Chapter 8: Meeting & Parting
Neia appreciated the quiet days. The extra time away from Nazarick to her from the place of her god, but it did allow her more mental focus to seeing to the capitol, many of the damaged homes had been demolished, and the area around her headquarters that was gifted by the crown was now free of debris, the abundance of materials from destroying the remnants of excessively damaged homes...and the homes of those who had betrayed the Holy Kingdom of course, all served to make the process easier.
However, the real source of success lay in the skeleton laborers, the deceased who had tried to slaughter the citizens had been turned into skeletal labor under the control of Neia Baraja, a gift of the Sorcerer King, which the Holy Kingdom nobility was hard pressed to refuse. The priests had sputtered objections, but there had been too much disgrace to care about their moral positions at the moment, and the general public considered it fitting that those who had tried to kill them, instead, be made to serve them after dying. It was a radical turnaround from the previous attitude towards the undead that the people held a few years earlier.
Ironically, it was the fact that nobles had lent troops that made it easiest to push through, they couldn't very well object when it was they who had helped participate in the attack. Some feeble opposition that might have been raised, Neia eased out of the way early by proposing that some of them be put to work on the noble's manor houses...something that appealed to their impatience as well as their vanity. Count Handor...whom Neia was quite sure had been involved in some way, had even applauded the idea. Some priests had left the Capitol entirely as a matter of protest, a protest very few cared about or noticed.
The addition of over a thousand laborers that didn't sleep, eat, drink, tire, or sicken sped things up mightily, as long as someone was on shift to supervise and instruct them, the skeletons worked unimpeded and without issue on all but the most delicate tasks. With the worst of her opponents shattered, dead, implicated, or fled, no real threats remained for the present, and much to her surprise, Neia found Gustav waiting at her office the day they were ready to break ground on the new temple.
"I wasn't expecting you." Neia said sincerely.
"I wasn't expecting me either." He said with a sardonic smile.
"Come into my office," she said, "while it still stands at least."
She gestured towards the door and was even kind enough to open it for him, and then she moved to her desk, sat, and invited him to do the same.
"You know why I'm here?" He said flatly as he shifted uncomfortably.
"No idea." Neia said. "Truly, no idea at all."
"I came to say I'm sorry." Gustav said.
"You say what now?" Neia asked, flabbergasted.
"For whatever it is worth, I had no idea what Remedios was going to do." He said, his eyes meeting hers unflinchingly as he leaned in, his hands clasped nervously on the desk.
"I actually believe you." Neia said.
"Wait...really?" Gustav said, surprise evident in his voice.
"Yes. Really." Neia crossed her arms and stared back at him. "Do you know why?" She asked.
"No idea." He said, echoing her previous statement.
"We both know Remedios, even if you and I never worked all that closely together, we both know HER. She was a powerful individual, but a shit captain, she hadn't ever had an original thought in her entire life, she's a moron. If YOU had been involved, one of two things would have happened: either you'd have talked her out of it entirely, and we wouldn't be sitting here right now, or you'd have done something less predictable, and again, we might not be sitting here right now. The fact that she made such a ridiculous plan of attack..." Neia shook her head in disbelief, "she didn't even consider that Black Justice, a group dedicated to strength, would have a night watch, she hadn't imagined that we'd predict her outrage at the authorization for our temple. It was rash, it was stupid, it was classic Remedios." Neia said. "Do you disagree?" She asked her guest.
"I suppose not." Gustav admitted reluctantly.
"So let's get to the point, you want to know if I'm coming after you in any way, if I'm going to hit the remaining paladins in the city, you're worried, and I don't blame you for it." Neia said.
Gustav looked at her with uncertainty, but stayed silent.
Neia stood and began pacing. She turned her face towards him and said, "In no uncertain terms, I tell you, I am not planning any retaliation on any Paladin Order personnel in this city. The way I see it, everyone who thought like her went with her or died where they stood, the ones who remain, either don't, or she didn't think they did, and that includes you...and congratulations on your appointment by the way, I would have attended, but I had my own ceremony to attend to." She said, causing him to wince a little at the memory of just why that was.
