, some easily fit the magical setting like golems, but some are just the Developers’ badly hidden hobbies like automatons or Mechanized Armor. But, even the most egregious of them were techno-magical inventions built through magic and enchanted artifacts, so at least his sense of incredulity was sated somewhat, no matter if these details matched the world around him or not.

So, the possibility that the Obelisks were actually cannons… The possibility did exist, and he prepared some defensive spells just in case.

But the fact that Ainz might encounter something like this in the new world, Ainz had never even considered. Despite the fact that he had been to Okeanos and even London, it was too strange for him to think about artillery when being surrounded by the ancient world around him.

Magic, he could just blame magic, that seemed to be a safe avenue to take.

In any case, Ainz couldn't ponder the subject for too long, as a confrontation seems to be already brewing. Even if, contrary to his expectations, Ozymandias hadn’t just barged in on the guarded city, the look on the people of the wall did not bode well for a peaceful resolution.

The confused looks the men below gave the flying barque only intensified before turning to surprise, when Ozymandias rose from his seat, and strolled to the bow of the barque, allowing the men below to see him. At least ‘surprised’ is a much better expression?

“To think that the unheard-of impudent has dared to become the last king of this doomed world! Rejoice, for you are fortunate to have a monarch as capable as he, and only a little less fortunate than if I were your monarch! But that is neither here nor there. Indeed, tell your king that he has been honored by the presence of Ozymandias the Great himself!" Ozymandias' voice was not only loud, but almost joyous, at least, the most joyous Ainz had ever heard him speak to the guards on the parapet.

"May your king raise a feast in honor of the Pharaoh's arrival!”

It still sounds nonsensical, though, is Ozymandias praising the king ruling over this city or is he praising himself? Ainz wasn’t completely sure.

But, it seems that Ozymandias’ boisterous boasting was not only heard by the people on the walls.

“Hmmph, such insolence, as one would expect from you, to not greet the Pharaoh…” Ozymandias sounded annoyed, clearly offended that his surprise visit was not entertained by parades, or the king.

And yet, is Ainz mistaken or could he really hear joy in his voice?

“‘Almost as lucky as if you were my subjects’. I think that's the closest thing Ozymandias could ever come to a sincere compliment in his life.” Jacques' snide remark was ignored by Ozymandias, entirely, but Ainz had to agree with her observation, though the fact that Ozymandias could entertain jokes now was a good sign.

Indeed, Ainz was already too set on Ozymandias' long rehabilitation for him to start at least minimally interacting with the people around him. And from that, watching his practically friendly words to the unknown king was even a bit strange for Ainz.

Not in a bad way, but strange nonetheless.

However, Ainz did not dwell on this thought for too long, glancing at the guards who only glanced at each other, shrugging their shoulders. Again, they looked more surprised than frightened or amazed by Ozymandias' actions, and then one of them quickly ran down the stairs, apparently really wanting to pass the information to their king. Thus, making Ainz wonder if such events in this city were normal for them.

Ozymandias, however, did not bother explaining his actions or even react to the guards' prompt if strange actions. Instead, turning around, he simply sat back on his throne again, paying Mashu, Alturia, and Ainz own incredulous stares no mind. Ozymandias steered his barque forward, slowly and regally passing over the walls of the city, like a king visiting a peer.

Which, well, Ainz suppose Ozymandias was doing.

Passing the walls' boundaries, Ainz felt, almost physically, as a feeling of passing through a film of  water, it felt like static electricity. Ainz even had to restrain himself from immediately attacking in response to the unknown sensation.

A glance informed Ainz that all of his Servants also felt a similar sensation, with Angrboda showing an annoyed expression which is nothing good, a patronizing grin from Ozymandias, and confusion on Alturia's?

