Then, as expected, outside the city, I saw the long queue of people waiting to enter.
The Slane Theocracy was quite thorough in this regard; to enter the Capital, one had to register and undergo a very thorough inspection.
Presumably, this was to prevent spies and ill-intentioned individuals, but truthfully... in this world, if you can't even climb a wall, what kind of spy are you?
So, the Slane Theocracy's approach primarily victimized ordinary citizens.
Naturally, Ellie couldn't queue, so she sent Bell to deal with the temple guards stationed at the main gate. Before a dejected Bell even returned, Ellie already knew the outcome.
Although Bell was once a member of the Windflower Scripture within the Slane Theocracy, she... had no identification.
The Windflower Scripture was the Slane Theocracy's spy unit, and coupled with her status as a candidate for the Shrine Maiden Princess, it was even less likely that the Theocracy's high-ranking officials would give her identification.
After all, even within the Theocracy, the Shrine Maiden Princess was a secret existence. On a side note, the Slane Theocracy was the only country on the Central Continent with a resident registry and identification. However, someone like Bell, who had access to the Theocracy's inner workings, naturally wouldn't be given identification.
"How did it go?" Ellie asked the dejected Bell with a smile.
"Ugh... it's no good. I don't know the captain guarding the gate, and I don't have identification. I can only queue according to the rules and undergo inspection. I told them that the Princess of the Magic Kingdom had come to visit, but I was scolded instead," Bell said with a tearful face.
"Oh? What did they say?" Ellie narrowed her eyes, revealing a fox-like smile.
"They said if she's a Princess, she should arrive with an entourage befitting a Princess. And... that captain also said that in all his years guarding this place, this was the first time he'd encountered someone impersonating a Princess to sneak in," Bell replied timidly, afraid that Ellie would get angry.
"It's only natural for you, who usually only moves within the inner city and the temple, to be like this. This was to be expected," Ellie responded with a smile, then turned and walked away, showing no sign of anger.
"Eh? Princess Elizabeth, you knew I'd be turned away, yet you still sent me!" Bell chased after her, looking as if she had been wronged.
Ellie and Bell's appearances were already eye-catching enough, and now Ellie was wearing formal attire—the same kind of magic robe-like outfit as her father.
Although it had been redesigned and modified by Albedo, it no longer looked like a magic robe when worn by her.
Although it was all black with a touch of white, it looked like a very distinguished priestess or nun. Ellie herself quite liked the design, after all... a formal appearance naturally had to leave a good impression. If she dressed like a Great Demon, how could she negotiate with anyone?
Bell, on the other hand, was wearing a common blue and white maid uniform often seen in Nazarick. So, this combination of a priestess and a maid naturally attracted the attention of the commoners queuing outside the city. Ellie walked unhurriedly, completely unconcerned by everyone's gaze, while Bell was very uncomfortable.
"Princess Elizabeth, what should we do next?" Bell asked, somewhat confused.
"Hmm? Is that even a question? Naturally, we'll create an entourage befitting a Princess," Ellie said with a chuckle, speaking quite loudly, which caused the waiting commoners to start discussing amongst themselves.
..."Then why didn't we do that from the beginning?" Bell asked, looking utterly bewildered.
Although she hadn't personally witnessed a Princess's outing, she had seen many official visits by royalty and high-ranking officials, almost all of them grand affairs, with countless guards and honor guards.
But this Princess of the Magic Kingdom had initially said she was coming to the Slane Theocracy to cause trouble, and Bell had expected her to change into ordinary clothes and sneak in, just like last time. She never thought that upon arrival, she would declare it a formal visit.
However, given that this Princess never played by the rules, Bell didn't say much.
It was just that she was always the unlucky one. She knew it would be impossible to get in this way, yet she was still sent to be scolded... and ridiculed... "Eh? Why? Why is there such a big difference with the same face?" Then she saw Princess Elizabeth sigh, looking at her with a regretful expression. Bell clearly understood what the Princess meant.
"Uh... it's not like I wanted to look like her," Bell replied, somewhat sulkily.
"Well! Just watch closely," Ellie chuckled. Of course, this wasn't to deliberately trick Bell; Ellie had a purpose for doing this.
"This spot should be good enough, right?" Ellie said with a mischievous smile.
At this point, Ellie and Bell had almost reached the very end of the commoners' queue. Of course, Ellie wouldn't actually queue.
Walking to the end was just because there was a suitable empty space next to the end of the queue. At this moment, the eyes of the people at the end of the queue were all focused on this noble-looking priestess.
"Princess Elizabeth... what are you going to do?" Bell saw Ellie smiling as she looked at the large empty space in front of them, and instantly had a very bad premonition.
This Princess almost always smiled like this before doing something terrifying.
"Naturally, I'll summon my army. Since they're unwilling to let me enter the city like this..." Ellie said with a smile, then slowly raised her hand.
At this moment, a black ring on Ellie's finger was seen emitting an eerie light.
Although Bell was a bit clumsy, she was still once the ace of the Windflower Scripture, so her observation skills and attention to detail were not bad.
Therefore, Bell had already noticed that when she had previously interacted with the loli version of the Princess, she only had four rings in total on both hands.
Now... this adult version of the Princess already had nine rings. Except for the ring finger, which was empty, symbolizing being married, all other fingers were adorned with various styles of rings.
"I've stored quite a lot beforehand; it should be enough... Come forth! My servants!" Ellie shouted loudly.
Immediately after, the black light from the black ring on Ellie's hand slowly drifted towards the large empty space, then formed a dark, vortex-like large hole in that empty space.
This action startled the onlookers, who had no idea what this priestess wanted to do. Then, when they saw what emerged from the dark hole, they were instantly terrified.
Because what came out of that black hole... were skeletons... all sorts of skeletons. There were human ones... human-like ones... unidentifiable reptile ones... dragon ones... all kinds of strange skeletons, continuously pouring out of that black hole.
"Wh-What is this?!" Bell was also frightened.
"Why are you just standing there? Hurry up and clear the area!" Ellie turned her head, somewhat displeased, and said to Bell.
"Uh... this... Princess of the Ainz Ooal Gown Magic Kingdom! Princess Elizabeth has arrived!!! Commoners, quickly step back!!!" Bell seemed to understand Ellie's meaning and could only shout this at the top of her lungs.
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