The Cardinal of Sin

Declaration of War

Ainz sat at his desk. His bony fingers rubbed at his temple. It was meant to be easy and in theory it was. He wanted to build a Kingdom that offered citizenship to all. Such a kingdom would protect and serve those from Nazarick. That's all he really wanted, to see the NPCs his friends had created grow and thrive. To see them safe in this new world.

In practice, it was a headache, even for a being made of bones. The latest problem was integrating the former Holy Kingdom. Unlike the Empire, who had applied for vassalage, the former Holy Kingdom was his by right of conquest. And conquest had effectively wiped out the upper echelons of power. In some ways it was good. Competent people, human or otherwise, could be promoted without fear or favour of the existing establishment but it meant more work for him.

His problem today was in coming up with a new leadership for the Holy Kingdom. They served him. That went without question. But they were distant enough that he could not govern them effectively from E-Rantel. Not that he wanted to. Suzuki Satoru knew that much about running a company. A CEO set the policy. The workers made it happen. While the CEO was responsible for the governance of the company, they were not involved in the everyday nitty gritty. If he started to govern the former Holy Kingdom, he would get tied up in their issues.

That meant he needed to assign the Kingdom to an underling, but who? Cocytus was already occupied governing the Lizardmen. Albedo was needed here. Demiurge was known to the Holy Kingdom as Jaldabaoth, a demon he had defeated, but whom had been spirited away by his loyal underlings. In the confusion caused by that, the remaining nobles of the Holy Kingdom had been killed, leaving no clear line of authority.

Given his demonstrated strength, and despite the fact he was undead, the survivors had pledged their loyalty to him. He was not foolish enough to believe they had done so willingly. He was the strongest choice and they needed his protection.

Which is why he now needed to provide them with a leader. Ainz was loath to promote someone from the Holy Kingdom. He was sure they would be loyal for the moment, but they would need oversight. But who could do it?

Shalltear needed to remain here. He couldn't allow her to be seen openly until those who had brainwashed her had been dealt with, and they were remaining stubbornly hidden. Sebas had established another identity in the Re-Estize Kingdom and until they were firmly under control, Ainz couldn't risk that identity. That would happen soon, but not soon enough to change the outcome of this decision. He could hurry it along but that was not efficient.

Already, the Re-Estize Kingdom was beginning to feel his will. They were still independent, but soon their living conditions would deteriorate. Food would be the obvious short fall. When that came, they would willingly trade their independence for his protection, and the resources his small kingdom could offer. Ainz smiled, though his body face did not move. It was ironic that his resources now included those of the Empire, who had done much of the work to weaken the Re-Estize kingdom. He would reap the benefit, and their food would supplement his in feeding the Kingdom until they recovered.

And by the time they had, they would be fully integrated into his Sorcerous Kingdom.

That would leave E-Rantel bordered by two controlled nations. Only the Theocracy would then be in direct contact with his Kingdom. They were the likely candidates for having controlled Shalltear but he wanted proof before he acted. As he had explained to the guardians, it was wasteful to strike on theory, if it let the real culprit escape.

Ainz shifted his hand. Rubbing his bony finger tips against his temple had done nothing. He laid his hand on his desk and tapped. The sound was dry. The watching maid didn't even flinch at the noise. If anything she seemed slightly distressed that he was behaving as such. Immediately Ainz sat up, pulling back his hand so he could not continue to tap.