Chapter 35 - 『Kingdom Come』

Gazef was standing on the wall which surrounded the Valencia Palace in his light place armor, overlooking the Capital City of Re-Estize. In his hand was a fine black box with golden branches, he held it close to his abdomen.

"His sister arrived in the Capital with the head butler, but the other sister hasn't come with and he's nowhere to be seen," Gazef chuckled lightly as he had half expected Jack to show up.

He turned his head to look over towards the Vice Captain, who was standing beside him with his arms crossed over his chest. "Perhaps he had something else to do? He did have his family give you the tea."

Gazef looked down to the box in his hand and nodded slowly. "It has an interesting taste. The leaves were roasted, and while they're bitter, it tastes good with the addition of honey and ginseng which was packed along with it."

Raising a brow at this, the Vice Captain looked over the décor of the box. "It seems we've made an interesting friend? Ever since the Capital of the attack on Carne Village, the Theocracy hasn't made a move."

Lowering his eyes to the streets below, he would turn to face the Vice Captain. "That's because their entire Capital was wiped out overnight."

"What?" The adjunct blinked a few times in shock, "How come I didn't know about this?"

"The King has issued a gag order on the information pertaining to the Theocracy's status, though I don't know how much longer we'll be able to conceal the information. Refugees are starting to show up from villages overrun by Beastmen along the border."

"What on Earth caused it…?"

"Rumor has it, one of their rituals backfired and took out the entire city's population. Another popular rumor started by the Six Great Nobles is that our friend Cipher visited divine retribution upon them." Gazef laughed as he shook his head, he didn't want to believe the man who had saved the village and his men's lives was capable of wiping out hundreds of thousands of people.

However the fact that Jack had referred to himself as a Monster still bothered him.

And that was just a short while before the Slane Theocracy's Capital City was demolished with only the walls partially standing on their own.

"We didn't even know until almost a week after the fact..." Gazef placed his hand on his forehead between his thumb and forefinger. "And it's said that the Platinum Dragon Lord is on the move."

"Seriously!?" The Vice Captain wasn't necessarily able to keep his calm when he heard one of the Thirteen Heroes was moving about.

Gazef nodded, "He's been circling about the Elven territory according to scouts sent out to monitor the Theocracy," he let out a light sigh before shifting about to look over the Palace.

"The Crown Prince is pushing to take over the Slane Theocracy Territory while their government is in pieces and their military forces too scattered to have an organized resistance." The Head Warrior scratched the back of his head with his free hand. He didn't like the idea of going against a nation or people who couldn't even defend themselves properly. Yet at the same time, it would allow them to expand and perhaps fix their economy.

"So… We have six months until the Annual War and the Crowned Prince wants to start a war before that happens which will leave us wide open..."

"For the Baharuth Empire to attack while we're off on another front? It sounds likely."

"Plus we have to worry about that Dragon Lord. He might stand between us and the Theocracy. Like he's been guarding that ruin for two hundred years now..."

Climb, a young man with short blonde hair and a pale complexion came walking towards the two men. Unlike Gazef, he was dressed in enchanted mythril plate armor with a black jumpsuit underneath. He was the Princess's personal bodyguard, armed with a single broadsword.

"Gazef-dono!" He placed a hand over his chest, his blue hues tracing over him before noticing the box. "Is… That from an Admirer of yours?" He asked, knowing that the Head Master had no spouse.

"From a friend," Gazef returned his gaze before brushing his thumb against the lid of the black box.

Blinking once, Climb looked towards the Vice Captain who glanced off towards the sky, not saying a word. "What's in it?" Curiosity seemed to have taken the young man.

"Tea, green tea." Gazef said as he slid the box's lid open, revealing a fine green powder preserved by magic, along with a partially shaven ginseng root and a vial of honey. There was even little tools to prepare it for a miniature tea ceremony.

Climb raised a brow as he was told what was in the box. When he looked over the contents, it looked incredibly expensive just from the display. The tools themselves looked like they were fragile, but were works of art on their own, just like the exterior of the box itself.

"That's an amazing gift… If only I could give the Princess something to repay her for her kindness..."

Gazef's brows raised slightly as he slid the lid closed, concealing the items as he would then put it into a pouch at his side. "Perhaps should you meet Cipher, he will grant a gift to you as well."

"Cipher?" Climb looked over Gazef for a moment, having heard the name come from the lips of the Nobles whom were usually down talking him for being a commoner. "The self-proclaimed Angel that defended you?"

