Written by: AtheistBasementDragon
Edited by: The Usual Gang of Drunken Perverted Idiots

...The Holy Roble Kingdom...

Neia woke up the next morning before the Sun rose, and as usual, she began her day by combat training. First with the sword and fist combination that she had begun to work out in the development of the Black Justice combat system. She pounded hard against the practice dummy, the crack of her magic enhanced practice sword was like the rooster’s crow for those close enough to hear it. She marked the day with a push for ever greater power. ‘I will not disgrace my Lord by weakness. Weakness is a sin. I must make His Majesty proud!’ She thought on a loop, her teeth bared in a snarl as strike after strike after strike, cracked against her target’s vital points, ‘killing it’ a thousand times with fist and sword, long before the city stirred.

Then with the bow, and through both she imbued her body with magic to enhance the force of her strikes... however... she never enhanced their accuracy, she left that to her natural senses so that she would never be dependent upon magic, this set her apart from the few archers who could use some form of magical martial arts, they tended to focus on accuracy. ‘Fools, they rob themselves of their own skills with a focus like that. Hit what you’re aiming at, and you won’t need magic.’ She snorted with contempt as she retrieved her arrows from the ‘body’ of the target.

As she put her arrows back into her quiver, she pondered further, ‘An archer dependent on something other than their body for aim, isn’t an archer, they’re a tool of the bow, rather than the bow being a tool of theirs.’ A cocky smirk she knew she shouldn’t have had, formed on her lips as she embedded an arrow so deep into her target that it came out the back, revealing the benefit of her long and constant, highly specific training. She was able to engage in combat for longer and longer periods, conserving her limited supply of mana.

The next part of her routine hit as well, as some few of her more dedicated followers began to trickle in to train with her, first independently, then pairing up, among them, much to her surprise, was Robel. It was surprising enough that she stopped what she was doing and went to speak with him.

“Captain Robel... you’re here... and... not in uniform.” She commented, it was stated as a fact, but in truth it was a question, one he obliged to answer.

“Yes,” he said, “I went in for my morning shift and the prisoner was dead and I was removed from my position.” His voice seemed distant, with an undercurrent of anger, he drew out a bow and fired a shot, he didn’t even hit the target, his arrow went wide and broke against the stone before falling to the ground. He snorted, “It’s harder than it looks, don’t know how you do it.”

“But you didn’t...” Neia began, then stopped. “Oh, no, that wouldn’t matter would it? Let me guess, the Count?”

He nodded. “The Count. I suppose you could call it petty revenge for arresting his man in the first place and forcing him to have the man put down. So... now I don’t have anywhere else to go, I have my sword, I have my father’s hunting bow, for all the good I am with that, so I thought I’d follow you in full. You avenged my friend, and he was your follower, so perhaps I can fill his shoes. Besides, I figure you’re going to come up against that Count again soon, and I’ll trade my very life for a crack at punishing that bastard when the time comes.”

Neia’s face went dark, “Your price is met, you’re my man now, though I can’t promise a crack at the Count personally. As you know, bastards like that tend to make a lot of enemies, we might not get to him first, but if I can, I’ll let you carve your pound of flesh from him in person.”

“That’s good enough, the word of Neia Baraja, servant of the Sorcerer King, is as good as gold.” He said with iron confidence in every word.

He said, causing Neia to blush slightly at the praise. Perhaps that would have ended the conversation, but there were several more men approaching that Neia did not know, and as she pointed them out to Robel, expecting trouble, he sheathed his sword and said, “What are you doing here?”

“Who are they exactly?” Neia said, leaning in and whispering up to him.

“They’re members of my company, but why they’re here I have no idea.” He whispered back, and then approached them.

“We’re out of the city guard.” One of the men said bluntly as he approached Robel. “They fired you, but we all know damn good and well that the reason you were fired was to punish you, and we know the ones who fired you are the same ones responsible for that whole mess in the first place. We can’t take orders from... that. So, we want in on this. What... exactly do you call it?”

It caught Neia off guard... she’d never named her group of followers, even though she’d referred to them as a unique group many times. She paused for a moment, and said, “‘Black Justice’ the same as our combat style, strength is strength, both are the same, even when the strengths vary from sword to bow to book and brain, so we need no other name but that of our combat method.” The name and reason seemed to resonate with them all, so she carried on, “Since you’re here, I assume you want to learn to fight as we do, you will begin with a few of my cadre of trusted veterans, most of us will be out today working to rebuild the city, but pulling a few away as instructors won’t hurt the effort.”

The group was amenable to that, and so they stayed and waited on the training ground outside her office and residence for instructors to arrive, and Neia went to the gathering spot for laborers.

