Overlord And The Blue Citadel 13 『Price Of Peace』

Neia had undoubtedly expressed her Justice and punished the man who had tried to kill her in order to live just a little longer. Death, capital punishment, didn't bother Fenrir at all.

His blood was still moist in the air and something Fenrir never expected happened, his mouth was beginning to water. The G.o.d swallowed his saliva subtly, hiding the buildup of fluids.

Back in the Arcology, people died all the time from various things and unrest was settled rather casually. In upper management, he saw it all the time and how swift it was dished out. Rebels were rounded up and permanently removed, corporate espionage ended with death, or something even worse. Human experimentation wasn't exactly unheard of, considering the technology which had been developed such as the Dive Gear used to play YGGDRASIL in the first place. What was the point of keeping people in prison if they weren't productive anyway?

This hadn't been his first time either, seeing someone die. It was, however, the first time that the sensation, the scent of it, made him hungry. He remembered the first time he saw someone die, he nearly hurled out his morning nutrient paste supplements.

Poking the tip of his tongue out of his lips like clockwork, his eyes danced over the Paladins before flas.h.i.+ng over Neia. Those tears that stained her cheeks, at least they had stopped.

"Now that the pleasantries have been dealt with, let us get on with these... Negotiations," Fenrir kept those two-toned eyes of his narrowed on the Vice-Captain.

The Paladins and Neia's parents both looked to Gustav as the proclaimed G.o.d spoke, unsure of how this was all going to pa.s.s. Were they ever going to see the true sky above again or just the convincingly false one which made up the ceiling above them?

"You have come here in order to maintain the peace that has been here since prior to my abrupt... Appearance in your plane, Midgard I'll a.s.sume it is." His eyes were like daggers, his pupils the shape of a hungry wolf's, but he made no move to lung, showing a great deal of self-control. He didn't so much as have a twitching lip or irritated spasm of the brow.

"That is my gravest concern, Fenrir-sama... May I call you that?" Gustav was clearly nervous, though he wasn't clutching at his stomach anymore. The situation was in his hands after all.

"Yes, that suits just fine... Now, from what standing would I have by maintaining peace with a politically unstable country?" It was common knowledge amongst perhaps even the Paladins that the South and the North did not get along. From his talks with Neia, he was able to learn a number of things about her country, but it wasn't everything. She knew too few names, but she wasn't a master of trivia nor a living encyclopedia.

"I..." Gustav furrowed his brows hearing those words as if he was supposed to sell his country to a G.o.d. He was a Vice-Captain, he was all for his country, but he was no merchant. "We have the support of the Holy Queen, the rightful ruler of the Roble Holy Kingdom. She is far more suited to engage in political affairs pertaining to trade and allocation of resources than the Southern n.o.bles could ever be. She is beloved by the people. We also conduct trade-off of the continent through our harbors, it would give you the opportunity to reach out toward the greater world."

"The people do outnumber the n.o.bility, though I am sure many of the people in the South are sheep..." Fenrir a.s.sumed that those in power in the South had a large amount of influence over their people. Their beliefs may be solid on the Four Great G.o.ds, but how would they react to a fifth one coming to power? If she were to endorse him, wouldn't that cause civil unrest?

Gustav nodded slowly at the words he spoke. He couldn't help but agree as people who were under-educated or not educated at all were notably easily influenced by word of mouth.

"Now..." His pupils were sharp like daggers as he continued to keep his eyes focused on the singular Paladin in front of him. Ignoring all the rest, he would place his elbow on the arm of his chair, leaning his cheek into his fist. "I will be blatant, what matters most to me is knowledge and optimization. Your writing system is different from mine, I need academic material to learn it and maps pertaining to areas outside of my view." Fenrir gestured towards the World Atlas which was not too far away from the throne where Anima Espa was standing, watching over it. "Your skills as well, they work differently... And the way you create magical items differs greatly. This plane's mechanics interfere with our own."

In the end, Gustav found that offering information had been and will always be the greatest currency. Everything that he implied he needed from them, was information and knowledge. If he denied them this, he could easily just take it, but that wouldn't benefit his homeland at all.

The visitors looked to where Fenrir had gestured towards and stared at the construct, a heavily scaled-down animated world that reached into their neighbor's territories. If they looked close enough, they'd be able to see the beastmen moving along the treeline to observe the tower they were standing in.

They could even see the Harpies that they had lost track of following the messenger into the Re-Estize Kingdom. What they couldn't see however was that there was even a semi-solid ma.s.s hovering along the windows of the Valencia Royal Palace.

It seemed he had already taken on measures to get information on the other Kingdoms.

"Fenrir-sama, if I may, those flying women... What are they exactly?" Gustav asked as he could see the pieces hovering above the board, just like any other bird or flying animal that was present.

