Understanding (204) (Patreon)

Medb stared into the eyes of the approaching Servant, she was walking with an almost bouncing gait, apparently extremely happy and proud about her accomplishments… However fictitious, they might have been.

Medb wondered if the follower of one of the Buddhas had an actual mind behind her sparkling eyes, but no matter how hard she tried, she could not detect any complex thought.

The girl seemed so sincere in her belief that she had just done the right thing, if not the heroic thing, that she should be commended immediately. Logically speaking, unless she possessed some esoteric ability to bypass Gareth’s immortality, all she just did was give the immortal breathing room to completely recover, not solving the problem in any way. Though Medb could not destroy Gareth with any certain consistency, at least she could keep her in a semi-permanent state of inability to act, neutralizing her until Medb could figure out something more permanent.

But, instead of doing anything useful, the Servant instead chose to throw Gareth a few kilometers away, giving her the opportunity to recover her body in peace and escape. Not only surviving the current encounter with Medb, but also bringing her likely superiors information about her, Nitocris, and Sita.

In other words, the actions of the Servant, whose expression was glittering like polished gold at the moment, might even qualify as sabotage. But, judging by the unabashed proud joy splashing on the Servant's face at the moment, her action was purely out of stupidity and ignorance.

The Servant, who had finally taken the last dozen steps before facing Medb and the other Servants around her, did not catch the Fairy Queen's annoyed gaze. Instead, she began the conversation with a phrase she shouldn't have uttered. “No need to thank me!”

Medb only let out a little exhale through her nose at these words, preparing the deluge of verbal abuse that she would hurl to the idiotic Servant, before Nitocris replied from her side. "Thank you very much!”

Medb could only sigh a little more insistently at her companion’s equal lackingness in the brain department, before she looked away from the Servant who had appeared, looking commiseratingly into Sita's eyes.

Sita only nodded silently a little in response, as if trying to cheer Medb up, conveying the simple idea that Sita understood and shared her sorrows. Something which made Medb shake her head slightly and, after some internal reflection, dismiss the thought of conflict with the new Servant. Much less a follower of Buddhas, these people were a special caste of hardheaded fools, instead focusing her attention on the Assassin Servant, whose rescue had turned into a chance encounter with Gareth.

The Assassin, a girl with ebonite-black skin, long dark purple hair gathered in a high ponytail, and black robes accentuating her rather imposing musculature, was also clearly conscious. And so, realizing after a few seconds of Medb watching her bad acting incredulously, and that her attempt to feign as an unconscious wounded victim had been revealed, slowly opened her eyes, looking at Medb.

For a moment there was a silent staring contest between the two Servants, each Servant seeing who would act first, trying to discern each other’s intention. Before, with a shake of her head, Medb slowly raised her hand, the gesture of attack she had used earlier in her fight with Gareth.

The Servant, correctly recognizing the meaning of the gesture, rose from the sand, shaking herself off of any errant sand, showing her relatively healthy body, if only slightly burned where the fire wave from Sita's blow had reached her. As she stood up, she then rolled her eyes, obviously contemplating exactly what answer she should be giving Medb at this moment.

Interrupting the attempts of the other Servants and Nitocris to start a conversation, the Assassin shook her head in thought for two seconds and began to speak. “Thank you. My name is Hassan ibn Sabbah, Assassin Class, name is Leader.”

At these perhaps too obvious of an identity, Medb digested it for a moment before she nodded. “I saved you.”

The Assassin Servant who introduced herself as Leader frowned slightly, but she nodded, there was no point in her denying the obvious.

“Well," Medb nodded, accepting her quick acceptance as a gesture of goodwill and gratitude from the Assassin. "In that case, I suppose, our… surprise acquaintance and communication can end on that note.”

The Assassin only raised one eyebrow slightly, not that information of a Servant's true name was worthless, but the value of such information was inferior to the value of her life. Considering the fact that Medb was simply much stronger, it would have made perfect sense for Medb to demand more compensation. And, furthermore, considering the fact that it was Assassin who had led the enemy to Medb before, it could be said that Assassin was more deeply indebted to Medb than it initially seemed.

So the fact that, under all these conditions, Medb planned to simply let the Servant go about her business after saving her life led only to three possible possibilities for the Assassin Servant. The first was that Medb was a remarkably kind and generous person, or was currently in a giving mood. The second is that Medb was too stupid to take advantage of her negotiating position. The third, and most likely in the Hassan's eyes, was that Medb didn't care about the Assassin, and the small favors she might do. Medb seems to prefer instead, at this point, to deal with Hassan's problem as quickly as possible and get back to her business.

