The man once known and feared by all as the "Bloody Emperor"—Jircniv Rune Farlord El-Nix.
He now lay in bed, burying his face deep in the chest of his beloved concubine, like a child hiding from thunder in his mother's arms.
But of course, this concubine was not his mother. Though plain in appearance, she was exceptionally intelligent and understood exactly what her role was—what she must provide to the emperor.
Not affection, but encouragement—even if it was cruel encouragement.
"Jir… it's time to go."
Jircniv stiffened slightly, then tightened his embrace around her, his face still nuzzling into the not-so-deep valley of her chest.
She gave a bitter smile, but was not disappointed. If the Bloody Emperor had truly fallen into despair from fear, he wouldn't have come to her—he would have gone to one of his other concubines. Each of them far more beautiful than her.
Coming to her meant he wanted to be reminded of what needed to be done.
"Jir…"
Interrupting her, Jircniv spoke:
"What am I going there for? To celebrate what? Celebrate that monster—no, His Majesty—for annihilating the Empire's long-standing rival? Or is it to celebrate the extermination of a fifth of humanity, the marking of a milestone in this grand plan to purge the human race?"
"Jir, this is a game of sugar and whip… one being played out upon our race. You understand that, don't you?"
Like soothing a cat, she gently and rhythmically stroked Jircniv's hair.
This was a privilege only she enjoyed—none of the other concubines dared to do this. Only she, whose intellect was highly valued by Jircniv, could act so freely.
Before the Empire became a vassal state, her lover had been tormented by the Sorcerer King to the point of minor hair loss. To her, the loss of his beautiful hair had made her resent the Sorcerer King far more than the abstract tragedy of an entire kingdom being slaughtered.
Of course, she never said such things out loud—otherwise Jircniv would probably mock her, calling her a "shallow woman who, despite her brilliance, lacks any sense of the bigger picture."
"…Yes, I know. And since our Empire had the 'honor' of being chosen as the 'model,' it is an immense blessing. The entire Empire now exists only by His Majesty's grace."
After the Kingdom, the Empire's existence had become a mere act of mercy by the Sorcerous Kingdom.
Perhaps because everyone now understood this, all anti-Sorcerous Kingdom undercurrents had completely vanished—without a trace.
"Exactly, Jir. Whether we can preserve this 'blessing'… that depends entirely on you."
That was a lie. Jircniv knew it well.
The truth was: so long as the Empire didn't raise its arms against the Sorcerous Kingdom, this 'blessing' was unlikely to be revoked.
Sugar and whip at a national—at a racial—level. It sounded grand, awe-inspiring. But such a strategy carried a fatal flaw:
Self-entrapment.
The actions of the aggressor nation would become limited. For the next three to five years, the one wielding the whip would be obligated to offer the world sugar. Otherwise, the entire balance would collapse. That country, no matter how powerful, would become the world's target—and eventually decline.
In his youth, Jircniv had once dreamed of making the Empire the strongest of all human nations—of standing at the pinnacle of the world and wielding sugar and whip himself.
But that naive fantasy had been quickly scolded out of him by Fluder.
Now, the Sorcerous Kingdom needed the Empire as a "model". If it were to destroy the Empire right after the Kingdom, or even just severely cripple it, this entire charade would become absurd.
But that didn't mean he could act with impunity.
Because if the Sorcerer King so wished, he could go on wielding only the whip indefinitely!
Though Jircniv believed the Sorcerer King's interest in humanity lay in "domination and rule," he couldn't rule out the possibility that, if provoked, the King might find joy in the complete extinction of humankind.
Jircniv had absolutely no desire to go down in history as "the trigger for the Sorcerer King's change."
…But regardless, for this victory banquet following the Sorcerous Kingdom's triumph over the Kingdom—surely taking one sick day wouldn't hurt?
Tired. So incredibly tired. Jircniv truly wanted to escape attending the banquet. He'd give up ten years of his life for that chance.
Even if he couldn't skip it, couldn't he at least sleep five more minutes? Damn it, just five! The world won't end over that, will it?
——And then, not even two minutes later, he got up and set off.
At that demonic king's castle, Jircniv would once again realize the depth of his own naivety…
The Great Tomb of Nazarick, Sixth Floor.
"Well? Lakyus—does she differ in any way from the real leader of Blue Rose?"
In the arena, Ainz stood at the center, flanked by Albedo and Renner on either side. Aura and Mare stood across from them, seemingly just there for fun—one hugging her head, the other leaning on a staff.
At the center of their gazes was a beautiful young girl. Among commoners, she would undoubtedly shine like a jewel. But next to Albedo and the others, she still paled in comparison.
Golden hair, brilliant eyes, clad in pure white light armor, wielding a black greatsword that shimmered like the night sky. Behind her floated a group of hovering swords.
