"If we belong to a country, our actions will become restricted. If the beings that attacked Shalltear are an organization, we will most likely lose the initiative. As such… Ainz-sama."
Demiurge looked towards Ainz as he made his proposal.
"I propose we form an independent nation called the Great Tomb of Nazarick."
Chapter 1. Invitation to Death.
Translator: SifaV6-san
Editors/Proofreaders: Ferro-chan, TaintedDreams-dono, Namo-chan, Sky-senpai, Rocky-mon, JcqC-sensei, Nigel-kyun, Zacky-kun
Part 1
The capital of the Baharuth Empire, Arwintar, was located slightly to the west from the center of the empire. The Imperial Palace, home to the reigning monarch with the nickname Blood Emperor—Jircniv Rune Farlord el Nix—stood in the heart of the city. Surrounding the palace were the universities, the magic academy, various administrative offices and other important facilities which spread out from the center of the capital in a radial fashion. Truly, it was a city worthy to be called the heart of the Empire.
Although it had less inhabitants than Re-Estize, the capital of the Kingdom, the Empire's capital was much grander in comparison. Not only this, due to many years of reform, the Empire was currently experiencing the largest surge of development ever recorded in history. New things were constantly being introduced to society, which increased the opportunities for merchants to explore new markets. A constant influx of goods and talents had since been seen in the Empire's capital. For the citizens living in the capital, it was truly a time of hope and opportunity.
Within this noisy and lively city, Ainz walked with Narberal by his side.
Under different circumstances, Ainz would probably have wanted to spend some time to explore the city, like a country bumpkin coming to a metropolis for the first time. After all, there were many differences between the Empire and the Kingdom.
However, Ainz didn't have the leisure to look around right now.
His movements were gradually starting to reflect his thoughts, slowly becoming more and more erratic over time.
The feelings enveloping him from within could be described with a single word—Unpleasant.
The more Ainz thought about the purpose behind this visit to the Empire, which had been planned by Demiurge, the more he frowned, despite the face being an illusion.
For Ainz Ooal Gown, the absolute ruler of the Great Tomb of Nazarick, the word "endure" should not be in his vocabulary. There should be no need to suppress his emotions. Ainz's words should be absolute, where white would become black if he declared so. There was no reason for things to be otherwise.
Yet the current situation still ended up this way because Ainz couldn't find a valid excuse to dismiss Demiurge's proposal.
The overall objective was—showcasing the strength of Nazarick. It was very easy to understand Demiurge's plan, and the results would also be immediate. On the other hand, what Ainz didn't like was that it felt as if he was about to throw mud on the things carefully built by his past comrades.
However, to reject such an amazingly thought out plan just because of his personal emotions would be a shame. Also, Ainz didn't want others to think that he lacked the magnanimity to accept proposals made by another individual.
To dismiss the current plan without suggesting any alternatives was something that Ainz, not as the supreme ruler but as a member of society, felt was unacceptable.
Ainz repeated the things he thought previously once more in order to calm down. There was a need to cool his head. Between logic and emotions, choosing to go with logic should be the correct choice. Even though those who were driven by their emotions would sometimes achieve extraordinary results, most of the time they were simply irrational. Not only that...
"...It's simply too late to back out now! Kaaa!"
Ainz inhaled and exhaled deeply using his non-existent lungs. And showed no concerns to the city guards and townspeople that cast odd glances in his direction as they walked by.
Due to Ainz's naturally tall and awe-inspiring figure, he was already the center of attention. This became even more so after he was exalted as a hero. Not attracting any attention would be strange. Because of this, Ainz had gotten used to ignoring people's gaze, even more so after he started riding Hamusuke.
After taking multiple deep breaths, Ainz was finally able to reduce the feeling of unpleasantness to a minimum. Only then did he notice the amount of effort that his subordinate, Narberal, had to make in order to keep up with him.
"My bad, I might have walked a bit too fast."
The walking pace required in order to cover the same amount of distance between the footsteps of a man wearing full body armor such as Ainz and the robe wearing Narberal was completely different. It wasn't hard for Narberal to keep up due to her physical capabilities, but as a man, there was still a need to apologize for not being considerate of his walking pace.
"No, I do not have any complaints."
"Is that so..."
Ainz couldn't figure out whether the reply was a typical response that servants gave their masters or if Narberal really didn't mind. While slowing down his pace, Ainz searched for a topic to discuss.
Ainz felt somewhat embarrassed for the unapproachable atmosphere he had been radiating moments ago. As such, in an attempt to improve the current awkward mood, Ainz desperately tried to think of a topic to discuss. However, nothing good came to mind.
He thought about meaningless conversation starters that salespeople often used, such as talking about the weather. Talking about sports was also a good choice, but one had to find out which teams the other person rooted for first.
Considering whether or not to start that kind of conversation, Ainz started mumbling deep in his heart.
Why do I need to be this considerate to someone like Narberal, who is just a subordinate? Well, since it turned out this way, I might as well use this opportunity to practice master-servant dialogue. That being said, it must befit the status of a ruler. What do people with absolute power talk about with their subordinates/servants?
Thinking back on the everyday conversations that took place in Ainz's old company, something like that should be fine, right?
Ainz was the supreme overlord of the Great Tomb of Nazarick, not some senior executive of a company. If a comparison had to be made, he would be more like a company president or a CEO.
No, it's still a bit different from a president... Speaking of which, what's the conversation like between the King and Gazef Stronoff? It would be useful as a reference.