Jircniv collapsed in his seat.  “Eighteen thousand knights…?”  He asked again as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.  Down on one knee before the emperor, the messenger spoke on, “Yes, Emperor Jircniv, all four imperial knights appear to have been killed, and the survivors making their way back all report the same thing.  Angels on an unprecedented level of power, six of them, slew everything in their path.  The reports are… truly horrific.”  The messenger bowed his head.  “Loune is among the dead as well.”

Jircniv hissed.  Everything in the room was designed around the theme of power and comfort, fine art, displays of gold and jewels, the couch on which he’d collapsed was stuffed to near bursting with feathers.  Jircniv himself was a very young man of golden hair and slender build.  He wore fine opulent clothing of purple and golden robes with a golden chain around his head.  This served as the crown of his office, and from it hung a few small chains with precious gems.  But for all his wealth, in that moment he suddenly felt like a pauper.

‘An emperor’s greatest treasures are his best servants… and now I’ve lost the lion's share of them in one blow.  Fluder is missing, the Four Knights dead, my general and my secretary slaughtered, and eighteen thousand knights in one blow…’  The realization was like a hammer blow to his crumbling spirit.

The man who was the bloody emperor, was now himself ‘bloodied’ by the impossible.

“And…  What of the Theocracy?  They sent observers this year didn’t they?  Do they confirm what you’re telling me?”  Jircniv asked immediately.

“I have their report here, my Lord.”  The messenger bowed his head, the top was going bald in the pattern of a horseshoe, and his face was wrinkled with growing age.  His belly was a little bigger than it should be, a lucky fate compared to those who went the opposite way in life… and he trembled as he delivered bad news and flipped through documents with nervous haste.

Just before Jircniv could tell him to hurry up, the messenger found what he sought, he licked his lips rapidly with nerves, and sweat began to run down his face.  “The Slane Theocracy confirms that…”  He read off the missive that simply confirmed everything.

The vow.

The breaking of that vow.

The condemnation of the Baharuth Empire’s general for breaking it.

The total defeat that followed.

The private advice of Cardinal Raymond not to struggle onward.

‘Good advice…’  Emperor Jircniv flung himself on his back, his limbs draped like death had taken him, he stared up at the high polished ceiling of his palace, then tilted his head to the right to face the kneeling messenger.

“What are the terms?”  Jircniv asked with dread.

“Turn over the territory demanded, an apology for the raid on the home of the King, and also…”  The messenger scratched his head, and Jircniv raised an eyebrow while he waited.  “My Lord, he’s demanding the surrender of the dark elf slaves… all of them.”

“That’s rather strange… I suppose it would hurt our labor force but after losing almost twenty thousand knights… that’s almost doing us a favor.  A defeat might embolden rebellion…”  The weight of the loss was starting to hit, “Tell me… what would you do?”

“M-My Lord… I-I-I would…”  The messenger shut his mouth tight for a moment, then steeling himself, he answered with what resolve he could muster.

“Make amends.  Then form good relations as fast as possible, I’m from the area he’s asking for, there’s a lot of open land, that’s probably why he wants the slaves to resettle them.  It will take years to build up cities and towns even with the Kingdom of Re-Estize and the Kingdom of Carne to help him.”  The messenger said and slowly closed his eyes.  “If you can make peace valuable, perhaps we won’t face another loss like this one.”

“That is good advice… I want to be alone for a little while,” Jircniv said, “but in an hour send me someone to take a message of surrender to the Nazarickian King.”  Jircniv commanded, and watched the messenger depart, when the man was gone, it was all the Emperor could do to lie there and stare at nothing… though he did notice a few strands of hair fall away and float gently to the floor.

 

---

 

Ainz’ return to Nazarick was unceremonious, ‘I still don’t know about telling the rest of them… what they’ll do… or say… Foresight performed more than adequately.  But they are nowhere near powerful enough to offer proper protection.  Though their devotion is welcome.’  His heart pounded in his chest, and to cover it, he messaged for Pestonya to join them while Leinas looked around with almost reverential awe.

Foresight knelt in a line before him with their heads bowed and silently waited for orders.  “You performed well, you may use the baths, the bar, and rest yourselves in your respective quarters.  Resume practice with Cocytus until you have reached another wall in your progress.”

“Master.”  They said as one, then rose and departed, formality dropped away when they were withdrawing, excited comradely chatter went back and forth among themselves…

“Was he really that hard to catch?”  Arche asked.

“He was a Nimble one…”  Roberdyck said with a heavy laugh.

Imina and Hekkeran groaned, “No puns!”  They shouted…

And the four faded from sight and sound alike just as Pestonya entered the hall.

Leinas intuitively sank to one knee, and for a moment the silence passed between them all until Ainz broke it.  “You betrayed your country and comrades for a reward from me, this does not make me trust you.”

“My Lord… for all my life I was loyal to everyone… but that loyalty came with one condition, even with the Emperor.  That I would be cured.  The Emperor knew I would abandon or even turn on him if a cure appeared, if he knew about my survival, my standing here would not surprise him.”  Leinas answered.

“And once you’re cured?”  Ainz asked, “What then?”

“Anything… before my curse… I was considered beautiful.  Warming your bed, bearing your children, fighting your enemies to the death… anything, everything… my life’s wish fulfilled, my every reason to be will be the reasons you give to me…”  Leinas vowed, and she hadn’t blushed then, though behind his mask, Ainz did.

‘I can never trust someone who would so thoroughly betray everyone they knew for their own wish… even if I grant it, the reality is that she may turn on me if she finds a new wish.  Still, she did hand me a victory and the reward is trivial.  Plus she was a ‘force’ in this world.’  Ainz considered the options, and inspiration struck.