Taking in a slow inhale through his nose, he could smell the blood still. The Draugr were hacking away at a corpse, the sounds though were merely disturbing to him due to his inclination towards enjoying the silence. "Svartr Harpies, lead by the Champion of Darkness Nyriane, their Queen."

"Svartr?" Gustav and the others tasted the word on their tongues, not quite sure what it meant.

"Black. It references the color of their feathers and the t.i.tle in which their Queen holds." His voice sounded rather dull as if it was just reciting something he had already said a thousand times over.

"Darkness..." Gustav centered his attention on the t.i.tle in which the Champion held. "Forgive me for trying to quench my curiosity," he gave a smile of anxiousness, he was clearly nervous.

"While some say curiosity killed the cat, it can sometimes be a regrettable course of action to try and suppress one's thirst... Especially if your superiors ask you the same questions." Fenrir understood the chain of command and what one's high-ups may favor to ask. "That being said... As things are right now, would you be able to deliver these requested items for the peace you so wish to keep?"

"Those... Are the only things you wish to obtain through this meeting, Fenrir-sama?" Gustav was rather surprised to hear this considering how powerful he was and the things he could gain.

"You are a mere Vice-Captain of a militant inst.i.tution supported by the Kingdom it serves. Knowingly so, your powers of reach are far more limited than your Queen." Fenrir felt like he was playing some sort of political roleplaying game, "I can only a.s.sume everything must be finalized through her... Am I not correct?"

"Umu," His head lowered at this observation and keen a.s.sumption, he wasn't wrong. The only one who could authorize something such as this, no matter how menial, was the Queen herself or an official amba.s.sador sent by her Holy Majesty.

"There is however one thing that you can permit right away... I wish for Neia Baraja to be my personal Squire and my a.s.sistant." Fenrir could hear her heartbeat pick up in pace in his ear despite how many feet she was away from his head. "She will act as a liaison between the Roble Holy Kingdom and Hel's Citadel until one is properly prepared." This wasn't a request, with his tone, they could quite tell he was informing them rather than asking.

"F-Fenrir-sama?!" Neia blurted out in surprise, he hadn't told her any of this until he had spoken of it just now. Though she was technically already his squire due to her kneeling before him, it was clear that this was indeed an odd makeup.

"I look forward to working closely with you," Fenrir grinned the girl who was wearing the defensive jacket and gloves he had supplied. So far all they had done was small talk and training, but mostly training.

"With the power invested in me, I am capable of making such arrangements," Gustav tried not to chuckle at the fl.u.s.tered Squire. "Since her induction into the Order as a Squire, she has proven herself useful time and time again serving under her peers."

"..." Pavel looked over his daughter for a short, brief, instance before giving a mental sigh. She was having responsibilities dropped right onto her without being told beforehand. He supposed this was what it means to see one's child growing up, especially as she was becoming fl.u.s.tered.

Her mother didn't very much like the scheme, the only person that a Paladin could serve is their ruling sovereign. While she couldn't argue that the responsibilities he was placing upon her were bad, she didn't see her following in her footsteps... Not in the way that she a.s.sumed she would.

"Good..." Fenrir hardly really gave her parents a second glance, but he could tell that neither of them were comfortable.

Pavel seemed to be a doting and protective father and her mother seemed to be a loyal Paladin who followed the rule book considering she hadn't been the one to rush in to try and save their daughter who was presumed dead.

"Now, in regards to the Holy Queen," his eyes s.h.i.+fted towards the Northern Capital on the fully simulated Atlas of the surrounding world. "How quickly do you think you'd be able to process these requests through her?" It was clear his eyes were showing impatience as they almost lifelessly came floating back over to Gustav like driftwood.

"It would require several hours in order to return to the Capital, if not longer than a day, on horseback. Then it may take weeks in order to... Days in order to gain an audience with the Queen." Gustav didn't seem to like the way that he had been giving a glance in the direction of their holy city.

"And if I were to want an immediate audience with the Queen? Where would I go?"

"Fenrir-sama, you're not going to kidnap the Holy Queen are you?" Neia muttered under her breath, but despite the fact that she had said it so quietly, the wolf could still hear her as plain as day.

Letting out an amused chuckle hearing her, it seemed as if life reclaimed his gaze as he looked to her. "Now why would I do that?" His tone was no longer dull but instead became light and near-mellow. Though if he did go through with kidnapping the Queen, just how much could he gain?

"Eh!?" Neia shook her head in surprise, "Forgive me, Fenrir-sama, I meant nothing by it..." As her voice faded out, it was as if she was losing the ability to speak just from the fear of offending him.

While her fear was justified, he had no reason nor desire to harm her. At the state she was now, she was nothing more than a flea if he really wanted to crush her.

Reaching over as he lifted his cheek from his fist, he grasped the sleeve of her tunic between his thumb and knuckle of her index finger, she nearly flinched. "No need to apologize. As you are my Squire, you may speak freely with me, just mind your tongue during sensitive matters."

