Chapter 56: Self-inflicted iniquity cannot live (I)

In front of the town hall building in Karn, three lavishly decorated troikas were parked, and a dozen knights with war horses stood nearby, most of them wearing full-body armor with elaborate coats of arms engraved on their chests, and they looked like noble private soldiers somewhere. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

In the lobby on the first floor of the city hall, the residents who had originally come to run errands had been temporarily dispersed, and the entire room, or the entire small building, was left with only a burly warrior who came to visit, a beautiful maid who came out to entertain guests, and an elderly aristocratic man who was arrogant.

“…… So slow! ”

As soon as the old man dressed as a nobleman spoke, he spoke unabashedly mean words to the maid.

“…… It's so slow. How long do we have to wait? ”

It was a very shriveled old man, with wrinkled skin and as thin as if only bones and skin remained. The hair was negligible, and from a distance—no, even up close, it seemed as if the man was completely bald.

On the whole, this is a shriveled old man who is as ugly as a lich.

But despite this, the Baron Alqilu still feels very good about himself.

“…… Is there such a snub to the royal envoys? Call that guy named Ainz out! ”

Sitting in a wooden chair that didn't seem very comfortable, Baron Arqiru glared unpleasantly.

“…… I'm so sorry. Butler Sebas has now rushed to inform Lord Ainz. So maybe a little longer. ”

The head maid of the Great Tomb of Nasalik, the dignified headless horseman Yuri? Alpha, with a deep apology on his face, bowed his head and apologized, and the degree of his bending was so low that even those who knew the inside story would worry whether her unfixed head would roll off her neck.

If it's a man, then if you see Yuri's face, you'll forgive her immediately, right? However, such a conversation has been repeated several times...... No, after repeating it a dozen times, this apology has become quite ineffective.

In fact, Baron Alqilu just rolled his eyes unhappily, then took a sip of the black tea in front of him, and immediately spit it out, "...... The drink is already cold! Why don't you go get a hot one! ”

“…… Yes, sorry. Yuri bowed her head deeply, picked up the teacup and turned to leave, so that it was not clear what kind of expression she had at this time.

Facing the old baron who kept complaining, Gerjeff stood by and watched. Captain Storonov couldn't help but speak.

“…… Your Excellency Arqir! Please be decent! Such a difficult servant does not show any tutoring and demeanor! ”

In this regard, Baron Alqiru squinted at Captain Gurdjief, who originally seemed to want to say something sarcastic, but hesitated for a moment, and finally swallowed back the words - in his eyes, although Gurdjief was only a lowly and vulgar commoner, he was the king's favorite red-eyed. And although he himself is a nobleman, in the final analysis, he is just a country baron, and he really has no status in the aristocratic circle of the kingdom, at best he is just a pawn in the hands of the big nobles. If you really want to make some sharp conflicts, maybe you will suffer even more: inside. It is true that the royal family of the Kingdom of Yestijah has been in decline for many years, but it is far from the point where a country baron can kick his nose in the face of a royal favorite.

“…… All right! Got it! There's really no need to be so careful. A guy like this who lives in a remote countryside doesn't even know the word etiquette, so it should be a matter of course! Indeed, it is very rude to make the envoy of the Wang family wait so long and not come out to greet him, but that is only for those who know the etiquette. Can a barbarian chief or a beggar leader be asked to do the same? ”

Therefore, Baron Alqiru thought that he had chosen to give in very generously, but the mean words on his lips did not stop, "...... However, this place is only a few steps away from the mage tower, and this Mr. Ainz hasn't come to greet him for almost half a day now, so it's really too much friction! ”

Looking at the baron Arqiru, who was still chattering and complaining, Captain Gurdjief could only stroke his forehead helplessly.

-- In. After the convoy of canonized emissaries of the Kingdom of Yestija finally arrived in Karn, Baron Arqiru and Captain Gurdjief went to the town hall to inform Ainz that a royal delegation had arrived, hoping that Ainz would come out to greet him according to etiquette. At this time, in the city hall, only the dragon man butler Sebas and the headless horseman maid Yuri were handling some chores. Knowing that the kingdom's envoy had arrived, and that the deputy envoy was still a former acquaintance, Captain Gurdjief, Sebas did not dare to slack off, and immediately left to inform his master, while leaving Yuri to entertain the guests.

But here, the two sides clearly made a cognitive mistake: Baron Arqir and Captain Gurdjief thought that Ainz lived in the mage tower on the outskirts, very close to here. After receiving the briefing, they will come out to welcome them into the tower to stay, and at the same time hold a banquet and entertain them.