"However, don't think that automatically makes us allies. I haven't forgotten how you abandoned the King who came to save us, not a single paladin stepped up when the call went out to rescue the Sorcerer King. Or even to pretend to care about the lives of those he rescued who were attempting to repay a debt of blood and honor. I don't like your justice. It's cruel, it's hypocritical, it's selfish, excluding all others from sharing the world. I've seen better, and I want to make things better. If the Paladin Order can't change..." She paused from her pacing and looked at him with something akin to pity, "One thing I have learned studying under his majesty is that the world is an ever-changing place, those who cannot bend, break when there is no alternative. I don't hate my former order, and I do not revel in your current disgrace. I've pitied those who could not see what I saw, ever since we were just a rag tag band in a cave and I listened to you all plan how to use the king who came to save us, and used disrespectful words against him when he was not there, even while he had immediately observed a weakness in our way of doing things and offered a solution...but pity or not, mournful or not, we will clash again, not because I 'want' us to, but because your beliefs will force you to bring about conflict yourselves. If I can have peace and justice, I will have it gladly, but if you deny me the latter, I will destroy the former to claim both in the name of a better world. Given a choice, I'd rather you all be there to see it, but as Remedios showed us all, some people are not going to give us that choice" She said.
"How did it come to THIS?" Gustav asked aloud.
"If you follow where you're led without thinking about where you'll end up, you can end up in some bad places without ever knowing how you got there." Neia said sadly.
"Just remember, the Paladin Order has been around for centuries, and we have never failed to triumph in the end." He said, to which she replied, "That may be true, but the Paladin Order only survives to this day because of the one your renegade commander wants to destroy. He defeated what you could not, he gave you all your lives, he gave all of us a future. If it isn't right to follow him, to understand why someone so different from ourselves would risk themselves for us, I don't know what right is, do you?" She asked.
The fight seemed to go out of Gustav as he slumped in the chair, "I don't...except to say it is right to protect our people from threats, I am still sure of that much." He said.
"Sure enough, that if you'd known Remedios's intent, you'd have stood on our side of the barricade when she came to kill us all?" Neia asked.
He stiffened. He was silent. After a long moment of looking at her face as if searching for an answer, he looked down and said, "I...don't know."
Neia nodded understandingly and touched his shoulder sympathetically. "When you do know, then you'll have found what justice means to you. I have already found my answer."
"You've come a long way from the brave little squire who sat in awe of adamantite adventurers." He said softly.
"We've all come a long way since then," she said, "and some of us took different paths, but one thing bothers me about our most recent...divergences." She said.
"Remedios is fairly dumb, so I know her rescue wasn't coordinated by her. I could easily see most other paladins being capable of executing something like that. But the attack on our position was planned quickly. Sure, it's true that even...not being the brightest of persons, could still put together a battle plan quickly enough, but so far we've identified several known criminals among the dead, as well as some people who bear indications that they serve noblemen, probably household troops. It just doesn't seem likely that she could have pulled this off on her own, even as shoddy and sloppy as the plan was. So...can you think of anyone who might have been behind it?" She looked at him expectantly, her eyes focused like beams of light through a small hole in a window, he felt like his very soul was being searched. He shivered.
"I can think of several candidates." He said, looking down as a dark rage colored his face red.
"You'll be presenting that list to the King, rather than to me, I assume?" She asked.
"I will." He said, firmly, "But," he added, "Given what Remedios was led...guided...told...or caused to do, I'd give you that list if I could, if only because I think you'd do worse to them than I would." He said with hate in his voice.
"Then we understand each other...Commander." Neia said matter-of-factly, making a point of using his new title.
"We do." Commander Gustav replied as he stood.
He extended his hand, and Neia took it. When he looked down, he saw how rough and calloused her hands were, and her eyes bore the look of a monster, if ever any did, but he did not flinch from monsters. "Thank you for your time. He said.
