While Neia had started out doing that of her own accord, she had never expected things to turn out like this.
“I’ll take my leave, then. Also, Beldran Moro-shi wishes to meet you.”
“I understand. Can you help me call him in? Thank you for your hard work today.”
The housekeeper bowed to her, and then left the room. A man entered, as though to swap places with her. The woman was averse to men and feared them, and she felt uncomfortable when she was in the same location as men. Therefore, she had chosen to excuse herself.
“Baraja-sama, I apologize for disturbing you while you are resting. May I ask for some of your time?”
Beldran Moro.
He had the stout body of a man in his forties, but the part about him that stood out most was the thinning hair on the top of his head.
The Moro family had a tradition of buttling for notable noble houses, and in the past he too had worked as a butler. That was why he served as a secretary in the rescue corps, in order to make full use of his skills.
Neia had been very lucky to meet someone like him when she had first founded the group. If she had not met him, her hair would have gone white at an early age.
“No, it’s fine. What is it?”
“Thank you. I shall be brief. I wish to say that the membership of our organization is now in excess of 30,000.”
“Ah, that’s wonderful! To think we’d gain so many people who understand His Majesty’s greatness! No, that’s only to be expected. His Majesty truly is an amazing person, after all!”
Shizu nodded and went “Mhm.”
The organization now had more members than the population of a small city. Of the 3.5 million-odd residents of the Northern Holy KIngdom, around 1 % of them now belonged to the group.
“Our supporters have expressed a desire for a symbol of some sort to show their membership in the group.”
“I see… indeed… That… makes sense.”
“Indeed. Some wearable item to indicate their membership is essential in order to foster a sense of reassurance and belonging.”
Mhm, Neia nodded. They would be very happy to have some symbol of solidarity — something related to the Sorcerer King. Neia wanted one too.
“Please use the best possible means at your disposal. However, I do not wish us to give preferential treatment based on cash donations and the like.”
“…unoff… fan…ub…”
Neia picked up something that even her acute hearing could not fully make out.
“Shizu-sempai, what did you say?” Neia asked.
“…Nothing.”
“…Really? Still, if I make a mistake when speaking about His Majesty, you must tell me.”
Neia turned her gaze back to Beldran. Recently, there were more and more people who remained unshaken even when she looked at them, and it made Neia very happy.
“Let the craftsmen take care of that, then. Now… can you tell me about the rest of my schedule?”
“Yes, Baraja-sama. In about two hours, the supporters will be organizing a “‘Thanksgiving to the Sorcerer King.’” I believe you are scheduled to take part and speak of His Majesty’s great deeds.”
“I understand.”
Neia felt quite excited. Having discovered that the Sorcerer King was justice, she felt a sense of camaraderie and closeness to the supporters who could understand how she felt, and she enjoyed talking to people who shared her views.
“Also, there are people who would like you to witness the fruits of their training. Given that you are very busy now, should I reject them?”
Neia had recently founded an honor guard unit of her supporters and was currently putting them through intense training. Both Neia and Shizu had taken part in that training.
To Neia, who felt that weakness would only be a burden to the Sorcerer King, working hard to become strong was second nature. If Neia’s participation could liven up the mood and motivate them, then she had to join them.
“No, I’d like to be there with them.”
“I am certain they will be delighted… and while that summary of events was quite basic, that is all I have to report to you. As for how long it will take to gather the supporters — after considering the time needed to prepare, I believe you will have an hour to slowly rest and relax.”
Beldran bowed his head and left the room. After watching him leave, Neia got up from her chair and walked over to the couch where Shizu was. Then she lay down beside Shizu and tightly embraced her, like she was trying to squish her with her body.
“…There, there.”
Shizu was shorter than herself, but she patted Neia’s back in a soothing manner, like a mother would for her child.
“When will we be able to go look for His Majesty… it’s been a month already…”
The people searching the eastern region of the Holy Kingdom had not found the Sorcerer King, and while they could not rule out the possibility that they might have missed him, it was almost a foregone conclusion that he had fallen into the land of the demihumans, the Abelion Hills. Therefore, they had to make ample preparations, but doing so was simply taking too long.
Of the 3,000 Zern who had betrayed Jaldabaoth, 2,800 of them had gone with their prince to the Sorcerous Kingdom, while the remaining 200 or so had gone to the hills to collect information, but they had not found anything so far.
“…You must not fail.”
“I know! But, but…”
Neia hugged Shizu tighter. She took a deep breath of the scent — like that of black tea — which came from her.
Shizu’s mere presence was enough to keep Neia’s uneasiness at bay.
That was because her existence was the proof that the Sorcerer King was alive.
“…It’ll be fine. Ainz-sama is generous.”
“Ah, that’s right, Shizu-sempai.”
“…Therefore, you should get more supporters and work out a search plan that cannot fail.”
“Ah, that’s right, Shizu-sempai.”
“…That way, Ainz-sama will be happy.”
“Ah, that’s right, Shizu-sempai.”
“…Neia. I’m quite interested in you. Now that I’ve gotten used to it, your face is quite cute.”
“…Quite cute… Speaking of which, you must be really bored because you can’t go outside, Shizu-sempai. Shall the two of us go somewhere together next time?”
Shizu’s extraordinary beauty — it was practically sculpted — attracted a lot of attention. However, the looks directed at her would become ones of fear and caution if people knew her true identity as a maid demon. Many of them would have exaggerated delusions like “She’s going to steal my soul!” which stemmed from the stories where demons transformed into beautiful women to claim souls as part of a deal. However, Neia felt that demons had a right to choose their partners.
For starters, being that she was a subordinate of the most merciful Sorcerer King, this difficulty 150 maid demon would not possibly desire the souls of the people around her, let alone want to charm theirs away..
Even so, there had been troublesome things which they could not avoid, and Neia — as a squire of the Sorcerer King — would not be able to face him if she ended up causing trouble for Shizu, his subordinate. Of course, Neia also understood that Shizu was so powerful that she would not be harmed.
For that reason she spent much of her time here, but now that there were more people in their organization, it ought to be all right to bring her where the supporters gathered.
“…Not a bad idea. We’ll go together as practice.”
“All right, let’s get ready, then. Although, those maid clothes are a little eye-catching… could you change into something more ordinary?”
“…The doctor… ahem. No problem. Lend me clothes. I’ll leave the coordination to you.”
“…I’m sorry, but I didn’t have anyone I could go out with and I had no interest in clothes at all, so I’m not confident in being able to pick out clothes for you.”
Shizu gently patted Neia’s shoulders. While she looked emotionless at a glance, Neia could understand her maternal warmth. After that, Shizu pointed her thumb at herself.