Neia slowly dipped her head and rose it once more, agreeing to mind herself before speaking.

Gustav could see the favoritism in the way Fenrir acted towards her compared to him and the rest of the Paladins present. Though at the same time, he didn't seem to sense any animosity which he supposed was a good thing.

"The Royal Palace of Hoburns," the Vice-Captain reported as he raised his hand to point to the specific building upon the World Atlas. "Captain Remedios Custodio of our Paladin Order must've been directly dispatched from there..." His eyes rested on the dozen or so horses that were arriving near the wall. It appeared that his Captain had arrived earlier than expected.

Fenrir's gaze followed the finger in which it pointed to, matching the target. Then his gaze traced over to where Gustav was actually looking as he was pointing. There where the small figurines were moving along the Great Wall was a singular female with a bobbed hair cut.

"That must be Captain Remedios," with his sharp vision he could see that she wasn't very pleasant. She seemed to be shouting at a Paladin that reported directly to her before she went up onto the wall in order to view the Citadel itself much closer.

From the corner of his eye he could see the Vice-Captain was grasping at his stomach.

"Is that a preexisting condition... Gustav-dono?" Fenrir asked as he raised a brow.

"Ah... Yes, I've been trying my hand at learning Divination Magic in order to heal it," Gustav was rather forthcoming, but his eyes never left that of the Captain which was glaring at the tower.

Reaching into his item box, the movement caught the Captain's eye especially when Fenrir pulled a red potion out of thin air. "These should work here just as they had done in my previous plane..." He tossed the vial towards the human male.
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Gustav threw his hands forward to catch it and started fumbling the gla.s.s object filled with irregular red liquid. "Wh-what is this!?" He finally caught the item in both hands, his eyes wide.

"Healing Potion, a minor one, another matter in which this plane of existence has interfered with. The refining process doesn't work the same here." Fenrir almost growled at this but refrained from doing so. It was as if this world was fighting against him, but in reality, the world had been here far before him so it was quite the opposite.

Nodding slowly at his words, Gustav a.s.sumed he would be getting academic literature referring to such topics for the man to translate and learn from. Popping the gla.s.s lid to the potion, he brought the liquid to his lips and downed at least half of the crimson red fluid.

Near immediately he felt the stomach cramps fade away as a green-hued light briefly overtook him. It was an interesting sensation, but he felt the potion had been entirely wasted on him.

Gustav felt entirely renewed by this thoughtless gift. His eyes darted from the potion bottle and over to Fenrir who sat there looking him over. It was as if he had given it to him intentionally to see if it actually worked! It didn't matter though, because it did work, even if it was probably temporary especially as he turned to look at the great wall once more.

It was as if he could hear his own Captain cursing at him for not waiting and acting on his own.

"How well versed is the Queen in using the spell 'Message' to communicate from afar?" Fenrir inquired once more, curious if the people of this world could use such a skill.

"Ah... That particular spell has a bad omen following after it," Gustav shook his head lightly as he returned his attention to the man on the throne. "There had been wars fought because of a misinterpreted message in the far east of the continent. Though those nations have since fallen, we have learned from their mistakes."

"Oh..." Fenrir's eye twitched slightly at this, "Wars you say?"

"Was that the reason why you asked for our Queen's likely location, Fenrir-sama?" Gustav gave a faint smile at this lowered his head lightly, letting it bob subtly in place.

"Partially, but it also allowed me to know where to go if I ever wanted to..." Fenrir snapped his fingers and vanished from sight, before he placed his hand on Gustav, revealing he had teleported beside him. The Vice-Captain had nearly jumped out of his skin, as he had lurched forward from the touch. It was evident though that he could quickly stop himself and turn his head to see his host.

When he had reappeared like this, the others only naturally took a step back in shock.

"...Make a surprise visit," the werewolf said as he closed one eye, as he had revealed what he could do in a split second. He could've killed them all before they even blinked, not only that, but he could suddenly just appear in the Kingdom's capital... Or even the Royal Castle.

"I... I see..." Gustav hesitantly spoke in acknowledgment of his few words.

"Back in my old world, I was known as Fenrir the G.o.d-Killer, but I am also known as the Holy Sovereign, Seeker of the Holy Shadows a byproduct of Light and subsidiary of Darkness." Fenrir let his hand slip from the Paladin's shoulder and fall to his side as he padded along back to his throne and rested back down into his seat almost casual-like.

"As this is an informal meeting, I still expect the words we shared to be upheld for if you want the peace to be upheld in return... Gustav-dono, you have five days as your deadline." Drumming his fingers on the arm of his throne, he smirked at the Paladins present along with Pavel. "The Barajas may stay if they wish, but if not... They must leave with you."

Gustav nodded lightly and went to hand the bottle back to him, but Fenrir simply raised a hand. "No need to return it... Have your potion makers a.n.a.lyze it all you want... Think of it as Goodwill and in hopes that you deliver on your promises on time..."