"Thank you for your apology," Neia said, "even though you weren't at fault, I know you meant it, and I do hope, whether you believe me or not, that the Paladin Order regains its moral standing in the eyes of the people.
Gustav turned and walked out, leaving Neia to check on the status of new recruits that had begun to filter in, those who would have once aspired to be paladins, now swelled the ranks of Black Justice, a fact not lost on Gustav as he had to pass right by them. She almost pitied him at that sight. Not quite...but almost.
Time ran out, as it tended to do, and in due course her people found themselves again before the Sorcerer King upon his throne, but this time there were several figures visiting his throne ahead of her. The first was known to her by reputation, "Fluder Paradyne, he's...not as impressive to look at as I expected." she said softly to herself. He was receiving a gift from the Sorcerer King, a book, and the weeping he let out in gratitude informed her of its value, he was bowing every other step as he walked backwards out the door.
The next, she knew his face from coins, "Jircniv...emperor of the Baharuth Empire and vassal of the Sorcerer King." She said in the same tone of voice to herself, he knelt before the King, and Neia silently listened.
"I thank you, your majesty, for the work you have put in on establishing roads between our lands, and in the lending of your undead laborers to build villages along the way to relocate our poorer citizens, you have given my people a brighter future, and we will not forget it." He said
Ainz waved a hand in front of himself, "Think nothing of it my dear friend Jircniv, this is not done as a charity, it is an investment in the brighter futures of our people, and what use is a monarch that does not do that, and what good is a community, that does not see to the wellbeing of its own?" He said as if it were an obvious statement.
"As expected of my liege, he is the embodiment of kingship." Jircniv said, and when dismissed, he departed with his attendants, bowing with a genuine respect as he did so.
After them, Neia was confused. A man stood next to a war troll who was bedecked in adamantite equipment. "Your request is granted," the Sorcerer King said, "when our arena is built, you will be the first to be able to stand in its center. The champions of the known world will be gathered together to make for themselves immortal fame that will eclipse all triumphs that have come before." He said.
"Thank you." The war troll said simply but sincerely, and the man beside him was visibly moved. It left Neia with a logical conclusion, that was the champion of the Baharuth Empire's arena, and the man who oversaw it all. She couldn't place their names, but she guessed their positions at least.
When they were gone, Ainz turned his attention to Neia and her hundred, who knelt with eyes lowered. "Welcome back, Neia Baraja. Are you ready for the final phases of your preparation before my departure?"
"Yes, majesty, but may this humble servant ask you a question?" Neia said. Albedo was quick to snap out, "Do not presume upon your master so easily!" Neia remained unmoved and silent, but Ainz interjected, "It's fine, Albedo, I'm sure she is just eager to see if there is some way she may serve me." He said.
"It is as his majesty says." Neia replied.
"It's no great secret to be classified from all others, and all will know of it soon enough anyway. I will be traveling to the adventurers' guilds of the various nations. I intend to promote our vision of change to all of them, in order to build greater cooperation and friendship between our nations. It will, however, keep me very busy, and as such, I must ask you to work without rest this time." He said in a somewhat apologetic voice.
"We will, your majesty." Neia said enthusiastically.
"I believe you." He said. "Now go and see Cocytus, you have a lot to do."
They bowed and withdrew, quickly rushing to the training grounds, where they found a...profoundly odd sight before them. Cocytus stood in front of 101 undead horses.
"Lord Cocytus..." Neia began, "What are the horses for?"
"For you." He said.
"You will learn mounted combat, to a degree. I am sure you have some familiarity with it, however, not to the degree you will by the time we are done." Cocytus said. "Expect to fall down...a lot." He said.
Unbeknownst to the rest of them, the other guardians had decided this would be entertaining to watch, and so they gathered together to watch remotely, and they were not disappointed. The horses, though undead, had been readied to react like living mounts, and as such, many humans tumbled in some unexpected ways, with some hilarious expressions, prompting ample laughter from the absent guardians. They watched for hours before it began to lose its appeal or other tasks began to draw them away.