“Pestonya, cure her.”  Ainz ordered, and Leinas looked up when the dog woman stepped closer and put a hand under Leinas’s chin.  

The dog woman brushed aside the hair in the way, baring the warrior woman’s mutilation and shame. [Remove Middle Curse], [Cure Serious Wounds].

Leinas felt the pulse of magic, her jaw dropped as her hand rushed up to the spot, her eye, she had an eye there that could see again, she could feel it, and pushed to absurdity, she poked at it a little bit, feeling it give against the light touch of her finger.  Her God, as he now was to her, reached into a hole in the air to pluck out a mirror and hold it up.

“It’s done.”  He said, and Leinas held aside the hair herself to see her face as she remembered it.

For the first time in many years… she could cry from that side of her face, and so she did, with happiness absolute, she wept.  “Thank you… thank… you… God of Mercy… thank you…”  Leinas cried out and her words echoed off the halls of Nazarick so powerfully and profoundly that it was as if the dark walls themselves were hailing its king as a God.

“You’ve been given your miracle, but not without price.  Pestonya,” Ainz said and glanced down at the long dog face of his maid, “take her to comfortable quarters, I have to…”  He clung to the hope of a desperate escape from the need to tell another of the remaining NPCs and searched for an excuse to leave, “go to the Kingdom of Re-Estize to perform my duties as Momon.  It’s a busy time there… have… have Albedo and Demiurge run things in my absence.”

“Yes, yes of course, my Lord.”  Pestonya said, and the two women were left alone.

“What do you think he’ll want from me?”  Leinas asked when she was able to rise and follow the curious demihuman maid.

“Everything… woof!”  Pestonya replied, and though before that moment such a statement might have bothered her, in this one… Leinas couldn’t have cared less.

 

---

 

In the weeks that followed the catastrophic defeat of the Baharuth Empire, word spread like wildfire from the Argland Council State to the City State Alliance in the northwest and north east, to the Elf Kingdom and Draconic Kingdom in the far south.

Word spread from place to place, mouth to mouth, the unbeatable Baharuth Empire’s knights were broken, those who survived, few of them were fit to return to duty.  Haunted by nightmares of lion headed angels, gibbering and fearful, they lived lives that would never again be the same.

It was perhaps for that reason that Ainz was more than pleased with the terms of peace sent by the Baharuth Emperor.  “The dark elf slaves will make a good, obedient workforce I think, they’re likely to be grateful for their freedom and used to following orders.  Plus elves reproduce slowly and suitable investment in their skills will produce great artisans in the long term…”  Ainz muttered out loud while Lupusregina sat across from him at the table.

“Yes, everything went as planned, and then some.  As expected of Lord Ainz!  -su”  She smiled with genuine happiness, and then her face became serious.  “But… my Lord, forgive me… your absence from Nazarick for so long… I know it bothers the others… I would, no one would… ever question your choices.  But they miss you.”

“I know.”  Ainz sighed and ran his hand up and down the side of his face, “The ones left to tell though, that troubles me.  None of them can possibly beat me as I am now if they turned on me… but the very thought!”  His eyes went hollow as he considered the very possibility… “To look down on the body of one of my dear friends’ children… to have… no… I’d rather die than hurt any of you.  But I also don’t want to die!”

“Those of us who know,” Lupusregina stood and went beside him, down to one knee she grasped his leg at the knee and with bright yellow eyes shining up at him she said, “we would fight for you.”

Ainz nodded and put a loving hand on her flaming red hair, “I know, my Lupu, and that is also something I fear.  I love ‘all’ my friends’ children, you’re all rapidly becoming more mine than theirs… and to see one child kill another, it kills me inside to even think of it.”

“What will you do, Master?”  Lupusregina asked when he went back to the treaty.

“Three big cities, dozens of towns and a hundred villages or so… not bad…”  Ainz changed the subject, “Lots of open space too… Lupusregina, set Albedo and Demiurge to the project of building a city, suitable towns and villages, to hold all the dark elf slaves.  Have their collars struck when they’re transported to the new area and make sure they’re properly supplied while they establish themselves.  We should be able to get adequate food support from the Kingdom of Carne and Re-Estize, and buy whatever we can from Baharuth.”

“From Baharuth?”  Lupusregina asked, uncertain if she heard him properly.  

“Yes, there’s a trade treaty here as well… it looks like he wants friendly relations after ‘making amends’.  Fine, we can do that.”  Ainz muttered and scribbled off his agreement.  “I also need to do something about my mortality, if this spell isn’t going to wear off, and if it were going to, it should have by now… I need to put more levels into a path of being an immortal human race, but those are… ‘flashy’ developments, if I do it in Nazarick, everybody will know.”  He shook his head, “There’s a solution, I just have to consider it further.”

“But… my Lord, what about…?”  Lupusregina asked without finishing it, returning to the prior concern about whom to tell, and Ainz went quiet, “I don’t know.  I need an opportunity alone with one of the ones who doesn’t yet know the truth, a chance to cover everything up until I can get closer without it seeming ‘forced’.  An adventure or something… maybe.”  Ainz rolled his eyes and slumped back in his ornate dark wooden chair.  

“Like an adventure, Master?”  Lupusregina asked, and Ainz cracked a smile when he looked down at her.

That was her favorite part about his present humanity, she loved the expressive face, his giant smile, ‘Who would ever be unable to accept this version of our master?’

“Yes, like an adventure, something that will give me a good excuse, and it looks like Momon and Lupu won’t be having any of those for a while.  But who knows… perhaps I’ll get lucky?”  Ainz said, and tousled her hair again, leaving Lupusregina beaming with happiness at the touch of the One Who Stayed.