During the whole time he had been talking to her, Ainz had noticed that Alturia's state of mind wasn’t exactly what could be called optimal, ‘confused’, perhaps even ‘lost’ were the words that best described her. She showed no significant personality traits up to this moment, except for her willingness to give her spear to Ainz, equal to her unwillingness to do so knowing that she would lose it for good. But nothing else. She hadn’t expressed any lies or even dislikes, as she had put her all into being the Goddess of Camelot, being lost without that cold comfort of a predetermined role.

Alturia hadn’t left her room even once, which was concerning when the other Arthurs, even the one from YGGDRASIL, had shown great appetite, and yet Alturia hadn’t even visited the cafeteria once. And so, seeing the display of emotion on her usually calm and emotionless face, even if it was to express confusion, caused Ainz to move a little closer and raise an interested gaze at her.

Alturia, noticing Ainz's attention, only frowned a little, before spreading her hands and gesturing at the city below them. “This city is… Protected? Like Camelot. Like my Camelot.”

Such words made Ainz's eyes widen in surprise. Ainz was not that much familiar with the ex-Goddess’ castle until their battle, and even he could tell that the walls of Camelot are strong. After all, had they not centered their tactic on first destroying the walls, the battle would have been fifty-fifty at best. And Camelot’s walls had been able to withstand multiple Anti-Fortress Noble Phantasms – as one would expect of a city governed by a Divine Spirit.

“So this city is under the protection of the Gods?” Ainz wondered aloud the prospect of meeting yet another god, an intriguing yet equally dangerous prospect. Alturia however neither confirmed nor denied Ainz’s conjecture, expanding her senses, she only became even more confused.

“Yes… And no?” As if not quite sure how the former Divine Spirit could explain it to Ainz, she looked at the obelisk on the walls, as if she could use them to explain what she was sensing.

“This city is definitely supported by some Divine Spirit, but that has nothing to do with the protection of the city… But no, the Spirit was not responsible for this feeling of sturdiness and protection. No, this city… It feels as if this entire city is one entire Noble Phantasm? And yet, it’s not. It’s a feeling that is quite hard to explain.”

Alturia furrowed her eyebrows as she opened and closed her mouth several times as if the words were just at the tip of her tongue, but it kept escaping her. Seeing this Ainz simply nodded to Alturia as if he understood even if he couldn't fully understand what she was saying, not wanting to overload one of his trump cards’ mind, before even meeting the unknown king.

A Noble Phantasm-not-Phantasm, which at the same time was not created by a Divine Spirit, although a Divine Spirit was also present in this equation… That must be quite rare right? He could never imagine a World Class Item the size of an entire city. Maybe he could find some way to ask for it as his reward?

“Don't worry, I’m sure the answer will become apparent when we’ll meet the king.” Ainz gave some vague reassurance, before making his way to the side of Ozymandias' barque, which had now slowed down appreciably. While it did allow Ainz to actually appreciate the view rather than the blurs when the barque was flying at its top speed, it is quite weird why Ozymandias decided to slow down… Some kind of kingly gesture?

Slowly the barque made its way to the large structure in the middle of the city, to what Ainz assumed was the palace where the king of the city resided. The slow flight and low elevation did allow Ainz to take in the details of the buildings and what they are.

The first thing he noticed was that,

The city, whose name Ainz unfortunately did not know, gave the impression of a true architectural marvel, a credit to the city’s planners. A city with a perfect layout was an extremely difficult task in all times, even in his time when Mega-corporations had the ability to just bulldoze any obstacles in their way. But to do so in ancient times? Where simple topography or the nature of the society meant that each ruler needed to draw on a great deal of talent as best they could. Or be content remaining the ruler of a smattering of tiny settlements, united together only nominally.

But, even with magic as some kind of catch-all explanation, aren’t the city’s amenities way too ahead of their time!? Looking at one of the buildings, Ainz spotted a flower store. Do people of the past even have the leeway to focus on selling flowers? Looking at another building, he spotted a plaza with entertainment, which okay might be a lot feasible… he really couldn’t explain how a shopping center was here though!