It became routine however, for them to revisit the place and watch as days, weeks, then months, of training began to gradually pay off for the elite band, when they had learned the basics, they began to learn attacks, they learned to fire their bows in front, side, and rear...though this had a lot of undead horses getting shot in the head or in the ass at first. Neia was deeply surprised by all this. She'd seen horses used in combat, but they were used as rams or scouts. She had never seen anyone combine archery and horsemanship in this way. She learned circle maneuvers, feints and retreats, and how to control the group with flags. It was then combined with infantry support in the form of the lizardmen on the ground, and the different pieces of her forces began to function like fingers on the hand, joining together in a fist.
Briefly, she imagined what it would have meant for her world if the Sorcerer King were truly as hostile as Remedios and those like her imagined. She imagined undead legions performing what at first seemed to her like impossible maneuvers, working together under single command, she imagined the proud paladins charging full tilt into a storm of arrows from light troops they couldn't catch, she imagined rivers being diverted to divide or wash away armies, she imagined all the things she had learned of, being turned against people who knew none of it. She shook her head...if they only knew how easily he could have destroyed everyone, even without his magic, there would be no opposition, they would lie down in surrender.
When the seemingly endless training was done, at least the physical sort, Sebas escorted Neia to the library.
"You've done well. Very well." He said.
"Thank you, Sebas," she smiled wryly, "I must admit there were moments when I wondered if we would ever get it."
"I think Cocytus would share that sentiment." He said, flashing a rare smile on his stern face.
They chuckled at the thought, and Sebas continued, "My lord has placed a great task on your shoulders, you know."
Neia gave him a solemn look, "I do. To convey the teachings of the god of justice, the wisest and strongest of all beings...how can I even begin?" She asked in a voice that trembled with nerves, that life or death battle did not shake.
"I cannot tell you, but I can say that since my lord does not make mistakes, he has chosen you wisely and therefore you ARE capable of this. Write to him during your journey, send your letters by hand back to the Capitol, we will have someone there to receive them and reply." He said.
"Isn't that...slow?" She asked.
"It is my lord's opinion that wisdom is most highly valued and most effective when answers demand time and consideration." Sebas replied.
"As you say, Sebas." Neia said, just as they walked into the library.
The goblin strategist was waiting with a broad smile on his green face as usual, "How good to have you back, Lady Neia...or should I say 'Pope Neia' now, I just heard of the new...title you will be taking on. Congratulations."
"Thank you, Sun, it's a welcome thing and a step forward in the service of the god of justice." She said enthusiastically. "But, if I may, where is Zaryusu? He was in the training grounds, but why is he not here?"
"His phase of this is completed, as his people have no horses and they are not physically suited to riding, he has been granted a boon as his reward, and has been allowed to return to his village. He did, however, send his fondest wishes for you, his classmate and comrade in arms, and he extends a permanent invitation to visit his village when time permits you to do so."
Neia smiled broadly, "That would give me great joy. I'm very glad for him, but what was his boon?" She asked.
"He was permitted to take some drawings and notes from his time here, back to his people that he may improve their future with the knowledge he acquired, and his people were permitted to come to this library for learning annually."
"I'll have to remember that boon and make it my own as well when the time comes." Neia said with a grin. "What do I study today?" She asked.
"You will study the ways of cavalry command, as well as the ways cavalry can be defeated. Attila the Hun, Genghis Khan, the Parthians, Alexander the Great, and others of considerable note. I am quite sure you will be tired of horses by the time you are done, but when you are finished, you will have learned at the very least, the academics of warfare. If you are competent and able to apply it in practice, you will exceed all others in your nation." The crackly voice of the strategist told her.
"Then I will work hard." Neia said, and immediately sat and read alone, peppered by constant questions as she took notes and compared materials to one another. It was the single longest study session of her life, worse than preparing to become a paladin, even if she had magic items that eliminated fatigue, she felt the mental weariness, and was grateful when the last book closed in front of her.
