Chapter 302

"How long have we been in here?" Lakyus asked when she woke up with a yawn. Her body and jaw alike stretched out, as one by one the rest of their companions awakened in the dim light of the chamber.

"Time has no meaning in caves, graves, or combat." Evileye said as she pushed herself off of the cavern wall with one hand and up to a standing position. "And this," she pointed up with one finger and spun it in a circle, "is just a tiny cave."

"At least it's warm." Gagaran grunted as she stood up in turn.

"Open the door carefully, because it's not going to be warm out there, if we open it too quickly, we'll freeze a whole lot faster." Evileye said, and Lupusregina laughed.

"What's funny, evil cleric?" Tia and Tina asked, looking up from either side of the red haired woman.

"Nothing, this is actually a grave matter and should be treated as such." Lupu said, staring directly at Evileye and saying nothing until the twins shrugged it off.

Gagaran ignored the exchange and went for the door, cracking it open and shutting her eyes as freezing cold air blasted her in the face. She pressed her shoulder to the heavy wood and forced it to open further when the howling wind began to push back. "Wow… it's… bad out here…"

"No, it's the path. The wind has nowhere to go, so it rushes down here and the door acts like a sail, catching it and trying to close the door." Evileye said, and Gagaran grunted and looked back at her.

"That's just 'it's bad out here' with extra steps." Gagaran replied and grunted as she pushed harder. A collective shiver passed over the group as the freezing wind came in like an invisible flood and drowned them all in its icy grip. Flakes of snow were cast about, spinning in tiny tornados until they came to rest here and there.

"I guess… ah, anyway, we should go." Evileye said and hastened for the exit, rushing past her comrades before they could say anything.

They filed out and began to tramp their way up the mountain path, the gale wind of blinding snow assaulted them, and the distant horizon showed only the barest hint of light which was fading fast.

"It will be dark soon, maybe we should have stayed in there longer." Gagaran shouted as she clutched her cloak in one hand and leaned into the wind, blocking it with her body to make it easier for those behind her to follow, while Momon took up the rear to mind that nobody fell behind.

"No, we're close!" Lakyus promised with a shout she wasn't sure that Gagaran heard when her words were taken by the wind even to her own ears.

But whether she heard or not, Gagaran continued to walk the long path upward as the temperature continued to drop. Snow crunched underfoot as their feet sank into the white carpet again and again.

"Allow me to help you." Momon said from behind her, and Evileye almost jumped skyward.

"Help… me?" She gasped.

"Your steps are small, and this will speed us up, we should not leave your comrades in the cold too long, nor should you use any magic or power, we do not know what lies at the end of this path, only what we 'should' find." Momon said, and when he held out his hand after giving his impeccable reasoning, she slowly put her hand into his palm.

'So large…' She thought, her heart inflamed with desire, in no small part because she knew his strength lay in far more than mere appearance. Recalling the sight of the unconquerable warrior demolishing everything in his path, her lifeless heart threatened to begin beating in her breast again.

Though what help he intended was unclear until he drew her close to him and picked her up so that she was now seated on his forearm.

"Cling to my neck if you need balance, I will carry you the rest of the way." Momon said, her legs against his torso, she followed his suggestion about where to put her arms. 'Bards of the world, I was wrong! Heroes do carry their maidens through trials against danger, foes, and the very world…'

For the first time in their lengthy sojourn, Evileye wished that part of their trek, the hardest part thus far, and likely at all, would go on forever. His heartbeat seemed so alive, his body, so warm, she could feel everything even through his heavy armor, thanks to her vampire senses that told her where the veins and vitals were.

She rode that way, happily, for three more hours until at last Gagaran shouted over her shoulder, "It's just ahead! I can see a light!"

They picked up their pace then, kicking the white carpet off the mountain side and leaving a path behind them that was filling up again as fast as they made it, until at long last the light was visible to all, and a great wide gate of stone doors, carved into the very mountain itself, became visible.

Gagaran touched the door, and it slowly began to groan its way open, pushing away the snow, and leaving the way in open.

Light immediately struck them, shooting out in the darkness as the glowstones cast their illumination on the party. "Welcome to the Kingdom of the Dwarves!" A voice called out from within, drawing every eye to him.

The hearty voice came from a dwarf who sat at a stone table with a blank paged book and an inkwell with its quill at the ready, his chair was of pale wood, and his beard was fiery red. He had deep, dark eyes, and pale, pinkish lips poked out just beyond the beard itself. "Are you visiting for business or pleasure?" He asked and reached for the quill to take down their answer. "Oh, and… is the child alright there? It's very cold out…?" The dwarf's pink lips turned down in a tiny, concerned frown.

"Child?" Lakyus asked, and the party turned around to see how Momon was holding Evileye.

