Valkyrie's Shadow

Chapter 18

As the Baroness slowly paced around the remains of the grove, Ainz ruminated over her statement. The idea that some unknown threat might eventually come to attack the Sorcerous Kingdom was unsettling, but the evidence left behind suggested that it would not be a true danger to them.

What he dwelled upon was Baroness Zahradnik’s assessment of the Sorcerous Kingdom, its policies, and where she thought they might lead. Hers was a vision of the future – one that Ainz could not conceive of or bring to fruition through his meagre efforts alone.

He didn’t even know where to start. Compared to his previous existence of helpless drudgery in a dead world, this new world was a paradise. Having only resided here for a mere year and a half, Ainz did not have the expectations from which the hopes of the local populations possessed. Thus, he could not see what she saw, nor could he truly imagine the future that any of the locals might want.

To be certain, he had his priorities. Most of his firm decisions rose from a desire to protect the memory of his friends. When it came to the future of the Sorcerous Kingdom and its subjects, however, all he could do was play the part of a wise ruler and pray that his subordinates could figure out what to do with his vague directions.

Ainz felt that he did better when working out on the field, so to speak, interacting with individuals on a personal level and using his experience in sales to connect with people. It worked with what one might consider common folk, and he had secured several ‘victories’ when it came to them, along with his few working initiatives.

His interactions with aristocrats, however, had been rather uninspiring thus far. Jircniv, despite being a ‘friend’, avoided him for some reason. The nobles of Re-Estize had snubbed him so hard that they didn’t even send a representative to contact the mysterious magic caster that had thrown in his lot with the Empire. Despite becoming an official nation, there were no foreign ambassadors present in the Sorcerous Kingdom. E-Rantel’s local leaders were respectful and accommodating, but he couldn’t say he had really gotten to know any of them.

With Baroness Zahradnik came his chance to finally score a win, and due to the strange circumstances that accompanied their meeting, he thought that he had a basic feel for her character. As she slowly regained her composure, however…well, if he were to describe the Baroness in a word, it would be daunting.

Behind her austere and intimidating noble’s mask was everything that the man behind the mask of the Sorcerer King was not. Despite her age, she was a born leader with a vision and a plan in motion, driven by unwavering conviction and adamantine will. She worked through her doubts, fears and problems at an enviable pace. He doubted that even Ulbert could come up with anything serious to hold against her.

“So this place,” he worked some regal poise into his voice, “or rather, what it used to be, matches what you imagine the future of the Sorcerous Kingdom will look like?”

“It is difficult for me to think otherwise, Your Majesty,” she replied. “They were secure in their defences. Their land and geographical position were ideal. Add inspired leadership, careful management, and motivated subjects and you have a recipe for spectacular success. The Sorcerous Kingdom is already on that same course.”

“I walk the streets of E-Rantel occasionally,” Ainz said, “but, as you might imagine, personally figuring out whether the citizens are motivated or not as the sovereign can be difficult. Do you truly believe this to be the case? It’s barely been half a year since the duchy changed hands.”

“I cannot speak for the territories that I’m not familiar with, but the people understand that they are in a much better situation than before. It is not a difficult thing to grasp when the lands are secure, crime is next to nonexistent and food is plentiful. Those living in the lands of Nobles who have capitalised on our new reality are reaping the benefits and willing to believe in an even better future.”

Ainz supposed that the numbers on Albedo’s reports did reflect what she said, but it was difficult to internalize through reports alone. By scanning through them, one could see that nothing was wrong, but they didn’t indicate how much better it was compared to before and how public sentiment was affected. In other words, the numbers were meaningless to him.

“Do you believe we’ll have something like this University soon? Universal education, perhaps?”

“Probably not in the form of this monstrosity of a building,” the Baroness said, “but my demesne should have something like a fully-fledged University in a generation or two. I already have Universal education in my territory – that part was simple.”

The claim for a University was impressive, but he frowned at the latter. The reported literacy rate for Re-Estize was extremely low and was one of the problems Yuri Alpha had pointed out to him as critical to the development of the Sorcerous Kingdom. Even with her orphanage offering free education to the city folk, teaching the majority of E-Rantel how to read was a distant dream.

“Universal education…was simple?”

Baroness Zahradnik seemed to pick up on the source of his doubtful words. She turned away and smiled slightly.

“I was able to cheat on that front,” she said. “My territory was effectively empty in the spring, and I only brought in as many people as my social and economic infrastructure could sustain. The entire population should have basic literacy by the end of next year, while children attending school are further educated in preparation for vocational programs.”

“Hmm…is there some system that you modelled yours off of?”

“It’s based on what is done in the Theocracy,” the Baroness replied. “There are notable differences, however. The shortage of temple staff in the Sorcerous Kingdom means that the bulk of our curriculum is handled by instructors trained by Miss Alpha rather than members of the clergy.”

“Miss Alpha…ah, you mean Yuri.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. Several Nobles have expressed interest in her work. There’s quite a long waiting list for new instructors now.”

He was aware of Yuri’s intent to employ widows and he had pledged Nazarick’s full support in her efforts, but he wasn’t aware what the shape that those efforts took beyond an orphanage in the city. Yamaiko’s daughter had certainly inherited her mother’s fiery passion for social welfare and education.

The two Shadow Demons returned for another round of reports, after which the Baroness seemed satisfied that they had covered the entire floor. She dusted off her hands and knees before leading them down the largest thoroughfare leading out of the plaza.

“Was there anything of particular interest in here that we might have missed, Your Majesty?”

