Before the Storm: Act 5, Chapter 16

Before the Storm: Act 5, Chapter 16

Chapter 16

The casino? Or maybe the spa? No, hmm

Ludmila glanced at her surroundings as the Sorcerer King considered the next destination of their tour. Her mouth opened and closed several times to ask about some of the locations, but it was probably a bad idea in their present company.

Following the commotion caused by her attempted escape from the Ninth Floor, a not insignificant chunk of the royal household had attached themselves to the Sorcerer Kings entourage. In addition to the Homunculus Maids who had been drawn by the noise, several masked footmen, some sort of bird-type Heteromorph, and Master Tian now walked alongside them. Hemmed in as she was, Ludmila felt like a random pedestrian who had been accidentally caught up in the crowd.

How about weno, I guess its straight to the library, after all?

Your Majesty, Ludmila said, please do not inconvenience yourself for your servants sake. My interests arent anywhere near asexhaustive as those of a regular Noble.

Is that so? Well, I could still show you some things along the way

The sound of dozens of pairs of feet accompanied the whisper of the Sorcerer Kings robes as they made their way up the grand staircase and through an even more grand corridor lined with the occasional exhibit. Most of it wasnt the art that conventional aristocrats and other elites would put on display.

You seem to have taken an interest in our trophies, Lady Zahradnik, the Sorcerer King said. I suppose youre the militant sort, after all.

Does Your Majesty mean to say that these are trophies from past conquests?

Umu.

It wasnt as if she was interested in the trophies themselves, but such things usually came with an interesting story or two.

This is from our first big win.

The Sorcerer King stopped in front of a fang that was taller than a Frost Giant. He looked up at it with a measure of fondness, though Ludmila wasnt sure how she could tell.

A fang of the World Eater, a legendary Dragon that once devoured countless worlds.

Worlds?

Is worlds being used metaphorically, Your Majesty?

No, the World Eater is as it sounds. A being that devours entire worlds.

Then I cannot imagine how such a being could be defeated, Ludmila said.

It was something like a rite of passage for us, the Sorcerer King said. Thats why its right at the beginning of the hallway. We had many more adventures that presented a far greater challenge.

The Sorcerer King had mentioned having adventures before, but he never mentioned that some of them involved battling entities that could devour entire worlds. Then again, what else was a group of gods supposed to fight?

It is fortunate that such a being no longer exists, Ludmila said.

Yes, well, I suppose the appearance of the World Eater would be quite troublesome here.

Does Your Majesty mean to say that it is possible?

It was defeated once a week back in the day, the Sorcerer King replied. I doubt that would happen here, however. The circumstances are far too removed from back then.

She struggled to wrap her head around the implications of his statement. Never mind that, everything about the information she had just heard existed in a realm beyond her comprehension. Was the world that she knew of one that had been saved from the World Eater? Maybe World Eater referred to an entire species of world-eating Dragons. If so, it suggested an incomprehensible ecology where a plethora of worlds was born and eaten on a weekly basis.

I suppose this is what they mean by ignorance is bliss.

There was little point in knowing and nothing that she could do about it now that she did. All one could do was worry about a day when their entire existence ended up in a Dragons gullet.

His Majesty doesnt seem to be worried about it, so he must have the means to defeat this World Eater even if it appears.

As she comforted herself with that thought, the Sorcerer King stopped at another exhibit. A bloody urn emitting an evil aura rested upon a pristine white pedestal.

This is a Blood Soul, he gestured at the urn. Its only known use is as a catalyst to evolve powerful Vampires. The Racial Class that they ended up with wasnt very popular, though.

Why not?

Simply put, the Sorcerer King replied, Vampires excel as physical combatants. Blood Soul, however, gives access to a Racial Class that is, well, flavourful would be a nice way to put it. How should I explaintell me, what is the Vampire lore in the region like? They seem to exist in the wild, but most of what Ive heard from the local Adventurers is practical. Their strengths, weaknesses, habits, and so on.