Hassan, hearing such a blunt refusal, froze for a moment, contemplating this possible thought, but Medb was no longer concerned with her. She has a much bigger idiot to deal with.

Taking her eyes off the Assassin and not fearing any danger on her part in the event of an attack - Medb turned her gaze to Nitocris, Sita and, more coldly towards the new Servant before addressing her coldly. “Name.”

At Medb’s demand, the girl with a prominent chest, long black hair, and the uniform of what one might almost call a Buddhist monk, if a very fetishistic one, hiding almost nothing of the busty Servant’s body, tried to smile. "I'm sorry, but my companions told me not to say…”

“NAME!” A commander's roar, totally inappropriate for Medb's frail little figure, made the Servant wince and stretch out in a soldier’s salute like a frightened girl under the gaze of an enraged parent.

“XUANZANG SANZANG, MA’AM!”

‘Like I’ve deduced, a follower of one of the Buddhas, a very prominent one even. But why is she so much of an idiot then?’ Medb could only sigh disappointedly at the Servant’s identity, shaking her head slightly.

‘A Buddhist monk and protagonist of Journey to the West, one of the major Chinese classic stories and legends… Though, without her faithful protector Sun Wukong, Sanzang is not so dangerous, not to mention the general comparative weakness of Servants of this world. But still, a follower of the Buddha… I have no love for her kind.’

Medb adopted a complex expression as she looked at the frightened Sanzang, before quickly turning away from her, losing interest in her, and, in a way, showing her comparatively merciful nature.

Had Medb been how she was in the past, who was less merciful, she might well have remembered the actions of the Five Rainbow Buddhas and transferred the hatred of those to the Servant of this world. In which case, ignoring the girl was a far more merciful outcome than otherwise possible.

On the other hand, had Medb been even more merciful, she might have ignored the unfortunate set of circumstances, appealing to the fact that the Buddhas she knew were simply a vestige of her past. And being beings of another world entirely, she shouldn’t transfer her distaste to Sanzang, who was not responsible for them.

But there was still a limit to Medb's mercy.

And so, brushing the frightened Sanzang aside, and the Assassin watching her warily, Medb shifted her gaze from the two new Servants to the desert where the vague outline of Camelot could be seen in the distance. Before, raising her hand in motion and leaning it to her chin, thoughtfully surveying the picture before her. "And yet, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon…”

The mention of the name of the Queen of Assyria’s Noble Phantasm caused the Assassin to involuntarily shift his gaze to Medb, a slight enough movement that it was easy not to see…  For other Servants, that is, not Medb, who was sitting on her throne at that moment.

Medb's gaze darted to the side momentarily and collided with that of Leader, causing her to freeze like a deer in front of headlights.

“Speak.” It was not a question or a request, nor was it spoken loudly, but still Medb’s demand showed off the full power of her regal self that broke no argument. She even thought for a moment about using a mind overpowering ability like her Charm Aura, but Leader was smarter than to bring things to this point, revealing what she knows a moment later.

Of course, Medb was still open to be surprised, stupidity after all is as infinite as space, and at even a single hint that the Servant was lying, she would unleash her full capability.

“I’ve heard that Camelot had become agitated and that the Queen of Assyria had made her first move, directing her Hanging Gardens against them…” Leader answered briefly, looking into Medb's eyes, before continuing on. "Having been informed that Camelot was preparing its forces for confrontation and was urgently removing the remaining obstacles in its path, I retreated from my scouting mission… And was discovered at that moment, with Gareth sent after me. You know what happened next.”

Medb, hearing the information, thought about it for a moment, changing her plans accordingly. The actions of the Lion Goddess in this case were perfectly ordinary and expected, preparations before an imminent collision with the supposed Semiramis, in reality, Ainz. It was all perfectly logical and expected, the only question remained as to what exactly Ainz was trying to achieve by making this move in such a case. Was it going against Medb's original idea of gradually organizing a common united front against the Lion Goddess and destroying her at the moment of her distraction to prepare her tower… Or…

Medb blinked in surprise, then again and again, as an ingenious conjecture pierced her mind.

How could Ainz follow an illogical action? Naturally, only if this seemingly illogical action was only part of an even more cunning plan that Medb could not discern in her stupidity!

And if a plan seemed illogical, then the point in such a quick and seemingly unexpected reaction, meant only one thing. Ainz needed a plan that relied on speed of action. And that, in turn, meant that Medb's original reasoning was wrong.

She was relying on the fact that the King of Camelot would need more time to prepare the tower, but… If Medb was wrong in her calculations and the tower was ready earlier? The Lion Goddess was distracted at the moment. and Ainz's action was not an attack, but a provocation, following which the King of Camelot should have made a rash move like…

To attack and provoke the other parties to conflict, which is what she has begun to do now!