Yes, the buildings were all made with either stone, sandstone or wood, there were no steel and glass skyscrapers like in his own time, but at the same time the city gave the impression of a modern metropolis. It was like an entire modern city cosplaying an ancient civilization!

“Why is it so… Peaceful here?” Mashu's voice caught Ainz's attention, causing him to look down at the people walking down there, trying to determine if what Mashu said was correct. It didn’t take long nor a particularly hard look before Ainz had to admit that Mashu was indeed right.

Seeing that the walls were not off limits, and the gates were open for the civilians to pass through, it would be very hard to hide the evil looking black sea churning in the distance. In fact, such a thing would be very apparent to every inhabitant of the city. And Ainz could not imagine the carefree looking people below were so suppressed by their King that they would hide their worry or fear.

He was quite familiar with what that looks like, to have people in power forcing something obvious to be kept secret.

Every person in this city knew that the rest of the world, or at least what might appear to them to be, had been swallowed by the black sea. The black sea that was now only stopped from swallowing them by the walls around the kingdom.

And yet there was no panic or despair on the faces of the people below. They moved calmly through the streets, socializing with each other. He could see the children happily playing through the streets, paying no attention to the adults who were busy snacking or chatting as they rested on benches. It was an idyllic picture of the quiet, measured life of a happy people, not a state on the verge of destruction.

Moreover, Ainz was surprised to notice that hardly any of the people moving through the streets going about their business even paid attention to the hovering barque of Ozymandias in the sky.

Even in the Fuyuki Singularity, a relatively modern time, where airplanes or high-speed trains were normal, it would be hard to find a person that would not glance at the airplane flying in the sky or a passing train. Such was the nature of people… If there were people left in that Singularity anyway.

Such objects were familiar to them, yet at the same time, it was still something worthy of notice.

In this ancient world, having anything hovering in the sky large enough to actually create shade, should be something out of the world. Perhaps for the people busy working it could be expected, but what about the people that don't have anything to do?

Resting shopkeepers and even curious children, none noticed Ozymandias’ barque, as if such a thing was not just ordinary for them, but completely uninteresting, as natural as the movement of clouds in the sky.

“If they have time to rest, they have time to train. Why don't they try to train, then? Have they already accepted their doom from the encroaching the black sea? Hmph, no matter how many times I observe the weak that don't try to find strength in themselves, I feel only pity and contempt.” Arthur said slowly with some measure of menace, looking at the moving people with a disapproving frown between her eyebrows.

Ainz glanced at Arthur, unsure on how to react, was Arthur always like this even in YGGDRASIL?

Being a character associated with the in-game humanoid races, Ainz had never interacted with Arthur in YGGDRASIL much, or even inquired about her character outside of battle strategies. The only measure of knowledge he had of the character were the snippets of conversation he heard through quest dialogues, so he was completely unaware of how she felt about the current situation.

And similarly, he couldn't even speculate on her reaction to such a Singularity. Such information was new to Ainz, and so he memorized it for the future, before just nodding to Arthur in lieu of an answer and moving away from the side of Ozymandias' barque. To take a closer look at the approaching palace walls, that would be his reason, and not because he wanted to escape a potentially awkward conversation with Arthur.

Ozymandias, however, did not stop again, leaving the palace guards standing on top of the walls, escorting his ship with disapproving glances. Slowly the barque was lowering, as Ozymandias smirked at the figure that he clearly expected to see at this moment, perhaps even hoped to see,-

“You, King of Heroes! Rejoice, for the Pharaoh of Pharaohs himself has decided to honor you with his presence!”

“Hmm, the golden boy has decided to learn how great is the hospitality of the King of Kings is?! You dare to defy me, Ozymandias?! Honorably, this great King of Kings accepts your challenge!” Ainz could barely make out the figure of the speaker, but his rumbling voice seemed to echo across the world and reverberate from the sky, coming back down to earth once again. A nervous sweat began to gather on his brows as a calamitous possibility suddenly began to appear.