She was none other than the captain of the adamantite-ranked adventurer team [Blue Rose]: Lakyus Alvein Dale Aindra.
"Yes. Reporting to Your Majesty Ainz—this subordinate sees no flaw in the Doppelgänger transformation."
Of course not. Ainz hadn't truly been asking. A doppelgänger's transformation couldn't possibly fail. He had only asked out of habit, since Renner was present.
"Good. Then proceed with the plan as scheduled."
Under the strategy devised by Demiurge and Albedo, the "Blue Rose Assassination Plan" was never just about killing the Blue Rose team.
Nazarick's next strategic move required the use of this false "Lakyus."
And it was deeply tied to the Empire.
(I do feel a little bad for Jircniv… but the benefits of the plan are just too good. Sorry, Jircniv, you'll have to endure this one!)
"Speaking of which, Jircniv should be arriving soon, right? Albedo?"
"Yes, the summon requested him to arrive approximately an hour from now…"
"What is it? Something troubling you?"
"Yes…"
Seeing Albedo's hesitation and the slight crease in her brow, Ainz instantly guessed what was bothering her.
"Oh… are you still upset about letting Jircniv dine on the Ninth Floor?"
"My deepest apologies… Even though it was Your decision… the thought of a mere human dining there—chewing! Spraying saliva!!—I simply cannot abide it…"
Spraying saliva, really…
No, even setting aside that Jircniv was a genuine monarch, there had been no such issue even when they had hosted Nfirea and the others. The maids had managed just fine.
"Ha ha, it's alright, Albedo. I think your worries are unnecessary."
"…Besides, wasn't it you and Demiurge who came up with this whole plan to fabricate the image of 'the Emperor raising a toast to the Kingdom's downfall'?"
"Lord Ainz! …That's not fair. Demiurge and I only intended for it to happen in E-Rantel!"
In fact, Jircniv would need to make a second appearance in E-Rantel after dining on the Ninth Floor. That's where the true performance would take place—publicly raising a toast to the Kingdom's destruction and the Sorcerous Kingdom's grand victory.
Incidentally, the current queen of the Dragon Kingdom, the "Black-Scaled Dragon Lord" Draconic Aureclius, would also be in attendance.
But the honor of dining on the Ninth Floor belonged solely to Jircniv and his entourage.
This was Ainz's own idea, tacked onto the proposal by the two strategists. It was born purely from personal sentiment—he wanted to "treat" this emperor with sincerity.
Because for Nazarick's sake, Jircniv would have to endure some suffering.
Ainz personally admired Jircniv. So before he undertook the "task," Ainz wanted to treat him to a luxurious meal—like premium frost-dragon steak.
After all, at the event in E-Rantel, since it was just for show, they wouldn't be able to truly enjoy the food. And that time, the chefs would be locals—no frost-dragon steak in sight!
There was no way Ainz would let Jircniv miss out on frost-dragon steak! He resolved to properly reward him.
(Hehehe… this is called diplomacy, Jircniv! You'll thank me later!)
Ainz recalled a meeting held a few days ago.
It was during the discussions with Demiurge and others on the entire "Blue Rose Assassination Plan."
"Lord Ainz, regarding the latter part of the plan—what happens after Blue Rose is eliminated—I had an idea inspired by the fact that they are currently hiding within the Empire."
"Oh? What idea is that, Demiurge? Let's hear it."
"Understood. My idea is this—we make it an 'attempted assassination.' What do you think?"
Ainz's vision darkened.
(Huh? 'Attempted assassination'? Assassinate who? The Empire… oh! So Jircniv then? But why??)
"I see. That is indeed a clever idea. But it will require Your Majesty's permission to use a doppelgänger."
Albedo seemed to instantly grasp Demiurge's intention, and she looked to Ainz for approval. So did Demiurge.
(A doppelgänger? Why would we need one? …Ah, whatever, it's not like they're valuable servants. Sure, go ahead!)
With a grand gesture, Ainz waved his hand: "Granted. Go forth, Demiurge."
The decisive tone and practiced movements left the two strategists deeply impressed.
"…As expected of Lord Ainz! You saw through everything from the start! I am ashamed to have spoken out of turn… please forgive me for presuming to offer a mere 'idea'...!"
Faced with the bowing strategist, Ainz could only feel awkward and urge him to rise.
Fortunately, there was one other person in the room who was just as lost as Ainz: Shalltear, attending the meeting to assist with the plan.
Having once failed, Shalltear now seized every opportunity to participate, like an eager schoolchild:
"Lord Ainz? This one has many questions, Ains~"
But Albedo, annoyed by this "interruption," scolded her: "Shalltear… this part of the plan doesn't concern you. Don't interrupt Lord Ainz…"
"Enough, Albedo."