That was Medb's fundamental error, she was willing to wait for the most opportune moment to attack, while Ainz himself did not rely on fate. He himself created the opportunity for his plan and used it at his discretion.

"Ainz…” Medb covered her eyes for a moment, once again admiring her lover’s ingenuity. ‘No matter how many times I try to get close to you, I only see more and more how great the gulf between us is, and each time, I fall in love with you only more and more…’

Medb covered her eyes for a moment before she shook off her sweet obsession and looked around at the surrounding Servants. “We’re setting on for Ozymandias, it is time to prepare for the storming of Camelot.”

***

Ainz, as he continued to walk wonderingly on Semiramis' hovering castle, could only admit that he did not enjoy his conversation with her. His dialogue with her barely made it beyond blurred general phrases, but at least it could not be said that Ainz was straining much during that or on his chosen way of killing time.

The same could not be said of Semiramis herself.

When Ainz decided to distract himself and look at her after a couple of dozen minutes of rather awkward dialogue, Ainz found that Semiramis looked exhausted, on the verge of fainting and a nervous breakdown. Her eyes were flitting in all directions, concentrating on any objects that were not Ainz, while her pallid face was covered in tiny drops of sweat. Semiramis seemed to be trembling as well, as if she was feeling cold, though perhaps judging by the way she dressed it was not much of a surprise. But no, when he looked closer, which somehow made her trembling worse, it looked more like something between the instinctive fear of a rabbit frozen before a boa constrictor and the tense trembling of a marathon runner, pushing themselves to finish the race.

She looked scared, and yet determined at the same time. To do what Ainz could scarcely imagine, it’s not like she would be telling him any time soon!

Seeing such a picture, Ainz was frozen in uncertainty. On one hand, he even felt a pang of sympathy for Semiramis in his mind. Even though Ainz and Semiramis had fought in the past, and thus Semiramis had tried to kill him, at the moment she was in the position of his temporary ally and ward. Ainz should have at least tried to show his friendliness to her.

However, after a polite, as far as Ainz himself imagined it to be, attempt to ask Semiramis the reason for her current tension and fear, she only continued to glare at Ainz with an angry look. As if he was somehow to blame for Semiramis' condition! He wasn’t even doing anything, but just enjoying the view. As much as seeing the same-ish dune of sand was exciting, it was at least better than seeing Semiramis’ expression.

Such a look even caused Ainz to be frightened for a moment that his passive skills and auras were out of control, which didn’t help matters. Semiramis, who probably had no insta-kill protection either, was seconds away from an accidental tragic death, but Ainz's examination of his abilities left him bewildered.

None of his auras were activated. None of his passive abilities were working on Semiramis at the moment, and not even his equipment was active. And yet, Semiramis looked as if she was only one step away from going on a date with those afterlife gods she believed in.

Ainz even tried to show his friendliness and heal Semiramis' condition by handing over a Health Potion. Consumable items might be a non-renewable resource for Ainz, but he was willing to donate something of little value, like a low-level healing potion or a disease healing scroll, just to maintain contact and show his friendliness to Semiramis.

It’s not like he needs it, or even could use it, but it still pinged his collector’s nature.

Looking at the way she herself reacted to Ainz's offer, though, namely by twitching as if struck and looking at him as if Ainz had offered her something extremely indecent, Ainz finally tempered his altruism. Reasoning that if Semiramis was willing to continue looking at him as an enemy, Ainz himself should by no means continue to indulge her and her desires.

After all, if he, trying to be as friendly and polite as possible in Semiramis' perception, still looked like an enemy to her, then Ainz was not going to try to befriend her forcibly. After all, he had his own pride!

However, when Ainz, after Semiramis' suggestion, decided to stop conversing with her, suddenly Semiramis herself started trying to talk with him, now talking about herself, or trying to ask a little about him, the most ordinary things to discuss… Or at least the things that Ainz imagined being  the most ‘ordinary’ in the current circumstances.

After all, in the world of legendary heroes and powerful mages, questions about past accomplishments and available magic, especially for allies, should have been quite ordinary, shouldn't they? Ainz, after all, could only judge these things from the perspective of a Player in a DMMORPG, where trying to find out your ally's past quests and available spells was just common sense. And from the perspective of an ordinary Earth dweller, where these conversations were likely a one-way ticket to the mentally ill asylum.