Gazef smiled faintly as he definitely seemed to have heard the nobles speaking. "He isn't a self-proclaimed Angel, Climb. He IS an Angel, though he refers himself as a monster."

Climb stared at a man who he perceived as a hero and role model, saying that this person who is extremely powerful is an Angel along with some individual known as Ainz Ooal Gown which very little is known about.

Of course, that is other than being a super powerful magic caster that initially protected the Village and seemed to be above Cipher in a Hierarchy of some sort from his observation.

"An actual Angel that hasn't been summoned and can speak..." Climb uttered quietly to himself as he scratched the back of his head. The destructive prowess of Angels was known, especially the ones even used by the Slane Theocracy, the ones summoned by spell or ritual.

"Where do you think he is now?"

"Apparently he went off to explore the East, after dispatching all of the members belonging to the Six Arms who were trying to steal his potions from the Magician's Guild."

"Potions?" Climb was interested in whatever form of potion he was talking about. That was one part he didn't hear from the Nobles and the Princess hadn't talked about it either.

"Cipher created a healing potion with the color of red, he was having the Magician's Guild reverse engineer it in order to mass produce it. I hear he ended up taking the potions back after the Syndicate tried to get their hands on it."

Climb made a frown, "How good were these red healing potions? I thought they all turned blue."

"Strong enough to heal serious wounds and diseases. If you were seriously injured on the battlefield, it would get you right back on your feet." Gazef said as he vouched for the legendary potion that had been dubbed the Blood of the Gods.

Blinking at this, it was hard to believe that a new potion such as that was possible. "And he wanted them mass produced?"

Gazef nodded, "That is what Theo told me when I learned he used the letter of introduction to join the Magician's guild and to buy a home through the Merchants guild."

"So he has a residence in E-Rantel?"

"Yes, and the nobles are vying to watch him like vultures," he clucked his tongue as he would turn to look over the city once more. "If he refers to himself as a Monster, I wonder what it makes them."

Climb let out a light sigh as he leaned on the wall beside his mentor. "And this Ainz Ooal Gown?"

"They want to capture him, make them work for the Kingdom. They believe he's a rogue magic caster working with another nation to upset the Balance." Gazef clenched his jaw at this, the corruption in the King's court was great. Doubt was in every direction he looked and the nobles were useless. The only thing that kept him here, in the line of duty, was the King's resolve to reshape the Kingdom.

Climb lowered his head, his shoulders raising as his armored forearms pressed against the stone wall.

The Vice Captain just stood there with a frown, silently going over in his head how this would turn out for Re-Estize as a nation. He could clearly remember how this Angel dropped hundreds of soldiers from the sky like it was nothing.

He could only imagine thousands of conscripted soldiers falling from the sky. Monstrous magic being used to burn the landscapes that were once painted in green and brown.

"I think my warning may have sent him away..."

"Warning?"

"That it'd be dangerous for him in the Kingdom as nobles would be looking to control him as well." Though these hadn't been his exact words, he had warned Jack of this. And he was also using the name Cipher rather than Jack as a way to protect him in one way or another.

"Uwah… At least you had the forethought to warn him ahead of time." Climb leaned to the side slightly, looking at the older man.

"About five days ago he had also saved E-Rantel from being turned into a City of the Undead. It's hard to imagine how little the nobles would want to thank him for it..."

"Climb?" A sweet pleasant voice could be heard, when the men all turned their heads to see who it was, their eyes rested upon the Princess Renner.

"Princess!" They announced in surprise, before greeting her formally.

"It's not safe up here on the wall with the soldiers out hunting down members of the Eight Fingers."

"It's all thanks to the Angel you speak of, that my father, our King, was able to rally the support we need to free us from the shadows that lurk in our Nation." She said proudly, her eyes focused on Gazef, the Head Warrior and her father's loyal bodyguard. "The Royal Party sees your hero, as our own."

Climb smiled at the words which his Princess was granting upon the leader of the Warrior Troop.

"At least he is being appreciated by the Royal Faction," Gazef sucked air through his teeth slightly as he looked away from the Princess. "Your older brother though… He's pushing for war with the Theocracy and this Ainz Ooal Gown the nobles are filling him with lies about."

The Princess giggled at this, "No one even knows where Ainz Ooal Gown is, or what he looks like beneath that mask you said he was wearing."

She wasn't wrong. The Kingdom virtually knew nothing about Ainz Ooal Gown, all of it was pure speculation other than what Gazef had informed them of.