Ainz would never let someone take away his lifeline. He immediately stepped in to stop her.
"It's fine. It's normal to have questions. In fact, I'd prefer it if you asked them openly instead of keeping them bottled up—that is the path to victory, Albedo."
"Ah! Forgive me, Lord Ainz, I was short-sighted!"
"Mm, it's fine. Now then, Shalltear, ask away."
(Haha, Shalltear's so useful! Maybe I should bring her to every meeting from now on?)
"Yes! Then… why go to all this trouble, Ains~? Why not just kill those humans? Why stage them as assassins? What's the benefit, Ains~?"
(Yes, exactly! Wonderful, Shalltear! That's exactly what I wanted to ask—why all the effort?)
But outwardly, Ainz simply chuckled mysteriously, as if Shalltear had left him no choice.
"I see… you don't understand? Well, no wonder. It's a bit complex. Don't blame yourself. Demiurge, could you explain it to her?"
"Yes! …Shalltear, though Blue Rose may seem like worthless trash to us, in the human world, they carry significant influence. So their deaths would trigger massive reactions across the human nations. Therefore, how to make that reaction benefit Nazarick is the real question."
(Ah… right. In human eyes, they're incredibly important. I see now—not just kill them, but make their deaths advantageous to us… Oh, Demiurge, you're brilliant!)
"That makes sense, Ains~. So… why make them attempted assassins? Why target the Emperor?"
"According to the script, the doppelgänger disguised as Blue Rose is caught inside the Emperor's bedchamber. Afterwards, the Sorcerous Kingdom engages in diplomatic talks, claiming that adventurers of their caliber are national treasures and should be spared. They request the Empire not to execute them but to hand them over to be 'reformed' in the new Adventurer's Guild under our control. And the Empire…"
Demiurge pushed up his glasses.
"…The Empire refuses. Citing attempted regicide as an unforgivable crime, even at the request of their suzerain, they execute Blue Rose and further tighten regulations on adventurers within their territory."
"Huh~? That Emperor's actually going to defy our request? That's so rude, Ains~!"
"Well, it's all part of the script. The Emperor must play his part… and now might be the right time to begin painting him with labels like 'tyrant' or 'foolish ruler'… Oh, pardon me, Lord Ainz, I've gone off-topic."
Ainz waved it off. "No matter. Continue explaining the plan's benefits to Shalltear."
"Yes… Shalltear, this plan will bring us four distinct benefits."
(Here we go again! Four benefits! Where do they keep finding these—rabbit holes?)
"First, the influx of adventurers."
"Now that all adventurers from the former Kingdom are obsolete, the only potential source of new blood for Ainz-sama's Adventurer's Guild is the Empire. The Emperor's harsh policies toward adventurers will naturally push them to migrate. Sure, some might go to the City-State Alliance, but that's just another corner of the wall…"
(...Oh? That's a good one! If Ainzach rolls out some timely benefits, it's bound to be effective, right?)
"The second point is putting a collar on the Emperor."
"That Emperor might be off dreaming up some wild ideas—like how the side effects of the carrot-and-stick approach could limit the Sorcerous Kingdom's freedom of action or something... At times like this, we need to make him understand clearly: the Empire is nothing more than a part of the Sorcerous Kingdom."
(Huh? What would Jircniv think? Side effects? What's that supposed to mean?)
"The third purpose is to demonstrate, to some extent, the mercy of the Sorcerous Kingdom."
"To show our desire for talented individuals and our great generosity. Pleading for Blue Rose would stand in stark contrast to the destruction of the Kingdom. Following up harsh punishment with immediate mercy—it's a powerful message."
"And fourth, finally... it's a fishing expedition."
"Fishing?"
"Fufufu, indeed—we're angling for a big catch. According to Renner's deductions, there's a high chance it'll take the bait." Albedo said with a hand covering her mouth, her smile full of amusement.
Both Ainz and Shalltear understood perfectly well that they weren't talking about fish in a river.
"W-wait a minute. There's still one thing—what kind of motive would those human adventurers have for assassinating the Emperor?"
(Yeah, that's a huge hole in the plan! How are they going to explain that...?)
But Demiurge simply let out a cheerful laugh.
"Shalltear, why should we care about something like that?"
"Huh?"
Demiurge and Albedo exchanged a glance and shrugged.
"'Why did Blue Rose try to assassinate the Blood Emperor?'—that kind of question doesn't need an answer."
"Let the public speculate as they wish. All the state needs is a fact."
"Once all sorts of wild conspiracy theories start circulating, we can simply pick the one that suits our next move best—and confirm it as the truth."
And thus, through a discussion among the heteromorphs, Jircniv's "mission" was decided.