"Ah… y-you can put me down, Momon… ah, thank you…" Evileye stammered, and where Gagaran and Lakyus struggled to hold in their laughter, Lupusregina did not even try to stop herself, she grabbed her belly with both hands and laughed without stopping for several minutes straight.

Calca's pronouncement, or request as she'd made it, did not end the tour. Far from it, after suggesting a finish to her exploration of his home, she was quiet for a time, except to ask questions about what she saw, most of which left her more convinced than ever, 'I married a god… I birthed the child of a god… Aurelion is a godkin…' Part of her wanted to laugh at herself, 'I accidentally married a god and didn't know it. How will I explain this to Kelart?'

The sheer absurdity of it all was almost incomprehensible to the point where she had to frequently stop and rest herself against the wall as the reality made her dizzy, her husband was ever solicitous of her, holding out a hand to catch or steady her, or help her to right herself again when she was ready to move on.

"My… husband," Calca said after struggling for words, "Could I by chance meet the one you intend to send to the arena for the competition?"

Albedo gave a low, sly chuckle, "It won't be a competition, only a coronation and submission."

Calca looked at her 'sister wife' with a mix of confusion and somewhat frustrated admiration. Though direct interaction was scarce, Calca quickly determined two things. 'She loves the Allfather with all her heart… and she is the string puller of countless puppets. She and that… one, Demiurge…'

The Holy Queen's naivety was gone, her innocence a distant memory, neither of the two, despite appearances of politeness and civility, was kind by nature. 'A thin veneer of both conceals cunning minds on par with the Golden Princess or better, and a ruthless nature befitting the right and left hands of an emperor.'

Sometimes as they walked, she looked over her shoulder as if looking for her past self, the part of her that believed in kindness and love as the only form of loyalty. 'How wrong I was. I must be loved, but I must also be feared.' She reminded herself, and studied the winged woman for clues that might further help with the rule over the Holy Kingdom.

This desire to understand how to ensure she was feared, drove her question about the combatant her husband would select, and Albedo's answer led her mind spiralling into the variety of plots the right hand of the Allfather could have concocted for the clash ahead.

Ainz activated the message spell and connected to Aureole Omega. 'Aureole Omega, teleport us to your location.'

'Of course, Lord Ainz.' She answered in the sweet and high pitched voice of a growing young girl.

Ainz took the hands of his wives, and in an instant later, they were gone.

And then they weren't.

Calca blinked her eyes rapidly as if she were startled to wakefulness and found herself standing in a green grove with what appeared to be a circle of trees before her, pink blossoms tumbled down endlessly, drifting as gently as snow on a windless day. Curiously the little pink petals never seemed to pile up, they simply 'vanished' after renewing the thin satin like carpet on the green of the grass.

In the center of the trees a young woman with dark hair which tumbled down her back, clad in a white and red garb, was bent at one knee and her head was deeply bowed. "My Lord, and my Queens." She said, her voice drifted as gently as the pink blossoms themselves, and Calca felt it in her bones, chilling her to the core.

Without knowing how, perhaps by her exposure to monster after polite monster, she knew she was in the presence of great power. Though she dared not give it voice yet, not without a closer look. She took a bold step forward without waiting for her husband or for Albedo to say anything. She then took another step, and another and another and another carrying herself into the midst of the trees where her face and hair were caressed by the satiny blossoms before they fell away. She was then standing in front of the young girl, "Raise your head." Calca said in the way of a born royal, and the girl obeyed. In her right hand was a slightly curved wooden practice sword with the tip pressed down into the ground beside her calf, and when the girl looked up, Calca felt certain.

"You're… human aren't you?" Calca asked breathlessly.

Aureole Omega cocked her head. "Yes, my Queen, I am."

"And… you are also a… a created being?" Calca asked as her heart skipped a beat.

The young girl leaned slightly to the side to look past the Holy Queen, and Ainz gave a tiny approving nod of his head.

Aureole looked up again at the Queen, "I am. One of the forty-one created my sisters and I to serve as Nazarick's defenders until Second World came to an end, and our Allfather brought us to this one rather than leave us to die and return to First World."

Question piled atop question in Calca's mind about these 'other worlds' but it only reconfirmed the godhood of her husband in her own mind.

"And are you really strong enough to win against the champions you'll face in the arena?" Calca looked at the young human girl, she didn't seem like much, but looks, looks she knew were deceiving.

Aureole laughed, "My Lady, I will have already won, without even raising my sword, it won't even be a contest."

"Husband," Calca said with reverence and half turned away, she felt her mind ablaze within her head as she considered the ramifications of everything she'd seen, heard, and learned, right up to the present moment, "can you tell me what she means?"

"No, not before it is time." Ainz said with a cryptic smile that hid the true thought he held in confidence…

'Which will be the same time I've found out myself…'