“Siduri, I demand the greatest feast, worthy of Gilgamesh himself and the petitioners who have come to his table! It is not proper for a king to show his hospitality with less than the best of the finest wines and viands. Open my Treasury!”

With his shouting, Ainz was pretty sure that that was the king. Even from the distance from which the king spoke/shouted where he seemed no more than a small ant, his gait alone seemed to make him ten times larger than he really was. With his shoulders squared, and his chin held high he looked like a living statue to himself, not so much moving about his palace as turning the world with every step to get where the man wanted him to be.

Arrogance and unmatched pride, just looking at his stride, Ainz could already gather that much.

The man's short golden hair glistened, shimmering in the light, covered by a small turban that Ainz had seen in the past among some desert nomads NPCs in YGGDRASIL. The vest he wore, emphasizing his prominent muscles, and loose pants made it seem as if the approaching man was at once a sage, a star of bare-knuckle fighting, an amiable boss, and the most powerful man in the world.

His presence alone made him bigger than the entire palace around him.

Despite the unmasked arrogance, Ainz couldn’t really say he disliked the guy, even with his great blister. Ainz could even say that the King, what did he call himself, Gilgamesh? Gilgamesh, was even displaying some charisma with his bombastic greeting.

And yet, at the same time, Ainz couldn't really say that the actions endeared him either. Ainz had always been bad with people projecting their power around them, see, his first interaction with Ozymandias. Gilgamesh, however, seemed to manage to do it in a way that, for now, Ainz wasn't going to consider it a negative trait, kings are supposed to be showy anyway.

Ozymandias, in an action that is against the rules of etiquette, which the Pharaoh pretty much demanded out of anyone else as a matter of fact and perhaps even a law of nature, simply stepped down from his barque. Which meant plunging the meters of air between the walls and the floating barque, which came to a surprise to Ainz. He was expecting that Ozymandias would demand a stair be constructed or demand the king meet him on his barque, basically demanding the other king to fly up to meet him.

If the other person couldn’t fly? Well too bad, better grow some wings quickly unless you want to insult the Pharaoh and receive your punishment. Which is death, of course.

Landing on the walls softly, Ozymandias began walking towards Gilgamesh, in a much quicker step than a ruler should, even when about to meet another monarch. It seems that even if Ozymandias, as demanding of a ruler as he is, could not hide his excitement over meeting, what Ainz had quickly found out was his friend.

Standing in front of the foreign King, Ozymandias joined hands with him in a firm handshake, as he rolled his face to the sky and started laughing with all his might. “Come on, King of Uruk, do try to surprise the greatest Pharaoh and propitiate him with your gifts!”

“Even the golden child of the sun must have a sense of self-preservation, Ozymandias! For insulting the food of the King of Heroes himself, I will have you flogged with a hundred lashes and hung by your feet over the gates of my palace!” After these words, spoken without a single crumb of malice, Gilgamesh laughed at the top of his voice, joining the uproarious laughter of Ozymandias as he shook his hand.

It left Ainz wondering about the relationship between the two Servants, who looked both like the closest of friends and the most bitter of enemies. Vacillating between the desire to embrace each other with the full force of their strong muscles and to slaughter each other in an honorable duel. However, if Ainz had some understanding of Ozymandias, Ainz had no idea who Gilgamesh was, apart from being a king with a high personal charisma.

“That’s Gilgamesh! The King of Heroes, the first hero of all mankind!” Fortunately, the faithful Mashu was next to Ainz and hurried to quickly fill this gap in Ainz's knowledge, even without her knowing.

“It is said that since his birth, mankind has not created a hero stronger than him, the first legend among all… In his reign, Uruk became the greatest kingdom in the world, and his treasury overflowed with all the riches of the world that he conquered after subjugating the entire world. It is said that all the Noble Phantasms in the world sprang from his treasury…”

Hearing such words, Ainz immediately had to stop himself from just initiating his own Noble Phantasm, ‘The Goal Of All Life Is Death’… It was a very trying battle, even harder than his fight with Salmon, even when the target of the Noble Phantasm looked to be an ally.