This, in turn, made Ainz wonder. If Semiramis looked so tense, if not pained, but refused Ainz possible help, and yet it was not because she did not want to communicate with Ainz, her current action had shown Semiramis did want to talk. Then why was it? Why was there such a difference when he was the one to start the conversation?

Ainz's unexpected wondering made him once again take a glance at Semiramis, and it made Semiramis herself freeze like a rabbit in front of a boa constrictor.

What if Semiramis was just… embarrassed?

In a sense, no matter how short it might have been, Semiramis and Ainz had indeed clashed in battle before, so some awkwardness might have been expected. But, Ainz had dealt with a rather significant problem for Semiramis, removing the Old Man and his fortress from Semiramis' territory, after which he showed her his friendliness? Even more, he offered Semiramis his help in curing her condition, simultaneously pointing out both her inappropriate appearance and showing in deeds, his willingness to be friendly… And all this after several attempts from her to kill Ainz himself!

What if Semiramis was just embarrassed by the current situation, since it really wasn't as bad as Ainz had originally determined it to be?

After all, she seemed to him to be a rich, rude and bossy woman, but what could Ainz really know about her if he had only known her for a few hours at best? Sometimes it took years to get to know and find out a person's true nature, in which case, Ainz shouldn't even have to wonder if he could have been wrong in his assessment of the girl. He could have, and quite probably did, he’s no master in the social field after all, with his circle of friends being only fellow guild members.

After all, Cainabel had proven to be a tsundere under all her impenetrable armor of rudeness and cruelty, showing that she indeed cared for her subordinates. So why couldn't Semiramis be the same?

Moreover, it did fit with the idea that Semiramis was a good ruler. After all, it was logical to assume that if one cared about people, in this case thousands or even millions of people, Ainz wasn’t really sure about the population numbers of Assyria, then she probably had a good heart! In fact, she was probably now trying to get out of the trap she had trapped herself in!

As a tsundere she could not simply apologize to Ainz, but she recognized the necessity of doing so, moreover, she probably felt extremely uncomfortable about that in front of Ainz, and that was why she looked so tense…

Ainz felt a sense of sympathy from this realization, before he looked at Semiramis and smiled in what he assumed was a reassuring smile, trying to support her. ‘Don't worry, I'm not holding a grudge against you, I understand your feelings at the moment.’

Semiramis, seeing Ainz's smile, slowly began to turn green.

***

Never in her life or even since becoming a Servant had Semiramis faced an opponent so hideous, so clever, so cunning, and so powerful, so superior to her in every way as Ainz was.

It seemed as if he was greatly enjoying the torment he was heaving upon Semiramis! He was tormenting her, slowly pulling nerve after nerve out of her body, and yet always looking detached and almost bored, as if he were having a conversation about the weather, all the while weaving his verbal traps. A simpler person than Semiramis would not have sensed the traps in Ainz's casual words, but she was no fool!

On the surface, they seemed like meaningless conversation or an innocent way to kill time, but Semiramis saw the terrifying double or triple bottom behind each of the questions asked of her, and that was just what she saw. And as painful as it was for Semiramis to admit, in her battle with Ainz even she was not given the opportunity to see the true depth of his designs, so why would it be different this time?

Just imagining the amount of deadly traps that she had missed caused her to pale even further, only made worse when she saw the satisfied smile on the demon’s face!

Semiramis watched as Ainz drew more and more answers out of her. When she tried to blur the line between truth and lies, to lead as far away as possible from the original meaning of the question, he seemed neither surprised nor annoyed by Semiramis' answers at all. It was as if he had no problem uncovering every secret meaning in her words, and in the end, having played with his victim, only offered to ‘cure’ Semiramis! Alluding that she was mentally ill when she thought she could keep Ainz from the knowledge he sought.

And then, having pointed out to Semiramis her weakness, he paused, as if to give Semiramis two choices before his eyes. Either he could continue to mock her further and watch as Semiramis, desperately twisted in the bonds of his words, only sinking more and more into the web of lies and deception. Or, he could choose the ‘merciful’ option in this farce of a ‘friendly’ conversation they’re having. Either Semiramis would simply surrender and submit herself to the victor, or he would discard the mask of civility.

Semiramis decided to stand up for herself at that moment, she would speak up! At least inwardly. About how disgusting Ainz really was, that he was not unlike a barbarian, incapable of settling down after only one victory. No, instead he went on and on with his attack until his opponent was completely trampled, until he destroyed any possibility of resistance. He did not care at all about which particular field this battle was fought and by what particular weapon. Whether it was in battle or a verbal battlefield, he was like a beast that never stopped until it had driven its prey asunder. At the same time, he possessed not only an animal instinct, but an intelligence appropriate to its non-human status as a guide of evil into this world.