Ludmila resisted the urge to fidget under the Sorcerer Kings gaze. The other lore surrounding Vampires was fairly embarrassing to share aloud.

Aside from what Your Majesty mentioned, she said, its very whimsical. Certain tales are popular with some women ones where Vampires dwell among the living. They seduce or enthral hapless people to serve them, establishing covens in their favourite feeding grounds.

Exactly! The Sorcerer King pointed an alabaster finger directly at her, Exactly that. In terms of a Job Class build, does that sound optimal?

Ah

Not at all, Your Majesty, Ludmila replied. When I think about it, it feels similar to what happens with the Imperial Knights or similar organisations.

Hm? How so? The Imperial Knights only recruit Humans, as far as I can recall

Your Majesty mentioned that Vampires excel as physical combatants, Ludmila said. Soldiers in the Imperial Army follow a similar course of progression. When an imperial citizen enlists in the Imperial Army, the vast majority are trained as Fighters. At some point in their career, an Imperial Knight is deemed experienced enough for a position of command and offered the opportunity to become a Sergeant. Those who do so end up contaminating their Job Class builds. That is similar to what Your Majesty described, is it not?

In reality, it was even worse for civilian vocations. Or, rather, it was the same, but the difference in scale was immense. The Guild System promoted members out of its ranks based on the notion that those experienced in their craft also qualified them for leadership duties. Unfortunately, an excellent Blacksmith did not make for an excellent leader or administrator.

They stopped in front of a two-metre-wide golden disk that shimmered under a magical spotlight. It was covered in an unknown script and foreboding imagery depicting some sort of cataclysm befalling a city.

What do you envision to be the outcome of what youve described?

The prioritisation of material gain, Ludmila replied. A society driven by greed and desperation. The Baharuth Empire has already set itself on that path, and I cannot say that I liked what I saw of what they are becoming. If our people end up cultivating the same appetites, I can only see a legacy of aggressive expansion in our future. The security and economic base that the Sorcerous Kingdom provides means that independent actors from our country can succeed even without the support of the Royal Court. Not that I expect the Royal Court to try and stop them: those ventures will be bringing in the wealth that the administration seems to desire, after all.

She couldnt for the life of her think of what they needed that wealth for. A regular country might use it to strengthen its economy or military, but the Sorcerous Kingdom was so powerful that conventional means to build up national power were likely pointless.

If this future concerns you, the Sorcerer King said, then why not propose legislation that will address these future issues?

Because I would be the only one who supports any proposals that I make.

Her friends might support her on one bit or the other, but they had their own fiefs to run. They wouldnt do anything they believed was detrimental to the future of their land and its people. Ludmilas initial hope was that the leaders of the various Demihuman tribes in the wilderness would involve themselves in the lawmaking process, but, so far, the membership of the House of Lords remained unchanged from the time of its very first assembly.

Because the members of the House of Lords look forward to the progress that our future brings, Your Majesty, Ludmila replied. One could say that this is a good thing considering how long it took for them to actively participate in running the country again, but the pendulum is swinging from one extreme to the other. AdditionallyI dont think the House of Lords fairly represents the interests of the Sorcerous Kingdom.

The Sorcerer King turned his head to regard her with his crimson gaze.

What are you implying, Lady Zahradnik?

I am not implying anything; I am merely stating a fact. Humans make up less than ten per cent of the population of the Sorcerous Kingdom, yet the House of Lords is one hundred per cent Human. I dont think for a moment that the interests of non-Humans are being fairly represented in the legislature. Its not even a matter of malice: our current aristocratic establishment simply doesnt have the knowledge or even awareness required to consider the interests of other races.

Umu, the Sorcerer King nodded. Now that is something that can be presented as an issue which must be addressed. Albedo has already pointed out the difficulties in achieving fair representation in the House of Lords, however. Demihumans have their own barriers to participating in the governance of the realm. They do not understand and may not accept how our government works. Most of them cant even read. This is the reason why the Abelion Wilderness was turned into a Special Administrative Area that is responsible for its regional affairs.

does Your Majesty mean to say that this particular problem is something that Her Excellency the Prime Minister already has well in hand?

