Grand Foreigner (Chapters 1- 200)

Chapter 199

Ainz looked at Semiramis – Semiramis looked at Ainz.

Semiramis was thinking, trying to answer in her head the only question she could still formulate. Was there hope left for humanity?

If the first Hassan, the Assassin of all Assassins, could not kill Ainz, could not defeat him, lost in battle... Or had he simply fled? Unable to confront Ainz himself, now trying to gather allies, for Semiramis knew that Hassan would never leave on his own, retreating from his enemy. Semiramis' mere approach to him earlier had caused him to show his strength, his presence, and his mute warning. If Ainz invaded his fortress and had left without even a scratch on him, then – what then?

Semiramis really hoped that Hassan had fled... If Ainz had defeated Hassan in battle, it meant that Hassan had lost without a fight. What a scary thought!

Semiramis was not too afraid for her life. She was already ready to accept death just a few hours ago, with her head held up proudly – upraised even. But she was afraid of what this new information might mean, of what it meant for Semiramis, for her kingdom – for all of humanity.

The first Hassan was a mystery to Semiramis, an almost complete unknown – but that fact alone spoke volumes. There were not many unknowns for Semiramis, the legendary and, frankly, powerful Servant. So, if someone was even legendary to her, Semiramis could not even imagine who that Servant really was, how powerful the First Hassan really was.

And that Hassan had just lost to Ainz completely.

If even the First Hassan retreated before Ainz, it meant that Ainz was a legend even for a legend, excessive even for the excessive – in other words, something that is literally beyond her imagination... Semiramis was afraid of the possibilities of such things – the unknown.

Semiramis was not frightened by pain, torture, or loss, but like every rational living thing that could exist in this world, Semiramis was frightened by the unknown.

Ainz was also frightened by the unknown – though a little differently than the secretly very frightened Semiramis. If nothing else, she should be proud of her poker face, not to show the great terror she's in, not that the confused Ainz knows that. 'Um, what's next?'

Ainz had met his copy of this world, and the experience was not as painful as he had thought it would be! But... what to do next, he still didn't know.

'Medb didn't talk about that, about her, I mean 'my', plan, about what he's 'going' to do after the meeting. Should I just sit still again and let my Servants do their work? Or do I have to do something? My stomach is starting to twist again... Why is this happening? I'm not even using it and I don't have digestive problems. In an Undead body, especially a skeleton especially, I have no internal organs at all, how can my stomach twist?!'

After a moment, his suppression of emotion saved him once again, allowing Ainz to inwardly sigh in relief and return to his trying to figure out his next move. 'Yep, so I've met my copy of this world, and by all accounts, the meeting went well. In fact, the meeting went great! I never did get his name... He kept calling himself Death – and I don't think he's really Death, I mean, Death isn't any particular person, is he? No, I mean, there are all kinds of gods of death, and I guess death has its own representation in this world. Is he just LARPing...? There are many Servants that seem to get lost in their own head and act strangely all the time, is that what Medb thought about me... Okay, get it together, Ainz! That's not what we need to be thinking about!'

Ainz shook his head slightly, causing Semiramis to flinch, glaring at him with a wary look that made Ainz inwardly felt slightly offended. 'Hey, I just drove an unknown strange Undead armored-Servant out of your territory, why are you looking at me like that! No, I mean, yes, he disappeared along with the castle, so you can't say I did the job a hundred percent... But on the other hand, even if your target was the castle, I still did accomplish my task! At least partially... I mean, I still took out that man you were going to fight, so I did something good! But, ahem, perhaps, yes, if your goal was actually the castle, then I must have deprived you of the opportunity to gain the castle back now, since that Servant is gone with the castle... Well, now I'm starting to get a headache in addition to my stomach!'