Neia decided not to pretend any more. While she wanted to act as a squire and deal with her politely as a person of the Holy Kingdom, she decided to give up on it. It did not matter if she was dealing with a monster which knew no equal throughout history o in the present day, she had to make one thing clear.
“Someone like you―”
“I was told to do so by Ainz Ooal Gown-sama ― ‘Call me Ainz-sama,’ he said.”
“Eh?”
“So I can call him Ainz-sama. I can. Call. Him. That.”
Left unspoken was “but you can’t,” Neia’s body trembled.
No, she was a demon that the Sorcerer King had bound into his service with magic. Maybe it was natural that she would go that far.
“No, that can’t be. You, you must be lying. You’re lying like a demon would. How could he have explained in such detail in a situation like that?”
Shizu shook her head, as though to say, Good grief.
“It is a shame, but also true. Well, I know you must be shocked. I understand very well. Still, that is where you stand now. However, if you work for him, someday you will be able to call him Ainz-sama too. Work towards it.”
“―Shizu.”
“…Neia. It is a predecessor’s duty to teach those who come after them.”
While that was a pretty good line, had Shizu not come after herself? Still, the fact that she could call him Ainz-sama made her feel that maybe she was the senior after all. It was a little hard to accept, but first―
“I want to thank you.”
“…Don’t mention it. One must show kindness to those who know of Ainz-sama’s greatness.”
Neia’s eyes widened in surprise. She had only been bound to him for such a short time, so how had she gained such respect? No, that simply proved how great the Sorcerer King was.
“Yes, that’s right. I know very well how great His Majesty is.”
After Neia answered, the two of them looked at each other for a while.
Shizu was the first to move.
She swiftly extended her right hand. Neia responded instantly and without hesitation.
While Neia was mildly bothered by the fact that Shizu had not taken off her glove, the two of them shook hands on the table.
Given how much she reveres the Sorcerer King, it would seem she really is under His Majesty’s rule. Otherwise, she would not have called him Ainz-sama, but instead she would have called him His Majesty like me, so she would not sound strange.
Was she being naive? However, at this point, Neia was very confident in her beliefs. She understood that Shizu’s loyalty was genuine. Just like how the teeth of two cogwheels fitted together, they could understand each other because they were fellow worshippers of the same god.
“…Speaking of which, it’s easy to get along with you. As a human being, you have a bright future, Neia.”
“I have very mixed feelings about getting along with a demon. We’re talking like this because you’re speaking the truth about how great His Majesty is.”
Hm hm, Shizu nodded.
“…Although I feel it doesn’t matter what happens to Neia, I will bring you back safely to this country. I promise.”
“Thank you.”
Neia’s gratitude was honest and straightforward. Shizu’s difficulty rating was 150. She was on a level where even Blue Rose would be hard-pressed to win against her. It was only right to be grateful for the protection of such a demon. This was doubly true if she was a subject of the Sorcerer King. Although, there was one thing she had to clarify with her.
“…Can you swear that in the name of the Sorcerer King?”
Shizu raised a hand, like she had been called on by a teacher.
“This I swear in the name of the Supreme One, Ainz Ooal Gown-sama… However, if you die and are resurrected, that still counts as keeping my word, right?”
“Safe…? No, I think that’s slightly different…”
The two of them looked at each other.
To Neia, there was a big difference between “safe” and “coming back to life after dying.” However, that was just barely within the bounds of what she could compromise with.
“If you don’t become a demon or one of the undead, but come back to life as a human, that ought to count, right…”
“…That should be fine.… Alright.”
There was a slight change in Shizu’s voice, which had been in a monotone all this while. She sounded like she was motivated now.
“…While you’re not cute, this is specially for you.”
Shizu took something out and went to Neia’s side. Then she pressed something tightly onto Neia’s forehead.
“Eh!? What!? What is this!?”
Startled by that inexplicable action, she tried desperately to peel it off, but she could not. It was stuck on so tight that it would not budge. It was very frightening.
“What’s this! Eh! Wait! I’m scared!”
“…It’s okay. It won’t hurt and it’s not scary. Look.”
Shizu showed her something with the number 1 and a strange design ― it might have been a letter ― on it. It was made of some kind of paper that gleamed with a frightening lustre and the one on her head was similarly slippery. She had heard of talismancy, so was that a kind of talisman used as a magical medium for that art? No matter what, she could not have given out a trivial item like this, so it must be some kind of magic item. That was what sent a chill down Neia’s spine. What if she could not remove it for the rest of her life?
“Why did you have to stick it on my forehead! Aren’t there better places to put it!?”
“…Mm, like a little sister.”
“Eh!?” Although she had heard something quite shocking, there was a more important matter at hand. “Anyway, take this off. At least stick it on my clothes or somewhere else!”
“…It can’t be helped, then.”
Shizu took out a small bottle and placed a drop of something on Neia’s forehead. After that, the tightly stuck-on object peeled off easily, like it had never been attached at all. She picked it up, looked at it, and saw that it was the same as the one Shizu had showed her earlier.
“…Sticker. It needs to be pasted somewhere obvious.”
It would seem she would have to paste it on. Making Shizu angry would do no good, so Neia did as she was told.
“Yes…”
“…Are we done?”
“Eh? Ah, no, after this, er, I wanted to talk about finding His Majesty, ah, no, to welcome him back…”
“…I’ll go too…We need a lot of preparation. After all that is over.”
“Really?”
“…I promise. But I hope we can make time to finish the map of the demihumans’ hills.”
“That’s true. Eh, demihumans?”
A moment after she agreed, a question suddenly popped up in her heart. Right now, she had not told her anything. Even so, why had she suddenly used the word “demihuman?”
Could it be… she heard about him landing in the Hills from Prince Caspond?
“…What’s wrong?”
“Er, um… I got it. I’ll talk to the people on top.”
“…Pleased to meet you, Neia.”
“The pleasure was all mine, Shizu.”
Although she was still mildly bothered by the sticker from just now, Neia stuck out her hand, and Shizu responded. They both shook hands again.
“You don’t think His Majesty is dead after all, do you, Shizu?”
Shizu’s eyes went wide.
“…What did you just say?”
“Actually, His Majesty fell to the east, and then he didn’t contact us again… Since His Majesty can cast teleportation spells, the fact that he still hasn’t come back makes me think something happened to him… So… what if… His Majesty…”
It hurt too much to speak any further. She hesitated, because if she said it, it might come true.
To this Shizu responded with what was probably surprise.