“Gilcrest,” she called, “you are taking over for Gascon, overseeing the making of more parts for various projects. The list of needed items will be provided to you.” She said, and then turned to the leaders of the various squads who had come to take her orders. “Squads one through fifty, you will be responsible for residential repair, squads fifty one through sixty you will be circulating supplies, squads sixty one through eighty, you will be distributing food...”

As she spoke, a man rushed over, wearing the uniform of a messenger, Neia stopped speaking, but stayed wary until the man stopped and knelt, “Lady Neia, I come bearing a message from my master, Tinamoc. Will you hear it?” Neia froze, she knew that name, everybody who had ever bought anything in the capital knew that name, he was, before the war, one of the most powerful merchants in the country.

“I will, please speak freely.” She replied in a clipped voice.

“To Neia Baraja, the squire of the Sorcerer King, the savior of countless people, the slayer of demihumans, and the incorruptible, I send greetings. I, Tinamoc, chief merchant of the former Holy Queen and the current Holy King, long may he reign, am embarking on a journey ten days hence. I go round our great nation to rebuild the trade systems to their former glory, and though my body is willing and my mind is able, the road is still dangerous. Therefore to ensure success, I need the finest protection available. To that end, I entreat you and one hundred of your veteran followers to join me, the journey will take three months. When it is complete, I promise the full support of the merchant’s guild will go to Black Justice in your efforts to reestablish trade and to rebuild all the cities, towns, and villages in your charge.”

Neia could hardly believe her ears... first she thanked her lucky stars that she’d chosen to name the group after her fighting style when she did, because it seemed others had already confused the combat style for the organization. A happy coincidence that she was not about to announce now. Second, she contemplated the vast wealth being proffered, and the degree to which it could make the lives of countless others easier, and speed up the rebuilding process dramatically. Even with the aid of the Sorcerer King, the nation had to provide its own labor and it needed to build its own economic base... it was a problem she feared in the future, and now before the capital was even rebuilt, here was her solution. There was, however, a problem, and wasn’t there always?

“I can’t... I’ve been put in charge of rebuilding the capital, I can’t abandon my duty.” She said.

“My master has already seen to the problem, he has secured the King’s agreement that you are best suited for this mission, and because it is vital, the absence from the current project is tolerable, another will be appointed in your place. You are free to accept this task.” The messenger replied.

Neia was conflicted, until Gilcrest approached, and touching her arm, indicated that they should step away for a private conversation. She gestured for the man to wait, and joined Gilcrest, leaning in, she listened, “Go, we can handle things here. Three months isn’t bad, and more importantly, you can spread the word of the Sorcerer King during your journey, you can spread the ideals of Black Justice, and gather more to our cause, all while helping the people all over the Holy Kingdom.”

Neia’s usual glaring eyes went wide, she nodded and then returned to the messenger.

“I will accept. However, I may need more than ten days. I must select one hundred people, and set all my affairs in order here, choose a replacement, and bring them up to speed. Give me thirty days, and I can depart fully focused on your mission.”

The messenger nodded, “I have been empowered by my master to agree to a delay of several weeks on his behalf, your condition is acceptable. He will meet you and your company outside the main city gate in one month, ready to depart.”

The messenger stood, bowed, and left, while Neia stood in shock at what had just transpired. She was not allowed to stand for long however, because a messenger wearing the crest of the King appeared shortly thereafter. This one did not bow or kneel, “Lady Neia, you are summoned to present yourself before the King immediately.” His message was brief, and it was clearly not negotiable.

‘What a day this has been. What else will it bring before I can even eat my meal?’ She thought to herself.

...Holy King’s Throne...

Neia rushed to the palace as fast as she could, approached the King, and knelt before him, “Majesty I have come as swiftly as I could to answer your command.”

“Raise your head,” Caspond said, and Neia complied. “Explain to me Neia Baraja, why my city guard has almost melted away?” He said in a frosty voice.

Neia’s mouth went dry. “Sire, I do not know what you speak of, a handful of men departed after the murder of a man in the dungeon, but...”

“NO,” Caspond’s voice rang out, halting her tongue, “those men were the leaders of companies, and virtually the entirety of their companies went with them. Collectively, they were representing hundreds and hundreds of soldiers. Now their posts are empty.”

Neia’s mouth went dry. ‘HUNDREDS?!’ she screamed inside her head, her thoughts raced inside. ‘Robel... that... idiot... he must have been trying to ease my mind by understating the size of the departure. Well, I’ll clear that up later, for now I have to deal with this.’

She realized a moment later that the silence had dragged out longer than it should, and she spoke, “Majesty, the death of the man we captured has exposed corruption in the nobility. Now with the termination of the position of the man whose only crime was to be in charge when it happened, many soldiers have lost faith in noble leadership other than your own.”