But in fact, that mage tower is actually the stronghold of the otherworldly players led by Wang Qiu, that is, the "Cat's Nest" and the "Little Goblin's Nest". Ainz himself had never been there for a day, but still lived in the Great Tomb of Nasalik, ten kilometers below the ground.

Therefore, after receiving the news, the Lich King Ainzi, who was about to host a banquet to entertain the guests, immediately fell into distress:

The mage tower, which has nothing to offer, is really not suitable for hospitality. Again, there are no spectacular-looking venues in the town. There is a lot of luxury inside the Great Tomb of Nassalik, but how can these people be allowed to enter without revealing the location of the Great Tomb of Nassalik?

Moreover, inside the Great Tomb of Nasalik, there are also many things that Ainz does not want to expose.

In order to solve the above troubles and prevent the visiting guests from seeing something that they shouldn't see, the Lich King Ainz had to spend a little time preparing. At the same time, Baron Arqiru, who was sitting in the town hall, naturally waited more and more impatiently.

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“…… I've had enough! How long will it take for your master to come? ”

After pouring three more cups of black tea into his stomach, Baron Arqilu finally couldn't help but open his mouth angrily again.

“…… Sorry, it shouldn't take too long. ”

Having said that, in fact, even Yuri herself doesn't know when Ainz will come.

But if you tell the truth, it's obviously an idiotic act. Therefore, Yuri can only continue to respond with an apologetic tone.

But at the same time, what she thought to herself was: still don't shut up?! You damn bad old man!!

After being blamed for so long with harsh sarcastic words, even Yuri, who has a gentle temperament, began to feel irritable and disgusted in her heart.

“…… I've heard such lines before I don't know how many times! Not only did you not explain the reason for your master's tardiness, but you also did not explain the exact time of your master's visit, do you take us, the messenger of the royal family, for fools? ”

At this moment, the emotion contained in Baron Alqi's words was beyond the level of unpleasantness, but clear hostility.

“…… No, that kind of thing—"

Just as Yuri was about to say something more to justify, the thick door of the small building was opened from the outside. “…… I've kept you waiting. "The man who came in through the door from the outside opened his mouth," ...... I'm Ainz. Your. Respectful. Captain Gurdjief, long time no see! ”

At this moment, both Baron Alqilu and Yuri were speechless the moment they saw Ainz.

What first caught Baron Arqiru's eye was the pure black magic robe on Ainz's body: the material of the robe was not the black coarse linen that civilians often wear, but some kind of silky silk fabric that rippled with the movement of his body! Its texture is so good that His Excellency the Baron can't help but admire it! Then, throughout the robe, there were many precious gemstones, as well as intricately carved gold and silver ornaments, most of which seemed to be magical props, and the room shimmered with a mesmerizing and wonderful color.

Baron Arqi, who had been a ceremonial officer of the kingdom for a while, had also been ordered to go abroad when he was young, and had seen many lavish ceremonies, but even in his entire work experience, he had never seen more luxurious clothes than this!

Then, the other party wore a mask on his face and gloves on his hands, without any skin exposed at all. Moreover, there is a tabby cat at his feet, which seems a little strange. However, these details are just small things that don't matter to Baron Alqiru.

Before he noticed these trivia, he was already frightened by Ainz's ultra-luxurious robes!

For a traditional aristocrat like Baron Alqiru, clothes are more important than keeping out the cold. That is, it can simply and clearly explain what kind of social status the person wearing this dress has. Just by looking at the texture and value of the clothes, he can roughly judge the status, power, financial resources, etc...... That is to say, the nobles have the dress of nobles, and the commoners have the dress of commoners, and they cannot encroach on each other.

However, the luxury of this outfit on Ainz obviously broke through Baron Arqiru's psychological expectations, and he was stunned for a moment.

Although Baron Arqir had heard from Captain Gurdjieff before he set off that this guy named Ainz was a very powerful magician, he didn't take the other party's identity too seriously in his heart.

-- In a world where everything is based only on bloodline, origin, and lineage. In the kingdom of Yestij, those ordinary magicians who are not from noble backgrounds, no matter how powerful they are, even if they can destroy a large group of monsters in an instant, their social status is not too high. Even the most decent court magician is about the same status as Baron Alqiru.

Therefore, he had shown great arrogance to Ainz's butler and maid before, because he felt that Ainz's status as a "countryman" should be much lower than that of himself, who often messed with the court, and was not worthy of aristocratic etiquette.

However, after seeing the luxurious clothes worn by Ainz, Baron Arqi's original thoughts were a little shaken.

Obviously a countryman who stays in the wilderness of the border, he actually dresses more luxuriously than the prince in the royal capital!!

