Chapter 348

"Maybe elves are gross, with those ears and all… but at least that one stayed 'cozy'." Cerebrate muttered. "What do you think?" He asked his last victim as he held him beside the river.

The boy said nothing. That was a consistent trait of the dead on which Cerebrate could always rely. He kicked the corpse of his last victim over towards the river, and it tumbled down the hill, rolling like a log until it hit the slight incline, flew over it, and splashed down into the water.

'He didn't cost much at least.' Cerebrate thought of the coin lost on it, but it was very little. 'Just the cost of saying I was hiring an apprentice. I suppose this is at least easier than it was in the Draconic Kingdom… Draudillon's contempt for me, so thinly veiled, if only the Nazarikians had shown up another year later, I could have seen that precious face turned to one of pain, from contempt and hate, to anguish and terror…'

But that chance was gone. All his prey along the way after having lost the elf trash to the waters had taken a fragment of his anger toward the Draconic Queen, with him to their final resting places. Disguising his work was easy, claws to hide stab wounds, or toss them into the water, or find a creature and throw the dead meat to it to be eaten. For a day or two he stayed while the searches were done, the bodies were found and the victims mourned, but nobody ever suspected murder. And when he 'adopted someone' saying he wanted a young apprentice… nobody ever asked for anything to prove it.

He watched the body drift down river, bobbing and floating, and Cerebrate felt nothing but a vague hint of satisfaction that he'd gotten away with it again. His charming, radiant smile that won over those who didn't know his preferences, spread over his face and he gave a large farewell wave to the corpse as it bobbed around a bend and finally out of sight. He turned around and looked ahead, in the distance, not but one, or two day's travel if he took his time, the city of Arwintar loomed large. "Maybe I should have kept the carriage… but no… after having to dispose of the driver when I bought a human… just too much trouble…" He shrugged off his own words and his thoughts turned almost pensive.

'I may not be able to have the same fun there, but then, I don't need to. Even if I don't win, I'll put on a show and spread my fame here. I'll find some easy work with some lazy fat noble and then I can indulge to my cock's content for the rest of my days.' It was a warm, savory thought that caused the knight to lick his lips, rub his hands together, and he walked to his horse with a spring in his step and a song in his heart, ready to set out on the last leg of his travels.

Journeying into the Baharuth Empire's lands proved far easier than Ainz expected, their military patrols were almost entirely absent, and what fortifications there were to be seen were almost unmanned. A twinge of guilt lodged in the pit of his gut. 'I killed them as painlessly as I could… it's not my fault they chose to attack after losing the duel… they should have drawn back, they should have negotiated…' But the screams of the dying touched his soul nonetheless.

Though experience had hardened him to a degree, having slain his way through Eight Fingers and their martial artists in Six Arms, not to mention the many quests as Momon to crush Zuranon or other various monsters… and the brief 'demon war' under the mountain… this Empire was still his first.

And the first never left him.

Especially now that he could see the aftermath of the empire that lost faith in itself and in its emperor. 'I wonder if I would have learned as much from watching Jircniv as I did from watching Draudillon? Maybe so, perhaps we would have become friends, even?' Without an answer for himself, he set the question aside. 'When we have a ruler installed, I will make sure to treat this place more gently for a while… of course there is still the matter of rebuilding the Draconic Kingdom… and the Slane Theocracy may still pose problems. Plus there are the Dragon Lords… Still though, this is a large step forward.'

"My lord?" Kelart asked while holding the royal heir, and he turned his attention toward the Queen's lover.

"Yes?" He asked.

"You seem distracted, are you well?" Kelart asked, and Ainz raised one dark eyebrow.

"Merely thinking of the future. Even when this is over, there are still challenges. Some of our reforms have only the bones of structures erected and will take years to bring into being. Others will be easy, and there are so many challenges ahead that it boggles the mind." Ainz spoke with the same formal address he'd heard Draudillon use a thousand times, and it had the desired effect.

Kelart caressed the infant's face, "I understand, but you will have many fine servants and loyal, gifted children to achieve your goals. Calca told me about what happened with Queen Draudillon, her country may not seem it, but they are a clever people, resilient and strong willed."

"You say that like you know about them." Ainz stated, but it was more a prompt, and Kelart treated it as such.

"My- My sister and I, we went there to help fend off the beastmen once, it was training for us, but Remedios and I saw a great deal there. It's a fine place…" She trailed off and looked from the infant to the infant's father. "How… how is my sister, is she s-suffering?" Kelart asked and blinked her eyes several times. "Is she… dead perhaps?"

"I believe she is well, her suffering is largely self-inflicted." Ainz remarked, that was a thing about which he felt no guilt. 'If she had the power, she would slaughter my children. Anything that happens to her, I care not a damn about.' He thought, but kept that thought to himself, seeing Kelart's brief distress.

"I-I see. She was always her own worst enemy… she abided by the law for so long, but she was so stupid… she just never understood its limits, and raged at them. I never imagined she would go so far… but thank you for what small mercy you could give her. I'm grateful for that, she may have been bad, but she's still my sister." Kelart answered him, and when he held out his arms, she put the small boy into the arms of his father.

"Is that why you asked to ride with me for a few hours?" Ainz asked, and Kelart bowed her head.

"It is. And also this… my Queen… she cannot bear you another child, I know she hasn't told you, and… she wouldn't. But birthing Aurelion, it nearly ended her life. So, I'm asking you… I beg of you… don't… don't seek more children with her. If you do, I'm certain she'll be lost to us, lost- to me." Kelart pled. "I felt more… secure, when I assumed you intended to bring Queen Draudillon into your house, but when Calca told me what happened, I knew I had to speak with you. To birth the child of a god is a dangerous thing, nobody had survived it until my Queen in… ever, as far as I know at least. At least not a child with awakened powers or potential. That's why we split with the Slane Theocracy. A Godkin was in love with a woman of Calca's ancestry, and the woman refused, leading to a schism that formed the Roble Holy Kingdom. She was popular among us and everybody knew that to have that man's child would be the death of her. The Theocracy insisted, and so parted ways after swiping some of the treasures."

"Treasures?" Ainz asked, his collector's instinct was on fire the moment she said it.

"Yes, the Slane Theocracy has some of the weapons of the Gods, powerful items that are said to alter the very world itself." Kelart explained and then asked, "Forgive me, but I'm sure that… after things happened, I disclosed all these things, does my lord not recall?"

"There was a near library to go through." Ainz chuckled, "I'm sure they're still sorting through everything, even for a god, good help is hard to find." Ainz graced her with a lordly smile and Kelart turned her face away.

"I see… if it pleases you, I will tell you what I can recall, but, please, it weighs on me, my Calca?" Kelart pressed the matter, and Ainz ran a finger over his son's forehead.

"I'd say she already did it right the first time. There's no need for her to bear another." Ainz said without looking her way, and out of the corner of his eye he felt sure he saw her loyalty meter reach maximum in an instant.

"Thank you, My Lord, now let me tell you what I can recall about what lies in the Theocracy Treasury." Kelart said, and began to regale him with what the stories said.