Caspond leaned back on his throne, “I see. This is a problem. If I force them back to their positions I will appear to be in league with the corrupt, or at least corrupt myself, if I do nothing, I will not have enough guards for the city, so... do you have a suggestion, Neia Baraja?” The King asked. There were grumbles from among the attending court, various gossiping noblemen and women, priests and priestesses, but no one stepped forward intending to argue the matter, or even to deny that corruption had become rampant.

Inspiration struck her. “I do, your Majesty, allow Black Justice to take on the role of security for the city. We are trusted even by those who do not like us,” She turned her gaze over to a few glaring paladins, including the viciously staring Remedios, “we have the numbers to manage it, and we have many skilled fighters.” She suggested, and Caspond nodded in approval.

“That is true, however there are two problems, the first is payment, and the second is far simpler... you’re something like rabble, you have no uniform or recognizable insignia.” Caspond said with the slight beginnings of a smile on his face.

Neia thought it over for a moment, “Sire, you could hire Black Justice as if you were contracting adventurers, my lieutenant will handle the transactions and distribute pay to those of our members who fulfill that task, and I can design a uniform today and you can sell the contract for providing it to the noble of your choice. They all have sufficient resources to produce thousands of uniforms, and we have our own arms and armor, all we require is the means to maintain them, which we can do with our own blacksmith and no more than a small percentage of the ingots provided to us by the Sorcerous Kingdom.” Her speech seemed to have the desired effect, and Caspond gave his consent, and dismissed her immediately.

Neia returned to her office and began to consider the Black Justice uniform. “It needs to be simple, combat effective, and recognizable by all.” She said to the empty room as she turned over and dismissed various ideas in her head, but gradually the concept took shape. She settled on black clothing with a red chain running around the outside of the torso to represent their links to one another, and remembering the phrase, ‘A chain is only as strong as its weakest link.’

It was simple, meaningful, combat effective, and easy to mass produce. She considered other features, and settled on the fine points, before having the finished design sent to the King for production.

With that done, she wondered who to select for the expedition, before, much to her surprise, she drew inspiration again, and decided to let skill itself be the deciding factor. She would need ten scouts, forty of the best archers, and fifty of her very best close fighters, ideally capable of martial arts, and so that evening when... what everybody now knew to call “Black Justice” gathered again, she made her announcement.

“For the sake of the Kingdom, I am to depart for three months’ time, making a circuit around each of our cities and many of our towns. For this mission I require one hundred of you who are ready to face man, beast, weather, and demi-human threats. Only the most skilled will be brought with me, and to that end, tomorrow there will be a tournament. Those of you who wish to accompany me, appear at the wide training grounds outside the city at first light.”

Excitement buzzed in the air, so much so that her lecture on the Sorcerer King’s justice seemed almost lost on them all, or perhaps that was just her, she never did know the answer to that, but more important was that the next day there were several thousand followers outside the city ready to compete.

She quickly divided the fighters against one another, and after several rounds of combat, only fifty remained. Archers, she put targets progressively farther away in front of each line, and then she launched her own arrow into the sky, and both speed and accuracy were counted, with only those who hit every target in the center by the time Neia’s arrow hit the ground again, were selected. After repeated trials of increasing difficulty, she had forty of the finest archers in the Kingdom. And last, she sent ten fast men running into the nearby forest, and the prospective scouts who found them each fastest, were selected in turn. Within a few hours, she had her company of warriors.

To the rest, she said, “Though you have not won this day, you have tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow, and as many tomorrows as you can create with your own hands. Train hard, work hard, keep to the Sorcerer King’s justice, I depart in twenty-nine days, and when I return I’m looking forward to seeing a shining city of the Holy Kingdom once again. You who have triumphed will train until departure, and nothing else, we will be at our best, and we will be the best, our future depends on it, so I am depending on you!”

The people began to disperse, as the victors gave their names to a young girl making a list of them, and in the meantime, Neia hid her stress. “How the hell am I supposed to do this... it’s one thing to act as a scout and a squire, but this is a whole other matter... I can’t ask Remedios, Robel is good at guarding a city but not much else, so to whom do I speak for advice?” She thought and clutched at her head as the stress and anxiety pressed in on her. She froze, “Of course! There can be only one!” She said aloud to herself. She pulled out a message scroll left behind by the Sorcerer King, and contacted CZ. ‘CZ, my friend, I need your help.’

‘What can I do for you?’ A monotone voice answered.

“I’ve been given charge of escorting an important merchant and his caravan around the Holy Kingdom, and I have no idea how to do that.” Neia said.

‘Me neither.’ Said CZ, and Neia’s hopes fell, ‘But I can ask my master, I am sure he will know.’