Isn't he a magician from a lowly background, but a noble bloodline and family background?

Despite the confusion in his mind, Baron Alqilu quickly regained his consciousness and said in a flat tone without emotion:

“…… Well...... You are Ainz. Your. Kyo? ”

“…… That's right. Ainz replied calmly, and both sides fell silent. Or rather, it's stuck.

The Lich King Ainz didn't know what to say, so he could only wait for the other party to speak first. Baron Alqiru, on the other hand, looked at Anz carefully, thinking about what attitude he should pose. The last remaining Captain Gurdjief, according to the rules, could not speak before the envoy, so he could only remain silent for the first time.

After thinking about it for a while, Baron Alqilu finally decided that no matter what kind of plans the great nobleman recommended him for this position, he was the messenger of the royal family after all, and he still had to convey the king's will first.

“…… Ahem! I am an emissary sent by His Majesty, Arqi. Niz. Aiku. Baron Vondorlu, the one next to him is—" Baron Arqilu said, turning his face to Captain Gurdjieff next to him, "...... ...... to serve as my deputy envoy and bodyguard"

“…… This one doesn't need to be introduced, we already knew each other. Your Excellency, Warrior Commander, it's a pleasure to see you again! Ainz laughed.

“…… Well, it's nice to see you again. Gurdjieff replied with a slight nod.

Seeing that Ainz interrupted his words very rudely, Baron Arqir couldn't help but frown. And the tone and rhetoric of the other party were also very vulgar, and they did not use the tone unique to the palace at all, there was no elegance and etiquette at all, and it obviously did not look like they were of noble birth.

Since the family background and background are not very high, and the words and deeds are very vulgar, why do you have the money to buy such extravagant clothes?

“…… Well! I see! Probably similar to Gurdjieff, a high-level adventurer with a lot of wealth! ”

In the next moment, Baron Alqir deduced an answer that he could accept, and at the same time, he became more and more disgusted with Ainz in his heart.

-- A nasty ghost who was born from a humble background, had no elegant taste or noble blood, and should have been trampled in the mud forever, but with great strength, tried in vain to be on an equal footing with the aristocracy, thus disturbing the hierarchical order of feudal society...... This is what Baron Alqilu thinks about adventurers.

Of course, hate is hate, but Baron Alqilu also knows that although those top adventurers are rejected by the nobility, they are quite wealthy, and they can get hundreds of gold coins every time they go out on a mission, which is much more generous than many famous nobles. Especially when they are in a desperate situation, many rich merchants and nobles do not hesitate to go bankrupt in order to hire these strongmen - if a person dies, there is nothing, what is the use of keeping the money?

So, if this Ainz had the same skills as Captain Gurdjieff, he might be able to afford to wear such extravagant clothes!

Just as he was thinking and thinking about it repeatedly, Ainz, who was impatient, began to talk to Yuri.

“…… Yuri, you go back first and get ready to be welcomed. Then call in the Sebas butler who is waiting outside! ”

“…… Yes, sir. Yuri nodded, turned to pack up the tea set on the table, and walked out the door.

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At the same time, Baron Alqilu finally ended his silent thinking and spoke in a tone of arrogance and disdain:

“…… So...... Before conveying His Majesty's will, I need to confirm, what is that mask of yours? ”

“…… This is a magic item. Ainz replied.

“…… Picked it up. ”

Baron Arqilu suddenly straightened his face and waved his hand, and scolded him very harshly.

Anz was stunned when he heard this, originally under this mask, but the skeletal face of the undead!

Although he had considered that he might need to take off his mask before he came out to meet the guests, and had made preparations in advance, when the matter was approaching, in the face of such an arrogant reprimand from this old man, Ainz was suddenly a little reluctant to take off his mask.

This is probably the so-called rebellious mentality!

“…… I'm sorry, but does this mask really have to be taken off? ”

“…… Of course! Are you just wearing a mask to accept Your Majesty's will? Isn't that a little too unreasonable? Or do you not even know this level of etiquette? Even if they knew it, they would not obey it, and they would be worse than the chiefs of the barbarians? ”

Baron Arqiru blew his beard and glared, scolding, almost jumping to his feet.

Since crossing into another world, Ainz has not been treated like this by that guy, and suddenly there was a nameless fire in his heart. It seemed to remind him of the scene when he was harshly reprimanded by his critical boss in the past, but after hesitating for a moment, he finally chose to compromise for the time being.

“…… Oh well! I took off my mask and that's it! But only now! The Lich King replied angrily, taking off his mask, revealing the face of a black-haired, black-eyed Japanese office worker uncle - his original appearance that he had previously simulated with illusion magic.