Among other things.

It seemed that she had just wasted His Majestys time he was just kind enough to hear her out.

Ludmila fell silent, meekly following after the Sorcerer King as he continued reminiscing over the trophies in the hallway. She couldnt understand even half of what he spoke about, but the crowd around her was enraptured by his presentation. They sighed in wonder and applauded in glee; even Lord Tian looked like he had been caught up in their excitement. Ludmila supposed that someone as ignorant as herself couldnt appreciate the Sorcerer Kings recountings to the same degree.

Several hours later, they arrived at an impressive set of double doors. Rather than pass through directly, however, they stepped through a teleportation gate that delivered them to a hemispherical room. The walls were lined with fine statues and another set of double doors stood before them. On one door was carved a Demon of some sort, while the other displayed an unknown female figure of divine bearing.

The doors swung inward and the familiar figures of Miss Delta and Miss Zeta appeared from behind them. They bowed low in welcome to the Sorcerer King.

Were on our way to the library, His Majesty said. Is there anything that requires my immediate attention?

Miss Delta and Miss Zeta straightened from their greeting. Miss Zeta tilted her head slightly.

Nothing that I can think of, Lord Ainz.

Excellent. In that case, lets move on.

The absence of footsteps behind her made Ludmila look over her shoulder. It appeared that the crowd that had formed on the Ninth Floor had remained there.

This is the throne room, the Sorcerer King told her. It rarely sees any use these days, but weve received guests here in the past.

They had turned toward a corridor at the beginning of the great hall, but Ludmila could see to the end of it. The vaulted architecture supported a ceiling so grand that the lighting couldnt reach its heights. A flag hung from each pillar in the long colonnade leading to the dais on the far side of the hall, but she couldnt recognise any of them.

I wonder who they belong to. I dont see the symbols of any of the Six Great Gods

She lost her view of the throne room as they entered the corridor. Before long, they entered a domed chamber with a set of double doors as large as the ones leading into the throne room. Comfortable-looking furnishings under warm lighting lined the walls, and a pair of impressive metal statues stood on either side of the double doors.

Open the doors, the Sorcerer King said.

The two statues came alive and pushed the doors open a crack. That crack was large enough to fit three people shoulder to shoulder and the Sorcerer King led them through. On the other side was a vast gallery where bookshelves formed the walls. Ludmila gaped up at the vertical relief around her, wondering how many tomes it contained between all of its rooms and floors.

How many lifetimes of knowledge does this place contain? She half-said to herself.

Impressive, no? The Sorcerer King said, This is the Great Library of Ashurbanipal. While I cant say that all of the knowledge in the world is contained here, it can certainly feel that way. The library staff should be able to help you with your searchhm, where have they disappeared to

Ludmila wished she could look everywhere at once as they made their way deeper into the library. The libraries of Nobles and even Kings were dwarfed by even a single chamber of Ashurbanipal. She wouldnt have enough time during her visit to get through a single shelf. It felt like she was one of the characters in the tales where one gained entrance to a library that contained all of the knowledge of the ancients, yet they were only allowed to read one page of one book. Any more than that and they were cursed, killed, or subjected to a fate worse than death.

Thats strange, the Sorcerer King murmured. Aura, can you detect any of the library staff?

Lets see, Lady Aura frowned in concentration. uh oh.

Ludmila looked down at Lady Aura with a frown. A moment later, she heard someone shuffling in the distance.

Master? Is that you, Master?!

A white-robed figure came out from behind one of the bookshelves in the next wing over. He came straight towards them, his unkempt white hair flying wildly about a wizened head that made Ludmila immediately want to avoid him.

A Banshee? No, more like an Allip.

Master!

Madness and desperation tainted the old mans voice. Ludmila warily watched him as he closed the last few dozen metres, wrinkling her nose at his unpleasant odour.

Master! The old man shuffled to a halt, where did he go? I swear he was just here!

Ludmila turned her attention away from the crazy old man. To her shock, the Sorcerer King was gone.