Neia’s heart fluttered, but she tried to tell CZ not to bother the Sorcerer King for her sake, only for CZ to say, ‘Nope, too late, already going, wait there.’ Neia sighed in frustration, surely the Sorcerer King wouldn’t... and then the gate opened, and out stepped CZ. She immediately hugged Neia, revealing an affection her expressionless face did not reveal on its own, and then she put a 1-yen sticker on Neia’s cheek, saying simply, “Cute.” Neia rolled her eyes, but hugged her back.

“It’s good to see you CZ, but... why are you here?” She asked her friend.

“Lord Ainz wants to see you.” CZ replied.

...Nazarick... Throne Room...

Neia could not move through the [Gate] fast enough, and no sooner was she through, that she rushed to the base of the throne and knelt with her head deeply bowed, “Your Majesty!” She said with a devotion and sincerity that echoed so clearly and obviously from the depths of her soul, that it caught the guardians off guard, and caused them to glance at one another in shock, before genuine smiles appeared on their faces at the reverence of the human before them.

“Rise, Neia Baraja, it is good to see you again.” Ainz said and stood from his throne, descending to where she knelt, and touching her shoulder with his skeletal hand.

“It is my greatest glory to behold you again, sire.” Neia said sincerely, prompting the guardians to shiver in satisfaction behind their master, finding it pleasing to see a human know what the whole world should.

“I understand that you have a problem you need help with.” Ainz said after clearing his nonexistent throat.

“Aye sire, I’ve been charged to escort a merchant caravan around the Holy Kingdom, but I have never performed this task before, and fear failing and disgracing Your Majesty’s justice. To fail you would be a grave sin, and I will not die a sinner.” She said softly, but her powerful conviction rocked the guardians to their core, and it touched Ainz very deeply.

“Escort missions... everybody hates escort missions.” Ainz said softly to himself, thinking of all the damn video games that felt the need to include those stupid things with their dumb suicidal AIs in charge of ridiculously suicidal mission objectives. How is it that at the peak of technology back in his old dystopian world, the video games still had such a dumb feature?

Of course nobody there would have a clue what he meant, so he kept his thoughts to himself, but when he spoke aloud he said, “The best way to prepare for any mission is knowledge. So to begin with, acquire the best local maps, and while you may have able scouts, those who live in an area always know it better than those who don’t. So to that end, always send out a small advance party to contact locals and find out hazards. Further, always train as you fight...”

Gradually the memories of his war-crazy guild companion began to come back, and he elaborated on how to train to defend a caravan against attacks on the road or when encamped, the value of tight formations, use of terrain, and training so that every man knew his position, chaos was death in battle. He then laid out to Neia some examples, using small models from his inventory, things that were little consolation prizes from gacha machines, now served to educate Neia in mobile defense, and quietly Ainz was very glad he’d taken the time to study some of the books left behind by his friends, in particular “Small Wars” and “The Art of War”, and by the time he was done, Neia began to wonder if there was anything Ainz did not know.

“Thank you, Your Majesty, however can I repay you?” She asked, and Ainz shook his head, “No need, just succeed and come back alive.” His kind words made Neia want to weep. ‘Even my father… my own father, didn’t say that…’ She thought, but kept that thought concealed in her heart.

But before she could say anything, a gravelly voice interjected, “Master, may I suggest something?”

Turning his skull toward the towering insectoid who had spoken up, Ainz replied, “Of course, Cocytus.”

“Have her and her hundred men stay in Nazarick for the month, let me train them here on our grounds, the lizardmen will appreciate new opponents, and I can help them develop as warriors, and if I may, I would ask Sebas Tian to join me.” Cocytus said, prompting a curious look from Ainz, and a nod of consent as well.

“As you are in charge, I understand you might not want to leave your city until you have prepared your replacement, however that is not a problem, we will open a gate for you daily and provide your commanders with message scrolls to reach you, this way you may train with your troops and not abandon your duties.” Ainz said, overriding her objection before Neia could voice it.

“As you wish, your Majesty, your aid will surely make us successful.” Neia replied.

...Nazarick...Sixth Floor...

A moment later she was gone through the gate back to Hoburns, and when the gate was reopened a few hours later, she found herself and her team not in the throne room, but in a wonderland like no other, and standing in front of them were two of the denizens of Nazarick, her people could not help but stare at the idyllic countryside and the seeming perfection of heaven into which they had stepped. Sebas broke the silence first by stepping forward. “I am Sebas Tian, combat butler, and I, along with Cocytus, will see to your training over the next thirty days. If you survive, you will be a force to be reckoned with, if you do not, you were not strong enough for your mission anyway. I hope you will prove to be the former.” His elegant voice held their ears, and they bowed before him.

“We will be in your care.” Neia said.

“Then let us begin.” Cocytus said, and lizardmen began to arrive, led by one powerful looking lizardman figure holding an unusual blue blade.