It was not that Ainz was overly Greedy, okay he was, but he was not the kind of person to stab a friend in the back for getting the loot or gacha roll that he really wanted. A standing that was tested many times with his unfairly lucky guild mates. Nor was he secretly actually an enemy of mankind, a traitor that was actually planning the doom of mankind, no matter how he role-plays in YGGDRASIL.

But any Player who, hearing the words ‘infinite treasury’ and ‘all the artifacts in the world’, and did not think about how they could get their hands on them, did not deserve to be called a real Player.

Even if it was just a minute, distracted thought, at the very least Ainz had to allow the thought of getting his hands on such ‘infinite treasures’ for a second. Otherwise, he simply couldn't call himself a true Player as well, willing to go broke for any unique loot in a gacha, a certain ring came to mind. Considering Ainz's passion for collecting, Ainz's gaze instantly took on a dangerous note, as for the sake of getting such 'infinite treasures' under his control…

Perhaps, the effect of a Super Tier Magic wouldn't be so dangerous if it was used for such a noble cause? Maybe even a Noble Phantasm?

“A child refusing to be my child in order to be human… Such cruel words had hurt me greatly. I wish I could say that that was just a ‘phase’ of growing up, but looking at him now, I can only say that it is not a ‘phase’ but a malicious delusion.” Angrboda's words, however, were rather disinterested. It seems that even the greatest of men had little interest in them, for the mother of monsters.

Moreover, her expression conveyed her bleak attitude at Gilgamesh's figure, which had shifted away from him as if she no longer wished to look at the man before suddenly pausing.

“Who is that ant besides him?”

Ainz blinked at Angrboda's words, he hadn’t actually noticed anyone standing beside Gilgamesh. Really, that man’s presence was simply overwhelming, even the city behind him seemed dim and transparent when placed besides that man. So, it was no surprise for Ainz to miss someone that actually preferred to not stand out, to only stand at the periphery.

It was quite difficult to determine her age and appearance, and not just because of the great distance separating them, the girl was quite covered. The girl had some kind of head covering, a shawl of some kind? In addition to a veil that hides the lower portion of her face. But from what Ainz could see, she was a rather young girl of Arabian appearance with a skin color like coffee latte, wearing an outfit straight out of Arabian Nights.

But, even from the bare few glimpses of her face her concealing clothes gave, Ainz could see that she was a great beauty. It’s quite possible that she was… Well, it was not any of his business.

In any case, Ainz did not ponder on the subject for too long, jumping down from the barque following Ozymandias’ lead. As the Master, he represented the official head of Chaldea, and so he wanted to understand both the conditions of the Singularity and, probably, to offer help in resolving it to Gilgamesh.

However, as he came close to Gilgamesh, who had already unclasped his hands with Ozymandias, Ainz could not easily find a moment to cut into their conversation, not wanting to look impolite. Before he could think of a way to do so, the King, Gilgamesh, turned around and addressed the girl.

“Siduri, ten golden lambs marinated in my most perfect wine, baked in Odrerir! Yes, the ones from which the fleece was created! Ten, no, a hundred barrels of Ninkasi's finest ale! May the Sunny Boy choke on my hospitality!”

“I beg your pardon…” Ainz tried to raise his voice, but Gilgamesh paid no attention to the words that tried to interrupt him, continuing to list one dish after another, of what would probably be worthy of even a list of food from YGGDRASIL. They’re just as weird sounding, at least.

“No less than six courses, and that's just the hot dishes! At least twenty, no, forty kinds of Uruk's finest sweets, let this overtly luminant king see the triumph of my great civilization and choke on the sweetness!”

“Ha-ha-ha, what pathetic baseness, trying to bribe the Pharaoh of Pharaoh with food? Gilgamesh, your fall from the pedestal of great kings has never before been so clear, but I, as a great Pharaoh, will let you grace me with a feast. After all, a great king must be merciful to the lesser kings of outmoded civilizations!” Ozymandias, also completely paying no heed to Ainz's presence, continued to maintain a surprisingly warm and friendly interaction with Gilgamesh, chuckling approvingly, causing Ainz's head to gradually begin to spin with dissonance.