Semiramis would love nothing more than to scream out her defiance, to mock this destroyer in human form in front of her. But she could not.

Semiramis was trapped, forced to clench her teeth until they began to pain from her exertion, and to finally speak out her surrender, instead of giving Ainz another opportunity to wrap her around his finger. Semiramis was forced to act, at least this way she could deprive Ainz of a small measure of the joy of watching him defeat Semiramis again and again, enjoying her most desperate attempts to resist him.

And just as Semiramis was coming to terms with this realization, trying to find solace in the false thought that at least she had achieved ‘victory’ in the current circumstances on at least one front.

She noticed the cruel smirk on Ainz’s face.

He was looking down on her like a defeated enemy, who was clinging to the remnants of her pride and the sweet delusion that kept her mind and psyche intact.

At the mere sight of that smirk, rage erupted in Semiramis' mind, primarily at Ainz, who had dared to deprive her of her throne, and continued to trample her whole being with such disgusting ease. The rest of her rage was reserved for herself, at how she had easily surrendered and been defeated by Ainz. That she had cast aside her pride and power as Queen of Assyria, now comforting herself only with disgusting weak thoughts that she had lost not as shamefully as she could have.

Semiramis tasted bile in her mouth as a wave of hatred threatened to overwhelm her. And this time the wave of that hatred was not even directed at Ainz, at least not primarily, but at herself. For her weakness and willingness to admit defeat so easily, content with the crumbs thrown to her by Ainz.

No, there was certainly hatred in Semiramis for Ainz, but it was weaker than the hatred that gnawed at Semiramis herself from within. After all, what else could she expect from her enemy? He was doing what he was supposed to do, defeating her time after time, and Semiramis could at least acknowledge this along with a certain respect for her enemy. Though an enemy, he was a powerful enemy.

In the end, Semiramis herself could not blame Ainz for her weakness, what else could she expect from her adversary, who never concealed his disposition, if not more so, emphasized it with his every action?

But worst of all, Semiramis realized that this, too, was only part of Ainz's plan. A part of his strategy of total destruction, until she herself was defeated on every front. In battle, in conversation, and even within her own mind.

But even after figuring out this tactic, Semiramis could do nothing about it. Even being aware of Ainz's trick, Semiramis could find no strength or ability to defend herself against the pressure. On the contrary, now aware of it, Semiramis felt only the devastation of having the small bit of victory in admitting defeat snatched from her hands as well. An action that should have served her well, allowing Semiramis to find support in the battle against Ainz served only as another blade entering her back.

‘It’s like a poison, one that is slowly penetrating my body and mind…’ Semiramis could only chuckle at this thought. ‘What nonsense… The oldest legendary poisoner is suffering from poison, all without it being administered… So this is how my victims feel, I do admit that I find it distasteful…’

Powerlessness, hatred, and suffocating, because no matter how you unravel the actions of your enemy, no matter how you fight with him, in the end the poison has already crept into your veins. All that remains is for you to live your last minutes of life with this awareness, feeling how your body and mind give up, how death approaches with each passing moment closer and closer…

Semiramis was poisoned without magic nor without the poison itself. The feeling that has always interested her, something that her victims feel in the last moments of their life, was brought to her without any poison, a cruel mockery of irony…

‘Ha ha…’ Semiramis suddenly grinned in a completely inappropriate style for her royal persona.

‘Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!’

Semiramis grasped her head, feeling the brain trapped within the walls of her skull gradually begin to boil. ‘This is it! This is it, this is the feeling! The admiration with which my subjects greeted me, looking upon the queen as a living goddess of legends, the piety and apprehension, the awe and hatred… But if this is how people were in awe of my person, is there a gap in the fact that a Servant can look with similar awe upon a being of an even higher, different order? Darkness or light, does it make sense to try to understand one who stands so incommensurately above you!? Have I not wished to understand what the lowly see when looking at unattainable peaks, and if so, is there any lowliness in looking in this way at one who towers so far above you? Ahahahahahahaha!’

***

Ainz, looking at Semiramis, who had suddenly stopped talking but suddenly cheered up, looking at him with a kind smile, was quite surprised by the sudden change in demeanor of the previously sullen Queen. Then, concluding that he had reached an understanding with her by conveying his thoughts regarding his understanding of her tsundere nature, only nodded, looking away, satisfied.

‘Great! Semiramis has finally become comfortable with me… Indeed, there is nothing better in the world than understanding!’

The thought brought a joyful smile to Ainz’s face, which only seemed to make the Queen of Assyria even more excited.

Ainz could only conclude that he had handled that social quagmire perfectly!