“Something like an underground area, perhaps?”

“The Shadow Demons didn’t find anything that looked like it might be a way down.”

“Then where are we headed?”

“If this was a public space,” she explained, “then this should be the way out…at least that’s what I was thinking. There’s no reason to not have an entrance on the ground floor as a civilian structure.”

That there was something like a main entrance became apparent as they approached the wall. Ainz’s gaze traced the outline of a doorway roughly as wide as the route that they had followed. The Baroness and her Shadow Demons checked all along the nearby walls and in the rooms nearby, but couldn’t find a way to open it.

“I have no idea what I’m even looking for,” she said. “Is this doorway magical?”

“My Arcane Vision doesn’t suggest anything of the sort,” he replied. “There was no damage on the outside and nothing in front of us…maybe it’s just run down?”

“Shall I force it open, Ainz-sama?” Shalltear offered.

“Ehm…let’s not accidentally break anything just yet,” Ainz told Shalltear. “We have some Rogues nearby.”

He contacted Cocytus and asked him to send the closest search team over. Within ten minutes, an Eight-Edged Assassin crawled down from the wall.

“Check for any devices that may open this wall,” he ordered. “Call us over if you find anything.”

The Arachnoid Mercenary NPC bobbed its head in acknowledgement and skittered off. While they waited, the rest of its team arrived. Ainz sent them off to begin mapping the layout of the colossal structure. The Eight-Edged Assassin returned shortly after, bringing them to a room nearby. It tapped one of its razor-sharp legs on a featureless section of the building’s wall. Everyone leaned in to take a closer look.

“I don’t see anything,” the Baroness said, and the two Shadow Demons beside her shrugged.

“I don’t see anything, either,” Shalltear added.

There was no mana emanating from the spot that the Eight-Edged Assassin indicated, and there was nothing to distinguish it from the rest of the wall.

“How does it work?” Ainz asked.

“Just a moment, please.”

The Eight-Edged Assassin brought its four front legs forward as it started working on some mechanism undetectable to the rest of them. Several seconds later, a handle seamlessly emerged from the wall.

“Turning this handle ninety degrees will activate the mechanism that opens the door,” it explained.

“…that’s it? There are no traps or locks?”

“None, Great Master.”

How does it know that just by looking at a featureless wall?

He puzzled over the thought briefly, then decided it was a good thing that the device was unprotected. Eight-Edged Assassins were specialised in stealthy combat, which included strong detection ability, but they were ill-suited for dealing with locks and traps.

“Then…”

Unable to restrain the urge to do it himself, Ainz reached out and turned the handle. By the time he went back outside, the door was already open.

“…I didn’t even hear anything.”

“I don’t think there was anything to hear, Your Majesty.”

The stone door was twenty metres wide, five metres tall, and three metres thick. Yet, it hadn’t made a sound as it split into two halves and opened outwards.

“Even the Dwarves don’t have anything like this,” Baroness Zahradnik remarked.

“They do,” he told her. “Though it was only a tenth of the size, the door to the royal vault in Feoh Berkana had a similar mechanism.”

A thought occurred to him. He turned to the Eight-Edge Assassin.

“Search every millimetre of this door,” he ordered. “Report any markings or writing that you find.”

Ainz stepped through the entrance, running a bony hand over one of the massive doors as he made his way out.

“What are the chances…” He murmured.

“Something to do with the Dwarves, Your Majesty?”

“Yes,” he replied. “Like this stone tower, the royal vault in Feoh Berkana is extraordinarily strong – strong enough to be impervious to both the Demon Gods that attacked the Dwarf Kingdom two centuries ago and the Ancient Frost Dragon that moved in afterwards. Many of the contents within had been there since the Golden Age of Runecrafting. The vault itself was protected by Runes.”

“You’re saying that the Dwarves might have been hired to construct this tower?”

“The door, at least. The Dwarf Kingdom used to trade with the huge Human nation that once existed all around the Azerlisia Mountains back then. There were mounds of gold coins from that Human nation within the vault.”

Baroness Zahradnik’s steps slowed, and a furrow formed on her brow.

“This is the second time I’ve heard this,” she said. “Dame Verilyn told me the same thing, but her information was from the records left in the ruins of Feoh Berkana. I thought she was somehow mistaken in her reading…that she matched up the wrong dates or something.”

“Mistaken?”

“Yes, because…because it doesn’t correspond to what I’ve learned of history. How long ago was the Golden Age of Runecrafting, Your Majesty? When did it begin?”

A troubled expression came over the Baroness, and Ainz wondered why it troubled her so. As she had noted, the accounts of history were often flavoured with the agendas and biases of each respective nation. One more conflicting tale shouldn’t have mattered any more or less to one that understood this.

“I’m not certain,” Ainz said. “All I can say is that it was before the fall of Feoh Berkana – you can hardly call it a ‘golden age’ if your capital lies in ruins and your nation is in decline. Dwarves live for centuries, so what they call an ‘age’ may be a very long time indeed.”

“I see,” the young noblewoman seemed to relax. “I was probably too narrow-minded in my thinking. I thought it went against the history I knew, but in reality, this Human nation that the Dwarf Kingdom traded with might have existed long before humanity was driven into a corner.”

“History can be complicated,” he smirked. “Especially in this region where very little beyond the last two centuries has survived. Even what comes from before mostly consists of tales from the world beyond. I believe that Momon’s observations about the history of this region should be kept in mind not only for your investigation here, but for any accounts of history that you delve into.”

The Baroness’ troubled look returned.

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