Are they enemies? Are they friends? Are they enemies who could have been friends? Are they friends who should have been enemies? Are they rivals? Ainz had absolutely no way of defining the relationship between them!

“Hmm, yes, and let a hundred of Uruk's finest dancers delight my eyes, so be it, I'll let the sun child enjoy such a delectable treat at the same time as me!”

Having spoken on what seemed to be three hundred sheets of demands for the apparently forthcoming celebration, Gilgamesh finally turned to Ozymandias. He barely nodded at him before finally turning his gaze to Ainz, grinning like the most contented cat in the entire world.

“What reason have you come to your king…?”

Gilgamesh's gaze paused on Ainz for a moment, pausing half a word, as one of his eyebrows raised. His eyes searched Ainz from all sides for a single moment, before he broke out into a laugh once again, throwing his head up.

“Delightful indeed! Commoner, that you dare to hide yourself from my gaze and confuse my perfect mind, clouding my perfect wisdom, my mood is so splendid that I will allow you to keep such an obscenity in the presence of your king! However, I command you to tell me who you are!”

Despite his rather forceful demands, he hadn’t stopped laughing, or looking in any way other than merry as he addressed his ‘friend’ once again.

“Hmm, Ozymandias, have you arrived with your servants at my palace? How unfortunate to disappoint you, then, that my loyal followers will be superior in every way to your chosen servants, as befits the greatest king of all time!”

For a moment Ainz was confused, had his spells failed, how did Gilgamesh easily ascertain his status as a Servant, before he finally understood what the king had meant. At once, his positive view of the king fell down a notch.

Charisma and personal presence had its limits, especially when someone possessing that charisma started insulting you, insinuating that you are the servant of your own Servant… Not that Ozymandias was his servant, even when being his Servant. Okay, this might cause some confusion!

“No.” Ozymandias, however, having earned a few more notches on Ainz's good person scale, dismissed Gilgamesh's words, as a cheeky grin appeared on his face, clearly enjoying the fact that his friend-enemy was wrong.

“It seems that even the famous wisdom of the King of Heroes is not omnipotent, like this time! This is Ainz, my…”

Ozymandias hesitated for a moment, as if searching for the appropriate word, before squinting his eyes slyly, allowing a slight spark of madness and mockery to rise to the surface of his gaze, and laughing loudly. “That's my Master! Indeed. Why not consider him my Master!”

The last remark that Ozymandias ‘might consider’ him his Master took a couple of points off the relationship meter, but given Ozymandias' character, then perhaps Ainz shouldn't have expected anything else from him.

Gilgamesh, on the other hand, upon hearing these words, raised one eyebrow in a theatrical gesture for a moment before laughing once more, making Ainz wonder if Gilgamesh knew how to communicate humanly without laughing loudly all the time. Taking another look at Ainz he nodded several times as if to simultaneously non-verbally and loudly confirm Ozymandias' words.

“I see, I see, I see, so you dare to throw the gauntlet of challenge at the greatest king! Good, dignified, in that case you, Ainz! I'll let you speak to me as if you've managed to approach the perfect form of this King of Heroes!”

Ainz frowned, unsure if he was just insulted or not. Well, seeing that whatever view the king has on him, Gilgamesh now seems calm enough to listen to him.

So, like he always did, Ainz would start with speaking calmly and politely, even if, at the moment, his assessment of Gilgamesh was hesitantly wavering, ready to fall below 'ally'. And not just because he wanted to see if the King’s ‘infinite’ treasures were literal or not!

“Kehem, good afternoon, Your Majesty. We have come most likely as a possible and probable help for you in the current circumstances… If you will only tell us what exactly your situation is and what is the reason for the black tar sea covering the whole land up to the horizon…” Ainz stopped talking as Gilgamesh had raised his hand, signaling Ainz to stop speaking.