She let her forehead fall forward and 'thud' on the closed book, prompting a laugh from the goblin strategist. "You have earned your rest." He said, "But first, the Sorcerer King summons you."
Neia could not move fast enough, shouting a thank you behind her to the Goblin Strategist. She moved so quickly that when she charged full tilt into the throne room, it was all she could do as she charged past the waiting hundred of her people, to not fall as she struck a kneeling posture in front of him.
"You have done well, Pope Neia, and all of you elites of Black Justice." Ainz said in a lordly and commanding voice. "But know that this is only the beginning, now you have knowledge, but knowledge unapplied is as useful as an arrow that does not leave its quiver, you must put your knowledge to work in your upcoming assignment, you and your hundred will make me proud of you I am sure, but do not let my confidence make you arrogant, because even a dirt crawling snake may poison and slay a mighty lion. Stay vigilant, work hard, and when you complete this mission, you will be rewarded for all that you have accomplished in my name."
"All will be as his majesty wills." Neia said. "Long Live Ainz Ooal Gown!" Neia shouted, "Long may he reign!" echoed from the hundred behind her.
It was a sentiment the guardians approved of, but two jealous pairs of feminine eyes were burning into Neia Baraja as she received the praise of their common Lord.
"For now, you may go, enjoy the remaining time before your duty begins, weapons and armor will be delivered to you the day of your journey, and it is my hope that it will contribute to your safety and success." Ainz said, and the gate opened behind them. They stood, and Neia bowed, and it was not until the last of her hundred had walked through the portal that she straightened up, and walked through as well. The gate closed, and Ainz turned to his guardians.
"What do you think?" He asked.
"As expected of our Lord Ainz." Said Shalltear, "You knew we were watching them even without us saying so."
Ainz coughed several times in his skeletal hand and said, "Ah-of course I did, Shalltear, that is why I didn't command it, I knew you would work my will without my order."
Albedo and Shalltear sighed, rather lovestruck as he showed his brilliant mind to them. "Now, I will have your opinions.
"Cocytus?" He asked.
"They have a warrior spirit and a drive to succeed, they are loyal, and now they are well-trained and will be well-equipped. If they remain vigilant, they will do very well. I dare say that there is no single force in the Holy Kingdom that could stop them unless they had overwhelming numbers to throw away."
"Mare?" Ainz asked.
"It was fu-funny to watch them at first, but then it st-stopped being funny when they g-got better at it all, I think they're st-strong for humans." He said.
"Aura?" Ainz asked.
"They're still bugs, but at least they're smart enough to see the greatness of Lord Ainz, "Aura said with her hand out and legs crossed as if she were explaining something obvious, "still, they try hard, and they beat some beasts stronger than they are individually by working together, so I guess they're OK." She said.
"Shalltear?" Ainz said.
"They would be better as food...but I admit...I did like the way that female one was so eager to die on what she thought were your orders, and I felt bad for her when she was frustrated by her failure to die...if people can see the obvious greatness of Ainz as we can, maybe they're not all completely worthless." She said somewhat begrudgingly.
"Albedo?" Ainz asked.
"I find her eyes on you to be infuriating, but she knows her place as do they all," she said, "as long as she knows it's better to die than displease you, they'll serve as useful pawns."
"Demiurge?" Ainz said.
"They are going to reach the limits of human strength sooner than most, and that will make them a force in this world, especially if their methods spread, I admit, the method of combat that female specimen devised is not without its merits, she is clearly not as clever as yourself, or even Renner, but...she has considerable ability of her own, if she grows, she may be fit to become an official public representative of Nazarick." Demiurge said, "As expected of the leader of the 41 supreme beings, Ainz knew of her potential at the beginning and nurtured her through all the conflict and chaos, even with my poor inferior plans for the Holy Kingdom in his way." He looked down, "And to think I almost killed that one in a careless moment." He shook his head, "I swear my Lord, I will strive to read your intent more closely in the future."
Ainz covered his distress with a laugh, one that spread through all the guardians, and hoped even more than before that Neia would be successful so he wouldn't be left with something else to cover up.