“As a magnanimous King, I would not punish you for insinuating that I, Gilgamesh himself, the Greatest King of Kings, needed any help. But as the sunny boy decided to throw down the gauntlet to me, well, I had accepted his challenge, and will speak to you as an equal. But only as long as you remember that we are not equal.” Gilgamesh hummed, causing Ainz to start leaning on a negative assessment of the King.

He was indeed charismatic, but Ainz was definitely not a masochist, enjoying the constant put downs from the king. Especially after he had saved humanity several times and resolved six Singularities!

Kehem, not that Ainz would suddenly start proclaiming his achievements, like a blowhard. But just a bit of respect goes a long way!

Despite Ainz’s misgivings, Gilgamesh continued talking, at least sharing the information that Ainz had asked for.

“The conditions around here are exactly as I predicted when I built the great walls around the last cities of humanity and my Uruk. The endless black sea, that formless mud created by Tiamat, Lady of the Primordial Sea, swallowed the entire world at the moment of her awakening, devouring humanity outside these walls. As for the humanity inside the walls… As you had seen when you traveled to my great palace, it resides in health.”

Mentioning Tiamat made Ainz exhale, another familiar name to him, and it greatly worried him, as it is the name of one of the World Enemies, the Eight Dragons. Of course, his first encounter with another who bears the name of one of the World Enemies, Fafnir, had turned out to be a rather resounding letdown for Ainz. But, judging by the fact that the Tiamat of this world was able to actually destroy humanity outside of Gilgamesh's control, the level of danger she represents was at least much higher than Fafnir's.

Only the Divine Spirit, Alturia, and the Demon Kings had achieved similar results in the past, which in turn meant that Tiamat was at least as good as a deity in this world.

Gilgamesh, however, did not stop his story there.

“Every day, hundreds of thousands of monsters spawned by the endless sea of Tiamat attack the walls of humanity's last refuge and are repulsed. My mind, as well as my spendthrifts, my generals on the walls, are able to repel them time after time, even though they return again each day…” Gilgamesh thought for a moment, then suddenly turned away, without throwing a second glance at Ainz and Ozymandias, waving his hand towards the lady.

“Ah, I am bored with this conversation. Siduri! Escort the new arrivals to the tongue-tied mage, let him do something useful in my kingdom.”

“Of course, Your Majesty.” Siduri, who had stopped blending into the background when her name was called, turned to Ainz, who was still left whiplashed at being dismissed so abruptly.

Noticing Ainz's still confused look directed at Gilgamesh's rapidly departing back, Siduri smiled at a reaction that she was quite familiar with. “His Majesty makes an impression, doesn't he?”

“Definitely…” Ainz put all the complex feelings he had about the king into that answer, most of which could not be described as positive, before turning to the girl, hoping she would guide him to someone who could answer his questions. Pausing as he heard a disgustingly cheerful voice approaching.

“Who else needs the help of the most trustworthy, the wisest, and most importantly, the most handsome, older brother for all mankind… Eh?”

A moment later, turning his head, Ainz could see the approaching figure of a young man, who instantly froze with one foot in the air for his next step, staring at two particular figures in front of him.

The first word that came to Ainz's mind when looking at the guy was the word ‘white’. Long white disheveled hair, rising in numerous curls, clearly defying any comb, and a long white robe swaying in an invisible and insensible wind. From what the robe didn’t cover, Ainz could see snow-white skin, giving an ethereal weightlessness to the frozen guy's figure, as his piercing blue eyes widened in horror.

“You know, I completely forgot, I had an urgent business to attend to!” Using an excuse that would hardly work even on small children, the young man turned to walk/run away.

He didn't have time to do so before the surrounding walls of the palace were shaken by the thunderous roar of Mashu and Alturia.

“MERLIN!”

Ainz could understand why the young man tried to run away, the two of them didn’t sound pleased at all. In fact, they sound downright murderous.